What is a Modifier—and How Can it Dangle? A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that changes (or modifies) the meaning of another word, phrase, or clause. A dangling modifier is a modifier that is ...

READING THIS sentence, it may occur to you that something is slightly awry with it. Or you may not notice anything wrong at all. The first three words are a “dangling modifier”. This writing fault has ...

A dangling modifier is a word or phrase describing a subject that is missing from the sentence. This can lead the reader to misinterpret what the author means and apply the modifier to the wrong ...

What is wrong with these sentences? Hopping briskly through the vegetable garden, John saw a toad. Gently warmed in the oven and smothered in cream cheese, my friends loved the bagels. To be really ...

Here's a grab bag of gifts for those who want to remove common errors from their writing. Common error No. 1: Misuse of a plural verb. "In the end, neither the ...

There’s been a little kerfuffle lately over danglers. Steven Pinker, who is a noted linguist, said in an article in The Guardian that some dangling modifiers are OK to use—in fact, according to him, ...

The Aspen Handbook for Legal Writers by Deborah E. Bouchoux supplies the following “Tip for correcting dangling modifiers": “Most sentences that include dangling modifiers are written in the passive ...