identifying sentence errors

Front

What is a subject-verb agreement error?

Back

A subject-verb agreement error occurs when the subject of a sentence does not match the verb in number (singular or plural). For example, 'The group of students are going' should be 'The group of students is going.'

Front

What is a common error with the word 'lead'?

Back

The word 'lead' can be confused with 'led.' 'Lead' is the present tense form, while 'led' is the past tense. For example, 'He lead me to the store' should be 'He led me to the store.'

Front

What is the correct form of 'lay' in the context of a sentence?

Back

The verb 'lay' means to place something down. It is often confused with 'lie,' which means to recline. For example, 'He lay the book on the table' is correct, while 'He lay down' should be 'He lay down.'

Front

What is an error in pronoun usage?

Back

An error in pronoun usage occurs when a pronoun does not agree in number or gender with the noun it replaces. For example, 'Everyone should bring their own lunch' is correct, but 'Everyone should bring his or her own lunch' is more formal.

Front

What is a fragment in a sentence?

Back

A fragment is an incomplete sentence that lacks a main clause. For example, 'When we went to the store' is a fragment because it does not express a complete thought.

Front

What is a run-on sentence?

Back

A run-on sentence occurs when two or more independent clauses are joined without proper punctuation or conjunctions. For example, 'I love to read I have many books' should be 'I love to read, and I have many books.'

Front

What is the difference between 'its' and 'it's'?

Back

'Its' is a possessive pronoun meaning 'belonging to it,' while 'it's' is a contraction for 'it is' or 'it has.' For example, 'The dog wagged its tail' vs. 'It's a sunny day.'

Front

What is a misplaced modifier?

Back

A misplaced modifier is a word or phrase that is not placed correctly in a sentence, leading to confusion. For example, 'She almost drove her kids to school every day' should be 'She drove her kids to school almost every day.'

Front

What is the purpose of a comma in a sentence?

Back

Commas are used to separate items in a list, to set off introductory elements, and to separate independent clauses when joined by conjunctions. For example, 'I bought apples, oranges, and bananas.'

Front

What is an example of a dangling participle?

Back

A dangling participle occurs when a participial phrase does not clearly modify a noun. For example, 'Walking down the street, the flowers were beautiful' should be 'Walking down the street, I saw beautiful flowers.'