MISPLACED MODIFIER

By: Selamat H. Napitupulu

Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris

Fakultas Bahasa dan Seni
UNIVERSITAS INDRAPRASTA PGRI JAKARTA
 Why worry about making sentences clear?
1. To communicate effectively with the reader.
2. To make writing persuasive and interesting.
3. To show credibility and authority as a writer.
 SENTENCE CLARITY
Common Clarity Concerns

This presentation will cover four topics:

1. Misplaced modifiers
2. Dangling modifiers
3. Parallel Structures
4. Passive Voice
 Misplaced Modifier!

Modifier:
▪ Can be a word or group of words (phrase).
▪ A modifier describes, clarifies, or gives more detail about other words in a sentence.
Misplaced modifier:
▪ A modifier in the wrong place in a sentence.
▪ Makes sentences awkward, confusing, or (unintentionally) humorous.
 Misplaced Adjective

Adjectives are words that describe the qualities or states of being of nouns, such as;
kind, good, nice , beautiful, silly, yellow, fun, fast. They can also describe the quantity of
nouns: many, a lot of few, millions, eleven.
Pattern: Adjective + Noun
1. The woman has a kind son.
2. The young boy has already got many hotels.
3. Margot wore a beautiful hat to the pie-eating contest.
4. The company has a lot of employees.
5. It is a nice commix to read, I think.
 Misplaced Adjective
No Misplaced Adjectives
1 A child ate a cold dish of cereal for breakfast
in this morning.
2 Expensive mother’s bag is gone.
3 The expired baby’s milk is thrown outside.
4 The student walked her dog in blue
sweatpants.
5 On way his way home, Jack found a gold
man watch.
6 The teacher praised John for his
accomplishments great
7 On her way home from work, Allison
found a silver woman’s watch.
8 On way his way home, Jack found a gold
man watch.
Correction
A child ate a dish of cold cereal for breakfast in
this morning.
Mother’s expensive bag is gone.
The baby’s expired milk is thrown outside.
The student in blue sweatpants walked her dog.
On way his way home, Jack found a man’s gold
watch.
The teacher praised John for his great
accomplishments.
On her way home from work, Allison found a
woman’s silver watch.
On way his way home, Jack found a man’s gold
watch.
 Misplaced Adverb!

➢ Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. They commonly describe how,
when, or where the action of a verb took place.
➢ How refers to the manner in which an action occurred.
➢ When addresses the time of the action.
➢ Where investigates the place or location the action took place.

Examples:
1. The boys ran loudly down the stairs. [manner]
2. We went down later. [ time ]
3. He delivered pizza locally. [ place ]
4. The man often drinks alcohol before he sleeps. [frequency ]
5. The old man always runs in the morning. [frequency / time ]
6. The employees leave for work at PT. Pelagi at 6 pm every day . [place / time ]
 Misplaced Adverb!

Adverbs can also be used to modify adjectives and other adverbs.

1. The train leaves at a reasonably early hour.
[The adverb reasonably modifies the adjective early.]
1. She spoke quite passionately about politics.
[The adverb quite modifies the adverb passionately.

Writers often have a choice in wording a sentence to use either an adjective or an

