IXL | Misplaced modifiers with pictures

Which sentence better matches the image?

A chef with cheese dripping from his hat and uniform carries a pizza.

The chef carried out a delectable pizza covered in melted, gooey cheese.

Covered in melted, gooey cheese, the chef carried out a delectable pizza.

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Learn with an example

question

Which sentence better matches the image?

Three birds wearing hats and holding hiking poles stand on a mountain.

Hiking up the mountain trail, birds can be heard chirping cheerfully.

Hiking up the mountain trail, one can hear birds chirping cheerfully.

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 first sentence matches the image. Because the modifier hiking up the mountain trail is adjacent to birds, this sentence suggests that birds are hiking up the mountain trail.

Hiking up the mountain trail, birds can be heard chirping cheerfully.

In the second sentence, hiking up the mountain trail modifies one.

Hiking up the mountain trail, one can hear birds chirping cheerfully.

This sentence does not match the image. Instead, it suggests that a person is hiking up the mountain trail.

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