- I had a bad experience working there.
Is that sentence correct, or must I write:
- I had a bad experience when working there.
- I had a bad experience while working there.
or even:
- I had a bad experience while I was working there.
- I had a bad experience when I worked there.
It seems like sometimes gerund–participle clauses (meaning -ing clauses) can be directly used in an adverbial way, without any sort of conjunction or preposition joining them to the rest of the sentence.
- Working there, I developed a real sweet tooth.
- While working there, I developed a real sweet tooth.
- By working there, I developed a real sweet tooth.
- I developed a real sweet tooth working there.
- I developed a real sweet tooth while working there.
- I developed a real sweet tooth by working there.
Are there rules governing when you can use a gerund clause on its own like this without a connecting word?
Answer
The additional words you are using all add meaning to the sentence.
‘When‘ indicates a there was a specific time in the past (although it is not specified).
‘While‘ indicates it occurred during the course of a broader time in the past.
‘By‘ indicates it was the cause of the experience.
The rule would be that you use a connecting word that adds the correct additional meaning, or don’t if the meaning is sufficient.
Attribution
Source : Link , Question Author : Best_Name , Answer Author : Manhatton