CHAPTER NINE
Mixed and Incomplete Sentences
Mixed Sentences
A mixed sentence contains two or more parts that are incompatible—that is, the parts do not fit together. The misfit may be in grammar or in meaning.
Mixed Grammar: After watching television for twelve hours was the reason his head hurt.
Mixed Meaning: The work involved in directing the use of resources is the definition of management.
a Be sure that the parts of your sentences, particularly subjects and predicates, fit together grammatically.
Many mixed sentences occur when we start a sentence with one grammatical plan or construction in mind but end it with a different one. Such sentences often result from a confusion between two ways of making a statement.
Mixed: In all her efforts to please others got her into trouble.
In this mixed sentence the writer starts with a modifying prepositional phrase and then tries to make that phrase work as the subject of “got.” But prepositional phrases can very seldom function as sentence subjects. Here are two ways to revise the sentence.
Revised: In all her efforts to please others, she got into trouble. [The necessary subject “she” is added to the main clause.]
or
Revised: All her efforts to please others got her into trouble. [The preposition “In” is dropped, leaving the subject “All her efforts.”]
Each group of sentences below illustrates a similar confusion between two sentence plans and gives ideas for revision.
Mixed: Although he was seen with a convicted thief does not make him a thief. [The writer has used an adverb clause, beginning “Although,” as the subject of “does.” An adverb clause cannot serve as a subject.]
Revised: That he was seen with a convicted thief does not make him a thief. [“That” changes the clause into a noun clause, a grammatical subject.]
or
Revised: Although he was seen with a convicted thief, he is not necessarily a thief. [A new subject and verb are supplied for the main clause.]
Mixed: Among those who pass the entrance examinations, they do not all get admitted to the program. [“They” is not an appropriate subject for the modifying phrase beginning “Among.” A subject such as “all” or “many” is needed.]
Revised: Among those who pass the entrance examinations, not all get admitted to the program.
or
Revised: Among those who pass the entrance examinations, many do not get admitted to the program.
or
Revised: Not all those who pass the entrance examinations get admitted to the program.
b Be sure that the subjects and predicates of your sentences fit together in meaning.
The mixed sentences examined above are confusing because their parts do not fit together grammatically. Another kind of mixed sentence fails because its subject and predicate do not fit together in meaning. Such a mixture is sometimes called a faulty predication.
The most common form of faulty predication occurs when the linking verb “be” connects a subject and its complement. Since such a sentence forms a kind of equation, the subject and complement must be items that can be sensibly equated. If they are not, the sentence goes awry.
Faulty: A compromise between the city and the town would be the ideal place to live.
In this sentence, the subject “compromise” is equated with the complement “place.” Thus the sentence says that “a compromise is a place,” clearly not a sensible statement. Sometimes such mixed sentences seem to result from the writer’s effort to compress too many ideas into a single word or phrase. The sentence above can be revised to state the writer’s meaning more exactly.
Revised: A community that offered the best qualities of both city and town would be the ideal place to live.
A special kind of faulty predication occurs when a clause beginning “when” or “where” follows a form of “be” in a definition, as in “Suffrage is where you have the right to vote.” Though the construction is common in speech, written definitions require nouns or noun clauses on both sides of “be”: “Suffrage is the right to vote.”
Faulty: An examination is when you are tested on what you know.
Revised: An examination is a test of what you know.
or
Revised: In an examination you are tested on what you know.
A similar kind of faulty predication occurs when a because-clause follows the subject-verb pattern “The reason is,” as in “The reason is because I don’t want to.” This construction is common in speech, but it is redundant since the conjunction “because” means “for the reason that.” The construction should not appear in writing.
Faulty: The reason we were late is because we had an accident.
Revised: The reason we were late is that we had an accident.
or
Revised: We were late is because we had an accident.
Faulty predications are not confined to sentences with “be.” Look at the sentences below.
Faulty: The use of emission controls was created to reduce air pollution. [The controls, not their use, were created.]
Revised: Emission controls were created to reduce air pollution.
Faulty: The area of financial mismanagement poses a threat to small businesses. [Mismanagement, not the area, poses the threat.]
Revised: Financial mismanagement poses a threat to small businesses.
In some mixed sentences the combination of faults is so confusing that the writer has little choice but to start over.
Mixed: My long-range goal is through law school and government work I hope to deal with those problems I deal with more effectively.
Possible Revision: My long-range goal is to go to law school and then work in government so that I can deal more effectively with problems I face.
Exercise 1. Revise the following sentences so that parts fit together both in grammar and in meaning. Each item has more than one possible answer.
Example: When they found out how expensive pianos are is why they were discouraged.
Revised: They were discouraged because they found out how expensive pianos are.
or
Revised: When they found out how expensive pianos are, they were discouraged.
1. The different accents of students is in where they grew up.
2. Because he believes news programs are misleading is why he does not watch them.
3. By simply increasing the amount of money we spend will not solve the problem of crime.
4. An antique is when an object is one hundred or more years old.
5. Among the polished stones, they were all beyond my price range.
6. Schizophrenia is when a person withdraws from reality and behaves in abnormal ways.
7. Any government that can support an expedition to Mars, they should be able to solve their country’s social problems too.
