0

The suit was altered superbly by the tailor, making the timid old man feel like a bold young lion.

I don't understand why the sentence is correct because the word "making" isn't placed after a form of 'be'. But I think it's not a gerund, and I think the word "was" in the beginning of the sentence is for the "altered superbly by the tailor". Please help me to understand the grammar involved here.

Barmar
  • 20,741
  • 1
  • 38
  • 59
J. Doe
  • 1
  • It doesn't need "be". "Making" is a verb heading the non-finite gerund-participial clause "making the timid old man feel ...". The clause functions as a result adjunct, here a supplement prosodically detached and set apart in writing by a comma. Semantically, it is similar to a supplementary relative clause, cf. "..., which made the timid old man feel like ..." – BillJ Mar 30 '18 at 10:13
  • Related. – tchrist Oct 03 '23 at 14:12

1 Answers1

0

In a comment, BillJ wrote:

It doesn't need "be". "Making" is a verb heading the non-finite gerund-participial clause "making the timid old man feel ...". The clause functions as a result adjunct, here a supplement prosodically detached and set apart in writing by a comma. Semantically, it is similar to a supplementary relative clause, cf. "..., which made the timid old man feel like ..."

tchrist
  • 134,759