I'll take a stab-only half a cup of coffee into the morning, however. 

 

"Running" is part of the verb:  Patch [subject] is running [verb].

 

 

P.S. Thanks to everyone for all the helpful information about how to get to
the conference this summer. I am working on getting there-largely because I
want to put faces with all the names on this list! 

 

Best,

Nancy

 

 

From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of John Crow
Sent: Sunday, March 12, 2006 5:26 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: What Is This?

 

A student wrote the following sentence in an essay:

Running from the back of his skull down to the front, is a patch of white
hair that opens up into his lips.
The comma doesn't belong there, but I'm not sure why.  Is the "Running"
phrase a gerund?  If so, then I understand why the comma is wrong:  it
separates the subject from the verb  However, the phrase doesn't behave like
a gerund.  Compare: 

Running around the lake is a part of my daily routine. --> It is a part of
my daily routine.  --> A part of my daily routine is running around the
lake.

In this sentence, the "Running" phrase behaves like a true noun phrase in a
linking verb sentence.  My student's "Running" phrase doesn't behave like an
NP.  It feels participial, modifying "patch".  If so, then the comma would
be correct.  But it's not. 

Any ideas out there?

John
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