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15A Grammar

Writing and art

Unit 15

I CAN use present and past participle clauses
I CAN read about artists and writers

Grammar

10 cards

Writers and artists often do two things at the same time: they create a work and they react to the world around them. English lets us combine these two ideas into a single, elegant sentence by using a participle clause — a small group of words starting with a verb in the -ing form (present participle) or the -ed / -en form (past participle).

A present participle clause describes an action that the subject of the main clause is doing (active meaning). Compare:

He walked along the river. → Walking along the river, he noticed a small boat.
She opened the letter. → Opening the letter, she smiled.

A past participle clause describes something that has been done to the subject, or a state the subject is in (passive meaning). Compare:

The book was written in 1968. → Written in 1968, the book still feels modern.
The artist is surrounded by her paintings. → Surrounded by her paintings, she looks completely at home.

Here is a summary of the pattern:

Form	Meaning	Subject relation	Example
-ing clause	active	the subject of the main clause does this action	Inspired by the view, she started to paint.
-ed / -en clause	passive	the main clause subject receives this action or is in this state	Finished in 2023, the mural covers the whole wall.

Three rules to remember:

The subject of the participle clause is the same as the subject of the main clause. Walking in the park, the flowers looked beautiful is wrong because the flowers are not walking.
The participle clause usually comes before the main clause (with a comma), but it can also come after, especially in storytelling.
A participle clause replaces a relative clause or a time/cause clause, so it makes your writing more concise and more literary — exactly the style you want when writing about art and literature.

Generating translation…

Sitting in her studio, the painter added the final touches to the canvas.

Example 1 — present participle clause (active).

Painted in 1889, the portrait is now one of the most famous works in the gallery.

Example 2 — past participle clause (passive).

Required

Look at the two example sentences above. In the first one, who is sitting?

The painter
The studio
The canvas

Required

In 'Painted in 1889, the portrait is now one of the most famous works in the gallery', the portrait painted itself.

Required

_____ by the view from her window, she decided to write a poem.

Required

_____ through the exhibition, the visitors stopped in front of every painting.

Required

Which sentence is grammatically correct?

Walking along the river, the sunset was beautiful.
Walking along the river, she saw a beautiful sunset.
Walked along the river, she saw a beautiful sunset.
Walking along the river, a beautiful sunset was seen by her.

Required

Put the words in the correct order to make a sentence with a past participle clause.

Written
in
1922,
the
novel
still
feels
remarkably

Drag the correct participle form into each sentence. All sentences use a present or past participle clause.

Listening

6 cards

You are going to listen to a conversation between two friends, Emma and Tom, who meet outside a new exhibition in London. Tom has just come out of the gallery; Emma is on her way in. They discuss the artist's work, the price of the paintings and whether Tom would ever buy one.

Before you listen, think about this question: What kind of art do you usually prefer — modern art, classical paintings or something else? The answer will help you predict what Tom and Emma are going to say.

Listen to the dialogue twice if you need to. The first time, focus on the general situation (gist). The second time, listen for specific information such as names, prices and opinions.

Generating translation…

Emma meets Tom outside a new exhibition in London.

E
Emma Tom! I didn't know you were interested in modern art.
T
Tom I'm not, usually, but my sister bought me a ticket for my birthday.
E
Emma So, what did you think? Was it worth coming?
T
Tom Honestly, yes. The first room was a bit strange, but the second room was wonderful. There was one large canvas covered in shades of blue — it was my favourite.
E
Emma The blue one? I've seen a photo of it. Is it true it's being sold for twelve thousand pounds?
T
Tom Twelve? I read somewhere that the asking price is fifteen. But I wouldn't buy it even if I had the money.
E
Emma Why not? Don't you think it's a masterpiece?
T
Tom I think it's beautiful, but I don't need a painting on my wall to enjoy art. A good photograph in a book is enough for me.
E
Emma Fair enough. I'm going in now. Tell me later which sketch you liked most.
T
Tom There's a small sketch near the exit — you'll see it. Enjoy the exhibition!

Required

What is the main topic of the conversation?

Tom's sister's birthday party
A new art exhibition in London
The price of paintings in general
Emma's photography hobby

Required

Which painting does Tom say is his favourite?

A small sketch near the exit
A photograph in a book
A large canvas covered in shades of blue
His sister's birthday present

Required

Tom would buy the blue painting if he had the money.

