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 PRACTICE ON POINTS OF ENGLISH GRAMMAR

• Modifying Clauses
• ModCl-Diagnostic
• That / Which
• Who / Whom
• Whose
• Of which / With
• When/ Where
• Wh-ever
• All of which
• That vs Which
• Some or All
• Which-clause
• Clause Reduc 1
• Clause Reduc 2
• Misrelated Clauses
• Mod Clause Qz
• Related Pages

• On this page:
• initial Participial Clauses
• Mid- and End-Clauses
• Clause Examples
• Clause Uses
• Grammar Notes
• Practice 1
• Practice 2
• Practice 3

 Misrelated Clauses

Placement and reference

 

 

 

 

Initial Participial Clauses  ("Dangling Modifiers")

UNCLEARLY RELATED		CLEARLY RELATED
In these examples, a reduced clause is placed before a noun.  However, the understood subject of the reduced clause is NOT the same as the subject of the main clause.  The participle or adverb clause does not relate well to the main clause.(Swan 411.4)		In these examples, the understood subject of both the main clause (independent) and the participle clause (dependent) is the same person(s) or thing(s).
PARTICIPLE CLAUSE Being a guy,	UNCLEAR REFERENCE it is hard for him to understand her point of view.	PARTICIPLE CLAUSE Being a guy,	CLEAR REFERENCE he has a hard time understanding her point of view.
Having heard this before,	her patience was wearing thin.	Having heard this before,	she was becoming less patient. (impatient)
Being very rational,	speaking frankly was a very important to him.	Being very rational,	he he felt that speaking frankly was very important.
Wounding like an arrow,	he sometimes hated to hear the truth.	Wounding like an arrow,	the truth was sometimes difficult to bear.
Mentioned as constructive criticism,	there were no hard feelings.	Mentioned as constructive criticism,	the comment hurt her feelings.

guy – a person of male gender (informal)
her patience was wearing thin – she was becoming less patient.
rational – feelings based on reason rather than emotion
frankly – honestly, directly
constructive criticism – pointing out the negatives in order to focus on improvement
wound – to seriously injure, cause harm

 

 

 

Mid-Clause and End-Clause Placement

MID–SENTENCE COMMENT			END–COMMENT / AFTERTHOUGHT
Normally, a participle clause is placed directly after the word it modifies. Commas set off the comment from the rest of the clause. See Comma-comments.			Informally, we add an afterthought with a dash. The reader is left to figure out how the clause relates to the sentence. See  Dashes.
NOUN It is hard for him,	PARTICIPLE CLAUSE being a guy,	to understand her point of view.	MAIN CLAUSE It is hard for him to understand her point of view	PARTICIPLE CLAUSE — being a guy.
	being more rational,			— being so rational.
	with his political background,			— with his political background.
	having known her for a short time,			— having known her for a short time.
NOUN She,	PARTICIPLE CLAUSE having heard this before,	was becoming impatient.	MAIN CLAUSE Her patience was wearing thin	PARTICIPLE CLAUSE — having heard this before.
	being very emotional,			— being very emotional.
	in even their her moments,			— in even her best moments.
	wanting little to do with him,			— wanting little to do with him

have nothing to do with it – be unrelated, not associated

 

 

 

 

 

Modifying Clauses Examples

REDUCED CLAUSE	PREPOSITION + REDUCED CLAUSE	CONJUNCTION + REDUCED CLAUSE
The clause has a reduced verb form  such as a present or past participle.  (The subject is not included.)	The clause may begin with a preposition and a reduced clause…	or a subordinating conjunction and a reduced clause — also called adverbial clause (CoGEL 14.22, 15.26), or prepositional clause (CaGEL 1011)
Having lost everything that mattered, …	Besides being an orphan, …	When spotting a blue-footed booby,…
Knowing all too well what would happen next, …	As a result of losing his password,…	Before asking the question "Why?", …
Having had his cake and eaten it too, …	In spite of having everything he wanted in life,…	After opening his roommate's letter,…
Overwhelmed by his own cleverness, …	By trying out the equipment first, …	Since discovering penecillin,…

Also see clauses: Evaluation Adverbs,  Speech-act Adverbs
Related page: After/ Before/ When, Time-Relative Events

 

 

