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Pokh Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
Preposition
Like ants, termites have an elaborate social structure in which a few individuals reproduce and the rest serve the colony,--by-- tending juveniles, gathering food, building the nest, or battling intruders.
Guys,
Can someone help me understand why do we need preposition BY in above sentence? Even without using BY ..ing phrases are adverbial , thus will modify serve(main verb)....Is BY redundant?
Thank you
Guys,
Can someone help me understand why do we need preposition BY in above sentence? Even without using BY ..ing phrases are adverbial , thus will modify serve(main verb)....Is BY redundant?
Thank you
Top answer
'By' is not redundant; it is just a choice available to the writer.
- 'By' is not redundant; it is just a choice available to the writer.
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3 Answers
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'By' is not redundant; it is just a choice available to the writer.
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so you mean both are grammatical correct and both convey same meaning?
Could you please confirm whether my analysis is correct....
Like ants, termites have an elaborate social structure in which a few individuals reproduce and the rest serve the colony, tending juveniles, gathering food, building the nest, or battling intruders. CORRECT ING ACTS AS AD
Could you please confirm whether my analysis is correct....
Like ants, termites have an elaborate social structure in which a few individuals reproduce and the rest serve the colony, tending juveniles, gathering food, building the nest, or battling intruders. CORRECT ING ACTS AS AD
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The second one is just as valid as the first one. In the first, the adverbials are non-restrictive; in the second they are restrictive. Neither modifies 'colony'; common sense assures that. You could also employ a 4th sentence with a comma preceding 'by'.
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