A modifier is a word or phrase that describes or clarifies another word or phrase in a sentence. The placement of modifiers is important for clear and accurate communication. In English, modifiers should be placed as close as possible to the word or phrase they're modifying to avoid confusion. Misplaced modifiers can lead to unclear or incorrect meanings.
For example: read through the following sentences, paying attention to the word thoroughly.
- He swept the floor thoroughly after cutting his hair.
- He swept the floor after thoroughly cutting his hair.
- He swept the floor after cutting his hair thoroughly.
In sentence 1, thoroughly describes the way he swept the floor. In sentence 2, it describes the way he cut his hair. In sentence 3, it's unclear what thoroughly describes.
Nothing changes between the three sentences except the placement of the modifier thoroughly. In English, the placement of modifiers can strongly impact the meaning of a sentence. Read on to discover the meaning, examples, and rules for the placement of modifiers.
Placement of Modifiers: What Are Modifiers?
To start, here's a refresher on the topic of modifiers.
A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that provides extra information about a particular word.
Some other definitions are necessary for understanding the placement of modifiers. Here's an overview of the key terms involved:
- A phrase is a unit of one or more words that adds meaning to a clause or sentence.
- A clause is a meaningful group of words made up of a subject and a predicate.
- The subject of a sentence is what the sentence is about. It primarily consists of a noun or pronoun.
- The predicate of a sentence is what describes the subject. It primarily consists of a verb.
- An adjective is a word that modifies a noun or pronoun.
- An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb.
- The head or head word of a modifier is the word being modified.
Modifiers act as either adjectives or adverbs. Any modifier that acts as an adjective is adjectival, and any modifier that acts as an adverb is adverbial.
Fig. 1 - Modifiers are like hats adding information to the head.
That's a very flattering color on you.
In this sentence, the word flattering is a participle: a verb that behaves as an adjective. It modifies the noun color. Because it behaves as an adjective, a participle is an adjectival.
They sat on the bench.
The prepositional phrase on the bench modifies the verb sat. Because it modifies a verb, this is an adverbial prepositional phrase.
She's the manager who hired me.
The clause who hired me modifies the noun manager. Because it modifies a noun, this is an adjectival clause.
Adjectival and adverbial modifiers follow slightly different placement rules. You'll see examples of this later!
Examples of the Placement of Modifiers
Identifying the role of a modifier will help you evaluate its position in a sentence. To analyze a modifier, follow these steps:
- Identify the modifier's head. What is being modified by this word, phrase, or clause?To identify the head, ask yourself, "what does this modifier describe?" The answer to this question is the modifier's head.The head is usually immediately before or after the modifier.
- Decide whether the modifier is adjectival or adverbial. Remember: an adjectival modifier modifies a noun or pronoun. An adverbial modifier modifies a verb, adjective, or adverb.
- Decide whether the placement of the modifier is clear and logical. Are the modifier and the head clearly connected in the sentence? If not, the modifier may be misplaced.
Here are some examples of these steps in action.
This example focuses on the modifier broken.
Is this the broken stove you called about?
What is the modifier's head? To identify the head, ask yourself, "what is broken?" The stove is broken. The head of broken is stove.
Is the modifier adjectival or adverbial? The word stove is a noun. Because it modifies a noun, broken is adjectival.
Is the placement of the modifier clear and logical? The modifier broken appears right before the head and cannot easily modify another word in the sentence. The placement of broken is clear and logical.
This example focuses on the modifier generously.
Harvey gave me credit for the presentation generously.
What is the modifier's head? Ask yourself, "what does generously describe?" Generously describes the way Harvey gave. The head of generously is gave.
Is the modifier adjectival or adverbial? The word gave is a verb. Because it modifies a verb, generously is adverbial.
Is the placement of the modifier clear and logical? Generously is separated from the head by several words. The separation makes the grammatical connection between the modifier and head unclear. The placement of generously is not clear and logical.
How Does the Placement of Modifiers Affect the Meaning of a Sentence?
The placement of modifiers doesn't affect just the clarity of a sentence. It also affects the meaning. Here is an example.
The word only takes a different position in each example. As it moves between the other words, it changes the meaning of the sentence.
- Only you met her at the party. You are the only one who met her at the party.
- You only met her at the party.You did nothing at the party except meet her.
- You met only her at the party.She is the only one you met at the party.
- You met her only at the party.The only place you met her was the party.
- You met her at the only party.There was only one party, and that's where you met her.
