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Is remaining alive well structured in the following sentence? What does it exactly mean? Is remaining in this case a verb or an adjective?

Example sentence: But naturally we do not take that into account, any more that we take into account that dinner, and the next day again, dinner, is the condition of our remaining alive.

My sincere apologies if my english makes you cringe, but im jolly desperate.

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  • What's the full sentence?
    – Decapitated Soul
    May 2, 2020 at 21:51
  • But naturally we do not take that into account, any more that we take into account that dinner, and the next day again, dinner, is the condition of our remaining alive.
    – aurorafellasleep
    May 2, 2020 at 21:54
  • Thanks and can you find a real example? If what you Posted is a real example, your sources are letting you down quite badly. Ignoring the rest, "… the condition of our remaining alive…" just doesn't work. "… a condition…" could work but please, can you find a real example? Alternatively, why not Ask somewhere such as English Language Learners?
    – Robbie Goodwin
    May 2, 2020 at 22:27
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    No, the definite article is OK, if it means THE condition par excellence for staying alive. Which it does in this case. Our remaining alive is a POSS-ing gerund clause, the object of the preposition of; our is the subject, remaining is the verb, and alive is the resultative adjective complement of remain.
    – John Lawler
    May 2, 2020 at 23:16
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    The sentence is correct, and remaining alive is a gerund phrase. The gerund phrase functions as a noun. Swap in an ordinary noun to see: Dinner is the condition of our happiness.
    – Tinfoil Hat
    May 3, 2020 at 1:06

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