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Introduction to Exercise 2 - Correct word order in sentences (additional rules) |
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When describing nouns, place the adjective clause (beginning with that, which, who, etc.) immediately after the noun or noun phrase that it describes.
- Confusing: The company sold toys in many countries that are unsafe. (The countries are not unsafe; the toys are.)
- Corrected: The company sold toys that are unsafe in many countries.
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When describing nouns, place the prepositional phrase (a phrase beginning with by, in, on, etc.) after the specific noun or noun phrase it describes.
- Confusing: I chose an article in the sociology textbook by Helen Lee because it was the best researched article in the book.
(Helen Lee is not the author of the textbook; she is the author of an article in the textbook.)
- Corrected: I chose an article by Helen Lee in the sociology textbook because it was the best researched article in the book.
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To avoid confusing the reader, when describing the entire sentence, place the prepositional phrase at the beginning of the sentence, not next to a noun.
- Confusing: I read several articles about the importance of the environment in this class.
(The articles were not about the environment in the class; they were about the environment in general.)
- Corrected: In this class, I read several articles about the importance of the environment.
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When describing a verb, do not put an adverb (e.g., always, carefully) between the verb and the object.
- Incorrect: Middle-class Americans do not have always health insurance.
- Corrected: Middle-class Americans do not always have health insurance.
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 Download Grammar Explanation (PDF) |
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The following passages contain sentences that are confusing or ungrammatical because the adjective clause, prepositional phrase, or adverb is in the wrong place in the sentence. Click on the sentence that contains the mistake. When you click, a box will appear. Correct the sentence and click the INSERT button. When you have finished making all the corrections, click DONE to compare WHAT YOU WROTE with WHAT WE WROTE. |
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