Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers

1
Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers

• The difference between clarity and awkwardness.

2
First things first

• What is a modifier, anyway?
• Modifiers are words, phrases, or clauses that
  provide description in sentences. Modifiers
  allow writers to take the picture that they have
  in their heads and transfer it accurately to the
  heads of their readers.
• Consider this very un-modified sentence
• Stephen dropped his fork.

3
Stephen dropped his fork

• Poor Stephen, who just wanted a quick snack
  before his after school detention, quickly
  dropped his fork on the cafeteria tray, gagging
  with disgust as a large cockroach wiggled out of
  his grilled cheese sandwich, a sight requiring a
  year of therapy before Stephen could eat bread
  again.

4
What are the modifiers?

• Adjective poor.
• Adjective clause who just wanted a quick meal.
• Adverb quickly.
• Adverb clause as a large cockroach wiggled out
  of his grilled cheese sandwich.
• Absolute phrase a sight requiring a year of
  therapy before Stephen could eat bread again.
• Infinitive phrase to get through his after
  school detention.
• Participle phrase gagging with disgust.
• Prepositional phrase on the cafeteria tray.

5
Misplaced Modifiers

• Misplaced modifiers modify the wrong word, or
  they seem to modify more than one word in a
  sentence. To correct a misplaced modifier, move
  the modifier as close as possible to the word it
  modifies.
• . Consider the following sentence
• WRONG After our conversation lessons, we could
  understand the Spanish spoken by our visitors
  from Madrid easily. (Do we understand the Spanish
  easily, or do the visitors speak it easily?)
• This revision eliminates the confusion
• RIGHT We could easily understand the Spanish
  spoken by our visitors from Madrid.

6
Misplaced Modifiers cont.

• It is particularly important to be careful about
  where you put limiting modifiers. These are words
  like "almost," "hardly," "nearly," "just,"
  "only," "merely," and so on. Many writers
  regularly misplace these modifiers. You can
  accidentally change the entire meaning of a
  sentence if you place these modifiers next to the
  wrong word
• WRONG Randy has nearly annoyed every professor
  he has had by sending them email spam. (he hasn't
  "nearly annoyed" them)
• WRONG She almost gave 5,000 to charity. (But
  then she thought better of it and bought a big
  screen TV.)
• RIGHT Randy has annoyed nearly every professor
  he has had by sending them email spam.
• RIGHT She gave almost 5,000 to the charity.
  (Wow, how nice of her!)

7
And some more

• Like individual words, It is important that you
  place the modifying phrase or clause as close as
  possible to the word or words it modifies
• WRONG By accident, he poked the little girl
  with his finger in the eye. (Wha?)
• WRONG I heard that my roommate intended to
  throw a surprise party for me while I was outside
  her bedroom window. (Whoo hoo! Party without
  the birthday girl!)
• WRONG After the wedding, Ian told us at his
  bachelor party that he would start behaving like
  a responsible adult.
• RIGHT By accident, he poked the little girl in
  the eye with his finger.
• RIGHT While I was outside her bedroom window, I
  heard that my roommate intended to throw a
  surprise party for me.
• RIGHT Ian told us at his bachelor party that he
  would start behaving like a responsible adult
  after the wedding.

8
Dangling Modifiers

• Dangling modifiers seem logically to modify no
  word at all (a word seems missing). To correct a
  dangling modifier, add a word the dangling phrase
  can sensibly modify. They typically appear at
  the end or beginning of a sentence.
• Wrong Walking to college on a subzero morning,
  my left ear became frozen. (A walking ear?)
• Right I was walking to college on a subzero
  morning when my left ear froze.

9
How did these get published?

• For sale an antique desk suitable for lady with
  thick legs and large drawers.
• Wanted Man to take care of cow that
  does not smoke or drink.
• Have several very old dresses from grandmother
  in beautiful condition.
• For those of you who have
• children and don't know it, we
• have a nursery downstairs.
• The hunter crouched behind a tree waiting for a
  bear to come along with a bow and arrow.

10
Some practice!

• Piled up next to the washer, I began doing the
  laundry.
• I began doing the laundry piled up next to the
  washer.
• While John was talking on the phone, the doorbell
  rang.
• While talking on the phone, the doorbell rang.
• Standing on the balcony, the ocean view was
  magnificent.
• Standing on the balcony, we had a magnificent
  ocean view.

11
Keep going!

• As I was running across the floor, the rug
  slipped and I lost my balance.
• Running across the floor, the rug slipped and I
  lost my balance
• While taking out the trash, the sack broke.
• While Jamie was taking out the trash, the sack
  broke.
• Nice job!

12
But What About Dangling Modifiers?

• I almost listened to the whole album.
• I listened to almost the whole album.
• He was staring at the girl wearing dark glasses
  by the vending machine.
• He was staring at the girl by the vending machine
  wearing dark glasses.
• We read that Janet was married in her last
  letter.
• In her last letter, we read that Janet was
  married.

13
A bit more!

• The faulty alarm nearly sounded five times
  yesterday.
• The faulty alarm system sounded nearly five times
  yesterday.
• On the evening news, I heard that there was a
  revolution.
• I heard that there was a revolution on the
  evening news.
• I think youve got it.

14
I can