Sentence of the Week #22
[From Michelle Yeoman and Barbara Gastel:]
Editing Solution: Last Week’s Sentence
Our compliments to the person who posted a response and to others who came up with the correct solution. As a reminder, below is Sentence of the Week #21:
Hiding in a corner, Marcus found the mouse.
The error in this sentence is the placement of the phrase hiding in a corner, which should be moved. Thus, a possible solution reads as follows:
Marcus found the mouse hiding in a corner.
The phrase hiding in a corner is a modifier. Modifiers are words, phrases, and clauses that describe another word in a sentence. A dangling modifier occurs when the object of the modifier is unclear.
Because Marcus appears immediately afterward, the phrase hiding in a corner seems to describe Marcus. It is unlikely that Marcus was hiding in a corner (unless he’s afraid of mice). To avoid confusion, the phrase should be moved closer to its object, the mouse.
Sometimes a dangling modifier occurs because the subject of the phrase is missing. (Example: “While away at a conference, the laboratory flooded.”) In this case, adding the correct subject removes ambiguity. (Example: “While the investigator was away at a conference, the laboratory flooded.”)
And now, onward to this week’s sentence.
Sentence of the Week #22
Welcome to the newest installment in this series.
The sentence below has 1 definite error:
After the workshop I will lay down.
Please correct the error, and submit the corrected sentence and any remarks as a comment on this post. We plan to provide and discuss the solution as a comment in about 2 days, as well as including it in the next Sentence of the Week post.
Do you have a sentence that you would like us to consider using as the Sentence of the Week? Please e-mail submissions to Michelle at msyeoman@gmail.com with the subject line “Sentence of the Week”. Submissions should be your own work—don’t nominate a colleague’s writing :).
Please also feel free to e-mail suggestions relating to this series.