Sentence Correction: Pratyush at Toughest Questions

Pratyush @ Toughest Questions
Sentence
Correction
Basic Terminology
Noun
a word used to name a person,
place, thing or idea
Adjective
a word that modifies a noun
Pronoun
a word that replaces a noun
Verb
a word that expresses action
Adverb
a word that modifies a verb
Clause
a group of words containing a
subject and a verb.
Clauses are dependent or
independent.
Example
Rachel opened the box.

Rachel and box are nouns,
and opened is the verb.
Example
Rachel quickly opened the big
box.

Quickly is the adverb, and
big is the adjective.
Example
Because she was famished,
box of chocolates.

She is a pronoun, which
refers to Rachel.
Example
Because she was famished,
box of chocolates.
Rachel quickly opened the big box of
chocolates is an independent clause.
Because she was famished is an
dependent clause.
Verbal knife
The sentence can be
expanded further, such as
Because she was absolutely
famished, middle-aged Rachel
quickly opened the big box of
Swiss cream chocolates that
her younger brothers eminent
lawyer friend had sent her last
week by special courier from
Zurich.
Verbal knife
But remember, the core
sentence remains the same -
Rachel opened the box.
Common Types of Error
Following are some common
types of errors that we tend to
make.
Example
Samantha and Tanya went
shopping, but she couldnt find
anything she liked.
Here which of the two girls the pronoun
she refers to is unclear.
Example
The average male moviegoer
expects to see at lease one
scene of violence per film, and
they are seldom disappointed.
Here the reference is clear, but a plural
pronoun they refers to a singular noun
the average male moviegoer.
A List of Pronouns
Singular Pronouns
I, me, he, him, she, her, you, it,
each, another, either, neither,
one, other, such, mine, yours,
his, hers, ours, this, that
Plural Pronouns
we, us, they, them, both, some,
these, those, that
Common (singular and
plural) Pronouns
none, any, you, who, which,
what, theirs
Example
Coming out of the department
store, Johns wallet was stolen.

Here the sentence means that Johns
wallet was coming out of the
department store on its own.
How can we correct this?
Example
On leaving the department
store, Johns wallet was stolen.

Here again, the sentence means that
Johns wallet was leaving the
department store on its own.
Example
Frail and weak, the heavy
wagon could not be budged by
the old horse.

frail and weak should apply to the
horse, but because of the sentence
construction, they apply to the wagon.
Example
An organization long devoted to
the cause of justice, the mayor
awarded a medal to the
American Civil Liberties Union.
Example
Originally written in 1961,
Joseph Heller scored a literary
hit with his comedic first novel,
Catch 22.
Example
Before designing the park, the
public must be considered.
Example
Among the reasons cited for
the Mayors decision not to
contest the election were the
high cost of campaign, the lack
of support from her party and
desiring to spend more time
with her family.
Example
To say that the song patterns of
the common Robin are less
complex than those of the
Indigo Bunting is doing a great
disservice to both birds.
Tense
All the tenses in the sentence
should be the same (all should
be Present, or simple Past or
Present Continuous and so on).
Exceptions
There are two exceptions to
this rule.
First Exception
When there are two actions
happening in the past, but one
preceding the other, then the
first action is in past perfect,
and the following action is in
simple past.
Example
He had reached Lonawala on
his bike when it ran out of gas.
Second Exception
When one action clearly
precedes another action, then
one can use present and past
tenses in the same sentence.
Example
The dinosaurs are extinct now,
but they were once present on
the earth in large numbers.
Example
The number of arrests of
drunken drivers are increasing
every year.
Singular nouns
Name of (city / state / country)
two singular nouns connected
by or (Tom or John)
the family / the audience
politics
the number / the amount
Singular Pronouns
either
neither
each
everyone
everybody
nobody
Example
Many political insiders now
believe that the dissension in
congress over health issues
decrease the likelihood for
significant action being taken
this year to combat the rising
costs of health care.
Example
The people in my office are
smarter than other offices.
Example
Synthetic oil burns less
efficiently than natural oils.
Example
Doctors sometimes have
difficulty diagnosing viral
pneumonia because the early
symptoms of this potentially
deadly illness are often quite
similar to the common cold.
Quantity Words
Two Items
between
more
better
less
More than two items
among
most
best
least
Countable
fewer
number
many
Non countable
less
amount
quantity
much
Example
On the flight to Los Angeles,
Nancy had to choose
among two dinner menus.
Example
Of the many decisions facing
the energy commission as it
meets to decide on new
directions for the next century,
the question of the future of
nuclear energy is for certain the
more perplexing.
Idioms
Commonly used idioms
not only but also...
not so much as
defined as
regard as
based on
modeled after
a result of
to result in
a debate over
a responsibility to
responsible for
different from
a consequence of
so as to be
so that
depicted as
as great as
distinguish from
attribute to
credited with
as good as or better than
Example
The administration of a small
daily dose of aspirin has not
only been shown to lower the
risk of heart attack, and it has
also been shown to help relieve
the suffering of arthritis.

Sentence Correction: Pratyush at Toughest Questions

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