English Grammar Exam: Mixed Constructions and Modifiers
Avoid is when, is where, and reason...is because constructions
.
The writer begins the sentence with a long prepositional phrase and makes it the subject of the verb double.
A prepositional phrase can serve only as a modifier; it cannot be the subject of a sentence.
Move awkwardly placed modifiers (c)
A sentence should flow from subject to verb to object without lengthy detours along the way.
After completing seminary training, women's access to the priesthood has often been denied.
After completing seminary training, women have often been denied the priesthood.
Hong Kong, after more than 150 years of British rule, was transferred back to Chinese control in 1997.
After more than 150 years of British rule, Hong Kong was transferred back to Chinese control in 1997.
Anorexia nervosa is where people they are too fat and diet to the point of starvation.
Anorexia nervosa is a disorder suffered by people who think they are too fat and diet to the point of starvation.
As I entered the doctor's office, a skeleton caught my attention.
CORRECT
When the country elects a president is the most important responsibility in a democracy.
Electing a president...
The patient should try to if possible avoid putting weight on his foot.
If possible, the patient should try to avoid putting weight on his foot.
If you just interview chemistry majors, your picture of the student body's response to the new grading policies will be incomplete.
If you interview just chemistry majors, your picture of the student body's response to the new grading policies will be incomplete.
First revision: the writer begins with a prepositional phrase and finishes the sentence with a proper subject and verb.
In the second revision, the writer stays with the original verb (double) and heads into the sentence another way, making drivers the subject of double.
Put limiting modifiers in front of the words they modify (a)
Limiting modifiers (nearly, only, even, almost, etc.) should appear in front of a verb only if they modify the verb.
Place phrases and clauses so that readers can see at a glance what they modify (b)
Make sure your meaning is clear; when phrases or clauses are oddly placed, misreadings result; make the verb the subject of the main clause.
For most drivers who have a blood alcohol level of .05 percent, the risk of causing an accident is doubled.
Most drivers who have a blood alcohol level of .05 double their risk of causing an accident.
Does the subject of the sentence name the actor?
No
Nursing students learn to accurately record a patient's vital signs.
Nursing students learn to record a patient's vital signs accurately.
There are many pictures of comedians who have performed at Gavin's on the walls.
On the walls are many pictures of comedians who have performed at Gavin's.
Modifier can lead to an ambiguity- a squinting modifier.
Revise at least twice
The exchange students we met for coffee occasionally questioned us about our latest slang.
The exchange students we met for coffee questioned us occasionally about our latest slang.
The reason the experiment failed is because conditions in the lab were not sterile.
The experiment failed because conditions in the lab were not sterile.
Straighten out the logical connections
The subject and the predicate (the verb and its modifiers) should make sense together; when they don't, the error is known as faulty predication.
Upon entering the doctor's office, a skeleton caught my attention.
Upon entering the doctor's office, I noticed a skeleton.
We decided that Tiffany's welfare would be safe living with her mother.
We decided that Tiffany would not be safe living with her mother.
Dangling modifiers are usually word groups that suggest but do not name an actor.
When a sentence opens with such a modifier, readers expect the subject of the next clause to name the actor, if it doesn't the modifier dangles.
Appositive is a noun that renames a nearby noun.
When an appositive and the noun it renames are not logically equivalent, the error is known as faulty apposition.
Occasionally a mixed construction is so tangled that it defies grammatical analysis.
When this happens, back away from the sentence, rethink what you want to say, and then rewrite the sentence.
Does an opening phrase suggest an action without naming the actor?
Yes
Mixed constructions S5
contains sentence parts that do not sensibly fit together.
Repair dangling modifiers (e)
dangling modifiers fails to refer logically to any word in the sentence; easy to repair, but hard to find.
Problems with Modifiers S3
modifiers- related words should be kept together; describe a noun; problem if they describe something far away. (even, almost, nearly, etc. limit the verb)
When alternative phrasing sounds unnatural,
most experts allow splitting the infinitive.
revise the dangling modifier
ok
To repair a dangling modifier
revise the sentence by naming the actor in the subject of the sentence or naming the actor in the modifier.
When the split infinitive and alternative sound awkward
unsplit the infinitive.
Avoid split infinitives when they are awkward. (d)
when a modifier appears between to and the verb, an infinitive is said to be split; when a long word or phrase appears between the parts of the infinitive, the result is awkward.
Untangle the grammatical structure (a)
you cannot begin with one grammatical plan and switch without warning to another in a sentence; rethink purpose of the sentence and revise.
