I d e a s f or Tea c hi n g P a r t i c i pl e C l a u s e s

Having taught the differences between ed and ing , having + past participle
and having been + past participle, when, while, before,after, on,
without, instead of, you might like to use some of these ideas to practice
them.
Activity 1 (to practice a narrative):
Write different forms and phrases on pieces of paper (eg Having + past participle or
seeing that and fold them before putting them in a hat and getting students to
pick three or four out.
To conduct the activity, the teacher starts off a story with something along the lines
of Having woken up in a strange room surrounded by unfamiliar objects and very
unusual people, I decided to investigate where I was
The teacher then nominate a student to continue the story with a few sentences
which must include one of the participle clauses written on their pieces of paper.
After having done so, the student nominates another student to continue the story.
This continues until theyve all successfully used their clauses.
If further practice is required, the students can exchange their pieces of paper and
start another story in a different setting, either of your choosing or of their own
(provided they are imaginative enough).
Not only will this activity give them plenty of practice with participle clauses but it is
also likely to give you plenty of opportunity to teach new vocabulary and error
correct narrative tenses etc.
Activity 2 (to practice giving instructions/ describing a process):
As participle clauses are often used to describe a process, its a good idea to get
your students to practice this aspect also.
Tell students they are going to use these structures to describe one of the following:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

How to cook their favourite meal/prepare their favourite cocktail

How to get from school to their apartment
How to build a table/chair/house etc.
How to repair a car/bicycle/computer
Something else they know how to do.

The students then have a few minutes to think about how they are going to clearly
express this to the class (using participle clauses, obviously). They then proceed to
tell the class how to do one of the above things.
You will most likely need to go around the class helping with vocabulary, etc.
While listening to a students describe his/ her process, the rest of the class can

either take notes or draw pictures to see if they can follow the process.
After each student has presented a process, they work in pairs to see if they can
both retell the process in the same way.
Activity 3 (alibi):
Tell the class that a teacher was murdered last night and some of the students are
the suspects. To run this activity, split the class into detectives and suspects. There
should be two detectives for each pair of suspects.
Give the student detectives ten or fifteen minutes to compose a list of questions
that will help establish the suspects whereabouts last night around the time of the
murder. The detectives should be as far away from the suspects as possible so they
dont overhear each other. Another room is ideal.
At the same time, the suspects have to come up with an identical, watertight story
(alibi) about what they were doing that night.
Once the detectives and suspects have finished preparing questions and alibis, pair
off one detective with one suspect and put each pair at opposite ends of the room.
Set a time limit (7-10) minutes during which the detectives can ask questions and
take notes. They should use participle clauses as often as possible and the suspects
should answer with one as often as possible. Example:
D: Having left the cinema, what did you do?
S: On leaving the cinema, we went for a hotdog.
When the time limit is up, the detectives go back to their side of the room and the
suspects to theirs; the detectives then compare notes while the suspects compare
what they told the police. If there are 3 differences or more in their stories, then the
suspects are guilty if not, theyre innocent.
This activity takes a long time but is both fun and beneficial as they get a chance to
use a wide range of vocabulary and grammar as well as question formation.
While the activity is running, the teacher should monitor and make a note of errors
to clear up at the end.

Participle clauses
Participle clauses are a form of adverbial clause which enables us to say information in a more
economical way. We can use participle clauses when the participle and the verb in the main
clause have the same subject. For example:

Waiting for John, I made some tea.

Waiting for John, the kettle boiled. [This would suggest that the
kettle was waiting for John!]

Forming participle clauses

Participle clauses can be formed with the present participle (-ing form of the verb) or past
participle (third form of the verb). Participle clauses with past participles have a passive
meaning:

Shouting loudly, Peter walked home. [Peter was shouting]

Shouted at loudly, Peter walked home. [Someone was shouting at
Peter]
If we wish to emphasise that one action was before another then we can use a perfect
participle (having + past participle):

Having won the match, Susan jumped for joy.

Having been told the bad news, Susan sat down and cried.

The meaning and use of participle clauses

Participle clauses give information about condition, reason, result or time. For example:
Condition (in place of an if-condition):

Looked after carefully, this coat will keep you warm through many
winters.
Compare: If you look after it carefully, this coat will keep you warm
through many winters.
Reason (in place of words like so or therefore):

Wanting to speak to him about the contract, I decided to arrange a

meeting.
Compare: I wanted to speak to him about the contract so I decided
to arrange a meeting.
Result (in place of words like because or as a result):

I had no time to read my book, having spent so long doing my

homework.
Compare: I had no time to read my book because I had spent so
long doing my homework.
Time (in place of words like when, while or as soon as):

Sitting at the cafe with my friends, I suddenly realised that I had left
the oven on at home.
Compare: While I was sitting at the cafe with my friends, I suddenly
realised that I had left the oven on at home.
- See more at: https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/quickgrammar/participle-clauses#sthash.P4tbNrUX.dpuf