Modifiers : Misplaced and Dangling
Adjective is a word that tells something more about a noun and an adverb tells something more about a verb.Since the add meaning to the word they are also called as modifiers.
There are two errors related to modifiers that any CAT/CET aspirant should be aware of :
- Misplaced Modifier
- Dangling Modifier
eg.John told me he wanted to marry me often.(Incorrect)
John often told me he wanted to marry me. (Correct)
When a subject is missing in a sentence the sentence is incomplete in meaning;it is dangling and hence known as an error of a Dangling modifier.
eg. While talking on the phone the doorbell rang. (Incorrect)
While I was talking on the phone the doorbell rang. (Correct)
Answers
- The last three pages of this book are missing. [Misplaced modifiers]
- The girl is the daughter of the Pricipal who laughed. [correct]
- She wrote the summary of the poem neatly. [Misplaced modifier]
- He was fortunately not hurt in the accident. [Misplaced modifier]
- John sang melodiously at the concert yesterday. [royal order of adverbs : it is always manner followed by place and time]
Needless to say any queries on modifiers please post it in the comments section of this post.
Err, isn't the first answer the question itself?
ReplyDeleteAlso, shouldn't the second answer be "The girl who laughed is the daughter of the principal"?
And, why is neatly wrote wrong? Doesn't it mean the same thing?
Please provide the solution for this"The girl is the daughter of the Pricipal who laughed" should be wrong acc to me becausse its unclear as in who laughed? the girl or the principal? also, in example "John often told me he wanted to marry me." shold be : "John told me often he wanted to marry me." because often is adverb of manner so it should be placed close to the verb ---->told
ReplyDeletewhy e can't it be:
ReplyDelete3) She wrote neatly the summary of the poem neatly.
4)He was not hurt in the accident fortunately .
mam,
ReplyDeleteit was good but iam having doubt in second one.
why it can't be "the girl who laughed is the daughter of principal."
thanx for the quizz.
Can you explain the 3rd nd 4th sentences???
ReplyDeletema'am didnt get the 2nd one "the girl who laughed is the daughter of principal"
ReplyDeleteplzz can u explain .....
Hi maam,
ReplyDeleteFor the 3rd question, is the following sentence grammatically correct?
"She neatly wrote a summary of the poem"
("a summary" instead of "the summary").
This one sounds correct, but I'm not sure if it disobeys any grammar rule.
Dear Sanchita,
ReplyDeleteThe girl who laughed is the daughter of the Principal is also correct,just that the meaning would change.
Secondly an adverb of manner always follows a verb if the object is not mentioned,if the object is mentioned then the adverb of manner is placed after the object and hence the answer.
Dear Anonymous,
ReplyDelete'often' is an adverb of frequency and not manner.Adverb of frequency is generally placed before the verb.
She wrote the summary of the poem neatly.
ReplyDeleteGoing by the rule, adverb should be placed near the verb, wherever possible. So wasn't the original sentence correct?
dear mam
ReplyDeletecan u explain with the correcit sentence cant get it