# Another writng pet peeve--The fused particple **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 24, 2010, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-writng-pet-peeve-the-fused-particple/565307 "2010-12-24T19:36:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Pierrot\_Le\_Fou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f475e1/32.png) [@Pierrot\_Le\_Fou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pierrot_Le_Fou)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-writng-pet-peeve-the-fused-particple/565307/1 "2010-12-24T19:36:47Z")
Examples: · _Betty dancing_ [read _Betty’s dancing_] is beautiful. · If Bill and Tammy want to go skydiving, I have no objection to _them trying_ [read _their trying_] it. · With _Tom having_ [read _Tom’s having_] lost three wives under mysterious circumstances, his fiancée had better watch her back. I don’t know why fused particles bother me. They just do. I especially hated it when someone tries to correct my proper use of the possessive. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-writng-pet-peeve-the-fused-particple/565307/2 "2010-12-24T19:38:35Z")
::must…not…point…out…the obvious:: ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-writng-pet-peeve-the-fused-particple/565307/3 "2010-12-24T20:38:03Z")
😃 Which one, **Chefguy**? ---
**Author:** ![Pierrot\_Le\_Fou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f475e1/32.png) [@Pierrot\_Le\_Fou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pierrot_Le_Fou)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-writng-pet-peeve-the-fused-particple/565307/4 "2010-12-24T21:58:43Z")
Hey, I spelled particple wrong twice. Edit: Three times now. p - a - r - t - i - c - i - p - l - e ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-writng-pet-peeve-the-fused-particple/565307/5 "2010-12-25T00:55:48Z")
> [@Pierrot\_Le\_Fou](#): > > Hey, I spelled particple wrong twice. > > Edit: Three times now. p - a - r - t - i - c - i - p - l - e Also: w-r-i-t-i-n-g. ---
**Author:** ![Pierrot\_Le\_Fou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f475e1/32.png) [@Pierrot\_Le\_Fou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pierrot_Le_Fou)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-writng-pet-peeve-the-fused-particple/565307/6 "2010-12-25T01:03:03Z")
am begnnng to thnk my “” key has a problem. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-writng-pet-peeve-the-fused-particple/565307/7 "2010-12-25T01:14:37Z")
> [@Pierrot\_Le\_Fou](#): > > I especially hated it when someone tries to correct my proper use of the possessive. How about your incorrect tense? (Or are you OK with people trying to correct your use of the possessive these days?) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-writng-pet-peeve-the-fused-particple/565307/8 "2010-12-25T01:17:53Z")
Psssst: RUN! RUN NOW!! ---
**Author:** ![Pierrot\_Le\_Fou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f475e1/32.png) [@Pierrot\_Le\_Fou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pierrot_Le_Fou)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-writng-pet-peeve-the-fused-particple/565307/9 "2010-12-25T01:46:44Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > How about your incorrect tense? (Or are you OK with people trying to correct your use of the possessive these days?) No, you are right to call me on tense error. I meant to write “hate.” ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-writng-pet-peeve-the-fused-particple/565307/10 "2010-12-25T01:48:41Z")
Get a life. ---
**Author:** ![Pierrot\_Le\_Fou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f475e1/32.png) [@Pierrot\_Le\_Fou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pierrot_Le_Fou)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-writng-pet-peeve-the-fused-particple/565307/11 "2010-12-25T01:56:02Z")
> [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > Get a life. I’m trying. That’s why I am posting on an internet message board on Christmas Eve. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-writng-pet-peeve-the-fused-particple/565307/12 "2010-12-25T03:00:05Z")
With you getting a life, I guess it’s time for me saying, “Merry Christmas!” ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-writng-pet-peeve-the-fused-particple/565307/13 "2010-12-25T17:46:54Z")
It’s a living language. There was a rule that the subject or object of a verbal noun (an infinite, a gerund, or simply a noun that expresses some verbal idea) was in the possessive. This is not to be confused with the fact that the subject or object of an infinitive used as a verb is in the objective case. As an example, in the two phrases “the city’s destruction by the army” and “the city’s destruction of the army”, the city is the object in the first case and the subject in the second. Now those sentences are clear. But like many rules, the use is decaying with time. Frankly, I use the possessive or not in the examples of the OP and it doesn’t bother me one way or the other. Incidentally, the examples in the OP are not participles (or particples or particles), they are gerunds. I have mentioned this before, but I will mention it again. The use of the subjunctive is dying in the US and is essentially dead in England. I had an English copyeditor of a book I published and s/he marked several dozen places where we had used a subjunctive and s/he thought we had used a plural verb by error. Fortunately, my coauthor and I were eventually providing camera-ready copy so we made all final decisions. ---
