What Can an Editor Do for You?
It’s a rule that’s taught in high school — a prepositional phrase modifies a verb or a noun. That’s its purpose.
Consider the following sentence, published by one of the nation’s leading law firms.
Given the mobility of the high-tech workforce, the firm also has handled numerous disputes involving industry leaders over the ability to protect trade secrets and to enforce nondisclosure agreements, covenants not to compete, and similar restrictive covenants, for example, in stock option agreements.
The sentence begins with a prepositional phrase, but the phrase modifies nothing at all. It has no relation to the clause that follows it.
An editor can help you avoid such mistakes, and can help you present yourself as someone who has a strong command of English.
