Common Grammar Errors

Sentence Fragments, Run-On Sentences and Comma Splices, Faulty Parallelism, and Subject-Verb Agreement Problems

Part One

Sentence Fragments

Sentence Fragments

• Sentence Fragments are parts of sentences that are lost or disconnected. They are incomplete.
• A Sentence Fragment may look and act like a complete sentence, it may even have a subject and a verb, but it is only pretending to be a sentence.

For example . . .

• At Seton Hill, students pursue many different majors. Such as art, psychology, and education.

• The second sentence is a fragment. It lacks a subject and a verb, and therefore cannot stand alone. How can we fix this?

Add a Comma

• At Seton Hill, students pursue many different majors, such as art, psychology, and education.

• We fixed our fragment by combining it with the previous sentence using a comma. This is a common technique used to eliminate a sentence fragment.

Add a Subject and a Verb

• At Seton Hill, students pursue many different majors. Some majors offered are art, psychology, and education.

Here we added:

• - a subject,
• some majors
• - and a verb, offered

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What If It Already has a Subject and a Verb?

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• A sentence fragment that has a subject and a verb is called a subordinate clause.

• You can spot subordinate clauses because they usually begin with certain words:

after, although, because, before, if, though, unless, until, when, where, who, which, and that.

For Example . . .

• She decided to register for an online computer class. Although she wasn’t a fan of computers.

This is a

fragment!

• The sentence has a subject and a verb, but the word “although” tips us off that this is a fragment.
• We can fix this by attaching it to the previous sentence.

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Picking out Sentence Fragments

To be a complete sentence, there must be at least one independent clause.

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There are several questions we can ask to figure out if a sentence is a fragment.

Is there a subject? If the answer is no, it’s a fragment.

Is there a verb? If the answer is no, it’s a fragment.

Does it start with after, before, if, etc.? If the answer is yes, it’s a fragment

Is it a fragment?

• Unless they decided to leave tomorrow instead of tonight.

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• Leaving the math homework until later.

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• Are these fragments?

How would you fix them?

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In Conversation

• Sentence Fragments can be tricky because we use them in conversation, but they are not appropriate in academic writing.

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“Where did you go last night?”

“To a movie.”

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Some Exceptions

To convey emphasis

There was no food in the house. Not even a crumb.

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After a colon in a list

There are many types of guitars: acoustic, electric, bass, etc.

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Exclamations

You’re kidding!

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Part Two

Run On Sentences and Comma Splices

Run-On Sentences

• Run-On Sentences join two or more complete sentences without the appropriate punctuation.
• They can be confusing because it is hard to tell where one thought ends and another begins.

For Example …

• He is never on time for work instead he saunters in ten or fifteen minutes late every day.

• We can tell that this is a run-on sentence because there are two independent clauses. Where could we divide this sentence into two?

Make Two Sentences out of One

• He is never on time for work. Instead he saunters in ten or fifteen minutes late every day.

• Even though the second sentence is a continuation of the idea in the first, it functions better on its own. Now the reader can pause before moving on.

Comma Splices

• If I had punctuated the sentence this way -

He is never on time for work, instead he saunters in ten or fifteen minutes late every day.

- I would have created a comma splice.

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• A comma splice occurs when two or more independent clauses have been joined by a comma without a coordinating conjunction.
• There are seven coordinating conjunctions: and, but, or, nor, for, so, and yet.

Fixing a Comma Splice

• He is never on time for work, instead he saunters in ten or fifteen minutes late every day.

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COMMA SPLICE

• He is never on time for work, but instead he saunters in ten or fifteen minutes late every day.

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ADD A COORDINATING CONJUNCTION

How to Fix Run On Sentences

• There are several other ways to fix a run on besides making a new sentence:
• Add a comma and a coordinating conjunction (and, but, for, so, etc.)
• Place a semicolon between the sentences
• Add a subordinating conjunction

(after, although, because, if, since, etc.)

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Examples

• Use a comma and a conjunction
• My sister walks her dog every day, and she takes him to the park on weekends.

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Use a Semicolon

• The service will take place at 6pm; the reception will take place immediately after.

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Use a Subordinating Conjunction

- She never eats red meat because she is a vegetarian.

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Part Three

Parallelism

Parallelism

• In order for a sentence to be Parallel, all parts of the sentence need to be in the same grammatical form. This lends the sentence balance.

For Example …

• This sentence is parallel:

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My brother went skiing and snowboarding last weekend.

• This sentence is NOT parallel:

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She likes running, lifting weights, and to do aerobics.

Why is it wrong?

• She likes running, lifting weights, and to do aerobics.

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The objects of the sentence are not expressed in identical grammatical forms. Two end in –ing and one is preceded by the infinitive -to do.

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How would you make this

sentence parallel?

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It can be changed several ways …

She likes running, lifting weights, and doing aerobics.

OR

She likes to run, to lift weights, and to do aerobics.

OR

She likes to run, lift weights, and do aerobics.

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Lets try another one

Where does this sentence fail to be parallel? How can we fix it?

