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Look at these examples to see how participle clauses are used.
Looked after carefully, these boots will last for many years.
Not wanting to hurt his feelings, I avoided the question.
Having lived through difficult times together, they were very close friends.
Try this exercise to test your grammar.
Read the explanation to learn more.
Participle clauses enable us to say information in a more economical way. They are formed using present participles (going, reading, seeing, walking, etc.), past participles (gone, read, seen, walked, etc.) or perfect participles (having gone, having read, having seen, having walked, etc.).
We can use participle clauses when the participle and the verb in the main clause have the same subject. For example,
Waiting for Ellie, I made some tea. (While I was waiting for Ellie, I made some tea.)
Participle clauses do not have a specific tense. The tense is indicated by the verb in the main clause.
Participle clauses are mainly used in written texts, particularly in a literary, academic or journalistic style.
Here are some common ways we use present participle clauses. Note that present participles have a similar meaning to active verbs.
Here are some common ways that we use past participle clauses. Note that past participles normally have a passive meaning.
Perfect participle clauses show that the action they describe was finished before the action in the main clause. Perfect participles can be structured to make an active or passive meaning.
Having got dressed, he slowly went downstairs.
Having finished their training, they will be fully qualified doctors.
Having been made redundant, she started looking for a new job.
It is also common for participle clauses, especially with -ing, to follow conjunctions and prepositions such as before, after, instead of, on, since, when, while and in spite of.
Before cooking, you should wash your hands.
Instead of complaining about it, they should try doing something positive.
On arriving at the hotel, he went to get changed.
While packing her things, she thought about the last two years.
In spite of having read the instructions twice, I still couldn’t understand how to use it.
Do this exercise to test your grammar again.
Hello Hainguyen123
'selling' and 'by selling' mean the same thing here. 'by' is often used before a present participle to speak about how to do something.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Risa warysha
'interesting' functions as an adjective here. The adjective is derived from the present participle, just as the adjective 'interested' is derived from the past participle of the verb.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello alsayed
I wouldn't say that participle clause expresses reason, but rather that he saw the new while reading the paper (two actions at the same time). It could also possibly explain how he saw the news.
Because 'reading' ends in '-ing', it is a present participle, not a perfect participle.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Bharati,
I can't say why this is the case, I'm afraid. Language descriptions grow and evolve over time, and fashion comes and goes in linguistics as in everything else. All I can tell you is that both names are used for the structure. For example, this article on the topic by Richard Nordquist uses both terms and does not attempt to distinguish between them:
https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-a-participial-phrase-1691588
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Ire
I suppose the second one was something like 'He lunged for the phone and quickly lifted the receiver.'
I'm not sure I understand the first one -- perhaps something like 'He stood on the back while holding on'.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team