Let’s first discuss briefly what a modifier is. A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that modifies (gives more information about) another word, phrase, or clause.

• After finishing my homework, I went out to play.

In the above sentence, the phrase after finishing my homework acts as a modifier for the main clause I went out to play. The main clause can stand alone as a complete sentence. However, the modifier phrase gives additional information about the main clause. It explains when I went out to play. In other words, it adds the detail that, I went out to play after I had finished my work.

A dangling modifier is a modifier (word, phrase, or clause) that does not clearly refer to the word or phrase it is meant to modify. This creates confusion, as readers may struggle to understand which part of the sentence is being modified. Such a modifier seems to dangle between or among parts of the sentence and cannot be linked to a specific part of the sentence that it actually modifies.

Having a dangling modifier in a sentence is a writing mistake. Sometimes, a sentence is structured in a way that causes the modifier to dangle.

Here are some simple examples to understand dangling modifiers:.

  Examples. 1

• At the age of fourteen, my father took me to London.

The phrase at the age of fourteen is a dangling modifier. Due to this dangling modifier, the sentence may mean something different than what the speaker intends. The way the sentence is structured confuses the reader about whether the father was fourteen years old or the speaker was fourteen years old when the speaker went to London with his father.

Using common sense, one can understand that the speaker was fourteen years old, as a fourteen-year-old person cannot have a child. However, grammatically, the structure means that the father was fourteen. This happens because the word my father comes immediately after the modifier phrase, and modifiers generally modify the closest word to them in the sentence.

A dangling modifier is generally a writing mistake and is corrected by re-structuring the sentence or using some extra words in the sentence. The above example can be corrected as follows:

• At the age of fourteen, I was taken to London by my father..
• When I was fourteen years old, my father took me to London.

  Example 2.

• Flying in the sky, I saw a huge flock of birds.

The phrase flying in the sky is a dangling modifier. It confuses the reader into thinking whether the speaker or the birds were flying. Using common sense, we know that the flock of birds is flying, but the sentence, as it is written, means that the speaker was flying.

Corrected version:

• I saw a huge flock of birds flying in the sky.

A dangling modifier can be corrected in the following ways:

• Re-structuring the sentence.
• Adding a few missing words.
• Changing the voice of the sentence or part of it (Active ↔ Passive).

Focus first on the target word (noun or pronoun) that the dangling modifier is meant to describe, and then make the necessary changes.

  Example 1.

• Having a funny face, the kids were laughing at the Joker. (Wrong). 
• The kids were laughing at the joker having a funny face.  (Correct).
• The kids were laughing at the joker who had a funny face. (Correct).

In the above example, the the corrections have been made by re-arranging the words of the sentences and adding a few words to the sentences.

  Example 2.

• Crying out of pain, the doctor encouraged the patient. (Wrong).
• The doctor encouraged the patient who was crying out of pain. (Correct).

In the above example, the the correction has been made by re-arranging the words of the sentence and adding a few words to the sentence.

  Example 3.

• Answering the questions correctly, the interviewer selected him for the job. (Wrong)
• Answering the questions correctly, he was selected for the job by the interviewer. (Correct)
• The interviewer selected him for the job because he had answered the questions correctly. (Correct)

In the above example, the first correction has been made by converting the second part of sentence from active voice to passive voice. The second correction has been made by re-arranging the words of the sentence and adding a few words to the sentence.

  Example 4.

• Already worried about him, the sudden news of his death shocked his wife. (wrong).
• The sudden news of his death shocked his wife who was already worried about him. (correct).

In the above example, the the correction has been made by re-arranging the words of the sentence and adding a few words to the sentence.

  Example 5.

• Tired of whole day work, watching a movie relaxed me. (Wrong)
• Tired of whole day work, I was relaxed by watching a movie. (Correct)

Dangling modifiers are corrected by re-structuring the sentence to clarify the intended meaning and to clearly show which word is being modified.

A dangling modifier is also called a dangling participle if it contains a present participle (e.g., 1st form of verb + ing) or a past participle (2nd form of a verb).

An example of dangling participle having present participle:

• Crying out of pain, the doctor encouraged the patient. (Wrong).

An example of dangling participle having past participle:

• Tired of whole day work, watching a movie relaxed me. (Wrong).

Some dangling modifiers do not contain a participle. Such a modifier is simply called a dangling modifier. See the following example.

• At the age of fourteen, my father took me to London.