Learn English – “Asked” Vs. “Having asked” vs. “having been asked”

grammarmeaning-in-context

1) asked about her parents, Ms. Angelina said she was uncertain of their names and promised to look them up…

2) Having asked about her parents, Ms. Angelina said she was uncertain of their names and promised to look them up…

3) Having been asked about her parents, Ms. Angelina said she was uncertain of their names and promised to look them up…

What is the difference in meaning among these three sentences; are all of them conveying the same thing ?

Are they all grammatically and semantically acceptable and correct?

And in the first sentence, is “asked” finite or non-finite verb?

Best Answer

Your example 1 is a reduced subordinate clause. The full form would be "When she was asked about her parents, Ms. Angelina said she was uncertain of their names and promised to look them up..." Accordingly, "asked" is part of a passive construction and is the past participle of "ask". (Personally, I'd prefer to call it a "passive participle".)

Similar to the "whiz" reduction of relative clauses, "she" referring to the main clause subject and the form of "be" can be deleted, giving "When asked about her parents, Ms. Angelina ..." Additionally, "when" can be left understood (as other subordinate conjunctions can be, sometimes).

The other two examples are only marginally acceptable, in my opinion.

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