Let’s have some fun with misplaced and dangling modifiers. What are misplaced and dangling modifiers? What is a modifier?
A modifier is a word or phrase that describes another word in a sentence,
Misplaced modifiers are words or phrases that accidentally wind up describing the wrong thing. For example, “Too many dogs are killed by cars that roam unleashed.”
Dangling modifiers are words or phrases that leave the reader wondering what word is being described. Example: “At age ten my parents were divorced.”
I have written my share of misplaced modifiers, at least one of which I preached in a sermon: “Jesus stilled the storm in the boat.”
I penned this gem in my latest book, Vested Interest. “The last item was a lovely bunch of Shasta daisies wrapped in wet paper towels and newspaper Amanda had cut from her flower garden that morning.” Fortunately, my sharp-eyed editor spotted it and corrected the error.
Even the famous novelists occasionally have written misplaced and dangling modifiers. Here’s one from an award-winning writer of mystery and thriller novels, who shall remain anonymous. “His breath came in short pants.”
“Living the strenuous life of a playboy in Europe and America, his wife grew increasingly mentally unstable.” (Chambers Biographical Dictionary, entry on F. Scott Fitzgerald.)
“Pubs on both the Shankill and Falls Roads were among the first to come under scrutiny before advancing to more central locations.” (The Independent, 1 May 2007.) So that’s what a ‘pub crawl’ is!
“When US Marine Logan Thibault finds a photograph of a smiling woman half-buried in dirt during his third tour of duty in Iraq, his first instinct is to toss it aside.” (On the back cover of The Lucky One, a book by Nicholas Sparks.)
“With some of her new money she also bought a very early black and white television set. Mounted in a grand wood veneer cabinet, her grandchildren clamoured to come over and watch it.” (From a biography of Roald Dahl.)
“The Scarlet Letter is the tale of Hester Prynne, laid in New England.”
Thank you, Arlene Prunkl, owner of PenUltimate Editorial Services, for sharing these hilarious examples.
Here are some I found or made up.
The Yankees fan wore a baseball cap on his head which was obviously too small.
After drinking four Manhattans at the country club, the car battery was dead.
After eating my supper, my husband brought me an after-dinner drink.
Under his windshield wiper Fred read the parking ticket.
Driving the car out of the parking lot, the bag of groceries fell on the floor.
Bellowing a loud curse, the football helmet was thrown against the bench.
A dangling modifier walks into a bar. After finishing a drink the bartender asks it to leave.
A misplaced modifier walks into a bar with a free lunch.
● ● ●
A note from Bailey’s Blatant Self-Promotion Agency: Vested Interest, the fifth book in the David Elliott mystery series, is in the process of being published by Gatekeeper Press, in Tampa, Florida (pending interference from Helene). Vested Interest should be available sometime in late November or early December. Here’s a brief summary to sharpen your reading appetite.
Vested Interest opens with the sudden disappearance of a gifted teen and its unnerving impact on her family, friends, church, and community. Her strangled body reveals she was pregnant. The murder twists around the roots of impossible loss, deception, manipulation, divisiveness, inner conflict, self-doubt, healing power vs killing power, and revenge.
Comments