Misplaced modifiers

Having a misplaced modifier is a common problem in writing. It’s also a reasonably common question on the ACT, so it’s important you learn how to spot one.

What is a misplaced modifier?

A modifier is an adjective, adverb, or phrase acting as an adjective or adverb—in other words, a word or phrase that describes (or modifies) another word. If someone said, “I absolutely love your new brown puppy!” you would say, “Aw, thanks! Me too!” Then we would analyze the modifiers in the first sentence. The word “absolutely” is an adverb (a modifier) that describes how much the person loves it. The word “puppy” has three modifiers that describe or further identify it: “your,” “new,” and “brown.”

That’s a simple version of what a modifier is. Unfortunately, the modifiers the ACT will ask about are more complex. Almost always, they will be whole phrases instead of single words. The guiding principle here is to recognize when these phrases are out of place—they need to be located close to the word they are supposed to modify. Some misplaced modifiers fly under the radar: they’re kind of hard to spot. Once you notice them, however, they can lead to some humorous mix-ups.

Let’s start with an extreme example to illustrate the point.

Example 1

The homeowner was referred to the plumber with broken pipes.

Now, if the plumber actually had broken pipes, we’d feel like he’s a pretty bad plumber. The modifier “with broken pipes” is obviously trying to modify the word “homeowner.” Unfortunately, the noun it was placed closest to is “plumber.” So as written, it’s saying that the plumber has broken pipes instead of the homeowner. To fix it, we’d simply move that modifying phrase to be near the word it’s supposed to modify:

The homeowner with broken pipes was referred to the plumber.

Much better. Now the modifier “with broken pipes” is next to the word it really should modify and is grammatically correct. Let’s look at a less obvious one:

Example 2

Grant poured a hot cup of tea and relaxed with friends, exhausted after working all day.

Can you spot it? If we go by what “sounds right,” we may not recognize anything is wrong with this sentence, but we’re not going to leave any ACT points on the table!

As written in this example, it is the “friends” that are exhausted after working all day. However, the spirit of the sentence makes clear that it is supposed to be Grant that the phrase is referring to. Things are much clearer if we move that phrase next to the word it is supposed to modify:

Exhausted after working all day, Grant poured a hot cup of tea and relaxed with friends.

The two previous examples had the modifying phrase at the end of the sentence when it should be at the beginning. Note also that it often happens in reverse.

Example 3

Excited for his first paid gig, the crowd was electric as Xavier took the stage.

The modifying phrase “excited for his first paid gig” is closest to the noun “crowd,” but the presence of the pronoun “his” makes it clear that the phrase is trying to refer to Xavier. To correct this one, we would move Xavier to be the subject of the independent clause:

Excited for his first paid gig, Xavier took the stage in front of the electric crowd.

So it doesn’t matter whether you move the modifying phrase closer to the noun it’s trying to modify or if you move the noun to be closer to the modifying phrase: just get the two beside each other in one way or another—preferably the most concise way.

Let’s practice!

Question 1

I saw three turtles on the way to school.

A. NO CHANGE
B. I saw three on the way to school turtles.
C. On the way to school, I saw three turtles.

Question 2

Relieved that he hadn’t lost his job, the rest of Kiran’s problems didn’t seem to matter.

A. NO CHANGE
B. Relieved that he hadn’t lost his job, Kiran thought the rest of his problems
C. Relieved that he hadn’t lost his job, Kiran’s other problems

Now you know how to ace any modifier issue the ACT may throw at you!

Text placement questions

In addition to misplaced modifier questions, the same concept is often asked on the ACT as text placement questions. They’ll look something like this:

“The novel by the author’s vivid imagination, though captivating, is filled with complex characters and intricate plotlines crafted through meticulous attention to detail.”

The best placement for the underlined portion would be:

A. NO CHANGE
B. after the word “plotlines.”
C. after the word “crafted.”
D. after the word “characters.”

You’ll notice that this is essentially the same question: where should this phrase go? The answer can be found in the same way. What word is this phrase supposed to modify? WHAT is by the author’s vivid imagination? Well, a novel is by an author, so A may be tempting, but it’s really awkward to describe a novel as “by the author’s vivid imagination,” so let’s look at the other choices.

We have the same problem with answer choice B. It is technically not wrong, but the question asks for the best placement, and the plotlines are not exactly what is intended by the phrase “by the author’s vivid imagination.”

D is the worst choice of all because it splits two ideas that are joined together with “and.” The whole point is that the author created “complex characters and intricate plotlines.” Presumably, the “author’s vivid imagination” was responsible for creating both of those things, not just one or the other, so attaching it to one of them and not the other isn’t a good play.

Answer: C. The phrase “by the author’s vivid imagination” describes where (or by whom) these elements were “crafted.” It logically follows that they were also crafted “through meticulous attention to detail.”

Either way these questions are asked, the principle is the same: find the word the underlined phrase is supposed to modify and make sure it’s next to that word.