ShmoopTube

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Initial modifiers, a la Shmoop. Essay got you feelin’ down? Sentences sounding

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more like a funeral march than a symphony in A major?

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Mix it up with… initial modifiers!

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Okay, so…. what IS an initial modifier?

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A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that can, well, modify your sentence. That is,

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make it better.

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And, just like it sounds, an initial modifier adds a little somethin’ somethin’ to the

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beginning of your sentence.

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It makes your sentence – or sentences, if they can be combined into one -- do some grammatical

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gymnastics, switching up the order of your words, so that your writing has more flow,

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is more interesting…

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… and doesn’t sound like you’re leading your sentences en masse to their deaths.

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There are four types of initial modifiers.

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An initial dependent clause starts your sentence with a word like although, because, or since.

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An initial infinitive phrase opens your sentence with the infinitive of a verb. We’ll explain

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what that is in a bit..

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An initial adverb starts you off with one of those words that end in “l-y” – clearly,

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happily…

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…and finally, an initial participial<<part-uh-sip-ee-uhl>> phrase begins your sentence with the “i-n-g”

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form of a verb. As in, “wanting a better explanation of initial modifiers.”

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Part one: initial dependent clauses.

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Now would be a good time to brush up on your dependent clauses – but it’s basically

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any phrase that can’t stand on its own and starts with one of those words mentioned above.

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Like “because my adorable kitten mistook my laptop for its litterbox.”

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Normally, you’d probably say something like “I don’t have my final paper because my

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adorable kitten mistook my laptop for its litter box…”

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…probably followed by “I’m sorry” and “I don’t understand why you’re giving

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me an F when it’s clearly Cupcake’s fault.”

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A perfect example for why you should use initial modifiers! You’ve got three sentences in

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a row that start with the subject…”I” this, “I” that. Boooring.

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So the initial modifier comes in and shakes things up. The dependent clause moves to the

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front, and you get:

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“Because my adorable kitten mistook my laptop for its litter box, I don’t have my final

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paper.”

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Still kind of a flimsy excuse, but at least it flows better.

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Part two: initial infinitive. An infinitive is just “to” plus a verb. So, you take

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this:

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“I brought in the laptop. I wanted to avoid getting into trouble.”

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That stinks…both grammatically and literally. Stick an infinitive on the front:

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“To avoid getting into trouble, I brought in the laptop.”

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Part three: the initial adverb. An adverb describes how you did something and usually

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ends in “l-y.”

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“I was careful to keep the kitten from peeing on me on the way to school, too.”

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“Carefully keeping him from peeing on me, I brought the kitten to school.”

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And part four: the participial phrase initial modifier – that is, a phrase starting with

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a verb that ends with “i-n-g.”

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Like this:

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“I brought Cupcake as proof. I hope you’ll give me an extension.”

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“Hoping to get an extension, I brought Cukcake as proof.”

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Dang, that is some adorable proof.

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