ENGL 390: Modern English Grammar 4 Units

"Usage matters: A comparative study of judgments of English usage errors"
A survey undertaken by Dr. Johanna Rubba and the students of English 390: Modern English Grammar, of Cal Poly State Univ., San Luis Obispo

Results of the class response to the survey

Summary: Students most frequently overlooked 'errors' of variation within the standard dialect, i.e. items that are undergoing change or have always varied within the standard dialect.  Second-most-frequently-overlooked were spelling errrors. 16 items that would be classified as errors by the strictest outlook were classed as non-errors by a third or more of these students. Of the 6 NO ERROR items, students rated only 3 as NO ERROR (in other words, students saw errors in 3 items that would not be seen as erroneous by a strict authority). Students rated dialect differences as most bothersome. Students agreed with each other most in this category of 'error'. Ratings of 'bothers not at all' were overall low. Evenly- or nearly-evenly-split ratings occurred most often across (b) and (c), (c) and (d), or (b), (c), and (d). The average question rating was: (a) 7 (b) 7.75 (c) 6.75 (d) 2.5 (rounded off). Therefore, where students saw an error, most were bothered by it to some degree. On the other hand, students overlooked 'errors' in over 1/3 of the occasions in which it was possible to find and therefore rate an 'error'.

Response options: 8 or more students (1/3 of respondents) rated the question thus:
(a) I see no error in this sentence. 5C, 6V*, 8N*, 9L, 10P, 17V*, 20S*, 21N, 25S, 27V, 29V , 31V*, 33V*, 41S*, 43V, 46L, 48V, 52V* (mostly variation within standard English and spelling)
(b) The error in this sentence bothers me a lot. 4S, 7P, 11D*, 14N, 23D*, 24P, 25S*, 30P, 32V*, 35V*, 36PS*, 37V, 38P*, 39V*, 45D*, 47N, 49S, 50P*, 53D* (mostly Punc., Spel., Dialect diff., Var. w/in stdrd)
(c) The error in this sentence bothers me somewhat. 4S, 7P, 12P, 13V*, 16P*, 18P, 19P, 21N, 22N, 24P, 28P*, 29V, 30P, 34V, 36PS, 38P, 40V, 43V, 44V, 50P, 51P, 54V (mostly Punc., Var. w/in stdrd.)
(d) I see an error in this sentence, but it does not bother me at all. 5C & 27V were rated (d) by 7 respondents. No other item rated higher than 6 (25% of respondents).

* = half or more of respondents had this rating for this question
C = capitalization; V = variation within the standard dialect; N = no error; L = style preference; P = punctuation; S = spelling

Highest number of students rating a question as follows (14 or more):
(a) no error 17 x #33V; 15 x 20S, 16 x #52V, 14 x 6V, 8N, 17V
(b) bothers alot 23 x 11D, 20 x 23D, 20 x 32D, 20 x 35V, 14 x 38P, 16 x 39V, 21 x 45D
(c) bothers somewhat 13 x 13V, 13 x 16P
(d) bothers not at all no item rated (d) higher than 6 x

Adding up all students (24) and all items (6 non-erroneous, 44 erroneous), there were 1056 opportunities to rate a sentence with an error in it, and 144 opportunities to rate a sentence with no error in it. Of these, the breakdown is as follows:

(a) ratings totalled 355 = 34% of opportunities to mark erroneous items as such, 30% of total 1200.
(b) ratings totalled 389 = 37% of opportunities to mark erroneous items as such, 32% of total 1200.
(c) ratings totalled 338 = 32% of opportunities to mark erroneous items as such, 28% of total 1200.
(d) ratings totalled 128 = 12% of opportunities to mark erroneous items as such, 11% of total 1200.

(I know these numbers add up to more than 1200 (1210). Anyone want to re-do the calculation?)

