THEONLYGRAMMAR

BOOKYOU’LLEVERNEED

AONE-STOPSOURCEFOREVERY

WRITINGASSIGNMENT

SUSANTHURMAN

EditedbyLarryShea

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bySusanThurman.©2002.F+WMedia,Inc.Allrightsreserved.Thisbook,orpartsthereof,maynotbereproduced

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Contents

Introduction

Chapter1:FindingtheRightWordsSpellingItOutCommonlyConfusedWords

Chapter2:PartsofSpeechNounsPronounsAdjectivesVerbsAdverbsComparisonswithAdjectivesandAdverbsPrepositionsConjunctionsInterjections

Chapter3:BasicSentenceStructureSubjectsandPredicatesComplementsSubjectComplementsPhrasesClausesRestrictiveandNonrestrictiveClausesSentenceFunctionsSubject-VerbAgreement:KeepingtheHarmony

Chapter4:VerbVarietiesVerbalsVerbTensesIrregularVerbsMoods

Chapter5:PronounProblemsProblemswithAgreementProblemswithIndefinitePronounsVaguePronounReferencesChoosingtheRightPerson

PronounCasesSituationswithThanandAsWhoandWhom:ADifferentSlant

Chapter6:PunctuationandStyleEndingaSentenceQuotationMarksUsingApostrophesCommasColonsSemicolonsHyphensDashesParenthesesSquareBracketsItalicsandUnderliningAngleBracketsEllipsisPointsTheSlash/Virgule/Solidus

Chapter7:WritingBetterSentencesMisplacedModifiersDanglingModifiersSquintingModifiersParallelisminWritingWritingLogicallySentenceFragmentsRun-OnSentencesTransitionalWordsandPhrases

Chapter8:AvoidingCommonErrorsSteeringClearofClichésEliminatingRepetitionCuttingOutWordyExpressionsDoubleNegativesAndtheSurveySays

Chapter9:GettingDowntoBusiness:WritingandRevisingHelpfulPreliminariesYourFirstDraft

RevisingYourWritingAFinalReading

Chapter10:WritingFormats:Essays,Summaries,Reports,andMoreASingleParagraphTheFive-ParagraphEssayTheAbstractTheArgumentEssayTheCause-and-EffectEssayCompareandContrastACriticalAnalysisAPersonalJournalDescriptiveEssaysAutobiographicalNarrativesThePrécisTheProcessPaperBusinessandTechnicalWritingTheResearchPaperTheReview

AppendixA:1001FrequentlyMisspelledWords

AppendixB:SuggestedSubstitutesforWordyPhrases

AppendixC:HelpfulGrammarandWritingWebSites

Introduction

“TheOnlyGrammarBookYou’llEverNeed.”Wow.Thisbookmustbereallygood,mustn’tit?Butbeforewetellyouwhythismodestlytitledvolumereallyistheonlygrammarbookyou’llever

need,let’sthinkaboutwhyyouneedagrammarbookatall.MaybeallthattalkinEnglishclassaboutpartsofspeechanddanglingparticiplesnevertrulysunk

in,evenafteryourteachercoveredtheblackboardwiththosehelpfulsentencediagrams.(IfEnglishisnotyourfirstlanguage,youmightnotevenhavehadthebenefitofsuchinstruction.)Maybeyoudidknowthismaterialonce,butmanyofthefinepointsofEnglishgrammarnowgiveyoutrouble.Nowyouhavetowritesomething—apaper,aletter,amemo—forschool,work,oryourpersonallife.Youmightnotbesurehowtobeginit,andyou’redefinitelynotconfidentaboutcompletingitcorrectly.The Only Grammar Book You’ll Ever Need explains the necessary terms for understanding and

discussing grammar, the important rules and their exceptions, and all the most common writingerrors—includinghowtoavoidthem.Thisbookcanhelpyououtinalltypesofwritingsituations,notjustinformalassignments.Let’s

say you’re rereading an e-mail you’ve composed (as you always do just before clicking “Send,”right?). After reading this book, you’ll find it much easier to notice and correct missing words,inappropriatelanguage,unclearreferences,commonmisspellings,andmore.Thismaybetheonlygrammarbookyou’lleverneed,butit’snottheonlybookyou’lleverneed

forwriting.Agooddictionary(suchasahardcovercollegeedition)isanessentialdesktopaccessory,andathesauruscansaveyoutimewhenyou’restumpedlookingfortherightword.Forcertaintypesofwork(especiallyacademicwriting),youmayneedoneofthestyleguideslistedinChapter10.Butfor solving tricky grammar questions, avoiding embarrassing errors, and getting your thoughtsorganizedenoughtoputpentopaper, thiscompactworkwillprovideyouwithall the toolsyou’lleverneed.

