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Avangi Posted 17 years ago
Grammar

Participial phrases as adverbial

Hi,
What's the current wisdom on this? Some say they are only adjectival.

Jack displayed the trophy, holding it above his head. (I hope this is a good example of what I'm talking about.)

May we say the participial phrase is acting adverbially, or must we say the phrase is "really" by holding it above his head, so we can call it a prepositional phrase and escape the rule?

Best regards, - A.
  

Top answer

Avangi May we say the participial phrase is acting adverbially Sure. Why not? There are thousands of examples of such usage.

— CalifJim

  • Avangi May we say the participial phrase is acting adverbially Sure.
  • Why not?
  • There are thousands of examples of such usage.
  • Avangi Some say they are only adjectival.
  • Not me.
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8 Answers
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AvangiMay we say the participial phrase is acting adverbially
Sure. Why not? There are thousands of examples of such usage.
AvangiSome say they are only adjectival.
Not me. Obviously. However, I plead guilty to explaining the participle as a sort of hybrid between verb and adjective. "A gerund is a noun. A participle is
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Hi, CJ,
Thank you very much for your clear and to-the-point reply.

- A.
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"Holding it over his head" modifies Jack. It is adjectival. If you ad the preposition "by," you create an adverbial prepositional phrase.
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Anonymous"Holding it over his head" modifies Jack.
Sorry. That doesn't work. It doesn't say "the holding-the-trophy-above-his head Jack" vs. some other Jack, as if you were trying to specify which Jack you were talking about. Proper nouns like "Jack" rarely take adjective modifiers.

CJ
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Hi guys. What do you think about this sentence?
''Sam is found touching these priceless exhibits.''

Is touching these priceless exhibits an adverbial? Is it a participial phrase too?
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jasonkhlimHi guys. What do you think about this sentence?''Sam is found touching these priceless exhibits.''Is touching these priceless exhibits an adverbial? Is it a participial phrase too?
It is a participial clause functioning as complement of the verb "found".

BillJ
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Does it mean that it is a direct object? But Sam is found is a passive voice.
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jasonkhlimDoes it mean that it is a direct object? But Sam was found is a passive voice.
No: it's a catenative complement, not a direct object.

BillJ
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