Dear Martha and Dawn,

Thanks for the responses.

I see your point about the "While" clause. but why is "After [I finished] dining" any less an elliptical clause than "While [I was] dining"? I undertand that "after" is often used as a preposition and that "while" is not. But "after," of course, is a los a subordinating conjunction, and could be seen as one here, no?

Kent
*

>Kent & Mike,

I think that "when" and "while" clauses are often elliptical, as in

        While waiting for the guests to arrive, we ate all the hors
d'oeuvres ourselves.

Here, there's a clear "we were" that could have been included.  Or

        When [I am] in doubt about the weather, I always carry an umbrella.

Your example, however, does not work that way.

        After [  I ?] dining, I went to the opera.

Yours is more than an elliptical clause.

        After I finished dining?   After the act of dining?  After I had dined?

I would call "after dining" a prepositional phrase, comparable to
"after dinner."  And, using traditional terminology, I would label
"dining" a gerund--or simply an -ing verb used nominally.

You'll discover that "while" and "when" clauses are the most likely
elliptical-clause candidates.


Martha

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