"Always suspect an -ing word of dangling if it's near the front of a sentence; consider it guilty until proved innocent." -Patricia O'Connor

A dangling modifier is also known as dangling participle. This occurs when the modifier is associated with a word other than the one it was meant to describe, or no other word at all.

For example, a writer may have meant to modify the subject of his/her prose, but wound up modifying the object instead. If the writer isn't careful to avoid these mistakes, these errors may lead to humorous or confusing situations.

Examples of Dangling Modifiers

1.) Entering the science lab, a skeleton caught my eye.

Was the speaker entering the science lab, or was the skeleton? To clarify, the speaker needs to specify that as he entered the science lab, a skeleton caught his eye.

2.) Though only 16 years old, the university accepted Jenny's application.

Is the university 16 years old, or is Jenny? Is she a genius or is the newest on-line trade school?

3.) Running for the bus, my purse fell in the mud.

Was the purse running? It isn't clear in this case. Though it would be pretty amazing to see a purse running down the street...

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In some cases, it is acceptable to have a modifier that seems to "dangle." Sometimes a dangling modifier will be completely appropriate to readers.

In order to cook a meal, it is important to turn on the oven.

(Because this is a sentence that uses infinitives, it is not so much that the modifiers are misplaced, it is that the sentence is less specific because no one is doing the action of cooking.)

Misplaced Modifiers

"The other day, I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I'll never know." - Groucho Marx

Modifiers, if used incorrectly, also have a problem of appearing to modify two things, or the wrong thing. In the quote above, even though Groucho Marx did this intentionally and specified later in the joke, this is a common occurrence in both written and spoken word. And, just like with dangling modifiers, it can often lead to amusing or confusing situations.

Examples of Misplaced Modifiers

She said yesterday she saw a giraffe on the highway.

(Did she see the giraffe yesterday or did she make the claim yesterday?)

The workers were told they had been let go by someone in H.R.

(Did the person in H.R. do the firing or the telling?)

I saw the judge peeking through the window.

(Was the speaker peeking through the window when he saw the judge, or did the speaker catch the judge doing something he shouldn't be?