2.2.6. Adverbial in ing- participle clauses expressing time and condition
Studying many examples containing adverbial ing-participle clauses, we
can see that adverbial ing-participle clauses can express both time and condition.
For such these cases, we must assume the speakers’ implicature or goals, or base
on the meaning of the whole passage to interpret the meaning of the adverbial ing-
participle clauses. We usually find these clauses in scientific fields. For example:
Adding one chemical factor into another one, we may have a new
chemical substance.
The sentence can be paraphrased in two ways.
• when we presuppose the speaker’s intention is to talk about the condition to
have a new chemical substance, the sentence can be understood as follow:
If we add one chemical factor into another one, we may have a new
chemical substance.
And the equivalent sentence in Vietnamese is :
Nếu ta trộn một chất này với một chất khác ta có thể thu đợc một hợp chất
mới.
• When we assume the speaker’s intention is to emphasize the time that we add
one chemical factor into another one in order to have a new chemical
substance, and the speaker is sure that this will happen, the sentence can be
paraphrased as follow:
When we add one chemical factor into another one, we may have a
new substance.
For this meaning , we must translate the sentence like this:
Khi ta trộn một chát này với một chất khac ta có thể thu đợc một hợp chất
Another example:
Multiplying three by three, we have nine.
( When we multiply three by three, we have nine.
Or: If we multiply three by three, we have nine.)
And in Vietnamese, we have two equivalent sentences:
Khi ta nhân 3 với 3, ta sẽ dợc 9
Or: Nếu ta nhân 3 với 3, ta sẽ đợc 9.
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