* 17 of the 50 items (34%) were rated (a) or (d) by over half the respondents: 5C, 6V, 7P, 9L, 10P, 15S, 17V, 20S, 27V, 29V, 31V, 33V, 17S, 43V, 46L, 48V, 52V  -- This indicates HIGH TOLERANCE of error

* 10 of the 50 items (20%) were rated (b) highly bothersome by over half the respondents: 11D, 23D, 32D, 35V, 36PS, 38P, 39V, 44V, 50P, 53D

* 4 of the 50 items (8%) were rated 'somewhat bothersome' by half or more of the students: 13V, 16P, 28P, 54V

* (b) or (c) ratings achieved more than half of the respondents' vote in 36 of the 50 items (72%):
4S, 7P, 9L, 11D, 12P, 13V, 14N(!), 15S, 16P, 18P, 19P, 21N(!), 22N(!), 23D, 24P, 25S, 26P, 28P, 30P, 32D, 35V, 36PS, 37V, 38P, 39V, 40V, 42N(!), 43V, 44V, 45D, 47N(!), 49S, 50P, 51P, 53D, 54V
 

Below are the errors sorted into category by type. The numbers following each item are the ratings our class gave the item, in the order (a) (b) (c) (d). For example, 14 students gave an a rating to #8, 1 gave it a(b) rating, 7 a (c) rating, and 2 a (d) rating.

NO ERROR = 6

8) Students who miss the deadline for adding classes must pay a fee to change their registration.
14 1 7 2

14) We thought it best to decline the lavish gifts sent to the director and me. 6 11 4 3

21) Our new fax machine is missing two buttons in its keypad. 7 3 11 3

22) These second graders' grasp of spelling rules is very impressive. 9 6 9 0

42) This group's task is to choose the employees whom the President will greet during his visit to the company. 5 7 7 4

47) There is a large number of protesters blocking the main entrance. 9 11 3 1

SPELLING = 7

4) No stockbroker can guarantee that you will not loose your initial investment. 7 8 8 1
lose

15) High gas prices do not seem to effect consumer demand one way or the other. 7 5 7 5
affect

20) The tornado left a broomhandle firmly imbedded in the trunk of a huge oak. 15 3 4 2
embedded

25) The police have not yet determined who was responsable for the vandalism. 8 10 2 3
responsible

36) I am trying to contact the person who's car sideswiped mine on Grand Avenue last February 19th.
who's > whose 3 12 8 1

41) The new curriculum contains units on phonics and grammer. 14 3 3 3
grammar

49) If your company had informed me of the penalty in a timely manner, I would of paid the charges well before any late fees applied. 4 11 6 3
would have

DIALECT DIFFERENCE = 5

11) I seen more than one accident at that intersection. 0 23 0 1
saw

23) The doctor hisself guaranteed that the surgery would solve my problem. 0 20 4 0
himself

32) When Mr. Dingle come home last night, there was a strong smell of alcohol on his breath. 1 20 1 2
came

45) I am dissatisfied with your product, but I do not expect no refund. 1 21 2 0
double negation: standard is: I do not expect any refund

53) Patients coming into the office should set themselves down and wait until the receptionist asks for their names. 3 12 5 4
set themselves > sit

CHANGE/VARIATION IN STANDARD DIALECT = 17

6) Our approach to school reform is different than other programs. 14 1 5 4
Some people prefer 'different from' or 'different to'

13) A short list of finalists will be compiled from the candidates who we interview. 1 4 13 6
'Whom' would have been required before we started to lose case in 'who' pronouns

17) Although I followed the manual's instructions to the letter, I was not able to access my voice mail.
'Access' used to be only a noun; it is now used as a verb also 14 4 5 1

27) Everyone had paid for their concert ticket in advance. 11 4 2 7
Generic 'their' is considered out of number agreement with 'everyone', which is singular

29) After the meeting, the CEO invited my partner and I to his home for cocktails. 9 3 9 3
Correct case used to be 'my partner and me'

31) The second sentence of this document infers that you will not assume liability for legal fees.
14 4 3 3
'Infer' is taking on the meaning of 'imply'

33) School violence has yet to impact this rural community. 17 1 4 1
Use of 'impact' as a verb is new

34) The police will arrest whomever is caught entering the condemned structure. 6 5 9 4
'whomever' is hypercorrect; correct is 'whoever'; 'whoever' is subject of 'caught'

