"Coming out of marriage in your mid-thirties, it's an interesting place to be." - Uma Thurman, in Eve
Uma's statement can be interpreted in two ways. One interpretation contains a dangling participle, and the other features awkward diction.
The word "coming" is a verbal, which is a verb form that functions not as a verb but as a different part of speech. Verbals that end in "-ing" are either participles, which function as adjectives, or gerunds, which function as nouns. In Uma's statement, "coming out of marriage in your mid-thirties" can be interpreted to be either a participial phrase or a gerund phrase.
If "coming out of marriage in your mid-thirties" is considered to be a participial phrase, then it is a dangling participle because it does not clearly and logically modify any word in the sentence. A participial phrase at the beginning of a sentence modifies the subject; the subject of this sentence is "it," but "it" cannot be "coming out of marriage in your mid-thirties." Only a person can be "coming out of marriage in your mid-thirties." To correct this error, introduce a subject that can be modified by the participial phrase.
"Coming out of marriage in your mid-thirties, you find yourself in an interesting place."
This version of Uma's statement contains a subject ("you") that the participial phrase can logically modify. Notice that it is necessary to change some of the words to accommodate the insertion of the new subject. Similar contextual changes my be found in the answer options on standardized examination questions; remember to choose the answer that features a subject that can be modified by the participial phrase and that does not contain any grammatical errors.
The phrase "coming out of marriage in your mid-thirties" can be interpreted to be a gerund phrase: it is a process or a situation, both of which are nouns. In this context, the gerund phrase creates awkward syntax. While "coming out of marriage in your mid-thirties" may be considered to be an appositive that offers more information about the pronoun "it," the statement would be more elegant if the pronoun "it" were removed so that the gerund phrase becomes the subject of the sentence.
"Coming out of marriage in your mid-thirties is an interesting place to be."
While this sentence is grammatically correct, it does not exactly make sense. The relationship between the subject and the predicate nominative (in this case, "an interesting place to be") should be logical. Since "coming out of marriage in your mid-thirties" is not a place, change the predicate nominative to something that can logically be equated with the subject.
"Coming out of marriage in your mid-thirties is an interesting process."
"Coming out of marriage in your mid-thirties is an interesting situation."
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