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Participle clauses: Having finished…, Being tired…
C1 C1 grammar · lesson 4 of 16
At B2 you met reduced relative and basic participle clauses. At C1 you can use perfect and passive participles to show time order, reason and result in a compact, elegant way.
Rule
A participle clause replaces a full adverbial clause (with because, when, after, as, etc.) and makes writing shorter and more formal. The subject of the participle clause is normally the same as the subject of the main clause.
| Form | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -ing | same time or reason | Feeling hungry, Sam made a sandwich. |
| Having + past participle | action completed before the main action | Having finished the report, Anna went home. |
| Being + past participle | passive, same time or reason | Being watched by everyone, he felt nervous. |
| Having been + past participle | passive, completed earlier | Having been warned, we took extra care. |
| Past participle alone | passive meaning | Built in 1890, the bridge is still in use. |
Being + adjective / noun: giving a reason
Being + adjective or noun often explains why something happens. It means “because I/he/she was…”.
Being tired, Maria went to bed early.
Being the oldest child, Omar often looked after his sisters.
Not being a local, I didn’t understand the joke.
Having done: showing sequence
Use having + past participle to show clearly that the first action was finished before the second began, or that it is the reason for the second.
Having lived in Japan for ten years, Leo speaks fluent Japanese.
Having lost his ticket, Ken had to buy another one.
Having been told the news, she sat down in silence.
Not having received a reply, I wrote again.
Faced with a difficult choice, Mia asked her parents for advice.
The dangling participle
Be careful: the participle clause automatically refers to the subject of the main clause. If the subjects are different, the sentence becomes confusing or funny.
Walking into the room, the lights went on. – This says the lights walked into the room! Better: Walking into the room, I switched on the lights.
Common mistakes
✗ Having finish dinner, we watched a film.
✓ Having finished dinner, we watched a film.
✗ Having told the truth, he was angry. (meaning: someone told him)
✓ Having been told the truth, he was angry.
✗ Having not slept, I felt awful.
✓ Not having slept, I felt awful.
✗ Arriving at the station, the train had left.
✓ Arriving at the station, we found the train had left.