Basic Writing Skills, Enla 202 1

UNIT ONE

WRITING SENTENCES

What Is a Sentence?

A sentence is a complete set of words that conveys meaning. A sentence can communicate

 A statement (I am studying.)
 A command (Go away.)
 An exclamation (I am so excited!)
 A question (What time is it?)
 A sentence is composed of one or more clauses.

A clause contains a subject and verb.

TYPES OF SENTENCES: Based on its structure

According to structures and forms, there are four types of sentences:

 Simple
 Compound
 Complex
 Complex-Compound

Simple sentences

Have one subject and one predicate. It contains one independent clause.

Study the following examples:

Abdi played football.

My friend completed and turned in his homework.
Johnny rode his bike to school.
Who is your best friend?
She ate her lunch, took a walk, and went back to work
Nafyad and Mertu hurried across the street.
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Compound Sentences

A compound sentence contains two independent clauses. A coordinating conjunction (for,

and, nor, but, or, yet, so) often links the two independent clauses and is preceded by a
comma.

Study the following examples:

She wanted to go on vacation, so she saved up her money.

I like apples, but my sister loves bananas.

Tim loves to read, and he loves to hike.

They spoke to him in Spanish, but he responded in English.

Complex Sentences

A complex sentence contains one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses. A
complex sentence will include at least one subordinating conjunction. Some of the
subordinating conjunctions we use here are subordinator (as, because, since, after, although,
when) or relative pronouns (who, that, which).

Study the examples below:

After eating lunch at Hamarti Hotel, Tim went to the gym to exercise.

As John was arriving to work, he realized he forgot his lunch.

While I enjoy classical music, I prefer rock and roll because I play the drums.

Compound-Complex Sentences

A compound-complex sentence combines complex sentence and compound sentence forms.

A compound-complex sentence contains one or more independent clauses and one or more
dependent clauses.

Study the examples below:

The man believed in the system, and he knew that justice would prevail after the
murderer was sent to jail.

Although she felt guilty for missing her friend’s birthday, she took her out to dinner the
next day, and they had a great time.
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I try to eat healthy food, but because fast food is so convenient, I cannot maintain a
healthy diet.

If he got the job, he would have to commute 50 miles to work, so he decided the job was
not worth it.

Activity-1

Identify whether the sentences are simple, complex, compound or compound-complex.

1. Vampires Dairies is my favorite television show, but I also love True Blood.
2. The student wiped the white board that was filthy with last week’s notes.
3. Trina and Hareem went to a bar in Hollywood to celebrate their anniversary.
4. While waiting for the paint to dry, Angela went to Home Depot, and Martin organized
the kitchen appliances.
5. After listening to the Kanye West CD, I have new respect for his music.
6. After the teacher chose groups, John and Sara were selected as partners for a project,
yet Sarah did most of the work.

7. He went to Paris last September.

8. Girma likes Ethiopian food, but Markos likes Indian food.
9. Indian food is delicious; however, some people think it is too spicy.
10. Before he left for school, he put all his books into his rucksack.
11. The student who won the scholarship is sitting in the front row.
12. I decided to play football and swim in the pool even though it rains.

TYPES OF SENTENCES: According to its functions

 Declarative (Statement)
 Interrogative (question)
 Imperative (command)
 Exclamatory (exclamation)

Declarative Sentences- state an idea or it tells us something. They end with a period.

Example: Hanna likes music.

I don’t like coffee.

We watched TV last night.

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Interrogative sentences- asks a question. They end with a question mark.

Examples:

Does Hanna like Music?

Why didn’t you go?

Don’t you like coffee?

Imperative sentences- gives orders, directions, and so end with a period or an exclamation
marks.

Examples:

Sit down and listen!

Do not stop!

Give her a coffee.

Don’t give her a coffee.

Close the door.

Fasten your seatbelts when the sign is illuminated.

Exclamatory sentences – they show strong emotions. They end with an exclamation mark

Example:

What a mess this room is!

The cake is ruined!

What a funny story he told us!

What an exciting movie it was!