Notice that in each example, only seems to modify the word immediately after it. This is a general pattern of modifiers: modifiers tend to affect the meaning of the words closest to them.
Rules for the Placement of Modifiers
As you've already seen, modifiers are clearest when placed as close as possible to the words they modify. Sometimes, though, modifiers shouldn't be placed immediately before or after their head words. For example:
- An adverbial modifier shouldn't separate a verb from its object.
- An adverbial modifier can appear at the beginning of a clause, separated from the head.
- A predicate adjectival modifier can be separated from its head by a linking verb.
Here are some examples of these unique situations.
They took me to the concert.
In this example, the adverbial prepositional phrase to the concert modifies the verb took. The modifying phrase is separated from the head by the pronoun me, the object of took.
If this adverbial modifier were placed immediately after the head, the sentence would look like this: They took to the concert me. This isn't the correct sentence structure at all. The adverbial modifier needs to be close to the verb, but the object needs to be even closer.
Gradually, his skills improved.
In this example, the adverb gradually modifies the verb improved. Gradually is separated from improved by the subject of the sentence, his skills.
This structure is clear and acceptable, even though the modifier is not right next to its head.
This chair is uncomfortable.
In this example, the adjective uncomfortable modifies the noun chair. Uncomfortable is separated from chair by the linking verb is.
The verb is helps to connect the modifier to the head in a way that forms a complete sentence. This separation of a modifier and its head is also clear and acceptable.
Subject Modifier Placement
Subject modifier placement refers to how a modifier is placed in relation to the subject of the sentence. In English, modifiers that describe a subject usually come before it.
For example, in the sentence "The playful dog chased the ball," playful is a modifier describing the subject dog.
However, modifiers can also be placed after the subject if they are part of a modifying phrase or clause.
For example, in the sentence "The dog, always playful, chased the ball," always playful is a modifier placed after the subject.
How Do You Evaluate the Correct Placement of Modifiers?
Some common mistakes in modifier placement can obscure the connection between a modifier and its head word. Knowing how to avoid them will help you improve your writing. Two especially common mistakes are misplaced modifiers and dangling modifiers.
Misplaced Modifiers
A misplaced modifier is a modifier that appears in the wrong position in the sentence. It's unclear which word a misplaced modifier describes. Here's an example:
I found a blue child's hat under the bleachers.
The adjective blue is meant to describe the noun hat, but it is placed right before child's. Because of the placement, the sentence seems to describe the child as blue instead of the hat. Placing the modifier just before the intended head would make the sentence clearer.
I found a child's blue hat under the bleachers.
The last example demonstrated a misplaced adjective. This next example demonstrates a misplaced adverb.
Sean put away the groceries he had bought hurriedly.
It's unclear whether the adverb hurriedly describes how Sean put away the groceries or how he bought the groceries. Logically, it could go either way. The sentence would be clearer if hurriedly appeared before the intended head verb.
Sean hurriedly put away the groceries he had bought.
Sean put away the groceries he had hurriedly bought.
Misplaced modifiers like these are often perfectly acceptable in everyday speech. That's because a listener can often figure out the meaning using context. In formal writing, though, it's important to be as clear as possible.
Dangling Modifiers
Another common mistake is the dangling modifier.
A dangling modifier does not clearly modify a word in the sentence.
Fig. 2 - Dangling modifiers do not clearly modify a word in a sentence because of the way they have been placed.
How can a modifier exist in a sentence without modifying anything? Here is an example:
After vacuuming the rug, the room seemed much cleaner.
The participle phrase after vacuuming the rug acts as an adjective. But which word does it modify? Who vacuumed the rug? The only noun outside the phrase is room, which doesn't logically connect to vacuuming the rug.
To fix this dangling modifier, you have to clearly include the modifier's head in the sentence.
After vacuuming the rug, I noticed that the room seemed much cleaner.
Now the head of the participle phrase is clear. Who vacuumed the rug? I vacuumed the rug.
Without a clear connection, a modifier is left dangling in a sentence. In formal writing, it's important to avoid dangling modifiers by connecting each modifier to a clear head word.
Placement of Modifiers - Key Takeaways
- A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that provides extra information about a particular word.
- Modifiers tend to affect the meaning of the words closest to them.
- It's best to place modifiers as close as possible to their head words; but in some situations, modifiers shouldn't be placed immediately next to their head words.
- Two common modifier-placement mistakes are misplaced modifiers and dangling modifiers.
- You can avoid dangling modifiers by connecting each modifier to a clear head word.
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