April 17, 2024
Lecture
Assessment
OBJECTIVES
Make sentences more
descriptive and detailed.
Provide clear and
accurate communication.
Knows how to identify
errors in a sentence
ERRONEOUS
MODIFIERS
What is Erroneous Modifiers?
A modifier is a word,
phrase, or clause that
provides additional
information about another
word in a sentence to
make it more specific and
easy to understand.
2 TYPES OF ERRONEOUS
MODIFERS
Misplaced Modifiers
Dangling Modifiers
MISPLACED
MODIFIERS
What is Misplaced
Modifiers?
A misplaced modifier is
a word, phrase, or
clause that is improperly
separated from the word
it modifies/describes.
What is Misplaced
Modifiers?
Because of the
separation, sentences
with this error often
sound awkward,
ridiculous, and confusing.
What is Misplaced
Modifiers?
Misplaced modifiers can
usually be corrected by
moving the modifier to a
more sensible place in the
sentence, generally next
to the word it modifies.
MISPLACED MODIFIERS
EXAMPLES
If you say purple
women’s shoes, it
sounds like women are
purple, not the shoes.
In this case, purple is a
misplaced modifers.
MISPLACED MODIFIERS
EXAMPLES
INCORRECT: On her way
home, Jan found a gold
man’s watch.
CORRECT: On her way
home, Jan found a man’s
gold watch .
MISPLACED MODIFIERS
EXAMPLES
INCORRECT: We ate that
lunch we brought slowly .
CORRECT: We slowly ate
that lunch we brought.
MISPLACED MODIFIERS
EXAMPLES
INCORRECT: The child ate
a cold dish of cereal this
morning.
CORRECT: The child ate a
dish of cold cereal this
morning.
DANGLING
MODIFIERS
What is Dangling Modifers?
A phrase or clause that
is not clearly and
logically related to the
word or words it modifies.
What is Dangling Modifers?
Unlike a misplaced
modifiers, a dangling
modifier cannot be
corrected by simply
moving the it to a
different place in a
sentence.
DANGLING MODIFIERS
EXAMPLES
INCORRECT: Walking towards the
forest, the sun began to set.
(In this example, “walking towards the
forest” is a dangling modifier since it sounds
as if the sun is walking towards the forest)
CORRECT : Walking towards the
forest, I watched as the sun began
to set.
DANGLING MODIFIERS
EXAMPLES
INCORRECT: Walking home at night, the
trees looked like spooky aliens.
CORRECT: As Jonas was walking home at
night, the trees looked like spooky aliens.
CORRECT: The trees looked like spooky
aliens. As Jonas was walking home at
night.
DANGLING MODIFIERS
EXAMPLES
INCORRECT: When nine years
old, my mother enrolled in
medical school.
CORRECT: When I was nine
years old, my mother enrolled in
medical school.
DANGLING MODIFIERS
EXAMPLES
INCORRECT: After writing, the
dogs went for a walk.
CORRECT: After writing, she
went for a walk with the dogs.
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