35) Our executive vice-president will soon inform we candidates of the individuals chosen for the overseas task force. 1 20 2 1
'we' should be 'us', direct object

37) Every one of my grandmother's valuable antiques were damaged in the fire. 9 9 5 1
Subject is 'one' -- verb should be 'was' (subject/verb agreement rule is changing)

39) There's numerous flaws in your plan to improve assembly-line efficiency. 3 16 5 0
There's > There are

40) There must be at least one person trained in first aid between the five of us. 6 4 10 3
'between' used to be reserved for two, not more than two ('among' would be 'correct')

43) If our branch was the sales leader, we would qualify for generous yearly bonuses. 8 4 8 4
Past 'was' is supplanting hypothetical 'were'

44) The student group called 'The Skins' was originally suspected of setting off cherry bombs in the boys' bathroom, but it turned out not to be them. 7 5 11 1
'turned out not to be they' (would anybody actually say this??)

48) Our new ad campaign promotes Hana Ho as the most unique luxury resort in America's southwestern states. 11 3 5 5
'unique' used to be absolute, not a matter of degree (something was either 'one of a kind' or not)

52) The data does not support the claims of the dietary-supplement industry. 16 2 5 1
'Data' is historically plural

54) Every year, less students vote in general elections. 4 5 12 2
Less > fewer

INFORMAL VS. FORMAL STYLE = 2

9) A pulmonary embolism is when a blod clot develops in the lung.
Reserve 'when' for time expressions, not definitions of nouns like 'embolism'. 8 6 6 4

46) Before using this device, it should be thoroughly cleaned. 10 4 7 3
Dangling modifier 'Before using this device' modifies 'it'. Repair: This device should be thorougly cleaned before it is used. Or Before this device is used, it should be thoroughly cleaned.

PUNCTUATION = 14

7) After the injury, the dog was unable to recognize it's owner. 5 9 8 2
Its -- no apostrophe needed

10) The new law would force all instructors to join the teachers union. 10 4 7 3
Should 'teachers' have an apostrophe? teachers' Is it plural possessive?

12) We will contact you when a decision has been made, please do not contact us before then. 6 6 9 3
Comma splice -- replace comma with period or semicolon.

18) In addition to my extracurricular activities in college, I was active in numerous community groups(please see the enclosed resume). 6 4 11 3
Insert character space between 'groups' and parens: 'groups (please"

19) Apple has once again posted larger than expected profits. 8 4 10 2
Hyphenate pre-modifying phrase 'larger-than-expected'

16) All of the passengers, who were injured in the bus mishap, were transported to the emergency room. The rest left the scene after being interviewed by the police. 4 5 13 2
Remove commas around restrictive modifier 'injured in the mishap'

24) We believe that certain measures-including sensitivity training for males and assertiveness training for females-could reduce the incidence of date rape. 5 8 8 3
Replace hyphens - with dashes --

26) We have made several important business contacts in the Peoples Republic of China. 7 4 10 3
Peoples' (plural possessive)

28) Those joining the evening hike should bring the following items; a flashlight, a quart of drinking water, a warm jacket, and a hat. 5 6 12 0
Replace semicolon ; with colon : before a list.

36) I am trying to contact the person who's car sideswiped mine on Grand Avenue last February 19th.
Whose, not who's 3 12 8 1

30) The Anglo-Saxon's were firmly established in England by 600 A.D., about 200 years after they had begun invading the island of Britain. 3 10 9 1
No apostrophe needed: Anglo-Saxons

38) I have remained loyal to this company. Although the company has not always treated me well. 0 14 9 1
Second string is a fragment; do not punctuate as complete sentence.

50) Even relatively mild lung infections, can turn into bronchitis or pnuemonia. 2 12 9 1
Comma between subject and predicate - eliminate

51) The administration is scrapping the program, which is bad for morale. 4 6 8 5
Ambiguous modifier: comma makes it impossible to tell whether 'which is bad for morale' modifies 'program' or 'scrapping'

CAPITALIZATION = 1

5) The new restaurant in the square serves excellent french dishes. 8 4 5 7
French