He saw a girl, accompanied by a dog, walking down the road.

Question

Hello,I am trying to learn participle usage. I want to learn the possible meaning and how to clarify the meaning in the followings.1. He saw a girl, walking down the road. He not a girl walks down the road, correct? Is it correct to put a comma in the question above as follows? He, not a girl walks down the road, correct?Is it correct to put commas in the question above as follows? He, not a girl, walks down the road, correct?Is it correct to put no comma in the question above as follows? He not a girl walks down the road, correct?2. He saw a girl, accompanied by a dog, walking down the road.Who is walking down the road? he/ a girl / or either is possible? Who is accompanied by a dog? he/ a girl / or either is possible? 3. He saw a girl, walking down the road, accompanied by a dog.Is #3, the same as #2?Is #3 as confusing as #2?I always sincerely appreciate your help in advance.

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

I am trying to learn participle usage.

I want to learn the possible meaning and how to clarify the meaning in the followings.

1. He saw a girl, walking down the road.

He not a girl walks down the road, correct? I'd interpret this to refer to the girl. But, if it were important, I'd ask the speaker for clarification.

'Walking down the road, he saw a girl' more clearly means he was walking, but in practical terms I'd ask for clarification if it were important.

In other words, such things are often said carelessly.

Is it correct to put a comma in the question above as follows? He, not a girl walks down the road, correct? No

Is it correct to put commas in the question above as follows? He, not a girl, walks down the road, correct? Yes

Is it correct to put no comma in the question above as follows? He not a girl walks down the road, correct? No

2. He saw a girl, accompanied by a dog, walking down the road.

My comments in #1 also apply here. But if I had to, here's how I'd interpret it.

Who is walking down the road? he/ a girl / or either is possible? The girl. Or possibly just the dog ( ) although the word 'accompanied' suggests both girl and dog were moving together.

It's a somewhat awkward way to phrase the sentence, in my opinion.

Who is accompanied by a dog? he/ a girl / or either is possible? The girl.

3. He saw a girl, walking down the road, accompanied by a dog.

Is #3, the same as #2?

Is #3 as confusing as #2?

Subject to my comments above, here's how I see this.

The girl is walking down the road. The girl is accompanied by a dog, ( since a road cannot be accompanied by a dog.

)

Best wishes, Clive

Zazzex · Answer

Thanks for reply.

I am trying to see it grammar-wise, not meaning-wise, because I want to be able to grasp possible ambiguity of a sentence structure to know what is ok and what to avoid in some case.

I think

1. He saw a girl, walking down the road

shows he, not a girl, is walking; because of the comma, walking is a participle to "He."

I think, for a girl to be walking, the comma should be removed.

He saw a girl walking down the road

However, since you said "a girl could be walking," could you tell me what is the grammatical role/function of "walking" to "a girl" Can "walking" be a participle to "a girl"

seperated by a comma(-I have known that is not correct)?

Next, as for this:

2. He saw a girl, walking down the road, accompanied by a dog.

I think since #1 can be understood as he walking,

#2 can be understood as he walking and accompanied by a dog.

Can you tell me whether my understanding is correct?

Thanks again.

Clive · Answer

Hi,

I am trying to see it grammar-wise, not meaning-wise,

I'm not sure you can avoid considering meaning. The possibility of ambiguity arises from the presence of two nouns that the participle can relate to. If there is only one such noun, there is only one interpretation.

eg The car struck a girl, walking down the road.

because I want to be able to grasp possible ambiguity of a sentence structure to know what is ok and what to avoid in some case.

I think

1. He saw a girl, walking down the road

shows he, not a girl, is walking; because of the comma, walking is a participle to "He."

I think, for a girl to be walking, the comma should be removed.

He saw a girl walking down the road

However, since you said "a girl could be walking," could you tell me what is the grammatical role/function of "walking" to "a girl" Can "walking" be a participle to "a girl"

seperated by a comma(-I have known that is not correct)?

I take 'walking down the road' to be an adjectival phrase describing the last noun suitable noun mentioned, which is 'girl'.

You could expand it to be a clause, as follows.

He saw a girl who was walking down the road, (and he saw a girl who was not walking down the road.). restrictive information

He saw a girl, who was walking down the road. non-restrictive information

Next, as for this:

2. He saw a girl, walking down the road, accompanied by a dog.

I think since #1 can be understood as he walking,

#2 can be understood as he walking and accompanied by a dog.

Can you tell me whether my understanding is correct Not in my view, as I said before.

Let me finish by saying, again, that there are better, ie clearer, ways to phrase what you want to say, and that I think prudent native speakers would ask for clarification if these sentences were important.

Best wishes, Clive

He saw a girl, accompanied by a dog, walking down the road.

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