Why do these sentences use Present Participle Simple (Active)?
1. Arriving at the railway station, he bought a ticket, walked to the platform and boarded the train.
2. Starting the building of the house at once, he finished it before the season of rains set in.
3. Pouring out a cup of coffee, he sat down in an armchair and looked at the woman.
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Answers · 3
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I respectfully disagree with my colleague above - All of these examples sound perfectly natural, in fact, they sound poetic!
These are examples of what I'll call "Participle/Gerund Adverbials". Basically, you're using a sentence like an adverb, to give further information about how or when the main event occurred. You could easily replace these clauses with other adverbials:
Yesterday / Quickly / With a $5 bill, [he bought a ticket, walked onto the platform, and boarded the train.]
In his yard / With only a hammer and saw / Last year, [he finished building the house before the rainy season set in.]
Three minutes ago / In the cafe / With a heavy sigh, [he poured out a cup of coffee and looked at the woman]
Languages tend to be strict about using clauses to modify things, so in order to use one rather than a different type of adverbial, like the examples above, you have to give it special grammatical equipment. You can:
1. Use a subordinating conjunction:
When he arrived at the train station
Because he started building the house at once
After he poured out a cup of coffee
2. Make the verb into a gerund/present participle
These don't necessarily imply that the action is presently going on, so for example:
Past: "Coming home late Tuesday night, he made himself dinner and fell asleep"
Future: "Reading the street signs, she will be able to find her way home."
I hope that helps!
(If you found this helpful, look me up using Find A Teacher. I'm always looking for new students!)
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Because it is either happening now or in these sentences, it contains ING "arrivING" "startING" And "pourING"
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1. Arriving at the railway station, he bought a ticket, walked to the platform and boarded the train. Good
2. BY Starting the building of the house at once, he finished it before the rain(s) set in: not a bad effort
2. BY Starting the building of the house at once, he finished it before the rainy season set in: not a bad effort
3. Pouring out a cup of coffee, he sat down in an armchair and looked at the woman. Good
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