PEN0055 Essential English Grammar

Faculty of Applied Communication

(FAC)

PEN 0055
Essential English

ONLINE NOTES

Grammar

RUN-ONS

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A Run-on sentence (sometimes called a “fused sentence”) has at least two parts, either
one of which can stand by itself (in other words, two independent clauses), but the two
parts have been joined together instead of being properly connected. It is important to
realize that the length of a sentence really has nothing to do with whether a sentence is a
run-on or not. A run-on is a structural flaw that can plague even a very short sentence:

Example: The sun is high, put on some sunscreen.

When two independent clauses are connected by only a comma, they constitute a run-on
sentence that is called a comma-splice. When you use a comma to connect two
independent clauses, it must be accompanied by a conjunction FANBOYS (for, and, nor,
but, or, yet, so).

Example: The sun is high, so put on some sunscreen.

When two independent clauses are connected by a transitional expression (conjunctive

adverb) such as however, moreover, nevertheless.

Example: Mr. Chua has sent his four children to ivy-league colleges, however, he has
sacrificed his health working day and night in that dusty factory.

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FRAGMENTS

A sentence FRAGMENT fails to be a sentence in the sense that it cannot stand by itself.
It does not contain even one independent clause. There are several reasons why a group of
words may seem to act like a sentence but does not have a complete thought.

 It may locate something in time and place with a prepositional phrase or a

series of such phrases, but it's still lacking a proper subject-verb
relationship within an independent clause:

Example: In Japan, during the last war and just before the armistice.

This sentence accomplishes a great deal in terms of placing the reader in time and
place, but there is no subject, no verb.

 It describes something, but there is no subject-verb relationship:

Example: Working far into the night in an effort to salvage her little boat.

This is a verbal phrase that wants to modify something, the real subject of the
sentence (about to come up), probably the she who was working so hard.

 It may have most of the makings of a sentence but still be missing an

important part of a verb string:

Example: Some of the students working in Professor Phillip’s laboratory

last semester.

Remember that an -ing verb form without an auxiliary form to accompany it can
never be a verb.

 It may even have a subject-verb relationship, but it has been subordinated

to another idea by a dependent word and so cannot stand by itself:

Even though he had the better arguments and was by far the more powerful
speaker.

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This sentence fragment has a subject, he, and two verbs, had and was, but it cannot
stand by itself because of the dependent word (subordinating conjunction) even
though. We need an independent clause to follow up this dependent clause: . . . the
more powerful speaker, he lost the case because he didn't understand the jury.

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PARALLELISM
Faulty parallelism is a construction in which two or more parts of a sentence are
equivalent in meaning but not grammatically similar in form.

Examples:
Faulty: My friends never judged me by my words or what I did.
Correction: My friends never judged me by my words or my actions.

Faulty: Good sense and being thoughtful are two valuable assets.
Correction: (i) Good sense and thoughtfulness are two valuable assets.
(ii) Having good sense and being thoughtful are two valuable assets.

Faulty: It is better to learn the material slowly than cramming on the night
before the test.
Correction: It is better to learn the material slowly than to cram on the night
before the test.

Use parallel grammatical structure for elements serving the same function in a sentence.
Sentence elements joined by and, or, and but have to be parallel; they have to fit into the
same grammatical category, if you put an “and” after "body," the reader expects another
noun: "Body and chassis, "body and soul." If you put an “and” after "swore," the reader
expects another verb: "swore and affirmed," "swore and raved." The same principle
applies to other elements.

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FAULTY MODIFIERS

1. MISPLACED MODIFIERS

A misplaced modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that is improperly separated from the
word it modifies / describes. As a result, sentences with this error often sound awkward,
ridiculous, or confusing. They can also be downright illogical.

Examples:

Faulty: Roasted over an open flame, my brother enjoyed the lamb.

Correct: My brother enjoyed the lamb roasted over an open flame.

Some modifiers, especially simple modifiers — only, just, nearly, barely — have a bad
habit of slipping into the wrong place in a sentence. (In the sentence below, what does it
mean to "barely kick" something?)

Faulty: He barely kicked that ball twenty yards.

Correct: He kicked that ball barely twenty yards.

2. DANGLING MODIFIERS

Dangling modifier: When we begin a sentence with a modifying word, phrase, or

clause, we must make sure the next thing that comes along can, in fact, be modified by
that modifier. When a modifier improperly modifies something, it is called a "dangling
modifier." This often happens with beginning participle phrases, making "dangling
participles" an all too common phenomenon.
Examples:
Faulty: Changing the oil every 5000 kilometres, the
car seemed to run better.
Correct: Changing the oil every 5000 kilometres,
Johan found he could get much better gas
mileage.

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Faulty: Running for the bus, my smartphone fell into the puddle.

Correct: While I was running for the bus, my smartphone fell into the puddle.

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