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Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers

The document discusses misplaced and dangling modifiers. Misplaced modifiers are words or phrases that do not clearly modify the intended word or phrase, obscuring meaning. Dangling modifiers are words or phrases that have no clear term to modify in a sentence, often appearing at the beginning or end of a sentence using an -ing word or to + verb phrase. The document provides examples of sentences with misplaced or dangling modifiers and exercises for identifying and correcting such modifiers.

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Ahmed tahir
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112 views

Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers

The document discusses misplaced and dangling modifiers. Misplaced modifiers are words or phrases that do not clearly modify the intended word or phrase, obscuring meaning. Dangling modifiers are words or phrases that have no clear term to modify in a sentence, often appearing at the beginning or end of a sentence using an -ing word or to + verb phrase. The document provides examples of sentences with misplaced or dangling modifiers and exercises for identifying and correcting such modifiers.

Uploaded by

Ahmed tahir
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers

Dangling Modifiers are words or phrases that do not have a clear term to modify in a
sentence. Often, they can be found at the beginning of sentences, though they can also appear
at a sentence’s end. They frequently include an –ing word (gerund) and to + verb (infinitive)
phrase near the start of a sentence.
Misplaced Modifiers are words or phrases that do not clearly point to the word or phrase
they modify, in this way obscuring meaning.
Exercise 1
Write "C" if the modifier is correctly placed. Write "MM" if it is misplaced. (10 Marks)

MM 1. The man was stopped for speeding in the blue sweater.

MM 2. Joe promised to mow the lawn running out the door.

C 3. There are only two parking spaces left in the lot.

MM 4. Every four hours the doctor told him to take a pill.

C 5. Sitting on the porch, I smoked my last cigarette.

MM 6. The woman walked toward us wearing the feather hat.

C 7. Reaching into the cupboard, I found the bag of cookies.

MM 8. She arrived home and fell onto the sofa covered in sweat.

MM 9. The TV helps me get through the night, as I have trouble sleeping.

Exercise 2
Identify whether the modifier is misplaced or dangling in the following statements. Then

rewrite the correct version

• The salesman tried to sell a car to a customer that was broken down.//MM

The saleman tried to sell a car that was broken down to a customer .

• Mrs. Harris hung the lovely student’s drawing on the wall.//MM

Mrs. Harris hung the student's lovely drawing on the wall.

• Let’s adopt the dog from the animal shelter with black spots.//MM

Let's adopt the dog with black spots from the animal shelter.

• Expecting rain, the umbrella was propped up against the wall.//DM

Expecting rain, I probbed up the umbrella against the wall.

• Holding the mail in one hand, the door was locked.//DM

holding the mail in one hand, I got to know that the door was locked.

• After leaving the office, the cat jumped right in front of Howard.//DM

After leaving the office , Howard had a cat jumped right in front of him.

• Always eager for cake, the birthday party was attended by everyone.//DM
Always eager for cake, Everyone attented the birthday party.
_______________________________________________________________________
• Water from the sprinklers started to rust the brand-new child’s bike.//MM
Water from the sprinklers started to rust the child's brand-new bike.
________________________________________________________________________
• Driving to the party, the present rattled around in the trunk.//DM
While I was Driving to the party,the present in the trunk rattled around.
______________________________________________________________________________
• Forgetting that the microphone was on, the whole audience heard the singer's fight with his
wife.//DM
Forgetting that the microphone was on, the singer's fight with his wife was heard by the
whole audience.

Exercise 3

Directions: In the blank beside each sentence, indicate whether that sentence contains a
dangling modifier (DM) or a misplaced modifier (MM). Then rewrite the sentence to correct it.

Examples:

• At the age of six, my mother sang hymns to me. DM Correction: When I


was six, my mother sang hymns to me.
• We were told at midnight the concert would begin.MM Correction: We
were told the concert would begin at midnight.
• Larry told me that he was getting married that afternoon at night.MM
Larry told me that afternoon that he was getting married at
night.___________________________________________________________________
• Swimming out into the sea, the current grew stronger.//DM
While I was Swimming out into the sea, the current grew stronger.
___________________________________________________________________

• Walking along the bridge, a ship suddenly appeared.//DM.


While I was walking along the bridge, a ship suddenly appreared.
________________________________________________________________________

• They said that it's going to rain on the radio. //MM


They said on the radio that it's going to rain.
________________________________________________________________________

• While eating dinner, a fly slipped into her soup. //DM


While she was eating dinner, a fly slipped into her soup.
________________________________________________________________________

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