DANGLING MODIFIERS and MISPLACED MODIFIERS

Dangling Modifiers

·         After changing into different shoes, the race was easy to finish.

·         While checking books out of the library, the lights went out.

The sentences above contain modifiers which have no clear word to modify. In the first sentence, the race obviously did not change shoes, and the lights probably didn't check books out of the library in the second. These are called dangling modifiers.

Dangling modifiers are usually one of two things:

1. a verbal phrase with nothing to modify

Example: Hearing the applause of the crowd, the competition ended.

2. a clause in which the subject and verb are omitted.

Example: When only three years old, my mother went back to work.

The mother in this sentence most likely did not go to work when she was three. Note the difference between the above sentence and this one:

·         When I was only three years old, my mother went back to work.

Once the omitted subject and verb have been added, the dangling modifier is corrected.

When general truth is stated, participles do not dangle.

Examples:

·         Weather permitting, the picnic will be held on the quad.

·         Speaking of books, the new novel by Toni Morrison got some really good reviews.

To correct a dangling modifier:

·         Leave the modifier as it is and rewrite the rest of the sentence so the word to which the modifier refers becomes the subject of the main clause.
or

·         Rewrite the dangling modifier as a complete dependent clause, which contains a subject and a verb.

Examples:

Dangling: On entering the room, beer was being served.
Fixed: On entering the room, I noticed that beer was being served.
Fixed: When I entered the room, beer was being served

Dangling: When only five years old, Barney was enjoyable.
Fixed: When only five years old, I found Barney enjoyable.
Fixed: When I was only five years old, Barney was enjoyable.

Dangling: After dropping his tennis racket, Bill's elbow was injured.
Fixed: After dropping his tennis racket, Bill injured his elbow.
Fixed: After he dropped his tennis racket, Bill's elbow was injured

“Being asleep, the telephone startled me when it rang.”
Now, we would apply the above rules in this sentence and check for dangling modifiers.
Step1: Being asleep, the telephone startled me when it rang
Step2: Being asleep, the telephone startled me when it rang
Step3: The telephone can’t go to sleep. So we have a dangling modifier here. Here we have to introduce the doer of the action. Let us introduce the doer as “I”. Now “I” is the subject of the main clause.
Step4: “Being asleep, I was startled when the telephone rang.”
Some times, combining the main clause and the dangling phrase helps in resolving the conflict.
The experiment was a failure, not having studied the lab manual care fully.
As it is, the sentence would mean that the experiment failed because the experiment didn't read the lab manual. This is illogical.
Applying the above rules, we observe that we need to introduce a noun.

They failed the experiment, not having studied the lab manual carefully.

While walking down the street today, the tree fell on the side walk.

Dangling Modifiers

Definition: A dangling modifier is a word or phrase that modifies a word not clearly stated in the sentence.

Consider this sentence:

Having finished the assignment, Jill turned on the TV.

"Having finished" states an action but does not name the doer of that action. In English sentences, the doer must be the subject of the main clause that follows. In this sentence, it is Jill. She seems logically to be the one doing the action ("having finished"), and this sentence therefore does not have a dangling modifier.

Now consider this sentence:

Having finished the assignment, the TV set was turned on.

Having finished is a participle expressing action, but the doer is not the TV set (the subject of the main clause): TV sets don't finish assignments. Since the doer of the action expressed in the participle has not been clearly stated, the participial phrase is said to be a dangling modifier.

Examples of dangling modifiers and revisions:

dangling modifier:

After reading the original study, the article remains unconvincing. (The article--the subject of the main clause--did not read the original study.)

possible revisions:

After reading the original study, I find the article unconvincing.
-or-
The article remains unconvincing in light of the original study.

dangling modifier:

Relieved of your responsibilities at your job, your home should be a place to relax. (Your home--the subject of the main clause--is not relieved of your responsibilities.)

possible revision:

Relieved of your responsibilities at your job, you should be able to relax at home.

Characteristics of dangling modifiers:

They most frequently occur at the beginning of sentences but can also appear at the end.

dangling modifier at end of sentence:

The experiment was a failure, having not studied the lab manual carefully. (The experiment--the subject of the main clause--did not study the lab manual.)

possible revision:

The experiment was a failure because they had not studied the lab manual carefully.

They often have an -ing word or a to+verb phrase near the start of the sentence.

