WOLDIA UNIVERSITY

SENTENCE ERRORS

Yohannis Belay
March-2019
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SENTENCE FRAGMENT
A sentence is a group of words that names something and
makes a statement about what is named. A sentence fragment
is an incomplete sentence because it lacks a subject or a verb,
or both. In addition, fragment happens when a dependent
clause is not properly connected to an independent clause.
A fragment is an incomplete sentence punctuated as though
a complete sentence. Both groups of words begin with a
capital letter and conclude with an end mark-usually a period
[.] but sometimes a question mark [?] or an exclamation point
[!]. It is an incomplete construction that tries to stand alone.
When you analyze a group of words looking for the main
clause, you have to find three things: a subject, a verb, and a
complete thought. If one of these three items is missing, a
fragment results.
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There are different types of fragments:
1. Missing subject fragment
2. Missing verb fragment
3. Ing verb with no helping verb
4. Incomplete thought (dependent clause) fragment
5. Participle phrase fragments
6. To-fragment
7. After thought fragments (added detail fragment)
8. Appositive fragment

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1. MISSING SUBJECT FRAGMENT

This kind of fragment occurs when there is a construction with out a subject. It
can be corrected in two ways:
1. Connect the fragment to the previous sentence, so the subject of that
sentence also applies to the fragment
2. Add a subject to the fragment
Example 1: We went to the party expecting it to be crashing bore. And discovered
that it was really fun.
“And discovered that it was really fun” is subject missing fragment, and it can
be corrected through the above ways.
3. We went to the party expecting it to be crashing bore and
discovered that it was really fun.
4. We went to the party expecting it to be crashing bore. We
discovered that it was really fun.
Example 2: Was driving the car over the speed limit.
Obviously, one doesn't write this type of sentence frequently, but it does
happen. The mistake can be corrected by simply adding a subject.
Correction: The police officer was driving the car over the speed
limit. 4
2. MISSING VERB FRAGMENT
A group of words written without a verb is a fragment.
Example 1: The woman with the flower tattoo.
This type of fragment isn't usually mistaken for a sentence,
but it can happen. When it does, the simplest way to
correct the error is to add a verb.
Correction: The woman with the flower tattoo attracted
some attention.
Example 2: The girl in the black jacket.
Correction: The girl in the black jacket is my sister.

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3. ING VERB WITH NO HELPING VERB
A sentence containing an -ing verb without a helping verb (is, are,
were, have been, will be, etc.) is a fragment.
Example 1: The patient struggling bravely against a terrible
disease.
This can easily be corrected by adding an appropriate helping verb.
Correction: The patient was struggling bravely against a terrible
disease.
Example 2: The jet flying overhead.
This sentence has no helping herb; it contains only “-ing”
form of a verb which can not be a verb by itself. We look at
the context and choose appropriate helping herb, and we
get continuous tenses.
Correction: The jet was flying overhead. (past
continuous) 6
4. INCOMPLETE THOUGHT (DEPENDENT CLAUSE)

A dependent clause (a group of words that contains a subject and a

verb but does not express a complete thought) that is punctuated as a
sentence is a fragment.
There are two ways to correct a dependent-clause fragment:
1. Because it is the subordinate conjunction that transforms the
independent clause (simple sentence) into a dependent clause,
removing the subordinate conjunction will leave you with a simple
sentence.
DC Fragment: That the children were very curious.
Correction: The children were very curious.
2. Connect the dependent clause to an independent clause, and create
a complex sentence.
DC Fragment: Although I have an email account.
Correction: Although I have an email account, I rarely email my
friends. 7
A dependent clause usually begins with a subordinate
conjunction or a relative pronoun.

