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  1. Just about anyone living in the area at that time is at risk. (From CGEL, 2002, p. 162)

I understand it's equivalent to

Just about anyone who lived in the area at that time is at risk.

I wrote a similar sentence:

  1. The man stealing our computer last night was caught just now.

Question: Can I use it as a reduced version of:

  1. The man had stolen our computer last night was caught just now.
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    You might want to look up the term whiz-deletion to understand this usage better.
    – stangdon
    Feb 22, 2022 at 20:04
  • You're asking two questions in one here, which is off-topic for Stack Exchange sites. Also, your first question is a request for proofreading, which is off-topic for this specific site. Please edit your question to ask one on-topic question.
    – gotube
    Feb 22, 2022 at 23:02
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    Thanks @gotube! I'm not sure I agree though; I see the original version of the question as trying to unpack a usage. "I encountered usage X. Can it apply to Y? In order to mean Z?" To my mind that's one question, and I think the specific concern is well enough identified that this is not a proofreading question. At any rate, it's been edited now. Feb 23, 2022 at 15:07

1 Answer 1

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The problems with your sentence #2 are not so much grammar problems as problems of logic or idiomatic usage. You notice that the CGEL quote uses "living," a present-tense verb, to describe "at that time," presumably a time in the past. This could be understood as a shortening of:

Just about anyone who was living in the area at that time is at risk.

So your example could perhaps be understood as a shortening of:

The man who was stealing our computer last night was caught just now.

... but there's a difference. Stealing a computer is something you do over a very short time; living in an area is an ongoing state that describes a broad time. The CGEL source can use the present participle because they're describing this ongoing state; stealing a computer is a temporary activity.

By the way, your third sentence needs "The man who had stolen...", but perhaps that's just an accident.

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  • I got this feeling that you mean "last night" is too long a period for "stealing" to cover. How about this one: 4. The man stealing our computer when we arrived home was caught just now.
    – ForOU
    Feb 23, 2022 at 14:53
  • @Robbyzhu Yes, that works grammatically (though the sentence itself doesn't make as much sense as the original example). It also works to talk about an activity that lasts longer than "stealing": "The man sleeping on our couch last night is awake now." And in both cases, adding "who was" makes it more natural. Feb 23, 2022 at 15:04
  • Thank you so much for your help. All doubts have been dispelled.
    – ForOU
    Feb 23, 2022 at 15:13

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