Faulty Sentences - Basic Writing Skills

December 29, 2015© ENDALEW MOLLA
Basic Writing Skills Presentation
© Endalew Molla (PhD Candidate)
WELCOME TO:
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Faulty Sentences
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1. SENTENCE FRAGMENT
• Sentence fragment is an incomplete sentence
which lacks either subject, verb or object.
• The correction mechanism is simply adding the
missed word or phrase.
Examples
1. Even if we wanted to watch football match.
2. A nervous, pressured feeling and a headache.
3

Correction
1.Even if we wanted to watch football match,
there is no electric power.
2.Ahmed feels a nervous, pressured feeling
and a headache.
4

Exercise
1. To catch a Taxi and hurry downtown.
2. Although she wanted to visit a restaurant.
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Correction
1.We decided to catch a Taxi and hurry
downtown.
2.Although she wanted to visit a restaurant,
she has an appointment with her husband.
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2. SUBJECT-VERB DISAGREEMENT
• In English language the subject and the
verb should agree in number. If there is
number mismatch between the subject and
the verb the correction mechanism will be
as follows.
• If the subject is singular, the verb should
also be singular and vice-versa.
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Examples
1. She fetch water everyday.
2. We wants to eat breakfast.
3. The commander with his secretary admit the
fault.
Correction
1. She fetches water everyday.
2. We want to eat breakfast.
3. The commander with his secretary admits the fault.
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Exercises
1.Global warming have become a serious
problem.
2.Some one want to see you in the
afternoon.
3.Neither my friend nor his classmate knows
the answer.
4.In front of him, there was six soldiers.
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Correction
1.Global warming has become a serious
problem.
2.Some one wants to see you in the
afternoon.
3.Neither my friend nor his classmate know
the answer.
4.In front of him, there were six soldiers.
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3. FAULTY PARALLELISM
• Again in the English sentence, words, phrases
or clauses in a series should be in the same
grammatical form.
• If a series of words, phrases or clauses is not in
the same grammatical form, the problem of
faulty parallelism will occur.
• The correction mechanism is changing the form
of the different word, phrase or clause to its
equivalent based on the tense of the sentence.
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Example 1
All night long the music from the next
apartment was banging, thumping and
pounded so loud.
Correction
All night long the music from the next
apartment was banging, thumping and
pounding so loud.
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Example 2
My sister likes wearing coloured hats,
dressing in tight clothes and to go to classic
movies.
Correction
My sister likes wearing coloured hats,
dressing in tight clothes and going to classic
movies.
13

Exercises
1.While Yodit studied mathematics and
worked on psychology, her husband was
watching the baby.
2.Sky jumping and motor race are sports that
require to consider and manipulation of
velocity and wind resistance.
3.Walking and to swim are good exercises for
health.
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Correction
1.While Yodit studied mathematics and
worked on psychology, her husband
watched the baby.
2.Sky jumping and motor racing are sports
that require consideration and manipulation
of velocity and wind resistance.
3.Walking and swimming are good exercises
for health.
15

4. RUN-ON SENTENCES
• A run-on sentence consists of two or more complete
thoughts which are placed within the same sentence
without any punctuation to separate them.
How can we correct run-on sentences?
1. Creating two separate sentences.
2. Connecting the two or more thoughts by using semi
colon.
3. Joining them by using a comma and a coordinating
conjunction (and, but, so, yet…) or subordinate
conjunction (although, because, since…)
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Examples
My young sister will visit us this weekend I probably will not have much
time to study.
Correction
My young sister will visit us this weekend. I probably will not have
much time to study.
Or
My young sister will visit us this weekend; I probably will not have
much time to study.
Or
My young sister will visit us this weekend, therefore I probably will not
have much time to study.
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Exercises
1.Anatomy is a field of study in medical
science physiology is another field of study.
2.The civil war ended in 1983 the period of
reconstruction followed.
3.Nell Armstrong was the first human to walk
on the moon this event occurred in 1969.
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Correction
1.Anatomy is a field of study in medical
science; physiology is another field of
study.
2.The civil war ended in 1983, then the
period of reconstruction followed.
3.Nell Armstrong was the first human to walk
on the moon, and this event occurred in
1969.
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5. DANGLING MODIFIER
• It is obvious that a modifier and the thing to be modified
are inseparable parts of a sentence.
• Dangling modifier problem occurs when the sentence
contains the modifier without the thing to be modified.
• To check whether a sentence has dangling modifier
problem or not, we can ask a question “Who?”. If we
can’t get answer, surely the sentence has dangling
modifier problem.
• The correction is adding appropriate word to be
modified.
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Example 1
After getting off the bus, the driver pulled.
Who get off the bus? It is not clear.
Correction
After I get off the bus, the driver pulled.
Now, who get off the bus? I!
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Example 2
While sitting under the apple tree, ants started to
attack.
Who sits under the apple tree? We don’t know.
Correction
While Abebe sits under the apple tree, ants started
to attack.
Now, who sits under the apple tree? It is clear,
Abebe!
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Exercises
1.Watching the Olympic games eagerly, the
power went off.
2.After deciding to travel on foot, it begins to
rain.
3.Being nervous, the test seemed more
difficult than it was.
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Correction
1.While we watch the Olympic games
eagerly, the power went off.
2.After they decided to travel on foot, it
begins to rain.
3.When she becomes nervous, the test
seemed more difficult than it was.
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6. MISPLACED MODIFIER
• In the English language, a modifier should
come immediately before or after the word
that it modifies.
• If the modifier and the word to be modified
are written far apart, the problem of
misplaced modifier will occur.
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EXAMPLE
• Smashed and fired, my mother served the
meat to our table.
The modifier is “smashed and fired” and the word to
be modified is “the meat”. But the modifier is not
written immediately before or after the word it
modifies.
Correction
• My mother served smashed and fired meat
to our table
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EXAMPLE 2
• I saw a dress in a magazine that costs
1,000 birr.
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CORRECTION
1. In a magazine, I saw a dress that costs
1,000 birr.
2. I saw a dress that costs 1,000 birr in a
magazine.
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EXERCISES
1. A national problem, the governors of all the
states meet to discuss homelessness.
2. The book was checked out by the librarian that
a student had returned late.
3. Angry with the delay, the bus driver finally
arrived and the passengers murmured.
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CORRECTIONS
1. The governors of all the states meet to
discuss homelessness: a national
problem.
2. The book that a student had returned late
was checked out by the librarian.
3. Angry with the delay, the passengers
murmured and finally the bus driver
arrived.
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7. CHOPPY SENTENCE
• Choppy sentence occurs when two or more
ideas that can be expressed within a single
sentence are written in separate sentences.
• To amend this problem, we can use the
following mechanisms.
 Join them with a comma and
coordinating/subordinate conjunctions.
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 Join the sentences by using a semi colon
and a conjunctive adverb (however,
therefore, thus…)
 Join them with a semi-colon if they don’t
need any conjunction.
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EXAMPLE 1
• Chala invited us dinner. The invitation is at
the new restaurant down the street. The
restaurant is excellent with fair price.
Correction
Chala invited us dinner at the new
restaurant down the street; and that
restaurant is excellent with fair price.
33

