FAULTY PREDICATION Writing Clearly “I admire anyone who has the guts to write anything at all.” E.B.White

Faulty Predication Rising costs diminish college for many students. Occurs when the subject and the verb do not make sense together, and this problem can certainly create headaches and confusion for readers. Sometimes the sentence’s subject cannot carry out the activity that the sentence’s verb describes, or the subject can’t be described by the verb. For example……

The subject can’t “be” or “do” the verb. The purpose of movies was invented to entertain people. Correct: The purpose of movies is to entertain people Or Movies were invented to entertain people. In the sentence above, the subject is “purpose.” However, the purpose itself cannot “persuade,” as the verb in this sentence states.

“is when or is where” Avoid starting a definition with when or where. A waterspout is when a tornado is over water. A waterspout is a tornado occurring over water. A vacation is where people get away from school and/or work to relax. A vacation is a break people take to get away from school and/or work. A lay-up is where a player dribbles to the basket and then makes a one-handed, banked shot. To shoot a lay-up, a player dribbles in close to the basket and then makes a one-handed, banked shot.

“the reason is because” The reason for low sales is because prices are too high. The reason for low sales is that prices are too high. Sales are low because prices are too high.

IS WHEN…. IS WHY….. IS WHERE … THE REASON IS BECAUSE…. MAKE SURE THAT THE SUBJECT IS CARRYING OUT THE ACTION OF THE VERB. To correct Faulty Predication – get rid of….