12ecluction of adver-bial clauiei - Var-t 1
ain points
• Adverbial clauses can be reduced to
participle phrases if the independent &
adverbial clause subjects are the same.
• The time frame of the phrase is
determined either by the independent
clause verb or the general context.
1 Participle phrases reduce wordiness in writi11g by
replacing longeradverbial clauses. They also help writing
'flow' by eliminaitng choppy or repeittivesentences.
2 Adverbial clauses may bereduced to phrases If the
independent & adverbial clause subjects are the same.
Step 1
Check that the subjectsof the adverbial & independent
clauses are the same.
Whil e teclmology crea t es new jobs in so m e s ectors of the
economy,fl takes mmy jobs in others.
Step2
Omit the adverbial clause subject.Make it the subject
of tlie independent clause, if necessary.
c:> Whil e tee!uiolegy crea tes ne1r jobs in somesectors of
the econont)i iltecluwlogy takes away Jobs in othe1:f.
Step 3
Change the adverbial clause verb to a participle.
c:> W h ile CFe6lie/i- creatin g new Jobs in some sector.1o·f the
economy, technology takes away jobs in others.
Step4
Delete or keep the subordinating conjunciton.
• Delete:
thereason conjunctions 'since,' 'becaue s' & 'as.'
the time conji.Jnction 'as.'
the time conjunction 'after'when the perfect
participle (active or passive) is used.
'the fact that' when the adverbial clause uses 'In
spite ofthe fact that' or 'despite the fact that.'
Despite the factthatthey were tired, they kept mJ1-king.
c:, Despite behig tired, the y kept working.
• Keep:
the time conjunctions 'since' & 'before.'
the time conjunction 'after' unless the perfect
participle(activ e or passive) is used.
'although ' & 'if.'
''Mlile' & 1when' if the phrase follows the
independentclause.
• Keep OR delete:
'while' & 'when,' as you prefer, if the phrase
comes before the independentclause.
c:> (While)creatu1g ne w jobs in some sectors ofthe
economy, technology rakes mvay.fobs in others.
J With passives, the continuous passive form may
be used, especially if you want to emphasise that two
actionsare happening at the same time. The auxiliary
verb('be' or 'have') becomes 'being,' & it is followed by
the past participle.
Since he was examin ed, the man har recover<!il from the
disease.
Since being examined, the man has recoveredfrom the
disease.
4 Adverbial clauses using the verb 'be' as eitherthe
main verb or as the auxiliary verb can often be further
reduced by omitting the verb 'be.'
Since being examined, the man has reco veredfrom the
disease.
Since examined, the man has recove red from the
disease.
When they were fi11ished with the research, they left rhe site.
c:> (Wlten) fi11ishe d with the research, they left the site.
1
Although' & 'if' are never omitted.
Althoughshe was lmngry a11d ti red , she kept travelling.
c:> Although hu11gry a11d tire d, she kept travelling.
1
Because ' is always omitted.
Because Grace was lmngry and tired. she s10pped to resi.
c:> H u11gryand t ired, G race s t op ped to resr.
l) Use the perfect participle when the event of the
adverbial clause happens before the event of the
independent clause. As the perfect participle shows
the time relationship, leave out 'after' from the phrase.
A fter th e doctors had le ft, th ey published their.findings.
c;i Having le ft, the doctors published their findings.
As an alternaitve, you may use the present participle
with 'after.'
A fter the doctor. had le ft, they published their findings.
c:i A fter lea ving, the doctors published the ir fi ndings.
f) Punctuation depends on the phrase's postti on.
• If the participle phrase is before, or in the middle
of, the independent clause, USE commas.
Technolog) while creating new Jobs in somesectors of
the eco nomy, takes crway jobs in others.
• If after the independent clause, do NOTuse commas.
Tec hnology tak es mvay jobs in some secJors of the
econom y while creating new jobs in others.
V.-actice
A The followingsentences talk about a scientific study of very old people who live in Abkhazia, arepublic that was
once in the Soviet Union. Reduce the adverbial clauses in the sentence.sWhere appropriate, omit the connecting
word & make changes In nouns & pronouns.
1. While scientists were studing rhe cemena,ians I= peopleJOO or ovelL they hied to isolate the elements of the 'good life. '
....(WI.J. ft_e_). ft.t:<.t!l:/n.g.t ht.t?.eY.:-:.t.f :f!t t!l. $• § c.[e_1:1,_t_($;4_.t.>fe.f!..tP..f. q_LIJ_t_ .t'.1f ! -f!!:(_Yi_/;$_. p.f t./:1<:. E!!P.f.( li ft ,.'. ........
2. The researchersassumed t/111-t diet was imp011ant even before they arrived in the villages.

