Misplaced Modifier: What It Is & How to Correct It

In this article, we’ll look at a common grammatical error: the misplaced modifier.

What Is a Misplaced Modifier?

Before we talk about misplaced modifiers, let’s do a quick review of modifiers.

Modifiers are words or phrases that provide additional information about another word or phrase in the sentence.

EXAMPLE: “The brightly shining moon illuminated the forest.”

The modifier, “brightly shining” gives us additional information about what the moon looked like.

So what is a misplaced modifier?

Misplaced modifiers occur when you place the modifying phrase or word awkwardly in the sentence. Typically, this means you put it too far away from the word or phrase it is intended to modify.

EXAMPLE: “The moon illuminated the forest brightly shining.”

In this case, it’s hard to discern whether the forest or the moon is the thing shining brightly. This is because the modifier is too far away from the word it is meant to provide additional information about.

More Examples of Misplaced Modifiers

Below are more examples of misplaced modifiers and corrected sentences with the modifier in the right place.

• MISPLACED: “She almost drove her kids to school every day.”
• CORRECT: “She drove her kids to school almost every day.”

• MISPLACED: “The waiter served a steak to the man that was barely cooked.”
• CORRECT: “The waiter served a steak that was barely cooked to the man.”

• MISPLACED: “We watched the lions from our seats that roared at the zookeeper.”
• CORRECT: “We watched the lions that roared at the zookeeper from our seats.”

• MISPLACED: “Covered in frosting, I ate the cupcake“
• CORRECT: “I ate the cupcake covered in frosting.”

In this last example, the modifier becomes a participle phrase (meaning it contains a verb used as an adjective to describe a noun) in the incorrect version. This doesn’t work because participle phrases modify the subject of the sentence. In this case, the subject is “I” not “cupcake.” To correct this sentence, the participle phrase must be removed. This mistake is quite common and is known as a dangling participle.

Like dangling participles, misplaced modifiers can make your sentences difficult to read and understand. To provide clarity and keep your reader engaged with your story, you must take those misplaced modifiers and put them where they belong.