Dangling Participles

Dangling Participles . . . . . Don't ya just love 'em?

Participles are a type of verbal form that modifies nouns.
The antecedent—that is, the noun to which the participle refers—must be clear to the readers in order for them to understand what's being said.
Otherwise, an action may be subscribed to the wrong player. See example below.

•  Flitting gaily from flower to flower, the football player watched the bee. 
  

"Flitting"----OK,  is it modifying (referring to) the bee or the athlete?

More examples:

•  After being whipped fiercely, the cook boiled the egg. 
• The robber ran from the policeman, still holding the money in his hands. 
  

That's called a "dangling participle," because it's left "dangling" without a clear antecedent. (noun to which the participle refers)



A cool source for other Lingual Geeks: Lingual Links Library