Dangling modifier — English definition
A modifying phrase that fails to attach clearly to the word it is meant to describe, producing an illogical meaning ('Rushing to finish, the essay was left unpolished' — the essay was not rushing).
Where it is taught
- Conventions for College Writing — Language, Style & Conventions, English 12: Complex Texts, Independent Inquiry & Public Voice, Grade 12
In use
A dangling modifier opens a sentence with a phrase that then fails to attach to the right subject: 'Walking to campus, the rain started' says the rain was walking; the fix is to give the phrase its proper subject — 'Walking to campus, I felt the rain start.
Conventions for College Writing
Questions using dangling modifier
Problem 1
- After reviewing the evidence, the jury found the verdict obvious.
- After the evidence was reviewed, the verdict seemed obvious to be.
- After reviewing the evidence, the verdict obviously seemed correct.
- The verdict seemed obvious after reviewing the evidence.
Answer and explanation
After reviewing the evidence, the jury found the verdict obvious.
The modifier 'After reviewing the evidence' must attach to whoever did the reviewing. Only 'the jury found the verdict obvious' supplies a subject (the jury) that can logically do the reviewing. The other options still leave the verdict — which cannot review evidence — as the thing the phrase modifies, or introduce new errors.