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Purdue OWL News for April 6, 2004
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The Purdue OWL Staff
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Apr 06, 2004 09:49 PDT
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The Purdue OWL News
April 6, 2004
Welcome to the Purdue OWL News!
The Purdue OWL News is an online newsletter about happenings in the
Purdue University Writing Lab and the Purdue University Online Writing
Lab (OWL). You can visit our website at
<http://owl.english.purdue.edu>. To subscribe to the newsletter, visit
<http://www.topica.com/lists/purdueowlnews/subscribe/>. To unsubscribe
from the newsletter, click on the link at the bottom of this email.
Writing Question of the Week
I would like to find out whether the phrase "standing so close to her
that she could feel the warmth of his breath on her neck" is a dangling
modifier in the following sentence:
Still, Susan's instincts seem correct, for otherwise, why would he have
waited until the two of them were alone before trying to explain the
enigmatic pairing of pleasure and pain in a fifteenth-century
manuscript, standing so close to her that she could feel the warmth of
his breath on her neck?
Should there, or should there not, be a "he" in the final phrase? Can
you give me any specific information on how to determine whether a
phrase is a dangling modifier?
Answer
Yes, the sentence you give as an example definitely has a dangling
modifier. According to the Prentice Hall Reference Guide to Grammar and
Usage, a dangling modifier is a word or word group that refers to (or
modifies) a word or phrase that has not been clearly stated in the
sentence or a word or a word group that has been placed in a sentence in
such a way that the noun which appears to be modified is not the actual
noun that should be modified. (A modifier by itself is a word or group
of words that describes, clarifies, or gives more detail about a
concept.) In the sentence above, the phrase "standing so close..."
appears to refer to the manuscript, not the person, and so the phrase is
a dangling modfier. Dangling modifiers can be fixed by revising the
structure of a sentence so that the subject of the action is close to
the modifier or in any way which clearly indicates which word is being
modified. For example, you might phrase your sentence like this:
Still, Susan's instincts seem correct, for otherwise, why would he have
waited until the two of them were alone, standing so close to her that
she could feel the warmth of his breath on her neck, before trying to
explain the enigmatic pairing of pleasure and pain in a
fifteenth-century manuscript?
In this rewording of the sentence, it's clear that the word being
modified is "Susan" (or her pronoun form) and not any other word in the
sentence. There are other possible re-wordings as well. We have more
information about dangling modifiers and how to fix them in our Dangling
Modifiers handout, available at
<http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_dangmod.html>.
The OWL Help Nest
Each week we'll publish a request for advice or information. If you wish
to contribute a response to the topic, please write to us at
owln-@owl.english.purdue.edu. Please let us know if you want us to
include your name and/or your email address when we publish your
information or advice. The following week, we'll publish the best
information and advice that we receive in the newsletter. If you have a
question for our readers, please send it to us at
<owln-@owl.english.purdue.edu>.
Last Week's Question
Although it may seem a little strange, and similarly, I wish to extend
my knowledge regarding the usage of "another". Do we say "another one"?
And if we do, does it make sense grammatically and practically as well.
Kindly enlighten me.
Answer to Last Week's Question
Before using "another" or "another one" in any sentence, it would
probably be good if the reader knows what the "other" may be. If you
have properly introduced "electronic circuit" as your subject, then it
would be acceptable to use either, "... due to it's failure, try testing
another" or "... due to it's failure, try testing another one." In the
latter instance, "one" simply is a referent of "electronic circuit."
If you want to refer to "an other", then "another" works well. The word
"other" may be modified in other ways, though, when you are willing to
name the "other." You could say, "Some other person is available to help
you." -- Donn Coon
Additional Responses to Previous Questions
We've had a lot of additional resposnes to our question on the usage of
to and too. Here are just a few.