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5. PARTICIPLE PHRASE FRAGMENTS
A participle phrase fragment will begin with a word ending in ing or ed, or the
fragment will open with an irregular past participle. More words will follow to
finish the phrase, but nowhere will you find a main clause to complete the
thought. By itself, a participle phrase cannot be a sentence.
Your marker for this type of fragment is the present or past participle that you
will find at the beginning of the fragment.
Example 1: Walking along the street.
This is present participle “-ing” fragment. It can be corrected by adding a subject
and part of a verb.
I was walking along the street.
Or the phrase can be used as either a subject or an object as it is gerundive phrase.
Walking along the street is my hobby.
I love walking along the street
Example 2: Convicted of murdering his wife.
This is past participle phrase fragment. We need a subject and part of a verb to
avoid the fragment, or we join it a main clause.
He was convicted of murdering his wife.
Convicted of murdering his wife, a man was sentenced to life imprisonment.
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 6. INFINITIVE PHRASE FRAGMENTS
An infinitive phrase fragment will begin with to followed by the base
form of the verb.
TO + VERB = INFINITIVE
Although more words will follow to finish the phrase, you will not
find a main clause to complete the thought. An infinitive phrase
cannot be a sentence.
For instance:
A. To catch butterflies for her biology project.
B. I plan on working overtime. To get this job finished.
The above constructions are infinitive phrases, and the can be
corrected by adding a subject and a verb or by joining them to the
previous sentence if there is.
A. She went to the field to catch butterflies for her biology project. (a
subject and a verb are added)
B. I plan on working overtime to get this job finished. ( the infinitive
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phrase is attached to the preceding sentence)
7. AFTER THOUGHT FRAGMENTS (ADDED
DETAIL FRAGMENT)
An afterthought clarifies earlier information by providing specific details. When
an afterthought does not contain a main clause, it is a fragment. These words and
phrases frequently begin afterthoughts: especially, except, excluding, for
example, for instance, including, also, without like, and such as.
For example:
I. Almost every guy loves sports. Especially football.
II. Many college students experience stress. For example, about many, grades,
work and relationship.
We can correct these fragments in two ways
1. Attaching the fragment to the complete thought that precedes
or follows
2. Add a subject and a verb to the fragment to make it complete.
I. Almost every guy loves sports, especially football.
II. Many college students experience stress. For example, they
worry about many, grades, work and relationship. 11
8. APPOSITIVE FRAGMENTS
An appositive is a noun phrase that renames and clarifies anther noun. Because an
appositive can be long, writers sometimes mistake one for a complete sentence. By
itself, however, an appositive is not a sentence.
An appositive fragment will begin with a noun and usually include one or more
clarifying phrases or subordinate clauses after it.
Here are some examples:
 The unprepared student who was always begging for an extra
pencil and a couple sheets of blank paper.
 A slacker wasting his afternoon in front of the television.
 A dog around whom people need to guard their fingers and food.
We can correct this kind of fragment by adding a verb or by rewriting the fragment
by eliminating unnecessary words.
a) The unprepared student (who) was always begging for an extra
pencil and a couple sheets of blank paper.
b) The unprepared student who was always begging for an extra
pencil and a couple sheets of blank paper has scored F. 12
Run on sentences
An independent clause is simply normal sentence. This means it has a subject,
verb and expresses a complete thought.
A sentence can be considered a run-on if it joins two independent clauses
with a comma or no punctuation at all. Two independent clauses (complete
thoughts) are forced together instead of being properly connected. Run-on
sentences can be confusing to a reader because they put too many ideas into
one sentence.
There are two types of run on sentences: comma splice and fused
sentence. A run-on sentence that has two independent clauses joined by
a comma is called a comma splice.
For example:
I. My head hurts, I took some Advil.
II. Mary went to the market, she bought some apples.
III. I went the party last night, I need to sleep in this
morning.
All these sentences are separated with comma. This is what 13
In a fused sentence, the independent clauses are joined
without any punctuation or coordinating conjunction.

Example
I. Africa is rich in natural resource its people are starving.
II. Most asteroids are small and far away they are dim and
hard to see.
III. I went the party last night I need to sleep in this
morning.

In contrast to comma splice, fused sentences occur when

two independent clauses are connected with out
punctuation or coordination as the above sentences.
There are six ways to avoid run-on sentences. They are
discussed as follows.
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 1. USE A COMMA AND A COORDINATING
CONJUNCTION
When you join two independent clauses with a
coordinating conjunction (and, but, yet, so, or,
nor, for), place a comma before the
coordinating conjunction.
I. Africa is rich in natural resource, but its
people are starving.
II. Most asteroids are small and far away, so they
are dim and hard to see.
III. I need to sleep in this morning, for I went the
party last night.
All the errors are corrected using comma and
coordinating conjunction.
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 2. USE A SEMICOLON

Using semicolon is another way of avoiding run-on

errors. Insert a semicolon between the two
independent clauses can eliminate the problem.
I. Africa is rich in natural resource; its people are
starving.
II. Most asteroids are small and far away; they are
dim and hard to see.
III. I went the party last night; I need to sleep in
this morning.
As you can see in the sentences above, putting semicolon
between independent clauses makes sentences
meaningful. 16
 3. SEPARATE THE INDEPENDENT CLAUSES
INTO SENTENCES.

When we join clauses with a conjunction and or punctuation,

we get compound, complex or compound-complex sentences.
But when we write clauses in to separate sentences, we get
simple sentences. This is one way to avoid run-on error
especially when one of the independent clauses is very long.
I. Africa is rich in natural resource. Its people are starving.
II. Most asteroids are small and far away. They are dim and
hard to see.
III. I went the party last night. I need to sleep in this morning.

