Help “Don’t Understand” Dangling Modifiers?
1. In the past, few high-status science awards were won by women, a situation that failed to give many outstanding women scientists the recognition they deserve.
2. Having entered many feilds of science in large numbers since the 1970s, numerous low-level and mid-level jobs are now held by women.
3. Attaining the highest achievements and awards has been beyond the grasp of even the most gifted women scientists.
4. When the announcement of the newly elected members of the prestigious National Academy of Sciences was made in 2003, major advances by women was suddenly realized.
5. Having selected seventy-two new members in 203, seventeen were women, a large number than ever before.
6. When selecting new members, important scientific discoveries are the major decisive factor.
7. Having discovered the relationship between telomeres( the tips of chromosomes) and aging, an obvious choice for membership was Dr. Carol Grieder of John Hopkins School of Medicine.
8. By discovering that a surprisingly large number of human genes control the sense of smell, Dr. Linda Buck earned her Academy membership.
9. To make the study of primates less subjective an more scientifically organized, the Academy recognized Dr. Jeanne Altmann.
10. Having risen from 12 percent in the mid-1980s to 20 percent today, an increasingly greater membership for women in the National Academy of Sciences is expected.
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3 comments
Cherry Blossom on April 9, 2010 at 5:50 am
You’re not the only one. I’ve never understood those myself!
delemamomma on April 9, 2010 at 6:13 am
Having seen your full question, I am not sure if you are asking for answers or an explanation. Not being inclined to give answers without explanations, I would need to take more time than I have. Wanting to help you, I have found some links for you to study on your own.
Sharon
PS I laughed the most at the one that states, “Modifiers are like teenagers”.
chickadee34 on April 9, 2010 at 7:01 am
Basically, a “dangling modifier” is one that fails to directly relate to the earlier part of the sentence.
Let’s take #2 above (only because it’s one of the shorter sentences):
The sentence currently reads:
Having entered many fields of science in large numbers since the 1970s, numerous low-level and mid-level jobs are now held by women.
The sentence is goofed-up as written, because technically it states that “numerous low-level and mid-level jobs” have “entered many fields of science. What the writer *meant* is that WOMEN have entered many fields of science since the 1970s.
So, the “dangling modifier” there is “Having entered many fields of science in large numbers since the 1970’s.”
The sentence can be corrected as follows:
Having entered many fields of science in large numbers since the 1970s, women now hold numerous low-level and mid-level jobs.
Hope this helps you.