Dangling infinitive

Question

A. To write effectively, patience is necessary.

Today I learnt that "To write effectively" is the dangling infinitive in the sentence above, because the implied subject of "To write effectively" is not "patience ", but here are the questions...

Q1) Is sentence A grammatically correct and natural?

Q2) To most native English speakers, would sentence A sound fine?

Q3) Like in sentence A, can dangling infinitives be used even when a main clause isn't in its passive form? For example, "patience is necessary" is the main clause and it's not in its passtive form.

But I seem to have only come across dangling infinitives when a main clause is in its passive form as in sentence B, so I made Q3 to know whether it's correct to use dangling infinitives when a main clause isn't in its passitve form.

B. To write a brief, a computer is needed for efficiency.

"A computer is needed for efficiency" is the main clause of B and is in its passitve form.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

fire1Q1) Is sentence A grammatically correct and natural?

People say all sorts of things. It does not sound non-native, but it does not sound good, either.

fire1Q2) To most native English speakers, would sentence A sound fine?

Probably, but it's the sizeable minority who think it sounds illiterate that you have to worry about.

fire1Q3) Like in sentence A, can dangling infinitives be used even when a main clause isn't in its passive form? For example, "patience is necessary" is the main clause and it's not in its passtive form.

You ask if a dangler is good even if some condition exists. That does not make sense. A dangler is bad. But again, your sentence is natural enough but quite wrong.

fire1But I seem to have only come across dangling infinitives when a main clause is in its passive form as in sentence B, so I made Q3 to know whether it's correct to use dangling infinitives when a main clause isn't in its passitve form.

No. Passive or active makes no difference, except that the passive falls straight into the trap. With the active, you have a fighting chance because you have a subject that might be the right one.

What you need is for the subject of the main clause to be the agent of the infinitive's action. "To write effectively, you need to be patient." "To write a brief, you should use a computer for efficiency." This is just another example of the fact that an introductory phrase applies to the subject of the main clause. It's the same as the dangling participle in that respect.

Dangling infinitive

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