grammar point.

Question

Dantzig reports an even more convincing case in his classic book Number: the Language of Science. Apparently a man was determined to shoot a crow which was occupying a nest in the watchtower of a certain estate. However, whenever the man approached, the crow flew away. The man sent two men to enter the tower, one of them leaving, while the other remained, but the crow was not fooled.

Q) The underlined part is thought to be like this.
1. The man sent two men to enter the tower.
2. One of them left, while the other remained, but the crow was not fooled.

So the underlined part is the combination of #1 and #2 in one sentence.
Then isn't it possible to replace "remained" in the underlined part with remaining?

GPY · Accepted Answer

"... while the other remaining ..." is not possible. If "while" is deleted then "remaining" would be correct.

Moon7296 · Answer

The man sent two men to enter the tower, one of them leaving, while the other remained, but the crow was not fooled.
1. The man sent two men to enter the tower.
2. One of them left, while the other remained, but the crow was not fooled.

Q1) Does the underlined part simply connect the sentence #1 and #2, just like #3 and #4?
3. Mr. Z hired two new employees. One of them is a recent graduate with an engineering degree.
4. Mr. Z hired two new employees, one of whom is a recent graduate with an engineering degree.

Q2) Or does the underllined part add a conjunctive meaning or something else added just like #5~7?

Q3) Can't "while" be omitted and the structure maintains as it is just like #5~7? (I understand "while" in the underlined part is added to make the clause meaning clearer just like "though" or "because" is added in #4 and #5 to make #3 clear.

5. Sleeping many hours, I was tired.
6. Though sleeping many hours, I was tired.
7. Because sleeping many hours, I was tired.

GPY · Answer

Q1/2) You talk of "the underlined part" as if you meant to underline only a part of the sentence, but actually you have underlined the whole sentence.

In (3) and (4), "one of them/whom is" contains a finite verb, whereas "one of them leaving" does not, so the structures are different. I think "one of them leaving while the other remained", or at least "one of them leaving", would be categorised as an absolute phrase (see e.g. http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/phrases.htm#absolute). "while" is a conjunction.

Q3) The content of these sentences seems illogical. Sleeping for a long time ought to make you less tired. I suppose you could argue that oversleeping might make you feel more tired; I'm not sure if you that's what you intend. Anyway, ignoring all that, (5) seems pretty marginal to me, and (6) hardly acceptable, while (7) is definitely wrong.

Moon7296 · Answer

GPY(6) hardly acceptable

Hi.

Out of the blue, I was wondering why (6) is hardly acceptable when it is viewed as a participial phrase for this: although I slept many hours, I was tired.

You simply mean the structure of (6) is wrong or its logic?

GPY · Answer

Sorry, I meant that #5 and #7 seemed illogical, since they seem to suggest that sleeping makes you tired. (#7 is also ungrammatical, as I mentioned.)

#6 is logical, but it cannot be talking about one occasion. It could conceivably be talking about regular sleep patterns, but this interpretation a strain, at least for me. "Though sleeping many hours each night, I still felt tired" may convey the idea better, though I have some misgivings about the pattern "Though verb-ing, I ..." per se. No doubt you will find examples of its use if you search.

grammar point.

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