Grade XII Grammar
Problem #1
Definition: A comma splice is a comma that joins (splices) two independent clauses. A clause is a group of words that has a subject and a verb.
How Do You Fix a Comma Splice?
Make two sentences instead of one: Robert ate worms. Mary dislikes Robert.
Use a semicolon (;). Robert ate worms; Mary dislikes Robert.
Use a subordinating conjunction (because, when, since, although,...). Because Robert ate worms, Mary dislikes Robert.
Use a semicolon plus a conjunctive adverb (therefore, then, however,...). Robert ate worms; therefore, Mary dislikes Robert.
Use a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) after the comma. Robert ate worms, so Mary dislikes Robert.
Exercises 1.1: Each sentence below is wrong; it has a comma splice. Please correct it.
1. Each sentence below is wrong, it has a comma splice.
2. Eliza ran to the store, then she bought some candy.
3. The stock market has moved in one direction lately, it has gone down.
4. Elvis Presley was a great singer, he was never really accepted by the country music's mainstream.
5. Computer programs help us live saner lives, obviously the people who write them should make lots of money.
6. Dubai has built magnificent office towers with luxuries and conveniences, it is considered a great location in which to conduct international business.
7. Brazil has won several world cups championships in soccer, they are always considered a good team.
8. The Quaid-i-Azam campus of Punjab University is considered excellent, it attracts many students.
Exercises 1.2: Each sentence below is wrong; it has a comma splice. Please correct it.
1. The legislature had enacted laws enabling debtors to discharge their obligations more easily, the courts put an end to such practices by stipulating that no state could enact such laws.
2. Every wall was smashed to rubble, the only thing left of those houses was the land and the rocks from the rubble.
3. My heart broke, the owners had no insurance.
4. The town looked deserted, the streets were so dark and empty that the only thing we could hear was the wind blowing.
5. We worked from dusk to dawn, never had so many contracts been written in such a short time.
6. Money continued to flow in, we started to live the life of the rich, on weekends we ate at expensive restaurants.
7. The river extended beyond the mountains, we saw the clouds merge with the water in the horizon.
8. Men and women drink coffee because it adds to their sense of well-being, it smells good and tastes good to all mankind, all respond to its wonderful stimulating properties.
9. Caffeine supplies the principal stimulant, it increases the capacity for muscular and mental work without harmful reaction.
10. Like all good things in life, the drinking of coffee may be abused, those having an idiosyncratic susceptibility to alkaloids should be temperate in the use of tea, coffee, or cocoa.
11. In every high-tensioned country there is likely to be a small number of people who, because of certain individual characteristics, cannot drink coffee at all, these people belong to the abnormal minority of the human family.
12. Some people cannot eat strawberries, that would not be a valid reason for a general condemnation of strawberries.
13. Some writers claim for Persia the discovery of the coffee drink, there is no evidence to support the claim.
14. The Persians appear to have used considerable intelligence in handling the political phase of the coffee-house question, it never became necessary to order them suppressed in Persia.
15. Residue from a super-saturated solution produces ideal seed crystals for growth in a lab, these crystals may contain impurities.
16. The need for occupational therapists has grown substantially, therefore more colleges are offering programs in this high-demand field.
Problem #2
A fused sentence ( on the other hand, occurs when two independent clauses (complete ideas) are joined without any punctuation. It is better to avoid the term run-on sentence altogether and use only the terms comma splice and fused sentence. They are more specific and more descriptive.
Fixing a Fused Sentence
To fix a fused sentence, determine where one MAIN IDEA ends and another one begins. In the sentence above, for example, there seems to be a logical division between the words itself and although. Although there are other ways to correct a fused sentence, the two most obvious are
1. Placing a period between the two main ideas.
Revision: Fashion shows in the clothes we wear, and it is constantly changing and repeating itself. Although fashion in the form of haute couture is everywhere, it isn’t for everyone.
2. Placing a semicolon between the two main ideas.
Revision: Fashion shows in the clothes we wear, and it is constantly changing and repeating itself; although fashion in the form of haute couture is everywhere, it isn’t for everyone.
Exercises 2.1: Please rewrite the following to eliminate any fused sentences.
1. Janine’s uncle never graduated from high school he started his own landscaping company at sixteen.
2. I have had a Mac computer for a year already I have no regrets about buying it.
3. People make their way across the desert they arrive in trucks with little ventilation, and they are often beaten by the men who smuggle them.
