12b. Misplaced phrases and clauses
12bPlace phrases and clauses so that readers can see at a glance what they modify.
Although phrases and clauses can appear at some distance from the words they modify, make sure your meaning is clear. When phrases or clauses are oddly placed, absurd misreadings can result.
| misplaced | The soccer player returned to the clinic where he had undergone emergency surgery in 2004 in a limousine sent by Adidas. |
| revised | Traveling in a limousine sent by Adidas, the soccer player returned to the clinic where he had undergone emergency surgery in 2004. |
The revision corrects the false impression that the soccer player underwent emergency surgery in a limousine.
The comedians weren’t performing on the walls; the pictures were on the walls.
Occasionally the placement of a modifier leads to an ambiguity—a squinting modifier. In such a case, two revisions will be possible, depending on the writer’s intended meaning.
| ambiguous | The exchange students we met for coffee occasionally questioned us about our latest slang. |
| clear | The exchange students we occasionally met for coffee questioned us about our latest slang. |
| clear | The exchange students we met for coffee questioned us occasionally about our latest slang. |
In the original version, it was not clear whether the meeting or the questioning happened occasionally. Both revisions eliminate the ambiguity.