Here are 13 bad sentence structure examples to avoid when writing web content or other writing projects. Each example briefly covers what the error is and suggestions on how to rewrite them.
Misplaced Modifiers
- "The dog, who was big and fluffy, chased after the ball that was thrown by the boy." This sentence has a misplaced modifier, as it is unclear who is big and fluffy – the dog or the boy.
To fix the misplaced modifier and make the sentence clearer, you could try rewording the sentence like this:
"The big and fluffy dog chased after the ball that was thrown by the boy."
- "Sitting on the couch, the TV was turned on by the cat." - The modifier "sitting on the couch" is placed at the beginning of the sentence, but it is unclear who or what is sitting on the couch.
By placing the modifier directly next to the noun it is meant to describe (in this case, "the cat"), it becomes clear that the cat, not the couch, is sitting on the couch. This helps to avoid any confusion or ambiguity in the sentence.
To fix this problem, you could try rewording the sentence like this:
"The cat, sitting on the couch, turned on the TV."
Faulty Conjunction
- "I will eat the sandwich, which is my favorite food, because I am hungry." - The conjunction "which" should be used to introduce clauses that provide additional information about objects or things, not the subject of the sentence. To fix this problem, you could try rewording the sentence like this:
"I will eat the sandwich because it is my favorite food and I am hungry." - "She wanted to go swimming, but however she was too tired." - The sentence is faulty because it contains two conjunctions, "but" and "however."
To fix this, you should remove one of the conjunctions: "She wanted to go swimming but she was too tired."
Pural Mistakes
"Sitting on the couch, the TV was turned on." This sentence has a subject-verb disagreement, as "TV" is singular and "were" should be used instead of "was."
Incorrect Use Of Comma
- "The cat chased the mouse under the couch and into the kitchen, where it was caught." This sentence has a comma splice, as it joins two independent clauses with just a comma. You could use a conjunction followed by a comma: "The cat chased the mouse under the couch, and it was caught in the kitchen."
- "I went to the store, and picked up milk, bread, and eggs." This sentence has a comma splice, as it joins two independent clauses with just a comma.
Using a semicolon: "I went to the store; I picked up milk, bread, and eggs."
or use a conjunction followed by a comma: "I went to the store, and I picked up milk, bread, and eggs."
- "The family was at the beach, but now they is home." The verb "was" is correctly used to agree with the subject "family," which is a singular noun. However, the verb "is" is used to agree with the subject "they," which is a plural pronoun. The correct sentence would be: "The family was at the beach, but now they are home."
Misuse Of Compound Subject and Verb
- "The boy, who was tired and hungry, went to bed without eating dinner." This sentence has a compound subject, as "the boy" and "who" are both the subject of the sentence.
Here is a better one "The boy, who had been working all day, was so tired and hungry that he went to bed without eating dinner." (This version provides more background information about the boy and the events leading up to his decision to go to bed.)
- "After the movie ended, we went home and made popcorn for dinner, and then watched a comedy on TV." This sentence has a comma splice, as it joins two independent clauses with just a comma.
- "The cat, who was hiding in the closet, chased the mouse out into the yard." This sentence has a compound verb, as "was hiding" and "chased" are both verbs in the sentence.
Here is a better rewrite "The cat chased the mouse out into the yard after hiding in the closet." This puts the emphasis on the cat's action of chasing the mouse.
Wrong Use Of Passive Voice
- "The cake, which was delicious and moist, was eaten by everyone at the party." This sentence has a passive voice, as the subject "cake" is being acted upon rather than doing the action.
Here is an better rewrite in the active voice: "Everyone at the party ate the delicious and moist cake."
- "After the storm passed, the damaged house was repaired by the contractors." This sentence has a passive voice, as the subject "house" is being acted upon rather than doing the action.
Here is an example of how you could revise the sentence to be written in the active voice: "After the storm passed, the contractors repaired the damaged house."
- "Sitting on the couch, the TV show was watched by the entire family." This sentence has a passive voice, as the subject "TV show" is being acted upon rather than doing the action.
To rewrite the sentence in the active voice, you would need to identify the performer of the action (the entire family) and make them the subject of the sentence. "The entire family watched the TV show while sitting on the couch."