What Is a Misplaced Modifier? | Definition & Examples
A misplaced modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that is separated from what it is intended to modify in a sentence. Misplaced modifiers can create ambiguity or change the meaning of the sentence.
In the example above, the modifier “dressed in costumes” is supposed to modify “the children,” but instead, because of its location, it looks like it’s modifying the noun “the streets.” This placement lends itself to the interpretation that the streets are wearing costumes rather than the children.
To fix this mistake, the modifier needs to be moved next to the words it is intended to modify.
The children, dressed in costumes, ran through the streets.
What is a modifier?
A modifier is a word (specifically an adjective or adverb), phrase, or clause that describes another word, phrase, or clause. Their function is to provide additional information about what they are modifying. When using modifiers, they should be placed as close as possible to the word, phrase, or clause they describe.
The package arrived late.
Place the letter into the postbox and close the door.
We made reservations at a restaurant that is highly rated.
Because modifiers can occur in different parts of a sentence depending on their structure and what they modify, misplaced modifiers are a common writing mistake. Recognizing modifiers within a sentence and checking that they are as close as possible to the thing they describe is a useful way of ensuring that the modifier is positioned correctly.
When modifiers appear where they don’t belong, confusion can result.
How to fix a misplaced modifier
Fixing misplaced modifiers is a matter of moving the word or phrase into the correct position in relation to what it describes. Modifiers should be placed immediately before or after the information they modify.
| Misplaced | Corrected |
|---|---|
| We voted on election day at the school. | We voted at the school on election day. |
| Ted and Sabrina scrutinized the match while eating carefully. | Ted and Sabrina carefully scrutinized the match while eating. |
| I read a detailed student’s essay this morning. | I read a student’s detailed essay this morning. |
| The king offered a roast duck to his servant that was buttered and golden. | The king offered a roast duck that was buttered and golden to his servant. |
Adverb placement
Adverbs are modifiers that describe a verb, adjective, or another adverb. They can give information about how something is done, how often, or to what degree. Qualifiers, such as just, almost, hardly, even, only, especially, and barely, are a common type of adverb, and their placement within a sentence produces important changes in meaning.
| Adverb placement | Meaning |
|---|---|
| We just called the restaurant to check our reservation. | We called the restaurant immediately before the present moment. |
| We called the restaurant just to check our reservation. | We called the restaurant with the purpose of checking on the reservation. |
| I almost completed every goal. | I came close to completing every goal but didn’t quite manage to complete any of them. |
| I completed almost every goal. | I completed most of the goals, but not all of them. |
Ambiguous modifiers
Even correctly placed modifiers can sometimes be ambiguous and lead to confusion for your reader. Ambiguous modifiers (or squinting modifiers) occur when an adverb could describe two different words, phrases, or clauses; this results in an unclear sentence, even if the sentence is grammatically correct.
There are multiple interpretations of the sentence above because the placement of the modifier “often” doesn’t clearly indicate whether it describes the words that come before it or after it. The sentence could mean that putting money away at frequent intervals will result in a decent nest egg or that putting away money regardless of the frequency usually results in a decent nest egg.
To disambiguate, you can move the adverb farther away from what it is not modifying. In some cases, it may be necessary to select a different word or phrase to clarify the meaning.
| Ambiguous modifiers | Unambiguous modifiers |
|---|---|
| Putting aside money often will result in a decent nest egg. | Putting aside money will often result in a decent nest egg.
Frequently putting aside money will result in a decent nest egg. |
| We found the man in the yellow shirt annoying people. | We found the man in the yellow shirt who was annoying people.
We found the man in the yellow shirt that was annoying people. |
| Ilsa told me on Tuesday she would call. | On Tuesday, Ilsa told me she would call.
Ilsa told me that she would call on Tuesday. |
Frequently asked questions about misplaced modifiers
- How can I identify a misplaced modifier?
-
To identify a misplaced modifier, it is important to understand which word(s) in a sentence a modifier is describing. If the modifier is far away from those words, it likely needs to be moved closer.
Example:
“Running away with its tail between its legs, the child laughed after frightening the dog.”In this sentence, the subject of the modifying clause “Running away with its tail between its legs” clearly refers to the dog, but another subject, “the child” is squeezed between the clause and what it describes.
Better phrasings would be as follows:
- “The child laughed after frightening the dog, which ran away with its tail between its legs.”
- “Running away with its tail between its legs, the dog had been frightened by the child, who laughed afterward.”
- What’s the difference between dangling and misplaced modifiers?
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A dangling modifier is a modifier that does not have a subject within the sentence. In contrast, a misplaced modifier does have a subject, but the modifier and the subject being modified are separated.
The following sentence has a dangling modifier:
“Eager to leave the room, the presentation ended early.”
In this sentence, there is no subject indicating who was eager to leave the room.In contrast, this sentence has a misplaced modifier:
“My mom gave the food to the dog that we wouldn’t eat.”
The placement of the modifier “that we wouldn’t eat” makes it seem as if it is modifying “the dog” instead of “the food.”A clearer structure would be the following:
“My mom gave the food that we wouldn’t eat to the dog.” - What is a squinting modifier?
-
A squinting modifier, also known as an ambiguous modifier, is a modifier that could possibly modify two different parts of the sentence.
The following sentence has a squinting modifier:
“Paolo works in a restaurant serving shrimp.”
In this sentence, it is unclear if Paolo’s specific job is serving shrimp in a restaurant or if the restaurant is dedicated specifically to shrimp.This can be clarified as either of the following two sentences:
- “Paolo works serving shrimp in a restaurant.” [indicating that Paolo serves shrimp]
- “Paolo works in a restaurant that serves shrimp.” [indicating that the restaurant serves shrimp]
