COMMON

SENTENCE
ERRORS
WHAT IS IT?

?
WHAT IS IT?

?
 Parallelism Errors
Run-on Sentences
Sentence Fragments
Misplaced, Dangling
Modifiers
 Parallelism

Parallelism means that words, phrases, and

clauses used in pairs or groups must all have
the same form.

Verbs must match with verbs, nouns must

match with nouns, etc.
• I have been to Beijing and saw the
Summer Palace.

• I have been to Beijing and have seen the

Summer Palace.

• I went to Beijing and saw the Summer

Palace.
• She likes to read but not write.

• She likes to read but not to

write.
Wayne likes to read, exercise, and watching
movies.

Wayne likes to read, exercise, and

watch movies.

Wayne likes reading, exercising, and

watching movies.
My car is sporty, economical, and
goes very fast.

My car is sporty, economical, and

fast.

My car looks sporty, runs

economically, and goes very fast.
As we neared the airport,
you could hear the jets.

As we neared the airport,

we could hear the jets.
Please judge me by my words and
what I do.

Please judge me by my words and

(by) my actions.

Please judge me by what I say and

(by) what I do.
Misplaced & Dangling & Squinting
Modifiers
 OBJECTIVES
1. Identify dangling and
misplaced modifiers
2. Rectify sentences with
dangling or misplaced
modifiers
Misplaced / Dangling
Modifiers

• Modifier: A word or phrase that

changes or describes another
word or phrase.

• Dangle: to hang or swing loosely

Misplaced & Dangling
Modifiers
• A modifier is misplaced if it modifies the
wrong word or phrase.

• A modifier is dangling if the word or

phrase that is supposed to be modified
does not appear in the sentence.
 Misplaced Modifier
• After biting two children, the police took
away our dog.

After biting two children, our dog

was taken away by the police.

If a sentence begins with a modifier followed by a comma, whatever word

or phrase is being modified must immediately follow the comma.
Another solution: Rewrite
the Sentence!
• Having been thrown into the air, the dog caught
the ball.

• When the ball was thrown into the air, the dog
caught it.

• The dog caught the ball that had been thrown

into the air.
Example: Dangling
Modifier
• Having finished the assignment, the TV
was turned on.

• Having finished the assignment, Wayne

turned on the TV.
 LET’S RECAP
Misplaced Modifiers
• . . . A word or phrase that
changes, or modifies, a
part of a sentence.
Dangling Modifiers
. . . A word or phrase that
is put into a sentence, but
modifies the wrong thing.
 LET’S EXERCISE!
1. At the age of ten, my parents took me on
my first roller coaster ride.
2. After going through the house, it was
clear that the robbers were gone.
3. Sam fell over a rock running in the race.
4. Covered with mold, he threw out the
cheese.
5. Under the couch, he found the dollar.
 LET’S EXERCISE!
5. The spaghetti was served to the child smelling of garlic.
6. He got up and went out the door taking the laundry.
7. Whirling round and round, we saw our clothes in the
dryer.
8. When she was ninety years old, Mrs. Smith’s daughter
arranged a surprise party.
9. While laughing, the chicken bone got stuck in her throat.
10. Falling down the stairs, my jaw was dislocated.
 REFERENCES
https://bit.ly/3GPBQE3
THANK YOU!