SENTENCE CORRECTION NOTES

Compiled By: Aparna Singh

Subject Verb Agreement

1. Eliminate the intervening phrase – the middleman – so that the subject becomes
clear
 The houses of that rich man (contain/contains) expensive furniture

2. Only the word AND can change the number of the noun from singular to plural.
The additive phrases do not form compound subjects. Thus the number of the
subject does not change as a result of additives.
 Joe and his friends, ARE going to the beach
 Joe, along with his friends, IS going to the beach

Some Additives: along with, in addition to, as well as, accompanied by, together
with, including

3. If the sentence contains more than one subject, the verb agrees in number with the
subject that it is NEAREST to.
 Neither Joe nor his friends ARE going to the beach
 Neither his friends nor Joe IS going to the beach

4. Collective Nouns are always considered singular and require singular verb.
 The crowd IS cheering as the home team TAKES the cup.

Some examples of Collective Noun: administration, army, audience, class,

crowd, faculty, orchestra, team, committee

5. Indefinite Pronouns are considered singular objects and take singular verb. All
pronouns that end in –body, -one, -thing fall in this category.

6. The SANAM Pronouns – Some, Any, None, All, Most - are 5 indefinite
pronouns which can be either singular or plural depending upon the context. To
determine, look at the “of” construct of the sentence to determine the number of
the subject.
 Some of the money WAS stolen from my wallet. [money – singular]
 Some of the documents WERE stolen from the bank. [documents – plural
7. Each and Every – Any subject preceded by each or every, requires a singular
verb form (even if the subject seems plural). However when each or every
follows a subject, it has no bearing on the verb form
 Every dog and cat HAS paws
 Each of these shirts IS pretty
 They each ARE great cricket players

8. The phrase ‘the number of’ always takes singular verb form. The phrase ‘a
number of’ always takes plural verb form.
 The number of bright students in my class IS quite large.
 A number of students in my class ARE bright.

9. Other numerical words – majority, minority, plurality – can be either singular

or plural. If one means the many individual parts of the totality then use plural
verb form. If one means the totality itself, then use a singular verb.
 The majority of students in this class ARE hardworking
 The student majority IS opposed to the death penalty

10. Sometimes an entire phrase or clause may form the subject. These subject
phrases are always singular and require singular verb.
 Having good friends IS a wonderful thing [subject is entire phrase, not
just friends!]

11. In most English sentences the subject precedes the verb. Placing subject after the
verb can make them confusing. For such sentences where subject follows the
verb, flip the word order to place the subject before the verb and then check.

 INCORRECT: There IS a young man and an older woman at the bus stop.
 FLIP IT! : A young man and an older woman IS at the bus stop [Subject
becomes clear. This subject is plural]
 CORRECT: A young man and an older woman ARE at the bus stop
Verb Tense, Mood and Voice

12. Avoid sentences that insert a word (or words) between the ‘to’ and the verb. This
error is called Split Infinitives.
 INCORRECT: I need you TO quickly RUN out to the store
 CORRECT: I need you TO RUN quickly out to the store

13. Present Perfect: If an event started in the past but continues into (or remains
true) the present, use the present perfect tense.
 My family HAS OWNED this farm house since the early nineteenth
century. [owned in the past and still owns]

14. If more than one action in a sentence occurred at different times in the past, use
the past perfect tense for earlier action and simple past tense for later action. It
does not matter which verb comes first in the sentence, only which verb comes
first in time.
 Several teachers THOUGHT that Jimmy HAD CHEATED on the exam.
[In the sentence, ‘think’ comes before ‘cheat’. But Jimmy first cheated and
then teachers thought.]

