*
*Sentence fragment
*A complete sentence contains a subject
and a verb and expresses a complete
thought.
*
*Comma Splice
*A comma splice occurs when a comma is
used for a semicolon or period.
*
*Run-on sentence
*A run-on sentence occurs when a necessary
semicolon or period is omitted.
*
*Illogical use of a semicolon
*For example, between a clause and a
phrase or between a dependent and an
independent clause
*
*Lack of agreement
between subject and
verb
*
*Faulty use of pronoun –
case, reference, number
*
*Other comma errors
*Failure to use comma between independent
clauses joined by a conjunction
*Failure to use comma after introductory
clause or phrase
*
*Misspelling common
words
*
*lead = v.: to guide
*Ex. – I will lead the way.
*lead = n.: metallic element
*Ex. – She hit him with a lead pipe.
*led = v.: past tense of the verb lead
*Ex. – I led him to the treasure.
*
*primitive
*questionnaire
*receive
*rhythm
*separate
*
*principal = adj.: main, chief; n.: head of school,
leader
*Ex. – Our principal, Mrs. Mote, will be the
principal speaker at graduation.
*principle = n.: law, truth, doctrine, or code of
conduct
*Ex. – Most of the moral principles that people live
by are learned from their parents.
*
*their = possessive pronoun
*Ex. – their car, their friend, their house
*they’re = contraction for “they are”
*Ex. – They’re going to a party.
*there = adv.: toward that place
*Ex. – Stand over there.
*
*to = prep. & infinitive
*Ex. – I plan to read tonight.
*two = n.: number
*Ex. – I have two sons.
*too = adv.: more than enough
*Ex. – You study too much.
*
*succeed – successful
*suppressed
*truly
*unnoticed
*woman – women
*quite – quiet – quit
*going to
*
*occasion
*embarrassment – harassment
*exaggerate
*familiar – similar
*grammar
*
*stationary = adj.: not moving
*Ex. The seats in the auditorium are
stationary.
*stationery = n.: writing materials
*Her letter was written on pink
stationery.
*
*until = prep.: before a specified time, up
to the time of
*Ex. – We can’t leave until Monday.
*till = vt.: prepare land for planting crops
*The farmer tilled the land.
*
*weather = n.: temperature
*whether = conj.: used to introduce
alternatives
*Ex. – How favorable the weather is will
determine whether or not we’ll go
camping.
*
*then = adv.: consequently; at the time; next
*Ex. – If you’re running late, then you
better hurry.
*than = conj.: comparative
*Ex. – I am a safer driver than you.
*
*through = prep.: in one side and out the
other; finished
*I went through the garage door.
*threw = v.: discharged into the air (past
tense of the verb “throw”)
*Ex. – I threw the ball through the
window.
*
*were = verb
*Ex. – You were being paged.
*where = adv.: at or in what place
*Ex. – Where are the restrooms?
*
*belief = n.: something accepted as true
*Ex. – Christians share a belief in life
after death.
*believe = vt.: to have confidence in the
truth or existence of something
*Ex. – Many people believe Seinfeld is
very funny.
*
* People are hanged.
* Lynching = always use hang.
* Ex. – They hanged him at sunrise.
They decided to hang him.
* Objects are hung.
* Objects = past tense = hung
* Ex. – I will hang the clothes out.
The clothes hung on the line.
* Hung also indicates a standstill:
* Ex. – hung up in traffic, a hung jury, hung on every
word
*
*complement = n.: something that completes; vt.:
serve as complement to
*Ex. – The dessert was a complement to the
delicious dinner.
*compliment = n.: an expression of courtesy or praise
*You have paid me a great compliment.
*
* allusion = n.: an implied or indirect reference
* Ex. – He has the Midas touch.
* illusion = n.: something that deceives or
misleads
* Ex. – We see motion movies because of an optical
illusion.
* disillusion = vt.: to disappoint
* Ex. – The Viet Nam veterans were disillusioned
by the war.
*
* affect = vt.: to influence; strong feeling having active
consequences
* Ex. – Was your decision affected by his comments?
* effect = n.: a result; vt.: to accomplish
* Ex. – What effect will his promotion have on you? (noun)
* Ex. – The heavy ice and snowstorm effected a change in
their vacation plans. (verb)
* HINT: for effect, substitute “result” or “resulted in”
*
*advice = n.: a recommendation, an opinion,
information
*advise = vt.: to inform, to notify, to recommend
*Ex. – I advise you to follow your parents’
advice.
*
*accommodate
*acknowledge – acknowledgment
*judge - judgment
*
*loose = adj.: not tight
*Ex. – The pants are loose.
*lose = v.: unable to find or keep
*Ex. – You may lose your parking space.
*
*Use “a” before a word beginning
with a consonant sound.
*Use “an” before a word beginning
with a vowel sound.
*Ex. – a house
an hour ago
an early departure
*
*your = possessive pronoun
*Ex. – your mother, your car
*you’re = contraction for “you are”
*Ex. – You’re your mother’s child.
*
*because = conj.: since; for the reason that
*Ex. – The students failed because they did not
hand in their assignments.
*DO NOT use because after “the reason”
*cause = n.: something leading to an effect or
consequence; vt.: to be the cause of
*Ex. – The cause of freedom is noble.
*The shark was the cause of great fear.
*
*analysis = n.: separation of a whole into
parts
*Ex. – The blood analysis revealed no
infectious disease.
*analyzing = vt.: to separate into parts
*Ex. – The lab assistant was analyzing the
blood.
*
*all right, a lot = two words!
*Do NOT use “a lot” in formal writing.
