Sentence Errors

1. Sentence Errors You need a full sheet of paper for taking notes and for the quiz at the end. Apostrophes Comma-Splices,Run-ons

2. A Psycholinguistic Modelof How Our Brains Process Sentences See: The KISS Grammar Psycholinguistic Model on the web.

3. Apostrophes Apostrophes have two primary uses: to indicate contractions, and to indicate “possession.”

4. Contractions “It’s” means “It is.” “They’re” means “They are.” “She’s been gone.” means “She has been gone.”

5. Possession That is father’s book. They found the children’s toys. It was Nora’s forgery.

6. Apostrophes Correct the error in the following: Torvalds actions as a listener are extremely important in defining his role as a foil.

7. Apostrophes Correct the error in the following: Mrs. Linde is a childhood friend of Nora’s from back home in the country.

8. Apostrophes Correct the error in the following: With the use of foils, Henrik Ibsen is able to convey a couples struggle to conform to the norms of their time.

9. Comma-Splices and Run-ons In a comma-splice (-1 CS), two sentences are joined (spliced) with just a comma. In a run-on (-1 RO), two sentences are run into each other with no punctuation to separate them. In either case, the reader’s mind attempts to chunk the words in the second sentence into the first. This confuses the reader.

10. FixingComma-Splices and Run-ons There are three basic ways to fix either of these errors: • Separate them with a period and a capital letter. • Separate them with a semicolon, colon or dash. • Make one of them a subordinate clause.

11. A Comma-Splice The following sentence contains a run-on. Fix it. Mrs. Linde did not marry out of love she married because she had to take care of her mother and her younger siblings.

12. A Comma-Splice The following sentence contains a comma-splice. Fix it. Nora has three children, however she does not take care of the children.

13. Subject/Verb Agreement Explain and fix the comma-splice and subject/verb agreement error in the following: In A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen lies are what creates the play, without them there would be no play.

14. There are two errors in the following sentence. What are they? She held out the secret that she committed forgery in order to save her husbands’ life years ago, this lie is what created the backbone to the entire play.

15. A More Complicated Example She held out the secret that she committed forgery in order to save her husband’s life years ago--this lie is what created the backbone to the entire play.

16. Quiz Time On your paper, fix the errors in the following sentences: • My family is very large, my parents have thirteen children. • In the end Edie finds that the truth was always there she just had to grow and experience life in order to filter it out. • Not all tires are created equal, there are many factors that determine what type of tire goes on a automobile. • Next are level two thinkers, these thinkers make decisions based on what is good for the group as a whole, not just themselves.