Modifiers
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Modifiers are a word or a group of words which describes, limits, or qualifies a subject. There
are two kinds of modifiers: nonrestrictive and restrictive. Nonrestrictive modifiers are not
essential or not necessary to the meaning of a sentence while restrictive modifiers are
necessary to the meaning of the sentence. Below are some examples of nonrestrictive and
restrictive modifiers along with explanations as to why those sentences fit that category.
Nonrestrictive Modifiers
With nonrestrictive modifiers, sometimes it can be hard to judge whether or not the
information is truly necessary for that given context. Below are some examples and
explanations as to why these sentences contain nonrestrictive modifiers instead of restrictive
modifiers. Whenever a nonrestrictive modifier appears in a sentence, it is offset by commas.
My favorite movie, Lord of the Rings, is coming out on Blu-ray this September.
In this case, Lord of the Rings is acting as extra detail. The subject of the sentence makes it clear
what the movie likely is: naming the movie is more of a confirmation or extra information for
those not in the loop.
There are many differences, both large and small, between the Lord of the Rings books
and movies.
Since the phrase “many differences” implies that there is a range of differences between the
Lord of the Rings books and movies, “both large and small” becomes an unnecessary modifier.
Restrictive Modifiers
Lisa wants to read only Tolkien books.
Only is essential because removing it would significantly alter the meaning of the sentence. The
point of the sentence is not that Lisa wants to read Tolkien books; the point is that Lisa only
wants to read those specific kinds and no other books.
Aragon didn’t have time to slay all the orcs at Minas Tirith.
Without the phrase “at Minas Tirith,” the sentence would drastically change to mean all the
orcs in existence.
Gandalf needs to talk to the steward who sits in the king’s chair.
In Middle Earth, there are many stewards Gandalf might need to talk to, but he specifically
needs to speak to the one that is sitting in the king’s chair.
Last Edited: 6/23/2016
By: PA, AA, MB, CB, SC
[email protected] | (217) 206-6503
BRK 460 | www.uis.edu/thelearninghub
#thehub
Common Modifying Issues
When adding modifiers to sentences, sometimes it is unclear what the modifier is meant to
specify because of its location or because the subject isn’t explicitly stated. There are two types
of errors that are most common—dangling modifiers and misplaced modifiers. Dangling
modifiers do not refer clearly to the word or phrase it is intended to modify whereas misplaced
modifiers are grammatically distanced in the sentence from the subject it modifies. Below are
some examples of these kinds of errors along with an explanation on how to adjust them.
Dangling Modifiers
Dangling modifier
Lighting a campfire after dark, my stomach tingled with a sense of
foreboding.
Corrected
Lighting a campfire after dark, I felt my stomach tingle with a
sense of foreboding.
Lighting a campfire after dark is the modifier in this case, which is connected to the subject of
stomach. Since a stomach cannot light a campfire, this sentence needs to have the subject, or
doer of this sentence, more explicitly stated. Adding the subject “I” would correct this mistake.
Misplaced Modifiers
Misplaced Modifier
Pippin went to Isengard with his friends around the corner.
Corrected
Pippin went around the corner to Isengard with his friends.
In the first example, it is unclear which subject is around the corner. Are Pippin’s friends around
the corner or is Isengard? By moving the modifier closer to the subject, it becomes clear that
Isengard is around the corner.
***This handout was inspired from John Haslem’s Sentence Pattern and Punctuation handout, who relied heavily upon the Harbrace College
Handbook, 12th edition, for word lists and definitions of grammatical terms.
Last Edited: 6/23/2016
By: PA, AA, MB, CB, SC
[email protected] | (217) 206-6503
BRK 460 | www.uis.edu/thelearninghub
#thehub