Grammar is scary.

Does Your Modifier Dangle, Squint, or Is It Simply Misplaced?*

One of my favorite grammar terms is dangling modifiers. Where and how do they dangle? What’s a modifier anyway?

Modifiers give detail that make the sentence more specific, more interesting, or clearer. Although the simplest modifier is usually a single adverb or adjective, a modifier can be a phrase, a clause, or more than one word. 

Modifiers can dangle, squint, and/or be misplaced. A misplaced modifier is as it sounds…in the wrong place within the sentence. 

Example of Misplaced Modifier: A witness told the police he saw a man stabbing the woman with a mohawk. 

Mohawks are ineffective in performing a stabbing, the word mohawk should modify is man.

Correct: A witness told the police that he saw a man with a mohawk stabbing the woman.  

Modifiers that dangle means it is a modifier that describes something that has been left out of the sentence; the lack of description is called a dangling modifier. There is nothing to modify and most frequently occurs in introductory clauses. 

Example of a Dangling Modifier: With long hair dragging on the floor, Jules wondered how the dog could run. 

Was Jules’ hair dragging on the floor or the dog running with long hair dragging? 

Correct: Jules wondered how the dog could run with its long hair dragging on the floor. 

Modifiers modifying the words or phrase before it or after it are called squinting or two-way modifiers and brings ambiguity to the sentence, hence the squinting. It could modify the word or words before it or after it; it’s unclear. 

Example of a Squinting modifier: I told my daughter eventually the stray cat will leave to go home.

It’s unclear if eventually applies to told or will leave to go home.

Correct: I told my daughter the cat will eventually leave to go home. 

* Grammar hints, helps, and tips posted here does not guarantee 100% accuracy. Mistakes can and will be made occasionally, with my apologies extended for any and all errors. (That was a longwinded way of saying I’m not an expert!.)