Eng 102

Misplaced & Dangling Modifiers

Parallelism

 Reading a book, my cat crawled into my lap.

Misplaced & Dangling Modifiers

 The hunter crouched behind a tree waiting

for a bear to come along with a bow and
arrow.

Misplaced & Dangling Modifiers

Misplaced & Dangling Modifiers

Tom Joad comes across a turtle on his way
home from spending four years in prison.

Misplaced & Dangling Modifiers

Modifiers are words that describe other words
in a sentence
Modifiers should be near the words they modify
Linda saw the White House flying over
Washington, D.C.
Flying over Washington, D.C., Linda saw the White
House.
Trying to eat a hot dog, my bike swerved off the
path.
While I was trying to eat a hot dog, my bike
swerved off the path.

Put limiting modifiers in front of the

words they modify

Limiting modifiers = only, even, almost, nearly, just

These should appear in front of a verb only if they
modify the verb
At first, I couldnt even touch my toes, much less grasp
them.
If they limit the meaning of some other word in the
sentence, they should be placed in front of that word.
The cathedral almost took six centuries to complete.
(modifies verb)
The cathedral took almost six centuries to complete.
(modifies time)

Put limiting modifiers in front of the

words they modify
Whats the difference between these
sentences?
If you just interview chemistry majors, your
picture of the student bodys response to the
new grading policies will be incomplete.

If you interview just chemistry majors, your

picture of the student bodys response to the
new grading policies will be incomplete.

Place phrases and clauses so that readers can see at a

glance what they modify

The soccer player returned to the clinic where

he had undergone emergency surgery in 2004
in a limousine sent by Adidas.
He had surgery in a limousine???
Traveling in a limousine sent by Adidas, the
soccer player returned to the clinic where he
had undergone emergency surgery in 2004

Place phrases and clauses so that readers can see at a

glance what they modify

There are many pictures of comedians who have

performed at Gavins on the walls.
The comedians are performing on the walls?
On the walls are many pictures of comedians
who have performed at Gavins.
The robber was described as a six-foot-tall man
with a heavy mustache weighing 170 pounds.
Thats a heavy mustache!!!
The robber was described as a 170-pound, sixfoot-tall man with a heavy mustache.

Place phrases and clauses so that readers can see at a

glance what they modify

A squinting modifier leads to ambiguity

The exchange students we met for coffee
occasionally questioned us about our latest
slang.
Did they meet occasionally? Or did the
questioning happen occasionally?
The exchange students we occasionally met for
coffee questioned us about our latest slang.
The exchange students we met for coffee
questioned us occasionally about our latest
slang.

Move awkwardly placed modifiers

A sentence should flow from subject to verb
to object without lengthy detours along with
way
Hong Kong, after more than 150 years of
British rule, was transferred back to Chinese
control in 1997.
After more than 150 years of British rule,
Hong Kong was transferred back to Chinese
control in 1997.

Avoid awkward split infinitives

Infinitive = to plus base form of a verb (to think)
Split infinitive = modifier between to and verb
(to carefully balance, to completely understand)
When a long word or phrase appears between
parts of the infinitive, result is usually awkward
The patient should try to if possible avoid going
up and down stairs.
If possible, the patient should try to avoid going
up and down stairs.

Dangling Modifiers
Modifier fails to refer logically to any word in
the sentence
Understanding the need to create checks and
balances on power, the Constitution divided the
government into three branches.
The document understood the need for checks
and balances?
Understanding the need to create checks and
balances on power, the framers of the
Constitution divided the government into three
branches.

Exercise 12 1 pg. 130

1. The flood nearly displaced half of the citys
residents, who packed into several overcrowded
shelters.
The flood displaced nearly half
2. Most lions at night hunt for medium-size prey,
such as zebra.
Most lions hunt at night
3. Several recent studies have encouraged heart
patients to more carefully watch their cholesterol
levels.
patients to watch their cholesterol levels more
carefully.

Exercise 12 1 pg. 130

4. The gardens centerpiece is a huge sculpture
that was carved by three women called Walking
in Place.
The gardens centerpiece is a huge sculpture
called Walking in Place that was carved by
three women.
5. The old Marlboro ads depicted a man on a
horse smoking a cigarette.
The old Marlboro ads depicted a man smoking a
cigarette on a horse.

Exercise 12-2
1. While working as a ranger in Everglades National Park,
a Florida panther crossed the road in front of my truck
one night.
While I was working as a ranger in Everglades National
Park, a Florida panther crossed the road in front of my
truck one night.

Exercise 12-2
2. By following the new recycling procedure, the citys
landfill costs will be reduced significantly.
If residents follow the new recycling procedure, the citys
landfill costs will be reduced significantly.

