Upload
ilene-wilson
View
251
Download
4
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
*Common Errors
*Common error #1
*Sentence fragment
*A complete sentence contains a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought.
*Common error #2
*Comma Splice
*A comma splice occurs when a comma is used for a semicolon or period.
*Common error #3
*Run-on sentence
*A run-on sentence occurs when a necessary semicolon or period is omitted.
*Common error #4
*Illogical use of a semicolon
*For example, between a clause and a phrase or between a dependent and an independent clause
*Common error #5
*Lack of agreement between subject and verb
*Common error #6
*Faulty use of pronoun – case, reference, number
*Common error #7
*Other comma errors
*Failure to use comma between independent clauses joined by a conjunction
*Failure to use comma after introductory clause or phrase
*Common error #8
*Misspelling common words
*lead – lead - led
*lead = v.: to guide
*Ex. – I will lead the way.
*lead = n.: metallic element
*Ex. – She hit him with a lead pipe.
*led = v.: past tense of the verb lead
*Ex. – I led him to the treasure.
*Spell it correctly!
*primitive
*questionnaire
*receive
*rhythm
*separate
*principal - principle
*principal = adj.: main, chief; n.: head of school, leader
*Ex. – Our principal, Mrs. Mote, will be the principal speaker at graduation.
*principle = n.: law, truth, doctrine, or code of conduct
*Ex. – Most of the moral principles that people live by are learned from their parents.
*their – they’re - there
*their = possessive pronoun
*Ex. – their car, their friend, their house
*they’re = contraction for “they are”
*Ex. – They’re going to a party.
*there = adv.: toward that place
*Ex. – Stand over there.
*to – two - too
*to = prep. & infinitive
*Ex. – I plan to read tonight.
*two = n.: number
*Ex. – I have two sons.
*too = adv.: more than enough
*Ex. – You study too much.
*Spell & use it correctly!
*succeed – successful
*suppressed
*truly
*unnoticed
*woman – women
*quite – quiet – quit
*going to
*occasion
*Spell & use it correctly!
*embarrassment – harassment
*exaggerate
*familiar – similar
*grammar
*stationary - stationery
*stationary = adj.: not moving
*Ex. The seats in the auditorium are stationary.
*stationery = n.: writing materials
*Her letter was written on pink stationery.
*until - till
*until = prep.: before a specified time, up to the time of
*Ex. – We can’t leave until Monday.
*till = vt.: prepare land for planting crops
*The farmer tilled the land.
*weather - whether
*weather = n.: temperature
*whether = conj.: used to introduce alternatives
*Ex. – How favorable the weather is will determine whether or not we’ll go camping.
*then - than
*then = adv.: consequently; at the time; next
*Ex. – If you’re running late, then you better hurry.
*than = conj.: comparative
*Ex. – I am a safer driver than you.
*through - threw
*through = prep.: in one side and out the other; finished
*I went through the garage door.
*threw = v.: discharged into the air (past tense of the verb “throw”)
*Ex. – I threw the ball through the window.
*were - where
*were = verb
*Ex. – You were being paged.
*where = adv.: at or in what place
*Ex. – Where are the restrooms?
*belief - believe
*belief = n.: something accepted as true
*Ex. – Christians share a belief in life after death.
*believe = vt.: to have confidence in the truth or existence of something
*Ex. – Many people believe Seinfeld is very funny.
*hanged - hung
*People are hanged.
*Lynching = always use hang.
*Ex. – They hanged him at sunrise.
They decided to hang him.
*Objects are hung.
*Objects = past tense = hung
*Ex. – I will hang the clothes out.
The clothes hung on the line.
*Hung also indicates a standstill:
*Ex. – hung up in traffic, a hung jury, hung on every word
*complement - compliment
*complement = n.: something that completes; vt.: serve as complement to
*Ex. – The dessert was a complement to the delicious dinner.
*compliment = n.: an expression of courtesy or praise
*You have paid me a great compliment.
