Participle I

1. The morphological characteristics. Participle I has the grammatical categories of voice and tense correlation.

2. The category of voice

Active Passive

asking being asked

writing being written

Asking that question he did not want to offend me

The letter being written, he went to post it.

2.1 The category of tense correlation

Non-perfect

asking

bein asked

writing

being written

Perfect

having asked

having been asked

having written

having been written

The perfect form of participle I expresses priority.

Having written the letter he went to post it. — Написав письмо, он пошел опустить его.

Note: The non-perfect form of participle I of such verbs as to enter, to arrive, to look, to turn, etc. used as an adverbial modifier expresses priority.

Turning to his sister, he grasped her hand.—

2.2. The syntactical characteristics. Participle I has the following functions in the sentence:

2.2.1. An attribute

Here is the telegram announcing his arrival.

He came up to the crying child.

Note: The perfect form of participle I is not used in the function of the attribute. In such cases an attributive clause is used. Cp.: Я не знаю человека, принесшего эту записку вчера.- I don't know the man who brought the note yesterday.

2.2.2. An adverbial modifier

a. of time

As an adverbial modifier of time the participle I may be preceded by the conjunctions when, while:

When listening to her I understood that she was upset.

b. of cause

Not knowing his new telephone number I could not get in touch with him.

c. of manner and attending circumstances

For a moment they stood silently looking at one another.

He ran up to her, smiling happily.

d. of comparison

As an adverbial modifier of comparison the participle is always pre­ceded by the conjunctions as if, as though.

He peered at me, as if not recognizing.

e. of concession

He could not catch up with them though working very hard.

f. of condition

Driving at this speed, we'll be there in no time.

2.2.3. A parenthesis I

Frankly speaking, you are wrong.

Putting it mildly, she was rather rude.

Taking everything into consideration, she had a right to do it.

2.2.4. A part of the complex subject, the complex object, the nominavite ab­solute participial construction;

a. the complex object

The complex object consists of a noun in the common case or a pronoun in the objective case and participle 1. The complex object is used after:

(1) the verbs of physical sense perception (to see, to hear, to feel, to watch, to notice, etc.) I

She watched the children playing in the garden.

(2) the verbs of causative meaning (to get, to set, to leave, to have, etc)

Don't keep her waiting.

(3) the verbs of liking or disliking (to like, to want, to hate, etc.)