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Misplaced modifiers
A modifieris a word or a phrase that describes something else. You should place it as
close as possible to what it describes. If you don't, your intended meaning may not be
clear. Consider the unintentional meanings in the following:
o The young girl was walking the dog in a short skirt.
o The dog was chasing the boy with the spiked collar.
You can see what's wrong. The dog isn't in a short skirt and the boy doesn't ha!e a
spiked collar. "ecause the modifieris misplaced, we ha!e to think for a minute before we
get the intended meaning. The correct !ersions are:
o The younggirl in a short skirtwas walking the dog.
o The dog with the spiked collarwas chasing the boy.
#ee how the proper placement clarifies the meaning$
You also need to watch the placement of modifiers such
as almost, e!en, hardly,nearly, often, and only. A couple of e%amples should be enough:
&. "ig og almostran around the yard twenty times.
(. )e nearlyate a whole bo% of treats.
In both sentences**when he almost ran and nearly ate**nothing happened+ )e didn't
uite get around to doing either thing. -hat is intended is:
&. "ig og ran around the yard almosttwenty times.
(. )e ate nearlya whole bo% of treats.
emember:if you gi!e your readers a chance to interpret something in more than one way,
they'll usually get it wrong+ "y placing your modifiers correctly, you'll eliminate this
possibility and ha!e a better chance of getting your point across.
)ow about a #elf*Testto see if you really understand.
/You need to re!iew angling 0odifiersbefore taking the test.1
Fragments
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2!ery sentence has to ha!e a sub3ect and a !erb in order to be complete /remember what
we said about sub3ectsand !erbs$1. If it doesn't, it's a fragment. That's easy enough if
you ha!e something like
&. an into town. /no sub3ect1
(. The growling dog. /no !erb1
4nfortunately, there's a little more to it than that. You can ha!e a group of words
with both a sub3ect and a !erbthat is still a fragment. 5ot fair$-hat is$ #o, before we
go any further, we need to co!er some basics.
A phraseis nothing more than a group of words. /#ee prepositions.1
A clauseis a group of words with a sub3ectand a !erb. There are two types that you need
to be able to distinguish:
&. main/independent1 clause: one that can stand alone and e%press a complete
thought
(. subordinate/dependent1 clause: one that depends on another element for its
complete meaning
A main clause is a complete sentence6 a subordinate clause, because it depends on
something else, isn't**e!en though it has a sub3ect and a !erb. A few e%amples should
make this clear /sub3ects and !erbs are bolded1:
&. I sit in front of the fireplace.
(. -e go for a walk.7. I likepeople.
These are all main clauses. The information might be sketchy, but the ideas are complete.
Compare these with the following which are all subordinateclauses. There is a sub3ect and
a !erb, but the ideas are incomplete.
&. -hen it iscold.
(. After the dishes are put up.
7. -ho patmy head and gi!eme treats.
These are fragments because they are punctuated incorrectly. It's easy to spot this kindof mistake: 3ust read your paper aloud, slowly and carefully, e%actly as it is punctuated
/that is, stop at each period1. If anything is incomplete /a fragment1, you should hear it.
Think about it: if I come into the room and ha!en't spoken to you, you'll be a little pu88led
if all I say is -hen it is cold. You're going to be waiting for more information. /Actually,
you'd probably be more than pu88led if I said anything+1
9ne way to put these e%amples together clearly and correctly is:
&. -hen it is cold, I sit in front of the fireplace.
(. -e go for walk after the dishes are put up.
7. I like people who pat my head and gi!e me treats.
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5otice the punctuation. -hen a subordinate clause beginsa sentence, always put
acommaafter it /&1. If the subordinate clause comes after the main clause,
youusuallyneed no punctuation /( and 71. -ith sentence & and (, you could 3ust as
easily ha!e written /again, pay attention to the punctuation1:
&. I sit in front of the fireplace when it is cold.(. After the dishes are put up, we go for a walk.
#ome of the words that create a subordinate clause
are: after, although, as,because, before, if, since, that, unless, until, when, whether, which,
while, and who. -atch out for these and check your sentences carefully to make sure
they're punctuated correctly.
That's probably enough on fragments. ;ust remember: whate!er is between that opening
capital letter and the closing period in a sentence has to e%press a complete thought.
9therwise, you'll probably gi!e your professor something to mark on your paper+
)ow about a #elf*Testto see if you really understand.
Parallel structure
-hen we talk about parallel structure, or faulty parallelism as some call it, we're dealing
with a balancing act. The idea isn't too hard, but most people don't think about it.
#o what are we balancing$ . . . pairsof words or seriesof words.
