Fixing your grammar errors - Macquarie University

Fixing your grammar errors LEARNING SKILLS GROUP

1. Part of speech, word order

2. Subject-verb agreement

3. Pronoun-antecedent agreement

4. Sentence fragment

5. Run-on sentence

Overview of this workshop Top grammar errors in assignments

Activity 1 Find the grammar errors

(see handout)

ILEARNING SKILLS GROUP 2015 COPYRIGHT ©

LEARNING & TEACHING CENTRE

1. Parts of speech Review the key parts

noun person, place, thing (Jack, campus, book) pronoun a substitute for a noun or noun phrase (she, they, them, it, we) verb action or condition of being (do, walk, is) adjective describes a noun (red, tall, quick)

adverb

describes an adjective, verb, other adverb (quickly, well, often, soon)

preposition

indicates location, direction, comparison, time, manner, relationship, purpose (across from, opposite, for, at, with, inside, after, by)

conjunction

a word used to connect clauses or sentences (and, but, if , or, yet, so, because)

article

introduces a noun (a, an, the)

What part of speech is it?

How do you know?

angry She is angry. (adjective)

anger Her anger is explosive. (noun)

angrily She spoke angrily. (adverb) curiosity

The child’s curiosity is wonderful. (noun)

curious The child is curious. (adjective)

excited I am quite excited about this. (adjective) exciting This is quite exciting. (adjective)



Building an accurate sentence

Most often, the basic sentence order in English is subject-verb-object (SVO). Subject = The person, place, thing, or idea that is doing or being something Object = The noun, pronoun, or noun phrase that receives or is affected by the action of a verb This journal article

reviewed



several theories of climate change

Adding meaning to a sentence

= add on different parts of speech

This journal article reviewed several theories of climate change. • This journal article I found yesterday reviewed…

• This 2014 journal article reviewed…

• This journal article briefly reviewed…

• This journal article reviewed several recent theories… • This journal article reviewed several theories of climate

change that have emerged in recent years.



What is the correct word order?

The student last week submitted for the second time to the lecturer his assignment.

Last week, the student submitted his assignment to the lecturer for the second time.



Word order for English Common patterns

Time Opinion Manner

Subject Frequency Manner

Verb Direct object Indirect object

Place Time Manner

The journal article

thoroughly reviewed several theories of climate change

in the U.S. from the nineties.

Last week,

the student

submitted his assignment to the lecturer

for the second time.

In Australia in 2014

choco-late

frequently was given to adults as a gift.

https://sites.google.com/site/englishgrammarguide/Home/sentence-structure--part-1----basic-clause-structure-1

Build a sentence Add more detail (parts of speech) to this sentence

The study had surprising results.

2. Subject-Verb Agreement Is the subject (head noun) singular or plural?

a. The average worker's earnings has increased dramatically in the past 5 years.

The average worker's earnings have increased dramatically in the past 5 years.

b. The instructor, along with her students, find the article journal article confusing.

The instructor, along with her students, finds the journal article confusing.



Subject-Verb Agreement Is the subject (head noun) singular or plural?

c. In their study, Jones and Smith (2001) discusses the implications of climate change. In their study, Jones and Smith (2001) discuss the implications of climate change.

d. Not everyone know the answer to that question. Not everyone knows the answer to that question.

http://www.methodist.edu/english/dd_sva.htm



Subject-Verb Agreement

Sample chart for quick reference

he

has she

it

a person

I

have you

we

they

people

he

is she

it

a person

you

are we

they

people

I am

I

state

you

we

they

people

he

states she

it

a person



Subject- Verb Agreement Unusual cases



Singular Plural

everybody, everyone, neither…nor, X or Y

all of, many of, X and Y

Noun + modifier The leader of the students agrees with the lecturer. The student who is in charge of contacting the class has agreed to talk to the lecturer.

There + plural noun There are two reasons why …

Uncountable nouns research, information, evidence…

Quantities A number of researchers are investigating… A large proportion of the participants are dissatisfied…

For further information, see

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/599/01/

3. Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

The student forgot to bring textbook.

o The student forgot to bring his textbook.

? Everyone forgot ____ textbook.

o All of the students forgot their textbook.

Further practice:

http://www.apaonline.org/?page=nonsexist

http://www.methodist.edu/english/paa.pdf

http://www.methodist.edu/english/paa_answers.pdf






Activity 2 Rewrite the sentences

(see handout)



Activity 2 Answers

1. I don’t recall what kind of machine it was. All I remember is that it could trim, prune and cut small branches.

2. Some students do not do well at university because they take up part-time jobs and have very limited time left for their study.

3. This paper will present some strategies for countering terrorism, analyzing its effects and recommending a way forward.



4. Fragment

(not a sentence!)

a. Might take two months to complete.

The project might take two months to complete.

* Check if what you’ve written has a subject.

b. Someone at the library waiting for you.

Someone at the library is waiting for you.

* Check if what you’ve written has a verb.

Reference: http://www.methodist.edu/english/dd_fragment.htm



4. Fragment

(not a sentence!)

c. Especially when I am studying.

I tend to lose track of time especially when I am studying.

* Check if the sentence includes both a subject and a verb.

d. Because the student spent much time on her assignment.

Because the student much time on her assignment, she received a good mark.

•Check if the fragment is a dependent clause.

References: http://www.methodist.edu/english/dd_fragment.htm

http://www.methodist.edu/english/fragments.pdf

http://www.methodist.edu/english/fragments_answers.pdf



5. Run-on sentence

The student did not attend the lectures he did not do well on his exam.

The student did not attend the lectures, he did not do well on his exam.

The student did not attend the lectures. He did not do well on his exam.

The student did not attend the lectures so he did not do well on his exam.

Because the student did not attend the lectures, he did not do well on his exam.

The student did not attend the lectures; therefore, he did not do well on his exam.

http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/sentences/run-on-sentences.html

Can you fix this run-on sentence?

Anne has an assignment due next week she is planning on going to the library every day to search for sources.

Possible ways:

Anne has an assignment due next week. She is planning on going to the library every day to search for sources. Anne has an assignment due next week, so she is planning on going to the library every day to search for sources



Some online grammar resources

http://www.english-grammar-revolution.com/parts-of-speech.html

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/pronouns.htm

http://www.grammarbook.com/grammar/subjectVerbAgree.asp

http://www.chompchomp.com/rules/fragrules.htm



















Answers to Activity 1

Drugs affect people not only physically, but also psychologically. Many drugs are addictive, so when a person becomes a drug addict, he or she must take drugs constantly or suffer physical and psychological pain. Typically, drug users build up their tolerance to drugs, so the amount of drugs they use increases rapidly. Therefore, drug addicts constantly need money to buy enough drugs to satisfy this habit but often cannot keep their jobs. As a result, they may resort to crime to support their drug habits.

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