3. After doctors had examined hundreds of elderly people, they realised that the number-one killer in the West, heart disease,
im s virtually absen.t rhere.

4. Because the ,,illagers ear little meatand few dairy pmducts, they have no problem with cholesUtrol.

5. . Th e viilagers remain thin but am(rjngly healthy because they consume about 60% of the calories and 40 to 50% of
the protein. w mm o n in the W este rn diet.

6. Despite the fad that they eat little protein, they have enormous amounts of energ;t

7. If they were bored by their simple diet. they cenainly disgu.ised it well.

8. When they were offered Westernfood by visitors, the elderly wete interested atfirsr but preferred their own diet.

9. Illne ss is rare, bw if they are sick, the villagers ear les,1·, rest and take herbal remedies.

13 Expand the reduced phrases in the following sentences back into full adverbial clauses.
1. Having small farms, 1110 .11 of the elderly people lead demanding lives.
..".8:e. a.'!.e..tb$. .l:!a..Ve..f .t!L.L.fqr. - =- 0:_?. t pf.t J:!t rq.f r.fy_ y ?,P.Lt ?.e_qf?l._.c!e!'t.:t:C!.':1!:.'?. . .. .e.- -············································································•··
2. Not having 11wdem tools, they must devote much of thei:r ti me to strenuous physical labow:

3. If tired of working to suppon themselves, few of the older people complain.abow this.

4. When questioneLI abow their lifestyle, the older people saw nothing unusual about the way they live,d

5. After having moved.from their moun.tain villages to large cities, the chi/dre,1 of the elderl y rarely live pas f 80.

6. Studyi.ng the penple who had moved away from Abkl1azia , scien tists fou11d a high incidence of heart disease.

7. Living the 'good life, ' the people of Abkhazia almost never sujj"er fi·om hean disease .
Veduction of adver-bial clat1§e§ - Va.-t 2.
Main PC)ints
• Participle phrases that have been
reduced from adverbial clauses must
have the same subject as the
independent clause.
• Reduced phrases that do not have the
same subject as the independent
clause are ungrammatical. They
create 'dangling participles.'
1 Readers normally associate a participle with the
noun or noun phrase adjacent to It.
Consequently, Introductory participle phrases must
describe thesubject of theindependent clause that
follows thephrase. In other words, make sure the
participle actually describes the subject after the comma.
Not havillg eate11fordays.the ham sandwich looked veiy
appealing.
'Nothaving eaten for days' impliesthat the ham sandwich
had gone without food, not the person telling the story.
This phrase is not grammatically correct. The participle
'not having eaten' is referred to as a 'dangn
lig participle.'
(Somethingthat is 'dangling' is hanging loosely; itis not
firmly attached to anything.)
Sentences like the example only confuse & distract
the reader.
The need to ensure that the participle in an
introductory participle phrase describes the subject
after the comma is especially important when there is
more than one noun in the independent clause.
A dangling participle will result if it is unclear what the
participle phrase is describing.
Havi11g lived fo r 100 years , the doctors were amazed at my
grandfather.
Was it the doctors who had lived for 100 years, or the
grandfather? 'Having lived for 1 00 years' incorerctly
Implies that the doctors had lived for 100 years, not
the grandfather.
Havi11g bitten several pedestria11s , the owner forcibly
muzzled his dog.
It is hard to know which noun is being described by
the participle 'having bitten.' Did the man referred to in
the independent clause bite the pedestrians, or was
his dog the attacker?
.J There are two ways to correct a dangling
participle:
(1) Expand the participle phtase into a full adverbial
clause.
IWM;WlM' Make sure the adverbial dause has a
subject
Havillg lived for 1 00 years , the doctors were ama zed
at my grandfathe1:
q BecallSe h e ltad lived for JOO years , the doctors
were amazed at my grandfather.
Havillg bitten several pedestrians , the owner forcibly
muzzled hts dog.
c:i A fter it /tad bitten several pedestrians, the owner
forcibly muzzled hts dog.
Not ltavi11g eaten for days, the ham sandwich.looked
ve, y appealing.
c:i As I had 1101 eaten for davs, th e ham sand wich
Iooked ve1y a ppealing.
(2) Change the independent clause so that it has the
same subject as the participle phrase.
Having lived for 100 years, the doctors wern amazed
at my gra11dfothe1:
c:> Havillg lived for a 100 years,m y gra11d fatlzer
amazed the doctors.
Havi11g bitte ,t several pedestriallS , the ow11er j"ot d bl y
mu zzled his dog.
c:> Havillg bitte11 severtd pedestria11S , tlte dog was
11111zz/.ed b y his owne1:
Not havingeate11 for days, the /tam sa11dwich looked
very appealing.
c:> Not having eate11 for days, l found the ham
sand wich looked V<ny ap pealing.
After fi11ishi11g the operation, the patient was given a
sedative.
'Afterfinishingthe operation' implies that the
patient (not a doctor) finished the operation!
Q After fi11is h ilig the operation, the doctor gave the
patient a sedati11 e.
If sick, the family cares for him.
'If sick' implies that the family is sick.
c:> If sick, lte is caredfor (7)' his family.
Vr-actice
A A researcher rode a horse many kilometres through rough terrain tq interview 124-year•oldJose Molina, who
lived in Vilcabamba, avillage in Ecuado,rSouth America. The following is the researcher's account of the visit Some
sentences have 'danglingparticiples.' Correct them either by expanding the participle phrases into full adverbial
clause,sor by changing the subject of the independentclause. If a sentence is correct, don't change it.
1. Whil e travelling in the co1m t1)\ th e weather was lwt.
W..h!f:t..(. -?..t(q V
_ f.?. - _{J11:._t; e_.qi_11 jjr. f.ff. . t.hp: V_(fl§ rTP. ..:':.W..hfk . f(PV
. e..ff{ .f1.1:. fh_e .U".':t1:f<..l.frl.t P.t-
2. Having worked since early in the nwm ing, .lose Molina. welcomed the chance for a re.11.