Required

Tom thinks the asking price of the blue painting is ___ thousand pounds, not twelve.

Pronunciation

7 cards

Many English words about writing and art have more than one syllable, and in connected speech we almost never give every syllable the same weight. The unstressed syllables collapse into a very short, neutral vowel called the schwa, written /ə/ in phonetics. It is the most common vowel sound in English.

How to produce the schwa:

Relax your tongue completely so it sits in the middle of your mouth.
Keep your lips and jaw loose — do not round your lips or stretch your mouth.
The sound is short, soft and unclear. It must never be stressed.
It sounds like the first vowel in about /əˈbaʊt/ or the middle of sofa /ˈsəʊfə/.

Why does this matter for words about writing and art? Many of them hide a schwa in the middle: artist, palette, manuscript, inspiration. If you stress these middle syllables, your English sounds heavy and foreign; if you reduce them to a schwa, it flows naturally.

Word	Phonetic spelling	Stressed syllable
artist	/ˈɑː.tɪst/	first
gallery	/ˈɡæl.ər.i/	first
palette	/ˈpæl.ɪt/	first
manuscript	/ˈmæn.jə.skrɪpt/	first
inspiration	/ˌɪn.spəˈreɪ.ʃən/	third
masterpiece	/ˈmɑː.stə.piːs/	first

Listen carefully to the weak middle syllable in each word. Your tongue should barely move.

Generating translation…

To make a good schwa: relax the tongue, keep the lips loose, and keep the vowel very short. The schwa only appears in unstressed syllables — never stress it.

Required

Audio is being generated — try again in a minute.

Listen to the word. Is the second syllable stressed or unstressed (a schwa)?

Stressed
Unstressed (schwa)

Required

Audio is being generated — try again in a minute.

Which syllable carries the main stress in this word?

MAN
u
script

Required

Say the word, putting the stress on the first syllable and a soft schwa in the middle.

artist

Required

Now try a longer word. Keep the first two syllables light and short.

inspiration

Required

Read the full sentence aloud, paying attention to every schwa.

Her latest masterpiece is on display at the gallery.

Reading

6 cards

In this section you will read a short article about the daily routine of a modern novelist. Before you read, look at the strategy box below and the four key words in italics.

Strategy box — Skimming for gist When you skim a text, you read it quickly to get the general idea. You do not stop for every unknown word. Instead, you look at the title, the first sentence of each paragraph and the last paragraph to understand what the whole text is about. Detail questions come later.

Key words to pre-teach:

manuscript (n.) — the text of a book before it is printed
genre (n.) — a type or style of literature
inspiration (n.) — a feeling or idea that makes you want to create something
masterpiece (n.) — an artist's or writer's best work

Now read the article and then answer the questions that follow.

Generating translation…

Hana Karim is a British novelist of Egyptian origin, best known for her literary fiction. Her latest novel, The Map of Small Things, was published in 2024 and many critics have already called it her masterpiece.

Karim works from a small flat in north London. She starts writing at six in the morning and rarely stops before midday. 'The first hours of the day are when my mind is clearest,' she explains. She writes longhand on paper before typing the manuscript onto her laptop in the afternoon.

Inspiration, she says, comes from everyday life: a conversation on the bus, a stranger's expression, an old photograph. 'I keep a notebook with me at all times,' she adds. 'If I don't write an idea down, it disappears within minutes.'

Karim works on only one manuscript at a time. 'Trying to write two novels in the same year would be a disaster,' she jokes. Although her genre is literary fiction, she reads widely — from science fiction to history. When she finishes a chapter, she puts it away for at least two weeks before she looks at it again. 'Distance,' she says, 'is the best editor.'

Generating translation…

Required

Read for gist. What is the article mainly about?

The plot of *The Map of Small Things*
How a novelist organises her daily writing life
A list of books every reader should know
The history of literary fiction in Britain

Required

Karim types her manuscript first and then writes it longhand on paper.

Required

According to the article, where does Karim get her inspiration?

From science fiction novels only
From everyday life and small details
From travelling to other countries
From other writers in her genre

Required

Karim believes that putting a chapter away for a while helps her to improve it.

Speaking

7 cards

Now it is your turn to speak. In this section you will learn a few useful phrases to talk about writers, artists and their work. Try to use the same participle clauses you studied in the grammar section — they will make your English sound more natural and more literary.