Put a period at the end of each clauses, and don’t forget to start the
sentence with capital letter.
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4. CHANGE ONE OF THE INDEPENDENT CLAUSE TO A
DEPENDENT CLAUSE

You can subordinate a clause if one of the independent clauses

seems less important than the other. Subordinating
conjunctions are used to change one of the independent
clauses to a subordinated clause, which cannot stand on its
own as a sentence.
I. Although Africa is rich in natural resource, its people are
starving.
II. Since Most asteroids are small and far away, they are dim and
hard to see.
III. Because I went the party last night, I need to sleep in this
morning.
When the subordinate clause comes first, comma is used in between the
subordinate clause and main clause, but not vice versa.
Africa’s people are starving although Africa is rich in natural18
5. USE SEMICOLON CONJUNCTIVE ADVERB
AND COMMA

Adverbial connectors are other kind of conjunctions that

are functional to rewrite run-on sentences correctly. We
insert a semicolon after the first independent clause, a
conjunctive adverb between the two independent clauses
and a comma after the conjunctive adverb.
I. Africa is rich in natural resource; however, its
people are starving.
II. Most asteroids are small and far away; therefore,
they are dim and hard to see.
III. I went the party last night; consequently, I need
to sleep in this morning.
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6. CHANGE ONE OF THE INDEPENDENT CLAUSES
TO A PHRASE
This is another way of avoiding run-on errors. On of the two
independent clauses will be changed to a phrase.
Example 1: Most asteroids are small and far away they are
dim and hard to see.
We can change the second clause in to a phrase. We cancel the
pronoun “they” and change “are” to “being”.
Being small and far away, most asteroids are dim and hard
to see.
Example 2: We asked Professor Williams to look at the
problem she is an expert in the field.
Both the clauses are about the professor, and avoiding “she”
and “is” and the result is a noun phrase.
We asked Professor Williams, an expert in the field, to look
at the problem. 20
FAULTY PARALLELISM
Parallelism is the expression of two or more equivalent
sentence elements in the same grammatical form: nouns
paired with nouns, verbs with verbs, and so forth. This
may sound complicated; however, parallelism is a part of
our active grammar.
Parallel construction deals with the use of the same
pattern in two or more equally important
words/phrases/clauses. The grammatical functions in the
same sentence should have the same form, elements
regularly appear in a list or series, compound structures,
comparisons parallel in meaning share the same
grammatical structure, the sentence is smoother, easier to
read, and has a more lyrical quality.
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 Creating Successful Parallelism
Use a coordinating conjunction such as and, but, or, nor, for,
so and yet to connect words or ideas in parallel structure.
 The evil witch looked into the black crystal, seeing the future
of her rebellious underlings, and planning her revenge.
 This novel is not to be tossed aside lightly, but to be hurled
with great force.
Use a pair of correlative conjunctions: either…or, neither…
nor, not only…but also, both… and, whether…or.
 Either you are late, or I am early.
Art is either plagiarism or revolution.
Use the words than or as to introduce a comparison.

It is better for civilization to be going down the drain than to be

coming up it.
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 I promise to be a good husband and that I will
help clean the apartment.
The two groups of words do not have a parallel
structure in this sentence. One begins with the to form
of a verb, and the other does not. This sentence may be
rewritten as follows:
 I promise that I will be a good husband and that I
will help clean the apartment.
Now the two elements are parallel. Note how the form
of the first has been changed to go along with the
second.
Other examples:
 She wanted three things: money, power, and security.
 There was no opportunity to do my taxes, to request an

extension, or to explain my situation. 24

Combine the following short sentences into one long sentence
Successful students usually have clear goals.
Successful students usually have good basic skills.
Successful students usually have strong determination.
When listening to lectures, a college student must think about
what he hears.
When listening to lectures, a college student must judge what is
important.
When listening to lectures, a college student must take notes of
what he needs to remember.
Writing a good essay involves pre-writing.
Writing a good essay involves outlining.
Writing a good essay involves drafting.
Writing a good essay involves editing.
Writing a good essay involves proofreading.
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 Successful students usually have clear goals, good
basic skills and strong determination.

When listening to lectures, a college student must

think about what he hears, judge what is important
and take notes of what he needs to remember.

Writing a good essay involves pre-writing,

outlining, drafting, editing and proofreading.

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Dangling Modifiers

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 Dangling Modifiers
In written English, every modifier should clearly modify
something. Both dangling modifiers and misplaced modifiers lead
to sentences that do not mean what their writers intended. A
modifier describes, clarifies, or gives more detail about a concept.
A dangling modifier is a phrase or clause that does not logically
modify any word in the sentence in which it appears. It modifies a
word not clearly stated in the sentence.
It is a modifier that does not relate sensibly to any word in the
sentence. A modifier or a modifying phrase that begins a sentence
must be followed closely by the word it is meant to describe.
Example: Asked to give an autograph, we were disappointed by the
player’s refusal.
Who was asked to give an autograph?
Correct:
 Asked to give an autograph, the player disappointed us because he

refused.
 When the player was asked to give an autograph, we were28
"Having finished" states an action but does not name the doer of
that action. In English sentences, the doer must be the subject of
the main clause that follows. In this sentence, it is Jill. She seems
logically to be the one doing the action ("having finished"), and
this sentence therefore does not have a dangling modifier.

"Having finished" is a participle expressing action, but the doer

is not the TV set (the subject of the main clause): TV sets don't
finish assignments. Since the doer of the action expressed in the
participle has not been clearly stated, the participial phrase is
said to be a dangling modifier. 29
 How to Check for Dangling Modifiers
1. Find the modifier.
2. Find the word, phrase, or clause it modifies.
3. Make sure the modifier is as close as possible to the word,
phrase, or clause it modifies.
4. If the modifier has nothing to modify, add or change words so
that it does.

