Dangling Modifiers
A dangling modifier occurs when the subject of a sentence isn’t clearly stated and the modifier seems to describe the wrong noun.
- Example: “Running down the street, the car nearly hit me.”
(Who was running? It should be “While I was running down the street, the car nearly hit me.”)
Exercises:
- Correct the dangling modifiers:
- Walking through the door, the house looked beautiful.
- Being the oldest of my siblings, a lot is expected from me.
- Walking through the door, the house looked beautiful.
- Rewrite the sentence to remove the dangling modifier:
- Arriving at the station late, the train had already left.
- Arriving at the station late, the train had already left.
Answer Key:
- While walking through the door, I noticed that the house looked beautiful.
Being the oldest of my siblings, I am expected to set an example. - When I arrived at the station late, the train had already left.