SENTENCE ERRORS

Sentence fragments

A sentence fragment is an incomplete sentence that's missing a subject or verb, or has incorrect
punctuation. To fix a sentence fragment, check that each sentence has a subject and verb.
( A fragment/ phrase is a group of words that does NOT express a complete thought.)
e.g: Around the corner.
We can add some words to the fragments and turn them into sentences.
i. in the morning - I saw a beautiful bird in the morning.
ii. Good for eyes - Carrot is good for eyes.
Run-on sentences
A run-on sentence is when two complete sentences are joined together. To fix a run-on sentence,
you can separate it into two sentences or make it a compound sentence. It is a sentence with too
many ideas in it (confusing) or inadequate punctuation (bad grammar).
This is considered a major error, as it indicates the writer does not recognize the basic building
block of writing- the sentence.

Comma splices
A comma splice occurs when two independent clauses are joined by a comma. This is a
punctuation error because the reader might start reading the second sentence before realizing the
first sentence is finished.
e.g: This film is boring, it has no action.
How to fix Comma Splice:
1.Use a full stop to make two separate sentences.
e.g: This film is boring. It has no action.
2. Use a semi-colon to make sentences.
e.g: This film is boring; it has no action.
More correct sentences using semi-colon
1. The forecast called for rain; instead, we got sun.
2. My neighbours are noisy; therefore, I got little sleep at night.
(notice the semi-colon before the transition and the comma after it)
 3. Add a coordinating conjunction
Remember FANBOYS. You must use a comma before these words.
For And Nor But Or Yet So
4. Changing one of the independent clauses into a dependent clause by adding a
Subordinate conjunction ( because, after, since, while).
*Use NO comma if the subordinate clause comes in the middle of a sentence.
e.g: This Film is boring because it has no action.
*Use comma if the subordinate clause comes at the beginning of the sentence.
e.g: Because it has no action, this film is boring.

THE USE OF PUNCTUATION MARKS.

1. THE COMMA
The comma is used to indicate a pause between parts of a sentence.
Where to use:
(a) Before and after words in apposition.
Gandhiji, the Father of the Nation, was assassinated in 1948.
Gavaskar, the most dependable batsman in the team, was in top form that day.
(b) To separate two or more parts of speech that come together.
Abdul, Latif, Hameed and I saw her, pale, weak and helpless. England, France and Russia
formed an alliance.
(c)To separate a participial phrase.
Feeling tired, I began to sleep.
Losing my temper, I slapped him.
(d)To mark off a nominative of address/vocative.
Hari, have it.
Ramesh, can we come in?
Don’t be so harsh and impetuous, my boy.
My dear students, I wish you all success.
(e)After introductory phrase and clauses.
As far as I am concerned, I shall do everything.
The thing is, can we do it before he comes.
In the name of justice, please be fair to that poor man.
(f)The comma is used to indicate the omission of a Verb, when repetition is to be avoided.
My brother gave me a watch; to my sister, a pen.
I shall believe you; your brother, never.
(g) The comma is used to mark off two or more adverbs or adverb phrases.
Slowly, steadily, uncomplainingly, the man worked till he completed the job.
Inspite of the pain, not caring for his own safety, the brave soldier rescued his wounded friend.
(h) The comma is used before and after phrases and clauses introduced in the body of a
sentence.
He did, inspite of all his protests, finally agree to our demand.
We have had, though people may like to criticise, a stable government at the centre.
(i) To separate each pair or words connected by 'and'.
Rich and poor, high and low, wise and foolish, must all die.
(j)After an Absolute phrase.
That done, the mob disappeared.

The weather being favourable, they proceeded.

(k) To mark off a direct quotation from the rest of the sentence.
"So nice", said she.
She said, "Wait and see".
"Play well", the captain said to the players, "and shoot goal".
2. THE SEMI-COLON.
The Semi-colon is used to represent a pause of a greater importance than that shown by the
comma. Semi-colon is used when the coordinating conjunctions 'and, but and or' do not appear
between the principal clauses and the co- ordinate clause in compound sentences.
e.g.: 1. We shall compete in the tournament; we shall win the prize.
2. He was a humble, broad-minded man; unfortunately he passed away at 35.
3. Her court was pure; her life serene.
4. She led a noble life; she died a noble death.
3. THE COLON.
The colon is used to illustrate and to explain a statement. It marks a still more complete pause
than that expressed by Semi-colon.
eg: 1. The salient features of capitalism are the following
(Sometimes a dash is also used).
2. The instructions warning the motorists were very clear not to exceed...
3. The major types of diseases are:
4. THE FULL STOP.
(a) The full stop is also known as the 'period'. It marks the end of a declarative or imperative
sentence.
e.g.: Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Get up and walk.
(b) It is also used to mark abbreviations and initials. eg.: M.A.; M.LA.; M.T.D.C.; R.C. ROY;
Note: The full stop is not used in modern English after the abbreviations Mr, Mrs, Dr, etc.
5.THE QUESTION MARK OR THE MARK OF INTERROGATION.
The Question Mark is used in place of a full stop after a direct question. The Question Mark is
never used in indirect narration.
Who are You?
Are you a murderer?
6. THE EXCLAMATION MARK OR MARK OF INTERJECTION.
The exclamation mark is used after Interjections and after phrases and sentences expressing
sudden feelings and emotions.
eg.: 1. What a wonder!
2. What pitiful tragedy!
3. Fire!
4. Alas!
5. Oh God!