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Faulty Sentences (Common Errors)

This section discusses how to spot and correct common errors while writing a sentence. To
avoid faults in sentence construction, we need to look into five major areas of common
errors:
 Subject-Verb Agreement
 Fragment
 Run-on Sentence
 Parallelism
 Dangling modifiers.
Subject-Verb-Agreement
When the subject (the person or thing) matches the verb in number (singular or plural), we
say the subject and verb are in agreement. However, there are cases when subject and verb do
not agree with each other in number. Here, we are going to see such grammatical
constructions that cause errors in subject-verb agreement. See how many agreement errors
you can spot in the following activity.
Activity: 1
Are the following sentences grammatically correct? What kind of errors do you notice in
them? How can you repair them?
1. The cat sit on the mat.
2. The cats sits on the mat.
3. The cat and the dog sits on the mat.
4. The climate in both places are mild.
5. Slow and steady win the race.
6. The horse and carriage are at the door.
7. One and one equal two.
8. Cookies and cream are my favorite flavour.
9. Either of the two boys have done this.
10. Neither of the statements are true.
11. Each of these boys are guilty.
12. One of the many galaxies were proven to be near a black hole.
13. A group of senators were calling for an investigation.
14. Everyone who saw his dead body were moved.
15. Everybody want food.
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16. Anybody with a will to work are welcome.

17. Nobody are willing to help me.
18. Each student have chosen a subject for his report.
19. Somebody have left his purse.
20. No one like to be criticised.
21. Every boy and girl have to participate.
22. He as well as his friends were present.
23. The garden in addition to all these houses are in my possession.
24. He along with his brothers are coming today.
25. Either fans or an air-conditioner are necessary.
26. Either an air-conditioner or fans is necessary.
27. Neither Mary nor her sons is honest.
28. Neither her sons nor Mary know what happened.
29. Not only you but also your friend have come.
30. Half of it are useful.
31. Half of them is rotten
32. Some of the sugar were spilled on the floor.
33. Some of the apples was spilled on the floor.
34. A great deal of time have been lost.

HINTS:
Rule 1:
The simple rule is: the verb 'agrees with' the subject.
 Singular subject, singular verb: The cat sits on the mat.
 Plural subject, plural verb: The cats sit on the mat.
 Two singular subjects, plural verb: The cat and the dog sit on the mat.
Rule 2:
A phrase or clause, which separates the subject and the verb, must still agree with the subject.
For example in sentence 4 above Climate is the subject, not places.
Therefore the sentence should have ‘is’.
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Rule 3:
If the two nouns are combined to form the same or single item, the verb must be in the
Singular. Thus, the correct forms of verbs in sentences 5, 6, 7, and 8 will be wins, is, equals,
and is respectively.
Rule 4: The verb comes in singular form
• if a plural subject is preceded by (either of, neither of, each of, one of a group of). Thus
the correct forms of verbs in 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 should be has, is, is, was, and was
respectively.
• if the subject is indefinite pronoun such as everyone, everybody, anybody, nobody, each,
somebody, and no one. Thus the correct forms of verbs in 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20
should be was, wants, is, is, has, has and likes respectively.
• if the compound subject is modified by the words each or every. Thus the correct form of
verb in 21should be ‘has’.
Rule 5:
If there are two subjects connected with “as well as, in addition to, along with, etc.” the verb
agrees according to the number of the first subject. Thus the correct forms of verbs in 22, 23,
and 24, should be was, is, and is respectively.
Rule 6:
If a compound subject is joined by either…or, neither…..nor, and not only…but also, the
verb will agree with the second subject. Thus the correct forms of verbs in 25, 26, 27, 28, and
29 should be is, are, and are, knows, and has respectively.
Rule 7:
If the main subject is preceded by fraction entity, e.g. half of, two third of, most of, a quarter
of, lots of, a lot of, the rest of, a great deal of, some of, a number of the verb agrees with the
number of the subject (as an object of “ of ”). Thus the correct forms of verbs in 30, 31, 32,
33, 34, 35, and 36 should be is, are, was, were, has, are, and were respectively.

