1. Modifiers: misplaced and dangling
What lost and hanging and hanging from a cliff?

2. What?????
The meaning gets lost with either misplaced or dangling modifiers.

3. Modifiers
A modifier consists of words, phrases, or clauses that provide description in sentences. A modifier describes another word in a sentence.

4. Modifiers
(Underline the modifiers in the sentence in your notes:Amy’s favorite red purse, the one she always carries, was stolen last week.)
Example: Amy’s favorite red purse, the one she always carries, was stolen last week. (note: adjectives & adverbs)
Amy’s favorite red – describes the purse
always – describes the verb “carries”
last - describes “week”
the one she always carries – descriptive phrase for “purse”

5. My dog Fido, who loves pizza crusts, eats under the kitchen table.
Modifier PLACEMENT
A modifier should be placed as close as possible to the word or words it describes.
Example:
My dog Fido, who loves pizza crusts, eats under the kitchen table.

6. PLACEMENT
Example: My dog Fido, who loves pizza crusts, eats under the kitchen table.
What is the modifier?
who loves pizza crusts
What is it describing?

7. Misplaced modifiers
Sometimes modifiers can be MISPLACED or PLACED INCORRECTLY
This doesn’t mean they are
lost, but the meaning of the
sentence might be lost

8. Misplaced modifiers do not clearly associate with the word or phrase they modify.
Example: He gave his sister the stuffed bear with a polka-dot dress.
Modifier – “with a polka-dot dress”
What it modifies – “sister”
Problem – It sounds as if the bear has a polka-dot dress.
Corrected – He gave the stuffed bear to his sister with a polka-dot dress.

9. Example
The boy ate a pizza.  Sentence
Modifiers:
1. who has freckles
2. loaded with cheese and pepperoni
The boy, loaded with cheese and sausage, ate a pizza.
The boy ate a pizza who has freckles. What?
The boy who has freckles ate a pizza loaded with cheese and sausage.
What?
What?

10. Dangling Modifiers

11. What is a Dangling Modifier?
A modifier that starts a sentence must be followed right away by the word that it describes.
Otherwise, the modifier is said to be dangling, and the sentence takes on an unexpected meaning.

12. Dangling modifiers do not have a clear word(s) to modify in a sentence.
Underline the modifiers in the following sentence: Climbing the mountain, my backpack fell in the mud.
Modifier – “climbing the mountain”
What it modifies – “I”
Problem – It sounds as if the backpack was climbing the mountain.
Corrected – My backpack fell in the mud as I was climbing the mountain.

13. What should I do?
A dangling modifier IS A MODIFIER WITH NOTHING TO MODIFY.
To fix this problem, YOU MUST ADD SOMETHING NEW SO IT WILL HAVE SOMETHING TO MODIFY.

14. Revise the following sentence.
Dangling Modifier: 
After reading the original research, the article remains unconvincing.
Revised Version:
After reading the original research, I find the article unconvincing.

15. Be careful with your modifiers!
modifiers-dangling-modifiers-and-squinting-modifiers/

16. Is this a misplaced or dangling modifier?
Coming out of the market, the bananas fell on the pavement.
Did the bananas walk out of the market?
Dangling:
As I was coming out of the market, the
bananas fell on the pavement.

17. Are these misplaced or dangling modifiers?
I smelled the oysters coming down the stairs for dinner.
Coming down the stairs for dinner, I smelled the oysters. (misplaced)
I brushed my teeth after eating with Crest toothpaste.
I brushed my teeth with Crest toothpaste after eating.(misplaced)

18. Are these misplaced or dangling modifiers?
Waiting for the Moonpie, the candy machine began to hum loudly.
I began to hum loudly as I waited for the Moonpie to drop out of the candy machine. (more than 1 way to revise ---dangling)
Oozing slowly across the floor, Marvin watched the salad dressing.
Marvin watched the salad dressing oozing slowly across the floor.(misplaced)

19. Driving like a maniac, the deer was hit and killed.
Was the deer driving?
Is this a misplaced or dangling modifier?
These & others can be
located at
CommonErrors_BestMod.html

20. Misplaced or Dangling?