Is this a dangling modifier?

Question

Was just reading The $100 Startup and came across this sentence:

Happily, the launch was successful.

Is this a dangling modifier (not sure if that's what it's called)? Or some other error? It seems to me that it's the launch here in the sentence that's going about its business happily, not the author.

"Happily (for me/ for everyone), the launch was successful." -- Ellipsis? :) — Kris, Dec 08 '13 at 14:04
You might look at these questions: http://english.stackexchange.com/q/1521 http://english.stackexchange.com/q/21532 http://english.stackexchange.com/q/24031 — tchrist, Dec 08 '13 at 14:20

score 3 · Answer 1 · answered Dec 08 '13 at 13:53

3

It’s a disjunct, also known as a sentence adverb, which expresses the attitude of the writer towards the event described. It is not an error.

answered Dec 08 '13 at 13:53

Barrie England

140,205

Is this a dangling modifier?

1 Answers1