Participles Becoming Prepositions Some Arcane Information for Editors

Participles Becoming Prepositions Some Arcane Information for Editors Participles Becoming Prepositions – Some Arcane Information for Editors by Mary M Pringle is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution -Share. Alike 4. 0 International License.

Introducti on § “somebody who knows what dysphemism means and doesn’t mind letting you know it. ” SNOOT: —David Foster Wallace

Introduction § Participles and prepositions seem to be the locus of particular scorn and anxiety for the non-SNOOT world.

Introduction n As SNOOTS of the technical communication species, we often use our specialized knowledge of participles and prepositions to avoid using them.

Introduction n “Another sign of deadwood is seen in the preposition. . Pruning prepositions is usually one way to leaner writing. ” —Paula Larocque in The Quill

Introduction n E. g. , instead of saying ‘perform the identification of, ’ we want you to say ‘Identify. ’

Introduction n And then there’s the infamous dangling participle: Moving all the toys to the garage, there was no room left for the car.

Introduction n Correct: Moving all the toys to the garage, we left no room for the car. n Tech writer correct: There was no room left for the car because we moved all the toys to the garage.

Hypothesis n Written language users are finding a way to make at least one participle (using) more useful by turning it into a nonsuperfluous, hardworking preposition.

Digression: Grammar Is Good for You n n Learning grammar does not make you a better writer. Learning grammar does make you a better editor and more able to articulate your changes to the SME.

Basic Verb Forms Edits Editing Edited

Participle s n Verb parts acting like adjectives. The flying debris almost hit my cat, but the shrunken head was in the way and saved her.

Participles n § Present participles: they end in –ing. Past participles: they end in –ed.

Present Participles and Gerunds n Flying planes can be dangerous. Read as a participle: Planes that are flying can be dangerous. Read as a gerund: To fly planes can be dangerous.

Present Participles and Gerunds n I don’t like burping babies. Read as a participle: I don’t like babies that are burping. Read as a gerund: I don’t like to burp babies.

Dangling Participles and Misplaced Modifiers Knowing that we had no room, it was silly to buy another vehicle. Still smiling at the camera, a cream pie hit the senator in the face.

Participles Used Correctly Knowing we had no room, we should not have bought another vehicle. Still smiling at the camera, the senator was hit in the face with a cream pie.

Prepositio ns n Prepositions don’t dangle With our luck, there will be flying pies. With our luck, we will be hit with flying pies.

Prepositions n We all know them: about, above, across, after, against, along, among, around, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, by, concerning, down, during, for, from, into, near, off, onto, out, over, past, regarding, since, throughout, till, toward, underneath, until, up, within, without

Prepositions n What’s different about concerning, past, and regarding?

Prepositions n They used to be verbs, or more precisely, participles!

Prepositions This matter concerns us all. We want this bill to pass. We regard it as important.

Prepositions He lives past the post office. He went passed* me.

A New Preposition? Still smiling at the camera, the senator was hit in the face by an enemy using a cream pie.

A New Preposition? Still smiling at the camera, the senator was hit in the face using a cream pie.

A New Preposition? n Strictly speaking, this sentence contains a dangling participle: These data were placed within a time frame of 5240 to 2585 yr BP using radiocarbon dating.

A New Preposition? n To fix it: recast the sentence in the active voice to give using something to modify: Researchers using radiocarbon dating placed these data within a time frame of 5240 to 2585 yr BP.

A New Preposition? or Using radiocarbon dating, researchers placed these data within a time frame of 5240 to 2585 yr BP.

A New Preposition? n I started to see my writers creating similar sentences in almost every document I edited:

A New Preposition? Using a new sample preparation method involving freeze-drying, individual ash particles with diameters as small as 0. 1 μm can be analyzed automatically in the ADEM.

A New Preposition? Then I came across this one: Using previous experience and general knowledge of mercury chemistry, we designed the cryogenic trapping system using Teflon and quartz components.

A New Preposition? n I recast it as Using previous experience and general knowledge of mercury chemistry, we designed the cryogenic trapping system with Teflon and quartz components.

A New Preposition? n I began to routinely replace using with whenever I needed to.

A New Preposition? n My writers seemed to perceive using and with as pretty much synonymous:

A New Preposition? Physical and chemical characterization of the pellet fuel was performed using standard analytical methods and with advanced methods.

A New Preposition? Moisture measurements can be collected with a soil moisture meter or using tensiometers.

Writers’ Perceptions n Knowing that we did not put title caps on prepositions under six letters long, our writers frequently left using all lowercase in their titles and table headings as if it were a preposition:

Writers’ Perceptions Opportunities for Hydrogen Conversion using a Microturbine Soil Flushing using Alcohol and Humic Acids

Writers’ Perceptions Iowa’s Thickness Design Guide for Low-Volume Roads using Reclaimed Hydrated Class C Fly Ash Bases Color Development using Colorimetric Indicators

A New Preposition? n In the following sentences, using could be read as either a correctly used participle or a preposition:

A New Preposition? n Using this calculation technique, the LIBS–CPT was able to successfully detect and estimate quantities of Cr in the subsurface.

A New Preposition? n Sulfur speciation analyses using EPA Methods 8 and 9 and a controlled condensation method indicate that although SO 2 concentrations increase, SO 2 remains undetectable.

Using Adds Semantic Content n In the second example, while with would work, using is better —the semantic content carried by using gives a more precise reading—with is too vague here.

Using Adds Semantic Content This option requires a rewrite of the current applications using a software program for developing database applications on the Web.

Using Adds Semantic Content n n Prepositions are primarily functional elements, but they carry content as well. E. g. , through, under, and over all carry information on spatial orientation; for conveys a benefactive sense.

Using Adds Semantic Content n With both conveys accompaniment and indicates that an object was used as a tool.

Using Adds Semantic Content n As a preposition, using could take over the second sense carried by with, the notion of tool.

Implications for Technical Editors n This relationship between participles and prepositions makes the notion of dangling participles less rigid.

Implications for Technical Editors n It would be helpful to treat using as a preposition when the human actor disappears, as is often the case in technical prose.

Implications for Technical Editors n Unlike participles, prepositions aren’t said to dangle—they are more flexible as modifiers than participles.

Implications for Technical Editors n If writers and readers are indeed processing using as a preposition, as editors we need to be aware of this and make decisions based on practice as well as on grammatical etiquette rules.

References Cambridge Dictionaries Online. Retrieved September 1, 2001: http: //dictionary. cambridge. org/ Clifton, C. , & Duffy, S. (2001). Sentence and text comprehension: Roles of linguistic structure. Annual Review of Psychology, 167.

Wallace, D. F. (2001, April). Tense present. Harper’s, 39– 58.