Sample Sentences
Sentence Fragments (frag)
frag Clause
frag
Phrase
Run-on Sentences (RO)
RO
Comma splice
RO
No punctuation
No: Norma left the party. Because Ray had insulted her.
Yes: Norma left the party because Ray had insulted her.
No: I believe Professor Plum committed the murder. In the
billiard room with the candlestick.
Yes: I believe Professor Plum committed the murder in the
billiard room with the candlestick.
No: I love ice cream, George prefers peanut butter.
Yes: I love ice cream. George prefers peanut butter.
Yes: I love ice cream; George prefers peanut butter.
Yes: I love ice cream, but George prefers peanut butter.
No: Laura has more speed Carla has more endurance.
Subject/Verb Agreement Errors (s/v)
s/v
We ignore prepositional
No: George, along with Carla and Alfredo, are visiting this
phrases . . .
weekend.
Yes: George, along with Carla and Alfredo, is visiting this
weekend.
s/v
. . . except when they
Yes: Most of the water is in the bathtub.
determine the number of Yes: Most of the monkeys are in the bathtub.
the subject
s/v
Compound subjects
No: The vast size and splendor of the mural enchants all
who see it.
Yes: The vast size and splendor of the mural enchant all
who see it.
s/v
Correlative conjunctions Yes: Either my dog or my two cats are coming.
Yes: Either my two cats or my dog is coming.
Yes: Neither you nor I am able to read Arabic.
s/v
Indefinite pronouns and
Yes: Each of the teachers is reading a different book.
adjectives
Yes: Neither of the lovers was thinking clearly.
s/v
Subject after verb
Yes: There are a llama and a bear in my yard.
Yes: Hidden behind the two doors were a lady and a tiger.
s/v
Verb agrees with subject, Yes: His freckles are the reason I love him.
not subject complement
Yes: The reason I love him is his freckles.
s/v
Collective nouns
Yes: The faculty is meeting as usual.
Yes: The faculty are arguing with each other as usual.
s/v
Relative clauses
Yes: Edna is one of those girls who like to run.
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Verb Tense Errors (T)
T
Use present tense when
discussing literature . . .
T
. . . except when looking
back on a past event
T
Do not shift tenses
T
Past perfect
T
Conditional sentences
No: Holden went to see Mr. Antolini.
Yes: Holden goes to see Mr. Antolini.
Yes: After Allie died, Holden punched out the windows of
the car and broke his hand.
No: As I entered the room, I hear a strange noise.
Yes: As I entered the room, I heard a strange noise.
Yes: As I enter the room, I hear a strange noise.
No: After he checked the house, he locked the door.
Yes: After he had checked the house, he locked the door.
No: If she would have asked, I would have gone.
Yes: If she had asked, I would have gone.
No: If you took my candy, I will scream.
Yes: If you took my candy, I would scream.
Yes: If you take my candy, I will scream.
Noun and Pronoun Case Errors (case)
case Objective case in
No: Between he and I there is a long history.
prepositional phrases
Yes: Between him and me there is a long history.
case We ignore distracting
No: Alex and me are arguing again.
nouns and pronouns.
Yes: Alex and I are arguing again.
No: Please take him and I to the movies.
Yes: Please take him and me to the movies.
case Elliptical phrasing (e.g.,
No: Yao Ming is taller than me.
in comparisons)
Yes: Yao Ming is taller than I.
Yes: You like the Mets more than I [do].
Yes: You like the Mets more than [you like] me.
case Subjective case for
No: The murderer was me.
subject complements
Yes: The murderer was I.
case We and us with nouns
Yes: We c
owboy
se
nj
oyc
he
wi
n’t
oba
c
c
o.
Yes: Chewi
n’t
oba
c
c
og
i
ve
sus cowboys cancer.
case Who/whom in questions
Yes: Who stole the cookies from the cookie jar?
Yes: Whom will you take to the prom?
case Who/whom in relative
Yes: I know who stole the cookies.
clauses
Yes: I know whom you will take.
Yes: Give the money to whoever you think is the scariest.
case Possessive case with
Yes: I do not approve of your staying out all night.
gerunds
Yes: He does not like El
i
z
abe
t
h’
spointing out all his faults.
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Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement Errors (P/A)
P/A Plural pronoun, singular
No: Each athlete must return their uniform.
antecedent
Yes: Each athlete must return his or her uniform.
Yes: All athletes must return their uniforms.
P/A Singular pronoun, plural No: All students are expected to do his or her own work.
antecedent
Yes: All students are expected to do their own work.
Yes: Every student is expected to do his or her own work.
Pronoun Reference Errors (ref)
ref
Ambiguous antecedent
ref
Indefinite antecedent
ref
Incorrect antecedent
ref
Improper antecedent (i.e.,
not a noun or pronoun)
Dangling Elements (dang)
dang Participial phrase
dang
Infinitive phrase
dang
Prepositional phrase
Misplaced Modifiers (mm)
mm Clause
mm
Phrase
mm
Ambiguous
mm
Certain limiting adverbs
No: Cecile told Angela that she was a slob.
Yes: Cecilia told Ange
l
a
,“
Youa
r
eas
l
ob.
”
Yes: Ce
c
i
l
i
at
ol
dAng
e
l
a
,“
Ia
m as
l
ob.
”
No: I try to get published, but they always reject my stories.
Yes: I try to get published, but the editors of Calliope
always reject my stories.
No: Julia yells constantly at lunch, which annoys me.
Yes: J
ul
i
a
’
sc
ons
t
a
nty
e
l
l
i
nga
tl
unc
ha
nnoy
sme
.
