Misplaced Modifier: Explanation and Examples

by Craig Shrives

What Is a Misplaced Modifier? (with Examples)

A misplaced modifier is a word (or group of words) that does not liên kết clearly đồ sộ what it is intended đồ sộ modify. A misplaced modifier makes the meaning of a sentence ambiguous or wrong.

Table of Contents

Examples of Misplaced Modifiers
Real-Life Examples of Misplaced Modifiers
Misplaced Modifiers in Jokes
Why Misplaced Modifiers Are Important
Beware tác giả Blindness!
Printable Test

Examples of Misplaced Modifiers

In these examples, the misplaced modifiers are shaded:

Real-Life Examples of Misplaced Modifiers

Misplaced Modifiers in Jokes

Probably the most famous example of a misplaced modifier turns out not đồ sộ be a misplaced modifier at all.

One morning I shot an elephant in my pyjamas. How he got into my pyjamas I'll never know. (Writer and comedian Groucho Marx)

Here is a great example of a misplaced modifier from the film Hot Fuzz:

"He was a hero at his last police station. He once shot a robber with a Kalashnikov."

"Great, where did he get that?"

Why Misplaced Modifiers Are Important

A misplaced modifier makes your sentence ambiguous or wrong. You can avoid a misplaced modifier by placing your modifier next đồ sộ whatever it's modifying (or putting some distance between the modifier and whatever it's not meant đồ sộ be modifying).

Let's fix the examples above. In the corrected examples, the modifiers are shaded and the words being modified are bold.

Beware tác giả Blindness!

It is sometimes difficult for writers đồ sộ spot their own misplaced modifiers because they know what they meant đồ sộ say, and they vì thế not see the ambiguity. This is called author blindness. Look at these two examples. They are both correct, but they have very different meanings.