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"My first piece of advice is to work hard on your research before you go if you want to make your trip enjoyable and rewarding. I plan my trips very carefully for at least three months before I leave, reading about the places I am going to visit on the Internet and in books."

Source: Cambridge grammar for IELTS.

Could anyone please help me what kind of clause if the bold part? Is it a reduced adjective clause that modify the whole sentence?

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  • What is your question exactly? Do you want the meaning or the grammatical function of the clause?
    – Teleporting Goat
    Commented Feb 10, 2017 at 14:45
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    It describes what happens during, or as an integral part of, the planning phase. You can understand that clause in relation to "I plan my trips very carefully". Compare: I drank the beer, tasting its bitterness
    – TimR
    Commented Feb 10, 2017 at 14:45
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    It's a gerund-participial clause functioning as a supplementary adjunct. Supplementary adjuncts are not tightly integrated into clause structure, but are set apart in writing by punctuation like a comma, and in speech by a slight pause. Unlike integrated adjuncts, supplementary adjuncts are not modifiers. Semantically, it could be a depictive adjunct, or possibly "implicated reason"; I'm not sure which.
    – BillJ
    Commented Feb 10, 2017 at 17:53

1 Answer 1

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It is an adverbial clause of manner, as it indicates the way in which the subject plans his/her trips.

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  • Thanks.This clause modifies the verb "plan" , and we have two adverbs for verb plan:"very careful" and "the part after comma' . Am I right? And the last questions: Can I remove comma? and why do we use 'participle' form? And, as I know the clause contain at least one verb and one subject , but we don't have any tense verb in the "adverbial clause of manner". And finally Could you please give more examples to make sense?
    – Mickey Mouse
    Commented Feb 10, 2017 at 15:52
  • @MickeyMouse, it is true that you have two adverbials of manner there. The second one, which is a clause, can be said to be in apposition to the first one, as it actually describes what "very carefully" consists of. I don't recommend removing the comma. It would get confusing because you have an adverbial of time in between.
    – Gustavson
    Commented Feb 10, 2017 at 16:36
  • Many Thanks. Is "reading about the places I am going to visit on the Internet and in books" a clause?I get confused, as it doesn't consist a 'tense verb'.
    – Mickey Mouse
    Commented Feb 10, 2017 at 16:44
  • Is this correct ? "I am going to continue my education abroad, applying in some well-known universities."
    – Mickey Mouse
    Commented Feb 10, 2017 at 16:49
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    @MickeyMouse I suggest you read about participial clauses and then get back to me, either here or in a chat.
    – Gustavson
    Commented Feb 11, 2017 at 17:31

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