現在分詞
ほとんどの動詞の現在分詞は base+ingの形状で、これは様々に使われます。
動詞の継続形の一部としての現在分詞
例
- I am working.
- He was singing.
- They have been walking.
- We will be staying.
- She would have been expecting me.
動きや位置を表す動詞の後の現在分詞
この構文は、特に動詞 to goと一緒によく使われます。
例
- She went shopping.
- I go running every morning.
- He lay looking up at the clouds.
- She came running towards me.
知覚動詞の後の現在分詞
この使い方のパターンは動詞 + 目的語 + 現在分詞です。こうした文の中で、分詞の代わりにtoなし不定詞が使われる場合は意味が異なります。現在分詞が継続中の行動を述べているのに対し、.不定詞は完了した行動を述べます。
例
- I heard someone singing.
- He saw his friend walking along the road.
- I can smell something burning!
- I watched the birds flying away.
形容詞としての現在分詞
例
- It was an amazing film.
- Dark billowing clouds often precede a storm.
- He was trapped inside the burning house.
- Many of his paintings show the setting sun.
動詞spend と wasteと一緒に使う現在分詞
これらの動詞と一緒に使う場合のパターンは、動詞 + 時間/貨幣の表現 + 現在分詞です。
例
- My boss spends two hours a day travelling to work.
- Don't waste time playing computer games!
- They've spent the whole day shopping.
- I wasted money buying this game.
動詞 catch と findと一緒に使う現在分詞
これらの動詞と一緒に使う場合のパターンは、 動詞 + 目的語 + 現在分詞です。catchと一緒の場合、分詞は常に苛立たしさや怒りの原因となる行動を表します。findの場合は感情が含まれません。
例
- If I catch you stealing my apples again, there'll be trouble!
- Don't let him catch you reading his letters.
- I caught him going through my bag.
- We found some money lying on the ground.
- They found their mother sitting in the garden.
二つの行動が同時に起こることを表す現在分詞
同じ人や物によってなされた二つの行動が同時に起こる場合は、そのうちの一つの行動を述べるのに現在分詞を使う場合があります。同じ人や物がある行動を起こし、その後すぐに他の行動を起こす時、最初の行動を述べるのに現在分詞を使います。
例
- Whistling to himself, he walked down the road. = He whistled to himself as he walked down the road.
- They went laughing out into the snow. = They laughed as they went out into the snow.
- Dropping the gun, she put her hands in the air. = She dropped the gun and put her hands in the air.
- Putting on his coat, he left the house. = He put on his coat and left the house.
理由を述べる現在分詞
as, sinceや becauseで始まる句の代わりに現在分詞を使うことが出来ます。この使い方では現在分詞は、行動の原因や理由を説明しています。
例
- Feeling hungry, he went into the kitchen and opened the fridge.
- Being poor, he didn't spend much on clothes.
- Knowing that his mother was coming, he cleaned the flat.
- He whispered, thinking his brother was still asleep.