with his eyes --- (fix) upon the ceiling

[zhonglc2020]

Hello forum,

He sat there with his eyes ______upon the ceiling.
A. fixing
B. fixed
C. closing
D. having closed
Key B

This question comes from a Test paper.

I have no problem with the option B, but I don't know how to explain why A is wrong.
Is A really wrong?


Many thanks in advance.

 

[jutfrank]

Yes.

Think of fixed as an adjective describing the position of his eyes. If you use fixing there, it suggests a verb—in other words, that his eyes are doing something.

 

[Phaedrus]

Think of fixed as an adjective describing the position of his eyes. If you use fixing there, it suggests a verb—in other words, that his eyes are doing something.

What if we think of fixed/fixing as describing his gaze rather than the position of his eyes? We can do things with our gaze. Consider:

He sat there with his eyes fixing upon the spider on the ceiling. As it came into clear view, he formulated a plan for getting the spider out of the room.

An almost identical question recently appeared at Phaedrus's home forum, where "fixing" was given a chance, even though "fixed" was deemed more natural.

 

[jutfrank]

What if we think of fixed/fixing as describing his gaze rather than the position of his eyes? We can do things with our gaze. Consider:

He sat there with his eyes fixing upon the spider on the ceiling. As it came into clear view, he formulated a plan for getting the spider out of the room.

Sure, that extra context makes sense, but the answer for this particular test question, with the sentence in isolation, is fixed. Since it's a multiple choice question, there can be only one correct answer.