Grammar · Clauses, Connectors & Sentence Style
Participle Clauses (Having Finished…)
Pack two ideas into one tight sentence with openers like Hunting…, Having found… and Set in…, and learn to use them with No Country for Old Men.
Grammar › Clauses, Connectors & Sentence Style › Participle Clauses
The rule in one sentenceA participle clause joins two ideas that share one subject: use -ing / having + past participle when the subject does the action, and the past participle alone when something is done to it; either way, the hidden subject must be the subject of the main clause.
About the film
No Country for Old Men (2007) is the Coen brothers’ tense thriller, based on Cormac McCarthy’s novel and set in West Texas in 1980. Hunting antelope alone in the desert, Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin), a welder, comes across a group of abandoned trucks and a case packed with cash. Having decided to keep the money, he soon finds himself followed by Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), a calm and deeply unsettling man sent to recover it, while the ageing Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) tries to make sense of what is happening in his county.
What does it do?
A participle clause is a clause on a diet: it drops the subject and the full verb and keeps only a participle, borrowing its missing subject from the main clause. Instead of Because he was hunting in the desert, Llewelyn found the trucks, a writer can simply say Hunting in the desert, Llewelyn found the trucks, and the sentence immediately sounds tighter and more polished.
With an -ing form, the subject is doing the action, usually at the same time as the main clause or as its reason; with having + past participle, the action is clearly finished before the main one begins. With the past participle alone, the meaning is passive, because something has been done to the subject, which is why film reviews are full of openers like set in, based on and shot in.
Notice that every tile follows the same pattern: a short participle clause, a comma, and then the main clause with its subject stated clearly. In the first two, Llewelyn is the one hunting and finding; in the last two, the story is set and the film is based, so the meaning is passive.
Because Llewelyn was hunting in the desert, he found the trucks. Hunting in the desert, Llewelyn found the trucks.
The meaning is identical, but the second version cuts three words and instantly reads like a confident piece of written English.
Visual guide
Teacher Teddy’s illustrated guide to this rule is being drawn — the full swipe-through infographic will appear here soon.
How to make it
-ing / having + past participle — active
Looking through his binoculars, Llewelyn notices the trucks.
Same time: he looks and notices together.Not wanting to leave the money behind, he takes the case home.
Put “not” before the participle.Having found a case full of cash, would you keep it?
The participle clause can open a question too.past participle — passive
Set in 1980, the story unfolds across West Texas.
It = “The story, which is set in 1980, …”Not written as a traditional thriller, the film uses almost no music.
“Not” comes first here as well.Based on a novel, is the film faithful to the book?
Most critics would say yes.When to use each one
-ing / having — the subject acts
past participle — something is done to it
Words that help: spot the opener
These openers tell a reader that a participle clause is coming, and you will meet them constantly in written film reviews.
Active openers
Passive openers
Common mistakes
❌ Hunting in the desert, the trucks appeared in front of Llewelyn.
✅ Hunting in the desert, Llewelyn saw the trucks.
The participle borrows the subject of the main clause, and the trucks were not hunting; this error is called a dangling participle.
❌ Basing on a novel, the film is slow and tense.
✅ Based on a novel, the film is slow and tense.
The film does not base anything itself, so the meaning is passive and you need the past participle.
❌ Having find the money, Llewelyn goes home.
✅ Having found the money, Llewelyn goes home.
After having you need the past participle, which for this verb is found.
❌ Set in 1980, I found the film very quiet.
✅ Set in 1980, the film has a quiet, old-fashioned feel.
You were not set in 1980, the film was, so the film must be the subject of the main clause.
One more thing
This part reaches the top of the level, so come back to it when the basic patterns feel comfortable.
Three refinements that separate confident writers from careful ones. First, the perfect passive having been + past participle usually shrinks to the bare participle, so (Having been) released in 2007 is perfectly natural in its shorter form. Second, an absolute construction gives the participle its own subject, which removes the dangling problem altogether, although it sounds literary. Third, a small set of fixed expressions, such as judging by and generally speaking, are accepted even when the subjects do not match.
✅ (Having been) released in 2007, it won four Oscars. (shortened perfect passive)
✅ The sun sinking behind the hills, Llewelyn heads home. (absolute construction)
✅ Judging by the reviews, it is a modern classic. (fixed expression)
Practice: build the participle clause
Eight questions. Choose the version that careful written English would use, and read the explanation either way.
1. ___ antelope in the desert, Llewelyn spots the trucks.
Llewelyn does the hunting, so the meaning is active → hunting.
2. ___ in West Texas in 1980, the film has a timeless feel.
The film is set somewhere by its makers, so the meaning is passive → set.
3. ___ the case, Llewelyn drives home.
The perfect participle is having + past participle: having found.
4. Which sentence is correct?
The heat cannot walk, so the first sentence has a dangling participle.
5. ___ on Cormac McCarthy’s novel, the film keeps much of the book’s dialogue.
The film is based on the novel, so the meaning is passive → based.
6. ___ who owns the money, Llewelyn takes it anyway.
In a negative participle clause, not comes first: not knowing.
7. ___ by critics, the film won four Oscars.
The critics praised the film, so from the film’s point of view it is passive → praised.
8. Llewelyn drives home, ___ his life has changed.
Llewelyn is the one who knows, so the clause is active → knowing.
Your turn
Choose one ending. Then listen to your sentence.
Every sentence here is correct. Pick the one that is true for you, and say it out loud!
Keep going
More lessons
Practise listening at your level
Hear this grammar used for real — Advanced English listening practice. Full movie reviews in slow, clear English, levelled for Advanced learners. One new episode every week, free, with a transcript. AdvancedFree playlistWatch on YouTube