T

Chapter1FindingtheRightWords

hemostdamagingmistakesawritercanmakeareprobablymisspellingormisusingwords.Justafewoftheseerrorswillmakeareaderloseconfidenceinwhatyou’retryingtosay.

Hereare thebasic rulesofEnglishspellingand themostcommonlymisusedwords.For furtherhelp,AppendixAgives the correct spellingof hundredsofwords that often confuse even thebestspellers.

SpellingItOut

Youprobablyrememberthisspellingrulefromyourelementaryschool:Ibeforee,Exceptafterc,Orwhensoundedasa,Asinneighbororweigh.

That’s certainly a helpful rule—most of the time. It works for words such as beige, ceiling,conceive,feign,field,inveigh,obeisance,priest,receive,shield,sleigh,andweight.But take a look at all thesewords:ancient,being,caffeine,either, feisty, foreign, height, leisure,

protein,reimburse,science,seize,society,sovereign,species,sufficient,andweird.Thereareanawfullotofexceptions,aren’tthere?HerearesomerulesthatgenerallyapplytoEnglishnouns.Everyrulewillhaveanexception(and

probablymorethanone),buttheseruleswillprovideyouwithsomeusefulguidelines.

FormingPluralsofNouns

1.ToformthepluralofmostEnglishwordsthatdon’tendin–s,–z,–x,–sh,–ch,or–ss,add–sattheend:

desk=desks,book=books,cup=cups

2.ToformthepluralofmostEnglishwordsthatendin–s,–z,–x,–sh,–ch,and–ss,add–esat theend:

bus=buses,buzz=buzzes,box=boxes,dish=dishes,church=churches,kiss=kisses

Therearesomeexceptionstothisrulethatincludequizzes,frizzes,andwhizzes.(Notethatthe–zisdoubled.)3.ToformthepluralofsomeEnglishwords thatend in–o,add–esat theend (thismightnowbeknownastheQuayleRule):

potato=potatoes,echo=echoes,hero=heroes,veto=vetoes

Tomakethingsinteresting,forsomeotherwordsthatendin–o,addonly–sattheend:

auto=autos,alto=altos,two=twos,zoo=zoos,piano=pianos,solo=solos

And—justtokeepyouonyourtoes—somewordsendingin–ocanformthepluralineitherway:

buffalo=buffaloes/buffalos,cargo=cargoes/cargos,ghetto=ghettos/ghettoes

4.ToformthepluralofmostEnglishwordsthatendinaconsonantplus–y,changetheytoiandadd–es:

lady=ladies,candy=candies,penny=pennies

5.ToformthepluralofmostEnglishwordsthatendinavowelplus–y,add–s:

joy=joys,Monday=Mondays,key=keys,buy=buys

6.ToformthepluralofmostEnglishwordsthatendin–for–fe,changetheftovandadd–es:

knife=knives,leaf=leaves,wife=wives,wolf=wolves

Exceptionstothisruleincludeoaf,chef,cliff,belief,tariff,plaintiff,roof,andchief.Allsimplyadd–stoformtheirplural.7.Somewordsformtheirpluralsinwaysthatdefycategories:

child=children,mouse=mice,foot=feet,person=people,tooth=teeth,ox=oxen

8.Foreignwords, such as those ofGreek orLatin origin, often have an irregular plural. In somecases,boththeregularandirregularpluralformsareacceptable.

alumnusalumni

analysisanalyses

focusfocusesorfoci

indexindexesorindices

9.Somewordsarethesameinbothsingularandplural:

deer,offspring,crossroads,headquarters,cod,series

AddingPrefixesandSuffixes

1.Wordsthatendin–xdon’tchangewhenasuffixisaddedtothem:

fax=faxing,hoax=hoaxed,mix=mixer

2.Wordsthatendin–cdon’tchangewhenasuffixisaddedtothemiftheletterbeforethecisa,o,u,oraconsonant:

talc=talcum,maniac=maniacal

3.Wordsthatendin–cusuallyaddkwhenasuffixisaddedtothemiftheletterbeforetheciseoriandthepronunciationofthecishard:

picnic=picnickers,colic=colicky,frolic=frolicking

4.Wordsthatendin–cusuallydon’tchangewhenasuffixisaddedtothemiftheletterbeforetheciseoriandthepronunciationofthecissoft:

critic=criticism,clinic=clinician,lyric=lyricist

5.Words that end in a single consonant that is immediately preceded by one or more unstressedvowelsusuallyremainunchangedbeforeanysuffix:

debit=debited,credit=creditor,travel=traveled

Ofcourse,thereareexceptions,suchasthese:

program=programmed,format=formatting,crystal=crystallize

6.Whenaprefixisaddedtoformanewword,therootwordusuallyremainsunchanged:

spell=misspell,cast=recast,approve=disapprove

Insomecases,however,thenewwordishyphenated.Theseexceptionsincludewhenthelastletteroftheprefixandthefirstletteroftheworditisjoiningarethesamevowel;whentheprefixisbeingadded to a proper noun; and when the new word formed by the prefix and the root must bedistinguishedfromanotherwordspelledinthesamewaybutwithadifferentmeaning:

anti-institutional,mid-March,re-creation(versusrecreation)

