Participles or Abslute structure

Question

Hi,EX)? Entering the building, the fossil dinosaurs came into view.?According to grammar this is not participles clause because in this case subject in main clause can't function for participles clause and this is an absolute participle neither since it doesn't have it's own subject.1.Please shed the light upon this.What is it at last?2.Why can't we use" as" in front of entering?Thanks

Clodpole · Accepted Answer

The problem is that the subject of the sentence (the person entering the building) is missing.

As it's written, the subject is actually the dinosaurs. So the sentence means "as the dinosaurs entered the building, they came into the view of someone who was already there".

That is actually correct grammatically, but assuming you meant some people entered the building, you have to mention them in some way.

You can add "as" at the beginning, but if you do, you have to add the subject as well. e.g. As the children entered the building...

You can also say whose view you're referring to. e.g. .... the dinosaurs came into the children's view.

Both of these clarify who's doing the entering.

Hope this helps.

Clodpole

Rashin · Answer

More help please,
Dear CJ, Clive, Mr Wordy, MR, Avangi, Regards, J.P,......... Where are you dear friends?

Anonymous · Answer

Entering the building, the fossil dinosaurs came into view.?
According to grammar this is not participles clause because in this case subject in main clause can't function for participles clause and this is an absolute participle neither since it doesn't have it's own subject.

Entering the building is certainly a participial clause; that's evident from the fact that the head of the clause is the participle entering. Most participial clauses don't have overt subjects, so we look for a suitable noun elsewhere, in this case in the main clause, which could plausibly be the subject. The only candidate competing for the privilege is the subject of the main clause, the noun dinosaurs; but that would mean it was the dinosaurs that entered the building.

So, with no obvious NP to fit the bill, it's left to guesswork from the context. In this case it's safe to assume that some unmentioned person (perhaps the speaker or writer) entered the building. Perhaps their identity was made clear in the earlier discourse, or perhaps not, but either way it's pretty clear in this instance what is meant. This kind of ambiguity about the understood subject of a non-finite clause in adjunct function is commonly referred to as a "dangling modifier" (or sometimes "dangling participle").

this is an absolute participle neither since it doesn't have it's own subject

I'd avoid using the term "absolute clause". It's not used much nowadays and it's just the traditional name for a gerund-participial clause functioning as a supplementary adjunct in clause structure.

Best
J

CalifJim · Answer

rashinEntering the building, the fossil dinosaurs came into view.

If you intend to say,

As the fossil dinosaurs entered the building, they came into view

then it is correct because the original statement says that the dinosaurs were entering the building.
______________

I think that the point that the grammar book is making is that most people would not intend to say something as crazy as that. The sentence has to be revised so that it communicates the real intention of the writer.

CJ

Participles or Abslute structure

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