June 18, 2014, 07:25
BobHaleA student's question I didn't know the answer to
A student today asked me about a sentence he said his Chinese teacher couldn't explain grammatically, and I found I wasn't sure either.
The sentence is "He entered the room, followed by his wife."
How would you describe the words "followed by" grammatically.
Is it a preposition, indicating the relative positions of "he" and "his wife"? (which was my first thought)
Is it an elliptical form that really stands in for
"He entered the room
and was followed by his wife."
Is it a conjunction? (The student's idea)
Just what grammatical term would be correct to describe it?
This message has been edited. Last edited by: BobHale, June 18, 2014, 07:49
GeoffIf one substitutes "with" for "followed by" it would be a preposition, so I'd say prepositional phrase.
June 18, 2014, 11:25
<Proofreader>If the sentence was "He entered the room, followed by a woman," then it might be a proposition.
June 18, 2014, 14:41
<Proofreader>If seductive gets you arrested, then it's conductive.
June 18, 2014, 16:09
BobHaleFunny, But does anyone have any on-topic suggestions?
June 18, 2014, 17:15
<Proofreader>I agree with Geoff. Strange as that seems.
June 18, 2014, 20:31
KallehBob, my first vote would be prepositional phrase. But I also like your elliptical form, though I know less about the latter.
June 18, 2014, 20:53
goofyI think "followed by his wife" is a bare passive. See
Pullum.June 18, 2014, 21:53
BobHaleI'd forgotten the name "bare passive, though that's what I had in mind when I suggested an ellipsis. Thanks goofy.
June 20, 2014, 21:32
KallehCan't say I've even heard of the bare passive. I suspect there is much more to English than I've realized.