Perfecting your grammar
Dahlia Bartley, Contributor

Let me welcome you to today's lesson. I am sure that you are anxious to have the answers to last week's multiple-choice test, so here they are:

1. A	6. C	11. A	16. C	21. B
2. C	7. D	12. B	17. A	22. B
3. B	8. D	13. C	18. A	23. C
4. A	9. B	14. A	19. C	24. A
5. A	10. A	15. A	20. A	25. C

I know you did well. Your texts contain numerous exercises so use them well.

You would have noticed that we have been doing much work on grammar. Today, the emphasis is still on correct writing and we will look at some commonly made mistakes which you, at all costs, must not make.

Let us examine the following sentence:

Before the match, the coach spoke to the goalkeeper and midfielder.

Now, if we knew nothing about football, we would be tempted to believe that the goalkeeper is the midfielder. An article (a, an or the) is necessary to clarify that the coach spoke to two persons. The correct sentence is therefore:

Before the match, the coach spoke to the goalkeeper and the midfielder.

Balance the sentence

We will look at another sentence:

He regarded some of his employees as lazy, ignorant and not to be depended on.

From the sentence, how does he regard his employees? The answer is lazy, ignorant and not to be depended on. On closer observation, you will see that the phrase 'not to be depended on' does not match the one-word adjectives, lazy and ignorant. For the sentence to be correct, we need to 'balance' it. One way of doing this is to use an adjective to replace the phrase. Any suggestions? Unreliable is a good choice.

How would we balance the following sentence?

Tell me where you have been and an account of your activities there.

Consider what creates the 'imbalance'. Of course, where you have been does not match an account of your activities there, for one is a subordinate clause and the other a phrase. Do you recall the difference between these two groups of words? Ask yourselves the question - Tell me what? Your answer may be 'where you have been' and 'what you did there' (two subordinate clauses). Note the order of the words, as well. Do you realise that you could have reworded the sentence? Tell me where you have been and give me an account of your activities there. Now that you have got the idea, please correct the following sentences.

1. The nutritionist recommended plenty of food, rest and exercising.

2. Come to the library prepared to take notes and with some questions to ask.

3. To gain entry, they tried both persuasion and to force their way in.

4. Junior Brown believes that, as a cricketer, he is knowledgeable and the best batsman ever.

Do not be worried if you have difficulty in balancing every sentence. English language is so versatile that to correct some of these sentences, you may find it easier to reword them. Now to another aspect of grammar. Some students write faulty sentences because they omit necessary prepositions, as is the case in the following sentence:

He has never expressed trust or loyalty to anyone.

The word to cannot be used with trust, so to correct the sentence, we must insert the preposition 'in' after trust.

Dangling modifier

Another error occurs with the dangling modifier. A modifying phrase or clause must clearly and sensibly modify a word in the sentence. When there is no word or phrase to which the phrase or clause can sensibly relate, the modifier is said to 'dangle'.

Example: Striding angrily through the door, a sudden hush fell upon the employees.

The modifier, Striding angrily through the door, does not sensibly relate to any word in the sentence. A sudden hush, which the phrase appears to modify, cannot stride angrily through the door. We may correct the sentence in the following ways:

1. By adding a word for the phrase to modify:

Striding angrily through the door, Mr Brown caused a sudden hush to fall upon the employees.

Note the position of the modifier and the word to which it relates.

2. By changing the phrase to a clause:

As Mr Brown strode angrily through the door, a sudden hush fell upon the employees.

Note the punctuation of the sentence.

In some instances, the word or phrase to be modified is in the sentence, but the modifier, by its placement, seems to modify something else.

Example: To provide maximum security, you must have a comprehensive policy.

This is an example of the misplaced modifier. The modifier is to provide maximum security. The sentence suggests that the word you is what is being modified because of its placement - it comes immediately after the modifier. It is the policy that is 'to provide maximum security'. So how, then, would you correct the sentence?

I want you now to correct the following sentences by placing the dangling or misplaced modifier in each as close as possible to the word it modifies.

1. Mr Stewart set off in search of an elephant with his camera.

2. Being very shy, strangers terrify my sister.

3 The suspects were rounded up a few hours after the break-in by the police.

4. Dad called to Jeff to start mowing the lawn from the upstairs window.

5. While eating my sandwich, the train pulled into the station.

6. Summoned by the alarm, the robbers were soon arrested by the police.

There are so many more pitfalls that I would like to point out to you, but I shall do so in a later lesson. See you next week.

Smiles all around! Principal of the Irwin High School, Aldin Bellinfantie, accepts an English dictionary for the school's library from Cassania Jarrett, circulation marketing representative for The Gleaner's Western Bureau. - photo by Tashieka Mair

Dahlia Bartley teaches at Glenmuir High School.