Tips to Avoid Three Common Grammar Mistakes

Subject-Verb Agreement Errors: This occurs when the subject and verb in a sentence do not agree in number. For example, “The team are winning” should be “The team is winning” because “team” is a singular noun.

 

The most helpful tip I can offer is to always determine the correct subject and verb in the sentence and decide if each is singular or plural.  Once you know, it is easy to make them agree. Often, a prepositional phrase occurs between the subject and verb, complicating the process.

 

Let’s look at this example sentence. One of the boys (is, are) going to help me.

If you’re not careful to remove the prepositional phrase, you might think that the plural noun “boys “and the plural verb “are” agree. This is wrong because the noun boys is not the subject.

If you find and remove the prepositional phrase before you determine subject/verb agreement, you will see that “one” is the subject. “One” is a singular pronoun, and it agrees with the singular verb “is.” One of the boys (is, are) going to help me.

 

 

Misplaced Modifiers: A modifier placed too far from the word it’s supposed to modify can create confusion or a completely different meaning. For instance, “She only eats apples” suggests that eating is all she does with apples, whereas “She eats only apples” clarifies that apples are the only thing she eats.

Misplaced modifiers often create humorous word pictures. For example: The children ran through the streets wearing Halloween costumes.

 

 

Confusion Between Homophones: Words that sound alike but have different meanings and spellings often cause mistakes. Common examples include “they’re,” “their,” and “there,”; “your,” and “you’re,” and “its” and “it’s.” Misusing these can lead to misunderstandings or a lack of clarity in communication.

 

When you are unsure of which spelling to use, always consult a dictionary. Practice using common homophones correctly.

 

The five most common homonym errors often made in writing and speaking are:

1.   There / Their / They’re

      •   There: Refers to a place or position (e.g., “The book is over there”).

      •   Their: Possessive form of “they” (e.g., “Their house is big”).

      •   They’re: Contraction of “they are” (e.g., “They’re going to the park”).

2.   Your / You’re

      •   Your: Possessive form of “you” (e.g., “Your car is parked outside”).

      •   You’re: Contraction of “you are” (e.g., “You’re going to love this movie”).

3.   Its / It’s

      •   Its: Possessive form of “it” (e.g., “The cat licked its paws”).

      •   It’s: Contraction of “it is” or “it has” (e.g., “It’s raining outside”).

4.   To / Too / Two

      •   To: Preposition indicating direction or purpose (e.g., “I’m going to the store”).

      •   Too: Means “also” or “excessively” (e.g., “I want to go too” or “That’s too much”).

      •   Two: The number 2 (e.g., “I have two cats”).

5.   Affect / Effect

      •   Affect: Usually a verb meaning “to influence” (e.g., “The weather will affect our plans”).

·   Effect: Usually a noun meaning “the result” (e.g., “The effect of the storm was severe”).

 

You can download a FREE list of some of the most common homophones here.

 

Here are two resources you may find helpful.

You will find it here.

 

You will find it here.

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Tips to Correct Misplaced Modifiers

 

A dangling or misplaced modifier does not clearly modify the word it intends to. There are usually two reasons: 1) It is not located near the word it modifies, or 2) The word it intends to modify is missing from the sentence.

 

A squinting modifier can modify either the word that precedes it or the word that follows it, thus creating ambiguity.

 

Misplaced modifiers can create mental pictures that are often humorous.

Here is something that was posted on Facebook: “Does anyone have a used car seat for a child they are ready to sell?”

 

Sometimes, it’s possible to read a sentence that contains a misplaced or dangling modifier and not notice the error. As always, it is easier to detect the mistakes in other people’s writing than it is in your own. You know what you are trying to say, but you will say it badly if the modifiers are out of place in the sentence.

 

A modifying phrase or clause must clearly modify a word in the sentence. If there is no word to which the modifier is attached, the modifier is misplaced.

 

Confusing: Carrying an armful of flowers, his foot caught on the steps.

His foot is not carrying the flowers. There is no word in the sentence for the participial phrase to modify, so it contains a dangling modifier. Sometimes you must add a word for the phrase to modify.

Corrected: Carrying an armful of flowers, he caught his foot on the steps.

 

Another way writers can confuse readers is by placing a modifier in a sentence that could modify two different words. As a result, the reader will not understand the writer’s intended meaning. This error is called using a squinting modifier. (Sometimes, it is called using a two-way modifier.)

 

Confusing: Todd said after the game Jack acted like a jerk.

Since the phrase after the game could modify the word said or acted, the meaning of this sentence is not clear. Did Todd say this after the game, or did Jack act like a jerk after the game? Depending on what the intended meaning was, the sentence could be corrected in two different ways.

Clear: After the game, Todd said Jack acted like a jerk.

Clear: Todd said Jack acted like a jerk after the game.

 

To avoid dangling modifiers, be sure to place the modifier close to the word it modifies.

· Sometimes, you must add a word to the sentence, and sometimes, you can move the modifying word, phrase, or clause closer to the word it modifies.

 

To avoid squinting modifiers, carefully construct your sentences to say what you mean, and make it clear which word is being modified.

 

To avoid such errors as these in your writing,  carefully proofread what you’ve written and write sentences that are well constructed. The more practice, the better you will become at avoiding errors with misplaced and squinting modifiers.

 

Here are a few more examples. Think about how you could correct them.

1. The bear was near the empty garbage can searching for food.    

     (Was the garbage can searching for food?)