8. Needlepoint is where you work with yarn on a mesh canvas.
9. Through the help of his staff is how the mayor got reelected.
10. The reason many people don’t accept the theory of evolution is because it goes contrary to their religious beliefs.
Incomplete Sentences
The most serious kind of incomplete sentence is the fragment (see Chapter Three). But sentences are also incomplete when the writer omits one or more words needed to make a phrase or clause clear or accurate.
c Be sure that omissions from compound constructions are consistent with grammar or idiom.
In both speech and writing we commonly use elliptical construction—constructions that omit words not necessary for meaning. In the following sentences the words in parentheses can be omitted without confusing or distracting the reader. Notice that they all involve compound constructions.
My car has been driven 80,000 miles; his (has been driven) only 20,000 (miles).
Some people heat by oil and some (heat) by gas.
She had great hopes for her sons and (for) their children.
Such omissions are possible only when the words omitted are common to all the parts of a compound construction. When the parts differ in grammar or idiom, all words must be included in all parts.
My car has been driven 80,000 miles; their cars have been driven only 20,000 miles.
I am firm; you are stubborn; he is pigheaded.
The students were invited and were happy to go. [The first “were” is a helping verb in the passive verb phrase “were invited.” The second “were” is a linking verb with the complement “happy.”]
She had faith in and hopes for the future. [Idiom requires different prepositions with “faith” and “hopes,” so both must be included.]
Notice that in the sentence “My brother and friend moved to Dallas,” the omission of “my” before “friend” indicates that “brother” and “friend” are the same person. If two different persons are meant, the modifier or article must be repeated: My brother and my friend moved to Dallas
d Be sure that all comparisons are complete and logical.
Comparisons make statements about the relation between two or more things, as in “Dogs are more intelligent than cats” or “Bones was the most intelligent dog we ever had.” To be complete and logical, a comparison must state the relation fully enough to ensure clarity; it must compare only items that can sensibly be compared; and it must include all and only the items being compared.
1 State a comparison fully enough to ensure clarity.
In a comparison such as “John likes bowling better than (he likes) tennis,” we can omit the words “he likes” because only one meaning is possible. But sentences such as “John likes bowling better than Jane” may mean either “better than he likes Jane” or “better than Jane likes bowling.” Therefore, we must be careful to state such sentences fully enough to prevent any misreading.
Unclear: They worry more about money than their child.
Clear: They worry more about money than their child does.
or
Clear: They worry more about money than about their child.
2 Be sure that the items being compared are in fact comparable.
A comparison is logical only if it compares items that can sensibly be compared. We can compare one food with another or one car with another, but we cannot sensibly compare food with cars. We are likely to make illogical comparisons unintentionally.
Illogical: The cost of a typewriter is greater than a calculator. [The writer compares the cost of something with a calculator.]
Revised: The cost of a typewriter is greater than the cost of (or: that of) a calculator.
3 In comparing members of the same class, use “other” or “any other.” In comparing members of different classes, use “any.”
When we compare a person or thing with all others in the same group, we form two units: (1) the individual person or thing and (2) all other persons or things in the group.
Joshua [the individual] was more stubborn than any other child in the family [all the others in the group].
Illogical: Los Angeles is larger than any city in California Los Angeles is itself a city in California , the sentence seems to say that Los Angeles
Logical: Los Angeles is larger than any other city in California Los Angeles
When a person or thing is compared with the members of a different group, the two units are logically separate.
Some American cars [one group] are cheaper than any foreign car [a different group].
Illogical: Los Angeles is larger than any other city in Canada Canada constitute a group to which Los Angeles
Logical: Los Angeles is larger than any city in Canada
4 Avoid comparisons that do not state what is being compared.
Brand X gets clothes whiter. [Whiter than what?]
Brand Y is so much better. [Better than what?]
e Be careful not to omit articles, prepositions, or other needed words.
In haste or carelessness writers sometimes omit small words such as articles and prepositions that are needed for clarity.
Incomplete: Regular payroll deductions are a type painless savings. You hardly notice missing amounts, and after period of years the contributions can add a large total.
Revised: Regular payroll deductions are a type of painless savings. You hardly notice the missing amounts, and after a period of years the contributions can add up to a large total.
In both speech and writing we often omit “that” when it introduces a noun clause following a verb: We knew (that) he was coming. But such an omission can sometimes be confusing.
Incomplete: She observed many people who had been invited were missing. [At first reading, “many people” appears to be the object of “observed” rather than the subject of the entire subordinate clause.]
Revised: She observed that many people who had been invited were missing.
Attentive proofreading is the only insurance against the kind of omissions described in this chapter. Proofread all your papers carefully.
Exercise 2. Revise the following sentences so that they are complete, logical, and clear. Some items have more than one possible answer.
Example: Our house is closer to the courthouse than the subway stop.
Revised: Our house is closer to the courthouse than it is to the subway stop.
or
Revised: Our house is closer to the courthouse than the subway stop is.
1. I get along with my parents better than my sister.
2. Councilor Dougherty not only believes but works for tax reform.
3. Wally believed people who came to him with their problems were using him.
4. His tip was larger than any customer I ever waited on.
5. With an altitude of 6288 feet, New Hampshire ’s Mount Washington is higher than any mountain in New England .
6. The largest bookstore the United States stocks two three copies most books in print.
7. The dog is only a puppy; the cats both ten years old.
8. My chemistry text is more interesting to me than any other social science text.
9. Inventors usually have an interest and talent for solving practical problems.
10. The legal question raised by the prosecution was relevant and considered by the judge.
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