Comma Splices and Fused Sentences (Handbook, Ch 36-37) Comma splice – when two independent clauses (or complete sentences) are joined only by a comma. Fused or run-on sentence – when two independent clauses (or complete sentences) have no punctuation. Dependent clause or fragment – contains a subject and verb but does not complete a thought. Dependent clause marker words include although, when, as if, because, before, even if, even though, if, in order to, since, though, unless, until, when, whenever, whether, while Identify the comma splices, run-on sentences, and/or sentence fragments. 1. He enjoyed his history class, it was the best class of his semester.
2. Her father bought her a new car for Christmas.
3. Even though he never believed it was his fault.
4. Jim tried fishing with spinner bait he finally managed a nibble or two.
5. Although he always claimed to be an environmentally friendly person.
6. While you may wonder about its usefulness, you will be glad you took typing. 7. The phone rang at least ten times my dad didn’t even pay any attention to it.
8. You should definitely listen to the Tragically Hip, they are a great band. 2
9. Unless you can make the commitment, don’t bother picking up a guitar. 10. My uncle told me not to play baseball he played all the time when he was young.
11. Alcoholism is considered a disease, but many people think it’s just weak willpower.
12. Because he told us we would regret it if we followed through with our scheme.
13. Pink Floyd is a great name for a band, they were a great band as well. 14. Earl Scruggs didn’t invent three-finger banjo picking. Commonly Confused Words, Apostrophes, Quotation Marks, Italics
(Handbook, Ch 47, 48, 52) Commonly Confused Words:
Accept/Except
There/Their/They’re
Conscience/conscious
Its/It’s
Passed/Past
Than/Then
To/Too/Two
Where/were

Plurals and Apostrophes Plural means more than one, and no apostrophe is needed.
There are at least 50 Smiths at this family reunion.
Move all the tables into the middle of the room.
The Soldiers always seemed to be confused about using correct grammar. An apostrophe is required to demonstrate possession.
John Smith’s hammer lasted for more than 25 years.
The Soldier’s confusion vanished once he took Dr. Hazell’s English class. When the noun is both plural and possessive, place the possessive apostrophe after the S.
The Smiths’ belongings were all lost in the hurricane.
The Soldiers’ confusion vanished after they took the English class. Possessive pronouns (yours, ours) need no apostrophe An apostrophe is also used in contractions, to show where the place of the missing letters:
Cannot: Can’t
Could’ve: Could have
Should not: Shouldn’t Quotation Marks: The most straightforward way to incorporate direct quotations is to read/write your sentence as though you are not quoting. For example, the
CTC Ft. Hood Campus Course Offerings states the following: “It is mandatory to contact the Business Office if you added or dropped a class by phone, on-line, or in person.” 4 You can write: The Course Offerings packet at CTC Ft. Hood says a person must “contact the Business Office if you added or dropped a class by phone, on-line, or in person.”
Or: The CTC Ft. Hood enrollment rules state that you have to contact the Business Office “if you added or dropped a class by phone, on-line, or in person.” Another option is to use a colon, as I did above. Quotation Marks and Italics: All titles belong either in quotation marks or italics – every time you write them. Here is the best guideline for knowing which to use: Bigger things in italics, smaller things in quotation marks: 1. Book (bigger thing): A History of the American Nation
Chapter in a book (smaller thing): “The Road to Revolution” 2. Newspaper or magazine (bigger thing): The Washington Post
Article in a newspaper/magazine (smaller thing): “Obama Plan Gets
Praise, Criticism” 3.CD (bigger thing): The Tragically Hip’s Now for Plan A
Song on a CD (smaller thing): “The Modern Spirit” The Tragically Hip recently released the single “The Modern Spirit” from their new CD, Now for Plan A. Commas (Handbook, Ch. 44) There are approximately 7 bazillion rules for correct comma use. They can be very confusing. However, the following six will get you through the majority of what you write. 1. Commas connect items in a series:
My favorite novels are Donald Harington’s With, William Faulkner’s As
I Lay Dying, and Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. 2. Commas belong after an introductory element:
However, my list of novels includes only American literature.
In fact, I have read fewer than a dozen European novels.
Before I begin any novel, I read about it on literature.org 3. Similarly, commas separate clauses:
(Dependent/Independent): Although he hated to miss the movie, Bill stayed home to read Huckleberry Finn.
(Independent/Dependent): Bill stayed home to read Huckleberry Finn, even though he hated to miss the movie.
(Independent/Independent): He hated to miss the movie, but Bill stayed home to read Huckleberry Finn.

Incorrect: Although, he hated to miss the movie….

