Book Events
December 01 to December 31 ALL GOOD CHILDREN BY CATHERINE AUSTEN appears HERE. If you want a free copy and are in the US or Canada check out this giveaway–10 free books. Lasts until November 30 only! Hurry.
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New Books
Today I have three new ones that look yummy.
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| Break From You, Rebecca Green Gasper |
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| Outcast, Susan Oloier |
Neverlove – For Abigail and Basil, there is a choice they both fear making. Duty or love? There can be only one.
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Her Grammarness
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| The Prescriptive Hat |
I promised I’d go into those dangling modifiers, so here goes. First, please don’t dangle. It’s horrible when you do. And the results are A) confusing B) downright comical. So if you’re not aiming to confuse the heck out of your reader or to send them fits, ROFL, get those references as close to what they’re modifying as possible.
When Princess Stargazer smashed the bottle of champagne against the hull of the sailing ship, she slipped down the runway at high speed and splashed into the water. [That had to be quite a sight, don’t you think?]
Vengeance and bitterness can be emotionally destructive to our kids. You must get rid of them. [This might appeal to some parents.]
“Don’t ever park your sleigh at a taxi stand, Santa, or it will be towed away!” [And should Santa care?]
In addition to being fond of lobsters, like you, she’s a connoisseur of oysters. [Oops. End of friendship.]
So here’s how to NOT write a sentence with modifiers that are confused about what they’re modifying. Put the modifier as close to the noun or pronoun as possible. Change the punctuation. When in doubt re-write that sentence.
How would you fix these? Found any sentences similar to these in books lately? I have. ๐
NEXT THURSDAY: THE TEST!
Great set of books…nice of you to give them some air time! and I am glad you are tackling the grammar snafus!
Those dangling modifiers add up to a lot of confusion.
Thanks for sharing these books with us. ๐
What beautiful books! I especially love the cover of Break From You- so pretty. Great grammar lesson. I do my be to not dangle- but it does happen sometimes. Usually catch them during edits (hopefully). I do see them in the books I am reading and notice when I have to reread to make sure I understand. The lobster example is my favorite. ๐
~Stephanie
Those look like good books! Thanks for the grammar tips. I should look at my writing and see if I have any dangling modifiers.
Hi Lee – love these dangling danglers – I corrected one earlier on and hadn't realised the name for them.
Great set of books … so pleased they're getting an outing here .. cheers Hilary
connoisseur of oysters?!?!?! ๐
Having read this post, I am thinking that a dangling modifier can at times be awesome, if only because it can make me laugh!
Lots of great books. ๐
I wish I had lobster friends, but if I did I 'd have eaten them.
So far the "lobster" sentence seems to provoke the most laughter and Princess Stargazer gets the prize for evoking the most sympathy!
Great comments. Thanks.
For some reason, I thought a dangling modifier was a line ending in "to," "from" or "with." I guess those are prepositions, and I dangle prepositions all the time! Luckily, I do not dangle modifiers.
Your examples and comments were hilarious! Great post! ๐
I see them all the time. Luckily I don't hold a pen while reading!
Oysters?? Nope. LOL
Whoa…check out all those amazing books!! Thanks for the heads up.
@Rebecca and Susan – So cool to be featured at the same time ๐
@Lauren – Yeah, poor Princess Stargazer ๐
@Elizabeth – Yeah, the little ones are becoming interesting little rascals indeed
@Barbara – I agree.
@Natalie – Thanks to Her Grammarness, I can get a bit of a grammar touch up ๐
@Candilynn – So glad you're enjoying Neverlove and I also love that book trailer for Alligators Overhead ๐
@Romance Reader – Do have fun checking out the books ๐
@Gwen – I kinda snorted a few times reading the examples of the dangling modifiers loL!
Lovely books by lovely ladies! Funny dangling modifiers you got there…
Thanks for these book recommendations. They all sound good. I'm off to check them out again …
Thank you for the lesson, your Grammarness! I'm reading the ebook version of Neverlove. I'm at 91% and almost finished. Loving it. Also, great book trailer up there for Alligators Overhead. ๐
This is definitely something I have to work on. I probably need a grammar refresher course. Thanks.
Yep. When in doubt, rewrite that sentence.
I think they meant the one about the kids. It is the Christmas season and the little rascals are getting hyper.
More than two commas is a danger sign, and pronouns…yeek! Because of that one misplaced pronoun, Princess Stargazer got wet!
Lauren
Thanks for the mention today. It is an honor to be with Angela, too. Her book definitely deals with tough issues, as well. I highly recommend it.
Thank you for the book mention. And great to meet you!
Thanks for the book mention. YAY! Glad to be with Susan and Rebecca because it happens that all three books deal with sensitive subjects as well.
and Ref: Vengeance and bitterness can be emotionally destructive to our kids. You must get rid of them. [This might appeal to some parents.]
Yeah, that one has a certain appeal lol!!
Fond of lobsters like you – funny!