[Grammar] Press the contraption until the pins are inserted and the cover securely attached.

[Meg01]

Hi

Verb omission - Why is it wrong in this sentence?

I've been told this sentence is incorrect.
1) Press the contraption until the pins are inserted and the cover securely attached.

The corrected sentence is:
2) Press the contraption until the pins are inserted and the cover is securely attached.

This is correct.
3) She sat there quietly, her eyes shut and her body relaxed.

Following a similar structure, I think this is correct too?
4) She pressed the contraption until its pins are inserted and its cover attached and sealed.

So why is (1) wrong?

Thanks!

 

[Rover_KE]

Re: Verb omission - Why is it wrong in this sentence?

Welcome to the forum, Meg. :-D

Please give us some context.

What's the contraption?
Why do you have to give instructions for its assembly?
Who's telling you sentence #1 is incorrect?
Why does 'she' appear in #3 and 4?
Why do you think it needs to follow the structure of #3?

 

[Meg01]

Re: Verb omission - Why is it wrong in this sentence?

Hi Rover_KE,

The contraption is actually a rubber piece that goes onto an electronic device. I changed it to simplify the context but maybe that didn't work as well as I thought it would.

The instructions are needed for a product manual so that the users know how to assemble the product.

I was advised by my teammate that #1 needs the verb 'is'.

#3 and #4 are just further examples showing when we can omit the verb. I think these are correct but I don't know the reason for this.

 

[SoothingDave]

Re: Verb omission - Why is it wrong in this sentence?

Sentence 1 is fine by me. It's perfectly understandable.

 

[Meg01]

Re: Verb omission - Why is it wrong in this sentence?

Thanks Dave! I feel the same too :lol:

I just don't know if it's grammatically wrong to exclude the verb.

 

[slevlife]

Re: Verb omission - Why is it wrong in this sentence?

1) Press the contraption until the pins are inserted and the cover securely attached.
2) Press the contraption until the pins are inserted and the cover is securely attached.
3) She sat there quietly, her eyes shut and her body relaxed.

Comparing sentence #1 to #3 is not helpful because they use different structures.

Whether #1 is technically grammatically incorrect according to some guides does not feel important in this case. It feels like a stylistic choice. Omitting the second "is" here sounds fine and is common practice, both in speech and in writing. Some people (including some grammar teachers) might have a preference for #2 and feel that #1 sounds a little off, but no one will have a problem understanding it without the "is."

However, beginner speakers should probably not omit the second verb (is) since beginners won't have an intuition for whether omitting it creates confusion or sounds unnatural.

 

[emsr2d2]

Welcome to the forum, Meg01. :hi:

Please note that I have changed your thread title and moved your actual question to the main body of your post. Thread titles should be unique and relevant to the thread, and should include some/all of the words/phrases/sentences that you are asking us about.