Misplaced, Squinting, and Dangling Modifiers - Academic Skills - Trent University

What is a modifier?
Misplaced Modifiers
Squinting Modifiers
Dangling Modifiers

Modifiers

A modifier is a word, phrase or clause which speaks about or describes another word in the same sentence. Confusion results when a reader cannot tell to which word a modifier is attached. A modifier must clearly modify a word in the sentence.

Misplaced Modifiers

A misplaced modifier is a word or expression not placed closely enough to the word it modifies. The result may be confusing or unintentionally humorous.

The minister chatted informally about the cost of living with several women. [Incorrect sentence]

The minister chatted informally with several women about the cost of living. [Correct sentence]

In the first sentence, the writer reports the minister as talking about the "cost of living with several women," which was not the actual subject of conversation. In the correct sentence, the phrase "with several women" has been moved closer to the verb, "chatted," which it was meant to modify and, as a result, the meaning becomes clear.

Squinting Modifiers

Occasionally, a word or phrase can be placed so that it could refer to either one of two sentence elements. This is known as a squinting modifier.

Post offices are open on Saturdays only in the country. [Incorrect sentence]

Post offices are open only on Saturdays in the country. [Correct sentence]

Post offices are open on Saturdays in the country only. [Correct sentence]

Dangling Modifiers

A dangling modifier is usually a phrase, frequently found at the beginning of a sentence, which refers to a word that is not actually stated in the sentence at all.

Waking in the night, the fire engine could be heard. [Incorrect sentence]

In the first sentence, the phrase "waking in the night" modifies "the fire engine," technically saying that the fire engine woke in the night. The modifier is dangling at the beginning of the sentence with nothing to modify.

Waking in the night, I could hear the fire engine. [Correct sentence]

To avoid a dangling modifier, the writer must clearly express, following the dangling modifier and right after the comma, the word the phrase actually modifies.

In conversation, we often use dangling modifiers, but we should avoid them in correct, formal writing.

Correcting Dangling Modifiers

Example 1:

Staying in England in March, the crocuses were in bloom. [Incorrect sentence]

Staying in England in March, I enjoyed the crocuses, which were in bloom. [Correct sentence]

When I stayed in England in March, the crocuses were in bloom. [Correct sentence]

Example 2:

To climb mountains safely, good equipment is essential. [Incorrect sentence]

If one wants to climb mountains safely, good equipment is essential. [Correct sentence]

To climb mountains safely, mountaineers require good equipment. [Correct sentence]

Example 3:

By missing ten lectures, the exam seemed difficult. [Incorrect sentence]

By missing ten lectures, I found the exam difficult. [Correct sentence]

Because I had missed ten lectures, the exam seemed difficult. [Correct sentence]

Example 4:

When six years old, my mother died. [Incorrect sentence]

When six years old, I lost my mother. [Correct sentence]

When I was six years old, my mother died. [Correct sentence]