Modifiers are potent tools in academic writing, enhancing your work with detail and specificity. By understanding and applying the language rules associated with these words, phrases, or clauses that function as adjectives or adverbs, you can modify and refine the meaning of your sentences. Moreover, effective use of modifiers can help your arguments stand out, providing a clear pathway for readers to grasp complex academic concepts. Our guide will help you master the use of modifiers.
Modifiers in a nutshell
Modifiers are words or phrases that provide additional information about other words in a sentence. They can describe, clarify, or give more detail and typically function as adjectives and adverbs. Modifiers can also be in the form of phrases and clauses.
Definition: Modifiers
Modifiers can be words, phrases, or clauses that provide description and detail to other components in a sentence structure, thereby enhancing and clarifying the meaning. Overall, they modify nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, or adverbs, giving more specific information. Modifiers have an array of functions. Apart from describing qualities, they can also specify quantity, provide additional context, or clarify actions.
Examples
- A tall, dark-haired man walked in. (Describes qualities)
- He has three dogs. (Specifies quantity)
- We will meet after the show. (Provides the context of time)
- She drove quickly. (Clarifies action)
Structure
Understanding the structure of modifiers and modifier placement helps in constructing clear and precise sentences. Here, we will outline the structure of different sorts of modifiers, including single-word modifiers, phrases, and clauses. The following shows the overall structure for adjective and adverbial modifiers.
Single-word modifiers
Adjective + Noun/Pronoun
Adverb + Verb/Adjective/Adverb
Phrasal modifiers
Preposition/Adjective + Noun/Pronoun + Modifier (optional)
Preposition + Noun/Pronoun + Modifier (optional)
Clause modifiers
Relative Pronoun + Subject + Verb + Modifier (optional)
Subordinating Conjunction + Subject + Verb + Modifier (optional)
Modifying adjectives
Modifiers can be adjective words, adjective phrases, or adjective clauses that describe or provide further details about nouns or pronouns. They help to specify which one, what kind, or how many of the nouns/pronouns are being referred to. Here is a general overview of how adjectives as modifiers work in their various shapes, with examples of modifier clauses and phrases.
When a modifier adds more information to a noun or pronoun, it acts as an adjective.
Example
- The blue sky was clear.
Adjective phrases represent a group of words that collectively act as an adjective, providing additional details about a noun or pronoun.
Example
- The house on the hill is mine.
Adjective clauses are dependent clauses that function as adjectives, providing more details about someone/something. They often begin with a relative pronoun like who, whom, that, or which.
Example
- The book that you lent me was fascinating.
Modifiers as adjectives can be in the form of a single-word modifier or compound adjectives. Compound adjectives are constructed with two or more words, functioning as a single adjective. Typically, they are joined by hyphens to prevent confusion and clarify that the words function together as a single unit.
Examples
- She has a full-time job.
- They offer a high-quality product.
- He is a well-known artist.
Types of modifier adjectives
The function of adjectives is to modify nouns or pronouns by adding information about their characteristics, quantity, or quality. In relation to this, various types of adjectives answer questions like “which one?”, “what kind?”, and “how many?”.
…describe the qualities or states of being of nouns.
Examples
- She wore a red dress,
- They bought a large house.
- The tall building was visible from far away.
…indicate the quantity of nouns.
Examples
- She bought three oranges.
- There are many books on the shelf.
- The flight only has a few seats left.
…point out specific nouns.
Examples
- This car is fast.
- Those people are friendly.
- These flowers are beautiful.
…imply ownership or possession.
Examples
- Is this your mobile phone?
- They sold their apartment.
- She lost her keys again.
…used in questions to modify nouns.
Examples
- Which movie do you want to watch?
- Whose book is this?
- What time is the meeting?
…indicate comparisons between nouns.
Examples
- He is taller than his twin brother.
- This is the most beautiful painting.
- The book is better than the movie.
The main categories above (descriptive, quantitative, demonstrative, etc.) describe the type or specific function of the adjective. These additional categories focus more on placement and function within sentences rather than introducing entirely new adjective types.
Indefinite adjectives are a sort of modifier that provide non-specific information about the nouns they modify. They do not refer to a specific item or quantity, but rather give a general sense or idea about the amount or nature of the noun. Their main functions are to quantify nouns, generalize, and indicate unspecified amounts. Here is a list of common indefinite adjectives in context.
Examples
- Do you have any questions?
- She bought some apples.
- There are few options left.
- The school’s library has many books.
- He has several cars.
- Each student received a book.
- Every student has met the deadline.
- All students passed the exam.
- There were no seats left on the train.
- Do you have any other ideas?
