Sentence Structure Mistakes – Summary

Harbrace College Handbook (Eleventh Edition) Hodges, John; Whitten, Mary

 Sentence Fragment occurs when a part of a sentence that isn't able to stand by
itself is written as if it were a sentence. E.g. Soon I began to work in the company.
First in the rock pit and later in the highway.(This cannot stand by itself)

 Run-on sentence: they consist in Comma Splice and Fused Sentences. They
occur when a comma is placed instead of a period, a semi-colon or conjunctions or
when no punctuation is used at all.
E.g. The wind was cold they decided not to go. (This must have punctuation)
Better: The wind was cold, so I decided not to go.

Subordination and Coordination

 Faulty Subordination takes place when two different ideas are placed in
coordinate clauses as though they deserve equal emphasis or when the wrong
subordinating conjunction is used.
e.g. Susan studied hard for her final exams although it was very important that she do well
on them.
Better: Susan studied hard for her final exams beacause or as it was very important that
she do well on them.

 Faulty Coordination occurs with two unequal ideas; they are coordinated as if they
deserve the same emphasis.
e.g. Yesterday I fell off a tree and I was taken to the hospital. (These ideas cannot be
coordinated)
Better: Yesterday I fell off a tree, so I was taken to the hospital.

Placement of Modification

 Misplaced modifier takes place when the modifier is wrongly placed. A misplaced
modifier is a word or phrase that is placed in a wrong place in a sentence. Usually,
it is placed too far away from the word that it is meant to modify; this results in the
wrong word being modified. When this happens, the sentence causes confusion or
does not appear to make sense. To correct it requires moving the modifier to the
right place, which is next or as close as possible to the word it is to modify.
E.g. The professor made it clear why plagiarism is wrong on Monday.
Better: On Monday, the professor made it clear why plagiarism is wrong.

 Dangling modifier mainly occurs with participial clauses without subject.

E.g. Not able to swim that far, a lifeguard came to my rescue. (Who is the Subjet? The
lifeguard?)
Better: As I was not able to swim that far, a lifeguard came to my rescue.

 Squinting modifier occurs when the modifier can modify one thing/element or the
other. A squinting modifier is usually an adverb that appears to modify either the
words that come before it or those that come after it. This happens because of the
positioning of the adverb modifier in a sentence, which is not unlike a misplaced
modifier. The presence of a squinting modifier makes the sentence appear unclear or
having two possible meanings.
E.g. Mary said during the meeting that Joe acted like a fool.
Better: During the meeting, Mary said that Joe acted like a fool.

Examples
 The homework that the teacher assigned quickly frustrated the students.
In this example, the word (adverb) quickly could refer to either the assignment of the
homework (the teacher assigned it in a rush) or the frustration of the students (the students
were quickly frustrated).
  Taking some time to focus clearly makes the product you create higher quality.
For this sentence, the squinting modified is clearly.
Instead of being clear, the word could describe both taking some time (you can focus
clearly on something) or make your product higher quality (it clearly makes your product
better). A sentence like this, especially without much context, can create a lot of confusion.
 What you see often you will like.
The word often is the squinting modifier for this sentence. The reader is unsure whether it
refers to what you see (meaning that you see something multiple times) or what you will
like (you will like that thing more times than not).
Many times, adverbs that describe the time or frequency of a verb can easily be squinting
modifiers. Examples include only, rarely, after something, when something, etc.

Reference of pronuouns

 Ambiguous reference: reference is ambiguous when a pronoun refers to two

different antecedents.
e.g. The president appointed senator Moore as chairman because he was convinced of the
importance of the committee's work.
Better: The president, who was convinced of the importance of the committee's work,
appointed Senator Moore as chairman.

Error: When Samuel dropped the goblet onto the glass table, it broke. (What broke?
The table or the goblet?)
Correction: The goblet broke when Samuel dropped it onto the glass table
.
Error: Amy had an internship at Dell last summer; this will become her career.
(What does “this” refer to?)
Correction: Amy had an internship at Dell last summer; this work will become her career.

 General reference: it occurs when relative pronouns (which, etc.) or

-demonstrative- pronouns (it, this, that, etc.) refer confusingly to an idea expressed
before.
E.g. The boys wore ski boats to their classes which the principal disapproved of.
Better: The boys wore ski boats to their classes. Such fashion the principal disapproved of.

 Weak reference: It takes place when the antecedent is only in the speaker's mind.
E.g. She is a great believer in witchcraft but she doubts that they ride on broomsticks
Better: She is a great believer in witchcraft but she doubts that witches ride on
broomsticks.

Parallelism

 Faulty parallelism: it occurs when the balance of coordinate elements is disrupted.

It can deal with parallel structures or correlate coordinators (Either...or,
neither...nor, not only...but also, both...and)

Parallel structure
Parallel structure, or parallelism, means using the same pattern of words to show that
two or more words or ideas are of equal importance. Words and phrases should not
only match in structure, but also in tense. Writers use parallel structure to add clarity to
their writing and to make it easier to understand. It also adds value to a writer's overall
composition and shows that their writing is structurally and grammatically correct
E.g. The committee studied all aspects of the problem -humane, political and cost.
(The problem lies in the noun COST since it must be an adjective as the previous ones)
Better: The committee studied all aspects of the problem -humane, political and
financial.

Correlative coordinators
Either ... or, 
neither ... nor,
 and
 not only ... but also 

are all correlative conjunctions. They connect two equal grammatical items. If, for
example, a noun follows either, then a noun will also follow or. Read these
examples:
“In the fall, Phillip will either start classes at the community college as his mother
wishes or join the Navy, his father’s hope.”

“Neither the potted ivy on the counter nor the dirty dishes in the sink have enjoyed
water on their surfaces for the past week.”

“Professor Wilson not only requires a 3,000-word research essay but also assigns a

500-word reaction paper every single week.”

E.g. Either they obey the manager or get fired (the problem is the same
grammatical structure after each part of the correlative coordinator in the
example)

Better: They either obey the manager or get fired.

You can have two main clauses like this:

“Not only did Michael grill a steak for Tiffany, but he also prepared a

hotdog for Rocket, her dog.”

Or you can shorten the sentence with two prepositional phrases:

“Michael grilled meat not only for Tiffany but also for Rocket, her dog.”

Or you can have two nouns as this version does:

“Michael grilled meat for not only Tiffany but also Rocket, her dog.”

Other pairs that sometimes have a coordinating function include the

following:
 as . . . as
 just as . . . so
 the more . . . the less
 the more . . . the more
 no sooner . . . than
 so . . . as
 whether . . . o
Proper Parallel Structure
There are a number of grammatical rules governing how to use correlative
conjunctions properly.  One common mistake that English students make is
not pairing the proper preposition with using a conjunction. For example:
 Incorrect: The cabinet was designed not only for storing linens but
also protecting wool clothing.
 Correct: The cabinet was designed not only for storing linens but also
for protecting wool clothing.
This rule extends to pronouns and antecedents as well. When joining two
subjects (the antecedents), any pronoun that follows must agree with the
closest antecedent. Look at this example:
 Incorrect: Neither your mother nor her sisters are planning to
donate her portion of the estate to charity.
 Correct: Neither your mother nor her sisters are planning to donate
their portion of the estate to charity.
 Incorrect: Either the twins or Bobby will say they can't go.
 Correct: Either the twins or Bobby will say he can't go.
Another thing to remember is that correlative conjunctions can only join two
other words. Joining three words looks awkward and is grammatically
incorrect. For instance:
 Incorrect: Either lead, or follow, or get out of the way.
 Correct: Either lead, follow, or get out of the way.