In the sentence ‘He built a hundred hospitals, each employing doctors,’ the phrase ‘each employing doctors’ is an example of a participial construction. It’s important to understand how this construction works and how it relates to other forms of sentence structure.
1. What is a Participial Construction?
A participial construction is a grammatical structure that uses a participle (a verb form that functions as an adjective) to modify a noun or pronoun. In this case, the participle ‘employing’ describes the noun ‘each,’ referring to the hospitals. Participles typically express ongoing actions or states related to the subject.
2. Why is ‘each employing doctors’ not ‘each were employing doctors’?
The reason why ‘each employing doctors’ is used instead of ‘each were employing doctors’ lies in how participial phrases function. Participles, like ‘employing,’ are often used without auxiliary verbs (like ‘were’) when they directly modify a noun. ‘Each’ is singular, so there’s no need to use ‘were,’ which would suggest plural subject agreement. The phrase ‘each employing doctors’ essentially shortens the idea of ‘each [hospital] was employing doctors.’
3. How Does the Participial Construction Affect the Sentence?
The participial phrase adds more detail about the hospitals that were built. Instead of creating a separate clause (‘each hospital was employing doctors’), the participle ‘employing’ combines the action with the description of the hospitals. This makes the sentence more concise and fluid.
4. Could ‘each were employing doctors’ Ever Be Correct?
While ‘each were employing doctors’ might sound plausible, it is grammatically incorrect. ‘Each’ is a singular subject, and therefore it should be followed by a singular verb or participial phrase. Using ‘were’ here would create a subject-verb agreement error, as ‘were’ is plural. Thus, the correct phrase remains ‘each employing doctors.’
5. Conclusion: How to Use Participial Constructions Correctly
In summary, participial constructions like ‘each employing doctors’ are a great way to add descriptive detail in a concise manner. By omitting auxiliary verbs like ‘were’ and using participles instead, you can create more elegant and streamlined sentences that provide additional information without unnecessary repetition. Understanding these subtle rules of grammar can greatly enhance your writing.
コメント