A Dangling Modifier

            
                       "This would be a great addition to your collection."
                     Is that another example of a Dangling Modifier?

The word dangle means to hang, to carry, or to hold loosely.
Also, many words fall under the description of what a modifier is. Any word that adds to the meaning of another word or alters it to some degree is a modifier; and according to that adjectives, adverbs, articles and even nouns fall into that description. Most of us know how to use them but even the most seasoned writer falls into an inadvertent erroneous use of modifiers which is when these words are labeled as "dangling" modifiers.
Let's use as an example the second sentence of the paragraph:
Any word that adds to the meaning of another word or alters it at some degree is a modifier.
Let's eliminate the term word from the sentence so we have now:
Any word that adds to the meaning of another or alters it to some degree is a modifier.
What's the problem? As the term word has been taken out the adjective another is not in a position to clarify which word exactly is modifying. Is it word? Or is it meaning? It is clear to us, but not to the rest and therefore another is now a Dangling Modifier.
Here is another:
Before arriving, brochures were given to the passengers.
The problem here is we do not know who gave the brochures to the passengers (of course we also lack the benefit of the context) and we must assume it was some crew member, or perhaps someone else. 
It is better like this:
Before arriving, one of the flight attendants gave brochures to the passengers.
This last case of omission of an implied subject is also a case of a Dangling Modifier since the word brochures is introduced with no prior explanation.

Comments

Manuel Erazo said…
I did some research about this because I didn't understand what was a dangling modifier, and I found the next definition: it is a phrase or clause that is not clearly and logically related to the word or words it modifies. I consider this as a good thing to know because most of us already know what is this, but now we do recognize this as a dangling modifier. It is an important fact about this, the clause might be introduced at the beginning of the sentence or at the end.
Ginger Rocafuerte said…
Being precise and concise is a great communication ability. Dangling modifiers reduces the conciseness of the texts or ideas. Therefore, I suggest being specific to avoid the use of dangling modifiers.
Fundamental information to avoid misunderstanding at the time of the speech. Putting it into practice of course will help us greatly.
In my opinion, this information will help us a lot to use the pendant modifier correctly. It is an excellent article, it will help us put what we have learned into practise into practise.
Juan Jesús said…
This information is helpful. Thanks-
Samuel Macías said…
The information is very useful and at the same time important because sometimes I am very redundant when writing or speaking in English but this information makes us reflect on the importance of knowing how to write.
Blanca Landivar said…
Expressing an idea or a concept may seem simple, it is only about talking .. But it is not like that .. Expressing an idea in the correct way in such a way that it accurately conveys that is more difficult, this article about dangling modifiers helped me much to understand that difference.
Yes, it is a great addition to my collection of "Things I thought I knew". Dangling modifiers. Of paramount importance, I would say. Reading this piece of valuable information I couldn't help but rekindle my high school days. Back then, our written English quizzes or exams would almost always have ambiguous questions; due to, you guessed it, dangling modifiers. Therefore, I didn't know the meant answer for that question. And since I wasn't allowed to ask the teacher anything, I had to flip a coin to answer. Hoping it was the right answer. Anyways, now I am aware of this, let's call it "Grammar phenomena" and be able to reflect on the quizzes I will make for my students for them to be precise and clear.
Briggitte Vera said…
it's a useful information. it's helps us not to make these mistakes and to specify what we want to report.
Ginger Nicole Alvia González said…
Dangling modifiers is a kind of confusing topic for me, it was difficult to understand it. Now that I know what it is, I think that can be easier in the moment we learn or teach English.
Johanna Arteaga said…
This issue has happened to me a few times so I agree that this can cause confusion when interpreting other people's ideas, and I think it is important to keep in mind when writing, thanks for the information.
Mendoza Párraga Martha said…

this is a confusing topic for me but with this explanation I can understand better.
Thank you for such key information, and for helping us as future teachers to have a better understanding of this.
Didn't know about this, great information that will help us in the future. Now, I'm going to look for more examples to get it right.
Unknown said…
Dave Criollo

I had never thought about it. I had known that in some languages if not possible to eliminate the noun because is a grammatical rule but it's possible in Spanish, but for the foreigners is a little bit difficult to understand.
Ericka Zambrano said…
I had some doubts about this topics but now with your information is clear as daylight

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