Dangling and Misplaced Modifiers Excuse me, your modifier is
dangling.
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First things first. Who knows what a modifier is? A modifier is
a word or phrase that describes something. There are two types of
modifiers. adjectives: describes a noun adverbs: describes a
verb
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Sowhat are misplaced modifiers? A misplaced modifier is a
modifier that describes something you did not want to describe. For
example, only is a modifier that is often misplaced. I ate only
fruit. I only ate fruit. The first sentence tells us that I ate
fruit not vegetables, meat, or cheese. The second sentence tells us
that all I did with the fruit is eat it. I didnt plant it, harvest
it, or cook it.
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Lets look at another example I almost failed every cooking
class I ever attempted. I failed almost every cooking class I ever
attempted. The first sentence tells us that I barely passed every
cooking class I took. The second sentence tells us that I passed
only a few of the cooking classes I attempted. Do you see how those
sentences mean two VERY different things?
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So how do we fix these mistakes in our writing? The goal is to
keep the modifier as close as possible to the word you want to
describe. You can do this by following these three easy steps: One,
find the modifier. Two, check if it makes sense where it is. Three,
if it seems to be misplaced, find its true place.
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Misplaced modifiers can be quite funny Rolling down the hill,
Joe Bob was frightened that the rocks would hit the campsite.
(Remember the three steps.) What is the modifier? Does it make
sense? Where does it really belong? HINT: Who is rolling down the
hill?
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The corrected sentence Rolling down the hill, the rocks
threatened the campsite and frightened Joe Bob. Or I could write
Joe Bob was frightened that the rocks, which were rolling down the
hill, would land on the campsite.
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Lets try another one The dog was chasing the man with the
spiked collar. (Remember the three steps.) What is the modifier?
Does it make sense? Where does it really belong?
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Is this what we mean?
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Of course not Heres what we want to say. The dog with the
spiked collar chased the man.
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One more Twinkling in the sky, we admired the stars. (Remember
the three steps.) What is the modifier? Does it make sense? Where
does it really belong? HINT: Whos twinkling in the sky? We admired
the stars twinkling in the sky.
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Now that you understand misplaced modifiers, lets take a look
at dangling modifiers.
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Whats a dangling modifier? A dangling modifier describes
something that isn't even in your sentence. Usually you are
implying the subject and taking for granted that your reader will
know what you meannot a good strategy.
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Here's an example: Hiking the trail, the birds chirped loudly.
The way the sentence is written, the birds are hiking the trail
because they are the only subject present in the sentence. If
that's not what you mean, you need to rewrite the sentence to
something like, While hiking the trail, we heard birds chirping
loudly.
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Changing the oil every 3,000 miles, the car seemed to run
better. Who is changing the oil? How can we correct this? Changing
the oil every 3,000 miles, Maddy found that the car got better gas
mileage.
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I saw a mouse going to our class meeting. Flying around the
room, I saw two mockingbirds. Climbing a tree the other day, I saw
a monkey at the zoo. I bought a puppy for my brother with a cute
little tail. A cow is wanted by a farmer weighing about 1500
pounds.
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Going to our class meeting, I saw a mouse. I saw a mouse going
to our class meeting. I saw two mockingbirds flying around the
room. Flying around the room, I saw two mockingbirds. The other day
I saw a monkey climbing a tree at the zoo. Climbing a tree the
other day, I saw a monkey at the zoo. I bought a puppy with a cute
little tail for my brother. I bought a puppy for my brother with a
cute little tail. A cow weighing about 1500 pounds is wanted by a
farmer. A cow is wanted by a farmer weighing about 1500
pounds.
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TRY THESE! I returned the kitty to my Mom which had been
missing for a couple of days. I relaxed on the mat wearing my
Hawaiian shirt and shorts. I replaced a tile on the floor that was
loose. Jerry stepped on the snake without any shoes on. I bought
the used television from a friend with a broken antennae.
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TRY THESE! Carlos returned the hot dog to the Circle K that was
rotten. I love the donuts from Krispy Kreme with the vanilla
frosting. My cousin told me how to get to her business in a text
message. Alex visited the hospital, still worn out from all the
work. The woman by the pool with the bright T-shirt always drank
water.
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Your assignment In a moment, you will receive a list of
dangling/misplaced modifiers. You will pick two dangling/misplaced
modifiers to illustrate. Each picture should include an
illustration of the dangling/misplaced modifier, the actual
sentence underneath it, and a corrected sentence on the back. Once
everyone has completed their illustrations, we will dangle them
from the ceiling.
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Thank you Grammar Girl for some excellent examples.
http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/misplaced- modifiers.aspx