Sentence Correction
Errors of Possesive Pronoun Agreement
Check if possesive pronouns agree in person and number.
INCORRECT: If anyone calls, take their name.
CORRECT: If anyone calls, take his name.
INCORRECT: Those of us who care should write to their congressman.
CORRECT: Those of us who care should write to our congressman.
INCORRECT: Some of you will have to come in their own cars.
CORRECT: Some of you [...]
Errors in Question Word Connectors
When a question word such as when or what is used as a connector, the clause that follows is not a question. Do not use interrogative form.
INCORRECT: Do you know when does the movie start?
CORRECT: Do you know when the movie starts?
INCORRECT: I don’t know what is his name.
CORRECT: [...]
The reason is because …
It is incorrect to say: The reason is because…. Use: The reason is that…
INCORRECT: The reason he was rejected was beause he was too young.
CORRECT: The reason he was rejected was that he was too young.
OR
He was rejected because he was too young.
Error of Possessive Pronoun Agreement
Check if possessif pronouns agree in person and in number.
INCORRECT: If anyone calls, take their name.
CORRECT: If anyone calls, take his name.
Error with WHO and WHOM 2
There was a discussion as to who/whom was better suited.
Try substituting she/her:
she was better suited / her was better suited.
Here the pronoun is the subject of the verb suited:
CORRECT: There was a discussion as to who was better suited.
Error with WHO and WHOM
When in doubt about the correctness of WHO/WHOM, try substituting the subject/object of a simpler pronoun to clarify the meaning:
I don’t know who/whom Sarah meant.
Try substituting he/him; then rearrange the clause in its proper order:
he/him Sarah meant / Sarah meant him.
Now it is clear that the pronoun is the object of the verb meant, so [...]
Error in Pronoun Subject-Object
Check if a pronoun is the SUBJECT or the OBJECT of a verb or preposition.
INCORRECT: All of us–Fred, Jane, Alice, and me–were late.
CORRECT: All of us–Fred, Jand, Alice, and I–were late.
INCORRECT: How could she blame you and he for the accident?
CORRECT: How could she blame you and him for the accident?
Error in Negative Imperatives
Note the two forms for negative imperatives:
A. Please don’t do that.
B. Would you please not do that.
INCORRECT: Would you please don’t smoke here.
CORRECT: Please don’t smoke here.
[...]
Error in Conditional Sentences 2
The verb to be will ALWAYS appear as were in present conditonal:
INCORRECT: If I was you, I wouldn’t do that.
CORRECT: If I were you, I wouldn’t do that.
Error in Conditional Sentences
In conditional sentences, the word if will NEVER be followed by the words will or would.
INCORRECT: If I would have known, I wouldn’t have gone.
CORRECT: If I had known, I wouldn’t have gone.