Useful phrase	Gloss	When to use it
I'm a big fan of …	أنا من المعجبين بـ...	To say you like someone's work
What I like most about … is …	أكثر ما يعجبني في... هو...	To give a specific opinion
Written / Painted in …, the work …	كُتب / رُسم في...، العمل...	To introduce a participle clause
It really speaks to me because …	يخاطبني حقاً لأن...	To explain a personal reaction
I'd rather read / look at … than …	أفضل أن أقرأ / أنظر إلى... بدلاً من...	To compare two options
It's not really my cup of tea.	ليس من ذوقي حقاً.	To politely say you don't like something

Listen to the model dialogue first, then practise the key sentences out loud, and finally have a short conversation with your AI partner.

Generating translation…

A short model conversation about favourite writers and artists.

E
Emma Who's your favourite writer at the moment?
T
Tom I'm a big fan of Ali Smith. What I like most about her books is the way she plays with time.
E
Emma Interesting. And do you have a favourite artist?
T
Tom Yes — Cecily Brown. Painted in bright, sweeping colours, her work really speaks to me.
E
Emma I'd rather look at her paintings than read a long essay about them, to be honest.
T
Tom Same here. Art should be enjoyed, not just analysed.

What I like most about her books is the way she plays with time.

Key model phrase to repeat.

Required

Say a sentence about your own taste in art.

I'm a big fan of modern art, especially large abstract paintings.

Required

Try to use a past participle clause in your answer.

Written in simple, clear language, the novel is easy to read but very deep.

Required

You are talking to your friend Tom about writers and artists. Use the useful phrases from the explanation and try to include one present participle clause and one past participle clause in your answers.

Required

I CAN use present participle clauses (-ing) to describe active actions
I CAN use past participle clauses (-ed/-en) to describe passive actions and states
I CAN read about the lives of writers and artists and pick out the main idea
I CAN pronounce unstressed syllables with a schwa /ə/
I CAN talk about my favourite writers and artists using natural phrases

Vocabulary

6 cards

This lesson is about the worlds of writers and artists. To speak about these worlds confidently, you need a small set of key nouns that describe the things they make and the places where their work is shown. Below are eight words you will meet in the reading, the listening and the speaking tasks later in this lesson.

Notice that some words describe the physical object (a canvas, a manuscript, a sketch) while others describe an abstract idea (inspiration, genre) or an event (exhibition). Keeping this distinction in mind will help you choose the right word when you write or speak.

Word	Part of speech	Gloss	Example sentence
canvas	noun	لوحة قماشية	The painter stretched a fresh canvas over the frame.
palette	noun	لوحة ألوان	On her palette, she had every shade of blue.
manuscript	noun	مخطوطة	He sent the finished manuscript to his editor.
genre	noun	نوع أدبي	Science fiction is a popular literary genre.
masterpiece	noun	تحفة فنية	Many critics called the novel her masterpiece.
sketch	noun	رسم تخطيطي	He made a quick sketch of the old bridge.
inspiration	noun	إلهام	The sea was the inspiration for the whole series.
exhibition	noun	معرض	The new exhibition opens on Friday.

Pay special attention to the word inspiration: it is uncountable in this sense, so we say a source of inspiration or simply inspiration, never an inspiration when we mean the general idea.

Generating translation…

Meet the eight key words for this lesson. Tap each one to hear it and see its meaning.

canvas ˈkænvəs
Canvas is a strong, heavy cloth used to make tents, sails, bags, and for painting pictures.
exhibition ˌɛksɪˈbɪʃən
A public display of works of art, items, or products, typically organized in a museum, gallery, or other venue
genre ˈʒɒnrə
A category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content
inspiration ˌɪnspɪˈreɪʃən
A sudden idea or creative impulse that motivates someone to do something, especially in art, music, or literat
manuscript ˈmænjʊskrɪpt
A handwritten text or an original copy of a book or document written before the invention of printing or befor
masterpiece ˈmɑːstəpiːs
A work of art or craft of very high quality, especially one that shows exceptional skill or is considered the
palette ˈpælət
A palette is the range of colors used by an artist, or a flat board used by artists for mixing paints. In comp
sketch sketʃ
A sketch is a quick, rough drawing that shows the basic features of something, or a brief written description.