WORD = self explanatory
PHRASE = phrase is a collection of words that may have nouns or verbals, but it does NOT have a subject doing a verb (ie - leaving behind her books, because of the boy's energetic spirit)
CLAUSE = a collection of words which has a subject that is actively doing a verb (ie - when I get the chance, Ted ran a race); clauses can be independent (CAN stand alone as a sentence) or dependent (CANNOT stand alone as a sentence)
Look at this ordinary sentence:
Katie spilled her milk.
Now let's add some modifiers:
Careless Katie, who was rushing through lunch so she could go play with her best friend, Maria, absentmindedly reached forward to grab her glass of chocolate milk, spilling it into cascading droplets down the side of the red checkered tablecloth.
Hmmm... which sentence paints a more vivid picture of what the writer was thinking in his head? Yes, MODIFIERS do breathe life into sentences. Most writing would be quite boring and dry without MODIFIERS!
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Let's look a little further at the above "fleshed-out" sentence (about Katie and her spilled milk). While we will not name every type of modifier (words, phrases, clauses) within this sentence, we will hit the major ones.
http://leadershipfreak.wordpress.com/2011/02/04/
Careless Katie, who was rushing through lunch so she could go play with her best friend, Maria, absentmindedly reached forward to grab her topped-off glass of chocolate milk, spilling it into cascading droplets down the side of the red checkered tablecloth.
careless = adjective
who was rushing through lunch so she could go play with her best friend, Maria = adjective clause
best = adjective
absentmindedly = adverb
forward = adverb
to grab her topped-off glass of chocolate milk = infinitive phrase
her = adjective
topped-off = adjective
of chocolate milk = prepositional phrase
chocolate = adjective
spilling it into cascading droplets down the side of the red checkered tablecloth = participle phrase
cascading = adjective
red = adjective
checkered = adjective
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Source: Nancy Heilman
This one-minute video gives a list of the very important roles that modifiers play in sentences.
Source: Nancy Heilman
As a result, the phrase is left dangling (is unclear and "hanging" or "dangling") because of confused/misinterpreted meaning. This confused meaning often results from a word or two not being present in the sentence. The sentence produced, then, is oftentimes humorous.
1. Having been painted the day before, Jack was able to drive his car.
CONFUSION: Jack was painted?
If the car was the item that was painted, then it needs to be next to the phrase that tells more about it.
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2. When ten years old, my father went to car repair school.
CONFUSION: Your father was really only ten when he went to school for car repair? That's young.
If the person who was ten years old was the person writing the sentence, then that person must somehow be indicated somewhere in the sentence (thus adding the "I" in both sentences).
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3. Standing in the middle of the street, a car will hit you.
CONFUSION: A car is standing in the middle of the street, and this car will hit you?
As in the previous sentence above (about car repair school), the person referred to that is standing in the middle of the street needs to somehow be inserted into the sentence (the you in the sentence).
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4. Piled up next to the sink, I began doing the dishes.
CONFUSION: You were piled up next to the sink? Now THAT is a funny sight!
The items that were piled up next to the sink (in this case, the dishes) need to be right next to each other in the sentence construction. In other words, the words piled up next to the sink need to be close to the word dishes because these six words modify or further explain the dishes.
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Source: Nancy Heilman
An error of POSITION, then, is the issue. As with dangling modifiers, MISPLACED MODIFIERS often sound awkward, confusing, or even ridiculous, making sentences humorous at times.
1. On his way home from the park, Matthew found a gold woman's ring.
CONFUSION: The woman was gold in color?
If the woman's ring was made of gold, then the two pieces of information (ring & gold) need to be sitting next to each other. Generally, words that modify other words must be in very close proximity to each other for the clearest, most accurate meaning.
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2. Just Maria was selected to sing in the festival.
CONFUSION: Only Maria was chosen to be in the festival... as in, no one else? What if the person meant that Maria had very recently been chosen? Then the word "just" is too far away from the word "selected."
Again, if the word just refers to the event happening a short time ago,, then it must be placed immediately before the word selected.
Incidentally, the word just is an adverb, and words such as just, only, nearly, merely, and almost are all adverbs and can easily be misplaced in a sentence, thus changing the writter's/communicator's intended meaning.
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3. The witness saw a fence behind the shed made of barbed wire.
CONFUSION: The shed was made of barbed wire?
In this case, the problem is that the modifying phrase made of barbed wire (which goes with the word fence), needs to be right next to it, not later on in the sentence.
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4. Covered with thick, chocolate frosting, Jack eagerly reached for the slice of wedding cake.
CONFUSION: Jack was covered in frosting? Now THAT is funny to imagine! More likely, the wedding cake was covered with the thick, chocolate frosting.
The phrase covered with thick, chocolate frosting refers to (MODIFIES) the wedding cake, therefore, this phrase must appear right next to the words wedding cake.
Source: Nancy Heilman
This one-page summary wraps up our discussion on modifiers.
Source: Nancy Heilman