EXAMPLE 2
• The lecturer did not discuss the chapter on
centrifugal force. The exam included several
questions on centrifugal force. Every student
scored less than half.
Correction
The lecturer did not discuss the chapter on
centrifugal force; however the exam included
several questions from the topic as a result,
every student scored less than half. 34

EXERCISES
1. Lalibela is an incredible sight. It was built in the
twelfth century. It serves as major source of
income for the country.
2. A field study observes subjects in their natural
setting. Only a small number of subjects can be
studied at one time.
3. The teacher returned our test papers. He did
not comment on them. We have done them
carelessly. 35

CORRECTIONS
1. Lalibela, which was built in the twelfth century
is an incredible sight; and it is the major
source of income for the country.
2. A field study observes subjects in their natural
settings; but only a small number of subjects
can be studied at one time.
3. The teacher returned our test papers and he
did not comment on them; because we have
done them carelessly.
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8. PRONOUN REFERENCE
A pronoun refers a specific noun and it is
used to replace that noun. However, it must
be clear to which noun the pronoun refers.
To make sentences free from pronoun
reference problem, we need to focus on the
following rule.
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 A pronoun must refer to a specific word or words.
Avoid vague or unclear references.
Example
• They said on the evening news that the president
would visit France.
Who are “they”? – not clear or vague
Correction
• Ministers said on the evening news that the
president would visit France.
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 If more than one noun is present, it must be
clear to which noun the pronoun refers.
Example
• Almaz told Kedja that she has passed the
exam.
Who has passed the exam? Almaz or Kedja?
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CORRECTION
1. Almaz told Kedja: “I have passed the exam”.
2. Kedja told Almaz: “I have passed the exam”.
3. Almaz told Kedja: “You have passed the
exam”.
4. Kedja told Almaz: “You have passed the
exam”.
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EXERCISE
1. The teacher punish the student as a result
his father becomes angry.
2. He ordered citizens to pay tax.
3. Lecturers told their students that they will
have meeting tonight.
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CORRECTIONS
1. The teacher punish the student as a result the
student’s father becomes angry.
2. The president ordered citizens to pay tax.
3. Lecturers told their students: “We have meeting
tonight”.
or
Lecturers told their students : “You have
meeting tonight”.
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9. PRONOUN ANTECEDENT DISAGREEMENT
• A pronoun (he, she, it) substitutes for a
noun and must agree in person, number
and gender(male/female) with its
antecedent.
• To write sentences that are free from
pronoun antecedent disagreement, we
need to focus on the following points.
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1. If the pronoun is singular, the antecedent
should be singular and vise versa.
2. Some indefinite pronouns are plural:
others are singular.
3. If a noun refers something that can’t be
counted, use a singular pronoun to refer it.
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4. Use plural pronoun to refer two or more
nouns linked by “and”.
5. If a pronoun substitutes for two or more
nouns joined by “or” or “nor”, the pronoun
agrees with the noun it is nearer to.
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EXAMPLES
• Fatuma wanted to lend me her class notes.
• Farmers produce cash crops; many of
them made a lot of money.
• One of the team members couldn’t find his
keys.
• Both of the teachers said they planned to
leave for vacation in July.
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• Too much sugar is dangerous for health, so
it has to be minimized from our table.
• Alemu and Sara lost their keys.
• Either Mr. Gemeda or his sons will drive
their car.
• Neither the committee members nor the
manager bought cloth for his children.
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EXERCISES
1. Hellen and I are going to pool (her/mine/our)
money to buy a car.
2. Abel and Beza brought (his/her/their) worksheets.
3. Each student received (his/her/their) transcript by
mail.
4. Either the sweater or the shirt will be returned to
the store because (it/they) came from the wrong
stockroom.
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1.Everyone opened (his/her/their) books on
page 50.
2.When the play was over, the audience rose
from (its/their) seat to give a standing
ovation.
3.No one handed in (his/her/their) exam
before the time was up.
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10. COMMA SPLICE
• This is miss use of Comma ( , ) in a sentence.
• The comma should be placed on its appropriate
place in a sentence.
Study the following sentences, they all have
comma splice problem.
If, I study hard I will pass the exam.
I would visit Gore, if I were you.
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Faulty Sentences - Basic Writing Skills

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