emptying villages or towns

[Maybo]

Many of them have migrated to big cities, emptying villages or towns that have already been shrinking due to an ageing population.

(Bears versus robot wolves in ageing Japan by Derek Cai)

I'd like to know the above sentence comes from which of the following sentences?

1. Many of them have migrated to big cities, which has been emptying villages or towns that have already been shrinking due to an ageing population.
2. Many of them have migrated to big cities, which emptied villages or towns that have already been shrinking due to an ageing population.

 

[Tarheel]

It's because they moved from those places that they became empty of people. It's their migration that's responsible for that.

Many of them have migrated to big cities, and that has caused the population of villages and towns to be reduced -- sometimes to zero.

 

[Maybo]

Is it a participle?

• To give the result of an action
  The bomb exploded, destroying the building.

Participle clauses

Do you know how to use participle clauses to say information in a more economical way? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.

learnenglish.britishcouncil.org

 

[tedmc]

Many of them have migrated to big cities, emptying villages or towns that have already been shrinking due to an ageing population.

(Bears versus robot wolves in ageing Japan by Derek Cai)

I'd like to know from which of the following sentences the above sentences comes from which of the following sentences?

1. Many of them have migrated to big cities, which has been emptying villages or towns that have already been shrinking due to an ageing population.
2. Many of them have migrated to big cities, which emptied villages or towns that have already been shrinking due to an ageing population.

You have asked a strange question. It is as if the writer derived the sentence from the two sentences.
I think you want an interpretation of the sentence, whether it means 1 or 2. 1 means the migration is on-going. 2 means the migration has stopped.
Yes, the second part is a participle modifying the action of the people migrating to big cities.

 

[Maybo]

You have asked a strange question. It is as if the writer derived the sentence from the two sentences.

It is because that's how I learned English in the past.

My teacher gives a sentence:

1. The Johnson building, which is located in Mongkok, has become a tourist spot.

Then, my teacher asks us to simplify the sentence by removing “which is”

2. The Johnson building, located in Mongkok, has become a tourist spot.

Therefore, when we see sentence pattern#2 such as “…, located…, ….”, we know that it comes from sentence #1 (“which is” is dropped)
Therefore, when I see sentences such as "..., verb+ing", I'd like to know where it from.

You might also take a look at example four on page two so that you could understand what I'm thinking.

 

[Tarheel]

Q: Does the above sentence come from one of the following sentences?
A: No, it doesn't. It is not a reduced form of one of those sentences.

See post #2.

 

[Maybo]

Q: Does the above sentence come from one of the following sentences?
A: No, it doesn't. It is not a reduced form of one of those sentences.

See post #2.

If it is not a reduced form, why is it using "ing" for "empty"? Is it a participle? But even for participle, it is a kind of a reduced form.

 

[Maybo]

Many of them have migrated to big cities, and that has caused the population of villages and towns to be reduced -- sometimes to zero.

Can your sentence be reduced to "Many of them have migrated to big cities, causing the population of villages and towns to be reduced -- sometimes to zero"?

 

[Piscean]

My teacher gives a sentence:

1. The Johnson building, which is located in Mongkok, has become a tourist spot.

Then, my teacher asks us to simplify the sentence by removing “which is”

2. The Johnson building, located in Mongkok, has become a tourist spot.

Therefore, when we see sentence pattern#2 such as “…, located…, ….”, we know that it comes from sentence #1 (“which is” is dropped)

I don't think it is helpful to think of #2 as 'coming from' #1. The speaker/writer of #2 probably never had 'which is' in to drop.

 

[Piscean]

It is equally unhelpful, in my opinion, to think of the second sentence as a reduced form of the first. And he fell does not reduce to falling. The second sentence is an alternative way of expressing the meaning of the first.

 

[Maybo]

It is equally unhelpful, in my opinion, to think of the second sentence as a reduced form of the first. And he fell does not reduce to falling. The second sentence is an alternative way of expressing the meaning of the first.

How should I understand the structure of this sentence?: “Many of them have migrated to big cities, emptying villages or towns that have already been shrinking due to an ageing population.”

Or I asked the question in another way. Why did the writer use "emptying" and not "emptied" or "having been emptying"?

 

[Maybo]

The speaker/writer of #2 probably never had 'which is' in to drop.

Is it from a native speaker perspective? I guess native speakers just simply use the sentence without thinking how it is constructed grammatically.

I have another example:

1. The swimmer who holds the world record is from Italy.
1A. The swimmer holding the world record is from Italy.

As a second language learner, I was taught only one verb could be placed in a sentence. To me, there is two verb in #1A. However, I know it comes from #1 so I understand the main verb is "is".

 

[Tarheel]

How should I understand the structure of this sentence?: “Many of them have migrated to big cities, emptying villages or towns that have already been shrinking due to an ageing population.”

Or WHAT IF I AsK the question in another way. Why did the writer use "emptying" and not "emptied" or "having been emptying"?

Most of the time if somebody asked me a question like that I wouldn't know what to say. Why is that? Well, I probably didn't examine several possibilities and choose one of them. Instead, I used the word that came to mind. Maybe the question should be "What makes the most sense?"

 

[Piscean]

As a second language learner, I was taught only one verb could be placed in a sentence. To me, there is two verb in #1A. However, I know it comes from #1 so I understand the main verb is "is".

That is simply not true.

He came into the room and sat down.

 

[emsr2d2]

As a second language learner, I was taught only one verb could be placed in a sentence.

I have no idea who told you that but they didn't know what they were talking about. (That sentence has 4 verbs.)

Look how many verbs I can fit into one relatively simple sentence, with it still making sense and being entirely grammatical, as well as easy for you to understand. (5 verbs)

He arrived, put his bag in the corner, unpacked his suitcase, opened the windows and stared at the view, smiling broadly. (6 verbs)

I think you probably get the idea by now.

 

[Piscean]

I have no idea who told you that but they didn't know what they were talking about. (That sentence has 4 verbs.)

Six, if you count auxiliary verbs.

 

[Maybo]

I have no idea who told you that but they didn't know what they were talking about. (That sentence has 4 verbs.)

Look how many verbs I can fit into one relatively simple sentence, with it still making sense and being entirely grammatical, as well as easy for you to understand. (5 verbs)

He arrived, put his bag in the corner, unpacked his suitcase, opened the windows and stared at the view, smiling broadly. (6 verbs)

I think you probably get the idea by now.

Doesn’t we use SVO sentence structure? We don’t use SVVO?

 

[Maybo]

That is simply not true.

He came into the room and sat down.

You use "and". He came into the room and he sat down. They are still SVO. In my sentences, I didn't use "and". I'm talking about the main verb in the following sentences.

1. The swimmer who holds the world record is from Italy.
1A. The swimmer holding the world record is from Italy.

As a second language learner, I was taught only one verb could be placed in a sentence. To me, there is two verb in #1A. However, I know it comes from #1 so I understand the main verb is "is".

 

[Maybo]

So, does anyone know whether this part is a participle? "..., emptying.."?
When this word is used "ing", I'm not sure about the tense of "emptying"? Is it “Many of them have migrated to big cities, and that has emptied villages or towns that have already been shrinking due to an ageing population”?
Or "Many of them have migrated to big cities, and that emptied villages or towns that have already been shrinking due to an ageing population.”

 

[Piscean]

1. The swimmer who holds the world record is from Italy.
1A. The swimmer holding the world record is from Italy.

As a second language learner, I was taught only one verb could be placed in a sentence. To me, there is two verb in #1A. However, I know it comes from #1 so I

There are two verbs in #1. I have underlined them.