Shoot, this example is opening up another can of worms for me.loveusonu wrote:
Here is one of the OG10 eg:
210. Scientists have recently discovered what could be the largest and oldest living organism on Earth, a giant
fungus that is an interwoven filigree of mushrooms and rootlike tentacles spawned by a single fertilized
spore some 10,000 years ago and extending for more than 30 acres in the soil of a Michigan forest.
(A) extending
(B) extends
(C) extended
(D) it extended
(E) is extending
Answer to Question 210
Choice A, the best answer, preserves grammatical parallelism while allowing for logical expression of temporal
relationships; A employs the parallel participial phrases spawned... and extending ... to modify filigree. Other
choices present different grammatical constructions that are not participial modifiers and thus not parallel to
spawned: extends in B is a present-tense verb; it extended in D begins a new clause; and is extending in E
ungrammatically introduces a new predicate. In C, extended is nonparallel if it is assumed to be a past tense verb form; if it is assumed to be a past participle, it illogically states, as does D, that the filigree extended only in
the past.
hope that helps
Question from this example I have is, what is the difference between present progressive and present participle? After reading some more, I think I may have come up with an explanation.
Present progressive is a verb in -ing preceded by auxiliary BE, and it's a finite verb constituent that can function as a main verb in a clause. Present participle is a verb in -ING form without auxiliary BE, has no tense, and cannot function as a main verb. Therefore, present participle can only be a modifier of some sort, as in the case of answer A, and E is wrong because it introduces a new finite verb.
Now my question is then, do all the modifiers - relative and non-relative - have to be without a finite verb like an absolute phrase?
