[Grammar] trained over two years, running over 9,000km

[Oceanlike]

Tim began training for his marathon. He trained for almost two years, running over 9,000km.

In the above sentence, I know the verb before ‘over’ should be ‘running’ (+ing). However, I don’t know why it is correct except that it sounds correct….

Please help me to understand the reason behind its use.

Thank you! :-D

 

[tedmc]

Read up on "present participle". The topic has been discussed quite a bit lately on this forum.

 

[MikeNewYork]

It is a present participle. They end in -ing.

 

[Matthew Wai]

I don’t know why it is correct except that it sounds correct….

I think this is because it is a present participle modifying the pronoun 'He', but I am not a teacher.

 

[Rover_KE]

'...running over 9,000km' is a participial phrase (also called 'participle phrase').

 

[tzfujimino]

I prefer this one:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/learnitv305.shtml

(I know some argue that they are not 'clauses'.)

 

[MikeNewYork]

I will argue that they are not clauses.

 

[Matthew Wai]

I think it can't be a clause without a subject, but I am not a teacher.

 

[MikeNewYork]

It also lacks a real verb.

 

[Matthew Wai]

I think you mean a finite verb, but I am not a teacher.

 

[MikeNewYork]

For me, real verbs are finite verbs. Non-finite verbs are verbals.

 

[Matthew Wai]

I suspect there is another mistake on the page shown in tzfujimino's post#6.

'Participle clauses, with -ing particularly, can be used after various conjunctions and prepositions, such as: when, while, before, after, on, without, instead of.':cross:

I think they should be 'gerund phrases' instead of 'participle clauses' , but I am not a teacher.

 

[Matthew Wai]

Gerunds have some noun-like qualities. -ing forms after conjunctions and prepositions do not.

'And' is a conjunction in 'I like watching TV and reading books'.
'In' is a preposition in 'I am interested in learning English'.
Do you think the -ing forms above are not gerunds?

If I have understood correctly, the following page considers the -ing forms after 'while', 'when', 'before', and 'after' to be gerunds. Have I misunderstood it?
http://www.grammar-quizzes.com/8-12.html

 

[Rover_KE]

Having been retired for nearly 20 years, I confess to being out of touch with modern exam syllabuses.

Are there really ESL exams which require candidates to determine whether -ing words are gerunds or participles?

 

[Matthew Wai]

The -ing forms in the sentences below are participles:

Do not use your mobile when/while driving.
I always wash my hands before preparing a meal.

What you said here is different from what I read elsewhere, and I have to decide for myself.

Not a teacher.

 

[tzfujimino]

1. Do not use your mobile when/while driving.
2. I always wash my hands before preparing a meal.

[/COLOR]

I don't like discussing -ing forms, but please let me express my view on your examples.

#1 is an elliptical construction, and therefore 'driving' is a present participle:

Don't use your mobile when/while [you are] driving.:tick:

However, in #2, 'preparing a meal' is the object of the preposition 'before', which is to say 'preparing' is a gerund:

I always wash my hands before [I am] preparing a meal.:cross:

I might be wrong, but if my student asked me what those -ing forms were, my answer/explanation would be like the one above.

 

[MikeNewYork]

There is nothing wrong with calling word what it really is. because the terminology is determined by the use in a sentence, it has some value.

 

[MikeNewYork]

When I was a learner of the language, it helped me greatly. We diagrammed sentences to learn how particular words function in a sentence. I may have been misinformed, but I have been told that there are really no grammar courses taught in the UK. Is that true?