Dangling modifiers

1. Dangling Modifiers

Having finished the assignment ,Jillturned on the TV.

"Having finished"states an action butdoes not name the doerof 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 thereforedoes not have a dangling modifier.

Having finished the assignment ,the TVwas turned on.

Having finishedis 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 adangling modifier.

with dangling modifier:

After reading the original study ,the articleremains convincing.

After reading the original study ,Ifind the article unconvincing.

with dangling modifier:

Relieved of our responsibilities at your job ,your homeshould be a place to relax.

possible revision:

Relieved of your responsibilities at your job ,youshould be able to relax at home.

They most frequently occur at thebeginningof sentences (often as introductory clauses or phrases) but can alsoappear at the end .

Example of dangling modifier:

The experiment was a failure, not having studiedthe lab manual carefully.

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

possible revision:

Theyfailed the experiment,not having studiedthe lab manual carefully.

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

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

Having arrived late for practice ,a written excusewas needed.

(Who arrived late? This sentence says that the written excuse arrived late. To revise, decide who actually arrived late.)

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

Without knowing his name ,itwas difficult to introduce him.

(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.

(The phrase is now a complete introductory clause; it does not modify any other part of the sentence, so is not considered "dangling.")

3. Combine the phrase and main clause into one:

With dangling modifier:

To improve his results ,the experimentwas done again.

(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.)

He improved his results by doing the experiment again.

Modifiers are like teenagers: they fall in love with whatever they're next to. Make sure they're next to something they ought to modify!

When we begin a sentence with a modifying word, phrase, or clause, we must make sure the next thing that comes along can, in fact, be modified by that modifier. When a modifier improperly modifies something, it is called a "dangling modifier." This often happens with beginningparticipial phrases , making "dangling participles" an all too common phenomenon. In the sentence below, we can't have a car changing its own oil.

ConfusionChanging the oil every 3,000 miles, the car seemed to run better.

Repair WorkChanging the oil every 3,000 miles, Fred found he could get much better gas mileage.

ConfusionChanging the oil every 3,000 miles, there is an easy way to keep your car running smoothly.

Repair WorkIf we change the oil every 3,000 miles, we can keep our car running smoothly.

This faulty sentence can be remedied by changing the participial phrase into a full-fledged clause with a subject and verb.

A participial phrase followed by aPassive Verbis also apt to be a dangler because the real actor of the sentence will be disguised.

ConfusionChanging the oil every 3,000 miles, the car was kept in excellent condition.

Repair WorkChanging the oil every 3,000 miles, we kept the car in excellent condition.

An infinitive phrase can also "dangle." The infinitive phrase below should probably modify the person(s) who set up the exercise program.

ConfusionTo keep the young recruits interested in getting in shape, an exercise program was set up for the summer months.

Repair WorkTo keep the young recruits interested in getting in shape, the coaching staff set up an exercise program for the summer months.

Some modifiers, especially simple modifiers only, just, nearly, barely have a bad habit of slipping into the wrong place in a sentence. (In the sentence below, what does it mean to "barely kick" something?)

Confusion He barely kicked that ball twenty yards.

Repair Work He kicked that ball barely twenty yards.

http://net2.valenciacc.edu/mwhissel/CPT/English/modifier_quiz01.htm

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/niu/niu9.htm

http://aliscot.com/bigdog/dmmm_exercise.htm

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.

Dangling modifiers

Education

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