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Week 4 Modifiers

Modifiers are words, phrases, or clauses that provide description in sentences. There are three types of modifiers: words, phrases, and clauses. Modifiers allow writers to accurately convey the details and imagery in their minds to readers. Misplaced and dangling modifiers occur when the modifier is separated from the word it intends to describe, resulting in illogical or nonsensical meanings. To identify and correct these errors, writers should determine what each modifier is intended to describe and place the modifier as close as possible to the described word or element.

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37 views

Week 4 Modifiers

Modifiers are words, phrases, or clauses that provide description in sentences. There are three types of modifiers: words, phrases, and clauses. Modifiers allow writers to accurately convey the details and imagery in their minds to readers. Misplaced and dangling modifiers occur when the modifier is separated from the word it intends to describe, resulting in illogical or nonsensical meanings. To identify and correct these errors, writers should determine what each modifier is intended to describe and place the modifier as close as possible to the described word or element.

Uploaded by

Subhan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Modifiers

Modifiers
Modifiers are words, phrases, or clauses that provide description in
sentences.
Modifiers allow writers to take the picture that they have in their heads
and transfer it accurately to the heads of their readers.
It can be a WORD, A PHRASE or A CLAUSE
◦ Word: E.g. Cool and intelligent, Ken is the class hero.
◦ Phrase: The moment Michael saw the ghost, the hair on his hands stood up.
(Shows where..) Be very careful with prepositional phrases.
◦ Clause: The girl, whom you spoke to a minute ago, is dead!
Types of words, phrases and clauses:
◦ adjectives (modify nouns and pronouns) (for example: the RED house)
◦ adverbs (modify verbs) (for example: he ran QUICKLY)
◦ modifier phrases (modify an action or an actor) (LOOKING AT THE
CLOCK, he noticed that he was late)
Misplaced Modifiers
A misplaced modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that is improperly separated from the
word it modifies / describes.
Because of the separation, sentences with this error often sound awkward, ridiculous, or
confusing. Furthermore, they can be downright illogical.
Example 1: The young girl was walking the dog in a skirt.
Example 2: The dog was chasing the boy with the spiked collar.

You can see what's wrong. The dog isn't "in a skirt" and the boy doesn't have a "spiked collar."
Because the modifier is misplaced, we have to think for a minute before we get the intended
meaning.
Correction of the misplaced modifier
The young girl was walking the dog in a short skirt.
IS CHANGED TO:
The young girl in a short skirt was walking the dog.

The dog was chasing the boy with the spiked collar.
IS CHANGED TO:
The dog with the spiked collar was chasing the boy

Hence, misplace modifiers are words that because of awkward placements, do not
describe what the writer intended them to describe.
How to correct the misplaced
modifier?
1. The first step in identifying modifiers is to read the sentence and look for descriptive
words.
2. You should then look at each descriptive word and try to determine whether it is an
adjective or an adverb or any other modifying phrase.
3. Remember that adjectives modify nouns and pronouns. Do not mistakenly use an
adverb to modify these parts of speech.
4. Underline the modifying word/phrase/clause and determine what it is supposed to
describe.
5. Place modifying words as close as possible to what they describe
Your turn!
1. The patient on the psychiatrist’s couch talked about his childhood.
2. The crowd watched the tennis player with swiveling heads.
3. Vonnie put 4 hamburgers on the counter which she was cooking for dinner.
4. Steve carefully hung the new suit that he would wear to his first job interview in
the bedroom closet.
5. Anne ripped the shirt on a car door that she made in sewing class.
6. The newscaster spoke softly into a microphone wearing a bulletproof vest.
Additionally…
You also need to watch the placement of modifiers such as almost, even, hardly,
nearly, often, and only.
A couple of examples should be enough:
1. Big Dog almost ran around the yard twenty times.
2. He nearly ate a whole box of treats

In both sentences--when he "almost ran" and "nearly ate"--nothing happened! He


didn't quite get around to doing either thing. What is intended is:
1. Big Dog ran around the yard almost twenty times.
2. He ate nearly a whole box of cereals.
Dangling Modifiers
Read the sentences below and try to analyze the meaning they may be

conveying:
◦ Having been thrown in the air, the dog caught the stick.

◦ Smashed flat by a passing truck, Big Dog sniffed at what was left of a half-eaten hamburger.

◦ The writer has unintentionally said something that he (or she) didn't intend. The dog was

not "thrown in the air," and Big Dog was not "smashed flat."
What are dangling modifiers?
A dangling modifier is a word or phrase that cannot logically describe,
limit, or restrict any word or word group in the sentence.

They are formed when either the word that should be described is
separated from the modifier or the word itself is missing in that sentence
How to correct them?
Do the following:
1. Check for modifying phrases at the beginning of your sentences.
2. If you find one, underline the first noun that follows it. (That's the
one that is being modified.)
3. Make sure the modifier and noun go together logically. If they
don't, chances are you have a dangling modifier.
Rewrite the sentence by:
1. Adding a word or word group that the dangling modifier can
logically modify.
2. Changing the position of the word it is supposed to modify
3. Creating a clear subject
4. Changing the sentence from passive to active
Corrections
Having been thrown in the air, the dog caught the stick.
IS CHANGED TO:
When the stick was thrown in the air, the dog caught it.

Smashed flat by a passing truck, Big Dog sniffed at what was left of a half-eaten
hamburger
IS CHANGED TO:
Big Dog sniffed at what was left of a half-eaten burger that had been smashed by a
passing truck.

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