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Is the use of "on" here correct?

English Language & Usage Asked by Mohamed Essa on August 31, 2021

On meeting, he was upset and worried…

Is the use of on in this statement correct?

One Answer

OED gives the following relevant sense:

  1. On the occasion of (an action); immediately after (and because of or in reaction to); as a result of; = upon prep. 7.

That fits your sentence just fine. The grammatical problem arises rather with the next two words. “On meeting” is a front-shifted modifier, and as such must modify he, the subject of the main clause; otherwise it is a dangling modifier. Thus he must be the subject of the verb to meet, which remains a verb even in the gerund form meeting. Now, if the word were, say, arriving, that would be no problem; but the notion of just one person meeting is bound to strike many as odd.

As a commenter has pointed out, the problem could be solved by providing the verb meeting with a direct object:

On meeting the Estonian delegation, he was upset and worried.

Answered by Brian Donovan on August 31, 2021

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