Calliope Writing

For the Love of All Things Holy, Don’t Let That Modifier Dangle!

As an editor, I see a lot of grammatical errors. Using “you’re” when it should have been “your.” “Should of” used instead of “should have.”

And then there’s the dreaded dangling modifier.

Yes, that’s a fancy-sounding phrase, but the issue is a real one (no, not bad enough for you to break out the hand sanitizer and SARS mask).

Before we jump into dangling modifiers, let’s do a quick grammar refresher on modifiers.

Here are a couple of examples to get you in the mood for modifiers:

Disgusted, the zombie spit out the fake brains.

In the above, “Disgusted” is the modifier that describes “the zombie.”

Throwing the pine cone, the sasquatch hoped to confuse its hunters.

In this example, “Throwing the pine cone” is the modifier that describes “the sasquatch.”

Easy-peasy, right? So what the hell is a dangling modifier?

Now the real moment of fun has arrived: FUN EXAMPLES!

And now, one from yours truly:

Walking home slowly, the most awesome of all unicorns was on Amanda’s mind.

The moral of the story?

In all seriousness, don’t let your modifiers dangle, guys.

It’s just not cool.

Did I help explain dangling modifiers, and do you see how annoying they are? Sound off in the comments below.

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