This is a continuation of the conversation created by the post a couple of days ago. Just scroll down a bit. (-:
Question: This is a question about dangling participles (and I'm blushing at how guilty I am - but I never knew what they were. ahem!) The reason I do them is because I don't want to start every sentence with 'I' in a query letter or 'he, she, characters name,' in a fiction book - so I use the gerund or dangelly participle to change the sentence structure - Got any tips on how to do that without using the ING, ED, or EN on the end of my words.
Congratulations on being quoted in that book (Dee and Brian Powers' book on promotion) too.
Billie A. Williams, author of The Bread and Breakfast Murders
Answer: Billie, here is one rarely used construction one might use to vary your sentences. Begin your sentence with a "That." I goes something like this. "That Billie Williams didn't know the very boring terms for dangling participles and gerunds doesn't deter her from writing well." You see, the whole "that" clause serves as a subject and there is not an "ing" anywhere.
About that idea that verbs that end in "en" and "ed" might indicate that you have used a dangler and that they should be avoided. Not really. Where would fiction writers (and writer!) be without simple past tense! LOL. Those "ings" are a different story. If you use one, know that it could very well lead you in that dangling participle trap. Doesn't mean that progressive tenses and other uses for "ing" aren't grammatically correct. Just be careful. Double check when you see one. Because they are often associated with danglers, they may give you a clue. We all know those danglers are especially hard to see when they are our own.
BTW, there is a section in The Frugal Editor on dangling participles, gerunds and more. It may shed more light on how to avoid one and use the other less frequently.
PS: This conversation originates two posts down in this blog. Boyd Sutton, editor of the Wisconsin Writers' Journal, weighs in on grammatical terms, some odd uses of prepositions with verbs and more.
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Carolyn Howard-Johnson edits, consults and speaks on issues of publishing. Find her The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0978515870. Learn more about her other authors' aids at www.howtodoitfrugally.com.
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Showing posts with label dangling participles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dangling participles. Show all posts
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Editor Boyd Sutton, Dangling Participles and the Ewwww or Eiew Factor
You will find a conversation between Boyd Sutton, one of my fellows at Word_Mage @ yahoogroups.com and me. He gave me permission to share with you.
Boyd said:
Yep, I caught the grammar vs. grammatical, Carolyn. Good for you. And thanks
for remembering me.
When you started talking about dangling participles I had two reactions. First, my eyes started glazing over. Grammar terms. Eiew! Embarrassment came next. I couldn't define a dangling participle if it were the $1,000,000 question.
But wait! You noted that there was an entire chapter devoted to it in The Frugal Editor. So I went immediately to TFE and found the chapter on DPs and gerunds. Eiew! Another grammar term. But it was a joy to read. You have the same "eiew" response to such terms and made it painless for me.
Now, I have another "editorial" question for you and the gang. What do you call it when people add an unnecessary word, as in, "He dialed up the girl's number." I see this all the time. In my critique group, I just say, "as opposed to 'dialed down' the girl's number?" and they get the point. It also shows up in "conjured up," "winnowed down," and on and on. What's that called? Grammarians (nope, it's not "grammers"), with all their fancy names and terms, must have a high-falutin term for that.
Boyd Sutton, Editor, the
Wisconsin Writers' Journal, www.wrwa.net
From Carolyn:
Boyd, I call it "colloquial." Or on second thought, maybe "redundant." Ha! But then you already read that I'm not much for all those terms that make us nod off when anything remotely related to grammar comes up.
Notice I didn't say "colloquial usage." I have a strong dislike of words that end with "age." Not just because of my age, either. Like "signage." Seems we already have a perfectly good word for that. It's "signs." Seems we're just trying to sound high falutin' with an extra syllable. But "dialed up" adds a whole new word, not just an extra syllable. So in this case, I'd consider another term for your example. Consider "dumbing down." Ahem.
LOL. You asked.
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Carolyn Howard-Johnson edits and consults on issues of publishing. Find her The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success on Amazon. Learn more about her other authors' aids at www.howtodoitfrugally.com.
Boyd said:
Yep, I caught the grammar vs. grammatical, Carolyn. Good for you. And thanks
for remembering me.
When you started talking about dangling participles I had two reactions. First, my eyes started glazing over. Grammar terms. Eiew! Embarrassment came next. I couldn't define a dangling participle if it were the $1,000,000 question.
But wait! You noted that there was an entire chapter devoted to it in The Frugal Editor. So I went immediately to TFE and found the chapter on DPs and gerunds. Eiew! Another grammar term. But it was a joy to read. You have the same "eiew" response to such terms and made it painless for me.
Now, I have another "editorial" question for you and the gang. What do you call it when people add an unnecessary word, as in, "He dialed up the girl's number." I see this all the time. In my critique group, I just say, "as opposed to 'dialed down' the girl's number?" and they get the point. It also shows up in "conjured up," "winnowed down," and on and on. What's that called? Grammarians (nope, it's not "grammers"), with all their fancy names and terms, must have a high-falutin term for that.
Boyd Sutton, Editor, the
Wisconsin Writers' Journal, www.wrwa.net
From Carolyn:
Boyd, I call it "colloquial." Or on second thought, maybe "redundant." Ha! But then you already read that I'm not much for all those terms that make us nod off when anything remotely related to grammar comes up.
Notice I didn't say "colloquial usage." I have a strong dislike of words that end with "age." Not just because of my age, either. Like "signage." Seems we already have a perfectly good word for that. It's "signs." Seems we're just trying to sound high falutin' with an extra syllable. But "dialed up" adds a whole new word, not just an extra syllable. So in this case, I'd consider another term for your example. Consider "dumbing down." Ahem.
LOL. You asked.
---
Carolyn Howard-Johnson edits and consults on issues of publishing. Find her The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success on Amazon. Learn more about her other authors' aids at www.howtodoitfrugally.com.
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