Grammar-Quizzes › Clauses › Relative Clauses › Misrelated Clauses
Misrelated Clauses ("Dangling Participles")
Improve the positioning of modifying clauses
Modifying Clauses—Unclearly Related vs. Clearly Related
| UNCLEARLY RELATED | |
|---|---|
A modifying clause can be added to the main clause to relate another action or state. The clause is a nonfinite gerund clause or "reduced clause". The understood subject of the modifying clause should refer to the same person(s) or thing(s) as the subject of the main clause. |
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| MODIFYING CLAUSE | MAIN CLAUSE |
| NONFINITE GERUND CLS | SUBJECT DIFFERS |
Being a guy, |
*it is hard for him to understand her point of view. |
Having heard this before, |
*her patience was wearing thin. |
Being very rational, |
*speaking frankly was a very important to him. |
Wounding like an arrow, |
*he sometimes hated to hear the truth. |
Mentioned as constructive criticism, |
*there were no hard feelings. |
| CLEARLY RELATED | |
|---|---|
An error commonly occurs when the subject of the main clause differs from the understood subject of the modifying clause, for example, with it or there. The solution is to reword the subject of the main clause so that it is the same as the understood subject of the modifying clause. |
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| MODIFYING CLAUSE | MAIN CLAUSE |
| NONFINITE GERUND CLS | SUBJECT IS THE SAME |
Being a guy, |
he has a hard time understanding her point of view. |
Having heard this before, |
she was becoming less patient. (impatient) |
Being very rational, |
he felt that speaking frankly was very important. |
Wounding like an arrow, |
the truth was sometimes difficult to bear. |
Mentioned as constructive criticism, |
the comment hurt her feelings. |
*incorrect
An error commonly occurs when the subject is it or there. See "It" as a Placeholder, It Clefts, and There as Subject.
guy (N) – a person of male gender (informal)
her patience was wearing thin (expression) – she was becoming less patient.
rational (Adj) – feelings based on reason rather than emotion
frankly (Adv) – honestly, directly
constructive criticism (NP) – pointing out the negatives in order to focus on improvement
wound (V) – to seriously injure, cause harm; (N) an injury
A participle clause (also called a nonfinite clause, a reduced clause, a gerund clause, or a gerund-participle clause) is one in which the subject is usually omitted and the verb is reduced to a gerund-participle form (-ing) He is a guy. being a guy, his being a guy. (See Grammar Notes below.)
Also see When / While -ing, Because of -ing.
Participial Clause (Modifying Clause)
Placement
Mid-Clause vs. End-of-Clause Placement
| MID–CLAUSE COMMENT | ||
|---|---|---|
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| BEGINNING CLAUSE | MODIFYING CLS | REST OF CLAUSE |
It is hard for him, |
being a guy, |
to understand her point of view. |
|
being more rational, |
|
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having known her for a short time, |
|
She, |
having heard this before, |
was becoming impatient. |
|
being very emotional, |
|
|
wanting little to do with him, |
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| END–COMMENT / AFTERTHOUGHT | |
|---|---|
|
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| MAIN CLAUSE | MODIFYING CLAUSE |
It is hard for him to understand her point of view, |
being a guy.
|
(The understood subject is "he".) |
being so rational. |
|
— having known her for a short time. |
Her patience was wearing thin (The understood subject is "she".) |
— having heard this before.
|
She was becoming impatient, |
being very emotional. |
|
wanting little to do with him. |
have little to do with something – (1) is unrelated, not associated (2) undesirable to associate with something or someone
restrictive – in grammar, a clause that add information that helps to identify the noun precisely. My cousins who are visiting me took me out to dinner (I have several cousins. The visiting ones took me out to dinner.)
nonrestrictive – in grammar, a clause that adds extra information that is not needed to identify the noun precisely. My cousins, who are visiting me, took me out to dinner (I have two cousins. They are visiting. They took me out to dinner.)
Also see restrictive vs. nonrestrictive: That vs. Which, Some or All, Which Clauses, and Comma-comments.
