Common Grammar and Punctuation Errors

Welcome to the University Writing Lab's 10 Most Common Errors in Grammar and Punctuation Workshop. This workshop is designed to help you with some of the problems that we commonly see here in the Writing Lab. The first error is sentence fragments. A sentence consists of at least one full independent clause. An independent clause must contain a subject and a verb. So an independent clause is called independent because it can function independently. In other words, it can stand on its own as a complete thought. And to do that, it has to have a subject and a verb. Subjects are the main character of your sentence. It's a noun, the person, place, thing, or concept that does the action. It's what the sentence is about. And Williams authors a book that we use often in the writing lab to talk about style. Williams suggests that we use flesh and blood characters. So flesh and blood character meaning it's more helpful to use a person, a specific person, place, or thing, but particularly a person, an animate object, to do the action rather than an abstract concept. So there are three kinds of verbs to continue as far as the basic sentence structure. There are three kinds of verbs that you can see in sentences. The first, and this is the one that allows you to use flesh and blood characters most commonly, is the active verb. This expresses the action of the sentence. In this sentence structure, you have the subject, the verb, and then sometimes the object. An example is John caught the ball. This is an active sentence because the subject is doing the action. John is the subject, the verb is caught, and then the object is the ball. So John caught the ball. A passive sentence, and you may have heard that it's best to avoid passive sentences. That's correct. An active sentence is a lot more engaging to your reader and it's easier to follow. However, there are some times in academic writing where a passive sentence feels necessary, particularly maybe to avoid a wordy sentence. But in this case, the verb acts upon the subject. So again, the active sentence, the subject does the verb. In the passive sentence, the object acts upon the subject. So for example, this usually takes a to be verb in the version of the past participle. So a to be verb is a version of the word to be. So is, are, those are some examples of common to be verbs. But a to be verb is a good clue that you have a passive sentence. So. you can see that the passive sentence is the reverse of the active sentence. We have the object, the verb, and then the subject. So in this case, in contrast to the first sentence that you see the example, the ball was caught by John. Caught is still the active verb, but now we have this helping verb, this to be verb, this was caught, and John is doing the catching, but John is at the end of the sentence. So the ball is the object, but the ball has become the subject of the sentence. And so you can see it's the reverse. The ball was caught by John. This is a complete sentence, but it is better to avoid the passive construction. And then lastly, we have linking verbs. Linking verbs connect the verb with a noun or subject. Often it's used to describe what someone is or an adjective. So, for example, John is a goalie. John is the subject. Is is the linking verb. And then a goalie is the noun. So even though the title of this slide is sentence fragments, these are all examples of complete sentences. What you do want to avoid when you're writing is not having a complete thought by leaving out either the subject or the verb. Now the opposite of a sentence fragment. A sentence fragment means we don't have enough information to make a full sentence. A run-on sentence occurs when one sentence follows another without being separated by any punctuation. In other words, we have too much going on in a single sentence. Here's an example of a run-on sentence. Dark chocolate is Catherine's favorite. Nikki prefers Reese's peanut butter cups. You may be able to tell that there are two complete thoughts. Dark chocolate is Catherine's favorite, and Nikki prefers Reese's peanut butter cups. In both of these, we have a subject, a verb, and an object, but in this case, the student has run them on into one sentence. So there are three correct ways to fix a run-on sentence. The first would be simply to divide it into two sentences. So you can see that in the first example here, the student has elected to use a period and just to break it up into two sentences. Dark chocolate is Catherine's favorite. Nikki prefers Reese's peanut butter cups. Another way is to join the two with a comma and a conjunction. Fanboys is the acronym to help you remember which words count as conjunctions. So we have for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so. And those create the acronym fanboys if it helps you to remember. But conjunctions join ideas. And so you can also correct a run-on sentence by adding a comma and a conjunction. You can see that in this second example here. Dark chocolate is Catherine's favorite, comma, but Nikki prefers Reese's peanut butter cups. So you do need both elements to join to complete thoughts. the comma, and the conjunction. And then lastly, the third option for joining two complete thoughts instead of a run-on sentence is to use the semicolon. A semicolon has the same strength as a period in terms of separating out complete thoughts. Dark chocolate is Catherine's favorite, semicolon, Nikki prefers Reese's peanut butter cups. All three of these are acceptable ways to correct a run-on sentence. Next we'll be moving on to a few different kinds of errors within a sentence. So we talked about sentence fragments, run-on sentences, The next set of examples are how a sentence agrees with itself. Sometimes subjects and verbs disagree, and that's an error. Verbs must agree with the subject in both number and in person. Number deals with the singular or plural form of the subject. Agreement in person deals with the first, second, and third person distinctions. First person would be I, so I complete the workshop. Second person would be you, you complete the workshop. And third person is the third person observer, so Heather completes the workshop. So here's an