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Grammar guide: misplaced modifiers

Kids make nutritious snacks. Snappy headline? Case of cannibalism? Or, a misplaced modifier? A modifier is an adverb, adjective or phrase that, ideally, clarifies or adds detail to your sentence. But, put it in the wrong place and you can have the opposite effect. In the fourth in a five-part series of open-source learning videos on…

Kids make nutritious snacks. Snappy headline? Case of cannibalism? Or, a misplaced modifier? A modifier is an adverb, adjective or phrase that, ideally, clarifies or adds detail to your sentence. But, put it in the wrong place and you can have the opposite effect. In the fourth in a five-part series of open-source learning videos on grammar, created in partnership with Ryerson University and Sheridan College, journalism professors Lisa Taylor and Nicole Blanchett Neheli explore the cause of some of the funniest grammatical errors you’ll ever encounter: misplaced modifiers.

H.G. Watson was J-Source's managing editor from 2015 to 2018. She is a journalist based in Toronto. You can learn more about her at hgwatson.com.