IXL | Misplaced modifiers with pictures | 10th grade language arts

Which sentence better matches the image?

A woman presents a bookshelf to a wooden man.

Jenny built a bookshelf as a gift for her uncle made entirely out of cherry wood.

Jenny built a bookshelf made entirely out of cherry wood as a gift for her uncle.

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Learn with an example

question

Which sentence better matches the image?

Three people wearing gardening hats are buried up to their heads in a garden. They are getting sprinkled with water from a watering can.

If planted well and watered regularly, most flowers can be expected to bloom in the springtime.

If planted well and watered regularly, gardeners can expect most flowers to bloom in the springtime.

key idea

A modifier is a word or phrase that modifies, or describes, another word or phrase. When a modifier seems to describe something other than what's intended, the resulting sentence can suggest a confusing or even nonsensical meaning.

A misplaced modifier is a modifier that appears to modify the wrong word or phrase because it is too far from the word or phrase that it should modify.

Winston saw monkeys and peacocks on vacation in India.

This sentence has a misplaced modifier. It suggests that the monkeys and peacocks were on vacation.

On vacation in India, Winston saw monkeys and peacocks.

This sentence suggests that Winston was on vacation.

A dangling modifier is a modifier that appears to modify the wrong word or phrase because the word or phrase that it should modify is missing from the sentence.

Trying to fall asleep, the sheets felt uncomfortably hot.

This sentence has a dangling modifier. It suggests that the sheets were trying to fall asleep.

Trying to fall asleep, the child felt uncomfortably hot in the sheets.

This sentence includes the noun that the modifier is intended to describe. It suggests that the child was trying to fall asleep.

solution

The second sentence matches the image. Because the modifier if planted well and watered regularly is adjacent to gardeners, this sentence suggests that gardeners must be planted well and watered regularly.

If planted well and watered regularly, gardeners can expect most flowers to bloom in the springtime.

In the first sentence, if planted well and watered regularly modifies most flowers.

If planted well and watered regularly, most flowers can be expected to bloom in the springtime.

This sentence does not match the image. Instead, it suggests that flowers must be planted well and watered regularly.

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