4. These political victories add up It’s not just money, but dignity at home and on the job.
5. Immigrants can be sentenced to prison most are sent back to their native homelands.
6. Jammal’s supervisor installed a new fingerprint reader when employees arrive they must enter an employee number and place their index finger on a small sensor.
7. The teacher distributed several worksheets some of them were taken directly from the textbook.
8. Amar Chang has a goal in fourteen consecutive matches he is three shy of the record.
9. The dog jumped and barked near the lake he noticed an alligator swimming toward shore.
Exercises 2.2
- Trees lay on the side of the road they looked as if they had been pulled out of the ground by huge machines.
- Every wall was smashed to rubble the only thing left of those houses was the land and the rocks from the rubble.
- My heart broke the owners had no insurance.
- The town looked deserted the streets were so dark and empty that the only thing we could hear was the wind blowing.
- We worked from dusk to dawn never had so many contracts been written in such a short time.
- Money continued to flow in we started to live the life of the rich on weekends we ate at expensive restaurants.
- The river extended beyond the mountains we saw the clouds merge with the water in the horizon.
- Men and women drink coffee because it adds to their sense of well-being it not only smells good and tastes good to all mankind, heathen or civilized all respond to its wonderful stimulating properties.
- Caffeine supplies the principal stimulant it increases the capacity for muscular and mental work without harmful reaction.
- Like all good things in life, the drinking of coffee may be abused those having an idiosyncratic susceptibility to alkaloids should be temperate in the use of tea, coffee, or cocoa.
- In every high-tensioned country there is likely to be a small number of people who, because of certain individual characteristics, cannot drink coffee at all these belong to the abnormal minority of the human family.
- Some people cannot eat strawberries that would not be a valid reason for a general condemnation of strawberries.
- Some writers claim for Persia the discovery of the coffee drink there is no evidence to support the claim.
- The Persians appear to have used considerable intelligence in handling the political phase of the coffee-house question it never became necessary to order them suppressed in Persia.
Problem #3
Agreement of Pronoun with Antecedent
An antecedent is a word that comes before something. The root ante, meaning “before,” gives a clue.
Agreement and number: The word agreement is interesting. In English grammar we have a term called number, and, unlike number in math, number in grammar means one of two things: singular (only one) or plural (more than one). So when an English teacher says, “A pronoun must agree in number with its antecedent,” you know what she’s saying: If you use a singular noun or pronoun, you have to use a singular pronoun to refer to the original. You can’t (you’re not supposed to!) use a plural one.
Correct:Students lost their privileges.
The original noun is Students, which is plural; the possessive pronoun, their, refers (or points back) to Students. The word Students is the antecedent, and both Students and their are plural in number.
Wrong:Everyone who went on the field trip was supposed to bring their permission form.
How do We Fix the Problem?
We could (but don’t!) simply use the pronoun his or her, as in
Poor: Everyone who went on the field trip was supposed to bring his permission form.
But unless you’re talking about all boys, you should not use his. Could you use hisorher? Yes, but that sounds too clunky, too heavy and awkward.
Your best solution is to rewrite the sentence and turn singular nouns into plurals. That way you are grammatically correct and you do not use sexist or clunky language.
Better (1):Students who went on the field trip were supposed to bring their permission form.
We can also rewrite the sentence omitting the pronoun.
Better (2):Everyone who went on the field trip was supposed to bring a permission form.
Each method works. If you have enough creativity, sentences can be written in many different ways. Some ways work better than others.
Exercises 3.1: Rewrite. Make each pronoun agree in number with its antecedent.
1. Would everyone please bring their computer to the writing workshop?
2. The principal indicated that every staff member had to submit their self evaluation by Wednesday.
3. The operations officer noted that every soldier should have their own blanket.
4. School psychologists note the importance for every student to express their emotions.
5. Is every candidate for the position going to be given their application materials at the interview?
6. If any investor has a question about the quarterly reports, they should contact their broker directly.
7. If every customer complains that an item is missing in their order, something is wrong with our procedure.
8. Would everyone who attended the meeting, please bring their tee shirt to the rally?
Exercises3.2 :Rewrite each sentence so that each pronoun agrees with the antecedent.
1. Mrs. Carrasco told the secretary that yet another candidate for the job had forgotten their resume.
2. When even one student forgets their assignment, the entire class suffers the consequences.
3. Please congratulate anyone who remembers their employee number.
4. Franklin remembered that the other runner had forgotten their registration fee.
5. Would someone please remind the class that nobody is to leave their patrol area without notifying an officer?
6. If anybody sells six hundred boxes, they will qualify for a free trip to Athens.
7. Is each representative going to deliver their speech in front of the camera?
8. Anyone who does not have the correct change should give their money to the line monitor.
9. Nobody is willing to give up their parking space for the guest speaker.
10. Unless another contestant forgets the lyrics to their song, last place in the talent show will go to Carl.
11. Each girl should bring their scout handbook and merit badge guide on the field trip.
12. Every gardener must fertilize their palm trees with nitrogen or the fronds may turn yellow.
13. Mrs. Gomez told her class that anyone who attends the music recital will receive extra credit.
14. Every player on the team must play to the best of their ability.
15. The principal told the PTA that anyone who wants their children to take art classes may enroll them for free at the community center.
16. When you give someone your trust, you believe that they will not betray it.
17. If nobody wants their complimentary plastic cup, they should place it in the recycling bin.
18. Each manager must make sure that their employees’ performance reviews are signed and dated.
Problem #4
Apostrophes
Errors in using the apostrophe abound in written English. Some writers use an apostrophe where none is warranted, while others omit an apostrophe where one is required.
its, it's, ORits'
By far the most common errors in the use of the apostrophe involve the letters i-t-s. Some writers believe, wrongly, that the apostrophe always implies possession; it does not. Therefore, we have constructions like the one below.
- The cat lost it's collar.
- The cat lost its' collar.
In the first sentence, the writer uses an apostrophe incorrectly to denote possession. The correct form to indicate possession using i-t-s is its, always.
Correct: The cat lost its collar.
The form it's means "it is" or "it has," as in "It's a great day for roller skating" or "It's been a long time since Karen came to class." This is called a contraction and should be used sparingly, if at all, in formal writing.
In the second sentence, the writer uses a form that does not exist. The form its' does not exist in standard English; it is wrong, always. To summarize,
- its = possession
- it's = it is OR it has
- its' = does not exist
who'sOR whose
Another common error is confusing whose with who's.
Error:The post office manager, who's mother is in the hospital, retired.
Again, these are two words that sound the same but are spelled differently and mean different things, homophones (or homonyms). The word whose indicates possession; who's is a contraction for who is.
Correct Form: The post office manager, whose mother is in the hospital, retired.
you're OR your
Some students confuse your with you're.
Use the wordyourto indicate that something belongs to the person you're speaking to (hmmm).
Use you're when you are saying something about the person you are speaking to.
Error:The brown dog ran away withyou're raincoat.
Think about this. Would you rewrite the sentence "The brown dog ran away with you are raincoat"? So the correct form is
Correct Form: The brown dog ran away with your raincoat.
The word your shows possession.You're means "you are."
they're, their, OR there
Here we have another error that confounds some student writers.
Error:Their not going to the movies until tonight.
Correct:They're not going to the movies until tonight.
The intended meaning is "Those people" (they) are not going to the movies until tonight.
The wordtheirshows possession (their parking lot);they'remeans "they are"; thereindicates location or a state of being, as in "There are three letters in the word cat."
Exercises4.1 : Correct the faulty usage.
1. If you think your going to the movies, your mistaken!
2. The boy who's dog was sent to the pound cried uncontrollably.
3. A good dog always cleans its’ food bowl.
4. The Sisters of Saint Joseph support they're convent with outside employment.
5. Its never as good a deal as the salesperson makes it out to be.
6. The rugby players promise that their not going to stop playing after August.
7. Their not going to the carnival, and your not either.
8. Its never too late to apply, even when the registrar's office closes it's doors.
9. Its’ important to realize whose actually using the computers in the lab.
Exercises4.2 : Correct the faulty usage.
1. The orange tree wilted because it’s trunk was damaged severely.
2. At its’ peak, the river crested at sixteen feet.
3. The couple who’s son won the award swelled with pride as they walked out of the auditorium.
4. Margaret asked, “Whose going to attend the ceremony?”
5. If your going to the game, you should take a glove in case you catch a foul ball.
6. You showed good manners when you gave up you’re seat to the elderly person.
7. When they’re train arrived, the students quickly loaded the luggage.
8. When Janice and Karen tell there parents that their going to the same college, their parents may buy them a car.
9. Its never a good idea to spend more money than we earn.
10. The old dog broke it’s paw when it fell from the sofa.
11. Did Graham tell you whose been selected to the all-star team?
12. After you have finish you’re lunch, please return to the classroom.
13. The Johnsons are not going to cancel there vacation just because of bad weather.