Squinting modifiers:

Related to dangling modifiers, squinting modifiers occur when the word modified is not clear or could be more than one word. These problems can usually be solved by rearranging the elements already present in the sentence.

squinting modifier:

The mystery has been solved after ten years of the missing portrait.

possible revisions:

After ten years, the mystery of the missing portrait has been solved.
The mystery of the missing portrait has been solved after ten years.

Strategies for revising dangling modifiers:

1. Name the appropriate or logical doer of the action as the subject of the main clause:

• dangling modifier: Having arrived late for practice, a written excuse was needed.
• possible revision: Having arrived late for practice, the captain of the team needed a written excuse.

2. Name the doer of the action in the phrase that dangles:

• dangling modifier: Without knowing his name, it was difficult to introduce him.
• possible revision: Because Maria did not know his name, it was difficult to introduce him.

3. Combine the phrase and main clause into one:

• dangling modifier: To improve his results, the experiment was done again.
• possible revision: He improved his results by doing the experiment again.

Misplaced Modifiers

A modifier should always be placed as near as possible to the word it modifies. A misplaced modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that lands in the wrong place in the sentence.
Look at these examples:

• Sharon put the hat on her head that she bought yesterday.

Obviously, the clause that she bought yesterday is supposed to modify the noun hat. However, since the modifying clause is placed next to the word head, the sentence seems to suggest that Sharon bought her head yesterday. The solution to this misplaced modifier problem is obvious: move the modifier to place it next to the word it modifies.

Sharon put the hat that she bought yesterday on her head.

• I am writing a research paper about Queen Elizabeth in my English class.

This error is a little less obvious than the one in the previous sentence. The problem here is that according to this sentence, my research paper topic is "Queen Elizabeth in my English class." The phrase in my English class tells about me, not about Queen Elizabeth. Again, to correct the misplaced modifier error, place the modifier next to the word it modifies.

In my English class, I am writing a research paper on Queen Elizabeth.

• Priscila only took one test today.

The little word only is the most frequently misplaced modifier. The word only limits or shows contrast. The issue here is not that Priscila only tookone test--as opposed to passing one test, failing one test, or refusing to take one test. The issue is that Priscila took only one test--as opposed to taking two or three tests. To correct the misplaced modifier error, move the modifier next to the word it modifies.

Priscila took only one test yesterday.

A misplaced modifier error occurs when a word, phrase, or clause lands in the wrong place in the sentence. You should be especially careful to avoid two specific kinds of misplacement:

• Split infinitive

The professor said to never miss a homework assignment.

An infinitive consists of the little word to followed by a verb. No modifier should ever be placed between the to and the verb. Correct a split infinitive error by moving the modifier to the front of the infinitive.

The professor said never to miss a homework assignment.

• Disruptive modifiers

Maureen was, because of her many years of experience, a highly-qualified candidate for the job.

You've probably been told that varying your sentence structures makes your writing more interesting--and it does! Still, you should be careful not to achieve that variety at the expense of logical sentence structure. In this sentence, the modifying clause because of her many years of experience is plopped right down between the verb and the predicate noun, disrupting the logical flow of the sentence. To solve this misplaced modifier problem, reposition the modifier so that it does not disrupt the sentence.

Because of her many years of experience, Maureen was a highly-qualified candidate for the job.

To solve a misplaced modifier error, move the modifier to place it next to the word it modifies.

                                                                     
1. Misplaced modifiers. Place a modifier close to the word or phrase it should modify:
MISLEADING: The officer left to fight with his troops.
CLEAR: The officer left with his troops to fight.
At best, a misplaced modifier distracts your reader. At worst, it causes ambiguity or embarrassing blunders:
AMBIGUOUS: I waited for my parents to sit down to eat my breakfast.
AMBIGUOUS: Pat is in love with Kelly along with Jamie.
EMBARRASSING: I saw a shark snorkeling.
EMBARRASSING: She could not explain why she wanted to get married to her mother.
EMBARRASSING: After letting out a bang, I had to fix the ignition on my car.

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2. Adverbs. Place adverbs close to the verbs, adjectives or adverbs that they modify:
MISLEADING: He begged her not to speak sincerely.
CLEAR: He sincerely begged her not to speak.
Be especially careful with the words only and not:

MISLEADING: She only likes me.	CLEAR: She likes only me.
MISLEADING: All of us are not honest.	CLEAR: Not all of us are honest.

