MODIFIERS Some modifiers, especially simple modifiers only, just, nearly, barely get into the wrong place

ce in a sentence. Wrong He barely ran for ten minutes. Correct He ran barely ten minutes. When we begin a sentence with a modifying word, the next thing that comes along has to be modified by that modifier. When a modifier improperly modifies something, it is called a "dangling modifier." This often happens with beginning participial phrases, making "dangling participles". In the sentence below, we can't have a car changing its own oil. Wrong Changing the oil every five hours, the car seemed to run better. Correct Changing the oil every five hours, John found he could get much better gas mileage. A participial phrase followed by a Passive Verb can also be dangling, as the real actor of the sentence will not be written. Wrong Changing desks every year, the school was kept in excellent condition. Correct Changing desks every year, the administration kept the school in excellent condition. An infinitive phrase can also "dangle." The infinitive phrase below should probably modify the person(s) who set up the exercise program. Wrong To help GMAT students achieve better scores, exercise sets were distributed. Correct To help GMAT students achieve better scores, the trainers distributed exercise sets. Squinting modifier- You can't tell that from the sentence because the adverb often is "squinting" (you can't tell which way it's looking). Structurally, the adverb may function fine, but its meaning can be obscure or ambiguous. Wrong Students who seek their instructors' advice often can improve their grades. Correct Student who often seek their instructors' advice can improve their grades. Correct Students who seek their instructors' advice can often improve their grades.

Modifier Placement Initial Modifiers: 1. Dependent Clause: Although it was late, the student kept on studying. 2. Infinitive Phrase: To please her girlfriend, Mario bought flowers. 3. Adverb: Intuitively and impulsively, the mother grabbed her child. 4. Participial Phrase: Hoping to do better, the student took GMAT for the second time. Mid-Sentence Modifiers: 1. Appositive: Nina, an obedient child, went to sleep. 2. Participial Phrase: The accountant, hoping to finish the work on time, did not go to a lunch break. Terminal Modifiers: 1. Present Participial Phrase: Maria went to sleep, hoping to see nice dreams. 2. Past Participial Phrase/Adjectival Phrase: The child went to sleep, lulled by the voice of his mother. Combining Modifiers: 1. Quickly and quietly, the fox, a young male predator, went to the village hoping to find his prey.