Asked by Julie

Which statement has a correctly placed modifier?

Running quickly through the woods, Adam tripped over a tree branch.
Running quickly through the woods, the branch of a tree tripped Adam.

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
The first sentence is correct.

"Running quickly through the woods" is an introductory participial phrase that should modify the subject that immediately follows. In the first sentence the subject is Adam, so the phrase correctly describes him.

The second sentence misplaces the modifier, making it (illogically) modify "the branch" — a dangling/misplaced modifier. A corrected version: "While running quickly through the woods, Adam tripped over a tree branch."