But who do we mean by “they”? Obviously, it would mean both the entrepreneur and her father were it not for one little problem: the first part of the sentence dangles. It was in a story profiling an entrepreneur, so it was clear at this point in the story who “her” referred to. Here’s another dangler that caught my eye recently: One day while working on the farm with her father, they came across a wasps’ nest. Ensconced in commas, this clause signals that this is an aside - not the subject of “by purging.” That will come later in the next bit which begins with “probiotics” - the correct subject of “by purging.” Our new comma works with the first one to set off the whole bit about gurus and marketers as parenthetical information. After “claim,” just delete the word “that” and insert a comma: “By purging these bacteria from your gut, online health gurus and supplement marketers claim, probiotics can improve your overall health.” The dangler in our original sentence is easy to fix. ![]() So here, the phrase “by purging” is a dangler because it doesn’t connect properly to the thing it applies to: the registrar. Grammar expert June Casagrande’s research into a common expression reveals that what she hears as wrong is actually right, at least historically. Opinion A Word, Please: Getting it wrong isn’t the worst thing that can happen Instead, it dangles.Ī simplified example: “By purging voters, the registrar was breaking the law.” See how the subject of the main clause, “the registrar,” is clearly the one who was doing the purging? But shuffle that around and the intended meaning gets lost: “By purging voters, the election was skewed by the registrar.” Technically, we’re saying that the election purged the voters because “the election” comes right after the modifying phrase. But when the wrong noun is in that position, the phrase doesn’t attach properly. Readers naturally expect that the first noun after a modifying phrase is the person or thing the phrase applies to. By editor standards, this sentence didn’t cut it.ĭon’t see anything wrong? Ask yourself who, exactly, is doing the purging? As written, this sentence says that health gurus and marketers are doing the purging: “By purging … health marketers say.” That’s not what the writer meant. ![]() We aim for precise, unambiguous sentences in which the words say exactly what the writer meant. When a phrase attaches to a sentence wrong, causing the writer to say something they never intended, it intrigues me.įor instance, here’s a sentence that stopped me dead in my tracks while editing recently: “By purging these bacteria from your gut, online health gurus and supplement marketers claim that probiotics can improve your overall health.” Here’s something you don’t hear every day: I’m fascinated with danglers.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |