What on earth is a dangling modifier?

Dangling modifiers are attached to a sentence by punctuation rather than sense and lead to some comical sentences. They are common with passive verbs. One example would be:

Climbing the hill the farmhouse could be seen far below.

This indicates that the farmhouse is climbing the hill, which of course is ridiculous, but there is nothing else for the phrase to modify.

How do I fix it?

The verb (climbing) should relate to an appropriate subject (not the farmhouse). An easy way to check for a dangling modifier is to ask who or what is climbing, then solve any problem by giving the phrase the appropriate subject to modify.

The sentence used above could be adjusted by introducing an appropriate subject, he, in one of two ways:

• As he climbed the hill, the farmhouse could be seen far below; or
  
• Climbing the hill, he could see the farmhouse far below.

Whenever you suspect a modifier may be dangling, check it out and fix it!

A.Word.A.Day: The magic and music of words

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