Studentversion modifiers
- 1. Warm-Up October 4, 2011 Essential Question: How do words “describe” or “modify” each other? • Read the following sentences. Is the meaning of the sentence clear? • Why or why not? • How can you fix the sentence to make the meaning clear? A tarantula bit one of the dockworkers that had a hairy, huge body. Reading a book, my cat crawled into my lap. The piano teacher said she had been to New York during today's lesson.
- 2. Pardon Me, Your Modifier is Dangling “One morning, I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I don’t know.” -Groucho Marx
- 3. Modifiers A modifier is a word or a phrase that describes something else in a sentence. He kicked the ball barely twenty yards. I began doing the laundry piled up next to the washer. On the evening news, I heard that there was a revolution.
- 4. Misplaced Modifiers Misplaced modifiers are descriptive words, clauses, or phrases that modify something in your sentence that you didn't intend them to modify. Covered in wildflowers, Sarah pondered the hillside's beauty.
- 5. More Misplaced Modifiers If you want Sarah to ponder a wildflower-covered hillside, you need to write something like: “Covered in wildflowers, the hillside struck Sarah with its beauty.” OR “Sarah pondered the beauty of the wildflowers that covered the hillside.”
- 6. Misplaced Modifiers Practice Consider the unintentional meanings in the following: The young girl was walking the dog in a short skirt. I like to listen to rock music doing my homework. Sam screamed at the barking dog in his underwear.
- 7. Modifier Placement You also need to watch the placement of modifiers such as almost, even, hardly, nearly, often, and only. Big Dog almost ran around the yard twenty times. He nearly ate a whole box of treats. Consider the difference in meaning when the sentences are rewritten: Big Dog ran around the yard almost twenty times. He ate nearly a whole box of treats.
- 8. Dangling Modifiers A dangling modifier is a modifier that describes something that isn't clearly stated in your sentence. A modifying phrase or clause is said to dangle when it has no stated word to describe. Hiking the trail, the birds chirped loudly.
- 9. More Dangling Modifiers While smoking a pipe, my cat curled up next to me. CORRECTED: While I was smoking a pipe, my cat curled up next to me. Who or what is the subject of these sentences? While talking on the phone, the doorbell rang. Running across the floor, the rug slipped beneath me. After putting a new ribbon in the printer, my papers looked better.
- 10. EXIT TICKET On your index card fill in the following blanks with information from our lesson today: The important thing about modifiers is ________________. They also ___________________. But the most important thing about modifiers is __________________. Finally, write ONE sentence that describes modifiers on your Post-It note. Post your sentence on the door as you leave class!
- 11. Now, it’s your turn… Each of you will be given a sentence that has a dangling or misplaced modifier. Consider the meaning of the sentence as it is written. Who is the subject of the sentence? Who is doing or receiving the action in the sentence? Next, copy your sentence onto a piece of construction paper. Underline the misplaced or dangling modifier. Underneath your sentence, draw a picture that illustrates the LITERAL action of the sentence—more than likely it will be silly! You may use markers, colored pencils, or crayons to color your illustration. Finally, on the back of your picture, revise your sentence to reflect its true, intended meaning by correcting or removing the misplaced or dangling modifiers.