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3. Misrelated participles. Place participial phrases next to the phrases they modify. The error below could have been avoided by asking, "Who is dribbling?"
WRONG: He moves as quickly as a cheetah dribbling a basketball.
RIGHT: Dribbling a basketball, he moves as quickly as a cheetah.
The linking verb being is redundant as a participial modifier. People misuse being and being that to imply because:
WRONG: Being young, I could not understand my parents' worries.
WRONG: Being that I am young, I could not understand my parents' worries.
RIGHT: I was too young to understand my parents' worries.
Grammar Tip: A participle is a verb that acts as an adjective. Like an adjective, it modifies a noun, noun phrase or pronoun. Like a verb, it has a subject (namely, the word it modifies). It must be placed with care, for it will appear to modify the nearest noun or pronoun. Examples of participles:

PRESENT PARTICIPLE: gaping hole

PAST PARTICIPLE: fried rice

PARTICIPIAL PHRASES: birds flying South for the winter, cookies dipped in milk

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4. Dangling modifiers. Some misplaced modifiers cannot be corrected by simple relocation. If the word which the phrase should modify does not appear in the sentence, the phrase ends up modifying either the wrong thing or nothing at all:
DANGLING: While taking a test, a fire alarm rang.
DANGLING: While taking a test, there was a fire alarm.
CLEAR: While we took a test, a fire alarm rang.

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5. Dangling transitions. Avoid vague transitional phrases that do not clearly modify something. In the following example, it is not clear what regards what:
DANGLING: Regarding work experience, I volunteered at a hospital last summer.
CLEAR: I gained first-hand experience last summer as a hospital volunteer.
Some introductory phrases are often dangled: arguably, in conclusion, personally, interestingly, more important (ormore importantly), and the notorious hopefully. All these expressions are vague and trite. Either find better transitional phrases, or use the trite ones as grammatically as possible:
WRONG: In retrospect, it was a mistake.
RIGHT: In retrospect, I see it was a mistake.

WRONG: From what she said, she must be clever.
RIGHT: I can tell from what she said that she is clever.

WRONG: Hopefully, UCLA will accept me.
RIGHT: I hope UCLA will accept me. I wait hopefully for good news from UCLA.

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6. Dangling appositives. An appositive must have a clear noun phrase as an equivalent. In the sentence below, neither she nor the first set is the unforeseen setback:
WRONG: She lost the first set, an unforeseen setback that did not discourage her.
RIGHT (CLEAR EQUIVALENT): The first-set loss, an unforeseen setback, did not discourage her.
RIGHT (RESTRUCTURED): An unforeseen setback in the first set did not discourage her.
Grammar Tip: An appositive is a noun phrase equivalent to another noun phrase in the sentence. In "Bob, my postman, lives on my street," the appositive my postman is equivalent to the subject Bob.

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7. Squinting modifiers. A squinting modifier is located between two phrases, to either of which it can refer. Relocate the modifier. The following sentence can mean two things:
AMBIGUOUS: I drink skim milk only because I am on a diet.
CLEAR: Because I am on a diet, I drink skim milk only.
CLEAR: Only because I am on a diet do I drink skim milk.

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8. SI: split infinitives. Relocate words that come between to and the infinitive form of a verb. A split infinitive is a minor fault. However, to ears accustomed to English, it may ring a sour note; Shakespeare did not write "To be or tonot be." Usually it is easy to relocate the modifier:

WRONG: I tried to quietly exit.	RIGHT: I tried to exit quietly.
WRONG: He vowed to never leave her.	RIGHT: He vowed never to leave her.

If there is no perfect location for the modifying phrase, do not eliminate it; rephrase the sentence.
WRONG: Mom once told me to always leave a room as neat as it was when I entered.
RIGHT: Mom once told me I should always leave a room as neat as it was when I entered.
Grammar Tip: The unconjugated form of a verb, accompanied by the preposition to, is the infinitive. Infinitives or infinitive phrases can serve as modifiers or noun phrases:
ADVERB PHRASE: She plays to win. (modifying the verb plays).
ADJECTIVE PHRASE: They are the team to beat. (modifying the noun team).
NOUN PHRASE: To know my pit bull is to love him. (subject and complement of is).