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Lecture-103 (Dangling and Misplaced Modifiers)

Modifiers add detail to sentences and can be dangling or misplaced. Dangling modifiers occur when the subject being modified is unclear. Misplaced modifiers make meaning ambiguous. Writers must place modifiers close to the words they intend to modify to avoid unintended interpretations.

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Md Samiul Islam 2211909030
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331 views20 pages

Lecture-103 (Dangling and Misplaced Modifiers)

Modifiers add detail to sentences and can be dangling or misplaced. Dangling modifiers occur when the subject being modified is unclear. Misplaced modifiers make meaning ambiguous. Writers must place modifiers close to the words they intend to modify to avoid unintended interpretations.

Uploaded by

Md Samiul Islam 2211909030
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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 A modifier is a word or phrase that adds

detail or description to a sentence.


 A modifier describes, clarifies, or gives more detail

about other words in a sentence


 I walked in and out of dozens of stores

yesterday, searching for the perfect purse.


 Shopping with Lisa today, I found a great

purse.
 Modifiers add detail and interest to

sentences.
 Writers make two major modifier mistakes:

dangling modifiers and misplaced modifiers.


 A modifier that opens a sentence must be
followed immediately by the word it is meant
to describe. Otherwise, the modifier is said to
be dangling, and the sentence takes on an
unintended meaning.
 A dangling modifier occurs when the subject

of the modifier is unclear. Most dangling


modifiers occur at the beginning of
sentences, but they can also occur at the end.
 While reading the newspaper, my dog sat
with me on the front steps
 Unintended meaning: the dog was reading

the paper
 Intended meaning: he or she was reading he

paper
 Correction:
 While reading the newspaper, I sat with my

dog on the front steps


 While I was reading the newspaper, my dog

sat with me on the front steps


There are two ways of correcting danglilng
modifiers:

1. Place the subject within the opening word


group
2. Place the subject right after the opening word
group
 INCORRECT: After reading the original study, the
article remains unconvincing.
 After reading the original study, I find the article
unconvincing.
 INCORRECT: Relieved of your responsibilities at your
job, your home should be a place to relax.
 Relieved of your responsibilities at your job, you
should be able to relax at home.
 INCORRECT: The experiment was a failure, not having
studied the lab manual carefully.
 They failed the experiment, not having studied the lab
manual carefully.
 Incorrect: Riding in the sports car, the world
whizzed by rapidly.
 Correct: As Jane was riding in the sports car,

the world whizzed by rapidly.


 In the incorrect sentence, riding in the sports

car is dangling. The reader is left wondering


who is riding in the sports car. The writer
must tell the reader!
 Incorrect:Walking home at night, the trees
looked like spooky aliens.
 Correct: As Jonas was walking home at night,

the trees looked like spooky aliens.


 Correct: The trees looked like spooky aliens

as Jonas was walking home at night.


 In the incorrect sentence walking home at

night is dangling. Who is walking home at


night? Jonas. Note that there are two different
ways the dangling modifier can be corrected.
 Incorrect: To win the spelling bee, Luis and
Gerard should join our team.
 Correct: If we want to win the spelling bee

this year, Luis and Gerard should join our


team.
 In the incorrect sentence, to win the spelling

bee is dangling. Who wants to win the


spelling bee? We do!
 A misplaced modifier is a word, phrase, or
clause that does not clearly relate to what it is
intended to modify. In other words, a
misplaced modifier makes the meaning of a
sentence ambiguous or wrong.
 A modifier in the wrong place in a sentence makes

sentences awkward, confusing, or (unintentionally)


humorous.
 George couldn’t drive to work in his small sports
car with a broken leg(The sport car had a broken
leg?)
 Correct: With a broken leg, George couldn’t drive
to work in his small sports car
 The toaster was sold to us by a charming
salesman with a money back guarantee(The
salesman had a money back guarantee?)
 Correct: The toaster with a money back
guarantee was sold to us by a charming
salesman
 Examples of Misplaced Modifiers
 Andrew told us after the holiday that he

intends to stop drinking.


 (In this example, it is not clear whether

Andrew made this statement after the holiday


or whether he intends to stop drinking after
the holiday.)
 One-word modifiers can easily be misplaced.

 These include:
 Almost, even, exactly, hardly, just, merely, nearly,
only, scarcely, simply
 Which sentence indicates that everyone in the class failed the exam?
 Almost everyone in the class passed the calculus exam.
 Everyone in the class almost passed the calculus exam.
Which sentence indicates that Jean-Luc earned some money?
 Jean-Luc nearly earned $100.
 Jean-Luc earned nearly $100.
 Misplaced Modifiers Can Change the Meaning
He lost nearly $5,000 in Las Vegas.
 (This means he lost just under $5,000.) He

nearly lost $5,000 in Las Vegas.


 (Here, we don't know how much he lost. He

might have lost nothing at all.)


 These examples demonstrate that a modifier

needs to be near whatever it's modifying.


 Misplaced modifier:
 Buffy called her adorable kitten opening the can of
food and filled the bowl.
 Correctly placed modifier:
 Opening the can of food, Buffy called her adorable
kitten and filled the bowl.
 Incorrect: She wore a bicycle helmet on her
head that was too large.
 Correct: She wore a bicycle helmet that was

too large on her head.


 Notice in the incorrect sentence it sounds as

if her head was too large! Of course, the


writer is referring to the helmet, not to the
person’s head. The corrected version of the
sentence clarifies the writer’s meaning.
 Incorrect: They bought a kitten for my
brother they call Shadow.
 Correct: They bought a kitten they call

Shadow for my brother.


 In the incorrect sentence, it seems that the

brother’s name is Shadow. That’s because the


modifier is too far from the word it modifies,
which is kitten.
 Incorrect: The patient was referred to the
physician with stomach pains.
 Correct: The patient with stomach pains was

referred to the physician.


 The incorrect sentence reads as if it is the

physician who has stomach pains! What the


writer means is that the patient has stomach
pains.

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