Me N.

asked • 02/17/24

Anyone witnessing this strange scene would have drawn the right conclusion. (Rewrite using 'who')

why is "Anyone who was witnessing this strange scene would have drawn the right conclusion" a wrong answer

Nancy P.

tutor
Great question! The original sentence reads, "Anyone witnessing this strange scene would have drawn the right conclusion." In that sentence, "witnessing" does not function as a verb, but as a participle or modifying word for "anyone." Therefore, it is not a verb expressing time or indicating when something happened. Therefore, that sentence is correct. In the sentence, "Anyone who was witnessing this strange scene would have drawn the right conclusion," the sentence is grammatically incorrect. In that sentence, "who was witnessing" has been turned into a dependent clause with the subject "who" and verb "was witnessing." We now have a verb "was witnessing" which indicates an ongoing action in the past, not a completed action. However, In order for one to "draw the right conclusion," the action would have to be complete. Therefore, the correct response would be , "Anyone who witnessed (action complete) this strange scene would have drawn the right conclusion."
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02/20/24

1 Expert Answer

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Jonathan T. answered • 02/21/24

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The sentence "Anyone who was witnessing this strange scene would have drawn the right conclusion" is not inherently incorrect. However, it does change the meaning slightly from the original sentence, which is "Anyone witnessing this strange scene would have drawn the right conclusion." The original sentence implies that anyone who was present at the scene, regardless of whether they were actively observing it, would have drawn the right conclusion. The revised sentence, on the other hand, implies that only those who were actively witnessing the scene would have drawn the right conclusion.

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