Shortening a clause down to its verb form
Because she felt unwell, she left - Feeling unwell, she left
How to use this sheet
A participle clause is an ordinary clause with its subject and its finite verb stripped out, leaving only the verb form. What remains has no subject of its own, so it silently borrows one from the main clause, and that borrowed subject is the whole trick of the structure. The form you choose encodes the relationship: one form for an action running at the same time or supplying the cause, another for an action completed before the main one, and another when the shortened half is passive. This is a compression device, at home in writing far more than in speech.
| Full clause | Reduced clause | Relationship encoded |
|---|---|---|
| While she waited for the train, she read the report. | Waiting for the train, she read the report. | Two actions at the same time |
| Because he felt unwell, he left early. | Feeling unwell, he left early. | Cause, active |
| He turned round quickly and knocked the glass over. | Turning round quickly, he knocked the glass over. | One action running straight into the next |
| After she had finished the report, she went home. | Having finished the report, she went home. | Earlier completed action |
| Because they had already been warned twice, the team said nothing. | Having already been warned twice, the team said nothing. | Earlier completed action, passive |
| The file was left unattended, and it corrupted overnight. | Left unattended, the file corrupted overnight. | Passive circumstance |
| Because it was written in haste, the email caused offence. | Written in haste, the email caused offence. | Cause, passive |
| If it is treated carefully, the manuscript will survive another century. | Treated carefully, the manuscript will survive another century. | Condition, passive |
| Since he was new to the department, he asked a lot of questions. | Being new to the department, he asked a lot of questions. | Cause, with a state rather than an action |
| As she was the only lawyer present, she chaired the meeting. | Being the only lawyer present, she chaired the meeting. | Cause, with a role or identity |
| The candidates who are applying for the senior post must submit a portfolio. | Candidates applying for the senior post must submit a portfolio. | Shortened relative clause, active |
| The proposals that were rejected last year have come back unchanged. | The proposals rejected last year have come back unchanged. | Shortened relative clause, passive |
In use
Having read the file twice, I still could not see where the money had gone. Left to itself, the argument would have burned out within a week. Walking back from the station, I realised I had left my laptop on the train.
Watch out
Having reviewed your application carefully, a place on the course has been offered to you.
Everything here depends on the subject. The shortened half takes the subject of the main clause whether you meant it to or not, so the moment the doer changes between the two halves, the sentence quietly claims something absurd. Check rows four and five as well: the form used there places its action before the main verb, so substituting the same-time form loses the sequence you were trying to show. And keep to two or three reduced clauses in a paragraph at most - past that the prose loses its joints and every sentence starts to sound like a committee report.