“A wise man once told me that everything we read becomes a part of us, molding our personalities and points of view.”

Here is yet another questionable participle phrase. It doesn’t modify the subject or any noun at all.

Some may say this is a dangling modifier. But after a lengthy discussion on this forum, I would say this is either

1)a gerund (object of the omitted preposition ‘by’)

2)an adverbial participle modifying the finite verb in the noun/that clause, ‘become.’

Would you say these two alternatives are correct? Or would you see this is ungrammatical?

Thanks.

The quoted sentence is perfectly grammatical.  I would say the participle phrase is adjectival, modifying the noun phrase ‘everything we read’. (Is the sentence saying that everything we read moulds our personalities and points of view? Yes.)  You could alternatively regard the participle phrase as adverbial, modifying ‘becomes’.  But I think it would be too much of a stretch to regard it as a gerund.

As I recently pointed out in another thread, my rule in these cases is:  Regard the participle phrase as adjectival unless the meaning makes this impossible.

A wise man once told me everything we read becomes a part of us. Everything we read moulds our personalities and points of view.

“mould” is in the active form. We join it to the indeoendant clause by using the gerund form of the verb. If the verb is in passive, use the past participle.

I would say the participle phrase is adjectival, modifying the noun phrase ‘everything we read’.

I agree with ACB. The phrase is not a gerund, and, since everything we read becomes and then molds, it makes sense that the phrase modifies “everything we read.”