Modifiers

Modifiers are just words – either one, or a phrase or clause – that give more information about another word. A modifier must be put in the correct place in the sentence so there is no mistaking what it is describing, and there must be a suitable word in the sentence that it is describing.

Adverbs

Almost, just, even, hardly, nearly, simply, only, merely.

Putting an adverb in the wrong place can sometimes completely change the meaning of the sentence. The best idea is to put it as close as possible to the word it is modifying.

Almost every man finished the race. (meaning: approximately 90% of the men finished the race)
Every man almost finished the race. (meaning: no-one finished the 100km race; they stopped after 90km)

I nearly wrote 2000 words. (meaning: I didn’t write anything)
I wrote nearly 2000 words. (meaning: I wrote 1900 words)

Sometimes an adverb can accidentally be placed between two words and could be modifying either. Again, to make your writing perfectly clear, change the sentence word order.

X  Saying it positively helps the situation.
  Saying it positively will really help the situation.
  The situation will be helped positively by saying it.
(Hint: a comma could also be used in the original sentence to pause the speaker and make the sentence intelligible)

Dangling modifiers

Participle clauses

Participle clauses need to have a noun to describe. When the noun is omitted, sentences can be confusing.

After having worried all night, their son finally came home at 3am. (Who was worrying all night - the parents or the son?)

Sometimes there are two nouns and it’s not certain which one is being described. These can lead to humorous misunderstandings.

He washes dogs wearing swimmers. (Is he wearing swimmers or does he only wash dogs that wear swimmers?)

Being very tall, he’ll see her. (Which person is tall?)

To fix these problems, put the modifier next to the noun it describes or put a subject in the dangling phrase.

  Wearing swimmers, he washes dogs.
  When he is wearing swimmers, he washes dogs.
  After having worried all night, the parents were relieved when their son came home at 3am.

Clauses

Clauses need to be as close as possible to the noun they are describing. Problems often occur when speaking because we suddenly decide to add an extra information clause at the end of a sentence that could modify either of two things.

X  He bought her a diamond ring that was as big as a rock from Walmart. (Which came from Walmart – the ring or rocks?)
  He bought her a diamond from Walmart that was as big as a rock.

X  Although wet, we decided to stay and see if the football match would continue. (Wet is placed next to ‘we’, but the sentence seems to be implying that the weather was wet and that’s why the match had stopped)
  Although it was still raining, we decided to stay and see if the football match would continue.

Here are two great sites for some more examples and exercises to do.

• Dangling modifiers at Purdue