Only you can prevent dangling modifiers

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Only you can prevent dangling modifiers

• Playing with sentence parts

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Close your eyes

• Picture a dog approaching you.
• The dog approached me.
• What do you think of this sentence?
• We can add action, pictures, or sounds to our
  sentences or make them like mini-movies

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One way to add more action is by

• adding -ing verbs!
• What are some ing verbs that describe what a
  dog does? (Lets list them on the whiteboard)
• Ok, lets close our eyes again

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Eyes are closed

• Barking, growling, snarling, the dog approached
  me. (repeat it twice)
• Did the picture in your mind change?
• Why did it change?
• The ing verbs added action, movement, pictures,
  or sounds.

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Lets move our verbs to the end of the sentence.

• A. The dog approached me, barking, growling, and
  snarling.
• B. Barking, growling, snarling, the dog
  approached me.
• Which do you like better?

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More mentor texts

• Barking furiously, Cujo gave chase.
• Cujo trailed at Bretts heels, looking hot and
  dispirited.
• Cujo stood at the edge of the lawn, his great
  head lowered, his eyes reddish and filmy,
  growling. -Stephen King, Cujo
• Can we move the phrases (barking furiously) to
  different locations? Explain.

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Modifiers-Please copy into your Composition Books

• Modifiers are words or phrases that describe or
  modify part of a sentence.
• Simply, they change a sentences structure and
  meaning.
• They should be placed as close as possible to the
  noun they modify.

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Mentor Text

• Jumping up and down on the bed, the lamp broke.
• Is the lamp jumping up and down?
• No!
• Revised Jumping up and down on the bed, my
  brother knocked over the lamp.

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Review Independent vs. Dependent Clauses (if time
permits)

• Independent clause can stand alone
• Dependent clause is depending on an independent
  clause (leaves me hanging)
• Dependent or independent?

• They handle the cat carelessly.
• INDEPENDENT (subject (they) and predicate (handle
  the cat carlessly)
• Trading it back and forth
• DEPENDENT (leaves you hanging
• They handle the cat carelessly, trading it back
  and forth. (COMPLEX)

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Editing one Freewrite

• 1. Pick one freewrite that you would like to
  edit.
• 2. On the left hand side of the page please
  select 3 sentences that you would like to write
  using an independent clause dependent clause.
  Use the model below to help. (10 min.)
• Students arent often taught this comma rule,
  which is the basis for many effective
  professionally written sentences.
• , closer.

Sentence