2. Sentence Structure
Deadliest Sins
Indicate Weak Knowledge of How Sentences
Work
Grammar
Range From Dangerous to Annoying
Mechanics
Includes Spelling, Punctuation and Proofing
3. Comma Splices
Dangerous but not always deadly
More than 5 can lower grade
Run-on Sentences
Deadlier than comma splices
More than 5 can lower grade a couple of levels
Fragments
Deadliest of all
More than 5 can result in a failing grade.
4. Two complete sentences joined by a comma
You knew the two sentences belonged together.
But you chose the wrong method to join them
5. I was hungry, I made lunch.
Two independent clauses joined by a comma
Commas generally join something that is a
sentence to something that is not.
6. Find a comma
Place finger over comma
Read what comes before and after comma
If both are complete sentences, you have a comma
splice.
Repeat the process
Shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes.
7. Make two sentences
Join with semicolon
Join with semicolon and connecting word
Coordination
Subordination
8. I was hungry. I made lunch
Structurally correct
Simplest solution
Use as fallback if nothing else works or comes to
mind
Not usually the best choice
Can make your writing choppy
Can give bad impression
That your sentences lack sophistication.
That your sentences lack variety.
9. I was hungry; I made lunch.
Structurally correct
Ideas must be closely related
May not be the best choice
Like periods, semicolons separate rather than join
10. I was hungry; therefore, I made lunch.
Structurally correct
Transitional word helps join the sentences.
Better than semicolon alone
11. I was hungry, so I made lunch.
Use a conjunction to join the two sentences.
If there is a complete sentence on either side of a
conjunction, you must use a comma before the
conjunction.
The conjunction coordinates between two
equals (independent clauses)
12. Because I was hungry, I made lunch.
I made lunch because I was hungry.
One of the sentences has been turned into a
dependent clause
If the dependent clause comes first, you will
need a comma.
13. I was hungry I made lunch.
The fender-bender of writing
Two sentences jammed together without any
punctuation whatsoever
Raises doubts about your understanding of how
sentences work
14. Read out loud
Gets ear involved
Ear expects certain cues at end of sentence
Changes in pitch
Watch out for pauses
If you have to stop to figure out what is going
on, there is most likely a problem.
15. Same as fixing comma splices
Two separate sentences
Semicolon
Semicolon with connecting word
Coordination
Subordination
Throw away and write something completely
different
16. Sentences that aren’t all there
Missing subject
Missing verb
Missing complete verb
Lacking auxiliary
Missing subject and verb
18. I made lunch. Because I was hungry.
A dependent clause cannot stand alone as a
sentence.
Often begins with Because
Must be connected to an independent clause
19. I made lunch. Because I was hungry.
Usually can be fixed by connecting to the
sentence before or after it.
I made lunch because I was hungry.
Or
Because I was hungry, I made lunch.
20. He was very hungry. Which is true.
Which introduces parenthetical material
If used properly, which will have a comma before it.
21. Easy to spot
Unless it’s a question, if a sentence begins with
which, it is a fragment.
Which car is yours? is okay.
Which was true. is not.
22. Join to sentence before
Don’t forget the comma.
He was very hungry, which is true.
23. Missing subject
Went to the store.
He went to the store.
Missing verb
He very hungry.
He is very hungry.
Missing subject and verb
At the store.
He is at the store.
25. Uses comma with conjunction that joins
independent clauses
For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, and So are the
conjunctions.
Think FANBOYS
26. I was hungry, so I made lunch.
Use comma if there is a complete sentence on
either side of the conjunction.
I washed the dishes and took out the garbage.
Complete sentence on only one side of the
conjunction.
Do not use a comma.
27. Adds conjunctive adverb to an independent clause
Turns into dependent clause
Dependent clause must be joined to an
independent clause (complete sentence).
If dependent clause is left to stand by itself, it
will be a fragment
28. Because I was hungry, I made lunch.
The word because turns “I was hungry” into a
dependent clause.
If the part that cannot stand alone (dependent
clause in this case) comes first, it must be
followed by a comma.
Short prepositional phrases are an exception.
29. I made lunch because I was hungry.
If the part that cannot stand alone (dependent
clause in this case) comes last, do not use a
comma.
30. Use commas to separate items in a series.
I went fishing with Bob, Mary, and Ted.
The comma before the last item is optional.
But be consistent.
31. Is inserted into an otherwise perfectly good
sentence.
Test: If you remove the interrupter, you should
have a complete sentence left over.
32. Mary, unfortunately, was drunk last night.
Word unfortunately is inserted as a comment
into the middle of a sentence.
If you take out unfortunately, you will still have a
complete sentence left: Mary was drunk last night.
You must use a comma on both sides of the
interrupter.
Unless at beginning or end
33. Do you remember, Mary, how drunk you were last
night?
Interrupters are also used when you write or
speak directly to someone.
Again, take out the interrupter, and you still
have a sentence left over: Do you remember how
drunk you were last night?
34. Dates and addresses are also interrupters.
On October 6, 1989, Mary Louise Smith was
born.
Living in Lillington, NC, has its benefits.
His address is 123 Elm
Street, Greensboro, NC, 28325.
In every case, a complete sentence is left over after
you remove the interrupter.
35. Parenthetical expressions contain extra, non-vital
information.
Also known as nonrestrictive clauses
Parenthetical expressions must be set off by
commas on both sides.
