3 Variations of Misplaced Modifiers

3 Variations of Misplaced Modifiers 3 Variations of Misplaced Modifiers 3 Variations of Misplaced Modifiers By Mark Nichol When information is added to the main clause of a sentence to provide more detail, whether it is inserted directly or parenthetically, careful placement enhances comprehension. In each of the following sentences, modifying phrases are clumsily included. Discussion after each example explains the problem, and a revision demonstrates a solution. 1. Smith played Bozo the Clown from 1959 to 1970, a clown character particularly popular in the U.S. in the 1960s because of widespread franchising in television. This sentence’s subordinate clause, which describes Bozo the Clown, follows not that epithet but rather a range of years, but the proper syntactical location for such a modifying phrase is immediately after its referent: â€Å"From 1959 to 1970, Smith played Bozo the Clown, a clown character particularly popular in the U.S. in the 1960s because of widespread franchising in television.† 2. Jones admitted he was nervous after his botched skating routine. Here, the suggestion is that only after Smith finished the skating routine did he become nervous, but the intent of the sentence is to express that Smith’s state of nervousness before the routine contributed to his poor performance. The admission, not the nervousness, is what followed the routine, and the word order should clearly represent this fact: â€Å"Smith admitted after his botched skating routine that he had been nervous.† 3. Researchers found that face-to-face interactions contributed to a sense of well-being rather than contacts via computer. Here, the syntax represents a sense of well-being and contacts via computer as possible outcomes of face-to-face interactions, but it is face-to-face interactions and contacts via computer that contribute to a sense of well-being. To clarify the relationships between the three phrases, the two forms of communication must be mentioned consecutively in counterpoint, with the outcome clearly distinguished at the end of the sentence: â€Å"Researchers found that face-to-face interactions, rather than contacts via computer, contributed to a sense of well-being.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Fly, Flew, (has) FlownFlied?36 Poetry Terms50 Synonyms for â€Å"Villain†

Your Journey is Yours

Your Journey is Yours â€Å"No one can build you the bridge on which you, and only you, must cross the river of life,†Ã‚  wrote the thirty-year-old Nietzsche. â€Å"The true and durable path into and through experience,†Ã‚  Nobel-winning poet Seamus Heaney counseled the young more than a century later in his magnificent commencement address,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"involves being true †¦ to your own solitude, true to your own secret knowledge.† To be nobody-but-yourself - in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else - means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.  ~e. e. cummings What do all these quotes have in common? They are telling you that the most solid existence is one in which you are true to yourself. You decide who you want to be, and youre willing to strive to be the best of that sort of person. You decide the stories to write. You decide which worlds to fall into and define for readers. You determine the followers you wish to acquire as readers. You determine whether you self-publish or traditionally publish. You decide what youre willing to sacrifice to make a lot of money, or arent willing to sacrifice for the profession to take you over. Do not think that because some marketing program has sold itself to 10,000 writers, that you have to sign on, too. Do not think your books have to be in libraries if thats not your preference. Do not make appearances unless you want to. Screw Twitter if you dont like the lingo. But, and this is a big  but, you also must be willing to pay the price for whatever path you choose. Thats empowering and frightening at the same time. But that is the only way you can become successful . . . You do not have to be like anyone else, frankly. Like cummings basically says above, to be yourself without succombing to the temptation of advertising and hype, is far more difficult than  being a sheep. At the end of the road, how do you want to think of yourself when your journey is done? And trust me, its totally in your hands.