Rule #11 A participial phrase at the beginning of a sentence must refer to the grammatical subject. (misplaced modifiers)

Ha ha ha Standing on the balcony, the ocean looked so beautiful. I glimpsed a rat sorting the recyclable materials. Flying overhead, I saw the geese pass by in a V-formation. Dressed in a diaper and drooling, grandpa read a book to his granddaughter. Covered with hot melted cheese, we ate the pizza. The body was discovered by a hunter with a gunshot wound.

How to fix it Find the subject Does the participial phrase refer to the subject? You usually just need to move things around. In general, whenever you are using a modifier, place it as close as possible to the item you wish to modify in the sentence (even if it’s not the subject)

Review Read over rules 1 – 11 in Strunk and White (except rule 10) If you are struggling with any rules, use NoRedInk.com and practice – you don’t need an assignment or quiz; you can just take practice quizzes: apostrophes, subject verb agreement, and commas, fragments, runs ons – these will help a lot. For more review on colons and semi-colons, go to the following link and try the practice: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/engagement/index.php?category _id=2&sub_category_id=1&article_id=44 Test on Friday