adverb:
1. Adjective: We had a quick lunch.
2. Adverb: We ate lunch quickly.
 Misplaced Adverb!
No Misplaced Adverb Correction
1 Brown passed the test by biking across the Brown passed the test proficiently by biking across
park and swimming to the island proficiently. the park and swimming to the island.
2 Randy has nearly annoyed every manager Randy has annoyed nearly every manager he
he has worked for. has worked for.
3 •We almost ate all of the Thanksgiving We ate almost all of the Thanksgiving turkey.
turkey. (we didn’t almost eat it)
4 We could understand the Spanish spoken We could understand easily the Spanish spoken
by our visitors from Madrid easily. by our visitors from Madrid.
5 Sheila only donated $10.00 to the local She contributed only $10.00 to the local food
food bank. bank.
6 Just John was picked to host the program. John was picked to host just the program.
7 We ate the lunch that we had We slowly ate the lunch that we had we brought.
we brought slowly.
8 The waiter served a dinner roll to the The waiter served a well-butter roll to the
woman that was well buttered. woman.
 Misplaced Modifying Phrase!
Preposition phrase begins with a preposition and connects noun which can act as a noun, an
adjective or an adverb. The underlines are preposition phrases.
Examples:
1. The book was on the table
2. We compered by the brook.
3. He knew it was over the rainbow.
4. She was lost in the dark of night.
5. He was between a rock and hard place.
6. I waited for a while.
7. She smelled of strawberries and cream.
8. He won the challenge against all odds.
9. He sacrificed his life for the sake of his country.
10.In the end, we all have to die.
11.He is on the way.
12.By working aimlessly, you will not get success.
13.In spite of working hard, he was insulted by his boss.
 Misplaced Modifying Phrase!
No Misplaced Modifying Phrase
1 James said on Friday would call the
new secretary.
2 She served sandwiches to the children
on the paper plates.
3 Three offices were reported robbed by
the Atlanta police last week.
4 My mom was looking a second car to
buy.
5 The boy is from Sweden with blonde
hair
6 The restaurant only serves dinner on
Fridays on the corner
Correction
James said he would call the new secretary
on Friday
She served to the children sandwiches on the
paper plates.
The Atlanta police reported that three
offices were robbed last week.
My mom was looking to buy a second car.
The boy with blonde hair is from Sweden
The restaurant on the corner only serves
dinner on Fridays.
 Misplaced Modifying Present Participle Phrase

Present Participle Phrase Combination

Present Participle Preposition Noun/ Present Participle Phrase
Noun Phrase /
Adverb
playing with his new puppy Playing with his new puppy
working on her homework Working on his homework
looking for food Looking for food
sitting on a bed of rice Sitting on a bed of rice,
laughing - uncontrollably Laughing uncontrollably
talking - very loudly at mid Talking very loudly at mid night
night
 Misplaced Modifying Present Participle Phrase

The underlines are present participle phrases. Phrases before nouns are set off with
commas.
1. Playing with his new puppy, Kevin did not finish his homework.
2. Working on her homework, Julia made good use of his time.
3. Looking for food, the dog crawled under the fence.
4. Sitting on a bed of rice, the chicken looked delicious, I thought.
5. Laughing uncontrollably, I watched that movie.
6. Talking very loudly at mid night, my mom was angry with us last night.
 Misplaced Modifying Past Participle Phrase

Past Participle Phrase Combination

Past Participle Preposition Noun/ Past Participle Phrase
Noun Phrase /
Adverb
washed with my clothes Washed with my clothes,
frozen over all winter Frozen over all winter
painted - a brilliant white Painted a brilliant white
broadcasted by radio clearly All the news can be heard by the
listeners
 Misplaced Modifying Past Participle Phrase

The underlines are past participle phrases. Phrases before nouns are set off with
commas.
1. Washed with my clothes, my cell phone no longer worked.
2. Frozen over all winter, the lake was not visited by the people.
3. Painted a brilliant white, the small room appeared bigger.
4. Broadcasted by radio clearly, all the news can be heard by the listeners in
anywhere.
 Misplaced Modifying Present & Past Participle Phrase
No Misplaced Modifying Phrase
1 We got on the bus, soaked from the rain.
2 I thought sat on a bed of rice, the chicken
looked delicious.
3 The young man couldn’t catch to be chased a
car down the street,
4 The tall white girl waved goodbye because
broken in heart,
5 The dough was almost ready to bake rising
quickly
6 Eagerly waiting her birthday, Mary's
presents were all picked up and admired
by Mary many times throughout the day.
7 Moving from flower to flower, I watched the
honey bee.
Correction
Soaked from the rain, we got on the bus.
Sat on a bed of rice, I thought the chicken looked
delicious.
Chased a car down the street, The young man
couldn’t catch his dog.
Broken in heart, the tall white girl waved goodbye.
Rising quickly, the dough was almost ready to bake.
Eagerly waiting her birthday, Mary picked up
and admired her presents many times throughout
the day.
I watched the honey bee moving from flower to
flower
 Misplaced Clauses!

