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Questions tagged [modifiers]

Questions about modifiers.

308 questions
8
votes
3 answers

What's large about the Large Hadron Collider?

In Connolly's "The Gates", the narrator says, rather superciliously, "The Large Hadron Collider is, as the name suggests, large." I realised that I had always thought of it as the (Large Hadron) Collider, since its goal is to discover extremely…
LSpice
  • 409
5
votes
2 answers

Can I use an adjective as a modifier at the beginning of a sentence?

For instance, Angry, I smashed his head into the wall Or should it be Angrily, I smashed his head into the wall
Yousef Amr
  • 79
5
votes
5 answers

"Weapon platform" or "weapons platform"?

For a game I need an "orbital weapon platform"/"orbital weapons platform" and wonder which one is correct, or sounds better for an English native speaker.
user5546
4
votes
4 answers

What is the role of phrase "as many as" in "... as many as five commands ..."?

I have a sentence as follows: You may need as many as five commands to draw a simple triangle when using the basic layer. My question is: Is the phrase "as many as" crucial ? Will the meaning change if I remove it from the sentence? Does the…
Display Name
  • 1,935
4
votes
1 answer

Distinguish between verb+ing as Noun and as Adjective

Verb-ing words can function as nouns, adjective and verbs. Growing plants is my hobby. Growing plants in your back yard need more care. I am growing aromatic plants in my garden. In the first sentence, “growing” is a noun, in the second, it’s…
Saurabh Kumar
  • 143
3
votes
0 answers

Does the dangling modifier thing apply?

I have a persistent question concerning grammar that I would really like your help on. It has been nagging me for a long time. So, as we all know, if you start a sentence with -ing, the first word of the following phrase/clause has to be the subject…
Janet Leung
  • 31
3
votes
2 answers

When do introductory adverbs modify the entire sentence?

I have a sentence that begins with the word "today" and a sentence that begins with "frankly." My style guide says to add commas after introductory adverbs when they modify the entire clause after it, but I'm having trouble deciding when it does.…
Tim
  • 109
2
votes
2 answers

Article word referencing problem

I often have problem with hanging modifiers. In the sentence: This project's vision follows from its predecessor's. Is the reference "its" referring to the project or the vision? My intention is to refer the word "its" to the project. But I am not…
xenon
  • 1,623
2
votes
1 answer

Use of “as” in adverbial introductory phrase

Isn't this incorrect: As a young boy his family moved … Isn't this saying the the family moved as (when) it was young. A comma after boy fixes it, I believe, but it still seems a misplaced or faulty modifier.
Joan
  • 21
2
votes
1 answer

Than as modifier

In this sentence, does "than his father" modify the entire phrase "better player"? He was a better player than his father.
Jake
  • 41
2
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1 answer

Adverb and adjective modifier

In this sentence, does really good modify player or does just good modify player? "He is a really good player."
Jim
  • 87
2
votes
2 answers

What's the difference between a dangling modifier and a gerund phrase?

This was the first sentence of a New York Times article: Petro O. Poroshenko, a pro-European billionaire confectioner, was sworn in on Saturday as the fifth president of Ukraine, promising to put an end to a separatist insurrection in the east that…
user1411469
  • 267
1
vote
1 answer

Can the adjective phrase ‘so powerful’ be a postmodifier?

When I saw this sentence first, I thought so powerful to be an objective complement. [ ‘so powerful’ is the result of ‘make’] But now, it may be more reasonable to think ‘so powerful’ is modifying ‘a sleeping potion.’ Can the adjective phrase ‘so…
Listenever
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1
vote
1 answer

Is the comma needed in "additional, custom apps"?

I saw the phrase "additional, custom apps." Is the comma correct? Or would you delete the comma: "... additional custom apps ..." The whole sentence is a bit complex, so I'll give a simplified version: Customers and partners can improve the…
debbiesym
  • 1,044
1
vote
1 answer

two groups of 10 male volunteers

The subjects were two groups of 10 male volunteers sealed into a mock spaceship for two simulated flights to Mars. （source：https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-04/mdcf-mcf041117.php ） I have a quesiton here. Does "two groups of 10 male…
IHAI
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