Common Sentence Level Errors

Great sentences make great paragraphs, so as you finalize a paper, reviewing it at the sentence level is a good idea. Use these tips to avoid problems that can be particularly challenging for writers whose first language is not English.

 

Subject-Verb Agreement

Check that the subjects and verbs in all sentences agree: do singular subjects have singular verbs, and plural subjects have plural verbs? Agreement can be tricky for English Language Learners, since adding -s makes most nouns plural, while adding -s in the third person singular makes most verbs singular. Notice, for example:

Singular subject: The curriculum engages students in exploring different religions.

Plural subject: These books engage a diversity of readers.

When reviewing intricate sentences, it’s helpful to determine whether the subject is singular or plural and then double-check the verb accordingly. Remember, it’s always the subject-verb agreement that counts. Avoid attempting to make the verb agree with other nouns in a sentence, such as an object in a prepositional phrase, as in this example:

A central part of my life goals have has been to go to law school.

 

Run-On Sentences

Academic writing invites us to fuse complex ideas, so it’s easy to lose sight of the punctuation and conjunctions required to avoid run-on sentences. Notice the “comma splice” error in this example:

Paul Klee’s paintings seem simple, they are very sophisticated.

One solid way to join these two independent clauses (and avoid a comma splice) is to add a conjunction after the comma, like this:

Paul Klee’s paintings seem simple, but they are very sophisticated. 

Another solution is to use a subordinating conjunction, like this:

Although Paul Klee’s paintings seem simple, they are very sophisticated.

Additional strategies for correcting run-on sentences are available right here.

 

Fragments

Incomplete sentences, known as fragments, occur when a subject or verb is missing. Frequently, fragments occur because a dependent clause has not been correctly attached to an independent clause. Here are three examples of fragments and corrections:

 

• Marie Antoinette spent vast sums of money on her favorites. Helped to bring on the French Revolution. 

 Marie Antoinette spent vast sums of money on her favorites. Her extravagance helped to bring on the French Revolution. (lacking subject)

 

• The old aluminum boat sitting on its trailer.
  

The old aluminum boat was sitting on its trailer. (lacking complete verb).

 

• We returned to the main office. Where we waited for the rest of the staff to arrive.
  

We returned to the main office, where we waited for the rest of the staff to arrive. (beginning with a subordinate word)

Additional strategies for correcting fragments are available right here.

 

Further Resources

Problems with parallel structure, pronouns, prepositions, and the use of colons and semi-colons may also be at the roots of flawed sentences. For help, consult these Writing Center Resources.

Source:

Folse, K. (2016). Keys to Teaching Grammar to English Language Learners: A Practical Handbook (2nd ed.). University of Michigan.