What Is a Dangling Modifier? (With Examples)
As a proofreader, you’ll need to confidently spot and fix all kinds of errors, including grammatical ones. A common type in this category is the dangling modifier, which can lead to an unclear or downright baffling sentence! To help you understand this grammatical mistake, we’ll explain what dangling modifiers are, how to identify them, and what to do with them when proofreading.
What Is a Modifier?
Before you can understand how a modifier can be dangling, you’ll need to know what a modifier is. A modifier is any word or phrase that describes, changes, or qualifies another word or phrase in the same sentence. A modifier can be:
- An adjective (e.g., “large,” “scary,” or “green”)
- An adverb (e.g., “very,” “almost,” or “quickly”)
- An adjectival phrase (e.g., “under the bed,” “in the morning,” or “made of wood”)
This means that the modifier in a sentence might be a single word modifying a noun or verb:
The tropical fish was colorful.
The masked man danced beautifully.
Or it might be a longer, more complex descriptive phrase or clause:
The vibrant tropical fish with long fins swam in delighted circles.
Wearing a mysterious mask, the man danced across the room.
For clarity, it should be obvious what a modifier is modifying. However, this isn’t always the case. And a dangling modifier is one example of this!
What Is a Dangling Modifier?
If a modifier is dangling, it means that the modifier lacks a clear subject to modify. We have a description, but the thing that is being described is missing. And if the intended subject is missing, the modifier can appear to refer to a different word or phrase instead. As a result, the sentence becomes unclear and confusing:
Carelessly stumbling, the glass vase was knocked to the floor. ✘
Flying away into the trees, the hunter missed his shot. ✘
When drawing circles, a compass should be used. ✘
In each of these examples, the dangling modifier is a grammatical error that needs to be fixed for the sentence to make sense.
Note that a dangling modifier differs from a misplaced modifier. With a misplaced modifier, all the information is present in the sentence, but it’s given in the wrong order. The result is that the description isn’t associated with the intended subject. In those instances, the solution is usually to move the modifier to be closer to what it describes.
How to Spot a Dangling Modifier
Dangling modifiers can appear in all kinds of ways, but there are a couple of factors that are most commonly involved:
- Introductory phrases, especially those starting with infinitive verbs
To access the building, a security code is needed. ✘
- Modifying phrases that include verbs that end in “-ing”
After winning the dance competition, a medal was received. ✘
A medal was received after winning the dance competition. ✘
When a modifying phrase is used at the start of a sentence, the noun after the comma would logically be the thing that is being modified. When the word or phrase after the comma is clearly not the intended subject, then the dangling modifier is obvious.
And when the modifier is a verb ending in “-ing,” there needs to be a clear actor involved – usually, a person or thing that is performing the verb. In the example above, the medal cannot be “winning,” so something is missing!
Let’s break down another example:
Tentatively shutting the door, the guard dog still jolted awake. ✘
The subject that immediately follows the modifying clause and comma is “the guard dog.” But it’s safe to assume that the guard dog, who appears to have been sleeping, is not the one who tentatively shut the door!
Once you know what to look out for, you’ll be able to fix any dangling modifiers you spot.
How to Fix a Dangling Modifier
There are two main approaches to fixing a dangling modifier. The simplest is to add in the correct subject to clarify the meaning of the sentence. You can often make an informed guess as to the intended subject of the sentence, given its context.
For a slightly more significant change, you can also reword the sentence to clear up the meaning and improve readability at the same time.
Adding the Subject
Using this method, we could correct the above examples of dangling modifiers like so:
Carelessly stumbling, the clown knocked the glass vase to the floor. ✔
Flying into the trees, the bird evaded the hunter’s shot. ✔
When drawing circles, you should use a compass. ✔
To access the building, you will need a security code. ✔
After winning the dance competition, my brother received a medal. ✔
Tentatively shutting the door, Naomi winced as the guard dog still jolted awake. ✔
By adding just a word or two, you can help the writer convey their meaning without greatly altering the overall text.
Adding the Subject and Rewording the Sentence
In some cases, it may improve the flow to restructure the sentence at the same time as adding the missing subject. This is likely to be more common when editing than when proofreading, but it can help to clarify the meaning while making it easier (and more engaging) for the reader to take in:
The cat, who was unimpressed, knocked the glass vase to the floor. ✔
The bird flew into the trees, causing the hunter to miss his shot. ✔
You should use a compass when drawing circles. ✔
You will need a security code to access the building. ✔
My brother received a medal for winning the dance competition. ✔
Naomi tentatively shut the door, but the guard dog still jolted awake. ✔
How to Address Ambiguous Modifiers
Typically, you will be able to ascertain the correct subject from reading the surrounding text. But if you aren’t completely sure, you may need to guess at a solution. In this case, or if you cannot fix the dangling modifier at all, you should leave a comment asking your client to clarify the intended meaning.
Consider the following example:
Struggling to open the door, the room felt like it was getting smaller.
Obviously, it cannot be “the room” that is unable to open the door! To make sense of this, we would need to know the missing term and rephrase the sentence to clarify what is being modified. Let’s assume for the moment that the preceding text names a character in the story:
Struggling to open the door, Terry felt like the room was getting smaller.
As we described previously, you could also rephrase or rearrange the sentence so the meaning is clearer:
Terry felt like the room was getting smaller as he struggled to open the door.
In these examples, we’ve made a sensible guess about the missing term based on the context. If there was any doubt, though, we would also leave a comment for the client, asking them to check the edit.
However, if you aren’t sure what the dangling modifier refers to, or if your brief doesn’t permit the level of rephrasing required to make a suitable correction, you would need to write a comment instead of making a change. For example:
It isn’t clear here who is struggling to open the door (or for whom the room feels like it is getting smaller). Please review and reword the sentence to include who is performing the action. For example, it could be something like this: “Struggling to open the door, Terry felt like the room was getting smaller.”
By leaving a clear comment, the client is made aware of the issue and provided with a clear path to a solution.
Remember, as a proofreader, your job is to preserve the author’s voice as much as possible. With this in mind, you should choose the method of fixing a dangling modifier that results in the fewest changes to the original sentence.
Becoming A Proofreader
Now that you’re familiar with dangling modifiers and how to fix them, do you have an appetite for more grammar knowledge? You can perfect your grammatical skills with the comprehensive training provided in our Becoming A Proofreader course. Sign up for two free lessons from the full course to see the kind of common errors we can help you learn to fix!
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