Errors

Fragments:
A complete sentence has a verb, a subject, and it should express a complete thought. Anything
else is a fragment ( a sentence without a verb or a subject)
If I left an hour earlier than usual.
If I left an hour earlier, I would be able to avoid rush hour.
Herbert and Tan the chief operators in this department.
Herbert and Tan are the chief operators in this department.

Run-on Sentences:
A sentence that has dependent clauses joined together without punctuation (comma, period,
semicolon)
Lynn moved from Minneapolis her job was transferred.
Lynn moved from Minneapolis. Her job was transferred. (use a a period)
Lynn's job was transferred, so she moved from Minneapolis. (add a comma and a conjunction)
Lynn moved from Minneapolis because her job was transferred. (add a subordinating
conjunction)

Comma Splices:
It is when you use a comma to join to independent clauses without a conjunction instead of a
semicolon.
Henry lives across the street, he has been there for 25 years.
Henry lives across the street; he has been there for 25 years. (replace the comma with a
semicolon)

Parallelism:
It is when you have two or more equivalent ideas in a sentence, but they are not in the same
form.
My roommate is miserly, sloppy, and a bore.
My roommate is miserly, sloppy, and boring. (all of them are adjectives)
My roommate is a miser, a slob, and a bore. (all of them are nouns)
Also, in comparative and superlative structures there should be parallelism.
Having a career that you like is better than a job that just pays the bills.
Having a career that you like is better than having a job that just pays the bills. (comparing
two gerunds)

Subject-verb Agreement:
A subject must agree with its verb in number. When you have a plural subject, the verb must
be plural.
The president, along with her three executive assistants, leave for the conference.
The president, along with her three executive assistants, leaves for the conference. (the
subject 'president' is singular)

Nouns and pronouns:

A pronoun must match the number of its antecedent.
The government workers received his paychecks.
The government workers received their paychecks. ('workers' plural)

Adjectives and Adverbs:

If the word following the verb describes a noun or pronoun that comes before the verb, use
an adjective.
If the word following the verb describes the verb, use an adverb.
It seems importantly for the students to prepare their assignment.
It seems important for the students to prepare their assignment.
I always wait until the finally minute.
I always wait until the final minute.

Dangling Modifiers:
They are words, phrases or clauses that begin the sentence and are set off by commas, but
they modify the wrong noun or pronoun.
While cleaning up after dinner, the phone rang.
While cleaning up after dinner, I heard the phone rang. (make it clear)

Misused Words:
You should learn to distinguish between these words and verbs to avoid errors in your writing.
Here is a table of the most commonly confused word pairs.

lead (as a noun "the name

lead (as a verb "guide") led (the past tense of lead)
of a metal")

quite (an adverb meaning quiet (an adjective

quit (a verb meaning "stop")
"completely") meaning "calm")

right (an adjective rite (a noun meaning

write (a verb meaning "inscribe")
meaning "correct") "ceremony")

sent (the past tense of scent (a noun meaning

cent (a noun meaning "one penny")
send) "smell")
loose (an adjective loss (a noun meaning
lose (a verb meaning "misplace")
meaning "free") "defeat")

accept (a verb meaning except (a preposition meaning expect (a verb meaning

"receive") "but") "anticipate")

lay (a verb meaning "put lie (a verb meaning "to put oneself lie (a verb meaning ""not
something") in a resting position") tell the truth)
lay, laid, laid lie, lay, lain lie, lied, lied

brake ( as a verb means "slow") break (as a verb means "shatter")

passed (the past tense of pass) past (a noun meaning "history")

peace (a noun meaning "tranquility") piece (as a noun means "division")

plain (as an adjective means "ordinary") plane (a noun meaning "airship")

scene (a noun meaning "view") seen (the past participle of see)

threw (the past tense of throw) through (a preposition)

weak (an adjective meaning "powerless") week (a noun)

which (a pronoun) witch (a noun meaning "sorceress")

dear (an adjective meaning "loved") deer (a noun referring to "an animal")

die (a verb meaning "pass away") dye (a verb meaning "to colour")

hear (a verb meaning "listen to") here (an adverb meaning "in this place")

hole (a noun meaning "gap") whole (an adjective meaning "entire")

knew (the past tense of know) new (an adjective meaning "current")

know (a verb meaning "understand") no (an adverb meaning "not so")

meat (a noun meaning "flesh") meet (a verb meaning "greet")

seam (a noun meaning "joint") seem (a verb meaning "appear")

weather (a noun referring to "the whether (an adverb that refers to "a
condition outside") possibility")
advice (a noun meaning "suggestion") advise (a verb meaning "suggest to")

effect (a noun meaning "consequences") affect (a verb meaning "alter")

capital (a noun meaning "the city that is capitol (a noun meaning "the building that
the seat of the government ") houses the government ")

principal (as a noun meaning "the head of a

principle (a noun meaning "rule")
school")

raise ( a verb meaning "lift" rise (a verb meaning "get up from sitting")

sit (a verb meaning "be in the position in which

set (a verb meaning "place something")
the body is upright")

already (an adverb meaning "previously") all ready (means "completely ready")

altogether (an adverb meaning "entirely") all together (means "simultaneously")

everyday (an adjective meaning

every day (means "each day")
"ordinary")

maybe (an adverb meaning "perhaps") may be (a verb phrase meaning "might be")