Št 2000, 1999, 1998, 1998 Margaret L. Benner
Misplaced
Modifiers
A 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 error often sound awkward, ridiculous, or confusing. Furthermore, they can be downright illogical.
Example
The example above suggests that a gold man owns a watch.
Misplaced
modifiers can usually be corrected by
moving
the modifier to a more sensible place in the sentence, generally next to the
word it modifies.
Example
Now it is the watch that is gold.
There are several kinds of misplaced modifiers:
1.
Misplaced adjectives are incorrectly separated from the nouns they modify
and almost always distort the intended meaning.
Correct the error by
placing the adjective next to the noun it modifies.
Corrected
Example 2
Corrected
Sentences
like these are common in everyday speech and ordinarily cause their listeners no
trouble. However, they are quite
imprecise and, therefore,
should have NO place in your writing.
Just means only John was picked, no one else:
Just means that John was picked now:
Each
of these sentences says something logical but quite different, and its
correctness depends upon what the writer has in mind.
This sentence, for example, suggests that we brought a lunch slowly:
To repair the meaning, move the adverb slowly so that it is near ate.
Watch out for adverbs such as only, just, nearly, merely, and almost. They are often misplaced and cause an unintended meaning.
This sentence, for example, means that I only contributed the money:
Like
adjectives, adverbs are commonly misplaced in everyday speech, and may not cause
listeners difficulty. However, such sentences are quite imprecise and,
therefore, should have NO place in your writing.
Now click on the link below to complete Exercise 1.
3.
Misplaced phrases
may cause a sentence to sound awkward and
may create a meaning that does not make sense.
The
problem sentences below contain misplaced phrases that modify the wrong nouns.
To fix the errors and clarify the meaning, put the phrases next to the noun they are supposed to modify.
Example 1 (a buyer with leather seats?)
Example 2 (a corner smoking pipes?)
Corrected
Example 3 (a house made of barbed wire?)
Click on the link below to complete Exercise 2.
The
problem sentences below contain misplaced clauses that modify the wrong nouns.
To fix the errors and clarify the meaning, put the clauses next to the noun they are supposed to modify.
Corrected
Example 2 (a hamper that Ralph wore?)
Corrected
Be careful! In correcting a misplaced modifier, don't create a sentence with two possible meanings.
Example
Problem: Did
the teacher say this on Monday or
will she return the essays on Monday?)
Two notes about dangling modifiers:
Unlike a misplaced modifier, a dangling modifier cannot be corrected by simply moving it to a different place in a sentence.
In
most cases, the dangling modifier appears at the beginning of the
sentence, although it can also come at the end.
Sometimes the dangling modifier error occurs because the sentence fails to specify anything to which the modifier can refer.
Example 1
This
sentence does not specify who is looking
toward the west.
In fact, there is nothing at all in the sentence to which the modifying phrase
looking toward the west can logically refer.
Since the modifier, looking toward the west, is
sitting next to the funnel shaped cloud, the sentence suggests
that the cloud is doing the looking.
This sentence means that my mother enrolled in medical when she was nine years old!
At other times
the dangling modifier is placed next to the wrong noun or noun
substitute.
Example 1
Because of the placement of walking
to the movies, this sentence suggests that the cloudburst
is walking to the movies even though a possible walker - Jim
- is mentioned later.
Example 2
Since
having been fixed the night before is placed next to Priscilla,
the sentence means that Priscilla was fixed the night before.
How to correct dangling modifiers
Dangling modifiers may be corrected in two general ways.
Leave the modifier as it is.
Change the main part of the sentence so that it begins with the term actually modified.
This change will put the modifier next
to the term it modifies.
Using the same method, this dangling modifier
Click on the link below to complete Exercise 4.
Change the dangling modifier phrase to a subordinate clause, creating a subject and verb.
Leave the rest of the sentence as it is.
may be corrected to
Using the same method, the dangling modifier
may be corrected to
Click on the link below to complete the final exercise.