dangling participle
Unanchored verbal phrase
A dangling participle is a participle phrase that doesn't clearly attach to the noun it's meant to modify: Walking down the street, the trees looked beautiful leaves unclear who was walking.
The grammatical subject (trees) can't logically perform the action (walking).
Careful writers avoid danglers by ensuring the participle's implied subject matches the sentence's actual subject.
- gerundVerb-derived noun form
- verb formInflected action word
- clauseProvision in agreement
- misplacedPut in wrong location
- mismatchIncompatible combination
unattached · ambiguous · sentence structure · revision · grammar · grammar mistake · correctness · editing · copy editing · red pen · syntax error · comma · subordinate clause · proofreading · awkward · awkward phrasing · writing · sentence
- language errorsspelling error, spelling mistake, typo, misspelling, syntax error
- grammar errorsrun-on sentence, sentence fragment, comma splice, syntax error, fragment
- verb grammarconjugation, tense, verb form, infinitive, verb tense
- verbalsgerund, infinitive, gerundive, bare infinitive, to-infinitive
dangling participlesplit infinitive
Adverb bisecting an infinitive
clear prose · comma splice · run-on sentence · sentence fragment · misplaced modifier
hanging, dangle, dangling, dangled, dangles, participle, participles, participial