SENTENCE PROBLEMS.pptx

7/30/2019 SENTENCE PROBLEMS.pptx

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SENTENCE PROBLEMs


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Sentences are made when we string words

together to convey a complete thought.

There are some types of sentence errors thatoccur more frequently than others.

It's important to know the most common

types of errors and to avoid them in yourwriting.


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FRAGMENTS

RUN-ON SENTENCES

COMMA SPLICE

FAULTY PARALLELISM


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A statement that cannot stand alone as a

sentence

A sentence fragment may be lacking a

subject, a verb, or both

It might even contain words that look like

subjects and verbs


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Common Causes of Sentence Fragments

When using "ing" words, you must have a helping verb and a

subject. An "ing" word is not a definite verb; therefore, it will

not function by itself to form a complete sentence.

Example:

Fragment:

A cure for the disease being researched.

Sentence:

A cure for the disease was being researched.Reminders: A helping verb joins with the main verb to express an action or state of being.

Am, are, be, been, is, was, and were are some common helping verbs.

A subjectis the person or thing which does the action in the sentence.


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An infinitive form of a verb will not make a complete

sentence. Like "ing" words, an infinitive is not a definite

verb either. An infinitive is the combination ofto and the

base form of a verb: to see, to be, to do. Infinitives are

used in sentences, but they require a definite verb tofunction as the action in the sentence.

Example:

Fragment:

The center to plan a mission statement.

Sentence:

The center plans to develop a mission statement.



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An explanatory phrase or group of explanatory words

does not make a complete sentence on its own.

Example:

Fragment:The teenagers like to watch sports. Such as hockey,

when they are on television.

Sentence:The teenagers like to watch sports, such as hockey,

when they are on television.



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Consists of two or more main clauses that are

run together without proper punctuation

Is a sentence in which two or

more independent clause are joined without

appropriate punctuation or conjunction

Are sentences that contain several clauses

connected by coordinating conjunctions such

as: and, or, but, yet, for, nor, and so


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Common Causes Of Run-ons

When an independent clause gives an order

or directive based on what was said in the

prior independent clause:

This next chapter has a lot of difficult information

in it, you should start studying right away.

(We could put a period where that comma is and start anew sentence. A semicolon might also work there.)


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When two independent clauses are

connected by a transitional expression

(conjunctive adverb) such as however,

moreover, nevertheless.Mr. Nguyen has sent his four children to ivy-league

colleges, however, he has sacrificed his health

working day and night in that dusty bakery.

(Again, where that first comma appears, we could have

used either a period and started a new sentence or a

semicolon.)



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When the second of two independent clausescontains a pronoun that connects it to the first

independent clause.

This computer doesn't make sense to me, it came

without a manual.(Although these two clauses are quite brief, and the ideas are

closely related, this is a run-on sentence. We need a period

where that comma now stands.)

Most of those computers in the Learning Assistance

Center are broken already, this proves my point aboutAmerican computer manufacturers.

Again, two nicely related clauses, incorrectly connected a run-on.

Use a period to cure this sentence.



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A comma splice occurs when two

independent clauses (clauses that could be

sentences on their own) are jammed togetherwith a comma.


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EXAMPLE:

His family went to Australia then they

immigrated to Canada.

His family went to Australia; then they

immigrated to Canada.

The experiment failed, it had been left

unobserved for too long.

The experiment failed; it had been leftunobserved for too long.


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Are parts of a sentence which are listed

as a sequence, but do not follow the

same grammatical or structural principle

Parallelism in writing means that each

item in a list or comparison should

follow the same grammatical pattern.


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Examples of Faulty Parallelism

The teacher wanted to know which country

we came from and our future goals.

The teacher wanted to know which countrywe came from and what our future

goals were.

He liked to play basketball and riding horses.

He liked to play basketball and ride horses.


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What is the difference between a

clause and a phrase?

Clausea group of words that have a

subject and a verb that must always agree

Phrasea noun, verb, or preposition with

all its modifiers- does NOT have a subject and verb which

agree


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Noun Phrase

Definition:-A nounwith all its modifiers

-A complete subject is always classified

as a noun phrase.

