Writing 101F -- Grammar Help -- Western Grammar Online
Module 4 - Verbs
Lesson Selection
4.1 Dangling and Misplaced Participial Phrases
A
EXAMPLES:
1. Jane saw the corpse while preparing dinner.
2. After eating dinner, she spoke with it.
3. Believing she had gone insane, her family took her the doctor.
4. The doctor reviewed her medical history before speaking to her.
5. Secluded in the sanitorium, the patients frequently got better.
In standard written English, the subject of the participial phrase should be clear. When there is no word or phrase in the sentence which can function as the subject, we say there is a dangling participle or participial phrase. When the wrong word or phrase appears to be the subject, we say that there is a misplaced participle or participial phrase.
EXAMPLES:
1. While reading the comics, the paper was written. (dangling)
2. Grazing on the grass, the women observed the cows. (misplaced)
3. The patients were given the proper treatments after observing their conditions. (dangling)
4. Placed in a tidy bundle, we left the newspapers at the door. (misplaced)
5. The problem will be clear when examining the data. (dangling)
Inexperienced writers sometimes have difficulty identifying dangling and misplaced participial phrases. Their problem arises from the fact that they know in their minds what the subject should be. Their sentences, however, do not always express what they intend.
Here are some simple rules of thumb for identifying the subject:
EXAMPLES:
1. Jane saw the corpse while preparing dinner.
Because the participial phrase begins with the word while, the subject of preparing is Jane, the subject of the verb
which comes before the phrase (rule 1). Look what happens when we take out the word while: 2. Jane saw the corpse preparing dinner. Here the subject, the corpse, is the first 3. Secluded in the sanitorium, the patients frequently got better. Here the subject is the first noun phrase which follows the participial phrase (
Now let us look at two cases in which the participial phrase is
misplaced or dangling.
EXAMPLES:
4. Grazing on the grass, the women observed the cows. (misplaced)
In example 4, the first noun phrase to the right (rule 2) is not the one the writer intended to be the subject. She wanted to say the cows were grazing on the grass, not the women.
5. The problem will be clear when examining the data. (dangling)
It is clear that the problem was not examining the data (rule 2). The sentence, however, gives us no clue as to who was doing the work.
The following are some strategies for correcting dangling and misplaced participial phrases. Examples follow.
1. Turn the participial phrase into a subordinate clause (example 1).
2. Move the participial phrase so that it is closer to the intended subject (example 2).
3. Change the rest of the sentence so that the intended subject is close to the participial phrase (example 3).
EXAMPLES:
1. INCORRECT: Placed in a tidy bundle, we left the newspapers at the door.
CORRRECT: After we placed them in a tidy bundle, we left
the newspapers at the door. (strategy 1)
2. INCORRECT: Grazing on the grass, the women observed the cows.
CORRECT: The women observed the cows grazing on the grass. (strategy 2)
3. INCORRECT: The problem will be clear when examining the data.
CORRECT: The scientists will see the problem when examining the data. (strategy 3)
End of the Lesson on Dangling and Misplaced Participial Phrases
4.2 Active and Passive Voices
In English there are two voices for verbs: the active and the passive. In
the active voice, the subject of the verb is the person or thing which does the action or experiences
something. EXAMPLES
Transitive verbs--that is, verbs which can take an object--can also be put in the passive voice. In the passive, the object of the active voice becomes the subject.
EXAMPLES
1. ACTIVE: The ballplayer hits the ball on the ground.
PASSIVE: The ball is hit on the ground by the ballplayer.
2. ACTIVE: The noise of the engine woke me.
PASSIVE: I was woken by the noise of the engine.
Note that the passive form of the verb always combines a form of to be (is, was) with the past participle form of the verb (hit, woken).
The passive can be very useful when you are trying to convey an impersonal tone.
EXAMPLES
1. The books were examined carefully for signs of damage.
2. Each of the candidates will be interviewed for an hour.
3. The decision was contested by the students.
4. All of the specimens are stored in the lab.
5. The discussion was focused on this issue.
The passive, however, is limited. Intransitive verbs--that is, verbs which do not take objects--cannot be put in the passive voice. Also the passive can, at times, be quite awkward.
EXAMPLES:
1. ACTIVE: I was sleeping during the game.
PASSIVE: none (because "sleep" is intransitive)
2. ACTIVE: I took the tickets with me when I left.
PASSIVE: The tickets were taken with me when I left. (very awkward)
End of the Lesson on Active and Passive
4.3 Subject-Verb Agreement
A verb must agree with its subject.
EXAMPLES:
A verb which has a relative pronoun (such as who, which or that) as its subject must agree with the antecedent of the pronoun.
EXAMPLES
1. The men who play this game are not in good condition.
The man who plays this game is not in good condition.
2. The cat which is eating a rat is purring.
The cats which are eating rats are purring.
3. Jane made proposals that have caused much controversy.
Jane made a proposal that has caused much controversy.
In sentences beginning with there and here, the subject comes after the verb.
EXAMPLES
When the following words are used as pronouns, they are considered singular: each, either, neither, anyone, anybody, everyone, no one, everybody, someone, somebody, nobody, none.
EXAMPLES:
Treat the subject of a verb as plural when the items are connected with %%both and %%and.
EXAMPLES:
1. Both the frog and the toad are amphibians.
2. Both Jack and Jill are running up the hill.
3. Both my friend and his sisters were seen falling down the hill.
Treat the subject as singular when items are joined by and and they refer to one person or thing.
EXAMPLES:
1. Meat and potatoes is a typical North American meal.
2. Bread and butter tastes good.
3. The prime minister and leader of the country has fallen asleep.
4. My friend and my lover is, however, extremely intelligent.
5. Spaghetti and meatballs is her favorite dish.
If the two parts of a subject are joined by or, either-or, neither-nor, or not only-but also, the verb must agree with the second item. If the second item is singular, the verb takes a singular form; if it is plural, the verb takes a plural form.
EXAMPLES:
1. Neither the boys nor Jill likes fetching a pail of water.
2. Neither Jill nor the boys like fetching anything.
3. Not only the teacher but also the students are interested.
4. Not only the students but also the teacher is interested.
When nouns or pronouns are joined to a singular subject by prepositions such as together with, along with, as well as, or but not, the result is still a singular subject.
EXAMPLES:
1. Santa, together with his elves, does all the work.
2. Jill, but not Jack, was playing poker.
3. That man, as well as many others, has been losing money.
4. My boss, along with his friends, is going to the bank.
5. He, as well as his friends, does very well.
End of the Lesson on Subject-Verb Agreement
End of Module 4
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