7.When adding a suffix to a word ending in –y, change the y to iwhen the y is preceded by aconsonant:

carry=carrier,irony=ironic,empty=emptied

Notethatthisruledoesn’tapplytowordswithan–ingending:

carry=carrying,empty=emptying

Thisrulealsodoesn’tapplytowordsinwhichthe–yisprecededbyavowel:

delay=delayed,enjoy=enjoyable

8.Twoormorewordsthatjointoformacompoundwordusuallykeeptheoriginalspellingofeachword:

cufflink,billfold,bookcase,football,payday

9.Ifawordendsin–ie,changethe–ieto–ybeforeadding–ing:

die=dying,lie=lying,tie=tying

10.Whenadding–fulltotheendofaword,changetheendingto–ful:

armful,grateful,careful,useful,colorful

TheEnglishWay

YouprobablyknowthatthemeaningsofsomewordsaredifferentinBritainthanintheUnitedStates,suchastheBritishusageofchipsforwhatAmericanscallFrenchfries,andlorryforwhatAmericanscallatruck.Butareyouawarethattherearemanyvariationsin

spellingaswell?HereareafewofthevariationsbetweenAmericanEnglishandBritishEnglish:

American Britishairplane aeroplanecenter centrecolor colourdraft draughtgray greyjail gaollabor labourspelled spelttheater theatretire tyre

CommonlyConfusedWords

Needalittleadvice(orshouldthatbeadvise?)aboutcertainwords?Areyoufeelingalright(orallright?) about your ability to choose between (or is that among?) alumni, alumnae, alumnus, andalumna?Nottoworry!Hereisalistofwordsoftenconfusedormisused,withanexplanationofwheneach

shouldbeused.a, an:A is used beforewords that beginwith a consonant sound (apig;a computer);an is usedbeforewords thatbeginwithavowelsound (anearring,an integer).The sound iswhatmakes thedifference.Writeahabitbecausehabitstartswith thehsound after the article, butwritean honorbecausethehinhonorisn’tpronounced.

Whatanhonoritistomeetahistoryexpertlikeyou.

alot,alot,allot:Okay,let’sbeginwiththefactthatthereisnosuchwordasalot.Ifyoumeanagreatnumberofpeople,usealot.Here’samnemonicfor this:“awhole lot” is twowholewords. Ifyoumeantoallocate,useallot.Amnemonicforallotisallocate=allot.

Tomorrownight,themayorwillallotalotofmoneyforvariousmunicipalprojects.

accept,except:Accepthasseveralmeanings,includingbelieve,takeon,endure,andconsent;exceptmeansexcluding.Ifyoursentencecankeepitsmeaningifyousubstituteexcluding,useexcept.

Exceptforfoodforthevolunteers,Doriswouldnotacceptanydonations.

adapt,adopt:Toadaptistochange;toadoptistotakeandmakeyourown.

Afterthecoupleadoptedthebaby,theylearnedtoadapttohavinglittlesleep.

advice, advise: Advise is what you do when you give advice. Here’s a mnemonic to help youremember:Toadviseyoumustbewise.Goodadviceistodriveslowlyonice.

GrandpatriedtoadvisemewhenIwasayoungster,butIwouldn’tlistentohisadvice.

affect,effect:Affectisusuallyaverb(somethingthatshowsaction),usuallymeanschangeorshape,

and—asaverb—hasitsaccentonthefirstsyllable.Effectisalmostalwaysanounmeaningresultoroutcome,appearanceor impression. (Effect has a rare use as a verb,when itmeans to achieveorcause.)

The effect of the announcement of impendingwarwill not affectAdam’s decision to join themilitary.

aggravate,annoy:Ifyoumeanpesterorirritate,youwantannoy.Aggravatemeansexaggerateormakeworse.

Stevenwasannoyedwhenhisbossaggravatedthesituationbytalkingtothepress.

aid,aide:Ifyouhelp,youaid;ifyouhaveahelperorsupporter,youhaveanaide.

Theaidfrommyaideisinvaluable.

allready,already:Ifyoumeanallisready,useallready;ifyoumeaninthepast,usealready.

Ialreadytoldyouwe’reallreadytogoouttodinner!

allright,alright:Althoughyouoftenseetheincorrectspellingalright,allrightisalwaystwowords.Youwouldn’tsaysomethingisaleftoralwrong,wouldyou?(Pleasesayyouwouldn’t!)

