a woman giving birth

[white.rose]

Hi,

"Somewhere on this globe, every ten seconds, there is a woman giving birth to a child. She must be found and stopped."
I found it her >> http://www.grammar-monster.com/glossary/present_participle.htm

I want to know the part of speech of "giving". Is it an adjective or a verb? It is mentioned in the website that "giving" is an adjective, but I don't think so because I see that this sentence "there is a woman giving birth to a child" is a shorter form of "there is a woman who is giving birth to a child". Thus, "giving" is a verb not an adjective.

What do you think?

 

[emsr2d2]

It's a shorter form of "a woman who is giving birth". It's the simple present continuous form of "to give birth". "Giving" as an adjective has a very different meaning!

Do you understand the joke at the beginning?

 

[white.rose]

It's a shorter form of "a woman who is giving birth". It's the simple present continuous form of "to give birth". "Giving" as an adjective has a very different meaning!

Do you understand the joke at the beginning?

Really? What is the meaning?

No, I don't. :shock:

 

[white.rose]

Aah! I read it many times to figure it out. :mrgreen:

It is about population growth.

Since "giving" is an adjective, can we say "there is a woman very giving birth to a child"?

 

[Rover_KE]

No, that makes no sense. As ems wrote: "Giving" as an adjective has a very different meaning!

The joke is that the same woman is giving birth every ten seconds.

Never mind.:roll:

 

[emsr2d2]

"Giving" as an adjective means "generous".

As Rover said, the joke is that the first sentence can be taken to mean that one single woman (the same woman) gives birth every ten seconds in different places on the globe. Of course that is impossible but if it were true, we would probably all agree that that woman should be found and stopped.

 

[MikeNewYork]

I agree with ems that "giving" is part of a shortened relative clause. But I disagree that it is not an adjective. As written, "giving" is a present participle, acting as an adjective that modifies "woman". What follows "giving" is the rest of a participial phrase.

 

[white.rose]

I agree with ems that "giving" is part of a shortened relative clause. But I disagree that it is not an adjective. As written, "giving" is a present participle, acting as an adjective that modifies "woman". What follows "giving" is the rest of a participial phrase.

I am sorry but I really confused. "Giving" follows woman and "very" can't come before it so, how it can be an adjective?

 

[SoothingDave]

"Giving" is not an adjective here. "Giving birth to a child" as a phrase acts like an adjective to modify "woman."

As an adjective on its own, a "giving" person refers to someone who is very charitable. This is not at all what this sentence is about.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Adjectival participial phrases often follow the nouns they modify.