Dangling Participle Phrases.
What is the difference between a dangling participle and a misplaced modifier?
A dangling participle fails to connect to any subject in the sentence, while a misplaced modifier is in the wrong spot, creating ambiguity.
Find the dangling adjective in the sentence below and rewrite it to make the meaning clearer:
"Exhausted from the long day, the bed looked incredibly inviting."
The adjective "exhausted from the long day" seems to describe "the bed," which cannot feel exhaustion.
the correct Response is "Exhausted from the long day, I found the bed incredibly inviting."
What is a dangling adjective?
A dangling adjective is an adjective or phrase that is improperly separated from the noun or pronoun it is intended to modify. This can lead to confusion about what the adjective is describing
What is a limiting modifier?
A limiting modifier is a word that restricts or specifies the meaning of another word (usually a noun or verb) in a sentence. Limiting modifiers narrow down or limit the scope of what is being described. Common limiting modifiers include words like only, just, almost, nearly, even, and exactly.
What is a misplaced phrase or clause?
A misplaced phrase or clause occurs when a group of words is placed too far from the word it is meant to modify, leading to confusion or a change in meaning. A misplaced modifier can make a sentence unclear, illogical, or humorous in unintended ways.
Why is it important to avoid dangling participles?
Dangling participles can confuse readers or unintentionally create humorous or awkward sentences
Identify the dangling adjective in the sentence below and rewrite the sentence correctly:
"Excited for the concert, the tickets were picked up early."
The adjective "excited for the concert" seems to describe "the tickets," but tickets cannot feel excitement. the correct Response is
"Excited for the concert, we picked up the tickets early."
. Why do dangling adjectives cause confusion?
Dangling adjectives cause confusion because they fail to clearly specify the subject they modify, leading to unclear sentences. The sentence often lacks a clear noun for the adjective to describe, leaving readers to guess the intended meaning.
Which of the following sentences correctly uses a limiting modifier?
A. She has nearly finished her homework.
B. She nearly has finished her homework.
A. She has nearly finished her homework.
In sentence A, "nearly" correctly modifies the verb "finished" to show that the action is almost complete.
In sentence B, the placement of "nearly" makes it awkward and unclear. It doesn't effectively modify the verb "finished."
Which of the following sentences contains a misplaced modifier?
A. Walking down the street, I saw a beautiful flower.
B. I saw a beautiful flower walking down the street.
A. Walking down the street, I saw a beautiful flower.
In this sentence, it seems as though "walking down the street" is modifying "I," which is not the intended meaning. The phrase "walking down the street" should modify the person who was walking, not the speaker.
How can context help prevent dangling participles?
Always ensure the subject of the participle phrase appears immediately after the phrase.
Spot the dangling adjective and fix the error:
"Angry about the delay, the bus finally arrived at the station."
The adjective "angry about the delay" appears to describe "the bus," but a bus cannot feel anger.
"Angry about the delay, the passengers were relieved when the bus finally arrived at the station."
Which of these sentences contains a dangling infinitive phrase?
A. To bake a cake, she followed the recipe carefully.
B. To bake a cake, the recipe was followed carefully.
B. To bake a cake, the recipe was followed carefully.
In this sentence, the subject "the recipe" seems to be doing the action of baking the cake, which is incorrect. The intended subject should be "she," but it's not clearly connected to the infinitive phrase.
What is the function of the limiting modifier in this sentence?
He was the only person to arrive early.
The limiting modifier "only" restricts the noun "person," indicating that he was the one and only individual who arrived early, limiting the scope of the subject.
Identify the misplaced modifier in the sentence below and correct it:
The phrase "on paper plates" is misplaced because it seems to modify "the children," implying that the children are on paper plates
How can dangling participles be corrected?
Rewrite the sentence to clearly show who or what the phrase modifies.
What is wrong with the following sentence, and how would you rewrite it?
"Disappointed with the service, the meal was left untouched."
the adjective "disappointed with the service" seems to describe "the meal," which cannot feel disappointment.
Revised Sentence:
"Disappointed with the service, we left the meal untouched."
What is wrong with this sentence?
To catch the train, the car was used.
This is an example of a dangling infinitive phrase. The sentence suggests that "the car" was trying to catch the train, which is not right . A corrected version would be:
To catch the train, we used the car.
Now, "we" is the subject performing the action of using the car to catch the train.
Which sentence contains a limiting modifier incorrectly?
A. I only have five dollars left.
B. I have only five dollars left.
A. I only have five dollars left.
While "only" is a limiting modifier, its placement in sentence A creates ambiguity. The sentence could imply that "only" modifies "have," meaning the speaker only "has" (without any further explanation), rather than modifying "five dollars."
Which sentence is correct?
A. The teacher handed out the assignments to the students that were due tomorrow.
B. The teacher handed out the assignments that were due tomorrow to the students.
B. The teacher handed out the assignments that were due tomorrow to the students.
In sentence A, "to the students" is misplaced, making it seem like the students were due tomorrow, which is not the intended meaning. Sentence B correctly places the phrase "that were due tomorrow" directly after "assignments," which makes the meaning clear.
Identify the dangling participle in the following sentence, and revise it to make the meaning clear:
"Walking through the park, the flowers smelled lovely."
The participial phrase "Walking through the park" is dangling because it seems to modify "the flowers," which doesn't make sense—flowers don't walk.
the correct Response is "Walking through the park, I smelled the lovely flowers."
How can you fix a dangling adjective?
To fix a dangling adjective:
Which sentence is correct?
A. To make a great impression, practice will be necessary.
B. To make a great impression, you need to practice.
B. To make a great impression, you need to practice.
In sentence A, "practice will be necessary" creates a dangling infinitive because the subject of the sentence isn't clearly connected to the infinitive phrase "To make a great impression." In sentence B, "you" is the subject performing the action.
How would you revise this sentence to improve the placement of the limiting modifier?
To improve the placement of "just" (the limiting modifier), you can revise the sentence to:
She can go to the store just for groceries.
This revision clarifies that "just" limits the purpose of her trip to the store.
What is wrong with the following sentence?
He nearly drove for 6 hours straight to reach the destination.
The phrase "nearly" is misplaced, which makes it sound as if he was close to driving (but didn't actually drive). The intended meaning is that he drove for almost 6 hours.