-ING CLAUSES

-ING CLAUSES
(Feeling tired, I went to bed early.)
A. Study these situations:
- Joe was playing football. He hurt his knee.
You can say:
- Joe hurt his knee playing football.
- You were feeling tired. So you went to bed early.
You can say:
- Feeling tired, I went to bed early.
`Playing football` and `feeling tired` are -ing clauses.
If the -ing clause is at the beginning of the sentence (as in the second example), we write a comma (,) after it.
B. When two things happen at the same time, you can use an -ing clause:
- Kate is in the kitchen making coffee.
(= she is in the kitchen and she is making coffee)
- A man ran out of the house shouting.
(= he ran out of the house and he was shouting)
- Do something! Don`t just stand there doing nothing!
We also use -ing when one action happens during another action. We use -ing for the longer action:
- Joe hurt his knee playing football. (= while he was playing)
- Did you cut yourself shaving? (= while you were shaving)
You can also use -ing after while or when:
- Joe hurt his knee while playing football.
- Be careful when crossing the road. (= when you are crossing)
C. When one action happens before another action, we use having (done) for the first action:
- Having found a hotel, we looked for somewhere to have dinner.
- Having finished her work, she went home.
You can also say after -ing:
- After finishing her work, she went home.
If one short action follows another short action, you can use the simple -ing form
(doing instead of having done) for the first action:
- Taking a key out of his pocket, he opened the door.
These structures are used more in written English than in spoken English.
D. You can use an -ing clause to explain something, or to say why somebody does something. The -ing clause usually comes at the beginning of the sentence:
- Feeling tired, I went to bed early. (= because I felt tired)
- Being unemployed, he doesn`t have much money. (= because he is unemployed)
- Not having a car, she finds it difficult to get around.
(= because she doesn`t have a car)
Use having (done) for something that happened before something else:
- Having already seen the film twice, I didn`t want to see it again.
(= because I had already seen it twice)
These structures are used more in written English than in spoken English.

PRACTICE
I. Choose from Box A and Box Bto make sentences. Use an -ing clause.

A
B

1. Kate was in the kitchen.
2. Amy was sitting in an armchair.
3. Sue opened the door carefully.
4. Sarah went out.
5. Lisa was in London for two years.
6. Anna walked around the town.
She was trying not to make a noise.
She looked at the sights and took pictures.
She said she would be back in an hour.
She was reading a book.
She was making coffee.
She worked in a bookshop.


1. Kate was in the kitchen making coffee.
2. Amy was sittmg................................
3. Sue....................................................
4. ..........................................................
5. ..........................................................
6. ..........................................................
II. Make one sentence from two using an -ing clause.
1. Joe was playing football. He hurt his knee. .
( Joe hurt his knee playing football.
2. I was watching TV. I fell asleep.
I.........................................................................
3. A friend of mine slipped and fell. He was getting off a bus.
A friend of mine................................................
4. I was walking home in the rain. I got very wet.
I.........................................................................
5. Laura was driving to work yesterday. She had an accident.
..........................................................................
6. Two people were overcome by smoke. They were trying to put out the fire.
..........................................................................
III. Make sentences beginning "Having ..." . Put the words in the correct order.
1. (went / she / work / her / home / finished)
( Having finished her work, she went home..
2. (tickets / the theatre / bought / into / our / went / we)
Having.........................................................................
3. (journey / their / had / they / lunch / continued)
Having...........................................................................
4. (the / coffee