Grammar Exercise 5

Dangling and Misplaced Modifiers

Modifiers
A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that describes, defines, or qualifies something else in a sentence.

Modifiers include descriptive words such as adjectives and adverbs:

● She always listened attentively in class.

● She decided to buy the blue vintage Cadillac.

Modifiers can also be phrases or clauses:

● Anna smiled when she walked past the bar where she met her husband.
● Having received a promotion at work, he went out to buy a bottle of champagne.

The most common modifier mistakes are dangling modifiers and misplaced modifiers. Both terms refer to
modifiers that are connected to the wrong thing in a sentence.

A misplaced modifier is too far away from the thing it’s supposed to modify, while a dangling modifier’s
intended subject is missing from the sentence altogether.

Dangling Modifiers
A modifier describes or qualifies another part of a sentence. A dangling modifier occurs when the
intended subject of the modifier is missing from the sentence, and instead another subject appears in
its place.
Dangling modifiers often take the form of an introductory phrase that is connected to the wrong
thing.

Dangling Corrected

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 ● Fumbling in her purse, the keys ● Fumbling in her purse, she could not find

could not be found. the keys.

● As she fumbled in her purse, the keys

could not be found.

Recognizing Dangling Modifiers

In a correct sentence, the subject (or doer) that is modified should immediately follow the comma after
the modifier. In the example below, the introductory phrase modifies Jane, the subject of the main clause.

● While driving to work, Jane witnessed a car accident on the highway.

When a sentence does not clearly state the subject being modified, the introductory phrase becomes a

dangling modifier. Often this error is a result of a main clause written in the passive voice.

● While driving to work, a car accident was witnessed on the highway.

In this sentence, the intended target of the modifier, Jane, is missing. Because a car accident appears

where the subject should be, the sentence now suggests that a car accident was driving to work. This is an

example of how dangling modifiers can result in nonsensical sentences.

How to fix a dangling modifier

There are two simple ways to fix a dangling modifier.

Method 1: Revise the main clause.

One method of fixing a dangling modifier is to leave the modifier as it is and rewrite the main clause so

that it begins with the subject being modified.

● Having injured his dominant hand, it was difficult to write the exam.

● Having injured his dominant hand, John had difficulty writing the exam.

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In the example above, the first sentence fails to clarify whose hand was injured – it does not state the

subject of the introductory modifier phrase. In the corrected sentence, the subject, John, appears

immediately after the modifier phrase.

Dangling Corrected

Hungry after two hours of hiking, my packed Hungry after two hours of hiking, I quickly

sandwich was quickly devoured upon reaching the devoured my packed sandwich upon reaching the

peak. peak.

Smiling from ear to ear, the candles are blown out, Smiling from ear to ear, the heroine blows out the

and the novel concludes happily. candles, and the novel concludes happily.

To become a practicing dentist, many teeth must To become a practicing dentist, you must clean,

be cleaned, filled, and filed. fill, and file many teeth.

Method 2: Revise the modifier phrase.

Another method of fixing a dangling modifier is to include the subject in the introductory phrase, leaving

the main clause as it is.

● Having injured his dominant hand, it was difficult to write the exam.

● Because John had injured his dominant hand, it was difficult to write the exam.
In the corrected sentence, the dangling modifier is replaced with a complete clause that clearly states the

subject who is doing the action.

Dangling Corrected

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 While driving to work, a car accident caused a While Jane was driving to work, a car accident

traffic jam on the highway. caused a traffic jam on the highway.

Requiring more data for the study, Because we required more data for the study,

questionnaires were collected from an questionnaires were collected from an additional

additional 200 people. 200 people.

Taken down to the cellar, the darkness As he was taken down to the cellar, the

obscured the details of the room. darkness obscured the details of the room.

Misplaced Modifiers
A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that describes another part of a sentence. A misplaced modifier is

improperly positioned in relation to the word, phrase or clause it is supposed to describe.

● In 1969 Neil Armstrong made history as the first man to step on the moon.

● Neil Armstrong made history in 1969 as the first man to step on the moon.

How to fix a misplaced modifier

A misplaced modifier can be easily fixed by positioning the modifier immediately before or immediately

after the word or phrase that it is modifying.

Misplaced Corrected

The waiter presented a steak to the guest that was medium The waiter presented a medium-rare steak to

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 rare. the guest.

The waiter presented a steak that was

medium rare to the guest.

Most participants selected a lunch from the menu that was Most participants selected a lunch that was

high in sugar. high in sugar from the menu.

Most participants selected from the menu a

lunch that was high in sugar.

She arrived home and fell onto the sofa covered in sweat. Covered in sweat, she arrived home and fell

onto the sofa.

She arrived home covered in sweat and fell

onto the sofa.

Despite receiving widespread critical acclaim, box office Despite receiving widespread critical acclaim,

sales of the film were poor. the film performed poorly at the box office.

Adverb placement

Adverbs like only, just, almost, nearly, and especially can subtly change the meaning of a sentence

depending on where they are placed, often resulting in ambiguity or confusion.

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Pay attention to which word or phrase your adverbs are modifying in order to make your sentences as

clear as possible.

Adverb placement Meaning

For the study, Jane only interviewed Japanese speakers. Jane interviewed Japanese speakers and did not

take any other action (such as holding focus

groups or distributing questionnaires).

For the study, Jane interviewed only Japanese speakers Jane interviewed people who speak Japanese, and

not people who speak other languages.

Due to the severe concussion, she almost lost all memoryShe was in danger of completely forgetting the

of the accident. accident.

Due to the severe concussion, she lost almost all memoryShe forgot most, but not all, of the accident.

of the accident.

Ambiguous Modifiers

Even if a modifier is placed next to the correct part of the sentence, you need to make sure that it isn’t

ambiguous. Sometimes a modifier is placed so that it could modify either the words that precede it or the

ones that follow it, which makes the meaning of the sentence unclear.

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An ambiguous modifier can be fixed by moving it to another position in the sentence or by rewording to

clarify which phrase it is modifying. In many cases, you can use the word that to separate the modifier

from the clause that it is not intended to modify.

Ambiguous Unambiguous

The couple agreed during the family dinner they The couple agreed they would announce their

would announce their engagement. engagement during the family dinner.

During the family dinner, the couple agreed they

would announce their engagement.

The couple agreed that during the family dinner they

would announce their engagement.

I told John when the seminar was over we When the seminar was over, I told John we should

should study for the upcoming exam. study for the upcoming exam.

I told John we should study for the upcoming exam

when the seminar was over.

I told John when the seminar was over that we

should study for the upcoming exam.

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Instructions:
Rewrite the following sentences on the blanks provided to correct the dangling and misplaced modifiers.

1. Bent over backward, the posture was very challenging.

As we were bending over backward, the posture was very challenging.

2. Making discoveries about new creatures, this is an interesting time to be a biologist.

Because people around the world are making discoveries about new creatures, this is an
interesting time to be a biologist.

3. Walking in the dark, the picture fell off the wall.

As I was walking in the dark, the picture fell off the wall.

4. Playing a guitar in the bedroom, the cat was seen under the bed.

The cat was seen under the bed as Nick was playing guitar in the bedroom.

5. Packing for a trip, a cockroach scurried down the hallway.

As I was packing for a trip, a cockroach scurried down the hallway.

6. I heard that there was a robbery on the evening news.

I heard on the evening news that there was a robbery.

7. The teacher served cookies to the children wrapped in aluminum foil.

The teacher served cookies wrapped in aluminum foil to the children.

8. The mysterious woman walked toward the car holding an umbrella.

The mysterious woman holding an umbrella, walked towards the car.

9. We returned the wine to the waiter that was sour.

We returned the wine that was sour to the waiter.

10. Charlie spotted a stray puppy driving home from work.

While driving home from work, Charlie spotted a stray puppy.

References:

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Luo, A. (2019, May 16). How to Fix Dangling and Misplaced Modifiers (with Examples). Scribbr.
https://www.scribbr.com/language-rules/modifiers/

Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers. (2015, October 27). MLPP Pressbooks; University of Minnesota
Libraries Publishing edition, 2015. https://mlpp.pressbooks.pub/writingsuccess/chapter/2-7-misplaced-
and-dangling-modifiers/