Don’t confuse readers with misplaced modifiers

English is a word-order language, meaning where a word appears in a sentence helps establish the sentence’s meaning for users. Sometimes in a conversation this word order can be broken, as the participants have enough context to understand what was meant. In writing, however, words that appear out of order usually result in confusion or lead to an unintended, humorous line.

A common word order error in writing is a misplaced modifier. This occurs when a word, phrase or clause describing something doesn’t appear next to the word(s) it describes. For example:

Jane kicked the ball donned in a Packers jersey.

This sentence reads as if the ball were wearing a Packers jersey. As Jane was the one wearing the jersey, the modifier donned in a Packers jersey needs to be moved:

Donned in a Packers jersey, Jane kicked the ball.

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My name is Rob Bignell. I’m an affordable, professional editor who runs Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the manuscript needs of writers both new and published. I also offer a variety of self-publishing services. During the past decade, I’ve helped more than 300 novelists and nonfiction authors obtain their publishing dreams at reasonable prices. I’m also the author of the 7 Minutes a Day… writing guidebooks, four nonfiction hiking guidebook series, and the literary novel Windmill. Several of my short stories in the literary and science fiction genres also have been published.