7. THE DASH
The Dash is used to indicate a sudden stop in the speaker's or writer's thought and the
introduction of another thought.
eg.:1. I had decided to go to England- but why should I daydream and build up castles in the air!
2. If my husband were alive - but why lament the past?
It is also used to resume a scattered subject.
e.g.: Sounds, sights, sighs - all stopped.
8. THE ELLIPSES (. . . or . . . .)
(a) Ellipses are used with direct quotations to indicate that a word or words have been omitted.
Use three spaced dots to indicate that words have been omitted at the beginning or within the
quotation. Use a full stop and three spaced dots at the end of a sentence when additional
sentences or words have been omitted.
e.g: "The men and women who pushed the frontier westward . . . probably never thought of
themselves as brave . . .But most faced danger, nevertheless."
(b) It is also used to indicate words omitted at the end of a sentence.
"The boy played with the cats and dogs. . . ." the first dot is full stop.
(c) Use an ellipsis to show a pause in a thought or to create suspense.
e.g: She opened the door . . . and saw . . . a cake!
I was thinking . . . maybe we should call home.
(d) Use an ellipsis to show a break, or trailing off, of a thought.
e.g: I know I saw my keys somewhere . . .
“ I’m not sure what to do . . . ,” he said.
I never thought . . .
 TYPES OF SENTENCES AND CLAUSES
( Simple, compound, complex) ( independent & dependent)
( coordinate & subordinate)
 Simple Sentence is also called an independent clause. It contains a subject
and a verb and expresses a complete thought.
e.g: Harry plays soccer in the morning. ( subject-Harry + verb- plays)
(Note: Simple sentence has one independent clause i.e one subject and a verb)

 Compound sentence is joining two logically related independent clauses by

using:
i. Semicolon ( independent clause ; independent clause)
e.g: I love living in the city; there are so many things to do
ii. a coordinating conjunction
( independent clause, coordinate clause independent clause)
e.g: He couldn’t watch the show, so he decided to tape it.

Do not use a comma every time you see the words and, or, but, nor, for, so, yet. Use a comma
only when the coordinating conjunction joins two independent clauses.
e.g The necklace was beautiful but expensive.
( independent clause) (no comma- not an independent clause)
Using a Transition
Independent clause ; transition , Independent Clause
I love Mumbai; however, I hate the traffic.
 Complex sentence combines an independent clause with one or more
dependent clause. A complex sentences always has a subordinating
conjunction clause.
e.g: Harry wore his football boots, because he was playing soccer.
main clause + subordinating conjunction + dependent clause

( Subordinating conjunctions joins an independent clause to a dependent clause.

Subordinating conjunction can be at the beginning, middle or end of a sentence.)

e.g: When he finished reading his book, he returned it to the library.

I will make the beds while you cook breakfast.
The children saw many interesting science experiments when they saw on their excursion.
 ARTICLES
The words a, an, the are called articles. Articles are actually demonstrated adjectives and are
used to point out people or things. They are used before nouns.
*We use a and an before countables in the singular number : a book, a tree
*We use a countable in the singular number beginning with a consonant sound: a banana, a lake
*We use an before a countable in the singular number beginning with a vowel sound: an egg, an
apple.
(note: We have not said words beginning with a consonant or vowel sound. So if a word begins
with a vowel but not a vowel sound, we use a before it :
a university a Europe a one-rupee coin
(yuu sound) (yuu sound) ( w sound)
*Some other words which begin with a vowel but take a with them are: uniform, unit, useful,ewe.
If some words begin with an unsounded h , they also take an with them: an honest boy, an honor

*In abbreviations, if consonants begin with a vowel sound, they take an with them:
an M.A , an M.P , a Ph.D. , a B.A.
* We use the -
1. To denote a particular person or thing: The chain you gave me is lost
2. When a singular noun represents a whole class: the cow is a useful animal
3. With superlatives: She is the best student in class.
4. With names of rivers, sea, gulfs, mountains, newspaper: The Ganges, the Alps
5. Before a pronoun only when qualified by an adjective: the great Shakespeare
6. Before certain names and books: The Bible
7. With nouns that are unique: the earth, the moon
8. Musical instruments: the violin, the piano
9. With adjectives representing whole class: the poor, the rich, the old
10. As an adverb with comparatives: the more the better,
11. With ordinals: the tenth chapter of the novel was very thrilling.
 VOCABULARY

 Abbreviation are types of shortened words and phrases like acronyms and initialism.

