tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7545724276587519907.post5055190923339843509..comments2024-01-02T03:39:28.812+00:00Comments on All Write - Fiction Advice: Common sentence errors and how to eliminate themAllWriteFictionAdvicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03381125356850555606noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7545724276587519907.post-42789278210995466292012-10-06T18:03:41.657+01:002012-10-06T18:03:41.657+01:00Cripes, didn't know eagles could scream. That...Cripes, didn't know eagles could scream. That's a great misnomer!AllWriteFictionAdvicehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03381125356850555606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7545724276587519907.post-74618843424997101912012-10-01T23:11:41.321+01:002012-10-01T23:11:41.321+01:00"The eagles swooped and hovered, leaning on t..."The eagles swooped and hovered, leaning on the air, and swung close together, feinting and screaming with delight."<br /><br />- N. Scott Momaday, Pulitzer Prize winner for Fiction House Made of DawnAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7545724276587519907.post-77529862175983011822012-09-21T21:47:45.329+01:002012-09-21T21:47:45.329+01:00Some gerunds are not as obvious by their nature, a...Some gerunds are not as obvious by their nature, and some participles are often associated as gerunds and, grammatically, mostly accepted. Some will agree, some will disagree, some will always find fault with it, and hence it would be pointless arguing the toss ad infinitum.<br /><br />I’m not sure I understand your points, especially as ‘feeling’ is a noun, and not an adjective, however if you want it not to be a gerund, please be my guest, I don’t mind one bit!<br /><br />And making it a hanging participle, a pet hate of mine..."Feeling his way along the wall for the light switch, he edged his way into the hallway”...people who use them should be shot for mangling the English language. That’s even worse than my original example. <br /><br />As for parallelism, that’s a nice quirky subject for another article another time.<br />AllWriteFictionAdvicehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03381125356850555606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7545724276587519907.post-44848984218137492002012-09-20T06:13:07.185+01:002012-09-20T06:13:07.185+01:00Sorry, I'm trying, but I still can't see h...Sorry, I'm trying, but I still can't see how you're correct.<br /><br />Gerunds:<br />He likes swimming.<br />He likes feeling.<br />He like apples.<br /><br />Participles:<br />He sang, swimming.<br />He sang, feeling.<br /><br />In your example, if 'feeling' is a gerund, then your sentence is of the same structure as:<br /><br />He sang, apples.<br /><br />The phrase 'feeling his way along the wall for the light switch' describes the subject, so it's an adjective, so it's not a gerund.<br /><br />The only style issue with the sentence is the common preference to place the participial phrase closer to the subject it modifies. e.g.<br /><br />"Feeling his way along the wall for the light switch, he edged his way into the hallway."<br /><br />Your sentence would have faulty parallelism if it was a series. e.g.<br /><br />"He edged his way into the hallway, feeling his way along the wall, and whistled."<br /><br />...but there's no series.<br /><br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7545724276587519907.post-63403382918681032352012-09-18T23:24:13.049+01:002012-09-18T23:24:13.049+01:00The analysis is correct, Anonymous.
Sometimes t...The analysis is correct, Anonymous. <br /><br />Sometimes there is no clear difference between gerunds and present participles, however, 'feeling' is a noun, not a verb, and gerunds are formed from nouns, and on closer inspection you will see that the sentence is simple past, not present. On this occasion, ‘Feeling’is classed as a gerund; it is perfectly acceptable.<br /><br />It's not an entirely clear cut area and can still cause confusion between particples, verbs and nouns, when sometimes it can masquerade as adjectives. <br /><br />The sentence in question remains unbalanced because of the use of the gerund. It’s sloppy writing, hence why so many beginners overuse it without realising.<br />AllWriteFictionAdvicehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03381125356850555606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7545724276587519907.post-28142881800693575562012-09-12T22:52:25.061+01:002012-09-12T22:52:25.061+01:00With this example:
"He edged his way into th...With this example:<br /><br />"He edged his way into the hallway, feeling his way along the wall for the light switch."<br /><br />Your analysis seems to be incorrect. 'Feeling' isn't a gerund here; it's a present participle, and there's nothing wrong with the sentence.<br /><br />This sentence is unbalanced because it has a gerund (feeling) placed incorrectly. This is the most common sentence structure error among new writers. It should be like this:Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7545724276587519907.post-79365276853534326762011-10-25T15:05:44.101+01:002011-10-25T15:05:44.101+01:00Excellent advice! Perhaps you can help me answer a...Excellent advice! Perhaps you can help me answer a question about this sentence: "The Smith method is a rock climbing technique and training method." Apparently "Smith method" has two different meanings; it can mean "rock climbing technique" or "rock climbing training method." I know how to rewrite this for clarity, but what is technically wrong with the sentence?tblathertonhttp://www.ibm.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7545724276587519907.post-45701849615633176232011-09-24T07:42:44.157+01:002011-09-24T07:42:44.157+01:00I'm almost too scared to comment in case I stu...I'm almost too scared to comment in case I stuff up a sentence. :) Oh, I have an idea! Could you jump into my brain while I'm writing and editing? It would make it so much easier than checking every sentence in an 80,000 word manuscript myself. But seriously, these examples are very helpful. Thank you. I look forward to reading your other posts and articles.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com