关于伴随情况(attendant circumstance 或 attending circumstance 或 accompanying circumstance)，各家说法并不一致。大致说来，可分为两类。一是广义的解说，将伴随谓语动作的表时间、原因、结果、目的、方式以及除外的从句和短语统统叫做伴随情况状语。一是狭义的解说，只将伴随谓语动作的表并列、附带等关系的分词、短语和分词独立结构等叫做伴随情况状语。有的语法家则将这种狭义的伴随情况中的“伴随”去掉，只剩下“情况”，说明它并不“伴随”谓语的动作，而只表示另外发生的一种有关“情况”。
在我国英语界通行的是后一种即狭义的伴随情况（而不去掉“伴随”）。表并列关系的实例如：
(1)She listened attentively, repeating his instructions .（repeating 相当于 and repeated）
(2)Young men by the dozen came up, asking her to dance . （asking 相当于 and asked）
(3)He takes off hat and transfers it to left hand, and at the same time grips fingers of right glove, pulling it off . （pulling 相当于 and pulls）
表附带或附加关系的情况似乎更多，如：
(4)He sat near the stove, holding a book in his hand .
(5)She begged him not to drink too much, reminding him that he'd have to drive home .
(6)She wrote him a friendly letter, thanking him for his help, and sending him her best wishes .
(7)“What do you mean, what's happened?” I said, grown suddenly cold .
(8)Their room was on the third floor, its window overlooking the sports ground .
(9)With crowds cheering , the royal party drove to the palace.
(10)The war was over, without a shot being fired .
下面一句中的 his hands in the pockets of his coat 是无分词独立结构，用作伴随情况状语：
(11)He leant back in the chair, his hands in the pockets of his coat .
根据上面的解说与例证，似乎可以认为伴随情况的基本概念是一清二楚的了，然而事实并非如此。比如说，伴随情况与方式状语的界线就往往难以划清，如：
(12)He managed to climb up the sides of a mountain, working his way through thick bushes .
(13)He introduced himself, handing me his card .
因此，就有语法家将像上述两例这样的现在分词短语看作为“方式或伴随情况状语”。有时伴随情况状语与结果状语的界线也不容易划清，如：
(14)They died, leaving their parents heartbroken .
还有，对比如下面一些句子中的现在分词短语该如何分析呢？
(15)My train starts at six, arriving at Chicago at ten.
(16)He entered college at the age of fifteen, graduating four years later at the head of his class.
这两个句子的现在分词短语虽然表并列关系，但与一般其动作紧接谓语动作的伴随情况状语（如例[1]、[2]、[3]）不同，其前后两个动作相隔的时间显然比较长。所以这两句中的现在分词短语，我们往往仍倾向于将它们看作伴随情况状语，但有的语法家则认为它们起的是一种“接续性 （continuative）”作用。对于 go, come, sit, stand, lie 等不及物动词之后的 -ing 形式如何分析的问题，语法家们的看法更是多种多样。让我们先举几个实例如下：
(17)I am not going swimming tomorrow.
(18)Edith came running towards us.
(19)He sat smoking , while I taught the children.
(20)I stood waiting for the bus.
(21)The city lies sleeping .
按照传统语法，例（18）中的 swimming 相当于 on swimming, swimming 是动名词，用作宾语，其他的例中的 -ing 形式一般皆被看作是现在分词，用作方式或伴随情况状语等。但现今有的语法家则认为 go, come, sit, stand, lie 等是或近乎是连系动词，其后的 -ing 形式是现在分词，起一种表语的作用。有一位著名的语法家还认为现在分词重读时才用作表语，非重读时则是伴随情况状语。
我们一向主张“多种分析法(multianalysis)”。对于许多重叠现象，如现在分词短语的功能既可是方式状语亦可是伴随情况状语等，我们即认为两种分析方法都是正确的，都是言之成理的。对于某些语言现象，如 go, come 等之后的 -ing 形式，各家往往抱有不同的看法，我们也认为不必强求一致，定于一尊。
