Dangling Modifiers

Bartholomew · Aug 23, 2011

He left the apartment wearing red shoes.

He left the apartment, wearing red shoes.

My old grammar textbook would have me believe that the former is an incomprehensible dangling modifier (apartments can't wear shoes) while the latter is of perfectly sound meaning because the comma somehow magically makes the clause on the end modify he instead of apartment.

I hate to accuse my grammar book of being confusing, but...

Dawnstorm · Aug 23, 2011

"Wearing red shoes" is not a modifier, dangling or otherwise. It's a subject complement (which is why the comma is odd).

It's like "a changed man" in this quote:

"I strode onward from the Schwarenbach hostelry a changed man, a reorganized personality." (Mark Twain, A Tramp Abroad)

No comma, see?

Jamesaritchie · Aug 23, 2011

Wearing red shoes, he left the apartment.

backslashbaby · Aug 23, 2011

He kissed the girl bathed in cologne

^^^ I think that's how you are seeing the apartment one? Which one is bathed in cologne? It is something that needs work. I don't know what it's called. Others will

Bartholomew · Aug 23, 2011

Jamesaritchie said:
Wearing red shoes, he left the apartment.

It's a contrived example from a test given at the JCCC writing center.

I'm pulling the strange comma rule from Grammar By Diagram, a college textbook I used last semester.

Dawnstorm · Aug 23, 2011

Hm, I may be wrong about the subject complement. Have to think this through some more.

Jamesaritchie · Aug 23, 2011

A comma can often save a misplaced or dangling modifier, but it's best to put the modifier in it's rightful place.

biggerbrowneyes · Aug 23, 2011

"He left the apartment wearing red shoes" works fine, as far as I'm aware. It's like an appositive, a rephrasing of "He wearing red shoes left the apartment." Keep it!

absitinvidia · Aug 24, 2011

Dawnstorm said:
Hm, I may be wrong about the subject complement. Have to think this through some more.

I think it's more a misplaced modifier than a dangling one.

Dawnstorm · Aug 24, 2011

absitinvidia said:
I think it's more a misplaced modifier than a dangling one.

I don't think it's misplaced at all. I'm now pretty sure that the best way to analyse it is as an "adverbial" (which would make it a modifier either to the verb or to the entire sentence). If it's an adverbial then it's in a place where you would expect one:

He left the apartment an hour ago.
He left the apartment to take a walk.
He left the apartment wearing red shoes.

It happens to be in the same spot where a participial clause that modifies a noun would be:

...the apartment smelling of fresh paint...
...the apartment wearing red shoes...

blacbird · Aug 24, 2011

There are a variety of ways of rescuing a sentence like this, but I maintain a simple principle, which I try to impart to students in my composition classes:

Keep every modifier as close to the noun being modified as possible. Sometimes this involves altering more than just the individual offending sentence. In your example, the problem could be avoided by getting the red shoes mentioned somewhere before the "leaving the apartment" sentence, or by a construction like:

He put on the red shoes and left the apartment.

Participial phrases often contribute to ambiguities and danglers. I generally try to avoid them.

caw

Bigglesworth · Aug 25, 2011

As an interested bystander I wonder, would "He left the apartment wearing his red shoes" would be better, worse, or just different?

To me both the original and the above link the red shoes more strongly with the apartment than the person.

bonitakale · Aug 25, 2011

Bigglesworth said:
As an interested bystander I wonder, would "He left the apartment wearing his red shoes" would be better, worse, or just different?

To me both the original and the above link the red shoes more strongly with the apartment than the person.

To me, too. Like, He left his girlfriend wearing red shoes.

I agree with blacbird:

Keep every modifier as close to the noun being modified as possible. Sometimes this involves altering more than just the individual offending sentence.

Jamesaritchie · Aug 25, 2011

Bigglesworth said:
As an interested bystander I wonder, would "He left the apartment wearing his red shoes" would be better, worse, or just different?

To me both the original and the above link the red shoes more strongly with the apartment than the person.

Yes, why was the apartment wearing his red shoes? Same misplaced modifier.

Again, it goes back to "Wearing his red shoes, he left the apartment."

Jamesaritchie · Aug 25, 2011

Dawnstorm said:
He left the apartment wearing red shoes.

This says the apartment is wearing the red shoes.

It's all about mdifier placement.

I've tried to keep the sentence the same, but as blackbird shows, the simplest solution is sometimes to rewrite the sentence.

amyashley · Aug 25, 2011

Jamesaritchie said:
A comma can often save a misplaced or dangling modifier, but it's best to put the modifier in it's rightful place.

So sorry to interject, but this gives me a lovely image of JAR in western getup, with a bullwhip, putting modifiers in their place and rounding up all the baby commas for spring branding time.

DanielaTorre · Aug 27, 2011

I always found the words "Dangling Modifier" pretty hilarious. I giggle every time I hear it.

Fallen · Aug 27, 2011

Dawnstorm said:
I don't think it's misplaced at all. I'm now pretty sure that the best way to analyse it is as an "adverbial" (which would make it a modifier either to the verb or to the entire sentence). If it's an adverbial then it's in a place where you would expect one:

He left the apartment an hour ago.
He left the apartment to take a walk.
He left the apartment wearing red shoes.

It happens to be in the same spot where a participial clause that modifies a noun would be:

...the apartment smelling of fresh paint...
...the apartment wearing red shoes...

I think I agree, hun. It makes sense as an adevrbial to the the whole (maybe more than verb?).

I was taught circumstance clauses (your adverbials) eg:

How did he leave: he left -- wearing red shoes.
When did he leave: he left -- at ten O'clock
Where did he go to: he left -- for the bus stop

So:

He (subject) left (verb) the apartment (object) wearing red shoes (circumstance clause)

And the only time for commas, would be if that circumstance clause shifted position:

Wearing red shoes, he left the apartment.

Otherwise:
He left the apartment wearing red shoes.

It's tied grammatically to the rest of the clause, it hasn't moved position, and common sense says a house can't wear read shoes.

But it's one of those people aren't going to agree on, I think.

Ctairo · Aug 30, 2011

Because we understand what's meant doesn't mean it's written well

FWIW, I agree with blacbird, Jamesaritchie, and bonitakale. If there's confusion, (e.g., is the apartment wearing red shoes or is he?), you're dealing with a modifier, and the modifier should be as close as possible to noun being modified. Grammar "rules" are about language and how to use language for maximum impact.

Pulled a similar example from a search:

Children who laugh rarely are shy.

So, does the sentence mean: children who rarely laugh are shy?

Or: children who laugh are rarely shy?

Witness the placement of "rarely" and how movement changes the meaning.

Dangling Modifiers

Bartholomew

Comic guy

Dawnstorm

punny user title, here

Jamesaritchie

backslashbaby

*

Bartholomew

Comic guy

Dawnstorm

punny user title, here

Jamesaritchie

biggerbrowneyes

figuring it all out

absitinvidia

A bit of a wallflower

Dawnstorm

punny user title, here

blacbird

Bigglesworth

bonitakale

Jamesaritchie

Jamesaritchie

amyashley

Stunt-Writer

DanielaTorre

...

Fallen

Stood at the coalface

Ctairo

Why Isn't IGNORE Available in RL?

Dangling Modifiers

Comic guy

punny user title, here

~~~~*~~~~

Comic guy

punny user title, here

figuring it all out

A bit of a wallflower

punny user title, here

Stunt-Writer

...

Stood at the coalface

Why Isn't IGNORE Available in RL?

*