Parallel Structures
Identify the error: Fragment, Run-on, Comma Splice, or Faulty Parallelism?
- The students worked hard they finished the project early.
Run-on sentence.
Identify if the sentences are correct or incorrect:
A. We went to the zoo.
B. The phone ringed it woke the baby.
C. She ran to the bus, she was late.
D. The cat slept on the bed.
A. Correct
B. Incorrect
C. Incorrect
D. Correct
Which Spanish-influenced error appears in the following sentence?
Is necessary to analyze the results before continuing.
The subject is missing. “It” is required in English.
Identify the ambiguous pronoun:
When Mia met Taylor, she forgot the documents.
“She” is ambiguous because we don’t know whether it refers to Mia or Taylor.
This sentence contains a misplaced modifier: “Running down the street, the backpack fell off Maria.”
What needs to be fixed?
the subject doing the action should be Maria, not the backpack
Fix the faulty parallelism:
-The course helps students improving vocabulary, to write clearly, and understanding texts.
The course helps students improve vocabulary, write clearly, and understand texts.
Correct the sentences:
Identify if the sentences are correct or incorrect:
A. The phone ringed it woke the baby.
B. She ran to the bus, she was late.
A. The phone rang, which woke the baby.
B. She ran to the bus, but she was late.
Fix the false friend mistake:
I keep the documents in a carpet.
The word “carpet” is incorrect here. The correct English word for carpeta is “folder”.
Fix the pronoun ambiguity:
The dog barked at the neighbor because he was loud.
The dog barked at the neighbor because the neighbor was loud.
A dangling modifier is a word or clause that appropriately relates to the word it modifies.
True or false?
False
Explain what is wrong with the following sentence in terms of parallel structure:
“She likes running more than to lift weights.”
No parallel structure since there is a gerund and a to infinitive
Explain why the sentences are wrong
A. The phone ringed it woke the baby.
B. She ran to the bus, she was late.
A. run-on sentence
B. Comma-splice
Why does this sentence sound unnatural?
The author, trying to explain the reasons for the failure and making reference to prior data, argues that the method was flawed.
It chains several clauses into one long sentence, a pattern common in Spanish/Catalan. English need clearer breaks between ideas. (The author argues that the method was flawed. He supports this with prior data.)
Explain the ambiguity of the sentence:
After Carla helped her friend, she thanked her.
“She” and “her friend” are ambiguous because they could refer to either Carla or her friend.
Choose the option that corrects the following sentence:
Having finished applications, the celebration began.
A. Having finished applications, it was time to begin the celebrations
B. Having finished applications, Hugo began the celebration.
C. No error
B
Which sentence uses correct parallel structure?
A. He enjoys to read more than writing.
B. He enjoys reading more than to write.
C. He enjoys reading more than writing.
D. He enjoys to reading more than writing.
C. He enjoys reading more than writing.
Choose the best version (multiple choice)
A. The movie was long I enjoyed every minute.
B. The movie was long, I enjoyed every minute.
C. The movie was long, but I enjoyed every minute.
C
Which of the following sentences uses the correct idiomatic expression
A. This idea doesn’t have sense.
B. This idea doesn’t make sense.
C. This idea doesn’t do sense.
B. This idea doesn't make sense.
Choose the version which removes the ambiguity?
Alex texted Jordan while they were driving.
A. Alex texted Jordan while Jordan was driving.
B. While Alex was driving, Alex texted Jordan.
C. Alex texted Jordan while the two were driving.
C, it shows that both of them are driving.
Which of the following sentences correctly uses a modifier to avoid ambiguity?
A. Running to catch the bus, the rain started pouring down.
B. The student handind in a paper poorly written.
C. She almost spent $100 on a pair of shoes.
D. Covered in dust, the old book was found on the shelf.
C
The paragraph below contains two errors in parallel structure involving comparisons. Rewrite it correctly.
Paragraph:
Maria realized that she spent more time planning her trip than to book the flights. She decided that researching hotels was less important than to compare prices from different airlines.
Maria realized that she spent more time planning her trip than booking the flights. She decided that researching hotels was less important than comparing prices from different airlines.
Fix the paragraph errors:
on tuesday we celebrated Jane’s birthday it was so exciting our group came over, we played games we ate cake it was red velvet my favourite, we stayed up late we had the best time ever.
On Tuesday we celebrated Jane’s birthday. It was so exciting since our group came over. We played games and we ate cake. The cake was red velvet, which is my favourite. We stayed up late and had the best time ever.
Correct the errors in this text:
The realization of the failure was made by the student, trying to explain the reasons and making reference to the mistake. Is possible that the explanation does not have sense because he was constipated. He clearly forgot to put the homework in his carpet.
The student realized the failure. He tried to explain the reasons and referred to the mistake. It is possible that the explanation does not make sense because he was sick. He clearly forgot to put the homework in his folder.
Fix the pronoun errors in this paragraph:
Jordan emailed Alex saying they would submit the assignment tomorrow. This worried them because they hadn’t reviewed it yet.
Jordan emailed Alex saying Jordan would submit the assignment tomorrow. This worried Alex because Alex hadn’t reviewed the assignment yet.
Pick the correct location for the modifier: "eating banana pancakes"
A. The couple ____ watched the rain falling from the sky.
B. The couple watched the rain ____ falling from the sky.
C. The couple watched the train falling from the sky ____ .
A