What is a misplaced modifier?

A misplaced modifier occurs when a descriptive word or phrase is positioned in the sentence in such a way that it creates confusion about what is being modified. This misplacement often leads to a humorous or nonsensical interpretation of the sentence. By placing a modifier in the wrong part of the sentence, it can appear to modify the wrong word or phrase, thus affecting the clarity of the intended meaning. For example, in the sentence "She almost drove her kids to school every day," the modifier "almost" is misleading, as it implies that she did not actually drive her kids, when the intent may have been to indicate that she nearly did so. This highlights how critical the correct placement of modifiers is for accurate communication.

Modifiers placed at the end of a sentence do not inherently create misplaced modifiers, as they can be correctly positioned based on the sentence structure. Additionally, a modifier that correctly clarifies its subject would not qualify as misplaced, as it serves its intended purpose. A type of conjunction does not relate to the concept of misplaced modifiers at all, as it pertains to grammatical functions used to connect clauses or phrases.