**Author:** ![Pierrot\_Le\_Fou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f475e1/32.png) [@Pierrot\_Le\_Fou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pierrot_Le_Fou)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-writng-pet-peeve-the-fused-particple/565307/14 "2010-12-25T18:32:54Z")
The term “fused participle” refers to both true participles and gerunds. I also figured out why I kept misspelling “participle.” My auto-text didn’t recognize the word, and I added it in wrong. I have no excuse for the other errors, and I should have proofread. P.S. I love the subjunctive. If I were king, I would require its proper use. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-writng-pet-peeve-the-fused-particple/565307/15 "2010-12-25T22:56:17Z")
> [@Pierrot\_Le\_Fou](#): > > The term “fused participle” refers to both true participles and gerunds. > > I also figured out why I kept misspelling “participle.” My auto-text didn’t recognize the word, and I added it in wrong. I have no excuse for the other errors, and I should have proofread. > > P.S. I love the subjunctive. If I were king, I would require its proper use. Don’t you mean you would require that it be used properly? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-writng-pet-peeve-the-fused-particple/565307/16 "2010-12-25T23:08:57Z")
> [@Pierrot\_Le\_Fou](#): > > I’m trying. Very. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2010, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-writng-pet-peeve-the-fused-particple/565307/17 "2010-12-26T03:03:46Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Very. Good one. mmm ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2010, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-writng-pet-peeve-the-fused-particple/565307/18 "2010-12-26T09:18:52Z")
[William Safire on fused participles](http://www.nytimes.com/1994/02/27/magazine/on-language-defuse-those-participles.html?src=pm) On the subject of them bothering me … they don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Pierrot\_Le\_Fou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f475e1/32.png) [@Pierrot\_Le\_Fou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pierrot_Le_Fou)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2010, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-writng-pet-peeve-the-fused-particple/565307/19 "2010-12-26T15:09:23Z")
> [@William Safire](#): > > We will come to sodomy in a moment. > > […] > > Comes now Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia with the latest manifestation of this struggle. An Associated Press account of his stinging dissent in Lawrence v. Texas, in which the court struck down that state’s anti-sodomy law, quoted Scalia out of context as writing, “I have nothing against homosexuals,” which seemed condescending. His entire sentence, though, was not: “I have nothing against homosexuals, or any other group, promoting their agenda through normal democratic means.” Note the lack of apostrophes after homosexuals and group to indicate possession; Fowler would have condemned that as a “fused participle.” Such loosey-goosey usage from the conservative Scalia, of all people? > > […] > > But his attempt to be a regular guy backfired. In a jocular tone, Scalia observes: ''God --whom I believe to be a strict grammarian as well as an Englishman --has punished me. The misquotation would have been more difficult to engineer had there been an apostrophe after ‘homosexuals.’ I am convinced that in this instance the A.P. has been (unwittingly, I am sure) the flagellum Dei to recall me from my populist, illiterate wandering. (You will note that I did not say ‘from me wandering.’)" [http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/19/magazine/19ONLANGUAGE.html](http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/19/magazine/19ONLANGUAGE.html) ---
**Author:** ![NGC2024](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f475e1/32.png) [@NGC2024](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NGC2024)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2010, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-writng-pet-peeve-the-fused-particple/565307/20 "2010-12-26T15:49:24Z")
Betty dancing is beautiful. Betty’s dancing is beautiful. Aren’t these just two different sentences with two different meanings? Doesn’t the first sentence mean that \*the sight \*of Betty dancing is beautiful and the second sentence mean that Betty’s \*actual dance moves \*are beautiful? I have never heard of a fused participle before, so I fully appreciate that I might be missing something fundamental here, but it seems to me that the sentences are expressing different thoughts and that modifying the punctuation changes the intent of the expression. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-writng-pet-peeve-the-fused-particple/565307.md?page=2)