Aswin12 wrote:
Hi
AjiteshArun or
AndrewN,
Is the usage of the term
"being" correct in Option C . Does
"being" modify the previous clause or the subject of the previous clause?
Hello,
Aswin12. I will refrain from commenting on the correctness of "being" in (C), since we are discussing a question whose OA is yet to be revealed. Generally speaking, an -ing modifier is more flexible in its application if it precedes the main clause rather than follows it. When the modifier follows the main clause and a comma precedes it, it should comment on the entire clause. There are sentences in which the verb
to be may be used as a modifier to comment on the previous clause:
Mr. Jones retired after a 30-year career, having been on the board for the past 10 years.Note that the modifier can jump over the prepositional phrase (
after a 30-year career). Yes, it was Mr. Jones who retired, so
having been must in some way refer to him. However, in the context of the sentence, his act of retiring might also be understood to mark the end of his board tenure, so
Mr. Jones retired, having been... seems appropriate, perhaps more fitting than delaying the main clause by inserting the modifier right after the name:
Mr. Jones, having been on the board for the past 10 years, retired after a 30-year career.In this new sentence, you are left to wonder whether Mr. Jones retired because of his board duties. Neither sentence is grammatically incorrect, but I prefer the former.
Let us see what Friday brings.
- Andrew
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