Grammar mistake?

The testing is still ongoing:

". . . aircraft [still] testing positive over a previous round of testing, . . . ."

I still dont understand.

Why "increased rate" instead of "increasing rate"?

Series 1: Rates: 20 20 20 20 20 29 29 29 29 29 29 29
Series 2: Rates: 20 21 23 25 25 26 27 28 29 29 31 33

At 29 Series 1 shows an increased rate. (The rate has increased.)
Throughout Series 2, we see an increasing rate. (The rate has been increasing.)

Hope that helps.

CJ

Im sorry but i still dont undertand

"...rate of aircraft testing positive"

Why use the word "testing"? The aircraft doesnt do the test. Why not use the word "tested" as in "I was tested positive for..."


Thanks

Hello Guest

CJ and Casi aren't here at the moment, so I'll try to answer your question.

'To test positive for X' is the usual phrase.

'To test' in this context means: 'to be proven'.

'I tested positive for bad grammar' = 'when they tested me, they discovered that my grammar was bad'.

MrP

True, the aircraft doesn't do the test! The aircraft undergoes the test. "test" is used in the active voice in form, with passive meaning. ("I tested positive", not "I was tested positive", is the phrase used to mean "I was tested and found (to be) positive".)

That in mind, I think you can see how the following is true:
the aircraft testing positive = the aircraft which test posi

Why not use the word "tested". . . ?

Using "tested" would be fine, but it doesn't express the intended meaning. -ing means, ongoing, whereas -ed means completed. The reporter is referring to aircraft that a) had been tested and b) that are still in the process of being tested. That is, the testing is an ongoing process, and the reporter is talking a

Casi, You are putting my brain into backflips and spins!
A. doesn't work for me at all!

I sense the difference in participles as the difference between active and passive, not as the difference between present and past. To me, "present" and "past" are misnomers when applied to participles. "to test positive" is practically "to be found positive". Hence, "test", like "be", acts a

as far as I know, we use V3 in passive constructions and Ving in active ones.

so, if we say increased rate, we mean "the rates which were increased by someone", which doesn't sound sensible.

it is like,

cleaned shoes
arrested criminals
repaired roof
unseen details
unsent mail

also, the process has completed.

when we use Ving,

"Despite the increased rate of aircraft testing positive over a previous round of testing, Skinner said he would still maintain that the vast majority of planes do not come up positive."

There is an ambiguity, as it's not quite clear whether 'over' = 'in/by comparison with', or 'during'.

Is this a case of a 'fused participle' – 'the increased rate of aircraft-testing-positiv