A dangling modifier is a word or a group of words that does not clearly and logically refer to the proper noun or pronoun in the same sentence.In other words, a dangling modifier occurs when there is no appropriate word in the same sentence for the modifier (修飾語) to apply to.With no appropriate word to modify, the modifier seems to apply whatever it's next to, often with illogical results.
Though a dangling modifier can possibly occur in any part of a sentence, it frequently appears at the beginning of a sentence and mainly takes one of the following four forms.
1.Participles and participial phrases.
1) Dancing at the party, my feet got hurt.
2) Used all night long to illuminate the steps, I needed new batteries for the flashlight.
2.Gerunds and gerund phrases.
3) Before polishing the furniture, the floor should be vacuumed.
3.Infinitives and infinitive phrases.
4) To diagnose some diseases, the patient's medical history must be considered.
4.Elliptical clauses.
5) After a long day's work, a hot shower is always enjoyable.
Each sentence above has the same problem: the subject is not clear.In sentence 1) , “my feet”can not dance.In sentence 2) , “I”was not used all night long to illuminate the steps.In sentence 3) , “the floor”can not polish the furniture.In sentence 4) , “the patient's medical history”cannot diagnose some diseases.In sentence 5) , “a hot shower”cannot have a long day's work.Yet that is what the structure of these sentences implies.
In these five sentences, dancing at the party, used all night long to illuminate the steps, before polishing the furniture, to diagnose some diseases, and after a long day's work are called dangling modifiers.They are supposed to modify the subjects in these sentences, but since the subjects are not clear, these modifiers fail to modify the appropriate words in these sentences.
There are two major ways to correct a dangling modifier.