Fixing Your Writing: Participial Phrase Overuse!

Wanting to cram a lot of detail into an already overcrowded sentence can be enticing, but probably is working against you, as you are adding too many phrases, making your reader annoyed, having no idea where to stop, pretending to know what you're writing, hoping that no one will notice, weeping at your sentences that seem to go running on and on like Spanish bulls, fighting the frightening crowds in Pamplona, not caring if they stop at all...

A common problem with young writers is that they use too many participial phrases. They use them in the beginning of a sentence, in the middle, and then, again, at the end--pushing the limits and our patience. That last bit there after the em-dash is a participial phrase. Note the use of -ing words!

Participles take two forms, according to the Grammar Desk Reference: "present participles always end in -ing, and past participles usually end in -d or -ed"

Present participles run rampant through your stories. Just take a look! It is often better to limit the use of these free-ranging words. As writers we want clarity, not confus-i-a-lity--which is not a word at all!

According to Grammar Girl:

"Participial phrases can appear anywhere in a sentence...The problem with sentence-ending participial phrases is that writers often add such a phrase as an afterthought, and they often omit a needed comma. You can’t just stick on a phrase somewhere without paying attention to punctuation. If a participial phrase comes at the end of a sentence, use a comma—unless the phrase is restrictive."

For more help check out this site for examples of where you might be going wrong.