Grammar Rules Error List Subject-Verb Agreement Error The subject and corresponding corresponding verb must agree agree in number. number. Incorrect
The most important factor to consider consider when looking at used cars are whether the previous owners were diligent with maintenance work. Correct
The most important factor to consider consider when looking at used cars is whether the previous owners were diligent with maintenance work.
Improper Verb Tense Tense Verb tense (e.g., past, future, etc.) must match the time period of sentence and be consistent with or complementary to the rest of the sentence. Incorrect
The great sleuth Sherlock Sherlock olmes using deductive reasoning, catching criminals and impressing his colleagues in the process. !n "#$%, &ikola Tesla will 'le the 'rst radio patent, at least a decade before uglielmo arconi arconi * the man generally credited credited with the feat * 'led a patent of his own. Correct
The great sleuth Sherlock Sherlock olmes used deductive deductive reasoning, catching criminals and impressing his colleagues in the process. !n "#$%, &ikola Tesla 'led the 'rst radio patent, at least a decade before uglielmo arconi arconi * the man generally credited credited with the feat * 'led a patent of his own.
Noun Agreement Error +orresponding +orresponding nouns must agree in number when appropriate. Incorrect
The group of stranded survivors survivors decided to make make their last stand against the ombie invasion, grabbed their weapon, and charged into battle, only to be eaten alive. Correct
The group of stranded survivors survivors decided to make make their last stand against the ombie invasion, grabbed their weapons, and charged into battle, only to be eaten alive.
-arallelism rror /ists and parallel structures must maintain the same format. Incorrect
!t0s much easier to master uitar ero than becoming truly pro'cient with a si12string guitar.
!n response to the environmental disaster, the volunteer group picketed corporate head3uarters, started a letter2writing letter2writing campaign, and were asking people to donate to the cause. Correct
!t0s much easier to master uitar ero than to become truly pro'cient with a si12string guitar.
!n response to the environmental disaster, the volunteer group picketed corporate head3uarters, started a letter2writing letter2writing campaign, and asked people to donate to the cause.
Faulty Comparison 4ll comparisons must be apples to apples. !ncorrect The author0s later work, which e1hibited e1hibited masterful use of restricted restricted perspective, was more mature than his contemporaries.
+orrect The author0s later work, which e1hibited e1hibited masterful use of restricted restricted perspective, was more mature than that of his contemporaries.
isplace! o!i"er 5escriptive phrases must be adjacent to whatever they0re describing. Incorrect
4fter spending four years working diligently, Tom0s diploma hung proudly in his o6ce. Correct
4fter spending four years working diligently, Tom hung his diploma proudly in his o6ce.
#ronoun Agreement Error 4 pronoun must always agree in number with its antecedent. Incorrect
The university took great great pride in their rigorous rigorous 7ltimate 8risbee 8risbee tournament.
9hen it comes to politics, everyone should learn to e1press e1press their opinions in a thoughtful, ino:ensive way. way.
Correct
The university took great great pride in its rigorous rigorous 7ltimate 8risbee 8risbee tournament.
9hen it comes to politics, everyone should learn to e1press e1press his or her opinions in a thoughtful, ino:ensive way. way.
-ronoun 4mbiguity The relationship between between a pronoun and its antecedent antecedent must by clear and e1plicit. Incorrect
Tom, Tom, Sara, and ;amie all went to the mall mall together, but he couldn0t take take the crowds and had to leave early.
Correct
Tom, Tom, Sara, and ;amie all went to the mall mall together, but ;amie couldn0t couldn0t take the crowds and had to leave early.
#ronoun Case Error 4 pronoun can either be a subject (e.g., !, he, she, we, they) or an object (e.g., me, him, her, us, them). The case must match the pronoun0s role in the sentence. Incorrect
The teacher told
Correct
The teacher told
Improper Conjunction 4ny conjunctions or transition words must function logically in the sentence. Incorrect
The independent analysis indicated the candidate0s ta1 plan would cut services for low2income citiens but would raise ta1es on those same people.
Correct
The independent analysis indicated the candidate0s ta1 plan would cut services for low2income citiens and would raise ta1es on those same people.
Comma Splice Two Two independent clauses +4&&=T be joined joined with a comma> a semicolon or period is the appropriate punctuation for two independent clauses. 4 comma re3uires at least one dependent clause. Incorrect
The judge0s nomination came as a surprise to to us all, his conservative views were seen as troubling, even divisive.
Correct
The judge0s nomination came as a surprise to to us all> his conservative views were seen as troubling, even divisive. The judge0s nomination came as a surprise to to us all, as his conservative views were seen as troubling, even divisive.
In!epen!ent clause$ a portion o% a longer sentence t&at can stan! on its o'n as a separate( complete sentence
Sentence Fragment 4 sentence must be a complete thought that can stand on its own. Incorrect
Since ! switched to a ?aw 8oods diet, which emphasies regular regular consumption of unprocessed, natural foods over many commonly available packaged food products.
Correct
! switched to a ?aw 8oods diet, which emphasies regular regular consumption of unprocessed, natural foods over many commonly available packaged food products.
A!)erb-A!jecti)e A!)erb-A!jecti)e Con%usion 4n adjective modi'es a noun. 4n adverb modi'es a verb, adjective, or another adverb. Incorrect
!f you ever encounter a poisonous snake in the woods, the best course of action is to slow back away and egress when you0re you0re at a safe distance. Correct
!f you ever encounter a poisonous snake in the woods, the best course of action is to slowly back away and egress when you0re at a safe distance.
I!iomatic *sage Error The nglish language re3uires re3uires certain consistent constructions constructions (e.g., @not onlyAbut also, asAas, etc.) Incorrect
&ot only did the committee miss the point of my ?eusable
Twice Twice as many government government o6cials opposed the new piece piece of legislation than supported it. Correct
&ot only did the committee miss the point of my ?eusable
Twice Twice as many government government o6cials opposed the new piece piece of legislation as supported it.
#reposition Error +ertain verbs re3uire speci'c prepositions. Incorrect
=ur team has worked for several months on a robot that we plan on submitting to the robotics division of the science fair. fair.
Correct
=ur team has worked for several months on a robot that we plan to submit to the robotics division of the science fair. fair.
+hecking ach 4nswer 9hat does it mean to check each answerB
!f you can0t determine whether whether the underlined portion of the sentence contains a grammatical error error remember thisC consider the types of of errors errors from the list on the previous pages as a function of the part of speech of the underlined word.
The easiest way to do this is to memorie memorie which grammar grammar errors errors correspond with which parts of speech and check for the corresponding grammatical rule.
!n the underlined word is aA +heck forA !f the the unde underl rlin ined ed wor word iis s aAA aAAA. A... &oun Verb -ronoun 4djective
+hec +heck k forA forAAA AAA A SubjectDVerb 4greement, &oun 4greement Verb Tense, SubjectD Verb 4greement -ronoun 4greement, -ronoun case, -ronoun ambiguity 4djectiveDadverb confusion,
+omparison word -reposition -hrase with comma 5escriptive phrase +onjunction
Superlative error 8aulty comparison, parallelism -reposition error, idiomatic usage +omma splice, sentence fragment, parallelism isplaced modi'er !mproper +onjunction
Try Try using this chart when you you are doing the grammar section section
