Modifiers
These modifiers act like adjectives, describing nouns like “quaint,” “cozy,” and “little” in “This quaint and cozy little 1940s house.”
What are adjective modifiers?
This writing technique uses words or phrases that have the same grammatical form, creating balance and rhythm in a sentence.
What is parallelism?
Words like only, just, and almost are this kind of modifier because they limit the meaning.
What are limiting modifiers?
In “I couldn’t decide if I wanted to wear a formal dress, fun skirt, or jeans and a t-shirt,” the missing word breaks the pattern. To fix it, repeat this article before each noun.
What is “a”?
This kind of mistake happens when the modifier is too far from the word it should describe, like in “I gave the old coins to my nephew I keep in a safe.”
What is a misplaced modifier?
This sentence is not parallel: “I like to study, sleeping, and to go to the beach.”
What would you do to make it parallel
What is change the “to go” into “going to”?
In “My sister only eats the green candies,” moving this word changes the sentence’s meaning, without "breaking" it grammatically.
What is “only”?
In sentences with pairs like not only... but also, either... or, and neither... nor, both parts must have the same structure.
What are correlative conjunctions?
This word or phrase describes another word in a sentence and gives more detail.
What is a modifier?
Parallelism helps writing flow smoothly and sound almost poetic because it adds this quality to sentences.
What is balance (or rhythm)?
This kind of modifier sits between two words, making it unclear which one it describes, like in “Students who study often get good grades.”
What is a squinting modifier?
This sentence is incorrect: “Many college students must balance not only part-time jobs but also taking full-time course loads.”
The correct version is “Many college students must balance not only part-time jobs but also full-time course loads.” What did the correct version did to be correct
What is maintaining parallel structure?
This error happens when the modifier doesn’t have the word it’s supposed to describe, like in “At seven years old, my father taught me guitar.” (this implies the father was 7 years old)
What is a dangling modifier?
In lists, all items should be in the same form. For example, you should list three nouns, adjectives, or verbs that match.
What is parallel structure in lists?
In “As a new hire, I would like to welcome you to the company,” the sentence wrongly says the speaker is new. This is an example of what?
What is a misplaced modifier?
In “Jessie thought running on the track team was better than membership in the chess club,” the words don’t match. The correct version uses the same form: “running” and “joining.”
What is using parallel forms in comparisons?
You can fix a dangling modifier by turning it into this type of sentence part, like in “When I was seven years old, my father taught me guitar.”
What is a dependent clause?
This punctuation mark, used before the final item in a list, can change the meaning if misused — as in the sentence about “my two uncles, George Washington, and Martin Luther King Jr.”
What is the Oxford comma (or serial comma)?
In “It’s just not the best phone available” and “It’s not just the best phone available,” this action changes the meaning of the sentences completly.
What is the placement of a limiting modifier?
This sentence is incorrect: “I taught my sister to speak properly, eating correctly, and saying ‘thank you.’”
The correct version—“to speak properly, to eat correctly, and to say ‘thank you’”—shows what grammar rule?
What is parallel structure in phrases and clauses?