by VPing is NP

[Arnold M. Zwicky]

over on sci.lang, Ron Hardin (8/5/05) reports on the following, from
an Ohio State Highway Patrol spokesman:

-----
The priority is to try to reduce fatalities and injuries, and by
focussing on the worst drivers, the extreme drivers first, is an
important step.
-----

the straightforward analysis is as a syntactic blend:

   ... by focussing on the worst drivers...
     we can/will make/take   /   we hope/plan to take/make   / ...
     an important step
+
   ... focussing on the worst drivers...
     is an important step

but there could also be some contribution from the byVing dangling-
modifier construction so dear to freshman composition students ("by
focussing on the worst drivers, there is an important step to a
solution").

note connection to earlier ADS-L postings ("the agenbite of
inwhich"), since inVing is another freshman comp construction, and
the Ving constructions are related to the relative clause
constructions (bywhich and inwhich) that we alluded to earlier.

by the way, i'm referring here to composition teacher common
knowledge from way back, about byVing, inVing, bywhich, and inwhich
-- but surely there's some actual literature on this stuff?

arnold, not plugged into the composition world