Unit 68 · -ing and to …

-ing clauses (He hurt his knee playing football.)

Study

Kate is in the kitchen. She’s making coffee.

You can say:

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Kate is in the kitchen making coffee.

You can use -ing in this way when two things happen at the same time:

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A man ran out of the house shouting. (= he ran out of the house and he was shouting)

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Do something! Don’t just stand there doing nothing!

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Be careful crossing the road.

We also use -ing when one action happens during another action:

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Joe hurt his knee playing football. (= while he was playing)

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Did you cut yourself shaving? (= while you were shaving)

You can also say ‘while doing something’ and ‘when doing something’:

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Joe hurt his knee while playing football.

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Be careful when crossing the road. (= when you are crossing)

When one action happens before something else, we use having (done) for the first action:

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Having found a hotel, we looked for somewhere to eat.

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Having finished her work, she went home.

You can also say after -ing:

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After finishing her work, she went home.

These structures are used more in written English than in spoken English.

When we begin a sentence with ‘Having (done something)’ or ‘After (doing something)’, we write a comma (,) after this part of the sentence:

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Having finished, her work, she went home.

comma

You can also use -ing to explain something, or to say why somebody does something. The sentence usually begins with -ing:

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Feeling tired, I went to bed early. (= because I felt tired)

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Being unemployed, he doesn’t have much money. (= because he is unemployed)

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Not having a car, she finds it difficult to get around. (= because she doesn’t have a car)

We use having (done) for something that is complete before something else:

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Having seen the film twice, I didn’t want to see it again. (= because I had seen it twice)

These structures are used more in written English than in spoken English.

When we begin a sentence with -ing (Feeling tired … / Not knowing … / Having seen … etc.), we write a comma (,) after this part of the sentence.

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Not knowing what to do, I called my friend to ask her advice.

Exercises (4)

0/4 exercises checked

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68.1

Choose from Box A and Box B to make sentences. Use -ing.

1
Kate was in the kitchen .example
2
Amy was sitting in an armchair .
3
Nicola opened the door carefully .
4
Sarah went out .
5
Lisa worked in Rome for two years .
6
Anna walked around the town .

68.2

Put the words in the right order.

1
Joe hurt his knee playing football. example
2
I .
3
Laura .
4
My friend .
5
Emily .
6
Two people were .

68.3

Complete the sentences. Use Having + a suitable verb.

1
her work, Katherine left the office and went home.example
2
our tickets, we went into the theatre and took our seats.
3
the problem, I think we’ll be able to find a solution.
4
he was hungry, Joe now says he doesn’t want to eat anything.
5
his job recently, James is now unemployed.
6
most of his life in London, Sam has now gone to live in a small village in the country.

68.4

Make one sentence from two. Begin with -ing or Not -ing. Sometimes you need to begin with Having … . Don’t forget the comma (,).

1
I felt tired. So I went to bed early.
I went to bed early.example
2
I thought they might be hungry. So I offered them something to eat.
I offered them something to eat.
3
Robert is a vegetarian. So he doesn’t eat any kind of meat.
Robert doesn’t eat any kind of meat.
4
I didn’t have a phone. So I had no way of contacting anyone.
I had no way of contacting anyone.
5
Sarah has travelled a lot. So she knows a lot about other countries.
Sarah knows a lot about other countries.
6
I wasn’t able to speak the local language. So I had trouble communicating.
I had trouble communicating.
7
We had spent nearly all our money. So we couldn’t afford to stay at a hotel.
we couldn’t afford to stay at a hotel.