Participial Phrases are flexible adjectivals. They are verb phrases that are headed by the –ing or –en form of the verb, otherwise known as the participle. The subject of the participle is the noun that is modified.
Here is one of her examples: (you will notice I use a lot of these; I think they illustrate the idea better than the explanations do)
The helicopter hovering over the roof frightened the dogs.
You can see that “hovering” is the participle. Further, the noun and modifying participle have a subject-predicate relationship.
Participles add information about the noun headword. A participial phrase allows you to include verbal ideas in a more concise way.
Following are the three types of participles that she discusses: Prenoun, Movable, and Dangling.
Prenoun Participle – this is when the participle is a single word. It is usually in the adjective slot in the preheadword position.
Here is another one of her examples:
The barking dog next door drives us crazy.
Sometimes an adverb with a hyphen modifies the participle.
a fast-moving object
This still counts as a prenoun participle. If there is an –ly adverb for the prenoun modifier, there will be no hyphen, such as in
a carefully conceived plan (but you already knew that!)
Movable Participle – Kolln says “we can think of the slot following the headword in the noun phrase as the home base of the participial phrase.” It can move to the beginning of the sentence, but only if it modifies the subject and is set off by commas.
Here is one of her examples:
Looking out the window, my mother waved to me.
The participle phrase can also close the sentence.
Here is an example:
The audience stood and applauded, laughing uproariously.
The single-word participle can also open the sentence. The choice of position is based on the rhythm and focus of the sentence.
Again, an example:
Outraged, the entire committee resigned.
These are sometime called free modifiers. You would put the participle phrase at the end of the sentence when you want to emphasize the effect it has.
Dangling Participle – This is the bad kind of participle and it is a grammatical error. The participle can open or close when it modifies the subject of the sentence – this is the only time when it can open or close the sentence.
The following is a dangling participle:
Carrying all of our supplies for miles, the campground was a welcome sight.
The campground didn’t carry anything! You can fix this sentence by saying:
Having carried all of our supplies for miles, we were exhausted by the time we reached the campground.
This can also happen with a delayed subject, such as in the sentence:
Knowing how much work I had to do, it was good of you to come and help.
The “you” is not in the usual subject position. The sentence can be revised by expanding the participial phrase into a complete clause:
It was good of you to come and help when you learned how much work I had to do.
She closes by reminding us that although sentences with these mistakes may be easy to understand, they don’t convey the intended message. Sometimes these mistakes are part of common phrases.
Speaking of old movies, have you seen …..
These kinds of phrases have been accepted into the language, but they can be considered casual or informal.
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14 comments:
Before this article, I was unaware that the dangling participle was considered an absolute grammatical error. I find that I use it a lot in everyday speech. However, since it is accepted as an informal part of everyday language, then I guess it is not so bad that I tend to speak it.
For me, the prenoun participle is the easiest to understand, but the movable participle confuses me the most. I'm never sure if it fits in with the sentence or if I used the correct punctuation.
I agree with Michaela about the movable participle being confusing. I can never tell if I'm using them correctly! The dangling participle was easy for me to understand because it fits well with the topic of my mini lesson, which was dangling and misplaced modifiers. I hear people using dangling participles every day, and it can be hard not to laugh at some of the silly meanings that can be implied. However, I know that I, too, need to improve my participial phrase skills.
I first want to comment on the way in which Jeffery presented this summary to us. I like the way he used examples instead of just words to actually show us what the main purpose of the article was. Furthermore, I would have to say I am in the same boat as Michaela when it comes to dangling participles. When I stopped and looked at some of the examples Jeffery gave and then thought about how I speak and how others speak on a daily basis, it is easy to see how people can make a grammatical error in terms of a dangling participle. Finally, there are so many different aspects of grammar that it is sometimes hard to keep them all straight. Therefore, I feel it is important to refresh your grammar skills every once and a while, so that we can all improve our everyday speech, as well as our writing.
I am always amazed at how spoken language differs from written language. I use (and hear others use) dangling participles with a fair amount of frequency. Until now, I've never thought anything of it. When I read "Carrying all of our supplies for miles, the campground was a welcome sight," I knew exactly what the writer meant, even if it is written incorrectly.
I have never thought or at least realized how much different my voice is from speaking to writing. This article along with others we have read this semester has really reminded me of different parts of grammar. It is really funny because I understand exactly what he is saying when he gives these examples.It is a bit confusing though when all the rules are thrown at you.
Great job breaking this article down into understandable rules. It is more evident that the dangling participles are ever present in common everyday speech. I understood better the examples than the rules themselves and they helped to drive home the issue.
I know I constantly misuse grammar and I am thankful for a refresher course on what is correct and incorrect. It's been many years since I had this and articles with blog posts have really enabled me to grasp more fully the need for refreshers in grammar.
I also didn't realize that dangling participles were always wrong. I knew they often didn't work and impied the wrong meaning a lot, but I didn't realize that they never work. I think its interesting that there's even a category for something that should never be done. I know I sometimes find myself slipping them in, and have to watch for it when proofreading my papers.
I also agree that the movable participles are confusing. I can never decide where the best place for these are. This explanation helped, but I'll probably still have problems with them.
I do not think that I was ever aware how to correctly use the participle phrase. I do like to use it in my writing because I like the effect that it has. However, I know there were times that I used a dangling participle phrase. If I had not read this article I would not have ever known that it was incorrect. This will have to be something that I look for when I correct my writing. The most common one that I use in my writing is the movable participle. I enjoy having more options for my sentences.
I love the way in which Jeffery wrote his blog. The examples he used made it easy to read and understand.
I agree with what my classmates have said about the movable participle being the most confusing. This is one of the things I find myself guessing if I'm using them correctly when I'm writing. I think the dandling participle was the easiest to understand. I believe it is because of the knowledge I gained from the mini lesson on dangling and misplaced modifiers.
The article was broken up very well, and Jeffrey made it very clear on how participles work. I've never really been found of much grammar just was never a strong point not that I can't comprehend, but they way he brought up points on how to correct the mistakes we make in everyday speech helped me to actually understand what a participle truly is and now I believe I know how to work them into sentence when ever I need them.
I also like the way that Jeff presented this summary. The set up does not just give us the run throw of what was said but breaks down the meaning a little more and even has examples. The most shocking part of this article was with the dangling participles as well. It just goes to show that the way we speak and the way we should write has to be on separate levels at all times.
Dangling participles are definitely one of the more confusing grammar errors, because there really is no good way to explain them unless you spend time recognizing them and finding out why they are wrong. When I am teaching, I find myself unable to accurately explain what constitutes a dangling participle, or how to correct it. This article was supremely helpful in that capacity.
I agree with most of what's already been said. I do hear a lot of misplaced participial phrases daily. However, I think this is easy enough to explain. While it is an absolute grammatical error, most people DO NOT care about proper grammar when they converse with friends, family, etc. In fact, I would be comfortable asserting that most people don't know the rules regarding participial phrases. This isn't a bad thing, it's just a matter of people don't retain grammar rules. This again goes back to the fact that they don't care.
This article was very helpful and I thought Jeff made it easier to understand. I never really understood dangling participles, I think they are so confusing. I had no idea that they were considered to be a grammatical error. I use dangling participles ALL the time and I had no idea that I was speaking wrong.
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