English Composition

English Composition Study Guide

It is best to revise sentences to avoid ending with a preposition. However, in some cases, the preposition is part of an idiomatic construction. In these instances, ending the sentence with a preposition may be correct. If ending a sentence with a preposition is never correct, how will the princess live happily ever after? Can you start a sentence with a conjunction? The correct answer is sometimes . It is not technically incorrect. However, sentences that begin with conjunctions tend to be incomplete or sound child-like. It is better to revise the sentence to avoid beginning with a conjunction. Parallelism: When writing, it is important that series of words be identical in form. This is called parallelism or parallel construction. • Mark enjoys reading, watching television, and to play soccer. Reading and watching television are parallel but to play soccer doesn’t match the other two activities. There are several ways this sentence could be revised. • Mark enjoys reading, watching television, and playing soccer. • Mark likes to read, to watch television, and to play soccer. Phrases A phrase is a group of words used together to create its own meaning. A phrase does not contain a subject and a predicate. There are different types of phrases. Each type of phrase functions as a different part of speech. Propositional phrases: Prepositional phrases combine a preposition with a noun. These phrases can also contain words that modify the noun. A prepositional phrase can be used as an adjectivemodifying a noun or as an adverb modifying a verb. • Into the dark woods • Under the large tree • Over the river • After the movie Prepositional phrases used as an adjective modifying a noun: • Marlo is the girl with curly blonde hair . • Michael bought the dog in the window . Prepositional phrase used as an adverb modifying a verb: • Sarah ran down the hill . • Adrian spoke in a calm voice .

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