Modifiers

Fizzah Irfan
 What is a Modifier?

 A word or groups of words that describes, limits, or

qualifies the meaning of another word of phrase.
 Modifiers can be a word, a phrase, or a clause.
 For example:
 The silver fish (word)
 The fish in the pond (phrase)
 The fish that he caught (clause)
 A sentence example:
 The little boy standing by the concession stand reminds me of
my brother.
What are the modifiers?
 A world without modifiers is a deathly boring
world. Modifiers bring your sentences to life.

• He gave her the rose.

• He gave her the scarlet red rose he picked from the sweet-
smelling garden.
• I sat by the ocean.
• I sat by the crystal blue ocean as the roaring and foamy waves
crashed into the beach.
• She watched the sunset.
• She watched the blood red sunset quickly sink below the
horizon.
 The Purpose of Modifiers

To add detail to sentences.

To make sentences more interesting.
To create clearer communication when correctly
used.

Modifiers can work

magic by bringing your
writing to life.
 VIDEO LINK

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZInHhKAJsLs
Video link
 VIDEO LINK

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEfevNhEzBw
LET IT GO
 PRACTICE

• Birds were singing

1. Use an adjective
• Small yellow birds were singing
2. Use an adverb
• Birds were singing loudly
3. Use a prepositional adjective phrase
• Birds with crested heads were singing
 MORE PRACTICE
• People will arrive
➢ Use an adjective
➢ Use an adverb
➢ Use a prepositional adjective phrase
• Students pass their courses
➢ Use an adjective
➢ Use an adverb
➢ Use a prepositional adjective phrase
 Like all magical powers, modifiers
can be used for good or evil.
When used incorrectly modifiers can cause problems
such as:
 Misplaced modifiers
 Dangling modifiers
These modifier problems can result in sentences that
are awkward, misleading, or unintentionally humorous.
 Misplaced Modifiers

Misplaced modifiers are modifiers that are not put in the right
place in a sentence. They can describe the wrong word and
change the intended meaning of the sentence.
For Example:
 Covered in mud, Mark wiped off the trembling puppy.
Who is covered in mud? The puppy is muddy. But it
sounds like Mark is covered in mud. How could we
correct this sentence?

Mark wiped off the trembling puppy covered in mud.

 To avoid misplaced modifiers, make sure to place the
modifier as close to the item it modifies as possible.

• For example:
• Smelling sour, Tamara threw away the milk.

Was it Tamara that smelled sour?

Tamara is not smelling sour, the milk is. “Smelling sour” is

the modifier and “milk” is the item being modified.
 ….So to correct the sentence, we need to bring the
modifier (sour smelling) and the noun being modified
(milk) closer together.

Now we have successfully brought together the

modifier and the word that is modified. The
original sentence read:

Sour smelling, Tamara threw out the milk.

The corrected sentence should read:

Tamara threw out the sour smelling milk.

 Another Example:
Hidden in a fortune cookie, Sue found the engagement ring.

What was Sue

doing in the
cookie?

How can we correct this sentence

and free Sue from the cookie?

Sue found the engagement ring hidden in a fortune cookie.

 Behold all the possibilities that the
varying placement of only one word can
create.
 What do each of these sentences say:
 Only gerbils like to run in wheels.
Gerbils are the only animals that like to run in wheels.
 Gerbils only like to run in wheels.
Gerbils won’t run in other places besides the wheel.
 Gerbils like only to run in wheels.
Running in wheels is the only activity that gives gerbils
pleasure.
 For Example:

Jamie almost decided that $20 was

too much to pay for a ticket.
Jamie decided that almost $20 was
too much to pay for a ticket.
 What is going on here? Did Jamie almost decide not to buy
the ticket, or did she think that a price close to $20 was too
expensive? The placement of the word “almost” matters.
 For Example:

Sam followed the recipe, but the

cake still came out exactly flat.
Did the cake come out exactly
flat?
Corrected:
Sam followed the recipe exactly,
but the cake still came out flat.
Misplacing modifiers are not the only way
one can abuse the magic of modifiers….

• Another modifier problem is called “the dangling

modifier.”

