(_________ ) to remain the unconcerned observer, Larry rejects Susan's demands for some emotional response.
(a) Determining
(b) Determined
(c) Having determined
(d) Having been determined
Please tell me the right answer of the question and explain why.
Last edited by ddablo; 15-Aug-2011 at 01:46.
Oh, I'm not a student, allenman. I'm just the one who is interested in English.
Actually my book, whose author is non native speaker, says the answer is (b) but I think (a) also might be the correct answer.
That was why I posted this question.
Could you possibly answer me this question with grammatical explanation?
I agree with b being the correct answer. It immediately comes to mind when you first see this sentence. The guy is determined = He's made up his mind. Any other option would be just wrong. What you need to consider here is the way such words are normally used in English. This comes with experience. I guess, in the end, it's all about reading quality literature.
I’m not a teacher.
Like you, I choose (a) determining
When there are two actions with the same subject in one sentence (including main clause and dependent clause), we can use:
- V-ing form to start dependent clause: if the two actions happen at the same time
- V-ed form / past participle to start dependent clause: in passive voice.
The original sentence:
Because Larry determines to remain the unconcerned observer (dependent clause), Larry rejects Susan's demands for some emotional response (main clause)
is changed to:
Determining to remain the unconcerned observer, Larry rejects Susan's demands for some emotional response.
That’s for your reference.
a, b, and c work. b is the most likely.
Thank you for all the above answers.
By the way, are there any differences of meaning between (a) and (b)?
It looks like they are similar.