agreement,
nouns,
pronouns
An antecedent is the noun, compound noun, or pronoun to which a pronoun refers. The referent pronoun and its antecedent must agree in person, number, and gender.
To check for pronoun/antecedent agreement, first find the referent pronoun. Then figure out to which word the pronoun refers; this is the antecedent. Finally, confirm that the pronoun and antecedent are in agreement.
This entry continues with an analysis and description of the grammatical rules related to this concept.
faulty comparisons
A faulty comparison is one that is not logical. Items that are compared must in fact be similar.
I like Bruce Springsteen's songs more than Madonna.
This sentence is illogical. What is being compared? A person's songs should not be compared to a person. Songs should be compared to songs.
These sentences contain logical comparisons:
I like Bruce Springsteen's songs more than Madonna's songs.
I like Bruce Springsteen's songs more than Madonna's.
I like Bruce Springsteen's songs more than those of Madonna.
The following sentence is incorrect:
The weather in Canada is colder than Mexico.
Weather should not be compared to a country.
These sentences contain logical comparisons:
The weather in Canada is colder than the weather in Mexico.
The weather in Canada is colder than that in Mexico.
When …
Items listed in a sentence must have parallel structure. Make sure that similar items in a sentence conform to a single part of speech.
This car is sporty, economical, and goes very fast.
This sentence is incorrect. The words "sporty" and "economical" are adjectives, but "goes very fast" is a verb phrase. This is an error in parallel structure.
This car is sporty, economical, and fast.
This sentence is correct. The three adjectives are in parallel structure.
This car looks sporty, runs economically, and goes very fast.
This sentence is also correct. There is parallel structure among the three verb phrases.
Look at the following sentence and determine whether there is an error in parallelism:
I like reading books, walking my dog, …
punctuation,
run on sentences
A run-on sentence contains two or more independent clauses that are not connected by the proper punctuation. A run-on sentence may have a period as its only punctuation mark, or it may be inappropriately punctuated with one or more commas (this type of run-on sentence is called a "comma splice").
This is a run-on sentence:
I can't wait to go to the concert my favorite band is playing.
The sentence contains two independent clauses that run into each other:
"I can't wait to go to the concert"
"my favorite band is playing"
These are the different ways to correct the error:
1. Use a period to separate the independent clauses into sentences.
I can't wait to go to the concert. My …
verbs
The tense of a verb indicates the time frame of an action's occurrence. Actions that occur now use the simple present tense, actions that already occurred use the simple past tense, and actions that will occur use the simple future tense.
simple present tense: I study. [This is happening now.]
simple past tense: I studied. [This happened in the past.]
simple past tense: I will study. [This will happen in the future.]
The perfect tense of verbs is used to indicate the relative sequence of events in a sentence. The present perfect tense indicates that an action has been occurring and may be continuing to occur now. The past perfect tense indicates that an action occurred in …
dangling participles,
misplaced modifiers
A misplaced modifier is a modifying word, phrase, or clause that seems to refer to the wrong word in a sentence.
When reading a sentence that contains a modifier, pay attention to what the modifier is describing.
My friend saw a puppy on the way to school.
The modifying phrase "on the way to school" is misplaced. Since it is closer to "puppy" than to "my friend," the modifier seems to describe "puppy." The puppy was not on the way to school. My friend was on the way to school. To correct the sentence, move the modifier closer to the words it is describing.
On the way to school, my friend saw a puppy.
This sentence is clearer than …
gerunds,
pronouns
When a noun or pronoun precedes a gerund in a sentence, the noun or pronoun must be in the possessive form. A common error in colloquial speech, and one that is commonly seen on standardized examinations, is the use of the objective form of a noun or pronoun that precedes a gerund in a sentence.
A gerund is a verb ending in "-ing" that acts as a noun.
Eating cake is the best part of my birthday.
I like to visit my friend, but driving to her house can take a long time.
He enjoys listening to music.
When a noun or pronoun precedes a gerund in a sentence, it must take the possessive form. The possessive …
An adjective modifies a noun. An adjective cannot modify another adjective. Only an adverb can modify an adjective.
Bob gave Sam a cake special baked for him.
"Baked" is an adjective. "Special" is an adjective describing "baked." Change "special" to the adverb "specially" to correct the sentence.
Bob gave Sam a cake specially baked for him.
An adverb cannot be used as a predicate adjective. Linking verbs cannot link a noun with an adverb. This type of error is commonly found when the linking verb is a sense verb (look, smell, sound, taste, feel). When an adverb is used as a predicate adjective, it does not describe how the subject looks, smells, sounds, tastes, or feels; rather, the …
already,
alright,
altogether
These pairs of homonyms (words that are pronounced alike) can cause confusion in choosing the proper words to use in standard written English. Review the differences between the words in each pair.
all together/altogether
"all together" means "in a group" when used as an adjective or "at the same time" when used as an adverb.
We were all together in the car. ("all together" is used as an adjective modifying "we")
We went to the concert all together. ("all together" is used as an adverb modifying "went")
"altogether" is an adverb that means "entirely, wholly, completely."
I am altogether fed up with your behavior. ("altogether" is used as an adverb modifying "fed up")
all ready/already
"all ready" is an adjective that means …
agreement,
verbs
A singular subject must have a singular verb; a plural subject must have a plural verb.
Look for the subject of the sentence and determine whether it is singular or plural. Then find the verb and make sure it agrees in number with the subject.
If you see a preposition, ignore the nouns or pronouns in the prepositional phrase. Consider crossing out the prepositional phrase so that it does not distract you from the subject of the sentence.
A group of students were studying for the test.
This sentence is incorrect. The subject is "group," which is singular. Ignore the prepositional phrase "of students" and use a verb that agrees with the subject of the sentence.
A …
pronouns
A grammar rule: Pronouns should agree in number with their antecedents.
One of the limitations of the English language is its lack of gender-neutral singular pronouns that refer to people. Singular pronouns are either masculine (he/him/his/himself) or feminine (she/her/herself), or they refer to things, not people (it/its/itself).
Anyone who wants to go swimming should bring their bathing suit.
This type of sentence structure is extremely common in informal speech and writing, but according to the rules of standard American English, it contains an error in pronoun/antecedent agreement.
