Grammar is the set of rules that govern how words are used in a language. Proper grammar helps ensure clear communication, while poor grammar can lead to confusion, ambiguity, and misunderstandings. Though grammar standards evolve over time, there are certain consistent markers of poor grammar that writers should avoid in most contexts.
Subject-Verb Agreement
One of the most common grammatical errors is subject-verb agreement. This means ensuring the subject and verb match in their singular or plural forms. For example:
Correct:
The student writes essays.
Incorrect:
The student write essays.
Since “student” is singular, the verb “writes” must also be singular. Other examples of poor subject-verb agreement include:
– The dogs runs through the park. (Incorrect – “dogs” is plural and requires the plural verb “run.”)
– The committee disagree on the decision. (Incorrect – “committee” is singular and requires the singular verb “disagrees.”)
– The team were excited about their win. (Incorrect – “team” is singular and requires the singular verb “was.”)
Keeping subjects and verbs in agreement avoids confusing the reader.
Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
Pronouns must agree with their antecedents – the nouns to which they refer back. Mixing singular and plural pronouns carelessly can muddle the meaning. Examples of poor pronoun-antecedent agreement include:
– The class finished their project early. (Incorrect – the singular “class” requires the pronoun “its.”)
– The students handed in their assignments late because they were at the game. (Ambiguous – do “they” and “their” refer to the students or assignments?)
– The teacher told the parents they needed to be more involved. (Unclear – who does “they” refer to?)
Proper pronoun-antecedent agreement eliminates ambiguity. The reader should easily comprehend which noun each pronoun refers to.
Sentence Fragments
Sentence fragments are incomplete sentences missing a subject, verb, or both. For instance:
– Working on my English paper. (No subject)
– Ran 3 miles before school. (No subject)
– The dog that bit the neighbor. (No verb)
While fragments may sometimes be used stylistically, often they reflect unclear or disorganized thinking. Complete sentences express clear relations between subject, verb, and sometimes object.
Run-on Sentences
A run-on sentence incorrectly joins two independent clauses without proper punctuation or conjunctions. For example:
– My friend invited me to her house I told her I’d be there at noon.
This run-on can be correctly written as:
– My friend invited me to her house. I told her I’d be there at noon.
– My friend invited me to her house, and I told her I’d be there at noon.
Run-ons are often indicative of convoluted or unclear thinking. Proper punctuation between independent clauses helps the reader understand relations between ideas.
Misplaced Modifiers
Modifiers such as adjectives should be placed next to the words they modify:
– Incorrect: We sat at the table with drinks. (“With drinks” incorrectly modifies table.)
– Correct: We sat at the table with drinks in our hands.
Misplaced modifiers make sentences illogical, ridiculous, or impossible to understand. Careful placement clarity conveys meaning precisely.
Dangling Modifiers
Like misplaced modifiers, dangling ones have unclear or illogical placement in a sentence:
– Incorrect: Riding in the sports car, the sights sped by quickly. (Who or what is riding?)
– Correct: As we rode in the sports car, the sights sped by quickly.
Dangling modifiers make it unclear who or what the modifier refers to. They obscure rather than clarify.
Faulty Parallelism
Parallelism refers to maintaining consistent structure between clauses or phrases. Faulty parallelism violates this:
– Incorrect: Kelly likes hiking, swimming, and to dance.
– Correct: Kelly likes hiking, swimming, and dancing.
The activities should be in parallel grammatical form (all gerunds). Parallelism aids conciseness and clarity in writing.
Incorrect Word Use
Sometimes poor grammar results from simply using the wrong word in context. Common examples include:
– There/Their/They’re: There are many books. Their car is red. They’re going to the show.
– It’s/Its: It’s a nice day out. The dog licked its paw.
– Lay/Lie: I will lay my phone on the table. I lie down when tired.
– Who’s/Whose: Who’s coming over? Whose phone is this?
– Your/You’re: Your book is on the desk. You’re going to do great!
– To/Too/Two: I’m going to visit my aunt. It’s too hot today. Two dogs ran by.
Mastering proper word usage eliminates confusion and improves clarity. Know when to use the correct versions of common words.