While walking home, a car honked at me.

Step one: The modifier is while walking home.
Step two: The modifier cannot logically modify a car.
Step three: Who or what can it modify?

Correct:
While I was walking home, a car honked at me.
In this case, it would be appropriate to insert “I” for the modifier to
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modify.
Dangling modifiers usually take one of four forms:

1. Dangling Participial Phrase (An "ing" verb form)

Example: Stepping into the boat, my camera dropped into the water.
Revision:
 Stepping into the boat, I dropped my camera into the water.
 While I was stepping into the boat, my camera dropped into the
water.
Example: The mountains were snow covered and cloudless, flying over
the Rockies.
Revision:
 When I flew over the Rockies, the mountains were snow covered
and cloudless.
 Flying over the Rockies, I saw that the mountains were snow
covered and cloudless.
Example: Driving through the mountains, many bears were seen.
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Revision:______________________________________________
2. Dangling Gerunds (An "ing" verb form used as a noun)
Example:
After driving all day, the motel was a welcome sight.
Revision: After driving all day, we welcomed the sight of the motel.
After we had driven all day, the motel was a welcome sight.
Example:
Before exploring the desert, our water supply was replenished.
Revision: ________________________________________________

3. Dangling Infinitives ( "To" plus a root verb)

Example: To write effectively, practice is necessary.
Revision:
 To write effectively, one must practice.
 If one wishes to write effectively, practice is necessary. (or. ..one must

practice.)
Example: To examine the brakes, the wheel must be removed.
Revision: ________________________________________________ 32
4. Dangling Elliptical Clauses
It is a clause in which the subject or verb is understood.
Example:
While combing my hair this morning, a man's face
appeared at the window.
Revision:
 While combing my hair this morning, I saw a man's

face appear at the window.

 While I was combing my hair this morning, a man's

face appeared at the window.

Example:
When a baby, my grandfather gave me a silver cup.
Revision: ________________________________
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Strategies for revising dangling modifiers:
1. Name the appropriate or logical doer of the action as
the subject of the main clause:

Who arrived late? This sentence says that the written

excuse arrived late. To revise, decide who actually
arrived late. The possible revision might look like this:

Having arrived late for practice, a member of the team

has to submit a written excuse.
The main clause now names the person (the member) who
did the action in the modifying phrase (arrived late). 34
2. Change the phrase that dangles into a complete introductory
clause by naming the doer of the action in that clause:

Who didn't know his name? This sentence says that "it" didn't know his
name. To revise, decide who was trying to introduce him. The revision
might look something like this:

Because Aster did not know his name, it was

difficult to introduce him.

The phrase is now a complete introductory clause; it does not

modify any other part of the sentence, so is not considered
"dangling."
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3. Combine the phrase and main clause into one:

Who wanted to improve results? This sentence says

that the experiment was trying to improve its own
results. To revise, combine the phrase and the main
clause into one sentence. The revision might look
something like this:
He improved his results by doing the
experiment again.

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 Misplaced modifiers
Misplaced modifiers are words that, because of
awkward placement, do not describe what the writer
intended them to describe. A misplaced modifier can
make a sentence confusing or unintentionally funny.
Example: We sold lemonade to the
thirsty customers in paper cups.
CORRECT: We sold lemonade in paper
cups to the thirsty customers.
Rule of thumb: To avoid misplaced modifiers, place words
as close as possible to what they describe.
Example: I saw three bears on the way to class.
Were the bears on their way to class?
Correct: On the way to class, I saw three bears.
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 Words like almost, even, exactly, hardly,
just, merely, nearly, only, scarcely, and
simply should most often come
immediately before the word they modify.
The following sentences have different meanings
because of the placement of only.
A. Only Kim offered me thirty dollars to wash her car.
(Kim was the only person to offer thirty dollars.)
B. Kim only offered me thirty dollars to wash her car.
(Kim offered, but did not ultimately pay thirty dollars.)
C. Kim offered me only thirty dollars to wash her car.
(Kim offered thirty dollars, but I was expecting more.)

Misplaced: My sister only has two children.

Correct: My sister has only two children. 38
Checking for Misplaced Modifiers
1. Find the modifier.
2. Find the word, phrase, or clause it modifies.
3. Make sure the modifier is as close as possible to the word,
phrase, or clause it modifies.

