TOEFL STUDY GUIDE

PART 3

STRUCTURE AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION

Error Identification Tips 51 – 59 (cont)

Structure: Error Identification TIP 54
Seven Common Errors: Error #3
Pronouns
Pronoun agreement: Make sure the pronoun agrees with the
noun it replaces in terms of number, case, and gender. For
example, "I was sure I had the money because I remember
counting it." This sentence is correct; it would be incorrect to
say, "I was sure I had the money because I remember
counting them."
Missing pronouns, such as "He took the money from my
purse but he promised to replace...."; This sentence should
read, "He took the money from my purse but he promised to
replace it."
Extra pronouns: If you see a noun and a pronoun right next to
each other, one is probably unnecessary (especially as an
unnecessary second subject). for example, "The child he is
very stubborn" should read, "The child is very stubborn."

Structure: Error Identification TIP 55
Seven Common Errors: Error #4
Diction
Watch out for the use of a verb instead of a noun or vice
versa! For example:

Structure: Error Identification TIP 56
Seven Common Errors: Error #5
Parallelism

The rule is that items in a list must be in the same form. For
example:
"Eileen loved to run, doing her homework, and to
watch television." You must change "doing her
homework" to "do her homework." You could also
say, "Eileen loved running, doing her homework, and
watching televison."
Seven Common Errors: Error #6
Quantity and Comparison Words
Quantity:
When expressing a quantity of a countable noun, use fewer,
number, and many.
When expressing a quantity of a noncountable noun, use
"less, quantity, amount, little,and much.
Remember, much is used for quantity, many for number. Examples
of these rules are:
"He hasn't much money, but he has many friends."
"He eats little chocolate and few sweets."
l Much before a noun or modifying a verb is rarely used in an affirmative
statement or command. It is often replaced with "a lot of", "a good deal
of", or "plenty of". For example:
"I have spent a lot of money."
"Bring a lot of cheese."
"I enjoyed it a lot."
However, "very much, too much, and so much" are used more
commonly. For example: