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Year 9 English — Editing at sentence level

Find the fault in a whole sentence — a missing word, a needless one, or a word standing in the wrong place — and put it right.

Name: ________________________

  1. 1.In careful writing, "only" goes immediately before the words it limits. If the meaning is that she read one page and no more, which version places it correctly? "She read the first page of the letter."

    • a) She read the first page of the only letter.
    • b) She only read the first page of the letter.
    • c) Only she read the first page of the letter.
    • d) She read only the first page of the letter.

  2. 2.Which sentence accidentally says something its writer did not mean?

    • a) The old bridge looked strange as I walked home in the rain.
    • b) Walking home in the rain, the old bridge looked strange to me.
    • c) Walking home in the rain, I saw the old bridge for the first time.
    • d) As I walked home in the rain, the old bridge looked strange.

  3. 3.Which sentence is correct as it stands?

    • a) He explained to me the whole problem.
    • b) He explained me about the whole problem.
    • c) He explained me the whole problem.
    • d) He explain to me the whole problem.

  4. 4.Which word should be taken out? "He returned back from the station an hour ago."

    • a) back
    • b) ago
    • c) from
    • d) returned

  5. 5.One word is missing. Which is it? "She is fond music and dancing."

    • a) with
    • b) for
    • c) in
    • d) of

  6. 6.Put the steps of editing a sentence in the right order.

    • Finally, read the corrected sentence aloud to be sure nothing new has broken.
    • First, read the sentence straight through without stopping.
    • Next, find the subject and its verb, and check that they agree.
    • Then look for a word that is missing, doubled, or standing in the wrong place.

  7. 7.One word is missing from this sentence. Write it. "He has been living here two years."

  8. 8.Match each faulty sentence to the name of its fault.

    • He arrived to the station at six.
    • The letter was write by my sister.
    • He explained me the answer.
    • We reached at the airport late.
    • Seeing the crowd, the plan was changed.
    • a wrong verb form
    • a missing preposition
    • a preposition that is not needed
    • a dangling opening phrase
    • a wrong preposition

Answer key — Year 9 English — Editing at sentence level

  1. 1. d) She read only the first page of the letter.
  2. 2. b) Walking home in the rain, the old bridge looked strange to me.
  3. 3. a) He explained to me the whole problem.
  4. 4. a) back
  5. 5. d) of
  6. 6. 1. First, read the sentence straight through without stopping. 2. Next, find the subject and its verb, and check that they agree. 3. Then look for a word that is missing, doubled, or standing in the wrong place. 4. Finally, read the corrected sentence aloud to be sure nothing new has broken.
  7. 7. for
  8. 8. He arrived to the station at six. → a wrong preposition; The letter was write by my sister. → a wrong verb form; He explained me the answer. → a missing preposition; We reached at the airport late. → a preposition that is not needed; Seeing the crowd, the plan was changed. → a dangling opening phrase