Unraveling the intended meaning of a flawed sentence is hard detective work for a reader. A dangling modifier is one of those errors that leave you wondering what the writer meant to say.
Experienced writers and editors know that they shouldn’t waste the reader’s time. Once you understand how to correct a dangling modifier, you’ll make things easier for the reader while strengthening your own writing.
In this post I’ll first explain what a dangling modifier is and then give you examples of dangling modifiers and show you how to correct them.
What’s a dangling modifier?
To understand what a dangling modifier is, you must first know what a modifier is.
A modifier is a word or a group of words that give you more information about another word (or words) in the sentence. The name modifier comes from its function: a modifier changes the sense of the word or words it describes.
But when those words are not in the sentence, the modifier has nothing to modify. Not being attached to anything, the modifier dangles. Many dangling modifiers are dangling participles.
What’s an example of a dangling modifier?
To help you understand dangling modifier errors, here are five examples. They are taken from blog posts I edited this year. In each example the dangling modifier is underlined.
The headings “Smooth Operators”, “Death by Demographics”, “Family Doctor”, “Bite the Big Apple”, and “It’s a Dog’s Life” are titles of Murder, She Wrote episodes.
“Smooth Operators”
- Incorrect sentence: Though being highly customizable, some familiarity with technology is needed to operate one.
- Why it’s a dangling modifier example: It’s not clear what is highly customizable, because the customizable thing is not in the sentence. It could be a smartphone, for example.
- Two ways a freelance editor would fix it:
- Mention the subject of the verb in the opening clause: Though a smartphone is highly customizable, some familiarity with technology is needed to operate one.
- Rewrite to avoid passive voice: You need some familiarity with technology to operate a smartphone, even though it’s highly customizable.
“Death by Demographics”
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- Incorrect sentence: Being a rural state, it’s unlikely you’ll run into many cities on a day trip to Wyoming.
- Why it’s a dangling modifier example: The word closest to the modifying phrase should be the name of the state.
- Two ways a freelance editor would to fix it:
- It’s unlikely you’ll run into many cities on a day trip to Wyoming, because it is a rural state.
- As Wyoming is a rural state, it’s unlikely you’ll run into many cities on a day trip here.
“Family Doctor”
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- Incorrect sentence: Rich in healthy fats, fish, and vegetables, being recommended by doctors for decades is not surprising.
- Why it’s a dangling modifier example: We’re not told what is rich in healthy fats, fish, and vegetables. Let’s say we know it’s the Mediterranean diet.
- Two ways a freelance editor would fix it:
- As the Mediterranean diet is rich in healthy fats, fish, and vegetables, it’s not surprising that doctors have recommended it for decades.
- Rich in healthy fats, fish, and vegetables, the Mediterranean diet has been recommended by doctors for decades.
“Bite the Big Apple”
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- Incorrect sentence: Being a vibrant, creative city, booking a hotel downtown is recommended.
- Why it’s a dangling modifier example: Which city is vibrant and creative? We don’t know from this single sentence, so we examine the rest of the text and discover that the city is New York.
- Two ways a freelance editor would fix it:
- Since New York is a vibrant, creative city, booking a hotel downtown is recommended.
- New York is a vibrant, creative city, so booking a hotel downtown is recommended.
“It’s a Dog’s Life”
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- Incorrect sentence: Rather than booking a pet-friendly hotel room, ensuring your dog has plenty of space to play is possible if choosing a vacation rental.
- Why it’s a dangling modifier example: The doer of the action (the dog’s owner) doesn’t appear in the sentence.
- Two ways a freelance editor would fix it:
- Rather than booking a pet-friendly hotel room, you may want to choose a vacation rental to ensure your dog has plenty of space to play.
- Rather than booking a pet-friendly hotel room, you can choose a vacation rental to ensure your dog has plenty of space to play.
How to correct a dangling modifier
The five examples above demonstrate how to correct a dangling modifier. The modifier and the word, or words, it modifies need to sit next to each other.
So, when you see a modifier, ask yourself, who’s doing the action? If the doer of the action is missing from the sentence, it may have a dangling modifier. To correct the sentence, put the doer of the action next to its modifier.
You can fix a dangling modifier by rewriting the sentence. Or, you can put the subject of the verb in the first clause if the sentence starts with a modifier.
Conclusion: Clear writing is free of dangling modifiers
Clear writing depends on proper placement of words. As well as indicating a grammatical error, a dangling modifier is likely to confuse the reader. If you care about writing well, keep modifiers and their target next to each other.
Do you need a freelance editor to identify and fix the dangling modifiers and the other errors in your company’s blog posts? Send me a message at editor@languageediting.com.
Related posts:
- Why your grammar checker can’t make documents perfect
- Placement of only: What’s the correct way of using only in a sentence?
- Common preposition errors and non-errors: Examples and explanations
Last revised on 21 June 2022
