10
Modification
This chapter deals with two types of modification problems:
1. Misplaced and squinting modifiers: In the first section, we examine misplaced modifiers. Sentences containing misplaced modifiers are not ungrammatical. The problem is that misplaced modifiers make sentences say something the writers do not intend to say. Here is an example with the misplaced modifier almost:
Senator Blather almost spoke for two hours.
Now, it is (barely) possible that the sentence means exactly what the writer said, that Senator Blather was scheduled for a two-hour speech but mercifully something happened to prevent it from being given. However, it is much more likely that what the writer meant to say was this:
Senator Blather spoke for almost two hours.
In other words, Senator Blather did indeed speak, and the speech lasted nearly two hours.
2. Dangling modifiers: In the second section, we deal with dangling modifiers. A dangling modifier is an out-and-out grammatical error. The error results from incorrectly formed modifying participial or infinitive phrases. These modifiers are said to dangle because they are improperly attached to the rest of the sentence. Here is an example (dangling modifier in italics):
X Having hiked all day, my backpack was killing me.
What the writer meant to say was that as a result of his having hiked all day, his backpack was killing him. However, what the writer actually said was this:
X My backpack hiked all day and was killing me.
Misplaced and Squinting Modifiers
A misplaced modifier is a modifier placed in a position where it modifies something that the writer does not intend it to modify. A squinting modifier is an adverb that can be interpreted as modifying two completely different things. Misplaced and squinting modifiers result in writers’ saying things they don’t mean.
Modifier errors are much more common in ordinary conversation than in writing, but speakers and listeners rarely notice them. When we talk, most of us do not carefully plan out exactly what we are going to say. We rarely go back over what we have said and edit it, unless it is grossly wrong. (Remember in the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory when Willy Wonka would get excited and say phrases backward? He would stop, make a revolving motion with his hands, and then correct himself.) Likewise, our listeners are quite tolerant of all kinds of verbal mistakes. Part of the reason is that we are primarily listening for what people are saying, not how they are saying it.
When we write, however, it is a different story. Writing, unlike conversation, is planned and corrected in private. When we show our writing to others, there is an expectation of correctness far beyond our expectations of day-to-day conversational language. Mistakes that are routinely accepted without notice in conversation are glaringly apparent in writing. Nowhere is the difference between the standards of casual speech and writing more apparent than in the correct placement and use of modifiers.
Misplaced Modifiers
Misplaced modifiers do not make sentences ungrammatical. Misplaced modifiers are wrong because they say something the writer did not intend to say. The placement of an adverb can make a world of difference in meaning. For example, the placement of the adverb only in the following sentences changes the meaning rather considerably:
Only I love you.
I love only you.
Most of the misplaced modifier errors fall into two main categories: misplaced adverb qualifiers and misplaced prepositional phrases.
Misplaced Adverb Qualifiers. Suppose you intended to comment on how much chicken your friend Portly Bob ate, and you wrote this:
Bob nearly ate the whole chicken.
Unfortunately, what you actually said was that Bob did not eat any chicken at all, though he did contemplate eating a whole one. The problem is the placement of the adverb modifier nearly. What you should have written is this:
Bob ate nearly the whole chicken.
The problem this writer encountered is that nearly is one of a group of adverbs that have the unusual property of being able to modify noun phrases (like the whole chicken above) in addition to their usual adverb function of modifying verbs. The mistake the writer made was to unthinkingly place the adverb in front of the verb because that is where adverbs normally go.
Here are some other adverbs like nearly: almost, just, and only. When using these adverbs, we need to be aware that they are easily misplaced. We need to check the possibility that they really modify something following the verb—usually, but not always, a noun phrase. Here are three more examples of misplaced adverb quantifiers:
Alice almost spent $200 on a new CD player.
Now, did Alice actually get a new CD player or not? If she did not, then almost is correctly placed. However, if she did get her new CD player, then what the writer really meant was this:
Alice spent almost $200 on a new CD player.
We just located two vendors for that product.
If the writer meant that they just now located two vendors, then the modifier is correctly placed. But if the writer meant that they were able to find only two vendors, then this is what the writer should have written:
We located just two vendors for that product.
The committee only meets on Wednesdays.
In this example, the differences are more subtle. The placement of only in front of the verb meets implies that the committee takes no action at its Wednesday meetings. Presumably, the committee takes action at some other time. However, suppose the writer really meant to say that the committee has just a single weekly meeting—on Wednesdays. In that case, the adverb needs to follow the verb:
The committee meets only on Wednesdays.
The moral of this presentation is the following: watch out for the adverb qualifiers almost, just, nearly, and only. Sometimes these adverbs do not modify the verb as one might expect, but rather they modify a noun phrase or another structure following the verb.
