blown across the road/ a pouring rain

[vil]

Dear teachers,

Would you be kind enough to give me your considered opinion concerning the interpretation of the expressions in bold in the following sentences?

A pylon had blown across the road.

Lay all night in the wind, and pouring rain before the men coming on day shift found her.

A pylon had blown across the road. = A pylon had been thrown across the road by the wind.

pouring rain = heavy rain

V.

[SirGod]

* Not a teacher

You are right about "a pouring rain". But, in my opinion and inferring from you context, the pylon exploded. There's no passive voice.

[emsr2d2]

Dear teachers,

Would you be kind enough to give me your considered opinion concerning the interpretation of the expressions in bold in the following sentence?

A pylon had blown across the road.

Lay all night in the wind, and pouring rain before the men coming on day shift found her.

A pylon had blown across the road. = A pylon had been thrown across the road by the wind.

a pouring rain = heavy rain

V.

You're right about the pylon. We miss out the word "been" quite frequently. It had been blown across the road. There is no way of telling for sure if the wind blew the pylon down and then across the road, or if it was already broken and the wind simply blew it across the road. I would guess the former.

"Pouring rain" is indeed "heavy rain" but we don't use the indefinite article in front of it.

In the sentence you quoted, I think the comma is misused after "wind". To me, it should read:

[She] Lay all night in the wind and pouring rain before the men coming on day shift found her.

Did they really refer to the pylon as "she"?!

[vil]

Here is a further context for additional clarification of the real situation.

She was biking to a case last night. A pylon had blown across the road. She ran straight into it in the dark. Lay all night in the wind, and pouring rain before the men coming on day shift found her.

In my humble opinion there is an implicit passive voice. It goes without saying that only an unimaginative person is capable to deny that contention.

V.

[vil]

Hi emsr2d,

Thank you for your helpful remarks.

V.,

[SirGod]

It goes without saying that only an unimaginative person is capable to deny that contention.

V.

Could you be more polite with a person who actually tries to help you?

[emsr2d2]

Could you be more polite with a person who actually tries to help you?

It was perfectly polite, SirGod. Vil (I believe) was simply agreeing that the sentence is clearly passive without the need for the word "been". I certainly read no impoliteness into the reply.