Grammar Structure

Question

'Most of them Asian women' really confounded me.Could you explain the grammatical rule in that sentence?

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

That is apposition ( https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/grammar/british-grammar/apposition ). The grammar within "most of them Asian women" is tricky. You can think of it as "mostly Asian women".

AlpheccaStars · Answer

The verb has been omitted. This is fairly common for phrases placed in a https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/style-and-usage/parenthetical-expression-types-and-usage.html

At least eight people, most of them ( being ) Asian women, were killed ...
At least eight people — most of them were Asian women — were killed ...
At least eight people (most of them were Asian women ) were killed .

The following link goes to a page detailing 8 types of parenthetical expressions.
Your example is type #3. You can think of "parenthetical" as "extra information put between parenthesis".

https://www.dailywritingtips.com/8-types-of-parenthetical-phrases/

CalifJim · Answer

Nh?t BìnhCould you explain the grammatical rule in that sentence?

The phrase in question can be analyzed as a variant of a non-restrictive relative clause:

At least eight people, most of them Asian women, were killed ...
At least eight people, most of whom were Asian women, were killed ...

This particular kind of variant is typically headed by a quantifying expression like most of, some of, many of, or none of. An appropriate object case pronoun is used for the relative pronoun (i.e., using them or it for which), and a form of be is omitted.

The desserts, many of them made at a local bakery, were delicious.
The desserts, many of which were made at a local bakery, were delicious.

Mr. Burt's apology, none of it credible, was published in The Evening News.
Mr. Burt's apology, none of which was credible, was published in The Evening News.

The animals, some of them in very bad shape, are being taken care of by an organization called "The Ark".
The animals, some of which are in very bad shape, are being taken care of by an organization called "The Ark".

One good stylistic reason to use this relative clause variant is to avoid word repetition. Note how the full forms above result in repetition of an auxiliary verb:

were Asian women, were killed
were made ..., were delicious
was credible, was published
are in very bad shape, are being taken ...

CJ

Grammar Structure

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