常见英语句法错误SentenceFragmentDanglingModifierandFaultyParallelism.docx

常 见 英 语 句 法 错 误Sentence-Fragment--Dangling

-Modifier-and-Faulty-Parallelism

SentenceFragments

ASENTENCEFRAGMENTfailstobeasentenceinthesensethatitcannotstandbyitself.Itdoesnotcontainevenoneindependentclause.Thereareseveralreasonswhyagroupofwordsmayseemtoactlikeasentencebutnothavethewherewithaltomakeitasacompletethought.

Itmaylocatesomethingintimeandplacewithaprepositionalphraseoraseriesofsuchphrases,butitsstilllackingapropersubject-verbrelationshipwithinanindependentclause:

InJapan,duringthelastwarandjustbeforethearmistice.

Thissentenceaccomplishesagreatdealintermsofplacingthereaderintimeandplace,butthereisnosubject,noverb.

Itdescribessomething,butthereisnosubject-verbrelationship:

Workingfarintothenightinanefforttosalvageherlittleboat.

Thisisaverbalphrasethatwantstomodifysomething,therealsubjectofthesentence(abouttocomeup),probablytheshewhowasworkingsohard.

Itmayhavemostofthemakingsofasentencebutstillbemissinganimportantpartofaverbstring:

SomeofthestudentsworkinginProfessorEspinozaslaboratorylastsemester.Rememberthatan-ingverbformwithoutanauxiliaryformtoaccompanyitcanneverbeaverb.

Itmayevenhaveasubject-verbrelationship,butithasbeensubordinatedtoanotherideabyadependentwordandsocannotstandbyitself:

Eventhoughhehadthebetterargumentsandwasbyfarthemorepowerfulspeaker.

Thissentencefragmenthasasubject,he,andtwoverbs,hadandwas,butit

cannotstandbyitselfbecauseofthedependentword(subordinatingconjunction)eventhough.Weneedanindependentclausetofollowupthisdependentclause:...themorepowerfulspeaker,helostthecasebecausehedidntunderstandthejury.

StylisticFragments

Thereareoccasionswhenasentencefragmentcanbestylisticallyeffective,exactlywhatyouwantandnomore.

HarrisonFor