Always check that each verb you use has a clear subject and that each adverb you use modifies only one verb. Dangling modifiers indicate that you have lost control of the sentence, which then becomes either a train wreck or bad punch line.

Three Common Types of Dangling Modifiers

1. Dangling Participles
   In this situation, a participle is the –ing form of the verb, such as seeing, walking, or moving. A dangling participle results when this participle gets assigned to the wrong subject. Here is an example of a dangling participle:

   Dangling: After turning the corner, the statue appeared.
   Logically, statues cannot turn corners. This sentence needs a subject that says who is turning:
   Correct: After I turned the corner, the statue appeared.

2. Dangling Infinitives
   This situation follows the same patterns as for Dangling Participles, except in this case the culprit is an infinitive rather than a participle. Infinitives consist of to + verb, such as to see, to hear, and to touch. Here is an example of a dangling infinitive:

   Dangling: To appreciate Hamlet, a performance of it must be seen.
   Logically, a performance cannot appreciate itself, so fixing this problem requires assigning a subject to the infinitive:
   Correct: To appreciate Hamlet, you must see a performance of it.

3. Squinting Modifiers
   Squinting modifiers are so-called because they lie between two words that they could potentially modify; rather than looking in one direction, they "squint" in both and confuse the reader. Here is an example:

   Squinting: Patients who follow their doctors' advice often can improve their health.
   The reader cannot know whether it's the frequency of the seeking or the fact of the seeking that affects the patients' health. Here are the two possible solutions:
   Correct: Patients who often follow their doctors' advice can improve their health.
   Correct: Patients who follow their doctors' advice can often improve their health. Notice that these two sentences are completely different in meaning.

Remember: Dangling modifiers create bad sentence logic. Not only will you rescue your sentences from laughable or disastrous grammar when you fix the dangling modifiers, but you will also give more precision to your writing by naming the doer or agent of the action.

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