But English being English, there's nothing totally easy. 'Collective' nouns, for example –
singular nouns that mean a group of individual beings or items.
(A) The team is working on it. or (B) The team are working on it?
Technically A is right, but B has become acceptable, as what is really being said is (The
people in) the team are working on it.
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Company names suffer from the same problem. Technically, they are singular. Microsoft is
one of the largest companies in the world. But sometimes, when the massiveness or many-
facetedness of the company is being highlighted, writers drift into the plural.
Microsoft are trying to get involved in every aspect of computing.

Activity: 2
Select the correct verb in each sentence to complete the sentences given below. Identify
the agreement rule to insert the corresponding answer.
1. Every man, woman, and child _______ (was, were) taken from the village.
2. Neither the instructor nor the students _______ (want, wants) to do another water color.
3. Several in the audience _______ (was, were) beside themselves with anger at what the
speaker had said.
4. Forty percent of the trees _______ (was, were) scheduled for harvest.
5. The dean was displeased to learn that none of the foreign students _______ (is, are)
majoring in education or sociology.
6. For the third time this year, the committee ______ (is, are) going to consider increasing
the dues.
7. Beside the old gymnasium ______ (stands, stand) an elm, several maples, and a huge
Indian.
8. This reference book concludes with pages that _____ (contains, contain) lists of
American colleges and universities.
9. Whether we were great leaders or ordinary citizens really ______ (makes, make) little
difference later on.
10. Economics _____ (has, have) never been exactly my cup of tea.
11. During the trip macaroni and cheese -------- (was, were) the favorite meal for the two
drivers.
12. On the side ---- (is, are) political correspondents hoping for an interview.
13. A group of students ……… (was, were) blocking the road.
14. Albert and Harry, members of a racing team, …………. (drives, drive) across America.
15. The samples on the tray in the lab ……….. (need, needs) testing.
16. The Whale Shark, the largest of all sharks, ……….. (grow, grows) up to 38 feet long.
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Fragments
Fragments are incomplete sentences. Simply speaking, a fragment sentence lacks a subject
or verb or both or when a dependent clause (DC) is not properly connected to the
independent clause (IC).
Activity: 1

Are the following sentences grammatically correct? What kind of errors do you notice in them? How
can you repair them?

Fragments Correct Form

1. After Markos reached Harar. He went to
the Ras hotel.

2. I spent the evening visiting Jay. A friend

who was in the hospital.

3. I spent almost two hours on the phone

yesterday. Trying to find a garage to
repair my car.

4. I plan on working overtime. To get this job

finished. Otherwise, my boss may get
angry at me.

5. We went to the party expecting it to be a

crashing bore. And discovered, to our
surprise, that it was really fun.

6. The professor was interesting and very

well-informed. But gave demanding
assignments and rarely awarded high
grades.

7. Almost every guy loves sports. Especially

football.

8. Many college students experience stress.

For example, about money, grades, work,
and relationships.

HINTS:
There are mainly four types of fragments:
 DC-fragment,
 ing-fragment,
 to-fragment, and
 missing subject fragment, and added-detail fragment.
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DC-fragment

DC (dependent clause) fragment can be corrected by attaching it to the sentence that

comes before or after it.
 Use a comma if the DC comes at the beginning of a sentence. For example, in the
first sentence above "After Markos reached Harar" is a dependent clause as it gives
incomplete sense and leaves us clueless as to “what happened after Markos reached
Harar”. Unlike the first sentence, the second sentence shows fragment in the latter
part of the sentence in the form of. “A friend who was in the hospital”. Such a
fragment can also be corrected by attaching the DC with independent clause using
a comma. Thus, the correct forms of 1 and 2 should be
After Markos reached Harar, he went to the Ras hotel.
I spent the evening visiting Jay, a friend who was in the hospital.
“ing” fragment
“ing” fragment often lacks a subject and part of the verb. People sometimes write -ing
fragments because they think the subject in one sentence will work for the next word group as
well. Thus, they think the subject ‘I’ in the opening sentence will also serve as the subject for
"Trying to find a garage to repair my car". But the subject must actually be in the sentence.
To correct such fragments attach the fragment to the sentence that comes before or after it
using a comma. Thus, the correct form of the third sentence should be:
I spent two hours on the phone yesterday, trying to find a garage to repair my car.

