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I have a question about "loving". I found some examples regarding "loving" at https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/loving#examples

An online obituary remembered her as a loving mother, daughter and aunt.

From the above, can we decide whom she loves? I guess she might love her family because it enumerates words representing family relationships, but the sentence does not explicitly designate the object of "love", so can I think that when she treats people, she always has an affectionate attitude towards them?

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    There is no object. "Loving" is not head of a clause but an adjective modifying "mother". Hence there is no object.
    – BillJ
    Commented Feb 4, 2023 at 9:16
  • 2
    But it implies that she loved her children, parents and niece(s)/nephew(s).
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Feb 4, 2023 at 9:55
  • Although she was a loving mother, daughter and aunt in the context of close family, she might have been a real bitch when interacting with her workmates
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Feb 4, 2023 at 13:57
  • She may have been particularly affectionate and warm with family members, but less so among acquaintances and strangers. There's no way of knowing for sure because obituaries tend to be brief and to the point.
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Feb 4, 2023 at 15:04

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In English, participles of verbs (-ing words) can be used as modifiers, and develop into adjectives. For example the adjective "interesting" developed from the particle of the verb "to interest". I can say that "interesting" is an adjective because it 1) can modify nouns, 2) can complete sentence with linking verbs and 3) can itself be modified with adverbs of degree ("very intersting") or comparison ("more interesting").

This is the situation here. A participle, "loving" (which would have at least an implied subject and object) has become an adjective. Adjectives don't have objects. I can say "a loving mother", "She seems loving" and "more loving than Joe".

Now you might read the context and say that a "loving mother" must love her sons and daughters. That is a pragmatic interpretation, and not based on any grammar rule. For example, you cannot say that an "interesting mother" must interest her sons and daughters!

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  • So, can I think my second guess is right? --The "loving" in the sentence means that when she treats people, she always has an affectionate attitude towards them. Considering that "interesting mother" means a mother that is attracting people's interest, I think my second quest might be right.
    – Ji Hyun Lee
    Commented Feb 4, 2023 at 9:33
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    If you read the context then you would say that a "loving mother" must love her sons and daughters. That is a pragmatic interpretation.
    – James K
    Commented Feb 4, 2023 at 9:35

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