Correcting Misplaced Modifiers

The farmer bought a bull at the auction with large horns.
1. Find the modifier.
The modifier is with large horns.
2. Find the word, phrase, or clause it modifies.
The word being modified is bull.
3. Make sure the modifier is as close as possible to the word being
modified.
Is the modifier as close as possible?
Nope. In this case, with large horns is not as close as possible to bull.
Correct: The farmer bought a bull with large horns at the auction.39
 When modifiers (adjectives and adverbs) are out of place, too far
away from the word they modify, the sentence will be awkward or
confusing. Misplaced modifiers may be single words (adjective or
adverb), phrases, or clauses.
1. Misplaced phrase
Misplaced: The little girl screamed at the library at her mother.
Correct: At the library, the little girl screamed at her mother.
Misplaced: I threw my book in the trash with the missing pages.
Explanation: The trash does not have missing pages.
Correct: I threw my book with the missing pages in the trash.
Explanation: “With the missing pages” correctly modifies the book .
Misplaced: My girlfriend made it clear why we were breaking
up on Tuesday.
Correct: On Tuesday, my girlfriend made it clear why we were
breaking up.

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2. Misplaced clause.
Misplaced: I held the ticket tightly in my hand that my friend gave
me.
Correct: I held the ticket that my friend gave me tightly in my hand.
Misplaced: He searched around and found an old bus schedule in the
drawer that was out of date.
Correct : He searched around and found in a drawer an old bus
schedule that was out of date.
Misplaced Clause: The paint job is not dry that they did yesterday.
Correct : The paint job that they did yesterday is not dry.

3. Split Infinitives (A modifier of one or more words placed between the

"to" and the root verb)
Misplaced: It was my custom to at least once a month visit my
grandmother.
Correct : It was my custom to visit my grandmother at least once
a month.
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4. Misplaced Adverbs
Misplaced: We ate the lunch that we had bought slowly.
Correct: We slowly ate the lunch that we had bought.
5. Misplaced adjective
Misplaced: On his way home, Jan found a gold man’s
watch.
Correct: On his way home, Jan found a man’s gold
watch.
Misplaced: The child ate the cold dish of cereal for
breakfast this morning.
Correct: The child ate the dish of cold cereal for
breakfast
this morning.
Misplaced: The torn student’s book lay on the desk.
Correct: The student’s torn book lay on the desk. 42
 Squinting modifier
(Two-Way Modifiers)

Such modifiers are said "to squint" because they could

modify one of two possible grammatical structures/ideas.
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44
Example 3:
Squinting : To be complimented often pleases a performer.
Correct 1: It often pleases a performer to be complimented.
Correct 2: It pleases a performer to be complimented often.
Example 4:
Squinting : Reading a book frequently will change the whole
course of a man's life.
Correct: Reading a book will frequently change the whole
course of a man's life.
Example 5:
Squinting: Eating out often pacifies her.
Correct 1: She is pacified by eating out two or three times a
week (often).
Correct 2: Eating out is a strategy that usually (often)
pacifies her. 45
Squinting modifier:

Possible revisions:

46
Squinting modifiers can occur even in clauses. Look at the following
examples in which two different clauses are modified by a squinting
modifier.

47
Subject -Verb Agreement
The subjects and verbs are two obligatory components of sentences. They
need to agree with one another in number and person. To make subjects
and verbs agree, identifying subjects and verbs, and recognizing them in a
sentence is the first step.
Nouns ending in -s or -es are usually plural. However, regular verbs
ending in -s, unlike nouns, are usually singular. Typically, plural subjects
ending in -s or -es require a verb which does not end in -s.

VERB FORMS
Verbs take different forms depending on how they are used in the
sentence, and on what the subject of the sentence is. Verbs will take one of
five forms:
Base form: This is the “normal” form of a verb – that is, the form you
would look for if you were consulting a dictionary. (Exaples: walk, march,
speak)
“S” form: This is the singular form of a verb for third-person point of
view. It’s created simply by adding “-s” or “-es” to the end of the base
48
verb. (Examples: walks, marches, speaks)
Past tense form: This is the form a verb takes when it’s describing
events that occurred in the past. It is usually formed by adding “-d”
or “-ed” to the end, but there are many irregular verbs that do not
follow this rule. (Examples: walked, marched, spoke)

Past participle form: This is when a verb is used as an adjective. It

usually looks the same as past tense, but with irregular verbs, the
past tense and past participle often look different, as in “ate” (past
tense) vs. “eaten” (past participle). As a verb, it is usually combined
with some form of the helping verb “have” or “be.” (Examples:
walked, marched, spoken)

Present participle/gerund form: This form of the verb is used to

show that something is in a state of happening, or to quantify the
act of the verb in noun or adjective form (e.g. “running water”). It
is formed by the “-ing” suffix. As a verb, it is paired with some
form of “be.” (Examples: walking, marching, speaking) 49
RULE 1: Subjects and verbs must agree in number
Singular subjects take singular verbs and plural subjects
take plural verb.
The car stays in the garage.
The flower smells good.
RULE 2: The number of the subject (singular or
plural) is not changed by words that come between the
subject and the verb.
Examples: The colors of the rainbow are beautiful
One of the eggs is broken.
“Of the eggs” is a prepositional phrase. The subject one
and the verb is are both singular. Mentally omit the
prepositional phrase to make the subject verb-agreement
easier to make.
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RULE 3: Indefinite pronouns do not refer to a specific
person, place, or thing. These pronouns are either
singular or plural. Some pronouns are used as both
plural and singular pronouns in different contexts.

