JEic
Junior Member
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2022
- Member Type
- Native Language
- Cantonese
- Home Country
- Singapore
- Current Location
- Singapore
Staggering to his feet, he rushed headlong into the crowd while behind him the train, puffing hard, picked up speed, his pursuers still aboard. (Source: The Nevermore Poe Collection by Edgar Allan Poe, Kelly Creagh)
This sentence is long. As I read the bolded clause, I thought about the grammar: "while behind him the train, puffing hard, picked up speed, his pursuers still aboard"
The subject here is "the train"?
Should there be a comma after "while behind him'? - "while behind him, the train, puffing hard,"
- If yes or no, why?
- is "puffing" a gerund here? I don't understand the grammar here; it looks complex.
This sentence is long. As I read the bolded clause, I thought about the grammar: "while behind him the train, puffing hard, picked up speed, his pursuers still aboard"
The subject here is "the train"?
Should there be a comma after "while behind him'? - "while behind him, the train, puffing hard,"
- If yes or no, why?
- is "puffing" a gerund here? I don't understand the grammar here; it looks complex.