The adjective clause can also be referred to as a ‘relative clause’. An adjective clause begins with a relative
pronoun or a relative adverb. The relative pronoun or relative adverb may function as the subject of the clause.

Some relative pronouns are: who, whom, which, that, whose.

1. The man who lives by the lake is my uncle.
(This adjective clause is giving us more information about the ‘ man ‘ )

2. The cell phone that is on the bed belongs to Andres.

(This adjective clause is giving us more information about the ‘cell phone’)

3. The moment when the balloon burst was great!

(This adjective clause gives more information about ‘the moment’)

4. The reason why he became ill is a secret.

(This adjective clause gives more information about ‘the reason’.)

5. Did you go to the factory where my friend Rob works?

(This adjective clause gives more information about ‘the factory’)
 Misplaced Clauses!
An adverbial clause is a subordinate clause that acts as an adverb. The adverb clause may tell us the
place, time, cause, or purpose of an action. They can also indicate condition.

The adverb clauses below answer the question, Where?

1. Wherever there is alcohol, people will often fight.
2. If you know where they work, you can schedule an appointment.
3. After the project is complete, we will rest.
4. When the tide is high, the boats will leave.
The adverb clauses below answer the question, Why?
1. Hilary took the payoffs because she was greedy.
2. Since she received a huge kickback, she voted for the project.
3. So that he would not make noise, he took off his shoes.
4. He told her lies in order to stay out of trouble.
The adverb clauses above answer the question, under what conditions?
1. If you work very hard, the government will punish you with more taxes.
2. If you sit around the house, the government will give you free handouts.
3. Unless you hurry, you will be late for your second job.
 Misplaced Clauses!
The Introductory Clause/ Subordinate Clauses

When an introductory clause/ subordinate clause is acting as a modifier in a sentence, it

is unclear which word is being modified. This is because the modified word is misplaced
and does not directly follow the clause. The modified word can be completely left out at
times as well, making the meaning of the sentence very vague.
Examples:
➢ Weighing only one hundred pounds, donating blood was not recommended for
Jamie.
In this case, the modifying clause, “weighing only one hundred pounds,” is
supposed to be modifying “Jamie.” Because of the placement of the clause, it is
actually modifying the verb “donating” instead.
A possible revision of this sentence could be:
➢ Weighing only one hundred pounds, Jamie was not able to donate blood.
In this sentence, “weighing only one hundred pounds” is correctly modifying the
subject “Jamie.”
 Misplaced Clause
No Misplaced Modifying Phrase
1 While hunting in Africa, I shot an elephant in
my pajamas. How an elephant got into my
pajamas I'll never know.
2 We returned the toy to the store that was
broken.
3 I remember that I had forgotten my keys after
I got home.
4 The waiter presented a steak to the
guest that was medium rare.
5 She arrived home and fell onto the
sofa covered in sweat.
Correction
While hunting in my pajamas in Africa, I shot an
elephant.
We returned the toy that was broken to the store.
I remember after I got home that I had forgotten
my keys.
The waiter presented a medium-rare steak to
the guest.
Covered in sweat, she arrived home and fell onto
the sofa.
 Misplaced Clause
No Misplaced Modifying Phrase Correction
6 She arrived home and fell onto the Covered in sweat, she arrived home and fell onto
sofa covered in sweat. the sofa.
7 Despite receiving widespread critical Despite receiving widespread critical
acclaim, box office sales of the film were acclaim, the film performed poorly at the box
poor. office.
8 The couple agreed during the family The couple agreed they would announce their
dinner they would announce their engagement during the family dinner.
engagement.
9 I told John when the seminar was over we When the seminar was over, I told John we
should study for the upcoming exam. should study for the upcoming exam.
10 We saw many paintings walking through the Walking through the Louvre, we saw many
Louvre. paintings.
 22

FINISH & Complete !!!

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