Download Grammar Workshop Series Dangling and Misplaced Modifiers Robert Gillespie Academic Skills Centre

Grammar Workshop Series
Dangling and Misplaced Modifiers
Robert Gillespie Academic Skills Centre
Modifiers
Some aspects of English language use—such as subject-verb
agreement—are inflexible: you are either right or wrong in your
work. Other aspects—such as the modifiers that we will discuss in
this workshop—are more flexible yet. In these cases, our concern
is shifting over to issues of style and clarity, rather than strict
“right/wrong” considerations. It is quite possible to write a
sentence that is grammatically “correct,” and yet is unclear to the
reader.
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What is a Modifier?
For our present purposes, we will be defining a modifier very broadly, as “a
word or group of words that describes or limits other words” and that is not
essential to the fundamental grammar of the sentence. So basically, a modifier
is anything that describes or limits the basic elements of the Subject-VerbObject (if present) sentence which is the backbone of English writing. In this
workshop, we won’t be discussing modifiers such as adjectives, which don’t
usually cause huge problems for people; rather, we’ll be discussing the little
words and phrases that are often misplaced and used confusingly.
• Lynn Quitman Troyka and Douglas Hesse, Simon and Schuster Handbook for
Writers (Toronto: Pearson, 2009), 391.
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Limiting Modifiers
The first modifiers that we will discuss are limiting modifiers. These
modifiers (especially only but also words such as even, almost, exactly,
hardly, or nearly) can be tricky to organize. As always in English, word
order is extremely important. For instance, I’m sure you’ll notice a big
difference in meaning between the following four sentences!
a)Only he wore a tie to the departmental meeting.
b)He wore only a tie to the departmental meeting.
c)He only wore a tie to the departmental meeting.
d)He wore a tie only to the departmental meeting.
The basic rule with limiting modifiers is: put them in front of the word
that they modify
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Squinting Modifiers
Another example of problematic single words has to do with
adverbs put in the middle of the sentence between clauses. It
can be confusing to figure out what they are modifying, and so
we call them squinting modifiers—we have to squint closely at
them to see what they modify.
Take a look at the following sentences and see if you can
describe the ambiguity, and how you would fix it:
a)Cycling up hills quickly strengthens your quadriceps.
b)Defining your terms clearly strengthens your argument.
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Word Order
Both with limiting modifiers and squinting ones, the key is
word order. Put the modifier in a place where it is clear what
it modifies, and where it could not reasonably be understood
to be modifying anything else.
Remember the 4 Ps from the workshop on pronouns
(proximity, presence, potential, possessives)? They apply here
too., especially proximity. Get your modifiers close to what
they modify.
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Modifying Phrases and Clauses
These are relatively simple matters. What causes the most
problems for people in their writing is the process of
integrating modifying phrases and clauses into their basic
sentence structures. There are several typical problem
aspects of the placement of clauses and phrases. We’ll be
dividing the problems into three categories: Misplaced,
Interrupting, and Dangling Modifiers.
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Misplaced Modifiers
As the name indicates, misplaced modifiers are ones whose placement
makes it difficult to determine what they are modifying.
Identify the problems in the following sentences. How would you fix them?
a)Professor Markoff gave a lecture on North Indian musical styles that the
students enjoyed.
b)The barista handed a coffee to the boy that was very high in caffeine.
c)The policeman yelled at the man on the horse, who was carrying a
briefcase.
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Misplaced Modifiers
• In these cases, the problem has to do with sentence order: the misplaced
modifier is a relative clause that is either too near to something other than
what it is modifying, or put in a place where its referent is unclear. Make sure
to put relative clauses next to the thing they modify!
• This kind of problem can often happen with prepositional phrases. Keep in
mind that you can usually place them before the sentence if they modify an
action.
Error: The Canadian government passed legislation that made it illegal to sell
cigarettes to minors in 1988.
Correction of Error: In 1988, Canadian government passed legislation that made
it illegal to sell cigarettes to minors.
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Misplaced Modifiers
Keep in mind that such problems can very easily happen when
you string modifiers together: it can be unclear whether the
modifiers affect something in the modifying clauses preceding
them, or whether they all refer back to an element in the basic
sentence. This is why it makes sense to avoid putting too many
modifying clauses together in a row. For example:
• “This paper will deal with the problems that arose while
events developed in the central European states, which
seemed insoluble at the time.”
What’s the problem here? What’s a solution?