example of a couple of errors. Tutors at the writing lab is interested in developing writers. This is incorrect because tutors is plural, but we have the verb here is is, is interested in, and is is the singular version of the to be verb. We would need to say tutors are or the tutor is. So one way of correcting it is to make both plural. Tutors at the writing lab are interested in developing. The second example is similar. The swarm of bees pollinate the flowers. This one is a little bit tricky because it looks like bees is our subject. Bees pollinate would be correct. But if you look more closely, the subject is actually the swarm, the swarm of bees. In this case, bees is just modifying swarm. So the swarm of bees pollinates the flowers. Sometimes it can be helpful to eliminate extra words in between if you're having difficulty. You might have been thrown off in the first example by the writing lab, because it would be correct to say the writing lab is interested in developing writers, but the subject is tutors. So if you're double-checking agreement in number, it can be helpful to eliminate extra words and read it how it would be just with the subject and the verb. Tutors is sounds wrong. We know it's tutors are. Similarly here, it can be helpful in the second sentence to eliminate any extra words. Instead of checking the swarm of bees, you might check the swarm. The swarm pollinate? No, it's the swarm pollinates the flowers. Another way that sentences can disagree with themselves are through unparalleled sentence structure. The definition of parallel sentence structure is that parallel structure occurs when a sentence maintains grammatically similar formatting. Parallel sentences contain consistent tense, voice, and person. So tense refers to past, present, or future. Person again refers to the first person of I. Second person would be you or third person he she or they and then voice is that active versus passive So here's an example that needs correction just yesterday. I pray to the Lord with a joyful heart Well, this is incorrect because the introductory element just yesterday gives us the clue that this sentence has happened in the past But then we encounter a present tense verb I pray so to correct that we have to make that past tense just yesterday I prayed to the Lord with a joyful heart Here's a sentence that has an error in person. I am going to the store and you will buy a magazine. Even though both of those phrases make sense on their own, to have them together in the same sentence is a little bit confusing. I am going to the store is first person. You will buy a magazine is second person. So we need to clarify what we mean by either picking one or clarifying that it's both. So you could say, I am going to the store to buy a magazine. Or if you want to include both myself and you, you could say we are going to the store to buy a magazine. The first kind of comma error is a comma splice. A comma splice is the joining of two sentences with only a comma and no conjunction, subordinate clause, or transitional phrase. In this case, a semicolon or period would be an appropriate form of punctuation. So in sum, this is joining two complete thoughts, two independent clauses, and you're just putting them together with a comma. You're splicing them together with a comma, which is why it's called the comma splice. First example here, there was a bend in the road, the driver hit the brakes. Both of these are complete sentences. There was a bend in the road is a complete thought, the driver hit the brakes is also a complete thought. So there's a few different ways that we can complete this sentence. We can't just add a comma, that's not strong enough. So we could use a semicolon. There was a bend in the road, the driver hit the brakes. We could also use a period. We could also use the comma and the conjunction. So we correct it in similar ways as the run-on sentence. There was a bend in the road, comma, so the driver hit the brakes. or and the driver hit the brakes. Those would all be correct ways to fix this sentence. Here's another example. The cat jumped. The dog barked. Again, two complete thoughts. We have a subject and a verb. And so this student has elected to correct this with a period. All of the other ways of correcting a run on sentence would work here with the comma splice. We could use a semicolon here. We could also use a comma and a conjunction. The cat jumped, comma, and the dog barked. This error, missing comma in a compound sentence, is where we don't have a comma, but we do need one. If you remember before, I talked about conjunctions. When two sentences are joined together by a coordinating conjunction, such as for, and, nor, but, or, yet, or so, which makes the acronym FANBOYS, there must be a comma before the conjunction. To join two complete thoughts again, you need a comma and a conjunction. You can't use just a comma, and you can't use just a conjunction. So, in this case, we have missing commas in these compound sentences. Tina read Frankenstein, but she didn't enjoy it as much as the scarlet letter. Here we again have two complete thoughts. Tina read Frankenstein. She didn't enjoy it as much as the scarlet letter. In this case, the student tried to join with just a conjunction, but that's not enough. We need the comma and the conjunction. The correction to that sentence would be, Tina read Frankenstein, but she didn't enjoy it as much as the scarlet letter. Here's a similar second example. Catherine needed a study break, so she went for a walk to clear her head. Again, we have two complete thoughts. Catherine needed a study break. She went for a walk to clear her head. It's not enough just to have the conjunction. We need the comma and the conjunction. So Catherine needed a study break, comma, so she went for a walk to clear her head. This would be the correct way. Missing commas with non-essential elements are another common error. So a non-essential element is a phrase. or a clause that elaborates on the noun preceding it, but does not significantly change the meaning of the sentence. These are offset by commas. So, in short, sometimes we have extra information in the sentence that is essential to the meaning of the sentence. In other words, if