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Jooney Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
Tense in participial clauses
Hi,
Participial clauses don't have a tense. It has to be inferred from the tense in the main clause it is adjoined with.
What does that mean? If the tense in the main clause is in past tense(or present tense), the tense in the subordinate clause also has to be in past tense(or present tense)? For example,
ex1) Growing up, I was a Papa's girl
=> When I grew up, I was a Papa's girl.
ex2) He was reading a newspaper, sipping a cup of coffee.
=> While he was reading a newspaper, he was sipping a cup of coffee.
ex3) He irritated me, constantly interrupted me.
=> He irritated me as he constantly interrupted me.
ex4) After doing the shopping, we went straight home.
=> After we did the shopping, we went straight home.
ex) He drives his car, wearing sunglasses.
=> When he drives his car, he wears sunglasses.
ex) As the strap has broken, he will be walking home, carrying his bag under his arm.
=>What would be a close non-participial paraphrase here?
I'm wondering if it is possible to have mixed tenses, though.
ex) After studying the ins and outs of participial clauses, I now can understand how they work.
=>After I studied/have studied the ins and outs of participial clauses, I now can understand how they work.
Is it okay to have different tenses?
I'd appreciate your help.
Participial clauses don't have a tense. It has to be inferred from the tense in the main clause it is adjoined with.
What does that mean? If the tense in the main clause is in past tense(or present tense), the tense in the subordinate clause also has to be in past tense(or present tense)? For example,
ex1) Growing up, I was a Papa's girl
=> When I grew up, I was a Papa's girl.
ex2) He was reading a newspaper, sipping a cup of coffee.
=> While he was reading a newspaper, he was sipping a cup of coffee.
ex3) He irritated me, constantly interrupted me.
=> He irritated me as he constantly interrupted me.
ex4) After doing the shopping, we went straight home.
=> After we did the shopping, we went straight home.
ex) He drives his car, wearing sunglasses.
=> When he drives his car, he wears sunglasses.
ex) As the strap has broken, he will be walking home, carrying his bag under his arm.
=>What would be a close non-participial paraphrase here?
I'm wondering if it is possible to have mixed tenses, though.
ex) After studying the ins and outs of participial clauses, I now can understand how they work.
=>After I studied/have studied the ins and outs of participial clauses, I now can understand how they work.
Is it okay to have different tenses?
I'd appreciate your help.
Top answer
jooney Is it okay to have different tenses? Yes, of course. If you want an accurate paraphrase, you have to use the tenses that convey the meaning of the participial clause.
- jooney Is it okay to have different tenses?
- Yes, of course.
- If you want an accurate paraphrase, you have to use the tenses that convey the meaning of the participial clause.
- Words like "before" and "after" may be cues in such cases.
- CJ
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1 Answers
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jooneyIs it okay to have different tenses?Yes, of course. If you want an accurate paraphrase, you have to use the tenses that convey the meaning of the participial clause. Words like "before" and "after" may be cues in such cases.
CJ
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