Comma + Ing

[SaifulI24]

Emily,



I came across a problem that made me question my understanding of comma + ing.


This is an adaptation of an official question:

Even in this age of conservation, cooking ranges that consume fossil fuels are far more common than those that rely on magnetic resonance, producing heat more efficiently than natural gas does.


Here producing is supposedly modifying the verb "rely". However rely is part of a modifier "that rely on magnetic resonance". Is it possible for verbs to be part of modifiers?

The reason I ask this question is from one of the CATS this answer choice was wrong for the not containing a verb:

The emerging field of architectural climatology centers on the potential of as-yet-undeveloped architecture and landscaping to alter, redirect, or dissipate weather systems; for example, artificial "reefs" of precisely shaped marine platforms that could prevent hurricanes from forming

Explanation: The portion after the semi-colon (for example, … forming) is not a complete sentence.

also when it comes to subordinate clauses, how can you tell if the thing that follows after "that" is just a modifier or a subordinate clause?

Thanks a ton.

[TiffanyB]

Emily,



I came across a problem that made me question my understanding of comma + ing.


This is an adaptation of an official question:

Even in this age of conservation, cooking ranges that consume fossil fuels are far more common than those that rely on magnetic resonance, producing heat more efficiently than natural gas does.


Here producing is supposedly modifying the verb "rely". However rely is part of a modifier "that rely on magnetic resonance". Is it possible for verbs to be part of modifiers?

In this example, the phrase that starts with producing is set off by a comma and comma ing constructions are adverbial modifiers that modify a subject and verb. However, it's unclear what this phrase is modifying. Thinking about the meaning, what should product heat more efficiently than natural gas? It seems like this information refers to the magnetic resonance cooking ranges, indicating that this should actually be a noun modifier.

Looking more closely, "producing heat more efficiently than natural gas does" does not logically modify a subject and a verb in the sentence. The construction aside, "rely on magnetic resonance" isn't further explained by "producing heat more efficiently than natural gas does." These ideas seem to be unconnected.

The reason I ask this question is from one of the CATS this answer choice was wrong for the not containing a verb:

The emerging field of architectural climatology centers on the potential of as-yet-undeveloped architecture and landscaping to alter, redirect, or dissipate weather systems; for example, artificial "reefs" of precisely shaped marine platforms that could prevent hurricanes from forming

Explanation: The portion after the semi-colon (for example, … forming) is not a complete sentence.

Semicolons connect two independence clauses; each side of the semicolon should be a complete sentence.

In the example that you provided, there is a complete sentence before the semicolon, but there is a not a complete sentence after the semicolon. If the "that" were removed, this sentence would be correct, but it's inclusion makes "could" part of a modifying phrase instead of making it the main verb.

also when it comes to subordinate clauses, how can you tell if the thing that follows after "that" is just a modifier or a subordinate clause?

A modifier is a type of subordinate clause. "That" could start a noun modifier, as in this example: The cat that sits on my porch each night is a grey tabby.

"That" also can indicate the structure Subject - Verb - THAT - Subject - Verb is in use.
Example: She said that she was ready to go.