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#eries
broken, bedraggled, and bone*tired
an old shoe, a stuffed bear, and a chewed*up blanket
-hen you write your sentences using parallel structure, your ideas come across more
clearly because they're easier to read. Compare the following sentences:
&. =eggotty's toys were an old shoe, a bear that was stuffed, and she had chewed up
an old blanket.
(. =eggotty's toys were an old shoe, a stuffed bear, and a chewed*up blanket.
#ee how the second sentence is smoother and more balanced$ If you 'll try to balance
your own sentences in this way, your writing will be more forceful.
)ow about a #elf*Testto see if you really understand.
Reference
-ith reference, we're talking about pronounsagain. If you recall, a pronounis a word that
renames /takes the place of1 another word /the antecedent1. It not only must agree with
its antecedent /see agreement: pronoun*antecedent1, but it must also clearly referto the
word it renames.
The problem$
If the pronoun doesn't clearly refer to its antecedent, you may cause confusion for your
readers. And as we'!e said before, if you confuse your readers /and it's not that hard to
do+1, your communication breaks down.
The solution$
-hene!er you find a pronoun in your writing, underline itand then draw an arrow back to
the specific one wordthat it renames. If you can't find the word or there seem to be two
or more words that it could refer to, you ha!e a problem with reference. emember: the
antecedent must be in the preceding clause or phrase/the one right before the pronoun1 if
you want to make sure the reference is clear.
5ow, let's take a look at a few e%amples:
&. The oc always buys my dog food at the pet store because theyare so friendly.
(. The owner told oc that hewas looking fit.
7. )is brother is a cat breeder, but I'm not interested in it.
>. )e tried to put the tape of &??& almatians in the @C, but itwas broken.
Try drawing an arrow from any of these italici8ed pronouns to the word they rename. Can't
do it$ That's because each is an e%ample of a reference problem. #ometimes the problemis easy to fi%6 sometimes you'!e got to start all o!er again, as you can see in the following:
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o -e ate e!ery bite of food.
=assi!e
o The bone was eatenby =eggy.
o The police car was chasedby "ig og.
o 2!ery biteof food was eatenby us.
Denerally, you want to make your sentences acti!e whene!er you can. Acti!e sentences
make your writing stronger, more forceful.
)ow about a #elf*Testto see if you really understand.
Agreement:
pronoun antecedent
=ronouns are a handy way to keep from repeating nouns too much. Consider the following:
o -hen "ig og snuck under the fence, "ig ogran to the dumpster.
o -hen "ig ogsnuck under the fence, heran to the dumpster.
Clearly the second sentence sounds better.
-hen we talked about sub3ect*!erb agreement, we said that the sub3ectand the!erbmust
agree in number. That is, you ha!e to make sure that both are singular or both are plural.
The same goes for pronouns and antecedents.
A pronounrenames /takes the place of1 a noun that comes before it.
An antecedentis what we call the noun that comes before the pronoun.
Two e%amples should be enough:
&. I get worried when the neighborslet theirdog out.
(. The doggoes wild, and healways messes up my front yard.
In number &, neighborsis the antecedent6 theiris the pronoun. They agreebecauseboth
are plural. In number (, dogis the antecedent, and heis the pronoun.
Theyagreesince both are singular. If you are ha!ing problems with pronoun*antecedent
agreement, underline all your pronouns6 then, locate the antecedent for each. 0ake sure
that both are the same in number. That's all you ha!e to do.
-ith sub3ect*!erb agreement, we also talked about indefinite pronouns/*one, *body,
and *thing words1. -ith pronouns, we need to look at the *one and *body words again.
/Also include either, neither, and each.1 These are always singular, and that should be
easy enough to remember. "ut most beginning writers seem to ha!e trouble with them.
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=art of the problem is the way we speak. ew would notice anything wrong if they heard
someone say,
o 2!eryoneneeds to take theirdog to the !et regularly.
o 2!erybodywas en3oying their!acation.
These sound okay, right$ 0aybe so, but they're wrongif you're writing. -ords like
e!eryone and e!erybody are always singular, so the plural pronoun theircan't agree
with them. The correct
!ersions are:
o 2!eryoneneeds to take hisdog to the !et regularly.
o 2!erybodywas en3oying her!acation.
You could use hisor herin either sentence, depending upon the conte%t.
Sexism in the language
#ome suggest that you should always use he or she, his or her, or him or her instead
of simply using the masculine he, his, or him. If you're worried about the se%ist
tradition of using masculine pronouns to refer to all people, then rewrite your sentences in
the plural, as in =eopleneed to take theirdogs to the !et regularly. The peoplewere
en3oying their!acations.
