1. Subject Verb Disagreement a. Verb(conveys essential meaning of a clause) must agree with Subject(Focus of a clause) in number b.

Singular each, anyone, anything, anybody, another, neither, either, every, everyone, someone, no one, somebody, everything, little, much (for checking SVD, replace with it) c. Plural phenomena, media, data, criteria (replace with they to check) d. Depends on noun that follows none (of), any (of), some (of), most (of), more (of), all (of) 2. Law of Parallelism a. Items being compared/listed should have the same grammatical form if the first is an infinitive or a gerund or an adjective, the other items should be, too. b. Infinitives to run, to see; Gerunds running, seeing. Gerund indicates general class of activity. Infinitive indicates specific activity. Infinitive indicates a stronger connection between subject and action, purpose or intention than a gerund. 3. Comparisons a. Only like things can be compared b. For quantifying countable things fewer, number, many c. For quantifying uncountable things less, amount, much d. Illogical to say something is different from itself. Example : She has played in more concerts than any cellist in her school (Correction any other) e. Comparing exactly two things Between, More, -er (better) f. Comparing more than two things Among, Most, -est (best) g. Countable things being compared should agree in number (both must be plural or both must be singular) 4. Pronoun-Antecedent Disagreement a. A definite pronoun (you, she, I) should agree with its antecedent in number (Everyone should brush their teeth his or her). b. The antecedent of a definite pronoun should not be ambiguous.

c. Interrogative pronouns can be used as definite pronouns What (to refer to a thing), where (to refer to a place), when (to refer to a time), why (to refer to a reason), who (to refer to a person), how (to refer to an explanation). d. When following a comma, an interrogative pronoun usually takes the immediately preceding noun as its antecedent e. Pronoun usage must be consistent when referring to the same thing more than once. 5. Pronoun Cases a. Subjective/Nominative Pronouns (I, you, he, she, we, they, who) used as subjects of verbs or as predicate nominatives. b. Subject of Real Verb: Jenna and I were the only two at the meeting c. Subject of Implied Verb: My brother is taller than I (am). The unwritten verb is implied. d. Predicate nominative (pronoun or noun linked to the subject by a linking verb): i. Matthew is the new captain of the team (subject) (verb) (predicate nominative) ii. The mountain became a violent volcano (subject) (verb) (predicate nominative) e. Objective pronouns (me, you, him, her, them, whom) are used as objects of verbs or as objects of prepositions f. Object of Verb : My father struggled to raise my brother and me g. Object of Preposition : This should be a great opportunity for you and her h. Possessive pronouns (my/mine, her/hers, their/theirs, whose) show attribution or ownership. i. Use a possessive pronoun rather than the objective pronoun before a gerund for clarity I resent your (not you) taking the car without asking. j. Reflexive pronouns (myself, yourself, himself, herself, themselves) show an object equated with the subject or show emphasis. k. Never use reflexive pronouns where an objective pronoun is required.

6. Dangling and Misplaced Participles a. Present participle ends in ing, past participle ends usually in ed or en (collided, written, swum, eaten, fought) b. A participle is a verb form used when the veerb is a phrase with a helping verb (I was walking through the lobby, We had been talking for over an hour) c. A participle can be used as a verb part (He is writing his term paper) or as an adjective (I like frozen treats) d. A participial phrase is a modifying phrase that includes a participle. Such a phrase always describes something. It acts like an adjective or adverb. It is usually separated from the main part of the sentence by one or more commas. (Eating ravenously, the vultures remained on the carcass until it was picked clean; The runners, exhausted from the final spring, stumbled over the finish line) e. If a participial phrase starts a sentence, the word it modifies must follow immediately after the comma. f. Dangling Participle After having studied all night, the professor postponed the test until Friday. The professor is the noun immediately following the participial phrase. But clearly, he hasnt studied all night. So, this is a dangling participle. g. To correct a dangling participle, the correct noun must be placed next to the participial phrase or a subject can be incorporated into the participial phrase, turning it into a dependent clause. h. Misplaced Participle A participial phrase should be as close as possible to the word it modifies. If a modifier modifies the wrong thing, then it is misplaced and must be moved. 7. Law of Proximity a. Any modifier should be as close as possible to the word it modifies b. Misplaced Prepositional Phrases i. Prepositional phrases are modifying phrases. They can be used as adjectives or adverbs.

ii. (Adjective) The dog in the car was barking (answers which dog) iii. (Adverb) David walked into the house (answers where did David walk) iv. A prepositional phrase can be misplaced. v. As a physician, it was difficult for me to see such suffering. (answers what is my role hence, modifies I, not it) As a physician, I found it difficult to see such suffering) c. Misplaced Appositives i. Noun phrase that accompanies and expands another noun. ii. Must always be adjacent to the noun it modifies iii. A splendid example of late synthetic cubism, Picasso painted Three Musicians in 1924 (Picasso is not an example of synthetic cubism) Picasso painted Three Musicians, a splendid example of late synthetic cubism, in 1924 d. Misplaced Infinitives i. Serve as nouns or adjectives or adverbs can be misplaced ii. To get our attention, we saw a man shooting a bird (answers why the man shot the bird) To get our attention, a man shot a bird 8. Tenses a. Perfect Tense to indicate some event is completed before some other point in time. Uses helping verb to have had walked, have walked, will have walked. b. In a sentence with two past-tense verbs, the event which was completed before the other must be in the past-perfect tense c. Present Perfect Does not show completion; extends from the past to the present or occurs at an extended/unspecified time in the past She has been so nice to me (was and still is), We have taken only two tests this month (happened over an extended time in the past) d. Future Perfect Something will have been completed before sometime in the future

e. Timeless Verbs In the discussion of a theory, an artistic work, a general non-historical fact, a verb should take the present tense by default. f. The ancient Greek philosopher Zeno believed that all motion was an illusion (theory is timeless) The ancient Greek philosopher Zeno believed that all motion is an illusion. 9. Idiom Errors a. Carry through, across the board, come on strong, get your feet wet, bang for the buck, all ears, pull your leg, eat crow b. Prepositions to, from, of, for, by, in, before, with, beyond, up (show relative position or direction) c. Eliminate superfluous prepositions (unnecessary) d. Verb Argue Satisfied Prefer Concerned Agree Necessary Different Comparative (bigger, sharper) Angry Plan Comply Capable Insight In search Independent In pursuit Dream Excel Raise my objection ___ proposal Differ Preposition With With To About (worried about), With (occupied with) On (mutual decision), To (offer) To, For From Than With (people), About (situation) To (do something), On (rely on) With Of Into Of Of Of About, Of In To From (comparison), with (you)