This chapter is a field guide to the constructions that ambush proficient writers: sentences that are grammatical in form yet defective in attachment, balance, or reference.
Dangling and misplaced modifiers
Danglers
A modifier “dangles” when its implied subject is absent from the sentence:
(the appeal didn’t review) \(\to\)
\(\to\)
\(\to\)
Some danglers are sanctioned idioms — : is fine.
Misplaced modifiers
Modifiers attach to the nearest plausible host — put them next to what they modify:
(guests on plates?) \(\to\)
\(\to\)
Squinting modifier: (rarely train, or rarely get injured?) \(\to\)
Faulty parallelism
Coordinated items must share a grammatical shape. Readers use the first item as a template for the rest; breaking the template derails them.
\(\to\)
\(\to\)
Correlatives must flank matching constituents: \(\to\) Same for .
Comparisons need comparable terms: \(\to\)
Shared words must fit every branch: works ( both present); fails (?) \(\to\)
Ambiguity
Attachment ambiguity
— who has the binoculars? — cutting at the meeting, or discussing at the meeting? Resolve by moving the modifier or splitting the sentence:
Coordination scope
(old [men and women] or [old men] and women?); ([Croatian history] teachers or Croatian [history teachers]?). Repair with a hyphen (), reordering (), or expansion ().
Pronoun reference
— who? Repeat the noun or restructure:
Vague pointing at a whole clause: — what exactly displeased? \(\to\) (anchor to a summary noun: ).
— ? Rewrite:
Negation scope
— none, or not all? Prefer or Similarly — add a comma () or rewrite ().
Garden-path sentences
Some grammatical sentences force the reader to backtrack:
(= The horse [that was] raced past the barn fell.)
(= The old [people] man [= crew] the boats.)
(= Fat [that people eat] accumulates.)
Real prose creates milder versions whenever a reduced relative or an omitted invites the wrong first parse: \(\to\) add :
The cure for every trap in this chapter is the same discipline: read your sentence as a stranger would, one word at a time, asking at each point “what would I attach this to?” When in doubt, prefer the boring restructure to the elegant ambiguity.
Exercises
Repair the modifiers
Flying over the valley, the villages looked like toys.
After marinating overnight, you can grill the chicken.
The tour includes a visit to the palace, which lasts two hours.
He nearly earned $100,000 last year. (he earned almost that amount — fix )
Restore parallelism
The course teaches how to draft, editing, and revision strategies.
We want either to expand into Asia or Europe.
Her lectures were witty, insightful, and never ran over time.
Cycling is better for the environment than to drive.
Disambiguate Give both readings, then rewrite to force each one.
Visiting relatives can be exhausting.
The chicken is ready to eat.
Flavio saw the tourist with the telescope.
Small business owners protested the new tax.