| COMMON GRAMMATICAL ERRORS |
COMMA SPLICE
RUN-ON or FUSED SENTENCES
SENTENCE FRAGMENT
NOUN/ PRONOUN AGREEMENT
SUBJECT/ VERB AGREEMENT
ACTIVE VOICE
PASSIVE VOICE
COMMA SPLICE: the
connecting of two complete sentences (independent clauses) with only a
comma.
ex. James drove his car very fast, he never got a speeding ticket.
-
To correct a comma splice, do one of the following:
1. Use a period in place
of the comma to create two independent sentences.
James drove his car very fast. He never got a speeding ticket.
2. Use a coordinating
conjunction (and, or, nor, yet, but, so, for) after the comma.
James drove his car very fast, but he never got a speeding ticket.
3. Use a semicolon
if the sentences are closely related.
James drove his car very fast; he never got a speeding ticket.
RUN-ON or FUSED SENTENCES: the connecting
of two complete sentences (independent clauses) without using punctuation.
ex. James drove his car very fast he never got a speeding
ticket.
-
To correct a run-on sentence, use one of the same steps as for correcting
a comma splice.
SENTENCE FRAGMENT: an incomplete sentence.
ex. Came home from the store.
-
To correct a fragment, an additional word(s) is necessary to complete the
thought. Most fragments are missing a subject(s).
I came
home from the store.
-
The most frequent error that creates a fragment is the use of a prepositional
phrase as a sentence.
Fragment: When I came home from the store.
Corrected: I put the groceries away when I came home from
the store.
When I came home from the store, I put the groceries away.
NOUN/PRONOUN AGREEMENT: the
form of the noun and the pronoun must be equal in number/ person/ gender.
ex. A person needs to see their doctor yearly.
-
To correct noun/ pronoun agreement, determine if the noun that the pronoun
is referring to is singular or plural. Person, a singular
noun, requires a singular pronoun,
his
or her. People
is
a plural noun and requires the plural pronoun their.
A person needs to see her (his) doctor yearly.
People need to see their doctor yearly.
Mary gave her bicycle away.
The school changed its mind about the hiring policy.
SUBJECT/VERB AGREEMENT: the
subject and the verb must agree in number.
ex. The poet write about the little things in life.
-
To correct subject/verb agreement, make sure both subject and verb agree
in number.
The
poet
writes about the little things in life. (third person singular subject
and verb)
The poets write about the little things in life. (third person plural
subject and verb)
-
Most subject/ verb agreement problems occur with third person
subjects and verbs, especially when the subject and the verb are not close
together in the sentence.
The
Bosnian Serbs of Bosnia-Herzegovina are fighting with the
Muslim-Croats. (plural subject and verb)
The flowers in the trays on the back porch need to be planted
soon. (singular subject and verb)
-
Subjects joined by and (compound subjects) are usually treated as
a plural subject and require a plural verb, but sometimes compound subjects
take a singular verb when the subject is considered one person or one single
unit.
The
prosecution
and the defense agree to a plea bargain. (compound subject as plural
and plural verb)
The company's CEO and President is planning to retire in May. (CEO
and President as one person)
The company's CEO and President are planning to retire in May. (CEO
and President as two people)
-
Every and each before singular subjects joined
by and take a singular verb.
Every
man, woman, and child has the right to live free.
-
Each does not affect the verb form if placed after a plural
subject, although some writers use a singular verb when each
follows a compound subject. Both are correct.
A man,
a woman, and a child each have the right to live free.
A man, a woman, and a child each has the right to
live free.
-
Singular subjects joined by or, either...or, or neither...nor
usually take a singular verb.
Neither
Miguel nor his brother wants to leave the party.
-
If one subject is singular and one is plural, the verb usually agrees with
the subject nearest the verb.
Neither
Miguel nor his brothers want to leave the party.
Neither his brothers nor Miguel wants to leave the party.
-
The verb also agrees with the nearest subject in person.
Either
Kevin or you have to answer the telephone.
Either you or Kevin has to answer the telephone.
-
Inverted word order of the verb and the subject or the sentence structure
THERE + the verb and the subject can also cause confusion with agreement.
Among
America's finest poets is John Ciardi.
John Ciardi wrote, "There were anger and hatred in that voice."
-
When used as a subject, words such as each, either, neither, one, everybody,
or anyone usually take singular verbs.
Everybody
smile for the camera.
ACTIVE VOICE: the subject of
the sentence performs the action of the verb and the direct object receives
the action of verb.
Shakespeare
wrote Hamlet. [SUBJECT+ VERB+ DIRECT OBJECT]
PASSIVE VOICE: the direct object becomes
the subject of the sentence and a passive verb [ verb phrase of a form
of the verb to be] is used.
Hamlet
was written by Shakespeare. [DIRECT OBJECT AS SUBJECT+ PASSIVE VERB
FORM]
Note: When writing an essay or any type of classroom assignment,
you should use the active voice to gain emphasis. You can use the
passive voice when the receiver of the action is more important than the
performer of the action.
During
a high speed chase, the police car struck an innocent pedestrian. [active
voice]
During a high speed chase, an innocent pedestrian was struck by the police
car. [passive voice]
Prepared by Maureen Sandford
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