A man was here today with a broken arm.

[navi tasan]

Can one use #1 instead of #2?
1) A man was here today with a broken arm.
2) A man with a broken arm was here today.

Can one use #3 instead of #4?
3) A man came to the store in a blue suit.
4) A man in a blue suit came to the store.

I think #3 is correct, but it has a different emphasis than #4,
#1 sound incorrect to me. It is almost comical.

 

[jutfrank]

It all depends on what you want to focus on. Each works in its own way, in its own context.

 

[emsr2d2]

Can one I/we use #1 instead of #2?
1) A man was here today with a broken arm.
2) A man with a broken arm was here today.

Can one I/we use #3 instead of #4?
3) A man came to the store in a blue suit.
4) A man in a blue suit came to the store.

I think #3 is correct, but it has a different emphasis than from #4.
#1 sound incorrect to me. It is almost comical.

@navi tasan I have changed your thread title. Try to use complete sentences as titles. The actual question or topic should appear only in the main body of the post. You could have opened with something like "I have a question about dangling modifiers".

Most native speakers don't use the rather formal "one" these days.

Remember the rule - "different from" and "similar to".

 

[Tarheel]

#1 seems to be saying the man was carrying the arm with him.

 

[jutfrank]

Let me alter your first example slightly:

a) A man came in earlier with a broken arm.
b) A man with a broken arm came in earlier.

Which one could you more easily imagine as part of a conversation between two nurses?

 

[navi tasan]

Thank you very much, Jutfrank,

I think in that context I'd choose "a" over "b", if the man came in because of his broken arm.

A man with a broken arm came in today with a bad case of food poisoning. It was a hassle because we had to help him go to the restroom.. He had broken his arm three days ago in a skiing accident. It was a multiple fracture and the arm was in a huge cast. It was his left arm, but he was left-handed, so he could hardly do anything.

A man came here with a broken arm. We took care of his arm and sent him on his way.

 

[tedmc]

Thank you very much, Jutfrank,

I think in that context I'd choose "a" over "b", if the man came in because of his broken arm.

A man with a broken arm came in today with a bad case of food poisoning. It was a hassle because we had to help him go to the restroom.. He had broken his arm three days ago in a skiing accident. It was a multiple fracture and the arm was in a huge cast. It was his left arm, but he was left-handed, so he could hardly do anything.

A man came here with a broken arm. We took care of his arm and sent him on his way.

Tarheel had joked about (a) in post #4.

 

[Tarheel]

Perhaps:

Nurse One: A man came in with a broken arm.
Nurse Two: I know. Doctor Bones handled that one.

 

[emsr2d2]

You can get around the entire problem by saying "A man came in today. He'd broken his arm" or "A man who'd broken his arm came in today". There are other options that don't involve any ambiguity.