*allot = vt.: to divide or distribute by share
*Ex. - We will allot the scholarships
*
*desert = n.: a very dry region
*Ex. – We made sure we had enough water
when we crossed the desert.
*dessert = n.: sweet food
*Ex. – We eat dessert after every evening
meal.
*
*forty
*fourth
*forth
*
*foreword = n.: preface of introductory note at the
beginning of a book
*Ex. – The author’s explanation was in the
foreword.
*forward = adj. & adv.: at, near or belonging to the
front; forward/bold; frontward
*Adj. Ex. – a forward nation
*Adv. Ex. – come forward; I look forward to seeing
you.
*
*explain = v.: to make understandable
*Ex. – I will explain the rules.
*explanation = n.: something that explains
*The explanation was brief.
*
*capital = city
*capitol = building
*Ex. – We toured the capitol in Austin,
the capital of Texas.
*
*council = n.: a group of deliberators
*Ex. – The council met yesterday.
*counsel = n.: advice, guidance
*Ex. She accepted his wise counsel.
*consul = n.: advisor to another country
*The consul in Mexico is negotiating for the U.S.
*
*conscious = adj.: capable of thought or perception
*Ex. – Please remain conscious in class.
*conscience = n.: to know wrong
*Ex. – The serial killer had no conscience.
*
*accept = vt.: to receive with consent
*except = prep.: but, with the exclusion of
*Ex. – I accept all of your suggestions
except this one.
*
* genius = n.: exceptional intellectual & creative power
* Ex. – My brother is a genius.
* ingenious = adj.: imaginative, brilliant in creating & devising
* Ex. – His plan was ingenious.
* ingenuous = adj.: lacking worldliness & sophistication; honest
* Ex. – Her ingenuous spirit was refreshing.
*
*A speaker IMPLIES.
A listener INFERS.
*imply = v.: to suggest, to hint
*Ex. – Mrs. Lane implied that women
were superior.
*infer = v.: to draw a conclusion by
reasoning or from evidence.
*Ex. – I inferred that she was teasing.
*
*height – eighth
*irritable
*lonely – loneliness
*misspell – misspelling
*Negroes – heroes – tomatoes
*obstacle
*occurred – occurrence
*possession - possessed
*
* proceed = v.: to advance, continue
* Ex. – I think we should proceed.
* precede = v.: to be, go or come ahead of something else
* Ex. – In the procession, the faculty precedes the students.
* procedure = n.: a course of action
* Ex. – If you want to develop the film, you must follow the
proper procedure.
*
*businessman – businessmen
*committee
*dilemma, condemn
*disastrous
*controversy
*hypocrisy
*democracy
*decide
*divide
*devices
*
*criticize = vt.: to judge harshly
*Ex. – The minister was criticized unfairly.
*criticism = n.: making discriminating judgments
*Ex. – The criticism of the novel reveals differing
viewpoints.
*
*past = n.: a time gone by
*Ex. In the past, I rode motorcycles.
*past = adj.: just gone or elapsed
*Ex. – For the past several days, I have been working
on common errors.
*past = prep.: beyond
*Ex. – I drove past her house.
*passed = past tense of the verb pass
* Ex. – Time passed much too slowly.
*
*discreet = adj.: prudent, modest
*Ex. – He made a discreet inquiry about her marital
status.
*discrete = adj.: distinct, separate
*Ex. – A discrete variable is a mathematical variable
that assumes only whole number values.
*
*marital = adj.: relating to marriage
*Ex. – Joe and Sally experienced marital
issues that were challenging.
*martial = adj.: relating to war or combat
*Ex. – The sergeant received awards for
his martial skills.
*
* curriculum = n.: course of study
* Ex. – In ancient times, Latin was a required
part of the curriculum.
* career = n.: chosen profession
* Ex. – Adolf Hitler would have preferred an
artistic career in lieu of politics.
*
*eminent = adj.: standing out above others
*Ex. – Edgar Allan Poe is known as an
eminent author.
*imminent = adj.: about to occur at any
moment
*Ex. – The boys hanging on the side of the
cliff are in imminent danger.
*
*REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS
Singular: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself
Plural: ourselves, yourselves, themselves
Ex. – Did Matthew make himself a sandwich?
The cheerleaders drove themselves to Lubbock.
*
* censor = n.: one who examines material for the purpose of
suppressing objectionable information
* Ex. – In communist countries the head of state will assume the
duties as censor.
* --also vt.: to examine and eliminate
* Ex. – The President will censor all incoming mail.
* censure = n.: blame or disapproval; vt.: to criticize severely
* Ex. – The censure on abortion clinics has become very violent.
* The pro-life movement has censured abortion clinics.
*
* sense = n.: functions of sight, hearing, smell, touch, &
taste; sound reasoning (i.e. common sense); also v.:
detect automatically
* Ex., n. – His senses made him wary.
* Ex., n. – She used good sense.
* Ex., v. – I sensed he was upset.
* since = adv.: from then until now; also conj.
* Ex., adv. – He left home and has not been there since.
* Ex., conj. – They have not been back since they graduated.
*
*its = possessive pronoun meaning “belonging to it”
*Ex. – The animal licked its wounds.
*it’s = contraction for “it is”
*Ex. – Since it’s such a nice day, we should go
swimming.
*
*writer
*writing
*written
*
*continual = frequently repeated
*Ex. – The continual
advertisements are annoying.
*continuous = uninterrupted
*Ex. – The rainfall was continuous.
*
*would have – NOT would of
*could have – NOT could of
*should have – NOT could of
*