15. Past Participle of some irregular verbs

16. Although they may look strange, have had, has had and had had are correct verb
constructions. In ‘has had’, the first ‘has’ signals the present perfect tense while
‘had’ is the past participle of the verb ‘to have’ and so on.
 He HAS HAD many affairs
 His wife divorced him because he HAD HAD an affair
17. The ‘If … Then’ tense construction:

18. The Subjunctive Mood of the verb is used to express a degree of uncertainty or
unreality.
 INCORRECT: If he WAS tall, he would have been able to play basketball
better [The man in question is not actually tall]
 CORRECT: If he WERE tall, he would have been able to play basketball
better [In this use of subjunctive, the verb always appears as WERE,
regardless of the subject, never as WAS]

 INCORRECT: It is urgent that she SIGNS the permission slip [There is a

degree of uncertainty whether or not the second person will actually do
what is asked ]
 CORRECT: It is urgent that she SIGN the permission slip [This use of
subjunctive is formed with the word ‘that’ + the infinitive form of the verb
(without the word to) ]

{This use of subjunctive follows words and phrases such as advice,

advisable, ask, arrange, better, demand, desire, desirable, direct, directive,
essential, fitting, imperative, important, insist, instruct, instructions,
intend, intentions, necessary, order, pray, prefer, preferable, plead,
propose, recommend, request, require, suggest, suggestion, urge, urgent,
vital etc. }

 My advice is that he simply LOVE her for who she is

 I respectfully ask that he BE allowed to continue.

 INCORRECT: Ramesh knew it was imperative that he FOUND a job

quickly
 CORRECT: Ramesh knew it was imperative that he FIND a job quickly
Pronouns

19. Every pronoun must refer to one and only one antecedent. There should be no
ambiguity as to what the antecedent is.
 INCORRECT: Eva exercised daily with Jasmine so that she would stay in
good shape. [She seems to be referring to Jasmine. Ambiguous!]
 CORRECT: Eva hoped to stay in good shape so she exercised daily with
Jasmine

20. Every pronoun must have a stated antecedent. Implication is not enough.
 Friendship was something James truly valued so he hated it when THEY
talked about him behind his back. [One might think that THEY refers to
James’ friends, but the word friends is never mentioned, friendship is;
and they cannot refer to friendship]

21. Pronoun Agreement: The pronoun should agree with its antecedent in number
[Plural/Singular]
 INCORRECT: Meg left all her class notes at school because she decided
that she could do her homework without it
 CORRECT: Meg left all her class notes at school because she decided that
she could do her homework without them

22. The pronoun should be in proper case [Subject/Object/Possessive]

 INCORRECT: Janice and ME went on a picnic together [The pronoun

used is part of the subject]
 CORRECT: Janice and I went on a picnic together

 INCORRECT: The picnic was attended by Janice and I [Picnic is subject.

The pronoun is part of object]
 CORRECT: The picnic was attended by Janice and ME

 INCORRECT: Who are you going to marry? [You is subject. The pronoun
is part of object]
 CORRECT: Whom are you going to marry?
 23. Possessive Poison: Possessive pronoun can refer back to possessive nouns.
However subject and object pronouns can not refer back to possessive nouns.
Subject and object pronouns may refer back only to subject or object nouns.
 INCORRECT: John’s room is so dirty that HIS mother calls HIM a pig
[Possessive pronoun his can refer back to possessive noun John’s but the
object pronoun him cannot. Him would only be accurate if it referred
back to John]
 CORRECT: John’s room is so dirty that HIS mother calls John a pig

Modifiers

24. The modifying phrase should not be separated from the noun that it modifies
 INCORRECT: Ritika is happy, like all her friends, to be on vacation
 CORRECT: Ritika, like all her friends, is happy to be on vacation
OR : Like all her friends, Ritika is happy to be on vacation

25. If the word being modified is not a noun then the modifying phase is called
adverbial phrase and does not need to touch the word being modified
 The fielder ran towards the ball, faster and harder than he had ever ran
before [The modifier modifies the verb ‘ran’, not the noun ‘fielder’]

26. Identify the modifier and then the noun that it is modifying. If the noun is not
present then it is a case of ‘dangling modifier’ and needs to be corrected.
 INCORRECT: Using the latest technology, the mechanical problem was
identified quickly [The mechanical problem was not using the technology]
 CORRECT: Using the latest technology, the engineer quickly identified
the problem
27. Avoid sentences with ambiguity
 Cars come in many colors, which can be very cool or very ugly [Does
which refer to color or car?]

