I know, everyone has notes. Yes, Mrs. J explained it in front of everyone. But I'm still confused and my ACT PREP book has a decent explanation.
Allow me to re-liberate all of you.
(Full credit to the Kaplan ACT Premier 2016-2017 book my mother got me. I'm useless at English without it.)
Modifiers fall into 2 categories:
Single-Word Modifiers: These can either be an adjective or an adverb, and they are one word long.
Modifying Phrases: These are longer modifiers. They are placed as close as can be to the word they modify.
In the grand scheme of things, not that bad
Place 'em next to the noun or verb they modify
Nouns are modified by adjectives
Verbs are modified by adverbs
Fixing them is pretty chill
If the word just sounds strange, but is placed correctly (like in this: I drove careful on the highway. ) then turn the modifier into either an adjective or adverb
(See Dangling and MIsplaced modifiers!)
Modifying phrases are a little longer
Place 'em close to the thing they modify
When one of these is at the start of a sentence, the word after it must be the one that is logically modified
Hint: Remember active voice!
They usually begin with a verb ending in "ing" or "ed"