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Singular indefinite pronouns take a singular verb even though the meaning
may seem plural.
Examples: Someone in the game was (not were) hurt.
Neither of the men is (not are) working.
Everybody wants to be loved
Each of the teachers needs to attend the meeting.
No one looks like that in real life.
The word every by itself is not a pronoun, but everyone is.
Plural indefinite pronouns take plural verbs.
Examples: Both of her parents dance professionally.
Few smoke cigarettes on campus.
Several of the desserts look tasty
Many of the workers take their vacations.
The following words may be singular or plural, depending upon their use
in a sentence, some, any, all, most.
Examples: Most of the news is good. (singular)
Most of the flowers were yellow. (plural)
All of the pizza was gone. (singular)
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All of the children were late. (plural)
Pronouns must agree with the nouns they are replacing. For
example, if the indefinite pronoun is singular, all other
pronouns referring to the indefinite pronoun should also be
singular.
E.g. Each of the children need to go back to their seat.
Since the indefinite pronoun “each” is singular, all the
other pronouns in this sentence must also be singular.
There fore, their doesn’t agree with the indefinite pronoun
“each”. So it must be written as:
Each of the children needs to go back to his or her seat.
The same thing is true for plural indefinite pronouns.
E.g. Several of the participants gave his or her opinion.
As the indefinite pronoun “several” is plural, then all the
other pronouns in this sentence must also be plural.
Several of the participants gave their opinions. 53
RULE 4: Time, money, measurement, weight, and volume
are usually singular when the amount is considered a unit.
(Use a singular verb with distances, periods of time, sums of
money, etc., when considered as a unit.)
Examples:
o One fourth of the cake has been eaten.
o Three dollars is not enough to buy the skates.
o BUT, Three dollar bills are in my pocket.
o Five dollars is (not are) too much to ask.
o Ten days is (not are) not nearly enough time.
o Three miles is too far to walk.
o Five years is the maximum sentence for that offense.
o Ten dollars is a high price to pay.
On occasion, however these terms are used in the plural sense:
There were thirty minutes to countdown.
54
RULE 5: if the main subject is preceded by a fraction entity such
as, half of, two third of, most of, a quarter of, none of, more of,
lots of, a lot of, the rest of, a great deal of, some of, all of, the verb
agrees with the number of the subject (the object of the
preposition “of”).
The object of the preposition determines the form of the verb.
All of the chicken is gone.
All of the chickens are gone.
Four quarts of oil was required to get the car running.
RULE 6: If two infinitives are separated by and they take the
plural form of the verb.
Example: To walk and to chew gum require great skill.
RULE 7: When gerunds are used as the subject of a sentence they
take the singular verb form of the verb, but when they are linked
by and they take the plural form.
Example:
Standing in the water was a bad idea.
 Swimming in the ocean and playing drums are my hobbies. 55
RULE 8: There and here are never subjects. In sentences that begin
with these words, the subject is usually found later on in the
sentence.
 There were five books on the shelf.
(were, agrees with the subject books)
 Here is the report you wanted.
(Is agrees with subject report)
In addition, Subjects don't always come before verbs in questions.
Make sure you accurately identify the subject before deciding on the
proper verb form to use.
Does Lefty usually eat grass?
Where are the pieces of this puzzle.
RULE 9: When the relative pronoun who, which, or that is used as a
subject, the verb agrees with the previous word the pronoun refers
to (the antecedent).
Examples:
They are the students who study diligently.
Kansas City has a lovely shopping area which is called The Plaza.56
RULE 10: If one subject is singular and one plural and the words
are connected by the words or, nor, neither/nor, either/or, and not
only/but also, the verb agrees with the nearest subject.
Examples:
Does your sister or your girlfriend want any pizza?
 Either Bob or his friends are leaving.
 The boys or the girls enjoy ice cream.
 The dogs or the cat sleeps on the porch.
 The bird or the bees are flying in the yard.
Neither the team nor their spouses attend the meeting.
Not only students but also parents come to the orientation.

RULE 11: Titles of books, movies, novels, etc. are treated as

singular and take a singular verb.
Examples:
o The Burbs is a movie starring Tom Hanks.
o Gulliver's Travels continues to be read today, many years after
57
its first publication.
RULE 12: Collective nouns are groups of persons, places, or things that
function as a single unit. A collective noun is a noun used to name a whole
group.

Collective nouns may be either singular or plural. If members of a group are

working as one unit, the collective noun is considered to be singular and
requires a singular verb. If members of group are working as individuals, the
collective noun is considered plural and requires a plural verb.

58
Examples:
o The team wins all of its games. (Singular)
o The crew wins its games for the glory of England. (Singular)
o The orchestra is playing a hit song. (singular.)
o My family likes to ride bikes through the park on weekends.
o The class respects the views of the professor.
o The family enjoys their discussions around the dinner table.
Depending upon the writer’s intent, occasionally members
of a group are considered individually; in this case use a
plural verb.
o The class respect the views of the professor.
o The family enjoy their discussions around the dinner table.
o The team throw their hats in the air after each win. (
o The crew are sure they will each win a medal.
o The orchestra were asked to give their musical backgrounds.
59
RULE 13: Country’s and organization’s names that appear to be
plural are treated as collective nouns. Regardless of their singular
or plural forms, they usually take singular verbs.
These include the Philippines, the Netherlands, the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), United States and the National Institutes
of Health (NIH) among others.
Examples:
o The Philippines is where one of my best friends lives.
o The Foster Parents Association is offering a course on infant
care
RULE 14: Avoid Long Subjects
Similarly, long, descriptive subjects can also cause confusion. Stay
away from using unnecessary nouns and adjectives after the
subject, which can make it easy to use the wrong verb(s).
 Incorrect: The dog with spots and a broken leg whose owner
was wearing a blue jacket and green shoes run away.
 Correct: The dog with spots and a broken leg ran away. His
owner was wearing a blue jacket and green shoes. 60
RULE 15: Some nouns, while plural in form, are actually
singular in meaning, so they take singular verbs.
mumps home economics social studies economics
measles calisthenics statistics civics
physics gymnastics phonics news
acrobatics aesthetics thesis mathematics
Examples:
o Mathematics is an easy subject.
o Physics is taught by Prof, Belew.
o Statistics proves to be a difficult course for some students.
o Mumps causes swollen glands and a sore throat.
o The evening news often expresses a particular political
leaning.
Some take plural verbs:
Examples: acoustics athletics scissors gymnastics tactics trousers
Note: the word politics may be either singular or plural
61
RULE 16: The verb is singular if the two subjects
separated by and refer to the same person or thing.
Examples:
Red beans and rice is my mom's favorite dish.
My roommate and best friend calls himself Jim.
Rock and roll remains a dynamic genre of music.
Drinking and driving causes many highway accidents
and fatalities.
RULE 17: Every or many a before a noun or a series of
nouns takes a singular verb.
Examples:
Every one of the books is a best-seller.
Every boy and girl in the class understands the questions on
the exam.
Many a teacher feels she deserves a pay raise. 62
RULE 18: Subjects joined by and always take a plural
verb (Except when each and every precedes the words).
Examples:
The boys and the girls enjoy ice cream.
The dogs and the cat sleep on the porch.
The birds and the bees are flying in the yard.
Each and every boy and girl is expected to attend.
At the tone, each book and pencil was put away.
When two subjects are joined by “and” or “both...and” the
verb is plural
RULE 19: Verbs in clauses that follow the phrase one of
those are always plural.
Examples:
 Sarah is one of those people who practice the art of humanism.
 The daffodil is one of those flowers that bloom early in the
63
spring.
RULE 20: The word number is plural when preceded
by a; it is considered singular when preceded by the.
Examples:
A number of people are at the game.
The number of people is at the game.
RULE 21: Sometimes the subject is separated from the
verb by such words as along with, as well as, besides, not,
together with, etc. These words and phrases are not part
of the subject. The verb agrees with the first noun.
Examples:
The politician, along with the newsmen, is
expected shortly.
Excitement, as well as nervousness, is the cause of
her shaking.
64
 RULE 22: The word were replaces was in sentences that express a
wish or are contrary to fact:
Example: If Joe were here, you'd be sorry.
We use were in conditional sentence type one whatever the subject is
singular or plural. Shouldn't Joe be followed by was, not were, given
that Joe is singular? But Joe isn't actually here, so we say were, not
was.
The sentence demonstrates the subjunctive mood, which is used to
express things that are hypothetical, wishful, imaginary, or factually
contradictory. The subjunctive mood pairs singular subjects with what
we usually think of as plural verbs.
Examples:
I wish it were Friday.
She requested that he raise his hand.
In the first example, a wishful statement, not a fact, is being
expressed; therefore, were, which we usually think of as a plural verb,
is used with the singular subject It.
65
RULE 23: Remember, only the subject affects the verb!
 FAULTY PRONOUN REFERENCE
Pronouns are words that stand in for nouns. A pronoun’s antecedent is the
word to which the pronoun refers. If an antecedent is singular, its pronoun
must be singular, too; likewise, when an antecedent is plural, its pronoun
must be plural.
1) Agree in NUMBER
If the pronoun takes the place of a singular noun, use a singular pronoun. If a
pronoun refers to a plural noun, use a plural pronoun.
Examples:
 If a student parks a car on campus, s/he has to buy a parking
sticker.
 If students want to park on campus, they have to buy parking
stickers.
Remember: for indefinite pronouns, you have to check to see which ones are
singular and which are plural.
Examples:
 Everybody should do his or her best. (not THEIR best)
 Both were disappointed about their grades. (not HIS or HER
grades)
66
2) Agree in PERSON
“Person” refers to the first (I, me, we, our, etc.), second (you), or
third (he, she, it, they, etc.) person. Try not to switch person in a
single piece of writing, especially in the same sentence.
However, it may at times be appropriate to do switch person.
For example, if you are writing a research essay in the third
person but want to include a personal experience as evidence, it
is appropriate to switch temporarily into first person.
Examples:
 When a person comes to class, s/he should have his or
her homework ready.
 When a person comes to class, you should have your
homework ready. (wrong)
 I should complete my homework if I want to do well in
this class.
 I should complete my homework if you want to do well
in this class. (wrong) 67
 A pronoun should always refer clearly and unmistakably to a particular
noun (or antecedent). Do not be vague or ambiguous with your pronoun
references.
Examples:
1) Although the motorcycle hit the tree, it was not damaged. (The
motorcycle or the tree? It isn’t clear.)
2) I don’t think they should show violence on TV. (Who are “they”?)
3) Vacation is coming soon, which is nice. (What is “nice”?—the vacation
or that it is coming soon?)
4) George worked in a national forest last summer. This may be his life’s
work. (What word does “this” refer to?)
Corrections:
5) Although the motorcycle hit the tree, the motorcycle was not damaged.
6) I don’t think TV shows should show violence.
7) I am happy that vacation is coming soon.
8) George worked in a national forest last summer. Working for the national
forests department may be his life’s work. 68
There are three major pronoun reference errors and ways to
correct them so you can avoid this error in your writing.
1: TOO MANY ANTECEDENTS
A pronoun should have only one antecedent. That antecedent should be
clear and unmistakable.
Here are examples of faulty pronoun reference caused by more than one
noun antecedent:
1. Take the radio out of the car and fix it.
2. The supervisors told the workers that they would receive a
bonus.
3. If the fans don’t buy all the peanuts, pack them away until
the next game.
Anyone who reads this sentence would not know which item was to be
fixed. Does it refer to the radio or the car? Does they refer to the
supervisors or the workers? Does them refer to the fans or the
peanuts? The answer is unclear. In these examples, faulty pronoun
reference occurs because the pronoun it has two possible noun
antecedents. 69
70
71
2: HIDDEN ANTECEDENTS
Faulty pronoun reference errors also occur when the pronoun's
antecedent functions as an adjective rather than a noun. In such
cases, the true antecedent is "hidden" or obscured from the reader
because it has been subordinated to another noun.
Example A: The candy dish was empty, but we were tired of
eating it anyway.
The reader may think the dish was being eaten because dish
appears to the be antecedent for the pronoun it. Obviously, people
do not eat dishes. What this writer means to say is “We were tired
of eating candy.” However, candy can’t be the antecedent for “it”
because candy, situated in front of the noun dish, is acting as an
adjective. Only nouns can be antecedents. Repair this error by
substituting the appropriate noun for the pronoun it.
Corrections:
The candy dish was empty, but we were tired of eating candy
anyway. 72
Example B: Mark called Mary’s house all day, but she
never answered the phone.
Obviously, she refers to Mary since a house would not be
able to answer a phone. However, “Mary’s” modifies
“house”-“Mary’s” is a hidden antecedent and, thus, is not
clear. To repair this error, we can change the pronoun she
to a noun or remove the hidden antecedent.
Corrections:
Mark called Mary’s house all day, but Mary never
answered the phone.
Mark called Mary all day, but she never answered the
phone.
Mary never answered the phone, although Mark called
her house all day.

