Scribd
Upload
3 views

Class Handout - Common Error, Sentence Improvement

Uploaded by

fship804
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
3 views

Class Handout - Common Error, Sentence Improvement

Uploaded by

fship804
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

C OMMON ERRORS, SENTENCE IMPROVEMENT

1. INCORRECT USE OF THE PRONOUN


A pronoun error generally occurs when a pronoun is used to replace a noun. This error, though major, is
often overlooked, especially in conversational English. Certain commonly committed pronoun errors are
listed below.

A. Use of wrong pronoun - simple sentence


INCORRECT: She is taller than me. CORRECT:
She is taller than I (am).
(The verb 'am' is implied. So the subjective case of the pronoun 'I' is more appropriate than the objective
case 'me'.)
INCORRECT: Shayam is more honest than her.
CORRECT: Shayam is more honest than she.
(The case of a pronoun following the conjunction 'than' is determined by imaginatively supplying a verb. So,
the complete sentence looks like: Shayam is more honest than she (is).
INCORRECT: He and me went to see a theatre play last night. CORRECT: He and I
went to see a theatre play last night.
(The pronouns are subjects of the verb 'went'. So when they are subjects of the verb, the nominative case
should be used. The pronouns here are in compound construction. Both the pronouns should be in the
nominative case. 'Me' in the question is in the objective case and therefore wrong. A subjective or
nominative case 'I' is correct here.)
B.Missing pronoun
INCORRECT: The children in my school are smarter than other schools. CORRECT: The
children in my school are smarter than those in other schools.
(Children cannot be compared to schools. Children in one school must be compared with children (those) in
other schools).
INCORRECT: The houses on this street are bigger than that street. CORRECT: The
houses on this street are bigger than those on that street.
(Houses cannot be compared to streets because it is an absurd comparison. There should be comparison
between equal things, but not between unequal things. 'Those of is a substitute for 'the buildings' which
makes the comparison equal and correct.)
C. Ambiguous Pronoun
INCORRECT: The dew drop on the green grass looks so beautiful that it should be pictured. CORRECT:
The dew drop on the green grass looks so beautiful that the dew drop should be pictured. ('It' could refer to
both the dew drop or the green grass).

2. SUBJECT-VERB DISAGREEMENT

These kinds of errors are made when the subject (noun or pronoun) doesn't match the verb. Always
remember that a singular subject takes singular verb and a plural subject takes a plural verb. Following are the
examples to give you an idea of such errors: INCORRECT: The teacher with his students are due to arrive
here by noon. CORRECT: The teacher with his students is due to arrive here by noon. (The main subject
here is the teacher. When the subject is joined to another subject starting with 'with', the verb agrees
only with the main subject.)
C OMMON ERRORS, SENTENCE IMPROVEMENT

INCORRECT: The number of movies that are eyeing the Oscar are increasing.
CORRECT: The number of movies that are eyeing the Oscar is increasing.

3. PARALLEL CONSTRUCTION
This kind of error occurs when the elements of a series do not match.
INCORRECT: Today like any other day, I woke up, caught a bus to office, reaching after my boss. CORRECT:
Today like any other day, I woke up, caught bus to office, and reached after my boss. (The verb 'woke'
and 'caught' are in the past tense. Since the actions in the sentence are part of a series, the verb
'reaching' should also be in the past tense i.e. 'reached'.)
INCORRECT: The rich have no consideration for the poor, the downtrodden and who are with the
sickness.
CORRECT: The rich have no consideration for the poor, the downtrodden and the sick. (The construction
that is present in the question is a faulty one because the connective 'and' is not used to express parallel ideas
or elements. 'Poor‟ and 'downtrodden' are adjectives and these are joined with the noun 'sickness'. In order
to make the sentence structure parallel, the noun 'sickness' should be changed to an adjective so that
only adjectives are used in the series.)

4. ERRORS IN DEGREES OF COMPARISON


Comparative vs. Superlative
INCORRECT: They chose the best of the two options available.
CORRECT: They chose the better of the two options available. (When only two elements are compared
the comparative degree is used.)

5. MISPLACED MODIFIERS
This error occurs when the related parts of the sentence are needlessly separated. It usually occurs with
simple modifiers for example only, just, nearly, barely etc.
INCORRECT: One morning, I shot an elephant in my pajamas. CORRECT: One
morning in my pajamas, I shot an elephant.
(The modifier 'in my pajamas' should be placed next to „one morning‟. If it were misplaced, it would seem as
if the elephant was in the pajamas.)

6. DANGLING MODIFIERS
This error occurs when a modifying word, phrase or clause is followed by something that it cannot modify.
INCORRECT: Too disabled to hear, a hearing-aid was provided for him.
CORRECT: Too disabled to hear, he was provided with a hearing-aid.
(Too disabled to hear' refers to the person, not to a hearing-aid. So the modifier must be placed next to
the subject it is modifying.)

7. SQUINTING MODIFIERS
This error happens when the modifier seems to be modifying both the parts of the sentence on it‟s left and
right, and so is somehow squinting (stuck) in between.
INCORRECT: Students who miss class frequently, fail the course. CORRECT:
Students who frequently miss class, fail the course.

You might also like