Yawning, my foot kicks the covers off the bed.
We’ve all done it (even J.K. Rowling, I bet). We’ve all written those sentences that sound great in our head, but they don’t necessarily say what we think they do.
The best way to avoid dangling modifies is to read over your sentence and ask yourself: what noun is the clause modifying (describing), and does the sentence makes sense when I modify it? The noun is the one closest to the clause. By asking yourself these questions you might realize that you placed the clause (or modifying word) next to the wrong noun. The result is a confusing or hilarious sentence.
In the above example, yawning is referring to my foot. Well, I don’t know about your feet, but mine don’t possess the ability to yawn. The correct subject of the sentence is missing. It should read:
Yawning, I kick the covers off the bed.
And what about the sign in the photo? When I first read it, I thought it was telling me that mentally delayed children or children who aren’t very fast are playing in the street. (Okay, I’m not really that dumb, but the sign did make me laugh).
Do you take the time to make sure your sentences say what you think they mean?
What other grammatical errors have made you laugh?
(Note: In Canada they don't have the 'slow' part. The yellow sign indicates a warning. It's warns you that children play here. Here, we assume the driver is smart enough to know that you need to slow down when you see the sign. Okay, not everyone is smart enough to know that. )
(Note: In Canada they don't have the 'slow' part. The yellow sign indicates a warning. It's warns you that children play here. Here, we assume the driver is smart enough to know that you need to slow down when you see the sign. Okay, not everyone is smart enough to know that. )
45 comments:
I sometimes get this grammar point wrong. Thanks for the example.
I still make that mistake but not very often, thankfully. I've never taken that sign to mean that. Somehow I always know what the signs mean even if they sound funny out of context! :)
Nouns, clauses etc confuse me! Not the application but the classroom-taught theory - I revert back to a schoolgirl whispering to myself 'naming words, doing words, describing words'.
Yesterday, my 8 year old told me there aren't enough adjectives in The Gruffalo.
One of my biggest faults. I'm getting there. :)
Every time I drive down this one stretch of highway, I pass by a sign that used to say "Keep Off Median." Except someone spraypainted over the word "Off" and made it "Bobby." Now, I can't drive past ANY "Keep Off Median" sign without hearing "Keep Bobby Median" in my head.
Dangling modifiers are my handicap. Stopping by with TWO awards for a great blog. Find details at www.tracikenworth.wordpress.com.
My students love it when we do dangling modifiers! It's the only time they get excited about grammar lessons. :)
And I laugh at improperly spelled or punctuated signs (such as this one), too. There's one in my neighborhood that says "Slow deaf child at play." Of course it really means, "Slow-- deaf child at play," but I prefer to think of it as "Slow, deaf child at play." Poor kid. He's not only deaf, but he's slow, too!
Yup, those dangling suckers are so easy to write, harder to identify. so many times I catch them in my first draft. I think because I just take off running with my writing, and I know exactly what I'm trying to say...but then when I go back, I do have to be careful of those. I hate to think I miss some, but I probably do. At least I know to look for them. I'm a bit of a grammar nazi...just not during my first drafts.
I'm pretty good at catching those, thankfully. Or should that read, Thankfully, I'm pretty good at catching those.
Fun stuff.
My favorite signs are those like -- Slow Deer Crossing. Or Slow Train Crossing. But have the pictures instead of the nouns, like we don't know how to read.
I see odd-written phrases all over the place. It's the funniest when it sounds like something shocking on a church sign. I'm sure even God gets a kick out of that!
I am pretty good at catching those errors early in the game. That's not to say I don't make plenty of others!
Yeah one little thing out of place and they can sound like I'm talking out of two sides of my face. The sign is rather funny too.
It's amazing how one little misplaced punctuation mark, or one wrong word, can make such a huge difference. I always get a laugh out of these, my own included!
How interesting that the word "slow" is not included in Canada! And I usually catch those things on the fourth or fifth pass through; unless it's really awful. :)
My first drafts are filled with those...it's even funny!!
