Quick Glossary（用語辞典）
| participle : 分詞 | adverb phrase : 副詞句 |
| modifier : 修飾語 | present participle : 現在分詞 |
| reduced relative clause : 短縮した関係節 | past participle : 過去分詞 |
| restrictive relative clause : 制限的関係節 | active verb : 能動態の動詞 |
| nonrestrictive relative clause : 非制限的関係節 | passive verb : 受動態の動詞 |
Explanation （説明）& Examples（例文）
Participial phrases are used as modifiers, usually for the subject of a sentence. In the following sections, we'll look at the various kinds of participial phrases and the different ways they can be made.
But first . . .
When do we use participial phrases?
Participial phrases are mostly used in the written language, but they are also sometimes used in spoken English. Specifically, they can be used to:
1. Show the situation in which some action occurred.
Having no extra money, Jack decided not to buy a new computer.
2. Describe the subject in more detail.
The university, founded in 1725, is one of the most famous institutions of higher education in the world.
3. Reduce the number of words in a sentence (which helps us tighten up our writing).
The woman who is sitting over there is the teacher. ->
The woman sitting over there is the teacher.
4. Finally, they can help add variety to our writing by giving us more kinds of sentence structures to choose from.
Ayako fell asleep on the train because she was exhausted from working late. ->
Exhausted from working late, Ayako fell asleep on the train.
Ayako, exhausted from working late, fell asleep on the train.
Ayako fell asleep on the train, exhausted from working late.
I. Structure
There are basically three kinds of participial phrases: present participial phrases, past participial phrases, and perfect participial phrases.
Present Participial Phrase
Closing the door, Takako noticed something moving in the corner.
Past Participial Phrase
The ideas discussed at the meeting were not very practical.
Perfect Participial Phrase
Having eaten his breakfast, Joe started getting dressed for work.
What's the difference between a present participial phrase and a perfect participial phrase?
The present participial phrase is usually used to show that things are more or less happening at the same time; the perfect participial phrase, however, is used to express the idea that one action was completed before the next one was begun. If we change the participial phrase in our third example from the perfect form to the present form, our sentence looks like this:
Eating his breakfast, Joe thought about the coming day's work. (While he was eating breakfast, Joe thought about the coming day's work.)
II. Different Ways of Forming Participial Phrases
A participial phrase is sometimes a restrictive relative clause without the relative pronoun and the be verb. (This is one kind of reduced relative clause.) Note that the ~ing form is used with active verbs, and the ~ed (or other past participle) form is used with passive verbs.
| restrictive relative clause (~ing) | Who is the man who is standing over there? |
| participial phrase | Who is the man standing over there? |
| restrictive relative clause (~ed) | The movie that was released last week is a comedy. |
| participial phrase | The movie released last week is a comedy. |
A participial phrase can also be made from a nonrestrictive relative clause.
| nonrestrictive relative clause | Kumiko, who was speaking very quietly, told us a story about Shotoku Taishi. |
| participial phrase | Kumiko, speaking very quietly, told us a story about Shotoku Taishi. |
Finally, changing an adverb phrase is one more way of forming a participial phrase.
| adverb phrase | Because Satoko is a doctor, she knew immediately that the boy's injury was not serious. |
| participial phrase | Being a doctor, Satoko knew immediately that the boy's injury was not serious. |
III. Important Points
1. Punctuation
If a participial phrase is used at the beginning of a sentence (introductory phrase), it is usually set off by a comma. If a participial phrase is used within the sentence, it may or may not be set off by commas--it depends on whether it's necessary information (restrictive) or extra information (nonrestrictive).
| introductory | Sitting alone, the boy thought deeply about the math problem. |
| restrictive | The boy sitting in the third row is the best student in the class. |
| nonrestrictive | The boy, sitting under an apple tree, worked hard on his English homework. |
2. What is being modified?
It should be clear what the participial phrase refers to. If the phrase doesn't have its own subject, it should (almost always) refer to the same subject as the main verb.
Participial phrase with a subject:
All the topics having been covered, we decided to end the meeting.
The subject of the first phrase is "topics" and the subject of the main clause is "we."
Participial phrase without a subject:
Not so good: Having been chopped up and sauteed in butter, I was ready to eat the vegetables.
I don't think I would be very hungry if I were chopped up and sauteed in butter!
Better: Having been chopped up and sauteed in butter, the vegetables were ready to eat.
Exercises（練習）Choose the appropriate participial phrase for each sentence.
This exercise is designed to give you a little exposure to how participial phrases can be used. As you do it, try to notice how the use of the participial phrase changes the feeling of and emphasis in each sentence. Note that the way the sentence is rewritten is not the only possibility!