we took it out, it would change the meaning of the sentence. And sometimes we have non-essential elements. Non-essential elements are set off with commas. So, this example, Peter, the oldest child, enjoys listening to the radio. The point of this sentence is that Peter enjoys listening to the radio. So the fact that he's the oldest child, that does add information to our sentence, but it doesn't change the main meaning of the sentence, the fact that he enjoys listening to the radio. So this is what's called a non-essential element. It's extra information. It adds detail that helps the reader understand what's happening, but it isn't essential to the meaning of that sentence. So we have to set that off with commas. Think of these commas as like parentheses. You're adding extra information that isn't essential, just like you could put something in parentheses to add clarity, but it's not essential. And just like parentheses, you have to open them and close them. It wouldn't make sense to do a single parentheses that's open without ever closing it, and it wouldn't make sense to close parentheses without ever opening it. So these commas come in pairs, just like parentheses come in pairs. So Peter, comma, the oldest child, comma, enjoys listening to the radio. Here's another example. My aunt introduced her best friend, whose name is Sarah. The point of the sentence is that my aunt introduced her best friend. The fact that her name is Sarah adds information to the sentence, but it's not essential to the meaning of the sentence. It's still a complete thought when we say my aunt introduced her best friend. So in this case, we set it off with a comma. So my aunt introduced her best friend, whose name is Sarah. Now the flip side of that is that sometimes we do have essential elements. That is information that would change the meaning if we took it out. And in that case, we don't use a comma. We don't want to set it off as a parenthetical element. So an essential element is a phrase or clause that elaborates on or defines the preceding noun. The essential element is not offset by commas because it significantly changes or enhances the meaning of the sentence, and using commas indicates that it's non-essential. So those commas show that the information is extra and not needed for the meaning of the sentence. So if you do include commas with an essential element, that would be incorrect. Here's an example. The pizzas, comma, that only had cheese, comma, were on sale. In this case, if we're trying to say that the pizzas that only had cheese were on sale versus the other pizzas, maybe the pepperoni pizzas were not on sale, only the cheese pizzas were on sale. In that case, we can't use commas because this information that these pizzas only had cheese, that's essential to the meaning of the sentence. The pizzas that only had cheese were on sale. Commonly, the word that can be a clue that it's an essential element. You're saying the pizzas that only had cheese. So when you use the word that, it's usually an essential element. When you use the word which, it's often not an essential element. That's not a hard and fast rule, but that's a common way of thinking about it. So here's another example of unnecessary commas with an essential element. The students who received a 70 or above passed the course. In this case, we mean that only those students who received 70 or above passed the course. So that part that's currently separated by commas. That's essential to the meaning of the sentence. It doesn't mean the same thing if we just say the students passed the course. That would imply that all the students passed the course, when really we mean only those students who received a 70 or above passed the course. So in this case, we should remove the commas to say the students who received a 70 or above passed the course. So another error is missing comma after an introductory element. An introductory element can be a word, clause, or a long phrase that modifies the rest of the sentence in some way. It comes before the subject and verb of the sentence and needs to be followed by a comma. Again, we can think of this as extra information that adds detail to the sentence. Some examples of introductory phrases are therefore, thus, however, nevertheless, correspondingly, contrastingly, consequently, furthermore, moreover, in addition, also, on the other hand, for instance, First, finally, and some as a result, in the end, then, now, for example, next, of course, otherwise, still. Or information like after, before, information as to when, where, or how something occurred. So here's an example that's missing a comma after the introductory element. After the movie, we went to a park. Introductory elements should be set off by commas, and after the movie adds detail to the sentence. The sentence is a complete thought with we went to the park. We're just adding detail to say when that occurred. So the correct sentence should be, after the movie, comma, we went to the park. Last kind of missing comma is the missing comma in a series. So in academic writing, there is a comma before the last item in a series of three or more. This is known as the Oxford comma. This can be confusing because sometimes in business or other forms of writing, the Oxford comma is left out, where you only use a comma to separate the first few items of the series and not the last one. But in academic writing, the Oxford comma is used. So here's an example of a sentence that's missing the last comma. Consumers prefer waffles to pancakes because of their density, texture, and flavor. In this case, we're missing the comma after texture to set off that third item in the list. So consumers prefer waffles to pancakes because of their density, texture, and flavor. Here's another example. Strong writers use a well-developed thesis, organizational structure, and grammar in their papers at Regent. You can see the listed items are well-developed thesis, organizational structure, and grammar. For additional resources or further explanation, visit the Writing Lab. We offer scheduled appointments, virtual walk-in sessions, and writing resources at www.regent.edu/.writing. Thank you for watching and making the most of your Regent experience!

