-ing form of verb

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hemant_rajput: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 447; Joined: Sun Apr 22, 2012 7:13 amFollowed by: 13 members; Thanked: 46 times; GMAT Score:700

by hemant_rajput » Wed Apr 03, 2013 4:20 am

I'm coming across the options in Sentence correction where after a first clause there is a comma and then the clause starting with ing form of verb.In my observation most of the time that option was eliminated because of the ing form of verb. So can someone tell me where it is OK to use a clause starting with ing form of verb.

I'm talking about this form of sentences:-

"The Olympic Games helped to keep peace among the pugnacious states of the Greek world, proclaiming a sacred truce during the festival's month."

Not like this one:-

"Playing is fun".

Any help is appreciated.

I'm no expert, just trying to work on my skills. If I've made any mistakes please bear with me.

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Wed Apr 03, 2013 4:20 am

Nachiket: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 69; Joined: Fri Mar 08, 2013 3:09 am; Thanked: 6 times

by Nachiket » Wed Apr 03, 2013 6:53 am

hemant_rajput wrote:I'm coming across the options in Sentence correction where after a first clause there is a comma and then the clause starting with ing form of verb.In my observation most of the time that option was eliminated because of the ing form of verb. So can someone tell me where it is OK to use a clause starting with ing form of verb.

I'm talking about this form of sentences:-

"The Olympic Games helped to keep peace among the pugnacious states of the Greek world, proclaiming a sacred truce during the festival's month."

Not like this one:-

"Playing is fun".

Any help is appreciated.

Below is the one of the scenarios which you would most often see on GMAT questions. In 99% of such scenarios, -ing form of the verb is used.

Wherever there is a cause and effect relationship in the two clauses in a sentence.. The First clause being the cause for the second.

For instance :- in the above example :- The Olympic Games helped to keep peace ( Cause) and which lead to the proclaimation of a sacred truce ( effect)

Stay Hungry , Stay Foolish !!

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hemant_rajput: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 447; Joined: Sun Apr 22, 2012 7:13 amFollowed by: 13 members; Thanked: 46 times; GMAT Score:700

by hemant_rajput » Wed Apr 03, 2013 6:56 am

The use of Ing form is wrong over here

I'm no expert, just trying to work on my skills. If I've made any mistakes please bear with me.

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Nachiket: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 69; Joined: Fri Mar 08, 2013 3:09 am; Thanked: 6 times

by Nachiket » Wed Apr 03, 2013 7:13 am

hemant_rajput wrote:The use of Ing form is wrong over here

Oops my bad...here it is wrong because the meaning of the sentence is illogical..not because of grammatical reasons.

The Olympic Games cannot proclaim ( announce) anything.

Stay Hungry , Stay Foolish !!

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hemant_rajput: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 447; Joined: Sun Apr 22, 2012 7:13 amFollowed by: 13 members; Thanked: 46 times; GMAT Score:700

by hemant_rajput » Wed Apr 03, 2013 7:35 am

Can you explain about the proper usage of Ing form and why the usage is wrong over here

I'm no expert, just trying to work on my skills. If I've made any mistakes please bear with me.

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Gowri@CrackVerbal: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 123; Joined: Fri Nov 09, 2012 2:34 amFollowed by: 9 members; Location: Bengaluru, India; Thanked: 46 times

by Gowri@CrackVerbal » Wed Apr 03, 2013 9:26 pm

hemant_rajput wrote:I'm coming across the options in Sentence correction where after a first clause there is a comma and then the clause starting with ing form of verb.In my observation most of the time that option was eliminated because of the ing form of verb. So can someone tell me where it is OK to use a clause starting with ing form of verb.

I'm talking about this form of sentences:-

"The Olympic Games helped to keep peace among the pugnacious states of the Greek world, proclaiming a sacred truce during the festival's month."

Not like this one:-

"Playing is fun".

Any help is appreciated.

Look at this sentence:
The actor spent less than an hour looking over his lines, playing Hamlet for the third time that year.

Here, the phrase beginning with "playing..." modifies the entire preceding clause and applies to the subject of that clause. i.e. the actor.

We can use such participial modifiers in 2 circumstances:
1. The "ing" action isÂ simultaneous with, and subordinate to,Â the main action
The old woman picked up her load once again, sighing deeply

2. The "ing" action is aÂ direct and immediate consequenceÂ of the main action.
Amit ate salads all day, losing 5 kilos.

Gowri N Kishore
Verbal Specialist & Mentor
CrackVerbal

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aaggar7: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 124; Joined: Sun Mar 11, 2012 8:48 pmFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 9 times

by aaggar7 » Thu Apr 11, 2013 9:48 am

Hi,

Can you please explain this wrt to the original sentence

"The Olympic Games helped to keep peace among the pugnacious states of the Greek world, proclaiming a sacred truce during the festival's month."

Thanks in advance

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Gowri@CrackVerbal: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 123; Joined: Fri Nov 09, 2012 2:34 amFollowed by: 9 members; Location: Bengaluru, India; Thanked: 46 times

by Gowri@CrackVerbal » Thu Apr 11, 2013 8:02 pm

aaggar7 wrote:Hi,

Can you please explain this wrt to the original sentence

"The Olympic Games helped to keep peace among the pugnacious states of the Greek world, proclaiming a sacred truce during the festival's month."

Thanks in advance

Okay - let us ask ourselves who is proclaiming the sacred truce? The Games or the Greek states?
Obviously not the Games.

In the above sentence, the phrase 'proclaiming a sacred truce...' applies to the subject of the preceding clause. i.e. the Olympic Games. This is incorrect, and therefore, the sentence is incorrect. The correct answer choice for this question says:

"The Olympic Games helped to keep peace among the pugnacious states of the Greek world, for a sacred truce was proclaimed during the month of the festival."

Here, 'for' is used in place of because. By using the passive phrase 'truce was proclaimed', the original referencing error has been rectified. I hope this is clear now.

Gowri N Kishore
Verbal Specialist & Mentor
CrackVerbal

If you find my posts useful, please hit the 'Thank' button.

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