Misplaced Modifiers
A
modifier should be placed next to the word it describes.
Example
Note
how the placement of the modifier creates different possible meanings:
Note
how different placement of the word only creates a difference in
meaning between these two sentences.
Sentence A means that
the shopper did not buy any ties.
Sentence B means that the shopper visited only the tie department.
Sentence B means that the shopper visited only the tie department.
A misplaced modifier is a word, phrase, or clause
that is improperly separated from the word it describes. Sentences with
misplaced modifiers often sound awkward, confusing, or downright illogical.
Some frequently misplaced single
words are
almost even exactly
hardly just merely
nearly only scarcely simply
Example
The
logical meaning of this sentence is not that the vendor almost
sold all of her pottery, but that she sold almost
all of her pottery.
Therefore, almost correctly belongs next to all.
Example
#1
As written, this sentence means that children
were served on paper plates.On paper plates is misplaced.
Correctly written, the sentence means that hamburgers
were served, on paper plates.
Example #2
As written, this sentence means that the car
is carrying a briefcase. Carrying a briefcase is misplaced.
Correctly written, the sentence means that the man is
carrying a briefcase.
Example #1
As written, this sentence means that the store
was broken..
Correctly written, the sentence means that the toy
was broken.
Example
#2
As written, the sentence means that I forgot
my keys after I got home.
A squinting modifier is a modifier misplaced so that it may
describe two situations.
Example
The sentence above is unclear.
Does it
mean that I told my son when the game was over?
OR
Does it
mean that I would play with him when the game was over?
Awkward
separations
An awkward separation creates a
confusing meaning.
Example
A dangling modifier is
"dangling" because its placement gives it nothing to modify. In
many cases, the dangling modifier appears at the beginning of a sentence,
although it can also come at the end. Sometimes the error occurs because
the sentence fails to specify anything to which the modifier can refer.
At other times the dangling modifier is placed next to the wrong noun or noun
substitute: a noun that it does not modify. Dangling modifiers may appear
in a variety of forms.
In this sentence, the modifier passing
the building is positioned next to the broken window.
The resulting meaning is that
"the broken window" is "passing the building," clearly not
the
intended meaning.
In this sentence, the modifier once
revised and corrected is positioned next to I,
suggesting that "I" have been "revised and corrected."
In this sentence, the modifier after
roasting for three hours is positioned next to we,
meaning that "we" have been "roasting for three hours."
In this sentence, the modifier to
walk a high wire is positioned next to a pole. As a
result, the sentence means that "a pole" can walk "a high
wire."
Dangling elliptical clause:
In this sentence, the modifier when
just six years old is positioned next to my grandmother, suggesting
that my six year old grandmother taught me ballet.
How to
repair dangling modifiers – two options:
1. Create a word for
the modifier to describe. Place it next
to the modifier.
(Sometimes you will need to invent a
subject.)
With the modifier next to my paper, the
sentence clearly means that "my paper" was "corrected and
rewritten."
With the modifier next to an acrobat, the
sentence clearly means that "an acrobat" can "walk a high
wire."
2. Rewrite the modifier (phrase) as an adverbial
clause, thus eliminating the need for an immediate word to modify.
With its own subject, "was revised and corrected"
clearly refers to "my paper."
With its own subject, "was just six years old"
clearly refers to "I."
Now the clause clearly shows that "we" have
"roasted the turkey."
