Dangling Participles

Participles of verbs are often used to introduce subordinate clauses, which give extra
information about the main part of a sentence (known as the main clause). It’s important to
use participles in subordinate clauses correctly. The participle should always describe an
action performed by the subject of the main part of the sentence. For example:
Mrs.
opening the door quietly, came into the room.
Stevens,
[subject] [participle]  
In this sentence, the present participle (opening) in the subordinate clause refers to
the subject of the main clause. Mrs Stevens is both opening the door and coming into the
room.

Sometimes writers forget this rule and begin a sentence with a participle that doesn’t refer to
the subject of their sentence. They then end up with what’s known as a dangling participle,
as in this grammatically incorrect statement:
Travelling to Finland, the weather got colder and colder.
[participle] [subject]
Strictly speaking, this sentence means that it is ‘the weather’ that is ‘travelling to Finland’,
which obviously isn’t what the writer was intending to say. The sentence needs to be
reworded to make the meaning clear and to make it grammatically correct, e.g.:

As I was travelling to Finland, the weather got colder and colder.

or:

Travelling to Finland, I found that the weather got colder and colder.

Dangling participles (also known as dangling modifiers) sound more painful than they actually are.
Consider the following sentences all of which contain dangling participles or dangling modifiers.
In the sentence below, the modifying clause (Rushing to catch the bus) contains a participle (rushing).
The participle is said to be dangling because the subject of the main clause (Bob's wallet) is not the thing
modified by the initial modifying clause. It was not Bob's wallet that was rushing.
Rushing to the catch the bus, Bob's wallet fell out of his pocket.
The modifying clause (flying south for the winter) does not modify the subject of the sentence (I). I was not
flying south, the birds were.
Flying south for the winter, I saw a huge flock of swallows.
The modifier (Falling through thin ice) does not refer to the subject of the sentence (the jogger). The jogger was
not falling through the ice, the dog was.
Falling through the thin ice, the jogger dived into the lake to save the dog.
The modifier refers to Janet and not to (we) the subject of the sentence. We are not driven to drink by her
problems, Janet is.
Driven to drink by her problems, we see how Janet will come to a sticky end.
It is easy to fall into the trap of having dangling participles (modifiers) in your work. They are not corrected by
computer grammar checkers and can be easily overlooked. The more you look at examples of dangling
participles, the more you will be able to spot them and remove them from your own writing.

Dangling participles exercise.

In this exercise you will be presented with a number of sentences, some of which contain
dangling participles. Put a tick by the sentences that do contain dangling participles.

1
a) Stuck in the mud, Tim could see a man waving.

b) Stuck in the mud, the man tried to free himself.

c) Stuck in the mud, the man called for help.

d) Stuck in the mud, the rescue services rushed to the man's assistance.

2
a) Breathing his last, the man passed away.

b) Breathing his last, we saw the man pass away.

c) Breathing his last, the old man shut his eyes.

d) Breathing his last, the man's dog jumped up and gave a howl.

3
a) Soaring high above the fields, the eagle is a majestic bird.

b) Soaring high above the fields, we could see the eagle clearly.

c) Soaring high above the fields, the eagle can spot its prey easily.

d) Soaring high above the fields, we watched the eagles for hours.

4
a) Rushing to catch the bus, the old man slipped and fell.

b) Rushing to catch the bus, the old man's wallet fell out of his pocket.

c) Rushing to catch the bus, the old man's face was covered in sweat.

d) Rushing to catch the bus, the old man cursed his advancing years.

5
 a) Having finished my homework, dad said I could go out.

b) Having finished my homework, my sister wanted me to play football with her.

c) Having finished my homework, I could relax and watch the television.

d) Having finished my homework, mum was very pleased with me.

6
a) Sizzling on the barbecue, I waited to eat the sausages.

b) Sizzling on the barbecue, the sausages looked delicious.

c) Sizzling on the barbecue, we watched the sausages cooking.

d) Sizzling on the barbecue, my uncle smelled the delicious sausages.

7
a) Giving an important speech, the chairman made a number of grammatical errors.

b) Giving an important speech, we couldn't help laughing at the chairman's grammatical errors.

c) Giving an important speech, the building was full of the chairman's supporters.

d) Giving an important speech, the chairman began to shake uncontrollably.

8
a) Exploding in bright colours, the crowd loved the fireworks.

b) Exploding in bright colours, the rockets looked beautiful.

c) Exploding in bright colours, everyone cheered as the fireworks went off.

d) Exploding in bright colours, the fireworks lit up the night.

9
a) Fumbling over his words, we laughed at Tim's mistakes.

b) Fumbling over his words, Tim looked ridiculous.

c) Fumbling over his words, Tim's supporters both looked shocked.

d) Fumbling over his words, Tim's speech was a disaster.

10
a) With every limb aching, the runner crossed the line.
b) With every limb aching, he finished the race just ahead of his rival.

c) With every limb aching, the crowd roared him towards the finish line.

d) With every limb aching, the spectators cheered as he crossed the line.