Common Faults in sentences
English A
Grade 9
Ms Austin
FAULTY SENTENCES
Faulty sentences have some kind of error/mistake, or they
lack one or more of the properties of a complete sentence
(an independent clause).
A complete sentence must:
• have a subject and predicate (verb)
• Express a complete thought
• have a logical word order
• be acceptable to speakers of the language.
Fragment /Sentence Fragment
• A sentence fragment is a word group that is attempting
to function as a sentence but lacking an independent
clause.
• A fragment is a group of words that cannot stand on its
own as a sentence.
• Group of words that do not express a complete idea
• It is a group of words that seems random to hear
Examples of Fragment
• Mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie.
• Because we did not hear the warning siren.
• A variety of hummingbird feeders available in
stores during the spring.
• When he decided to stop working part-time. He
gave up some earning potential.
• Before the bus arrived.
• The fishpond in the backyard
• The train which usually arrives late.
Correct/Revised
• My favorite foods are mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie.
• We didn’t leave the building because we did not hear the
warning siren.
• A variety of humming bird feeders were available in stores
during the spring.
• When he decided to stop working part-time, he gave up
some earning potential.
Run-on/Fused Sentence
• In a fused sentence, the two independent clauses are joined with no
punctuation mark or coordinating conjunction.
Examples
• It is nearly half past five we cannot reach town before dark.
Sentence Error:Run-on Sentence
Correct/Revised
• It is nearly half past five; we cannot reach town before dark. (Correct)
• It is nearly half past five, so we cannot reach town before dark. (Correct)
Examples of Run-on Sentences
• The family drove to the beach it was a beautiful day.
• I completed my essay I have not submitted it.
• I felt awful about hitting this man today he didn’t even
seem to notice.
CommaSplice
• Comma splice refers to a sentence that has two
independent clauses joined by a comma alone
Example: I completed my essay, I have not submitted it. (Comma
splice)
• A comma is not strong enough to join two independent
clauses.
• A coordinating conjunction should be inserted after the comma or the
comma should be replaced by a semi-colon to correct the problem.
I completed my essay, but I have not submitted it. (Correct) I
completed my essay; I have not submitted it. (Correct)
Lack of Parallelism
• Ideas in sentences like railroad tracks, should be
parallel to one another. If one of the railroad tracks is
slightly off, the train derails.
• In the same sense, if sentences contain a faulty
parallelism, it derails the sentence.
Examples of Sentences Lacking Parallelism
•I went to the store, bus stop, and to the train station.
•I like to walk, swimming, and read novels.
•Playing your best is more important than to win.
•Kebede’s goals are to study accounting and saving
money for the future.
•The band members were enthusiastic, energetic,
and of great talent.
Parallelism Correct/Revised
• I went to the store, to the bus stop, and to the train
station.
• I went to the store, bus stop, and train station.
• I like to walk, swim, and read novels.
• I like to walk, to swim, and to read novels.
• I like walking, swimming, and reading novels.
Like
The word like can be used as a preposition and as an
adjective:
He acts like a foreigner.(preposition)
The two boys are very like.(adjective)
NB: it is incorrect to use like as a conjunction.
Example: He speaks like an Englishman does.
In the sentence above the correct word to use instead of
like is as.
Misplaced Modifier
• A misplaced modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that is
improperly separated from the word it modifies / describes.
• As a rule, a modifier should be placed close to the word or
phrase it modifies.
Examples
• The game nearly has finished when we arrived at the stadium.
• He only left twenty minutes ago.
• The game has nearly finished when we arrived at the stadium.
Correct/Revised
• He left only twenty minutes ago. Correct/Revised
Further Examples of Misplaced Modifiers
• The officer left to fight with his troops.
• The officer left with his troops to fight. (Better)
• She could not explain why she wanted to get married to her
mother.
• She could not explain to her mother why she wanted to get
married. (Better)
• He begged her not to speak sincerely.
• He sincerely begged her not to speak. (Better)
Misplaced Modifiers
• An apple pie sat on the table that Claire had
baked. (Misplaced Modifier)
• Correction: An apple pie that Claire had baked sat on the
table.
• The student was punished by the teacher who cheated on
the test.
• Correction: The student who cheated on the test was
punished by the teacher.
Dangling Modifiers
• Modifying words and phrases are said to "dangle" if the
subject they describe is not directly stated; the resulting
sentence can be unclear or even nonsensical.
Examples
• Coming home late, the house was dark.
• Sitting on the chair, the cat scratched the material.
• Eating in the kitchen, the sandwich was good.
• Running in the park, my shoes began to hurt.
Dangling Modifiers
• A dangling modifier is a word or phrase that modifies a word
not clearly stated in the sentence.
• Dangling Participles:
Ex: Riding my bicycle, a dog chased me.
When I was riding my bicycle, I was chased by a dog.
• Dangling Gerunds:
Ex: After considering the plan for several days, it was
adopted.
After considering the plan for several days, the committee
adopted it.
Dangling Modifiers
Dangling infinitives:
Ex: To write effectively, practice is necessary.
To write effectively, students should practice a lot.
Dangling elliptical clauses
Ex: When a baby, my grandfather gave me a
silver cup.
When I was a baby, my grandfather gave me a
silver cup.
Double Negative
The words, not,no,nobody,nowhere, nothing, no-one and
never, are negative words. Double negative is the error of
using two of these words in the same part of a sentence.
Example of double negative:
I don’t know nothing about it.
I couldn’t see it nowhere.
Correction:
I don’t know anything about it.
I couldn’t see it anywhere
Redundancy
Redundancy refers to the error of saying the same thing twice using
different words.
Example: They came one after another in succession.
The words “in succession” mean the same as “one after another” and
are unnecessary
Between and Among
Between should only be used when speaking of two
persons or things.
Example: Divide the cake between the two children.
Among is used when speaking of more than two persons
or things.
Example: The prizes were distributed among the four
winners.
Uncountable nouns
Much and Many - these words denoting quantity sometimes
present problems with nouns which have only a singular form.
Example: luggage, information, news, furniture, knowledge,
weather progress, scenery, advice
NB: The word many cannot be used with the words listed
above.
Many is used with countable nouns, while much is used with
uncountable nouns
