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The tense of the participle is relative to the time of the leading verb.
The present participle, therefore, is used if the action denoted by the participle is represented as taking place at the same time as the action denoted by the leading verb, no matter whether the action denoted by the leading verb is past, present or future.
Examples:
(1) διδασκομένῳ ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀποστόλου προσῆλθον αὐτῷ οἱ δοῦλοι, while he was being taught by the apostle, the servants came to him
Here the action denoted by the participle διδασκομένῳ, though it is past with reference to the time when the sentence is spoken or written, is present with reference to the time of the leading verb - that is, the teaching was going on at the same time as the coming of the servants. Hence the present participle is used.
(2) πορευομένῳ ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ προσῆλθον αὐτῷ οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ, while he was going in the way, his disciples came to him
It will be observed that the participles of the deponent verb πορεύομαι, like other parts of that verb, are active in meaning though passive in form. Otherwise this example is like (1).
(3) πορευόμενος ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ εἶδεν τυφλόν, while he was going in the way, he saw a blind man
Here it will be observed that the participle frequently agrees with the unexpressed subject of a verb. Similarly λέγων ταῦτα εἶδεν τυφλόν, means while he was saying these things, he saw a blind man, and λέγοντες ταῦτα εἶδετε τυφλόν means while ye were saying these things, ye saw a blind man.
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In accordance with the principle formulated in §233, that the tense of the participle is relative to the time of the leading verb, the aorist participle denotes action prior to the action denoted by the leading verb, whether the action denoted by the leading verb is past, present or future.
Examples:
(1) ὁ ἀπόστολος εἰπὼν ταῦτα ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ βλέπει τὸν κύριον, the apostle having said these things in the temple is seeing the Lord. Here εἰπών, the aorist participle, denotes action prior to the action denoted by βλέπει. Compare Example (1) in §232.
(2) εἰπὼν ταῦτα ἀπῆλθεν, having said these things he went away. The literal translation of the participle is here perfectly possible. But it would be more idiomatic English to translate, when he had said these things he went away, or after he had said these things he went away. Compare λέγων ταῦτα ἀπῆλθεν, he went away saying these things or while he was saying these things he went away. Notice that when a Greek present participle is translated by a temporal clause in English, the English word that introduces the temporal clause is naturally while, and when it is an aorist participle that is to be translated into English, the English word introducing the temporal clause is naturally when or after. In the case of the aorist participle, the verb in the English temporal clause will often be perfect ("has seen", etc.) or pluperfect ("had seen", etc.) - perfect when the leading verb is present or future, and pluperfect when the leading verb is past.
(3) εἰπὼν ταῦτα ἀπέρχεται, having said these things he goes away, or after he has said these things he goes away.
(4) προσῆλθον αὐτῷ εἰπόντι ταῦτα, they came to him after he had said these things. Here the literal translation of the participle would be absolutely impossible in English, because in the English sentence they came to him having said these things, the having said would agree not with him but with the subject of the sentence, they, and the sentence would be a translation, not of προσῆλθον αὐτῷ εἰπόντι ταῦτα but of προσῆλθον αὐτῷ εἰπόντες ταῦτα. Compare with προσῆλθον αὐτῷ εἰπόντι ταῦτα the sentence προσῆλθον αὐτῷ λέγοντι ταῦτα., which means they came to him while he was saying these things.
(5) ἐλθόντες πρὸς τὸν κύριον ὀψόμεθα αὐτόν, having come to the Lord we shall see Him, or when (or after) we have come to the Lord we shall see Him.