Participle clause

Question

"Tuesday’s vote is seen as a pivotal moment in the endless withdrawal ordeal, known as Brexit, coming less than three weeks before the deadline for Britain to leave the European Union."

(New York Times.)

Noun phrases Tuesday's vote and a pivotal moment precede the participle clause coming less than three weeks before the deadline for Britain to leave the European Union in the sentence above.

My question is: Which of the two noun phrases is modified by the participle clause?

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I think it is "Tuesday's vote".

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

tkacka15Noun phrases Tuesday's vote and a pivotal moment precede the participle clause coming less than three weeks before the deadline for Britain to leave the European Union in the sentence above.

Yes. And the noun phrase 'Brexit' as well.

tkacka15My question is: Which of the two noun phrases is modified by the participle clause?-----------I think it is "Tuesday's vote".

I think so too, but since the sentence says that one NP is (in effect) the other NP, I suppose we could say that the clause applies to some extent to both NPs at the same time.

CJ

BillJ · Answer

Tuesday’s vote is seen as a pivotal moment in the endless withdrawal ordeal, known as Brexit, coming less than three weeks before the deadline for Britain to leave the European Union.

I'd say that the participial clause refers to "Tuesday's vote". It's this that is coming less than three weeks before ...

Note that the clause is a modifier not in NP structure but in clause structure -- a depictive adjunct giving descriptive information about Tuesday's vote.

Participle clause

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