LECTURE 1
Modifiers and parallel
structures
Placement of modifiers:
Misplaced modifiers
Misplaced participial phrases
Dangling modifiers
Parallel structures:
Faulty parallelism
Parallelism in a series
Parallel structures in comparison and antithetical constructions.
Parallel structures with correlative conjunctions
Parallel structures with verbs
PLACEMENT OF MODIFIERS
1. MISPLACED MODIFIERS
A misplaced modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that is
improperly separated from the word it describes.
Any kind of modifier can be misplaced: an adjective, an
adverb, a phrase or clause acting as an adjective or adverb.
E.g.: He saw a truck in the driveway that was red and black.
(misplaced modifier)
If red and black are the colors of the truck rather than the
driveway, write the sentence so that this is clear.
E.g.: He saw a red and black truck in the driveway.
MISPLACED MODIFIERS
E.g.: Perhaps anticipating what modern science would discover, Anna
Anderson, who claimed to be the missing Anastasia, requested she be
cremated before her death. (misplaced modifier)
In this sentence, it’s doubtful that Anna wanted to be cremated before
she died, but the placement of the adverbial phrase suggests that’s just
what she wanted.
→ Perhaps anticipating what modern science would discover, Anna
Anderson, who claimed to be the missing Anastasia, requested before her
death that she be cremated.
E.g.: We knew by Friday we would call for a strike. (unclear modifier)
The placement of the modifier by Friday leaves a question: Did we
know by Friday, or would we call for a strike by Friday?
MISPLACED MODIFIERS
Remember: The placement of even a simple modifier can
change the meaning of a sentence.
For example, the effect of the placement of not:
E.g.: Not all the home-team players were available.
All the home-team players were not available.
2. MISPLACED PARTICIPIAL PHRASES
Beginning writers often overlook whether the subject of the
participial phrase is clear to the reader.
E.g.: Advancing across the desolate plains, the hot sun burned
the pioneers. (misplaced modifier)
If not the sun but the pioneers are advancing, make this clear.
→ Advancing across the desolate plains, the pioneers were
burned by the hot sun.
OR The hot sun burned the pioneers advancing across the
MISPLACED PARTICIPIAL PHRASES
E.g.: The buildings on the hillside constructed of highly flammable materials
were destroyed first. (misplaced modifier)
The placement of on the hillside between buildings and the participial
phrase doesn’t cause serious confusion, but improve the sentence by
placing the modifier next to the word that it modifies.
→ On the hillside, the buildings constructed of highly flammable
materials were destroyed first.
E.g.: The teeth of the ancient woman preserved in a glass case were pride of
his collection. (unclear modifier)
The question is: In his glass case, was the collector preserving the ancient
woman and only her teeth?
→ The ancient woman’s teeth, preserved in a glass case, were the
pride of his collection.
PLACEMENT OF MODIFIERS: ACTIVITY
John is telling Pete a funny story, but
it seems Pete has misunderstood a
lot of it.
Based on the conversation, what do
you think Pete has misunderstood?
How would you fix John’s sentences?
Yesterday I was
walking the dog
drinking a cup of
coffee
The dog wasn’t going to
the coffee shop. I was. A
I have a funny story. man leaving was walking
Yesterday I saw a dog the dog drinking a cup of
on the way to the coffee.
coffee shop. 1 Why would a
dog go to a 2
coffee shop? …………………
……………… ?
Listen! He was trying to
No, the man was drink the coffee slowly
drinking coffee he had while walking
bought slowly, and… 3
unsuccessfully.
…………………
……………… ?
4
…………………
……………… ?
The dog was fine.
He was trying to both Drinking his coffee, the
drink his coffee and dog made him trip and
walk the dog without fall.
success. 5
………………… 6 I thought you
……………… ? said dogs don’t
drink coffee?
3. DANGLING MODIFIERS
Dangling modifiers are similar to misplaced modifiers except that
the modifier isn’t just separated from the word it modifies; it is
missing the word it modifies.
E.g.: Having eaten dinner, the idea of a cheeseburger was
unappealing. (dangling modifier)
The participial phrase Having eaten dinner has nothing to modify.
One way to correct the problem is to add the missing word.
→ Having eaten dinner, I found the idea of a cheeseburger
DANGLING MODIFIERS
E.g.: Studying the lecture notes, the ecosystem became clear.
(dangling modifier)
“Studying the lecture notes” doesn’t modify ecosystem.
→ The ecosystem became clear when I studied the lecture
notes.
E.g.: To win the election, money is essential. (dangling modifier)
“To win the election” is lacking a word to modify.
→ To win the election, a candidate needs money.
E.g.: When upset and sad, her room was her refuge. (dangling
modifier)
“When upset and sad” is an elliptical clause, and it is acceptable,
but a subject must follow one or the clause will dangle.
DANGLING MODIFIERS: ACTIVITY
Which phrases or punctuation marks
should be placed in the blanks of the
sentences?
Choose 2 out of the 4 provided
options.
Be as fast as possible!
the teacher
Since knowing Without
did not know
(1) …………. (2) …………… the
new student’s name, it was difficult
to invite her to respond to questions
in class.
. , by taking the
Writing course.
, the Writing
course helps
With a strong focus on writing
proficiency and grammatical accuracy
in its course design (1) …….
thousands of students become better
writer every year (2) ………
his essay
before
before the student the essay was
submission
submission.
To improve the quality of his
Writing Assignment, (1) …….
proofread and edited (2) ………
Were left
, , Susan left behind at a
time when
at a time
when
Dropping the course a week before
the group presentation (1) ……. her
group mates (2) ……… they needed
her.
