misplaced modifier

American  

noun

1. Grammar. a word, phrase, or clause that seems to refer to or modify an unintended word because of its placement in a sentence, as when young in When young, circuses appeal to all of us.

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misplaced modifier British  

noun

1. Usual US and Canadian name: dangling participle.  grammar a participle intended to modify a noun but having the wrong grammatical relationship to it as for example having left in the sentence Having left Europe for good, Peter's future seemed bleak indeed

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Grammar

Sometimes, as in the example above, a misplaced modifier can cause a temporarily puzzling or ludicrous reading of a passage; at other times it can result in ambiguity: Tall and handsome, the people looked at him with awe and admiration. Usually some rearrangement of elements, and occasionally an addition, can make relationships clear and unambiguous: Circuses appeal to all of us when young (or when we are young ). Because he was tall and handsome, the people looked at him with awe and admiration. See also dangling participle.

Example Sentences

Did The Post’s writers and editors fail to learn about misplaced modifiers, or is this a rather extreme example of an alternative fact?

From Washington Post

My teacher, Shani Raja, has a long list of other grammatical peeves: Unsightly widows, misplaced modifiers and jargon, to name a few.

From Time

To use "was" requires the participle "sitting" after it.It's misplaced modifier.

From BBC

Some people live into their 70s with barely a misplaced modifier, let alone misplaced car keys, while others begin to notice issues decades earlier.

From New York Times

You could sense that his everyday conversation must have been packed with such vivid figures of speech as personification, symbolism, and misplaced modifiers.

From Project Gutenberg