Advanced participle clauses: weather permitting – participle clause exercises for formal writing

This C1 drill lesson gives advanced participle clauses exercises, from having been told and The work done to once opened and dangling participles.

Grammar: Having been warned next to having sold; being watched; not having been told; The work done, There being no bus, With the guests gone; once opened, although injured; weather permitting; dangling participles.
Topic: Biography: a page from an invented biography of a stonemason who built a lighthouse on a sea rock, with a museum plaque, a reader's review, the last pages and a friend's texts.
Activities: True or false, sorting, choices, gap-fills, rewrites, tables, matching, word order, quizzes, drag-and-drop texts, a memory game and a chat.

What's inside

Chapter 1The rule
- PictureUnlock
- Study the scheme: advanced participle clausesGrammar schemeTry it
- Is the sentence correct? Mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
- Sort the sentences: which kind of participle clause?Sort into columnsTry it
- Choose the right participle formChoose the optionUnlock
- Fill in the gaps: the participle clauseFill in the gapsUnlock
Chapter 2Having been told
- Choose active or passive: having done or having been done?Choose the optionTry it
- Fill in the gaps: having been + past participleFill in the gapsUnlock
- Fill in the table: two sentences into oneFill in the tableUnlock
- Read the news story and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
- Write the sentences again with a participle clauseFill in the gapsUnlock
- Find the mistake and choose the right wordsQuizUnlock
- Read the club's history page and fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock
Chapter 3The work done
- Choose the right form: a clause with its own subjectChoose the optionUnlock
- Fill in the gaps: clauses with their own subjectFill in the gapsTry it
- Match the beginnings and the endings: clauses with their own subjectMatchUnlock
- Fill in the table: give the clause its own subjectFill in the tableUnlock
- Sort the sentences: correct or dangling?Sort into columnsUnlock
- Read the travel blog and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
- Choose the right sentence for the situationQuizUnlock
Chapter 4Once opened, …
- Choose the right form after the linking wordChoose the optionUnlock
- Fill in the gaps: a linking word + a participleFill in the gapsUnlock
- Put the words in the right order: participle clausesUnjumbleUnlock
- Choose the correct sentence: no dangling participlesQuizUnlock
- Match the pairs: the same meaningMatchTry it
- Read the hotel's guest information and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
- Write the sentences again: fix the dangling participleFill in the gapsUnlock
Chapter 5Real life: The light on the rock
- Read the page from the biographyReal-life documentUnlock
- Read the page again: true or false?True or falseUnlock
- Read the museum plaque and fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock
- Read the reader's review and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
- Read the last pages of the book and choose the right wordsChoose the optionUnlock
- Choose the right replies: Wren texts youChatTry it
- Test yourself: choose the right answerQuizUnlock
Chapter 6Homework
- Choose the right forms: at work and at schoolChoose the optionUnlock
- Fill in the gaps: having done or having been doneFill in the gapsUnlock
- Sort the sentences: correct or incorrect?Sort into columnsUnlock
- Put the words in the right order: everyday sentencesUnjumbleUnlock
- Match the beginnings and the endings: linking wordsMatchUnlock
- Fill in the table: one sentence instead of twoFill in the tableUnlock
- Find the mistake and choose the right words: everyday EnglishQuizUnlock
- Find the matching pairs: two ways to say itMemory gameUnlock
- Drag the words into the gaps: participle clausesDrag and dropUnlock
- Read the guide's email and fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock
- Is the sentence correct? Mark true or false: in the newsTrue or falseUnlock
- Choose the right form: active or passive?Choose the optionUnlock
- Read the news story and fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock
- Choose the correct sentenceQuizUnlock
- Write the sentences again: shorter and more formalFill in the gapsUnlock

Grammar: participle clauses beyond -ing and having done

A participle clause packs a whole clause into a few words: Having been warned about the ice, the drivers slowed down. Without a subject of its own, it borrows the main clause's subject, so the two must match. Here come perfect passives, clauses with their own subject, linking words and fixed phrases.

Advanced participle clauses: weather permitting

Go beyond -ing and having done: perfect passives, clauses with their own subject, linking words and fixed phrases.

Having done, having been done, done

Having + past participle is active and finished first: Having sold the farm, they moved to the city. Having been + past participle is its passive, and a past participle alone is the short passive: Asked about his plans, the coach just smiled. Not goes first: Not having been told…

Form	Meaning	Example
having + past participle	active, finished before the main action	Having sold the farm, they moved to the city.
having been + past participle	passive, finished before the main action	Having been warned about the ice, the drivers slowed down.
past participle alone	passive: the short way	Asked about his plans, the coach just smiled.
being + past participle	passive, at the same time, or the reason	Being watched by the whole class, Lena felt nervous.
not + having (been) + past participle	the negative: not comes first	Not having been told the time, we arrived late.

A clause with its own subject

The clause can bring its own subject: The work done, we went home. Her hands shaking, she opened the envelope. It and there take being: There being no bus, we walked. After with, it gives a reason or a new situation: With the guests gone, we cleaned up.

