Drenched?

Question

The umbrella could do nothing against the heavy rain, drenched to the skin.

Or

The umbrella could do nothing against the heavy rain, drenching the skin.

Is the first sentence correct? Which one is better? I find the second one better. I am not sure if "drenched to the skin" makes sense.

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

FatimaSaboor123The umbrella could do nothing against the heavy rain, drenched to the skin.

This suggests that the umbrella was drenched to the skin, which is odd because umbrellas don't have skin.
It can also suggest that the rain was drenched to the skin, which makes no sense at all.

FatimaSaboor123The umbrella could do nothing against the heavy rain, drenching the skin.

This can suggest that the umbrella is drenching the skin, which is odd because umbrellas are not wet.
It can also suggest that the rain was drenching the skin, which is what you want to say.

But because there is some ambiguity in the way this is phrased, it should be rewritten thus (without a comma):

The umbrella could do nothing against the heavy rain which was drenching the skin.

Even so, 'the skin' may be poetic, but in ordinary conversation we use a possessive: my skin, your skin, his skin, our skin, their skin. Choose the one that describes the situation best.

CJ

Clive · Answer

When we use the word drench, there is usually a person involved, and the context usually makes clear who it is.

eg Tom's umbrella could do nothing against the heavy rain, which drenched him / which was drenching him.

There is an idiom, drenched to the skin, meaning the rain went right through all his clothes.

eg Tom was drenched to the skin.

Clive

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