Modifiers are words, phrases, or clauses that provide description in sentences. Often, a modifier helps answer the following questions:

• Who?

• When?

• Where?

• Why?

• How?

• To what extent?

Modifiers should be placed near the word or phrase they modify (its antecedent). A modifier is a misplaced modifier if it is closer to another word or phrase than the previous one.

A misplaced modifier can confuse the sentence because it looks like you're modifying a different word than the one you were trying to modify. This can unintentionally change the meaning of the sentence.

To maintain clarity in your writing, it's important to place modifiers very close to the objects they modify.

1. Misplaced Modifiers - Phrases

One type of Misplaced Modifier is a misplaced descriptive phrase - a group of words that add descriptive information to a noun. A descriptive phrase should always be very close to the thing that it describes.

If it gets too close to a different noun, however, a descriptive phrase can cause confusion for the reader.

Examples:

Misplaced Modifier 1: Able to speak Spanish fluently, the professor praised Gabe.

The new sentence doesn’t mean the same thing at all. If we hadn’t read the first sentence, we would think that the professor, not Gabe, was the one who could speak Spanish. To be in the correct position, a modifier needs to be either directly in front of or behind the noun it modifies.

Misplaced Modifier 2: Amy put her water bottle on her bike, which she planned to drink from as she rode.

In this sentence, the modifier describes Amy’s bike which she almost certainly is not planning to drink from.

To correct these sentences, move the descriptive phrase next to the noun it is intended to modify.

Example:

Correct Sentence 1: Able to speak Spanish fluently, Gabe was praised by the professor.

This modifier is meant to describe Gabe, so it is correctly placed.

Correct Sentence 2: Amy put her water bottle, which she planned to drink from as she rode, on her bike.

In the second sentence, the modifier has been moved to the correct position so that it describes the water bottle. Here’s another example:

Misplaced Modifier 3: Having eaten a bag of chocolates, sickness debilitated the dog.

In the first sentence, the modifier seems to describe “sickness.” I highly doubt that “sickness” ate a bag of chocolates.

Correct Sentence 3: Having eaten a bag of chocolates, the dog was overwhelmed by sickness.

The second sentence shows the correct modifier placement, making plain that it was the dog who ate the bag of chocolates.

Misplaced Modifying Phrase questions often vary the answer choices by simply rearranging the same phrases in different orders; if you see this answer choice pattern, check for a misplaced modifier.

2. Misplaced Modifiers - Words

Misplaced modifiers can also cause confusion when modifying words, rather than phrases or clauses, are involved. In these cases, the placement of the word may not make a sentence grammatically incorrect, but it will alter its meaning.

Examples:

Just Megan worked for two hours on her homework.

(Only Megan worked on it, but no one else.)

Megan just worked for two hours on the homework.

(She didn’t do anything else during those two hours. OR She worked on her homework very recently.)

Megan worked for just two hours on the homework.

(I can’t believe she finished so quickly!)

Each of the sentences is grammatically correct, but the placement of the modifier “just” changes the meaning from one sentence to the next. In these instances, be sure to place the modifier so that the sentence expresses the meaning you intend.

3. Identifying and Fixing Misplaced Modifiers

When you encounter a potentially misplaced modifier, ask yourself, “What noun is being modified? Is this the noun that should be modified?” If the answer to the second question is yes, great! If not, figure out which noun should be modified and select the choice that pairs the modifier with that noun.

If you suspect a misplaced modifier, imagine that the events in the sentence are happening in the exact order that they occur in the sentence. If the illustration in your head makes no sense, it’s likely the sentence has a misplaced modifier.

Examples:

Misplaced Modifier: Cassie had trouble deciding which college to attend first.

The meaning of this sentence is obscured by the placement of the modifying clause first. It is unlikely that the writer intended to suggest that Cassie was considering attending more than one college in a particular order throughout her college career.

should be: First, Cassie had trouble deciding which college to attend.

Misplaced Modifier: A teacher, the school board hired Mrs. Smith to coach our team.

Why? The school board is NOT a teacher.

should be: The school board hired Mrs. Smith, a teacher, to coach our team.

Misplaced Modifier: A beloved children’s story, Ethel read The Three Little Pigs to her son.

Why? Ethel is NOT a children’s story.

should be: Ethel read The Three Little Pigs, a beloved children’s story, to her son.