When the subject of a main clause is insuf\ufb01ciently connected to a word or phrase that modi\ufb01es it, this word or phrase is described as a ‘dangling modi\ufb01er.\u02bc A proper modi\ufb01er describes, clari\ufb01es, or gives more detail about the main clause, whereas a dangling modi\ufb01er allows too much gray area with regard to what subject is being described or clari\ufb01ed.<\/p>\n
Oftentimes, a writer of dangling modi\ufb01ers is taking for granted that their reader will correctly infer from the context provided exactly what it is their modi\ufb01er is intended to modify; whether as an oversight, or as an attempt to provide their writing with a more casual, or colloquial, tone. However, such sentences typically fail to cohere outside their provided context, and therefore are regarded as grammatically incorrect.<\/p>\n
Example:<\/p>\n
The problem here is that it is not clear about who spent too much money. \u201cThey\u201d is the classic dangling modifier. The assumption that the reader, or listener, clearly understands who \u201cthey\u201d is cannot be made.<\/p>\n
Example:<\/p>\n
The doctor had a broken hand? Most likely, the patient had a broken hand, and so, the phrase \u2018broken hand\u2019 should follow \u2018the patient\u2019 so that confusion, or question, can be avoided.<\/p>\n
The most important point here is that there should be no confusion. Re-reading your written work to see what you might be assuming the reader knows or understands is one of the most important parts of the revision process.<\/p>\n
SchoolTutoring Academy<\/span> is the premier educational services company for K-12 and college students. We offer tutoring programs for students in K-12, AP classes, and college. To learn more about how we help parents and students in Visalia visit: Tutoring in Visalia.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When the subject of a main clause is insuf\ufb01ciently connected to a word or phrase that modi\ufb01es it, this word or phrase is described as a ‘dangling modi\ufb01er.\u02bc A proper modi\ufb01er describes, clari\ufb01es, or gives more detail about the main clause, whereas a dangling modi\ufb01er allows too much gray area with regard to what subject […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[164,447,448,742,834,1524,2037],"class_list":["post-2111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-and-grammar","tag-avoiding-vague-modifiers","tag-dangling-modifier","tag-dangling-modifiers","tag-grammar","tag-how-do-i-write-clearly","tag-removing-verbal-confusion-in-writing","tag-what-are-modifiers"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2111\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}