Don’t let your participles dangle in the public eye

If there’s one thing that really messes with my mood, it’s a dangling participle. I know what you’re thinking – are dangling participles really that bad…? And the answer of course, is YES. Nobody needs to see your dangling participles.

I would expect to see them in the odd email, but lately, I see them in news reports and articles all the time and I wonder if this is just something that is not taught anymore, or if standards have dropped so much that dangling participles slip through the proofreading cracks.

So how do you recognise (and avoid) dangling participles?

Well first let’s look at what a participle actually is.

A participle is a verb-form that ends in –‘ing.’

Dancing, joking, laughing, singing, working, murdering, eating, squeezing, farting and in fact “dangling” are all participles.

How does a participle dangle?

When the participle in question doesn’t agree with its subject, it is called a “dangling participle”.

Still with me?

The subject performing the act described in the first part of the sentence by the participle must be clear… It’s vital to know WHO in the sentence is doing the murdering, laughing, farting and so on to avoid any confusion. A participle is “left dangling” when it doesn’t have a clear antecedent.

Therefore it is correct to say:

While gulping down her 4th coca cola, Jane felt the beginnings of a cramp in her tummy.

Gulping – the participle – relates to Jane – the subject, which follows directly after the comma. The participle is not dangling.

Now, let’s look at a couple of examples of DANGLING PARTICIPLES.

Example No. 1

While peeing happily into the wind, a badger bit bob’s butt.

This is WRONG.

It is Bob who is peeing happily into the wind, yet - because the badger follows directly after the comma - it reads as if the badger is doing both the happy peeing and the ferocious biting.

CORRECT:

While peeing happily into the wind, Bob couldn’t help but notice a pair of very sharp teeth sinking right into the fleshy part of his butt.

Example No. 2

After robbing the bank, the police office arrested John.

This is WRONG and a good example of how news reports and articles can be misleading.

CORRECT:

After robbing the bank, John was immediately arrested by the police officer.

Example No. 3

While chatting to Miss Ploughberry over a cup of Earl Grey tea, an unusual smell accosted Sarah’s nostrils.

This is WRONG.

The subject, which follows the comma after the introduction of the participle, cannot be the smell, because a smell cannot chat.

TEST

While chatting to Miss Ploughberry over a cup of Earl Grey tea, Sarah’s nostrils were accosted by an unusual smell.

Is this correct?

Nope, no, uh-uh. In this case, it makes it seem like the nostrils were doing the chatting. And they weren’t. It is Sarah who is doing the chatting… therefore:

CORRECT:

While chatting to Miss Ploughberry over a cup of Earl Grey tea, Sarah got a whiff of something distinctly poo-related.

I hope that clears up any confusion and we can tuck those little danglers away, never to be seen again.