2 Q's: Present or past participle? Or what??!!

[boz]

Hi Erin,

I've got a big problem with past and present participles. Here is my first question:

The Chinese produced tea from ______ of the tea plant and brewed it into a beverage about 2000 B.C.

A) the leaves are dried
B) its dried leaves
C) the drying leaves
D) the dried leaves

Now, what is the difference between C) and D)? Actually I can`t distinguish the difference but I thought that "the dried leaves" might be the right answer.

Suprisingly I found out that the correct answer was B) [!]

Is there a precise rule to differentiate these two participles?

Please, enlighten me…

Here is the second one:

Neil Armstrong was the first man ______ on the moon.

A) walking
B) walked
C) to walk
D) has walked

"Neil Armstrong was the first man who walked on the moon" makes sense.This means B) could be correct. On the other hand C)makes sense as well.

Here we are!! The same damn problem!!!

Which one is correct?????

[nu_nam2001]

Boz;

The Chinese produced tea from ______ of the tea plant and brewed it into a beverage about 2000 B.C.

A) the leaves are dried
B) its dried leaves
C) the drying leaves
D) the dried leaves

I also think that the answer of this question might be D. However, I can explain how different between "drying leaves" and "dried leaves"
ving + noun (in this case, drying leaves) means noun is acting by itself. Therefore, drying leaves means leaves which are drying.
V3 + noun (in this case, dried leaves) means noun is being acted. Therefore, dried leaves means leaves which are dired.
Do you understand??

Neil Armstrong was the first man ______ on the moon.

A) walking
B) walked
C) to walk
D) has walked

In this question, I think the correct answer should be C. In TOEFL test, we always see this kind of questions. The rule of this question is..
the first/ te second/.../the last............to do sth.

Hope that helps.

[iguh_budi]

hi boz

For the first question I agree with nu nam2001 but I have different explanation :

This is "an adjective derived from verb" problem :

Regards
iguh

[Erin]

Hi, I just added a post to the FAQ section. Check it out here:

http://www.TestMagic.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=520

It explains the difference between the participles.

[Hippo]

Hello guys and gals,

I bring my excuses beforehand for reanimating such an old topic.
But what still bothers me is that difference between infinitive "to walk" and present participle "walking" in this case.

I find both of them are grammatically right ( If I'm wrong, could you give me a hint why?).

I several times read here in forum that TOEFL structure questions contains ONLY ONE GRAMMATICALLY right answer and therefore I'm a little bit confused with this question.

What do you think about that?

Thank you in advance.

[crossline]

Originally posted by Hippo

Hello guys and gals,

I bring my excuses beforehand for reanimating such an old topic.
But what still bothers me is that difference between infinitive "to walk" and present participle "walking" in this case.

I find both of them are grammatically right ( If I'm wrong, could you give me a hint why?).

I several times read here in forum that TOEFL structure questions contains ONLY ONE GRAMMATICALLY right answer and therefore I'm a little bit confused with this question.

What do you think about that?

Thank you in advance.

hi hippo

Firstly, I agree with nu_nam2001:

In this question, I think the correct answer should be C. In TOEFL test, we always see this kind of questions. The rule of this question is..
the first/ te second/.../the last............to do sth.

Moreover, I think you are confused at the adjective clause in a combining sentence and a single sentence.
Here're some examples:
I have a book written in 1800 or I have a friend working in that hospital
Doctor is a person to save patients

Adjective clause always supports for the noun preceding it. As the above sentence, we can seperate it into 2 new sentence:
I have a friend working in that hospital
= I have a friend and my friend is working in that hospital.

In the single sentence, infinitive verbs appearing in the sentence always support for the only subject of its.
as the above ie: "to save" supports to the subject "Doctor"
And as the question
Neil Armstrong was the first man to wark on the moon.
Here, "to walk" supports to the people "Neil Armstrong"

HTH and HIC = hope it correct!

[Hippo]

Hi Crossline,
Thank you for your reply.
I see your point and I understand difference between those too constructions(At least I think I understand ;-)) , but I still insist that they are both possible in this case. I can try to ground my opinion.

I see the structure of the sentence in this case like:
subject: Neil Armstrong(noun)
predicate: was(verb)
adjective: the first
complex object: man walking on the moon(noun + participle construction)

Second, I know that present participle("walking") in adjective construction "walking on the moon" is used when one need to stress that that action takes place simultaniously with the time pointed out by the main verb (was). So this is ok in this sentence.

A few examples of object participle construction:
He saw the police struggling with the crowd.
Look at a star in the East and you will find it rising upward.


Any ideas?
Regards.

[crossline]

Originally posted by Hippo

Hi Crossline,
Thank you for your reply.
I see your point and I understand difference between those too constructions(At least I think I understand ;-)) , but I still insist that they are both possible in this case. I can try to ground my opinion.

I see the structure of the sentence in this case like:
subject: Neil Armstrong(noun)
predicate: was(verb)
adjective: the first
complex object: man walking on the moon(noun + participle construction)

Second, I know that present participle("walking") in adjective construction "walking on the moon" is used when one need to stress that that action takes place simultaniously with the time pointed out by the main verb (was). So this is ok in this sentence.

A few examples of object participle construction:
He saw the police struggling with the crowd.
Look at a star in the East and you will find it rising upward.


Any ideas?
Regards.

hi Hippo!
As far as I know, if verb supports to unique subject (main subject). let put it into "infinitive". Simple ?
As the question:

Neil Armstrong was the first man ______ on the moon.
A) walking
B) walked
C) to walk
D) has walked

if you use "walking" here, it sounds not bad, but for me, let consider to its content.
Here, That the first man walked on the moon also points to Neil Armstrong. So I think, in order to use simple in writting and speaking, english use the above style.
In English, there are many patterns that we have to learn by heart. It's one of them. right
And more, in a single sentence, infinitive verb is used quite often.
ie: I work all day to pay the bill (money money money, you know this song???) (to = in order to)

Best regard!

[Hippo]

Hi Crossline,
Thank you for the detailed explanation.
You know, It seems to me that I'm leaning to your opinion. Probably the American just don't use complex object with participle after the verb "to be".
Regards.

[An Min]

I am also confused by "to come" or "coming" on the earth.

At least, I know "Neil Armstrong was the first man walking on the moon" equals "Neil Armstrong was the first man who walks on the moon".