What is a Modifier?

When you're writing, you're the king of your kingdom, but your kingdom is an island. All those
clues that you give and receive in everyday conversation are gone, so all of the information a
person gets to understand what you're trying to get across has to be there on the page, and it has
to be ordered in a way that makes sense. You can create any kind of argument or reality that you
want on the page, but it's your responsibility to make the reader understand you, or your thoughts
and feelings won't have their intended effect. One way you can better ensure that your thoughts
and feelings make sense and have their intended effects is to recognize dangling and misplaced
modifiers.

So, what's a modifier? A modifier is a word, phrase or clause that modifies (or describes)
another word. So, an adjective or an adverb are modifiers because they change the meaning or
add detail to another word or words -- as in 'the tin man and the cowardly
lion.' Tin and cowardly are both adjectives and modifiers. But this is English! So it's going to get
a lot trickier than that, but also funnier.

Misplaced Modifiers

Misplaced modifiers: A misplaced modifier, like it sounds, is a modifier that finds itself in the
wrong part of the sentence. Take this:

The fisherman left his live sack of bait on the dock.

Live is the adjective modifier here, and it's misplaced because it's modifying the word sack,
implying that the sack is alive. The intended meaning is for the bait to be live. So, the correct fix
would be:

The fisherman left his sack of live bait on the dock.

Now, take this misplaced adverb modifier:

We ran from the hideous mutants we saw quickly.

So, the modifier here is quickly, but it's in the wrong location. As it's written, it says that you saw
the mutants quickly, not the speed with which you're running from them. To fix this modifier,
put the adverb back where it makes the most sense:

We ran quickly from the hideous mutants we saw.

Likewise, entire phrases can be misplaced, creating confusion. Take this:

The gunslinger emptied onto the dusty ground the shells from his revolver.
As written, it seems like the gunslinger, rather than coolly emptying his spent shells onto the
ground is instead emptying himself onto the ground. Put the modifying phrase in the right place
to make him a hero again:

The gunslinger emptied the shells from his revolver onto the dusty ground.

Dangling Modifiers

Dangling modifiers: Your teachers in the past may have accused you of writing them from time-
to-time; mine certainly have. A dangling modifier is just like a misplaced modifier except that
the thing it's supposed to modify is missing! The modifier sits alone, modifying nothing,
dangling its feet off the edge of a cliff.

Don't leave it hanging! Here's an example:

Dreaming of the future, the possibilities were limitless.

Well, that sounds really nice, but who's dreaming here? Someone? Everyone? We don't know,
hence the modifier 'dangles.'

Sentences with dangling modifiers often start with a gerund verb (ING word), preposition or
descriptive phrase. Even professional writers do it once in a while (though they certainly don't
mean to).

Take this example from the New York Times Magazine:

If elected, Obama's main opposition will not come from Republicans.

If elected is the modifying phrase here, but again, it appears unclear what it's modifying. Is
Obama's main opposition getting elected? Clearly, the writer meant Obama. Here's the simple
fix:

If Obama is elected, his main opposition will not come from the Republicans.

Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers

A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that adds to the meaning of, changes, clarifies, or
describes another word, phrase, or clause.

Sometimes writers use modifiers incorrectly, leading to strange and unintentionally humorous
sentences. The two common types of modifier errors are called misplaced modifiers and
dangling modifiers. Another type of modifier error is called squinting error; this means that the
writer “squints” at their sentence, trying to force a modifier error to work. Don’t squint!
 If either of these errors occurs, readers can no longer read smoothly. Instead, they become
stumped trying to figure out what the writer meant to say. Here, a reader may “squint” as well to
figure out what the writer is saying. A writer’s goal must always be to communicate clearly and
to avoid distracting the reader with strange sentences or awkward sentence constructions.

Misplaced Modifiers

A misplaced modifier is a modifier that is placed too far from the word or words it modifies.
Misplaced modifiers make the sentence awkward and sometimes unintentionally humorous.
Incorrect: She wore a bicycle helmet on her head that was too large.

Correct: She wore a bicycle helmet that was too large on her head.

Notice in the incorrect sentence it sounds as if her head was too large! Of course, the writer is
referring to the helmet, not to the person’s head. The corrected version of the sentence clarifies
the writer’s meaning.

Look at the following two examples:

Incorrect: They bought a kitten for my brother they call Shadow.

Correct: They bought a kitten they call Shadow for my brother.

