Wednesday Writing Tips: Misplaced Modifiers

Writing tips from the EC editors

Misplaced/Dangling Modifiers

Participial phrases that are modifying the wrong noun, often at the beginning of the sentence. These are confusing to the reader, and often unintentionally comical.

“After training for more than a year, the event was canceled.”

This says that the event trained for more than a year.

“Standing out in the snow, his hands were cold.”
This says that his hands were standing out in the snow. (So where was the rest of him?)