Basic Writing Skills Faulty Sentences / Common Sentence Errors & How to Correct Them

1. BASIC WRITING
SKILLS
Faulty Sentences / Common Sentence Errors
&
How to Correct Them
Compiled by: Belachew Weldegebriel
Jimma University
CSSH
Department of English Language and
Literature

2. FAULTY SENTENCES
 Sentences with some kind error/mistake
 Lack one or more of the properties of complete
sentence (an independent clause)
 A complete sentence must
• have a subject and predicate (verb)
• Express a complete thought
• have a logical word order
• be acceptable to speakers of the language.

3. Fragment /Sentence Fragment
• A sentence fragment is a word group that is attempting
to function as a sentence but lacking an independent
clause.
• A fragment is a group of words that cannot stand on its
own as a sentence.
• Group of words that do not express a complete idea
• It is a group of words that seems random to hear

4. Examples of Fragment
• Meshed potatoes and pumpkin pie.
• Because we did not hear the warning siren.
• A variety of humming bird feeders available in
stores during the spring.
• When he decided to stop working part-time. He
gave up some earning potential.
• Before the bus arrived.
• The fishpond in the backyard
• The train which usually arrives late.
• After finishing his homework.

5. Correct/Revised
• My favorite foods are meshed potatoes and pumpkin pie.
• We didn’t leave the building because we did not hear the
warning siren.
• A variety of humming bird feeders were available in stores
during the spring.
• When he decided to stop working part-time, he gave up
some earning potential.

6. Run-on/Fused Sentence
• In a fused sentence, the two independent clauses are
joined with no punctuation mark or coordinating
conjunction.
Examples
• It is nearly half past five we cannot reach town before dark.
Sentence Error: Run-on Sentence
Correct/Revised
• It is nearly half past five; we cannot reach town before
dark. (Correct)
• It is nearly half past five, so we cannot reach town before
dark. (Correct)

7. Examples of Run-on Sentences
• The family drove to the beach it was a beautiful day.
• I completed my essay I have not submitted it.
• I felt awful about hitting this man today he didn’t even seem
to notice.

8. Comma Splice
• A sentence that has two independent clauses
joined by a comma alone
Example: I completed my essay, I have not submitted it. (Comma
splice)
• A comma is not strong enough to join two
independent clauses.
• A coordinating conjunction should be inserted after
the comma or the comma should be replaced by a
semi-colon to correct the problem.
I completed my essay, but I have not submitted it. (Correct)
I completed my essay; I have not submitted it. (Correct)

9. Lack of Parallelism
• Ideas in sentences like railroad tracks, should be parallel
to one another. If one of the railroad tracks is slightly of,
the train derails.
• In the same sense, if sentences contain a faulty
parallelism, it derails the sentence.

10. Examples of Sentences Lacking
Parallelism
• I went to the store, bus stop, and to the train
station.
• I like to walk, swimming, and read novels.
• Playing your best is more important than to win.
• Kebede’s goals are to study accounting and
saving money for the future.
• The band members were enthusiastic,
energetic, and of great talent.

11. Parallelism Correct/Revised
• I went to the store, to the bus stop, and to the train
station.
• I went to the store, bus stop, and train station.
• I like to walk, swim, and read novels.
• I like to walk, to swim, and to read novels.
• I like walking, swimming, and reading novels.

12. Misplaced Modifier
• A misplaced modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that is
improperly separated from the word it modifies / describes.
• As a rule, a modifier should be placed close to the word or
phrase it modifies.
Examples
• The game nearly has finished when we arrived at the
stadium.
• He only left twenty minutes ago.
• The game has nearly finished when we arrived at the
stadium. Correct/Revised
• He left only twenty minutes ago. Correct/Revised

13. Further Examples of Misplaced Modifiers
• The officer left to fight with his troops.
• The officer left with his troops to fight. (Better)
• She could not explain why she wanted to get married to her
mother.
• She could not explain to her mother why she wanted to get
married. (Better)
• He begged her not to speak sincerely.
• He sincerely begged her not to speak. (Better)

14. Misplaced Modifiers
• An apple pie sat on the table that Claire had baked.
(Misplaced Modifier)
• Correction: An apple pie that Claire had baked sat on the
table.
• The student was punished by the teacher who cheated on
the test.
• Correction: The student who cheated on the test was
punished by the teacher.

