Download Editing for Grammar

EDITING FOR GRAMMAR
What follows is a list of abbreviations for major errors that you can mark on papers, coupled with a brief
description of each error. Note that when editing for grammar, we learn best when we’re told what the
error is and then prompted to fix it ourselves. So you don’t want to be crossing out and replacing
grammatical errors in your peers’ paper, you just want to be identifying what kind of errors are being
made.
F = SENTENCE FRAGMENT; an incomplete thought. Usually, something is missing (subject, verb,
predicate). Example: "I to the store." Or a second type is that the fragment may begin with a connecting
word (when, although, if, because, since, while, etc.) that, by its very presence, requires that the
thought be connected to something else to be complete--usually the sentence before or after the
fragment. Example: "When I went to the store. I had a flat."
R = RUNON; two or more complete thoughts joined together as one sentence, with no punctuation or
connecting words to provide a transition between the thoughts. Example: "I studied for hours the test
was too hard." These can be fixed by dividing them into separate sentences; by using a semicolon
between them; or by using a comma plus a conjunction (and, but, so, etc.) You do not fix a runon by
simply adding a comma.
C SPL = COMMA SPLICE; the same as a runon, but with a comma separating the two thoughts. Example:
"I studied for hours, the test was too hard." A comma is simply not strong enough to separate two
complete thoughts. You need a semicolon or a period, or the comma plus a conjunction. Thus, you fix a
comma splice in exactly the same ways that you do a runon.
VT = VERB TENSE ERROR; where the context of the sentence indicates one tense (present, past, present
perfect, etc.) while the verb itself is in another tense. Example: "Last week I run every day."
VE = VERB ENDING ERROR; actually a variety of verb tense error, the most common type where the -ed
or -ing ending is left off a verb. Nine of ten involve the -ed ending. Example: "For ten years I work at
Odessa College."
SV = SUBJECT/VERB AGREEMENT ERROR; basically where the verb is not singular when the subject is
singular, or not plural when the subject is plural. These are easy to spot and fix when the subject is right
next to the verb and is not a pronoun, but there are several common circumstances that complicate this
rule.
Watch for the presence of prepositional phrases between the subject and its verb (a correct example:
"One [of the windows] needs washing"); for compound subjects ("Mike and Joe work this shift");
either/or compound subjects ("Either Joe or his brothers go next" or "Either his brothers or Joe goes
next"); third-person singular pronouns plus "to be" verbs, and other pronouns too (I am; you are; he is,
she is, and it is. I was; you were; he was, and she was.)
UNC = UNCLEAR WORDING; catch-all error marking. Use it when no specific other rule has been broken,
yet the sentence makes no sense.
UW = UNNEEDED WORD; a type of UNC error, where you can pinpoint the loss of clarity to the presence
of one or two words which simply should have been left out.
MW = MISSING WORD; simply poor proofing, where a word is missing. These may be marked also as
fragments sometimes.
DN = DOUBLE NEGATIVE; when a thought contains two "no" constructions; often used in slang, but not
okay in formal English. Example: "I didn't do nothing." Should be either "I did nothing" or "I didn't do
anything."
WP = WRONG PREPOSITION; words such as "to, for across, over, under, of, from"; etc. Sometimes they
are interchangeable but more often not. The classic example is the difference between these two
sentences: "I want to do something FOR you" and "I want to do something TO you.
W PRO = WRONG PRONOUN; most often, this error occurs as in this example: "Me and Joe both joined
the team." Should be "Joe and I." Catch these by reading aloud while leaving out the non-pronoun part
of the subject. Few people would write "Me joined the team." "Me and Joe" is just as wrong.
NP = NEEDS TO BE PLURAL; where the context shows the need for a plural word; Example: "All the child
went out for recess. "Child" need to be its plural, "children."
NS = NEEDS TO BE SINGULAR; simply the opposite of NP.
POSS = POSSESSIVE ERROR; where you need an apostrophe and an "s" to show possession: not "Mark
class" but "Mark's class." If only the apostrophe is missing, that's just a minor error: "Marks class."
NO POSS = NO POSSESSIVE; where you are using an apostrophe to make a plural. This is incorrect,
because is actually marks it as a possessive: "All the parking space's were taken." YOU SHOULD ALMOST
NEVER USE AN APOSTROPHE TO MAKE A PLURAL. YOU SIMPLY ADD AN "S" OR "ES" unless the noun is
irregular, like "men" or "children."
PR = PRONOUN REFERENCE; usually occurs when you are telling about an incident, as in a specific
example, and the incident involves several people of the same gender. Constant pronoun usage results
in confusion as to who did what to whom. Intersperse your pronouns with enough proper names or
descriptive nouns ("my cousin") to let readers tell who's who.
WW = WRONG WORD ERROR; these are homonyms, words which sound like other words with different
meanings. They are often confused with spelling errors, and indeed are sometimes caused by an
inadvertent spelling error, but are more serious--and uncatchable with a spellchecker, because the word
is correctly spelled; it's just not the correct word. Here are some common sets of WWs:
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there (a place, or to begin a sentence, as in "There is only one thing to do.") -- their (a
possessive pronoun, as in "their house") -- they're (a contraction for "they are")
its (a possessive pronoun, as in "Its color is red.") -- it's (a contraction for "it is"; you would not
say "It is color is red.")
to (either a preposition, as in "to the park," or an infinitive, as in "To sleep is what I really
want.") -- too (either "too many, too much," or "also") -- two (the number, of course)
your (a possessive pronoun, as in "your books") -- you're (a contraction for "you are")
were (a past tense verb, as in "We were late.") -- we're (a contraction for "we are")
hour (a unit of time) -- our (another possessive pronoun, as in "our friends")
no (as in "What part of "no" don't you understand?") -- know (to be aware of something, of
course)
new (opposite of old) -- knew (past tense of know)
accept (to receive something) -- except (to leave something out, as in "all except Joe")
then (a unit of time, as in "Then we'll go to the movie.") -- than (a comparative word, as in
"Mark has more than Donna.")