Print an Article

Examples of Nondangling Participles

edgood — Grammar Tips

Check out these examples. Notice that the introductory adjective points directly to the grammatical subject:

Enacted in 1964, the Civil Rights Act transferred power to the federal government.

Hoping to gain favorable relations with the media, the president called a press conference.

Rejected repeatedly by the voters, the referendum would never see the light of day again.

While ascending the stairs, the guest speaker tripped and destroyed the ice sculpture.

See? It’s not all that hard.

When you start a sentence with an -ing phrase, you have immediately identified your grammatical subject: the agent of that verbal activity.

When you start a sentence with an -ed phrase, you have also immediately identified your grammatical subject: the recipient of that verbal activity.

Previous: Introductory Adjectival Phrases

Next: The chapter title needs repair…