Warm-Up: Creating Complex Sentences 2/14/13

Use the following subordinators to combine the following sentence pairs into complex sentences.

Subordinators: although, because, if, since, when 1. Jim was a strong man. He couldn’t lift the heavy box off the ground. 2. I will drop the books off for you. I am driving past the library later. 3. You want to pass this class. You had better study for quizzes.

Notes on Dangling Modifiers 2/14/13

Dangling Modifier A modifying word, phrase, or clause that does not clearly and sensibly modify a word or word group in a sentence is a dangling modifier.

Dangling Modifier A modifying word, phrase, or clause that does not clearly and sensibly modify a word or word group in a sentence is a dangling modifier. If the dangling modifier is a participial phrase, the error is referred to as a dangling participle.

Examples of Dangling Modifiers Jogging in the park, a rabbit peered at me from the underbrush.

Examples of Dangling Modifiers Jogging in the park, a rabbit peered at me from the underbrush. Was the rabbit jogging?

Examples of Dangling Modifiers Having overslept, my exam results were poor.

Examples of Dangling Modifiers Having overslept, my exam results were poor. Did the exam oversleep?

How to correct a dangling modifier When a modifying participial or infinitive phrase comes at the beginning of a sentence, the phrase is followed by a comma.

How to correct a dangling modifier When a modifying participial or infinitive phrase comes at the beginning of a sentence, the phrase is followed by a comma. Immediately after the comma should be the word or word group that the phrase modifies.

How to correct a dangling modifier Dangling: Jogging in the park, a rabbit peered at me from the underbrush.

How to correct a dangling modifier Dangling: Jogging in the park, a rabbit peered at me from the underbrush. Correct: Jogging in the park, I saw a rabbit peering at me from the underbrush.

How to correct a dangling modifier Dangling: Having overslept, my exam results were poor.

How to correct a dangling modifier Dangling: Having overslept, my exam results were poor. Correct: Having overslept, I did poorly on my exam.