# Grammar question - what's this clause called? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 24, 2011, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-whats-this-clause-called/600643 "2011-10-24T16:57:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-whats-this-clause-called/600643/1 "2011-10-24T16:57:11Z")
“I was in charge of the department **running the website**.” It’s an adjectival clause restricting the department. My boss insists that “running” is in the present tense and doesn’t go with “was”, and I already tried saying it’s a gerund and not a verb, but he’s not listening. How can I prove that “running” is correct and “ran”…isn’t? Please don’t tell me to change it to “…department that ran…”. I don’t want to. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-whats-this-clause-called/600643/2 "2011-10-24T17:13:41Z")
Well, gerunds are nouns, so if the construction is functioning as an adjective, that is your indication that it’s a participle. The Wikipedia article [“Sequence of tenses”](“Sequence of tenses”) constrasts your view (natural sequencing) with that of your boss (attracted sequencing). I think you’re right, insofar as this department continues to run the website, and calling it “the department that ran the website” suggests it might not do so any longer. This is a minor point, however; and it sounds like your workplace already has a system in place for deciding ties in tournaments of style and grammar. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-whats-this-clause-called/600643/3 "2011-10-24T17:43:47Z")
> [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](#): > > Well, gerunds are nouns, so if the construction is functioning as an adjective, that is your indication that it’s a participle. True. I was thinking of the earlier edit where the sentence was more like “in charge of the department _and_ running the website,” where it’s certainly a gerund because now it’s a noun clause. > [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](#): > > The Wikipedia article [“Sequence of tenses”](“Sequence of tenses”) constrasts your view (natural sequencing) with that of your boss (attracted sequencing). > > I think you’re right, insofar as this department continues to run the website, and calling it “the department that ran the website” suggests it might not do so any longer. This is a minor point, however; and it sounds like your workplace already has a system in place for deciding ties in tournaments of style and grammar. I don’t think sequence of tenses refers to this because we’re not talking about two verbs. It’s not like “He said that we wanted…” or something. It doesn’t modify “was”, but instead modifies “department”. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-whats-this-clause-called/600643/4 "2011-10-24T18:20:47Z")
A gerund acts like a noun. I.e. “Running the department is fun.” or “Running is fun.” Running is the subject. More obviously, “Running brought me great enjoyment.” ditto - subject. “Brought” is the verb. I think what we are seeing is a bunch of understood words, acommon construct in everyday English: “I was in charge of the department [which was] running the web site.” In this case [was]running is a verb, the subject is the pronoun “which”. For example - “The plane sat on the airport south runway off-ramp.” This should be “The plane sat on the off-ramp of the south runway of the airport.” We use this sort of shorthand in English all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-whats-this-clause-called/600643/5 "2011-10-24T18:23:15Z")
If anything your current sentence could be construed as confusing. It is unclear if “running the website” is an adjective describing “I” or 'the department". As much as you hate it, saying, “the department that ran the website.” is more clear. It’s like the sentence: “I shot the deer running through the field.” Who was running? I shot the deer that was running through the field; or I shot the deer while running through the field. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-whats-this-clause-called/600643/6 "2011-10-24T18:25:17Z")
This is a [reduced relative clause](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reduced_relative_clause), right? The full relative clause would be: **which runs the website**. There is a discussion of whether “running” is a gerund or not here: [-ING forms in English](http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jlawler/aue/gerund.html) One of the examples of a valid construction given at that page is: “Everyone owning a house was present.” This seems to be analogous to your construction. ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-whats-this-clause-called/600643/7 "2011-10-24T19:46:00Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > My boss insists that “running” is in the present tense and doesn’t go with “was”, and I already tried saying it’s a gerund and not a verb, but he’s not listening. How can I prove that “running” is correct and “ran”…isn’t? If he’s not listening, you’re off to a bad start when it comes to proving anything to him. Also, he’s your boss, and proving that you are right and he is wrong may not be a good career move. However, if you really want to change his idea that “running” doesn’t go with “was”, you could offer examples of simpler sentences such as “I was running” or “He was sitting”, which (I hope) he will find unobjectionable. A wiser course of action might be to find a wording that he is happy with and that you can live with. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-whats-this-clause-called/600643/8 "2011-10-24T19:49:56Z")
“I was running the website” should be a sufficient example to demonstrate that running is okay there. I’d agree that you’d want to change it to “I was in charge of the department which runs the website,” though. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-whats-this-clause-called/600643/9 "2011-10-24T23:01:49Z")
It isw a participial phrase, one using the present active participle (the -ing form which also functions as a gerund) which has the function of a restrictive modifier identifying which department is meant, i.e., the website-running department. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2011, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-whats-this-clause-called/600643/10 "2011-10-25T13:46:57Z")
If you’re going to use the “which” construction, you have to precede which with a comma, according to Chicago Manual of Style. (Other style guides may not agree.) “My department ran the website.” would be the most simple and clear construction I could think of. “I ran the department, which hosted the website.” might also work. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-whats-this-clause-called/600643/11 "2011-10-26T13:51:07Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > If anything your current sentence could be construed as confusing. It is unclear if “running the website” is an adjective describing “I” or 'the department". > > As much as you hate it, saying, “the department that ran the website.” is more clear. > > It’s like the sentence: “I shot the deer running through the field.” Who was running? > > I shot the deer that was running through the field; or I shot the deer while running through the field. According both to how I instinctively interpret it and to what I learned in school, both of those have clear answers. A modifier refers to the closest noun that it can possibly modify. Using it otherwise is a error known as a misplaced modifier. Furthermore, everyone else in the thread seems to be assuming the same thing. But, if you must change it, I’d go with “I was in charge of the department that runs the website,” assuming the website is still running. Otherwise, I’d use the past tense. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-whats-this-clause-called/600643/12 "2011-10-26T13:58:24Z")
And, no, the mixing of tenses doesn’t matter. “I am watching the video in which Kennedy was shot.” Present and past together in one sentence. The proscription is not a rule but a guideline to make sure you are not saying something unintended.