A sentence consists of at least one full independent clause. An independent clause must contain a subject and a verb. So an independent clause is called independent because it can function independently.

In other words, it can stand on its own as a complete thought. And to do that, it has to have a subject and a verb. Subjects are the main character of your sentence.

It's a noun, the person, place, thing, or concept that does the action. It's what the sentence is about. And Williams authors a book that we use often in the writing lab to talk about style.

Williams suggests that we use flesh and blood characters. So flesh and blood character meaning it's more helpful to use a person, a specific person, place, or thing, but particularly a person, an animate object, to do the action rather than an abstract concept. So there are three kinds of verbs to continue as far as the basic sentence structure. There are three kinds of verbs that you can see in sentences.

The first, and this is the one that allows you to use flesh and blood characters most commonly, is the active verb. This expresses the action of the sentence. In this sentence structure, you have the subject, the verb, and then sometimes the object. An example is John caught the ball. This is an active sentence because the subject is doing the action.

John is the subject, the verb is caught, and then the object is the ball. So John caught the ball. A passive sentence, and you may have heard that it's best to avoid passive sentences.

That's correct. An active sentence is a lot more engaging to your reader and it's easier to follow. However, there are some times in academic writing where a passive sentence feels necessary, particularly maybe to avoid a wordy sentence.

But in this case, the verb acts upon the subject. So again, the active sentence, the subject does the verb. In the passive sentence, the object acts upon the subject.

So for example, this usually takes a to be verb in the version of the past participle. So a to be verb is a version of the word to be. So is, are, those are some examples of common to be verbs. But a to be verb is a good clue that you have a passive sentence. So.

you can see that the passive sentence is the reverse of the active sentence. We have the object, the verb, and then the subject. So in this case, in contrast to the first sentence that you see the example, the ball was caught by John. Caught is still the active verb, but now we have this helping verb, this to be verb, this was caught, and John is doing the catching, but John is at the end of the sentence. So the ball is the object, but the ball has become the subject of the sentence.

And so you can see it's the reverse. The ball was caught by John. This is a complete sentence, but it is better to avoid the passive construction.

