Hi Laura,
Thanks for responding!
First of all, the terms "lowly" and "English teacher" do not fit together at
all. Anybody who takes on the task of teaching literacy skills to kids is
anything but lowly! And you wouldn't believe how much I have learned from
English teachers at all levels. I wish more K-12 teachers would ask
questions or respond to them on this list.
I am going to have to disagree with you, however, on the misplaced modifier
analysis. If I meant that the tears were trying to be brave, then I
probably wouldn't put the comma there:
*The little boy fought back the tears trying to appear brave.
Compare this:
The little boy fought back the tears streaming down his face.
In addition to the comma, there is an element of common sense, of the
possible/impossible that comes into play when dealing with participle
phrases and their subjects. I, for example, would have no problem with the
following:
The thief was hiding behind a wall, waiting for his next
victim.
Obviously, the thief, not the wall, is doing the waiting. Professional
authors use constructions like this all the time--and we process them
without thinking about it. I understand why you would teach it that way,
however: it's a good way to introduce students to the problems inherent in
dangling/misplaced modifiers.
And you are probably absolutely right about the angels on the head of a
pin. But such is the curse of the curious about this enormously complex
thing we call language!
John
P.S. As I was writing this, Karl Hagen responded with, of all things, an
example from literature. I'm going to send this anyway, even though, as
usual, his response is more eloquent.
On Thu, Sep 25, 2008 at 12:48 PM, Laura Oliver <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Hello--
>
> I am just a lowly 10th grade English teacher (an English MINOR at that),
> but I teach
> my students that the participial phrase modifies the element closest to it
> in the
> sentence. I would classify #2 as a misplaced modifier because it conveys
> the sense
> that the tears were trying to be brave. I would advise my students that #1
> is the
> sentence most easily understood because the modifier does not interrupt the
> flow
> of the sentence. That's a pragmatic analysis from one who lives her life
> "in the
> trenches."
>
> I have never had the benefit of a linguistics or advanced grammar class, so
> some
> of your discussions strike me as akin to "how many angels can dance on the
> head
> of a pin." However, I am entertained, intrigued and at times edified by
> your
> obvious commitment to classifying and parsing the minutest components of
> our
> unwieldy, living language. Thank you!
>
> Laura Oliver
> Pleasantville High School
>
>
> ---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
> From: John Crow <[log in to unmask]>
> Reply-To: Assembly for the Teaching of English
> Grammar<[log in to unmask]>
> Date: Thu, 25 Sep 2008 12:25:53 -0400
>
> >The following sentence has the same participle phrase in three positions:
> >
> > 1. Trying to appear brave, the little boy fought back the tears.
> > 2. The little boy fought back the tears, trying to appear brave.
> > 3. The little boy, trying to appear brave, fought back the tears.
> >
> >"The little boy" is obviously given information; "tears" and "brave"
> >represent new information. I know that the decision about where to place
> >the participle phrase in a piece of writing would be made according to
> >context. However, some overarching principle should apply, it would seem.
> >So my question is this: does the placement of the participle phrase bring
> >either "tears" or "brave" into sharper focus?
> >
> >Here's my very confused take:
> >
> > - Fronting an element is supposed to emphasize that element, so #1
> > emphasizes "brave"?
> > - The final element in a sentence is emphasized, so in #2, "brave" is
> > prominent?
> > - Following this same logic, #1 emphasizes "tears" as well as "brave"?
> > If so, which one is more prominent?
> > - Putting the participle in the middle of the sentence de-emphasizes
> it,
> > so #3 clearly emphasizes "brave" and only "brave".
> >
> >Can anybody help me out of the explanatory morass? I would be most
> >appreciative!
> >John
> >
> >To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface
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> >
> >Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________________________________________
> Sent via the WebMail system at pleasantville.k12.ia.us
>
>
>
>
>
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