Yes: Julia yells constantly at lunch, a habit that annoys me.
No: Sami mumbles all the time, and her mom hates it.
Yes: Her mom hates the way Sami mumbles all the time.
No: Seeing her discomfort, it seemed like a good idea to
change the subject.
Yes: Seeing her discomfort, I decided to change the subject.
No: To catch a tiger, great courage is necessary.
Yes: To catch a tiger, one needs great courage.
No: At the age of three, space aliens kidnapped me.
Yes: At the age of three, I was kidnapped by space aliens.
No: We saw a lovely house on a quiet street that was within
our price range.
Yes: On a quiet street we saw a lovely house that was
within our price range
No: I scared away a bear dressed only in my underwear.
Yes: Dressed only in my underwear, I scared away a bear.
No: Camille said once she had robbed a bank.
Yes: Camille said she had robbed a bank once.
Yes: Once Camille said she had robbed a bank.
No: Hideki only saw one other person at the movies.
Yes: Hideki saw only one other person at the movies.
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Parallelism Errors ( || )
||
Elements joined by a
coordinating conjunction
||
Elements in a series
||
||
Proper use of correlative
conjunctions
Be careful not to join
clauses with phrases
Faulty Comparison ( ||c )
||c
Imprecise comparison
||c
Illogical comparison
||c
Ambiguous comparison
||c
Confusing comparative
and superlative
Incomplete comparison
||c
Diction Errors (d)
d
Confused words
d
Homonyms
d
Colloquial language
d
Words that do not exist
d
Not idiomatic
No: Romeo is happy but out of luck.
Yes: Romeo is happy but unlucky.
No: At school I enjoy the homework, the athletics, and to be
with my friends.
Yes: At school I enjoy the homework, the athletics, and the
camaraderie.
No: Either you must do your homework or fail.
Yes: You must either do your homework or fail.
No: I want to marry her for money, not because I love her.
Yes: I want to marry her for money, not love.
Yes: I want to marry her because she is rich, not because I
love her.
No: I like her voice better than any other singer.
Yes: I like her voice better than that of any other singer.
No: Nolan Ryan struck out more batters than any pitcher in
baseball history.
Yes: Nolan Ryan struck out more batters than any other
pitcher in baseball history.
No: I like dogs more than Martha.
Yes: I like dogs more than Martha does.
Yes: I like dogs more than I like Martha.
No: Of the two, we will hire the one who types fastest.
Yes: Of the two, we will hire the one who types faster.
No: Joey is as tall and much smarter than Lou.
Yes: Joey is as tall as and much smarter than Lou
No: Mia studies hard like a good student should.
Yes: Mia studies hard as a good student should.
No: The students put there weapons away.
Yes: The students put their weapons away.
No: Ha
ml
e
tdoe
s
n’
tha
vel
ot
sofbuddi
e
s
.
Yes: Hamlet does not have many friends.
No: Brutus is famous for his unloyalty to Caesar.
Yes: Brutus is famous for his disloyalty to Caesar.
No: The government does not have the right of searching a
home without a warrant.
Yes: The government does not have the right to search a
home without a warrant.
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d
Wrong form of the word
d
Wrong part of speech
No: Romeo should not have went to the party.
Yes: Romeo should not have gone to the party.
No: Some of the men did not run quick enough.
Yes: Some of the men did not run quickly enough.
Comma Needed for an Introductory Element ( ___, )
___,
___,
___,
Dependent clause
Two or more
prepositional phrases
Transition word or
phrase
Participial phrase
___,
Infinitive phrase
___,
Yes: Although we do not like tomatoes, we love ketchup.
Yes: In the middle of the night, we like to roam the lonely
streets and scare ourselves.
Yes: However, we stay home if the weather is bad.
Yes: For example, we never go out in the rain.
Yes: Hurrying along the crowded sidewalk, Jorge suddenly
realized he had forgotten his wallet.
Yes: To find the buried treasure, you will need a map.
Comma(s) Needed for a Non-Essential Interrupter ( ,___, )
,___,
Appositive
,___,
,___,
Transition word or
phrase
Relative clause
,___,
Participial phrase
Yes: Julia Roberts, the movie star, lives here. [non-essential]
But note: My friend the movie star is very rich. [essential]
Yes: My other friends, however, are not rich. [non-essential]
Yes: Josephine, on the other hand, loves dogs. [non-essential]
Yes: My father, who has never voted, complained loudly
about the government. [non-essential]
But note: A person who has never voted has no right to
complain about the government. [essential]
Yes: Laura, thinking that nobody could see her, popped a
piece of gum into her mouth. [non-essential]
Comma Needed for Compound Sentence ( ,+ )
,+
Compound sentence
Apostrophe Errors (apos)
apos Possessive
apos Contraction
apos Certain plurals
apos Misplaced apostrophe
apos Incorrect apostrophe
Yes: Walter loves Alex, and Raquel loves Pierre.
Yes: Pe
dr
o’
sbe
s
tpi
t
c
hi
shi
sc
ha
ng
e
-up.
Yes: I
s
n’
tg
r
a
mma
rf
un?
Yes: Le
og
e
t
snot
hi
ngbutA’
si
nma
t
h.
No: Ia
l
wa
y
sf
or
g
e
tmyf
r
i
e
nd’
sbi
r
thdays.
No: Thef
or
e
s
twa
sf
ul
lofl
i
on’
sa
ndt
i
g
e
r
’
sa
ndbe
a
r
’
s
.
20