GRAMMAR: MISPLACED MODIFIERS DANGLING MODIFIERS DANGLING MODIFIERS

Components to cover: MISPLACED MODIFIERS DANGLING MODIFIERS

Example The silver fish (word) The fish in the pond (phrase) The fish that he caught (clause) WHAT ARE MODIFIERS? Modifiers are word or a group of words that describes, limits or qualifies the meaning of another word or phrase. Modifiers can be a word or a phrase or clause.

Example 1.He gave her the rose. He gave her the scarlet red rose he picked from the sweet smelling garden. 2. She watched the sunset. She watched the blood red sun quickly sink below the horizon. MODIFIERS ADD LIFE TO SENTENCE One cannot imagine a sentence without modifiers. A sentence without modifiers can be very boring.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF MODIFIERS To add details to sentences To make sentences more interesting To create clear communications when correctly used.

Example When used incorrectly modifiers can cause problems such as: Misplaced modifiers Dangling modifiers USE OF MODIFIERS Modifiers can be used for both in the good sense and the bad sense.

Example Covered in mud, Mark wiped off the trembling puppy. INCORRECT USE OF MODIFIERS The incorrect modifiers can result in sentences that are awkward, misleading or unintentionally humorous.

Example Covered in mud, Mark wiped off the trembling puppy. MISPLACED MODIFIERS Misplace modifiers are modifiers that are not put in the right place in a sentence.

Example Covered in mud, Mark wiped off the trembling puppy. Who is covered in mud. The puppy is muddy but it sound like Mark is covered in mud. How could we correct this sentence? Correct sentence: Mark wiped off the trembling puppy covered in mud. MISPLACED MODIFIERS They can describe the wrong word and can also change the intended meaning of a sentence.

Example Smelling sour, John threw away the food. John is not smelling sour but the food is. “Smelling sour” is the modifier and the “food” is the item or word being modified. AVOIDING MISPLACED MODIFIERS To avoid misplaced modifiers, the modifier mist be placed close to the item or word that it modifies.

Example Original sentence: Smelling sour, John threw away the food. Corrected sentence: John threw away the sour smelling food. PLACING THE MODIFIER CORRECTLY Sometime it is difficult to understand where to place the modifier in a sentence. A close study of the sentence can help us correct it.

Example Original sentence: Broken and dusty, Rita found an old compute in a garage. Corrected sentence: In the garage, Rita found an old computer that was broken and dusty. PLACING THE MODIFIER CORRECTLY IN COMPLICATED SENTENCES Sometimes it is difficult for the student to place the modifier correctly in a sentence that is complicated.

Example Original sentence: Hidden in a fortune cookie, sue found the engagement ring. Corrected sentence: Sue found the engagement ring hidden in a fortune cookie. PLACING THE MODIFIER CORRECTLY IN COMPLICATED SENTENCES The meaning of the sentence totally changes, if the modifiers are not placed correctly.

ACTIVITY 1 Read the sentence carefully and rewrite it correctly: 1.Shooting laser out of his eyes, the mad scientist was no match for the robot. 2.Jamie decided that almost $ 20 was too much to pay for the ticket. 3.Sam followed the recipe, but the cake still came out exactly flat. 4.Wild and untamed, Jack entered the jungle.

ACTIVITY 1 Read the sentence carefully and rewrite it correctly: 5. Moaning in haunting voices, the house contained many ghosts. 6. Sam bought a used car from a local dealer with a smoky tailpipe

ANSWERS TO ACTIVITY 1 1.The doctor was no match to the robot shooting laser out of his eyes. 2.Jamie almost decided that $20 was too much to pay for the ticket. 3.Sam followed the recipe exactly, but the cake still came out flat. 4.Jack entered the wild and untamed jungle.

ANSWERS TO ACTIVITY 1 5. The house contained many ghosts that moaned in haunting voices. 6. Sam bought a used car with a smoky tailpipe from a local dealer.

WHAT ARE DANGLING MODIFIRES When a modifier describes a word that is not appear in a sentence that modifier is called dangling. 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.

CHARACTERISTICS OF DANGLING MODIFIRES The dangling modifiers most frequently occur at the beginning of a sentence. It is often an introductory clause or a phrase. Sometimes they also appear at the end of the sentences.

Example Original sentence: Changing the oil every three thousand miles, the car seemed to run better. Modified sentence: Changing the oil every three thousand miles, Fred found he could get better gas mileage. BASIC PRINCIPLES OF DANGLING MODIFIERS OCCUR Modifiers fall in love with anything they are next to. Students need to make sure that the modifiers are next to the word they ought to modify.

Example Falling asleep, the car steered in to the bushes. This sentence means that the car was asleep and it went into the bushes. Falling asleep is the modifier but the item being modified is missing. Let us look at the correct sentence: Falling asleep, Trisha steered the car into the trees. The modifier: Falling asleep Item modified : Trisha HOW DO DANGLING MODIFIERS OCCUR As already stated, dangling modifiers can occur in the beginning or end of a sentence.

Example While waiting for the bus, the sky turned threatening. Here the modifier “while waiting for the bus” is dangling. HOW TO FIND WHAT IS WRONG IN A SENTENCE A careful read to the sentence will help to understand the mistake in a sentence. Students will have to give some time to find out what is wrong in a sentence.

EXAMPLE: For the above sentence option 1 works the best. While we waited for the bus, the sky turned threatening. CORRECTING A DANGLING MODIFIER There are two ways to correct a dangling modifier: Insert a subject at the start of a sentence Insert a subject after the comma

Example After running the marathon, exhaustion overcame me. This sentence can be written in two ways: Option 1: After I ran the marathon, exhaustion overcame me. Option 2: After running the marathon, I was overcome by exhaustion. HOW TO INSERT A MISSING WORD The student needs to understand which part of the sentence is missing.

EXAMPLE: While kneading the dough, the oven warmed up. The subject is missing because we know that the oven cannot knead the dough. While Norma, kneaded the dough, the oven warmed up. ADDING SUBJECT TO A DANGLING SENTENCE Sometimes in a sentence there is no subject due to which the sentence has no meaning or the sentence lose it meaning.

ACTIVITY 2 Rearrange the following sentences correctly: 1.Having finished the main course, desserts were eaten. 2.After visiting the processing plant, mat will never seem the same again. 3.The fundraiser was a success, having run 100 laps for $ 10, Using a variety of pedagogical techniques, the students were taught grammar.

ACTIVITY 2 Rearrange the following sentences correctly: 5. To improve his essay, each page was proofread. 6. While reading the novel, the pages that contain important information should be marked. 7. To improve his results, the experiment was done again.

ANSWER TO ACTIVITY 2 1.Having finished the main course the family ate the desserts. 2.After visiting the processing plant, I will never see meat the same again. 3.The volunteers made fund raising a success, having run 100 laps for $ 10, Using a variety of pedagogical techniques, the teacher taught the students grammar.

ANSWER TO ACTIVITY 2 5.To improve his essay, David proofread each page. 6.While reading the novel, you should mark the pages that contain important information. 7.He improved his result by doing the experiment again.

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