Misplaced Modifiers
Clear and logical word order is a very important aspect of effective sentence-writing.
Most of the time, you order words in sentences without giving them much thought. For example,
you would never write “Independence Day today is.” You would just naturally write “Today is
Independence Day.” The words fall into the right order easily and make sense.
There are, however, certain times when your choice of word order is no so clear-cut. If
you use the wrong word order, your sentence may turn out confusing, if not downright silly.
We were told at midnight the show would begin.
The man dived into the pool with the moustache.
These sentences are confusing or silly because the modifiers are misplaced.
1) A modifier is a word (or group of words) that describes or explains another word (or group of
words) in a sentence.
Ex: He wore a ragged suit.
The word ragged modifies suit. That is, it describes the suit.
2) Place a modifier as close as possible to the word it modifies.
Ex: I showed my tooth to the dentist with a crack in it.
As this sentence is written, the dentist himself has a crack. It is obvious that the phrase with a
crack in it modifies the noun tooth. As it stands, the modifier is misplaced. The word order
should be changed to:
Ex: I showed my tooth with a crack in it to my dentist.
Now the modifier has been placed as close as possible to the word it modifies, and the
sentence is clear.
3) When dealing with modifiers, ask yourself, what goes with what?
Ex: The flowers appealed to the woman in the vase.
The modifier, displayed in the vase, certainly does not refer to the woman. It is important to
determine that the modifier goes with the noun flowers. The sentence should read:
Ex: The flowers displayed in the vase appealed to the woman.
Problems with misplaced modifiers often occur because you think faster than you can write.
The key to this type of writing problem lies in proofreading—in checking what you have written.
Reread what you write, asking yourself, “Is this what I mean to say?” Look at the modifiers and
ask, “What goes with what?”
4) Be sure that words such as almost, even, hardly, just, merely, only, nearly, scarcely refer
clearly to the words they modify.
Consider the difference in meaning between these two sentences:
Ex: I almost ate all of the vegetables.
Ex: I ate almost all of the vegetables.
In the first sentence, almost is a misplaced modifier. If you think about it, you can see that to
almost eat something is not to eat it at all. The second sentence, however, is much clearer. In
this case, the speaker ate almost all of the vegetables: that is, he ate many of them, but not all.
5) Avoid placing a modifier between two words when its explanation may apply to either word.
Ex: His teacher told him frequently to study.
Does frequently refer to told him or to to study? We cannot tell if the teacher told him many
times, or if the teacher told him to study often. This sentence may be rewritten as either:
His teacher frequently told him to study.
OR
His teacher told him to study frequently.
How To Avoid Misplaced Modifiers
1) Keep the modifiers near the words they modify.
2) Ask yourself, “What goes with what?”
3) Be sure that words such as almost, even, hardly, just, merely, only, nearly, scarcely refer
clearly to the words they modify.
4) Don’t place a modifier between two words when its explanation may apply to either word.
Misplaced Modifiers Worksheet
Write “C” if the modifier is correctly placed. Write “MM” if it is misplaced. Then, for the “MM”
sentences, circle the modifier and draw an arrow to show where it should go.
_____ 1. The man was stopped for speeding in the blue sweater.
_____ 2. I almost saw the whole movie, but I fell asleep around midnight.
_____ 3. Joe promised to mow the lawn running out the door.
_____ 4. The initials were those of the lovers carved on the tree.
_____ 5. There are only two parking spaces left in the lot.
_____ 6. Every four hours the doctor told him to take the pill.
_____ 7. Sitting on the porch, I smoked my last cigarette.
_____ 8. The woman walked toward us wearing the feather hat.
_____ 9. The jet crashed into a cliff carrying 155 passengers.
_____ 10. I hardly ate any breakfast.
_____ 11. I watched the mechanic fix the car with admiration.
_____ 12. I earn fifty dollars a week scarcely.
_____ 13. Reaching into the cupboard, I found the bag of cookies.
_____ 14. We borrowed a mower from a neighbor that was broken.
_____ 15. Climbing up a telephone pole we saw a squirrel.
_____ 16. Mel, running rapidly, disappeared around the bend.
_____ 17. The cat was rescued after the building had been set on fire by a fireman.
_____ 18. We’ve almost found all the pieces to the puzzle.
_____ 19. She vowed on her birthday to go on a diet.
_____ 20. We need gas badly.