73
 3: No Antecedent At All
A final kind of faulty pronoun reference occurs when writers
use a pronoun without giving the pronoun any antecedent at
all.
Example A: The witness called the television station, but
they didn’t answer.
Who are “they”? Since “they” has no antecedent to which it
can refer, the identity is unknown-“they” has no antecedent
to which it refers. Repair this error by changing the pronoun
without an antecedent into a noun or by creating an
antecedent-one that is clear.
Corrections:
 The witness called the television station, but the reporters
didn’t answer.
 The witness called the television reporters, but they didn’t
74
answer.
Example B:
It says in the paper that the law was passed.
“It,” which appears at the very beginning of the sentence,
has not noun (antecedent) at all. Additionally, the
construction “It says in the paper…” is unnecessarily
wordy. Repair this error by writing a more direct version of
“It says in the paper…” or by rephrasing the problematic
part of the sentence.
Corrections:
The paper says that the law was passed.
According to the paper, the law was passed.

75
 Example C:
I did not attend the rally, which was very unpatriotic.
Sometimes, a faulty pronoun reference occurs when a pronoun is
used to stand in for (refer to) a whole group of words instead of
one clear noun (antecedent). In the sentence above, “which” has no
single, clear antecedent; instead it refers to the entire clause “I did
not attend the rally…” A pronoun must always refer to a single,
clear, unmistakable noun (antecedent); thus, the reference in the
sentence above is incorrect. Repair the error by replacing the
pronoun “which” with a noun or by rephrasing the sentence to
eliminate the pronoun.
Corrections:
 I did not attend the rally. My actions were very unpatriotic.
 By not attending the rally, I was unpatriotic.
 Because I did not attend the rally, I was very unpatriotic.
 My not attending the rally was very unpatriotic.
 Not attending the rally was very unpatriotic of me. 76