The village seemed deserted, the only sign of life being an ugly-looking black goat tied to a tree on a short length of rope in a field nearby. (New Concept English, Book 3, L. 48) the only sign of life being an ugly-looking black goat... 中 being 是否应改为 was? 否则这个分句就没有谓语了。
首先应当弄清楚,the only sign of life being...并不是分句,而是独立结构,或者具体点儿说,是带逻辑主语的现在分词结构。其结构特点是:主格名词(或主格代词)+现在分词,可用来充当时间状语、原因状语、条件状语、伴随情况状语等。它虽然叫做独立结构,但它并不能离开句子而独立存在,而必须依附于某个句子,这样就能在结构上突出句子本身的内容。请读下面的例句:
-
The country is experiencing its hardest winter for years, some areas having lain under six feet of snow for nearly two months. 这个国家正经历着多年来最艰难的冬季，近两个月来某些地区积雪达六英尺。
-
... this practice has become so widespread that the working mother is now a not unusual factor in a child's home life, the number of married women in employment having more than doubled in the last twenty-five years. (New Concept English, Book 4, L. 8) ……在过去25年里，就业已婚妇女的人数增加了一倍以上。