Modifiers are words or groups of words that modify, limit, or qualify other parts of the sentence. They must be clearly attached to the words or phrases they modify -- otherwise, confusion or embarrassment will result.
Consider this announcement, which appeared in the media:
First Lady Laura Bush speaks about the risks of heart disease for women in Chicago, Ill.
Is Mrs. Bush going to speak about the risks of heart disease that apply specifically to women in Chicago? Or is she going to speak in Chicago about the risks of heart disease for women? If the latter is correct, the sentence should be changed to:
First Lady Laura Bush speaks in Chicago about the risks of heart disease for women.
Some other examples of dangling modifiers:
Wrong: Running to answer the door, the lamp fell off the table. (Was the lamp running to answer the door?)
Right: While she was running to answer the door, the lamp fell off the table.
Wrong: When she was 22, her mother remarried. (When who was 22? Whom does "she" refer to?)
Right: When Helen was 22, her mother remarried. or
Right: Helen's mother remarried at age 22.
Wrong: He described his escape from the attack with tears running down his cheeks.
(When were tears running down his cheeks?)
Right: Tears ran down his cheeks as he described his escape from the attack.
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