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DEMONSTRATION ONLY: This demonstration presents an abbreviated version of the complete MTEL course. Click 'Next' at the bottom of the screen or make a selection from the links on the left to begin. Not all links are available for the demo.
0008 Recognize Common Errors of Sentence Construction, Grammar, and Usage
Identify Misplaced or Dangling Modifiers
Make sure that you understand standard English rules for comparing two or more items:
Comparative forms of words allow clear comparisons of two items. Three sentences using comparative forms correctly are shown below.
The apple is good, but the pear is better.
He is taller, though not smarter, than his older brother.
She plays the guitar more rapidly than her father.
Superlative forms of words allow clear comparisons of more than two items. Three sentences using superlative forms correctly are shown below.
The apple is good, the pear is better, but the peach is best.
He is the tallest, though not the smartest or the oldest, of the four brothers.
She plays the guitar the most rapidly of anyone I ever heard.
Be sure to compare similar terms. An example of an unacceptable comparison is shown below.
The roar of a lion is much louder than an elephant.
Note that the comparison is between the roar and an elephant. The sentence could be corrected as:
The roar of a lion is much louder than the call of an elephant.
The sentence below contains a comparison that can be easily improved.
The Pacific Ocean is larger than any ocean in the world.
By adding the word "other" the improved comparison is:
The Pacific Ocean is larger than any other ocean in the world.
The sentence below makes an incomplete comparison.
Children born in the 1990s are different.
The sentence fails to state how children are different. It also does not mention who is being compared to children born in the 1990s. To improve the sentence, it must be more specific as in:
Children born in the 1990s are healthier than children of their parents’ generation.
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