Stina, I think the same thing when I see one of those signs. Even though I know that's not what the sign means, I still can't seem to shake the image of "slow" children, i.e. children running slowly, playing on the street.
But I do see quite a few misplaced modifiers in published books. I usually dismiss them, however, because the story is so good.
I'm okay with this one. It's all the sentences that start with 'I' that get me. Like a list or something, lol.
I comment on the blog. I reach for my Mountain Dew and take a long drawn out sip. I think it must be sent from the Gods. I can't get enough of it. I stop typing comment.
:)
Ha, there are so many grammatical errors in my first drafts! I have to print them out and go through them with a red pen to get rid of all of them. Love that sign!
I find these mistakes hilarious. I mean, what's not funny about yawning feet? So, it's kind of fun searching them out in my own writing. Great post. Thanks for the laugh.
I find myself having to replace the term "eyes" with the term "gaze" a lot. Because in order for eyes to do the things that gaze can do, they would have to be disembodied.
LOL! Good point. My crit group and I have had fun acting out certain actions to show it can't be done the way it's written. I also like to look for disengaged body parts when I crit stuff - like eyes flying across the room to meet someone else's. :)
That sign *always* gets me. Whenever I see one, I joke, "Hey, honey, there are slow children playing here, so be careful. They don't run; they walk."
I suppose a colon or hyphen would just be too much work to add.
Yes, I try to be very careful about what I write and say. One of my biggest problems is misusing the word "hopefully". It's something I'm very conscientious about, since I realize it's a problem. :)
I try. Hard. But every now and then my CP catches me. :-)
Slowly I'm learning that lesson. It helps to read it back out loud or I get my husband to read it.
I guess they don't worry about proper sentences when they're making signs.
Good point, my stuff tends to be full of grammatical errors.
I once submitted a query and first five to an agent, who seemed to delight in pointing out to me that in my first paragraph, I had the mc's hair whipping across her shoulders and that simply wasn't possible, so she wouldn't read on. (and there are probably numerous errors in that above run-on sentence. ;)
erica
I do like the signs by big electric pylons - "Danger of Death" with a pic of a stick man getting hit by a bolt of lightning.
LOL! Take care
x
I love finding sentences like this. They always make me smile. I die laughing when they sound dirty. Example (strait out of my MS): "I know he's a hard man. I want to know how hard." I changed hard to cruel, but not before I laughed my butt off :)
This is one thing I'm actually quite good at avoiding, in my 'proper' writing anyway. I'm still going over my story to make sure, though :-)
I do get hung up on this from time to time. Every now and then I'll read back over a sentence and laugh at its literal meaning.
Here, we assume the driver is smart enough to know that you need to slow down when you see the sign.
That is a bad assumption, no matter where you live! :)
Hahaaa, love your foot yawning example. I sometimes miss those on my own ms, and either chuckle or groan loudly when I discover them. LOL
I like the road signs that say "Drive Carefully When Wet"! :)
i have to watch out for that stuff! ah!
I love when you find silliness in signs, but it annoys me when professional signs for stores or companies have spelling or grammatical errors in them!
Oh yeah, I've made my fair share (and perhaps more) of grammar faux pas! Of course I can't think of an example right now ... but I do have them!
I've done the ridiculous run on sentence made possible by vomiting commas all over the place.
Those silly signs! There's one on a bridge near me that reads : "Don't Throw Men Below." (Is it okay to throw women and children?)
I'm sure I've dangled a modifier in my time, too.
If you were writing a fantasy your foot might be able to yawn.
Lol. Great post. That sign would make me wonder too...
LOL! My neighbor had one of those put in at the end of our street when my son was young and that's all I could think of whenever I drove past it. Even though it would have referred to my own child! That's how twisted I am.
I love grammar made funny ;). Of course, I'm one of those people who loves grammar lol. Great post!
Stina's Grammar Lessons 101 (love)!
I don't doubt the average Canadian is smarter! And your signs prove it!
I see lots of those "slow children" signs around. Maybe it's because of all the hormones in our meat and milk.
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