Dangling Modifiers and Predictions:

Rewrite the following sentences, focusing on the grammar area.
If the sentence is already correct, write No Change.

Dangling Modifiers
Question: Flying over the oak tree, the farmer saw the flock of birds that had damaged his crops.
My answer: The farmer saw the flock of birds that had damaged his crops as they flew over the oak tree.

Dangling Modifiers
Question: Ironing out all wrinkles, the pants looked much more presentable.
My answer: The pants looked much more presentable after ironing out all the wrinkles.

Dangling Modifiers
Question: The police chief posted the mandate against hubcap theft on Monday afternoon.
My answer: On Monday afternoon, the police chief posted the mandate against hubcap theft.

Dangling Modifiers
Question: Until the beef has been rubbed with garlic oil, do not put it into the skillet.
My answer: No change

Dangling Modifiers
Question: He found his glasses crawling under the couch.
My answer: By crawling under the couch, he found his classes.

Predications
Question: Our resolutions should begin at midnight on January 1.
My answer: Out resolutions should begin on January 1 at midnight.

Predications
Question: The reason for the cat’s illness is because she was allergic to the dog.
My answer: No change

Predications
Question: A book that has an exciting introduction and a surprising ending would be the best story for me to read.
My answer: A book with an exciting introduction and a surprising ending would be the best story for me to read.

Predications
Question: The driving exam is when one is tested on the rules of the road.
My answer: The driving exam is a test on the rules of the road.

Predications
Question: The Homeowners’ Association rules were created to ensure that the neighborhood looked nice.
My answer: No change

Dangling Modifiers

Question: Flying over the oak tree, the farmer saw the flock of birds that had damaged his crops.
My answer: The farmer saw the flock of birds that had damaged his crops as they flew over the oak tree.
correct

Dangling Modifiers
Question: Ironing out all wrinkles, the pants looked much more presentable.
My answer: The pants looked much more presentable after ironing out all the wrinkles.
correct

Dangling Modifiers
Question: The police chief posted the mandate against hubcap theft on Monday afternoon.
My answer: On Monday afternoon, the police chief posted the mandate against hubcap theft.
correct

Dangling Modifiers
Question: Until the beef has been rubbed with garlic oil, do not put it into the skillet.
My answer: No change
correct

Dangling Modifiers
Question: He found his glasses crawling under the couch.
My answer: By crawling under the couch, he found his classes.
correct

Predications
Question: Our resolutions should begin at midnight on January 1.
My answer: Out resolutions should begin on January 1 at midnight.
Does that mean at the beginning of January 1 or at the end of January 1? It'd probably be better to say "...at 12:01 am on January 1" if that's what you mean.

Predications
Question: The reason for the cat’s illness is because she was allergic to the dog.
My answer: No change
The problem is the use of the word "because." You already have "the reason" in the sentence and now you need an introtuctory word for the clause AFTER the main (linking) verb that makes it a noun clause, not an adverbial clause. Change "because" to "that" and you'll be fine.

Predications
Question: A book that has an exciting introduction and a surprising ending would be the best story for me to read.
My answer: A book with an exciting introduction and a surprising ending would be the best story for me to read.
http://aristotle.tamu.edu/~rasmith/Courses/Ancient/predication.html
Scroll down to the section on "Two Divisions of 'Things that are'..." to see if this sentence is properly balanced on both sides of the linking verb.

Predications
Question: The driving exam is when one is tested on the rules of the road.
My answer: The driving exam is a test on the rules of the road.
correct

Predications
Question: The Homeowners’ Association rules were created to ensure that the neighborhood looked nice.
My answer: No change
correct

Dangling Modifiers

Question: Ironing out all wrinkles, the pants looked much more presentable.
My answer: The pants looked much more presentable after ironing out all the wrinkles.

Those pants didn't iron itself. There has to be a person involved. Better would be - the pants looked much more presentable after I ironed out all the wrinkles.

Good catch, GuruBlue!

Dangling Modifiers

Question: Flying over the oak tree, the farmer saw the flock of birds that had damaged his crops.
Explanation: The original sentence has a dangling modifier because the phrase "flying over the oak tree" is placed at the beginning, but it is unclear what is actually flying over the tree. To fix this, we can rephrase the sentence as "The farmer saw the flock of birds that had damaged his crops as they flew over the oak tree."

Dangling Modifiers
Question: Ironing out all wrinkles, the pants looked much more presentable.
Explanation: The original sentence has a dangling modifier because the phrase "ironing out all wrinkles" is placed at the beginning, but it is unclear who is doing the ironing. To fix this, we can rephrase the sentence as "The pants looked much more presentable after ironing out all the wrinkles."

Dangling Modifiers
Question: The police chief posted the mandate against hubcap theft on Monday afternoon.
Explanation: The original sentence does not have a dangling modifier. It is correctly structured and does not require any changes.

Dangling Modifiers
Question: Until the beef has been rubbed with garlic oil, do not put it into the skillet.
Explanation: The original sentence does not have a dangling modifier. It is correctly structured and does not require any changes.

Dangling Modifiers
Question: He found his glasses crawling under the couch.
Explanation: The original sentence has a dangling modifier because it suggests that the glasses were crawling under the couch. To fix this, we can rephrase the sentence as "By crawling under the couch, he found his glasses."

Predications
Question: Our resolutions should begin at midnight on January 1.
Explanation: The original sentence does not properly predict when the resolutions should begin. To fix this, we can rephrase the sentence as "Our resolutions should begin on January 1 at midnight."

Predications
Question: The reason for the cat’s illness is because she was allergic to the dog.
Explanation: The original sentence does not need any changes. It correctly explains the reason for the cat's illness.

Predications
Question: A book that has an exciting introduction and a surprising ending would be the best story for me to read.
Explanation: The original sentence does not have a prediction error. It correctly states that a book with an exciting introduction and a surprising ending would be the best story to read.

Predications
Question: The driving exam is when one is tested on the rules of the road.
Explanation: The original sentence does not properly predict what the driving exam is. To fix this, we can rephrase the sentence as "The driving exam is a test on the rules of the road."

Predications
Question: The Homeowners’ Association rules were created to ensure that the neighborhood looked nice.
Explanation: The original sentence does not need any changes. It correctly explains the purpose of creating the Homeowners' Association rules.