The Dirty Dozen Workshop Series

Presents:

Workshop Four:

Misplaced &

Dangling Modifiers

I Which sentence 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.

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.

Why?

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

Rule of thumb: To avoid misplaced modifiers, place words as close as possible to what they describe.

Were the children on paper plates?

He served pancakes to the children on paper plates.

Correct:

He served the children pancakes on paper plates.

I saw a rabbit and a 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.

Correct: He brushed his teeth for nearly ten minutes every night.

Were the rabbit and the raccoon on the way to the airport?

Did he come close to brushing his teeth but not actually brush them?

Psst! Words like almost, even, exactly, hardly, just, merely, nearly, only,

scarcely, and simply should come immediately before the word they modify.

Misplaced Modifier Examples

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.)

The following sentences have different

meanings because of the placement of only.

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.

Checking for Misplaced Modifiers

Correcting Misplaced Modifiers

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?

The woman bought a dress at

the store with green stripes.

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.

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.

How to Check for

Dangling Modifiers

While talking on the

phone, the doorbell rang.

(dm) Example

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?

While talking on the

phone, the doorbell rang.

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.

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.

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.

Answer A is incorrect because the doctor did not follow the vision program.

Why?

A) We saw several birds looking out our window.

B) Looking out our window, we saw several birds.

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.

Answer A is incorrect. The birds were not looking out our window. We were looking out our window at the birds.

Why?

A) The four men eating lunch talked quietly in the corner.

B) The four men talked quietly in the corner eating lunch.

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.

Answer B is incorrect. The corner was not eating lunch, but the men were. Why?

A) Mary nearly watched two hundred movies last year.

B) Mary watched nearly two hundred movies last year.

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.

Answer A is incorrect. Mary watched nearly two hundred movies. She did not “nearly watch.”

Why?

Join us next time…

Parallel Structure