Noun Postmodification: Ing-Clauses

Postmodification with Ing-clauses

Nouns are sometimes post-modified with an ing-clause. These are non-finite participle clauses.

The ing-clause gives more information about the headword. Ing-clauses are less common than ed-clauses and cannot always be rewritten as a relative clause with a verb in the passive voice.

These clauses are known as ing-clauses because they are participle clauses (in this case present participle).

• memories occurring below the age of three      (context)

  This ing-clause, "occurring below the age of three", is a restrictive ing-clause. Without it the sentence would make little sense.

• a hypothesis dating back to the 1960s      (context)

  This ing-clause, "dating back to the 1960s", is a non-restrictive ing-clause. It gives extra non-essential information about the hypothesis, in this case when it was conceived. Note also that this sentence contains an ed-clause, "known as the 'Man-The-Hunter model'", and also a relative clause, "which is increasingly being debunked".

• the Moon passing in front of the Sun at a certain distance from Earth      (context)

  Note that this restrictive ing-clause is embedded in an ed-clause beginning "caused by the Moon" and "the Moon" is part of a prepositional phrase. This kind of embedding of one modifying clause inside another is common in academic texts dense with information.

• all living beings, including us,      (context)

  This is a non-restrictive ing-clause, enclosed in commas. Most non-restrictve clauses are enclosed in commas, but they may also be enclosed in parentheses as in the example below.

• the deuterostomes (including humans) and the ecdysozoans (including insects)      (context)

• Sometimes an ing-clause can be quite long, as in the example below.

  dials on the exterior showing the phases of the Moon, the timing of lunar eclipses, and the positions of the five planets then known (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn) at different times of the year      (context)

  The ing-clause starting with "showing" governs three different noun phrases, each of which contains at lest one prepositional phrase: 1. the phases of the Moon; 2. the timing of lunar eclipses; 3. the positions of the five planets then known (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn) at different times of the year.

• There are a few verbs which occur often in ing-clauses such as involving, containing, consisting, including, resulting. Here are two examples with consisting and containing:

  balls of plasma consisting of hydrogen and helium      (context)
• graves containing similar tools associated with big-game hunting      (context)

Test your understanding with the Ing-Clauses Quiz.