A Concise Guide to English Grammar

Each sentence has a pronoun reference problem (ambiguous, vague, or broad). Identify the problem and revise the sentence for clarity.

Maria told Sofia that she had won the award.

Problem: Ambiguous reference — she could refer to either Maria or Sofia.

Revised: Maria told Sofia, “You won the award.”

Exercise 1. When John met Mark, he was surprised.

Exercise 2. They say the economy is improving.

Exercise 3. She failed the test, which disappointed her parents.

Exercise 4. The committee reviewed the proposal and rejected it. This caused problems.

Exercise 5. The teacher told the student that her presentation needed work.

Each sentence has a modifier error. Identify the error type (dangling, misplaced, or squinting) and revise the sentence.

Running through the park, the rain started.

Error type: Dangling modifier — the rain was not running through the park.

Revised: Running through the park, I got caught in the rain.

Exercise 6. Having finished dinner, the movie was started.

Exercise 7. She almost failed every exam.

Exercise 8. Students who cheat often get caught. (This is a squinting modifier. Revise to clarify both possible meanings.)

Exercise 9. To earn a good grade, the assignment must be completed carefully.

Exercise 10. He only eats organic food on weekdays.

Each sentence is structurally ambiguous. Explain both possible meanings and rewrite the sentence two ways to show each meaning clearly.

I saw the man with binoculars.

Meaning 1: I used binoculars to see the man. (PP with binoculars modifies VP)

Revised: Using binoculars, I saw the man.

Meaning 2: The man had binoculars. (PP with binoculars modifies NP)

Revised: I saw the man who had binoculars.

Exercise 11. I photographed the elephant with a camera.

Exercise 12. Bright students and teachers attended the workshop.

Exercise 13. The professor’s assistant who was sick left early.

Exercise 14. She watched the children playing in the park.

For Exercises 15–17, correct the parallelism error. For Exercises 18–19, simplify the overly complex sentence into two or more clear sentences.

Parallelism: The plan is simple, effective, and it costs little.

Revised: The plan is simple, effective, and inexpensive.

The coordinated adjectives (simple, effective, inexpensive) are now all the same form.

Exercise 15. Correct the parallelism error: She enjoys reading, writing, and to paint.

Exercise 16. Correct the parallelism error: The job requires experience, dedication, and being creative.

Exercise 17. Correct the parallelism error: He not only finished the report but also he proofread the entire document.

Exercise 18. Simplify: The report, which was commissioned by the board that was established last year to oversee operations, contains recommendations that, if implemented, would significantly improve efficiency.

Exercise 19. Simplify: The student, who had already completed the assignment that the professor assigned last week during the lecture that was held in the auditorium, submitted it early.

The following paragraph has multiple clarity problems. Revise it for clarity and list at least four specific issues you fixed (pronoun reference, modifier placement, structural ambiguity, parallel structure, or excessive complexity).

Exercise 20. Revise the following paragraph and list four issues you fixed:

Walking into the meeting, the tension was immediately apparent. The manager told the employees that they needed to improve. This led to frustration. The proposal was not only expensive but also it would take years to implement. Having reviewed all options carefully, the decision was made to wait. They say that patience is a virtue, which everyone understood.