Fixing Commas
Fix this sentence: "I bought apples oranges and bananas."
What is adding commas after "apples" and "oranges"?
Fix this fragment: "Because she was very tired."
What is finishing the thought or attaching it to a sentence? (Result: "Because she was very tired, she went to bed.")
Fix the pronoun: "Me and him went to the grocery store."
What is changing "Me and him" to "He and I"? (Result: "He and I went...")
Fix the verb: "The group of students are walking to lunch."
What is changing "are" to "is"? (Result: "The group... is walking...")
Fix the word choice: "I left my homework over their."
What is changing "their" to "there"? (Result: "...over there.")
Fix this sentence: "We wanted to go outside but it started raining."
What is putting a comma before "but"?
Fix this run-on: "I love reading books I go to the library every Friday."
What is adding a period or semicolon between "books" and "I"? (Result: "I love reading books. I go to the library...")
Fix the pronoun: "Everyone must bring their own pencil.
What is changing "their" to "his or her"? (Note: While "their" is widely accepted in casual speech, formal grammar traditionally requires the singular "his or her" to match "Everyone".)
Fix the verb: "Yesterday, he run three miles down the road."
What is changing "run" to "ran"? (Result: "Yesterday, he ran...")
Fix the word choice: "The movie had a great affect on me."
What is changing "affect" to "effect"? (Result: "...a great effect on me.")
Fix this comma splice: "I failed the test, I forgot to study."
What is changing the comma to a period (or semicolon, or adding "because")?
Fix this fragment: "Running as fast as he could toward the bus."
What is adding a subject and helper verb? (Result: "He was running as fast as he could...")
Fix the pronoun: "The teacher called Sarah and I to the front."
Answer: What is changing "I" to "me"? (Result: "...called Sarah and me...")
Fix the verb: "Either the teacher or the students is responsible."
What is changing "is" to "are"? (When using either/or, the verb matches the closer subject, which is "students".)
Fix the word choice: "You should of called me last night."
What is changing "of" to "have"? (Result: "You should have called...")
Fix this sentence: "On Tuesday October 12th we have a big project due."
What is adding commas after "Tuesday" and "12th"?
Fix this run-on: "She loves to paint she is highly creative she wins awards."
What is separating the three thoughts with periods or semicolons? (Result: "She loves to paint. She is highly creative. She wins awards."
Fix the pronoun: "The team celebrated its victory after the game." (Identify if this is correct or needs fixing)
What is "It is already correct"? (The singular team takes the singular pronoun "its".)
Fix the verb: "If I was you, I would study for the quiz."
What is changing "was" to "were"? (Result: "If I were you..." for hypothetical conditions.)
Fix the word choice: "There are less students in class today than yesterday."
What is changing "less" to "fewer"? (Use "fewer" for items you can physically count.)
Fix this sentence: "The smart energetic puppy barked all night long."
What is adding a comma between "smart" and "energetic"?
Fix this mixed sentence: "Although he trained hard, but he still lost the race."
What is removing the word "but"? (Result: "Although he trained hard, he still lost the race.")
Fix the pronoun: "Who did you send that letter to?"
What is changing "Who" to "Whom"? (Result: "Whom did you send...")
Fix the verb: "The captain, along with his crew members, were lost."
What is changing "were" to "was"? (The main subject is "The captain", which is singular.)
Fix the word choice: "The school principal gave us a new principle to follow."
What is swapping the words? (The "principal" gives a "rule/principle".)