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Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread Squinting modifier #196749 01/28/2011 1:47 AM Joined: Jun 2000 Posts: 724 Avy old hand Avy old hand Joined: Jun 2000 Posts: 724 How does one re-create examples of a squinting modifier? I read this sentence as an example, "Children who laugh rarely are shy." I tried to create another example but could not. Does it occur when you place a modifier incorrectly in a copula sentence? Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Squinting modifier Avy #196750 01/28/2011 2:12 AM Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 10,542 this too shall pass tsuwm Carpal Tunnel tsuwm Carpal Tunnel Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 10,542 this too shall pass gosh, I'd not heard that one before. so I LIU and here's what Merriam-Webster's Concise Dictionary of English Usage has to say: An ambiguous modifier (usually an adverb) that appears to qualify the words both before and after it. A squinting modifier can usually be corrected by changing its position in the sentence. so, "speakers who pause briefly refocus their listeners." Last edited by tsuwm; 01/28/2011 2:18 AM. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Squinting modifier tsuwm #196751 01/28/2011 2:26 AM Joined: Jun 2000 Posts: 724 Avy old hand Avy old hand Joined: Jun 2000 Posts: 724 Originally Posted By: tsuwm An ambiguous modifier (usually an adverb) that appears to qualify the words both before and after it. so, "speakers who pause briefly refocus their listeners." Thank you! That makes it a lot clearer. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Squinting modifier Avy #196752 01/28/2011 3:36 AM Joined: Aug 2005 Posts: 3,290 R'lyeh zmjezhd Carpal Tunnel zmjezhd Carpal Tunnel Joined: Aug 2005 Posts: 3,290 R'lyeh squinting modifiers They seem tangentially related to garden path sentences: e.g., "the horse raced past the barn fell." Last edited by zmjezhd; 01/28/2011 5:38 AM. Ceci n'est pas un seing. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Squinting modifier zmjezhd #196753 01/28/2011 4:07 AM Joined: Dec 2006 Posts: 956 Auckland, New Zealand olly old hand olly old hand Joined: Dec 2006 Posts: 956 Auckland, New Zealand Sometimes wiping your glasses thoroughly solves the problem. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Squinting modifier olly #196755 01/28/2011 8:30 AM Joined: Jun 2000 Posts: 724 Avy old hand Avy old hand Joined: Jun 2000 Posts: 724 With tsu-s's and olly's eg, then it occurs when an adverb is sandwiched by two verbs. Okay I made one sentence: People who speak seldom seem smart. Thanks, y'all. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Squinting modifier Avy #196765 01/28/2011 12:07 PM Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 13,803 Faldage Carpal Tunnel Faldage Carpal Tunnel Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 13,803 They might be caused by people who are worried that putting an adverb before its verb might lead to splitting infinitives. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Squinting modifier Faldage #196767 01/28/2011 12:44 PM Joined: Jun 2000 Posts: 724 Avy old hand Avy old hand Joined: Jun 2000 Posts: 724 Yes. Infinitives should not be split except by Captain Kirk. They hang heavy on the conscience. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: to squintingly modify Faldage #196768 01/28/2011 2:44 PM Joined: Aug 2005 Posts: 3,290 R'lyeh zmjezhd Carpal Tunnel zmjezhd Carpal Tunnel Joined: Aug 2005 Posts: 3,290 R'lyeh They might be caused by people who are worried that putting an adverb before its verb might lead to splitting infinitives. Yes, but if you split the infinitive you solve the problem. That way the adverb can only be construed as modifying the split infinitive. Ceci n'est pas un seing. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: to squintingly modify zmjezhd #196782 01/29/2011 1:46 AM Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 13,803 Faldage Carpal Tunnel Faldage Carpal Tunnel Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 13,803 I was thinking of it as sort of a fence law. One example would be the Southern Baptist prohibition on sex standing up because it might lead to dancing. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: to squintingly modify Faldage #196784 01/29/2011 2:02 AM Joined: Jun 2008 Posts: 9,971 Likes: 3 Land of the Flat Water LukeJavan8 Carpal Tunnel LukeJavan8 Carpal Tunnel Joined: Jun 2008 Posts: 9,971 Likes: 3 Land of the Flat Water Originally Posted By: Faldage I was thinking of it as sort of a fence law. One example would be the Southern Baptist prohibition on sex standing up because it might lead to dancing. (yukyuk) ----please, draw me a sheep---- Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Moderated by  Jackie  Hop To General Topics ------  Information and announcements  Q&A about words  Wordplay and fun  Words and languages in schools  Miscellany  Weekly Themes  Looking for (writers, speakers,... (Old) Weekly themes. 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