Dracula • Lesson 1C1 Advanced / C2 Proficiency⏱ 20 Mins
Lesson 1: The Carpathian Journey
Learn how to open sentences with participle clauses (Fearing..., Hemmed in by..., Having crossed...) to link causes, descriptions, and actions smoothly—just like Bram Stoker does in Chapter 1 of Dracula.
1. Present Participle (-ing)Shows two actions happening at once or a clear reason → "Fearing for his safety, Harker looked out..."
2. Past Participle (-ed / V3)Describes a passive state concisely → "Hemmed in by dark pines, the road narrowed..."
3. Perfect Participle (Having + V3)Shows which action happened first → "Having crossed the bridge, we entered the pass."
1. Read the Scene & Useful Vocabulary
Dracula • Chapter 1
Read this extract from Jonathan Harker's journal as his carriage climbs into the Carpathian Mountains at night. Notice the highlighted phrases that pack extra detail into the sentence:
Original Novel Extract (1897)
"Beyond the green swelling hills of the Mittel Land rose mighty slopes of forest up to the lofty steeps of the Carpathians themselves. Right and left of us they towered, with the afternoon sun falling full upon them and bringing out all the glorious colours of this beautiful range, deep blue and purple in the shadows of the peaks... Soon we were hemmed in with trees, which in places arched right over the roadway till we passed as through a tunnel; and again great frowning rocks guarded us boldly on either side. Though we were in shelter, we could hear the rising wind, for it moaned and whistled through the rocks, and the branches of the trees crashed together as we swept along."
— Bram Stoker, Dracula (1897), Chapter 1: Jonathan Harker's JournalOriginal Text
Old-Fashioned Words (Just for Reading)1890s Fiction
Words you will meet in 19th-century stories, but shouldn't use in a modern essay or workplace email.
Calèche [noun]
A light, low-wheeled horse-drawn carriage with a folding hood.
Beetling / Frowning crags [literary phrase]
Overhanging, threatening cliff faces. Great in a Gothic novel, too dramatic for an essay.
Manifold [adjective]
Many and various. Today, it sounds much more natural to write numerous, wide-ranging, or varied.
Modern C1/C2 Words (Great for Exams)Use in Writing & Speaking
Natural, high-level vocabulary from this chapter that works brilliantly in modern C1/C2 essays, reviews, and articles.
Apprehensive [adjective]
Anxious or fearful that something bad will happen. Natural collocations: feel apprehensive about the future, apprehensive passengers.
Impenetrable [adjective]
Impossible to pass through, see through, or understand. Natural collocations: impenetrable fog, impenetrable legal jargon.
Hemmed in (by) [participle / phrasal verb]
Surrounded closely so you cannot move freely. Works for places or feelings: hemmed in by high-rise buildings, feeling hemmed in by strict rules.
Task 1: Vocabulary Check (4 Marks). Decide whether each word below is a Modern C1/C2 Word you can use in your own writing, or an Old-Fashioned Word mainly for reading classic fiction:
2. The Grammar Pattern: Participle Clauses
C1/C2 Sentence Variety
Instead of joining every sentence with "and", "because", or "after", advanced writers often start a sentence with a participle clause. Here are the four rules you need to know:
1. Present Participle (-ing)
Use an -ing opener to show the reason for an action or two things happening at the same time:
• Sensing the passengers' fear, the driver urged the horses on.
(= Because he sensed their fear...)
2. Past Participle (-ed / V3)
Use a past participle opener when the subject receives the action (a shortened passive clause):
• Hemmed in by dark pine trees, the road felt like a tunnel.
(= Because it was hemmed in by dark pine trees...)
3. Perfect Participle (Having + V3)
Use Having + past participle to make it clear that the first action finished before the second began:
• Having crossed the bridge, we entered the mountain pass.
(= After we had crossed the bridge...)
4. Watch Out: The Same-Subject Rule!
The subject right after the comma must be the person or thing doing (or receiving) the participle action:
• ✗ Crossing the bridge, the castle appeared ahead. (Castles can't cross bridges!)
• ✓ Crossing the bridge, we saw the castle ahead.
Quick Grammar Check (3 Marks):
5. Two of these sentences have a "dangling participle" mistake (where the subject after the comma doesn't match the opening action). Which sentence is grammatically correct?
6. Why does a writer choose "Having checked his timetable, Harker realised the train was late" instead of "Checking his timetable..."?
7. Choose the correct participle to open this sentence: "_______ by steep cliffs on both sides, the narrow road was impossible to leave."
3. Cambridge Use of English Part 4: Key Word Transformations
2 Marks Each (10 Marks Total)
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. Use between 3 and 8 words, including the key word.
8. After the locals had warned him about the road, Harker felt increasingly uneasy.
WARNED
about the road, Harker felt increasingly uneasy.
9. Because he did not want to alarm the other passengers, Jonathan hid his fear.
ALARM
, Jonathan hid his fear.
10. The road was closely surrounded by dense pine forests and received very little sunlight.
HEMMED
, the road received very little sunlight.
11. Harker was very apprehensive about what lay ahead, yet he stepped into the carriage.
APPREHENSION
ahead, Harker stepped into the carriage.
12. The courtyard fell into complete darkness that was impossible to see through when the clouds covered the moon.
IMPENETRABLE
The courtyard wasclouds covered the moon.
4. From Classic Fiction to Modern Exam Writing
Real-World C1/C2 Application
See how the exact same participle structures and vocabulary from Chapter 1 work naturally in a modern IELTS or Cambridge C1/C2 essay on urban living and work:
In Stoker's Novel (1897)
"Hemmed in with trees, which arched right over the roadway till we passed as through a tunnel... Fearing every shadow along the mountain pass, the passengers grew increasingly apprehensive."
In a Modern C1/C2 Essay on City Life & Work
"Hemmed in by rising rents and long commutes, many young professionals are choosing to leave major cities altogether. Having worked remotely for several years, employees are understandably apprehensive about returning to rigid office schedules."
Modern Exam Writing Practice (Questions 13–15 • 3 Marks)
Choose the most natural, accurate C1/C2 sentence for a modern essay or review: