Where is the verb in the bold text?

Question

For this reason most people are as provincial in time as they are in space: they huddle down into their time and regard it as their total environment. But the opposite would be nearer the truth. Their time is about to be swept away and become nothing but a memory—and not even that for very long, but rather an ever-receding sliver of an ever-expanding history. Little of it will survive in anyone’s mind. Even less will be of lasting interest, except to historians.

[Ultimate questions, Bryan Magee]

Where is the verb in the bold text? I am so confused, could you help me?

Thanks

Answer 1

The bold text has no verb

receding and expanding are the closest words to a verb in bold text, but they are just active adjectives modifying the nouns "memory" or "time." So active they may seem to be or be mistaken for verbs.

or you could combine receding and expanding with the verb "is" from "time is" or "memory is" to get time is receding and expanding. Then you could call them verbs. Time is receding or expanding. Memory is receding or is expanding. Then together with the verb is, receding or expanding are the present continuous verb tense of the verb recede or expand.

but alone as one word, neither receding or expanding is a verb

this all sounds like technical hair splitting in a nearly pointless grammar diagramming exercise.

Answer 2

The action of that clause is in the previous clause: "become nothing but a memory"

The clause after the dash is a dependent clause. It is not complete because it is dependent on the previous clause to make sense. It does not have all the parts needed to be a sentence. This clause is acting as an adjective- describing for how long something becomes nothing but a memory.

An independent clause would be able to stand on its own (a sentence). So, there is not a verb in the bold clause. It is not a sentence.