You might recall the phrase “dangling participle” from a grammar lesson in a galaxy far, far away. I know what you’re thinking . . . what possible relevance does the knowledge of a participle, dangling or not, have to my current profession? I don’t need no stinkin’ algebra or participles!
I’m not qualified to comment on anything related to algebra, but I’ve got some information about participles, and I’m not afraid to share it.
In simplest terms, a participle is verb used as an adjective; some examples are “devoted friend,” “sizzling steak,” “running water.”
Participle phrases are often used as an introductory subordinate clause; they provide details about an element in the main sentence. They acquire the ignominious label of “dangling participles” when they are not attached to the word(s) they modify.
Here are some correct examples of participle (or participial) phrases as introductory subordinate clauses:
Crying in his beer, Roy told his sad tale. (Roy is crying; he is crying Roy.)
Sizzling on the grill, the brisket had a tantalizing aroma. (The brisket is sizzling; it’s sizzling brisket.)
Married for many decades, Joe and Sally could finish each other’s sentences. (Joe and Sally are married; they’re a married couple).
You get my drift. I will point out that in each of the correct examples above, the noun (person or thing) described by the participle phrase is adjacent to that phrase. Positioning is the secret strategy for success in the minefield of misplaced (or dangling) participles. Let’s look at some examples of the mayhem that can ensue from misplaced participle phrases, our dreaded danglers:
Sizzling on the grill, I could smell the brisket for miles. YIKES! Please take me off the grill!
You already know how to correct this misstep; move the phrase next to the “thing” it modifies: Sizzling on the grill, the brisket had an aroma that wafted for miles.
Another example: The robber was seen running from the policeman, still holding the money in his hands. Why is the policeman holding the money? And again, you know what to do: Still holding the money in his hands, the robber was seen running from the policeman.
These comical danglers are fairly easy to spot once you have your senses tuned; but there are far more insidious occurrences for which you’ll need to turn up the sensitivity on your dangler-wrangler. Let’s look at some examples:
Reviewing the usage log, hundreds of hours of eBay shopping were discovered.
The problem with this sentence is that the subject (hours) has no relationship to the participle phrase. What is missing is the person performing the action. The sentence could be corrected several ways:
Reviewing the usage log, the Web administrator discovered hundreds of hours of eBay shopping.
Hundreds of hours of eBay shopping were discovered in a review of the usage log.
The usage log yielded information about excessive online shopping.
. . . and there are many more possibilities.
Dreaming of being a ballerina, the pink tutu twirling on stage was mesmerizing to me. Again, the participle phrase is not attached to the “thing” it modifies. I suggest that you might skip over a sentence of this nature because you intuit the proper meaning –– you can tell that I am dreaming of being a ballerina. Your good intuition as a reader does not excuse my poor execution as a writer, so let me fix my sorry self: Dreaming of being a ballerina, I was mesmerized by the pink tutu twirling on stage.
Sharpen your participle phrase identification skills, and take home first prize in the annual dangler-wrangling competition!