In general, a comma belongs before and after however, but only before although. The point is to place a comma where the reader is supposed to pause. As a general rule, however, people like watching movies more than reading books.
Reading a book is okay, although I’d rather watch a movie. 4. Commas separate cities and states:
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Dead Man’s Gulch, Arizona 5. Commas separate days from years:
The Battle of Antietam was fought on September 17, 1862.
I was born in Sherman, Texas on March 3, 1964. 6. Commas set off appositive phrases:
David Letterman, the long-time host of Late Night, is a lot nicer to his guests than he used to be.
(Notice how you can remove the appositive phrase and the sentence is still fine.)
The sad fact is that most Americans, who love simple answers to complex questions, will blame the President for a bad economy or almost anything else they don’t like. The Dreaded, Basically-Never-Needed, I’m-Going-Go-Over-It-Anyway,
But To-Be-on-the-Safe-Side-Just-Don’t-Use-it, Semicolon.
(Handbook, Ch. 45 and I’m telling you that but don’t look it up) This guideline will get you through the vast majority of semicolon questions: Replace the semicolon with comma and. 1. We won the final game in double overtime, it seemed as though; the entire town came to the celebration.
2. We won the final game in double overtime, it seemed; as though the entire town came to the celebration.
3. We won the final game in double overtime; it seemed as though the entire town came to the celebration.
4. We won the final game in double overtime, it seemed as though the entire town; came to the celebration. 1. George and Martha are determined to do well on this test, they plan; to study four hours a day for a week.
2 George and Martha are determined; to do well on this test; they plan to study four hours a day for a week.
3. George and Martha are determined to do well on this test; they plan to study; four hours a day for a week.
4. George and Martha are determined to do well on this test; they plan to study four hours a day for a week. 1. I passed the news along to Bill; the chair of the department, Janine; the Dean of the Arts and Humanities, and Captain Franklin; the Director of the Soldier Development Center.
2. I passed the news along to Bill, the chair of the department; Janine, the Dean of the Arts and Humanities; and Captain Franklin, the Director of the Soldier Development Center.
3. I passed the news along to Bill, the chair of the department, Janine, the Dean of the Arts and Humanities; and Captain Franklin, the Director of the Soldier Development Center.
4. None of these sentences use semicolons correctly 1. I made a C on my paper; although I studied both my notes and the textbook. 2. I made a C on my paper, although; I studied both my notes and the textbook. 3. I made a C on my paper; although; I studied both my notes and the textbook. 4. None of these sentences use semicolons correctly A semicolon is incorrect when used with a dependent clause marker word – although, while, even though, unless, etc.

Subject-Verb Agreement (Handbook, Ch. 31)
1. One of his biggest strengths (is, are) his ability to handle pressure.
2. Everyone on the teams (contribute/contributes) to the outcome of the games. 3. There are many factors that (cause/causes) a person to be morbidly obese. 4. Both natural ability and hard work (lead/leads) to developing a proficiency. 5. An entire group of discarded puppets (was/were) hidden away in the basement. 6. Either of the hosts (do/does) a great job of entertaining the guests.
7. Commas, semicolons, and colons, which have confused students for decades, (is/are) very difficult to explain.
8. A banana, grape, orange, apple, pear, or papaya (need/needs) no additional sugar.
9. Neither the point guard nor the assistant coach (know/knows) the best way to beat a full-court press.
10. Someone who (want/wants) to become a writer must practice regularly. Confusing Shifts and Parallelism (Handbook, Ch. 34, 35) 1. Bill thinks that what Marcie told him that day was a lie, and he also believed he should have told her so. 2. I asked the boys to tell me when they left for school, why they took
John’s car, and what they were planning on doing when they got there. 3. Clark's exercises include running, swimming, and to lift weights. 4. Alejandro started practicing guitar for five hours a day when he was in high school, and then by the age of 18, he becomes lead guitarist for the band. 5. Jim not only likes working outside but also to get dirty. 6. Jim ran across the yard, jumped the fence, and down the alley he sprinted. 7. She told Jake to take out the trash, to mow the lawn, and be listening for the phone call. 8. In English class, Tamika reviewed grammar for what seemed like a decade, and she also was studying way too much about topic sentences. 9. He wanted three things out of the training course: to master necessary skills, learning about some of the other teachers’ methods, and to meet some new colleagues. 10. All CTC students must pass English 1301 to get a degree, and if you want to get a four-year degree, you have to pass English 1302. 11. Miguel trained six days a week for almost a year, but the marathon had not yet been run. 11 Misplaced Modifiers (Handbook, Ch. 38)
Modifiers simply provide information or description.
Example: A class
Modifier: A class on religion Example: The professor never taught us anything.
Modifier: The professor, who was arrogant, misinformed, and often drunk, never taught us anything. Confusion arises when we put modifiers in the wrong place – when we misplace them. Example: Arrogant, misinformed, and often drunk, we never learned anything from the professor. Guideline: Place the modifier close to the term it modifies 1. Swimming in gravy, Maurice gave the pork chop to his dog.
2. Maurice gave the pork chop, swimming in gravy, to his dog.
3. Maurice gave the pork chop to his dog, swimming in gravy. 1. Hoping to stay high, the doctor listened to the patient request more
Vicodin.
2. The doctor – hoping to stay high – listened to the patient request more
Vicodin.
3. The doctor listened to the patient – who was hoping to stay high – request more Vicodin.

Pronouns (Handbook, Ch. 32)
The main problems with pronouns are agreement, referent, and case.
Agreement Problem: A person needs to see their dentist twice a year.
Referent Problem: Martin told Calvin that he was wrong.
Case Problem: Jimmy and me went to the movie. No one makes better “brownies” than (he/him). Frank and (me/I) plan to go to New Orleans in the spring. Dad loaned his .38 Special to my brother and (me/I/myself). (Us/We) and some other members of the squad signed up for an extension. Although he won his last four games, he still did not win as many as
(she/her).

My uncle said to Billy that he was mistaken.
My uncle said, “Billy, you are mistaken.” It states in the encyclopedia that Piedmont blues is a separate style.
The encyclopedia states that Piedmont Blues is a separate style. I stood in the store staring at the flat screen and the plasma screen, even though I didn’t have the money to buy it.
I stood in the store staring at the flat screen and the plasma screen, even though I didn’t have the money to buy either one. At Central Campus, it was boring to sit through orientation and enrollment, which was almost unbearable.
At Central Campus, we sat through orientation and enrollment, both of which were boring. In Canada, they get out of the left lane when they are not passing.
Canadians get out of the left lane when they are not passing. I am not sure whether Bobby or Greg left (his/their) suitcase in the rain. Every husband must be sure to remember (his/their) wedding anniversary. Nobody should come to class without (his or her/their) homework completed. Both Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton will be remembered by fans for
(his/his or her/their) performance in the World Series. All of the women who took that class received an A for (her/their) work. The fact that CTC cares about (its/their) students is obvious.