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Helpful Hints for Common Errors

The following is an online adaptation of the COM Writing Center's collection of grammar fact sheets. They focus on identifying and correcting errors that we frequently see in the Writing Center.

Dangling Modifiers

What does it mean when a modifier is "dangling"?

A modifier "dangles" when what it is supposed to modify is missing from the sentence.

Examples of dangling:

  • "To excel in running, strong legs are necessary."
  • "After practicing for more than a year, the concert was cancelled."

What is wrong with these sentences?

"To excel in running" is the modifier in this sentence. This phrase does not modify anything. The only word it could possibly modify is "legs." Ask yourself if legs can excel in anything.

" After practicing for more than a year" is also a modifier. The only word this phrase could possibly modify is "concert." Ask yourself if a concert practices for more than a year.

How can you fix these sentences?

Both of these sentences need something to save the modifiers from dangling. Adding a noun or a pronoun is the easiest way to fix a dangling modifier.

  • "To excel in running, you need strong legs."
  • "After practicing for more than a year, the pianist learned the concert was cancelled."
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Passive Voice

What is "passive voice"?

Voice refers to the form of the verb. The subject acts when you use the active voice verb form. When you use the passive voice, the person or thing performing the action becomes the object of the sentence. It does not act; it is acted upon by the verb. Look at the following:

  1. "George was introduced to Elaine by his friend Jerry."
  2. "Jerry introduced his friend George to Elaine."

In example A (passive), the subject of the sentence (George) does not do the action. Jerry is the one who does the introducing, so he should be the subject, as he is in example B (active).

Why to avoid the passive voice in your writing:

Passive voice saps the verb of its power and can make a sentence awkward and wordy. In all writing you want to be clear and write with power.

Sign of passive voice:

Forms of to be (such as is, are, was, and were) often indicate the passive.

  1. "All of Jerry's food was eaten by Kramer."
  2. "Kramer ate all of Jerry's food."

In sentence A, was signals the passive voice. The subject of the sentence is food even though the actor is Kramer. In this sentence the actor is passive: the food gets eaten, it doesn't eat. In sentence B, the voice is active since the actor (still Kramer) is the person who performs the action (eats). Note that as the sentence changes from passive to active, the stronger verb ate replaces the weak verb was, and the sentence becomes more direct and less wordy.

To correct the passive voice:

Find the verb in the sentence. Ask yourself who or what performs the action and then construct the sentence so the actor completes the action:

  • "Kramer's plans were foiled by several different characters."

You can rewrite this as:

  • "Several characters foiled Kramer's plans."

Note that the revision is clearer and concise.

When you need the passive voice:

Sometimes you need to use passive voice. For example, if the reciepient of the action is more important than the actor or if the actor is unknown or hard to identify, then use the passive voice:

  • "The script of the first episode of Seinfeld was stolen from an NBC office yesterday."
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Sentence Fragments

What is a "fragment"?

A fragment is a group of words lacking a subject, predicate, or complete thought. A fragment is part of a sentence but not a sentence by itself. It cannot stand alone.

What does a fragment look like?

A fragment might contain any number of words. A series of words followed by an end punctuation mark (like a period, question mark, or exclamation point) that does not meet the definition of a sentence is a fragment. A fragment might lack a subject, as in the following example:

  • "Waddled clumsily down the path."

A fragment might lack a predicate, as in the following example:

  • "The geese waddling down the path."

Or, a fragment might contain both a subject and a predicate, but lack a complete thought, as in the following example:

  • "Whereas the geese waddled clumsily.

How can you fix sentence fragments?

You have several choices:

  • Rewrite the fragment to include a subject, verb, and complete thought, as in:
    • "The geese waddled clumsily down the path."
  • Incorporate the fragment into a separate sentence, as in:
    • "Whereas the geese waddled clumsily, the swans glided gracefully."
  • Add words to the fragments to make it a complete sentence, as in:
    • "The geese waddling down the path stopped to look around."

Is it ever acceptable to use a fragment?

Sometimes skillful writers use fragments to achieve particular effects, as a matter of style. In these cases, fragments should be written consistent with the subject, the audience, and the medium. Accidental fragments, however, do not achieve this end and are simply errors.

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Comma Splice

What is a comma splice?

A comma splice is a comma used incorrectly in the place of a period or semi-colon.

Examples of sentences containing comma splices:

  • "The film is scheduled for tomorrow evening, the club expects a large audience."
  • "The professor collected the tests, s/he noticed one was missing."

What is wrong with these sentences?

  • In the first example, a misplaced comma joins two independent clauses that should not be joined. The clauses contain related content but are grammatically two sentences.
  • Again, in the second example, the two independent clauses should not be joined within a single sentence by a comma.

How can you fix these sentences?

