EDITING SYMBOLS

©1997 INTERLINK LanguageCenters - Created by Mark Feder

symbol

meaning

problem

example

agr agreement subject and verb don't agree His brother like to study English.
art article article is missing or misused I have the big headache.
cap capitalization upper/lower case misuse they Came to the u. s. in june.
f format typing convention error They ate rice ,soup ,and salad .
frag fragment not a complete sentence Many other people, too.
prep preposition preposition is missing or mis-used I talked to my friend in the telephone.
pron pronoun wrong form of pronoun This is between him and I.
punc punctuation punctuation error Did they drive; fly or go by train.
ro run-on sentences are "illegally" joined I woke up, I got dressed.
sp spelling word is mis-spelled He thaught the mony was his.
v voice error in active/passive usage The book finished reading yesterday.
vt verb tense wrong tense or aspect of verb Yesterday we go to Denver.
wc word choice wrong word for this context She said a funny story to them.
wf word form wrong part of speech My host family is very kindness.
wo word order words are not arranged correctly I not can understand you.
// parallelism lack of parallel structure She likes to read, dance and skating.
^ insert something is missing I couldn't find notebook.
X delete something should be removed The coffee it is on the table.
# number singular/plural mistake He drank three can of soda.


His brother like to study English. > His brother likes to study English.

The word brother is singular, so the verb that goes with it must also be singular. Present tense 3rd person singular verbs have an s at the end. Look at the following chart:

singular

.....plural.. .

1st person

I like

we like

2nd person

you like

you like

3rd person

he,she likes

they like

If you woud like to read more about subject-verb agreement, see Azar, Understanding and Using English Grammar, 5-12 to 5-16 (pages 218-223).

If you would like to practice this topic, click here:..

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I have the big headache. > I have a big headache.

If you woud like to read more about articles, see Azar, Understanding and Using English Grammar, A20-A23.

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they Came to the u. s. in june. > They came to the U. S. in June.

The first letter of the first word of a sentence is always capitalized and so is the first letter of names of people (Joseph), places (Argentina), and months (August).

If you woud like to read more about capitalization, see Azar, Understanding and Using English Grammar,

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They ate rice ,soup ,and salad . > They ate rice, soup, and salad.

If you woud like to read more about format, see Azar, Understanding and Using English Grammar, A20-A23.

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Many other people, too. > Many other people do, too.

If you woud like to read more about fragments, see Azar, Understanding and Using English Grammar,

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I talked to my friend in the telephone. > I talked to my friend on the telephone.

If you woud like to read more about prepositions, see Azar, Understanding and Using English Grammar, A2.

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This is between him and I. > This is between him and me.

If you woud like to read more about pronouns, see Azar, Understanding and Using English Grammar, A5-A6; pages 226-229.

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Did they drive; fly or go by train. > Did they drive, fly, or go by train?

If you woud like to read more about punctuation, see Azar, Understanding and Using English Grammar, p. 308,

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I woke up, I got dressed. > I woke up and I got dressed.

If you woud like to read more about run-ons, see Azar, Understanding and Using English Grammar, page 294, A30.

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He thaught the mony was his. > He thought the money was his.

If you woud like to read more about spelling, see Azar, Understanding and Using English Grammar, pages 9, 198.

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The book finished reading yesterday. > He finished reading the book yesterday.

If you woud like to read more about voice, see Azar, Understanding and Using English Grammar, 3-1 to 3-6 (pages 120-149).

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Yesterday we go to Denver. > Yesterday we went to Denver.

The word "yesterday" shows that this happened in the past, so the past tense is used. Make sure you understand the difference between simple past and continuous past and don't confuse the simple past and present perfect..

If you woud like to read more about verb tense, see Azar, Understanding and Using English Grammar, Chapter 1, pages 1-67.

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She said a funny story to them. > She told them a funny story.

If you woud like to read more about articles, see Azar, Understanding and Using English Grammar, A20-A23.

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My host family is very kindness. > My host family is very kind.

If you woud like to read more about articles, see Azar, Understanding and Using English Grammar, A20-A23.

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I not can understand you. > I can not understand you.

If you woud like to read more about word order, see Azar, Understanding and Using English Grammar, A20-A23.

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She likes to read, dance and skating. > She likes to read, dance and skate.

If you woud like to read more about parallel structure, see Azar, Understanding and Using English Grammar, 8-1 (287-291).

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I couldn't find notebook. > I couldn't find my notebook.

If you woud like to read more about articles, see Azar, Understanding and Using English Grammar, A20-A23.

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The coffee it is on the table. > The coffee is on the table.

If you woud like to read more about articles, see Azar, Understanding and Using English Grammar, A20-A23.

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He drank three can of soda. > He drank three cans of soda.

If you woud like to read more about articles, see Azar, Understanding and Using English Grammar, A20-A23.

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