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





>Mike,
>
>Thanks for the reply, but I'm not sure how you "agree" wth me! My
>hunch is that it really is an "elliptical"clause, if that term can
>be used with adverbial clauses (I know it can with relative ones).
>But I'm not sure. What do you think?
>
>In fact, a couple of us have had students pose this same question.
>
>Kent
>
>**
>
>Hi!
>
>I agree with you Kent.  What are the others saying about the sentence?
>
>Cheers,
>Mike
>
>Kent Johnson <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>"After dining, I went to the opera."
>
>Is "After dining" a prepositional phrase or an elliptical adverbial
>clause, i.e., "After I finished dining..."?
>
>We are having an argument over this among our English faculty.
>
>thanks for any counseling,
>
>Kent
>
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