Question

Combine the following pair of sentences by making use of a participle.

Someone knocked at the door. So I opened it.

• A. Opening the door, someone knocked it.
• B. Having someone knocked at the door, I opened it.
• C. Someone having knocked at the door, I opened it.
• D. The door opening, someone knocked it.

Answer 1

Answer: (C)

Someone having knocked at the door, I opened it.

A gerund is a form of a verb used as a noun, whereas a participle is a form of verb used as an adjective or as a verb in conjunction with an auxiliary verb.

The correct option is option C as 'having' here acts as a participle.

The incorrect options are:

A and D - As the meaning and structure of the sentence has changed. It shows the door was opened first and knocked later, which is incorrect.

B - 'Having' acts like a gerund here. Also the tense of the sentence is incorrect.