- Can I have another piece of cake?
- We need more time for the project.
- We have less space than before.
A predicate adjective refers to a sort of modifier that provides more information about the subject of a complete sentence. They do not precede the nouns they describe like typical adjectives but follow a linking verb and are part of the predicate in the sentence. The most common linking verbs are “to be,” “to seem,” “to become,” “to feel,” “to look,” “to sound,” “to taste,” and “to appear.”
Examples
- To be: The cookies are delicious.
- To seem: The task seems difficult.
- To become: The situation became complicated.
- To feel: The fabric feels soft.
- To look: The house looks old.
- To sound: His explanation sounds reasonable.
- To taste: The fruit tastes sweet.
- To appear: The plan appears feasible.
Prepositional-phrase modifiers are groups of words starting with a preposition and ending with a noun or pronoun. When acting as adjectives, they clarify nouns or pronouns in a sentence.
Examples
- The book on the table is mine.
- The cat under the sofa is scared.
- The sun in the afternoon is much hotter.
Modifying adverbs
Adverbs are a sort of modifier that provides additional information about verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, or entire sentences. They can describe the manner, time, place, frequency, degree, or reason for an action or condition. Here is a general overview of how adverbs as modifiers work in their various shapes, with examples of modifier phrases and clauses.
A single-word adverb can significantly enhance a sentence by modifying verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, or sentences.
Examples
- She runs quickly. (Modifying verb)
- He is very tall. (Modifying adjective)
- The choir sings quite beautifully. (Modifying adverb)
- Fortunately, we arrived on time. (Modifying sentence)
Adverbial phrases are a group of words that function as adverbs, enhancing the meaning of a sentence.
Examples
- She danced with grace. (Modifying verb)
- He is far more talented than his peers. (Modifying adjective)
- They left the party early to get some rest. (Modifying adverb)
Adverbial clauses are dependent clauses, functioning as adverbs. They are generally introduced by subordinating conjunctions such as “when,” “wherever,” “as if,” “because,” “if,” “so,” “that,” and “although.”
Example
- We will leave when the rain stops.
- She goes wherever her friends go.
- He acted as if he knew the answer.
- She is happy because she won the prize.
- You can go to the party if you finish your chores.
- She studied hard so that she could pass the exam.
- He is so tired that he can barely stand.
- Although it was raining, they went for a walk.
Adverbs as prepositional phrase modifiers
Prepositional phrase modifiers can also function as adverbs. A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition and its object, along with any modifier of the object. When the prepositional phrase modifies a verb, adjective, or adverb, providing information about time, place, manner, reason, or degree, the prepositional phrase modifier acts as an adverb.
Examples
- We will meet at noon. (Time)
- She lives in New York. (Place)
- He spoke with confidence. (Manner)
- They left because of the storm. (Reason)
- She was tired from running. (Degree)
Modifier placement
Proper placement of modifiers is crucial for clear and precise communication. Incorrect placement can lead to confusion or misinterpretation of the intended meaning. Here, we’ll explore the correct placement of various types of modifiers. Single-word modifiers have specific placements in sentences, depending on whether they are adjectives or adverbs.
Examples
- The red car is fast. (Before the noun)
- She sings beautifully. (After the verb)
- He is very tall. (Before the adjective)
Adjectives are typically placed before the noun/pronoun they modify, while adverbs can be placed before or after the verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs they modify. The key is to pay attention to what is being modified.
Examples
- The cat with the fluffy tail is cute. (After the noun)
- He ran with great speed. (After the verb)
- In a moment, she finished her work. (Before the verb)
Phrasal modifiers also follow distinct rules in terms of their placement. Adjective phrases directly follow the noun or pronoun they modify, while adverbial phrases can be placed before or after the verb, adjective, or adverb they modify.
Examples
- The house that Jack built is large. (After the noun)
- She went to bed early because she was tired. (After the verb)
- Because she was tired, she went to bed early. (Before the verb)
For clause modifiers, adjective clauses are primarily placed immediately after the noun/pronoun they modify, whereas adverbial clauses can be placed at the beginning, middle, or end of the sentence, depending on the emphasis or clarity.
Examples and tips
The following table represents examples of incorrect placements and their corrected versions for a better understanding.
Examples
| ✓ Correct | ✘ Incorrect |
| The girl with the curly hair is my sister. | The girl is my sister with the curly hair. |
| She completed the task with great care. | She completed with great care the task. |
| The book that you gave me was interesting. | The book was interesting that you gave me. |
| The car that I bought is already broken. | The car is already broken that I bought. |
There are a few tips to keep in mind to place modifiers correctly.
