if limited

[pdh0224]

Dear teacher,

Applied Digital's distributors overseas have achieved some highly publicized, if limited, successes.

Q : The "if" could be replaced with "although", couldn't it?

and the clause "if (it is) limited" modifies "publicized". Right?

All the best,

[Alan]

Yes and no: 'if' here does mean 'although' but the clause that, as such, it introduces, being an elliptical concessive, functions as an adverbial disjunct to the relative matrix clause.

In short, it means: '...have achieved some successes that have been highly publicized ALTHOUGH THEY ARE/HAVE BEEN LIMITED.