Participial Phrase Problems… Dangling Modifiers

By: Sean Savoie           

We should take a look at how a misplaced participial phrase may be very confusing to the reader, which makes it a favorite grammar problem for standard English test makers. Remember that the subject of the main clause must also be the subject of the participial phrase. 

Examples:

Incorrect:

1.      Having so much homework to do, my day was extremely tiring.

2.      Playing tennis all day, her legs were so sore.

3.      Having been sick for a whole week, my mother made a doctor’s appointment for me.

4.      Not receiving the grade he wanted, his test was torn into pieces.

5.      Completely misunderstanding the directions, the hotel was impossible to find.

6.      Having eaten lots of chocolate, her pants soon did not fit.

7.      Being way too sweet, I threw the candy away.

8.      Remembering the formula, the whole problem became clear to me.

9.      Waiting too long for a lower price, the product was sold out.

10.   Handing me the essay, I saw my grade and smiled. 

Correct:

1.      Having so much homework to do, I was extremely tired today.

2.      Playing tennis all day, she had very sore legs.

3.      Having been sick for a whole week, I needed an appointment to see the doctor.

4.      Not receiving the grade he wanted, he tore his test into pieces.

5.      Completely misunderstanding the directions, he found it impossible to find the hotel.

6.      Having eaten lots of chocolate, she did not fit into her pants.

7.      Being way too sweet, the candy was just thrown away.

8.      Remembering the formula, I clearly understood the whole problem.

9.      Waiting too long for a lower price, I did not get the product before it was sold out.

10.   Handing me the essay, the teacher saw me smile at my grade. 

Upon arguing with a colleague about the nature of participial phrases, I realized that they, the phrases, often function as an adjective and an adverb. Sometimes they describe the subject and other times describe how the subject does something. In this way, they may be restrictive or non-restrictive, meaning that they may identify which person or thing the writer is depicting or just give extra information. When a noun is identified, no commas are used to set it apart from the verb. For example, notice how the sentences below vary in meaning: 

The woman, holding two boxes, waited for the elevator.

The woman holding two boxes waited for the elevator. 

Notice that in the first sentence-- holding two boxes—just gives you more information about the woman, whereas in the second sentence you understand which woman the writer is writing about. Only the non-restrictive phrase, as in the first sentence, may be moved to different places in the sentence. 

Holding two boxes, the woman waited for the elevator.

The woman waited for the elevator, holding two boxes. 

            As a general rule, it is best to keep the phrase as close as possible to the subject it is describing. Therefore, although not precisely incorrect, the last sentence, with the participial phrase at the end, is the least desirable. Take a look at some other simple examples of participial phrases that must come directly after the nouns they identify. Notice that there can be no commas, and the phrases may not be moved to other positions without changing the meaning. 

            The gentleman waiting outside wishes to speak to you.

            The people yelling for justice were difficult for the police to control.

            A vacation coming up next month will cost him a lot of money.

            The storm hitting the coast of Florida is getting stronger. 

            Though often short sentences are best, as a few other sections of this website address, it is helpful to work on connecting many sentences into one single, more beautiful sentence using isolated techniques such as participial phrases. While doing this exercise, one of my more advanced grammar and writing students asked me how to decide which sentence to choose as the main clause. This is an important question. The main clause is almost always the most important or central idea a writer is expressing. When connecting your ideas together into one longer sentence, there may be more than one possible sentence to choose as the main clause, but generally speaking, it is the result or last thing to happen in a sequence of events. Take a look at one possible way of connecting the following sentences using only participial phrases.  

Gary spent the whole day working outdoors.

He came home at nearly 11PM.

He pulled his car into the driveway.

He decided to go straight to bed without a late dinner. 

Having spent the whole day working outdoors, coming home at nearly 11PM, Gary, pulling the car into his driveway, decided to go straight to bed without a late dinner.

 Coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, for, nor, yet, so) often help to make a smoother sentence:

Having spent the whole day working outdoors and come home at nearly 11PM, Gary pulled the car onto his driveway and decided to go straight to bed without a late dinner. 

Notice how the sentence above has a compound verb in the main clause, which gives equal strength to pulling the car into the driveway and deciding to go straight to bed. The decision is certainly the responsibility of the writer, whose goal should be to use varied sentence forms to create a specific effect on the reader. Using the following short sentences, see how many different ways you can arrange a single sentence.  

Alice ate too much.

She drank too much.

She rested on the couch.

She slipped quickly to sleep.

She had a clear dream.

The dream was disturbing.