You could use he or she /etc.1, but it sounds awkward and will e!entually lead to an
agreement problem**if it doesn't bore your readers to death first. or instance:
If an owner doesn't take proper care of his or her dog, then he or she will find his or her
pet may suffer. The pet will be grateful to him or her if he or she takes care of his or her
reponsibilities. -hen he or she . . . .
You may be an ine%perienced writer, but you're not an ine%perienced listener. That
passage simply sounds dumb.
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-e all know these meanings of agree, but when we talk about sub3ect*!erb agreement,
we're talking about something different: matchingsub3ectsand !erbsaccording to number.
That is, when you ha!e a singularsub3ect, you ha!e to match it with a singular!erb
form: The boy plays. -hen you ha!e a pluralsub3ect, you must ha!e a plural!erb
form: The boys play.
In short, simple sentences, you should ha!e no problem with agreement. You can hear the
problem: The boys plays. -hen it's wrong , it 3ust sounds funny. )owe!er, there are four
potential problem spots that you need to watch carefully:
o stuff in between the sub3ect and !erb
o re!ersed sentence order
o *body, *one, and *thing words
o who, which, and that
Stuff in between subjects and verbsThe stuffhere is usually a prepositional phrasethat separates the sub3ect from the !erb.
emember how we crossed out prepositional phrases in order to find the sub3ect$ /or a
uick re!iew, click here.1 o the same thing if you're ha!ing problems with agreement.
5ow, thinking about that, look at the following sentence and decide what's wrong with it:
The dishes in the kitchen is dirty.
Dood guess+ The sub3ect and the !erb don't agree. -hat's the probable cause for the
problem$ Eitchen/a singular noun1 is right in front of is/a singular !erb1. Ifkitchenwere
the sub3ect, that would be okay. "ut, it's not. Cross out the prepositional phrase andyou're left with:
The dishesin the kitchen is dirty.
The dishes . . . is dirty$ #ounds wrong, doesn't it$ The sub3ect is plural, but the !erb
is singular. They don't agree. The correct !ersion is:
The dishesin the kitchen aredirty.
9nce you know how to look for this problem, it shouldn't be too hard to get rid of it when
you proofread your paper.
Reversed sentence order
The normal pattern for 2nglish sentences is sub3ect*!erb. )owe!er, there are a few
situations where this order is re!ersed /like this sentence1:
o There are snacks on the laundry*room table.
o -here are they$
o 9n the table are the goodies+
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#ee how the sub3ect comes afterthe !erb in each of these$ If you can remember how to
locate sub3ects and !erbs, you shouldn't blunder into mistakes when writing re!ersed*
order sentences.
-bod!" -one" and -thing words
The correct term for these words is indefinite pronouns, but if you remember them as *
body, *one, and *thing words, you'll probably be able to spot them more easily. You
only need to know one thing: if a word has one of these endings
/likee!erybody, e!eryone, anyone, anything, etc.1, it is always singular+You can also
include each, either, and neitherin this group.
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(. "ig og is an animalwho is!ery intelligent.
In both, whois the sub3ect of a dependent clause. In number &, it takes the place
ofanimals/a pluralform1. That's why are is the correct !erb choice. In number
(,whotakes the place of animal/a singularform1, and that's why is is correct.
This may seem a bit confusing at first, but there's a way to get it right e!ery time. If you
find who, which, or that introducing a dependent clause /like in the e%amples abo!e1:
&. . ewrite the sentence.
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o #mashed flat by a passing truck, "ig ogsniffed at what was left of a half*eaten
burger.
"oth sentences begin with a modifying phrase. In number &, dogis the first noun that
follows6 in number (, it's "ig og. 5either one goes logically with the modifier, so we need
to rewrite the sentences. #ometimes you can rework the noun into the phrase itself.9ften, you ha!e to completey re!ise. 9ne possible correction for each sentence is:
o -hen the stick was thrown in the air, the dogcaught it.
/)ere, the modifying phrase has become a dependent clause. The meaning is clear.1
o "ig og sniffed at what was left of a half*eaten burgerthat had been smashed by
a passing truck.
/Again, the phrase has been retwritten as a clause.1
There are many ways to get rid of a dangling modifier. )owyou do it isn't that important,
but being able to spot the problem and get rid of it is+
)ow about a #elf*Testto see if you really understand.
/You need to re!iew 0isplaced 0odifiersbefore taking the test.1
Pronouns
-e'!e talked about pronounswith regard to referenceandagreement: pronoun*antecedent.)ere we need to co!er a few odds and ends, and some of this stuff may really
sound oddto you. "ut these are a few things you should know.
