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Would the adjectival use of the participle ENGAGED in the subordinate clause be correct to describe the students in the MAIN clause?

Engaged in a broad spectrum of speaking and listening activities appropriate for their level, using a wide-range of materials from various sources, the students will be encouraged to get out of their comfort zones.

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  • It's correct, but it's bad style to have two adjectival adjunct phrases in a row describing the same noun.
    – gotube ♦
    Commented Oct 9, 2022 at 15:42

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[Engaged in a broad spectrum of speaking and listening activities appropriate for their level, using a wide-range of materials from various sources], the students will be encouraged to get out of their comfort zones.

I take "engaged" to be an adjective here, so the expression "engaged in a broad spectrum of speaking and listening activities ... " is an adjective phrase functioning as a predicative adjunct.

It's predicative because it relates to a predicand ("the students") and it's an adjunct because it is an optional item detached from the rest of the clause.

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  • I understand your explanation, but I'm not sure if it implies that it's fine to use it as it is used in this sentence. I did intended to use it as an adjective.
    – Lena
    Commented Oct 9, 2022 at 18:17
  • @Lena I said in my answer that it's an adjective.
    – BillJ
    Commented Oct 9, 2022 at 18:26
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Yes, but you have chosen a hard-to-understand phrasing.

The (passive) subject of the verb "Engaged" is "students" but it is so far from the verb that it took me two or three readings to begin to make sense of it.

A complete structural re-write is needed. Place the main clause at the start, and perhaps use several linked sentences.

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  • I appreaciate your reply. However, if I want to keep the same structure, could I use ENGAGING instead to make the sentence be understood more easily, and if so, would I need to use a preposition such as BY with it?
    – Lena
    Commented Oct 9, 2022 at 8:15
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    The problem is not the word, the problem is the structure. You can't fix the structure by changing the word. A simple fix would be "The students will be encouraged to .... by being engaged in a broad ..." It means that we aren't left waiting for a the subject.
    – James K
    Commented Oct 9, 2022 at 10:38
  • You might consider "engaged" to be an adjective.
    – BillJ
    Commented Oct 9, 2022 at 11:10

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