Grammar: Participle Clauses

1. Participle clauses.

A participle clause is a dependent clause which uses a participle form of a verb. These clauses are used to avoid making sentences overly complicated. They are used mainly in written English and they allow us to convey a great deal of information in a shorter form. Participle clauses don’t have a subject because their subject is the noun/pronoun in the main clause.

Getting into the lift, I realised I had forgotten my keys. 
 (participle clause)                 (main clause)

2. Types of participle clauses.

• Condition (in place of an if-condition):
  Looked after carefully, this coat will keep you warm through many winters.
• Reason (in place of words like so or therefore):
  Wanting to speak to him about the contract, I decided to arrange a meeting.
• Result (in place of words like because or as a result):
  I had no time to read my book, having spent so long doing my homework.
• Time (in place of words like when, while or as soon as):
  Sitting at the cafe with my friends, I suddenly realised that I had left the oven on at home.

3. Forms for active and passive meanings.

Participle clauses can be formed with the present participle (-ing form of the verb) or past participle (third form of the verb).

1. Participle clauses with gerund (-ing) have an active meanin: She left the room singing happily.
2. Participle clauses with past participles have a passive meaning: Shocked by the explosion, the people ran for shelter.
3. There is also a perfect form, having + past participle, which we can use to talk about an action that happened earlier: Having read the book before, he knew how the film would end.

Sources:

• http://www.mygrammarlab.com/assets/downloads/pdfs/MyGrammarLab_Intermediate.pdf
• http://keepsmilingenglish.com/grammar/participle-clauses/
• http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/es/quick-grammar/participle-clauses

Now practice what you have just learned!