A question on modifiers
"Voldemort turned his scarlet eyes upon Harry, laughing a high, cold, mirthless laugh."
Grammatically, the sentence is implying that Harry is laughing, right? I was reviewing modifiers, and the rule stated that a modifier must be placed near the word it modifies.
How about..."Voldemort, turning his scarlet eyes upon Harry, laughed a high, cold, mirthless laugh."
grammar
asked 18 hours ago
austingae
1043
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add a comment |
"Voldemort turned his scarlet eyes upon Harry, laughing a high, cold, mirthless laugh."
Grammatically, the sentence is implying that Harry is laughing, right? I was reviewing modifiers, and the rule stated that a modifier must be placed near the word it modifies.
How about..."Voldemort, turning his scarlet eyes upon Harry, laughed a high, cold, mirthless laugh."
grammar
asked 18 hours ago
austingae
1043
New contributor
austingae is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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1
It was Voldemort who laughed. If the sentence had meant to indicate it was Harry who laughed, it could be written this way: Voldemort turned his scarlet eyes upon Harry, who laughed a high, cold, mirthless laugh. Modifiers and pronouns are generally closest to what they modify—but they certainly don't have to be. It's just an overall principle that helps avoid misinterpretation.
– Jason Bassford
17 hours ago
1
Voldemort has cast the dread Super Monte Determinatio, one of the more peculiar befuddlement spells and potions.
– Phil Sweet
15 hours ago
add a comment |
"Voldemort turned his scarlet eyes upon Harry, laughing a high, cold, mirthless laugh."
Grammatically, the sentence is implying that Harry is laughing, right? I was reviewing modifiers, and the rule stated that a modifier must be placed near the word it modifies.
How about..."Voldemort, turning his scarlet eyes upon Harry, laughed a high, cold, mirthless laugh."
grammar
asked 18 hours ago
austingae
1043
New contributor
austingae is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
"Voldemort turned his scarlet eyes upon Harry, laughing a high, cold, mirthless laugh."
Grammatically, the sentence is implying that Harry is laughing, right? I was reviewing modifiers, and the rule stated that a modifier must be placed near the word it modifies.
How about..."Voldemort, turning his scarlet eyes upon Harry, laughed a high, cold, mirthless laugh."
grammar
grammar
asked 18 hours ago
austingae
1043
New contributor
austingae is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 18 hours ago
austingae
1043
New contributor
austingae is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 18 hours ago
austingae
1043
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asked 18 hours ago
austingae
1043
asked 18 hours ago
austingae
1043
1043
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austingae is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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1
It was Voldemort who laughed. If the sentence had meant to indicate it was Harry who laughed, it could be written this way: Voldemort turned his scarlet eyes upon Harry, who laughed a high, cold, mirthless laugh. Modifiers and pronouns are generally closest to what they modify—but they certainly don't have to be. It's just an overall principle that helps avoid misinterpretation.
– Jason Bassford
17 hours ago
1
Voldemort has cast the dread Super Monte Determinatio, one of the more peculiar befuddlement spells and potions.
– Phil Sweet
15 hours ago
add a comment |
1
It was Voldemort who laughed. If the sentence had meant to indicate it was Harry who laughed, it could be written this way: Voldemort turned his scarlet eyes upon Harry, who laughed a high, cold, mirthless laugh. Modifiers and pronouns are generally closest to what they modify—but they certainly don't have to be. It's just an overall principle that helps avoid misinterpretation.
– Jason Bassford
17 hours ago
1
Voldemort has cast the dread Super Monte Determinatio, one of the more peculiar befuddlement spells and potions.
– Phil Sweet
15 hours ago
1
1
It was Voldemort who laughed. If the sentence had meant to indicate it was Harry who laughed, it could be written this way: Voldemort turned his scarlet eyes upon Harry, who laughed a high, cold, mirthless laugh. Modifiers and pronouns are generally closest to what they modify—but they certainly don't have to be. It's just an overall principle that helps avoid misinterpretation.
– Jason Bassford
17 hours ago
It was Voldemort who laughed. If the sentence had meant to indicate it was Harry who laughed, it could be written this way: Voldemort turned his scarlet eyes upon Harry, who laughed a high, cold, mirthless laugh. Modifiers and pronouns are generally closest to what they modify—but they certainly don't have to be. It's just an overall principle that helps avoid misinterpretation.