Example:

The frustrated, irritated teachers...

Noun: teachers

Modifiers:

the, frustrated, irritated


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Verb Phrase

Defined as a verb with all of its modifiers

EXAMPLE:

completely frightenedthe seventh grade students.

Verb - frightened

Modifier - completely

EXAMPLE:would like to improve her grammar skills.

Verb phrase - would like to improve


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Defined as the preposition,

the objectof the preposition (preposition who or what),

and all its modifiers

Example: The frustrated, irritated teachers enrolled

in Mr. Ruffs Grammar for Dummies class.

preposition - in

object of the preposition - classmodifiers Mr. Ruffs, Grammar for Dummies

Prepositional Phrase


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Adjective Phrase

A prepositional phrase used as an adjective

is called an adjective phrase.

ADJECTIVE: Rosa chose the blue one.

ADJECTIVE PHRASE: Rosa chose the onewith blue stripes.


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Adjective Phrases

An adjective phrase

modifies a noun or a

pronoun.

Adjective phrases

generally come after the

words they modify and

answer the same

questions that single-work adjectives answer:

What kind? Which one?

How

many?

How much?


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Adjective Phrases

The store with the neon sign is open.

We bought a CD by Janet Jackson


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Adverb Phrase

A prepositional phrase used as an adverb iscalled an adverb phrase.

ADVERB: The cavalry will reach the fortsoon.

ADVERB PHRASE: The cavalry will reach thefortby noon.


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Adverb Phrases

Adverb phrases answer the same questions

that single-word adverbs answer:

When? Where? How? Why?

Howoften?

Howlong?

To whatextent?


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Adverb Phrases

We got our new puppy at the animal shelter.

A puppy is always ready for a game.

He barks loudly for a puppy.


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Gerund Phrase

Definition?

Has a gerund, plus any complements ormodifiers

It acts as a noun Examples:

By swimming daily, Sue hoped to improve herbackstroke

Swimming dailyis the gerund phrase


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Participial Phrase

Definition?

Has a participle, plus any complements or modifiers

It acts as an adjective

Examples:

Disappointed by his best friend, Roger refused tospeak to him

Disappointed by his best friendis the participialphrase

PUNCTUATION NOTE Introductory ones are set off by commas

Non-essential ones are set off by commas


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Infinitive Phrase

Definition?

Has a infinitive, plus any complements ormodifiers

It acts as a noun, adjective or adverb Examples:

She has a plane to catch at eight oclock

To catch at eight oclockis the infinitivephrase


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Appositive Phrase

Definition:A noun phrase that renames the noun it

follows.

Also known as a parenthetical phrase

Example:

Brad Ruff, the grammar guru, empowers teachers.

Appositive phrase?

- the grammar guru


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Definition:

Words that contain a subject and a verb

which must always agree.

Two types of clauses:

Independent Clause Dependent Clause

CLAUSES


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Independent Clause

An independent clause MUST HAVE a subject and a

verb which agree.

Example:

The frustrated, irritated teachers finally understood

the basic grammar concepts.

All the words in an independent clause can act alone

as a sentence.

They are a complete thought.

I d d l b d


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Independent clauses can be connected

in a variety of ways:

1. By a comma and little conjunction (and, but, or, nor, for,

yet, and sometimes so).

2. By a semicolon, by itself.

3. By a semicolon accompanied by a conjunctive adverb(such as however, moreover, nevertheless, as a result,

consequently, etc.).

4. And, of course, independent clauses are often not

connected by punctuation at all but are separated by a

period.
http://cctc.commnet.edu/HP/pages/darling/grammar/conjunctions.htmhttp://cctc.commnet.edu/HP/pages/darling/grammar/marks.htmhttp://cctc.commnet.edu/HP/pages/darling/grammar/transitions.htmhttp://cctc.commnet.edu/HP/pages/darling/grammar/transitions.htmhttp://cctc.commnet.edu/HP/pages/darling/grammar/marks.htmhttp://cctc.commnet.edu/HP/pages/darling/grammar/conjunctions.htm


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Dependent Clause

The subject and verb agree, but the words CANNOTstand alone as a complete sentence.

also known as subordinate clause or relative clause

Examples:

since the teachers seekproficiency in grammar

which shelteredthe children from the storm


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NOUN CLAUSES

Noun clauses do anything that a noun can do. They can

be subjects, objects, and objects of prepositions.

