3 Examples of Dangling Modifiers

3 Examples of Dangling Modifiers 3 Examples of Dangling Modifiers 3 Examples of Dangling Modifiers By Mark Nichol In each of the sentences below, the sentence has been constructed so that the noun or pronoun that a modifying phrase should refer to is missing, which may or may not cause reader confusion but definitely will distract, often because an inanimate object is mistakenly ascribed human agency, sometimes resulting in an unintentionally humorous reading. Discussion after each example explains the problem, and revisions demonstrate solutions. 1. Lifestyle enhancements are crucial if markets slide when approaching retirement. In the absence of the appropriate noun or pronoun identifying who is approaching retirement, the reader ascribes the impending retirement to the nearest noun or pronoun; here, the sentence refers to markets approaching retirement. To rectify this error, introduce the pertinent noun or pronoun before â€Å"approaching retirement†: â€Å"Lifestyle enhancements are crucial if markets slide when you are approaching retirement.† (The sentence can be further revised to â€Å"Lifestyle enhancements are crucial if markets slide as you approach retirement.†) 2. Social exclusion is inevitable when faced with mobility restrictions. Here, social exclusion is said to be faced with mobility restrictions. To revise the sentence so that it conveys the intended message, insert an explicit reference to who is faced with the restrictions: â€Å"Social exclusion is inevitable when one is faced with mobility restrictions.† 3. Youthful misdemeanors can come back to haunt you while job hunting. In this sentence, youthful misdemeanors are treated as actors in a scenario in which they take time out from their search for employment to carry out a function normally assigned to ghosts. But the correct interpretation is that while you are seeking work, mistakes you’ve made in the past may resurface during the vetting process, as expressed in the following revision: â€Å"Youthful misdemeanors can come back to haunt you while you are job hunting.† 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:12 Greek Words You Should KnowAcronym vs. Initialism45 Idioms About the Number One

5 Cases of Colliding Article Functions

5 Cases of Colliding Article Functions 5 Cases of Colliding Article Functions 5 Cases of Colliding Article Functions By Mark Nichol The title of a composition is self-contained; an article (a, an, or the) appearing as the first word of the title cannot serve that role as well as function as an article preceding the title. Discussions and revisions follow each example of this principle below. 1. The Apprentice guru has seen four of his casinos go bankrupt. This sentence cannot appropriate the first word of the title of the television program to serve as the sentence’s opening article; therefore, the sentence lacks an article. To resolve this issue, use a workaround convention- insert an article for the sentence and elide the title’s article: â€Å"The Apprentice guru has seen four of his casinos go bankrupt.† (Essentially, unitalicize The, but understand why you did so.) Alternatively, relax the sentence by inserting the article, relocating the noun that the program title modifies so that it precedes the title, and inserting of after that: â€Å"The guru of The Apprentice has seen four of his casinos go bankrupt.† 2. The Danish Girl star showed up in court in Los Angeles on Friday with a bruise on her face. Use the same solution here: â€Å"The Danish Girl star showed up in court in Los Angeles on Friday with a bruise on her face.† (Or write â€Å"The star of The Danish Girl showed up in court in Los Angeles on Friday with a bruise on her face.†) 3. Smith is expected to shoot The Untouchables remake. The same problem exists, and the same solutions apply, when the title appears elsewhere in the sentence: â€Å"Smith is expected to shoot the Untouchables remake† (but, in this case, lowercase the in addition to unitalicizing it) or â€Å"Smith is expected to shoot the remake of The Untouchables.† 4. Don’t miss the A Christmas Story marathon. Titles beginning with the article a (or an) should be treated the same way: â€Å"Don’t miss the Christmas Story marathon† or- with further revision necessary in this case- â€Å"Don’t miss the marathon movie event celebrating A Christmas Story.† 5. Berrigan credited Dorothy Day, founder of The Catholic Worker newspaper, with introducing him to the pacifist movement and influencing his thinking about war. An article that begins the title of a periodical publication should never be italicized: â€Å"Berrigan credited Dorothy Day, founder of the Catholic Worker newspaper, with introducing him to the pacifist movement and influencing his thinking about war.† (This is a style convention of necessity, because periodicals are inconsistent about whether they use an article- for example, compare copies of two preeminent American newspapers to note the difference in the official titles of the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times- and it’s a burden to try to keep track of which publications follow which style.) 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 Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Possessive of Proper Names Ending in SHow to Play HQ Words: Cheats, Tips and TricksCapitalizing Titles of People and Groups