EditFast Grammar Resource: Adjectives and Adverbs: Avoid Dangling Modifiers

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Adjectives and Adverbs

Rule 3:
Avoid dangling modifiers.

A dangling modifier is an adjective that does not refer clearly to a specific word or group of words in a sentence. In the following sentences, the adjective phrases dangle because they do not refer clearly to a particular word or group of words, or they are not next to the words they describe.

Examples:

• Having rotted in the cellar all winter, my brother was unable to sell the apples.
• To be sure the report would be delivered on time, "URGENT" was written across the front of the envelope.

In the first sentence, the participle phrase having rotted. . . is supposed to describe the apples, but it is placed right in front of my brother instead. In the second sentence, the infinitive phrase to be sure. . . is supposed to describe we or I or someone else not named in the sentence, but it is placed in front of "URGENT" instead. To correct these dangling modifiers, we could rewrite the sentences.

Examples:

• Having rotted in the cellar all winter, the apples could not be sold by my brother.
• To be sure the report would be delivered on time, we wrote "URGENT" across the front of the envelope.