OG99关于split作形容词的用法

扬凡

    New theories propose that catastrophic impacts of asteroids and comets may have caused reversals in the Earth's magnetic field, the onset of ice ages, splitting apart continents 80 million years ago, and great volcanic eruptions.

(A)  splitting apart continents

(B)  the splitting apart of continents

(C)  split apart continents

(D)  continents split apart

(E)   continents that were split apart

The word splitting must function as a noun to parallel the other items in the noun series of which it is part: reversals, onset, and eruptions. In B, the best choice, the definite article the clearly signifies that splitting is to be taken as a noun.In A, splitting introduces a verb phrase that breaks the parallelism of the noun series. In C, the verb split is similarly disruptive. Choice D, grammatically vague, resembles C if split is a verb and E if split is an adjective. In E, continents illogically replaces the splitting in the series: although the impacts in question may have caused continents to split, they did not cause those continents that were split apart 80 million years ago to materialize.

请问划线部分说如果split作adj,那么就犯了类似E的错误.可是,我从朗文中找不到split作形容词的用法.各位是如何理解的呢?

joe11

og 解释是 and E IF split is an adj. 是说：如果E中的split是形容词的话，D就和E一样都有grammatically vague的错误。

split没有形容词的意义。splitting是形容词。

Longman Online:　http://pewebdic2.cw.idm.fr/

扬凡

Choice D, grammatically vague, resembles C if split is a verb and E if split is an adjective.

我认为这句话的意思是: 如果split作动词,那么D犯了与C相同的错误;如果split作形容词,那么D犯了与E相同的错误.

OG想说不管split用作verb or adj在这里都是错的.显然,它认为split可以作adj.这才是让我困惑的地方.

billytang1980

这里的splitting是动作性名词，强调过程，与前面的onset相互对应。保持平行。