Look at the picture on the right and at the examples below: 1a. Monica was driving to work. She had a car accident.

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1. Look at the picture on the right and at the examples below: 1a. Monica was driving to work. She had a car accident. U N I T 1b. While Monica was driving to work, she had a car accident. 1c.

However, these two actions (driving to work / had a car accident) happened at the same time. Thus, in 1b, we used the conjunction to indicate a simultaneity. We still have two clauses.

1 1. Look at the picture on the right and at the examples below: 1a. Monica was driving to work. She had a car accident. U N I T 1b. While Monica was driving to work, she had a car accident. 1c. While driving to work, Monica had a car accident. 1d. Driving to work, Monica had a car accident. In 1a, there were two clauses. However, these two actions (driving to work / had a car accident) happened at the same time. Thus, in 1b, we used the conjunction to indicate a simultaneity. We still have two clauses. Since the subjects are the same (Monica / she), we can eliminate one of them (1c). The name Monica is more important that the pronoun she, so we eliminate she. In 1d, we eliminate the conjunction, because the feeling of simultaneity is implied (we can know that the two actions are happening together from context). What we have left is a participle phrase (driving to work) connected to an independent clause (Monica had a car accident). In the last lesson, you learned that present participles phrases (~ing) can be used to connect two clauses with the meaning of because (~ なので A1 and A2 below) and when (( する ) 時 B1 and B2): A1. Because Dave jumped out of bed, he knocked over the lamp. A2. Jumping out of bed, Dave knocked over the lamp. B1. When Dave opened the door, he saw my bus leaving. B2. Opening the door, Dave saw his bus leaving. Thus, the because clauses in A1 and B1 become participle phrases in A2 and B2. / present participle 188

2. In the next few exercises, we re going to work with participle phrases which show two

Rewrite the a sentences below like in 1a 1d on the last page. Be careful about the commas.

sentences. 2a. Jimmy was going home after school. He ran into his friend, Timmy. 2b. While 2c.

2 2. In the next few exercises, we re going to work with participle phrases which show two actions happening at the same time (). Rewrite the a sentences below like in 1a 1d on the last page. Be careful about the commas. Don t forget to move the names of the subjects to the independent clauses for the c and d sentences. 2a. Jimmy was going home after school. He ran into his friend, Timmy. 2b. While 2c. 2d. 3a. Steve was making lunch. He burned his hand. 3b. 3c. 3d. 4a. Thomas was looking into Erica s eyes. He asked her to marry him. 4b. 4c. 4d Lesson

3 3. Let s examine 2a, 3a, and 4a from the last page more closely. 2a. Jimmy was going home after school. He ran into his friend, Timmy. These are two complete sentences. But which one do you think is more important, that Jimmy was going home after school or that he ran into his friend, Timmy? It seems that going home after school is a pretty usual thing. It s not so special. However, running into Timmy might be special. Maybe Timmy is Jimmy s best friend. Maybe they could walk home together and that would be more fun. The fact that Jimmy ran into Timmy is more important than the fact that Jimmy was going home. Thus, the part that we want to emphasize (the main action) is written in the main clause, the less important part is written in the participle phrase: 2d. Going home after school, Jimmy ran into his friend, Timmy. the less important part the part we want to emphasize How about 3a? Which is the part we want to emphasize? 3a. Steve was making lunch. He burned his hand. The fact that Steve burned his had is more important than the fact that he was making lunch. Thus, we should write it like: 3d. Making lunch, Steve burned his hand. the less important part the part we want to emphasize And in 4a? Which do you think is the more important action? 4a. Thomas was looking into Erica s eyes. He asked her to marry him. 4d. Looking into Erica s eyes, Thomas asked her to marry him. the less important part the part we want to emphasize / present participle 190

4. As you saw on the last page, present participle phrases can be

emphasize (which one you think the main action is).

participle phrase, followed by the part you want to emphasize as

He served an ace. 5d. Jim and Lisa danced the tango.

Elizabeth stretched her arms. She got up. 7d.

4 4. As you saw on the last page, present participle phrases can be used to emphasize the main clause to which they are connected. Try it out. Look at the sentence pairs below and decide which one you want to emphasize (which one you think the main action is). Then, write the slightly less important clause as a present participle phrase, followed by the part you want to emphasize as the main clause. Peter threw the tennis ball up in the air. He served an ace. 5d. Jim and Lisa danced the tango. They stared into each other s eyes. 6d. Elizabeth stretched her arms. She got up. 7d. Tim sang Missing You by Seiko Matsuda. He held the microphone with both hands. 8d. Brian thought about his girlfriend, Melissa. He jogged in the park. 9d. Sandra smiled. She gave me her address. 10d. 191 Lesson

5 5. So far, the participle phrases have been written at the start of the sentence: 1d. Driving to work, Monica had a car accident. 6. However, present participle phrases can also be written immediately following the subject. Look at 1e: 1e. Monica, driving to work, had a car accident. The main clause is, Monica had a car accident. driving to work is just extra information. Extra information is surrounded by commas Next, rewrite the d sentences from exercise 4 like in 1e above. 5e. 6e. 7e. 8e. 9e. 10e. It s also possible to write the participle phrase at the end of the sentence, but you have to be very careful if you do this. Look at 7f and 8f: 7f. Elizabeth got up, stretching her arms. In this example, it s easy to understand who stretched her arm (Elizabeth). There is no chance for a misunderstanding. Also, notice the comma separating the main clause and the participle phrase. Next, look at 8f on the next page: / present participle 192