Dangling modifiers are dangerous to the

health of your sentences.
 The Dangling Modifier
When a modifier describes a word that does not appear in the
sentence, we say the modifier is “dangling.”
The reader will probably try to “attach” it to a word in the
sentence, but the result may prove confusing.
 How do dangling modifiers occur?
Let’s take a look……
Here is a correct sentence that uses a modifier:
Falling asleep, Trisha steered the car into the trees.
But what if that
The Modifier
connection was The item modified
severed?
There is a clear
Falling asleep connection between the Trisha
modifier and the item
modified.
Then the modifier would be left dangling, and we would get a
sentence that looked like this…...
 What is wrong with this sentence?

Falling asleep, the car steered into the bushes.

Can a car fall asleep?
No. But this
sentence seems to
say that because the
word the modifier
was meant to modify
(Trisha) has been cut
from the sentence.
This leaves “Falling
asleep” dangling.
 What is wrong with this sentence?

While waiting for the bus, the sky turned threatening.

The modifier “while waiting

Who is waiting for the bus? It is
for the bus” is dangling. not clear.
Because there is no subject, it
seems as though the sky is
waiting for the bus.
 How can we correct this sentence?
While waiting for the bus, the sky turned threatening.
When correcting a dangling modifier you have 2 options:
 1. You can insert a subject near the start of the sentence.
 2. You can insert a subject after the comma.
◼ For this example, #1 works best:
◼While we waited for the bus, the sky turned
threatening.
 Another Example:

After running the marathon, exhaustion overcame

me. What does the modifier “after running the
marathon” modify? That word is missing
from the sentence.
I’m wining, I’m winning!
It seems like “exhaustion” is The end is in Exhaustion will never
running the marathon. sight, I must catch me!
keep going!!
Oh no!! I was just
overcome by
Exhaustion!!

Exhaustion
 How can we correct the sentence?

After running the marathon, exhaustion overcame me.

 Remember, you have 2 options:
◼ Insert a subject at the beginning of the sentence, or
◼ Insert a subject after the comma
Option #1
After I ran the marathon, exhaustion overcame me.

Option #2
After running the marathon, I was overcome by exhaustion.
 One More Example:
 While kneading the dough, the oven warmed up.
Who is kneading the dough?
There is no subject to
perform that action.
Therefore it sounds like the
oven is kneading the dough.
We know that the oven is
not kneading the dough. So
how could we correct this
 Correction: sentence?
 While Norma kneaded the dough, the oven warmed up.
 Caution to Writers

Spotting dangling modifiers in your own writing may prove

difficult.
Your brain automatically supplies the missing information.

So as you edit your paper, think of your reader. You may know
what you mean, but he or she might be confused.
Now that you have learned to harness the magic
of modifiers for good, it is time to practice your
skills!

Let’s begin by
correcting misplaced
modifiers. Remember
to bring the modifier
and the item modified
closer together!
 How could we correct this
The womanmisplaced
was feedingmodifier?
the cat in blue pumps.
What is the modifier?
◼in blue pumps
Who is wearing the pumps?
◼The woman
Move the modifier (in blue pumps) closer to the
item it modifies (woman).
Corrected:
 The woman in blue pumps was feeding the cat.
 How could we correct these
misplaced modifiers?
Beating his chest, Stewart watched the gorilla go
berserk.
Corrected:
◼Stewart watched the gorilla beating his chest
go berserk.
Jane came close to winning the race. She almost
sprinted at the finish and beat her competitor.
Corrected:
◼ She sprinted at the finish and almost beat her
competitor.
Now let’s review “dangling
modifiers!”
 How could we correct this dangling
modifier?
 Having finished the main course, dessert was eaten.
What is the modifier?
◼Having finished the main course
What does it modify?
◼The sentence is missing a word for it to modify.
◼“Having finished the main course” is an action
◼But there is no “doer” of that action.
• We need to insert a subject to perform the action
 Correction:
◼ Having finished the main course, the family ate dessert.
 How could we correct these
dangling modifiers?
After visiting the processing plant, meat will never seem the
same again.
 Did the meat visit the processing plant?
Corrected:
 After visiting the processing plant, I’ll never see meat the same again.
The fundraiser was a success, having run 100 laps for $10,000.
 The fundraiser did not run laps.
Corrected:
 The volunteers made the fundraiser a success, having run 100 laps for
$10,000.