Subjects and objects
irst let's look at case**that is, the difference between the sub3ectand ob3ectforms of
the pronouns. -e know what sub3ectsare, and ob3ectsare those words that come at the
end of prepositional phrases/among other things1. You probably already know the
differences, but 3ust in case, here's a list of the forms:
#ub3ect 9b3ect
I me
you you
he him
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she her
it it
we us
they them
The only thing you need to know is that these forms can't be switched around. If the word
is a sub3ect, it must be a sub3ect form6 if it's an ob3ect. . . well, you get the idea. Consider
the following:
o =eggy and mebarked at the garbage truck.
o )erand mefought o!er the bone.
#ome of you are probably thinking, -hat's wrong with these$ In spoken 2nglish, you'll
hear things like this e!ery day. "ut in written 2nglish, you need to make sure your forms
aren't mi%ed up. The correct !ersions are =eggy and I and #heandI, since the words
are the sub3ect of the sentence. 5othingin the ob3ectlist can be a sub3ect**e!er+ You
wouldn't say, 0e barked or me fought**unless you were trying out for a Tar8an mo!ie.
The same goes for ob3ectsof prepositions. You can't use a sub3ectform in a prepositional
phrase.
o "ig og fetched the paper for her and I.
o =eggy ran after ;ohn and she.
or I$ After she$ These can't be right, since both are in the sub3ectlist6 but, they're
used as ob3ectsof the preposition. The correct !ersions are for me and after her. You
shouldn't ha!e as much trouble with these because you don't hear them misused uite as
often in this way. "ut watch outfor 3ust between you and I. That phrase gets a lot of
use**e!en though I can't be an ob3ect. It's 3ust between you and me+
#ith to be verbs5ow we get to the stuff that will sound odd to you. emember when we talked about to
be !erb forms$ /If you need a uick re!iew, click herefor a refresher.1 Any time a
pronoun comes after one of these !erbs, the sub3ectform is reuired.
o It is I.
o It was they.
o It is he.
I told you this would sound funny**but it's correct+ #o, all these years you'!e been saying,
It's me and It's them, and you'!e been wrong. ight or wrong, I can't bring myself tosay, It is I. It's me sounds more natural. The best thing to do when you write yourself
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into a construction like this is to rethink and rewrite in a different way. /If anyone tells
you otherwise, 3ust say it was I who told you.1
#ith than or as
Another common pronoun mistake happens in sentences where you use than or as to
compare people or things:
o =eggy is smaller than I.
o The dog down the street is meaner than she.
o ogs are as smart as they.
You want to use me, her, and them, don't you$ You could, but that wouldn't be right.
The sub3ectform of the pronoun alwayscomes after than or as. -hy$ There's
an understood!erb in the construction.
o =eggy is smaller than I /am1.
o The dog down the street is meaner than she /is1.
o ogs are as smart as they /are1.
You can see why the ob3ect form won't work: me am, her is, and them are are 3ust
plain wrong+ 2!en though you probably hear these kinds of sentences used incorrectly,
when you're writing you can get them right if you remember thatunderstood!erb.
Relative pronouns: who" whom" whose" that" andwhich
In addition to renaming another word /like all pronouns1, relati!e pronounsoften introduce
added details in your sentences. They can also be used to ask uestions.
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You'!e got a F?GF? chance of getting it right, but you can better the odds if you'll do the
following when you find a sentence like one of those abo!e:
&. 0ark the spot where who or whom should go.
(.
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coherence that applies to them is really pretty simple**so simple that you might o!erlook
it in your writing.
&erbs: tense
To make sure your !erbs are consistent, 3ust check their tense/the timethey refer to1.
If you're writing in the pasttense, for e%ample, don't shift into the presentunless you'!e
got a logical reason to do so. If you do, you may confuse your readers about when
something happened or something is happening**and you'll be ha!ing a problem with
consistency.
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and it will make your writing sound more ob3ecti!e /but that's different topic1. Trust me
on this one+
)ow about a #elf*Testto see if you really understand.
'oiners
The oc has some fancy words for3oinerslike coordinating con3unctions,con3uncti!e
ad!erbs, and who knows what else. "ut hey, a 3oiner is a 3oiner. Enowing their names is
good, but knowing how they work is better+
emember what I said about comma*splices and fused sentences$ 9ne way to correct
them is to3ointwo mainclauseswith a coordinating con3unction. You're thinking, ine, but
what are they$ ;ust think A5"9Y# and you ha!e e!ery single one of them:
or, And, 5or, "ut, 9r, Yet, #o . . . A5"9Y#
#ure it's silly, but it's easy to remember. . They wanted to go walking without me, soI ga!e them my saddest look.