And then lastly, we have linking verbs. Linking verbs connect the verb with a noun or subject. Often it's used to describe what someone is or an adjective.

So, for example, John is a goalie. John is the subject. Is is the linking verb.

And then a goalie is the noun. So even though the title of this slide is sentence fragments, these are all examples of complete sentences. What you do want to avoid when you're writing is not having a complete thought by leaving out either the subject or the verb. Now the opposite of a sentence fragment.

A sentence fragment means we don't have enough information to make a full sentence. A run-on sentence occurs when one sentence follows another without being separated by any punctuation. In other words, we have too much going on in a single sentence. Here's an example of a run-on sentence.

Dark chocolate is Catherine's favorite. Nikki prefers Reese's peanut butter cups. You may be able to tell that there are two complete thoughts. Dark chocolate is Catherine's favorite, and Nikki prefers Reese's peanut butter cups.

In both of these, we have a subject, a verb, and an object, but in this case, the student has run them on into one sentence. So there are three correct ways to fix a run-on sentence. The first would be simply to divide it into two sentences.

So you can see that in the first example here, the student has elected to use a period and just to break it up into two sentences. Dark chocolate is Catherine's favorite. Nikki prefers Reese's peanut butter cups.

Another way is to join the two with a comma and a conjunction. Fanboys is the acronym to help you remember which words count as conjunctions. So we have for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so.

And those create the acronym fanboys if it helps you to remember. But conjunctions join ideas. And so you can also correct a run-on sentence by adding a comma and a conjunction. You can see that in this second example here. Dark chocolate is Catherine's favorite, comma, but Nikki prefers Reese's peanut butter cups.

So you do need both elements to join to complete thoughts. the comma, and the conjunction. And then lastly, the third option for joining two complete thoughts instead of a run-on sentence is to use the semicolon.

A semicolon has the same strength as a period in terms of separating out complete thoughts. Dark chocolate is Catherine's favorite, semicolon, Nikki prefers Reese's peanut butter cups. All three of these are acceptable ways to correct a run-on sentence. Next we'll be moving on to a few different kinds of errors within a sentence. So we talked about sentence fragments, run-on sentences, The next set of examples are how a sentence agrees with itself.

Sometimes subjects and verbs disagree, and that's an error. Verbs must agree with the subject in both number and in person. Number deals with the singular or plural form of the subject.

Agreement in person deals with the first, second, and third person distinctions. First person would be I, so I complete the workshop. Second person would be you, you complete the workshop.

And third person is the third person observer, so Heather completes the workshop. So here's an example of a couple of errors. Tutors at the writing lab is interested in developing writers. This is incorrect because tutors is plural, but we have the verb here is is, is interested in, and is is the singular version of the to be verb. We would need to say tutors are or the tutor is.

So one way of correcting it is to make both plural. Tutors at the writing lab are interested in developing. The second example is similar.

The swarm of bees pollinate the flowers. This one is a little bit tricky because it looks like bees is our subject. Bees pollinate would be correct.

But if you look more closely, the subject is actually the swarm, the swarm of bees. In this case, bees is just modifying swarm. So the swarm of bees pollinates the flowers.

Sometimes it can be helpful to eliminate extra words in between if you're having difficulty. You might have been thrown off in the first example by the writing lab, because it would be correct to say the writing lab is interested in developing writers, but the subject is tutors. So if you're double-checking agreement in number, it can be helpful to eliminate extra words and read it how it would be just with the subject and the verb.

Tutors is sounds wrong. We know it's tutors are. Similarly here, it can be helpful in the second sentence to eliminate any extra words.

Instead of checking the swarm of bees, you might check the swarm. The swarm pollinate? No, it's the swarm pollinates the flowers.

Another way that sentences can disagree with themselves are through unparalleled sentence structure. The definition of parallel sentence structure is that parallel structure occurs when a sentence maintains grammatically similar formatting. Parallel sentences contain consistent tense, voice, and person. So tense refers to past, present, or future.

