What Are Misplaced Modifiers and How to Fix Them?
Published by at August 18th, 2021 , Revised On August 24, 2023
When a clause, phrase, or word explains another part of a sentence, it is called a modifier. A misplaced modifier is incorrectly placed in a sentence in reference to the clause, phrase, or word it aims to clarify.
Example Misplaced Modifier
Barack Obama made history as the first African-American to become the USA president in 2008.
Because the modifier (in 2008) is improperly positioned in the above example, it appears as if the sentence is indicating that Barack Obama was the first African-American in that particular year to win the presidential elections.
However, if we place the modifier immediately before or after the clause it relates to – Barack Obama made history – then it would reflect the correct meaning exactly.
In 2008 Barack Obama made history as the first African-American to become the USA president.
Barack Obama made history in 2008 as the first African-American to become the USA president.
Fixing a Misplaced Modifier in a Sentence
It is relatively easy to fix a misplaced modifier in a sentence. All you need to do to fix it correctly is position the modifier in the sentence – right next to the word or clause it is supposed to describe.
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What Are Ambiguous Modifiers?
Even when the modifier is placed right next to the clause, phrase, or word it aims to describe, the sentence can still be ambiguous. In some cases, a correctly positioned modifier can alter the meaning of either the clause, phrase, or words that precede it or the ones that follow it, which makes the sentence nonsensical.
The students decided during their presentation they would read out the text from the slides.
But did the students take the decision during their presentation? Or will the students read out the text from the slides during the presentation? The placement of the modifier, whilst not incorrect, is still creating ambiguity.
You can fix the ambiguous modifier by either rephrasing the sentence to clearly explain the clause or phrase it aims to modify or by changing the position of the modifier in the sentence. In most cases, you can place the word “that” between the clause to be described and the modifier.
How to Fix an Ambiguous Modifier – Example 1
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How to Fix an Ambiguous Modifier – Example 2
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Placement of Adverb
Depending on their placement, adverbs such as nearly, around, almost,, only, especially, ironically, and more can considerably alter the meaning of a sentence. This generally leads to confusion and ambiguity for the readers.
To ensure that your sentence makes perfect sense, it is important that you recognize the clause, phrase, or word the adverb is changing.
Adverb Placement Examples
| Adverb Placement | Explanation |
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| For the available vacancy, the hiring manager only interviewed Masters qualified candidates. | The hiring manager interviewed Masters qualified candidates and did not take perform any other action like following up on the candidates or scheduling the interviews. |
| For the available vacancy, the hiring manager interviewed only Masters qualified candidates. | The hiring manager interviewed people who were Masters qualified and not those who were less or more qualified. |
| Because Mike did not turn-on the auto-save feature, he lost nearly all of his work in Microsoft Word. | Mike was in danger of completely losing his work in Microsoft Word. |
| Because Mike did not turn-on the auto-save feature, he nearly lost all of his work in Microsoft Word. | Mike lost most of his work but not all of it. |
Frequently Asked Questions
“Misplaced clause: While jogging, the sudden rain soaked his clothes.” The clause “While jogging” is misplaced; it should be placed right after the subject “he” for clear meaning: “He was soaked when the sudden rain started while jogging.”
