Unit 64. -ing clauses -”Feeling tired, I went to bed early.”
A.
A
clause is a part of a sentence. Some sentences have two clauses:
Feeling tired, I went to bed early.
In this sentence, “I went to bed early” is the main clause.
Feeling tired is the -ing clause.
B.
When two things happen at the same time, you can use -ing for one of the verbs. The main clause usually comes first:
She was sitting in an armchair reading a book. (= she was sitting, and she was reading)
I ran out of the house shouting. (= I was shouting when I ran out of the house)
We also use -ing when one action happens during another. Use -ing for the longer action. The longer action is the second part of the sentence.
Jim hurt his arm playing tennis. (= while he was playing)
I cut myself shaving. (= while I was shaving) You can also use -ing after while or when:
Jim hurt his arm while playing tennis. (= while he was playing)
Be careful when crossing the street. (= when you are crossing)
C.
When one action happens before another action, you can use having (done) for the first action:
Having found a hotel, they looked for somewhere to have dinner.
Having finished our work, we went home. You could also say After -ing:
After finishing our work, we went home.
If the second action happens immediately after the first, you can use the simple -ing form (doing instead of having done):
Taking a key out of his pocket, he opened the door.
These structures are used mainly in written English.
D.
You can also use an -ing clause to explain something or to say why someone did something. The -ing clause usually comes first:
Feeling tired, I went to bed early. (= because I felt tired)
Being unemployed, she doesn’t have much money. (= because she is unemployed)
Not having a car, she finds it difficult to get around. (= because she doesn’t have-a car)
Having already seen the film twice, I didn’t want to go to the movies. (= because I had already seen it twice)
These structures are used more in written than in spoken English.