There are a few ways abbreviations can be made: you can use only the first few letters, and omit
the rest, like in cont. instead of continued or Dec. instead of December. Sometimes the middle of
the word is omitted instead, like when using Mr. in place of mister. What you may have noticed
with these examples is that even though the word is shortened, there’s no change in how it’s
pronounced.

A few more examples of abbreviations are:

Ave. (Avenue)
Etc. (Etcetera)
St. (Street)
Atty. (Attorney)
Govt. (Government)

 An acronym is a shortened form of a phrase. It’s formed by using the first letters of the
words that make up the phrase. Consider the following examples:

NASA = National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Radar = Radio Detecting and Ranging
Scuba = Self-contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus
PIN = Personal Identification Number
Sonar = Sound Navigation and Ranging

With acronyms, the shortened phrase creates a new word. In other words, the letters aren’t
pronounced individually but are pronounced as a whole.

Keep in mind that the difference between abbreviations and acronyms is that abbreviations are
considered shortened forms of a word; acronyms are shortened forms of a phrase that make up a
new word.
 WORD FORMATION
( Compounding, Conversion)
* Compounding : Two or more words joined together to form a new word.
e.g: Home + work = homework
Pick + pocket = pickpocket
Note: The meaning of a compound is not always the sum of the meaning of its parts.
Coconut oil - oil made from coconuts
Olive oil- oil made from olives
Baby oil - oil for babies ( NOT oil made from babies)
Types of Compounds:
1) Compound nouns 2) Compound verbs 3)Compound adjectives
 Collocation is a predictable combination of words.
 Homonyms are words that sound and spellings alike but have different meaning.

 Homophones are words that sounds alike but have different spellings and meanings.
 Figures of Speech
1. Simile is a direct comparison between two objects of different kinds which
however one point in common. Simile is usually uses words as like, as or so.
Eg: My dog is as smelly as dirty socks.
2. Metaphor is an indirect comparison unlike simile.
Eg. The camel is a ship of the desert.
*Difference:
Akash fought like a lion. ( Simile)
Akash was a lion in the fight. (Metaphor)
3. Personification occurs when the speaker gives human characteristics to non-
human objects.
eg: The trees scream in the raging wind.
4. Apostrophe is a direct address to the dead,to the absent, or to a personified
object or idea.
Eg: “ Oh! Stars and clouds and winds, ye are all about to mock me; if ye really pity
me, crush sensation and memory…”
5. Antithesis is a striking opposite or contrast of words or sentiments is made in
the same sentence.
Eg: To the worst or best.
6. Empigram is a brief pointed saying frequently introducing antithetical ideas
which excite surprise and arrest attention.
Eg: Live simply, so that others may simply live.
7. In Metonymy, an object is designed to be the name of something else which is
generally associated with in.
Eg: The crown, for the king
8. In Synecdoche a part is used to designate the whole or the whole to designate a
part.
Eg: India (Indian cricket team) won the world cup match against Australia.
9. In Hyperbole, a statement is a made emphatic by overstatement.
Eg: I’ve told you a million times.
10. Euphemism consists in the description of a disagreeable thing by an agreeable
name. Eg: You are telling me a fairy tale. (a lie)
11. Irony is a mode of speech in which the real meaning is exactly the opposite of
that which was conveyed.
Eg: Wisdom shall die with you
12. Pun is a word used in such a way that it is capable of more than one
application, the object being to produce a foolish effect.
Eg: Is life worth living? (it depends upon the liver)
13. Interrogation also known as Rhetorical Question. Interrogation is the asking
of question not for the sake of getting an answer, but to put a point out more
effectively. Eg: Can you imagine what?
14. Exclamation is used to draw greater attention to a point that a mere bald or
plain statement.
Eg: How sweet the moonlight on upon this bank!
15. Climax is the arrangement of a series of ideas in the order of increasing
importance.
Eg: they creep or swim or fly or run.
16. Anticlimax is the opposite of climax- a sudden descent from higher to lower.
Eg: He lost his family, his car and his cell phone.