Here are corrections to the ambiguous sentences: 1) Pat likes poems in English and novels in English. 2) The police stopped the man who had a gun. 3) They decided while on the boat. 4) After the dentist drilled my tooth, my cavity stopped aching. 5) While crashing on the shore, I could hear the waves. 6) Because I arrived a day late, the tickets were worthless.

1. ERROR RECOGNITION
English A Paper 1 Practice

2. Objectives
◦To help students recognize grammatical errors in sentence
structure, subject verb agreement and style

3. Objectives (Specific)
◦Take notes about errors in style
◦Observe how to correct these errors
◦Correctly identify the errors in each sentence
◦Orally explain the errors in each sentence
◦Correct them (rewrite them) using knowledge of English
grammar

4. FAULTS OF STYLE
Circumlocution, Redundancy, Cliché, Mixed Metaphors, Ambiguity

5. Faults of style
◦ The aim of writing is to always
be creative, clear and
concise. However, there are
times when we are too wordy
or repetitive or what we say
has mixed messages or
confusing images.
◦ These are called faults of style.
There are five of these:
◦ Circumlocution
◦ Redundancy
◦ Clichés
◦ Mixed Metaphors
◦ Ambiguity
Paper 1 tests your ability to
recognize these errors.

6. CIRCUMLOCUTION

7. Circumlocution
◦This is a fault of style in which the sentence is too wordy,
repetitive and complex.
◦The fault is that these sentences are often very long, so long
that the reader loses the main essence.
◦The reader has difficulty following the original train of
thought.

8. Circumlocution Example
◦In my opinion, those people who wanted CARICOM were
right as I think their choice was correct.
◦Correction: In my opinion those people who wanted
CARICOM were right.

9. Circumlocution Example
◦The detective examined all the clues, discovered the trail of
the murderer, followed him for some time, then tracked him
for some time and caught him.
◦Correction: The detective examined all the clues, discovered
the trail of the murderer, then tracked and caught him.

10. Identify and correct the error in these sentences:
◦ I was hungry so I went to the cafeteria to buy something to eat but
the line at the cafeteria was so long and I was so very hungry that I
gave up and went somewhere else to get something to eat.
◦ Parents sometimes don’t listen to their children because they think
they always know more than their children and that their children are
inexperienced and just rude for sharing ideas.

11. REDUNDANCY

12. Redundancy
◦This is a fault of style in speech or writing. It is the
unnecessary repetition of an idea, which contributes nothing
new to the meaning the writer wishes to convey.

13. Redundancy example
◦ You must return back the book when you are finished with it.
◦ Members of staff possessed sole monopoly over the recreation park.
◦ Corrections:
◦ You must return the book when you are finished with it.
◦ Members of staff possessed monopoly over the recreation park.

14. Identify the redundancies in the following sentences
and correct them:
◦In the end, we eventually agreed to refer the matter to the
legal community.
◦Without warning, unexpectedly it began to rain.
◦He was killed in a fatal accident.
◦He has a unique style of writing unlike any other.

15. CLICHÉS

16. Clichés
◦These are expressions, metaphors, similes and proverbs
which have lost their original freshness and power through
over-use.
◦Some similes and metaphors which have originally made
writing more vivid and picturesque have now, by overuse,
become clichés.

17. Cliché examples
◦ The principal spoke on discipline to the entire school several times
but his speeches fell on deaf ears.
◦ Why are you so silent? Has the cat got your tongue?
◦ We need to read between the lines if we are to fully understand this
passage.
◦ There is no use crying over spilled milk. What’s done is done.
◦ He was as brave as a lion.

18. Cliché corrections
◦ The principal spoke on discipline to the entire school several times
but no one took heed to his speeches.
◦ Why are you so silent? Has your tongue gone for a walk?
◦ We need to read the passage closely and examine the hidden
meanings.
◦ There is no sense in crying about things that have already gone wrong.
◦ He was as brave as a stallion charging into battle.

19. Identify the clichés in these sentences.
◦ The class decided to pull together in order to bring honour to the
school.
◦ In this day and age, one cannot afford to be extravagant.
◦ Krissy is as light as a feather.
◦ He hit the nail on the head with that remark.
◦ The father trembled like a leaf when he heard about his son’s
misfortune.

20. Write a sentence with a more interesting equivalent
right here:

21. MIXED
METAPHORS

22. Mixed Metaphors
◦A mixed metaphor is another fault of style in speech or
writing.
◦It is when the writer uses too many metaphors in a sentence
but there is no consistency between the metaphors.
◦The error is that the image he started with does not continue
to the end. This leads to confusion.

23. Examples of Mixed Metaphors
◦ With such a busy helmsman, the team could successfully explore the infinite vastness of
space in the troubled waters of this age.
◦ Steer clear of the rocks and shoals of irresponsibility if you wish to climb the ladder of
success.
◦ Corrections:
◦ With such a busy helmsman, the team could successfully explore the secrets, despite the
storms they may encounter in this time.
◦ Steer clear of the rocks and shoals of irresponsibility if you wish to reach the shining
shores of success.