  • In the first example, the comma splice might be repaired by a period or semicolon. A period would separate the clauses into two separate sentences:
    • "The film is scheduled for tomorrow evening. The club expects a large audience."
  • A semicolon would adequately separate two distinct thoughts but emphasize that they are related:
    • " The film is scheduled for tomorrow evening; the club expects a large audience."
  • The second example might be rewritten as one sentence. For example:
    • "When the professor collected the tests, s/he noticed one was missing."
  • Or, it might be rewritten with the addition of a conjunction to appropriately join the clauses. For example:
    • "The professor collected the tests, and s/he noticed one was missing."
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Commas: Grammatial Rules

What are commas for?

USE the comma for pause and for clarity in a sentence. Follow the six rules below:

  1. Put commas between items in a list, keeping in mind that commas before conjunctions (and, but, or . . . ) are optional.
    • "Today will be warm, rainy, and windy."
  2. Put commas between coordinate adjectives.
    • "It is a warm, rainy day."
  3. Put commas after introductory phrases or dependent clauses.
    • "Because it is rainy, I'm not going to jog today."
  4. Put a comma before a coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence.
    • "It is rainy, but I'm going to job anyway."
  5. Put commas around an inessential dependant clause.
    • "The runner, who is my friend Joe, is the fastest in the race."
  6. Put commas around parenthetical expressions or interrupters.
    • "The winner, unfortunately, will be too tired to party tonight."

What if I'm not sure I need a comma?

When in doubt, leave it out.

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Commas: Mechanical Rules

Commas used in certain formal ways follow different rules.

  • Use commas to set off individual elements in addresses and names of geographical places.
    • "Mail your letter to me at 81 Bay State Road, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, as soon as you can."
    • "I vacationed in Florence, Italy, last summer."
  • Use commas in opening and closing letters.
    • "Dear Mr. Adams,"
    • "Sincerely,"
  • Always use a comma in direct address.
    • "Michael, do you hear me?"
  • Commas (and periods) always go inside quotation marks.
    • He said "I like blue ties," to the sales clerk.
  • Use a comma to set off inverted names in bibliographies, in indexes, in directories, or in other reference lists.
    • "Cleveland, Orford B."
    • "Rabinowitz, Melvin, D.C."
    • "Babineau, Celeau"
    • "Laszlo, Stephen, M.D."
  • Use a comma to separate a name from a title or degree that follows it.
    • "Arthur Brookins Cudworth, Dean of McGrath Law School"
    • "S. Anderson, Ph.D."
    • Note: A comma is optional before Jr. and Sr. following a name.
      "John Lyons, Jr., presided."
      "John Lyons Jr., presided."
    • Note: Omit periods and commas before and after II,III, and IV with names.
      "Henry Lord III conducted the meeting."
  • Use a comma in dates.
    • "The University of Southern North Dakota was founded at Hoople on April 1, 1958."
    • Note: A comma may be used to separate the month from the year when the date is omitted, as June, 1982; current usage, however, permits June 1982.
      " Record temperatures were set in June 1982 in New York."
  • Use a comma to set off figures in groups of more than four digits, as 1,000,000.
    • "On November 14, 379 stocks at the highest for the year."
    • "Instead of thousands, millions were spent."
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10 Grammar Guidelines Every COM Student Should Know:
  1. Generally keep to subject-verb-object sentences. Avoid the unnecessary use of passive voice - active voice is more direct and vigorous.
  2. Avoid more than three prepositional phrases in one sentence. Especially unattractive are such phrases running consecutively or starting with the same preposition.
  3. Avoid more than two infinitives in one sentence. Infinitives break up a flow, creating a sentence that lurches along in fits and starts.
  4. Use single, active verbs instead of several weak words. "They made a decision" should be "they decided." "They have the intention" should be "they intend," and so on.
  5. Avoid vague qualifiers and choose precise words. The following are examples of vague qualifiers that fuss up writing: very, extremely, really, rather, somewhat, quite, truly, basically, totally.
  6. Avoid pairing a present-tense verb with a past-tense element. When a descriptive sentence includes a past time element, use the simple past. Examples: "Trucks carried Kosovo refugees back to Pristina on Monday." "Vice President Al Gore spoke Sunday at a rally where Democrats showed their support for President Clinton."
  7. Avoid backing into a sentence with a long, independent clause. Further, do not join independent clauses by a comma. The proper mark of punctuation to use between independent clauses is a semi-colon. Example: "William Shakespeare's tragedies are entertaining; they are full of unexpected consequences."
  8. Omit needless words. Prefer the specific to the general. Be clear.
  9. Write with nouns and verbs. Use adjectives and adverbs sparingly, if at all.
  10. Keep related words together. Example: "He noticed a large, blood-red stain in the center of the rug" - not "He noticed the large, blood-red stain on the rug was right in the center."

*Adapted from Bill Ketter's guidelines for journalists.

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