LESSON 2.25
Misplaced Prose
Sometimes people put sections of their writing in the wrong place in a sentence. That causes the section to refer to the wrong thing. In the first example, the entire house collapses. In reality, only the roof collapsed:
Wrong Place: When it collapsed from snow load, the house needed a new roof.
Corrected: The house needed a new roof when it collapsed from snow load.
-ing Words
If a word ending in –ing is near the beginning of a sentence, then there must be the correct act-or after the pause. In the first example, the coffins and not the vampires sense the dawn.
Incorrect –ing: Sensing the approach of dawn, the coffins filled with vampires.
Correct –ing: Sensing the approach of dawn, the vampires entered their coffins.
Individual or Small Group Activity
Rewrite the sentences below to fix incorrect –ing words.
1. While telling bear attack stories, a bear ran into our camp. |
2. Arguing all the time, the apartment seemed to grow smaller. |
3. The lamp fell and broke while rushing for the telephone. |
Individual or Small Group Activity
Rewrite the following sentences to fix the problems.
1. Bill wore a hat, a scarf, and he had on his blue shoes. |
2. John is handsome, wealthy, and he has a charming personality. |
3. Brushing her teeth, the radio was so loud that Jessica did not hear the doorbell. |
4. Deforestation contributed to the collapse of the Maya Empire because of soil erosion and it led to intra-tribal warfare. |
5. Deforestation caused the Easter Island human population to collapse because of fuel consumption, clearing land for agriculture, also it was caused because they built statues. |
6. The Arawak Indians, a peaceful tribe, and they had highly advanced traditions of pottery, also weaving, and they did building too |
Individual or Small Group Activity
Complete the exercise: Manitoba