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mashi
Joined: 13 Apr 2006
Posts: 7
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 Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 12:26 am Post subject: participle phrase |
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Dear, teachers
In "A Practical English Grammar" (page 241)
I found the explanation,
"When one action is immediately followed by another by the same subject the first action can often be expressed by a present participle.
The principle must be placed first:
He opened the drawer and took out a revolver.
= Opening the drawerhe took out the revolver."
But I found the sentence on the net.
"He took out the key, opening the locked door."
In this sentence the action following by another is expressed by a present participle. Is this sentence wrong or am I misunderstood?
Thanks in advance. |
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dragn
Joined: 17 Feb 2009
Posts: 450
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| Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 6:49 pm Post subject: |
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| "He took out the key, opening the locked door." |
I would say the sentence is reasonable. You are right about that usage of present participles; however, that is not the only way to use them.
Everything you said is correct. When one action is immediately followed by a second, the first action can be expressed using a present participle:
Making a wish, Jenny blew out the candles on her birthday cake.
She made the wish first, and then proceeded to blow out the candles.
However, this is not the only way to use present participles. We also use present participles when two actions occurr simultaneously. For example:
Giggling with excitement, Jenny tore into her presents.
These actions occurred at the same time. Notice that we could reverse these with no damage to the meaning:
Tearing into her presents, Jenny giggled with excitement.
We could also put the present participle second:
Jenny tore into her presents, giggling with excitement.
When there is a clear sequence of events and the second action is a result or logical outcome of the first, we sometimes use a present participle with the second action. For example:
Tommy jumped off the top of the garage, spraining his ankle.
Spraining his ankle was the result or logical outcome of the first action. This is what's happening in the given example:
He took out the key, opening the locked door.
Oh, so that's why he took out the key. Gosh, thanks for clearing up that mystery. That's usually why someone takes out a key, is it not? Opening the locked door was the result or logical outcome of taking out the key. So, the sentence is reasonable. Some might think it slightly awkward; it might not win a Pulitzer prize; but in my opinion it's grammatically acceptable for the reasons I have given you.
Notice that this sentence could also be written thusly:
Taking out the key, he opened the locked door.
Hope this is helpful.
Greg |
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