COMMON CONCERNS IN ENGLISH

KRISTINE GLORY DEL ROSARIO-MENDILLO, RN

FUSED SENTENCES

• THERE IS A FUSED SENTENCE WHEN TWO SENTENCES OR INDEPENDENT CLAUSES ARE PLACED TOGETHER IN ONE SENTENCE WITH NO SEPARATING PUNCTUATION

EX: I HEARD THE CLOCK STRIKE THREE THIS MEANS THAT I HAVE BEEN AWAKE FOR TWENTY HOURS.

THE BOOKS FOR SCHOOL ARE THICK AND HEAVY THEY ARE TOO EXPENSIVE.

RUN-ON SENTENCE

• IT CONTAINS AT LEAST TWO INDEPENDENT CLAUSES, BUT THE TWO INDEPENDENT CLAUSES HAVE NOT BEEN PROPERLY CONNECTED. WHEN THE TWO INDEPENDENT CLAUSES ARE CONNECTED ONLY BY A COMMA, THEY FORM A RUN ON SENTENCE CALLED COMMA SLICE.

RUN-ON SENTENCE

• EX: ITS GETTING DARK, I HAVE TO GO HOME WITH MACKY WHO BOUGHT AN APPLE CAKE FOR ME, EVEN THOUGH HER MOTHER ABHORS HIS FATHER.

• BILL WILL ASK BELINDA TO MARRY HIM, HE WILL BUY A RING TOMORROW

TO REPAIR RUN-ON SENTENCE

• REPLACE THE COMMA WITH THE APPROPRIATE PUNCTUATION MARK, FOR EXAMPLE A PERIOD OR SEMICOLON.

SENTENCE FRAGMENTS

• SENTENCE FRAGMENT IS NOT A SENTENCE BECAUSE IT CANNOT STAND ITSELF. IT DOES NOT CONTAIN A SINGLE INDEPENDENT CLAUSE. A GROUP OF WORDS MAY CONTAIN A SUBJECT AND A VERB BUT MAY NOT EXPRESS A COMPLETE THOUGHT.

• THE NUMBER OF WORDS IN A SENTENCE FRAGMENT MAY MISLEAD THE WRITER INTO THINKING THAT HE HAS WRITTEN A COMPLETE SENTENCE.

SENTENCE FRAGMENT

• EX: SOME OF THE STUDENTS ENROLLED IN THE ENGLISH CLASS THAT WAS DISSOLVED LAST SEMESTER

(THIS SENTENCE FRAGMENT DOES NOT SAY WHAT SOME OF THE STUDENTS DO OR ARE)

HOW TO REPAIR A SENTENCE FRAGMENT

• WHAT ARE SOME OF THE STUDENTS ENROLLED IN THE ENGLISH CLASS THAT WAS DISSOLVED LAST SEMESTER DOING OR BEING? (THEY ARE TAKING ANOTHER CLASS THIS SEMESTER)

• IDENTIFY THE VERB THAT WILL COMPLETE THE THOUGHT . THEN, ADD THE ANSWER TO THE SENTENCE FRAGMENT

DOUBLE NEGATIVES

• SOME PEOPLE ERRONEOUSLY USE TWO NEGATIVE WORDS, A DOUBLE NEGATIVE, IN ONE SENTENCE WHEN ONLY ONE NECESSARY TO EXPRESS THAT THEY ARE DENYING SOMETHING OR SAYING NO.

• EX: PATRICIA NEVER GAVE ME NO MONEY

• CARLOS DID NOT GIVE HIS DAUGHTER NOTHING

HOW REPAIR DOUBLE NEGATIVE

• PATRICIA NEVER GAVE ME ANY MONEY ( OR, PATRICIA GAVE ME NO MONEY.)

• CARLOS DID NOT GIVE HIS DAUGHTER ANYTHING. (CARLOS GAVE HIS DAUGHTER NOTHING)

• TO REMOVE ONE OF THE NEGATIVE WORDS AND, IF NECESSARY, REPLACE IT WITH THE APPROPRIATE WORD.

HAVE A BREAK

• A LINGUISTICS PROFESSOR WAS LECTURING TO HIS CLASS ONE DAY. “IN ENGLISH,” HE SAID, “A DOUBLE NEGATIVE FORMS A POSITIVE. IN SOME LANGUAGES, THOUGH, SUCH AS RUSSIAN, A DOUBLE NEGATIVE IS STILL A NEGATIVE. HOWEVER, THERE IS NO LANGUAGE WHERE A DOUBLE POSITIVE CAN FORM A NEGATIVE.”:

• A VOICE FROM THE BACK OF THE ROOM CALLED OUT: “YEAH, RIGHT.”

HAVE A BREAK

• AN ENGLISH TEACHER WROTE, “WOMAN WITHOUT HER MAN IS NOTHING” ON THE BLACKBOARD AND INSTRUCTED TWO OF HIS STUDENTS TO PUNCTUATE IT CORRECTLY.

• THE MALE STUDENT WROTE: “WOMAN, WITHOUT HER MAN, IS NOTHING.”

• FEMALE STUDENT WROTE: “WOMAN! WITHOUT HER, MAN IS NOTHING!”

HAVE A QUIZ

FUSED SENTECES. REPAIR IT BY USING THE PROPER PUNCTUATION

1. I HEARD THE CLOCK STRIKE THREE THIS MEANS THAT I HAVE BEEN AWAKE FOR TWENTY-FOUR HOURS.

2. THE BOOKS FOR SCHOOL ARE THICK AND HEAVY THEY ARE TOO EXPENSIVE.

HAVE A QUIZ

3. ITS GETTING DARK, I HAVE TO GO HOME, MY MOTHER IS WAITING FOR ME,

4. MARCO ELIZARDO WILL ASK SELENA VENICE TO MARRY HIM, HE WILL BUY AN ENGAGEMENT RING TOMORROW;

5. I’M HUNGRY, I HAVE TO GO AT THE BAKESHOP, FURTHERMORE; I REALLY REALLY LOVE COOKIES!

HAVE A QUIZ

• 6. KRISTY NEVER GAVE ME NO MONEY

• 7. CARLOS DID NOT GIVE HIS DAUGHTER NOTHING

• 8. I LOVE YOU BUT I HATE YOU.

• 9. ENGLISH IS MY FAVOURITE SUBJECT EVEN THOUGH I DIDN’T UNDERSTAND IT VERY WELL

• 10. SHE IS PREGNANT IT MEANS THAT SHE HAD A HUMAN CHORIONIC GONADOTROPIN HORMONE

THE END

• ENGLISH IS FUN!

• THIS IS THE DOG THAT BIT THE GIRL WHO ATE THE CAKE THAT WAS BAKED BY MARIE WHO LIVES IN THE HOUSE THAT WAS BUILT BY ERNEST WHO BOUGHT THE RING THAT SUSAN SAW IN THE JEWERLY STORE THAT IS OWNED BY MRS. ESTANISLAO WHO HATES LISTENING TO THE RADIO BECAUSE IT REMINDS HER OF MR. JONES WHO DIED IN THE WAR THAT WAS STARTED BY THE GERMANS…..