15. Dangling Modifiers
• A dangling modifier is a word or phrase that modifies a word
not clearly stated in the sentence.
• Dangling Participles:
Ex: Riding my bicycle, a dog chased me.
When I was riding my bicycle, I was chased by a dog.
• Dangling Gerunds:
Ex: After considering the plan for several days, it was
adopted.
After considering the plan for several days, the committee
adopted it.

16. Dangling Modifiers
Dangling infinitives:
Ex: To write effectively, practice is necessary.
To write effectively, students should practice a lot.
Dangling elliptical clauses
Ex: When a baby, my grandfather gave me a
silver cup.
When I was a baby, my grandfather gave me a
silver cup.

17. Dangling Modifiers
• Modifying words and phrases are said to "dangle" if the
subject they describe is not directly stated; the resulting
sentence can be unclear or even nonsensical.
Examples
• Coming home late, the house was dark.
• Sitting on the chair, the cat scratched the material.
• Eating in the kitchen, the sandwich was good.
• Running in the park, my shoes began to hurt.

18. Two Types of Agreement Problem
Agreement
Subject - Verb
Pronoun - Antecedent

19. Agreement : Subject-verb Agreement
A singular subject takes a singular verb; a plural subject
takes a plural verb.
Sentences in simple present tense
• Jemila take the bus to school.
• Jemila takes the bus to school. (Correct)
Was, were
• The students was late for class.
• The students were late for class.(Correct)
Have, has
Alemu has three brothers. We have two cows.
Girma has done his homework.
The students have done their homework.

20. Agreement: Subject-verb
• Collective Nouns
• Collective nouns (team, committee, jury, majority, and so on)
take a singular verb if one thinks of the group as a unit or by a
plural verb is one thinks of the separate members of the group.
• Here are some examples of subject verb agreement
with collective nouns:
• The committee meets here every Thursday. (singular)
• The crowd is getting angry. (singular)
• The jury has finally reached a decision. (singular)
• The majority rules most of the time. (plural)
• The staff have gone their separate ways for the
holidays. (plural)

21. Nouns normally ending in -S
a. Those almost always taking a singular verb are:
economics, mathematics, physics, ethics,
civics, measles, mumps, news, whereabouts
b. Those almost always taking a plural verb are:
scissors, trousers, pliers, acoustics, tweezers
c. Those which may be either singular or plural
are: wages, politics, means, tactics, athletics.

22. Agreement
Alternate Subject: The conjunctions or, either...or, neither...nor,
not...but join two or more subjects. The verb agrees with the nearer
subject.
Either the coach or the PLAYERS ARE responsible.
Neither the players nor the COACH IS responsible.
Neither my dad nor my brothers know how to ski.
Either my sisters or Grandpa is going to the park.
Either my father or my brothers are going to sell the
house.
Neither my brothers nor my father is going to sell the
house.

23. Agreement
• In addition to, as well as, along with, together
with, etc
• Sometimes the subject is separated from the verb
by such words as along with, as well as, besides,
not, etc. These words and phrases are not part of
the subject. Ignore them and use a singular verb
when the subject is singular.
• The politician, along with the newsmen, is
expected shortly.
Excitement, as well as nervousness, is the cause
of her shaking.

24. Agreement
• Sentences beginning with There/Here
There are the four BOYS in the room.
There is the famous foot ball player.
Here is the book I borrowed from the library.
Here are the gangsters.

25. A number/the number
• "A number" signals a plural subject: it means "many."
Example: A number of students find English challenging.
(Plural)
• "The number" signals a singular subject; it refers to an
amount.
Example: The number of cars is too many for the parking
spaces available.(Singular)

26. Agreement
Pronoun – Antecedent
•A pronoun is a word that refers to a noun (takes the place of a
noun).
The antecedent of a pronoun is the noun to which it refers (the
noun that it takes the place of, so that we do not need to repeat
the noun).
In the sentence, "The man lost his hat," the pronoun is his; the
antecedent of the pronoun is man. If we did not have pronouns,
we would have to write, "The man lost the man's hat”.
•WITHOUT PRONOUNS:
•Hanna thinks that Hanna should sell Hanna’s car to Hanna’s
brother.
•WITH PRONOUNS :
•Hanna thinks that she should sell her car to her brother.

