unusual past progressive (?) formation

Question

Consider the following sentence, which appeared last week on a blog:

Along an 80 mile portion of the coast, and as much as 150 miles inland, the winds and floods had forced more than a million people to become at least temporarily homeless, the people driving north until they could find relatives, friends, hotel rooms, or just stopping when their cars and trucks ran out of gas.

Okay, I'm guessing the highlighted portions are past progressive (I'm a historian, not an Anglicist). But doesn't there need to be a "to be" somewhere in there? Is it implied? Or is it grammatical nonsense? (The article, though interesting, isn't the most well-written.)

Thanks in advance,

Walter Gildersleeve
Freiburg, Germany

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

Along an 80 mile portion of the coast, and as much as 150 miles inland, the winds and floods had forced more than a million people to become at least temporarily homeless, the people driving north until they could find relatives, friends, hotel rooms, or just stopping when their cars and trucks ran out of gas.

Okay, I'm guessing the highlighted portions are past progressive (I'm a historian, not an Anglicist). But doesn't there need to be a "to be" somewhere in there? Is it implied? Or is it grammatical nonsense? (The article, though interesting, isn't the most well-written.)

It's correct as it is. In fact, I think this is quite a well-written sentence. 'Driving' and 'stopping' are nothing to do with Past Progressive. I'd say they are present participles.

You can put the participle in front of the noun: I saw a laughing man Here, it functions like an adjective. You are describing 'the way the man looked'.

Or you can put it after the noun: I saw a man laughing. Here, it functions like an adjective and a bit like a verb as well. You are thinking more about the action, about what the man was doing.

Best wishes, Clive

unusual past progressive (?) formation

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