dangling modifier

English

Noun

Examples
  • Being over two hundred years old, I had difficulty reading the document.
    (it is the document that is old, not the reader)
  • I know a man with a wooden leg called Smith.
    (Smith is the man, not the leg)
  • A hangover often occurs after drinking too much.
    The hangover isn't drinking too much. Rather, a hangover often occurs after someone drinks too much.

dangling modifier (plural dangling modifiers)

  1. (grammar) A word or clause that qualifies another word or clause ambiguously, possibly causing confusion with regard to the intended meaning.
    Hyponym: dangling participle
    • 2004, Wynford Hicks, Quite Literally: Problem Words and how to Use Them, Psychology Press, →ISBN, page 45:
      The dangling modifier is a curse of modern writing, particularly obituaries.

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Further reading

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