– Jason Bassford
17 hours ago
1
1
Voldemort has cast the dread Super Monte Determinatio, one of the more peculiar befuddlement spells and potions.
– Phil Sweet
15 hours ago
Voldemort has cast the dread Super Monte Determinatio, one of the more peculiar befuddlement spells and potions.
– Phil Sweet
15 hours ago
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
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oldest
votes
I would like to start by saying if some form of literature told you that it must be near the word it is modifying... it is wrong. There can be many cases of this not being true.
First lets deconstruct this sentence to its basic components.
Subject - Voldemort - He is performing the action.
Action verb - turned - That is what Voldemort is doing.
*Object - "his scarlet eyes" - really "eyes" are the object and "his" & "scarlet" are modifiers.
Prepositional phrase - "upon Harry" - upon is a preposition with its object being harry.
So here is where you have to understand that harry is an object of upon. Objects cannot perform actions only subjects can. Example "He ran to the store that caught on fire", The "store" caught nothing, the store is an object of what "he" ran to, in this case "that" is the subject. This is why harry is not the one laughing in this sentence, but why is Voldemort?
Because of that comma, it separates the sentence into its independent and dependent clauses. "Voldemort turned his scarlet eyes upon Harry." is completely fine by itself. "laughing a high, cold, mirthless laugh." NO NO NO NO there is no subject here therefore this is a sentence fragment and incorrect! so this fragment depends on the first part. It has a predicate, all it needs is a subject. The only subject available to it is Voldemort as Harry, even if close, is an object therefore cannot take on a predicate.
I hope that helped. Please if you have any questions then ask. you have a wonderful day!
answered 18 hours ago
robert gibson
563
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robert gibson is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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So...the sentence is not grammatically correct; however, the object cannot contain a predicate, therefore the predicate refers to the subject?
– austingae
17 hours ago
1
@austingae Oh no! sorry if I made you assume the sentence was incorrect. The whole point was to show you the sentence is correct! Sorry for failing you. Yes, objects cannot have a predicate, so yes that predicate is referring to the only subject which is Voldemort.
– robert gibson
17 hours ago
I also believe Voldemort is the one laughing, but you wouldn't want to use the term "predicate" in referring to "laughing" because "laughing" is a participle here (basically, a verbal adjective) that is modifying either Voldemort or Harry. Because Voldemort is the subject of the sentence and the way the sentence reads, I am inclined with you to apply the participle to him as well. If the sentence read, "Voldemort turned his eyes on Harry, shivering in the corner" I'd probably think "shivering" would be modifying Harry, instead.
– Joseph O.
17 hours ago
1
@joseph Thank you for the correction, I realize my mistake with the naming. On the subject of assuming. I that would be more a quirk of the English language rather than a grammatical mistake. I would say the author should have just restructured the sentence.
– robert gibson
17 hours ago
Are you sure? Consider “Harry saw Sally giving her dog a new bone.” What do you think the subject of giving is there, Harry or Sally? What do you imagine the object of saw to be here?
– tchrist♦
13 hours ago
|
show 4 more comments
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I would like to start by saying if some form of literature told you that it must be near the word it is modifying... it is wrong. There can be many cases of this not being true.
First lets deconstruct this sentence to its basic components.
Subject - Voldemort - He is performing the action.
Action verb - turned - That is what Voldemort is doing.
*Object - "his scarlet eyes" - really "eyes" are the object and "his" & "scarlet" are modifiers.
Prepositional phrase - "upon Harry" - upon is a preposition with its object being harry.
So here is where you have to understand that harry is an object of upon. Objects cannot perform actions only subjects can. Example "He ran to the store that caught on fire", The "store" caught nothing, the store is an object of what "he" ran to, in this case "that" is the subject. This is why harry is not the one laughing in this sentence, but why is Voldemort?
Because of that comma, it separates the sentence into its independent and dependent clauses. "Voldemort turned his scarlet eyes upon Harry." is completely fine by itself. "laughing a high, cold, mirthless laugh." NO NO NO NO there is no subject here therefore this is a sentence fragment and incorrect! so this fragment depends on the first part. It has a predicate, all it needs is a subject. The only subject available to it is Voldemort as Harry, even if close, is an object therefore cannot take on a predicate.
