VERBED Modifier

It's important to note that there is often 'wiggle room' in what constitutes the noun before the comma though.

A 'chunk of words' can be a noun, too.

So, bot:

"The boxes of nails, each sharpened by hand by an expert craftsmen, will be sent to Rome."

and:

"The boxes of nails, each constructed to be extra thick so that nothing inside pokes through, will be sent to Rome."

--could each be correct.

The first modifies the noun 'nails,' the second the noun-phrase "The BOXES of nails."

Language is imperfect. Sometimes you can't get the modifiers perfectly next to the nouns they modify. When does it get to be a problem? Well, the further the modifier gets from the 'main noun' it modifies, the worse you should feel about that sentence.

"The box of nails, each sharpened by an expert craftsmen, constructed extra thick so that nothing pokes through, will be sent to Rome."

That's a problem... "box of nails, each sharpened by an expert craftsmen" is, I suppose, one big 'noun phrase' (with a big modifier inside of it), but that 'constructed' has to leap a lot to get back to the 'box.'

Also when modifiers start *crossing*, you've got big problems:

"The dog in the house with a bone on the corner is happy."

Chaos.

"The dog with a bone in the house on the corner is happy."

Clear.