Eliminate Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers

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Eliminate Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers
Language Usage Skill 38
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What rules or ideas must I know?

• Remember
• An adjective modifies a noun or pronoun.
• Adjectives tell how many/much, how, which, or
  what kind.
• An adverb modifies a verb, adjective, or adverb.
• Adverbs tell where, when, how, and to what extent.

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What rules or ideas must I know?

• A misplaced modifier is positioned incorrectly in
  a sentence, which means that it describes the
  wrong word and can change the interpretation of
  the original meaning.
• The wildlife specialist said that most bears are
  dangerous on television.
• What meanings could this sentence have?

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What rules or ideas must I know?

• A dangling modifier describes or limits a word or
  words that never actually appear in the sentence.
  This often happens when the writer unconsciously
  supplies the missing words, but the reader gets
  confused. In order to correct a dangling
  modifier, state your intended subject in the
  sentence.
• Do not sit in a chair without being fully
  assembled.
• What meanings could this sentence have?

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Why do I need to know this?

• When misplaced or dangling modifiers are present
  in writing, the reader becomes confused and
  interprets the text in a way that the writer did
  not intend.

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What might cause mistakes for this concept?

• Often mistakes with misplaced and dangling
  modifiers occur because you know what you mean,
  and do not objectively look at your writing to
  ensure that a reader would understand what youve
  meant. You may also leave out key ideas or
  relationships.

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What might cause mistakes for this concept?

• Dangling modifiers often occur when one starts a
  sentence with a verb using -ing. Rewrite
  sentences by adding a subject and by placing the
  verb in simple present or past tense.

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What strategy can I use to edit my own work?

• When checking for mistakes involving misplaced
  and dangling modifiers, read your writing aloud,
  or have someone read it to you. This will take
  away your minds ability of adding words that are
  supposed to be there.

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Directions Work individually or in pairs to
revise the following passage to correct misplaced
and dangling modifiers.

• I was glad to have as an ally at Thanksgiving,
  my sister. I hate going to my Uncle Jeffs house
  for the holidays. My cousins and I are totally
  different, which awkward leads to conversations
  and situations. So, this year, my sister and I
  were able to stick together and avoid everyone
  else. This worked well until the blow up.
  Yelling from room to room, we watched the cousins
  from the couch. Erica apparently spilled iced
  tea on Jens new shirt, and Jen completely
  flipped out. It wasnt until to us Grandma
  called dinner, that the girls stopped fighting.
  After watching the fight for half an hour, the
  turkey was ready.

10
Directions Work individually or in pairs to
revise the following passage to correct misplaced
and dangling modifiers.

• My bedroom tells a lot about my personality.
  It is full of things that I have collected over
  the years. On my bed sits the stuffed cat that
  we bought from our friend with the fluffy tail.
  In the corner is the TV that one day after
  turning 13, decided to stop working. This is
  upsetting because I liked to watch TV at night.
• Taped to the back of my door, I wrote a note
  that should stay out. Next to the note is a
  picture of my moms smiling face appearing with a
  bouquet of flowers for my birthday. Lastly, my
  favorite thing is the picture of when I helped
  with Habitat for Humanity. It shows the student
  workers building a nice wall with gloves and
  safety goggles.