GRAMMAR:
MISPLACED MODIFIERS
DANGLING MODIFIERS
DANGLING MODIFIERS
Components to cover:
• MISPLACED MODIFIERS
• DANGLING MODIFIERS
WHAT ARE
MODIFIERS?
Example
Modifiers are word or a
group of words that
describes, limits or qualifies
the meaning of another word
or phrase.
Modifiers can be a word or a
phrase or clause.
The silver fish (word)
The fish in the pond (phrase)
The fish that he caught (clause)
MODIFIERS ADD
LIFE TO
SENTENCE
One cannot imagine a
sentence without modifiers.
A sentence without modifiers
can be very boring.
Example
1. He gave her the rose.
He gave her the scarlet red rose
he picked from the sweet
smelling garden.
2. She watched the sunset.
She watched the blood red sun
quickly sink below the horizon.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF MODIFIERS
• To add details to sentences
• To make sentences more interesting
• To create clear communications
when correctly used.
USE OF
MODIFIERS
Modifiers can be used for
both in the good sense and
the bad sense.
Example
When used incorrectly
modifiers can cause problems
such as:
• Misplaced modifiers
• Dangling modifiers
INCORRECT USE
OF MODIFIERS
Example
The incorrect modifiers can
result in sentences that are
awkward, misleading or
unintentionally humorous.
Covered in mud, Mark
wiped off the trembling
puppy.
MISPLACED
MODIFIERS
Misplace modifiers are
modifiers that are not put in
the right place in a sentence.
Example
Covered in mud, Mark
wiped off the trembling
puppy.
MISPLACED
MODIFIERS
They can describe the wrong
word and can also change the
intended meaning of a
sentence.
Example
Covered in mud, Mark wiped off
the trembling puppy.
Who is covered in mud. The
puppy is muddy but it sound like
Mark is covered in mud. How
could we correct this sentence?
Correct sentence: Mark wiped
off the trembling puppy covered
in mud.
AVOIDING
MISPLACED
MODIFIERS
To avoid misplaced modifiers,
the modifier mist be placed
close to the item or word that
it modifies.
Example
Smelling sour, John threw
away the food.
John is not smelling sour
but the food is.
“Smelling sour” is the
modifier and the “food” is
the item or word being
modified.
PLACING THE
MODIFIER
CORRECTLY
Sometime it is difficult to
understand where to place
the modifier in a sentence.
A close study of the sentence
can help us correct it.
Example
Original sentence: Smelling
sour, John threw away the
food.
Corrected sentence: John
threw away the sour
smelling food.
PLACING THE
MODIFIER
CORRECTLY IN
COMPLICATED
SENTENCES
Sometimes it is difficult for
the student to place the
modifier correctly in a
sentence that is complicated.
Example
Original sentence: Broken
and dusty, Rita found an old
compute in a garage.
Corrected sentence: In the
garage, Rita found an old
computer that was broken
and dusty.
PLACING THE
MODIFIER
CORRECTLY IN
COMPLICATED
SENTENCES
The meaning of the sentence
totally changes, if the
modifiers are not placed
correctly.
Example
Original sentence: Hidden in
a fortune cookie, sue found
the engagement ring.
Corrected sentence: Sue
found the engagement ring
hidden in a fortune cookie.
ACTIVITY 1
Read the sentence carefully and rewrite it correctly:
1. Shooting laser out of his eyes, the mad scientist
was no match for the robot.
2. Jamie decided that almost $ 20 was too much to
pay for the ticket.
3. Sam followed the recipe, but the cake still came
out exactly flat.
4. Wild and untamed, Jack entered the jungle.
ACTIVITY 1
Read the sentence carefully and rewrite it correctly:
5. Moaning in haunting voices, the house contained
many ghosts.
6. Sam bought a used car from a local dealer with a
smoky tailpipe
ANSWERS TO ACTIVITY 1
1. The doctor was no match to the robot shooting
laser out of his eyes.
2. Jamie almost decided that $20 was too much
to pay for the ticket.
