3 Cases of Dangling Modifiers

3 Cases of Dangling Modifiers 3 Cases of Dangling Modifiers 3 Cases of Dangling Modifiers By Mark Nichol Each of the following sentences begins with a modifying phrase that is erroneously constructed in such a way that it appears to refer to the subject but does not. A discussion of the problem, and a revision that solves it, follows each example. 1. While not intended to be all-inclusive, the committee recommends that its suggestions be carefully considered as potential opportunities. As written, the modifying phrase implies that the committee is not intended to be all-inclusive, but it is the committee’s suggestions that do not have this intention. To fix the problem, explicitly refer to the suggestions in the modifying phrase: â€Å"While the committee’s suggestions are not intended to be all-inclusive, it recommends that they be carefully considered as potential opportunities.† 2. Like any major movie-franchise arrival, your TV, computer, and any other even tangentially pop culture–related technology will be inundated with publicity about the upcoming Star Trek film. This sentence erroneously compares technological devices to films. This revision restates the comparison as being between â€Å"any major movie-franchise arrival† and â€Å"the upcoming Star Trek film†: â€Å"As is the case with any major movie-franchise arrival, your TV, computer, and any other even tangentially pop culture–related technology will be inundated with publicity about the upcoming Star Trek film.† 3. As a convert to Judaism, I imagine that you are familiar with Jewish teachings on  compassionate speech  as well as the teaching that children are not responsible for sins of their fathers. Here, the writer identifies himself or herself as a convert to Judaism, but the writer’s intent to point out that the reader is the convert. The revision recasts the sentence so that the reference to conversion follows and therefore refers to the third-person pronoun rather than preceding the first-person pronoun and, as a result, implying that the writer is the convert: â€Å"I imagine that you, as a convert to Judaism, are familiar with Jewish teachings on  compassionate speech  as well as the teaching that children are not responsible for sins of their fathers.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Coordinating vs. Subordinating ConjunctionsHow Long Should a Paragraph Be?The Uses of â€Å"The†