Question posted in my Personal Message box by pipes, Forum member (May 22, 2014):Good morning, Mr. Carillo.
I just want to ask you with regard to the sentence below.
“The United States
is the
largest producer of blueberries and blueberry products, most of
them are consumed
there and in Canada.”
Among the underlined words, which one is grammatically incorrect? I am extremely sure that the first two underlined words are correct.
I hope you could help me out on this one.
Thanks.
My reply to pipes:You are absolutely right that the first two underlined words in this test sentence that you presented are grammatically correct:
“The United States
is the l
argest producer of blueberries and blueberry products, most of
them are consumed
there and in Canada.”
Based on the way the remaining test words have been underlined though, it’s not really possible to categorically say which of them is incorrect. But if the third underlining for the pronoun “them” is extended to include the verb “are”—which I think should really be the case in that test construction—then that sentence becomes a valid test instrument in this revised form:
“The United States
is the
largest producer of blueberries and blueberry products, most of
them are consumed
there and in Canada.”
In the revised test sentence above, the underlined words “them are” are grammatically incorrect. The presence of the linking verb “are” after the pronoun “them” makes that test sentence a
comma splice. Recall that a comma splice is a faulty sentence construction where the comma proves inadequate for punctuating the main clause and its modifying clause, resulting in defective syntax and a sentence that reads badly.
IMAGE CREDIT: GRAMMATICALART.COMTo avoid the comma splice in that sentence construction, one simple fix is to drop the linking verb “are” from the modifying phrase. The correct construction will then read as follows:
“The United States is the largest producer of blueberries and blueberry products,
most of them consumed there and in Canada.”
Another way to neatly do away with the comma splice in that sentence in question is to replace the comma with a semicolon, as follows:
“The United States is the largest producer of blueberries and blueberry products; most of them are consumed there and in Canada.”
In this reconstruction, the semicolon correctly punctuates two coordinate clauses, namely “the United States is the largest producer of blueberries and blueberry products” and “most of them are consumed there and in Canada.” Note that the second coordinate clause in that sentence retains the linking verb “are,” making that clause co-equal and parallel with the first coordinate clause.
Still another neat way to avoid the comma splice in that sentence in question is to reword the modifying clause by making it an
adverbial clause modifier, as follows:
“The United States is the largest producer of blueberries and blueberry products,
mostly consumed there and in Canada.”
This construction is, of course, simply a streamlined, more concise form of the following sentence that uses a nonrestrictive modifying clause introduced by the relative pronoun “which”:
“The United States is the largest producer of blueberries and blueberry products,
which are mostly consumed there and in Canada.”
I trust that you’ll find this grammar analysis of that test sentence helpful.
