College Composition / Unit 6 CMP 0142 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Repairing Mixed Constructions
The idea
A mixed construction is repaired by deciding which half of the sentence to keep and rewriting the other half to fit it.
In practice
Work in order. First, find the point where the sentence changes direction. Second, read the first half and ask what grammar it sets up: a subject waiting for a verb, an introductory phrase waiting for a subject, or a linking verb waiting for a noun or adjective. Third, read the second half and see what it supplies instead. Fourth, rewrite one half: either change the opening so it can be the subject, or keep the opening and supply the missing subject. Fifth, if the error is is when, is where or a because clause used as a subject, rewrite with a real noun or a clear cause. Sixth, check that the repaired sentence still makes the writer's point.
Where people slip
Often the cleanest repair is a shorter sentence. Many mixed constructions come from trying to say two things at once; separating them into two sentences can be clearer than forcing them into one.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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