Sentence Correction Flashcards
[Cousins]
Economic VS Economical
- Refers to the economy. Economic determinant = business factors.
- frugal/cost-efficient
[Cousin]
Aggravate VS Aggravating
- Worsen
2. Irritating
[Cousin]
Known As VS Known To Be
- Named
2. Acknowledged as
[Cousin]
Loss of VS Loss in
- No longer in possession of
2. Decline in value
[Cousin]
Mandate VS Have a mandate
- Command
2. Have authority from voters
[Cousin]
Native of VS Native to
- Person from
2. Species that originated in
[Cousin]
Range of VS Ranging
- Variety of
2. Varying
[Cousin]
Rate of VS Rate for
- Speed/frequency of
2. Prices for
[Cousin]
Rise VS Raise
- General increase
2. Bet or salary increase (American)
[Cousin]
Try to do VS Try doing
- Seek to accomplish
2. Experiment with
[Cousin]
Should VS Must
- Morally obligated
2. Absolutely necessary
Compare an adverb that ends in -ly by changing the ending to -er.
EX: quickly –> quicker
T/F
False.
use MORE instead.
Adrian runs quickly. He runs more quickly than John.
Some adverbs that do not end in -ly can be made into comparatives by adding -er
T/F
True.
Adrian runs fast. He runs faster than John.
Do NOT use a comparative adj unless you have a THAN in the sentence.
T/F
True. The comparison must be made explicitly.
Wrong: With winter coming, I will have HIGHER energy bills.
RIGHT: I will have HIGHER bills THAN last year.
When to use LIKE?
When to use AS? (what’s the exception for AS?)
LIKE to compare nouns
Like Mary, John likes to dance
AS to compare clause
As Mary does, John likes to dance
Exception –> preposition | As Mary, John went dancing.
Clause. Define.
subject + working verb
Every correct sentence must have at least one ________
independent clause.
Dependent Clause. Define.
Contains a verb, but cannot stand alone as a sentence.
What do MODIFIERS do?
provides additional information in a sentence beyond the core subject & verb.
Essential Modifiers. Define.
When removed from sentence, the sentence’s meaning is compromised.
Non-Essential Modifiers. Define.
When removed from sentence, the meaning still makes sense. Marked by comma’s.
Sentence Core. Define.
Bare minimum needed to have a coherent sentence.
Consists of any independent clause along with some essential modifiers.
Conjunction
Words that helps stick parts of sentences together.
Coordinating Conjunction. What’s the acronym, and what does each letter stand for?
FANBOYS
For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So
Subordinating Conjunction. Define. List 8 Examples.
Connects modifiers to independent clauses.
Although, Because, While, Though, Unless, Before, After, If.
3 Types of Meaning Errors
- Choose your words
- Place your words
- Match your words
4 considerations when facing Choose-Your-Words error
- Is the right word used?
- If word has multiple meaning, is the right one used?
- Wrong “cousin”?
- Helping verb
Helping verb - Rule of Thumb
Only change them if the original sentence is obviously nonsensical
Helping Verbs. List.
be (including am, is, are, was, were, been) have, has had do, does, did can could may might will would shall should must ought to
2 considerations when facing Place-Your-Words meaning error
- If a word changes place, consider how the new placement changes the meaning of the sentence
- Overall word order
Match Your Word. Illustrate this with an example
Unlike Alaska, the temperature in Florida is always high.
Wrong because Alaska does not compare to Florida’s temperature.
2 Common Redundancy Traps
- Expression of time | Last night, I did something terrible a day ago.
- Transition words, contrast words | Although… yet –> redundant
The two rules when it comes to pronoun and its antecedent
- The antecedent must exist & be sensible
2. The antecedent & pronoun must agree in number
What are the Deadly Five pronouns?
It, Its, They, Them, Their
What are the pronouns “that” and “those” used for? What are the rules?
“that” & “those” are used to make new copies of the existing noun.
- Must be qualified to described the difference
- Must still agree in numbers
Describe the rules & usage of “this” and “these”
Can be used as adj. in front of nouns.
RIGHT: more money granted this gov power
NEVER used in place of nouns
WRONG: This is great
If a sentence uses the same pronoun multiple times, what does that imply about all those pronouns?
They must all refer to the same antecedent.
is LESS countable?
NO
is “money” countable?
NO
[Cousin]
increase & decrease VS greater & less.
When to use which?
increase & decrease | change of ONE thing OVER TIME
greater & less | comparison between TWO things
[Cousin]
Among VS Between
- only TWO things or people
2. 3 or MORE
[Cousin]
Like VS Such as
- used to say something (noun) is similar to something else
2. indicates a list of examples. blah blah such as blah, blah, blah and blah.
[Idiom]
What are the two legal forms of using the word “endure”? When to use each?
- Endure - Mary Endured MAx
2. Endured for - The placed endured for 4000 years
What are the two different conditions to use PAST PERFECT?
- Sentence must contain a verb in the simple past tense
2. Sentence contains a time marker that occurred in the past but later than the past perfect action.
What is PRESENT PERFECT used for?
Used for actions that started in the past but continue into the present, or remain true in the present.
Indicates either continued action or continued effect of a complete action up to the present
[TYPICAL Sequence of Verbs]
Present + ?
Present + Future
The scientist BELIEVES that the machine WILL BE wonderful
[TYPICAL Sequence of Verbs]
Past + ?
Past + Conditional
The scientist BELIEVED that the machine WOULD BE wonderful
[Idiom]
At the same time _______
AS
At the same time AS
When to use “That”?
When we are introducing a new clause
The big bang theory holds that the universe was created by a huge explosion
The words “ever since” implies which kind of tense that needs to be used?
Present Perfect!
When you see “By 1978”, what verb tense does that imply?
Past Perfect! Something occurred and held true by the time 1987 (time market)
“Whether” OR “Whether or not”?
Just “Whether”!
“Whether or not” is actually redundant.
