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Pokh Posted 15 years ago
Grammar

WHILE

Meteor showers and individual streaks of light that flash across the sky every night are generated when tiny flecks of celestial detritus, often no larger than grains of sand or pebbles, burn up while speeding through the atmosphere.

Guys ,

Is WHILE not redundant here ? Speeding conveys the continuous nature of action...So why do we need WHILE?
  

Top answer

You don't need it grammatically, but stylistically it gives a better sense of what is happening, I think.

— Mister Micawber

  • You don't need it grammatically, but stylistically it gives a better sense of what is happening, I think.
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6 Answers
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You don't need it grammatically, but stylistically it gives a better sense of what is happening, I think.
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pokhIs WHILE not redundant here ?
I wouldn't say redundant. It's not absolutely necessary, but it helps separate one verb from another, emphasizing the structure of the sentence.

burn up speeding seems like a rather abrupt transition and 'while' serves to soften it.

CJ
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CalifJim
pokhIs WHILE not redundant here ?
I wouldn't say redundant. It's not absolutely necessary, but it helps separate one verb from another, emphasizing the structure of the sentence.

burn up speeding seems like a rather abrupt transition and 'while' serves to soften it.

CJ
Thanks CJ

What do y
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pokhIs while simultaneously avoiding being also all right?
It's better than all right. It's lovely.
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I don't think so. there are too many 'ing's. it does not sound natural at all. 'orbiting', 'avoiding', 'being', 'passing' . since you mentioned astronauts 'retrieved' , you could say 'while they simultaneously avoided being ...' .
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Anonymousthere are too many 'ing's. it does not sound natural at all.
Oh, but that is a very natural way of expression. Of course, in written English, some stylists may avoid it.
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