Common Grammatical Mistakes

Common Grammatical Mistakes — page 1 — Published by Creative Education P O Box 227 Mankato Minnesota 56002 Creative Education is an imprint of The Creative Company www thecreativecompany us Design and production by Liddy Walseth Art direction by Rita Marshall Printed by Corporate Graphics in the United States of America Photographs by Getty Images Thomas Barwick Alistair Berg Burazin Christian Kober Cyril Laubscher MoMo Productions Steve Morenos Newspix Magnus Ragnvid Andy Ryan Joel Sartore Kim Taylor Art Wolfe iStockphoto Jill Battaglia by_nicholas Michael Cogliantry Matthew Dixon FotoVoyager Lisa Gagne Eric Isselée Valerii Kaliuzhnyi Natasha Litova Narvikk Sadeugra Natalia Sinjushina Ramona Smiers Prapass Wahnapinij Copyright 2012 Creative Education International copyright reserved in all countries No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data for the hardcover edition Riggs Ann Common grammatical mistakes by Ann Riggs p cm Understanding grammar Includes bibliographical references and index Summary An examination of the rules behind English grammar focusing on the most common mistakes made by writers including dangling participles run-on sentences and misused words and how to ﬁx them ISBN 978-1-60818-092-9 hardcover ISBN 978-1-56660-056-9 eBook 1 English language Errors of usage 2 English language Grammar I Title II Series PE1460 R523 2010 428 dc22 2010028300 CPSIA 110310 PO1386 First Edition 246897531

Common Grammatical Mistakes — page 2 — TABLE of CONTENTS 4 INTRODUCTION CHAPTERS Hanging on for Dear Life Too Little Too Much or Just Right Only if You Mean It The Case in Question Making Wise Choices 6 14 22 30 38 12 20 28 36 44 46 47 48 BUILD YOUR OWN SENTENCE ACTIVITIES Having Second Thoughts Picking Up the Pieces Cutting It in Half Pointing in the Right Direction Knowing the Difference SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY G L O S S A RY INDEX

Common Grammatical Mistakes — page 3 — Music swells Siblings squabble Owls hoot I am Grammar is And just like that two words can become a SENTENCE The information in a short sentence can be expanded by adding more words that give vivid descriptions or speciﬁc reactions Where should those words be placed How does a writer know what PUNCTUATION to use What does all of that mean anyway Words fall into place more easily when one has an understanding of grammar a system of rules that gives writers the foun dation for producing acceptable formal expression It is that acceptable form that appropriate grammar which helps readers comprehend what has been written The whole point of understanding grammar is to gain the knowledge of how to write correctly and then apply it to your work Writers write readers read Believe it or not correct usage may keep writers from making embarrassing mistakes Learning the lessons of acceptable usage will not only improve your writing but it will also lead you to a better understanding of the structure behind it a system known as STANDARD WRITTEN ENGLISH SWE SWE has been agreed upon by most publishers colleges and standardized test 4

Common Grammatical Mistakes — page 4 — developers to be the most correct and the most understandable form of written English No matter what part of North America one may call home we all can take comfort in having a common system of written grammar and expression thanks to SWE Regardless of how a person’s speech sounds despite regional or social dif ferences in dialect the rules are the same While dialect makes a native of Boston Massachusetts’s speech sound different from that of a native of Dallas Texas their formal written English should look the same Grammar provides the backbone of language and learning it is a signiﬁcant part of acquir ing any language from French and Span ish to Mandarin and Hindi Because correct expression is fundamental to communication classes in grammar and composition have been taught since the Middle Ages That means that for the past 500 to 1,500 years teachers have been trying to impress upon their students the importance of correct grammatical expression 5

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