I was always taught that if you can replace a participle with a pronoun, then you should use the possessive case. So instead of "I saw him eating", because I can substitute "it" and say "I saw it", I should say "I saw his eating." "His eating" is the object here, and it can be … Read more
I’ve just came a cross the following sentence: It seemed to breathe from a bosom labouring under the deadliest terror. and can’t puzzle out the meaning of this two words combined together in this sentence. Could someone explain? Answer This is the full sentence “Hush!” said her companion; and there was something in the tone … Read more
I came across this sentence while preparing for the IELTS writing exam: There are a number of causes of people not doing physical activities. That causes of should be followed by a noun or gerund. So does people not doing physical activities act as a gerund here? Could somebody please help me understand it grammatically? … Read more
People don’t usually think of touch as a temporal phenomenon, but it is every bit as time-based as it is spatial. You can carry out an experiment to see for yourself. Ask a friend to cup his hand, palm face up, and close his eyes. Place a small ordinary object in his palm ― a … Read more
In the sentence, “my dog ran up to me, wagging its tail,” does “wagging its tail” modify “dog” or “ran”? Does rewriting the sentence as “wagging its tail, my dog ran up to me” change anything? Answer This is called a praedicative adjectival phrase; that means that it has an adjectival form and syntactically it … Read more
What is the function of the phrase "according to" in sentences like "According to my neighbor, it will rain tomorrow"? It seems like the phrase "according to my neighbor" is modifying the entire clause "it will rain tomorrow." Is there a name for this type of phrase? Answer [According to my neighbor], it will rain … Read more
Some time ago I learned the difference between a present participle and a gerund, so today I decided to pass any online test to make sure I understand it. I passed it having made only one mistake, which asked the difference between the two in this sentence: Nobody was surprised at John being absent. One … Read more
How do you think about this sentence? Is it ok grammatically? Having been in shape, I go to gym twice a week. ` Answer Grammatically it’s fine, except that gym is not one of those institutions (like school and church) that doesn’t need an article. So I go to the gym twice a week. As … Read more
The state’s ACLU branch reached out to the Massachusetts State Police requesting records regarding the acquisition and use of robotics. Should there be a comma before “requesting” ? Is the “requesting” phrase a gerund or participial ? What does it modify ? Answer Comma, so it’s clear it’s ACLU not the police doing the requesting. … Read more
They boarded the subway packed with people My attempt: I think “boarded the subway” is the participial phrase which modifies “they”, because “packed with people” is a prepositional phrase packed is a past tense, with, is a preposition and people is the object and it’s a noun. Am I right ? And what is the … Read more
