I’ve been interested recently in modifiers that modify not a specific grammatical unit–e.g., “pwr”,=”mt>:”,dh>/>. , nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, phrases of each–but an entire sentence or clause at the beginning of a sentence. For example, see the example below for various phrases operating as modifiers,

Participle phrases

• The gas tank exploded, sending shrapnel through the air. “Sending shrapnel through the air” here operates as an absolute phrase, and per Can a participle phrase modify a clause? What are the most important things in your life? How can one find participial phrases in Brian Garner’s The Chicago Guide to Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation : 154 Participial phrases?

A participial phrase is made up of a participle plus any closely associated word or words, such as modifiers or compliments. It can be used (1) as an adjective to modify a noun…, or (2) as an absolute phrase…. Elliptical Prepositional

Phrases In any

• event, call me when you arrive How should you define “in any event”? Does it seem to modify any particular part of speech? Garner does a prepositional elliptical phrase. Sentence

Adverbs I’m

• lucky we’ve had some rain this week. “Fortunately” applies to the full clause, a structure Garner calls this a “sentence adverb.” Why

are there

1. some other cases (other than absolute constructions, which I’ve not specifically included above) where a modifier applies to an entire sentence/clause, rather than a specific syntactical element (i.e. a sentence or paragraph)? , noun

or prophesize)(i.e.,, noun/predicate)