dangling modifier

dangling modifier
A word or clause that modifies another word or clause ambiguously, possibly causing confusion with regard to the speakers intended meaning.

Example: Being over two hundred years old, I had difficulty reading the document. - it is the document that is old, not the reader.


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  • Dangling modifier — A dangling modifier, a specific case of which is the dangling participle,[1] is an error in sentence structure whereby a grammatical modifier is associated with a word other than the one intended, or with no particular word at all. For example, a …   Wikipedia

  • dangling modifier — noun a word or phrase apparently modifying an unintended word because of its placement in a sentence: e.g., when young in when young, circuses appeal to all of us (Freq. 1) • Syn: ↑misplaced modifier • Hypernyms: ↑modifier, ↑qualifier • Hyponyms …   Useful english dictionary

  • Modifier — may refer to: Grammatical modifier, a word that modifies the meaning of another word or limits its meaning Dangling modifier, a word or phrase that modifies a clause in an ambiguous manner Modifier key, a kind of key on a computer keyboard that… …   Wikipedia

  • dangling modifiers —    are one of the more complicated and disagreeable aspects of English usage, but at least they provide some compensation by being frequently amusing. Every authority has a stock of illustrative howlers. Fowler, for instance, gives us Handing me… …   Dictionary of troublesome word

  • dangling participle — noun a participle (usually at the beginning of a sentence) apparently modifying a word other than the word intended: e.g., flying across the country in flying across the country the Rockies came into view • Hypernyms: ↑dangling modifier,… …   Useful english dictionary

  • dangling participle — noun Any participle used as a dangling modifier …   Wiktionary

  • dangling participle — Gram. a participle or participial phrase, often found at the beginning of a sentence, that appears from its position to modify an element of the sentence other than the one it was intended to modify, as plunging in Plunging hundreds of feet into… …   Universalium

  • dangling participle — dan′gling par′ticiple n. gram. use a participle or participial phrase, often found at the beginning of a sentence, that appears from its position to modify an element of the sentence other than the one it was intended to modify, as plunging in… …   From formal English to slang

  • modifier — n. a dangling (esp. AE); noun modifier * * * [ mɒdɪfaɪə] noun modifier a dangling (esp. AE) …   Combinatory dictionary

  • modifier — /mod euh fuy euhr/, n. 1. a person or thing that modifies. 2. Gram. a. a word, phrase, or sentence element that limits or qualifies the sense of another word, phrase, or element in the same construction. b. the immediate constituent of an… …   Universalium

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