- •Problem 1 Point of view - verbs
- •Incorrect:
- •Problem 2 Point of view - reported speech
- •Incorrect:
- •Problem 3 Point of view - verbs and adverbs
- •Incorrect:
- •Iron _____ for weapons and tools in the Bronze Age following the Stone Age.
- •Point of view - activities of the dead
- •Incorrect:
- •Problem 5 Agreement - modified subject and verb
- •Incorrect:
- •Problem 6 Agreement - subject with accompaniment and verb
- •Incorrect:
- •Problem 7 Agreement - subject with appositive and verb
- •Incorrect:
- •Problem 8 Agreement -verb-subject order
- •Incorrect:
- •Incorrect:
- •In a suspension bridge _____ that carry one or more flexible cables firmly attached at each end.
- •Problem 9 Agreement - an indefinite subject and verb
- •Incorrect:
- •Problem 10 Agreement - a collective subject and verb
- •Incorrect:
- •Problem 11 Agreement - noun and pronoun
- •Problem 12 Agreement - subject and possessive pronouns
- •Incorrect:
- •Problem 13 Agreement - indefinite subject pronoun and possessive pronouns
- •Incorrect:
- •Problem 14 Agreement - impersonal pronouns
- •Incorrect:
- •Problem 15
- •Verbal modifiers - -ing and -ed forms
- •Incorrect:
- •Problem 16
- •Verbal modifiers - infinitives of purpose
- •Incorrect:
- •Problem 17 Parallel structures - in a series
- •Incorrect:
- •In a hot, sunny climate, man acclimatizes by eating less, drinking more liquids, wearing lighter clothing, and _____.
- •Problem 18 Parallel structure - after correlative conjunctions
- •Incorrect:
- •Problem 19 Redundancy - unnecessary phrases
- •Incorrect:
- •Problem 20 Redundancy - repetition of words with the same meaning
- •Incorrect:
- •Problem 21 Redundancy - repetition of noun by pronoun
- •Incorrect:
- •Problem 22 Transitive and intransitive verbs - raise and rise
- •Incorrect:
- •Incorrect:
- •Problem 23 Transitive and intransitive verbs - lay and lie
- •Incorrect:
- •Incorrect:
- •Problem 24 Transitive and intransitive verbs - set and sit
- •Incorrect:
- •Incorrect:
- •Problem 25 Similar verbs - tell and say
- •Incorrect:
- •Incorrect:
- •In his inaugural speech, John Kennedy_____________ that we should not ask what our country could do for us but what we could do for out country.
- •Problem 26 Similar verbs - let and leave
- •Incorrect:
- •Incorrect:
- •Similar verbs - borrow and lend
- •Incorrect:
- •Incorrect:
- •Problem 28 Similar verbs - make and do
- •Incorrect:
- •Incorrect:
- •Problem 29 Prepositional idioms
- •Incorrect:
- •Problem 30 Parts of speech
- •Incorrect:
- •Subject-Verb Inversion
- •Inversion of Subject and Verb
- •There are 18 cases when inverted order is needed:
- •Incorrect:
Problem 1 Point of view - verbs
Maintain a point of view, either present or past. Avoid changing from present to past tense, or from past to present tense in the same sentence.
Examples:
Incorrect:
He was among the few who want to continue working on the project.
Correct:
He is among the few who want to continue working on the project.
or
Correct:
He was among the few who wanted to continue working on the project.
Exercises:
Part A: Choose the correct answer.
The first transistor was basically a small chip made of germanium onto one surface of which two pointed wire contacts _____ side by side.
(A) are made (B) made (C) were made (D) making
Part B: Choose the incorrect word or phrase and correct it.
Because early balloons were at the mercy of shifting winds, they are not considered a practical means of transportation until the 1850s .
Problem 2 Point of view - reported speech
To report past events the following verbs are used as the first past verb in the pattern:
|
-
S
+
V (past)
that
S
+
V (past)
Examples:
Incorrect:
I thought that he is coming today.
Correct:
I thought that he was coming today.
Exercises:
Part A: Choose the correct answer.
Ancient people believed that __________ with a sun and a moon rotating around it.
(A) the earth was the center of the universe (B) the earth is the center of the universe (C) the center of the universe is earth (D) the universe has earth at the center
Part B: Choose the incorrect word or phrase and correct it.
William Faulkner, a famous novelist from Mississippi, said that it is not possible to understand the South unless you had been born there.
Problem 3 Point of view - verbs and adverbs
Avoid using past adverbs with verbs in the present tense.
Examples:
Incorrect:
Between one thing and another, Charles does not finish typing his paper last night.
Correct:
Between one thing and another, Charles did not finish typing his paper last night.
Exercises:
Part A: Choose the correct answer.
Iron _____ for weapons and tools in the Bronze Age following the Stone Age.
(A) is generally used (B) generally used (C) was generally used (D) used generally
Part B: Choose the incorrect word or phrase and correct it.
The Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution gives women the right to vote in the elections of 1920.
Problem 4
Point of view - activities of the dead
Avoid using present verbs to refer to activities of the dead.
Examples: