Today: Dangling Modifiers
modi•fi•er n. a word, phrase, or clause that limits the meaning of another word or phrase
--Webster’s New World Dictionary, Third College Edition
It is oh-so important to make sure modifiers are clearly joined to the word or words they qualify. If they are not, they are called dangling modifiers.
Example:
Walking into the kitchen, dinner was ready. (Dangling modifier)
(The way this is worded, it indicates that dinner walked into the kitchen and was ready.)
Instead…
Example: Walking into the kitchen, we noticed dinner was ready.(Correct)
(We were the ones walking into the kitchen and noticed dinner was ready.)
Another example:
When the book was published, the author was happy. (Dangling modifier)
(The book is the subject. So what happened to the book? What happened to it when it was published?)
Instead…
The author was happy when the book was published. (Correct)
Watch those dangling modifiers. They can be sneaky.