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Interrupting Modifiers
We have talked about the fact that in English there is a basic
“skeleton” of a sentence. What this means is that the reader
will have expectations of what information he/she will be
provided with, and we need to be careful about how we deal
with those expectation. Interrupting modifiers are modifiers
whose placement gets in the way of these expectations. The
most problematic interrupting modifiers are a) ones that
separate a verb from its subject, b) ones that separate a verb
from its object, c) ones that separate parts of a verb phrase,
and d) split infinitives.
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Interrupting Modifiers
So for instance, what is wrong with the following sentences
and how would you fix them?
a)Many classes, because of the snowstorm, were cancelled.
b)I read, a long time ago, this book.
c)Many people will, when a commercial comes on, go to the
kitchen for a snack.
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Answers
a) There is a modifier between the subject and the verb.
One way to rephrase it would be, “Because of the
storm, many classes were cancelled.”
b) There is a modifier between the verb and the object.
One way to rephrase it would be, “Long ago, I read this
book.”
c) There is a modifier in the middle of the verb phrase.
One way to rephrase it would be, “Many people will go
to the kitchen for a snack when a commercial comes
on.”
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Split Infinitives
Do the following sentences strike you as problematic? If so,
how would you correct them? If not, why not?
a)Their five-year mission is to boldly go where no person has
gone before.
b)I want to realistically depict the effects of this decision on
the target population.
Both of these sentences have what are called “split
infinitives”—that is, they include infinitives with a word
between the “to” and the verb (“to boldly go,” “to
realistically depict”). It is best to avoid split infinitives.
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Dangling Modifiers
As you recall from the workshop on pronouns, we discussed situations in which a
pronoun’s antecedent might not actually exist:
•
“Kenneth Kanuda, past president of Zambia, was elected to it in 1964, when
he was forty.” What is “it”?
Similarly, dangling modifiers are modifiers that aren’t modifying anything that is
actually present in the sentence. They appear most often appear at the starts of
sentences, as introductory clauses:
•
“While hurrying to class, it started raining.” Who is hurrying?
Here’s my favorite:
•
“After mopping the kitchen floor, the dog was fed.” Who mopped the floor?
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Dangling Modifiers
Note that whereas
1)misplaced modifiers can be fixed by moving them so that
they are closer to the thing that they are modifying, and
2)interrupting modifiers can be fixed by moving them to a
different part of the sentence,
3)dangling modifiers can’t be fixed in this way because they
are not modifying anything that is actually in the sentence.
Instead, you need to rework the sentence
So … How would you fix the examples in the slide above?
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Modifiers Question 1
Which of the following sentences has a
misplaced modifier?
A. He only talks about changing his habits.
[Intended meaning: He only talks but does nothing else, like consulting
a physician or psychiatrist, about changing his habits.]
B. A dog appeared in my dreams that sang like an
angel.
C. The steak on the grill is hers.
D. all of the above
E. none of the above
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Modifiers Answer 1
Which of the following sentences has a
misplaced modifier?
A. He only talks about changing his habits.
[Intended meaning: He only talks but does nothing else, like consulting
a physician or psychiatrist, about changing his habits.]
B. Contains a misplaced modifier: A dog
appeared in my dreams that sang like an
angel.
C. The steak on the grill is hers.
D. all of the above
E. none of the above
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Modifiers Question 2
Which of the following sentences contains a misplaced
modifier?
A. Only Bill wanted to go to the lake.
[Intended meaning: Bill wanted to go to the lake, but no one else
did.]
B. Bill only hinted that he would help us move.
[Intended meaning: Bill hinted but did not, for example, promise that
he would help us move.]
C. Bill wanted only Mary to win.
[Intended meaning; Bill wanted Mary to win, but did not want anyone
else to win.
D. all of the above
E. none of the above
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Modifiers Answer 2
Which of the following sentences contains a misplaced
modifier?
A. Only Bill wanted to go to the lake.
[Intended meaning: Bill wanted to go to the lake, but no one else
did.]
B. Bill only hinted that he would help us move.
[Intended meaning: Bill hinted but did not, for example, promise that
he would help us move.]
C. Bill wanted only Mary to win.
[Intended meaning; Bill wanted Mary to win, but did not want anyone
else to win.
D. all of the above
E. Best Answer: none of the above
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Modifiers Question 3
Which of the following sentences has a
misplaced modifier?
A. The dog barked only at the mailcarrier.
[Intended meaning: The dog barked at the
mailcarrier but did not bite her.]
B. He talked too quickly.
C. You should consider your options
carefully.
D. all of the above
E. none of the above
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Modifiers Answer 3
Which of the following sentences has a
misplaced modifier?