Misplaced Prepositional Phrases. Prepositional phrases can play two different roles: adjectives and adverbs. One problem with prepositional phrases at the end of a sentence is that the reader interprets the prepositional phrase as one part of speech, while the writer intended the other. Here is an example with the prepositional phrase in italics:
The runners stood ignoring the crowd in their lanes.
It seems as though the writer is using the prepositional phrase as an adjective modifying crowd. The sentence seems to say that the crowd was in the runners’ lanes, a highly unlikely situation. What the writer meant was for the prepositional phrase to be used as an adverb telling us where the runners stood. Here is what the writer should have written:
The runners stood in their lanes ignoring the crowd.
A second problem with prepositional phrases is that when there is more than one clause, adverb prepositional phrases can be placed so that they modify the wrong verb. Here is an example of such an adverb prepositional phrase (in italics):
He went to a hospital where he underwent emergency surgery in a limousine.
On first reading, we interpret the adverb prepositional phrase in a limousine as modifying the nearest verb, underwent:
X He underwent emergency surgery in a limousine.
What the writer meant, of course, is for the prepositional phrase to modify the first verb, went:
He went to a hospital in a limousine.
The best way to correct the misplacement is to move the prepositional phrase next to the verb it modifies:
He went in a limousine to a hospital where he underwent emergency surgery.
The best way to monitor for misplaced prepositional phrases is to always make sure the prepositional phrase is directly attached to the word that it should modify. Pay special attention to prepositional phrases at the ends of sentences. They are the ones most likely to be misplaced.
Squinting Modifiers
Squinting modifiers are adverbs that are placed at a boundary of two clauses or phrases with the unfortunate result that the reader cannot tell which clause or phrase the adverb should go with. These modifiers are called “squinting” because they seem to look in two different directions at the same time. Following are two examples of squinting adverbs (in italics):
The mayor promised after her reelection she would not raise taxes.
Here, the modifier is the adverb prepositional phrase after her reelection. The adverb phrase “squints” because we can interpret it in two different ways:
1. After her reelection modifies the preceding verb promised. We can paraphrase this interpretation as follows:
After the mayor was reelected, she promised that she would not raise taxes.
That is, the mayor has already been elected.
2. After her reelection modifies the following verb would not raise. We can paraphrase this interpretation as follows:
The mayor promised that after she was reelected, she would not raise taxes.
That is, the mayor is making a promise about what she would do if and when she were reelected.
In the following example
Students who practice writing often will benefit.
the modifier is the adverb often. The adverb “squints” because we can interpret it in two different ways:
1. Often modifies the preceding verb writing. We can paraphrase this interpretation as follows:
Those students who often practice writing are the ones who will benefit.
2. Often modifies the following verb will benefit. We can paraphrase this interpretation as follows:
Students will often benefit when they practice writing.
Sentences containing squinting modifiers are not ungrammatical per se. The problem is that the squinting modifier creates an unintended and undesired ambiguity. Once the writer realizes the confusion, the ambiguity is easily resolved one way or another. The problem, of course, is that the writer sees only the intended meaning, not the unintended one.
There is no simple solution or test for squinting adverbs. Nonetheless, it is helpful for writers to be aware of the condition in which squinting adverbs can occur. Squinting adverbs occur at the boundary between two clauses or phrases. Once writers are aware that this boundary is a squinting adverb danger zone, they can take the extra second to consciously check to see if adverbs at the boundaries can be interpreted in more than one way.
Summary
Misplaced and squinting modifiers are difficult problems for all of us because we know what we meant. It is really hard to train our eyes to see not just what we meant but what we actually said.
Misplaced modifiers are modifiers put in the wrong place so they modify something we do not intend for them to modify. The most likely culprits are the adverb qualifiers almost, just, nearly, and only because they can modify both verbs (as we would expect) and also noun phrases. Other common misplaced modifiers are adverb prepositional phrases at the end of sentences that can be interpreted as modifying the nearest verb rather than the more remote intended verb.
Squinting modifiers are modifiers that are used at the boundary of two clauses or phrases. The result is that the reader cannot tell which clause or phrase the modifier should go with.
The only real defense against misplaced and squinting modifiers is to be aware of the kinds of modifiers that are likely to be misused and the places that modifier mistakes are most likely to occur. Forewarned is forearmed.
Even the most experienced writers never outgrow the need to consciously check high-risk modifiers and places for unintended meanings.
Dangling Modifiers
A dangling modifier is said to dangle because it looks like it might fall off the sentence it is attached to. Dangling modifiers are adverbial phrases of various sorts, participial and infinitive phrases being the most common. Here are some examples with the dangling modifier underlined (and some questions that suggest why the modifier is dangling):
X Regretfully declining the dessert menu, the waiter brought us our bill. (Who declined the dessert menu? It sounds like the waiter did.)
