2015-08-28 Writing: sentence errors

Greg Malivuk
[email protected]
http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk
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Homework: write a short paragraph about your classmate. Make sure the format of the paragraph is correct (like we talked about today)
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p. 14 - what is a sentence?
A sentence is a group of words with a subject and a verb which expresses a complete thought.

3 basic mistakes: no subject, no verb, incomplete thought

no subject - Is very trustworthy. Is raining today. Is important to study.
-> He is very trustworthy. It is raining today. It is important to study.

no verb - I back to my house. She from Brazil. I always up at 7am. I will at home tomorrow.
-> I went back to my house. She is from Brazil. I always get up at 7am. I will be at home tomorrow.

incomplete thought - Because it was raining.
-> I didn’t hang out because it was raining.
*My father, who is from Egypt. (My father what?) (WRONG)
-> My father, who is from Egypt, speaks three languages.

Another common mistake is repeating the subject:
My father he is from Egypt. -> My father is from Egypt.
Many people they want to learn English. -> Many people want to learn English.
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p. 15 practice 4 - decide if each phrase is a sentence. if it isn’t fix it to make it a sentence
1 NS - It is very hot today. / Today is very hot. / The weather is very hot today.
2 S
3 NS - My new classmate is from Brazil. / My new classmate from Brazil is friendly.
4 S
5 NS - He is very competitive.
6 S (this is a command or instruction, so the subject (you) is not included)
7 S
8 S
9 NS - She enjoys music, especially jazz.
10 S (command) (It could also be missing the subject: Good students don’t send messages…)
11 NS - The books are expensive.
12 S (command)
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Sometimes you have a subject and a verb, but it is an incomplete thought because there is no object.
*I love. (I love what?) (WRONG)
-> I love my cat.
Some sentences need two objects:
*Give me. (WRONG)
*Give the book. (WRONG)
-> Give me the book. / Give the book to me.
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(Remember: many verbs do not need objects.)
I go to school in the morning.
You need to hurry.
The plane will arrive at 10pm.
What happened?
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Run-on sentences: sentences that contain too many complete thoughts.
“I really enjoy Boston because it is beautiful in the summer and fall and you should come here to study English there are many good English schools in Boston.”
-> I really enjoy Boston because it is beautiful in the summer and fall. You should come here to study English because there are many good English schools in Boston.
-> I really enjoy Boston because it is beautiful in the summer and fall. You should come here to study English; there are many good English schools in Boston.
(The semicolon ; can be used between independent clauses that are related.)
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Homework: Double check your writing for sentence mistakes and fix them. (If you didn’t do the homework before, write a descriptive paragraph about your classmate.)