Combine the following sentences into a single sentence:
The guests had left. Mother began to clear the dining table.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → The guests having left, Mother began to clear the dining table.
Joining with a phrase that has its own subject:
- When the two sentences have different subjects, the first one can become a phrase with its own subject + “having” + past participle (V3).
- Here “The guests had left” becomes The guests having left, and “Mother” stays the subject of the main part. The guests left first, and then Mother cleared the table.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Having left the guests, Mother began to clear the dining table. — Incorrect. The option says “Having left the guests”. This says that Mother left the guests, which changes the meaning. In the given sentences, the guests left.
Option 2: The guests having left, so Mother began to clear the dining table. — Incorrect. The option says “The guests having left, so Mother”. The phrase “The guests having left” is not a full clause, so it cannot be joined with “so”.
Option 4: Mother began to clear the dining table before the guests left. — Incorrect. This reverses the order of the actions. It says Mother cleared the table before the guests left, but she began after they had left.