# Participle Clauses

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CEFR B2–C2 · 2026-10-19 · CC BY 4.0, langs123 contributors (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

> Participle clauses use -ing, having with a past participle, or a past participle alone, to give time, reason, result, condition and description. Without a subject of its own, a participle clause takes the subject of the main clause: Opening the box, Maria found a note. Having finished lunch, we left.

## Cheatsheet

| Point | Rule | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Forms | -ing is active, having + past participle is earlier, a past participle is passive | Walking home, I met Tom. / Having finished lunch, we left. / Written in 1990, the book is old. |
| Meanings | time, reason, result or an accompanying action | Feeling tired, she went to bed. / He dropped the plate, breaking it. |
| After a conjunction | while, when, before, after, since, on and by take -ing | Before signing, read the contract. |
| With a noun | with and without give the noun a participle or complement of its own | She sat with her arms crossed. / With the lights off, the room felt cold. |
| Own subject | being joins a subject of its own to the clause | It being Sunday, the shops were closed. |
| Condition and concession | a past participle, provided, supposing or though opens it | Used properly, the product is safe. / Though warned, he went anyway. |
| Result | thereby + V-ing names the result of the whole main clause | Prices rose, thereby forcing shops to close. |
| Absolute phrases | a noun and a participle or adjective, with no verb, set the scene | Weather permitting, we will eat outside. / Her work finished, she left. |
| Comment clauses | fixed phrases comment on the sentence and keep their wording | Strictly speaking, a tomato is a fruit. |
| After a noun | a participle after a noun, or a chain of them, adds detail | The problem posed by rising costs, compounded by falling demand, forced the firm to close. |
| Subject | the clause shares the subject of the main clause | Opening the box, Maria found a note. |
| Trap | a different doer needs a full clause or a new main subject | Walking down the road, he was hit by a car. |

## Overview

- A participle clause replaces a full clause with a participle form and usually leaves out its subject. Because she felt tired, she went to bed. = Feeling tired, she went to bed.
- Participle clauses are most common in writing; speech often uses a full clause instead.
- Participles that follow a noun are also in Relative Clauses.

## Form: participles

| Form | Pattern | Meaning | Example |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Present active | V-ing | at the same time as the main action, or just before it | Waiting at the gate, she checked her phone. |
| Present passive | being + past participle | at the same time, with a passive meaning | Being told to wait, she sat down. |
| Perfect active | having + past participle | finished before the main action | Having got (US: gotten) home, she cooked dinner. |
| Perfect passive | having been + past participle | finished before the main action, with a passive meaning | Having been warned, he took a coat. |
| Past participle | past participle | a passive meaning, with being left out | Seen from above, the town looks small. |
| Negative | not + V-ing | not comes before the participle | Not knowing the way, she asked a driver. |
| Negative perfect | not + having + past participle | not comes before having | Not having eaten all day, he felt weak. |

- The passive is in Passive Voice, the perfect in Perfect Tenses and irregular participles in the irregular verbs table.

## Use: -ing clauses

| Use | Example |
| --- | --- |
| Time: two actions at once | Walking down the street, I met Tom. |
| Time: one action straight after another | Taking out her key, she opened the door. |
| Reason | Feeling tired, she went to bed. |
| An accompanying action after the main verb | He sat there, staring at the wall. / She came in carrying a tray. |
| Result: the consequence of the main action | He dropped the plate, breaking it. |

## Use: after a conjunction

| Word | Meaning | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| while | two actions at the same time | While waiting for the bus, I read the news. |
| when | at the time of an action | When leaving the house, check the windows. |
| before | an action that comes next | Before signing, read the contract. |
| after | an action that is over | After leaving school, she worked abroad. |
| since | from a past event until now | Since moving here, I have made many friends. |
| on | immediately after an event | On arriving, we phoned our parents. |
| by | the means of doing something | By working hard, she passed the exam. |

- before and after already show the order, so the plain -ing form is normal. After eating, we washed up.
- More linkers followed by -ing are in Conjunctions and Linkers.

## Use: past participle clauses

| Use | Example |
| --- | --- |
| A passive meaning: something was done to the subject | Written in 1990, the book is still popular. |
| A feeling or reaction of the subject | Surprised by the news, she sat down. |
| A state, often with an adjective and its complement | Tired of waiting, he left. |

- The V-ed participle names who feels; the V-ing participle names what causes the feeling.

## The subject of the clause

| Rule | Example |
| --- | --- |
| The doer is the subject of the main clause | Opening the box, Maria found a note. |
| A passive participle describes that subject as the receiver | Found in a drawer, the key looked old. |
| Another doer needs a full clause | When we left the house, it began to rain. |
| Or the doer becomes the main subject | Walking down the road, he was hit by a car. |

## Position and punctuation

| Position | Rule | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Before the main clause | a comma follows the clause | Feeling hungry, we stopped for lunch. |
| Inside the main clause | a comma stands on each side | Maria, feeling hungry, ordered soup. |
| After the main clause, as a separate action or result | a comma comes before the clause | He dropped the plate, breaking it. |
| After the main clause, closely linked to its verb | no comma | She spent the evening watching films. |

## Clauses with their own subject

| Use | Example |
| --- | --- |
| being after a noun phrase: reason or time | The weather being fine, we went out. |
| there being: reason | There being no time left, we stopped. |
| it being with a day, a time or a condition | It being Sunday, the shops were closed. |
| having and a past participle after a noun phrase: an earlier action | The guests having left, she tidied up. |

- The clause has a subject of its own, so the main clause may have a different one.
- These clauses are formal; speech and plain writing use because or as instead. As the weather was fine, we went out.

