Ambiguous to be sure, but I was considering the reading where the boy is the pig. ________________________________ From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of STAHLKE, HERBERT F Sent: Sunday, December 14, 2008 1:06 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Clause or Phrase Who's "such a pig" in (2)? Herb From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Veit, Richard Sent: 2008-12-14 13:04 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Clause or Phrase Scott, The comma certainly makes all the difference in your first and third sentences, which are certainly not synonymous: 1. The boy was very happy that his mother did not see him being such a pig. 2. The boy was very happy that his mother did not see him, being such a pig. To me the following groupings are more or less synonymous (a with b and c, d with e and f): a. The boy was very happy that his mother did not see him being such a pig. b. The boy was very happy that his mother did not see his being such a pig. [a tad awkward for me] c. The boy was very happy that his mother did not see him in the act of being such a pig. d. The boy was very happy that his mother did not see him, being such a pig. e. The boy, being such a pig, was very happy that his mother did not see him. f. The boy was very happy that his mother did not see him, because he was such a pig. Dick Veit ________________________________ From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Scott Woods Sent: Sunday, December 14, 2008 2:35 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Clause or Phrase Are these pairs basically synonymous to you and are they punctuated correctly? The boy was very happy that his mother did not see him being such a pig. The boy was very happy that his mother did not see him eating so greedily. The boy was very happy that his mother did not see him, being such a pig. The boy was very happy that his mother did not see him, being such a duplicitous boy. The boy was very happy that his mother did not see his being such a pig. The boy was very happy that his mother did not see his bad behavior. Scott Woods To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/