Modifiers

​Part of being an effective writer is placing modifiers so that your meaning is clear and knowing how to revise misplaced and dangling modifiers. A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that makes the meaning of another word or word group more specific.

​While driving and texting, the cow was struck and died.

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​The soccer mom handed out pb&j sandwiches to all the kids in ziploc bags.

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​I saw a dead squirrel driving on the highway.

​A modifier that does not clearly modify any word or word group in a sentence is a dangling modifier.

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While you usually can correct a misplaced modifier by rearranging the sentence, in the case of a dangling modifier, you may need to add or replace words to clarify your meaning.

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Dangling: After reading the speech, a discussion took place.

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In this example, the phrase does not clearly modify anything in the sentence. After all, the discussion did not read the speech.

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Revised: After reading the speech, we discussed it.

Now, the phrase modifies we.

​Dangling: Holding her torch for more than 120 years now, we marvel at the sculptor's achievement.

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The phrase seems to modify we, but that doesn't make sense.

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Revised: The statue has been holding her torch for more than 120 years now, and we marvel at the sculptor's achievement.

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Adding words to the modifier and following the comma with and has clarified the sentence's meaning.

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