PCAT Exam: Errors in Standard English Grammar, Usage, Syntax, and Mechanics

Errors in Standard English Grammar, Usage, Syntax, and Mechanics Sentence Fragments
A complete sentence requires a verb and a subject that expresses a complete thought.

Sometimes, the subject is omitted in the case of the implied you, which is particularly the case in sentences that are the command or imperative form—e.g., “Look!” or “Give me that.”

It is understood that the subject of the command is you, the listener or reader, so it is possible to have a structure without an explicit subject. Without these elements, though, the sentence is incomplete—it is a sentence fragment.

While sentence fragments often occur in conversational English or creative writing, they are generally not appropriate in academic writing. Sentence fragments often occur when dependent clauses are not joined to an independent clause:

Sentence fragment: Because the airline overbooked the flight.
The sentence above is a dependent clause that does not express a complete thought. What happened as a result of this cause? With the addition of an independent clause, this now becomes a complete sentence:

Complete sentence: Because the airline overbooked the flight, several passengers were unable to board.

Sentences fragments may also occur through improper use of conjunctions:
I’m going to the Bahamas for spring break. And to New York City for New Year’s Eve.
While the first sentence above is a complete sentence, the second one is not because it is a prepositional phrase that lacks a subject [I] and a verb [am going].

Joining the two together with the coordinating conjunction forms one grammatically-correct sentence:
I’m going to the Bahamas for spring break and to New York City for New Year’s Eve.

Run-ons
A run-on is a sentence with too many independent clauses that are improperly connected to each other:
 

This winter has been very cold some farmers have suffered damage to their crops.
The sentence above has two subject-verb combinations. The first is “this winter has been”; the second is “some farmers have suffered.” However, they are simply stuck next to each other without any punctuation or conjunction. Therefore, the sentence is a run-on.

Another type of run-on occurs when writers use inappropriate punctuation:
This winter has been very cold, some farmers have suffered damage to their crops.
Though a comma has been added, this sentence is still not correct. When a comma alone is used to join two independent clauses, it is known as a comma splice. Without an appropriate conjunction, a comma cannot join two independent clauses by itself.

Run-on sentences can be corrected by either dividing the independent clauses into two or more separate sentences or inserting appropriate conjunctions and/or punctuation. The run-on sentence can be amended by separating each subject-verb pair into its own sentence:
This winter has been very cold. Some farmers have suffered damage to their crops.

The run-on can also be fixed by adding a comma and a conjunction to join the two independent clauses with each other:
This winter has been very cold, so some farmers have suffered damage to their crops.

Parallelism
Parallel structure occurs when phrases or clauses within a sentence contain the same structure. Parallelism increases readability and comprehensibility because it is easy to tell which sentence elements are paired with each other in meaning.

Jennifer enjoys cooking, knitting, and to spend time with her cat.
This sentence is not parallel because the items in the list appear in two different forms. Some are gerunds, which is the verb + ing: cooking, knitting.

The other item uses the infinitive form, which is to + verb: to spend. To create parallelism, all items in the list will reflect the same form:
Jennifer enjoys cooking, knitting, and spending time with her cat.
All of the items in the list are now in gerund forms, so this sentence exhibits parallel structure. Here’s another example:

The company is looking for employees who are responsible and with a lot of experience.
Again, the items that are listed in this sentence are not parallel. “Responsible” is an adjective, yet “with a lot of experience” is a prepositional phrase. The sentence elements do not utilize parallel parts of speech.

The company is looking for employees who are responsible and experienced.
“Responsible” and “experienced” are both adjectives, so this sentence now has parallel structure.

Dangling and Misplaced Modifiers
Modifiers enhance meaning by clarifying or giving greater detail about another part of a sentence. However, incorrectly-placed modifiers have the opposite effect and can cause confusion. A misplaced modifier is a modifier that is not located appropriately in relation to the word or phrase that it modifies:
 

Because he was one of the greatest thinkers of Renaissance Italy, John idolized Leonardo da Vinci.
In this sentence, the modifier is “because he was one of the greatest thinkers of Renaissance Italy,” and the noun it is intended to modify is “Leonardo da Vinci.” However, due to the placement of the modifier next to the subject, John, it seems as if the sentence is stating that John was a Renaissance genius, not Da Vinci.
 

John idolized Leonard da Vinci because he was one of the greatest thinkers of Renaissance Italy.
The modifier is now adjacent to the appropriate noun, clarifying which of the two men in this sentence is the greatest thinker.

