Being unprepared, he failed the test.

[Sarrles]

I’m wondering whether the “being” in the sentence “Being unprepared, he failed the test”* is a present participle or not.

* original sentence was "Because he was unprepared, he failed the test." @ https://englishnotation.com/reduced-adverb-clause/#examples

First, the sentence above consists of a main clause and an adverbial clause (conjunctive clause) that explains the reason why he failed the test, and the adverbial clause is written in the passive voice. However, since the adverbial clause was too long, it was shortened to “Being unprepared.” My question is whether the “being” that appears here is a present participle. It’s a form of the verb “be” with “-ing” attached, so it seems to function like a participle, but it isn’t used as the subject, object, or complement of the sentence like a gerund would be.

However, even after searching numerous websites and watching youtube video lectures, asking in other communities, I couldn’t find any information on whether “being” qualifies as a present participle.

 

[5jj]

Does it matter? Most modern grammarians do not distinguish between the various -ing forms.

Aarts, Bas (2011), Oxford Modern English Grammar, does not differentiate between gerunds and participles. He refers to both as -ing participles.

Carter, Ronald and Michael McCarthy (2006) Cambridge Grammar of English, do not differentiate between gerunds and participles. They refer to both as -ing forms.

Chalker, Sylvia (1984), Current English Grammar, does not differentiate between gerunds and participles in the body of the book. She refers to both as -ing forms. She writes: A distinction is often made between gerunds ('verbal nouns') and participles, which are more like verbs or adjectives. In fact the -ing form cannot be quite so neatly divided.

Huddleston, Rodney and Geoffrey Pullum (2002), The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, write: [...] we reject an analysis that has gerund and participle as different forms syncretised throughout the class of verb We have therefore just one inflectional form of the verb marked by the -ing suffix; we label it with the compound term 'gerund-participle' .

Quirk, Randolph et al (1985), A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language, note a complex gradience of fourteen different uses of -ing- forms from nouns (deverbal count nouns , abstract-non count verbal nouns), through the traditionally named gerund to the traditionally-named (present) participle. They write of the forms that are not clearly nouns, [...] we do not find it useful to distinguish a gerund from a participle, but terminologically class all these forms as PARTICIPLES.

 

[Annabel Lee]

I’m wondering whether the “being” in the sentence “Being unprepared, he failed the test”* is a present participle

Does it matter?

If "Being unprepared" were a gerund phrase there, it would be functioning as a substantive (as it is in "Being unprepared was unwise," "He hates being unprepared," and "He worried about being unprepared") and pronoun substitution with "it" would be possible ("It was unwise"; "He hates it"; "He worried about it"); but pronoun substitution isn't possible in the example: "It, he failed the test." Therefore, whether or not one believes in gerunds, it can safely be said that the phrase in question is not one.

. . . the adverbial clause is written in the passive voice.

No, passive voice is not involved. "Unprepare" is not a verb. Nobody unprepared him. He was not unprepared by someone.

He was simply unprepared (adjective).

 

[Sarrles]

"Because he was chosen for the role, he felt honored." (Original)
Being chosen for the role, he felt honored. (reduced)

I seem to have used the wrong example. So I’ve brought another sentence. This example is also from the same site, and when the original sentence is reduced, “Being” appears. The “chosen” next to “Being” is the past participle form of “choose.” Can I ask from this example whether “Being” is used as a present participle?

Note: Actually, I knew that the sentence “Being chosen for the role, he felt honored” is a past participle phrase (usually “Being” is omitted, but I left it in). I was going to stop there, but I suddenly got curious and decided to ask this question.

 

[jutfrank]

Yes, it's no different from your other sentence in that respect.

 

[Sarrles]

Yes, it's no different from your other sentence in that respect.

Does that mean the sentence in Thread #4 doesn't contain the passive voice either?

 

[jutfrank]

The one in post #4 is passive, yes, unlike the one in post #1.