1. Sentence Fragments Lacks either Subject or Verb Was at the movie last night. What’s missing? The Subject – who was at the movie last night? Mary was at the movie last night. I went to bed early. Although I couldn’t sleep. What’s wrong? Conjunction makes clause dependent. I went to bed early, although I couldn’t sleep.

2. Run-On Sentences Two complete sentences improperly joined. No punctuation. I like to paint cars that’s why I enrolled at College of the North Atlantic. I like to paint cars, and that’s why I enrolled at College of the North Atlantic.

3. Comma Splice When a comma joins two sentences, the mistake is called a comma splice. The Targa race is being run today, I hope it goes well. You can fix this sentence in three ways: The Targa race is being run today. I hope it goes well. (period) The Targa race is being run today, and I hope it goes well. (comma + conjuction) The Targa race is being run today; I hope it goes well. (semicolon)

4. Subject-Verb Agreement Singular subject will always have a singular verb. Subject must agree in number and person. The organization of his tools are very neat. The organization of his tools IS very neat.

5. Subject- Verb Agreement Two subjects joined by AND take a plural very – the two subjects together act as a plural. Mary and John are going to the mall.

6. Subject-Verb Agreement Two subjects (one singular and one plural) can create problems for the verb. You can h ave the verb agree with the noun closest to the verb. Neither my mother nor my sisters play the piano.

7. Pronoun Problems A pronoun always refers to a noun, and it must agree with it in number and person. When a car becomes costly to fix, they should be replaced. When a car becomes costly to fix, it should be replaced. When a person applies for a job, they should look their best. When a person applies for a job, he or she should look their best. When one applies for a job, one should looks one’s best.

8. Parallel Phrasing Items in a series need to be phrased in the same way grammatically. Mary likes to run, dance, and playing soccer, Mary likes to run, dance, and play soccer.

9. Commas Use a comma between elements in a series of three or more items. In order to complete the job, I will need a wrench, a screwdriver, and a hammer.

10. Commas Use a comma between adjectives that precede and modify the SAME noun. The postman delivered a heavy, bulky item today. BUT, be careful. If you cannot reverse the adjectives, you will not need a comma. My friends and I have a favorite little restaurant downtown.

11. Commas Use a comma (and a conjunction) to join two independent clauses. The car engine showed signs of damage, and Bill made a decision to replace it before the driving vacation he had planned for the spring.

12. Commas Use commas to set off non-essential information. My friend, Mary Jones, is going to Spain this summer. However, do not use commas if the information is essential. My son Stephen is a mechanic.

13. Commas Use a comma before a direct quotation John said, “ I want to buy that Corvette.” Use a comma between parts of a date. Today is Tuesday, September 11, 2012. Use a comma to separate three digits in most numbers. I have 3,000,000 in the bank!

14. Plurals and Possessives These often cause problems. If the noun “belongs” to someone or something, then you need to add the apostrophe. If you are referring to more than one of the noun, no apostrophe is needed. The car’s tires need to be replaced. (The tires “belong” to the one car – therefore, an apostrophe is needed.) He has four cars in his garage. (Plural – more than one car – no apostrophe needed.)

15. Plurals and Possessives If the noun already ends is ‘s’, you can either add apostrophe s (‘s) OR just add the apostrophe (‘). Charles’ car was stolen. Charles’s car was stolen. If the noun does not end in s, add the apostrophe + s. The children’s coats were in the closet. The truck’s paint job was done by an expert.

16. Plurals and Possessives A plural possessive indicates more than one of the noun that that is being ‘possessed’. (Plural already ends in ‘s’.) The athletes’ uniforms were sent to the cleaners. (More than one athlete’s uniform was sent, so the apostrophe comes AFTER the s). (Plural does not end in ‘s’.) The men’s coveralls were torn and dirty. (The apostrophe +s, NOT s + apostrophe, because this plural does not end in ‘s’.)

17. It’s and Its Use it’s when you mean it as a contraction of ‘it is’. It’s great to be back at school. Use its when showing possession. The car lost its engine. (The engine belongs to the car.)