Dangling construction.
Hi.
The rooms were fixed after washing the dishes.
Is the above sentence a sample of a dangling construction?
It strikes me as totally grammatical because the prepositional phrase 'after washing the dishes' is adverbial and doesn't refer to a specific subject in the preceding clause.
It could be like "The rooms were fixed yesterday."
Top answer
Persian Learner The rooms were fixed after washing the dishes. Who (or what) was washing the dishes? It could be interpreted that the rooms were washing the dishes.
- Persian Learner The rooms were fixed after washing the dishes.
- Who (or what) was washing the dishes?
- It could be interpreted that the rooms were washing the dishes.
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Persian LearnerThe rooms were fixed after washing the dishes.
Who (or what) was washing the dishes? It could be interpreted that the rooms were washing the dishes.
0Persian LearnerThe rooms were fixed after washing the dishes.
It's not a good sentence. I would expect two passives. It clear then the janitorial service (some nameless agent) performed both jobs in a specific order. By the way, we make up a hotel room or clean up a kitchen. If you say we fixed the room, it implies that something was broken.
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