{"id":8193,"date":"2020-01-15T11:37:28","date_gmt":"2020-01-15T16:37:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.roshreview.com\/?p=8193"},"modified":"2021-04-01T19:55:14","modified_gmt":"2021-04-01T19:55:14","slug":"what-is-a-dangling-modifier-and-how-can-you-fix-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.roshreview.com\/blog\/what-is-a-dangling-modifier-and-how-can-you-fix-it\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a Dangling Modifier and How Can You Fix It?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\">This month\u2019s grammar topic is <em>dangling modifiers<\/em>. Sounds like what grammarians do when they\u2019re looking for an adrenaline rush, but this type of dangling isn\u2019t all that daring.<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A dangling modifier is a part of a sentence that doesn\u2019t clearly refer to its intended subject. This typically happens when the introduction of a sentence isn\u2019t clearly tied to the noun doing the action (a similar topic to my post about <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.roshreview.com\/blog\/lauras-lessons\/how-to-improve-your-writing-avoid-unclear-antecedents\/\" target=\"_blank\">unclear antecedents<\/a>). Take this example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-background has-very-light-gray-background-color wp-block-paragraph\"><span><strong>While going through their EM board review materials<\/strong>,<strong> <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">their notes<\/span> were scattered on the table<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<p><span>We get the gist of this sentence: multiple people are studying for their EM boards, and their notes are scattered on the table. But let\u2019s dissect the sentence. Our introduction, \u201c<\/span><strong>While going through their EM board review materials<\/strong><span>,\u201d should lead to the subject\u2014who is going through their EM board review materials? The next noun should be our answer, but the next noun is \u201c<span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>notes<\/strong><\/span>.\u201d Their notes are not studying\u2014a group of people is studying.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c<strong>While going through their EM board review materials<\/strong>\u201d is a dangling modifier\u2014it\u2019s just sitting there waiting to refer to the sentence\u2019s subject without ever getting the chance (aww). So how could we alter this sentence to remove the dangling modifier?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-background has-very-light-gray-background-color wp-block-paragraph\"><span><strong>While going through their EM board review materials<\/strong>,<strong> <span style=\"color: #339966\">the group<\/span> scattered their notes on the table<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<p><span>Now the subject after the introduction is \u201c<span style=\"color: #339966\"><strong>the group<\/strong><\/span>,\u201d which precisely explains who is going through their EM board review materials (though they should consider keeping their notes a little tidier).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here\u2019s another example:<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-background has-very-light-gray-background-color\"><span><strong>Also referred to as stasis eczema<\/strong>,<strong> clinical presentation may include scaling<\/strong>,<strong> erythema<\/strong>,<strong> and variable pruritus overlying areas of chronic edema<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What is this sentence referring to? It\u2019s unclear because the sentence begins with a dangling modifier. The first part of the sentence, \u201c<strong>Also referred to as stasis eczema<\/strong><em>,<\/em>\u201d should lead to the subject and clearly indicate the topic of the sentence, but what is the next noun? <strong>Clinical presentation<\/strong>. The topic happens to be stasis dermatitis, and since the sentences leading up to this example likely referred to stasis dermatitis, the reader probably knows what we\u2019re talking about here. But it\u2019s good practice to keep sentences as clear as possible.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-very-light-gray-background-color has-background wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Also referred to as stasis eczema, <span style=\"color: #339966\">stasis dermatitis<\/span> may clinically present with scaling, erythema, and variable pruritus overlying areas of chronic edema.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now the noun that comes after our introduction is \u201cstasis dermatitis,\u201d and our sentence no longer includes a dangling modifier. Phew!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let\u2019s try one more example. Does this sentence begin with a dangling modifier?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-background has-very-light-gray-background-color wp-block-paragraph\"><span><strong>After completing their <\/strong><\/span><strong>pediatric in-training exam<\/strong><span>,<strong> the residents went out for a celebratory dinner.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<p><span>\u201c<\/span><strong>After completing their pediatric in-training exam<\/strong><span>\u201d should lead to the subject of our sentence\u2014whoever completed their pediatric in-training exam. Does it? *drumroll* Yes! \u201c<\/span><span style=\"color: #339966\"><strong>The residents<\/strong><\/span><span>\u201d celebrated by going out to dinner. No dangling modifier here!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Clarity makes it easy for our readers to understand what we\u2019re saying, so keep dangling modifiers in the back of your mind and make sure your subject clearly links to your introduction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This month\u2019s grammar topic is dangling modifiers. Sounds like what grammarians do when they\u2019re looking for an adrenaline rush, but this type of dangling isn\u2019t all that daring. A dangling modifier is a part of a sentence that doesn\u2019t clearly refer to its intended subject. This typically happens when the introduction of a sentence isn\u2019t <a href=\"https:\/\/www.roshreview.com\/blog\/what-is-a-dangling-modifier-and-how-can-you-fix-it\/\">read more&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":11203,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1996,1998],"tags":[2735],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-8193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogtype","category-lauras-lessons","tag-grammar"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.7 (Yoast SEO v26.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What is a Dangling Modifier and How Can You Fix It? - RoshReview.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Grammar rules you take for granted. 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