GROWING GRAMMAR: Modifiers…do you know where yours are?
Modifiers are like teenagers: they fall in love with whatever they’re next to. Make sure they’re next to something they ought to modify!
(from The Guide to Grammar and Writing sponsored by the Capital Community College Foundation)
Unlike luxury cars, modifiers are not equipped with navigation systems. They get lost, they dangle, they confuse. Hmmm…starting to sound more like my daughter than a grammar lesson.
While dangling and misplaced modifiers can be sources of giggles (again, like my daughter), they can also muck up meanings.
MISPLACED MODIFIERS, including simple ones such as only, nearly, just, barely, are like those people who slip into the “Ten Items Only” line at the cash register and consider their twenty cartons of yogurt one item.
Jess only drinks milk. This means Jess does not use milk when she cooks, does not pour it over her cereal. ALL she does with milk is drink it.
Jess drinks only milk. This means Jess drinks milk and nothing but milk.
There’s nothing wrong with either of the two sentences; a writer just needs to be sure which meaning s/he is attempting to get across to the reader.
Generally, the “rule” is to make sure the modifier is placed directly BEFORE the word it is modifying.
I was told I’d be able to attend the ball by my fairy godmother. (was my godmother telling me ABOUT attending the ball OR was fairy godmother the hostess for the ball?)
I was told by my fairy godmother that I’d be able to attend the ball. (answers the question)
DANGLING MODIFIERS provide endless amusement. Well, maybe not for editors. Like Ben&Jerry leading me to cellulite, participles and participial phrases are the primary culprits in leading modifiers to dangle.
Here are several danglers provided for your amusement:
1. Waiting for the Moonpie, the candy machine began to hum loudly.
2. Coming out of the market, the bananas fell on the pavement.
3. Running down the street, the briefcase fell open.
4. Baking in the oven, I watched the cheesecake.
5. After eating the chocolate, the box was empty.
Again, the “rule” is to make sure the modifier and its “modifiee” are linked. In the case of participles and participial phrases opening sentences, that means placing what is being modified directly AFTER the comma.
Baking in the oven, the cheesecake was watched by me.
To correct other dangling modifiers, shift the sentence so that the modifier and its modifiee are linked.
The candy machine began to hum loudly while I was waiting for my Moonpie.
