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Is the below sentence correct?

"The sound of his footsteps echoed the walls, signalling his arrival."

The part before the comma is in past tense(echoed) and the part after the comma is in present continuous tense(signalling). So is that sentence right?

2 Answers 2

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The part before the comma is in past tense(echoed)

That is correct. More exactly, it is past tense simple.

the part after the comma is in present continuous tense(signaling)

That is not correct. The present continuous would be: "are / is signaling".

So is that sentence right?

Yes, the original sentence is right.

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  • So what is "signalling his arrival" ? Is it relative clause?
    – Unni Babu
    Commented Apr 9, 2019 at 8:59
  • It is not a clause, as it does not have a verb. It is just a fragment, a phrase. @JamesK calls it "participle phrase" in his answer.
    – virolino
    Commented Apr 9, 2019 at 9:02
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This isn't the present continuous tense. It is a participle phrase, which describes the effect of the footsteps.

This is the present participle, which indicates the active voice. The past particple is used when a passive voice is required.

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