Transcript
English Comp 1 Midterm Notes
Comma Splices, Fused Sentences S-3a
COMMA SPLICE
A comma splice occurs when an INDEPENDENT CLAUSE follows another independent clause with only a comma between them.
T. S. Eliot is best known for his poetry, he also wrote and produced several plays.
Independent Clause
A CLAUSE, containing a SUBJECT and a VERB, that can stand alone as a sentence: She sang. The world-famous soprano sang several popular arias.
FUSED SENTENCE
A fused sentence occurs when one independent clause follows another with no punctuation in between.
The school board debated the issue for three days they were unable to reach an agreement.
Subjects and Verbs Separated by Other Words S-5b
A verb should agree with its subject, not with another word that falls in between
In the backyard, the leaves of the apple tree rattle across the lawn.
The price of soybeans fluctuate according to demand.
( fluctuates )
Compound Subjects S-5c
*Two or more subjects joined by and are generally plural.
Obviously, safety and security are important issues in American life.
-Andie McDonie, “Airport Security”
*However, if the parts of the subject form a single unit, they take a singular verb.
Forty acres and a mule are what General William T. Sherman promised each freed slave.
( is )
*If the subject are joined by or or nor, the verb should agree with the closer subject.
Either you or she are mistaken.
( is )
Neither the teacher nor his students was able to solve the problem.
( were )
Coordination and Subordination S-8
When we combine two or more ideas in one sentence, we can use coordination to give equal weight to each idea or subordination to give emphasis to one of the ideas. Assume, for example, that you're writing about your Aunt Irene. Aunt Irene made great strawberry jam. She did not win a blue ribbon at the Iowa State Fair.
COORDINATION
Aunt Irene made great strawberry jam, but she did not win the blue ribbon at the Iowa State Fair.
SUBORDINATION
Though Aunt Irene made great strawberry jam, she did not win the blue ribbon at the Iowa State Fair.
Sentence Fragments /Identifying Fragments S-2a
A sentence fragment is a group of words that is capitalized and punctuated as a sentence but is not a sentence. A sentence needs at least one INDEPENDENT CLAUSE, which contains a SUBJECT and VERB and does not start with a SUBORDINATING WORD.
NO SUBJECT
The catcher batted fifth. Fouled out, ending the inning.
Who fouled out?
NO VERB
The first two batters walked. Manny Ramirez again.
What did Ramirez do again?
SUBORDINATE CLAUSE
Although the Yankees loaded the bases.
There is a subject (Yankees) and a verb (loaded), but although makes this into a subordinate clause. What happened after the Yankees loaded the bases?
A list of common subordinating words follows.
SOME SUBORDINATING WORDS
after
though
although
unless
as
until
as if
when
because
where
before
whether
if
while
since
who
so that
which
that
why
Writers often use sentence fragments for emphasis or to be informal.
FOR EMPHASIS
Throughout my elementary and middle school years, I was a strong student, always on the honor roll. I never had a GPA below 3.0. I was smart, and I knew it. That is, until I got the results of the proficiency test.
—Shannon Nichols
TO BE INFORMAL
The SAT writing test predicts how successful a student will be in college. Since when?
Subject-Verb Agreement S-5f
Everyone and Other Indefinite Pronouns
Most Indefinite Pronouns, such as anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everything, neither, no one, one, someone, and something, take a singular verb.
But . . . no one is selling the content that gets shared on P2P services.
Each of the candidates agree with the president.
( agrees )
*Both, few, many, others, and several are always plural.
Already, few know how to read a serious book.
*All, any, enough, more, most, none, and some, are singular when they refer to a singular noun, but they are plural whenever they refer to a plural noun.
Don’t assume that all of the members of a family votes the same way.
( vote )
None of the music we heard last night come from the baroque period.
( comes )
