Participle clauses

A participle clause is a shortened clause: the subject disappears (usually the conjunction and auxiliary too), and the verb becomes a participle. The key rule: the missing subject must be the same as the subject of the main clause.

💡A participle clause at the start is followed by a comma, with no and / so / but between the two parts: Picking up my bag, I ran… (not: Picking up my bag, and I ran…).

1. Two things at the same time — the -ing clause can go at the start or the end

• She sat by the window reading a novel.

• Walking home, I bumped into an old classmate.

2. Something happens during another action

• He cut his finger chopping onions.

  = while he was chopping

• Don't text while driving.

3. One action finishes before the next — Having + V3 (or After + -ing)

• Having locked the door, he realised his keys were still inside.

• After finishing dinner, we went for a walk by the lake.

4. A reason — instead of because / as / since

• Feeling sick, Nam stayed home from school.

• Not having a car, we rely on buses to get around.

• Having grown up by the sea, Huy is a great swimmer.

5. Passive meaning — V3 or Having been + V3

• Written in simple English, the book is perfect for learners.

• Shocked by the news, she couldn't say a word.

• Having been rejected twice, he almost gave up.

Participle clauses at the start of a sentence belong mainly to writing and storytelling. In conversation people usually use a full clause: When I got home…, Because I felt sick…. The -ing clause after the main clause (sat there reading, cut his finger chopping onions) is natural in speech too.

To make the meaning clearer, you can keep a conjunction before the participle:

• After / Before / Since / While / When + -ing: after finishing, before leaving, since moving here, while waiting, when using. After, before and since are also prepositions, so -ing follows (see the lesson “Preposition + -ing”).
• having + V3 is possible after after (after having finished), but usually unnecessary because after already shows the order.
• If / Unless / Once / When / Although / Until + V3 gives a passive meaning — very common on labels and in instructions.
• Don't put an active V2 / V3 straight after the conjunction: after finished ✗, when arrived ✗ → after finishing, when we arrived / arriving.

• Turn off the lights before leaving the room.

• Since moving to Da Nang, she has taken up surfing.

• Once opened, keep the jar in the fridge.

  = once it has been opened

• Although injured, he finished the race.

A participle can also follow a noun, replacing who / which + verb (see the lesson “Relative clauses”): -ing is active, V3 is passive.

• The woman sitting next to me kept talking on the phone.

  = who was sitting

• Most of the phones sold here are second-hand.

  = which are sold

• Anyone wanting a refund should keep the receipt.

• The old bridge, built in 1902, is still in use.

The -ing form here isn't only for actions in progress: a road connecting two villages (= which connects). But for a single finished action in the past, keep the relative clause: the man who stole my bag — “the man stealing my bag” would mean he was taking it at that moment.

Readers always take the subject of the participle to be the subject of the main clause. If the two are different, the sentence says something you didn't mean — sometimes something funny. This is called a dangling participle.

Exception: some fixed phrases work like adverbs and don't need a matching subject: generally speaking, strictly speaking, judging by / from, considering, given, assuming. For example: Judging by the clouds, it's going to rain.

💡After writing a participle clause, ask yourself: who does the action in it? That person must be the subject right after the comma.

• ✗After finished lunch, we went back to work.

  ✓After finishing lunch, we went back to work. / Having finished lunch, …

  After takes -ing; or use having + V3 without after.

• ✗Having took the wrong bus, we arrived late at the wedding.

  ✓Having taken the wrong bus, we arrived late at the wedding.

  Having + V3 (taken), not the past simple.

• ✗Having bitten by a dog as a child, Hung is afraid of dogs.

  ✓Having been bitten by a dog as a child, Hung is afraid of dogs.

  Hung was bitten → passive needs been.

• ✗Opened the fridge, I found nothing to eat.

  ✓Opening the fridge, I found nothing to eat.

  I opened it → active -ing; V3 is passive.

• ✗Picking up my bag, and I ran to the bus stop.

  ✓Picking up my bag, I ran to the bus stop.

  No and between the participle clause and the main clause.

• ✗When arrived at the station, we called a taxi.

  ✓When we arrived at the station, we called a taxi. / Arriving at the station, …

  After when, use a full clause or -ing.