A QUICK
LOOK AT
GRAMMAR
& SYNTAX
Focusing on common
structural mistakes and
punctuation errors
made by academics…
Finishing off with an
opportunity to talk over
questions and examples

GRAMMAR
& SYNTAX
IN ENGLISH
Phonology – how words sound
Morphology – the structure of words
Syntax – phrase and sentence
structure
Semantics – words, phrase, and
sentence meaning
Pragmatics – the effect of context on
language
Grammar – a system of language use

REVIEWING SENTENCE
STRUCTURE
• Normally Subject – Verb – Object(s)
• e.g. The experiment produced results.
• Adjectives and Adverbs
• e.g. The first experiment largely produced favourable results
• Prepositions (e.g. in, to, after, on, with)
• e.g The first experiment largely produced favourable results on
the rat population in the test group.

REMEMBER
THE HAIRY
POTATO

THE IMPORTANCE OF SYNTAX
• When syntax goes bad…
Organ donations from living donors reached a record high last
year, outnumbering donors who are dead for the first time.
The body was found in an alley by a passer-by with a bullet in his
head.
Eight new lab coats are currently needed due to the addition of
several new staff members and to the deterioration of some older
ones.

SINGULAR/PLURAL
SUBJECTS/VERBS
• Which is correct:
The increasing price of iPhones results in…
The increasing price of iPhones result in…
Kugelschreiber, Solokov, and Weber (1998) suggest that…
Kugelschreiber, Solokov, and Weber (1998) suggests that…

PRONOUN DISAGREEMENT
Which is correct…
Each conference attendee must bring their own masks.
Each conference attendee must bring her own mask.
Each conference attendee must bring his or her own
mask.
All academics retain their intellectual property (IP).
All academics retain his intellectual property (IP).

THE LONG AND
THE SHORT
• Run-on sentences / comma
splices…
The Dutch gained commercial and
financial supremacy during the later
sixteenth, seventeenth, and early
eighteenth centuries, they lost that
supremacy to Great Britain during the
later eighteenth and early nineteenth
centuries, resulting in significant
changes to foreign economic policy.
• Dangling phrases…
Such an outcome was not warranted.

USE OF MODIFIERS
• Dangling modifiers: who ‘owns’ these actions? Who is the
‘doer’?
Having finished the experiment, the rats were released.
To improve results, the experiment was done again.
After reading the original study, it remains unconvincing.

THE
IMPORTANCE OF
PUNCTUATION
• Consider the lowly comma… look at
how these sentences change:
‘Let’s eat Grandma!’
‘Let’s eat, Grandma!’
‘I like cooking dogs and kids.’
‘I like cooking, dogs and
kids.’
‘I like cooking, dogs, and
kids.’

COLONS AND SEMI-COLONS
• Connection (or relationship) between sentences…
‘Real world examples are great: students are better able to make sense of
the subject.’
(second sentence qualifies or justifies the first – one distinct point being
made)
‘Real world examples are great; however, other options should be
considered.’
(second sentence is related, but does not justify – two distinct points being
made)

DIFFERING CONNECTIONS
• ‘Real world examples are great; however, other options should be
considered.’
• ‘Real world examples are great; therefore, other options should be
considered.’
• ‘Real world examples are great; nonetheless, other options should be
considered.’
• ‘Real world examples are great; thus, other options should be considered.’

COLON OR SEMI-COLON?

‘LONG’ OR ‘EM-’ DASHES
• ‘Em-dashes’ can also be used to modify sentence structures
or to connect ideas—they can function as commas, colons,
semi-colons, and even parentheses, for example:
• The judgment had been made—after the research was
completed—which altered the final outcome  replacing commas
• After months of deliberation, the jurors reached a unanimous
verdict—guilty.  replacing a colon
• Upon discovering the errors—all 124 of them—the publisher
immediately recalled the books.  replacing parentheses

PREPOSITIONS ENDING
SENTENCES
• Which is correct…
What reason did she come here for?
For what reason did she come here?
Remember, a preposition generally modifies a word or phrase that follows it.

APOSTROPHES
My office is next to her office.
My office is next to her’ office.
My office is next to hers office.
My office is next to her’s office.
Despite what you think, it’s true.
Despite what you think, its true.
Despite what you think, its’ true.

COMPARISON ADJECTIVES
• Which is correct…
The resulting composite was smoother and thinner.
The resulting composite was smoother and thinner than it was
in previous tests.”

ENGLISH LANGUAGE
VARIATION
• British / American / Australian /
Canadian
• Word substitution:
• Aluminium / Aluminum, etc.
• Word spelling:
• Organisation / Organization
• Minimise / Minimize
• Symbolise / Symbolize
• Summarize / Summarize
• Pronunciation:
• Controversy

YOUR TURN

FIND A GOOD GUIDE
THAT YOU CAN USE
FROM TIME TO TIME