Participial phrases in English Grammar

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What is a participial phrase (clause)?

A participial phrase (also known as a participial clause) is a type of adjective phrase that begins with a present, past, or perfect participle.

Participial phrases allow us to give more information about a noun (or pronoun) without having to use an additional clause, which makes sentences shorter and more elegant.

Read on to learn about participial phrases in English grammar, then practise using them in the interactive exercises.

Example

Having considered the evidence for the hundredth time, the detective is still no closer to solving the case.

She considers the photos displayed on the board in front of her. There must be a connection somewhere.

Stepping back from the board, the detective takes a deep breath and thinks.

Left unsolved, this case will haunt her for the rest of her career.

Sighing in frustration, the detective makes herself yet another cup of coffee.

It's going to be long night.

When to use participial phrases

Use participial phrases in written language when you want to give more information about a noun without using a full clause (i.e. one that contains both a subject and a verb).

This noun is usually (but not always!) the subject of the main clause.

Example:
Sipping her coffee, the detective considers the evidence again.
the participial phrase gives more information about the noun detective

Remember: the participial phrase has no explicit subject of its own; it refers to the same subject contained in the main clause. If it doesn’t, you risk creating a dangling participle (more on that below).

How to create participial phrases

We can form participial phrases by omitting the subject (and any auxiliary verbs) and using the present, past, or perfect participle of the main verb.

  • the present participle (-ing form) usually has the same meaning as an active verb and can indicate simultaneously occurring actions
Example:
Sipping her coffee, the detective considers the evidence again.
= The detective sips her coffee and considers the evidence again.
  • the past participle (3rd form of the verb) has the same meaning as a passive verb
Example:
Frustrated by the lack of progress, the detective works late into the night.
= The detective is frustrated by the lack of progress so she works late into the night.
  • the perfect participle (having + past participle) indicates that the action in the participial phrase was completed or in progress prior to the action in the main clause
Example:
Having examined the evidence for the hundredth time, the detective is still no closer to solving the case. (perfect participle)
= The detective has examined the evidence for the hundredth time but she is still no closer to solving the case.
  • occasionally, the perfect participle may appear in the passive voice: having been + past participle
Example:
Having been promoted recently, the detective was feeling the pressure to solve the case.
= As she had been promoted recently, the detective was feeling the pressure to solve the case.

Participial phrases and conjunctions

In some of the examples above, the participial phrase conveys the same meaning as a phrase introduced by a conjunction.

In this case, the conjunction is usually omitted from the participial phrase to make the sentence shorter and more elegant.

Example:
If this case is left unsolved, it will haunt her for the rest of her career.
Left unsolved, this case will haunt her for the rest of her career.
conditional meaning is clear without the conjunction if

However, in the event that removing the conjunction would change the meaning of the sentence or render it illogical, we include it in the participial phrase.

Examples:
Before leaving, the detective checks the evidence one more time.
Leaving, the detective checks the evidence one more time.
without the conjunction before, this participial phrase expresses simultaneity, not anteriority
Since working here, the detective has solved many cases.
Working here, the detective has solved many cases.
without the conjunction since, this participial phrase expresses a reason, not a temporal meaning

Similarly, we may need to include a conjunction in the participial phrase to avoid ambiguity.

Examples:
The detective saw the suspect investigating the crime scene.
without a conjunction, the participial phrase refers to the closest noun (suspect)
The detective saw the suspect while investigating the crime scene.
the conjunction while indicates that the participial phrase refers to the noun detective

Occasionally, a writer may choose to include the conjunction in the participial phrase for stylistic reasons such as emphasis.

Examples:
If left unsolved, this case will haunt her for the rest of her career.

However, whether this is possible depends on the context, participle and conjunction in question.

Example:
Once having examined the photos, the detective turns to the police database.
the perfect participle already expresses anteriority, making the conjunction once redundant here

Placement and punctuation with participial phrases

Participial phrases can appear in different positions in a sentence.

A good general rule is that the participial phrase should be placed as close as possible to the noun it is modifying.

The placement of the participial phrase also determines comma usage.

At the beginning

When we place a participial phrase at the beginning of the sentence, it is followed by a comma.

Example:
Sighing in frustration, the detective makes herself another cup of coffee.

This placement is the most common and is almost always used when the participial clause expresses a cause or reason.

Example:
Frustrated by the lack of progress, the detective works late into the night.
= As she was frustrated by the lack of progress, …

In the middle

When the participial phrase comes in the middle of the sentence, it is also set off by commas.

Example:
The detective, sighing in frustration, makes herself another cup of coffee.

This placement is typical for reduced relative clauses (see below).

At the end

When the participial phrase comes at the end of the sentence, we use a comma unless it directly follows the noun it is modifying.

Examples:
The detective makes herself another cup of coffee, sighing in frustration.
the participial phrase modifies the noun detective, not coffee

While is is possible to place the participial phrase at the end of the sentence, it is not always advisable as it can result in the participial phrase being too far away from the noun it’s supposed to modify.

Reduced relative clauses

Participial phrases can be used after a noun in place of a relative clause. These are known as reduced relative clauses.

Examples:
The detective working the case is only 27.
= The detective who is working the case is only 27.
The photos displayed on the board may contain clues.
= The photos that are displayed on the board may contain clues.

Punctuation in reduced relative clauses

When we use a participial phrase in place of a relative clause, the punctuation depends on the meaning.

If the participial phrase provides essential, identifying information, we do not use commas.

Example:
The photo showing suspect A is clearer than the other one.
without the participle phrase, we don’t know which of the two photos is being referenced ; it provides identifying information

If the participial phrase only provides additional, non-essential information, it is placed between commas.

Example:
The detective, sipping her freshly brewed coffee, examines the evidence yet again.
without the participle phrase, it’s still clear which detective is being referred to; it provides non-identifying information

Participial phrases as object complements

Although participial phrases generally refer to the subject of the main clause, they can also act as object complements.

This is often the case after verbs of the senses (= feel, hear, look at, see, smell …) and some other verbs (= find, make …) that take a direct object.

Example:
The detective found him running away from the crime scene.
the participle phrase refers to the object of the main clause (him); not the subject (detective)

A participle phrase can also refer to the object of the main clause when acting as a reduced relative clause.

Example:
The detective looks at the photos displayed on the board in front of her.

What is a dangling participle?

A dangling participle (also known as a misrelated participle) is a common grammar mistake where a participial phrase modifies the wrong noun; i.e. it does not refer to the subject of the main clause.

Example:
Sipping her coffee, it started raining outside.
the subject of the participial phrase (= she) is different to the subject of the main clause (= it)

This can sometimes lead to confusing or even comical mistakes.

Example:
Driving along the coast, our dog hangs his head out of the window.
this makes it sound like the dog is at the wheel
better:
When we drive along the coast, our dog hangs his head out of the window.

Info

There are some common expressions that technically break the dangling participles rule.

Examples:
Generally speaking, the students are quite well-behaved.
Knowing Tom, he will be at least half an hour late.

It’s best to just treat these as set expressions rather than actual participial phrases.