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Modifiers: Modifiers Modify" Is To Change or To Alter Something

1) A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that modifies another word in the same sentence, such as an adjective modifying a noun or an adverb modifying a verb. 2) Modifiers can be misplaced, making the intended meaning ambiguous, or can dangle without clearly modifying a specific word. Care must be taken to position modifiers alongside the words they are intended to modify. 3) Examples demonstrate adjectives and adverbs as common types of modifiers, and how misplaced, squinting, and dangling modifiers can obscure meaning.

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Sai Prasad Sanneganti
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54 views

Modifiers: Modifiers Modify" Is To Change or To Alter Something

1) A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that modifies another word in the same sentence, such as an adjective modifying a noun or an adverb modifying a verb. 2) Modifiers can be misplaced, making the intended meaning ambiguous, or can dangle without clearly modifying a specific word. Care must be taken to position modifiers alongside the words they are intended to modify. 3) Examples demonstrate adjectives and adverbs as common types of modifiers, and how misplaced, squinting, and dangling modifiers can obscure meaning.

Uploaded by

Sai Prasad Sanneganti
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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MODIFIERS

modify” is to change or to alter something

Modifiers
MODIFIER

A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that modifies another word in the


same sentence. 
A modifier can be an adjective (a word that modifies a noun), but it can
also be an adverb (a word that modifies a verb). In other words, Adjectives
and adverbs are two types of modifiers as they are used to modify other
words.
ADJECTIVE

When a modifier is an adjective, it modifies a noun or a pronoun.


Adjective -I'm going to the Café for a vegetarian burger. (descriptive)
I know that person. (demonstrative)
There are two professors who can solve it. (quantifier)

Adjective phrase- Pass me the bottle with red cover.


I need a stamp from your collection. (prepositional
phrase)
Adjective clause- The book which you gave me yesterday was really
interesting.
ADVERB

When a modifier is an adverb, it modifies a verb, an adjective, or another


adverb.

Adverb -We walked slowly.


The doll is extremely beautiful.
Tom is running very fast.
Adverb phrase- Kim loves to travel around the world.
He plays in the corner.
Adverb clause- Jeff was surprised when he saw Allen entering the room.
(An adverbial clause usually starts with a subordinating conjunction)
BE CAREFUL ABOUT POSITIONING
THE MODIFIER

Here are three ways a modifier can fail by being positioned badly:
MISPLACED MODIFIER
A modifier is best placed alongside whatever it's modifying. If your
modifier is too far away, it could lead to an ambiguous or wrong meaning

Eg) Punith heard him when she whispered clearly. 


(This sentence is about Punith hearing clearly. The modifier is too far away
from "heard." It looks like "clearly" is modifying "whispered." It's a
misplaced modifier.)
Eg) I call only my mother when I’m sick.
I only call my mother when I’m sick.
Eg) My sister walked in as I was scrubbing the floor with her new baby

SQUINTING MODIFIER
A squinting modifier is a type of misplaced modifier. A squinting modifier
makes the meaning of a sentence ambiguous because it is unclear whether
it modifies text before it or after it.
Eg) Cycling up hills quickly strengthens your muscles. (Here, “quickly”
could modify either “cycling uphill” or “strengthens the muscles)

Eg) Saving lives often induces pride.


(We do not know whether often applies to saving lives or induces pride.
DANGLING MODIFIER
When a modifier is not modifying a specific word, we call it a dangling
modifier. 

Eg) I went to see a movie last night with my friend , which was really
boring.
Eg) Having read the book, the movie will be a hit.

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