27. • President Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg address in
1863.
• The pronoun his refers to President Lincoln.
• In this sentence, the pronoun his is called the REFERENT
because it “refers back.”
• Debebe wears his Superman outfit at least twice a week.
• Debebe’s parents believe that their son is slightly peculiar.

28. BASIC RULE
• A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in number,
gender and case.
• If the antecedent is singular, the pronoun must be
singular; if the antecedent is plural, the pronoun must be
plural.
• If the antecedent is masculine, the pronoun must be
masculine; if the antecedent is feminine, the pronoun must
be feminine.
• If the antecedent is a person who could be of either
gender (e.g., teacher, doctor, student), we are obligated to
use "he or she," "him or her," "his or her," as appropriate.

29. Examples
1. Every passenger was required to show his or her ticket.
2. Neither of the boys has done his homework.
3. A person who is terminally ill has the right to have his or
her wishes regarding life-support respected.
4. Nowadays, when a student graduates from college, he or
she has a better chance of getting a good job than a
person with only a high school diploma does.
5. Any student who wishes to be excused should raise his or
her hand.
6. Neither India nor Pakistan is willing to abandon its nuclear
weapons program.

30. Pronoun Antecedent Agreement
Indefinite Pronouns
•The indefinite pronouns anyone, anybody, everyone,
everybody, someone, somebody, no one, and nobody are
always singular.
•This is sometimes perplexing to writers who feel that
everyone and everybody (especially) are referring to more
than one person. The same is true of either and neither,
which are always singular even though they seem to be
referring to two things.
•Everybody needs to bring his or her assignment to class.
•Everyone returned his or her books to the library.
•All of the class members turned in their homework and
got out their textbooks.

31. • Compound antecedents are usually plural;
• Debela and Derartu think their kids are brilliant.
• If two antecedents are joined by or, either/or,
neither/nor, the pronoun agrees with the
antecedent closest to it;
• Either Michael or his friends will bring their video
games to the party.
• Either his friends or Michael will bring his video games
to the party. (This sentence is correct, but sounds
illogical. Word the sentence like the first example
rather than the second).
• The pronoun agrees with the antecedent, not the
object of the prepositional phrase;
• Each of the dogs needs its own crate.

32. Collective Nouns
Collective noun can be either singular or plural,
depending on the context.
The jury took only two hours to reach its verdict. (Emphasizes the
singularity of the jury)
The jury took only two hours to reach their verdict. (Emphasizes the
jury as a group of individuals)
Avoid sexism
Not “A doctor should listen carefully to his patients.”
But rather (1) making the pronoun and its antecedent plural, or (2)
reword the sentence.
•Doctors should listen carefully to their patients.
•Doctors should listen carefully to patients.

33. • Two possible antecedents for a pronoun can be confusing.
• Alemu told Kebede that he was ungrateful.
• Alemu said to Kebede: “You are ungrateful”
• When our president met with their premier, he felt a new
chapter in history had begun.
• Our president felt a new chapter in history had begun when
he met with their premier.

34. Exercise
1. I hate to proofread my paper because proofreading is
such a boring thing for you to do.
2. A person should be able to make up their own mind
about prayer in schools.
3. A teacher should show their students love and
compassion.
4. Often, a doctor will leave their patients waiting for a
ridiculously long time

35. Correcting Sentence Faults: The type of fault in the
following sentences is identified: can you correct the
problems and write the sentences?
1. A lawyer must be articulate and think logically. [Faulty
Parallelism]
2. John became ill after he married and died. [Misplaced
modifier]
3. I did not go to work today I was sick. [Run on sentence]
4. The relationship between the auditor and the client is
one of trust, that trust, indeed, should work both
ways.[Run on]
5. The issue was never presented to a jury. The case
having been settled out of court. [The second part is
Fragment]

36. Exercise
6. The committee was in a hurry to adjourn; they had
already met for five hours. [Agreement]
7. The work of the department is (1) identifying problems, (2)
some research on how to solve them, and (3) to recommend
the best solution. Lack of Parallelism
8. By exercising makes you fit. [Mixed Construction/
unnecessary shift]
9. She disliked school, she studied every day. (Comma
splice)
10. The dog barked the sudden sound frightened the
burglar. (Run on/fused)