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We are a Zhongguancun-based English training school looking for native English speakers from the US and Canada. If you are interested in this position. Please send your CV and photo to [email address]. For more info, pls check: [URL]

It seems like a sentence element; what does it act as? Why not two sentences?

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  • 2
    Note that there are several other mistakes in this quote.
    – Cerberus - Reinstate Monica
    Mar 10, 2011 at 17:07
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    I am a person typing a comment.
    – nohat ♦
    Mar 10, 2011 at 17:10
  • @nohat I am a [typing a comment] person. So the whole act as a adj and modify the person. This sentence is very easy to understand but my example is complicated.
    – lovespring
    Mar 10, 2011 at 17:33
  • @Cerberus: What are they? I can find only the sentence-split after "position". (And the misspelt "pls", but that may have been intentional.)
    – ShreevatsaR
    Mar 10, 2011 at 19:45
  • @Shree: Those two were the ones I noticed. And there should be a space after the colon in "check:http...". I figured such mistakes might be relevant for a job advertisement, but apparently the OP doesn't mind.
    – Cerberus - Reinstate Monica
    Mar 10, 2011 at 20:25

4 Answers 4

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This participial construction is 100% correct and natural. The participle is used as an attribute to the subject of the main clause, "we" (or "a Zhongguancun-based English training school", but that doesn't matter because it results in the same meaning). It gives extra information about "we", just as an adjective would. This attribute is placed after its "head" (the noun or pronoun it modifies) because it is a sort of apposition.

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  • So, It act as an attribute of 'we'. I see. thanks.
    – lovespring
    Mar 10, 2011 at 17:39
  • It's definitely modifying "school", not "we". Try adding the word "not" and see what happens to the meaning: We are not a Zhongguancun-based English training school looking for native English speakers from the US and Canada.
    – Jason Orendorff
    Mar 14, 2011 at 16:45
  • @JasonOrendorf: I'm not sure I believe the not test would be conclusive, but I agree that it is best to say that it modifies "school". The scope of negations is often quite irregular; and if we separated the participial phrase by a comma, it would even survive the not test, would it not?
    – Cerberus - Reinstate Monica
    Mar 14, 2011 at 16:52
  • Well, with a comma it's a different sentence though. Commas often affect how you parse sentences; it's one of their jobs. But it's true what you say about the scope of negations. ...Why then do we both think it's best to say it modifies "school"? I have a few arguments, I guess, but none more compelling than the not one.
    – Jason Orendorff
    Mar 14, 2011 at 21:09
  • @JasonOrendorf: True: a comma would make it a different sentence (just as not would). I don't really have the answer either, but I think usually participial phrases are naturally taken to belong to the last preceding noun/name/pronoun that fits them in meaning; I don't think there is much more to it than that. This "meaning" is rather vague and depends on context. A comma cuts the phrase loose from the last noun and rather attributes it to the subject of the sentence?
    – Cerberus - Reinstate Monica
    Mar 14, 2011 at 22:28
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A participial phrase function as adjective.

In the sentence you wrote, "looking for native English speakers from the US and Canada" has a similar function of "lying on the kitchen floor" in "she was annoyed by the crumpled newspapers lying on the kitchen floor."

In your sentence, "looking for native English speakers from the US and Canada" is referring to the subject of the sentence, we.

Using a participial phrase is a matter of style; you could write the sentence differently. (I am reporting different ways to write the sentence, without giving any suggestions about which one is better; the sentence using the participial phrase is correct.)

We are a Zhongguancun-based English training school, and we are looking for native English speakers from the US and Canada.
We are a Zhongguancun-based English training school interested in native English speakers from the US and Canada.
We are a Zhongguancun-based English training school; we are looking for native English speakers from the US and Canada.

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Yes.

The only error in the sentence is the punctuation:

If you are interested in this position.

is a fragment.

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From Refs [1]-[2], your original sentence is in case no. 1 (The participle without comma).

Case 1: Main Clause + Ø + Participle Phrase

We are a Zhongguancun-based English training school looking for native English speakers from the US and Canada.

Note: A participle phrase of "looking for... " will modify the nearest word that should be Noun in the main clause (English training school).

The full meaning of this sentence is as follows:

We are a Zhongguancun-based English training school that looks for native English speakers from the US and Canada.

We can split into 2 separate sentences.

We are a Zhongguancun-based English training school.

And

Then, a Zhongguancun-based English training school looks for native English speakers from the US and Canada.

Case 2: Main Clause + , + Participle Phrase (with comma)

We are a Zhongguancun-based English training school, looking for native English speakers from the US and Canada.

A participle phrase of "looking for... " will modify the Subject in the main clause to describe the conclusion (or result) of the main clause.

This sentence means:

We are a Zhongguancun-based English training school.

And

We look for native English speakers from the US and Canada.

More samples in [2]:

The lake shimmered in the noonday sun, giving me peace.

The meaning of sentence is as follows.

When the lake shimmered in the noonday sun, the lake also give me the peace.

More samples in [6]: It looks like the clause-effect.

My sister finally quit her job, discouraged by the long hours and low pay.

It means:

My sister finally quit her job, because she was discouraged by the long hours and low pay.

My Recommendations

However, I would prefer to delete "We are ...". This is because we are human.

We are a school ...!?

It should be like this.

Zhongguancun-based English training school is looking for native English speakers from ...

Or

We are the members of Zhongguancun-based English training school, looking for native English speakers from ...

References for Participle Phrase

[1] http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/participlephrase.htm

[2] https://writerschoices.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/webpartphr.pdf

[3] https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/mechanics/gerunds_participles_and_infinitives/participles.html

[4] http://www.grammar-monster.com/glossary/participle_phrases.htm

[5] http://www.sjsu.edu/writingcenter/handouts/Participle%20Phrases.pdf

[6] https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-a-participial-phrase-1691588

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