Participle clauses

Present Participle An action that happens at the same time as the main clause Tom lost his keys walking in the park.  Tom lost his keys while he was walking in the park. She left the room singing happily  She left the room as she was singing happily

An action that happens just before another action Opening the envelope. I found two concert tickets.  I opened the envelope and I found two concert tickets.

An action which is the result of another action Moments later a bomb exploded, leaving three people dead and twelve others injured. When I entered they all looked at me, making me feel uncomfortable. A reason for the action in the main clause Having nothing left to do, Paula went home.  Since Paula had nothing left to do, she went home. Knowing a little Russian, I had no difficulty making myself understood.  As I knew a little Russian, I had no difficulty making myself understood.

Past Participle It replaces passive voice Shocked by the explosion, the people ran for shelter.  The people were shocked by the explosion and ran for shelter. The musicians stood up, surrounded by thunderous applause.  The musicians stood up while they were surrounded by thunderous applause.

Perfect Participle If we want to make it clear that an action happens before another one, we use a perfect participle for the earlier action Having washed the car, I noticed a small scratch on the front right fender.  After I washed the car, I noticed a small scratch on the front right fender.

If the two actions do not follow each other immediately or if the first action happens over a period of time, we use a perfect participle instead of a present participle for the earlier action Having seen the film before, I didn't want to go to the cinema. Mark knew the town well, having lived there all his life.