Participle Clauses

They have a passive meaning and add extra information. Sometimes they have the same purpose as adjectives (describing a noun).

Example:

"Loved by everyone, Dan was a wonderful character".

"Exhausted by her efforts, she struggled on".

They have an active meaning.

Reduced Relative Clauses: (same purpose as adjectives)

Example:

"The woman who is smiling in the photo is my grandmother".

"The woman smiling in the photo is my grandmother".

"I smelt the bread that was burning"

"I smelt the burning bread"

"I liked the CD (that was) lent to me by a friend"

Adverbial Clauses: (like adverbs) They express manner, conditions, cause, result, etc. They are common in formal or literary texts. To make it negative, use NOT before the present participle.

Example:

"Moving silently, the lion follows its prey".

"Not being qualified, she couldn't work there".

"Lying face down in the sand, he looked like some strange sea beast".

"There was a fire, resulting in serious damage".

To show the cause of a second action.

Example:

"Having won every competition, he decided to retire".

To show a sequence of actions.

Example:

"Having made breakfast, she sat down and read the paper".