[Grammar] a solution to babies growing out of their clothes

[kadioguy]

Baby Clothes That Always Fit

A Danish company has found a solution to babies growing out of their clothes.

http://broadcast.ivy.com.tw/broadcast/Broadcast_More.aspx?MagitemID=7072
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Does the text in red mean "babies' growing"? (It means a possessive.)

 

[emsr2d2]

No. They have found a solution to the fact that babies are always growing out of their clothes. Do you know what "to grow out of one's clothes" means?

 

[kadioguy]

No. They have found a solution to the fact that babies are always growing out of their clothes.

But why is "growing" in the -ing form?

I would think the following fits my question.

Practical English Usage 3rd

295.4
object forms: Do you mind me smoking?

In an informal style it is more common to use object forms (like me, John) instead of possessives (my, John's) with -ing forms, especially when these come after a verb or preposition.

Do you mind me smoking?
She was angry at Lina trying to lie to her.
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So I would think "... babies growing out of their clothes" means "... babies' growing out of their clothes".

Do you know what "to grow out of one's clothes" means?

Yes, I know. It means When a child grows out of an item of clothing, they become so tall or big that it no longer fits them properly.

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/grow-out-of

 

[kadioguy]

No, it doesn't 'mean' that. There are two different ways of saying/writing this.

OK, but I don't know why "growing" is in the -ing form.:-?
Does it mean "... babies (who are) growing out of their clothes"?

 

[kadioguy]

You can either think of the -ing form as a participle modifying the noun babies or as a gerund, part of the NP Babies' growing out of their clothes. It doesn't really matter.

Thank you, but I am wondering why emsr2d2 said 'no' at post #2.
What I wanted to say at post #1 was that I thought it as a gerund . :shock:

No, it doesn't 'mean' that.

Oh, now I know what you meant. If I cannot say "mean", what word can I use at post #1?

How about the following?
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Can I think the text in red as "babies' growing"?

 

[Rover_KE]

Welcome to the forum, ralphwood.

Please note that when you reply to a post you must state that you are not a teacher (it’s in the rules).

 

[emsr2d2]

@ralphwood - Are you quite certain that your native language is Amharic? That's seems quite unlikely for someone from Algeria. Please edit your member profile to show the correct native language.

 

[kadioguy]

So, I don't really know what happened, but more than three years later, it seems that a new member is interested in this topic.

For the question in post #1, I take Piscean's reply, which says "You can either think of the -ing form as a participle modifying the noun babies or as a gerund, part of the NP Babies' growing out of their clothes. It doesn't really matter."

 

[Phaedrus]

A Danish company has found a solution to babies growing out of their clothes.

= A Danish company has found a solution to clothes(') being grown out of/being outgrown by babies.