Participle phrase with a comma
?Mark stood next to Tracy, feeling helplessly nervous.
I have a question about this sentence.
If context is added, according to context, can the sentence mean either 1 or 2 below?
1. Mark stood next to Tracy, and Tracy felt helplessly nervous.
2. Mark stood next to Tracy, and Mark felt helplessly nervous.
I mean without context, the sentence can mean both 1 and 2?
Top answer
By default we take the subject of the main clause to be the implicit subject of the participle clause, so the default is Mark stood next to Tracy, (Mark) feeling helplessly nervous . The intuitive feeling of native speakers about this is so strong that it is difficult to change it so that some other component of the main clause is felt to be the subject of the participle clause. CJ
- By default we take the subject of the main clause to be the implicit subject of the participle clause, so the default is Mark stood next to Tracy, (Mark) feeling helplessly nervous .
- The intuitive feeling of native speakers about this is so strong that it is difficult to change it so that some other component of the main clause is felt to be the subject of the participle clause.
- CJ
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By default we take the subject of the main clause to be the implicit subject of the participle clause, so the default is
Mark stood next to Tracy, (Mark) feeling helplessly nervous.
The intuitive feeling of native speakers about this is so strong that it is difficult to change it so that some other component of the main clause is felt to b
0
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