Awkward Sentences Mixed or Confused Construction

1. Awkward SentencesMixed or Confused Construction Compiled by Terri Yueh

2. What’s wrong with the sentences? • The reason Mary snapped at Tom wasbecausehe kept forgetting their anniversary. • A comma splice is when two sentences are joined by only a comma. • Because Larry studies every day explains why he has a high grade-point average. • When children don’t take naps makes them cross. • By planning ahead is a good way to get into the college of your choice. • One example of his bad behavior is when he misses classfor no reason at all. • Examples are selected from Prentice Hall Handbook for Writers

3. What’s wrong with the sentences? • The reason Mary snapped at Tom was that he kept forgetting their anniversary. • A comma splice occurs when two sentences are joined by only a comma. • Larry’s studying every day explains why he has a high grade-point average. • When children don’t take naps, they get cross. • Planning ahead is a good way to get into the college of your choice. • One example of his bad behavior is his missing class for no reason at all. • Prentice Hall Handbook for Writers

4. Faulty Subject-PredicateMixed Construction

5. Faulty predicates • To be An important step in skiing isstopping. • An important step in skiing is learning to stop. • Is when & is where A hasty generalization is when you jump to conclusion.  To make a hasty generalization is to jump to conclusion. • A hasty generalization involves jumping into conclusion. Frostbite is where skin tissue has been frozen. • Frostbite appears where the skin tissue has been frozen.

6. Faulty predicates • The reason is because The reason he went to Los Angeles was because he wanted to visit Mickey. • The reason he went to Los Angeles was that he wanted to visit Mickey. • He went to Los Angeles because he wanted to visit Mickey. • IF If a student who takes not interest in his studies, he won’t be bale to do his lessons well. • If a student takes no interest in his studies, he won’t be able to do his lessons well.

7. Mixed Constructions • With every effort the student made to explain his problem got him more confused. • With every effort the student made to explain his problem, he got more confused. • Every effort the student made to explain his problem got him more confused. • You may take any book that you think it is fit for you. • You may take any book that you think is fit for you.

8. Mixed Constructions • That fact that Mary was a good sectary she had many offers for promotion. • That fact that Mary was a good sectary resulted in her having many offers for promotion. • Because Mary was a good sectary, she had many offers for promotion. • Mary stayed at a mountain resort, and most of her timewas spent skiing. • Mary stayed at a mountain resort and spent most of her time skiing.

9. Exercise • Anxiety is when one is uneasy or distressed about future uncertainties. • Mary’s salad is delicious because by using her grandmother’s recipe is how she learned to make it. • If we have another 10 inches of rain this spring, that we will no longer have a rainfall deficit. • Because he had been wasting his money and forgetting to make regular bank deposits was the reason why John couldn’t keep up his house loan. • Yesterday I drove to Taichung, which driving at the legal speed limit, I reached there by dark.

10. Answers • Anxiety is a state of uneasiness or distress about future uncertainties. • Mary’s salad is delicious because she learned to make it from her grandmother’s recipe. • If we have another 10 inches of rain this spring, we will no longer have a rainfall deficit. • Because he had been wasting his money and forgetting to make regular bank deposits, John couldn’t keep up his house loan. • Yesterday I drove to Taichung at the legal speed limit, so I reached there by dark. Yesterday I drove to Taichung at the legal speed limit, reaching there by dark.