E4-b Place a modifier so that it qualifies the meaning of a particular word in the sentence instead of dangling.
participial phrase A group of words that begins with a present participle (dancing, freezing) or a past participle (danced, frozen) and modifies a noun or a pronoun: We boarded the bus, expecting to leave immediately.
prepositional phrase A group of words that begins with a preposition and indicates the relation between a word in a sentence and the object following the preposition: Her sunglasses slid under the seat.
A phrase that does not modify a specific word is called a dangling modifier. A dangling modifier usually occurs at the beginning of a sentence and is likely to be a participial phrase or a prepositional phrase.
- Rather than receiving several painful shots in the mouth before a cavity is
as effectively.
- After surveying the floor on which I live,
my dorm don’t care much for floor programs.
Place a word or phrase being modified immediately after the modifying phrase.
dependent clause A word group that has a subject and a predicate but cannot stand by itself as a sentence; it must be connected to an independent clause.
subject The part of a clause that identifies who or what is being discussed.
predicate The part of a clause that includes a complete verb and describes the action or state of the subject.
Change the modifying phrase into a dependent clause.
Unlike a phrase, a clause includes both a subject and a predicate. By changing a phrase to a clause, you can correct a dangling modifier by supplying the information or connection that is missing. Be sure to rewrite so that both the subject and the predicate are clearly stated and the clause fits the rest of the sentence.
