If you want a quick and easy way to make people snicker at your publications, the dangling modifier is a proven and easy-to-use tool. For those of you who failed to save your Grammar 101 quizzes, a modifier is a word or phrase that says a bit more about a “target” it stands beside, as in “With a groan of frustration [modifier], the clerk [target] began picking up the scattered papers.”
A dangling modifier is one with “bad aim,” in that it effectively misses its target by several words. Example: “Watching the clock instead of the screen [modifier], a costly mistake was made by the data entry clerk [target].” At first glance it looks as if the “costly mistake” was watching the clock. Many sentences with dangling modifiers lose their targets altogether: “Shaking his head [modifier], the file was shut down.” Where’s the target? Who was shaking his head? Presumably not the file.
Dangling modifiers tend to result from careless hurry; someone throws out a sentence from his head–where everything seems logical because he knows what he means–and doesn’t bother to consider whether it’s logical as written. Here are a few more sentences with dangling modifiers:
- “Running for the train, the paper blew from the messenger’s hand.” (There’s a paper in a double hurry.)
- “With only a two-year college degree, the corporation hired him.” (I didn’t know colleges granted degrees to corporations.)
- “Having broken all previous sales records, the promotion was an easy decision.” (That was one hardworking promotion!)
- “Having finally sold him on the contract, the hard-won client signed on the dotted line.” (This one makes sense on the surface, but think about it: it’s not the “hard-won” person who “finally” sells someone on something; that honor belongs to the other party.)
- “A woman with a disability that I know has become a frequent patron.” (This one is tricky, given the wide dislike for being called “a disabled person.” However, it’s just as bad to know the disability better than the person. Try “A woman I know, who has a disability, has become a frequent patron.”)
Good for chuckles, yes. Good for your professional image? Not so much. Reel in those dangling modifiers!