## With and without a noun

| Pattern | Use | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| with + noun + V-ing | an action in progress, a cause or a time | With the weather improving, we decided to walk. |
| with + noun + past participle | a position or state of the noun | She sat with her arms crossed. |
| with + noun + adjective / adverb | a state, a place or a detail in place | With the lights off, the room felt cold. / She slept with the window open. |
| without + noun + V-ing | something that does not happen | He left without anyone noticing. |

- The noun takes -ing when it acts and a past participle when it receives the action. With the sun shining, we ate outside. / With the work finished, she went home.

## Use: condition and concession

| Use | Example |
| --- | --- |
| Condition: a past participle alone | Used properly, the product is safe. |
| Condition: provided, providing, supposing and assuming as conjunctions | Provided (that) you arrive early, you will get a seat. / Assuming the train is on time, we will arrive at six. |
| Concession: although or though and a participle | Though warned twice, he went anyway. |
| A basis for a statement: given, considering, judging by | Given the circumstances, the result is fair. / Judging by the sky, it will rain. / Taking everything into account, we did well. |

- given, considering and judging by name the speaker's basis, so no matching subject is needed.

## Use: result with thereby and thus

| Pattern | Use | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| thereby + V-ing | a result, in a formal tone | Prices rose sharply, thereby forcing many shops to close. |
| thus + V-ing | a result that follows in the argument | She paid early, thus avoiding the fee. |

- The clause follows a comma and names the effect of the whole main clause.
- More result linkers are in Conjunctions and Linkers.

## Compare: full clause and participle clause

| Point | Full clause | Participle clause |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Time | As she walked to work, she listened to music. | Walking to work, she listened to music. |
| Reason | Because he was ill, he stayed at home. | Being ill, he stayed at home. |
| Active relative clause | The woman who is standing by the door is my aunt. | The woman standing by the door is my aunt. |
| Passive relative clause | The report that was written last year is online. | The report written last year is online. |

- A participle clause names no conjunction, so context decides between time, reason and condition.

## Compare: -ing and having

| Point | Opening the door | Having opened the door |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Sequence | the actions overlap or follow at once | the first action is finished before the second |
| Example | Opening the door, he saw a light. | Having opened the door, he stepped inside. |

## Absolute constructions

| Use | Example |
| --- | --- |
| A noun and -ing: a condition or circumstance | Weather permitting, we will eat outside. / Time allowing, we will visit the castle. |
| A noun and a past participle: a completed event | Her work finished, she left. |
| A pronoun and a past participle: that done, this said | That done, we went home. |
| A fixed summing up | All things considered, it was a good year. |

- An absolute construction usually opens the sentence and sets the scene for the main clause.
- being drops out, so a noun can stand directly before an adjective or adverb. Dinner (being) over, they went out.

## Fixed comment clauses

| Phrase | Meaning | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Strictly speaking | to be exact | Strictly speaking, a tomato is a fruit. |
| Frankly speaking | to be honest | Frankly speaking, I did not enjoy the film. |
| Generally speaking | in most cases | Generally speaking, trains here run on time. |
| Putting it mildly | the truth is stronger | Putting it mildly, the service was slow. |
| Needless to say | it is obvious | Needless to say, we were delighted. |
| Having said that | despite what I have just said | The hotel is old. Having said that, it is spotless. |
| Stated simply | in simple terms | Stated simply, the plan failed. |

- A comment clause is set off by commas and can open or interrupt the sentence. Trains here are, generally speaking, on time.

## Participles after nouns and in chains

| Use | Example |
| --- | --- |
| A past participle after a noun: a shortened passive relative clause | The report written by two experts is online. |
| An -ing form after a noun: a shortened active relative clause | Residents living near the airport complain of noise. |
| A chain: each participle adds detail to the one before | The problem posed by rising costs, compounded by falling demand, forced the firm to close. |
| Several clauses joined by and before the main clause | Built in 1850 and restored in 1990, the house is now a museum. |

- Each participle in a chain describes the noun or clause just before it.
- News and academic writing pack information this way; speech uses separate sentences.
- Relative clauses shortened to a participle are also in Relative Clauses.

## Typical errors

| ✗ | ✓ | Rule |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Walking down the road, a car hit him. | Walking down the road, he was hit by a car. | the doer of the participle is the subject of the main clause |
| Written the letter, she posted it. | Having written the letter, she posted it. | an earlier active action takes having + past participle |
| Surprising by the news, she sat down. | Surprised by the news, she sat down. | the person who feels takes V-ed, not V-ing |
| After to leave the house, she locked the door. | After leaving the house, she locked the door. | a conjunction or preposition takes V-ing, never to and the base verb |
| The weather was fine, we went out. | The weather being fine, we went out. | a comma cannot join two full clauses; the first takes being |
| She sat with her arms crossing. | She sat with her arms crossed. | a noun that receives the action takes the past participle |
| Weather permitted, we will eat outside. | Weather permitting, we will eat outside. | the fixed phrase keeps the -ing form |
| Strictly spoken, a tomato is a fruit. | Strictly speaking, a tomato is a fruit. | a comment clause keeps its fixed form |