Linda,
I agree that the two starred sentences are bad, but perhaps they are more
awkward than ungrammatical. "This is" as the opening may be to blame. I
find the following to be fine:
The mansion of the most hated man in America, built in 1849, is now
celebrated as a world-class art museum.
Here's one with not one but two nouns separating the participial phrase
from the noun it modifies:
The famous statue of Shakespeare in Central Park, commissioned in 1864,
was not erected until 1872.
I have no trouble with that one either.
Dick
On Thu, Dec 26, 2013 at 8:48 AM, Linda Di Desidero <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Just to jump in to the conversation here: I disagree with the
> grammaticality judgment that allows the participial phrase to attach to the
> first noun in the sentence--mansion--rather than the noun that is closest
> to the participial phrase (man). I see nothing wrong with having the phrase
> attach lower in the tree; in fact, it has to attach that way for me.
> Examples:
>
> This is the mansion of the most hated man in American, born in 1849.
> *This is the mansion of the most hated man in American, built in 1849.
>
> This is the mansion of the most hated man in American, who was born in
> 1849.
> *This is the mansion of the most hated man in American, which was built in
> 1849.
>
> Happy new year :)
>
> Linda
>
>
> Linda Di Desidero, PhD
>
> Director, Leadership Communication Skills Center
>
> Marine Corps University
>
> Gray Research Center, Room 122
>
> Quantico, Virginia 22134
>
> 703-784-4401
>
>
> On Wed, Dec 25, 2013 at 12:06 PM, Dick Veit <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> Right you are, Bruce. I was just reading about Henry Clay and jumped to
>> conclusions.
>>
>> Frick may have been America's most hated man, but I always had kind
>> thoughts when visiting his mansion and art collection in NYC.
>>
>> Dick
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Dec 25, 2013 at 11:47 AM, Bruce Despain <[log in to unmask]>wrote:
>>
>>> Dick & John,
>>>
>>> Henry Clay Frick, the industrialist, was indeed born in 1849 (December
>>> 19).
>>> Am I right to assume that the awkward noun phrase is a sentence
>>> fragment, apparently the title of an illustration or picture?
>>> The reference to "this day," however, makes me think maybe not.
>>> The adjective phrase (participle) modifying *man*, which is a part
>>> of the quotative phrase (itself another fragment), is not really a very
>>> smooth style. I think I would want to rewrite it:
>>>
>>> *The stunning mansion of 'the most hated man in America' (who was born
>>> on this day in 1849).*
>>>
>>> --- [log in to unmask] wrote:
>>>
>>> From: Dick Veit <[log in to unmask]>
>>> To: [log in to unmask]
>>> Subject: Re: modifier placement
>>> Date: Wed, 25 Dec 2013 11:23:47 -0500
>>>
>>> There are two possible interpretations:
>>>
>>> 1) ...mansion [...man] [born...], where both phrases are modifiers of
>>> "mansion"
>>> 2) ...mansion [ [...man] [born...] ], where the first phrase modifies
>>> "mansion" and the second modifies [man]
>>>
>>> Both are grammatical, but grammaticality counts for little if the result
>>> is ambiguous and unclear. The result here is actually worse than ambiguous.
>>> Because "born" is generally used with people and not buildings, most
>>> readers are likely to assume the second reading, i.e., that Clay was born
>>> in 1849. Since this is not true (he was born in 1777), the writer has done
>>> a poor job indeed. If he had used "built" instead of "born," the problem
>>> would have been less likely to have arisen.
>>>
>>> Best holiday wishes.
>>> Dick
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, Dec 25, 2013 at 7:34 AM, John Chorazy <
>>> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>>
>>> Happy Holidays to all...
>>>
>>> I can infer that the intent of the phrase below suggests that "the most
>>> hated man in America" (referring to Henry Clay Frick) was born "on this
>>> day" etc. But can I defend in grammatical terms that this is a misplaced
>>> modifier suggesting that the mansion was born on this day? Thank you and
>>> best wishes...
>>>
>>>
>>> *The stunning mansion of 'the most hated man in America,' born on this
>>> day in 1849.*
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> John Chorazy
>>> English I and III, Academic and Honors
>>> Advisor, *Panther Press* and Co-advisor, *Folio*
>>> Pequannock Township High School
>>> 973.616.6000
>>>
>>>
>>> Noli Timere
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