*allusion – illusion - disillusion
*allusion = n.: an implied or indirect reference
*Ex. – He has the Midas touch.
*illusion = n.: something that deceives or misleads
*Ex. – We see motion movies because of an optical illusion.
*disillusion = vt.: to disappoint
*Ex. – The Viet Nam veterans were disillusioned by the war.
*affect - effect
*affect = vt.: to influence; strong feeling having active consequences
*Ex. – Was your decision affected by his comments?
*effect = n.: a result; vt.: to accomplish
*Ex. – What effect will his promotion have on you? (noun)
*Ex. – The heavy ice and snowstorm effected a change in their vacation plans. (verb)
*HINT: for effect, substitute “result” or “resulted in”
*advice - advise
*advice = n.: a recommendation, an opinion, information
*advise = vt.: to inform, to notify, to recommend
*Ex. – I advise you to follow your parents’ advice.
*Spell it correctly!
*accommodate
*acknowledge – acknowledgment
*judge - judgment
*loose - lose
*loose = adj.: not tight
*Ex. – The pants are loose.
*lose = v.: unable to find or keep
*Ex. – You may lose your parking space.
*a - an
*Use “a” before a word beginning with a consonant sound.
*Use “an” before a word beginning with a vowel sound.
*Ex. – a house
an hour ago
an early departure
*your – you’re
*your = possessive pronoun
*Ex. – your mother, your car
*you’re = contraction for “you are”
*Ex. – You’re your mother’s child.
*because - cause
*because = conj.: since; for the reason that
*Ex. – The students failed because they did not hand in their assignments.
*DO NOT use because after “the reason”
*cause = n.: something leading to an effect or consequence; vt.: to be the cause of
*Ex. – The cause of freedom is noble.
*The shark was the cause of great fear.
*analysis - analyzing
*analysis = n.: separation of a whole into parts
*Ex. – The blood analysis revealed no infectious disease.
*analyzing = vt.: to separate into parts
*Ex. – The lab assistant was analyzing the blood.
*alright - alot
*all right, a lot = two words!
*Do NOT use “a lot” in formal writing.
*allot = vt.: to divide or distribute by share
*Ex. - We will allot the scholarships
*desert - dessert
*desert = n.: a very dry region
*Ex. – We made sure we had enough water when we crossed the desert.
*dessert = n.: sweet food
*Ex. – We eat dessert after every evening meal.
*Spell & use these correctly!
*forty
*fourth
*forth
*foreword - forward
*foreword = n.: preface of introductory note at the beginning of a book
*Ex. – The author’s explanation was in the foreword.
*forward = adj. & adv.: at, near or belonging to the front; forward/bold; frontward
*Adj. Ex. – a forward nation
*Adv. Ex. – come forward; I look forward to seeing you.
*explain - explanation
*explain = v.: to make understandable
*Ex. – I will explain the rules.
*explanation = n.: something that explains
*The explanation was brief.
*capital - capitol
*capital = city
*capitol = building
*Ex. – We toured the capitol in Austin,
the capital of Texas.
*council – counsel - consul
*council = n.: a group of deliberators
*Ex. – The council met yesterday.
*counsel = n.: advice, guidance
*Ex. She accepted his wise counsel.
*consul = n.: advisor to another country
*The consul in Mexico is negotiating for the U.S.
*conscious – conscience
*conscious = adj.: capable of thought or perception
*Ex. – Please remain conscious in class.
*conscience = n.: to know wrong
*Ex. – The serial killer had no conscience.
argue – argument
*accept - except
*accept = vt.: to receive with consent
*except = prep.: but, with the exclusion of
*Ex. – I accept all of your suggestions except this one.
*Genius – ingenious - ingenuous
*genius = n.: exceptional intellectual & creative power
*Ex. – My brother is a genius.
*ingenious = adj.: imaginative, brilliant in creating & devising
*Ex. – His plan was ingenious.
*ingenuous = adj.: lacking worldliness & sophistication; honest
*Ex. – Her ingenuous spirit was refreshing.
*imply - infer
*A speaker IMPLIES. A listener INFERS.
