现在分词一般式所表示的时间关系

时间关系一：与谓语同时

与主要动词同时发生或同时存在。如：

Be careful when crossing the road. 过马路要当心。

He got engaged to her when traveling in Europe. 在欧洲旅行时他和她订了婚。

She tremble a little while doing so. 她这样做时稍稍颤抖了一下。

While trying to open the door, I cut my hand. 在设法开门时我把手刺破了。

Jim hurt his arm playing tennis (=while he was playing tennis). 吉姆打网球时把手臂扭了。

Reading my newspaper, I heard the door bell ring. 我看报时听见门铃响。

She broke her looking glass, dressing to go out. 她在外出前穿衣时把镜子打破了。

“What have you got here?” the policeman asked approaching him. “你这里是什么东西?”警察走近问道。

时间关系二：在谓语之后

即后于主要动作发生，比如当现在分词用作结果状语时，它所表示的动作常发生在主要动作之后。如：

He fired, wounding one of the bandits. 他开了枪，打伤了其中一个匪徒。

I fell, striking my head against the door and cutting it. 我摔了个跟头，头撞在了门上，划了个口子。

The plane lost control, clipping power cables as it fell. 飞机失去控制，落下时撞上了电线。

Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth, causing decay. 细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

时间关系三：在谓语之前

即先于主要动作发生，比如当现在分词用作时间状语时(尤其是当现在分词为短暂性动词时)，表示的动作通常发生在主要动作之前。如：

Arriving at the station, we learned that the train had already gone. 到了车站，我们获悉火车已开走了。

Learning of the uprising, he returned to the country. 听到了起义的消息，他回到国内。

Climbing to the top of the tower, we saw a magnificent view. 我们爬到塔顶后，看到了一片壮丽的景象。

若用现在分词表示先于谓语动词的动作时会导致误解，就应用现在分词的完成式。如：

Having bought our tickets, we went into the theatre. 我们买好票后就走进剧场。

Having read the instructions, he snatched up the fire extinguisher. 看完了说明书之后，他迅速拿起了灭火器。