The rules
- An introductory phrase describes the first noun after its comma: “Born in Janakpur, the artist painted,” not “Born in Janakpur, her paintings were.”
- Put the doer right after the phrase, since a passive verb or “it” leaves the phrase dangling: “Using a telescope, Galileo saw four moons,” not “Using a telescope, four moons were seen.”
- A possessive makes the thing owned the subject, not the owner: “Found in the mountains, the snow leopard has thick fur,” not “Found in the mountains, the snow leopard’s fur is thick.”
- “Like” and “unlike” compare the noun right after the comma: “Unlike most mammals, the platypus lays eggs.”
- Keep a describing phrase next to the noun it describes: “a painting of a tiger from a collector,” not “a painting from a collector of a tiger.”
- Put “only,” “almost,” and “nearly” right before the word they limit: “took nearly 9,000 photos,” not “nearly took 9,000 photos.”
This time: 0 right, 0 wrong