3. Sam followed the recipe exactly, but the cake
still came out flat.
4. Jack entered the wild and untamed jungle.
ANSWERS TO ACTIVITY 1
5. The house contained many ghosts that moaned
in haunting voices.
6. Sam bought a used car with a smoky tailpipe
from a local dealer.
WHAT ARE DANGLING MODIFIRES
When a modifier describes a word that is not
appear in a sentence that modifier is called
dangling.
A dangling modifier is a word or phrase that
modifies a word not clearly stated in the sentence.
A modifier describes, clarifies, or gives more detail
about a concept.
CHARACTERISTICS OF DANGLING MODIFIRES
• The dangling modifiers most frequently occur
at the beginning of a sentence.
• It is often an introductory clause or a phrase.
• Sometimes they also appear at the end of the
sentences.
BASIC
PRINCIPLES OF
DANGLING
MODIFIERS
OCCUR
Modifiers fall in love with
anything they are next to.
Students need to make sure
that the modifiers are next to
the word they ought to
modify.
Example
Original sentence: Changing the oil
every three thousand miles, the car
seemed to run better.
Modified sentence: Changing the oil
every three thousand miles, Fred
found he could get better gas
mileage.
HOW DO
DANGLING
MODIFIERS
OCCUR
As already stated, dangling
modifiers can occur in the
beginning or end of a
sentence.
Example
Falling asleep, the car steered in to
the bushes.
This sentence means that the car was
asleep and it went into the bushes.
Falling asleep is the modifier but the
item being modified is missing. Let us
look at the correct sentence:
Falling asleep, Trisha steered the car
into the trees.
The modifier: Falling asleep
Item modified : Trisha
HOW TO FIND
WHAT IS
WRONG IN A
SENTENCE
A careful read to the
sentence will help to
understand the mistake in a
sentence.
Students will have to give
some time to find out what is
wrong in a sentence.
Example
While waiting for the bus,
the sky turned threatening.
Here the modifier “while
waiting for the bus” is
dangling.
CORRECTING A
DANGLING
MODIFIER
There are two ways to correct
a dangling modifier:
• Insert a subject at the start
of a sentence
• Insert a subject after the
comma
EXAMPLE:
For the above sentence
option 1 works the best.
While we waited for the
bus, the sky turned
threatening.
HOW TO
INSERT A
MISSING
WORD
The student needs to
understand which part of the
sentence is missing.
Example
After running the marathon,
exhaustion overcame me.
This sentence can be written in two
ways:
Option 1: After I ran the marathon,
exhaustion overcame me.
Option 2: After running the
marathon, I was overcome by
exhaustion.
ADDING
SUBJECT TO A
DANGLING
SENTENCE
Sometimes in a
sentence there is
no subject due to
which the sentence
has no meaning or
the sentence lose it
meaning.
EXAMPLE:
While kneading the dough, the
oven warmed up.
The subject is missing because
we know that the oven cannot
knead the dough.
While Norma, kneaded the
dough, the oven warmed up.
ACTIVITY 2
Rearrange the following sentences correctly:
1. Having finished the main course, desserts were
eaten.
2. After visiting the processing plant, mat will never
seem the same again.
3. The fundraiser was a success, having run 100 laps for
$ 10,000.
4. Using a variety of pedagogical techniques, the
students were taught grammar.
ACTIVITY 2
Rearrange the following sentences correctly:
5. To improve his essay, each page was proofread.
6. While reading the novel, the pages that contain
important information should be marked.
7. To improve his results, the experiment was done
again.
ANSWER TO ACTIVITY 2
1. Having finished the main course the family ate the
desserts.
2. After visiting the processing plant, I will never see
meat the same again.
3. The volunteers made fund raising a success, having
run 100 laps for $ 10,000.
4. Using a variety of pedagogical techniques, the
teacher taught the students grammar.
ANSWER TO ACTIVITY 2
5. To improve his essay, David proofread each page.
6. While reading the novel, you should mark the
pages that contain important information.
7. He improved his result by doing the experiment
again.
The end