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The paper studies the use of participle constructions in Polish and Swedish narratives. The data consist of narratives elicited by means of a picture book 'Frog, where are you?' by M. Meyer. Twenty eight speakers (14 in each language group) were recorded while telling the story. The analysis concentrated on the function of participle constructions in a narrative. The data show that the speakers in both languages use this non-finite verb form first of all in order to present the background information, which can co-relate with the use of subordinate clauses in a narrative discourse. The analysis furthermore shows that participles in passive constructions can focus the figure in the story. The structural differences between Polish and Swedish can also influence the use of participle constructions in the discourse.