What Turveydrop has forgotten about American politics

could fill entire libraries.

President Johnson finally revealed what he had in mind

for his congressional leaders.

Sheila Thistlethwaite has written a marvelous bookabout how American politics and economic processes

often run counter to common sense.


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ADVERB CLAUSES

ADVERB CLAUSES tend to tell us something about the sentences

main verb: when, why, under what conditions.

After Jubal Early invaded the outskirts of Washington, Congressional

leaders took the southern threat more seriously.

Lincoln insisted on attending the theater that night because it was

important to demonstrate domestic tranquility.

Notice how the dependent clauses begin with dependent words, wordsthat subordinate what follows to the rest of the sentence. These words are

also called subordinating conjunctions.


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ADJECTIVE CLAUSE

Dependent clauses can be identified and classified according totheir role in the sentence.

ADJECTIVE CLAUSES modify nouns or pronouns in the

rest of the sentence..

The Internet, which started out as a means for military and academic

types to share documents, has become a household necessity.

Tim Berners-Lee, who developed the World Wide Web, could never

have foreseen the popularity of his invention.

The graphical user interface (GUI) that we all take for granted

nowadays is actually a late development in the World Wide Web.

Notice, now, how the subject is often separated from its verb by

information represented by the dependent clause.


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MODIFIER

A word or phrase that

qualifies (modifies) aword, phrase or clause.


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Adjectives (modify nouns and pronouns)

(for example: the red house)

Adverbs (modify verbs)

(for example: he ran QUICKLY)

Modifier phrases (modify an action or an actor)(LOOKING AT THE CLOCK, he noticed that hewas late)

TYPES OF MODIFIER


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MISPLACED MODIFIER

A misplaced modifier is a word or

word group whose placement

suggests that it modifies one wordor phrase when it is intended to

modify another.


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Misplaced Modifiers

i. More beautiful than any human being,

the explorer noticed the mermaid.

ii. Wild and untamed, Jack entered the

jungle.

iii. Moaning in haunting voices, the house

contained many ghosts.


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Examples:

Incorrect: More beautiful than any human

being, the explorer noticed the

mermaid.

Correct: The explorer noticed the mermaid,

which was more beautiful than

any human being.


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Examples:

Incorrect: Wild and untamed, Jack entered

the jungle.

Correct: Jack entered the wild and

untamed jungle.


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FIXING MISPLACED MODIFIERS

A: Revise the sentence, taking care to

put modifying words, phrases, and

clauses in a position that clearlyidentifies the headword and that does

not awkwardly interrupt a sentence.

HINT: Usually, you can just expand the

main clause.


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Examples:

Incorrect: Moaning in haunting voices, the

house contained many ghosts.

Correct: The house contained many ghosts

that moaned in haunting voices.


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DANGLING MODIFIER

A dangling modifier is a word or

phrase that cannot logically

describe, limit, or restrict anyword or word group in the

sentence.


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Dangling Modifiers

i. Using a variety of pedagogical

techniques, the students were taught

grammar.

ii. To improve his essay, each page was

proofread.

iii. While reading the novel, the pages that

contain important information shouldbe marked.


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FIXING DANGLING MODIFIERS

A: Add a word or word group that

the dangling modifier can logically

modify. HINT: You must usually change the

subject of the main clause.


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Examples:

Incorrect: Using a variety of pedagogical

techniques, the students were

taught grammar.

Correct: Using a variety of pedagogical

techniques, the teacher taught the

students grammar.


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Example:

Incorrect: To improve his essay, each page

was proofread.

Correct: To improve his essay, David

proofread each page.


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Examples:

Incorrect: While reading the novel, the

pages that contain important

information should be marked.

Correct: While reading the novel, you

should mark the pages that

contain important information.

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