Harold invented his own god, laughing maniacally

[keannu]

I found a few materials on the internet about "participial phrase", and almost all of them say that the subject of "participial phrase" is the sentence subject, and if a participial phrase is used as a reduced relative clause, a comma should be deleted. So does the following content say a participial phrase can be used only as restrictive clause(1) or non-restrictive clause(3) as well?

1.Harold invented his own god laughing maniacally at the sight of a face in a cloud.
:god which was laughing (reduced restrictive clause) - I can understand

2.Harold invented his own god, laughing maniacally at the sight of a face in a cloud.
: While Harold was laughing (participial phrase with the sentence subject)

3.Harold invented his own god, laughing maniacally at the sight of a face in a cloud.
: his own god, which(who) was laughing (reduced non-restrictive clause)

I don't know if either 2 or 3 intepretation is possible and that should be determined by the context.

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• When a participial phrase is attached to the end of a sentence and it is modifying the last word of the sentence (a noun), it may be acting like a reduced relative clause as well. In this case, refer to the rules for restrictive and non-restrictive clauses for punctuation.
Example: Harold invented his own god, laughing maniacally at the sight of a face in a cloud.
The question here is who is laughing maniacally. Punctuated as it is now, laughing maniacally at the sight of a face in a cloud is a participial phrase that modifies Harold. However, it could be seen as a reduced relative clause that is modifying god. This relative clause is restrictive because laughing maniacally would specify what kind of god Harold had invented. Therefore, use no comma.
• Harold invented his own god which was laughing maniacally at the sight of a face in a cloud.
• Harold invented his own god laughing maniacally at the sight of a face in a cloud.

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[Tdol]

I think there's a good case for not reducing the clause to maintain clarity.

 

[keannu]

You mean 3 can be confused with 2, so they will make 3 clear by saying " his own god, which(who) was laughing "?

2.Harold invented his own god, laughing maniacally at the sight of a face in a cloud.
: While Harold was laughing (participial phrase with the sentence subject)
3.Harold invented his own god, laughing maniacally at the sight of a face in a cloud.
: his own god, which(who) was laughing (reduced non-restrictive clause)

 

[tzfujimino]

Hello, keannu.:-D
I think Tdol pointed out that the "participial construction" should be avoided when the problem of potential ambiguity arises. I personally agree with your interpretation of #1 and #2. I'm not sure about #3.

 

[keannu]

Okay 3 is kind of vague, anyway if 3 can exist as I've seen in numerous similar case, is the lable for 3 "reduced non-restrictive clause" not like participial phrase of 2? I have to explain to my other people.

1.Harold invented his own god laughing maniacally at the sight of a face in a cloud.
:god which was laughing (reduced restrictive clause) - I can understand

2.Harold invented his own god, laughing maniacally at the sight of a face in a cloud.
: While Harold was laughing (participial phrase with the sentence subject)

3.Harold invented his own god, laughing maniacally at the sight of a face in a cloud.
: his own god, which(who) was laughing (reduced non-restrictive clause)

 

[emsr2d2]

Okay 3 is kind of vague, anyway if 3 can exist as I've seen in numerous similar case, is the lable for 3 "reduced non-restrictive clause" not like participial phrase of 2? I have to explain to my other people.

1.Harold invented his own god laughing maniacally at the sight of a face in a cloud.
:god which was laughing (reduced restrictive clause) - I can understand

2.Harold invented his own god, laughing maniacally at the sight of a face in a cloud.
: While Harold was laughing (participial phrase with the sentence subject)

3.Harold invented his own god, laughing maniacally at the sight of a face in a cloud.
: his own god, which(who) was laughing (reduced non-restrictive clause)

I wouldn't use #1. I agree with you that the other sentence could be read to mean either 2 or 3. For clarity, I would say:

- Harold invented his own god, while laughing maniacally at the sight of a face in a cloud.
- Harold invented his own god, who was laughing maniacally at the sight of a face in a cloud.