I hope you read that correctly. It doesn’t say dangers. The word danglers is ever so much more fun. Think dangly earrings or Christmas tree ornaments.
Danglers in the grammatical sense are very common — and are not usually too dangerous. Because we almost always can sense the meaning of the sentence even with them, they are often ignored. Still there are times where clarity will be greatly improved when they are used correctly.
Consider the following:
After discussing the implications, the decision was made to go with the offer.
Now, you got the gist of that, and with context of a meeting, it’s likely understood, But it’s grammatically problematic because “after discussing the implications” is a modifier, but it has nothing to modify! Who? Who discussed the implications?
Solving it is simple. You could totally restructure the sentence and say “After we discussed the implications, the decision was made to go with the offer.” Or you could keep the modifier and add in the appropriate subject, such as “After discussing the implications, the board made the decision to go with the offer.
The point is to be sure that you actually have a subject to modify or qualify when you use a phrase that is telling about that thing.
Now, sometimes it’s so messed up that the meaning can almost be lost, such as:
Having missed the party, there were no more fun events.
That one sticks out a little more as being in need of help.
Therefore:
Having missed the party, they/we/he/she/I had no more fun events to attend.
More fun are the misplaced modifiers! In this case, you have all the pieces you need in the sentence, but …
Example:
After voraciously devouring all the hay, the trainer put the horses back in the stable.
We’re all smart enough to know what was meant, but what was literally said was that the trainer voraciously ate all the hay, and then he put the horses back!
And sometimes the entire purpose of a sentence can be thwarted by a misplaced modifier. Consider these two examples:
- Jeannie was told she was no longer needed by the Human Resources Director.
So…. did the HR Director himself not need Jeannie’s help any more? Or was the
HR Director just the one who informed Jeannie that she had lost her job overall?
- The agency reopened after a 10-month work-from-home initiative on March 17.
So…. did the agency open on March 17 after the initiative, or did initiative begin March 17?
Very often, people don’t notice either when they speak or hear these, and you may find the results to be humorous once you tune in to them. But in our journey toward communicating more clearly, it’s a good next step.
And now, having finished her discourse on modifiers, Claudia concluded the essay.