Only you can prevent dangling
modifiers
Playing with sentence parts
Close your eyes…

Picture a dog approaching you.

The dog approached me.

What do you think of this sentence?

We can add action, pictures, or sounds to
our sentences or make them like minimovies
One way to add more action is
by…

adding “-ing” verbs!

What are some “–ing” verbs that describe
what a dog does? (Let’s list them on the
whiteboard)

Ok, let’s close our eyes again…
Eyes are closed…

“Barking, growling, snarling, the dog
approached me.” (repeat it twice)

Did the picture in your mind change?
Why did it change?
 The –ing verbs added action, movement,
pictures, or sounds.

Let’s move our verbs to the end of
the sentence.



A. The dog approached me, barking,
growling, and snarling.
B. Barking, growling, snarling, the dog
approached me.
Which do you like better?
More mentor texts
“Barking furiously, Cujo gave chase.
 Cujo trailed at Brett’s heels, looking hot and
dispirited.
 Cujo stood at the edge of the lawn, his great
head lowered, his eyes reddish and filmy,
growling.” -Stephen King, Cujo

Can we move the phrases (barking furiously) to
different locations? Explain.
Modifiers-Please copy into your
Composition Books

Modifiers are words or phrases that
describe or modify part of a sentence.
Simply, they change a sentence’s structure
and meaning.
They should be placed as close as possible to
the noun they modify.
Mentor Text
Jumping up and down on the bed, the lamp
broke.
Is the lamp jumping up and down?
No!
Revised: Jumping up and down on the bed,
my brother knocked over the lamp.
Review Independent vs. Dependent
Clauses (if time permits)

Independent clause: can stand
alone



Dependent clause: is depending
on an independent clause
(leaves me hanging)
Dependent or independent?
INDEPENDENT (subject
(they) and predicate (handle
the cat carlessly)

Trading it back and forth

DEPENDENT (leaves you
hanging


They handle the cat carelessly.
They handle the cat carelessly,
trading it back and forth.
(COMPLEX)
Editing one Freewrite

1. Pick one freewrite that you would like to edit.

2. On the left hand side of the page please select
3 sentences that you would like to write using an
independent clause + dependent clause. Use the
model below to help. (10 min.)

“Students aren’t often taught this comma rule, which is the basis for many effective
professionally written sentences.”
Sentence
, closer.