1. Subject-verb Agreement.
Contractions
WRONG: He don’t get it.
RIGHT: He doesn’t get it.
Using a Singular or Plural Verb
WRONG: John and Mary is here.
RIGHT: John and Mary are here.
Singular Indefinite Pronouns, Plural Indefinite Pronouns.
WRONG: Everyone take out their pens.
RIGHT: Everyone take out his (or her) pen.
(Reminder: the singular indefinite pronouns are anyone, everyone, everybody, someone, somebody, one, each, either, anybody, no one).
2. Comma Blunder (Run-ons).
WRONG: Running two sentences together without conjunctions or correct punctuations.
RIGHT: John saw her arrive, he was glad. (run-on)
RIGHT: John saw her arrive, and he was glad.
RIGHT: John saw her arrive; he was glad.
RIGHT: John saw her arrive. He was glad.
3. Fragments.
Fragments are parts of sentences punctuated as if they were complete. Often, broadcasters use fragments. Please do not do so in writing.
WRONG: Because it rained. (dependent clause)
WRONG: Into the night. (prepositional phrase)
WRONG: Relieved of his problems. (past participial phrase)
WRONG: Jumping into the water. (present participial phrase)
RIGHT: Because it rained, we stayed home.
RIGHT: The police worked long into the night. (or, Late into the night, the police worked to find the culprits).
RIGHT: Relieved of his problems, his mood brightened.
RIGHT: Jumping into the water, Harry started swimming.
4. Faulty Pronoun Reference. Do not shift persons in mid-sentence.
WRONG: I like to run because running builds your muscles.
RIGHT: I like to run because running builds my muscles.
WRONG: When someone overeats, they may get overweight.
RIGHT: When someone overeats, he may get overweight.
5. Shifts in Tenses. The simplest tense to use is the simple past tense. Almost all print journalism should be written in the simple past tense.
WRONG: Mary meets John and married him.
RIGHT: Mary met John and married him.
