Modifiers—words that are used to limit, describe, or qualify other words—are often necessary to emphasize certain information in a sentence.  Such modifiers as only, just, almost, nearly, and even sometimes cause problems for speakers and writers.  The key to using these words is knowing exactly where to place them within sentences.

Modifiers should be placed directly before the word(s) they are meant to modify.  When they aren’t, the intended meaning may be changed.

Ex. Justine only likes red gummy bears.

Or

Ex. Justine likes only red gummy bears.

Because of the placement of the modifier only in the first example above, readers may think that the red gummy bears are the only food Justine prefers.  The second example demonstrates how something as simple as the rearrangement of a word can change the meaning of the entire sentence.  Readers can now understand that red gummy bears are the only gummy bears that Justine likes to eat.

In the following examples, the modifier “just” can change the whole meaning of the sentence when it is moved. 

Ex. I just took a walk around the block.

Or

Ex. I took a walk just around the block.

In the examples above, the placement of the modifier (just, in this case) can make a vast difference in meaning between two sentences.  The first sentence indicates that I very recently took a walk around the block.  The second sentence states that I took a short walk around the block and no farther. 

Along with our website, we recommend the following site:  Big Dog’s Grammar.  On this site, visitors will find plenty of information on the essentials of English grammar and the common errors associated with it: misplaced modifiers, parallelism, active/passive sentences, comma splices and many other related items.

Change the meaning of the following sentences by moving the italicized modifiers within the sentence.

1. She almost took three hours to get ready for the dance.

2. Maria only wants to study for her history exam.

3. Nathan even appears sad when he is really happy.

4. The popular jazz band just toured within the state.

5. My aunt nearly spent all of her lottery winnings on designer clothing.

Answers

1. She took almost three hours to get ready for the dance.

2. Maria wants only to study for her history exam.  Or Maria wants to study only for her history exam.

3. Nathan appears sad even when he is really happy.

4. The popular jazz band toured just within the state.

5.  My aunt spent nearly all of her lottery winnings on designer clothing.

Grammatically Correct is a grammar tip of the week created by Academic Center Peer Writing Tutors at the University of Houston-Victoria in Victoria, Texas.

Comments about this newsletter should be directed to Summer Leibensperger, leibenspergers@uhv.edu.

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