AS YOU COME INJanuary 9, 2019
You have just been hired at a fortune
cookie factory. Write seven different
fortunes to fill the fortune cookies.
HW: Finish Web Quest from yesterday (pgs. 3 – 4 in your packet).
INTRODUCTION TO MODIFIERS
A modifier consists of words, phrases, or clauses that
provide description in sentences. A modifier describes
another word in a sentence.
Example: Amy’s favorite red purse, the one she always
carries, was stolen last week.
Amy’s favorite red – describes the purse
always – describes the verb “carries”
last - describes “week”
the one she always carries – descriptive phrase for “purse”
PLACEMENT
A modifier should be placed as close as possible to the
word or words it describes.
Example: My dog Fido, who loves pizza crusts, eats under
the kitchen table.
What is the modifier? And what is it describing?
MISPLACED MODIFIERS
Misplaced modifiers do not clearly associate with the word
or phrase they modify.
Example: He gave his sister the stuffed bear with a polka-
dot dress.
Modifier – “with a polka-dot dress”
What it modifies – “sister”
Problem – It sounds as if the bear has a polka-dot dress.
Corrected – He gave the stuffed bear to his sister with a
polka-dot dress.
EXAMPLE
The boy ate a pizza. Sentence
Modifiers:
1. Who has a mohawk
2. Loaded with cheese and pepperoni
The boy, loaded with cheese and pepperoni, ate a pizza.
The boy ate a pizza who has a mohawk.
The boy who has a mohawk ate a pizza loaded with
cheese and pepperoni.
DANGLING MODIFIERS
A modifier that starts a sentences must be
followed right away by the word that it
describes. Otherwise, the modifier is said
to be dangling, and the sentence takes
on an unexpected meaning.
DANGLING MODIFIERS
Dangling modifiers do not have a clear term to modify in a
sentence.
Example: Climbing the mountain, my backpack fell in the
mud.
Modifier – “climbing the mountain”
What it modifies – “I”
Problem – It sounds as if the backpack was climbing the
mountain.
Corrected – My backpack fell in the mud as I was
climbing the mountain.
DANGLING MODIFIER EXAMPLE
Soaring through the sky, Brenda watched the high
powered jet.
Corrected Version: Brenda watched the high powered jet
soaring through the sky.