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PART 2 EFFECTIVE SENTENCES

9. MISPLACED AND DANGLING MODIFIERS

Words, phrases, and clauses that describe other words in a sentence are called modifiers. They modify the meaning of the words they describe by adding detail or specificity.

The position of a modifier within a sentence is important. If a modifier is placed too far away from the word it describes, the sentence may become confusing or unclear. When a modifier’s placement does not clearly indicate which word it describes, it is called a misplaced modifier.

Misplaced modifiers can be fixed by moving modifiers closer to the words they describe.

Misplaced The dancers discussed techniques for doing complicated leaps and turns in the car.

The placement of this modifier suggests that the discussion was about leaps and turns in the car, but logic suggests that in the car describes where the discussion—rather than the leaps and turns—actually occurred.

Therefore, the modifier should be placed nearer to the verb discussed:

Revised In the car, the dancers discussed techniques for doing complicated leaps and turns.

In some sentences, a modifier can cause confusion even when it is adjacent to the word or phrase it describes. A squinting modifier is a modifier that could potentially describe either the word that precedes it or the word that follows. To fix a squinting modifier, adjust the placement or revise the sentence so that the modifier clearly modifies only one word or phrase.

Squinting When learning a foreign language, practicing frequently improves confidence and fluency.

In the preceding sentence, it is unclear whether frequently modifies practicing or improves. If we assume that frequently is meant to modify practicing, the revised sentence could look like this:

Revised When learning a foreign language, frequently practicing improves confidence and fluency.

Revised When learning a foreign language, frequent practice improves confidence and fluency.

When used correctly, a modifier modifies a specific word or phrase within a sentence. If a modifier is not connected to a specific part of the sentence, however, it dangles from the sentence like a loose thread.

Dangling Exhausted from a long night of studying, the test seemed to go on forever.

In the sentence above, the modifier exhausted from a long night of studying cannot describe the only noun in the main clause: the test. A person can be exhausted from a long night of studying, but a test cannot. To fix a dangling modifier, first determine what missing noun phrase, noun, or pronoun the dangler is supposed to modify. Then, add it to the sentence, either by making it the subject of the main clause or by turning the dangler into a clause that includes the missing noun phrase, noun, or pronoun.

Revised Exhausted from a long night of studying, I felt like the test would go on forever.

Revised Because I was exhausted from a long night of studying, the test seemed to go on forever.

Notice that some revision of the main clause or modifier may be needed to accommodate the added noun or pronoun.