A. A
clause is a part of a sentence. Some sentences have two or more clauses:
* Jim
hurt his arm (main clause) playing tennis.(~ing clause)
*
Feeling tired,(~ing clause) I went to bed early.(main clause)
'Playing
tennis' and 'feeling tired' are ~ing clauses.
If the
~ing clause is first (as in the second example), we write a comma (,) between
the clauses.
B.
When two things happen at the same time, you can use ~ing for one of the verbs.
The main clause usually comes first:
* I've
just seen Carol. She's in the bar having a drink. (= she is in the bar and she
is having a drink)
* A man
ran out of the house shouting. (= he ran out of the house and he was shouting)
* Do
something! Don't just stand there doing nothing!
We also
use ~ing when one action happens during another action. We use ~ing for the
longer action. The longer action is the second part of the sentence:
* Jim
hurt his arm playing tennis. (= while he was playing)
* Did
you cut yourself shaving? (= while you were shaving)
You can
also use ~ing after while or when:
* Jim
hurt his arm while playing tennis.
* Be
careful when crossing the road. (= when you are crossing)
C.
When one action happens before another action, we use having (done) for the
first action:
* Having
found a hotel, we looked for somewhere to have dinner.
* Having
finished her work, she went home.
You can
also say after ~ing:
* After
finishing her work, she went home.
If one
short action follows another short action, you can use the simple ~ing form
(doing instead of having done) for the first action:
* Taking
a key out of his pocket, he opened the door.
These
structures are used more in written English than in spoken English.
D. You
can use an ~ing clause to explain something or to say why somebody does
something. The~ing clause usually comes first:
*
Feeling tired, I went to bed early. (= because I felt tired)
* Being
unemployed, he hasn't got much money. (= because he is unemployed)
* Not
having a car, she finds it difficult to get around. (= because she doesn't have
a car)
* Having
already seen the film twice, I didn't want to go to the cinema. (= because I
had already seen it twice)
These
structures are used more in written English than in spoken English.
EXERCISES
67.1
Join a sentence from Box A with one from Box B to make one sentence. Use an
~ing clause.
A
1. Carol
was in the bar
2. Emma
was sitting in an armchair.
3. Sue
got home late.
4. Sarah
went out.
5. Linda
was in London for two years.
6. Mary
walked round the town.
B
She was
feeling very tired.
She
looked at the sights and took
photographs.
She said
she would be back in an hour.
She was
reading a book.
She Was
having a drink.
She
worked as a tourist guide.
1.
_Carol was in the bar having a drink._
2. Emma
was sitting ---
3. Sue
---
4 ---
5. ---
6. ---
67.2
Make one sentence from two using an ~ing clause.
1. Jim
was playing tennis. He hurt his arm. _Jim hurt; his arm playing tennis._
2. I was
watching television. I fell asleep. I ---
3. The
man slipped. He was getting off a bus. The man ---
4. I was
walking home in the rain. I got wet. I ---
5.
Margaret was driving to work yesterday. She had an accident. ---
6. Two
firemen were overcome by smoke. They were trying to put out the fire. ---
67.3
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 theatre.
3. They
continued their Journey after they'd had dinner.
4. After
Lucy had done all her shopping, she went for a cup of coffee.
67.4
Make sentences beginning ~ing or Not ~ing (like those in Section D). Sometimes
you need to begin with Having (done something).
1. I
felt tired. So I went to bed early.
_Feeling
tired I went to bad early._
2. I
thought they might be hungry. So I offered them something to eat.
3. She
is a foreigner. So she needs a visa to stay in this country.
4. I
didn't know his address. So I wasn't able to contact him.
5. Sarah
has travelled a lot. So she knows a lot about other countries.
6. The
man wasn't able to understand English. So 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.
Answer
67.1
2 Emma
was sitting in an armchair reading a book.
3 Sue
got home late feeling very tired.
4 Sarah
went out saying she would be back in an hour.
5 Linda
was in London for two years working as a tourist guide.
6 Mary
walked round the town looking at the sights and taking photographs.
67.2
2 I fell
asleep watching television.
3 The
man slipped getting off a bus.
4 I got
wet walking home in the rain.
5
Margaret had an accident driving to work yesterday.
6 Two
firemen were overcome by smoke trying to put out the fire.
67.3
2 Having
bought our tickets, we went into the theatre.
3 Having
had dinner, they continued their journey.
4 Having
done all her shopping, Lucy went for a cup of coffee.
67.4
2
Thinking they might be hungry, I offered them something to eat.
3 Being
a foreigner, she needs a visa to stay in this country.
4 Not
knowing his address, I wasn't able to contact him.
5 Having
travelled a lot, Sarah knows a lot about other countries.
6 Not
being able to understand English, the man didn't know what I wanted.
7 Having
spent nearly all our money, we couldn't afford to stay in a hotel.
