Misplaced ModifiersA misplaced modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that is improperly separated from the word it modifies/describes.

Because of the separation, sentences with this kind of error often sound awkward, ridiculous, or confusing. Furthermore, they can be downright illogical.

Ex: On her way home, Jan found a gold man’s watch.

The sentence above suggests that a gold man owns a watch. Crazy, right?

So, what do we do to fix it?

Look at the sentence below

Misplaced modifiers can usually be corrected by moving the modifier to a more sensible place in the sentence (which is usually right next to the word it modifies).

Ex: On her way home, Jan found a man’s gold watch.

Now the word “gold” is modifying “watch”, not “man.”

Correcting Misplaced Modifiers

Ex: Rolling down the hill, Thomas was afraid he would be hit by the boulder.

What’s wrong with this sentence?

Let’s look at some more examples

The previous sentence made it sound like Thomas was rolling down the hill. Of course, it was actually the boulder that was rolling down the hill – not Thomas.

What would you do to correct the sentence?

To correct the previous sentence, you need to move the modifier (in this case, “rolling down the hill”) right next to the word it modifies (in this case, “boulder”).

Here’s the corrected version:

“Thomas was afraid he would be hit by the boulder rolling down the hill.”

How would you correct this sentence?

Ex: the patient was referred to a psychologist with a lot of emotional problems.

Let’s try one more

To correct the previous sentence, You need to move the modifier (in this case, “with a lot of emotional problems”) closer to the word it modifies (in this case, “patient”).

Here’s the corrected version:

Ex: The patient with a lot of emotional problems was referred to a psychologist.

Sometimes, you will have to add words to a sentence in order to correct the misplaced modifier. Also, there may be more than one way to correctly write the sentence.

Ex: Covered in wildflowers, Janice pondered the hillside’s beauty.

Obviously, Janice is not the one covered in wildflowers, but how would you correct this sentence?

One last thing!!

To correct the previous sentence, you will need to add some words. Here’s how it should be written:

Ex: Janice pondered the beauty of the hillside that was covered in wildflowers.

Or

Ex: Janice pondered the beauty of the wildflowers that covered the hillside.