Grammar in Use
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.
Editing at sentence level is a different job from checking spelling. The words may all be spelled correctly and the sentence may still be wrong, because something is missing, something is repeated, or something has drifted away from the words it belongs to. Those three faults account for most of what an editing task is looking for.
A word is missing
Small words go missing first, because the eye reads straight past the gap. He is one of best players — the is gone. I am waiting my friend — for is gone. Read slowly enough to hear the gap, not fast enough to fill it in your head.
A word is not needed
Return back, repeat again, both of them both, reached at, discussed about. In each of these one word is doing a job another word has already done. Take it out and nothing is lost.
A word is in the wrong place
A description has to sit next to what it describes. The teacher gave the books to the students that were torn — as it stands, the students are torn. Move the phrase, do not add anything: the teacher gave the students the books that were torn.
The dangling opening phrase
Running down the stairs, the bag slipped from my hand. An opening phrase like this normally attaches to whatever noun comes next, so here the bag is doing the running. The repair is to name the right person: as I ran down the stairs, the bag slipped from my hand.
Only, and where to put it
Only limits whatever follows it. She only read the first page, she read only the first page and only she read the first page all mean different things in careful writing. Put it immediately in front of the words you mean it to limit.
Worked example
Edit: "Waiting at the gate, my ticket was checked twice by the guard."
Look at the opening phrase: Waiting at the gate.
An opening phrase attaches to the noun straight after the comma — and the noun there is my ticket.
Try it together
Three sentences, three different faults.
Each step gives one sentence with one fault. Write a single word each time.
1."He is one of best players in the team." One small word is missing. Write it.
Have a go
Which word should be taken out? "We reached at the station just before the train left."
Ready to practise?
Eight questions on what you have just read. Nothing is timed, and you can play as many times as you like.