Correction of errors

Some definitions and clarifications

CASE
Case refers to the use of nouns and pronouns in the subject, object or
possessive forms. It is particularly relevant to the pronoun, as the noun does
not physically change except in the possessive form (use of apostrophe + s).

SUBJECT
The subject is the agent of the finite verb and what the rest of the sentence is
about (who or what before the verb, the “do-er”). This is the subjective case or
the nominative case. To be a subject is a function of, for example, a noun.

OBJECT
The object is what the agent acts on through the finite verb (the “receiver” of
an action), but can also relate to a non-finite verb. (Kicking the ball, I slipped.)
The noun/pronoun following a preposition in a phrase is also treated as an
object. The objective case is also called the accusative case. To be an object is
a function of, for example, a noun. Where there appears to be two objects the
first is normally the indirect object and the second is the is the direct object:
Sam gave Jackie[indirect] roses[direct]. (What did Sam physically give? Roses)

COMPLEMENT
The complement completes the predicate in a sentence. There are two kinds of
complements: object complements and subject complements. An object
complement follows the direct object and modifies or refers to the direct
object. An object complement can be an adjective, a noun, a word, or a group
of words which acts as an adjective or noun:
The students elected Mary president. ("President" is an object complement
referring to the direct object "Mary.")
A subject complement follows a linking verb and modifies or refers to the
subject. A subject complement can be an adjective, a noun, a pronoun, a word,
or a group of words which acts as an adjective or noun:
I am an engineer, but I am not yet experienced. ("Engineer" and "experienced"
are both subject complements that modify the subject "I.")

CONCORD
The rule of concord states that a verb must agree with its subject in number
and person.
Number: singular or plural
The horse gallops. The horses gallop.
Person: 1st person I run (speaker)
2nd person You run (spoken about)
3rd person He runs (spoken about)
The trick is to be able to identify the subject of the verb and it is NOT always
the closest noun.
SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD
This is used to reflect or express the hypothetical. These are “what if…”
statements and the verb takes the were form.
If I were the queen…
If you were the only person…
If he were to lose all his money…

Other relevant moods:

Imperative (commanding) Sit down. Keep quiet.
Interrogative (questioning) Why are you making a noise?

PARTICIPLE
A participle is a non-finite verb, i.e. cannot on its own take a subject, but can
combine with, for example, an auxiliary verb to form a finite verb (verb
cluster). Participles also have adjectival functions and are useful in combining
two sentences into one.
There are three types:
Present: -ing
Past: -ed, -en mostly
Perfect: having –ed, -ed
Examples of present participles in a sentence:
Can you help me fix the leaning column of blocks?
Arriving late, Mary sat in the back row.
Speeding toward the finish line, Will was going to win the race.
The girl, dreaming of being a doctor, decided to take an extra science class.

Examples of past participles in a sentence:

The broken glass cut my foot.
Ben, exhausted after a long day, took a nap on the couch.
The boat, moving toward the dock, carried soldiers returning from war.

DANGLING PARTICIPLE
This occurs where a participle appears at the start of a sentence, one should
expect that:
a. A comma appears at the at the end of the phrase
b. What follows the comma should then be whatever was carrying out the
action indicated by the participle. If not, then it is dangling. This means it
is misrelated or even unrelated
 Running along, a stone tripped me. Running along, I tripped over a stone.

SPLIT INFINITIVE
The infinitive is a non-finite verb identified by the to plus verb. “The rule” says
that these should not be separated by, for example, an adverb (to quickly run
to the shop) but perhaps a more pragmatic approach would be to decide which
way leaves the sentence more fluent, less fussy, less obscure, clearer etc.
Really long splits are obviously to be avoided.

GERUND
A gerund is a non-finite verb looking exactly like a present participle (-ing), but
having strong noun qualities as it generally describes/denotes an
action/activity. “The rule” says that in certain structures, a possessive form
must appear before a gerund:
Do you mind my smoking? (not me)
Do you mind his leaving junk around? (not him)

PREPOSITIONS
“The rule” says do not end a sentence on a preposition, which is used to
introduce a phrase.
COMMA SPLICE
This occurs when two main clauses are joined by a comma. It can be prevented
by using conjunctions, a semi-colon or separating the sentences.

PRONOUNS
A pronoun replaces or stands in place of a noun. Its function, therefore, is
similar to that of a noun.
Personal pronouns: they replace nouns that refer to people, things, or
qualities.

Subject of a Verb Object of a Verb or

preposition
Singular Plural Singular Plural
st
1 person
(person I we me us
speaking)
2nd person
(person you you you you
spoken to)
3rd person
(person He, she, it they Him, her, it them
spoken
about)
Relative pronouns: A relative pronoun stands for the noun or pronoun
that goes before it.
SUBJECT OBJECT OWNING
Who Whom Whose
Which Which Whose
That That

“Who” refers to persons.

“Which” refers to things, animals and plants, etc.
“That” refers to persons, things, animals and plants, etc.
When to use “who” and “whom”:

Whom should be used to refer to the object of a verb or preposition.

