Week #10 Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers

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Adam Ethelbert Osborne
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1 Week #10 Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers Name Date What is a modifier? Modifiers are words, phrases, or clauses that limit or provide additional information about other words. In the phrase I never saw a purple cow, the modifier purple limits the discussion from all cows to only purple cows. Look at the sentence below. Standing on the bridge, the captain watched his ship move slowly through the channel. The modifier standing on the bridge provides additional information about the captain but in no way limits the definition. Modifiers allow you to combine several ideas into one sentence. You might write this: Jonathan ate the doughnut. It was the only doughnut. However, you can save time and space by reducing the second sentence to a single word modifier: only Jonathan ate the only doughnut. Remember that word order often determines meaning and that changing the place of only one word can drastically change the meaning of the sentence. See what happens when we change the placement of the word only here. Only Jonathan ate the doughnut. Jonathan only ate the doughnut. Jonathan ate only the doughnut. Jonathan ate the only doughnut. Jonathan ate the doughnut only. (No one else ate it.) (He did not do anything else to it.) (He ate nothing else.) (There were no other doughnuts.) (He ate nothing else.)

2 Misplaced Modifiers Remember that a modifier tends to modify what it is close to. It may modify the closest words before or after, as long as the sentence makes sense. Examples: The man was friends with the monkey in the yellow hat. Vs. The man in the yellow hat was friends with the monkey. In the first sentence, the monkey is wearing the yellow hat because yellow hat is closest to the word monkey and modifies the word it is closest to. In the second sentence, the man is wearing the yellow hat because yellow hat is closest to the word man and modifies that word. The same rule applies when you write a string of modifiers. Example: A man with red hair in a green suit crossed the street. Both with red hair and in a green suit should modify man, but instead in a green suit seems to refer to and modify hair. One solution to this problem is to put one modifier before and another after the thing modified: Wearing a green suit, a man with red hair crossed the street. A second solution is to combine the modifiers with a coordinating conjunction. A man with red hair and a green suit crossed the street. Dangling Modifiers Dangling modifiers can occur anywhere in a sentence, but the most common problem is at the beginning. A modifier that begins a sentence must refer to something that follows. Because of convention, readers expect an introductory word or phrase modifier to refer to the subject of the sentence. Walking along the beach, Mary found a sand dollar. In this sentence, the phrase walking along the beach modifies the subject, Mary. Be careful though if you change or write the sentence in passive voice, changing the subject: Walking along the beach, a sand dollar was found by Mary.

3 We expect the introductory phrase to modify the subject of the sentence, but sand dollars can t walk. Because the modifier cannot logically modify the subject, we say that it dangles. Look at these other examples: Finishing the game, the crowd loudly booed the home team. To enjoy surfing, the waves must be high. When only nine, John s mother took him to a circus. Was the hour enthusiastic? Did the crowd actually finish the game? Can waves enjoy surfing? Was John s mother really only nine-years-old? Because the modifiers above have no logical connection to the subjects of the sentences, we say that the modifiers dangle. There are two options for correcting dangling modifiers: First, reword the sentence so that the subject matches the modifier. Finishing the game, the home team heard loud booing from the crowd. To enjoy surfing, you need high waves. When only nine, John went to the circus with his mother. The second method is to change the word or phrase modifier into a clause. As the game ended, the crowd loudly booed the home team. If one wants to enjoy surfing, the waves must be high. When John was only nine, his mother took him to the circus. The Bottom Line Remember to keep in mind the essential relationship between modifiers and the things they modify in a sentence: A modifier tends to modify what it is close to. A modifier should be close to what it must modify.

4 Week #10 Misplaced Modifiers Name Date Rewrite the following sentences to eliminate the modifier problems. 1. The cat ate the food with black and white spots on it.. 2. Billy s mother packed an apple in his lunch that was rotten. 3. A man driving a truck with a large sombrero bought the pig that won first place. 4. Put an X in the box if you want to receive a replacement at the bottom of the form. 5. Driving through the park, the bears came right up to the car. 6. When thawed, salt should be rubbed on the roast. 7. With a song in his heart, the van s engine was repaired by Steven. 8. Bleating piteously, Mary allowed the lamb to follow her to school. 9. A girl carrying a pie with a shy smile approached the table. 10. Opening the garage door, the snow outside came almost to Henry s waist. 11. Monica began the drive to the beach without a care in the world. 12. The dog walked through the door with its tail between its legs.

5 13. She was only a child a mother could love. 14. Who was the man who told you where to leave the package in the yellow windbreaker? 15. On Wednesday, the butcher thought he had nearly cut apart two-hundred chickens.

Having finished the assignment, Jill turned on the TV.

A dangling modifier is a word or phrase that modifies a word not clearly stated in the sentence. A modifier describes, clarifies, or gives more detail about a concept. Having finished the assignment, Jill