Misplaced modifiers

In the video above, I describe a concept frequently tested on both the SAT and the ACT: misplaced modifiers.

A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that modifies a noun. A noun is a person, place, or a thing.

We label a modifier “misplaced” when the descriptive word, phrase, or clause is too far away from what it is describing, because that distance obscures the meaning of the sentence.

Use the following sentence as an example:

When swimming in the lake, the clouds parted and the sun came out.

You probably understand from context that the clouds aren’t swimming in the lake; however, grammatically, the sentence tells us exactly that.

To fix that, we must rewrite all or part of the sentence and make that modifying phrase go next to what it's actually modifying. In this case, we have fixed it by putting the subject of the sentence — “we” — directly after the comma.

While swimming in the lake, we noticed the clouds part and the sun come out.

Now we've eliminated the confusion. It's clear that we are swimming in the lake.

Most students miss these errors because they don't even perceive them to be errors. The video above takes you through several potential pitfalls you may encounter when navigating this type of question on the SAT or ACT. I also talk about some concrete ways to identify when you are being presented with a question about misplaced modifiers.

Strategies like this one will really help increase scores by a few points. To find out more, contact Nicholson Tutoring to set up a consultation, and follow us on Facebook and Instagram for more tips.