Which sentence contains a dangling modifier? Which sentence contains a misplaced modifier?

Which sentence contains a dangling modifier?

When a tornado is near, people realize the importance of having a storm shelter.

Having seen the Statue of Liberty, the Grand Canyon is more impressive.

If a student does not know the meaning of a word, a dictionary can be useful.

The lights in the mansion turned off as we passed by the front gate.

Which sentence contains a misplaced modifier?

My uncle served steaks on paper plates to his coworkers.

The dog catcher said he would return our dog on Saturday.

The waiter served a burnt piece of toast to the man.

My aunt is coming home for the holidays who lives in New York.

1 Answer
May 10, 2018

dangling modifier: Statue of Liberty.
misplaced modifier: Aunt, New York.

Explanation:

The person who saw the Statue of Liberty is not expressed in the sentence, making the modifier "dangling", or not clearly connected to anyone in particular. It could be interpreted that it was the Grand Canyon that saw the Statue, and that makes no sense.

The modifier "who lives in New York" seems to refer to the holidays, but it actually refers to the aunt. The modifier should be placed closer to "aunt" in order to make the meaning clear.