Modifiers
One of comedian Groucho Marx's most famous jokes involves a pachyderm and some
sleepwear.
"One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas," he says. "How he got in my pajamas I
don't know!"
This joke is a play on a grammatical error called a misplaced modifier, where a descriptive
phrase or word is placed in the wrong part of the sentence.
The modifier errors on the SAT Writing may not be quite as funny as Groucho's, but it's still
important that you understand how they work. To that end, I’ll be covering both basic
grammatical concepts behind faulty modifiers and how to apply that knowledge on the
test.
Modifiers are words or phrases that describe something.
Modifier placement refers to the fact that modifiers must appear directly next to the nouns
they logically describe.
Incorrect:
● Running for safety, the dragon chased the fleeing townspeople.
Correct:
● Running for safety, the townspeople fled from the chasing dragon.
Explanation: "Running for safety" logically describes the "townspeople", not the dragon.
Therefore, the two must appear next to one another.
On your official SAT, you're likely to see 1-2 questions that require you to identify and
correct modifier placement errors in the underlined portions of sentences.
There are two main types of faulty modifiers: dangling modifiers, which involve phrases at
the beginning of sentences, and misplaced modifiers, which involve the order of words and
phrases within sentences. Almost all of the faulty modifiers questions on the SAT deal with
dangling modifiers, so we'll cover those first.
1. Introductory modifying phrases/Dangling Modifiers
Incorrect:
● Wagging its tail, Allison was greeted by the puppy.
Correct:
● Wagging its tail, the puppy greeted Allison.
SAT with Talal 1
Explanation: Only the puppy could logically be "wagging its tail". Introductory modifying
phrases must be immediately followed by the noun they logically describe.
● Descriptive asides
When a sentence begins with a modifying phrase, the intro must be immediately followed
by a comma and then the noun it's describing. Incorrect sentences of this type start with
modifying phrases that describe something other than the noun immediately following
the comma.
For example:
Incorrect:
● The actor used makeup, a man in his early thirties, to appear older for his recent
role.
Correct:
● The actor, a man in his early thirties, used makeup to appear older for his recent
role.
Explanation: Only the actor could logically be described as "a man in his early thirties".
Descriptive asides bound by commas or parentheses must be placed next to the noun they
logically describe.
Dangling Modifier Situation 1: Main Clause Underlined
If only the main clause is underlined, you'll need to pick the answer with the correct
subject—what I refer to above as fix 1. For example:
Incorrect: After seven straight hours of studying, Jose's brain was fried.
Correct: After seven straight hours of studying, Jose felt like his brain was fried.
Even though the distinction may not seem important, "Jose" and "Jose's brain" aren't
actually the same—Jose's brain can't study. If only the second half of the sentence is
underlined, the best way to correct this issue is to replace the incorrect noun "Jose's brain"
with the correct one "Jose."
When you see an Improving Sentences question like this with the main clause underlined,
you must find the answer choice or choices that start with the correct noun.
Start by ruling out any answers that don't start with a noun or pronoun or that start with a
noun other than the one the introductory phrase is meant to be describing. If there is more
than one answer choice remaining, check for other grammatical issues.
SAT with Talal 2
Situation 2: Both Modifier and Main Clause Underlined
You may also see dangling modifier questions presented with both the modifier and part, or
all, of the main clause underlined, though this configuration is much less common.
In these cases, the correct answer usually rewrites the sentence to eliminate the faulty
modifier entirely, so it's difficult to anticipate what the correct choice will be. Instead, you
want to approach these questions by process of elimination:
1. Determine what the error is—figure out how the modifier is wrong so that you can
rule out any choices that make the same mistake
2. Eliminate answers that aren't grammatical—rule out any answers that create other
issues, like run-ons or sentence fragments
3. Choose clearest, most concise answer—of the remaining choices pick the one that
expresses the point with the simplest structure and fewest extra words
This process may seem a bit vague, so let's work through an official SAT example:
10. She was concerned about how Hank would react to the incident, but in searching his
face, he did not seem to be at all embarrassed or troubled.
A) in searching his face, he did not seem to be
B) by searching his face, it showed that he was not
C) a search of his face showed that he seemed not
D) searching his face, he did not seem to be
First, let's figure out what's wrong with this sentence. It's a bit confusing because there's no
obvious error. We can start by separating the two independent clauses to make what's
happening in the underlined portion clearer:
She was concerned about how Hank would react to the incident. In searching his face, he did
not seem to be at all embarrassed or troubled.
Now it's clearer that "in searching his face" is a modifying phrase, currently describing Hank
(since "he" comes immediately after the comma). But based on the context, we know the
person searching the face is actually "she," so we've located the error. We can rule out A, as
well as D, which repeats the same error.
Choice B swaps out "it" for "he," which doesn't solve the problem, because "it" is still not
the person searching Hank's face. B is also wrong.
Choices C fixes the misplaced modifier issue, so is the correct answer.
SAT with Talal 3
Misplaced Modifiers: Modifier Placement in Sentences
Now that we've covered how to approach questions about modifiers at the beginning of
sentences, let's talk about questions that deal with modifier placement within sentences.
The key rule for modifier placement—a modifier must be next to whatever it's
modifying—remains the same. A misplaced modifier occurs when a modifier is separated
from the word it's meant to describe:
Incorrect: The werewolf mailed a package to the vampire full of garlic.
Despite what the sentence says, it's clear that the "package" and not the "vampire" is meant
to be full of garlic. In order to correct this error, we need to switch around the order of the
phrases:
Correct: The werewolf mailed a package full of garlic to the vampire.
Because the exact nature of this kind of error can vary so widely, there's no single best way
to approach the questions.
Examples
Modifiers are underlined, while the things being correctly and incorrectly modified are in
bold.
Error: The jacket was too small on the sale rack.
Fix: The jacket on the sale rack was too small.
Error: Ray wore his one-collared shirt to the job interview, which was stained with mustard.
Fix: Ray wore his one-collared shirt, which was stained with mustard, to the job interview.
Error: She handed out brownies to children wrapped in foil.
Fix: She handed out brownies wrapped in foil to children.
Rules to keep in mind:
● A modifier must be next to what it's modifying
● Gerunds must be next to the noun doing the action
● If a sentence starts with a descriptor, whatever comes after the comma must be the
noun it’s describing
SAT with Talal 4
Helpful SAT Writing tips:
● Think about both what a modifier is currently describing and what it's actually meant
to be describing
● Watch out for answers that fix the original modifier issue but are ungrammatical in
another way
● Remember that there are a lot of different ways to fix faulty modifiers—use process
of elimination to narrow down wrong answers rather than focusing on one specific
way of correcting the error
● You will see these errors on the test, and they are likely unfamiliar, so make sure to
review (and practice with) similar questions from real SATs
SAT with Talal 5