Common Mistakes in Writing Declarative Sentences:
1. Subject-Verb Agreement:
* Mistake: The team is playing well today.
* Correction: The team are playing well today. (The subject "team" is plural, so the verb needs to be plural too.)
2. Incorrect Verb Tense:
* Mistake: I went to the store yesterday and buy some milk.
* Correction: I went to the store yesterday and bought some milk. (Both verbs should be in the past tense.)
3. Misplaced Modifiers:
* Mistake: I saw a dog running down the street with a wagging tail.
* Correction: I saw a dog with a wagging tail running down the street. (The modifier "with a wagging tail" should be closer to the noun it modifies.)
4. Dangling Modifiers:
* Mistake: While walking down the street, a dog ran past me.
* Correction: While walking down the street, I saw a dog run past me. (The modifier "while walking down the street" needs to be connected to the subject performing the action.)
5. Incomplete Sentences:
* Mistake: I went to the store, but didn't buy anything.
* Correction: I went to the store, but I didn't buy anything. (The sentence needs a complete subject and verb.)
6. Run-on Sentences:
* Mistake: The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the flowers were blooming it was a perfect day.
* Correction: The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the flowers were blooming. It was a perfect day. (Use punctuation or conjunctions to separate independent clauses.)
7. Fragments:
* Mistake: Running down the street.
* Correction: The dog was running down the street. (A fragment lacks a subject or verb.)
8. Faulty Parallelism:
* Mistake: I like to swim, play tennis, and reading books.
* Correction: I like to swim, play tennis, and read books. (All elements in a series should be parallel in structure.)
9. Lack of Clarity:
* Mistake: The dog barked at the man in the park.
* Correction: The dog, a large German Shepherd, barked at the man who was sitting on a bench in the park. (Provide more context for clarity.)
10. Overuse of Passive Voice:
* Mistake: The ball was thrown by the boy.
* Correction: The boy threw the ball. (Active voice is usually more direct and concise.)
By avoiding these common mistakes, you can write clear, concise, and grammatically correct declarative sentences.