John's grapples with grammar part 3, by Nicki Copeland

 

Photo by Hu Chen on Unsplash

I’m writing this on a Saturday afternoon, sitting in my conservatory, looking out at my very long grass and thinking (admittedly with some relief) that it’s too wet to mow. I’m now tying up all the loose ends before a much-needed week off, and by the time this post is published I will hopefully be feeling super chilled and very rested after a few days at the coast. For now, though, it’s been a crazy couple of weeks workwise – and the fact that I’m sitting at my computer at all on a Saturday afternoon is testament to that!

Anyhow, I hope you will indulge another blog briefly featuring our hero, John, as he seeks to get to grips with all things grammar. Today, the dangler…

Danglers

‘The what?’ I hear you ask.

The dangler, or the dangling modifier, is one of my favourites. It’s simply where the modifying clause at the start of the sentence doesn’t connect with the second half of the sentence, and is left hanging. Usually, we know what’s meant, so we often don’t even notice them. Here’s one I heard on the radio recently:

Unless exempt, a mask should be worn at all times.

Taken literally, this means, ‘Unless the mask is exempt…’ Exempt from what? What it should say, of course, is ‘Unless they are exempt, travellers [or whoever] should wear a mask at all times.’

Some more examples:

Crossing the road, the car almost hit us.

Golden brown and cooked to perfection, John took the cookies out of the oven.

Reading my book in the garden, the cat sneezed and made me jump.

In my head, I immediately see a car at a pelican crossing, and a beautifully cooked John taking cookies out of the oven. Not to mention a cat sitting on a garden chair reading Pride and Prejudice.

What these should, of course say, is:

As we crossed the road, the car almost hit us.

John took the cookies out of the oven; they were golden brown and cooked to perfection.*

As I read my book in the garden, the cat sneezed and made me jump.

Photo by Erika Osberg on Unsplash

(* Who noticed the semicolon, as per last month’s post?)

I hope these grammar posts are helpful. Do let me know!

Nicki Copeland is a freelance writer, speaker, copy editor and proofreader – and loves anything to do with words. She is the author of Losing the Fig Leaf and Less than Ordinary? She is also responsible for the day-to-day running of Instant Apostle publishers. When she has the luxury of some free time, she can invariably be found with a book in one hand and some chocolate in the other. Find out more at
www.nickicopeland.co.uk