Just what the heck is a participle and why is it wrong to let them dangle?
I've always heard that a dangling participle is a bad thing (at least to an English teacher) but I really had no idea what it was.
This is what I've found out:
A participle is an adjective that ends in -ing or sometimes -ed that are used to modify nouns.
The noun that the participle refers to is an antecedent.
If it is unclear which antecedent your participle refers to then your participle is dangling.
The best way to make it clear which antecedent that your participle refers to is to construct your sentence so that the antecedent and the participle are in close proximity to one another. Either immediately preceding or following one another.
"Flitting gaily from flower to flower, the football player watched the bee. " Gives the impression that the football player was "Flitting gaily", not something foot ball players often do. While "The football player watched the bee, flitting gaily from flower to flower." Gives us the correct impression, that the bee is "Flitting gaily.
If my colorful explanation didn't clear things up for you try looking here.
Hahaha. That was totally confusing.
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