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Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Grammar

Isn't this a misplaced modifier?

'Because he kept barking insistently, we threw the ball for Smokey.'

Web site link: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/607/03/
  

Top answer

Anonymous Because he kept barking insistently, we threw the ball for Smokey. It sounds fine to my ear. The pronouns used here allow no chance for misunderstanding.

— Avangi

  • Anonymous Because he kept barking insistently, we threw the ball for Smokey.
  • It sounds fine to my ear.
  • The pronouns used here allow no chance for misunderstanding.
  • If there were another possible antecedent for "he" in prior context, then we might have a problem.
  • Of course if it were a phrase instead of a clause, it would then need to modify the subject of the sentence.
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2 Answers
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AnonymousBecause he kept barking insistently, we threw the ball for Smokey.
It sounds fine to my ear. The pronouns used here allow no chance for misunderstanding.
If there were another possible antecedent for "he" in prior context, then we might have a problem.

Of course if it were a phrase instead of a clause, it would then need to modify the
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I'd say a dangling participle is a type of misplaced modifier.
AnonymousBecause he kept barking insistently, we threw the ball for Smokey.
I agree that this sentence is fine. There is no dangling participle or misplaced modifier there. You can also reverse the clauses thus:
We threw the ball for Smokey because he kept barking insistently.
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