I hope that helped. Please if you have any questions then ask. you have a wonderful day!
answered 18 hours ago
robert gibson
563
New contributor
robert gibson is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
So...the sentence is not grammatically correct; however, the object cannot contain a predicate, therefore the predicate refers to the subject?
– austingae
17 hours ago
1
@austingae Oh no! sorry if I made you assume the sentence was incorrect. The whole point was to show you the sentence is correct! Sorry for failing you. Yes, objects cannot have a predicate, so yes that predicate is referring to the only subject which is Voldemort.
– robert gibson
17 hours ago
I also believe Voldemort is the one laughing, but you wouldn't want to use the term "predicate" in referring to "laughing" because "laughing" is a participle here (basically, a verbal adjective) that is modifying either Voldemort or Harry. Because Voldemort is the subject of the sentence and the way the sentence reads, I am inclined with you to apply the participle to him as well. If the sentence read, "Voldemort turned his eyes on Harry, shivering in the corner" I'd probably think "shivering" would be modifying Harry, instead.
– Joseph O.
17 hours ago
1
@joseph Thank you for the correction, I realize my mistake with the naming. On the subject of assuming. I that would be more a quirk of the English language rather than a grammatical mistake. I would say the author should have just restructured the sentence.
– robert gibson
17 hours ago
Are you sure? Consider “Harry saw Sally giving her dog a new bone.” What do you think the subject of giving is there, Harry or Sally? What do you imagine the object of saw to be here?
– tchrist♦
13 hours ago
|
show 4 more comments
I would like to start by saying if some form of literature told you that it must be near the word it is modifying... it is wrong. There can be many cases of this not being true.
First lets deconstruct this sentence to its basic components.
Subject - Voldemort - He is performing the action.
Action verb - turned - That is what Voldemort is doing.
*Object - "his scarlet eyes" - really "eyes" are the object and "his" & "scarlet" are modifiers.
Prepositional phrase - "upon Harry" - upon is a preposition with its object being harry.
So here is where you have to understand that harry is an object of upon. Objects cannot perform actions only subjects can. Example "He ran to the store that caught on fire", The "store" caught nothing, the store is an object of what "he" ran to, in this case "that" is the subject. This is why harry is not the one laughing in this sentence, but why is Voldemort?
Because of that comma, it separates the sentence into its independent and dependent clauses. "Voldemort turned his scarlet eyes upon Harry." is completely fine by itself. "laughing a high, cold, mirthless laugh." NO NO NO NO there is no subject here therefore this is a sentence fragment and incorrect! so this fragment depends on the first part. It has a predicate, all it needs is a subject. The only subject available to it is Voldemort as Harry, even if close, is an object therefore cannot take on a predicate.
I hope that helped. Please if you have any questions then ask. you have a wonderful day!
answered 18 hours ago
robert gibson
563
New contributor
robert gibson is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
So...the sentence is not grammatically correct; however, the object cannot contain a predicate, therefore the predicate refers to the subject?
– austingae
17 hours ago
1
@austingae Oh no! sorry if I made you assume the sentence was incorrect. The whole point was to show you the sentence is correct! Sorry for failing you. Yes, objects cannot have a predicate, so yes that predicate is referring to the only subject which is Voldemort.
– robert gibson
17 hours ago
I also believe Voldemort is the one laughing, but you wouldn't want to use the term "predicate" in referring to "laughing" because "laughing" is a participle here (basically, a verbal adjective) that is modifying either Voldemort or Harry. Because Voldemort is the subject of the sentence and the way the sentence reads, I am inclined with you to apply the participle to him as well. If the sentence read, "Voldemort turned his eyes on Harry, shivering in the corner" I'd probably think "shivering" would be modifying Harry, instead.
– Joseph O.
17 hours ago
1
@joseph Thank you for the correction, I realize my mistake with the naming. On the subject of assuming. I that would be more a quirk of the English language rather than a grammatical mistake. I would say the author should have just restructured the sentence.
– robert gibson
17 hours ago
Are you sure? Consider “Harry saw Sally giving her dog a new bone.” What do you think the subject of giving is there, Harry or Sally? What do you imagine the object of saw to be here?
– tchrist♦
13 hours ago
|
show 4 more comments
I would like to start by saying if some form of literature told you that it must be near the word it is modifying... it is wrong. There can be many cases of this not being true.
First lets deconstruct this sentence to its basic components.
Subject - Voldemort - He is performing the action.
