动词的现在分词和动词的不定式都能用作结果状语，但其有着较为明显的区别，下面简要归纳一下其区别。

1. 现在分词作结果状语时一般只能单独使用，也就是说，没有固定的句型结构，它通常位于句末，前有逗号隔开。有时为了突出结果，可在现在分词前加副词 thus ，意为“因而，因此”。现在分词作结果状语往往表示正常出现的、自然而然的或意料之中的结果。

例句：

① Crops such as peas or soybeans put important minerals back into the soil, making it ready for crops such as wheat or corn that need rich and fertile soil.

② By 1820 the population of New York had grown to about 125,000,making it the largest city in the USA.

③ They were caught in a traffic jam, thus causing the delay.

④ Oil prices have risen by 32% since the start of the year, reaching a record of ﹩ 57.65 a barrel on April 4.

⑤ European football is played in 80 countries, making it in the most popular sport in the world.

2. 动词不定式单独作结果状语，通常表示偶然的、出乎意料的结果，有时为了强调这种意外的结果，可在不定式前加 only, 意为“却…，只…”，在这种情况下，不定式的逻辑主语也可能是全句的主语。

例句：

① After two days we finally arrived at the small village, only to be told that the old man had passed away.

② Yesterday a beggar bought a lottery ticket, to make him a millionaire overnight.

③ He hurried to the cinema only to find the film had been on.

④ His father was lost in the war, never to be heard of again.

⑤ He woke up and looked out of the window to find the world outside greatly changed.