while clause

[atabitaraf]

'A still picture could only imply the existence of time, while time in a novel passed at the whim of the reader.' (Cambridge guide to IELTS)

In the bolded part in the above sentence I expected to have a 'be' verb: 'in a novel is passed ...'

Is there any rule about eliminating the 'be' verb in 'while clauses' or in descriptive clauses?

 

[5jj]

The sentence is correct. The active-voice verb is 'passes'; its subject is 'time (in a novel)'.

 

[Ostap]

at the whim of the reader

Why "reader", I wonder, and not "writer" (which would be more logical)?

 

[5jj]

It's the reader who experiences the passing of time.

 

[Ostap]

It's the reader who experiences the passing of time.

But how could he control/change such passing (which is what "at the whim" implies, I guess)? It's the writer who writes, "Two years later."

 

[5jj]

... and it is the reader who experiences the passing of two years.