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a. I saw your brother in the kitchen, who was holding a pan.
Is the above sentence grammatically correct?
I don't think it is, but maybe it would be acceptable in speech?
Many thanks.
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Rank: Advanced Member
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Hi azz.
I doubt you would even hear it in conversation. Even if they paused after 'kitchen' they'd probably make a new sentence and say, "He was holding a pan". In fact I think that would be a more natural way to say it.
It is not the kitchen that is holding the pan. "Who was holding the pan" in your sentence is known as a dangling participle. It belongs next to the noun it modifies.
I saw your brother who was holding a pan in the kitchen.
In the kitchen I saw your brother who was holding a pan. Less likely but correct.
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Rank: Advanced Member
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No, the sentence is not grammatically correct, and no, it would not be acceptable in speech. What would be OK is, "In the kitchen I saw your brother holding a pan" or "I saw your brother in the kitchen, holding a pan" or "I saw your brother holding a pan in the kitchen". Which one you choose depends on whether "I" was in the kitchen or "your brother" was, and/or whether it's more important that it was "your brother" instead of someone else, or that "your brother" was holding a pan rather than, say, a tray or a pot or a bottle of wine.
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