. the TV. Michelle the TV was
Having finished the assignment,
(1) ……. turned on (2) ………
. , surrounded
them.
, they are
surrounded by
Walking into the kitchen (1) ……. the
scent of freshly baked chocolate
cookies (2) ………
to submit a a written
. written
explanation.
explanation
was
the student
Having skipped too many lessons,
(1) ……. needed (2) ………
PARALLEL STRUCTURE
● Parallelism in sentences
refers to matching
grammatical structures.
Elements in a sentence that
have the same function or
express similar ideas should
be grammatically parallel, or
grammatically matched.
● Parallelism lends balance
and grace to writing. It can
make a sentence memorable.
But even in pose not destined
for greatness, parallelism is
1. FAULTY PARALLELISM
A failure to create grammatically parallel structures when they
are appropriate is referred to as faulty parallelism.
E.g.: What counts isn’t how you look but how you behave.
NOT What counts isn’t how you look but your behavior.
E.g.: The president promises to reform health care,
preserve social security, and balance the budget.
NOT The president promises to reform health care, preserve
social security, and a balanced budget.
*Nouns should be parallel with nouns, participles with participles,
gerunds with gerunds, infinitives with infinitives, clauses with
clauses, and so on.
2. PARALLEL STRUCTURE IN A SERIES
When your sentence includes a series, make sure you have not
used different grammatical structures for the items.
E.g.: He described skiing in the Alps, swimming in the Adriatic,
and the drive across the Sahara Desert. (faulty
parallelism)
He described skiing in the Alps, swimming in the Adriatic, and
driving across the Sahara Desert. (parallel)
The elements would remain parallel in the correct version even if
the phrases following the gerunds were changed or omitted. The
length of the items in the series does not affect the parallel structure.
E.g.: He described skiing, swimming in the Adriatic, and driving
across
It doesn’t matter what grammatical structure you choose for
your series as long as you remain with it consistently.
E.g.: Eleanor liked to have a beer, exchange stories with her
pals, and watch the men walk by. (parallel)
When using words such as to, a, an, his, her, or their with
items in a series, you can use the word with the first item, thus
having it apply to all the items, or you can repeat it with each
item. However, if you repeat it, you must do so with all the items,
not just some of them.
E.g.: He liked their courage, stamina, and style.
(parallel)
He liked their courage, their stamina, and their style.
3. PARALLEL STRUCTURE IN COMPARISONS AND
ANTITHETICAL CONSTRUCTIONS
When you are comparing things in a sentence, obviously parallelism will
be important.
E.g.: He spoke more of being ambassador than of being president.
NOT He spoke more of his term as ambassador than being president.
E.g.: The schools in the suburbs are better than the schools in the inner city.
NOT The schools in the suburbs are better than the inner city.
In antithetical constructions, something is true of one thing but not
another. But not and rather than are used to set up these constructions, and
both parts of an antithetical construction should be parallel.
E.g.: The committee chose to table the motion rather than to vote on it.
NOT The committee chose to table the motion rather than voting on it.
4. PARALLEL STRUCTURE WITH CORRELATIVE
CONJUNCTIONS
Errors in parallel structure often occur with correlative conjunctions:
either…or; neither…nor; both…and; not only…but also; whether…or. The
grammatical structure following the second half of the correlative should
mirror the grammatical structure following the first half.
E.g.: The scientists disputed not only the newspaper article but also
the university’s official statement. (parallel: phrase with phrase)
The scientists disputed not only the newspaper article but also they
disputed the university’s official statement. (faulty parallelism: phrase
with clause)
E.g.: Either I like the job or I don’t like it. (parallel: clause matched
with clause)
PARALLEL STRUCTURE WITH
CORRELATIVE CONJUNCTIONS
* Be sure that any element you want to repeat appears after the first
half of the correlative conjunction.
E.g.: They acted either as individual citizens or as members of the
committee.
NOT They acted as either individual citizens or as members of the
committee.
E.g.: We expected not only to be late but also to be exhausted.
OR We expected to be not only late but also exhausted.
5. PARALLEL STRUCTURE WITH VERBS
When you have more than one verb in a sentence, be sure to make
the verbs parallel by not shifting tenses unnecessarily. Also, don’t shift
from an active to a passive verb.
E.g.: Kate prepared the speech on the plane and delivered it at
the conference. (parallel: both verbs are active)
Kate prepared the speech on the plane, and it was delivered
by her at the conference. (faulty parallelism: active and passive
verb)
E.g.: Robert has in the past and will in the future continue to
support the measure. (incorrect)
Robert has in the past supported, and will in the future
continue to support the measure. (correct)
PARALLEL STRUCTURE: ACTIVITY
Teacher calls 2-3 students randomly
to take turns completing the
sentences with parallel structures.
Also make sure the meaning is
relevant.
Example:
My sister is a funny, (1) …………., (2)……………. and (3)
……………… person.
Student 3
Student 1 Student 2
says
says says
E.g:
E.g: loveable E.g: outgoing
hardworking
His responsibilities include managing the
team, (1) ________, (2)________ and (3) ________.
The students are expected to study hard,
(1)________, (2)________ and (3) ________.
She moved quietly, (1) ________, and (2)
________ through the crowded room.
She admired the beautiful scenery, (1) ______ ,
(2) ______ and (3) _____.
The project requires gathering information, (1)
____, (2) _____ and (3) _____.
What defines a person isn’t just what they
achieve but (1) _____ and (2) _____.
DISCUSSION
PRACTICE