Action verb - turned - That is what Voldemort is doing.
*Object - "his scarlet eyes" - really "eyes" are the object and "his" & "scarlet" are modifiers.
Prepositional phrase - "upon Harry" - upon is a preposition with its object being harry.
So here is where you have to understand that harry is an object of upon. Objects cannot perform actions only subjects can. Example "He ran to the store that caught on fire", The "store" caught nothing, the store is an object of what "he" ran to, in this case "that" is the subject. This is why harry is not the one laughing in this sentence, but why is Voldemort?
Because of that comma, it separates the sentence into its independent and dependent clauses. "Voldemort turned his scarlet eyes upon Harry." is completely fine by itself. "laughing a high, cold, mirthless laugh." NO NO NO NO there is no subject here therefore this is a sentence fragment and incorrect! so this fragment depends on the first part. It has a predicate, all it needs is a subject. The only subject available to it is Voldemort as Harry, even if close, is an object therefore cannot take on a predicate.
I hope that helped. Please if you have any questions then ask. you have a wonderful day!
answered 18 hours ago
robert gibson
563
New contributor
robert gibson is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
I would like to start by saying if some form of literature told you that it must be near the word it is modifying... it is wrong. There can be many cases of this not being true.
First lets deconstruct this sentence to its basic components.
Subject - Voldemort - He is performing the action.
Action verb - turned - That is what Voldemort is doing.
*Object - "his scarlet eyes" - really "eyes" are the object and "his" & "scarlet" are modifiers.
Prepositional phrase - "upon Harry" - upon is a preposition with its object being harry.
So here is where you have to understand that harry is an object of upon. Objects cannot perform actions only subjects can. Example "He ran to the store that caught on fire", The "store" caught nothing, the store is an object of what "he" ran to, in this case "that" is the subject. This is why harry is not the one laughing in this sentence, but why is Voldemort?
Because of that comma, it separates the sentence into its independent and dependent clauses. "Voldemort turned his scarlet eyes upon Harry." is completely fine by itself. "laughing a high, cold, mirthless laugh." NO NO NO NO there is no subject here therefore this is a sentence fragment and incorrect! so this fragment depends on the first part. It has a predicate, all it needs is a subject. The only subject available to it is Voldemort as Harry, even if close, is an object therefore cannot take on a predicate.
I hope that helped. Please if you have any questions then ask. you have a wonderful day!
answered 18 hours ago
robert gibson
563
New contributor
robert gibson is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered 18 hours ago
robert gibson
563
New contributor
robert gibson is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered 18 hours ago
robert gibson
563
answered 18 hours ago
robert gibson
563
563
New contributor
robert gibson is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
robert gibson is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
robert gibson is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
So...the sentence is not grammatically correct; however, the object cannot contain a predicate, therefore the predicate refers to the subject?
– austingae
17 hours ago
1
@austingae Oh no! sorry if I made you assume the sentence was incorrect. The whole point was to show you the sentence is correct! Sorry for failing you. Yes, objects cannot have a predicate, so yes that predicate is referring to the only subject which is Voldemort.
– robert gibson
17 hours ago
I also believe Voldemort is the one laughing, but you wouldn't want to use the term "predicate" in referring to "laughing" because "laughing" is a participle here (basically, a verbal adjective) that is modifying either Voldemort or Harry. Because Voldemort is the subject of the sentence and the way the sentence reads, I am inclined with you to apply the participle to him as well. If the sentence read, "Voldemort turned his eyes on Harry, shivering in the corner" I'd probably think "shivering" would be modifying Harry, instead.
– Joseph O.
17 hours ago
1
@joseph Thank you for the correction, I realize my mistake with the naming. On the subject of assuming. I that would be more a quirk of the English language rather than a grammatical mistake. I would say the author should have just restructured the sentence.
– robert gibson
17 hours ago
Are you sure? Consider “Harry saw Sally giving her dog a new bone.” What do you think the subject of giving is there, Harry or Sally? What do you imagine the object of saw to be here?
– tchrist♦
13 hours ago
|
show 4 more comments
So...the sentence is not grammatically correct; however, the object cannot contain a predicate, therefore the predicate refers to the subject?
– austingae
17 hours ago
1
@austingae Oh no! sorry if I made you assume the sentence was incorrect. The whole point was to show you the sentence is correct! Sorry for failing you. Yes, objects cannot have a predicate, so yes that predicate is referring to the only subject which is Voldemort.
