A misplaced modifier contains all of the proper information to make the sentence clear, it’s just in the
wrong place in the sentence and so causes confusion.
Example: The other morning, I came out of the tent and shot an elephant in my pajamas.
(The rest of the joke goes: How he got in my pajamas, I will never know.)
“The town outlaws dancing. What?! Rexburg doesn’t even do that!” ~Brother Dayley
A dangling modifier may be in a logical location in the sentence, but it’s missing key information (often the subject of the main clause following it) and so makes the sentence less than clear for the reader.
Examples: Having finished dinner, the football game was turned on. The game didn’t finish dinner.)
After reading the original study, the articles remains unconvincing. (We don’t know who read the original study.)
Running for the bus, the rain started coming down in buckets and I got all wet.
The couch was kind of ugly in the furniture store.
Having searched and searched for Mr. Right, it started to seem like he didn’t exist.
The Chase:
Details + Commentary/meaning/significance (bottom (80%) + top(20%)): Annie Dillard
Someone can’t get off the bottom of the ladder: I can’t get on it!
If we’re supposed to work our way up to the top of the ladder, but the middle of the ladder is bad, how do you get up there? Do you jump?
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