28. Beware of dangling modifiers in sentences having possessive form [Possessive

Poison]
 INCORRECT: Unskilled in complex maths, Bill’s score in the entrance
test was poor [Bill’s score is not unskilled]
 CORRECT: Unskilled in complex maths, Bill did not score well on the
entrance test
Parallelism

29. When working with parallel infinitives, it is acceptable to leave out the word to
in all the infinitives after the first
 I decided to swim across the river rather than (to) sail around the world
(The second to is optional)

30. If one item includes a pronoun or pronoun phrase, it is often appropriate to

include the same pronoun in parallel item
 INCORRECT: I like a variety of people including THOSE who are
popular and WHO are not
 CORRECT: I like a variety of people including THOSE who are popular
and THOSE WHO are not

31. Do not become victim of Superficial Parallelism by assuming that ALL verbs in
sentence should be parallel.
 Ken traveled around the world, visiting historic sites, eating native foods
and learning about new cultures [NOT INCORRECT. Traveled is main
verb and other verbs provide additional information]
 Ken traveled around the world, visited historic sites, ate native foods and
learned about new cultures [This version distorts the meaning of the
sentence by giving equal importance to all activities, instead of making the
last three subordinate to the main activity Traveled]

32. When you see a form of the verb ‘being’, be sure that two sides of the verb are
parallel
 INCORRECT: The new toy WAS the young mother’s trying to appease her
sobbing child
 CORRECT: The new toy WAS the young mother’s attempt to appease her
sobbing child

Note: Forms of the verb ‘being’

Comparisons

33. Like should be used to compare people or things (any nouns)

 As with other children in the neighborhood who were home-schooled,
June sometimes missed being in classroom along with her peers
 Like children in the neighborhood who were home-schooled, June
sometimes missed being in classroom along with her peers

34. As should be used in a comparison involving clauses

 Just LIKE swimming is a good exercise, cycling is a great way to burn
calories too
 Just AS swimming is a good exercise, cycling is a great way to burn
calories too

35. Do not use Like when you mean for example. Instead use the phrase such as

36. Use the phrase as…as, and not the phrase so…as
 INCORRECT: Julia was able to climb the tree so fast as her brothers
 CORRECT: Julia was able to climb the tree as fast as her brothers

37. Comparisons must be logically parallel. That is, they must compare similar
things
 INCORRECT: Frank’s build, like his brother, is extremely broad and
muscular [Comparing ‘Frank’s build’ to his ‘brother’]
 CORRECT: Frank’s build, like that of his brother, is extremely broad and
muscular [Comparing ‘Frank’s build’ to his ‘brother’s build’]

38. Comparisons must be structurally parallel. That is, they must have similar
grammatical structure
 INCORRECT: I enjoy flying by plane more than I like to drive in a car
 CORRECT: I enjoy flying by plane more driving by car
Quantity Words

39. Following words are used for countable nouns:

Many, as many as, few/fewer, number of

40. Following words are used for uncountable nouns:

Much, as much as, little/less, amount of, equivalent to

 If unsure whether something is countable or not perform the counting test:

1 pen, 2 pens, 3 pens… Works! - Countable
1 money, 2 money, 3 money… Doesn’t work! - Uncountable

41. Between is used to relate two things. Among is used to related more than two
things

42. The number of is singular. A number of is plural. Numbers of is WRONG

43. Increase and Decrease indicate change of ONE thing over time. Greater and
Less signal comparison between TWO things
 The price of gold increased by ten dollars
 The price of platinum is greater than the price of gold

Miscellaneous

44. Avoid run-on sentences (two independent sentences without a conjunction, or

connected by only a comma)
 INCORRECT: She is not interested in playing sports, she likes watching
them on TV
 CORRECT: She is not interested in playing sports BUT she likes watching
them on TV
OR
 CORRECT: Although she is not interested in playing sports, she likes
watching them on TV

45. Semicolon connects two independent clauses (each can stand on its own). The
Colon equates two parts of a sentence, where the second part is dependent on the
first part. Only the part that precedes the colon should be able to stand alone.
 Ravi and Mukesh are inseparable; they do everything together [both parts
can stand on their own]
 I love many kinds of music: classical, rock and pop [Only the part before
colon can stand on its own]
 INCORRECT: I love listening to: classical, rock and pop music [I love
listening to – cannot stand alone]
 46. The phrase Do It almost always indicates a wrong answer choice. Use Do So
 INCORRECT: She asked him to take out the garbage, but she was not sure
if he would do it
 CORRECT: She asked him to take out the garbage, but she was not sure if
he would do so

Idioms