Participle Clauses

Level 5

Shorten Toe hy tuis aangekom het, ... to Tuis aangekom, het hy dadelik gaan slaap. (Having arrived home, he went straight to bed.)

How It Works

1. A shortened clause. Formal writing can shorten a clause with toe or nadat to its past participle phrase:

  • Toe hy tuis aangekom het, het hy gaan slaap. → Tuis aangekom, het hy gaan slaap.

2. Participle last. Inside the phrase, the participle normally comes at the end, as in a clause: op die lughawe aangekom, deur die nuus geskok. Only a phrase with a preposition may follow it, as in Gebore in Kimberley.

3. Verb next. The phrase is the first element of the sentence, so the main verb follows it: Tuis aangekom, het hy ... This works like a subordinate clause first.

4. Same subject. The person or thing in the participle phrase must be the subject of the main clause. Tuis aangekom, was die kos koud would mean that the food arrived home. Use a full clause when the subjects differ.

5. Common types.

  • Time: Op die lughawe aangekom, ...
  • Cause or state: Deur die nuus geskok, ...
  • Biographies: Gebore in Kimberley, ...
  • Fixed phrase: Alles in ag genome, ... (all things considered)

Everyday Afrikaans: in speech, people use the full clause with toe or nadat. The -ende participle can also form such phrases in writing.

Examples (5)

  1. Tuis aangekom, het hy dadelik gaan slaap.

    Having arrived home, he went straight to bed.

    Word by Word: Home arrived, has he immediately gone sleep.

  2. Op die lughawe aangekom, het ons gehoor dat die vlug gekanselleer is.

    On arriving at the airport, we heard that the flight had been cancelled.

    Word by Word: At the airport arrived, have we heard that the flight cancelled is.

  3. Gebore in Kimberley, het sy later in Kaapstad gaan studeer.

    Born in Kimberley, she later went to study in Cape Town.

    Word by Word: Born in Kimberley, has she later in Cape-Town gone study.

  4. Deur die nuus geskok, het die ouers die skool gebel.

    Shocked by the news, the parents phoned the school.

    Word by Word: By the news shocked, have the parents the school phoned.

  5. Alles in ag genome, was dit 'n goeie jaar.

    All things considered, it was a good year.

    Word by Word: Everything in account taken, was it a good year.

    A fixed phrase. Genome is an old participle form of neem.

Common Mistakes

  • Keeping the subject before the verb after the participle phrase.

    Tuis aangekom, hy het dadelik gaan slaap.
    Tuis aangekom, het hy dadelik gaan slaap.

    The participle phrase takes first place, so the verb het must come next.

  • Giving the main clause a different subject.

    Tuis aangekom, was die kos al koud.
    Toe hy tuis aangekom het, was die kos al koud.

    The participle phrase has no subject of its own, so it takes the main clause subject. Here that would say the food arrived home. Use a full clause instead.

  • Putting the participle before a word like tuis, in English order.

    Aangekom tuis, het hy dadelik gaan slaap.
    Tuis aangekom, het hy dadelik gaan slaap.

    Words like tuis come before the participle, just as in a clause: tuis aangekom. Only a phrase with a preposition, such as in Kimberley, may follow it.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Participle ClausesLevel 5

Learn This First

A fronted past-participle phrase shares the main clause’s subject and is followed by main-clause inversion.

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Patterns that build on this one.