1. Wanting to communicate effectively with other people, dangling modifiers should be avoided.

2. After searching around the attic, a halloween mask was discovered.

3. Seeing the juicy steak sizzling over the charcoal, his mouth watered.

Consider the three sentences above. Do they seem clear to you? We know from the first part of the sentences that someone or something is being described. We could also say our image of someone is being modified or changed in some way, because any time we describe someone in writing we modify what was known previously about that person. What we never find out anywhere in the sentences is just who or what is being modified in that first part. We are, in a sense, left dangling. Who is "wanting to communicate?" Who was "searching around the attic? That's why we say sentences like those above have dangling modifiers.

You probably remember that we say every sentence in English should express a complete thought. Well, when a dangling modifier occurs, the thought of the sentence is not complete because we can?t tell from the sentence just what is described by the modifying phrase. Even if nearby sentences make clear what is being described, each individual sentence must be complete and clear by itself. That's why we avoid dangling modifiers.

1. If you want to communicate effectively with other people, you should avoid dangling modifiers.

2. After searching around the attic, I discovered a Halloween mask.

3. When he saw the juicy steak sizzling over the charcoal, his mouth watered.

Notice how the revised sentences above express very much the same thing as the ones at the top of this page but without any confusion. If you understand now what a dangling modifier is, try to remember this simple rule to avoid confusion in your writing: Always keep the modifying phrase as close as possible to the thing it modifies, and certainly keep it in the same sentence."

Finally, consider a few more sentences. Based on what you?ve understood about dangling modifiers, would you change anything to improve the clarity of the writing?

1. Being an excellent athlete and an honors student, it shouldn't be difficult to find scholarship funds.

2. Finding no one home after knocking several times, there was nothing to do but leave and try again later.

3. Unable to perform even the simplest tasks, his boss finally lost all patience with Larry and decided to give him the ax.

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