Participle Constructions

Mit Partizipialkonstruktionen (engl: participle constructions) kann man Relativsätze und andere temporale oder kausale Nebensätze ersetzen und dadurch den Text kürzer und prägnanter machen.

present participle (active meaning)

Past

Tourists who visited New York last year could see many attractions.

Tourists visiting New York last year could see many attractions.

Present

Tourists who visit Ney York today can see a lot of activity.

Tourists visiting New York today can see a lot of activity.

Future

Tourists who will visit New York next year will enjoy it.

Tourists visiting New York next year will enjoy it.

Achtung

Sätze mit present participle (-ing) ersetzen immer Nebensätze im Aktiv.

Present participle bedeutet nicht unbedingt, dass der Nebensatz, der ersetzt wurde, im Präsens stand oder eine progressive form hatte.

past participle (passive meaning)

Past passive

The service which was provided to the passengers was great.

The service provided to the passengers was great.

Present passive

The service which is provided to the passengers is great.

The service provided to the passengers is great.

Future passive

The service which will be provided soon will be even better.

The service provided soon will be even better.

Achtung

Sätze mit past participle stehen für Nebensätze im Passiv.

Ein past participle bedeutet genauso wenig, dass der ursprüngliche Satz in der Vergangenheit stand.

Fazit

Man sieht einer participle construction also nicht an, auf welche Zeit sie sich bezieht. Dies macht allein die Zeit des Hauptsatzes klar.

Interaktive Übungen

1. Join the sentences.

1. Yesterday I was in a bar having a drink.

2. A girl reading a book was sitting next to me.

3. She had been in London for two years working as a tourist guide.

4. She walked round the town showing people the sights.

5. Sarah went home saying she would be back the next day.

6. I got home late feeling very tired.

2. Make one sentence from two using an ~ing clause.

1. Tom was playing tennis. Tom hurt his arm.

   Tom hurt his arm playing tennis ().

2. I was watching television. I fell asleep.

   I fell asleep watching television().

3. The boy tripped. He was going down the stairs.

   The boy tripped going down the stairs().

4. I was walking home in the rain. I got wet.

   I got wet walking home() in the rain.

5. She was driving to work yesterday. She had an accident.

    She had an accident driving to work() yesterday.

1. Tom was playing tennis. Tom hurt his arm.

   Tom hurt his arm playing tennis ().

2. I was watching television. I fell asleep.

   I fell asleep watching television().

3. The boy tripped. He was going down the stairs.

   The boy tripped going down the stairs().

4. I was walking home in the rain. I got wet.

   I got wet walking home() in the rain.

5. She was driving to work yesterday. She had an accident.

    She had an accident driving to work() yesterday.

The Star Trek Tricorder (~ed-clauses)

Put in the participle forms.

In the science-fictional Star Trek universe, a tricorder is a multifunction hand-held device used for scanning, data analysis, and recording data.

Equipped with new features the new smart phone was a great success.

There is a protective layer attached to the display.

An antenna hidden inside the device can send signals through space.

By scanning the body, doctors can diagnose diseases.

Proverbs

Complete these English proverbs with either present or past participles.

1. A barking (bark) dog never bites.

2. A penny saved (save) is a penny earned(earn).

3. Let sleeping (sleep) dogs lie.

4. Once bitten (bite) , twice shy.

5. First come, first served(serve) .

6. A trouble shared (share) is a trouble halved (halve).

7. If you want a thing done (do) well, do it yourself.

8. Well begun (begin) is half done(do) !

1. A barking (bark) dog never bites.

2. A penny saved (save) is a penny earned(earn).

3. Let sleeping (sleep) dogs lie.

4. Once bitten (bite) , twice shy.

5. First come, first served(serve) .

6. A trouble shared (share) is a trouble halved (halve).

7. If you want a thing done (do) well, do it yourself.

8. Well begun (begin) is half done(do) !

These verbs should be used as participles. Put the right word in the right sentence, and decide whether it's active (-ing) or passive -ed).

crawl dress feel shock stand

1. Standing() on his shoulders, I was able to see over the wall.

2. Still shocked() by what had happened, I couldn't speak to anyone.

3. Victoria screamed when she saw the spider crawling() over her arm.

4. Dressed ()in his clown costume, Tony was easy to spot in the crowd.

5. Feeling () completely exhausted, Nicole fell asleep within seconds.

1. Standing() on his shoulders, I was able to see over the wall.

2. Still shocked() by what had happened, I couldn't speak to anyone.

3. Victoria screamed when she saw the spider crawling() over her arm.

4. Dressed ()in his clown costume, Tony was easy to spot in the crowd.

5. Feeling () completely exhausted, Nicole fell asleep within seconds.

Participle construction statt temporalem Nebensatz

Gleichzeitigkeit

present participle (active)

When she left her house, she felt great.

