Professional Documents
Culture Documents
E.g., the sentence "Japan prospers" has a subject: "Japan"; a verb: "prospers"; and it conveys a complete
thought or idea that makes sense.
Most sentences also have an object (receiver of the action); e.g., in the sentence "John kicked the ball,"
the object is "the ball."
Sentence Fragments
Incorrect usage Correct usage Explanation
Joe can balance a glass of water on Joe can balance a glass of water on A sentence must have a
his head. Without spilling a drop. his head without spilling a drop. subject and a verb.
Faulty Subordination
Rule: The verb should agree with the subject in terms of number (singular or plural) and person (first,
second, or third).
Incorrect usage Correct usage Explanation
There is a lot of birds Both are correct. The first is correct since "lot" is
here or there are a lot of singular. The second is correct because it is gaining
birds here. acceptance through popular use.
Here is wealth and Here are wealth and "Wealth and beauty" is plural.
beauty. beauty.
Rule: Pronouns should agree with their nouns in terms of number (singular or plural), person (first,
second, or third), and gender (masculine or feminine).
Incorrect usage Correct usage Explanation
It was them who It was they who The nominative case (I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they, who) is
called. called. used following some form of the verb to be.
It is me. It is I. As above.
Who did you give it Whom did you As above. "You gave it to he" does not sound right, while
to? give it to? "you gave it to him" does. Thus, use "whom".
The objective case of pronoun (i.e. me, you, him, her, it, us,
It belongs to he and It belongs to him
you, them, whom) is used as the object of a preposition, such
I. and me.
as "to".
The objective case of pronoun (i.e. me, you, him, her, it, us,
Sam hired he. Sam hired him.
you, them, whom) is used as the object of a verb.
He was in the same He was in the same Try stretching the sentence out: "He was in the same class as
class as us. class as we. we were in."
I trust Bob more I trust Bob more Try stretching the sentence out: "I trust Bob more than I trust
than he. than him. him."
Now skate without Now skate without Use the possessive case of the pronoun (i.e. my, your, his, her,
me helping you. my helping you. its, our, your, their, whose) in sentences like this.
Dangling Modifiers
Rule: Avoid dangling modifiers (i.e. adjectives or adverbs that do not refer to the noun or pronoun they
are intended to refer to).
Incorrect usage Correct usage Explanation
Misplaced Modifiers
I could almost run all I could run almost all The first sentence does not mean what it is intended
the way up the hill. the way up the hill. to mean. The modifier "almost" is misplaced.
Rule: Use "were" in the subjunctive mood, i.e. when expressing a wish, regret, or a condition that does
not exist.
Incorrect usage Correct usage Explanation
If I was taller, I would be If I were taller, I would be This sentence is in the subjunctive
richer. richer. mood.
This book, that is written by Bob, This book, which is written by When commas are used, use
is clear and concise. Bob, is clear and concise. "which".
He is the person that wrote the He is the person who wrote the For persons, use "who". Do not
book. book. use "who" for animals.
The President, which is an avid The President, who is an avid For persons, use "who", even
golfer, was on the course. golfer, was on the course. when commas are used.
Note: Often the above pronouns can be omitted making a sentence more concise. Thus:
This is the book he wrote. ("That" is implied.)
This book, written by Bob, is clear and concise.
He wrote the book.
The President, an avid golfer, was on the course.
Faulty Parallelism
He has wealth, reputation, and is He has wealth, reputation, and Similar ideas should be expressed in
powerful. power. grammatically similar ways.
Not only did the horse lose, but Not only did the horse lose, Similar ideas should be expressed in
the leg of the jockey was broken. but the jockey broke his leg. grammatically similar ways.
Mixed Constructions
He wondered whether she got his He wondered whether she got Don't mix a statement with a
message? his message. question.
The reason is because I don't have The reason is that I don't have Don't mix two different sentence
enough money. enough money. constructions.
Split Infinitives
Commas
Captain Smith is a Captain Smith is a Don't use commas to separate adjectives that could not be
seasoned, naval seasoned naval joined with "and." It would be ridiculous to say that
officer. officer. "Captain Smith is a seasoned and naval officer."
Don't use a comma to set off clauses that are short or have
You stand in line, You stand in line
the same subject. However, always use a comma before
and I'll find a table. and I'll find a table.
"for", "so," and "yet" to avoid confusion.
Semicolons
Apostrophes