Misplaced Modifiers and How They Work
 |
Dave is a Master Trainer for The Princeton Review. Click here to read more articles from The Princeton Review and to learn more about The Princeton Review's GMAT services. |
Misplaced modifiers are tested frequently on the GMAT, so anyone preparing for the test should spend some time studying this error. Let’s start at the beginning. What is a modifier? To modify means to describe (that’s not quite the dictionary definition, but it’s fine for GMAT purposes). So a modifier is something that describes something else. Classic examples of modifiers are adjective and adverbs.
Adjectives modify nouns and pronouns, so instead of simply having, say, a tree, we might have a tall tree. Here, the adjective tall is describing the tree. Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. So maybe it’s not just a tall tree, but a very tall tree. Now the adverb very is describing the adjective tall. How tall? Very tall.
Phrases as modifiers
It’s not just single words that can be modifiers, though. Entire phrases can be modifiers, and that’s how this is usually tested on the GMAT. A phrase such as “Installed on most computers,” is a modifier. We’re describing something and the phrase will modify whatever comes after the comma. So what does it mean to say that a modifier is misplaced? The rule is simple: Modifiers should go next to what they modify. If they don’t, then we might be confused about what word they’re describing, or the meaning of the sentence might be literally absurd. Let’s look at some examples.
Installed on most computers, I find the web browser the most important piece of software.
Running down the street, a car hit me.
Though beloved by its creator, most people found little use for the automatic egg spinner.
Controlling most of the air space, bombs rained down from the Air Force onto the rebel bases.
In each of these examples, an introductory modifying phrase is followed by something other than what it’s supposed to be modifying. In the first example “Installed on most computers,” is supposed to modify web browser — that’s what is installed on most computers — but instead is modifying the word I. But I am not installed on most computers. Hence, we have a misplaced modifier.
In the second example, “Running down the street” is next to “a car,” so if we read the sentence literally we would think that a car was running down the street and then hit me. A car with legs, I guess.
In the third example, it’s not most people that were beloved by the creator of the automatic egg spinner, it’s the automatic egg spinner itself. The introductory, modifying phrase “beloved by its creator” is misplaced.
In the last example, “Controlling most of the air space” should properly refer to the Air Force, not the bombs.
Put everything in the right place
So how would we fix these sentences if we encountered them in Sentence Correction questions? There are a few options, and which ones are available will depend on which parts of the sentences are underlined.
The first sentence could be rewritten as, “Installed on most computers, the web browser is the most important piece of software.” The second sentence could be rewritten as, “Running down the street, I was hit by a car” or “While I was running down the street, a car hit me.” The third sentence could be rewritten as, “Though beloved by its creator, the automatic egg spinner was of little use to most people.” The last sentence could be rewritten as, “Controlling most of the air space, the Air Force rained bombs down on the rebel bases.”
Keep an eye out for introductory, modifying phrases set off by a comma. If the noun after the comma isn’t what the phrase is supposed to be modifying, you are looking at a misplaced modifier error.
1 comment
Scott Verrill on April 8th, 2012 at 4:21 am
Hello there, this great post i like it a great deal of but I have no idea the way to include your internet site in my rss reader. Are you able to Assist me?