Friday, March 20, 2020
Definition and Examples of a Dangling Modifier
Definition and Examples of a Dangling Modifier A dangling modifier is a word or phrase (often a participle or participial phrase) that doesnt actually modify the word its intended to modify. In some cases, a dangling modifier refers to a word that doesnt even appear in the sentence. It is also called a dangling participle, hanging modifier, floater, floating modifier, or misrelated participle. Dangling modifiers are commonly (though not universally) regarded as grammatical errors. One way to correct a dangling modifier is to add a noun phrase that the modifier can logically describe. Another way to correct this grammatical error is to make the modifier part of a dependent clause. Fixing Dangling Modifiers Purdue OWL says that to fix dangling modifiers, its helpful to first explore how a modifier should read in a grammatically correct sentence, giving this example: Having finished the assignment, Jill turned on the TV. This sentence is correctly composed because Jill is the subject, and the phrase having finished the assignment describes Jill. By contrast, a sentence with a dangling modifier might read: Having finished the assignment, the TV was turned on. In this sentence, the phrase having finished the assignment is the dangling modifier. A TV cannot finish a homework assignment (at least not with the current state of technology), so the dangling modifier doesnt seem to modify anything in the sentence. You know from the previous sentence that the phrase is supposed to modify Jill. Its Jill, after all, who finished the homework assignment. Purdue OWL offers another example of a dangling modifier: Having arrived late for practice, a written excuse was needed. Who arrived late? Purdue asks. Presumably, a written excuse cant arrive anywhere. To correct the dangling modifier, the writer needs to add something to the sentence, namely, the person who arrived late: Having arrived late for practice, the team captain needed a written excuse. In this correctly composed sentence, the reader knows that the team captain arrived late and needs a written excuse. Having thus added the noun- or person who did the action- the writer corrected the sentence and fixed the error of the dangling modifier. The Problem With Phrases Your Dictionary notes that phrases- compared to a word or two- often confuse inexperienced writers when it comes to modifiers. For example: The very happy boy ran fast. Its easy to see that happy is an adjective that modifies boy, while very is an adverb that modifies happy. A writer would be unlikely to unintentionally omit the subject of the sentence and write: The very happy ran fast. In this example, these words would constitute a dangling modifier because they dont modify anything in the sentence: The writer has removed the subject boy. When it comes to phrases, however, its much easier to unintentionally create a dangling modifier, says Your Dictionary, as in: Hoping to garner favor, my parents were unimpressed with the gift. Note that the sentence does have a subject, my parents. The phrase hoping to garner favor, then, seems to modify the subject, my parents. But on closer inspection, note that the phrase is actually a dangling modifier. The parents were not hoping to garner favor with themselves, so its left to the reader to wonder: Who is trying to garner favor? To fix the dangling modifier, add a subject that tells the reader who is hoping to impress the parents: Hoping to garner favor, my new boyfriend brought my parents a gift that failed to impress them. The phrase hoping to garner favor now describes my boyfriend, so it is no longer a dangling modifier. To fully fix the sentence, the writer also added a verb, brought, to describe what the boyfriend was doing and a restrictive clause, that failed to impress them, explaining how the gift went over with the parents. The Clue of Passive Voice Sometimes- though not always- you can tell that a sentence contains a dangling modifier if it includes passive voice, as in this example from Grammar Bytes: Hungry, the leftover pizza was devoured. The single-word adjective, hungry, is the dangling modifier in this sentence. A pizza, after all, cannot be hungry or devour itself. So who was hungry? The sentence needs a subject for the modifier to describe, such as these possibilities: Hungry, we devoured the leftover pizza.Hungry, the team devoured the leftover pizza.Hungry, I devoured the pizza. All of these sentences are correct and eliminate the dangling modifier. In the first, the modifier hungry describes we; in the second, it describes the team; and, in the third, it describes I. With any of the sentences, the reader clearly understands who is hungry. Dangling Participles As noted, dangling modifiers are also called dangling participles. A participle is a verbal that typically ends in -ing (the present participle) or -ed (the past participle). By itself, a participle can function as an adjective (as in the sleeping baby or the damaged pump). You can sometimes tell that you have a dangling modifier- or dangling participle- by looking to see if the sentence contains such an -ing verbal, says Writing Explained, giving this example: Reading the regulations, the dog did not enter the park. The participial phrase reading the regulations is the dangling modifier because it does not actually modify anything in the sentence. A dog cannot read regulations, so the word or words that reading the regulations modifies have been omitted from the sentence, says the writing and grammar website.
Wednesday, March 4, 2020
The History of Ice Cube Trays
The History of Ice Cube Trays It is not known for certain who invented the first ice cube tray, a refrigerator accessory that can make and remake small uniform ice cubes. Yellow Fever In 1844, American physician, John Gorrie, built a refrigerator to make ice to cool the air for his yellow fever patients. Some historians think that Doctor Gorrie may have also invented the first ice cube tray since it was documented that his patients were also receiving iced drinks. DOMELRE- the Refrigerator That Inspired Ice Cube Trays In 1914, Fred Wolf invented a refrigerating machine called the DOMELRE or DOMestic ELectric REfrigerator. The DOMELRE was not successful in the marketplace, however, it did have a simple ice cube tray and inspired later refrigerator manufacturers to include ice cube trays in their appliances as well. During the 1920s and 30s, it became common for electric refrigerators to come with a freezer section that included an ice cube compartment with trays. Ejecting Ice Cube Trays In 1933, the first flexible stainless steel, all-metal ice tray was invented by Guy Tinkham, the vice-president of General Utilities Manufacturing Company. The tray flexed sidewise to eject the ice cubes. Tinkhams invention was named the McCord ice tray and cost $0.50 in 1933. Flexing the tray cracked the ice into cubes corresponding to the division points in the tray, and then forced the cubes up and out. Pressure forcing the ice out is due to the 5-degree draft on both sides of the tray. Modern Ice Later, various designs based on the McCord were released, aluminum ice-cube trays with a removable cube separator and release handles. They were eventually replaced by molded plastic ice cube trays. Today, refrigerators come with a variety of ice cube making options that go beyond trays. There are internal automatic icemakers and also icemakers and dispensers built into refrigerator doors.
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