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PILOT’S TALK · GRAMMAR PRACTICE

Northeast storm · Level C · Unit 18

Name: __________________________ Date: ______________

Unit 18. With the Storm Hitting: Participle Clauses of Reason (Причастный оборот как причина (with + -ing), нюансы but/while)

Practice note: Grammar examples and role-play details may be hypothetical. Questions explicitly about the article use the reported facts. This is a historical report, not current travel advice.

Words from the text: with ... experiencing, with the storm's impact continuing, with conditions evolving, heavily, particularly, nor'easter, disruption, scale, severe, significant, adjust, beyond

A News reports often use with + noun/pronoun + -ing to add a reason or circumstance that goes together with the main event, instead of a separate clause with because or while (see Unit 9). There is no finite verb after with — no is/are — and the noun in the with-clause can have a different subject from the subject of the main clause.

A powerful nor'easter is disrupting air travel across the U.S. Northeast, with Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) experiencing hundreds of flight cancelations as airlines adjust their operations.

Delta has specifically warned customers that a significant number of cancelations are expected at Boston Logan on Sunday, with conditions evolving faster than forecast.

The scale of the disruption remains severe, with the storm's impact continuing into Sunday and beyond.

Оборот 'with + сущ. + -ing' заменяет придаточное причины/сопутствующего обстоятельства в новостном стиле; после with нет глагола-связки is/are.

B Both but and while can introduce a contrast, but they feel different in news style. While simply places two facts side by side, often to compare numbers or events happening at the same time, with little sense of surprise. But signals a sharper contradiction — the second fact goes against what the first fact might suggest.

Cape Air had 115 canceled flights at Logan, while Delta had 95. (two comparable facts)

The waivers allow eligible passengers to modify their bookings, but they do not mean that all flights covered by the policy have been canceled. (correcting a wrong impression)

while — просто сопоставление фактов; but — явное противоречие ожиданию, возникшему из первой части.

C The with + -ing clause usually follows the main clause, separated by a comma, but for extra emphasis it can also open the sentence. It gives background circumstance rather than stating the main reason directly — compare it with because of (Unit 5) and while (Unit 9): because of names a cause; while introduces a comparison or simultaneous action.

With conditions evolving rapidly, airlines are adjusting their schedules heavily, particularly in the Northeast.

Because of the storm, Cape Air canceled all North Region flights; with disruption particularly severe in that region, the airline gave passengers extra flexibility.

Оборот with+-ing может стоять в начале или в конце предложения и передаёт фон, а не прямую причину, как because. While выражает сопоставление/контраст или одновременность, а не обычную причину.

Exercises

18.1 Combine each pair of sentences into one, using with + noun + -ing to show the accompanying circumstance.

Example: A powerful nor'easter is disrupting air travel across the U.S. Northeast. / Boston Logan International Airport is experiencing hundreds of flight cancelations. → A powerful nor'easter is disrupting air travel across the U.S. Northeast, with Boston Logan International Airport experiencing hundreds of flight cancelations.

  1. Cape Air canceled all flights in its North Region. / Passengers are moving their trips to alternative flights through October 2.
  2. The disruption has extended beyond Boston. / Regional airports are experiencing significant cancelations.
  3. Delta expects a significant number of cancelations at Boston Logan on Sunday. / The storm's impact is continuing into the weekend.
  4. Airlines continue to adjust their schedules heavily. / Weather conditions are evolving across the Northeast.
  5. The September 27 operation is still developing. / Airports in New York and Philadelphia are also experiencing delays.
  6. The scale of the disruption is particularly severe for Cape Air. / The airline is extending flexibility to affected passengers.

18.2 Choose but or while and explain the nuance. In some items both work with different emphasis; the key gives preferred examples: simple comparison (while) or contradiction of expectation (but).

Example: Cape Air had 115 canceled flights at Logan, ______ Delta had 95. → while — the two facts are simply placed side by side for comparison.

  1. The waivers allow passengers to modify their bookings, ________________ they do not mean that all flights covered by the policy have been canceled.
  2. Delta warned customers that cancelations were expected on Sunday, ________________ airlines continued to adjust their schedules as conditions evolved.
  3. JetBlue's waiver covers flights operated between September 25 and 27, ________________ Delta's waiver covers eligible travel through September 29.
  4. FlightAware recorded 253 cancelations at Logan, ________________ only 36 delays were reported there.
  5. The storm has disrupted flights across the wider Northeast, ________________ Boston Logan has been hit particularly heavily.
  6. Cape Air gave passengers extra flexibility because of the disruption, ________________ that does not mean every flight in the North Region was significantly delayed.

18.3 Rewrite each sentence from because-style into the more compact with + noun + -ing, keeping the events but making the cause less explicit.

Example: Cancelations increased because airlines were adjusting their operations around strong winds. → Cancelations increased, with airlines adjusting their operations around strong winds.

  1. Flights were delayed because the storm's impact continued into Sunday.
  2. Passengers faced disruption because weather conditions kept evolving.
  3. Boston Logan reported hundreds of cancelations, while regional airports also experienced delays because of the storm.
  4. The airline extended flexibility to customers because Cape Air was experiencing severe disruption in its North Region.
  5. Airlines updated their schedules constantly because the exact number of cancelations kept changing.
  6. Delta warned passengers about Sunday delays because the storm's impact was continuing beyond Saturday.

Answer key

Northeast storm · Level C · Unit 18. Open-ended responses are model answers, not the only correct responses.

Unit 18. With the Storm Hitting: Participle Clauses of Reason (Причастный оборот как причина (with + -ing), нюансы but/while)

18.1

  1. Cape Air canceled all flights in its North Region, with passengers moving their trips to alternative flights through October 2.
  2. The disruption has extended beyond Boston, with regional airports experiencing significant cancelations.
  3. Delta expects a significant number of cancelations at Boston Logan on Sunday, with the storm's impact continuing into the weekend.
  4. Airlines continue to adjust their schedules heavily, with conditions evolving across the Northeast.
  5. The September 27 operation is still developing, with airports in New York and Philadelphia also experiencing delays.
  6. The scale of the disruption is particularly severe for Cape Air, with the airline extending flexibility to affected passengers.

18.2

  1. but — the second fact corrects a possible wrong impression created by the first.
  2. while — the two actions are happening at the same time, with no real contrast.
  3. while — a simple comparison of two similar facts.
  4. but — the low delay figure is unexpected next to the high number of cancelations.
  5. while — contrast between the wider region and one especially affected airport.
  6. but — correcting a possible wrong assumption about the scale of delays.

18.3

  1. Flights were delayed, with the storm's impact continuing into Sunday.
  2. Passengers faced disruption, with conditions evolving.
  3. Boston Logan reported hundreds of cancelations, with regional airports also experiencing delays.
  4. The airline extended flexibility to customers, with Cape Air experiencing severe disruption in its North Region.
  5. Airlines updated their schedules constantly, with the exact number of cancelations continuing to change.
  6. Delta warned passengers about Sunday delays, with the storm's impact continuing beyond Saturday.