Waiting outside the office, I checked the time. The -ing clause tells you what I was doing when I checked. You can also use these clauses for a reason, a result or extra information. Keep the connection clear: the -ing form itself does not tell you the time or the relationship.
An -ing clause uses a present participle: a verb form such as waiting, checking or knowing. This page covers clauses that add information about an event or situation. They are not complete sentences on their own in the patterns below.
In this opening pattern, you leave out a separate subject and an auxiliary such as was. The subject of the main clause tells you who was carrying the boxes. Carrying two boxes, Lena was pushing the gate is also possible: the main clause can have a continuous tense.
Not every -ing form has this job. I enjoy swimming has an -ing form after enjoy. The people waiting upstairs has a description after a noun. See Verb + -ing: enjoy, stop, avoid and Reduced relative clauses: people waiting, a letter sent yesterday for those patterns.
The -ing form does not change to show past, present or future. The main clause and the situation tell you the time. Do not add -ed to the participle because the main event is in the past.
| Sentence | Time |
|---|---|
| Travelling by tram, I see the river each morning. | A repeated present situation. |
| Travelling by tram yesterday, I saw the river. | A past situation. |
| Travelling by tram tomorrow, you will see the river. | A future situation. |
The clauses below can show different relationships. Use context or a linking word to make the meaning clear. An -ing form alone does not always mean while, because or after.
You can show an action in progress around the time of the main action. The main action may happen during it, or both actions may continue together.
You can put the extra action before or after the main clause. Check that it still describes the right person. An opening clause usually gives the reader a clear subject connection.
An opening -ing clause can explain why the main event happened. A full because clause can make that reason more explicit.
Being can be followed by an adjective or another description. It does not always mean a temporary action: being the owner gives someone's role, for example. The -ing form here does not make a full continuous tense by itself.
Use a full clause when you need a different subject or when the short connection would be unclear. Because the stairs were wet, I used the lift keeps the stairs and I as separate subjects.
Put the result clause after the main clause. It tells you what the main event caused or led to, rather than giving the reason that came before it.
A result can follow from the whole earlier event. In the second example, the cause is our missing the deadline; the sentence does not mean that we deliberately left ourselves somewhere. This result pattern is different from an opening description of what a person was doing.
Keep cause and result in a sensible order. If you put a clause at the beginning, readers may understand it as a reason or background instead of the result you intended. A full so clause is another way to show the connection.
An -ing clause can add an action or description without making a strong claim about cause. Read the whole sentence before deciding which relationship is intended.
These meanings can overlap with actions happening together. You do not need to force every sentence into one category. What matters is that the reader can follow who did what and how the ideas connect.
For an opening clause without its own subject, the understood subject should be the subject at the start of the main clause. Do not make an object seem to do a person's action.
Reaching for the top shelf, the jar fell suggests that the jar was reaching. Write While I was reaching for the top shelf, the jar fell if you want to keep the jar as the main subject.
This guidance is not a ban on every different-subject non-finite construction. A description after a noun follows that noun: I watched the children playing outside. A final result clause can describe the whole preceding event. Formal clauses with their own stated subject are another pattern; see Past and perfect participle clauses: invited, having checked. Keep these separate from an accidental dangling opening.
Put not before the -ing construction to make it negative. Keep not next to the meaning you intend.
Not knowing the answer means that you do not know it. Knowing not to interrupt means that you know you should not interrupt. Moving not changes which idea is negative.
Before and after + -ing can make the order explicit. Keep the same understood subject in the examples below.
| Link | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| before | Before opening the parcel, I checked the name. | The check came first. |
| after | After checking the name, I opened the parcel. | The check came first here too. |
| while | While watering the plants, I listened to the news. | The actions happened together. |
| on | On entering the museum, we collected a map. | We collected it when we entered. |
| instead of | Instead of buying a new chair, I repaired this one. | I repaired it rather than buying one. |
| in spite of | In spite of feeling tired, I finished the walk. | The tiredness did not stop me. |
British Council also lists when and since before participle clauses. Use a full clause if a short form leaves the time or subject unclear. Do not mechanically delete a subject from every clause after these words.
After can also be followed by having + past participle or being + past participle. For perfect and passive forms, see Past and perfect participle clauses: invited, having checked and Advanced passives: get-passive, be supposed to and more.
A simple -ing clause can show an action happening during the main action. To mark a completed earlier action clearly, use after + -ing or having + past participle. Do not assume that every -ing clause means after.
| Sentence | Connection |
|---|---|
| Folding the leaflets, I talked to Jo. | The folding and talking happened together. |
| After folding the leaflets, I packed them. | The folding came before the packing. |
Put a comma after an opening participle clause. Use two commas for extra information inserted inside a main clause: Eva, checking the list, noticed the missing name. A final clause adding extra information or a result is also separated by a comma in the examples on this page. Do not copy that comma rule onto every noun description: the people waiting outside has a different structure.
British Council describes participle clauses as mainly written, particularly in literary, academic and journalistic styles. That does not ban them from speech. A full and, because or while clause is useful when it makes the connection easier to follow.
✗Before to sign, read the last paragraph.
✓Before signing, read the last paragraph.
In this pattern, before takes the -ing form, not to + verb.
✗Checking the address, the parcel looked unfamiliar.
✓Checking the address, I noticed that the parcel looked unfamiliar.
I checked the address, not the parcel.
✗Not know the route, we asked the driver.
✓Not knowing the route, we asked the driver.
Use not + -ing for this negative opening.
✗We missed the last train, left us at the station.
✓We missed the last train, leaving us at the station.
Use leaving for the added result clause, or write so we were left at the station.
See Past and perfect participle clauses: invited, having checked for past and perfect participles, Reduced relative clauses: people waiting, a letter sent yesterday for descriptions after nouns, Verb + -ing: enjoy, stop, avoid for -ing after verbs, and Preposition + -ing: look forward to, interested in, instead of for -ing after prepositions.
Eight questions. Choose one answer for each.