Ving or warning

[Camelia Hoang]

In this sentence: "The flight was postponed because someone telephoned, warning about a bomb on board.". Why is "Ving" used as in "warning"? What sentence structure is it?

 

[probus]

Hello Camelia and welcome to the forum. Please note that I have changed your thread title. Titles should include some or all of the words asked about.

I don't understand your question. "Ving" does not appear in the sentence you quoted. Please edit your post to clarify your question.

 

[Tarheel]

The phrase "warning about a bomb on board" explains what the caller said. That is, the conversation was about a bomb on board the plane.

 

[probus]

And the ving?

 

[Tarheel]

And the ving?

I'm guessing it means "ing" verb.

 

[Tdol]

You could say to warn, without the comma, but the -ing structure is more natural.

 

[jutfrank]

And the ving?

This is a student's way of representing the -ing form of a verb.

In this case, the -ing form of the verb 'warn' is a present participle, heading a present participle phrase.

 

[Camelia Hoang]

Hello Camelia and welcome to the forum. Please note that I have changed your thread title. Titles should include some or all of the words asked about.

I don't understand your question. "Ving" does not appear in the sentence you quoted. Please edit your post to clarify your question.

Thanks for your reply. I meant why "warning" is used but not "to warn" (infinitive of purpose).

 

[Camelia Hoang]

This is a student's way of representing the -ing form of a verb.

In this case, the -ing form of the verb 'warn' is a present participle, heading a present participle phrase.

Hi. Sorry for confusing question . We often call "-ing form of verb" V-ing . Thank for your reply. In this case, is present participle used as a reduced form of a clause ?

 

[Camelia Hoang]

You could say to warn, without the comma, but the -ing structure is more natural.

Ah. I see. Thanks a lot !!! I just feel confused about the grammar.

 

[Camelia Hoang]

The phrase "warning about a bomb on board" explains what the caller said. That is, the conversation was about a bomb on board the plane.

Thank you. I understand the meaning of the sentence. I just don't get the use of "warning" ("ing" form of verb). I thought it should be "to warn" or "warned".

 

[emsr2d2]

Q: What was the person doing when they telephoned the airline?
A: They were warning the airline about a bomb.

It would also have been perfectly grammatical for the writer to say "someone telephone to warn about a bomb on board". They chose not to.

 

[Tdol]

To be honest, I think that worrying about whether a v-ing form of a verb is a gerund or a participle is a waste of time- it confers no greater understanding and doesn't help learners. Learning to know that a v-ing form is needed in a sentence strikes me as more valuable.