X Worried about being late, a taxi seemed like a good idea. (Was the taxi really worried about being late?)
X After getting a new job, my commuting costs have doubled. (Did my commuting costs get a new job?)
X To recover from the surgery, the doctor recommended bed rest. (How’s the doctor feeling now?)
The problem is that these modifiers break a basic rule of grammar that we will call “the man who wasn’t there” principle. You may know this poem:
As I was going up the stair
I met a man who wasn’t there.
He wasn’t there again today.
I wish, I wish he’d stay away.
—“Antigonish” (1899), Hughes Mearns
“The man who wasn’t there” principle of grammar means that it is OK to not be there as long as you don’t go away. In other words, we can drop something out of a part of a sentence if we can get it back from somewhere else in the rest of the sentence.
Here is an example of a modifier (underlined) that correctly obeys “the man who wasn’t there” principle:
Turning the key in the lock, Holmes quietly slipped into the room.
In this sentence, the subject of the verb turning has been dropped. But in this example, we can find out who did the turning by looking at the subject in the main part of the sentence. It was Holmes: Holmes turned the key in the lock. In other words, we can legitimately drop the subject Holmes from the modifier because we can get it back from the main sentence.
We can find out if the modifier is dangling or not by a simple two-step process that tests to see if the subject in the modifier has been legitimately dropped:
1. Move a copy of the subject of the main sentence into the subject position of the modifier:
2. Change the verb in the modifier so that it agrees with the restored subject:
Holmes turned the key in the lock.
Now ask yourself this question: Does this new sentence make sense? If the answer is no, then it is a dangling modifier. If the answer is yes, then the modifier is correct. In this case, the answer is yes, so we know that the modifier is not dangling.
Now we can see what is wrong with the first four examples: the subject of the main sentence does not make sense when it is used as the understood subject of the modifier, and therefore it was not legitimate to have dropped the subject from the modifier in the first place. To see that this is the case, let’s go through the two-step process:
X Reluctantly declining the dessert menu, the waiter brought us our bill.
1. Move a copy of the subject to the modifier:
2. Change the verb in the modifier to agree with the subject:
X The waiter reluctantly declined the dessert menu.
This doesn’t make sense because it was the customers who declined dessert. Therefore, the modifier is dangling, and either the modifier or the main sentence must be rewritten.
X Worried about being late, a taxi seemed like a good idea.
1. Move a copy of the subject to the modifier:
2. Change the verb in the modifier to agree with the subject:
X A taxi worried about being late.
This doesn’t make sense. Therefore, the modifier is dangling, and either the modifier or the main sentence must be rewritten.
X After getting a new job, my commuting costs have doubled.
1. Move a copy of the subject to the modifier:
2. Change the verb in the modifier to agree with the subject:
X After my commuting costs got a new job, my commuting costs have doubled.
This doesn’t make sense. Therefore, the modifier is dangling, and either the modifier or the main sentence must be rewritten.
X To recover from the surgery, the doctor recommended bed rest.
1. Move a copy of the subject to the modifier:
2. Change the verb in the modifier to agree with the subject:
X The doctor recovered from the surgery.
This doesn’t make any sense. The doctor did not undergo surgery—the patient did. Therefore, the modifier is dangling, and either the modifier or the main sentence must be rewritten.
You can do one of two things to correct a dangling modifier:
1. Change the modifier to make it compatible with the main part of the sentence.
2. Change the main part of the sentence to make it compatible with the modifier.
You should explore both possibilities to decide which one you like the best. For example, let’s go back to the first example and explore both options:
X Reluctantly declining the dessert menu, the waiter brought us our bill.
1. Change the modifier to make it compatible with the main part of the sentence:
Collecting the dessert menus, the waiter brought us our bill.
2. Change the main part of the sentence to make it compatible with the modifier:
Reluctantly declining the dessert menu, we asked for our bill.
Obviously, there are many other ways to rewrite the original sentence with the dangling modifier corrected, but these two revisions illustrate the main alternatives. Both revisions are now grammatical, but which alternative is best is a stylistic question that you will have to decide for yourself. Often the choice hinges on what you want to emphasize. In version 1, the emphasis is on the waiter. In version 2, the emphasis is on the people eating. If the focus of the whole passage is on the waiter, then version 1 is probably better. If your focus is on the people, then version 2 is probably better.
Summary
A dangling modifier is typically some kind of adverbial phrase at the beginning of a sentence. The phrase dangles because the implied subject of the verb in the adverbial phrase is not the same as the subject of the sentence it modifies.
The way to check for dangling modifiers is to see if the subject of the main sentence makes sense as the understood subject of the verb in the adverbial phrase. If it does not, then the adverbial phrase is dangling, and either the adverbial phrase or the sentence must be rewritten.