So, how do we rewrite that sentence? We don’t want the phrase “as a boy” to be qualified by the term “grandmother.” Let’s try this – “When I was a boy, my grandmother used to read to me.” That works. The phrase “when I was a boy” is followed immediately by “my,” the proper pronoun for boy instead of grandmother.
Thanks for this, Chris. And I’ve appreciated all your other messages, political and otherwise, over the years. I hope you have several more books in you.
As an editor, fixing misplaced modifiers in others' works is tough for me because I worry they'll feel I'm changing their voice, but as this post shows, it's simply necessary. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Lauren,
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree. I'm also an editor, so I face the same dilemma. It's critical not to change the voice, tone, or message of the writer, but we have to do the dirty work when the sentence is misleading (and laughable, in this case).
Take care. Sigrid