Misrelated participles

When using a participle, the subject of the main clause must agree with it. Wait. Can you see what I did in the first sentence? I made a common mistake, that is I used a participle which does not agree with the subject of the main clause. My sentence means that it is not a speaker or writer that uses a participle but the subject of the main clause. How can we rephrase this sentence to make it grammatically and semantically correct? Look at the following options:

1. When using a participle, you/the writer must make sure it agrees with the subject of the main clause.
2. In a participial clause the participle must agree with the subject of the main clause.

It is possible to make this mistake with both present and past participles. Look at the following sentence.

*Brought up in a rich family, his parents gave him anything he wanted.

We don't really know who this sentence is about. Who is this he and who was raised in a rich family: he, his parents (then we would put family in the plural) or someone else? Consider the following:

1. Brought up in a rich family, the boy was given anything he wanted.
2. The boy was brought up in a rich family: his parents gave him anything he wanted.
3. The boy's parents were rich and gave him anything he wanted.

The perfect form of the present participle can also be used incorrectly.

*Having waited for Hugh for an hour, he finally turned up.

This sentence is nonsensical because it means that Hugh waited for himself and then arrived. We don't know, however, who waited for Hugh in the first place (I? we?). These are far better options:

1. Having waited for Hugh for an hour, I/we finally saw him turn up.
2. After I/we'd been waiting for Hugh for an hour, I/we finally saw him turn up.
3. I/We'd been waiting for Hugh for an hour when he finally turned up.

Finally, remember that phrases such as summarising, taking everything into consideration, granted and a few others are exceptions to this rule.

Summarising, smoking is very harmful. instead of Summarising, I claim that...

Try an easier exercise first and then go on to a more challenging one.

I. Choose the correct option.

1. Having won the election / After Trump won the election, Trump's supporters were on cloud nine.
2. Driving home / As I was driving home, it began to snow.
3. Having called me fat / When I was called fat, I felt offended.
4. Barking loudly, the postman was scared of the dog / the dog frightened the postman.
5. Having read one book, the next book was waiting / I was eager to read the next book.

II. Correct the following sentences. When the subject is unclear, think of I or we.

1. Swinging its trunk, the children watched the elephant.
2. Having arrived home, dinner was served.
3. Watching the news, our TV broke down.
4. While visiting Scotland, seeing Edinburgh is a must.
5. Having won the game, the team's fans cheered loudly.
6. Broken while digging, I had to buy a new shovel.
7. Having studied Finnish for five years, Janet's decision to move to Tampere was no surprise.
8. Driving too fast, a car can be dangerous.
9. Built in 2005, people regard the skyscraper as a symbol of the city.
10. Having lifted the heaviest barbell, all the girls admired the bodybuilder.


KEY
I. In each the second option is correct.

II. 1. The children watched the elephant swinging its trunk. 2. Having arrived home, I was / we were served dinner. When we arrived home, dinner was served. 3. We were watching the news when our TV broke down. 4. While visiting Scotland, you must see Edinburgh. For anyone visiting Scotland seeing Edinburgh is a must. 5. When the team won the game, its fans cheered loudly. 6. I broke my shovel while digging and had to buy a new one. 7. Janet had studied / had been studying Finnish for five years, so her decision to move to Tampere was no surprise. Having studied Finnish for five years, Janet decided to move to Tampere, which was no surprise. 8. Driven / If driven too fast, a car can be dangerous. Driving too fast can make a car dangerous. 9. Built in 2005, the skyscraper is regarded as a symbol of the city. 10. Having lifted the heaviest barbell, the bodybuilder was admired by all the girls.