In Need of Modification Correcting and Avoiding Misplaced or Dangling Modifiers

Identifying Dangling Modifiers The SAT/PSAT writing section contains problems involving complex and compound-complex sentences. These sentences, which contain numerous interrelated facts and details, generally contain errors. Often, the added details do not clearly fit and work together. Perhaps the most common problem involves "dangling modifiers.“

What is a Dangling Modifier 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. Sample Sentence: Having finished the assignment, Jill turned on the TV. "Having finished" states an action but does not name the doer of that action. In English sentences, the doer must be the subject of the main clause that follows. In this sentence, it is Jill. She seems logically to be the one doing the action ("having finished"), and this sentence therefore does not have a dangling modifier.

Dangling Modifiers The following sentence has an incorrect usage: Sample Sentence: Having finished the assignment, the TV was turned on. "Having finished" is a participle* expressing action, but the doer is not the TV set (the subject of the main clause): TV sets don't finish assignments. Since the doer of the action expressed in the participle has not been clearly stated, the participial phrase is said to be a dangling modifier. * A participle is a verb form that functions as an adjective. In the present tense, participles always end in “-ing”.

An Unintentional Laugh Misplaced or dangling modifiers can often cause humor where none was intended. Consider Groucho Marx’s quip in the movie Animal Crackers: “One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I’ll never know.” Sample Sentence: Jeff bought an old jeep from a crooked dealer with a faulty transmission. Did the jeep or the crooked dealer have a faulty transmission? Sample Sentence: Sam screamed at the barking dog in his underwear. Now, really, did the dog wear underwear?

Strategies for Revising Dangling Modifiers Name the appropriate or logical doer of the action as the subject of the main clause: Having arrived late for practice, a written excuse was needed. Who arrived late? This sentence says that the written excuse arrived late. To revise, decide who actually arrived late. The possible revision might look like this: Having arrived late for practice, the team captain needed a written excuse. The main clause now names the person (the captain) who did the action in the modifying phrase (arrived late).

Change the phrase that dangles into a complete introductory clause by naming the doer of the action in that clause: Without knowing his name, it was difficult to introduce him. Who didn't know his name? This sentence says that "it" didn't know his name. To revise, decide who was trying to introduce him. The revision might look something like this: Because Maria did not know his name, it was difficult to introduce him. The phrase is now a complete introductory clause; it does not modify any other part of the sentence, so is not considered "dangling."

Combine the phrase and main clause into one: To improve his results, the experiment was done again. Who wanted to improve results? This sentence says that the experiment was trying to improve its own results. To revise, combine the phrase and the main clause into one sentence. The revision might look something like this: He improved his results by doing the experiment again.

Released SAT Samples Burdened with three pieces of luggage and a pair of skis, Sarah's secret search for a baggage cart was desperate. As patients, the medical directors of the clinic believe that you are entitled to know the reason for the increase in fees. To ensure that the bread will have the same consistency from batch to batch, it is the quality control specialist who checks small random samples of dough from each lot. To satisfy her high school's community service requirements, patients at a hospital were visited by Jan three afternoons a week. Prior to closing an airplane's outer door, federal regulations requires that all passengers be seated and have their seat belts fastened. A beautifully written narrative of the author's boyhood in South America, his descriptions of animal life in the plains region are fascinating.

Time to Modify your Modifiers Misplaced and dangling modifiers can often create confusion and even unintentional humor. The SAT folks love to dangle their modifiers to cause you stress in the writing sections of the exam. Turn to page 156 in your text, and revise the listed sentences so that each modifier is clearly linked to its subject. Correct numbers 1-7.