COMMON SENTENCE ERRORS

COMMON SENTENCE ERRORS ASST.PROF.DR.ELİF DEMİREL Preparedby Meral Birinci

SENTENTIAL ERRORS IN WRITING • COMMO SPLICE & FUSED SENTENCES (Run-on Sentence) • SENTENCE FRAGMENT • NON-PARALEL STRUCTURE

COMMO SPLICES & FUSED SENTENCES • Commosplicesaresentenceerrorscreatedbyusing a commoalonetoattachtwosentencetoeachother. • Fusedsentencesoccurwhentwocompletesentencesarejoinedtogetherwith no punctuation.

Thefollowingconstruction is an example of a commasplice: • ‘’ Womanwill ask thequestion ,Manwillapprove of theanswer. Thissentence can be revisedthefollowingways: Womanwill ask thequestion. Manwillapprove of theanswer. Womanwill ask thequestion; Manwillapprove of theanswer. Womanwill ask thequestion, andmanwillapprove of theanswer.

Thecommasplicemostcommonlyseen is illustrated in thefollowingsentence: • Inthepast, Turkey had todealwiththepoverty, however, it has improveditseconomyduetosomenewregulations. • Conjunctive adverbs (like "however," "therefore," "moreover") or transitional phrases (like "in fact," "in addition") must be used with a semicolon when they connect two independent clauses. The sentence should be revised as follows: • Inthepast, Turkey had todealwiththepoverty; however, it has improvedits………

Compoundsentences: • When two independent clauses are joined by a coordinating conjunction ("and," "but," "or," "nor," "for," "so," "yet") a comma must connect the two clauses. A frequently-seen faulty construction is a sentence without a comma:

Let’srevise it! • ‘’ WiliamBlake is an English poet and StephenCrane is an American novelist." • The sentence is fixed by adding a comma before the coordinating conjunction: • “William Blake is an English poet, and Cather is an American novelist."

BulletedItems • Faulty punctuation of bullets is one of the most common mistakes seen in writing. The following examples show different constructions of bulleted items and their correct punctuation. • Lead is a Sentence If the lead is a complete sentence but the bulleted items are only phrases or clauses, punctuate as shown.

Attentionplease! • Major initiatives in the report include the following: (If the lead contains the phrase "as follows" or "the following," always use a colon after it.) • • conversion of an old dormitory into administrative offices, • • development of new recreational facilities, and • • reduction of wasted classroom space. (Phrases begin with lowercase letters because they are not complete sentences. The bulleted items have no internal commas; thus, only commas are needed to separate each item.)

Bulleteditems • If the bulleted items are punctuated as separate sentences, the lead should always be a sentence.

The new visitation policy includes three options for upper-class students. (Because the lead is a sentence and doesn't include either of the phrases "as follows" or "the following," it ends with a period.) • Option one allows visitation at any time. • Option two allows visitation only on weekends. • Option three allows no visitation at all. (Because each bulleted item is a complete sentence, each one begins with a capital letter and ends with a period.)

Lead is not a sentence If the lead is not a sentence, and the bulleted items are phrases or clauses that complete the sentence, punctuate as shown in the following two examples: .

This report includes information on the • registrationpolicy, • new courses to be offered next year, and • advisingperiod.

In the past, the poor administration of the program has resulted in various problems. For example, • membership in the sponsoring organization has decreased and • very few service projects were accomplished

DO NOT LET THEM STAND ALONE! SENTENCE FRAGMENT

FRAGMENT • A fragmant is a group of wordsthatcannotstandalonebecause it lacks a subjector a verb .Typically, a fragment is an extension of thesentence on itsleft.

Inordertoillustrate: EX: I do not wanttomake a fragment. Because it lackstheharmony of thesentence as well as itsmeaning.

Correctthemistake • I do not wanttomake a fragmentbecause it lackstheharmony of thesentence as well as itsmeaning.

Use this flowchart to test for sentence completeness Is there a verb? NO ≥≥≥ It is a fragment. √ YES Is there a subject? NO ≥≥≥ It is a fragment. √ YES Is thewordgroup merely a dependent YES≥≥≥ It is a fragment. wordgrouporphrase? √ NO It is a sentence.

Journalists in magazines and newspapers sometimes write dependent clauses that follow on closely from the mainclause as sentences for emphasis. However, in academic and formal writing, fragment sentences of this kind should be avoided.

NON-PARALLEL STRUCTURE • To make the ideas in your sentences clear and understandable, you need to make your sentence structures grammatically balanced (i.e. parallel). This means that ideas in a sentence or paragraph that are similar should be expressed in parallel grammatical form

ParallelStructure Parallel grammatical form is needed for: 1. Lists of words, phrases and clauses 2. Parallel ideas presented as pairs 3. Essay headings and tables of conten

List of words, phrases, andclauses • When ideas are presented in a series or a list, the same parts of speech should be used to ensure parallel structure. This applies whether the list consists of single words, phrases or clauses—single words should be balanced with single words, phrases with phrases and clauses with clauses.

Singlewords Single words should be matched with single words of the same type (e.g. all nouns, all adverbs, all adjectives). Non-parallel / The lecturer asked the students to speak in tutorials clearly, in a loud voice and not to be rude. Parallel /The lecturer asked the students to speak in tutorials clearly, loudly and politely. (ALL WORDS IN THE LIST ARE NOW ADVERBS) • Groups of words (phrases) should be matched

Group of words • Groups of words (phrases) should be matched with word groups of the same pattern (e.g. noun phrases beginning with verb +-ing, prepositional phrases). Example: Non-Parallel/ Success at university depends on attending classes, reviewing your notes and to keep up with your readings. Parallel/ Success at university depends on attending classes, reviewing your notes and keeping up with your readings. (ALL WORDS IN THE LIST ARE NOW NOUN PHRASES BEGINNING WITH –ING WORDS

Clauses • Clauses should be matched with clauses of the same pattern (e.g. noun clauses, adverbial clauses, adjectival clauses). Non-Parallel/The lecturer expected that the students would present the seminar, that they would use PowerPoint presentations and be asking questions. Parallel/ The lecturer expected that the students would present the seminar, that they would use PowerPoint presentation and that the class would ask questions.

Parallelideasconnectedbyconjunctions • Ideas that are joined with conjunctions need to be parallel in structure. By using similar grammatical forms to express equal ideas, your writing will be smooth and your writing style will improve.

Parallelideasconnectedbyconjunctions • Like ideas joined by 'and', 'but', 'or', 'nor', 'for', 'so', 'yet She failed the essay but passed the final exam. Her oral presentation was good, yet her essay was poor.

Parallelideasconnectedbyconjunctions • Comparisons joined by 'than' or 'as' Learning at university is more difficult than studying at high school. Writing assignments is as important as sitting for exams.

Parallelideasconnectedbyconjunctions Ideas joined by pairs of conjunctions 'both…and', 'either…or', 'neither…nor', 'not only…but also', 'whether…or' The assignment tasks need to be either submitted electronically or posted to the university assessment centre.

MY REFERENCES • Collegewritingcenter • Teaching & LearningCentreFactSheetsUniversity of New England • www.rm.it.edu.ay/studyandlearningcenter • uhu.edu./ac/workshops/sentenceerrors/index.htm

COMMON SENTENCE ERRORS