Learn English – Why is the use of “becoming” in this sentence correct

grammar

I said that the error was B (second parentheses) in this sentence:

Because male lions' manes are (affected by) temperature, (becoming)
shorter and lighter in warmer weather, they are (of interest to)
scientists (researching) climate change.

I thought that B should have been changed to, "which become." However, is this wrong because such a change would make the dependent clause refer to temperature, and not to the manes?

Edit: Since "becoming" is right next to "temperature," wouldn't the phrase, "becoming shorter and lighter in warmer weather," describe temperature? Hence, wouldn't B be wrong either way?

Best Answer

Pardon me for not knowing any technical terms. Your sentence -

Because male lions' manes are affected by temperature, becoming shorter and lighter in warmer weather, they are of interest to scientists researching climate change.

  • contains an ... uh ... inserted clause, or whatever the hell it's called: becoming shorter and lighter in warmer weather.

If you put it in parenthesis, you could also reword it thus:

(they become shorter and lighter in warmer weather)

And the resulting sentence would look like this:

Because male lions' manes are affected by temperature (they become shorter and lighter in warmer weather), they are of interest to scientists researching climate change.

From which you could conclude that in your original sentence the word "becoming" stands in for "they become," no more and no less.

Et voila. I hope this helps.  

Related Topic