while behind him the train, puffing hard

[JEic]

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.

 

[Tarheel]

Is the subject "the train'?

No.

"This sentence is long."

No, it's only four words.


You can see "puffing" as a gerund if you like.

The sentence isn't all that complicated.

Are you able to understand the story?

 

[Holmes]

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)

. . . is "puffing" a gerund here? I don't understand the grammar here; it looks complex.

"Behind him the train, puffing hard, picked up speed" could be rearranged like this: "Puffing hard, the train picked up speed behind him."

"Puffing hard" is not a gerund; it is not functioning as a substantive. It is an adverbial participial modifier whose implied subject is "the train."

 

[Barque]

Should there be a comma after "while behind him'? - "while behind him, the train, puffing hard,"
- If yes or no, why?

No, because it isn't necessary. There would be too many breaks in the sentence.

while behind him the train, puffing hard, picked up speed, his pursuers still aboard.

Read it this way: ... while behind him the train, which was puffing hard, picked up speed, with his pursuers still aboard.

Is the The subject here is "the train"?

The main subject is "he". I guess "train" is the subject of the second clause, starting with "while". I'll let someone else explain the grammar in detail.

Cross-posted.

 

[dunchee]

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"?

Yes.

Should there be a comma after "while behind him'? - "while behind him, the train, puffing hard,"
- If yes or no, why?

This web page says it better:

Rules for Comma Usage

Rules for Comma Usage

guidetogrammar.org

"3 .... It is permissible to omit the comma after a brief introductory element if the omission does not result in confusion or hesitancy in reading. If there is ever any doubt, use the comma, as it is always correct."

While you're on it, also check out 4 and 11.

And:

The Garden of Phrases

(click on "Participial Phrases")