Person again refers to the first person of I. Second person would be you or third person he she or they and then voice is that active versus passive So here's an example that needs correction just yesterday. I pray to the Lord with a joyful heart Well, this is incorrect because the introductory element just yesterday gives us the clue that this sentence has happened in the past But then we encounter a present tense verb I pray so to correct that we have to make that past tense just yesterday I prayed to the Lord with a joyful heart Here's a sentence that has an error in person.

I am going to the store and you will buy a magazine. Even though both of those phrases make sense on their own, to have them together in the same sentence is a little bit confusing. I am going to the store is first person. You will buy a magazine is second person.

So we need to clarify what we mean by either picking one or clarifying that it's both. So you could say, I am going to the store to buy a magazine. Or if you want to include both myself and you, you could say we are going to the store to buy a magazine.

The first kind of comma error is a comma splice. A comma splice is the joining of two sentences with only a comma and no conjunction, subordinate clause, or transitional phrase. In this case, a semicolon or period would be an appropriate form of punctuation.

So in sum, this is joining two complete thoughts, two independent clauses, and you're just putting them together with a comma. You're splicing them together with a comma, which is why it's called the comma splice. First example here, there was a bend in the road, the driver hit the brakes.

Both of these are complete sentences. There was a bend in the road is a complete thought, the driver hit the brakes is also a complete thought. So there's a few different ways that we can complete this sentence. We can't just add a comma, that's not strong enough.

So we could use a semicolon. There was a bend in the road, the driver hit the brakes. We could also use a period. We could also use the comma and the conjunction. So we correct it in similar ways as the run-on sentence.

There was a bend in the road, comma, so the driver hit the brakes. or and the driver hit the brakes. Those would all be correct ways to fix this sentence. Here's another example.

The cat jumped. The dog barked. Again, two complete thoughts.

We have a subject and a verb. And so this student has elected to correct this with a period. All of the other ways of correcting a run on sentence would work here with the comma splice.

We could use a semicolon here. We could also use a comma and a conjunction. The cat jumped, comma, and the dog barked. This error, missing comma in a compound sentence, is where we don't have a comma, but we do need one. If you remember before, I talked about conjunctions.

When two sentences are joined together by a coordinating conjunction, such as for, and, nor, but, or, yet, or so, which makes the acronym FANBOYS, there must be a comma before the conjunction. To join two complete thoughts again, you need a comma and a conjunction. You can't use just a comma, and you can't use just a conjunction. So, in this case, we have missing commas in these compound sentences. Tina read Frankenstein, but she didn't enjoy it as much as the scarlet letter.

Here we again have two complete thoughts. Tina read Frankenstein. She didn't enjoy it as much as the scarlet letter.

In this case, the student tried to join with just a conjunction, but that's not enough. We need the comma and the conjunction. The correction to that sentence would be, Tina read Frankenstein, but she didn't enjoy it as much as the scarlet letter. Here's a similar second example. Catherine needed a study break, so she went for a walk to clear her head.

Again, we have two complete thoughts. Catherine needed a study break. She went for a walk to clear her head. It's not enough just to have the conjunction. We need the comma and the conjunction.

So Catherine needed a study break, comma, so she went for a walk to clear her head. This would be the correct way. Missing commas with non-essential elements are another common error.

So a non-essential element is a phrase. or a clause that elaborates on the noun preceding it, but does not significantly change the meaning of the sentence. These are offset by commas. So, in short, sometimes we have extra information in the sentence that is essential to the meaning of the sentence. In other words, if we took it out, it would change the meaning of the sentence.

And sometimes we have non-essential elements. Non-essential elements are set off with commas. So, this example, Peter, the oldest child, enjoys listening to the radio.

The point of this sentence is that Peter enjoys listening to the radio. So the fact that he's the oldest child, that does add information to our sentence, but it doesn't change the main meaning of the sentence, the fact that he enjoys listening to the radio. So this is what's called a non-essential element.

It's extra information. It adds detail that helps the reader understand what's happening, but it isn't essential to the meaning of that sentence. So we have to set that off with commas.

Think of these commas as like parentheses. You're adding extra information that isn't essential, just like you could put something in parentheses to add clarity, but it's not essential. And just like parentheses, you have to open them and close them.