*imply = v.: to suggest, to hint
*Ex. – Mrs. Lane implied that women were superior.
*infer = v.: to draw a conclusion by reasoning or from evidence.
*Ex. – I inferred that she was teasing.
*Spell these correctly!
*height – eighth
*irritable
*lonely – loneliness
*misspell – misspelling
*Negroes – heroes – tomatoes
*obstacle
*occurred – occurrence
*possession - possessed
*proceed – precede - procedure
*proceed = v.: to advance, continue
*Ex. – I think we should proceed.
*precede = v.: to be, go or come ahead of something else
*Ex. – In the procession, the faculty precedes the students.
*procedure = n.: a course of action
*Ex. – If you want to develop the film, you must follow the proper procedure.
*How do we use these words?
*businessman – businessmen
*committee
*dilemma, condemn
*disastrous
*controversy
*hypocrisy
*democracy
*decide
*divide
*devices
*criticize - criticism
*criticize = vt.: to judge harshly
*Ex. – The minister was criticized unfairly.
*criticism = n.: making discriminating judgments
*Ex. – The criticism of the novel reveals differing viewpoints.
*past - passed
*past = n.: a time gone by
*Ex. In the past, I rode motorcycles.
*past = adj.: just gone or elapsed
*Ex. – For the past several days, I have been working on common errors.
*past = prep.: beyond
*Ex. – I drove past her house.
*passed = past tense of the verb pass*Ex. – Time passed much too slowly.
*discreet - discrete
*discreet = adj.: prudent, modest
*Ex. – He made a discreet inquiry about her marital status.
*discrete = adj.: distinct, separate
*Ex. – A discrete variable is a mathematical variable that assumes only whole number values.
*marriage – marital - martial
*marital = adj.: relating to marriage
*Ex. – Joe and Sally experienced marital issues that were challenging.
*martial = adj.: relating to war or combat
*Ex. – The sergeant received awards for his martial skills.
*curriculum - career
*curriculum = n.: course of study
*Ex. – In ancient times, Latin was a required part of the curriculum.
*career = n.: chosen profession
*Ex. – Adolf Hitler would have preferred an artistic career in lieu of politics.
*eminent - imminent
*eminent = adj.: standing out above others
*Ex. – Edgar Allan Poe is known as an eminent author.
*imminent = adj.: about to occur at any moment
*Ex. – The boys hanging on the side of the cliff are in imminent danger.
*himself - themselves
*REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS
Singular: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself
Plural: ourselves, yourselves, themselves
Ex. – Did Matthew make himself a sandwich?
The cheerleaders drove themselves to Lubbock.
*censor - censure
*censor = n.: one who examines material for the purpose of suppressing objectionable information
*Ex. – In communist countries the head of state will assume the duties as censor.
*--also vt.: to examine and eliminate
*Ex. – The President will censor all incoming mail.
*censure = n.: blame or disapproval; vt.: to criticize severely
*Ex. – The censure on abortion clinics has become very violent.
*The pro-life movement has censured abortion clinics.
*sense - since
*sense = n.: functions of sight, hearing, smell, touch, & taste; sound reasoning (i.e. common sense); also v.: detect automatically
*Ex., n. – His senses made him wary.
*Ex., n. – She used good sense.
*Ex., v. – I sensed he was upset.
*since = adv.: from then until now; also conj.
*Ex., adv. – He left home and has not been there since.
*Ex., conj. – They have not been back since they graduated.
*its – it’s
*its = possessive pronoun meaning “belonging to it”
*Ex. – The animal licked its wounds.
*it’s = contraction for “it is”
*Ex. – Since it’s such a nice day, we should go swimming.
*How do we use these?
*writer
*writing
*written
*continual - continuous
*continual = frequently repeated
*Ex. – The continual advertisements are annoying.
*continuous = uninterrupted
*Ex. – The rainfall was continuous.
*Don’t make these mistakes!
*would have – NOT would of
*could have – NOT could of
*should have – NOT could of