Another 3 Cases of Misplaced Modifiers

Another 3 Cases of Misplaced Modifiers Another 3 Cases of Misplaced Modifiers Another 3 Cases of Misplaced Modifiers By Mark Nichol Modifiers- phrases that provide additional information- are easily (and therefore often) misplaced, creating syntactical confusion. Here are three such sentences, each followed by a discussion and a revision. 1. I will follow up with some of the questions I did not have a chance to address in a future post. This sentence reads as if the writer presciently knows that he or she will be unable to address certain questions when he or she writes a subsequent post and will follow up at an even later time. What the writer means is that the questions will be addressed in a future post because he or she was unable to do so in the post in which the statement was written. That intended meaning is clearly stated in the following revision: â€Å"I will follow up in a future post with some of the questions I did not have a chance to address.† Even better, begin the sentence with the modifying phrase: â€Å"In a future post, I will follow up with some of the questions I did not have a chance to address.† 2. Most recently, a bill was proposed in Congress, dubbed the Financial Services Innovation Act of 2016, which seeks to create a financial services innovative office. Here, Congress is mistakenly given the name of a legislative act. But the parenthetical phrase in which the act is named pertains to bill, not Congress, so the phrase must appear immediately adjacent to the pertinent word: â€Å"Most recently, a bill, the Financial Services Innovation Act of 2016, was proposed in Congress that seeks to create a financial services innovative office.† (Alternatively, shuffle the sentence’s components around, keeping the appositives â€Å"a bill† and â€Å"the Financial Services Innovation Act of 2016† adjacent to each other, for this result: â€Å"Most recently, the Financial Services Innovation Act of 2016, a bill that seeks to create a financial services innovative office, was proposed in Congress.† 3. She and her husband started the firm that builds windows and curtain walls in their basement eleven years ago. The location of the phrase â€Å"eleven years ago† paradoxically implies that the firm continues to build the products at a previous point in time. However, the phrase refers not to when the construction occurred, but to when the company that does the construction began operations. It is best situated at the beginning of the sentence: â€Å"Eleven years ago, she and her husband started the firm that builds windows and curtain walls in their basement.† However, this sentence has another misplaced modifier that must be addressed- the windows and walls themselves were presumably not built in the basement; the point is that the company was started there, so further revision is called for. In this case, simply setting the phrase describing the purpose of the company off from the main clause as a nonessential phrase helps focus the sentence’s emphasis: â€Å"Eleven years ago, she and her husband started the firm, which builds windows and curtain walls, in their basement.† 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:Creative Writing 101â€Å"As Well As† Does Not Mean â€Å"And†Plurals of Proper Names

Learn How To Make Money Freelance Writing Online

Learn How To Make Money Freelance Writing Online Learn How To Make Money Freelance Writing Online Learn How To Make Money Freelance Writing Online By Ali Hale The Internet completely changed the freelance writing landscape. For some people (those who were freelance writers before), these changes are scary. For others (those who are getting started), they are quite exciting. In my opinion there has never been a better time to be a freelance writer, and that is why we decided to launch the DWT Freelance Writing Course earlier this year. Today we are opening the doors to new students again (if you want to join us click on the link above). The course is a six-week program designed to teach you everything you need to know about making money freelance writing online. You’ll get written lessons every week (that you access on a special members’ site). They’ll cover: Week #1 Maximizing Your Productivity to Multiply Your Profits: During the first week youll learn techniques you can use to increase your productivity as a writer – if you can write fast without sacrificing quality, you’ll massively increase your earnings. Week #2 Website Setup, Promotion and Guest Blogging: Setting up your own freelancing website and building up your online writing credentials – essential if you want to be taken seriously and land online gigs. Week #3 Writing Content For The Web: Writing for the web is a totally different beast, and in this module youll learn techniques that can set you apart from other freelance writers. Week #4 Finding Clients and Developing High Paying Jobs: Finding great clients and high-paying jobs is probably the biggest challenge any freelance writer will face. The information provided in this module will help you overcome this challenge. Week #5 Running A Freelance Writing Business: Running your business effectively – because if you can’t communicate well with clients or if you miss deadlines, you’ll soon find yourself out of work. Week #6 Using Social Media To Promote Yourself: Social media is already considered an important part of modern marketing. In this module youll learn how to use it to promote yourself and land more clients. Three years ago my life changed forever when I left my day job to become a full-time freelance writer. Now, I get to do what I love all day long. This course teaches you exactly how I did it – so that you can do the same. And you won’t be alone. You’ll be taking the course as part of a whole group of writers (hundreds of them!). You’ll have a forum where you can get to know them – and where you can get advice and support directly from me, whenever you need it. So that everyone can go through the course together, though, we are keeping the doors open for 72 hours only, until midnight (GMT) this Friday, September 30. If this is what you’ve been waiting for click here to read all the details and join us. 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 Freelance Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Writing Prompts 101Expanded and ExtendedQuiet or Quite?