Presents: The Dirty Dozen Workshop Series

Presents: The Dirty Dozen Workshop Series

Workshop Four: Misplaced & Dangling Modifiers

Which sentence I is correct? They saw a fence made of barbed wire behind the house. They saw a fence behind the house made of barbed wire.

They saw a fence behind the house made of barbed wire. They saw a fence made of barbed wire behind the house. Why? The fence, not the house, is made of barbed wire. The modifier, made of barbed wire, must be placed as close as possible to what it is intended to modify.

Misplaced Modifiers (mm) Misplaced modifiers are words that, because of awkward placement, do not describe what the writer intended them to describe. A misplaced modifier can make a sentence confusing or unintentionally funny.

Misplaced Modifier Examples He served pancakes to the children on paper plates. Were the children on paper plates? Correct: He served the children pancakes on paper plates. Rule of thumb: To avoid misplaced modifiers, place words as close as possible to what they describe.

Misplaced Modifier Examples I saw a rabbit and a raccoon on the way to the airport. Were the rabbit and the raccoon on the way to the airport? Correct: On the way to the airport, I saw a rabbit and raccoon. He nearly brushed his teeth for ten minutes every night. Did he come close to brushing his teeth but not actually brush them? Correct: He brushed his teeth for nearly ten minutes every night. Psst! Words like almost, even, exactly, hardly, just, merely, nearly, only, scarcely, and simply should come immediately before the word they modify.

The following sentences have different meanings because of the placement of only. Only Mr. Brown offered me thirty dollars to mow his lawn. (Mr. Brown was the only person to offer thirty dollars.) Mr. Brown only offered me thirty dollars to mow his lawn. (Mr. Brown offered, but did not pay thirty dollars.) Mr. Brown offered me only thirty dollars to mow his lawn. (Mr. Brown offered thirty dollars, but I was expecting forty dollars.)

Checking for Misplaced Modifiers 1. Find the modifier. 2. Make sure the modifier has something to modify. 3. Make sure the modifier is as close as possible to the word, phrase, or clause it modifies.

Correcting Misplaced Modifiers The woman bought a dress at the store with green stripes. 1. Find the modifier. The modifier is with green stripes. 2. Make sure the modifier has something to modify. The word being modified is dress. 3. Make sure the modifier is as close as possible to the word being modified. Is the modifier as close as possible?

Nope. In this case, with green stripes is not as close as possible to dress. Correct: The woman bought a dress with green stripes at the store.

Dangling Modifiers (dm) A dangling modifier is a modifier that does not relate sensibly to any word in the sentence. A modifier that begins a sentence must be followed immediately by the word it is meant to describe. Otherwise, the sentence takes on an unintended meaning.

(dm) Example While reading a magazine, my cat sat with me on the porch swing. Huh? Who was reading the magazine?

Correct: While I was reading a magazine, my cat sat with me on the porch swing. Also correct: While reading a magazine, I sat with my cat on the porch swing.

(dm) Example Asked to join the club, we were disappointed by his refusal. Who was asked to join the club?

Correct: Asked to join the club, he disappointed us because he refused. Also correct: When he was asked to join the club, we were disappointed that he refused.

Tips for Spotting Dangling Modifiers Dangling modifiers almost always include action verbs. In the previous examples, one modifier includes the word reading, and the other includes the verb asked. Not all dangling modifiers occur at the beginnings of sentences, but many of them do.

How to Check for Dangling Modifiers 1. Find the modifier. 2. Make sure the modifier has something to modify. 3. Make sure the modifier is as close as possible to the word, phrase, or clause it modifies. 4. If the modifier has nothing to modify, add or change words so that it does.

(dm) Example While talking on the phone, the doorbell rang.

While talking on the phone, the doorbell rang. Step one: Find the modifier. The modifier is while talking on the phone. Step two: Make sure the modifier has something to modify. The modifier cannot logically modify the doorbell. Step three: Give the modifier something to modify. Who or what can it modify?

Correct: While I was talking on the phone, the doorbell rang. In this case, it would be appropriate to insert I for the modifier to modify.

In the following pairs, one sentence is correct, and the other sentence has a misplaced or dangling modifier. A) After following the vision program for two weeks, my doctor told me that my eyesight had improved. B) After I had followed the vision program for two weeks, my doctor told me that my eyesight had improved.

A) After following the vision program for two weeks, my doctor told me that my eyesight had improved. B) After I had followed the vision program for two weeks, my doctor told me that my eyesight had improved. Why? Answer A is incorrect because the doctor did not follow the vision program.

In the following pairs, one sentence is correct and the other sentence has a misplaced or a dangling modifier. A) We saw several birds looking out our window. B) Looking out our window, we saw several birds.

A) We saw several birds looking out our window. B) Looking out our window, we saw several birds. Why? Answer A is incorrect. The birds were not looking out our window. We were looking out our window at the birds.

In the following pairs, one sentence is correct and the other sentence has a misplaced or a dangling modifier. A) The four men eating lunch talked quietly in the corner. B) The four men talked quietly in the corner eating lunch.

A) The four men eating lunch talked quietly in the corner. B) The four men talked quietly in the corner eating lunch. Why? Answer B is incorrect. The corner was not eating lunch, but the men were.

In the following pairs, one sentence is correct and the other sentence has a misplaced or a dangling modifier. A) Mary nearly watched two hundred movies last year. B) Mary watched nearly two hundred movies last year.

A) Mary nearly watched two hundred movies last year. B) Mary watched nearly two hundred movies last year. Why? Answer A is incorrect. Mary watched nearly two hundred movies. She did not nearly watch.

Join us next time Parallel Structure