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1997-03-31
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B4E
Dangling Modifiers
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You've probably heard of
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dangling modifiers
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and
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dangling
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participles
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. Modifiers "dangle" when they don't clearly modify
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the intended word. Introductory verbal phrases, such as the
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participial phrase below, are sometimes "dangled."
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Correct:
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Leaking badly, the ship sunk.
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Dangling:
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Leaking badly, the sailor abandoned the ship.
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Since an introductory verbal phrase automatically refers to
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the grammatical subject of the sentence, the first example
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above implies that the sailor is leaking. When a modifier
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dangles, the actual meaning of the sentence can be far
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different from the meaning you intended!
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Below is another example of a dangling modifier.
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Dangling:
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Walking across the parking lot, her purse
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strap broke.
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Corrected:
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Walking across the parking lot, she felt her
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purse strap break.
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Corrected:
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While she was walking across the parking
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lot, her purse strap broke.
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In the first example above, the introductory phrase modifies
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"her purse strap." Since her purse strap could not have
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been walking across the parking lot, rephrase the sentence.
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Either move the referenced noun directly after the
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introductory phrase (as in the second example) or change
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the phrase to an adverb clause (as in the third example).
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Dangling modifiers can be subtle, and even professional
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writers must recheck their work to detect them. In editing
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your writing, circle every introductory verbal phrase and
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check to see that the intended subject is indeed the
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grammatical subject (immediately following the phrase).
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Related information
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Examples of Dangling Modifiers
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B4E1.htf
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Participles
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B3E7.htf
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Modifiers
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B3A.htf
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