In the incorrect sentence, it seems that the brother’s name is Shadow. That’s because the
modifier is too far from the word it modifies, which is kitten.
Incorrect: The patient was referred to the physician with stomach pains.

Correct: The patient with stomach pains was referred to the physician.

The incorrect sentence reads as if it is the physician who has stomach pains! What the writer
means is that the patient has stomach pains.
Tip: Simple modifiers like only, almost, just, nearly, and barely often get used incorrectly
because writers often stick them in the wrong place.

Confusing: Tyler almost found fifty cents under the sofa cushions.

Repaired: Tyler found almost fifty cents under the sofa cushions.

 How do you almost find something? Either you find it or you do not. The repaired sentence is
much clearer.

Exercise
 On a separate sheet of paper, rewrite the following sentences to correct the misplaced modifiers.

1. The young lady was walking the dog on the telephone.

2. I heard that there was a robbery on the evening news.
3. Uncle Louie bought a running stroller for the baby that he called “Speed Racer.”
4. Rolling down the mountain, the explorer stopped the boulder with his powerful foot.
5. We are looking for a babysitter for our precious six-year-old who doesn’t drink or smoke and
owns a car.
6. The teacher served cookies to the children wrapped in aluminum foil.
7. The mysterious woman walked toward the car holding an umbrella.
8. We returned the wine to the waiter that was sour.
9. Charlie spotted a stray puppy driving home from work.
10. I ate nothing but a cold bowl of noodles for dinner.

11. Dangling Modifiers

12. A dangling modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that describes something that has been
left out of the sentence. When there is nothing that the word, phrase, or clause can
modify, the modifier is said to dangle.
13. Incorrect: Riding in the sports car, the world whizzed by rapidly.
14. Correct: As Jane was riding in the sports car, the world whizzed by rapidly.

15. In the incorrect sentence, riding in the sports car is dangling. The reader is left
wondering who is riding in the sports car. The writer must tell the reader!
16. Incorrect: Walking home at night, the trees looked like spooky aliens.
17. Correct: As Jonas was walking home at night, the trees looked like spooky aliens.
18. Correct: The trees looked like spooky aliens as Jonas was walking home at night.

19. In the incorrect sentence walking home at night is dangling. Who is walking home at
night? Jonas. Note that there are two different ways the dangling modifier can be
corrected.
20. Incorrect: To win the spelling bee, Luis and Gerard should join our team.
21. Correct: If we want to win the spelling bee this year, Luis and Gerard should join our
team.

22. In the incorrect sentence, to win the spelling bee is dangling. Who wants to win the
spelling bee? We do!
Tip: The following three steps will help you quickly spot a dangling modifier:
 1. Look for an -ing modifier at the beginning of your sentence or another modifying phrase:

Painting for three hours at night, the kitchen was finally finished by Maggie. (Painting is the -
ing modifier.)
2. Underline the first noun that follows it:

Painting for three hours at night, the kitchen was finally finished by Maggie.

3. Make sure the modifier and noun go together logically. If they do not, it is very likely
you have a dangling modifier.

After identifying the dangling modifier, rewrite the sentence.

Painting for three hours at night, Maggie finally finished the kitchen.

Exercise
Rewrite the following the sentences onto your own sheet of paper to correct the dangling
modifiers.

1. Bent over backward, the posture was very challenging.

2. Making discoveries about new creatures, this is an interesting time to be a biologist.
3. Walking in the dark, the picture fell off the wall.
4. Playing a guitar in the bedroom, the cat was seen under the bed.
5. Packing for a trip, a cockroach scurried down the hallway.
6. While looking in the mirror, the towel swayed in the breeze.
7. While driving to the veterinarian’s office, the dog nervously whined.
8. The priceless painting drew large crowds when walking into the museum.
9. Piled up next to the bookshelf, I chose a romance novel.

Chewing furiously, the gum fell out of my mouth.

Exercise
Rewrite the following paragraph correcting all the misplaced and dangling modifiers.
I bought a fresh loaf of bread for my sandwich shopping in the grocery store. Wanting to
make a delicious sandwich, the mayonnaise was thickly spread. Placing the cold cuts on the
bread, the lettuce was placed on top. I cut the sandwich in half with a knife turning on the
radio. Biting into the sandwich, my favorite song blared loudly in my ears. Humming and
chewing, my sandwich went down smoothly. Smiling, my sandwich will be made again,
but next time I will add cheese.
 Collaboration

Please share with a classmate and compare your answers.