present participle

[captain1]

What about this:
Shmuel managed to escape, hiding for several months with a Polish family.

because "managed" it should be "hid".
But here we have hiding - its not in terms of tenses agreement.


1) "comma+ing"= Does we can replace it with the present simple?
2)What about the verb "to escape" we don't need to refer it? just to refer "managed".

Thanks

 

[Matthew Wai]

But here we have hiding - its not in terms of tenses agreement.

'Hiding' here is a modifier instead of a verb, so no tense agreement is needed.

1) "comma+ing"= Does we can replace it with the present simple?

That depends on the finite verb in the sentence. See the blue text in Piscean's post#7.

2)What about the verb "to escape" we don't need to refer it? just to refer "managed".

The finite verb there is 'managed' instead of 'to escape', which is a non-finite verb.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Some people call "to escape" a nonfinite verb. Others call it an infinitive, which is a type of verbal.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Try Google. You have a very narrow view of information.

 

[MikeNewYork]

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/627/03/

 

[Tarheel]

Captain1, please note that the contraction standing for 'it is" is "it's". (Note apostrophe.)

 

[captain1]

captain1, do you mean the following form:

When I wrote 'causing confusion' above, I used 'causing' to replace 'and thus cause'.

I understood that you can replace it, but I still don't understand what are the conditions for replacing.
Because once you did it:
In English-Chinese dictionaries, the two verbs translate the same, causing confusion.(replaced the present simple) and here you do it in a different
way: Shmuel managed to escape, hiding for several months with a Polish family. (replaced the past simple)


So if you can replace it in every tense, what is the purpose of the 'ing' here?
What it means "modifier instead of verb"?

Sorry for not understanding it.

 

[Matthew Wai]

What it means "modifier instead of verb"?

'We stood watching the rain fall.'── quoted from http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/stand_1
I think 'watching' has replaced 'and watched', i.e. 'We stood and watched the rain fall'.
'Watching' is a modifier because it modifies 'We', while 'watched' is a verb.

what is the purpose of the 'ing' here?

The purpose is to modify 'We'. Using the -ing form to modify a (pro)noun is common usage.

 

[captain1]

Modifying purpose has the meaning of pointing about "who did the action"?

For example,
I watched an interview on BBC, Enjoing from the fascinating discussion

Enjoying = this present participle has the purpose of saying "The same person who watched he is the same person who enjoyed from the interview?"
Just to tell the readers who did the action?

 

[captain1]

Is this the purpose?

 

[Tarheel]

I watched an interview on BBC, enjoying the fascinating discussion.

The above says two things. You watched an interview on BBC, and you enjoyed it because you found it fascinating.

 

[Tarheel]

The person who watched it is the one who enjoyed the interview, yes.

 

[captain1]

What I wrote doesn't have the intention of being modifying? Like the other sentences in this thread?

 

[Tarheel]

The dependent clause serves as a modifier. The sentence itself is of course, not a modifier. It is a statement.

 

[Tarheel]

Can you find the errors in your post?

 

[captain1]

I don't know if I have errors

 

[Tarheel]

Well, you misspelled "wrote" and the word starting the second sentence needs to be capitalized.

 

[captain1]

Hello, I would like to ask:
1. Do I need always to put comma before modifying?
Like this:
Shmuel managed to escape, hiding for several months with a Polish family.

Or I can this: Shmuel managed to escape hiding for several months with a Polish family?

What the difference between putting comma and not putting comma?

2. I want to make sure that I understand it correctly, Can I modify in every tense?
Like this:
I am sitting on a couch, reading a book = I am sitting on a couch and I am reading a book
I was sitting on a couch, reading a book = I was sitting on a couch and I was reading a book
I sat on a couch, reading a book= I sat on a couch and I read a book
Thanks.

 

[MikeNewYork]

1. The comma is needed. Without it, it reads "to escape hiding".

2. Yes. In the US we sit "on" a couch" not "in" a couch.

 

[captain1]

I am asking the question number 1# because in this post someone wrote the sentence(something like that): I stood watching over the rain fall. Is this grammatically wrong?