PARTICIPLE CLAUSES

Participle clauses are a bit like relative clauses they give us information.
People wearing carnival costumes filled the streets of Rio de Janeiro.( wearing - Present Participle
form)
The participle clauses (wearing ) acts like a relative clause. We could say:
People who were wearing carnival costumes filled the streets of Rio de Janeiro.
Other examples with the Present Participle:
A woman carrying a bright green parrot walked into the room.
A man holding a gun shouted at us to lie down.
!!! We use the present participle - the -ing form to form the participle clause when the meaning is
active.
Note that the participle clauses with the present participle have a continuous meaning. If we replaced
them with a relative clause it would be in a continuous tense.
Ex: A man holding a gun has the same meaning as A man who was holding a gun.
With the Past Participle
A pair of shoes worn by Marilyn Monroe have been sold for fifty thousand dollars.
Trees blown down in last nights storms are being removed this morning.
Invented by an Indiana housewife, the first dishwasher was driven by a steam engine.
The ING participle (the Pres. Participle) often describes the background or earlier action. This is
similar to the use of the continuous aspect for actions in progress.
Ex: Leaving the motorway, we noticed an overturned truck by the side of the road.
(participle clause)
It is similar to As we were leaving the motorway, we.
The ING participle can also describe two actions which happen immediately one after the other as in
the example below:
Switching off the lights, I turned over and buried my head in the pillow (= After I switched off )
!!!! However, when we want to emphasize that one thing happened before another, we can use a Perfect
Participle for the earlier action. The participle phrase can come before or after the main clause.
Ex: Having passed my driving test, I was able to buy my first car OR
I was able to buy my first car having passed..
Participle phrases do not have a tense. Their time reference is usually clear from the verb in the main
clause.
Ex: Not having a ticket, I wasnt able to attend the concert yesterday (past reference)
Not having a ticket, I wont be able to attend the concert tomorrow (future reference)
As they permit a lot of information to be compressed into very few words (that also implies a limited
amount of time), participle structures are frequently heard in radio and TV news broadcasts, as well as
in newspaper articles.

EXERCISE A (New Proficiency Writing, Longman)

Join the following sentences using participle clauses (to make complex sentences). There are 2
examples for you.
The guests numbered about fifty in all. They sat in rows.
The guests, numbering about fifty in all, sat in rows.
I looked around. I noticed that some of the guests were wearing hats.
Looking around, I noticed that
1. The bride arrived. She was smiling shyly.

2. The bridegroom was standing near the altar. He was waiting for her.

3. I felt hot. I went to sit in the shade.

.
4. After the vicar had finished the service, he left the church.
.
5. The newly-weds waved to the guests. They sailed away in their balloon.
..
6. I hoped to get something to eat. I went towards the refreshment tent.

B. MAKE YOUR ARTICLES MORE VIVID (New Proficiency Writing, Longman)

You can make your articles more vivid by asking rhetorical questions and appealing to the readers
imagination. Rewrite the following sentences, beginning with the wds given. There is an example for you.
It must feel fantastic to go up in a hot air balloon.
Can you imagine how fantastic it must feel to go up ..?
1. We were amazed when we realized what was happening.
Can you imagine..
2. The newly-weds were delighted when they heard the news.
Imagine..
3. The guests were astonished.
Picture to yourself
4. Have you ever been to really unconventional wedding?
I wonder if
5. I wonder what our grandparents would have made of modern weddings.
So what ., I wonder?