– robert gibson
17 hours ago
I also believe Voldemort is the one laughing, but you wouldn't want to use the term "predicate" in referring to "laughing" because "laughing" is a participle here (basically, a verbal adjective) that is modifying either Voldemort or Harry. Because Voldemort is the subject of the sentence and the way the sentence reads, I am inclined with you to apply the participle to him as well. If the sentence read, "Voldemort turned his eyes on Harry, shivering in the corner" I'd probably think "shivering" would be modifying Harry, instead.
– Joseph O.
17 hours ago
1
@joseph Thank you for the correction, I realize my mistake with the naming. On the subject of assuming. I that would be more a quirk of the English language rather than a grammatical mistake. I would say the author should have just restructured the sentence.
– robert gibson
17 hours ago
Are you sure? Consider “Harry saw Sally giving her dog a new bone.” What do you think the subject of giving is there, Harry or Sally? What do you imagine the object of saw to be here?
– tchrist♦
13 hours ago
So...the sentence is not grammatically correct; however, the object cannot contain a predicate, therefore the predicate refers to the subject?
– austingae
17 hours ago
So...the sentence is not grammatically correct; however, the object cannot contain a predicate, therefore the predicate refers to the subject?
– austingae
17 hours ago
1
1
@austingae Oh no! sorry if I made you assume the sentence was incorrect. The whole point was to show you the sentence is correct! Sorry for failing you. Yes, objects cannot have a predicate, so yes that predicate is referring to the only subject which is Voldemort.
– robert gibson
17 hours ago
@austingae Oh no! sorry if I made you assume the sentence was incorrect. The whole point was to show you the sentence is correct! Sorry for failing you. Yes, objects cannot have a predicate, so yes that predicate is referring to the only subject which is Voldemort.
– robert gibson
17 hours ago
I also believe Voldemort is the one laughing, but you wouldn't want to use the term "predicate" in referring to "laughing" because "laughing" is a participle here (basically, a verbal adjective) that is modifying either Voldemort or Harry. Because Voldemort is the subject of the sentence and the way the sentence reads, I am inclined with you to apply the participle to him as well. If the sentence read, "Voldemort turned his eyes on Harry, shivering in the corner" I'd probably think "shivering" would be modifying Harry, instead.
– Joseph O.
17 hours ago
I also believe Voldemort is the one laughing, but you wouldn't want to use the term "predicate" in referring to "laughing" because "laughing" is a participle here (basically, a verbal adjective) that is modifying either Voldemort or Harry. Because Voldemort is the subject of the sentence and the way the sentence reads, I am inclined with you to apply the participle to him as well. If the sentence read, "Voldemort turned his eyes on Harry, shivering in the corner" I'd probably think "shivering" would be modifying Harry, instead.
– Joseph O.
17 hours ago
1
1
@joseph Thank you for the correction, I realize my mistake with the naming. On the subject of assuming. I that would be more a quirk of the English language rather than a grammatical mistake. I would say the author should have just restructured the sentence.
– robert gibson
17 hours ago
@joseph Thank you for the correction, I realize my mistake with the naming. On the subject of assuming. I that would be more a quirk of the English language rather than a grammatical mistake. I would say the author should have just restructured the sentence.
– robert gibson
17 hours ago
Are you sure? Consider “Harry saw Sally giving her dog a new bone.” What do you think the subject of giving is there, Harry or Sally? What do you imagine the object of saw to be here?
– tchrist♦
13 hours ago
Are you sure? Consider “Harry saw Sally giving her dog a new bone.” What do you think the subject of giving is there, Harry or Sally? What do you imagine the object of saw to be here?
– tchrist♦
13 hours ago
|
show 4 more comments
austingae is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
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It was Voldemort who laughed. If the sentence had meant to indicate it was Harry who laughed, it could be written this way: Voldemort turned his scarlet eyes upon Harry, who laughed a high, cold, mirthless laugh. Modifiers and pronouns are generally closest to what they modify—but they certainly don't have to be. It's just an overall principle that helps avoid misinterpretation.
– Jason Bassford
17 hours ago
1
Voldemort has cast the dread Super Monte Determinatio, one of the more peculiar befuddlement spells and potions.
– Phil Sweet
15 hours ago