Dangling modifiers modify a word or phrase that is not readily apparent in the sentence. That is, they “dangle” because they are not clearly attached to anything:
After getting accepted to college, Amir’s parents were proud.
The modifier here, “after getting accepted to college,” should modify who got accepted. The noun immediately following the modifier is “Amir’s parents”—but they are probably not the ones who are going to college.

After getting accepted to college, Amir made his parents proud.
The subject of the sentence has been changed to Amir himself, and now the subject and its modifier are appropriately matched.

Inconsistent Verb Tense
Verb tense reflects when an action occurred or a state existed. For example, the tense known as simple present expresses something that is happening right now or that happens regularly:
 

She works in a hospital.
Present continuous tense expresses something in progress. It is formed by to be + verb + -ing.
 

Sorry, I can’t go out right now. I am doing my homework.
Past tense is used to describe events that previously occurred. However, in conversational English, speakers often use present tense or a mix of past and present tense when relating past events because it gives the narrative a sense of immediacy. In formal written English, though, consistency in verb tense is necessary to avoid reader confusion.

I traveled to Europe last summer. As soon as I stepped off the plane, I feel like I’m in a movie! I’m surrounded by quaint cafes and impressive architecture.
The passage above abruptly switches from past tense—traveled, stepped—to present tense—feel, am surrounded.

I traveled to Europe last summer. As soon as I stepped off the plane, I felt like I was in a movie! I was surrounded by quaint cafes and impressive architecture.
All verbs are in past tense, so this passage now has a consistent verb tense.

Split Infinitives
The infinitive form of a verb consists of “to + base verb”—e.g., to walk, to sleep, to approve. A split infinitive occurs when another word, usually an adverb, is placed between to and the verb:
 

I decided to simply walk to work to get more exercise every day.
The infinitive to walk is split by the adverb simply.

It was a mistake to hastily approve the project before conducting further preliminary research.
The infinitive to approve is split by hastily.

Although some grammarians still advise against split infinitives, this syntactic structure is common in both spoken and written English and is widely accepted in standard usage.

Subject-Verb Agreement
In English, verbs must agree with the subject. The form of a verb may change depending on whether the subject is singular or plural, or whether it is first, second, or third person. For example, the verb to be has various forms:

I am a student.
You are a student.
She is a student.
We are students.
They are students.

Errors occur when a verb does not agree with its subject. Sometimes, the error is readily apparent:

We is hungry.
Is is not the appropriate form of to be when used with the third person plural we.

We are hungry.
This sentence now has correct subject-verb agreement.

However, some cases are trickier, particularly when the subject consists of a lengthy noun phrase with many modifiers:
 

Students who are hoping to accompany the anthropology department on its annual summer trip to Ecuador needs to sign up by March 31st.
The verb in this sentence is needs. However, its subject is not the noun adjacent to it—Ecuador. The subject is the noun at the beginning of the sentence—students. Because students is plural, needs is the incorrect verb form.

Students who are hoping to accompany the anthropology department on its annual summer trip to Ecuador need to sign up by March 31st.
This sentence now uses the correct agreement between students and need.

Another case to be aware of is a collective noun.

A collective noun refers to a group of many things or people but can be singular in itself—e.g., family, committee, army, pair team, council, jury. Whether or not a collective noun uses a singular or plural verb depends on how the noun is being used. If the noun refers to the group performing a collective action as one unit, it should use a singular verb conjugation:

The family is moving to a new neighborhood.
The whole family is moving together in unison, so the singular verb form is is appropriate here.

The committee has made its decision.
The verb has and the possessive pronoun its both reflect the word committee as a singular noun in the sentence above; however, when a collective noun refers to the group as individuals, it can take a plural verb:

The newlywed pair spend every moment together.
This sentence emphasizes the love between two people in a pair, so it can use the plural verb spend.

The council are all newly elected members.
The sentence refers to the council in terms of its individual members and uses the plural verb are.

Overall though, American English is more likely to pair a collective noun with a singular verb, while British English is more likely to pair a collective noun with a plural verb.

Practice Prompt
Prepare an essay of about 300-600 words on the topic below.
Heart disease is considered the number one cause of death for people in the United States. Heart disease occurs when plaque builds up in the arteries, making it difficult for blood to flow, which creates a heart attack or stroke. Write a solution to the problem of heart disease in the United States.