[Grammar] Confusion about past participles..

[rambharosey]

Greetings! I have 2 questions:

a) I have been under the impression that participles don't have any tense of their own and that they derive their tense from the main verb. But, how about this:

Retired from the army, Jack is settled in Florida.

Clearly, here, the past participial phrase "Retired from the army" is basically suggesting that Jack (in the past) retired from the army, while the main verb (is settled) is in simple present.

b) What is the difference (in meaning and in grammar) between these two sentences:

Retired from the army, Jack is settled in Florida.
Having retired from the army, Jack is settled in Florida.

Regards,
Bharosey

 

[Rover_KE]

Jon Bass, please read this extract from the forum's Posting Guidelines:

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