IXL | Misplaced modifiers with pictures

Which sentence better matches the image?

A man holding an essay is covered in tape and stuck to a classroom door.

Mr. Murray discovered one of his students' essays taped to the classroom door.

Taped to the classroom door, Mr. Murray discovered one of his students' essays.

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Learn with an example

question

Which sentence better matches the image?

A boy hangs upside down inside of a closet.

Peter had almost forgotten about his old tennis racket hanging upside down in the back of his closet.

Hanging upside down in the back of his closet, Peter had almost forgotten about his old tennis racket.

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 hanging upside down in the back of his closet is adjacent to Peter, this sentence suggests that Peter is hanging upside down in the back of his closet.

Hanging upside down in the back of his closet, Peter had almost forgotten about his old tennis racket.

In the first sentence, hanging upside down in the back of his closet modifies his old tennis racket.

Peter had almost forgotten about his old tennis racket hanging upside down in the back of his closet.

This sentence does not match the image. Instead, it suggests that Peter's tennis racket is hanging upside down in the back of his closet.

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