Participles
Participles relate to nouns or pronouns, or else are governed by
prepositions. Those ending in _ing_ should not be made the subjects or
objects of verbs while they retain the government and adjuncts of
participles. They may often be converted into nouns or take the form of
the infinitive.
“Not _attending_ to this rule is the cause of a very common error.”
Better, _“Inattention_ to this rule,” etc. “He abhorred _being_ in
debt.” Better, “He abhorred _debt,” “Cavilling_ and _objecting_ upon
any subject is much easier than _clearing_ up difficulties.” Say, “_To
cavil_ and _object_ upon any subject is much easier than _to clear _up
difficulties.”
Omit “of”
Active participles have the same government as the verbs from which
they are derived. The preposition _of,_ therefore, should not be used
after the participle, when the verb would not require it. Omit _of_ in
such expressions as these: “Keeping _of_ one day
in seven,” “By preaching _of_ repentance,” “They left beating _of
_Paul,” “From calling _of_ names they came to blows,” “They set about
repairing _of_ the walls.”
If the article _the_ occurs before the participle, the preposition _of
_must be retained; as, “They strictly observed _the keeping of_ one day
in seven.”
When a transitive participle is converted into a noun, _of_ must be
inserted to govern the object following. “He was very exact in _forming
_his sentences,” “He was very exact in _the formation of_ his
sentences.”
Omit the possessive
The possessive case should not be prefixed to a participle that is not
taken in all respects as a noun. It should, therefore, be expunged in
the following sentences: “By _our_ offending others, we expose
ourselves.” “She rewarded the boy for _his_ studying so diligently.”
“He errs in _his_ giving the word a double construction.”
The possessives in such cases as the following should be avoided: “I
have some recollection of his _father’s_ being a judge.” “To prevent
_its _being a dry detail of terms.” These sentences may be improved by
recasting them. “I have some recollection that his father was a judge.”
“To prevent it from being a dry detail of terms.”
When the noun or pronoun to which the participle relates is a passive
subject, it should not have the possessive form; as, “The daily
instances of _men’s _dying around us remind us of the brevity of human
life.” “We do not speak of a _monosyllable’s_ having a primary accent.”
Change _men’s_ to _men,_ and _monosyllable’s_ to _monosyllable._
After verbs
Verbs do not govern participles. “I intend _doing_ it,” “I remember
_meeting_ Longfellow,” and similar expressions should be changed by the
substitution of the infinitive for the participle; as, “I intend _to do
it,” _“I remember _to have met_ Longfellow.”
After verbs signifying _to persevere, to desist,_ the participle ending
in _ing_ is permitted; as, “So when they _continued asking_ him, he
lifted up himself, and said unto them.”
Place
In the use of participles and of verbal nouns, the leading word in
sense should always be made the leading word, and not the adjunct, in
the construction.
“They did not give notice of the _pupil_ leaving.” Here, the leading
idea is _leaving. Pupil_ should, therefore, be subordinate by changing
its form to the possessive; as, “They did not give notice of the
_pupil’s _leaving.” Better still, “They did not give notice that the
pupil had left.”
Clearness
The word to which the participle relates should stand out clearly. “By
giving way to sin, trouble is encountered.” This implies that trouble
gives way to sin. The relation of the participle is made clear by
saying, “By giving way to sin, we encounter trouble.”
“By yielding to temptation, our peace is sacrificed.” This should be,
“By yielding to temptation we sacrifice our peace.”
“A poor child was found in the streets by a wealthy and benevolent
gentleman, suffering from cold and hunger.” Say, “A poor child,
suffering from cold and hunger, was found,” etc.
Awkward Construction
Such awkward sentences as the following should be avoided. In most
cases they will require to be recast.
“But as soon as the whole body _is attempted to be carved,_ a
disproportion between its various parts results.”
“The offence _attempted to be charged_ should be alleged under another
section of the statute.” The following is a better arrangement:
“But as soon as an attempt is made to carve the whole body,” etc. “The
offence which it is attempted to charge,” etc.
Is building
The active participle in a passive sense is employed by many excellent
writers and is condemned by others.
“Corn _is selling_ for fifty cents a bushel.”
“Corn _is_ _being sold_ for fifty cents a bushel.”
The commercial world evidently prefers the former sentence. There is a
breeziness and an energy in it that is lacking in the latter. It must,
however, be used with caution. In the following examples the passive
form is decidedly better than the active: “The foundation _was_ _being
laid,”_ “They _are being educated,” “_While the speech _was being
delivered,” _etc.