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Fixing your grammar errors
Learning Skills Group, LTC
Overview of this workshop
(common grammar errors)
 Part of speech, word order
 Subject-verb agreement
 Pronoun-antecedent agreement
 Sentence fragment
 Run-on sentence
The challenge of academic writing
A BALANCING ACT!
Complex meaning
Correct grammar
Activity 1
Find the grammar errors
(see handout)
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1. Building Blocks
Key Parts of Speech
noun
person, place, thing
(Jack, campus, book)
adverb
describes an adjective, verb, other
adverb (quickly, well, often, soon)
pronoun
a substitute for a noun
or noun phrase
(she, they, them, it, we)
preposition
indicates location, direction,
comparison, time, manner,
relationship, purpose (across from,
opposite, for, at, with, inside, after, by)
verb
action or condition of being
(do, walk, is)
adjective
describes a noun
(red, tall, quick)
conjunction
a word used to connect clauses or
sentences (and, but, if , or, yet, so,
because)
article
introduces a noun (a, an, the)
What part of speech is it?
How do you know?
angry
She is angry. (adjective)
anger
Her anger is explosive. (noun)
angrily
She spoke angrily. (adverb)
excited
I am quite excited about
this. (adjective)
exciting
This is quite exciting.
(adjective)
curiosity
The child’s curiosity is wonderful.
(noun)
curious
The child is curious. (adjective)
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Building an accurate sentence
Review
Subject = The person, place, thing, or idea that is doing or
being something
Object = The noun, pronoun, or noun phrase that receives
or is affected by the action of a verb
Most often, the basic sentence order in English is subjectverb-object (SVO).
Adding on parts of speech to the basic sentence creates
meaning:
This journal article reviewed several theories of climate change
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Adding meaning to a sentence
The journal article reviewed several theories of climate change.
•
This journal article I found yesterday reviewed…
•
This 2014 journal article reviewed…
•
This journal article briefly reviewed…
•
This journal article reviewed several recent theories…
•
This journal article reviewed several theories of climate
change that have emerged in recent years.
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What is the correct word order?
The student last week submitted for the second
time to the lecturer his assignment.
Last week, the student submitted his
assignment to the lecturer for the second
time.
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Word order for English
COMMON PATTERNS
Time
Subject Frequency Verb
Opinion
Manner
Manner
The
journal
article
Last
week,
the
student
In
Australia
in 2014
chocolate
thoroughly
frequently
Direct object Place
Indirect
Time
object
Manner
reviewed
several
in the U.S.
theories of
from the
climate change nineties.
submitted
his assignment for the
to the lecturer second time.
was given
to adults
https://sites.google.com/site/englishgrammarguide/Home/sentence-structure--part-1----basic-clause-structure-1
as a gift.
Activity
Add more detail to this sentence
The study had surprising results.
2. Subject-Verb Agreement
Is the subject ( head noun) singular or plural?
a. The average worker's earnings has increased
dramatically in the past 5 years.
The average worker's earnings have increased dramatically
in the past 5 years.
b. The instructor, along with her students, find the article
journal article confusing.
The instructor, along with her students, finds the journal
article confusing.
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Subject-Verb Agreement
Is the subject ( head noun) singular or plural?
c. In their study, Jones and Smith (2001) discusses
the implications of climate change.
In their study, Jones and Smith (2001) discuss the
implications of climate change.
d. Not everyone know the answer to that question.
Not everyone knows the answer to that question.
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http://www.methodist.edu/english/dd_sva.htm
Subject- Verb Agreement
Unusual cases
Singular
Plural
Everybody, everyone, neither…nor, X
or Y
All of, many of, X and Y
Noun + modifier
The leader of the students agrees with
the lecturer
The student who is in charge of
contacting the class has agreed to talk
to the lecturer
There + plural noun
There are two reasons why …
Uncountable nouns
research, information, evidence…
Quantities
A number of researchers are
investigating…
A large proportion of the participants
are dissatisfied…
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For further information, see
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/599/01/
Subject-Verb Agreement
he
I
am
he
he
she
it
she
it
a person
it
she
has
is
you
we
have
I
you
you
we
we
they
they
people
people
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a person
a person
I
are
states
they
people
state
3. Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
Is the antecedent (noun) singular or plural?
The student forgot to bring his textbook.
x The student forgot to bring ∧ textbook.
x Everyone forgot his textbook.
Further practice:
http://www.apaonline.org/?page=nonsexist
http://www.methodist.edu/english/paa.pdf
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http://www.methodist.edu/english/paa_answers.pdf
3. Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
Unusual cases (as for s-v agreement)
Singular
Plural
Everybody, everyone, neither…nor, All of, many of, X and Y
X or Y
Noun + modifier
The leader of the students agrees
with the lecturer
The student who is in charge of
contacting the class has agreed to
talk to the lecturer
There + plural noun
There are two reasons why …
Uncountable nouns
research, information, evidence…
Quantities
A number of researchers are
investigating…
A large proportion of the
participants are dissatisfied…
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For further information, see
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/599/01/
Activity 2
Rewrite the sentences
(see handout)
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Activity 2 Answers
1. I don’t recall what kind of machine it was. All I
remember is that it could trim, prune and cut small
branches.
2. Some students do not do well at university because
they take up part-time jobs and have very limited
time left for their study.
3. This paper will present some strategies for
countering terrorism, analysing its effects and
recommending a way forward.
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4. Fragment
(not a sentence!)
a. Might take two months to complete.
The project might take two months to complete.
* Check if what you’ve written has a subject.
b. Someone at the library waiting for you.
Someone at the library is waiting for you.
* Check if what you’ve written has a verb.
Reference: http://www.methodist.edu/english/dd_fragment.htm
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4. Fragment
(not a sentence!)
c. Especially when I am studying.
I tend to lose track of time especially when I am studying.
* Check if the sentence includes both a subject and a verb.
d. Because the student spent much time on her assignment.
Because the student much time on her assignment, she
received a good mark.
* Check if the fragment is a dependent clause.
References: http://www.methodist.edu/english/dd_fragment.htm
http://www.methodist.edu/english/fragments.pdf
http://www.methodist.edu/english/fragments_answers.pdf
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5. Run-on sentence
The student did not attend the lectures he did not do
well on his exam.
The student did not attend the lectures, he did not do
well on his exam.
a. The student did not attend the lectures. He did not do
well on his exam.
b. The student did not attend the lectures so he did not
do well on his exam.
c. Because the student did not attend the lectures, he
did not do well on his exam.
d. The student did not attend the lectures; therefore, he
did not do well on his exam.
http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/sentences/run-on-sentences.html
Can you fix this run-on sentence?
Anne has an assignment due next week she is
planning on going to the library every day to
search for sources.
One possible way:
Anne has an assignment due next week. She is
planning on going to the library every day to
search for sources.
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Some online grammar resources
http://www.english-grammar-revolution.com/parts-of-speech.html
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/pronouns.htm
http://www.grammarbook.com/grammar/subjectVerbAgree.asp
http://www.chompchomp.com/rules/fragrules.htm
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/598/02/
Answers to Activity 1
Drugs affect people not only physically, but also
psychologically. Many drugs are addictive, so
when a person becomes a drug addict, he or she
must take drugs constantly or suffer physical and
psychological pain. Typically, drug users build
up their tolerance to drugs, so the amount of drugs
they use increases rapidly. Therefore, drug
addicts constantly need money to buy enough
drugs to satisfy this habit but often cannot keep
their jobs. As a result, they resort to crime to
support their drug habits.