1. Modifiers

2. Modifiers
A modifier is a word or word group that makes the meaning of another word or word group more specific.
-Having finished the assignment, Jill turned on the TV.
In the 1992 Olympics, Kristi Yamaguchi won a gold medal for figure skating.

3. Fixing Dangling Modifiers
Sometimes a modifier changes the meaning of the sentence in such a way as to make the sentence unclear or awkward:
Driving nonstop, Shalishan Lodge is two hours from Portland.
This sentence inadvertently suggests that Shalishan Lodge is the driver. We can revise it in the following ways:
Driving nonstop from Portland, you can reach Shalishan Lodge in two hours.
If you drive nonstop, Shalishan Lodge is two hours from Portland.

4. Fixing Dangling Modifiers
Bankrupt, the land was sold to a neighboring farmer.
Problem = The land cannot be bankrupt.
Bankrupt, the family sold the land to a neighboring farmer.

5. Fixing Dangling Modifiers
As a young boy, his aunt told stories of her years as a country doctor.
Problem = The aunt was never a young boy.
When he was a young boy, his aunt told stories of her years as a country doctor.

6. Fixing Dangling Modifiers
Thumbing through the magazine, my eyes automatically noticed the perfume ads.
Problem = Eyes cannot thumb through the magazine.
My eyes automatically noticed the perfume ads as I was thumbing through the magazine.

7. Fixing Dangling Modifiers
A rabbit’s teeth are never used for defense even when cornered.
Problem = Teeth cannot be cornered.
Even when cornered, a rabbit never uses its teeth for defense.

8. Things to Remember
Keep an eye out for modifiers and try to draw arrows connecting them to what they modify.
Keep modifiers close to the words or phrases they modify; chances are the further away they are, the more confusing it will be.
If you cannot find the word which the modifier refers to, revise the sentence.