(When) leaving her house, she felt great.

past participle (passive)

When he was invited, he felt great.

(When) invited, he felt great.

Zur Verdeutlichung kann die participle construction mit when oder while eingeleitet werden.

Vorzeitigkeit

present participle (active)

After he had cleaned his car, he left.

After cleaning his car, he left.

        Having cleaned his car, he left.

past participle (passive)

  After he had been insulted, he felt hurt.

  After being insulted, he felt hurt.

Having been insulted, he felt hurt.

Verwendet man das present participle des Verbs ("cleaning" , "being ....ed") ist die Verwendung von "after" zwingend, um die Vorzeitigkeit des ersetzen Nebensatzes deutlich zu machen.

Sonst würden die Aussagen des Nebensatzes und des Hauptsatzes als gleichzeitig interpretiert.

Verwendet man ein participle perfect ("having ......ed" , "having been ......ed" - form von "have" als Hilfsverb) fällt 'after' weg.

Having ...

Make sentences beginning "Having...."

1. She finished her work. Then she went home.
   Having finished() her work, she went home.

2. We bought our tickets. Then we went into the cinema.
    Having bought () our tickets we went into the cinema.

3. We went on working after we'd had dinner.
    Having had () dinner we went on working.

4. After we had done all our tasks, we went to a bar.
    Having done () all our tasks,we went to a bar.

~ing or Not ~ing

Make sentences beginning ~ing or Not ~ing. Sometimes you need to begin with Having (done something).

1. I felt tired. So I went to bed early.

    Feeling tired() I went to bed early.

2. I thought they might be hungry. So I offered them something to eat.

    Thinking () they might be hungry I offered them something to eat.
3. She is a foreigner. So she needs a visa to stay in this country.
    Being() a foreigner she needs a visa to stay in this country.

{{{1}}}

4. I didn't know his address. So I wasn't able to contact him.

    Not knowing () his address I wasn't able to contact him.

5. Sarah has travelled a lot. So she knows a lot about other countries.

    Having travelled () a lot she knows a lot about other countries.

{{{1}}}

6. The man wasn't able to understand English. So he didn't know what I wanted.

    Not being () able to understand English he didn't know what I wanted.

7. We had spent nearly all our money. So we couldn't afford to stay in a hotel.

    Having spent() nearly all our money. So we couldn't afford to stay in a hotel.

{{{1}}}

2. Fill in Participle constructions

0. As he looked at the sign, the driver didn't brake.

   Looking at the sign, the driver didn't brake.

1. As he didn't have any money, John couldn't afford a taxi.

    Not having () any money, John couldn't afford a taxi.

2. As she wasn't asked for her opinion, Sarah felt offended.

   Not being asked() , Sarah felt offended.

3. As he was late, he ran to the bus stop.

   Being late() , he ran to the bus stop.

{{{1}}}

4. When he was questioned by the police, the man had a heart attack.

   Being questioned() by the police, the man had a heart attack.

5. As she was a British citizen, Mrs Sanchez had a right to stay in Britain.

   Being a British ctizen() , Mrs Sanchez had a right to stay in Britain.

6. Mr Müller parked his car on a double yellow line, because he didn't know that it was illegal.

    Not knowing it was illegal(), Mr Müller parked his car on a double yellow line.

{{{1}}}

7. When it heard the key in the door lock, the dog barked happily.

   Hearing () the key in the lock, the dog barked happily.

8. When it was improved, the computer became a success.

   Being improved() , the computer became a success.

9. When he was asked for help, he helped generously.

   Being asked() for help, he helped generously.

{{{1}}}

Weblinks

• schule-bw: Partizipialkonstruktionen - participle constructions Original von Klaus-Dieter Grüninger, Eislingen