6 8f. Tim sang Missing You by Seiko Matsuda, holding the microphone with both hands. In 8f, who held the microphone, Tim or Seiko? It s a little confusing, isn t it? The reason it s confusing is that there is another person (Seiko Matsuda) between the subject Tim and the participle phrase holding the microphone with both hands. It s best if the participle phrase comes right after the noun to which it refers. Otherwise, it is quite possible that you will write a confusing sentence. Looking back at numbers 5d 10d in exercise 4, which other one might be confusing if the participle phrase is written at the end of the sentence? 7a. If you said, Brian thought about his girlfriend, Melissa, jogging in the park, you are correct. Who jogged in the park, Brian or Melissa? It s a little confusing. The other sentences in exercise 4 are pretty straightforward and therefore, the participle phrases can be written following the independent clause. Again, don t forget the comma. In the last lesson, you learned that one reason for writing participle phrases is that they add variety to writing. If you start every sentence with a subject and a verb, that can become very boring. Starting with a participle phrase from time to time will be refreshing. In exercise 3 of this lesson, we also learned that participle phrases can emphasize certain parts of the sentence. The part that we want to emphasize, the main action, is written in the main clause, the less important part is written in the participle phrase. However, present participle phrases serve another purpose. Present participle phrases add energy to sentences. Since participle phrases are derived from verbs, they tend to highlight the verbs and therefore, highlight the action in sentences. Look at the difference between 11a and 11b: 11a. Kagawa ran past the defenders. He kicked the ball through the keeper s legs. He scored the winning goal. These sentences are not very exciting. We can t really feel the energy of the verbs because they are not highlighted. We don t even know what the focus is. Now look at 11b: 193 Lesson

7 11b. Running past the defenders, kicking the ball through the keeper s legs, Kagawa scored the winning goal. 11b on the other hand has a lot of energy. The two participle phrases push and push until they get to the main clause, the true focus of the sentence (that Kagawa scored the winning goal). 11b can also be written like this: 11bb. Running past the defenders, Kagawa scored the winning goal, kicking the ball through the keeper s legs. 11bbb. Kagawa scored the winning goal, running past the defenders and kicking the ball through the keeper s legs. 11bbb is not as good as 11b or 11bb, because the logical order of events has been reversed. However, though less effective and less energetic, this structure is acceptable. Also, notice that two participle phrases can be connected with and. 7b. Because they add energy, present participle phrases are especially good for sentences with a lot of action. Consequently, they are not so good for sentences which have little action or are passive: 12a. Jack lay down on the sofa. He yawned a few times. He fell asleep. 12b. Laying down on the sofa and yawning a few times, Jack fell asleep. This sentence has little action, so not even the present participle phrases can make it exciting. In this case, it s better not to use present participle phrases, because the participle phrases don t bring much to the sentence. Now it s your turn. Look at numbers 13a 21a on the next page and decide which ones have a lot of action. For those that do, change some of the independent clauses into present participle phrases (decide which ones are the least important) and rewrite the sentences, giving them more energy (like in 11b, 11bb, or even in 11bbb above). For those numbers that don t have a lot of action, don t rewrite them. You can connect consecutive participle phrases either with commas or with and. / present participle 194

8 13a. Kevin stayed home. He read a newspaper. He relaxed. 14a. The kids jumped in the swimming pool. They splashed each other with water. They kept cool on a hot summer day. 15a. Kelly washed her face. She brushed her teeth. She got ready for bed. 16a. We waved our hands in the air. We moved our bodies from side to side. We had fun at the club. 17a. The bank robber ran out of the bank. He jumped on a fast motorcycle. He sped away. He escaped with a bag of money. 18a. The operator answered the phone. She spoke in a calm voice. She gave the caller some important information. 19a. The band members ran to the center of the stage. They raised their instruments in the air. They thanked their fans. 20a. The receptionist sat behind his desk. He stared at the wall. He seemed bored. 21a. The dog ran across the grass. He jumped up. He caught the Frisbee in his mouth. He wiggled his tail as he raced back to his master. Notice also that in 17a and 21a, there is a series of actions that can be connected with present participle phrases. Such a series further increases the sense of speed. 195 Lesson

9 Read the story below. Then, choose some parts with lots of action (underline the sentences), change them into present participle phrases to give more energy to the paragraph, and connect them to a main clause. Do this at most three times. The present participle phrases should express the feeling of simultaneity (). You can use the 11b/11bb/11bbb structures from exercise 7, but be careful not to create confusing sentences. Write the new sentences at the bottom of the page. I left home around 10:00 p.m. My friend and I were going to a club to check out a new band. It was Saturday night and we were feeling good. I drive a convertible, so we put the top down and enjoyed the warm summer air. When we arrived at the club, we jumped out of the car and went inside. The band was already playing. Everyone was moving to the rhythm of the music. They were waving their hands in the air and having a good time. Then, I noticed a couple of cute girls dancing near us. I tapped my friend on the shoulder, and we went over to where they were. The girls were friendly, and we all started dancing together. That was fun. The band played for about an hour. The guitarist jumped up and down. She ran all over the stage. She soloed really fast. She was very exciting to watch, and the crowd got really into it. The drummer kept throwing his drum sticks into the audience. But the bass player just stood on one side of the stage and played without moving much or looking at us. Maybe he was shy. The lead singer wasn t. He screamed into the microphone and jumped into the audience. Everybody tried to highfive him. When the last song was over, the band members came to the center of the stage. The crowd applauded and cheered loudly. It was a great show. And afterwards, we drove around for a couple of hours with the two girls we met at the club. For me, that was the best part of the night. / present participle 196

Jack was good at tennis, even though he had not had any lessons.

clauses www.compare4kids.co.uk Question Sheet 1 Underline the main clause in each sentence below. Although it was raining, we went outside to play. Jack was good at tennis, even though he had not had any