Perfect Participle
The perfect participle is made up of ‘having’ and the past participle of the principal verb.
having written , having come
In contrast with the indefinite participle , the perfect participle always connotes the idea of an action or state prior to the action or state denoted by the definite verb.
Having swum , for half an hour , he returned home.
(Dup ace inotase o jumatate de ora , el se intoarse acasa)
The perfect participle can be used instead of the present participle in
Instances of the type :
He opened the drawer and took out the revolver.
Having opened the drawer ……….
The perfect participle emphasizes that the first action is complete before the second one starts , but is not normally necessary in combinations of this kind except when the use of the present pa 646d39g rticiple might lead to confusion .
Reading the instructions , he could open the box - might give the impression that the two actions were simultaneous .Her ,therefore, the perfect participle would be better.
Having read the instructions , he could open the box.
The perfect participle is , however, necessary when there is an interval of time between the two actions.
Having failed twice , he didn’t want to try again.
(Deoarece picase de doua ori , n-a mai vrut sa incerce)
It is also used when the first action covered a period of time :
Having been his own boss for such a long time , he found it
hard to accept order from another.
(Deoarece nu avusese sef de foarte mult timp , i-a fost greu sa
accepte ordine de la altcineva)
Syntactic Functions
The syntactic functions of the perfect participle are :
1. of an adverbial modifier or part of an adverbial of time
Having written his exercises , the boy went to dinner.
(Dupa ce si-a scris exercitiile , baiatul s-a dus sa ia cina)
2. of an adverbial modifier or part of an adverbial modifier of clause :
Having been a good mathematician , he could help you.
(Deoarece fusese un bun matematician , n-a putut ajuta)
Special Participial Constructions
The following predicative participial constructions occur in contemporary English :
1. The Accusative with the Participle
2. The Nominative with the Participle
3. The Nominative Absolute Participial Construction
4. The Prepositional Absolute Participial Construction
1. The Accusative with the Participle
The construction is analogous to the accusative with the infinitive from which it differs slightly in that it generally implies continuous action or state (although the infinitive may also imply them)
I heard them singing. – I heard them sing.
We saw them running. – We saw them run.
The accusative with the participle is used :
a. after verbs denoting perception such as : to feel , to listen , to see , to look at , to behold ,to notice , to observe , to perceive , to watch , to smell. These verbs can be followed by a direct object which can be the subject of a present participle :
I felt the child trembling.
(Am simtit copilul tremurand)
He watched us coming.
(Ne privea cum veneam)
The present participle may be regarded as a predicative adjunt to the object of these verbs.
He felt his heart beating wildly.
(Isi simti inima batand cu putere)
In five minutes he had them all laughing.
(In cinci minute i-a facut pe toti sa rada)
Hre is a clear case of a present participle as a predicative adjunt after to find:
When at last he returned home , he found his wife dying.
(Cand s-a intors acasa , si-a gasit sotia murind)
The present participle refers to an action represented as being in progress and having a certain duration.
If there are two examples :
She heard him coming downstairs.
She heard him come downstairs - the action is not viewed as in progress , but merely referred to as such , either because the speaker considers its duration irrelevant,or because it actually occupies but a moment. The difference is one of what is sometimes called ASPECT. The aspect expressed by the present participle is called Imperfective or durative ; that expressed by the infinitive is called Perfective.
b. an accusative with present participle is also found after : to catch, to keep, to leave , to have , to imagine , to set , to start
You find me packing for the holidays.
(Ma gasesti facand bagajele pentru plecarea in vacanta)
They kept me waiting an hour.
There is to be noted the occasional use of an accusative with present participle after to want and to like :
You do not want people thinking you did it.
(Nu vrei ca oamenii sa creada ca tu ai facut )
They do not like me trying to look after Leslie.
(Lor nu le place ca eu sa am grija de Leslie)
After to get the present participle alternates with the to –infinitive :
I found it rather difficult to get things going.
(Mi-e greu sa fac lucrurile sa functioneze)
I cannot get him to apologize.
(Nu-l pot face sa-si ceara scuze)
In the same way as a noun or an adjective, a participle may be preceded by as when it is a predicative adjunt to the object :
We always regarded the document as belonging to her brother.
(Noi mereu am privit documentul ca apartinand fratelui sau)
2. The Nominative with the Participle
It is a construction analogous to the nominative with the “infinitive”, from which it differs in that it generally implies continuous action or state.
A boat loaded with trippers was seen to leave the the harbour.
(……a fost vazuta plecand (ca pleca) din port)-Nom+Infin.
A boat loaded with trippers was seen leaving.-Nom+Participle
(……a fost vazuta plecand (cand pleca) din port)
The verbs that take an accusative with present participle may also stand in the passive , a construction that may be denoted as Nominative with Present Participle.
3. The Nominative Absolute Participial Construction
This is a construction in which the participle stands in predicate relation to a noun or pronoun is not the subject of the sentence.
We shall have a picnic on Saturday , weather permitting.
(Vom iesi la iarba verde sambata daca este vreme buna)
It is especially frequent in literary English ; spoken English usually prefers a dependent clause. The relation implied may be one of time , reason or attendant circumstances , cause , condition.
Of time → The sun having risen , the traveller went on.
(When the sun had risen ……….)
(Cand soarele rasarise , calatorul si-a continuat drumul)
Of cause→There being another experiment to be performed , we went
into the second laboratory.
(As there was another……..)
(Cum se lucra la un alt experiment, am intrat in al doilea laborator)
Of attendant circumstances→He got up and walked carefully and gently across the room , his boots creaking at every step.
(S-a sculat si a mers cu grija prin camera ,ghetele lui scartaind la fiecare pas)
4. The Prepositional Absolute Participial Construction
When the absolute participial construction is introduced by the preposition with, the indefinite participle becomes part of a prepositional absolute participial construction.
The boys played on , with little Pete watching them.
(Baietii au continuat sa se joace , micutul Pete uitandu-se la ei)
In many current expressions , the subject of the participle is missing :
Counting for tomorrow , it is twenty days to New York.
(Incepand de maine , mai sunt 20 de zile pana
Generally speaking , the results are satisfactory.
(Vorbind in general , rezultatele sunt satisfacatoare)
Other similar expressions :
barring accidents
beginning with our next issue
considering the circumstances
going (or judging) by appearances
including tomorrow
reckoning from today
regarding your application
seeing that
strictly (or properly) speaking
taking everything into account
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