- Identify the word that the modifier is intended to modify.
- Position the modifier as close as possible to the word it modifies.
- Ensure that the modifier unambiguously modifies the word.
- Read the sentence aloud to detect awkward or unclear placements.
Misplaced modifiers
Misplaced modifiers are words, phrases, or clauses that are improperly separated from the word they describe. Due to this separation, this sort of modifier appears to modify the wrong word or phrase, leading to a sentence that is awkward, ambiguous, or confusing.
Example: Single-word
✘ She almost failed every exam she took.
✓ She failed almost every exam she took.
The misplaced modifier indicates that she almost failed the exam but didn’t instead of expressing that she didn’t pass the majority of her exams.
Example: Phrasal
✘ She served sandwiches to the children on paper plates.
✓ She served sandwiches on paper plates to the children.
Here, the misplaced modifiers imply that the children are on paper plates rather than the sandwiches.
Example: Clausal
✘ The professor said on Monday she would give a test.
✓ The professor said she would give a test on Monday.
In this case, the misplaced modifier expresses that the professor said on Monday there will be a test instead of her announcing the test takes place on Monday.
Dangling modifiers
Dangling modifiers are words, phrases, or clauses that are not clearly or logically related to the word or phrases they modify. As this sort of modifier does not explicitly refer to the correct part in a sentence, it creates confusion. Dangling modifiers often occur at the initial position of a sentence, but can appear anywhere.
Examples
✘ Hiking in the mountains, the view was breathtaking.
✓ Hiking in the mountains, we found the view breathtaking.
✘ To improve his results, the experiment was repeated.
✓ To improve his results, the scientists repeated the experiment.
✘ While driving to work, the coffee spilled in the car.
✓ While driving to work, she spilled the coffee in the car.
In the examples, it is evident that the sentences do not feature subjects to relate to the modifier at the beginning of the sentence.
Squinting modifier
Another type of modifier is the squinting modifier. It’s a type of ambiguous modifier that can modify either the word or phrase before or after it. Thereby, it is not clear which part of the sentence is modified. Squinting modifiers are often adverbs placed between two sentence components that can logically be modified. Thus, the modifier placement plays an important role in correcting them.
Examples
✗ Cycling quickly improves your health.
✓ Cycling, when done quickly, improves your health.
✓ Cycling improves your health quickly.
✗ He said yesterday he would call.
✓ He said yesterday that he would call.
✓ He said he would call yesterday.
✗ Reading often helps you learn new things.
✓ Reading frequently helps you learn new things.
✓ Reading helps you learn new things frequently.
In these examples, it is crucial to reposition, rephrase, or replace the modifiers so that they clearly modify only one word or phrase.
Test yourself!
Practice sheet
Identify and correct the misplaced modifiers in the following sentences. Rewrite each sentence to place the modifier next to the word it is intended to modify, ensuring clarity. You can find the solutions in the second tab.
- The dog was chasing the cat wearing a red collar.
- She almost watched the entire movie.
- The teacher said during the lecture students could ask questions.
- He saw a bicycle on his way to the store that was broken.
- I only have ten dollars to spend on groceries.
- The man walked toward the car carrying a briefcase.
- He nearly drove his friends to the airport every weekend.
- The painting was sold to the woman with the golden frame.
- We watched the sunset sitting on the porch.
- She served a steak to the guests that was overcooked.
- The dog wearing a red collar was chasing the cat.
- She watched almost the entire movie.
- During the lecture, the teacher said students could ask questions.
- On his way to the store, he saw a broken bicycle.
- I have only ten dollars to spend on groceries.
- Carrying a briefcase, the man walked toward the car.
- He drove his friends to the airport nearly every weekend.
- The painting with the golden frame was sold to the woman.
- Sitting on the porch, we watched the sunset.
- She served an overcooked steak to the guests.
FAQs
Here are a few examples of using modifiers in context:
- The red apple tastes sweet.
- She sings beautifully.
- He ran with great speed.
Here are five common types of modifiers:
- Adjectives
- Adjective phrases
- Adverbs
- Adverbial phrases
- Clausal modifiers
Modifiers are words, phrases, or clauses that provide additional information about other words in a sentence, making the meaning clearer or more specific. They describe, clarify, or give more detail about a noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, or adverb.
You can identify modifiers by looking for descriptive words, phrases, or clauses that add more detail, or by checking if the word or phrase answers specific questions like, “which one?”, “what kind?”, “how many?”, “how?”, “when?”, “where?”, “to what extent?”.
Misplaced modifiers are words, phrases, or clauses that are not placed near the word they are intended to modify, causing confusion or a change in the intended meaning of the sentence.
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