Conventions
1. RUN-ON � A run-on sentence is two or more sentences improperly
combined.
(Incorrect:I like you, you like me.Correct: I like you.You like me.)
2. FRAGMENT � A fragment is a piece of a sentence, one that is missing
either a subject, a predicate, or both.
(Incorrect:Walking in my new shoes.Correct:I was walking in my new
shoes.)
3. APOSTROPHES � Apostrophes are used to show possession or to indicate
a contraction.
(Incorrect:Marys book doesnt have a cover.Correct: Mary�s book
doesn�t have a cover.)
4. SEMI-COLONS � Semi-colons are primarily used to separate two
sentences (two independent clauses) of equal weight.
(Incorrect: I went to Europe; my brother is ten. Correct: I
went to Europe; she went to Texas.)
5. SUBJECT/VERB AGREEMENT � Subjects should always agree in number with
their verbs.
(Incorrect: Each of the men have done the work.Correct:Each of
the men has done the work.)
6. PRONOUN/ANTECEDENT AGREEMENT � Pronouns should agree with their
antecedents (the words to which
the pronouns refer).
(Incorrect: Each of the girls did their work.Correct: Each of the
girls did her work.)
7. PRONOUN CASE � Pronouns must be in the nominative, objective, or
possessive case, depending on their use in the
sentence.
(Incorrect: The teacher gave an A to Frank and I.Correct: The
teacher gave an A to Frank and me.)
8. PARALLEL STRUCTURE - Express similar terms (all nouns, all verbs,
etc.) in parallel structure.
(Incorrect: I like fishing, boating, and to camp. Correct: I like
fishing, boating,and camping.)
9. VERB FORM - Use correct forms and tenses of verbs.
(Incorrect: She has laid in bed all day. Correct: She has lain in
bed all day.)
10. DANGLING MODIFIER � A dangling modifier occurs when a word or phrase
has nothing in the sentence to modify.
(Incorrect: Walking down the street, a dollar bill was found.
Correct: Walking down the street, I found a dollar bill.)
11. COMMA � Use a comma to separate items (words, phrases, or clauses)
in a series.
(Correct:Words: We have read poems by Longfellow, Whittier, and
Dickinson.
Phrases: We found seaweed in the water, on the sand,
and in our shoes.
Clauses: Everyone wondered who had been in the house,
what he had wanted, and where he had gone.)
12. COMMA � Use a comma to separate two or more adjectives preceding a
noun.
(Correct: An Arabian stallion is a fast, beautiful horse.)
13. COMMA � Use a comma before and, but, or, nor, for, and yet when they
join independent clauses.
(Correct:We wanted to go biking, but we couldn�t decide where to go.)
14. COMMA � Use a comma after a long preposition phrase or after the
final phrase in a series of phrases.
(Correct: At the top of the hill on the ranch, we found the lost
calf.)
15. COMMA � Use a comma after an introductory participial phrase or
adverb clause.
(Correct:Participle Phrase: Forced onto the sidelines by his torn
ligament,John was restless and unhappy.
Adverb Clause: When March came, the huge ice pack began to
melt.)
16. COMMA � Use a comma after words such as well, yes, no, why when they
begin a sentence.
(Correct:Why, everyone knows what happened in 1776!)
17. COMMA � Use a comma to set off parenthetical expressions and other
words which interrupt the sentence.
(Correct:That book, as a matter of fact, is by the same author.
Texas, the Lone Star State, is larger than Maine.
Her house, I think, is the green one on the corner.)
18. COMMA � Use a comma to separate a noun of direct address.
(Correct: Bill, please go get my purse.
Answer the phone, Steve.)
19. COMMA � Use commas in certain conventional situations.
(Correct: Dear Aunt Margaret,
Sam moved to 286 Lincoln Road, Chicago, Illinois, last June.
Spring vacation begins on Friday, April 12, this year.)
20. COMMA � Never use a comma between a subject and its verb or between
a verb and its complement.
(Correct: What I could not believe was that he had never played
before.
Pam�s best imitations include those of her mother and dad.)
