participles

I need a very reliable source or your informatin about participle and adverbial / adjectival phrases.
For example, I have diddiculties in distinguishing between adjectival and adverbial phrases.
The new clerk having worked a couple of years for the Fedex is now ready for his retirement procedures.
is this an adjectival or an adverbial sentence. In other words :
The new clerk having worked (who had worked) a couple of years for the Fedex is now ready for his retirement procedures.
OR
The new clerk having worked ( after working ) a couple of years for the Fedex is now ready for his retirement procedures.
Which one. How can I understand it? Can you please explain in details? Pleaseee.
Thank you very much in advance

[Casiopea]

Welcome, cimcime.

First, you may want to look at "types of adverbial clauses". Click here:

http://esl.about.com/library/grammar...erbclauses.htm
http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzo...mar/advcls.htm

Second, you may want to look at what reduced adverbial clauses look like and how they are formed. Click here: http://depts.gallaudet.edu/englishwo...alclauses.html

Third, is 'having worked a couple of years' related to 'ready for retirement'?

Lastly, if you're interested in the linguistic side of things (and some heavy reading), try a search under the term supplementive clauses.