To avoid confusion from a misplaced modifier, a participial phrase should be placed

at the beginning of the sentence.
at the end of the sentence.
next to the noun it describes.
next to the verb it describes.

The correct answer is: Next to the noun it describes.

Participial phrases consist of a participle verb ending in "ing" (present), or in "ed" (past), plus other complements, they can be placed at the beginning, in the middle or the end of a sentence, but making sure they are the closest possible to the noun or pronoun they are modifying. The use of commas, when needed, is extremely important to avoid missunderstandings.

The following examples demonstrate that participial phrases (in bold) may take different positions in a sentence:

Children, behaving properly, will get a reward.

Excited about her gift, the lady begun to cry.

John kept staring at the boy, surprised by his blond hair.

In the last example the use of a comma is necessary to point out  that the participial phrase is modifying John, and not the boy.

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