Short answer: to avoid confusion from a misplaced modifier, a participial phrase should be placed next to the noun it describes. A participial phrase works like an adjective. It describes a person or thing, so it has to sit right beside that person or thing. Put it beside a different word and the sentence describes the wrong thing.
On the Digital SAT, this rule shows up as a sentence that opens with a describing phrase, a comma, and a blank. You can find these items, sorted by test date, in our Digital SAT question banks. Below you will find the quiz question this page is named for, the puppy passage that goes with it, five quick fixes, and four SAT-style items with answers.
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Video: Key Terms and the One Rule. From the Mr. O series Modifiers: Making a Description Point at the Right Word.
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Start 1-day free trial →To avoid confusion from a misplaced modifier, a participial phrase should be placed... (Answer: C)
To avoid confusion from a misplaced modifier, a participial phrase should be placed
- at the beginning of the sentence.
- at the end of the sentence.
- next to the noun it describes.
- next to the verb it describes.
Answer: C. next to the noun it describes.
A participial phrase is a verb form used as an adjective, like "running late" or "covered in icing." Adjectives describe nouns, so the phrase must touch its noun. That is why C is right. D fails because a participial phrase describes a noun, not a verb. A and B fail because the start and the end of a sentence can both be fine spots. A spot is only safe when the right noun sits beside the phrase. The Excelsior Online Writing Lab gives the same rule: "place your modifiers next to what they're describing" (Excelsior OWL, Misplaced Modifier).
Your quiz may list the choices in a different order, so the letter can change. The right choice always says next to the noun it describes.
Why the other three placements fail
| Placement | Why it is not the rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| At the beginning of the sentence | Fine only if the described noun comes right after the comma | Covered in icing, the cupcakes sat on the tray. (works) |
| At the end of the sentence | Fine only if the described noun comes right before the phrase | The children ate the cupcakes covered in icing. (works) |
| Next to the verb | A participial phrase describes a noun, never a verb | The children ate, covered in icing, the cupcakes. (wrong) |
| Next to the noun it describes | This is the rule. The position in the sentence follows from it. | Covered in icing, the cupcakes... / ...the cupcakes covered in icing. |
Which participle or participial phrase modifies the wrong noun? (the puppy passage)
This quiz question comes with a short passage:
"Hoping for a few scraps of food, the tiny puppy scooted closer to the table where the man was eating. She placed her paws on the edge of the man's seat to signal that she was hungry. The man gently eased the whining puppy back onto the floor. 'No begging,' he scolded. Pushing his plate away from the edge of the table, the puppy walked away from the man."
- "hoping for a few scraps of food"
- "whining"
- "no begging"
- "pushing his plate away from the edge of the table"
Answer: "pushing his plate away from the edge of the table." Ask who does each action. The man pushed his plate away. The phrase sits right before "the puppy," though, so the sentence says the puppy pushed the plate. "Hoping for a few scraps of food" sits next to the tiny puppy, and the puppy is the one hoping. "Whining" sits right before "puppy," and the puppy is whining. "No begging" is something the man says. It describes no noun, so it cannot describe the wrong one. A fixed version: "Pushing his plate away from the edge of the table, the man ignored the puppy."
Five before-and-after fixes
See which question types are costing you points
Start with a free mock, free drills, or preview sample questions before using all 45 question banks.
| Misplaced | What it says by accident | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
| Barking at the mail carrier, Leo held the dog's leash. | Leo was barking. | Leo held the leash of the dog barking at the mail carrier. |
| Wrapped in silver paper, my aunt handed me the gift. | My aunt was wrapped in paper. | My aunt handed me the gift wrapped in silver paper. |
| Floating near the dock, the kids spotted a jellyfish. | The kids were floating. | The kids spotted a jellyfish floating near the dock. |
| Written in pencil, the teacher could barely read the essay. | The teacher was written in pencil. | The teacher could barely read the essay written in pencil. |
| Ripening on the windowsill, Maya checked the tomatoes every day. | Maya was ripening. | Maya checked the tomatoes ripening on the windowsill every day. |
Each fix moves the phrase beside the noun it describes. Nothing else in the sentence changes.
Misplaced modifier or dangling modifier?
Both mistakes put a describing phrase on the wrong word. The difference is whether the right word appears in the sentence at all.
| Misplaced modifier | Dangling modifier | |
|---|---|---|
| Is the right noun in the sentence? | Yes, but too far from the phrase | No, it is missing |
| Example | Made of soft silk, the designer admired the dress. | While reading the novel, the clock struck midnight. |
| Fix | The designer admired the dress made of soft silk. | While I was reading the novel, the clock struck midnight. |
Purdue OWL defines the second kind this way: "A dangling modifier is a word or phrase that modifies a word not clearly stated in the sentence" (Purdue OWL). Our dangling modifiers guide covers that side, and our page on SAT modifier questions lists the six traps the test uses.