F. I scratched my ear, forthere was a bug in it.
/The use of forin the last sentence may sound funny to you. You'd probably be more
comfortable with because. That's okay. "oth are correct, but if you use because, drop the
comma in this construction. e!iew the comments onpunctuating subordinate clausesif you
need to.1
;ust pick the 3oiner that makes sense in your sentence, and put a comma in front of it.
That's all there is to using coordinating con3unctions.
The second kind of3oineris a little different.
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&. I wanted to play in the backyard 6 therefore,I went to the door.
(. I scratched and barked 6 howe!er,I couldn't get his attention.
7. 0aybe he was working at the computer6 on the other hand,he could ha!e been
asleep.
These should gi!e you the idea6 howe!er, remember that we're talking about 3oiningtwomain clauses. #ometimes you'll find one of these transitional 3oiners used differently. or
instance:
o )e wanted to play. I, howe!er,wanted to sleep.
o =eggy always tries to eat my food. oc, therefore,always puts it on the kitchen
table when I'm not eating.
)ere, howe!erand thereforedo not 3oin anything**they simply interrupt the flow of
thought in the sentence. That's why they're only set off with commas.
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>. -ith one nudge, I pushedthe can on its side.
F. 4ntil the end of the game, I could snack on the scraps with no fear of interruption.
#ee how easy it is to spot the sub3ect once you cut the stuff that can't be one$ =retty
simple, but it may come in handy when we get to sub3ect*!erb agreement.
)ow about a #elf*Testto see if you really understand.
Subjects
#ome of my fa!orite sub3ects are food, trees, shrubs, tall grass, . . . food. "ut that really
has nothing to do with the sub3ect. -hat we're talking about here is a little different.
sub3ect /sub*3ikt1 n.
A word or phrase in a sentence that denotes the doer of the action, the recei!er of the
action in passi!e constructions, or that which is described or identified.
That sounds pretty good in American )eritage, but all you really need to know about a
sub3ect is: a sentence has got to ha!e one+
To find out which word is the sub3ect of a sentence, 3ust ask yourself two uestions:
&. -hat's going on /or being described1$(. -ho or what is doing whate!er is going on /or being described1$
If you can answer uestion (, you'!e found the sub3ect.
, the butcherand the dogare being described. Again, they are the
sub3ects. =retty easy, huh$ In number F, you can see how a sentence may ha!e more than
one sub3ect, sheltiesand cocker spaniels.
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If you back up to the dictionary definition, it says something about the sub3ect being the
recei!er of the action in a passi!e construction. Consider the ne%t sentence:
The dog was gi!en a bone.
There the dogrecei!es the action**and the bone+**so it's the sub3ect. "ut don't worry toomuch about passi!e constructions right now. -e'll get back to them later.
This is awfully simple, but if you can't clearly identify the sub3ect of a sentence, you're
going to get into trouble later on when we talk about some of the harder stuff. or more
help in identifying sub3ects, see the section onprepositions.'5uff said.
There's a #elf*Testa!ailable on #ub3ects and @erbs, but you should re!iew @erbs
%omma-splices
fused sentences
.run-ons/
)ere you're going to need to know something about clauses, since comma*splicesandfused
sentences deal with two clauses that are incorrectly punctuated. /#ome people call
them run*ons.1
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I lea!e muddy paw prints on the kitchen floor6I get in trouble.
o subordinate one clause.
-henI lea!e muddy paw prints on the kitchen floor,I get in trouble.
-hich is best$ They're all correct, so the choice is up to you. ;ust decide which waysounds the best with the rest of the sentences around the problem.
That's all you need to know about comma*splicesand fused sentences.
5eed to re!iew clauses$ Click here.
5eed to re!iew punctuating subordinate clauses$ Click here.
5ot sure about coordinating con3unctionsor the use of semicolo
arallel structure
-hen we talk about parallel structure, or faulty parallelism as some call it, we're dealing
with a balancing act. The idea isn't too hard, but most people don't think about it.
#o what are we balancing$ . . . pairsof words or seriesof words.
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&. =eggotty's toys were an old shoe, a bear that was stuffed, and she had chewed up
an old blanket.
(. =eggotty's toys were an old shoe, a stuffed bear, and a chewed*up blanket.
#ee how the second sentence is smoother and more balanced$ If you 'll try to balance
your own sentences in this way, your writing will be more forceful.
)ow about a #elf*Testto see if you really understand.
http://aliscot.com/bigdog/parallel_exercise.htmhttp://aliscot.com/bigdog/parallel.htm#tophttp://aliscot.com/bigdog/parallel_exercise.htm