Business Grammar: Dangling Construction
This one paragraph contains a business grammar error. Find and correct it.
Stashed away in the company storage room for the past twenty years, the owner of the painting has decided to sell it.
Problem:Stashed away in the company storage room for the past twenty years, the
owner of the painting has decided to sell it.
(Which was stashed in the company storage room: the owner or the painting?)Explanation:This is a dangling construction error. When a sentence begins with a participial phrase, make sure that the phrase or clause logically agrees with the subject of the sentence. If not, the construction will "dangle."
Solution:
- The owner of the painting that has been stored in the company storage room for the past twenty years has decided to sell it.