Initial Modifying Clause Uses

EMPHASIS & TRANSISTION	WEIGHT
The initial placment of a clause draws attention to the content, or it transitions the reader from one sentence to the next.	A preference for placing "light" or short clauses first is another reason for placing an modifying clause before the "heavy" or longer clause.
EMPHASIS Employers carefully reviewed the educational background and experience of all the applicants. Being able to code the phone apps, Mark had an advantage over other applicants. Employers carefully reviewed the educational background and experience of all the applicants. Because he was able to code the phone apps, Mark had an advantage over other applicants.	LIGHT—HEAVY Before sending our resumés, we researched a number of companies that were developing new products and in need of new technology consultants.   We researched a number of companies that were developing new products and in need of new technology consultants before sending our resumés.
TRANSITION I was among 34 women out of a class of 776 at Harvard Business School. Many thought we walked into the business world at the very moment the glass ceiling was shattered once and for all. How wrong we were.  Entering the job market, we encountered a 23 percentage point earnings gap between men and women; we started at lower positions than equally qualified men; we were paid less and got fewer promotions.	BALANCED We researched a number of companies before sending them our resumés.

 

 

 

Grammar Notes

Traditional & Current

(Advanced)

 

 

Traditional &. Current Grammar Descriptions

TRADITIONAL

CURRENT

A reduced clause with a present or past participle verb form is called a participial clause or adverb clause.  "It is considered incorrect to make sentences with 'misrelated participles', where an adverb clause has a different subject from the main clause." Looking out the window of our hotel room, there was a wonderful range of mountains.  (in Italics – participial clause) While looking out the window of our hotel room, there was a wonderful range of mountains.  (in Italics – adverb clause) "Participle clauses can also be used in similar ways to full adverbial clauses, expressing condition, reason, time relations, result, etc."  (When the adverb is not included, the relationship must be guessed from context.) (Swan 411.3-4)

"The non-finite clause is a supplement with the main clause as anchor…. The nonfinite clause is syntactically related to the main clause in that the missing subject is controlled by the subject of the main clause." His hands gripping the door, he let out a volley of curses.    (in Italics – nonfinite clause) Nonfinite clauses as modifiers and supplements  (CaGEL1265-6)

 

 

Resources

 

 

 

Practice  1

Brothers

 

 

Relate the participle/adverb clause to the main clause.

1. Select the word from each menu that best completes the sentence. 
2. Compare your response to the answer by clicking the "check" button to the right. 
   iPad: use two fingers to scroll a text box if the text is not showing completely.

 

#	YOUR RESPONSE - SHORTEN THE CLAUSE	CHECK YOUR ANSWER
1.	— Being a brother, Being brothers, Phillip and Eric complete with each other .
2.	Knowing each other very well, — one brother can often guess what the other will do. they can often guess what each other will do. .
3.	Raised by grandparents instead of parents, — their upbringing was slightly different. they had slightly different upbringing. . upbringing (n.) – the care and training of young children
4.	Having had older, retired parents, — there was more attention placed on them. they received more attention. .
5.	Being attractive young men, — it wasn't difficult finding dates. they had no difficulty finding dates. .
6.	Upon joining the Air Force, — Phillip's friends congratulated him. Phillip received congratulations from his friends. .
7.	Before entering college, — Eric did charitable work in Haiti. Eric's charitable work took him to Haiti.
8.	Received unexpectedly, — the opportunity was welcomed. Eric welcomed the opportunity. .
9.	Building a school, — Eric learned a lot about life in Haiti. a lot was learned about life in Haiti.
10.	Philip and Eric will continue with their good work — — following their passions. being committed to making a difference. .

See Comma-comments for mid-sentence comments.

 

 

 

Practice 2

Misrelated Quotes – Advanced

 

 

Does the participle/adverb clause clearly relate to the sentence?

1. Write your corrections for the sentence in the edit box.
2. Then compare your response to the answer with the "check" button.
   iOS Finger tips: use two fingers to scroll a text box if the text is not showing completely.

