Participle Clauses
Streamlining Sentences for Sophistication and Flow
⏰ When do we use Participle Clauses?
We use these clauses, primarily in formal language, to make texts more succinct (concise) and sophisticated. They allow us to pack more information into a single sentence by removing unnecessary words (like relative pronouns or conjunctions) and combining ideas fluidly.
We use them to:
- Describe simultaneous actions (two things happening at once).
- Describe sequential actions (one thing happening before another).
- Explain the cause or reason for an action (replacing as, since, because).
- Provide extra descriptive detail (replacing relative clauses).
- Express a condition (replacing if).
📌 Structure
The form of the participle depends on whether the meaning is active or passive, and when the action happened.
1. Present Participle (-ing): Active / Simultaneous Used for active verbs, often when two actions happen at the same time.
- Example: “Laughing and with arms open wide, Tom ran towards his father.”
2. Past Participle (-ed/irregular): Passive Used for passive meanings.
- Example: “Derided by all, she nevertheless went on to become a renowned scientist.”
- Example: “The police sent by the investigating officer proved to be too few.” (Replacing “who were sent”).
3. Perfect Participle (Having + PP): Sequential Used to emphasize that one action finished before the main action began. It can be Active or Passive.
- Active: “Having considered the problem at length, we propose the following solution.”
- Passive: “Having been warned about health risks, he still didn’t change his diet.”
📝 Notes
- The Golden Rule (Subject Agreement): The subject of the participle clause must be the same as the subject of the main clause. If they are different, you create a “Dangling Participle,” which is grammatically incorrect.
- Incorrect: “After driving for 60 km, the road becomes a motorway.” (The road was not driving!).
- Correct: “After driving for 60 km, you‘ll find the road becomes a motorway.”.
- Conditional Use: Past participles can function like an if clause.
- Example: “Barbecued slowly over a low heat, the vegetable skewer tastes wonderful.” (If it is barbecued…).
Comparison Table: Transformation
| Function | Original Clause | Participle Clause Transformation |
|---|---|---|
| Reason | Because she had a fertile imagination… | Having a fertile imagination… |
| Reason (Passive) | As he was motivated by a desire to help… | Motivated by a desire to help… |
| Sequence | After he had lost his wallet… | Having lost his wallet… |
| Description | The train which is approaching platform five… | The train approaching platform five… |
💬 Examples
- Simultaneous (Descriptive): “Caught in the headlights, the deer stood frozen.”
- Sequential (Time gap): “Created by IBM, the first smartphone from Apple wasn’t produced until fifteen years later.”
- Reason/Cause: “Jenny still had a slight accent, having been brought up in the USA.”