Killy/killed injuring/injured

[idiotmike]

Dear all,

In the sentence below, Why doesn't it use "killed" and "injured" instead of "killing" and "injuring".

thank you very much

"Two of China’s new bullet trains collided, killing at least 39 people and injuring nearly 200."

[5jj]

The bomb exploded, killing seven people.
Seven people fell to the ground, killed by the blast

The present participle used in this way normally has an active sense, the past participle a passive.

[BobK]

Dear all,

In the sentence below, Why doesn't it use "killed" and "injured" instead of "killing" and "injuring".

thank you very much

"Two of China’s new bullet trains collided, killing at least 39 people and injuring nearly 200."

If you wanted to use the past simple, you'd have to start a new sentence, or use a co-ordinate clause:


Two of China’s new bullet trains collided. The accident killed at least 39 people and injured nearly 200.

or

Two of China’s new bullet trains collided, and the accident killed at least 39 people and injured nearly 200.


This makes the grammar simpler, but it means that the speaker/writer has to supply a subject for the second sentence - so I don't think it's as neat as the shorter version
(although it's perfectly acceptable).

b