Los Angeles Times

A Word, Please: Don’t leave your participles dangling

Now that I have your attention, I’d like to talk about dangling participles. This most famous of danglers is must-know stuff for any self-respecting smarty-pants. Not because the concept will help ...
Reader's Digest

Misplaced Modifiers: The Grammar Mistake You Didn’t Know You Were Making

Why are misplaced modifiers such a common grammatical error? Plus, what's the difference between a misplaced modifier and a dangling modifier? “A popular destination for cruise ships, tourists flock ...
The Economist

The real problem with dangling participles

READING THIS sentence, it may occur to you that something is slightly awry with it. Or you may not notice anything wrong at all. The first three words are a “dangling modifier”. This writing fault has ...
Los Angeles Times

A Word, Please: Left dangling, a participle can lose its logic

Danglers are an extremely important language concept. Not so much for writers as for jokesters. Danglers in writing and speech don’t necessarily hurt the reader ...