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English: Literature, Rhetoric & AP Essays · Module 7 of 13

Grammar & Mechanics

The rules of sentence construction, agreement, and punctuation that make writing clear and correct.

In this module
  1. Sentence Structure
  2. Subject-Verb & Pronoun Agreement
  3. Punctuation
  4. Common Usage Errors
  5. Check yourself

Sentence Structure

  • An independent clause has a subject and verb and can stand alone as a sentence; a dependent clause has a subject and verb but cannot stand alone.
  • A sentence fragment is missing a required part (subject, verb, or complete thought); a run-on incorrectly joins two independent clauses without proper punctuation.
Worked example

Identify the error: "I went to the store. Because I needed milk."

Solution. The second part is a sentence fragment — "Because I needed milk" is a dependent clause and cannot stand alone; it should be joined: "I went to the store because I needed milk.".

Subject-Verb & Pronoun Agreement

  • A verb must agree in number with its subject: singular subjects take singular verbs, plural subjects take plural verbs.
  • A pronoun must agree in number and gender with its antecedent — the noun it refers to.
Worked example

Correct the error: "Each of the students brought their own laptop, and they completed the assignment early."

Solution. "Each" is singular, so formally: "Each of the students brought his or her own laptop and completed the assignment early.".

Punctuation

  • Commas separate items in a list, join two independent clauses with a coordinating conjunction, and set off introductory phrases.
  • A semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses without a conjunction; a colon introduces a list, explanation, or quotation after a complete sentence.
Worked example

Which punctuation correctly joins these two independent clauses: "I finished my homework" and "I watched a movie"?

Solution. A semicolon: "I finished my homework; I watched a movie." (Or a comma plus a coordinating conjunction: "I finished my homework, so I watched a movie.")

Common Usage Errors

  • "Their/there/they're," "your/you're," and "its/it's" are commonly confused homophones with distinct meanings (possession, location or existence, contraction).
  • "Who" refers to people as a subject; "whom" refers to people as an object; "which" and "that" refer to things.
Worked example

Choose correctly: "___ going to the game tonight?" (Who's / Whose)

Solution. "Who's" — a contraction of "who is." "Whose" shows possession, which doesn't fit here.

Check yourself

2 of this module's 5 quiz questions. Pick your answers, then check them in the app, with an explanation for every question.

1. What is a sentence fragment?

2. Complete correctly: "Neither of the boys ___ ready."

Check my answers, free