II) Participles replacing relative clauses

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 444.

Participles of verbs

I) Participle phrases replacing relative clauses

GRAMMAR IN USE

In English, each verb has two participles:

Participle I (verb –ing)

Participle II (verb –ed)

In which the former is considered the active participle and the second is known as passive particle.

A participle phrase is the one with the centre element being a participle.

Examples:

1. workingwith me

2. studyingPhysics last year

3. writtenby a famous scientist

4. clarifiedby the International Bureau of Weights and Measures

5. having been carefully conductedin the laboratory

6. being consideredby the Government

From the above mentioned, it is deduced that each type of participle, therefore, will replace a corresponding relative clause with the same grammatical implication (whether passive or active), basing on the form of the verb phrase in the relative clause.

Consider the following examples (from Unit One)

1. Science (pure science) is a term which is used to denote systemized knowledge in any field.

2. Applied science is the term that is used to refer to the search for practical uses of scientific knowledge.

3. Neil Armstrong was the first person who walked on the Moon.

4. Here, we should distinguish pure science from technology through which applications are realized.

5. Newton whom many of us, scientists have respected used not to be a good student at all.

6. Newton, whose discovery of the theory of gravity was very strange, has been thepioneer in Mechanics Physics.

It is clearly seen that half of the above examples of relative clauses are active (3, 5, 6) and the other half are passive (1, 2, 4).

However, not all relative clauses but the ones with relative pronoun in subject position can be replaced with participle phrases. This is applicable to both types of relative clauses.

Hence, among the above relative clauses, only the first three can be replaced.

We have:

1. Science (pure science) is a term used to denote systemized knowledge in any field.

2. Applied science is the term used to refer to the search for practical uses of scientific knowledge.

3. Neil Armstrong was the first person walking on the Moon.

These sentences will be interpreted basing on the context in which it appears:

As in the first two participle phrases, they are used to make definitions so the verbs in the corresponding relative clauses must be in present tense while, in the last one, the tense of verb in the corresponding relative clause must be the simple past tense (it is the action of the past).

Note:

• The third case of relative clause can be replaced with a to-infinitive

• Relative clauses with intransitive verbs can not be replaced with an –ed phrase.