To-fragments
To-fragments are caused for lack of subjects in a sentence as in the fourth sentence above.
To-fragments can be corrected by adding it to the preceding sentence. Thus the correct form
will be “I plan on working overtime to get this job finished.”
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Missing Subject Fragments

Missing Subject Fragments can be corrected in two ways:
Connect the fragment to the previous sentence, so that the subject of that sentence also
applies to the fragment.
Add a subject (which can often be a pronoun) to the fragment. The fifth sentence and the
sixth sentence above are the examples of missing subject fragment which can be corrected
in two ways:
In the above table, question # can be corrected as:
a) We went to the party expecting it to be a crashing bore and discovered, to our surprise,
that it was really fun.
b) We went to the party expecting it to be a crashing bore. We discovered, to our surprise,
that it was really fun.
Similarly, the sixth sentence can be corrected as

 The professor was interesting and very well-informed. However, he gave demanding
assignments and rarely awarded high grades.

Added-Detail Fragments
Sometimes writers set aside an incomplete detail or example as if it were a complete sentence
when it is not (it lacks a subject, lacks a verb, or is not a complete thought). The reason is
much the same as the reason for writing –ing and to fragments – the writer thinks that the
subject and verb in one sentence will serve for the next word group as well. An added detail
fragment often begins with one of the following words: like, including, especially, also, for
example, for instance, except, without, or such as.
We can correct added-detail fragments by using the same techniques that we use for –ing and
to fragments:
attaching the fragment to the complete thought that precedes or follows it.
adding a subject or verb to the fragment to make it a complete sentence, or
changing words as necessary to make the fragment part of the preceding sentence.

For example, the seventh and the eighth sentence are the examples of added-detail fragment
which can be corrected as:
Almost every guy loves sports, especially football.
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Many college students experience stress. For example, they worry about money,
grades, work, and relationships.
Run-on Sentence
A run-on sentence consists of two or more independent clauses that are run together without
proper punctuation and coordinator. There are two types of run-on sentence: the fused
sentence and the comma splice. A fused sentence consists of two or more independent
clauses without punctuation and coordinating conjunction, whereas a comma-splice sentence
consists of two independent clauses connected by only a comma.

Activity: 1
Are the following sentences faulty? What kind of faults do you notice in them? How can you
repair them?
Incorrect Correct
1. The search was fruitless, the
men were discouraged.
2. The sun is high, put on some
sunblock.
3. Africa is rich in natural
resources its people are
starving.
4. The boy showed us his
tickets someone gave them
to him.
5. It was not late, we went home.
6. She writes the music he plays
the guitar.
7. She writes the music for
Cold play, he plays the
guitar for that band.
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HINTS:
Run-on sentences can be corrected in the following ways.
• The best way to avoid run-on sentences is to practice writing simple sentences, each
explaining one thought. When you finish explaining one thought, end the sentence. Your
sentences will be very short, but they will also be easy to understand. For example, the
first sentence can be put as “The search was fruitless. The men were discouraged.”
Secondly, the same sentence can also be corrected by inserting semi-colon between two
clauses as “The search was fruitless; the men were discouraged.” Thirdly, the same
sentence can also be corrected by inserting semi-colon along with a coordinator between
two clauses as “The search was fruitless; and the men were discouraged.” Fourthly, the
same sentence can also be corrected by restructuring the two clauses as one by using a
conjunctive adverb before the first clause as “Because the search was fruitless the men
were discouraged.”
• The second sentence in the table above is an example of comma splice. The correct form
can be “The sun is high, so put on some sunscreen.” by adding coordinating conjunction
‘so’.
• The third sentence is an example of fused sentence which can be corrected as “Africa is
rich in natural resources, but its people are starving.” by inserting comma and adding
coordinating conjunction ‘but’ after the first clause.
• Separate the independent clauses with periods and capitalization, creating simple
sentences. For example, the sixth sentence can be corrected as “She writes the music. He
plays the guitar.”
• Semi-colons should be used sparingly to connect independent clauses whose meanings are
closely related. For example, the seventh sentence can be corrected as “She writes the
music for Cold play; he plays the guitar for that band.”
• Restructure the two sentences as one, using a dependent word to introduce the less
important idea. For example, the seventh sentence can also be corrected as
“While she writes the music for Cold play, he plays the guitar for that band.”