Participial Clauses (Modifying Clauses)
Three Types
Three Types of Clauses (Reduced Clauses)
| NONFINITE CLAUSE (GERUND CLS) | PREPOSITION + REDUCED CLAUSE | TEMPORAL PREP + CLAUSE |
|---|---|---|
The modifying clause begins with a gerund nonfinite clause. (The verb is changed to a gerund form and the subject is omitted.) See Nonfinite Clause / Nonfinite – Past. |
The modifying clause begins with a preposition or prep. phrase and if followed by a gerund nonfinite clause. See Besides being, By -ing, Because of. |
The modifying clause begins with a temporal preposition and is followed by a gerund nonfinite clause. See When / While -ing |
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 penicillin,
|
¹See Nonfinite Clauses "secondary verbs"
Related pages: See Clause Reduc 2, Because of -ing, After / Before -ing
Other modifiers before a clause: Evaluation Adverbs, Speech-act Adverbs
When + verbing is also called an adverbial clause (Quirk 14.22, 15.26), or prepositional clause (Huddleston 1011)
Participial Clauses (Modifying Clauses)
Uses in Writing
Participlial Clause Uses
| PLACING EMPHASIS / MAKING A TRANSITION |
|---|
The initial placement of a participle clause draws attention to the content. It can also transition the reader from the idea of one sentence to the idea of the next. |
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. (emphasis) |
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. (transition) |
| MOVING SHORTER CONTENT FORWARD |
|---|
A preference for placing "light" or short clauses first is another reason for placing a participle clause before the "heavy" or longer clause. |
Before sending our resumés, we researched a number of companies that were developing new products and in need of new technology consultants. (light) |
We researched a number of companies that were developing new products and in need of new technology consultants before sending our resumés. (heavy)
We researched a number of companies before sending them our resumés. (balanced) |
Common Mistakes
Errors and Solutions
Error and Solution
| ERROR |
|---|
Wearing so little, Elmo seems embarrassed by Katy's dress. |
Marching against the excesses of Wall Street, the protests expand across the nation. |
| SOLUTION |
|---|
Wearing so little, Katy made Elmo feel uncomfortable. |
Marching against the excesses of Wall Street, protesters unite and expand across the nation. |
Pop-Q Because -ing, Misrelated Clauses
Grammar Notes (Advanced)
Traditional and Linguistic Description
(Advanced)
Traditional and Linguistic Description
| TRADITIONAL DESCRIPTION |
|---|
A reduced clause with a present or a 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… However, sentences like these are common and often seem quite natural, particularly when the main clause has preparatory it or there as a subject." (Swan 411.4) Subject: misrelated participles: "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)
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| LINGUISTIC DESCRIPTION |
|---|
A participle clause, also called a nonfinite clause or a gerund-participle clause, is one in which the subject is usually omitted and the verb is reduced to a gerund-participle form (-ing) He is a guy. being a guy, his being a guy. "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. nonfinite clauses as modifiers and supplements (Huddleston1265-6) |
Works Cited
- Azar, Betty Schrampfer, and Stacy A. Hagen. Understanding and Using English Grammar. 4th ed., Pearson Education, 2009.
- Huddleston, Rodney D., and Geoffrey K. Pullum. The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. Cambridge UP, 2002.
- Swan, Michael. Practical English Usage. 3rd ed., Oxford UP, 2005.
Practice 1
Brothers
Relate the participle/adverb clause to the main clause.
- Select the response from the list that best completes the sentence.
- Compare your response to the feedback by clicking the "check 1-10" button at the bottom, or click the "check" button as you go.
Practice 2
Misrelated Quotes – Advanced
Read for Errors
More than some other large banks, Bank of America's fate is also heavily intertwined with that of consumers.
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.
Once a cold-weather destination, tourists are flocking to Miami Beach in summer, too.
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.
Marching down Wall Street, there were protesters as far as the eye could see.
Unlike the Baby-Boomer generation, the children of today need far more time to "launch".
Having had his license suspended, he had to return to school and retrain in a completely new field.
Deciding that he would never eat anything that had eyes, Jacob began his vegan diet.
Being an adventurous type, parachuting from an airplane at the age of seventy-five was just one small item on George's bucket list.
Being a dancer in Las Vegas, Grandmother Lea looked out for her grand-daughter, Beatrice.
aggressive (Adj) – behaving in an angry, threatening way, as if ready to attack
bucket list – activities a person wants to do before dying
consumer (N) – someone who buys and uses products and services
corrupt (Adj) – dishonest, illegal
cultish (Adj) – of an extreme religious group that is not part of an established religion
elite (N) – persons of the highest class or level
flock (V) – move in a large group such as a flock of birds
fate (N) – the things that will happen to someone, especially unpleasant events;
heavily (adv.) – to a great degree; greatly; mostly; largely
intertwine (V) – closely related to each other; tied together
launch (V) – take off; move forward; leave the family home; (usually used for rockets, missiles, boats, or computer programs)
look out for – take care of, act as guardian
stepping stone (N) – (expression) a stage or means of advancing
target (N) – something or someone being attacked
Does the modifying clause clearly relate to the main clause?
- Select the response from the list that best completes the sentence.
- Compare your response to the feedback by clicking the "check 11-20" button at the bottom, or click the "check" button as you go.
Practice 3
Bird Watching
Read for Errors
Last year, we had an opportunity to visit the Galapagos Islands. off the coast of Ecuador. Being a bird watcher, this trip was a dream.
However, before leaving, there was a lot of planning to do. We had to book flights to Quito, Guayaquil, and Baltra airport on Santa Cruz island.
Knowing that the number of visitors on the islands was limited, we requested an entrance permit and joined a guided tour group.
Arriving at Baltra airport, there were several people who greeted us.
Having pulled out our visas, permits and passports, there was one more thing for us to do—pay a $100 national park entrance fee.
Then we boarded a shuttle bus. Upon entering the village of Puerto Ayora, there were birds everywhere.
Flying in circles over the fishing boats, the noisy birds followed the fishermen as they returned with the catch of the day.
On shore, people were emptying the boats, preparing the fish, cutting off the heads, removing the guts and putting the fish on ice.
Eyeing a big fish, there was a fat pelican. Unfortunately, the fish was too big for it to steal.
Standing in line with all the other customers, there was a blue-footed booby. Its bright blue feet were as colorful as our sports shoes.
Becoming impatient, its wings flapped for a reward. Soon a fish head fell to the ground.
Watching this scene was so amusing for us.
book a flight (V) – reserve a seat on an airplane
eye, Eyeing (V) – to look at something carefully
guts (N) – insides of an animal
impatient (Adj) – very eager for something to happen and not wanting to wait
reward (N) – something that you get because you have done something good or helpful or have worked hard
shuttle bus (N) – a small bus that goes a short distance (one route; back and forth)
Edit for Errors
- Edit the sentence(s) in the text box.
- Compare your response to the feedback by clicking the "check 21-30" button at the bottom, or click the "check" button as you go.