GRM-018 Hard constraint layer: sentence

Repair dangling introductory modifier

IF an introductory modifier’s implied actor is not the following subject, THEN make the actor the subject OR expand the modifier into a clause ELSE retain.

Why the rule exists

The understood subject of a reduced modifier should be recoverable without absurdity.

Condition

The rule fires when this evaluates true. Paths marked below must be present in the fact base; the engine reports the rest rather than guessing them.

ALL
- sentence.intro_modifier.exists eq true
- sentence.intro_modifier.actor_matches_subject eq false

Facts this rule reads

Fact paths read by GRM-018 and whether the analyser derives them
Path	Source
`sentence.intro_modifier.exists`	Derived from text
`sentence.intro_modifier.actor_matches_subject`	You supply it

Then

restructure — target sentence

Else

retain — target current_text, No triggering condition is present.

Test cases

TST-003 · [object Object]

Before: After reviewing the proposal, the price seemed high.
After: After reviewing the proposal, we thought the price seemed high.
Reason: The reviewer becomes the subject.

LAKA

Smallest sufficient intervention

Yes

Primary axes

Sources

The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation — Jane Straus; Lester Kaufman
Accessible grammar, punctuation, examples, and exercises.
The Copyeditor's Handbook — Amy Einsohn; Marilyn Schwartz
Professional copyediting practice, grammar, and editorial process.
Microsoft Writing Style Guide — Microsoft link
Warm, clear, concise, helpful technical communication.

The raw rule record

Verbatim from 07-core-grammar-rules.json. Also available at /v1/rules/GRM-018.

{
  "id": "GRM-018",
  "name": "Repair dangling introductory modifier",
  "domain": "grammar",
  "layer": "sentence",
  "strength": "hard_constraint",
  "human_logic": "IF an introductory modifier’s implied actor is not the following subject, THEN make the actor the subject OR expand the modifier into a clause ELSE retain.",
  "when": {
    "all": [
      {
        "path": "sentence.intro_modifier.exists",
        "operator": "eq",
        "value": true
      },
      {
        "path": "sentence.intro_modifier.actor_matches_subject",
        "operator": "eq",
        "value": false
      }
    ]
  },
  "then": [
    {
      "action": "restructure",
      "target": "sentence",
      "options": [
        "make_actor_subject",
        "expand_modifier_to_clause"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "else": [
    {
      "action": "retain",
      "target": "current_text",
      "reason": "No triggering condition is present."
    }
  ],
  "unless": [],
  "because": "The understood subject of a reduced modifier should be recoverable without absurdity.",
  "diagnostics": [],
  "examples": {},
  "source_ids": [
    "BK-002",
    "BK-007",
    "WEB-004"
  ],
  "laka": {
    "smallest_sufficient_intervention": true,
    "primary_axes": [
      "scope",
      "depth",
      "magnitude",
      "reversibility"
    ]
  }
}