Scribd
Upload
14 views

Dangling Modifiers

Uploaded by

Onwe Benjamin
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
14 views

Dangling Modifiers

Uploaded by

Onwe Benjamin
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

Dangling Modifiers

Definition:

A dangling modifier is a word or phrase that modifies a word not clearly stated in the sentence.
A modifier describes, clarifies, or gives more detail about a concept.

Consider this sentence:

"Having finished" states an action but does not name the doer of that action. In English
sentences, the doer must be the subject of the main clause that follows. In this sentence, it is Jill.
She seems logically to be the one doing the action ("having finished"), and this sentence
therefore does not have a dangling modifier.

Now consider this sentence:

Having finished is a participle expressing action, but the doer is not the TV set (the subject of the
main clause): TV sets don't finish assignments. Since the doer of the action expressed in the
participle has not been clearly stated, the participial phrase is said to be a dangling modifier.

Examples of dangling modifiers and revisions:

dangling modifier:

(The article--the subject of the main clause--did not read the original study.)

possible revisions:

-or-
The article remains unconvincing in light of the original study. (no modifying phrase)

This page is located at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_dangmod.html. Copyright ©1995-2003


by OWL at Purdue University and Purdue University. All rights reserved.
dangling modifier:

(Your home--the subject of the main clause--is not relieved of your responsibilities.)

possible revision:

Characteristics of dangling modifiers:

They most frequently occur at the beginning of sentences (often as introductory clauses or
phrases) but can also appear at the end.

dangling modifier at end of sentence:

(The experiment--the subject of the main clause--is not supposed to study the lab manual.)

possible revision:

They often have an -ing word (gerund) or a to+verb (infinitive) phrase near the start of the
sentence.

Squinting modifiers:

Related to dangling modifiers, squinting modifiers occur when the word modified is not clear or
could be more than one word. These problems can usually be solved by rearranging the elements
already present in the sentence.

This page is located at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_dangmod.html. Copyright ©1995-2003


by OWL at Purdue University and Purdue University. All rights reserved.
squinting modifier:

possible revisions:

Strategies for revising dangling modifiers:

1. Name the appropriate or logical doer of the action as the subject of the main clause:

dangling
modifier:
Who arrived late? This sentence says that the written excuse arrived late. To revise, decide
who actually arrived late.

possible
revision:
The main clause now names the person (the captain) who did the action in the modifying
phrase (arrived late).

2. Change the phrase that dangles into a complete introductory clause by naming the doer of the
action in that clause:

dangling
modifier:
Who didn't know his name? This sentence says that "it" didn't know his name. To revise,
decide who was trying to introduce him.
Because Maria did not know his name, it was difficult to introduce him.
possible
revision: The phrase is now a complete introductory clause; it does not modify any other part of the
sentence, so is not considered "dangling."

This page is located at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_dangmod.html. Copyright ©1995-2003


by OWL at Purdue University and Purdue University. All rights reserved.
3. Combine the phrase and main clause into one:

dangling
modifier:
Who wanted to improve results? This sentence says that the experiment was trying to
improve its own results. To revise, combine the phrase and the main clause into one
sentence.
possible
revision: He improved his results by doing the experiment again.

This page is located at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_dangmod.html. Copyright ©1995-2003


by OWL at Purdue University and Purdue University. All rights reserved.

You might also like