Archive for February, 2011

Participles: exercise

February 16th, 2011 in Improve English

Correct the following sentences.

1. Being the only applicant, I decided to appoint him.

2. Seizing him by the arm, he was taken to the police station.

3. Sitting on the grass, a snake bit him.

4. Being a hot day, I didn’t go out.

5. Meeting my friend at the library, he told about the problems he had.

6. Hearing that there was a vacancy, an application was sent by me.

7. Working in the field, a dog bit him.

Answers

1. As he was the only applicant I decided to appoint him.

2. Seizing him by the arm, the people / I / he / they took him to the police station.

3. Sitting on the grass, he was bitten by a snake. OR While he was sitting on the grass, a snake bit him.

4. It being a hot day, I didn’t go out. OR As it was a hot day, I didn’t go out.

5. When I met my friend at the library, he told me about the problems he had.

6. Hearing that there was a vacancy, I sent an application.

7. Working in the field, he was bitten by a dog. OR While he was working in the field, a dog bit him.

Notes

A participle should be grammatically linked to the sentence. Since a participle qualifies a noun or pronoun like an adjective, it must have a proper noun or pronoun of reference.