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When the noun or pronoun to which the participle relates is a passive subject, it should not have the possessive form; as, “The daily instances of men’s dying around us remind us of the brevity of human life.”  “We do not speak of a monosyllable’s having a primary accent.”  Change men’s to men, and monosyllable’s to monosyllable.

After verbs

Verbs do not govern participles.  “I intend doing it,” “I remember meeting Longfellow,” and similar expressions should be changed by the substitution of the infinitive for the participle; as, “I intend to do it,” “I remember to have met Longfellow.”

After verbs signifying to persevere, to desist, the participle ending in ing is permitted; as, “So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them.”

Place

In the use of participles and of verbal nouns, the leading word in sense should always be made the leading word, and not the adjunct, in the construction.

“They did not give notice of the pupil leaving.”  Here, the leading idea is leaving.  Pupil should, therefore, be subordinate by changing its form to the possessive; as, “They did not give notice of the pupil’s leaving.”  Better still, “They did not give notice that the pupil had left.”
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Clearness

The word to which the participle relates should stand out clearly.  “By giving way to sin, trouble is encountered.”  This implies that trouble gives way to sin.  The relation of the participle is made clear by saying, “By giving way to sin, we encounter trouble.”

“By yielding to temptation, our peace is sacrificed.”  This should be, “By yielding to temptation we sacrifice our peace.”

“A poor child was found in the streets by a wealthy and benevolent gentleman, suffering from cold and hunger.”  Say, “A poor child, suffering from cold and hunger, was found,” etc.

Awkward Construction

Such awkward sentences as the following should be avoided.  In most cases they will require to be recast.

“But as soon as the whole body is attempted to be carved, a disproportion between its various parts results.”

“The offence attempted to be charged should be alleged under another section of the statute.”  The following is a better arrangement: 

“But as soon as an attempt is made to carve the whole body,” etc.  “The offence which it is attempted to charge,” etc.
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173

Is building

The active participle in a passive sense is employed by many excellent writers and is condemned by others.

“Corn is selling for fifty cents a bushel.”

“Corn is being sold for fifty cents a bushel.”

The commercial world evidently prefers the former sentence.  There is a breeziness and an energy in it that is lacking in the latter.  It must, however, be used with caution.  In the following examples the passive form is decidedly better than the active:  “The foundation was being laid,” “They are being educated,” “While the speech was being delivered,” etc.
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