0

Massive boulders, shipped from as far away as the Northwest Territories, echo the curvaceous form of the museum building, its rough-hewn limestone surface meant to recall a cliff face sculptured by the wind. (From ACT TEST)

Why is "meant" used here? I don't think here it is a past tense because there will be two independent clauses not connected by conjunctions; so the only possible option left is past participle, but why not use present participle "meaning"?

Improve this question
3
  • Meant is used here to mean intended. eg. I meant to leave early = I intended to leave early. The purpose of the surface is to suggest/recall a cliff face.....
    – Ronald Sole
    Nov 9, 2020 at 22:42
  • @RonaldSole Yeah except it is a past participle here. "That cake is meant for you."
    – Eddie Kal
    Nov 9, 2020 at 22:57
  • @ Eddie Kal♦ I agree it is a past participle, but where is the auxiliary verb "be"? But adding "be", there'll be two independent sentences
    – HypnoticBuggyWraithVirileBevy
    Nov 10, 2020 at 0:01

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1

its rough-hewn limestone surface meant to recall a cliff face sculptured by the wind.

This is not a complete sentence but an absolute clause which loosely linked to the main sentence in terms of syntax. I think it can be rewritten as:

and its rough-hewn limestone surface is meant to recall a cliff face sculptured by the wind.

Improve this answer
1
  • 1
    Glad you figured it out yourself. And you did the right thing coming back and telling us in an answer what you've come to understand. +1 for the effort. By the way, you should note the clause is an absolute clause.
    – Eddie Kal
    Dec 26, 2020 at 2:56

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .