The 12 Editing Gifts of Christmas ... DAY #2!

Between December 1-23 I’ll post twelve editing suggestions I hope you can use in the coming year when you’re working on your manuscript. I suppose you could print them off and hide them under your tree, but don’t feel like you have to.

DAY #2:

Misplaced Modifiers

These can occasionally prompt giggles. Even so, you should avoid them.

First off, what’s a modifier? Words or phrases that modify other words or phrases. “Only” is a typical modifier, and one that is easily misplaced. Other modifiers of which you should be careful are: almost, even, hardly, nearly, and often.

Neither one of these sentences is incorrect, but look at how the placement changes the meaning.

• I only speak English.
  

This means: 
>I don’t speak anything but English. No French, no Mandarin, no Polish.

• I speak only English.
  

This means:
>The only thing I did with English was speak it. I didn’t write it or read it. 


Here is a valid example of a misplaced modifier.

Dressed all in blue, Susan paused to study the crowd of women.
Who was dressed in blue? Susan or the crowd of women? 
How about:

• Susan paused to study the crowd of women who were all dressed in blue.
• Susan, who had dressed in blue that day, paused to study the crowd of women.

And another example:

Walking home, the birds sang noisily.
Who was singing?
How about:

• Walking home, we were aware of the birds singing noisily.
• The birds sang noisily as we walked home.

These can be hard to spot. Read them out loud to be sure!