Limiting misplaced modifiers

Question

I'm doing ok on most of my modifier questions, but these 2 have me stumped. I have to say the meaning of the sentence with the modifier in the position it's in.

Alex merely enjoys reading books -
Alex enjoys merely reading books -

She simply loved eating a lot -
She loved simply eating a lot -

Any help would be appreciated!

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

Those are tough questions. Here is how I would answer. No guarantees!

Alex merely enjoys reading books.
The situation is as simple as this: Alex enjoys reading books.
There is nothing about it that is any more complicated than this: Alex enjoys reading books.

Alex enjoys merely reading books.
Alex requires nothing more for enjoyment than reading books.
The activity of reading books is enough to provide enjoyment for Alex.

She simply loved eating a lot.
The situation was as simple as this: She loved eating a lot.
OR, with the right intonation:

She absolutely loved eating a lot. / Eating a lot was clearly a passion of hers.

She loved simply eating a lot.
All it took to make her happy was to eat a lot.
The act of eating a lot was enough to make her feel very content.

I can't help but note that these seem very contrived, and I wonder what is to be gained by puzzling through them.

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

Thanks! I was going along the right path with Alex's reading, but our over-indulgent friend had me stumped a bit! They are odd questions, yes. The rest of the questions were very straight-forward and not a bit difficult, but those two....phew!

Again, thanks for the clarification.

Limiting misplaced modifiers

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