 

#	SENTENCE	YOUR RESPONSE & FEEDBACK
11.	More than some other large banks, Bank of America's fate is also heavily intertwined with that of consumers. intertwine (v.) – closely related to each other	Correct     Incorrect Feedback 11
12.	Known for its aggressive approach, the church's latest target is The New Yorker magazine, which published a 25,000-word article that painted Scientology as corrupt and cultish. aggressive (adj.) – behaving in an angry, threatening way, as if ready to attack target (n.) – something or someone being attacked corrupt (adj.) – dishonest, illegal cultish (adj.) – of an extreme religious group that is not part of an established religion	Correct     Incorrect Feedback 12
13.	Once a cold-weather destination, tourists are flocking to Miami Beach in summer, too. flock (v.) – move in a large group such as a flock of birds	Correct     Incorrect Feedback 13
14.	Always drawn to the sciences, Mr. Kaido's interest in progressive politics grew in 1970, after he entered the law department at the University of Tokyo, a stepping stone for the country's elite. stepping stone (n.) – (expression) a stage or means of advancing elite (n.) – persons of the highest class or level	Correct     Incorrect Feedback 14
15.	Marching down Wall Street, there were protesters as far as the eye could see.	Correct     Incorrect Feedback 15
16.	Unlike the Baby-Boomer generation, the children of today need far more time to "launch". launch (v.) – be self-sufficient and leave the parent's home	Correct     Incorrect Feedback 16
17.	Having had his license suspended, he had to return to school and retrain in a completely new field.	Correct     Incorrect Feedback 17
18.	Deciding that he would never eat anything that had eyes, Jacob began his vegan diet. bucket list – activities a person wants to do before dying	Correct     Incorrect Feedback 18
19.	Being an adventurous type, parachuting from an airplane at the age of seventy-five was just one small item on his "bucket list". bucket list – activities a person wants to do before dying.	Correct     Incorrect Feedback 19
20.	Being a dancer in Las Vegas, Grandmother Lea looked out for her grand-daughter, Beatrice. look out for – take care of, act as guardian	Correct     Incorrect Feedback 20

http://topics.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/grammar/

 

 

Practice 3

Bird Watching

 

Edit the sentence.

1. Write your corrections for the sentence in the text area
2. Then compare your response to the answer with the "check" button.
   iOS Finger tips: use two fingers to scroll a text box if the text is not showing completely.

 

#	YOUR RESPONSE	CHECK YOUR ANSWER
21.	Last year, we had an opportunity to visit the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador.  For me, a long-time bird watcher, this trip was a dream. However, before leaving, there was a lot of planning to do. EDIT THIS: Last year, we had an opportunity to visit the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador. For me, a long-time bird watcher, this trip was a dream. However, before leaving, there was a lot of planning to do.
22.	Because the number of visitors on the islands is limited, we had to request a special permit and hire a naturalist guide.  Having gathered our visas, permits and passports, there was one more thing for us to do — pay a $100 national park entrance fee. EDIT THIS: Because the number of visitors on the islands is limited, we had to request a special permit and hire a certified guide. Having gathered our visas, permits and passports, there was one more thing for us to do – pay a $100 national park entrance fee.
23.	The next day we flew to the airport on the Island of Santa Cruz. Upon entering the village of Puerto Ayora, there were birds everywhere. They were flying in circles over the fishing boats as the fishermen returned with the day's catch. EDIT THIS: The next day we flew to the airport on the Island of Santa Cruz. Upon entering the village of Puerto Ayora, there were birds everywhere. They were flying in circles over the fishing boats as the fishermen returned with the day's catch
24.	Fishermen were preparing the fish, cutting off the heads, removing the guts and putting the fish on ice.  Eyeing the fish, a pelican sat nearby.  Unfortunately, the fish were too big for it to steal.  Watching this scene, it was so amusing for us. EDIT THIS: Fishermen were preparing the fish, cutting off the heads, removing the guts and putting the fish on ice. Eyeing the fish, a pelican sat nearby. Unfortunately, the fish were too big for it to steal. Watching this scene, it was so amusing for us
25.	Standing in line with all the other customers, there was a blue-footed booby. Its bright blue feet were as colorful as the sports shoes of the tourists!   Waiting patiently, it squawked for a reward. Soon a fish head fell. EDIT THIS: Standing in line with all the other customers, there was a blue-footed booby. Its bright blue feet were as colorful as the sports shoes of the tourists! Waiting patiently, it squawked for a reward. Soon a fish head fell
26.	The birds nest among the rocks completely unafraid. Covered by the body of either the mother or father, the birds keep the eggs warm. EDIT THIS: The birds nest among the rocks completely unafraid. Covered by the body of either the mother or father, the birds keep the eggs warm.