How the Digital SAT tests placement
College Board's framework for the Digital SAT lists a skill called Subject-Modifier Placement: "Students will place modifying elements in sentences (e.g., participles) in contextually appropriate ways" (Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite, Appendix B). The same framework's sample item explains its answer by saying the participial phrase "appears immediately before the noun it modifies."
So the test item is built like this: an opener, a comma, and a blank. Every choice starts with a different noun. You win by asking who or what the opener describes before you read any choice.
Video: Read Past the Blank. From the Mr. O series Modifiers: Making a Description Point at the Right Word.
Four SAT-style items
We wrote these four items for this page, using the same build as test items. Try each one first.
1. First released in 2018 and updated since then for speed, ______ than older phrase-based tools.
- less memory is needed by the Lumen translation model to reach high accuracy
- the Lumen translation model reaches high accuracy while using less memory
- high accuracy while using less memory is the Lumen model's achievement
- high accuracy and lower memory needs are reached by the Lumen translation model
Answer: B. What was released in 2018 and updated? The model. Only B puts the model right after the comma. A starts with "less memory," and C and D start with "high accuracy." Memory and accuracy were not released in 2018.
2. Mounted on a research ship in the Pacific, ______
- the movement of whales is tracked by scientists using this sonar array, which can follow 200 animals at once.
- scientists track how whales move across the ocean with this sonar array, which can follow 200 animals at once.
- 200 whales can be followed at once by this sonar array, tracking how they move across the ocean.
- this sonar array can follow 200 whales at once, tracking how they move across the ocean.
Answer: D. What is mounted on a ship? The sonar array. B is the trap because it reads smoothly, but it says the scientists are mounted on the ship. A says the movement is mounted, and C says the whales are.
3. Letting the paste hold its shape on a brush yet spread easily across teeth, ______
- toothpaste depends on its gel-like structure to be practical.
- a product like toothpaste gets its usefulness from a gel-like structure.
- toothpaste is a product whose gel-like structure matters to its use.
- the gel-like structure of toothpaste is what makes it practical to use.
Answer: D. This one fools many students. Toothpaste is the paste, so toothpaste cannot let "the paste" do anything. Ask what lets the paste hold its shape yet spread. The answer is its gel-like structure. Only D starts with that. A and C start with toothpaste, and B starts with "a product."
4. A pioneering bridge engineer of her day, ______ including engineers Tomas Brandt and Elena Ruiz.
- Mara Lindqvist, well before many of her peers, designed cable-stayed bridges,
- Mara Lindqvist designed cable-stayed bridges well before many of her peers,
- well before many of her peers, Mara Lindqvist designed cable-stayed bridges,
- the designs of Mara Lindqvist for cable-stayed bridges came well before those of many of her peers,
Answer: B. This sentence has two describing phrases, and both must land in the right place. First, "a pioneering bridge engineer" must sit next to Mara Lindqvist, which removes C and D. Second, "including engineers Tomas Brandt and Elena Ruiz" must sit next to "peers," because those two engineers are her peers. In A, that phrase lands on "bridges," a misplaced modifier. Only B gets both phrases right.
The three-step check
- Find the phrase. On the SAT it usually opens the sentence and ends with a comma.
- Name what it describes. Say the noun in your head before you read the choices.
- Read the first noun after the comma. It must be that noun. Cross out every choice that starts with something else, then check any words after the blank.
For twelve more examples with answers, see participial phrase examples with answers. To review every grammar rule in one place, use the SAT grammar rules cheat sheet. The June 2026 English question bank is free and has more modifier items. When you are ready for a timed run, create a free account and take one full-length adaptive practice test free.
Frequently Asked Questions
To avoid confusion from a misplaced modifier, where should a participial phrase be placed?
Next to the noun it describes. In the common quiz the choices are the beginning of the sentence, the end of the sentence, next to the noun it describes, and next to the verb it describes, so the answer is the noun choice. A participial phrase acts like an adjective, and adjectives describe nouns.
Which participle or participial phrase modifies the wrong noun in the puppy passage?
Pushing his plate away from the edge of the table. The man pushed his plate away, but the phrase sits right before the puppy, so the sentence says the puppy did it. Hoping for a few scraps of food and whining describe the puppy correctly.
Can a participial phrase go at the end of a sentence?
Yes, if the noun it describes comes right before it. The children ate the cupcakes covered in icing is correct because covered in icing touches cupcakes.
What is the difference between a misplaced modifier and a dangling modifier?
With a misplaced modifier, the described word is in the sentence but sits too far from the phrase. With a dangling modifier, the described word is missing, as in While reading the novel, the clock struck midnight.
How does the Digital SAT test participial phrase placement?
The sentence opens with a describing phrase, a comma and a blank, and each choice puts a different noun first. The right choice starts with the noun the phrase describes. After Mounted on a research ship, the answer starts with the sonar array, not the scientists.