Unless at the beginning or end of the sentence
36. Bob, who is 21, wrecked his car yesterday.
Two-part test:
If expression is removed, there must be a
complete sentence left.
Removing the expression must not change the
fundamental meaning of the sentence.
37. The man who stole my car was arrested.
Passes part one of the test.
There is a complete sentence left over when you
remove the expression: The man was arrested.
Does not pass part two:
Removing the expression changes the meaning of the
sentence.
Therefore, do not use commas.
38. Use pronoun who to refer to people.
Who is used for both parenthetical and
nonparenthetical expressions.
Use that or which to refer to nonpersons.
Use that for nonparentheticals
Use which for parentheticals
40. When in doubt, cut it out
No rule that requires them
Correct usage is simple
Only use where you would otherwise use a
period.
Ideas in two sentences must be closely related.
Correct: I was hungry; I made lunch.
Incorrect: I was hungry; I bought a new pair of
shoes.
41. Also used in complex series
Where one or more of the items contains a
comma
I went fishing with Bob, who is 21; Mary, who is
18; and Fred, who is 30.
In this case you must use a comma before the last
item in the series.
42. Do not capitalize the first word that follows the
semicolon.
Proper nouns are an exception
Bob was hungry; he made lunch.
43. Introduces something to follow
Could be series
But does not have to be
Could be a single item
Must have complete sentence before the colon
44. I went fishing with: Ted, Mary and Bill.
This use of the colon is incorrect.
There is not a complete sentence before the colon
I went fishing with the following people:
Ted, Mary and Bill.
Correct usage
Complete sentence before the colon
45. Capitalization depends on what follows the colon
If what follows is a complete sentence, capitalize
the first word.
I found the source of the leak: A pipe was
broken.
46. If what follows is not a complete sentence, do not
capitalize the first word.
With the exception of proper nouns
I found the source of the problem: a broken
pipe.
47. Go at the end of questions
Sin of omission
Proofread out loud!
Two types of questions
Direct: What time is it?
Requires a question mark
Indirect: I wonder what time it is.
This is a statement, not a question
Should be followed by a period
48. In American English, periods and commas always
go inside quotation marks
“I’m hungry,” Bob remarked. “I’m not going to
wait for dinner.”
“I just read Poe’s ‘Annabelle Lee.’”
49. Colons and semicolons always go outside of
quotation marks.
Mary said she was “too tired”; I think she was
making excuses.
There are two reasons I like the poem “love is”: It
captures the essence of love, and it does so by
using words we would never associate with love.
50. Location of question marks depends on where the
question is located
If quoted material is a question, question mark
goes inside.
“Where is the restroom?” Bob asked.
51. If question is part of a larger sentence that
contains the quote, question mark goes outside.
Who said, “It’s hot in here”?
Same rule applies to exclamation points
52. Vague pronouns
Pronoun too far from antecedent
Pronoun itself is vague
Pronoun–antecedent agreement
Pronoun must agree in number with its
antecedent
53. A substitute noun.
He, She, It, They, Them, Their, I, Me, Mine, You,
Yours, etc.
Otherwise, you would find yourself saying, “David
woke up and put on David’s slippers, went to David’s
bathroom, and brushed David’s teeth.”
Antecedent is noun pronoun refers to
Relationship must be clear
54. Pronoun-antecedent relationship unclear
Pronoun could refer to more than one person
Mary told her mother that she hated her hair.
Pronoun could be too far from antecedent
Use a noun form every second or third sentence
55. Watch out for this.
A demonstrative pronoun
Used when you can point to an object.
This is a pencil.
Don’t use this to refer to an abstract concept.
Welfare fraud is a growing problem. Something
must be done about this.
56. Pronoun, antecedent must agree in number.
Each student should turn their work in on time.
Antecedent (student) is singular
Pronoun (their) is plural
Make both singular or both plural
Students should turn their work in on time.
Each student should turn his or her work in on time.
57. Subject and verb must agree in number.
One of the boys are going to bed.
Subject (one) is singular.
Verb (are) is plural.
58. One of the boys are going to bed.
Prepositional phrase gets in the way
Noun in prepositional phrase is often right next to the
verb.
Subject and verb are never in a prepositional phrase.
Say sentence without prepositional phrases.
One is going to bed.
59. Refers back to a noun
Cannot be used by itself
Myself is the biggest culprit
The tickets were given to Dana and myself.
Usage is incorrect because myself does not refer back
to a noun.
I hurt myself.
Usage is correct because myself refers back to a
proper pronoun I.
60. Taking long way around
Subject of sentence becomes object.
Active Voice: I read the book.
Subject is I
Verb is read
Object is the book
Passive Voice: The book was read by me.
Object has become subject
Sentence picks up two extra words
61. Not necessarily bad—unless overused
Watch for excess numbers of present
participles
Was going, is going, am going, were going, etc.
Avoid using too many prepositional phrases
in a single sentence.
Prepositional phrases start with preposition and
end with noun
In the car, under the table
62. Items in a series must have same grammatical
structure.
Incorrect: When I grow up I want to be a
doctor, lawyer or teach English.
Correct: When I grow up I want to be a
doctor, lawyer or teacher.
63. Trick is to become familiar with the words you
misspell
Then you can look them up
If a dictionary is not available, substitute a word
you can spell.
Keep a list of misspellings
Probably won’t be more than 20 words
Read over list frequently.