3. After shaking my lwmi, we walked to a large tree and sat do wn.

4. 1 m y hor se stood nearby nibbling on the grass.

While talking abom his life arul.fa mi/_1

5. .lose made his living as a/armer since coming to Vilcabamha some 90 _vea1:1· b efore.

6. Living a simple life am/ having.few possessions, money was not important to .lose.

7. If ill, his wife would make hima special type of herbal medicine.

8. Jose had to get back to u,vrk after talking to m.e for over an hour.

9. Althl)ugh tired and hw1g1y, there was plenty of work left to do.

10. Riding back to town, the vi!.'W of t he moum ain s was spectaculm:

113 Read the following passage about the elderly in Vilcabamba (a village in Ecuado,rSouth America) & Abkhazia (a
republic that was once in the Soviet Union). Underline all dependent clauses . When it is possible, change these
clauses into reduced phrases or verbless phrases. Makechanges from pronoun to noun where appropriate & make
any other changes in sentence structure. Pay close attention to the punctuaiton.
Sta111s within Western cu/tu.res is in many ways based on youth Because most older people are lessactiveand less

pmductive, society 1e11d 1·to regatrl th.em as us eles.r. Thus , as tlw ageing process takes its toll, many senior citi::,ens s pend /heir

last yem·s away from th.eir famil ies in retiremm t comm unitie s or nursing homes, where they awa.it the inevitable.

This situation is reversed in Vilcahamba. and Abkha zia. While the elderly are growing older in these cultures, they gain

social prestige and im{XJ11anc e rather than lose it. Because they Live in close-knit families, the older citizens are never separated

from their lol'ed ones. Even when they are 1•e1)• old, they continue to help with th.e fw µ s ehold res ponsibilities . if the y are s i c k,

seve ra l generations ojj"am.ily are nearb y to carefoT the1n

The eld.erly n,ei er lose sight of their mies within the family and community. While they are s1111·0t111d.ed by sons,

daughters, grandchildren and grent -grandcluldr,en the old onesare constantly told, 'You are the reason we are here; you are

first 111 th .e fa mily; we need your superzor wisdom; we need your 1-n.sejudgements.' Becau se many olderpeople in the West

believe they are use!ess, they age quickly ant/ die young. Because th.e old of Vilcabamba and Abkha;;ia know that they are not

useless, they continue to lead productive lives we/ l into tlwir hundreds.