Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers
Dangling and misplaced modifiers. I did think about writing every sentence of this reply with misplaced, misspelled or dangling modifiers. It might be funny, but I need to pass this class. The examples given above are demonstrations of misplaced and dangling modifiers. We see this mistake in academic writing, however, it is funniest in advertisements and random signs. The definition of a misplaced modifier is a word, phrase or clause that is improperly separated from the word it modifies/describes. Misplaced and dangling modifiers keep us from clear, descriptive sentences; in short, they confuse the reader. A modifier is a descriptive word, (adjectives and adverbs) that (if used properly) describe in detail the subject of the sentence. A modifier works well when it is placed close to the noun it is modifying. However, placed too far into the sentence it can be confusing, example:
“They bought a dog for my brother they call Patches.”
Do you think they call my brother Patches? Well, it is unclear. We will re-write this sentence.
“They bought a dog named Patches for my brother.”
English can be a confusing language to speak and even harder to write properly. I have struggled with writing since I began writing. UGH, what goes where? Is it who or whom? My mother told me one time if I wanted to get better at writing, I would need to read. Read a lot, all the time and you will become a better writer. I was 18 and enrolled in English 101, this was my first college experience. I was pretty sure my English teacher hated me; he would grade for subject and then grade for grammar. After five assignments receiving/earing an A/D- in red ink on my papers, I went to see him and tell him I was dropping his class. He was shocked, he told me “I very much enjoy your writing, but your mechanics suck. I think you should stay in my class, I will help you become a better writer.” I stayed. He did say “sucked” I thought it was funny, and I took it as a challenge. I did become a better writer, not the best, but better.
The question is, what do these examples demonstrate about the English language? I think the demonstration is, how difficult English is to write. English is even difficult for native speakers to construct properly. It is hard not to laugh when we hear an announcer say, “No American has medaled in this event.” Because you know how much Americans love to medal; we love to be involved and we love to medal. That is not what the speaker intended us to understand, his meaning became confusing, but we understand what his meaning was. No American has received (won) a medal in this event, is less confusing for the listener.
