what is a mixed construction if you've ever read a sentence that just doesn't seem to make sense you might have stumbled upon something called a mixed construction so what exactly is a mixed construction and how can you spot and fix one a mixed construction is essentially a sentence that starts with one grammatical pattern but ends with another this mix of incompatible elements can confuse readers and disrupt the flow of your writing imagine you start a sentence with a subject but then the rest of the sentence doesn't match up logically with that subject for example the fact that design elements are as important to a play success as actors here the writer thought the subject was Design Elements but it's actually the fact that to fix this you could rewrite it as the fact that design elements are as important to a play's success as actors is often overlooked by students another common type of mixed construction involves adverbial Clauses for instance when a set is successful design pleases actors and theatergoers alike the problem here is that successful is serving as an adjective instead of completing the adverbial phrase a revised version could be when a set is successful it pleases actors and theatergoers alike mixed constructions can also occur when the subject and predicate of a sentence are not consistent for example the most valued trait in an employee is a person who is loyal here a person cannot be a trait it should be loyalty instead another type of mixed construction involves the use of phrases like is when is where or the reason is because for instance indigestion is when you cannot digest food this should be revised to indigestion is the inability to digest food to identify mixed constructions look for sentences where the structure changes Midway for example the fact that the marathon is 26 mil a length that explains why I never have finished it here the sentence starts with the fact but never completes the independent clause instead it introduces another dependent clause dangling participles are another form of mixed construction for example walking into the room the book on the table caught his eye this creates confusion about who is walking into the room to correct mixed constructions ensure that phrases or Clauses work together logically check the words that connect Clauses and phrases and make sure the subject and predicate are consistent for instance learning to ballroom dance it has shown increased agility and you live longer can be revised to Studies have shown that learning to ballroom dance increases agility and lengthens lifespan in summary mixed constructions are sentences that confuse readers by mixing incompatible grammatical Elements by being mindful of these errors and and taking the time to revise your sentences you can ensure your writing is clear coherent and engaging