I have always used "too" to indicate amount. Examples are too far, too
low,too much or too many. I also use it to indicate an added amount as
in "I will go, too" (an added amount or number). The test for this use
is: "Is it a substitute for 'also' " on the original amount. The word
"to" indicates direction as the opposite of away from. As: "Go to the
woodshed, not away from it". We can be opposed TO incorrect use of the
wood "too", meaning we turn away from that usage and go in the opposite
direction. The word "to" is also used as part of a verb that is usually
only assumed in the English language. An example is: I do not WANT TO
(verb part) go TO (direction) the woodshed when my father is TOO
(amount) angry about the rear fender on his car after I backed inTO
(direction) the garage TOO (amount) fast. I hope this helps clear up
some of the problem. It is just the way I have always used these TWO
(substitute for a number) words. -- Betty Nye Lendway
This is one of the most confusing parts of learning the English
language, the similarities in terms. This happens phonetically as well
as graphically. In the present case, the two words are affected by both
situations. To (one o) usually works as a preposition indicating
direction: Let's go to the restaurant; Maria wrote to me last week. It
is usually seen as a natural component of infinitive verbs: We like to
work; they need to study; etc. In collocations, the word to is a never
forgotten guest of two word verbs, three word verbs, and several
expressions: Can't you listen to me?; We're looking forward to meeting
the new members; she can't wait to see her future husband, etc. Too
(double o) is frequently found performing two functions. First it serves
as the equivalent of very when describing an extreme situation: That cup
of coffee is too hot to drink; don't stand too close to me; etc. And it
also indicates similar conditions: You look tired, I must look tired,
too. You got a 4x4. I got a 4x4, too. It is necessary to point out that
eventhough their graphical appeareance and phonological presence are
approxinated, their functions are not. Their contextual meanings are
very different and should be distinguished without much confusion. --
Jorge David Murillo Landin
This Week's Questions
As far as I know the standard US English date format is
"month-day-year", while the standard British English date format is
"day-month-year". But then I was wondering if a section of the American
public might not be using the "day-month-year" format too. Or is this
completely ruled out by American usage? Could you please comment on this
issue or direct me to a Web resource?
I have a doubt about vocabulary: if the person who contacts someone by
letter is called a "penpal," I'm wondering how I should entitle the ones
who do the same thing by e-mail. Please clarify it for me!
What's Happening On OWL
OWL Eye on... Writing Across the Curriculum
We have many resources available for teachers who are using writing in
different courses, including a bibliography of resources for writing in
nursing. Visit our Writing Across the Curriculum section to learn more!
Writing Across the Curriculum and Writing in the Disciplines
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/WAC/
Annotated Bibliographies for WAC, WID, and Writing to Learn
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/WAC/bibintro.html
What's Happening in the Writing Lab
OWL Eye on ... Teaching and Learning With Technology Showcase
The Writing Lab will be participating in Purdue's annual Teaching and
Learning With Technology Showcase on April 14 and April 15. Stop by the
third floor of the Stewart Center and visit our booth! We'll have
pencils, bookmarks, and new Writing Lab post-it notes.
Upcoming In-Lab Workshops
Tuesday, April 6, 3:30 p.m: PowerPoint Presentations
Wednesday, April 7, 12:00 p.m: Organizing Your Argument
Tuesday, April 13, 3:30 p.m: Cover Letters
Wednesday, April 14, 12:00 p.m: Visual Rhetoric (held in the Digital
Learning Collaboratory in Hicks Library)
Final Thoughts
Thanks for reading our newsletter. You can email us at any time at
owln-@owl.english.purdue.edu. You can also email the OWL coordinator,
Karl Stolley, at <coordi-@owl.english.purdue.edu> and the webmaster,
Erin Karper, at <webma-@owl.english.purdue.edu>. (Erin and Karl take
turns writing the newsletter.)
If you received this newsletter as a forward and would like to get your
own subscription, visit
<http://www.topica.com/lists/purdueowlnews/subscribe/> to subscribe.
This newsletter is copyright (c) 2004 the Purdue University Writing Lab
and Purdue University. Purdue's OWL is located at
<http://owl.english.purdue.edu>.
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