It wouldn't make sense to do a single parentheses that's open without ever closing it, and it wouldn't make sense to close parentheses without ever opening it. So these commas come in pairs, just like parentheses come in pairs. So Peter, comma, the oldest child, comma, enjoys listening to the radio.

Here's another example. My aunt introduced her best friend, whose name is Sarah. The point of the sentence is that my aunt introduced her best friend. The fact that her name is Sarah adds information to the sentence, but it's not essential to the meaning of the sentence.

It's still a complete thought when we say my aunt introduced her best friend. So in this case, we set it off with a comma. So my aunt introduced her best friend, whose name is Sarah. Now the flip side of that is that sometimes we do have essential elements. That is information that would change the meaning if we took it out.

And in that case, we don't use a comma. We don't want to set it off as a parenthetical element. So an essential element is a phrase or clause that elaborates on or defines the preceding noun. The essential element is not offset by commas because it significantly changes or enhances the meaning of the sentence, and using commas indicates that it's non-essential.

So those commas show that the information is extra and not needed for the meaning of the sentence. So if you do include commas with an essential element, that would be incorrect. Here's an example. The pizzas, comma, that only had cheese, comma, were on sale.

In this case, if we're trying to say that the pizzas that only had cheese were on sale versus the other pizzas, maybe the pepperoni pizzas were not on sale, only the cheese pizzas were on sale. In that case, we can't use commas because this information that these pizzas only had cheese, that's essential to the meaning of the sentence. The pizzas that only had cheese were on sale.

Commonly, the word that can be a clue that it's an essential element. You're saying the pizzas that only had cheese. So when you use the word that, it's usually an essential element. When you use the word which, it's often not an essential element.

That's not a hard and fast rule, but that's a common way of thinking about it. So here's another example of unnecessary commas with an essential element. The students who received a 70 or above passed the course. In this case, we mean that only those students who received 70 or above passed the course. So that part that's currently separated by commas.

That's essential to the meaning of the sentence. It doesn't mean the same thing if we just say the students passed the course. That would imply that all the students passed the course, when really we mean only those students who received a 70 or above passed the course.

So in this case, we should remove the commas to say the students who received a 70 or above passed the course. So another error is missing comma after an introductory element. An introductory element can be a word, clause, or a long phrase that modifies the rest of the sentence in some way.

It comes before the subject and verb of the sentence and needs to be followed by a comma. Again, we can think of this as extra information that adds detail to the sentence. Some examples of introductory phrases are therefore, thus, however, nevertheless, correspondingly, contrastingly, consequently, furthermore, moreover, in addition, also, on the other hand, for instance, First, finally, and some as a result, in the end, then, now, for example, next, of course, otherwise, still. Or information like after, before, information as to when, where, or how something occurred. So here's an example that's missing a comma after the introductory element.

After the movie, we went to a park. Introductory elements should be set off by commas, and after the movie adds detail to the sentence. The sentence is a complete thought with we went to the park.

We're just adding detail to say when that occurred. So the correct sentence should be, after the movie, comma, we went to the park. Last kind of missing comma is the missing comma in a series.

So in academic writing, there is a comma before the last item in a series of three or more. This is known as the Oxford comma. This can be confusing because sometimes in business or other forms of writing, the Oxford comma is left out, where you only use a comma to separate the first few items of the series and not the last one. But in academic writing, the Oxford comma is used.

So here's an example of a sentence that's missing the last comma. Consumers prefer waffles to pancakes because of their density, texture, and flavor. In this case, we're missing the comma after texture to set off that third item in the list.

So consumers prefer waffles to pancakes because of their density, texture, and flavor. Here's another example. Strong writers use a well-developed thesis, organizational structure, and grammar in their papers at Regent.

You can see the listed items are well-developed thesis, organizational structure, and grammar. For additional resources or further explanation, visit the Writing Lab. We offer scheduled appointments, virtual walk-in sessions, and writing resources at www.regent.edu/.writing.

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Transcript for:Common Grammar and Punctuation Errors

Transcript for:
Common Grammar and Punctuation Errors