Table of Contents
Let sentences connect!
What could be considered the best movie ever made among all the films created so far? The best movie resides in each of our hearts. However, if one must rank them, factors like audience numbers, box office revenue, awards, or scores compiled by film institutions would be necessary. Ultimately, this means there isn’t just one criterion.
Despite this, “Gone with the Wind,” released in 1939, led in all categories, maintaining the top spot in box office rankings for 33 years. The film that broke this record was “The Godfather,” produced in 1972. “The Godfather” was an incredibly successful film, powerful enough to break the 33-year stronghold of the top spot.
In terms of competition for “The Godfather,” only “Ben-Hur” in the realm of Academy Awards and “Titanic” (1997) in box office revenue come close. Yet, “The Godfather” will remain one of the greatest movies for the foreseeable future.
The following is an exchange between Don Corleone and his son Michael.
Don Corleone: I hope you don’t mind the way I keep going over this Barzini business.
Michael: No, not at all.
Don Corleone: It’s an old habit. I spent my whole life trying not to be careless. Women and children can afford to be careless, but not men.
We have learned to create noun clauses, adjective clauses, or adverbial clauses, allowing for more complex English expressions. However, as sentences get longer, they can become confusing or overly complicated. Now, let’s try to simplify these long sentences using participle phrases. Simpler expressions are often better, and haven’t we always emphasized the principle of simplicity?
A participle can easily be defined as an adjective made by adding “~ing” or “~ed” to a verb. These transformed adjectives can perform all the roles that other adjectives do. Now, let’s look at expressions that simplify long sentences using participles, known as participle phrases in English grammar.
A participle phrase turns an adverbial clause starting with “conjunction + subject + verb” into an adverbial phrase starting with a participle. This turns a relatively long clause into a much shorter phrase, making the sentence simpler and shorter. Consider the following line from The Godfather:
I spent my whole life trying not to be careless.
Although it may seem complex, it’s not too difficult based on our principle of English. Don Corleone first states that he has spent his whole life. This would naturally lead the listener to wonder ‘how?’. To address this curiosity, Don Corleone explains, ‘by trying not to be careless.’
Thus, ‘trying not to be careless’, which resolves the question of ‘how?’, is a participle phrase. If you use a conjunction with the meaning of ‘~while doing’, it becomes “as I was trying not to be careless.” Don Corleone from The Godfather says that he spent his life trying not to be careless. Meanwhile, the narrator from Sans Soleil (1983) is saying he will spend his life trying to understand the function of remembering.
Narrator: I will have spent my life trying to understand the function of remembering, which is not the opposite of forgetting, but rather its lining. We do not remember. We rewrite memory much as history is rewritten. How can one remember thirst?
In The Shawshank Redemption, the line by Dufresne, “Get busy living or get busy dying,” is an example of using a participle phrase. It starts with “Get busy,” followed by an explanation of ‘how?’ – either by living or by dying. Even without grammatical explanation, it’s a sentence that English speakers can understand sequentially by resolving curiosity. That is, one can talk about ‘having lived’ or ‘will live’ and then add an explanation to resolve the ‘how?’ curiosity.
If a grammatical explanation is needed, the participle compresses the long expression of “conjunction + subject + verb.” By eliminating the conjunction, the participle phrase becomes a simpler sentence than the original adverbial clause. The challenge is to infer the meaning of the missing conjunction by looking at the context before and after.
Chris Taylor: I think now, looking back, we did not fight the enemy, we fought ourselves, and the enemy… was in us. – Platoon, 1986)>
The participle phrase “looking back” placed in the middle of the sentence can be seen as a shortened form of expressions like “as I look back” or “after I look back.” This means “while looking back” or “after looking back.” Using participle phrases like this simplifies the expression, making it useful in conversation.
Rufus T. Firefly: You’re a brave man. Go and break through the lines. And remember, while you’re out there risking your life and limb through shot and shell, we’ll be in here thinking what a sucker you are. – Duck Soup (1933)
The participle phrases “risking ~” and “thinking ~” in the example above can both be interpreted as meaning “while.” It means, while you are there taking risks, we will be here, thinking.
speaking of which, considering, based on
Participle phrases that have evolved into idiomatic expressions such as Generally speaking, Frankly speaking, Strictly speaking. Speaking of which can also be usefully employed in conversation.
The Joker: It’s a funny world we live in. Speaking of which, do you know how I got these scars? – The Dark Knight
Additionally, there are expressions that help smoothly connect sentences. Although some people might refer to these as prepositional usages because they sometimes function like prepositions, our focus is not on taking exams but on their practical use. Familiarity with their application can not only be highly effective in communication but also create sophisticated expressions.
Considering
Viper: That’s pretty arrogant, considering the company you’re in. <Top Gun, 1986>
Depending
Lt. James Gordon: Where is he?
The Joker: What’s the time?
Lt. James Gordon: What difference does that make?
The Joker: Well, depending on the time, he may in one spot, or several. <The Dark Knight (2008)>
Regarding
Jim Lovell: Uh, Ken Mattingly has been doing some… scientific experiments regarding that very phenomenon, haven’t you? <Apollo 13>
Including
Polynesia: I speak over two thousand languages, including Dodo and Unicorn. I had a classical education. – Dr. Dolittle (1967)>
Based on
Mac: Based on the amount of blood leaving your body from that hole I put in your chest, I’ll go with dead. <CSI NY, DOA for a day>
Given
Clemens: Given the nature of our indigenous population, I would suggest clothes. None of the men here have seen a woman in years. Neither have I, for that matter. <Alien 3>
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