Form, Structure & Sense covers verbs, pronouns, agreement, modifiers, and parallelism — the "does this word form fit?" questions.
Cross out the fluff. Long phrases between subject and verb are there to hide agreement errors. Delete them to see what really connects.
High-frequency rules
- Subject–verb agreement: match the verb to the true subject, ignoring prepositional phrases ("the box of chocolates is…").
- Verb tense: use context/time markers; keep tenses consistent unless the timeline shifts.
- Pronoun–antecedent: a pronoun must match its noun in number ("each," "everyone" = singular).
- Modifier placement: an opening descriptive phrase must be followed immediately by the thing it describes.
- Parallelism: items in a list or comparison must share the same grammatical form.
Dangling modifier tell: "Walking to school, the rain began." The rain wasn't walking. The noun right after the comma must be the one doing the action.
Worked examples
The collection of rare stamps ____ displayed in the hall. (is / are)
- Find the true subject by crossing out the prepositional phrase: 'The collection <s>of rare stamps</s>…'
- The subject is 'collection' — singular.
- A singular subject takes a singular verb: 'is displayed.'
- The plural 'stamps' sitting right before the blank is the trap.
Having studied all night, ____ felt ready for the exam.
- The opening phrase 'Having studied all night' must describe whoever comes next.
- Ask: who studied? The student did.
- So the noun immediately after the comma must be the student: 'Having studied all night, Maria felt ready.'
- 'Having studied all night, the exam felt easy' is wrong — the exam didn't study.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Matching the verb to the nearest noun instead of the true subject. Cross out phrases starting with 'of,' 'with,' 'along with,' or 'as well as.'
- Treating 'each,' 'every,' 'everyone,' and 'neither' as plural. They are singular.
- Breaking parallel structure in a list: 'to run, to jump, and swimming' should be 'to run, to jump, and to swim.'
- Leaving a modifier dangling — the thing being described must come right after the opening phrase.