Grammar Structure

Question

1. Along with the drop in producer prices announced yesterday were the strong retail sales figures released today as if to indicate the economy, although growing slowly, is not nearing a recession.

2. Though no fatal disease, schistosomiasis is so debilitating as to become an economic drain on many developing countries.

3. .......0....a leading figure in the Scotish Enlightenment, Adam Smith wrote two major books that are to democratic capitalism......what........ Marx's Das Kapital is to socialism. ( other answers: A. Being-while; B. Having been-which; C. To be-that)

They are extracted from my grammar exercises. The phrases in bold are the keys, but I can't understand. Could you explain them to me?

Persian Learner · Accepted Answer

Nh?t BìnhAlong [with the drop in producer prices (which was) announced yesterday] were the strong retail sales figures (which were) released today as if to indicate the economy, although growing slowly, is not nearing a recession.

Along [with X] was Y.

This is called subject-verb inversion, with the main verb coming before the subject. In this clause the subject is 'the strong retail sales figures' and the verb is 'were'.

Nh?t Bìnhas if to indicate (that) the economy, although growing slowly, is not nearing a recession.

The subordinator 'as if' generally introduces a manner clause (also known as adverbial clause of manner).

For example:

The college professor treats his students this way: They are all children.

~ The college professor treats his students as if they were all children.

The use of subjunctive 'were' indicates that the speaker is more doubtful about his statement: the college students are not children indeed!

The underlined part is a manner complement because if it is dropped, the remaining clause will be incomplete:

The college professor treats his students_______

Getting back to your sentence, 'as if' can also take an infinitive phrase (also known as infinitival non-finite clause). In such cases, it indicates 'purpose' or 'intention'.

The strong retail sales figures were released today in order to indicate the economy (although growing slowly) is not nearing a recession.

~ The strong retail sales figures were released today as if to indicate [the economy (although growing slowly) is not nearing a recession].

The underlined infinitival has the bracketed part (content/noun clause) as its complement. The use of 'as if' instead of 'in order to' also indicates that the speaker is doubtful about his statement: Although the economy was growing at a slow pace, the authorities seemed to have the intention of ruling out an approaching recession by releasing the strong sales figures along with the drop in producer prices.

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Nh?t BìnhThough no fatal disease, schistosomiasis is so debilitating as to become an economic drain on many developing countries.

The underlined is a subjectless, verbless adjunct of concession. Such adjuncts make your sentence more economical and have a form of 'be' as their covert verb and the subject of the main clause as their understood subject, hence:

Though schistosomiasis is no fatal disease, it is so debilitating as to become an economic drain on many developing countries.

Or the cataphoric counterpart:

Though it is no fatal disease, schistosomiasis is so debilitating as to become an economic drain on many developing countries.

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More on cataphoric reference if you're interested:

https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/cataphoric-reference

Grammar Structure

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