Tutor profile: Kim V.

What is a misplaced modifier?

A misplaced modifier is a word or phrase that's separated from the word it describes in a way that causes awkwardness or confusion. For example, "The burglar was interviewed right after the crime was committed by the detectives." This makes it sound like the detectives committed the crime. Assuming the burglar committed the crime, the sentence should read, "The burglar was interviewed by the detectives right after the crime was committed." In general, modifiers should be placed next to the words they modify in order to avoid confusion.

What is the purpose of Boolean operators?

The three basic Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) are used to either broaden or narrow a search. For example, using AND will narrow your search by instructing your chosen database to only display results that meet all of your search criteria. A search for "witches AND Europe AND politics" will only include results that touch on all three search terms. In many databases, like Google, the AND is implied and thus automatically included in the search. The Boolean operator OR can be used to broaden your search, instructing the database to return results related to any of your terms. The Boolean operator NOT can be used to exclude terms. For example, a search for "witches NOT Europe" would include only results related to witches that don't mention Europe. Please note that not all databases recognize Boolean operators in the same way, so you'll want to check with the specific database you're using for more information. Reference: “Database Search Tips: Boolean Operators.” LibGuides. MIT Libraries. Accessed December 20, 2021. https://libguides.mit.edu/c.php?g=175963&p=1158594.

Should I say, "Let's go see the movie?" Or, "Let's go see a movie?"

If you're referring to a specific movie, then you would use the definite article "the." On the other hand, if you don't have a specific movie in mind, then you should use the indefinite article "a." The indefinite articles "a" and "an" can refer to any member of a group. For example, "I want a cookie," means that you want a cooke in general, any cookie. However, if you say, "I want the cookie," it means that you have a specific cookie in mind.