Participle instead of “that + present simple”
I've perused now hundreds of questions discussing gerunds and participles, but I can't find the answer to this:
- "Jojoba is a plant producing many waxes".
- "Jojoba is a plant that produces many waxes".
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- "We invented a method enabling faster production".
- "We invented a method that enables faster production".
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To me options #2 are much more correct than #1. #1 doesn't in fact sound correct at all. Yet it is seen extremely often in the texts that I read.
What do you think? And what is the grammatical description of these constructions? (Or in other words, what would you enter in Google in order to search for this topic?)
Top answer
I don't like it, either. It is Escheresque. Jojoba is not a plant producing.
- I don't like it, either.
- It is Escheresque.
- Jojoba is not a plant producing.
- Native writers often write things that could have been written better.
- I call that a participial phrase, which can, of course, be used properly.
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I don't like it, either. It is Escheresque. Jojoba is not a plant producing. Native writers often write things that could have been written better.
I call that a participial phrase, which can, of course, be used properly.
0Firstly, each pair has the same meaning, but the constructions are different. In both cases the subordinate clause functions as a modifier in noun phrase structure.
Most often, the examples like your first ones work well, but here they don't. This may be due to the semantic nature of the expressions.
The constituents "producing many waxes" and "enabling faster production" are non-f
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