A. Contains a misplaced modifier: The dog
barked only at the mailcarrier. [Intended
meaning: The dog barked at the mailcarrier but did
not bite her.]
B. He talked too quickly.
C. You should consider your options carefully.
D. all of the above
E. none of the above
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Modifiers Question 4
Which of the following sentences has a
misplaced modifier?
A. Most stress disorders can be effectively treated
with serotonin-uptake inhibitors.
B. These disorders include depression, heat
intolerance, onychophagia, pathologic jealousy,
and dysthymia.
C. Most dictionaries will not have obscure medical
terminology, although most good dictionaries will
have the Latin and Greek roots that
morphologically compose the terminology.
D. all of the above
E. none of the above
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Modifiers Answer 4
Which of the following sentences has a
misplaced modifier?
A. Most stress disorders can be effectively treated
with serotonin-uptake inhibitors.
B. These disorders include depression, heat
intolerance, onychophagia, pathologic jealousy,
and dysthymia.
C. Most dictionaries will not have obscure medical
terminology, although most good dictionaries will
have the Latin and Greek roots that
morphologically compose the terminology.
D. all of the above
E. Correct Answer: none of the above
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Dangling Modifiers
• A description of something that is only implied
in the sentence.
• Usually, the subject of the sentence is missing,
but the sentence begins with a phrase that is
describing or modifying the missing subject.
Error: Raised in Nova Scotia, it is natural to miss the
smell of the sea.
Correction of Error: For a person raised in Nova Scotia,
it is natural to miss the smell of the sea.
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Dangling Modifiers: Examples
Error: Polishing his car every week, Fred’s
car sparkled.
Correction of Error: Polishing his car every
week, Fred made his car sparkle.
Error: As a young child, her father took her
on many outings.
Correction of Error: As a young child, Mary
went on many outings with her father.
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Dangling Modifier Question 1
Which of the following sentences contains a
misplaced or dangling modifier?
A. Pedrito got into serious trouble missing the
grammar quiz last Monday.
B. To complete the grammar quiz on time, you will
have to type quickly.
C. When taking a grammar quiz, concentration is
everything.
D. all of the above
E. none of the above
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Dangling Modifier Answer 1
Which of the following sentences contains a
misplaced or dangling modifier?
A. Pedrito got into serious trouble missing the
grammar quiz last Monday.
B. To complete the grammar quiz on time, you will
have to type quickly.
C. Contains a Dangling Modifier: When taking a
grammar quiz, concentration is everything.
D. all of the above
E. none of the above
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Dangling Modifier Question 2
Which of the following sentences contains a
misplaced or dangling modifier?
A. On completing the grammar quiz, spiking your
pencil is acceptable.
B. Wearing a helmet is a sign of a healthy
awareness of death.
C. When she talks to her parents, she is reminded
that she is lucky that they are happy and
healthy.
D. all of the above
E. none of the above
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Dangling Modifier Answer 2
Which of the following sentences contains a
misplaced or dangling modifier?
A. Contains a Dangling Modifier: On
completing the grammar quiz, spiking your
pencil is acceptable.
B. Wearing a helmet is a sign of a healthy
awareness of death.
C. When she talks to her parents, she is reminded
that she is lucky that they are happy and
healthy.
D. all of the above
E. none of the above
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Dangling Modifier Question 3
Which of the following sentences contains a
misplaced or dangling modifier?
A. After washing my car, I waxed it.
B. After talking with our veterinarian, I felt
better about the prognosis.
C. She called her boyfriend because she
missed him.
D. all of the above
E. none of the above
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Dangling Modifier Answer 3
Which of the following sentences contains a
misplaced or dangling modifier?
A. After washing my car, I waxed it.
B. After talking with our veterinarian, I felt
better about the prognosis.
C. She called her boyfriend because she
missed him.
D. all of the above
E. Correct Answer: none of the above
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Dangling Modifier Question 4
Which of the following sentences contains a
dangling modifier?
A. Having worked for the company for twenty
years, I was surprised to learn that my
retirement benefits would not be sufficient.
B. Having taught phonology every semester for the
last five years, he was eager to teach syntax.
C. After sweating in Reavis Hall throughout the
summer, I am ready for winter.
D. all of the above
E. none of the above
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Dangling Modifier Answer 4
Which of the following sentences contains a
dangling modifier?
A. Having worked for the company for twenty
years, I was surprised to learn that my
retirement benefits would not be sufficient.
B. Having taught phonology every semester for the
last five years, he was eager to teach syntax.
C. After sweating in Reavis Hall throughout the
summer, I am ready for winter.
D. all of the above
E. Correct Answer: none of the above
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