EDITING 101: 47 – Dangling Modifiers…

Posted on by Chris The Story Reading Ape

Dangling Modifiers

In a previous article, we discussed dangling participles (EDITING 101:24). Today we’re going to discuss dangling modifiers.

If you remember, “dangling” is another word for “misplaced.” A modifier is a noun or an adjective that amends or explains, adding description to another noun. So a dangling modifier is simply a word modifying a noun that is in the wrong place, thereby making the sentence ambiguous or confusing, and sometimes downright funny.

Incorrect: The woman walked the dog in purple suede cowboy boots.

Correct: The woman in purple suede cowboy boots walked the dog.

Incorrect: We saw several monkeys on vacation in Mexico.

Correct: While on vacation in Mexico, we saw several monkeys.

Incorrect: We saw several blue jays looking out our front window.

Correct: Looking out our front window, we saw several blue jays.

Incorrect: While camping, I saw a bear in my pajamas.

Correct: While camping in my pajamas, I saw a bear.

All these examples include people, but sometimes inanimate objects get in on the action, too!

Incorrect: The library has several books about dinosaurs in our school.

Correct: The library in our school has several books about dinosaurs.

Incorrect: I found my missing baseball glove cleaning my room.

Correct: While cleaning my room, I found my missing baseball glove.

Incorrect: He was staring at the girl by the vending machine wearing dark glasses.

Correct: He was staring at the girl wearing dark glasses by the vending machine.

Another famous example of this humorous effect is by Groucho Marx as Captain Jeffrey T. Spaulding in the 1930 film, Animal Crackers:

“One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got into my pajamas, I’ll never know.”

Next week we’ll discuss ‘Using Quotes in Your Book and Research Tips’

Susan

To see the index and catch up with missed episodes of this series – CLICK HERE

58 thoughts on “EDITING 101: 47 – Dangling Modifiers…”

  2. I got a knot in the pit of my stomach when reading this, Susan. I immediately wanted to open and reread my manuscripts. I swear, we could edit until the cows come home, but there still would be something dangling somewhere! I’m learning so much from this series. Many thanks to you and Chris for sharing your wealth of knowledge with us ♥♥

    Liked by 2 people

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    • Aaack! If your book is finished, Tina, maybe you should stop reading these tips temporarily! You’re right—there is only so much editing you can do. At some point you have to “close the book” (hahaha!) and declare it finished and done. Move on to something new and fresh to get your mind off this one. 🙂

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  6. Reblogged this on Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life and commented:
    It is time for another master class in editing from Susan Uttendorfsky of Adirondack Editing, sharing her expertise for FREE on The Story Reading Ape’s blog. There is nothing worse than a dangling participle or so you might have thought… the condition worsens when you have dangling modifiers. Discover the treatment necessary by heading over. #recommended

    Liked by 2 people

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