Running Gags

Modern Family uses a comedy technique known as Running Gags to provide comedic relief.
===The Broken Step===
The Dunphys' home has a broken step near the top of the staircase. It's tripped on frequently by people, mainly Phil and Claire. The former repaired it before Earthquake only for it to become broken again after the event.
===Gloria's Accent===
Gloria has a very thick accent that leads her words to come across wrong.
For example Gloria intended to order "Baby Cheeses" but her thick accent caused her to order "Baby Jesus" so she wound up with several nativity scene styled baby Jesuses.
===Phil's Fixation with Gloria===
Throughout the series Phil is shown with quite a fixation on Gloria, taking any opportunity to touch her or be around her. It is also a running gag that Phil mistakes what Gloria says with different, mainly sexual references, like when she says she "had two ever since I was 2 years old and very big", referring to earrings. Although he is still very much in love with his wife Claire, whose attractiveness he is reminded of when he finds out his high school nemesis was jealous of him for having dated her.
===The Raccoon===
In several of the episodes, the raccoon has made an appearance (or is mentioned). 
In "Run for Your Wife," when Claire says the she gets really gets up at 6, Phil says, "Really? I... thought that was a raccoon." This has been repeated in "Regrets Only", when Phil sprays Claire with a fire extinguisher, thinking that it was a raccoon climbing into their house. In "Up All Night," Cameron tries to give an excuse to rush to Lily when she cries, by saying that "raccoons need something to put between … bread." (Since Mitchell is trying to Ferberize the baby, he is preventing Cam from coddling her). In "Truth Be Told," Jay pretends that a raccoon climbed in and killed Manny's pet turtle. 
In "The Old Wagon," Phil says that the old wagon has been enjoyed by a family of raccoons for many years. 
In Treehouse Phil asks Luke, "You know what can't climb trees?" and Luke says "Raccoons?" Phil replies, "Worries. Raccoons can and will get up here, so don't leave any food, or they'll get territorial and attack."
In the fourth season premier "Bringing Up Baby", Dylan says that he's going to be living with a friend, which he reveals is actually a raccoon. 
In "Summer Lovin'", Erica, the teacher at a hippie preschool, says they see raccoons around since they like to be one with nature. In "Clean for a Day", Joe complains that "it sounds like the raccoons are fighting again" after hearing Lily trying to play the flute.
In "Weathering Heights", Phil claims his college nickname was "The Raccoon", possibly because he climbed through the doggy door of a frat house to steal a pie.
In "Wine Weekend", Phil and Cam pretend they came out because they heard raccoons to hide the fact that they were practicing dancing without Claire and Mitchell. In "Daddy Issues", a pair of raccoons breaks into Phil and Claire's old apartment and starts eating their fish sticks.
In "Did the Chicken Cross the Road?", Cameron gets a chicken to reconnect with his farm roots, realized he hated it, got rid of it, and pretended that a raccoon killed it. In "Putting Down Roots", Haley hears Phil and Claire having sex in the garage and asks if all the screeching she heard means that the raccoons are back. In "Stand By Your Man", Phil wants to pass on his life's lessons to Luke, Bill, and Dylan, starting with "never take a tennis ball away from a raccoon".
==="Of course you are"===
In several episodes, especially in the first season, Jay tells Manny "of course you are," or a slight variation of it. He tells it to him when he says he is doing his science extra credit ("Up All Night"), when he introduces his older date ("Fifteen Percent")
=== "Oh, jeez..." ===
Jay is frequently seen saying "Oh, jeez..." after someone says something that makes him uncomfortable or disappointed.
=== Clive Bixby and Julianna ===
Clive is the character Phil plays when he and Claire go out for Valentines shenanigans while Claire takes on the persona of Julianna.
=== Cam's Bicycle Shorts ===
Cameron owns a pair of tight shorts that he uses for physical exercise. In every appearance the blue tight shorts have a pixilation in front of it, implying that the shape of Cam's penis is visible through it. In Strangers on a Treadmill, Mitchell has Claire tell him that he should not use the shorts anymore, this sends Cam into the bedroom, crying. Though he is seen wearing it on later occasions. 
=== Fizbo ===
When Cam dresses up in his clown costume, he is known as Fizbo. Fizbo first appeared in the episode Fizbo attending Luke's 11th birthday party. In the 11th season episode Paris, Cam realizes that he accidentally stole the idea of Fizbo from the French clown of Fizbeau.
=== Gil Thorpe's rivalry ===
In Not in My House, Phil mentions having received a pornographic image of a topless woman on a tractor from a coworker named Gil Thorpe . Gil later appears in Season 4 as Phil's rival. He comes out as gay to Mitchell in the Season 10 episode Kids These Days
=== Gloria not Recognizing Ben ===
In Lake Life and Heavy is the Head, Gloria refers to Ben, Claire Dunphy's assistant, as young man, señor, or lake butler, despite having met him in numerous occasions. Ben always tries to get her to recognize him, but it's a futile effort. 
=== Pritchetts vs Non-Pritchetts ===
With every one of the marriages being composed of a Pritchett and a non Pritchett (Jay & Gloria, Mitchell & Cam, Claire & Phil) it's only fitting that feuds arise between the two groups. Most of these disagreements are due to the Pritchetts being realists and the non Pritchetts being dreamers (i.e Punkin Chunkin) or general differences in character, with the non Pritchetts being more playful than their counterparts. 
To help each other take care of business that they don't want the Pritchetts knowing about, Gloria, Phil and Cam created an association seen in The Alliance. 
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