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John’s boss fired him because he frequently called in sick, failed to complete his work on time, and his attitude was bad.

Make the Verbs Parallel

John’s boss fired him because he frequently called in sick, failed to complete his work on time, and showed a bad attitude.

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Now all of our verbs end in –ed. How else could we have fixed this sentence?

Recognizing the Need for Parallelism

• Certain words work together to suggest a relationship between similar ideas. The ideas that follow them should be parallel to one another.

Coordinating Words

• Both … and
• Either … or
• Not only … but also
• Not … but
• Whether … or

Coordinating Words

Is this sentence parallel?

Not only eating a healthy diet but also exercise can lower your blood pressure.

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How about this one?

Whether you go to college or join the work force, I’m sure you’ll do very well.

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Other Examples …

• After a colon:

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Some of the reasons people use the library are: checking out books, using the internet, and searching for reference materials.

• Making a comparison or contrast:

She likes her math teacher as much as she likes her science teacher.

Finding Non-Parallel Sentences

• Look for items in a list and check to see if they all match.
• Skim your paper pausing at coordinating words like “and” and “or” and make sure the joined items are parallel.
• Listen to your sentences: do you hear a rhythm? If something is breaking that rhythm, it might need to be made parallel.

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Part Four

Subject Verb Agreement

Subject Verb Agreement

• The subject of a sentence must agree with the verb.
• There are two steps in establishing subject verb agreement:
• Find the Subject
• Is it singular or plural?

What is the subject?

• The subject is the part of the sentence that performs the action of the verb.

The player kicks the ball.

The player is the subject of the sentence.

Finding the Subject

• Sometimes finding the subject of a sentence can be made difficult by other elements of the sentence, such as prepositions.
• Prepositions have their own object, which is different from the subject of the sentence.

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EXAMPLE: The group of students is picketing outside the classroom.

OF is a preposition: its object is STUDENTS

GROUP is the subject of the sentence. It is singular.

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Finding the Subject

• Parenthetical phrases can also confuse the location of the subject.

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The mascot, as well as the coaches, was at the pep rally.

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What is the subject? TEAM

It is singular.

Singular vs. Plural

• Singular

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Counting Crows is my favorite band.

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Subject = Counting Crows (singular)

Verb = is (singular)

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• Plural

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Counting Crows and Matchbox 20 are my favorite bands.

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Subject = Counting Crows and Matchbox 20 (plural)

Verb = are (plural)

Singular or Plural?

• When two singular subjects are joined by “or” or “nor” they require a singular verb.

EXAMPLE: The plate or the bowl is in the cupboard.

If we replace “or” with “and,” will that affect our verb?

When a subject contains a singular noun and a plural noun joined by “or” or “nor”, the verb agrees with the one closest to it.

EXAMPLE: The boss or the employees drop off the mail.

The employees or the boss drops off the

mail.

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Singular and Plural Pronouns

• Indefinite pronouns in sentences do not refer to anyone in particular.
• Certain indefinite pronouns are singular and others are plural:
• SINGULAR: anyone, anybody, each, either neither, none, everybody, everyone
• PLURAL: both, few, many, several

Singular vs. Plural Pronouns

• SINGULAR

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Anyone is welcome to attend the presentation.

• PLURAL

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Both of them are riding in the same car.

Plural and Collective Nouns

A plural noun may have an “s” on the end, but it is singular.

EX: aerobics

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A collective noun can be singular or plural depending upon whether they are acting as a unit or individually.

EX: majority, family

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Plural Nouns and Collective Nouns

• PLURAL NOUN

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The statistics show that alcoholism is a problem among students.

• COLLECTIVE NOUN

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The band is practicing on Tuesday at noon.

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The band changes their uniforms.

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Practice Makes Perfect

• Now that we know how to makes subjects and verbs agree, lets try a few.
• Is there subject verb agreement in this sentence?

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The mother cat, along with all her kittens,

are sleeping in the box.

• The mother cat, along with all her kittens, are sleeping in the box.

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The subject of the sentence is “the mother cat.” Even though “kittens” is plural, it is not the subject and the verb does not need to agree with it.

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The mother cat, along with all her kittens, is sleeping in the box.

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• Lets try another one!

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The jury is ordering take out from the restaurant across the street.

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What is the subject?

Does the verb agree?

Checking Your Sentences for Subject Verb Agreement

Find your subject – Find your verb

• -Are they singular or plural?
• -if the subject refers to more than one person, are they acting as a group or individually?

Is there a pronoun instead of a noun?

-how many people does it refer to?

REMEMBER

An “S” on the end does not always mean the subject is plural.

Lack of an “S” does not always mean the subject is singular.

Here are Some Helpful Grammar Websites to Check Out!

Purdue’s Online Writing Lab

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/

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Pardigm Online Writing Assisstant

http://www.powa.org

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The Tongue Untied

http://grammar.uoregon.edu/toc.html

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Capital Community College Guide to Grammar and Writing

http://ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/

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