「While (she was) teaching…」：某些句子表層的省略

 

最近有一位學生問我一個她在《華盛頓郵報》讀到的句子： While teaching, Mowdy volunteered with animal rescues and fostered cats. 在教書期間，Mowdy 曾參與動物救援志工工作並照顧寄養貓 她知道 “while” 是一個連接詞（conjunction），應該要連接一個完整子句，所以她不確定為什麼這裡會是 “while teaching” 而不是一個完整子句。 她的理解是對的：「While」確實是一個連接完整子句的連接詞（而不是像介詞一樣後面接一個名詞或動名詞），所以這裡的 “teaching” 不是動名詞在 “while” 後面出現（不像 “during teaching” 或 “after teaching” 那樣的介詞組結構）。 我們可以透過把其他名詞放這裡去「測試」，確定這一點。例如： “while holiday*” ❌ “while that” ❌ 像 “while holiday*” 這種結構在英文裡是不可能的，所以我們可以確定「while」在這裡不是介詞，而是一個附屬連接詞（subordinating conjunction）。 那麼，為什麼這裡會寫成 “while teaching”，卻沒有完整子句呢？ 這其實是句子中一種可能的表層省略。 原本完整的句子是這樣的： While she was teaching,  Mowdy volunteered with animal rescues and fostered cats. 原本有一個完整子句 “she was teaching”，是由 “while” 這個連接詞所連接的。 然而，因為 “while” 是所謂的「附屬連接詞」，所以 “while she was teaching” 這個子句實際上在整句話中是用來修飾所謂的「主要」子句的，也就是 “Mowdy volunteered with animal rescues and fostered cats” 部分。 換句話說，以 “while” 開頭的子句作用是修飾「Mowdy 參與動物救援和照顧貓」這一動作的時間背景。 「主要」子句的主語是 “Mowdy”，這個主語和 “while” 子句中的主語 “she” 是同一個人，也就是說，兩個子句中的動作都是同一個人做的。 在這種情況下，我們可以把 “while” 子句中「理應出現」的主語和輔助動詞省略，只留下participle字形 “teaching”，作為修飾語。 原句中就是做了這種省略，不過如果保留 “she was” 也不會顯得累贅： While teaching,  Mowdy volunteered with animal rescues and fostered cats. While she was teaching,  Mowdy volunteered with animal rescues and fostered cats. 這兩句都自然，也都完全正確。 但當 “while” 子句的主語和主句的主語不一樣時，就當然不能這樣省略。例如： While her dad was teaching, Mowdy volunteered with animal rescue and fostered cats. While teaching, Mowdy volunteered with animal rescue and fostered cats. ❌ 這種類型的表層省略在像 “while” 和 “if” 這樣的連接詞連接的子句中很常見。 這裡是一個 “if” 連接的子句的例子： If (you are) unsure, you can check the map.  如果你不確定的話，可以查看地圖

“While (she was) teaching…”: Certain surface omissions  A student recently asked me about this sentence she read in the Washington Post: While teaching, Mowdy volunteered with animal rescues and fostered cats. 在教書期間，Mowdy 曾參與動物救援志工工作並照顧寄養貓 Page, Sydney. “You Can Read with a Cat on Your Lap at This Bookstore, Then Adopt the Cat.” The Washington Post, 24 Apr. 2025, washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2025/04/24/cat-rescue-bookstore-kansas-adopt/. She knew that the word “while” is supposed to be a conjunction that links a complete clause, so she was unsure why it says “while teaching” here without a complete clause. She is right that “while” is a conjunction that links a complete clause, so this is not a case of “while” taking “teaching” as a gerund noun form after it like a preposition. We can see this by “testing” whether it works with another noun, like: “while holiday*” ❌ “while that” ❌ Formations like “while holiday*” is not possible, so we know that “while” is not functioning as a preposition here.  Then why is it “while teaching” here, without a full clause?  This is actually a type of possible surface omission in sentences.  The original sentence, with a full clause after the conjunction “while,” is this: While she was teaching,  Mowdy volunteered with animal rescues and fostered cats. There is originally a full clause “she was teaching” linked by “while.”  However, because the conjunction “while” is a so-called “subordinating” conjunction, the clause “while she was teaching” actually functions as a modifier to the so-called “main” clause here, which is “Mowdy volunteered with animal rescues and fostered cats.”  In other words, the clause starting with “while” adds information about the time of the action in the “main” part of “Mowdy volunteered with animal rescues and fostered cats.”  Now, the “main” clause has the subject “Mowdy,” and this is the same subject as the subject “she” in the clause starting with “while.” This means that the same subject (person) is doing the core actions in both the “while” clause and the “main” clause. When this is the case, we can omit the “understood” subject in the “while” clause as well as the auxiliary verb, leaving just the participle “teaching” here as an adjective. The original sentence has this omission, but leaving in the “she was” would not be too cumbersome either: While teaching,  Mowdy volunteered with animal rescues and fostered cats. While she was teaching,  Mowdy volunteered with animal rescues and fostered cats. Both of these sound completely natural and fine. But, of course, if the subject of the “while” clause is not the same as in the “main” clause, this would not be possible. For example: While her dad was teaching, Mowdy volunteered with animal rescue and fostered cats. While teaching, Mowdy volunteered with animal rescue and fostered cats. ❌ This type of surface omission is common with conjunctions like “while” and “if.” Here is an example with “if”: If (you are) unsure, you can check the map.  如果你不確定的話，可以查看地圖

Best,  Ms. Charlotte