Exercise 12-2
3. Serving as president of the missionary circle, one of
Sophias duties is to raise money for the church.
Serving as president of the missionary circle, Sophia is
responsible for raising money for the church.
4. After buying an album by Ali Farka Toure, the rich and
rolling rhythms of Malian music made more sense to
Silas.
After buying an album by Ali Farka Toure, Silas
understood the rich and rolling rhythms of Malian
music.

Exercise 12-2
5. Opening the window to let out a huge bumblebee, the
car swerved into an oncoming truck.
When the driver opened the window to let out a huge
bumblebee, the car swerved into an oncoming truck.

 Reading a book, my cat crawled into my lap.

How can this sentence be fixed?

While I was reading a book, my cat crawled into

my lap.

 The hunter crouched behind a tree waiting for a

bear to come along with a bow and arrow.

How can this sentence be fixed?

The hunter with a bow and arrow crouched behind

a tree waiting for a bear to come along in the
woods.

How can this sentence be fixed?

Tom Joad comes across a turtle on his way
home from spending four years in prison.

Tom Joad, on his way home from spending four

years in prison, comes across a turtle.
On his way home from spending four years in
prison, Tom Joad comes across a turtle.

Where vs. When

April the first is known as All Fools Day ______
people play practical jokes on each other.
The pound _____ Bella found me is in
Kittanning.

On vs. About
On = placement
About = concerning, with regard to

I placed the pencil ___ the desk.

I attended a lecture ____ cell technology.
The author talks ____ politics.

Parallelism
Eng 102

What is Parallelism?
Using the same pattern of words to show that
two or more ideas have the same importance

Patterns fall into four areas:

Words and phrases
Forms
Clauses
Lists

Parallelism Words & Phrases

Do not mix patterns with the ing form (gerund) of
words:
The construction manager established a protocol that
includes reviewing plans every morning, asking
questions at stated intervals, and the
summarization of work at the end of the day.
The construction manager established a protocol that
includes reviewing plans every morning, asking
questions at stated intervals, and summarizing
work at the end of the day.

Parallelism Words & Phrases

Do not mix patterns of infinitive phrases.
A daily protocol was established to review plans,
field questions, and summarize work.
A daily protocol was established to review plans,
to field questions, and to summarize work.

Parallelism Words & Phrases

Balance parallel ideas presented as pairs
Eitheror
not onlybut also

neithernor
bothand
whetheror

The clerk told me either to change my flight or take the

train.
The clerk told me either to change my flight or to take
the train.
Thomas Edison was not only a prolific inventor but also
was a successful entrepreneur.
Omit was

Parallelism Forms
Do not mix forms.
The production manager was asked to write his
report quickly, accurately, and in a detailed
manner.
The production manager was asked to write his
report quickly, accurately, and thoroughly.

Parallelism Clauses
A parallel structure that begins with clauses must
continue using clauses.
The coach told the players that they should get a lot
of sleep, that they should not eat too much, and to
do some warm-up exercises before the game.
The coach told the players that they should get a lot
of sleep, that they should not eat too much, and
that they should do some warm-up exercises
before he game.

Parallelism Clauses
Repeat function words to clarify parallels
By, to, that, because
Our study revealed that left-handed students were
more likely to have trouble with classroom desks
and rearranging desks for exam periods was useful.
Our study revealed that left-handed students were
more likely to have trouble with classroom desks
and that rearranging desks for exam periods was
useful.

Parallelism Lists
Be sure to keep al the elements in a list in the
same form.
The dictionary can be used for these purposes: to
find word meanings, pronunciations, correct
spellings, and looking up irregular verbs.
The dictionary can be used for these purposes: to
find word meanings, pronunciations, correct
spellings, and irregular verbs.

For Tuesday
Analysis essay final copy (rubric, final copy,
prewrite, plan, rough draft/editing
Annotated Bibliography mulligans
Read Chapter 5 about synthesis writing

A YouTube Video
Video and audio sources need to be documented using
the same basic guidelines for citing print sources in MLA
style. Include as much descriptive information as
necessary to help readers understand the type and nature
of the source you are citing. If the authors name is the
same as the uploader, only cite the author once. If the
author is different from the uploaded, cite the authors
name before the title.
8 Hot Dog Gadgets put to the test. YouTube, uploaded
by Crazy Russian Hacker, 6 June 2016,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBlpjSEtELs.
McGonigal, Jane. Gaming and Productivity. YouTube,
uploaded by Big Think, 3 July 2012,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkdzy9bWW3E.

Print Ad
Name of company. Title of Image. Title of
Magazine. Vol., No., pp. [insert pg #], year.
Internet Ad
Name of company. Title of Image. Web
address, Accessed on [insert date].