Page 810 - Wordsmith A Guide to College Writing

Misplaced Modifiers

1 Identify and correct misplaced modifiers.

Look at the two versions of the sentence below:

Perched at the top of the flagpole, Orville saw a red-tailed hawk.

Orville saw a red-tailed hawk perched at the top of the flagpole.

The words in italic type are modifiers. A modifier is a word, phrase, or
clause that gives information about another word. In the preceding

sentences, the placement of the words “perched at the top of the

flagpole” makes a great deal of difference. It is easy to imagine a bird

sitting on top of the flagpole, but the idea of Orville perched there does

not seem logical.

Hot off the griddle, the family enjoyed pancakes.

Do you see what is not logical about the sentence above? Of course.

The family is not hot off the griddle, the pancakes are. This type of

modifier problem is called a misplaced modifier. The modifier hot off