Lack of Clarity
Beyond specific grammar issues, poor writing often lacks clarity generally. Sentences may be wordy, convoluted, vague, or fail to link ideas in a logical flow. Good grammar enables clear communication of concepts and relations. Poor grammar obscures meaning.
For example:
– Wordy: My roommate exhibited behaviors that seemed, for all intents and purposes, to be of a nature consistent with inclination toward selfishness when it came time to doing the dishes in a timely fashion.
– Clear: My roommate avoided doing the dishes in a timely way. This appeared selfish to me.
Concise, precise writing has greater impact.
Poor Punctuation
Punctuation establishes structure and organization within sentences and paragraphs. Errors include:
– Comma splices – joining independent clauses with commas rather than conjunctions.
– Semicolons used incorrectly between independent clauses not closely related.
– Quotation mark errors – missing end quotes or incorrect capitalization.
– Missing or misused apostrophes – its vs. it’s or your vs. you’re.
Proper punctuation improves flow and clarifies relations between ideas. It also adheres to standard conventions.
Capitalization Errors
Like punctuation, standard capitalization provides clarity and emphasizes important words:
– Capitalize proper nouns – Sarah, Detroit, Microsoft.
– Capitalize titles – Professor Clark, President Jones.
– Capitalize beginnings of sentences.
– Don’t overcapitalize common nouns.
Consistent capitalization establishes the visual organization. Exceptions are made for stylistic reasons, such as emphasizing words in titles.
Poor Writing Style
Beyond mechanics, poor grammar may reflect ineffective writing style:
– Excessive passive voice can sound flat and wordy.
– Overusing noun strings makes sentences dense and awkward.
– Relying too much on clauses creates convoluted sentences.
– Rambling or repetitious points suggest poor organization.
While strong style enhances writing, weak style undermines effectiveness. Clear, concise, direct writing has greatest impact.
Lack of Variety
Monotonous grammar creates boring reading:
– Sentences all similar in length and structure.
– Overuse of simple sentence patterns.
– Reliance on common verbs like “get,” “make,” “go.”
– Repeating the same transition words.
Varying sentence structure, using vivid verbs, and choosing precise words boosts engagement and interest.
Context-Inappropriate Style
Grammar may be poor if it does not fit the context:
– Overly casual tone used in formal documents.
– Complex sentences and vocabulary in simple materials.
– Passive, impersonal style instead of direct address to reader.
The best grammar matches the situation and audience while maintaining clarity.
Poor Grammar in Speaking
Grammar applies not just to writing but also to speaking:
– Using “um” excessively suggests uncertainty.
– Shifting tenses randomly sounds inconsistent.
– Ending sentences with prepositions changes their meaning.
– Run-on, fragmented sentences are unclear.
Oral grammatical mistakes parallel many written ones. Precise, thoughtful speech communicates effectively.
Why Good Grammar Matters
Proper grammar ensures:
– Clear communication of ideas and relationships.
– Reader/listener understanding through structure and conventions.
– Credibility and professionalism in writing/speaking.
– Ability to convey nuance, emphasis, cadence.
– Variety and sophistication versus monotony.
– Appropriateness to context and audience.
– Logical organization and concise expression.
Mastering grammar helps craft direct, lucid, and engaging communications.
How to Improve Grammar
To improve grammar:
– Learn grammatical terminology, categories, and standards.
– Review common errors like those above.
– Study examples of proper grammar in good writing.
– Practice editing text passages to fix errors.
– Ask others to review your writing and mark mistakes.
– Reference style guides like The Chicago Manual of Style.
– Use proofreading tools cautiously to spot possible errors.
– Read texts aloud to hear awkward constructions.
– Summarize passages using proper grammar.
Grammatical mastery develops through knowledge, application, practice, and feedback. Strive to communicate ideas clearly.
Conclusion
Grammar forms the basic foundation and shared structure of language. Poor grammar often stems from similar errors – subject-verb disagreement, pronoun issues, fragments and run-ons, dangling modifiers, and more. Beyond mechanics, weak grammar may reflect convoluted style and lack of clarity or appropriate tone. Strong, precise, clear grammar enables sophisticated, nuanced communication. Through studying the principles and actively practicing their use, writers can hone their grammatical proficiency.