2

Here's such a sentence:

His dad needs to find what magazines he grew up reading.

The 'what' here is the object of the main clause.

His dad need to find what magazines (object).

The subordinate clause here is:

what magazines he grew up reading.

The problem is, 'what' is not directly the object of the subordinate clause, but the object of the dangling modifier of the subordinate clause.

The subordinate clause without dangling modifier:

(what magazines) he grew up.

The dangling modifier:

reading (what) magazines.

So you see, 'what magazines' here is

  1. the object of the main clause,
  2. the object of a dangling modifier of the subordinate clause.

Is this sentence grammatically wrong? I've never seen sentences like this before. It sounds natural to me, though.


Notes: I didn't learn grammar in English, so some of the names may be misused.

For those who may ask, this sentence is inspired by a line of a recap. The original sentence is

I think his dad needs more time to know his son, understand his preferences, and maybe find what magazines he grew up reading.

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  • I don't follow you. What magazines he grew up reading is a subordinate interrogative clause (embedded question) functioning as complement of find. What magazines may be considered object of reading. The antecedent of "he" is ambiguous between "his dad" and some unspecified person ("his son"?)
    – BillJ
    Dec 19, 2022 at 11:14
  • @BillJ My grammar books told me that 'what magazines', when served as an object in the main clause, can only be the object or subject of the subordinate clause, not the object of a dangling modifier of the subordinate clause.
    – Michael
    Dec 19, 2022 at 11:23
  • I wouldn't say that what magazines is object in the main clause. In the main clause what magazines he grew up reading is complement of find. Within the subordinate clause what magazines is object of reading.
    – BillJ
    Dec 19, 2022 at 11:34
  • @BillJ But reading is a dangling modifier.
    – Michael
    Dec 19, 2022 at 11:53
  • @BillJ You wouldn't find a sentence like this in a grammar book, say Grammar of Spoken and Written English by Douglas Biber, etc.
    – Michael
    Dec 19, 2022 at 11:59

1 Answer 1

1

There's no dangling modifier in your sentence.

"His dad needs to find what magazines he grew up reading."

The deep structure of the sentence is something like this:

His dad needs to find [something]. His son grew up reading [some magazines].

First step is to replace "some magazines" with the pronoun "what magazines":

His son grew up reading [what magazines].

Next, front the pronoun:

[what magazines] his son grew up reading __________.

Finally, connect the two clauses together:

His dad needs to find [what magazines] he grew up reading _________.

We don't pronounce the _________ after "reading", but it represents the place the object "what magazines" comes from. "What magazines" is the direct object of "reading", so "reading" isn't dangling.

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  • 'Reading magazines' may not be dangling, but it does modify 'grew up'.
    – Michael
    Dec 19, 2022 at 17:21
  • The rare thing is, 'what magazines' is in the modifying part of the subordinate clause. I've never seen this situation before. No matter what grammar book you check, things like 'what magazines' is the subject or the object of the subordinate clause
    – Michael
    Dec 19, 2022 at 17:30
  • @Michael When textbooks introduce these structures around the elementary or pre-intermediate level, they purposefully use simple sentences so as not to confuse the lower level students those books were written for. Have you ever seen a textbook that says the pronoun must be the subject or object of the main verb in the subordinate clause, or did you just infer that because the examples weren't complex enough?
    – gotube
    Dec 20, 2022 at 3:00
  • Two points: "what magazines" is a noun phrase, not a pronoun. And it should be mentioned that what magazines he grew up reading is a subordinate interrogative clause (embedded question).
    – BillJ
    Dec 20, 2022 at 8:17
  • @gotube You have a point.
    – Michael
    Dec 20, 2022 at 15:03

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