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“I will not go down to posterity
talking bad grammar.”
- Benjamin Disraeli
Words Groups
• Three types of word groups:
– Clauses
– Sentences
– Phrases
Clauses
A clause is a group of words that contains a
subject – a “do-er” or “be-er” of something
(this word will usually be a noun or a noun
substitute) – and a verb – what the subject
does or is.
Bob laughs. (subject: Bob verb: laughs)
• If these are the only elements contained in
the word group, it is considered to be an
INDEPENDENT CLAUSE
• This means that it is able to stand by itself,
and its meaning is complete
• Clauses may also be made DEPENDENT by
the addition of a joining word called a
subordinate conjunction
• This word reduces the clause to a lesser (or
subordinate) role in a sentence; it is no
longer the fundamental unit within the
sentence
• Some subordinate conjunctions are:
– Although
– If
– Whenever
– Because
– Before
– Which
– Since
– After
• Some DEPENDENT clauses are:
• When Bob laughs…
• If we try…
• Because dogs bark…
• After the student learns…
These clauses must be joined to another
INDEPENDENT clause, to make a complete
thought:
• When Bob laughs, the walls shake.
The Sentence
• When you join clauses in this way, you are
really building sentences
• Each sentence must contain at least one
independent clause; though it may contain
other things, the independent clause is
absolutely necessary
• If there is no independent clause, you do
not have a sentence
Simple Sentences
• A simple sentence contains only an
independent clause
• Sarah swims at the pool.
• I bought a new sweater.
Compound Sentences
• Compound sentences contain two or more
independent clauses joined by coordinate
conjunctions (and, but, or, nor, yet, and so)
Complex Sentences
• Complex sentences contains a combination of
at least one independent clause with one or
more dependent clauses
• While I was waiting in the library, Billy made a
phone call.
• After we ate dinner, we watched a movie.
Phrases
• Anything that is not a clause or a sentence is
a PHRASE
• Any group of words that does not contain a
subject or a verb is a phrase
Some PHRASES are:
• walking down the street
• across the river
• beside the school with the flagpole
• over between the car and the house
• with my friend Paul
Common Sentence Errors
•
•
•
•
Incorrect subject-verb agreement
Sentence fragments
Run-on sentences
Incorrect pronoun, tense, and person
agreement
• Modifier errors
• Lack of parallelism
Subject-Verb Agreement
• Subjects (“do-ers” of an action or “be-ers” of
a state) agree with their verbs in person and
number
• Singular subjects always take singular verbs,
and plural subjects take plural verbs
• He walks
• He sings
• He is
They walk
They sing
They are
Sentence Fragments
• A fragment is a piece of a sentence that is
mistaken for a complete sentence
• A fragment is missing either a subject or a
verb:
• Running down the street and around the
corner.
• For example, adding, subtracting, and
multiplying.
• After I had finished my homework and chores.
Run-On Sentences
• Run-on sentences are created by trying to
cram too much information into a single
sentence without correctly joining the
elements that make up the structure of the
sentence
• The most common run-on sentences are
created by putting two independent clauses
together with only a comma – this is called a
comma splice
Comma Splice:
I slept in, I missed the bus.
I slept in, so I missed the bus.
Because I slept in, I missed the bus.
I slept in; I missed the bus.
Pronoun, Tense, and Person
Agreement
• Always strive for consistency in pronouns,
tense, and person
• Jumping from one to another person or tense
is confusing; using ambiguous or inaccurate
pronouns is also confusing
Pronoun Agreement:
 Fred asked the neighbour to walk his dog.
(Whose dog? Ted’s or the neighbour’s?)
 A person should mind their own business. (“A
person” is only one; “their” is plural)
Tense Agreement:
• Generally, there are three kinds of time you
may refer to in writing: past, present, and
future
• If you’re writing in the past tense, stay with
the past tense unless the time references
change (the same holds true for present and
future)
 So she came up to me and asks, “Where is
the train station?” (This is incorrect due to the
switch from past “came” to present “asks”
when the time referred to has not changed).
Person Agreement:
• Keep the person (I, you, he or she, we, you,
they) consistent:
 I live near to the airport, so when I’m trying to
sleep in, the noise of the airplanes taking off and
landing keeps you awake. (Why would the noise
of the airplanes keep you awake if I’m the one
sleeping?)
 One should always keep your eyes open. (In a
sentence such as this one, you may use “you” or
“one,” but don’t mix them in the same sentence
Modifier Problems
• Modifiers are words or groups of words that
describe, explain, or intensify other words or
groups of words
• Two kinds of modifiers:
• Adjectives
• Adverbs
Misplaced Modifiers:
– The modifier is in the wrong position in the
sentence. Put the modifier as close as
possible to the thing modified
I only bought one ice cream cone. (Probably I
intend the “only” to modify the “one”.)
I bought only one ice cream cone.
Dangling Modifiers:
– The modified element, though implied, is
not actually given in the sentence
 Driving the tractor in the field, a new-born calf
lay in the grass. (Since the calf can’t drive a
tractor, this sentence doesn’t make sense. Who
saw the calf? Who was driving?)
Driving the tractor in the field, Mary found a
new-born calf lying in the grass.
Lack of Parallelism
• Lack of parallelism can occur when you’re
using lists or series of items
• Whenever you are speaking of more than one
item, place them all in the same grammatical
form (nouns with nouns, adjectives with
adjectives, “ing” words with “ing” words, etc.)
 Professionals include teachers and people
who fix teeth.
Professionals include teachers and dentists.
 I like swimming, skiing, and to paint.
I like swimming, skiing, and painting.
 He’s handsome, and has intelligence too.
He’s handsome, and intelligent too.