Participium (present participle: participle clauses)
The grammatical phenomenon is one of the grammatical devices that we can live without. It
appears mainly in written formal and literary style. However, if you are at an intermediate or
upper-intermediate level, you should know and be able to use it. In grammar books you can nd
this topic under several headings: present participle, přítomné příčestí, -ing forms,
participium, přechodníky, etc.
If you look at what this phenomenon looks like in English, you might be scared:
• jít: jda, jdouc, jdouce
• běžet: běže, běžíc, běžíce
• odnést: odnes, odnesši, odnesše
• pověsit: pověsiv, pověsivši, pověsivše
In Czech, these are called přechodníky, and only few Czechs can form them correctly. On the
other hand, it is a phenomenon that is not used much in Czech anymore, so we don't have to
worry too much about it.
In English it is something far di erent, because the formation of such forms is very simple. They
are easily formed using the ending -ing (in all persons).
Usage:
The present participle is often used to replace subordinate clauses (temporal, causative and
relative) and thus simplify the whole sentence. These are mainly the following cases:
TIME CLAUSES: two events took place at the same time
If there are two events in a sentence that took place at the same time, we use the present
participle for either of them.
• Just as I sat down, I heard the door bell again.
• Sitting down, I heard the door bell again.
or
• I sat down, hearing the door bell again.
TIME CLAUSES: two events took place right after each other
When two events take place consecutively, we use the participle for the one that took place rst.
• When I got up, I had breakfast.
• Getting up, I had breakfast.
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TIME CLAUSES: one action interfered with the other
If there is an action that intervenes in another action (a classic clause where one clause has a
simple tense and the other a continuous tense), we use the participle for the longer of the two (i.e.
the one that was in progress when...).
• While I was waiting for him at the station, I read the newspaper.
• Waiting for him at the station, I read the newspaper.
CLAUSES OF REASON:
We also use the present participle to shorten causative clauses, those that tell why something
happened (mostly clauses with the conjunction because).
• Because we were hungry, we stopped at McDonald's.
• Being hungry, we stopped at McDonald’s.
RELATIVE CLAUSES:
The present participle can also be used to simplify subordinate clauses.
• The car which is standing in front of the building is mine.
• The car standing in front of the building is mine.
Important notes
Same subject
Subordinate clauses can be used when the subject of the main clause and the subordinate clause
are the same.
• When I came home, I turned the TV on.
• Coming home, I turned the TV on.
• When I came home, my mother made me some tea.
• Coming home, my mother made me some tea.
Students are often puzzled by the fact that verbs such as be, like, love, know can be used
with an ing ending. They often think that these verbs never have -ing at the end. However,
this is a mistake and an inconsistent explanation of basic grammar.
These are verbs of state, and they are not (usually) used in the past tense. So the wrong sentence
is *I am knowing him. However, we can commonly make them into a gerund or participle (so they
can have an -ing ending).
• Being really tired, I went to bed.
• Knowing I would be late, I called my wife.
The only verbs from which the present participle cannot be formed are modal verbs:
canning, musting, shalling, willing, maying, etc.
Participles vs. gerund
You may feel that participles are very similar to gerunds. And indeed, some textbooks put both
phenomena under the same heading, called -ing forms. So what is the di erence between a
gerund and a participle?
A GERUND is a verb form that has the function of a noun (used in place of a subject, object,
or after a preposition).
A PARTICIPLE is a verb form that has the function of a verb.
However, this distinction is not so important. No one is likely to ask you to name the
phenomenon.
Participles for the more advanced
Negative participle
The negative participle is formed in the same way as the negation of any other inde nite verb
form. We simply add the negative particle not before the verb.
• Not knowing what to do, I sat down and started crying.
Passive participle
The participle (like any verb form) can be in both the active and the passive. We know that the
past participle is formed with be + -ed (past participle). So we put the verb be in the present
participle and we get being + -ed.
• Giving me the money, she left.
• Being given the money, she left.
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Perfect participle
The participle can also have a perfect form, which is formed by having + -ed (past participle). It is
used, for example, when the past tense is in the main clause and the past tense is in the
subordinate clause.
• I was really upset because I had lost my keys.
• Having lost my keys, I was really upset.
• When he had nished the book, he sent it to his publisher.
• Having nished his book, he sent it to his publisher.
In the second case, we could certainly use the imperfect participle:
• Finishing his book, he sent it to his publisher.
However, the sentence with having nished gives more emphasis to the fact that he sent it after
the book was nished. The di erence in meaning, however, is minimal.
Conclusion
It is used to shorten/replace certain types of subordinate clauses.
It is important to know that this grammar belongs more to the formal and literary style. While it is
not suitable for everyday speech, it is de nitely appropriate in written speech. If you learn to use it
correctly, your writing will be much more interesting and readable. In fact, every little bit of it will
raise the level of your essay, letter, etc.
We've seen that we most often use participles to shorten time and clauses of cause/reason.
This makes it an ideal rhetorical device for writing a story. You will often see it in books,
newspaper articles, etc.
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