Participle constructions in formal Dutch: gezien, thuisgekomen, lachend

Open a Dutch newspaper, a letter from your insurer or a report at work, and you'll find sentences that start with a single participle: Gezien de drukte…, Thuisgekomen…, Uitgaande van deze cijfers…. These phrases squeeze a whole subclause into two or three words. They're typical of written and formal Dutch, and once you can read and use them, your Dutch sounds noticeably more advanced. This guide covers the four main types: participles that have turned into prepositions, past participle phrases that replace a subclause, fixed absolute phrases, and present participle phrases. You should already know how participles work as adjectives (see participles as adjectives and the present participle).

Participles that became prepositions

A small group of participles now behaves just like prepositions. They come before a noun phrase, and they don't refer to anyone doing anything. You'll see them constantly in formal writing.

Because they work like prepositions, the whole phrase takes the first position in the sentence and the finite verb follows straight after it — the normal verb-second rule:

• Gezien de drukte nemen we de trein. — Given how busy it is, we'll take the train.
• We nemen gezien de drukte de trein. — We'll take the train, given how busy it is.

Two things to watch:

• Gezien is followed by a noun, not by a clause. To add a full clause, say gezien het feit dat… or simply use aangezien: Aangezien het druk is, nemen we de trein. — Since it's busy, we'll take the train.
• Uitgaande van takes a noun; before a clause you need ervan uitgaande dat: Ervan uitgaande dat iedereen komt, hebben we twintig stoelen nodig. — Assuming that everyone comes, we need twenty chairs.

Past participle phrases instead of a subclause

A past participle, with whatever belongs to it, can replace a whole subclause with toen, nadat or omdat. It's compact and typical of stories, news reports and formal writing.

What the phrase means depends on the verb:

• With verbs that take zijn in the perfect, such as aankomen, thuiskomen, vertrekken and beginnen, the participle describes something the subject has done before the main action: Thuisgekomen… = having come home.
• With verbs that take an object, the participle has a passive meaning: Gewaarschuwd door de politie… = having been warned by the police. Verrast door het nieuws belde ze haar zus. — Surprised by the news, she called her sister.

Word order

The participle phrase takes the first position, so the finite verb comes next, followed by the subject. A comma after the phrase is optional; many writers leave it out when the phrase is short.

• Aangekomen in Utrecht belde ze haar moeder. — Having arrived in Utrecht, she called her mother.
• Wrong: Aangekomen in Utrecht ze belde haar moeder.

Inside the phrase, the participle can come first or last: Aangekomen in Utrecht… and In Utrecht aangekomen… are both correct.

The subject rule: avoid the dangling participle

The participle phrase has no subject of its own. Dutch readers automatically link it to the subject of the main clause. If the two don't match, the sentence becomes unintentionally funny — just like a "dangling participle" in English.

• Thuisgekomen merkte ik dat de deur openstond. — When I got home, I noticed the door was open.
• Wrong: Thuisgekomen stond de deur open. (This says the door came home.)
• Aangekomen op het station zagen we dat de trein al weg was. — Arriving at the station, we saw that the train had already gone.
• Wrong: Aangekomen op het station was de trein al weg. (Now it says the train arrived at the station.)

If the subjects are different, use a normal subclause: Toen ik thuiskwam, stond de deur open. — When I came home, the door was open.

Tip: Before you write a participle phrase, ask "who did this?" The answer must be the subject of the main clause. If it isn't, switch to toen, nadat or omdat.

Fixed absolute phrases

Some participle phrases have become set expressions that comment on the whole sentence rather than on the subject. They're common in speech as well as in writing, and the subject rule doesn't apply to them.

The last one is a true absolute construction: a noun phrase (dit) with its own participle (in aanmerking genomen). Constructions like this are mostly limited to fixed expressions in modern Dutch. Don't build new ones freely — use a subclause instead.

Present participle phrases: lachend, al wandelend

A present participle (infinitive + -d) describes what the subject is doing at the same time as the main action. Used this way it's an adverb, so it never gets an -e.

• Lachend liep hij weg. — He walked off laughing.
• Ze fietste fluitend naar haar werk. — She cycled to work whistling.
• Zwijgend luisterde hij naar het slechte nieuws. — He listened to the bad news in silence.

Like past participle phrases, a present participle phrase can be longer and take the first position:

• Gebruikmakend van nieuwe technieken hebben de onderzoekers het probleem opgelost. — Using new techniques, the researchers solved the problem.
• Rekening houdend met de kosten kiezen we voor de goedkopere optie. — Taking the costs into account, we're going for the cheaper option.

With al in front, the present participle means "while doing" or "in the course of doing":

• Al wandelend bespraken we het plan. — We discussed the plan as we walked.
• Al doende leert men. — You learn by doing. (a well-known saying)

The subject rule applies here too: the person laughing, whistling or walking must be the subject of the main clause.

When English -ing is not a participle in Dutch

English uses "-ing" for many things that Dutch expresses differently. In formal writing these alternatives are often better than a participle phrase.

• Door elke dag te oefenen ben je snel vooruitgegaan. — By practising every day, you've improved quickly.
• Zonder iets te zeggen verliet hij de kamer. — Without saying anything, he left the room.
• Wrong: Oefenend elke dag ben je snel vooruitgegaan.

For more on these patterns, see the te-infinitive.

Quick summary

• Gezien, gelet op, uitgaande van, afgezien van, ongeacht and voorafgaand aan work as prepositions in formal Dutch.
• A past participle phrase can replace a toen/nadat/omdat clause: Thuisgekomen zette hij koffie.
• The phrase takes the first position, so the finite verb follows immediately.
• The phrase must refer to the subject of the main clause — otherwise use a subclause.
• Fixed phrases like strikt genomen and eerlijk gezegd comment on the whole sentence.
• Present participles describe simultaneous actions: Lachend liep hij weg. With al: "while doing".
• Many English "-ing" forms become door/zonder/in plaats van … te or bij/na het + infinitive.
• Outside formal writing, a normal subclause usually sounds more natural.

Practise it

Train these phrases in Participle phrases. If participles themselves still need work, review Participles as adjectives, and see more formal vocabulary in Formal vs informal Dutch. Related guides: Dutch conjunctions and Dutch commas.