the participle in its forms, but differs
in that, while the participle is always used adjectively, the GERUND
IS ALWAYS USED SUBSTANTIVELY; as, _I told OF HIS WINNING the race,
AFTER HIS ASSERTING it, I believe the statement_.

71. MISUSES OF PARTICIPLES AND GERUNDS.

1. A participle should not be used unless it stands in a grammatical
and logical relation to some substantive that is present in the
sentence. Failure to follow this rule leads to the error known
as the "dangling participle." It is wrong to say, _The dish was
broken, RESULTING from its fall_, because _resulting_ does not
stand in grammatical relation to any word in the sentence. But
it would be right to say, _The dish was broken as a result of its
fall_. Examine, also, the following examples:

Wrong: I spent a week in Virginia, _followed_ by a week at Atlantic
City.

Right: I spent a week in Virginia, _following_ it by a week at Atlantic
City.

Right: I spent a week in Virginia, _and then_ a week at Atlantic
City.

2. A participle should not stand at the beginning of a sentence or
principal clause unless it belongs to the subject of that sentence
or clause. Compare the following:

Wrong: Having been sick, it was decided to remain at home.

Right: Having been sick, I decided to remain at home.

3. A participle preceded by _thus_ should not be used unless it
modifies the subject of the preceding verb. Compare the following:

Wrong: He had to rewrite several pages, _thus causing_ him a great
deal of trouble.

Right: He had to rewrite several pages, _and was thus caused_ a
great deal of trouble.

Right: He had to rewrite several pages, _thus experiencing_ a great
deal of trouble.

4. The gerund is often used as the object of a preposition, and
frequently has a noun or pronoun modifier. Owing to confusion between
the gerund and the participle, and to the failure to realize that
the gerund can only be used substantively, the objective case of a
modifying noun or pronoun is often wrongly used before the gerund.
A substantive used with the gerund should always be in the possessive
case. Say, _I heard OF JOHN'S COMING_, not, _I heard OF JOHN COMING_.

5. When a gerund and a preposition are used, the phrase should
be in logical and immediate connection with the substantive it
modifies, and the phrase should never introduce a sentence unless
it logically belongs to the subject of that sentence. Exception:
When the gerund phrase denotes a general