Phrase: There is no water remained or moisture covered on the operating area...

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Is it correct to write like this?

Grade A : There is no water remained or moisture covered on the operating area of the windshield after wiping by the windshield wipers, and it is also not obviously shaking or swaying on the both ends of the windshield wipers.

Thank you very much
Mark

2

Grade A : There is no water remained or moisture covered on the operating area of the windshield after wiping(or wiped?) by the windshield wipers, and it is also not obviously(there is no obviouse?) shaking or swaying on the both ends of the windshield wipers.

3

There is no water remaining, or moisture covering the target area of the windshield after operation of the windshield wipers. There is also no obvious shaking or swaying of the individual wiper blades.

4

Hi Oxfordblues

Can you explain what is the difference if you use remaining instead of remained, and covering in stead of covering?

Thank you very muck
Mark

5

in this case remaining is an adjective based on the present participle of the verb remain (He was remaining behind). Any verb can be used as an adjective with most forming the adjective from the past participle (eat, ate, eaten – there was a half-eaten apple). Some verbs form adjectives from the present participle instead. Remain is one of those verbs.

But, that’s not what’s happening here.

In your sentence uses a form with a shortened form where the rest is assumed to be known. So that you are saying ‘There is no water remaining (on the windshield).’ It works in the same way as the next phrase ‘covering the target area’.

This is actually a tricky grammar form, even for native speakers and I have only this week seen it discussed by linguists.

6

Hi Oxfordblues

Thank you for your reply.

I still have a question. Now I have known that “remain” has to be used “remaining” as an adjective form, but I know “cover” has an adjective form as “covered” and not “covering”. (Covering should be a noun?)

Can we use “covered” in this case?

Mark

7

Hi Mark,

Although cover can form an adjective as covered (a covered dish), your use of covering is part of a larger phrase “moisture covering the target area”. The place the moisture is or is not covering was understood (omitted) in your original sentence, but I added it in for clarity). You can actually read this as a shorthand version of “There is no moisture, and moisture is not covering the target area.”

Make sense?

8

Hi Oxfordblues

Thank you for your explanation, I think I have understood.

By the way, “There is something/someone V-ing on/at …” looks like a form of sentence? as follows,

There is someone waiting for you.
There is someone banging about upstairs.
There is someone coming.
There is something brewing.

Mark