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Mr. Tom Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

Lying by the side of the road we say the wheel of a car.

Hi

Perhaps I am going too far with this question, but doesn't this sentence seem faulty or at best dangling?

Lying by the side of the road we saw the wheel of a car.





Thanks,

Tom
  

Top answer

I think this is OK since "lying by the side of the road" unambiguously modifies "we". "

— Mr Wordy

  • I think this is OK since "lying by the side of the road" unambiguously modifies "we".
  • "
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4 Answers
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I think this is OK since "lying by the side of the road" unambiguously modifies "we". Compare:

"Lying by the side of the road, the car sped past us."
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Thanks, Mr. Wordy!

One more question.

I was under the impression that "lying by the side of the road" modifies "the wheel". Can I take it that way too?

Also, please tell me if the meaning is different if I put the sentence this way:

We saw the wheel of a car lying by the side of the road.

[Is the reader expected to underst
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I apologise, Tom, my answer was nonsense. Though the sentence is technically ambiguous, you are of course correct that "lying by the side of the road" refers to the wheel, not to "we". The sentence is OK in that meaning. We can credit the reader with the intelligence to figure out that it probably refers to the wheel (though not, it seems, in my case!).

Your version -- "We saw the wheel
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Mr. TomLying by the side of the road we saw the wheel of a car.
I would add a comma: Lying by the side of the road, we saw the wheel of a car.
= When we were lying by the side of the road, we saw the wheel of a car.

A clause equivalent has the same subject as the main clause unless a different subject is included. I do
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