Who should be used to refer to the subject of a sentence.

Whom should be used to refer to the object of a verb or preposition.

How can you tell when your pronoun is the object of a verb or
preposition? Try substituting “he” or “she” and “him” or “her.” If “he” or
“she” fits, you should use who. If “him” or “her” fits, you should
use whom. Keep in mind that you may have to temporarily rearrange the
sentence a bit while you test it.

Who/whom ate my sandwich?

Try substituting “she” and “her”: She ate my sandwich. Her ate my
sandwich. “She” works and “her” doesn’t. That means the word you
want is who.

Who/whom should I talk to about labelling food in the refrigerator?

 Try substituting “he” and “him”: I should talk to he. I should talk to
him. “Him” works, so the word you need is whom.

You can also use questions to determine when to use who and when to
use whom. Are you talking about someone who is doing something?

Possessive pronouns: They show ownership or possession e.g. his, hers,

ours, mine, its
Reflexive pronouns: They refer back to a noun or pronoun mentioned
previously e.g. himself, themselves, itself
Interrogative pronouns: They ask questions e.g. What? Who? Whose?
From whom?
Demonstrative pronouns: They demonstrate or point to specific nouns
or pronouns e.g. this, these, those
Indefinite pronouns: They refer to nouns that have not been definitely
identified e.g. someone, anyone, no-one

DUE TO/OWING TO

There is a difference between "Due to" and "Owing to" in meaning. "Due to"
means "caused by", however, "Owing to" means "because of" and it comes
always at the beginning of the sentence. Besides "owing to" as a result or
consequence of something.

Here are examples for better understanding:

1. Owing to illness, he missed the exam. (because of illness etc.)

2. His absence was due to illness. (His absence was caused by...)
Possessive adjective: A possessive adjective modifies a noun or a pronoun to
show who (or what) owns something. For example:

Possessive adjectives include: my, your, his, her, its, our, their, whose

Possessive Adjective Example

I my I like my new car.

you your You can leave your hat on.

he his He accidentally cut his finger.

she her She plays to her strengths.

it its It will show its teeth.

we our We have our reasons.

they their They washed their hands.

who whose Whose writing is this?

WORDS AND WORD COMBINATIONS TO AVOID
- Could of, should of, would of Could have, should have, would have
- Alot  a lot
- Use to, suppose to  Used to, supposed to
- She didn’t owe me nothing Do not use a double negative: She didn’t
owe me anything. 
- The boy played good Carl Lewis runs quick
Do not use an adjective for an adverb when the verb is being described:
The boy played well.  Carl Lewis runs quickly

EXERCISES
Question 1

THE RIGHT WAY TO WRITE

Candidates who neglect their setwork studies sometimes produce very strange
“answers” in the literature examination. Such an effort, by a candidate who knew
neither the set books nor how to write about them, might even start like this:
I think Hamlet and Macbeth both suck, so i’m just going to give them a skip and
fill you in on Romeo and Juliet instead, which I smaak a whole lot more. It’s about
this romantic young guy who falls in love with this babe he meets at a rave that
her old man throws, but there families are always feuding and fighting and stuff.
All these problems and hassles, a real drag for Romeo, gets made even worse
when his big buddy Mercury, a hell of a funny ou, is blown away by Tibbex, a
relative of Juliet’s.

1.1 Rewrite the words quoted below, using correct standard English and
appropriate register:
‘It’s about this romantic young guy who falls in love with this babe he meets at a rave
that her old man throws…’

1.2 The writer’s second sentence contains an expression which is wholly out of
place in writing. Write down this expression.

1.3 The writer has used more than one expression that is unacceptable in
polite language. Write down an example.
1.4 The writer has used two colloquial South Africanisms. Write down both of
them and give its equivalent in standard English.

1.5 Correct the punctuation error/s that has been made in the passage.

1.6 The writer has made a mistake involving concord. Write it down and gave a
grammatical explanation of what is wrong with it.

1.7 Correct the homophone error.

Question 2
Why You Need to Stop Binge-Watching TV Shows
1.Who haven't spent entire weekends watching F.R.I.E.N.D.S or Breaking Bad
marathons? The internet today allows access to entire season downloads or streaming of
your favourite television shows. Uninterrupted viewing of the television for long hours can
have surprisingly hazardous (effects/affects) on your mind and body.

2.People that watch TV for over four hours a day are susceptible to an increased risk of
health problems. Laptop screens if stared at for too long can cause eyestrain and
headaches.

3.Binge-viewing is an isolating action. It can lead to antisocial behavior because of

reduced time spent interacting with people. Staying indoors for long periods of time
increases the risk of depression and anxiety.

4.Binge-watching TV distracts you from other parts of your lives. A binge-watcher gets
accustomed to staying indoors alone instead of spending time with family and friends. It
distracts from work and other healthy hobbies.

