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Here, “however” is a part of the first independent clause and qualifies its claim. The sentence thus suggests the boy was not totally lazy because he did get around to reading a book. Note how the meaning changes when “however” becomes the introductory word for the second independent clause.

The lazy boy did finally read a book; however, it was the least he could do.

Here, the restricting force of “however” suggests that reading the book was not much of an accomplishment.

Test yourself 19.2: Comma Splices

What makes each of the following sentences a comma splice? Determine the best way to fix each one and why, and then make the correction.

“Virtual reality” is a new buzzword, so is “hyperspace.”

Many popular cures for cancer have been discredited, nevertheless, many people continue to buy them.

Elvis Presley’s home, Graceland, attracts many musicians as a kind of shrine, even Paul Simon has been there.

She didn’t play well with others, she sat on the bench and watched.

BWE 3: ERRORS IN SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

The subject and the verb must agree in number, a singular subject taking a singular verb and a plural subject taking a plural verb. Errors in subject–verb agreement usually occur when a writer misidentifies the subject or verb of a clause.

Agreement Problem: plural subject, singular verb

Various kinds of vandalism has been rapidly increasing.

Correction

Various kinds of vandalism have been rapidly increasing. [verb made plural to match “kinds”]

When you isolate the grammatical subject (“kinds”) and the verb (“has”) of the original sentence, you can tell that they do not agree. Although “vandalism” might seem to be the subject because it is closest to the verb, it is actually the object of the preposition “of.” The majority of agreement problems arise from mistaking the object of a preposition for the actual subject of a sentence. If you habitually make this mistake, you can begin to remedy it by familiarizing yourself with the most common prepositions. (See the Glossary of Grammatical Terms, which contains a list of these.)

Agreement Problem: singular subject, plural verb

Another aspect of territoriality that differentiates humans from animals are their possession of ideas and objects.

Correction

Another aspect of territoriality that differentiates humans from animals is their possession of ideas and objects. [verb made singular to match subject “aspect”]

The subject of the sentence is “aspect.” The two plural nouns (“humans” and “animals”) probably encourage the mistake of using a plural verb (“are”), but “humans” is part of the “that” clause modifying “aspect,” and “animals” is the object of the preposition “from.”

Agreement Problem: “each” must take singular verb

The Republican and the Democrat both believe in doing what’s best for America, but each believe that the other doesn’t understand what’s best.

Correction

The Republican and the Democrat both believe in doing what’s best for America, but each believes that the other doesn’t understand what’s best. [verb made singular to agree with subject “each”]

The word “each” is always singular, so the verb (“believes”) must be singular as well. The presence of a plural subject and verb in the sentence’s first independent clause (“the Republican and the Democrat both believe”) has probably encouraged the error.

Test yourself 19.3: Subject-Verb Agreement

Diagnose and correct the error in the following example.

The controversies surrounding the placement of Arthur Ashe’s statue in Richmond was difficult for the various factions to resolve.

A Note on Dialects and Standard Written English

Some people have trouble recognizing and fixing certain errors because they are not errors in their discourse communities. Different cultures inside the larger culture of English-language speakers use different syntactical forms. This fact has given rise to the phrase “Standard Written English,” which names one particular version of English as the norm. People whose language practices constitute a dialect,