5 More Misplaced Modifiers

5 More Misplaced Modifiers 5 More Misplaced Modifiers 5 More Misplaced Modifiers By Mark Nichol The syntax of the English language is fairly flexible, but one rigid rule is that a word or phrase that modifies a word or a phrase should be positioned so that its interrelationship with the target component is clear. These five sentences illustrate the importance of this rule. 1. â€Å"People watched a television broadcast reporting on North Korea’s nuclear test at a railway station in Seoul, South Korea, on Tuesday.† The sentence structure suggests that the nuclear test was conducted at a South Korean railway station. Rearrange the phrasing so that the modifying phrase about the location of the observation is adjacent to the description of the observation: â€Å"People at a railway station in Seoul, South Korea, watched a television broadcast reporting on North Korea’s nuclear test on Tuesday.† 2. â€Å"She adopted the term biracial after hearing it in discussions about being a person of mixed-race origin while an undergrad at Wellesley College. This sentence gives the reader the impression that discussions were about temporary ethnic designation about being a person of mixed-race origin only during one’s college years. But it was the subject’s self-designation, not her ethnicity, that changed during her college years, as this revision indicates: â€Å"While she was an undergrad at Wellesley College, she adopted the term biracial after hearing it in discussions about being a person of mixed-race origin.† 3. â€Å"According to historical records, he emancipated the slaves he owned in his will.† The modifying phrase â€Å"in his will,† as appended to â€Å"the slaves he owned,† implies that the slaves he freed were those located in his will, which implies that other slaves not contained therein were not necessarily freed. To eliminate ambiguity, insert the modifying phrase as a parenthetical following the introductory phrase: â€Å"According to historical records, in his will, he emancipated the slaves he owned.† 4. â€Å"It’s about a guy whose presidency is going up in flames named George W. Bush.† This syntax creates the impression that the flames are named George W. Bush. The phrase â€Å"named George W. Bush† does modify â€Å"guy whose presidency is going up in flames,† but for the sake of clarity, insert the phrase after guy and before the rest of the phrase, which itself modifies guy: â€Å"It’s about a guy named George W. Bush whose presidency is going up in flames.† 5. â€Å"That cycle can only be corrected when we come to value the vital role of private preserves.† Incorrect location of only in a sentence is the most common type of misplacement of a modifier. Comprehension of a sentence’s meaning is rarely compromised by this error, but only should be put where it belongs. In this case, it modifies corrected, not can, so it should follow corrected: â€Å"That cycle can be corrected only when we come to value the vital role of private preserves.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Passed vs PastBetween vs. In BetweenRunning Errands and Doing Chores

In Case Of and In the Event Of

In Case Of and In the Event Of In Case Of and In the Event Of In Case Of and In the Event Of By Maeve Maddox A reader asks if there’s a difference between these two phrases: Is there any difference between in case of and in the event of? Some seem to think these two phrases are synonymous; others contend that in case of is used when youre preparing for something, e.g. Take an umbrella in case it rains, while   in the event of when anticipating an unplanned occurrence, like In the event of fire, use the emergency exit.  What is your take on this? The OED defines the conjunction â€Å"in case† as â€Å"in the event that; if it should happen that.† On the Ngram Viewer, â€Å"in case of† is far more common than â€Å"in the event of† from 1800 to 1917, but then begins to plummet. In 2000, â€Å"in case of† is only slightly ahead of â€Å"in the event of† in the English database. A Google search also indicates that â€Å"in case of† is more common: in case of (290,000,000 results)   in the event of (95,400,000 results)   As for â€Å"anticipating an unplanned occurrence,† like a fire, a Google search indicates that the phrases occur about equally: in the event of emergency: 28,400,000 results   in case of emergency: 29,600,000 results   in case of fire: 22,700,000 results   in the event of fire: 19,600,000 results It seems clear that the two phrases are synonymous. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:7 Types of Narrative ConflictProbable vs. PossibleTypes of Plots