解釋
分詞短語在句子中作狀語時，其邏輯主語(亦稱隱含主語)通常應是整個句子的主語；如果不是，而且其本身也不帶自己的主語(如在獨立主格結構中)，就被認為是一個語言失誤。這個分詞就叫做“懸垂分詞”(dangling participle)或“無依附分詞 ”(unattached participle)。例如：
(1)Getting down from the bus，my ankle was sprained．
(2)Driving to Chicago that night，a sudden thought struck me．
由 懸垂結構 造成的錯誤
(1)懸垂分詞
誤： Being Sunday, they went for a picnic.
正： It being Sunday, they went for a picnic.
正： As it was Sunday, they went for a picnic.
(2)懸垂不定式
誤：To swim properly, a course of instruction was necessary.
正：To swim properly, one needs a course of instruction.
(3)懸垂簡式從句
誤：When a middle school student, his parents were very strict with him.
正：When he was a middle school student, his parents were very strict with him.
套用
一般來講，分詞或分詞短語在句子中充當狀語時，其邏輯主語與句子主語一致，如：Opening the drawer he took out a revolver．其中opening的邏輯主語是句子主語he。當分詞的邏輯主語與句子的主語不一致時，則應將分詞的邏輯主語補出來，如：George yawning，the conversation dropped．這種分詞結構被稱作獨立主格結構。
但有時我們遇到這種情況：分詞的主語既不與句子主語一致，分詞本身又非獨立主格結構，如：
Going up the hill，the statue of Lincoln struck my eye．在登上山的當兒，林肯的雕像十分引我注目。
Tired but happy，the bus whisked us home．我們雖然疲乏，但很高興，公共汽車飛快地把我們送到了家。
這種分詞在語法上被稱作垂懸分詞（dangling participle），也叫無依著分詞。垂懸分詞從起源上來說，是語言的錯誤使用（performance error），即將分詞的主語與句子的主語錯誤聯繫，從而產生垂懸分詞，所以有人又叫它錯關聯分詞（misrelated participle）。
垂懸分詞通常出現在句子開頭或接近開頭的位置，與句子中的其它成分不產生必要的句法關係，特別是它與句子主語無邏輯關係。鑒於這種特點，垂懸分詞別名為：獨立分詞（absolute participle）或孤立分詞（isolated participle）。
垂懸分詞多數為現在分詞，少數為過去分詞。本文將從使用場合和情況對垂懸分詞進行分類、歸納和總結。
1．當分詞主語是不定人稱時，如：
When dining in the restaurant，a jacket and tie are required．
2．當分詞的主語是表示時間、天氣、自然現象等的無人稱代詞it時，如：
Being Christmas，the government offices were closed．
3．當分詞的暗含主語是句子的整體時，如：
The siren sounded，indicating that the air-raid was over．
Unknown to his closest advisers，he had secretly negotiated with an enemy emissary．
4．在正式科技文章中，分詞前常常帶有連詞，其主語通常與I，we，you等同，如：
When installing a boiler，the floor space which is available is very important．
When treating patients with language retardation and deviation of language development，the therapy consists，in part，of discus- sions of the patients'problems with patients and teachers，with subsequent language teaching carried out by them．
5．垂懸分詞最常見於方式分離狀語（style disjunct），表明說話人對所說的話的方式、條件以及說話人的態度或看法，這種用法可細分為以下幾種情況：
a．說話者用垂懸分詞引出話題，如：talking of，getting back to，coming to等，意思為“談到……，關於……，回到……”等，請看例句：
Getting back to our story，the princess was killed．
Coming to this question，I say no．
b.垂懸分詞表明說話者的說話方式，如：
putting it mildly，frankly speaking，generally speaking，roughly speaking，broadly speaking，biologically speaking等，請看例句：
Putting it mildly，you have caused us some inconvenience．
Generally speaking，dogs are more faithful to men than cats．
c．有些垂懸分詞或詞組表明說話的依據或視角，如：judging from，according to，considering，viewing it from，seeing，例如：
Judging from his expression，he is in a bad mood．
According to Barthes，the author had died．
Considering the low price，the car is worth buying．
d．有些垂懸分詞或詞組還為說話者所說內容的成立提供條件，如：providing（that），provided（that），supposing，given，意思為“if或with”，wanting和failing意思為“without”。例如：
Provided that a film entertains，few people care about its other merits．
Given prudence and patience，anybody can achieve something．
Supposing this to be true，he is certainly the murderer．
e．表示轉折性的垂懸分詞或詞組有：admitting that，allowed that，allowing for，considering（that），assuming that，seeing that，granting that，granted that，notwithstanding，請看例句：
Allowing for（=Considering）the deficiencies，the show is a success．
Granted（=Granting）that you are right，you should not get angry．
Admitting（=Assuming =Allowing）that he is drunk，that is no excuse．
f．有些垂懸分詞或詞組還可以表明說話者所說內容有無例外情況，如：barring，bating，excepting，excepted，saving that，意思為“除了……”；including，counting，setting aside，leaving．．．to one side，意思為“包括；除了……還有……”等，請看例句：
Barring（=bating）this point，I agree with you．
There are fifteen students countingme．
Setting aside the question of capital，this business has many other problems．
以上列舉的垂懸分詞，我們可以得到一個總體印象：垂懸分詞雖然在產生之初為錯誤聯繫使用所致，但一旦被言語社團成員所接受，便成為正確英語；由於其產生的特殊性，及其使用場合的有限性，垂懸分詞與一般分詞相比靈活程度差一些，也就是說，垂懸分詞的表達及用途相對固定。甚至於有些垂懸分詞詞組已被很多詞典編撰者當作固定詞組來看待，如上文中的generally speaking，frankly speaking，judging from ，com ing to details等。
另外，從詞性角度來看，有些垂懸分詞已不再被看作是分詞，失去了動詞的本性，已演變成介詞或連詞。被當作介詞看待的垂懸分詞有：considering，counting，including，barring，bating，excepting，excepted，concerning，regarding，respecting，touching，wanting，failing，pending，saving等等，例如：
Considering its cost，this machine is not worth buying．
He asked me questions concerning my health．
Pending a report from Rancy，we'll pro- ceed as planned．
I know nothing respecting that girl．
已變成連詞的垂懸分詞有：providing（that），provided（that），saving，notwithstanding，seeing，considering，granting，granted，adm itting，assum ing，allowing，supposing等等。例句：
He was prudent notwithstanding that he was young．
Granting that he has made a mistake，he is not to blame．
總之，垂懸分詞與一般分詞不一樣，是一種超常規的語言現象，但其用途與形式相對固定，應引起我們足夠的重視。正因為垂懸分詞的使用場合及數量相對有限，英語學習者一方面要學會理解並掌握這一超常語言現象，另一方面切記不要將其它一般分詞（遵循主謂一致原則）模仿垂懸分詞使用，因為畢竟垂懸分詞的產生源於錯誤聯繫，違反了主謂一致原則。