Pattern	Example	It means
noun + past participle	The work done, we went home.	when the work was done
noun + -ing	Her hands shaking, she opened the envelope.	while her hands were shaking
noun + having (been) + past participle	The bridge having been closed, we took the ferry.	because the bridge had been closed
noun + adjective, adverb or phrase	The game over, the fans went home.	when the game was over
It / There + being	It being a warm night, we ate outside. · There being no bus, we walked.	because it was / there was
with + noun + participle	With winter coming, we bought firewood. · With the guests gone, we cleaned up.	because, or now that

A linking word + a participle

While and when take -ing for an action at the same time. When, if, once, unless, until and although take a past participle for a passive meaning: Once opened, the jar should be kept cold. After, before, since and on take -ing.

Linking word	Form	Example
while, when	-ing: active, at the same time	While waiting for the bus, I called my aunt.
when, if, once, unless, until, although, though	past participle: passive	Once opened, the jar should be kept cold. · Although injured, he finished the race.
after, before, since, on, without, despite	-ing; after, without and despite also take having (been) done	After finishing / After having finished school, she moved to Boston. · On hearing the news, he called home.

Several right forms, and fixed phrases

Often more than one form is correct: Told the news and Having been told the news both work, and so do After eating and After having eaten. Fixed phrases such as judging by, given, all things considered and weather permitting don't need the main subject.

More than one right form. For a passive action that came first, having been told, told and often being told all work: Told / Having been told the news, she sat down.
after + -ing, or after having + past participle: After eating / After having eaten, we left.
Every clause has a longer twin that is also correct: The work done, … = When the work was done, …
Fixed phrases don't need the same subject: generally speaking, judging by, considering, given, all things considered, weather permitting.
Not goes first: Not having finished… (Having not finished… is used too.)

Dangling participles and other slips

Having lost the key, the door had to be forced dangles: the door didn't lose it. Fix it with the right main subject (we had to force the door) or a subject of its own (The key having been lost). Being a holiday needs it too: It being a holiday.

Dangling participles: two ways to fix them

A participle clause without its own subject takes the subject of the main clause. Having lost the key, the door had to be forced. ✗ (The door didn't lose it.) Fix 1, the right main subject: Having lost the key, we had to force the door. ✓ Fix 2, give the clause its own subject: The key having been lost, the door had to be forced. ✓

Common mistakes

Having been tell the news, he called home.
Having been told the news, he called home.
having been + the past participle
Being finished the report, she left.
Having finished the report, she left.
active and finished first: having + past participle
After finish the exam, we went out.
After finishing / After having finished the exam, we went out.
after, before, since + -ing
Being a holiday, the banks were closed.
It being a holiday, the banks were closed.
the banks weren't a holiday: give the clause its own subject

Examples

Having been turned down twice, Mia got the job on her third try.passive, finished first
The paperwork signed, the new owners got the keys.its own subject: when the paperwork was signed
There being nothing left to do, we went to bed.= because there was nothing left to do
Until told otherwise, the students must stay inside.= until they are told
Weather permitting, the race starts at nine.a fixed phrase: if the weather is good
Judging by the smell, dinner is almost ready.a fixed phrase: the subject can be different

Try the advanced participle clauses exercises

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What's in the lesson

43 auto-checked exercises
3 games
1 real-life document
1 grammar scheme
1 picture

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

tell having done from having been done: Having built the house himself, Grandpa knew every inch of it. Having been fixed, the old radio worked again.
give a clause its own subject: The bags packed, we waited for the taxi. There being no hotels in the village, we slept in the car.
put a participle after a linking word: Once cooked, the rice should be eaten within a day. Although injured, the goalkeeper played until the end.
use fixed phrases with any subject: Weather permitting, the parade will start at noon. All things considered, it wasn't a bad year.
fix a dangling participle: Having lost the tickets, the concert was missed becomes Having lost the tickets, we missed the concert.

Grammar:: participle clauses · having + past participle · having been + past participle · clauses with their own subject · linking word + participle · dangling participles
Topic:: grammar practice · biography · history · lighthouses

Teaching tips

Merge two facts into one line: write sentence pairs from the students' week, such as I finished work. I went to the gym. Students then join each pair with a participle clause.
Hunt for dangling participles: read out sentences like Printed in tiny letters, I couldn't read the instructions; students say who is really doing the action, then fix the sentence two ways.
Write a plaque for a local building: after the lighthouse chapter, students describe a building they know in four lines, each opening with a participle: Built in…, Restored in…

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The whole course: English Grammar Practice · C1

English Grammar Practice · C1 has 16 drill lessons on advanced grammar, one point each: inversion, cleft sentences, the subjunctive, advanced passives, ellipsis, nominalization, hedging, fronting and concession. Each has the rule as a scheme, 43 to 47 exercises that check themselves, 15 of them for homework, and no new words.See the course

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