Participle constructions – Partizipialkonstruktionen (Übungsvideo)

Hello and let me welcome you to this practice video. Today we are going to practice the topic of participle constructions which you can use instead of an adverbial or a main clause. Heute üben wir alles zum Thema Partizipialkonstruktionen anstelle von Adverbial- und Hauptsätzen. You should first watch the learning video to this topic before you start with this practice video. Let's start with today’s topic now. I hope you'll enjoy it. In the learning video we were talking about two terms, Gleichzeitigkeit und Vorzeitigkeit. Gleichzeitigkeit heißt, dass zwei Aktionen zu der gleichen Zeit passieren. Zum Beispiel: Kate is in the kitchen eating breakfast. "Eating breakfast" ist dann die Partizipialkonstruktion und in diesem Beispiel ist sie anstelle von einem Hauptsatz. Man könnte nämlich genauso auch sagen: Kate is in the kitchen and she is eating breakfast. You use a participle construction when you want to make a sentence shorter or when you don't want to repeat certain words again. Okay, jetzt schauen wir noch schnell, was Vorzeitigkeit heißt. Du verwendest diese Konstruktion, wenn du deutlich machen möchtest, welche Aktion als erste in einem Satz passiert ist. Zum Beispiel: Having switched off the computer, he went to bed. "Having switched off" ist die Partizipialkonstruktion und in diesem Beispiel ist sie anstelle von einem Adverbialsatz. So the most important thing here is that for things happening at the same time you use the -ing construction. And for actions happening one after the other you use the construction with having + the third form of a verb.   Now, let's start with the practical part. You will be given two sentences and I want you to put them into only one sentence using a participle construction. You will have to decide which participle construction to use. First, let me show you an example. She walked down the street. She was talking to her daughter. These two sentences can be put into one, like this: She walked down the street talking to her daughter. Good, now it's your turn! When she finished her homework, she went to bed. Having finished her homework, she went to bed. Ted was playing tennis. He hurt his knee. Ted hurt his knee playing tennis. Sarah is in the living room. She is watching TV. Sarah is in the living room watching TV. My boss was feeling tired. So he went home. Feeling tired, my boss went home. After he finished his presentation he made himself a cup of coffee. Having finished his presentation, he made himself a cup of coffee. He was very tall. He became a basketball player. Being very tall, he became a basketball player. He was waiting in the hall. He overheard the conversation. Waiting in the hall, he overheard the conversation. Because the text was written in a hurry, it contained a lot of mistakes. Having been written in a hurry, the text contained a lot of mistakes. Well done! In the next exercise, translate the sentences from German into English. And again, use participle constructions. Während Frank Fernsehen schaute, konnte er den Einbrecher nicht bemerken. Watching TV Frank could not notice the burglar. Rachel verließ das Zimmer, wobei sie die Tür heftig zuschlug. Banging the door Rachel left the room. Während ich in London war, habe ich einen alten Freund von mir getroffen. Staying in London, I met an old friend of mine. Er sitzt nur da und spielt Computerspiele. He just sits playing computer games. Und nur noch einen Satz: Sie standen und warteten. They stood waiting. Good Job! And don't forget that you can also use participle constructions in negative sentences. For example: She didn't have any money. She couldn't buy the shoes. Not having any money, she couldn't buy the shoes. That's all for today. Having seen all the sentences in the video, do you feel more confident about this grammar? I hope so. Bis zum nächsten Mal, tschüss!