Can I reduce a dependent clause to present participle clause when its tense is simple past?

Question

Can I reduce this

1 He dropped a brick, which caused his toe to break.

to this

1 He dropped a brick, causing his toe to break.

Yup. I don't know how to add more than that :) – Luke Sawczak Oct 24 '22 at 10:00 — Luke Sawczak, Oct 24 '22 at 10:00
You can reduce it still more to breaking his toe! – Kate Bunting Oct 24 '22 at 10:07 — Kate Bunting, Oct 24 '22 at 10:07

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 24 '22 at 11:10

1

Yes. The tense of the main clause has no bearing on the matter.

answered Oct 24 '22 at 11:10

Colin Fine

1

True, but the whole point of non-finite clauses is to leave things inexplicit. If I say "causing his toe to break", it isn't clear when the action took place. Only a subsequent finite clause resolves the issue, so in a way the main clause is relevant to the meaning. – BillJ Oct 24 '22 at 12:38

1 Answers1