24. Correct these mixed metaphors:
◦At the peak of the quarrel he poured the soothing oil of
compassion on the burning flames of anger.
◦You must put on the armour of truth before you launch into the
race of life.
◦Production bottle necks must be ironed out as soon as possible
to prevent economic stagnation.
◦There is no use crying over spilled milk when the birds have
flown.

25. Write your corrected metaphors here:

26. AMBIGUITY

27. Ambiguity
◦This is a fault of style in which the writer’s sentences have
double meanings.
◦The reader is left unsure of what is really meant because of
the many possibilities. The main aim in writing is to be clear
so we should avoid this.
◦In Literature, however, it can be used as a device of style.

28. Examples of Ambiguity
◦Well, I've certainly never
tasted chicken cooked that
way before!
◦There is just insufficient
information.
Was the chicken
good or bad?

29. Ambiguity: Two types
Structural Ambiguity
◦ Structural ambiguity presents two or
more possible meanings within a
sentence or phrase. This is also known
as semantic ambiguity. When dealing
with syntactic ambiguity, it's helpful to
use your context clues to uncover the
true meaning of the sentence or
phrase.
Lexical Ambiguity
◦ Lexical ambiguity presents two or
more possible meanings within a
single word. This is also known as
semantic ambiguity. We see a lot of
this in puns and other forms of
wordplay.
◦ If you do not intend to create puns,
then you should try make it clear. Be
specific.

30. Ambiguity: Two types
Structural Ambiguity
◦"I shot an elephant in my
pajamas" (Groucho Marx).
Lexical Ambiguity
◦“I saw bats.”

31. Examples of Lexical Ambiguity
◦I saw bats.
◦ The ambiguity is here is
created by the double meaning
of the words “saw” and
“bats”. Unless we use the
context of the sentence, we
won’t know what the person
really means.
Did the person see bats?
Or does the person use a
sharp thin tool to cut
wooden bats in half?

32. Structural Ambiguities
◦These can be created by a dangling modifier or a dangling
participle.
◦The order of the words in the sentence throws off the
reader.

33. Dangling Participles/Dangling modifiers
◦ In grammar, this is an adjective (a word, phrase or clause) that is
unintentionally modifying the wrong noun a sentence. An example is:
“Walking through the kitchen, the smoke alarm was going off”.
◦ This sentence literally means that the stroke alarm was taking a stroll.
This was not what was intended, so “walking through the kitchen”
was left without a subject to which it should be linked. To correct this,
ask “Who was walking through the kitchen?” Then add a noun or
pronoun to answer the question.

34. Examples of Structural Ambiguity
◦ Marcy got the bath ready for
her daughter wearing a pink
tutu.
◦ The ambiguity is here is created by
an error in grammar called a
dangling participle (otherwise called
a dangling modifier). “Wearing a
pink tutu” seems to modify both
the mother and the daughter –
which leads to the double meaning.
Was Marcy wearing
the tutu? Or was her
daughter?

35. Examples of Structural Ambiguity
◦ I saw someone on the hill with
a telescope.
◦ This is an example of a
dangling participle or dangling
modifier. “With a telescope”
seems to modify neither the
pronoun ‘I’ nor the pronoun
‘someone’ – or it modifies both.
This leads to confusion.
Did you use a telescope to
see someone on the hill or
did you see someone on the
hill holding a telescope?

36. Corrections to these ambiguities:
◦ Marcy got the bath ready for her daughter, who had been wearing a
pink tutu. (Option 1)
◦ Explanation: The relative pronoun “who” has been inserted to create
a link between the daughter and the action “wearing a pink tutu”. This
helps to remove the confusion. This also has to do with proximity: the
relative pronoun “who” has to be placed close to the noun “daughter”
to indicate that that is the person we are giving this information about.

37. Corrections to these ambiguities:
◦ Marcy, who was wearing a pink tutu, got the bath ready for her
daughter. (Option 2)
◦ Explanation: The relative pronoun “who” has been inserted to create
a link between the Marcy and the action “wearing a pink tutu”. The
dependent clause “who had been wearing a pink tutu” has to be
placed beside the noun “Marcy” if you wish to make it clear that the
mother was wearing the costume.

38. Corrections to these ambiguities:
◦ While using my telescope, I saw someone standing on the hill.
OR
I saw someone on the hill, who had been using a telescope.
◦ Explanation: For the first sentence, the subordinating conjunction
“while” is used to create a dependent clause that explains that the
person had a telescope which he/she used to see someone. For the
second sentence, the same correction was applied as we see when we
corrected the sentence with Marcy and her daughter.

39. Corrections to these ambiguities:
◦ I’ve never tasted chicken cooked so well before: it is so tender and
juicy.
OR
I’ve never tasted chicken cooked so terribly before: it is hard to chew
and bitter!
◦ Explanation: More details have been added to make clear what exact
taste the person is referring to.

40. Identify and correct the ambiguities in the following
sentences:
1) Pat likes poems in English and novels.
2) The police stopped the man with a gun.
3) They decided on the boat.
4) After drilling my tooth, my cavity stooped aching.
5) Crashing on the shore, I could hear the waves.
6) Arriving a day late, the tickets were worthless.