Explaining positioning and use of participle clauses - E5-10W

 

 

 

 

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Advanced writing: explaining positioning and function of -ing (participle) clauses

Correct positioning of –ing clauses

 

There is a problem with –ing (participle) clauses which we have not touched on in the lower level files. When we have one person performing two actions, it is often possible to have the SECOND clause, not the first, as the one using the –ing form. The rules governing what is or isn’t possible depend on which of these two scenarios applies:

A One action followed by another

Kelly locked the door, making sure to put the key safely in her purse.

Locking the door, Kelly made sure to put the key safely in her purse.

If we are trying to learn to write effectively in English, and want to use –ing clauses, we need to know first, what the difference is between the two sentences above, and second, under what circumstances an –ing clause can FOLLOW the other one.

First, what is the difference? Answer: the first sentence increases the focus on the locking of the door. In the second sentence, the locking is no more than a preliminary piece of information, which drops away as we reach the main focus – making safe the key. In the first sentence, although we still emphasise the making safe, we nonetheless want the reader not to lose sight of the locking of the door.

Here’s one further example:

Opening the car door, John put the box on the back seat.

John opened the car door, putting the box on the back seat.

As in the previous case, this second sentence increases the emphasis on the door.

Warning

This interchangeable quality does not always work:

Leaving our coats in the vestibule, we chose a corner seat by the window.

We left our coats in the vestibule, choosing a corner seat by the window. x

Satisfying himself that there was no-one around, the thief climbed the fence.

The thief satisfied himself that there was no-one around, climbing the fence. x

The reason why these do not work is that the actions have a different weight, so that when we put the stronger one second in a participle clause, it sounds wrong. Leaving a coat in the vestibule is weaker, and satisfying himself… is weaker. In the first two cases by contrast – Kelly and John – the two actions both have a somewhat similar weight, so the sentence works with the main clause either first or second.

 

B Two actions taking place at the same time

In this case, we have to consider not two but four theoretical possibilities:

 Cleaning his football boots, Fu whistled cheerfully to himself.

Whistling cheerfully to himself, Fu cleaned his football boots.

In such cases, the first two, in which the participle clause comes first, are always possible. The second two, where the participle clause comes last, normally have one which is unacceptable, i.e. sounds wrong:

 

Fu cleaned his football boots, whistling cheerfully to himself.

Fu whistled cheerfully to himself, cleaning his football boots. X

Here are two more similar sets of four:

Staring at the sky for a long time, the painter tried to see what colour it actually was.

Trying to see what colour the sky actually was, the painter stared at it for a long time.

For a long time the painter stared at the sky, trying to see what colour it actually was.

The painter tried to see what colour the sky actually was, staring at it for a long time. x

Again, the last one is not right, as also below:

Listening to the car radio, she waited for the weather forecast.

Waiting for the weather forecast, she listened to the car radio.

She listened to the car radio, waiting for the weather forecast.

She waited for the weather forecast, listening to the car radio. x

However, this is not so clear:

Holding out her hand, she smiled warmly.

 Smiling warmly, she held out her hand.

She held out her hand, smiling warmly.

She smiled warmly, holding out her hand. ??

This last case comes, I think, close to being possible in all four versions. The one which is uncertain is the last one. The last one seems possible because we imagine it as a sequence – first the smile, then the outstretched hand. We accept it under sequence rules, rather than under simultaneity rules. So it is NOT an exception to the rule we are going to formulate:

What is the rule?

We need to take our definition of equal importance (E4-07W) a little further. There are cases where either of two actions can be given the most importance, IF

1) we put it last in the sentence, in the main clause  and

2) we put the other action first in a participle clause.

HOWEVER, if we reverse the structure, putting the participle clause second, then it almost always seems to be the case that one of the two possibilities does not sound right.

The acceptable one is where the stronger of the two actions is put first:

Fu cleaned his football boots, whistling cheerfully to himself.

She listened to the car radio, waiting for the weather forecast.

The unacceptable one is where we attempt to put the stronger action second AND in a participle clause

Fu whistled cheerfully to himself, cleaning his football boots. x

 She waited for the weather forecast, listening to the car radio. x

And two others similar:

The President brushed an imaginary hair from his jacket, stepping up to the microphone. x

 Michael wondered if his watch was slow, hurrying across the square. x

These four are all wrong because, although the position of the main information – at the end of the sentence -  is correct, it cannot tolerate being placed in a subordinate clause, which gives it the status of lesser importance, if that subordinate clause comes after the main clause.

Conclusion

This is a difficult area, because it relies on fine judgments.  You will probably only get this completely right when you have done a lot of reading in English. What guidelines can we give for your own writing, to help you avoid problems? The obvious answer is this:

Don’t attempt to place participle clauses second in a sentence, after the main clause, until you are very experienced in their use!  That should keep you safe from serious error. Here are your rules:

Section A

1.    When two actions happen(ed) one after another, put them in the order in which they happen(ed) and -

2.    Put the first one in a participle clause.

(If you are confident enough, put the participle clause second, to give more weight to the first action, but only if they are fairly equal to begin with.)

Section B

3.    When two actions happen at the same time, finish with the most important one (unless you judge that they are equal in importance, in which case either can go last.)

4.    Finally, if you do want to lead with the main clause and follow with the participle clause, make sure that the main clause contains the important action.

 

NOTE: I have been working on participle clauses for some years, and am still not certain that I completely understand how we use them. I believe that the above study will be of help to students of English, but I certainly will not guarantee that you cannot ever find a case which appears to break, or which even actually does break, these rules. Contact me if you  - or better still, your tutor – is convinced that I am wrong!