5. Binge-watchers are more likely to disregard personal hygiene by skipping baths and not
cleaning up after themselves.

6. Those who believe binge-watching to be a harmless addiction don't realize that it leads
to weight gain and obesity. We burn calories every day by staying on our feet and
fidgeting. Watching television all day drastically reduces the amount of calories you burn
throughout the day.

2.1 Provide alternative punctuation for the names of the television series
referred to in paragraph 1.

2.2 Correct the concord error in paragraph 1.

2.3 Choose the correct word from those in the brackets in paragraph 1.
2.4 Correct the pronoun error in paragraph 2.

2.5 Commas have been omitted from the second sentence of paragraph 2.
Rewrite the sentence with the commas in the correct places.

2.6 Correct the spelling error in paragraph 3.

2.7 Rewrite the third sentence of paragraph 3 in the passive voice.

2.8 Correct the error in the first sentence of paragraph 4.

2.9 Write “hygiene” (paragraph 5) as an adjective.

2.10 Should “number” replace “amount” in the last sentence of paragraph 6?

Give a reason for your answer.

Exercise 3
Correct the following sentences:
3.1. He was quite amusing when he heard what had happened.

3.2. Turn left by the crossroads when you reach it.

3.3 He has been working here for sometimes.

3.4 He stopped to see if he could picked up the trail.

3.5 Although he jumped aside, but the stone hit him.

3.6.I decided to climbed to the top of the hill to get a better view.

3.7. He jumped down after shouted a warning to those standing below.

3.8. After a few minutes, I look up and saw that it was getting dark.

3.9.I saw the blind man crossed the busy road without any help.

3.10. The robber gave the victim with a hard blow.

Exercise 4

Read the text below, which contains some deliberate errors, and answer the
set questions. The sentences have been numbered for your convenience.
1. Teenagers could be stroppy and anti-social simply because their brains are not working
properly, according to scientists. Researchers found that during adolescence, the process
which creates new brain cells is interrupted, with dramatic consequences. As well as
leading to problem behaviour, it could even cause mental illnesses, such as
schizophrenia, when the person matures into adulthood. This is real scary.
2. Experiments on mice revealed that they became “profoundly anti-social” if the smooth
development of brain cells was halted. No such effect was observed if the same block
occurred during adulthood, giving the researchers important clues into how personality
can be formed.
3. The team at Yale University, in the US, focused on “neurogenesis”, a process in which
cells are created in specific areas of the brain after birth. It occurs at a much faster rate
during childhood and adolesence but most other research has focused on adulthood.
Lead author Professor Arie Kaffman said: “This has important implications in
understanding social development at the molecular level.
4. “Normal adult mice tend to spend alot of time exploring and interacting with unfamiliar
mice. However, adult mice that had neurogenesis blocked during adolesence showed no
interest in exploring and even evaded attempts made by other mice to engage in social
behaviour. These mice acted like they did not recognise other mice as mice.
[Source: www.dailymail.co.za]

4.1 From paragraph 1, quote a colloquialism.

4.2 Identify and quote the MAIN clause from sentence 3 of paragraph 1 (“As
well as leading...”).

4.3 From paragraph 1, quote an adjective which has been used incorrectly and
write down the adverb which should replace it.

4.4 From paragraph 2, quote TWO past participles.

4.5 Why is the word neurogenesis (paragraph 3) in inverted commas?

4.6 Correct a spelling error in paragraph 3.

4.7 Correct a common error in sentence 1 of paragraph 4.

4.8 Explain why “exploring” in sentence 2 of paragraph 4 is a gerund.

4.9 “Like” in the final sentence of paragraph 4 should be replaced by which

words?
Exercise 5
Read below, which contains some deliberate errors, and then answer the set
questions.

1. I was lucky; I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my
parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from
just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had
just released our finest creation – the Macintosh – a year earlier, and I had just turned 30.
2. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple
grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and
for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to divert
and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him.
So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life
was gone, and it was devastating.
3. I really didn’t know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous
generation of entropreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to
me. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away. But something
slowly began to dawn on me - I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not
changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start
over.
4. I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that
could ever of happened to me: what had been apart of my life was gone.
[Source: Steve Jobs, reflecting on his life, career and mortality in a well-known
commencement address at Stanford University in 2005 – article adapted.]

5.1 Name the part of speech (word class) which could replace the semi-colon in
line 1.
5.2 An apostrophe has been omitted in paragraph 1. Write down the word,
correctly punctuated.
5.3 Clearly explain why the question in paragraph 2 is NOT rhetorical.
5.4 “Entropeneurs” (paragraph 3) is spelt incorrectly. Rewrite this word,
correctly.

5.5 “Dropped the baton” (paragraph 3) is an example of …

A irony.
 B euphemism.
C litotes.
D malapropism.
5.6Why is Apple written with a capital letter?
5.7 Rewrite paragraph 4, correcting TWO obvious errors. Underline your
corrections.
5.8 What is a “commencement address” (mentioned in the source of article
information below paragraph 4)?