2.  The dog ran into the room wiggling and jumping for joy.

     (Was the room wiggling and jumping for joy?)

3.  He saw her at the meat counter talking to the butcher.

     (Was the meat counter talking to the butcher?)

I hope you found this mini-lesson helpful for your students. You will find more information in my TPT store.

Click here for a free end-of-the-year writing activity your students may find interesting.

You can find practice exercises here if you would like to offer your students more practice correcting misplaced modifiers.

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Eight Common Usage Mistakes

This is an example of a misplaced modifier that creates a humorous image. Was it the man who has leather seats?

We all make mistakes, and I am certainly not the Internet Police, but after seeing these bloopers online on social media, I thought these 8 common usage mistakes would make a good topic for a post. Here are just a few of some common errors I recently saw on Facebook and Twitter and a little information on how to avoid them.

1.  The dog's were all barking.
Do not use an apostrophe to make a noun plural.
Correction: The dogs were all barking.

 2.  "The puppy has a microchip in case she might loose her collar."
Loose means not tight.  Lose means to misplace.
Correction: The puppy has a microchip in case she might lose her collar.

3.  "I laid down for 5 minutes and woke up 2 hours later."
Laid means to put or to place something.
Correction: I lay down for 5 minutes and woke up 2 hours later.

4.  “I think that Mom's who watch soap operas are way two dramatic.”
There are two errors in this sentence.
1.  Do not use an apostrophe to make a noun plural.
2.  The word two means the number 2. The word too means to an excessive degree.
Correction: I think that moms who watch soap operas are way too dramatic.

5.  “I was just laying around feeling sick all week.”
The past progressive form of the verb “lie” is was lying. “Laying” means to put or to place.
Correction: I was just lying around feeling sick all week.

6.  “George is a very healthful person.”

Healthy and healthful are adjectives that can be used as synonyms for each other unless one is talking about a person. Spinach can be a healthy or a healthful vegetable, but when talking about a person, always use “healthy.”

Correction: George is a very healthy person.

7.  "I feel badly for you."

Badly is an adverb and will not follow a linking verb. 

Correction: "I feel bad for you."

Remember to not use badly with the verb "feel." If you say"I feel badly," you are really saying that your sense of touch is poor. (Maybe something is wrong with your fingers if you feel badly.) 

8.  "The woman that stood on the corner was tall."

Use "who" not "which" or "that" to refer to people unless you are referring to a group.

Correction: The woman who stood on the corner was tall.

Here are two free resources you can use to give your students practice with possessive nouns and confusing words.

Using Apostrophes Correctly Grammar Worksheets

Confusing Words Grammar Worksheets

If you would like to help your students practice correcting misplaced modifiers, this is a resource for sale in my store.

Correcting Misplaced Modifiers Proofreading Practice

Here are some blog posts written by my teacher friends from The Best of Teacherpreneurs Marketing Cooperative. I think you will find them interesting and helpful.

Thanks for reading,

Charlene

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Misplaced Modifiers Often Create Strange Mental Pictures

Misplaced modifiers can create mental pictures that are often humorous. Sometimes, it's possible to read a sentence that contains a misplaced or dangling modifier and not notice the error. As always, it is easier to detect the mistakes in other people's writing than it is in your own. You know what you are trying to say, but you will say it badly if the modifiers are out of place in the sentence.

A modifying phrase or clause must clearly modify a word in the sentence. If there is no word to which the modifier is attached, the modifier is misplaced.

For example, Carrying an armful of flowers, his foot caught on the steps.

His foot is not carrying the flowers. There is no word in the sentence for the participial phrase to modify, so it contains a dangling modifier.

Corrected: Carrying an armful of flowers, he caught his foot on the steps.

Another way writers can confuse readers is by placing a modifier in a sentence that may be taken to modify two different words. As a result, the reader will not understand the writer's intended meaning. This error is called using a squinting modifier. (Sometimes it is called using a two-way modifier.)

For example, Todd said after the game Jack acted like a jerk.

Since the phrase after the game could modify said or acted, the meaning of this sentence is not clear. Did Todd say this after the game, or did Jack act like a jerk after the game?

Clear: After the game, Todd said Jack acted like a jerk.

Clear: Todd said Jack acted like a jerk after the game.

To avoid dangling modifiers, be sure to place the modifier close to the word it modifies. Sometimes you will have to add a word to the sentence, and sometimes you can just move the modifying phrase or clause closer to the word it modifies.

To avoid squinting modifiers, carefully construct your sentences to say what you mean, and make it clear which word is being modified.

How do you avoid errors such as these? Proofread what you write carefully and make sure to write sentences that are well constructed. The more you write, the better you will be at avoiding errors with misplaced and squinting modifiers.

For practice, here are a few examples for you to correct.

• The bear was near the empty garbage can searching for food.
• The dog ran into the room wiggling and jumping for joy.
• He saw her at the meat counter talking to the butcher.

If you want more practice, here's a free exercise your students can use in Google Drive ™ for distance learning.

Here's a free exercise. You can print it or use in Google Drive.™ You will find the answers here.

I also have a self-grading deck of BOOM Cards™ that your students will love to play while reviewing misplaced modifiers. The resource comes with a mini-lesson. You can preview the deck before you buy it.

I hope you will find this information useful. Your students will become better writers if they can identify and correct errors with misplaced, dangling, and squinting modifiers.

Take a look at these helpful blog posts from my teacher friends at The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative.

Thanks for reading,

Charlene

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