BASIC TYPES OF ERRORS IN THE SENTENCE....... Ur correction section would be in the following parts.... 1. Subject-Verb Agreement 2. Modifiers 3.

Parallelism 4. Pronoun Agreement 5. Verb Time Sequences 6. Comparisons 7. Idioms/Phrases THREE-STEP METHOD TO THE SENTENCE CORRECTION QUESTIONS A. Read the sentence. B. Figure out what the question is testing. C. Eliminate answer choices. SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT The verb and the subject must agree. Either both must be singular or both should be in plural. Some unusual phrases (accompanied by,along with,together with,as well as,including,in addition to)will be added to make u get confused to tell whether the subject is singular or plural. So have a note on it..... (Eg.)Mathematics,in addition to English and Science,is an important subject. MODIFIERS They are words,phrases,or clauses that provide extra info about other words,phrases or clauses.Ajectives modifies nouns;adverbs modifies verbs or adjectives.Modifiers can sometimes may be a group of words.They function same as adjectives and adverbs. 1. Check whether if a word modifier is an ADJECTIVE (answers how many,which one,what kind?) or an ADVERB (answers when,where,why,in what manner,and to what extent?). Make sure the correct form has been used.

(Eg.) He works hard.=>adj He works hardly=>adverb

2. Errors of Adjectives with verbs of Sense. The following verbs of sense are described by ADJECTIVES:

(Eg.) Wrong : After the three week vacation,she looked very well. Right : After the three week vacation,she looked very good.

3. Location of modification.

You should place the modifier as close as possible to what it is modifying. Modifiers sometimes appear to modify words that they dont modify. (Eg.) Finally thinking clearly,the book was able to be understood by the manager. PARALLELISM Similar elements in a list should be in similar form. Writers often use a parallel structure for dissimilar items.Parallel constructions must be expressed in parallel gramatical form : all nouns,all infinitives,all gerunds,all prepositional phrases,or all clauses must agree. (Eg.) Wrong : All business students should learn processing,accounting,and how to program computers. Right : All business students should learn processing,accounting,and computer programming. word word

This principle appliess to any words that might begin each item in a series : prepositions(in,on,by,with),articles(a,an,the),helping verbs(had,has,would) and possessives(his,her,our).Either repeat the word before every element in a series or include it only before the first item.Anything else violates the rules of parallelism.

PRONOUN AGREEMENT It is often difficult to tell what noun a pronoun replaces and what case (Subjective or Objective) should be used.Which pronoun you use depends on if the pronoun is being used as the subject or the object of a sentence. 1. Check if a pronoun is the SUBJECT or the OBJECT of a verb or preposition. (Eg.) Wrong : Her was better suited for the job. Right : She was better suited for the job. 2. Check if the possessive pronouns agree in person and in number. (Eg.) Wrong : If anyone comes over,take their name. Right : If anyone comes over,take his/her name. 3. Check if the pronoun and its verb agree in number. (Eg.) If one wants to win,you must perform well. 4. Objects of to be verbs are in the subject form. (Eg.) Wrong : It must have been her who called. Right : It must have been she who called. 5. A relative pronoun (which,that or who) refers to the word preceeding it.If the meaning is unclear,then the pronoun is in the wrong position.The word which introduces non-essential clauses and that introduces essential clauses.who refers to individuals;that refers to group of persons,class,type,or speices. (Eg.) This is the book that i wanted to buy yesterday.

6. In forms using impersonal pronouns,use either one...ones/his or her or you...your. VERB TIME SEQUENCES The correct tenses make the sequence of actions clear. To determine whether the verbs in a sentence are in proper tenses,pick one event as a base action and then determine when other events occurred relative to it.Determine whether the events occurred PRIOR TO the base action,AFTER the base action,or AT THE SAME TIME AS the base event took place.Actions that start before the base may continue after the base. (Eg.) Wrong : Unless you practise well,you could not perform well. Right : Unless you practise well,you cannot perform well. COMPARISONS You should compare only things that can be logically compared.Finally comparisons account for a significant number of errors in Sentence Correction questions.You can compare only things that are grammatically similar;you can also compare things that are logically similar.For instance,you cant logically compare a person to a quality or an item to a group.You have to compare one individual to another,one quality to another,or one group to another. (Eg.) Wrong : Your knowledge is better than your brother. Right : your knowledge is better than your brothers (Knowlegde). IDIOMS/PREPOSITIONS The most effective way to learn idioms is to practice them.Whenever you get an idom question wrong,write down the idiom.Make a list and memorize. Contrast A with B Convert to Compare A to B Compare A with B If you contrast A with B,you can see the difference. You may convert muscle to fat if you study too much. Compare to stresses similarities. The sports critic favorably compared him to Dravid. Compare with stresses differences. Broccoli is good for you compared with ice

cream.