Isitallrightwithyouifweeatintonight?

alltogether,altogether:Alltogethermeanssimultaneouslyorallatonce;altogethermeansentirelyorwholly.Ifyoucansubstituteentirelyorwhollyinthesentenceandthemeaningdoesn’tchange,youneedtheformofthewordthatisentirely,whollyoneword.

You’re altogether wrong about the six friends going all together to the dance; each is goingseparately.

alumni, alumnae, alumnus, alumna:Here’s the rundown. One male graduate is an alumnus; onefemalegraduateisanalumna;severalfemalegraduatesarealumnae;andseveralmalegraduatesorseveralmaleandfemalegraduatesarealumni.Theshort,informalformalum(oralums)canbeusedforanyoftheabove.

Although Mary Jo and her sisters are alumnae fromWellesley, Mary Jo is the alumna whoreceives themostattention;herbrothersMartinandXavierarealumniofHarvard,butMartin isamorefamousalumnusthanXavier.

allusion,illusion:Anallusionisareference;anillusionisafalseimpression.

Kay told Jerry that shewas under the illusion hewould be her PrinceCharming; Jerry didn’tunderstandtheallusion.

altar,alter:Ifyouchangesomething,youalterit;youworshipbeforeanaltar.

We’llalterthepositionofthealtarsothecongregationcanseethenewcarvings.

among,between:Thinkdivision. Ifonly twopeoplearedividingsomething,usebetween; ifmorethan two people are involved, use among.Here’s amnemonic: between for two and among for agroup.

ThemoneywasdividedbetweenSarahandBob; thelandwasdividedamongBilly,Henry,andJanice.

anybody,anybody:Anybodymeansanyoneperson (and is usually interchangeablewith anyone).Anybodyrefers(pardonthegraphicreference)toonedeadperson.

Anybodycanhelptosearchforanybodythatmightnothavebeenfoundinthewreckage.

bad,badly:Whenyou’rewritingabouthowyoufeel,usebad.However,ifyou’rewritingabouthowyoudidsomethingorperformedorreactedtosomething,usebadly(twistedyouranklebadly;playedbadlyinthegame).

Greggfeltbadhehadscoredsobadlyonthetest.

bear,bare:Abearcantearoffyourear;ifyou’rebare,you’renude.

Thebarebathersweredisturbedwhenthegrizzlybeararrived.

besides,beside:Ifyouwanttheonethatmeansinadditionto,youwanttheonethathasanadditionals(besides);besidemeansbythesideof.

Besideshergroom,thebridewantedherdadbesideherinthephoto.

breath,breathe:Youtakeasinglebreath;youinhaleandexhalewhenyoubreathe.

Inthecoldofthewinter,itwashardformetobreathewhentakingabreathoutside.

can, may: If you cando something, you’re physically able to do it. If youmay do it, you havepermissiontodoit.

Youcanuseain’tinasentence,butyoumaynot.

cannot,amnot,isnot,arenot,andallother“nots”:Forsomestrangereason,cannotiswrittenasoneword.Allotherwordsthathavenotwiththemarewrittenastwowords.Gofigure.capital,capitol:Thecapitolisthebuildinginwhichthelegislativebodymeets.IfyoumeantheoneinWashington,D.C.,useacapitalC;ifyoumeantheoneinyourstate,usealowercasec.Rememberthatthebuilding(theonespelledwithano)usuallyhasadome.Usecapitalwithallothermeanings.

Thecapitalspentbythelegislatorsatthecapitolisappalling.

carat,caret,carrot,karat:Acaratisaweightforastone(adiamond,forinstance);caratisalsoanalternate spelling of karat, which is a measurement of how much gold is in an alloy (as in theabbreviation18k;thekisforkarat).Acaretis thisproofreadingmark:^ (meaning thatyoushouldinsertsomethingatthatpoint).Finally,acarrotistheorangevegetableyourmothertoldyoutoeat.

Setinaneighteen-karatgoldband,thefive-caratdiamondwasshapedlikeacarrot.

cite,sight,site:Yoursightisyourvisionoraview(youuseyoursighttolookatabeautifulsight);tociteistomakereferencetoaspecificsource;asiteisalocation,suchasontheInternet.

ThecolorsontheWebsiteyoucitedinyourpaperwereasighttobehold.

coarse,course:Ifsomethingiscoarse,it’srough;oarsarecoarse.Acourseisaroute,aclass,orpartoftheidiomaticphrase“ofcourse.”

Theracecourseledtherunnersovercoarseterrain.

complement, compliment: If something completes another thing, it complements it (complete =complement).Ifyoureceivepraise,you’vegottenacompliment(Iliketoreceiveacompliment).

The jewelry will complement the outfit the star will wear, and she will surely receive manycomplimentsonherattire.

council, counsel:A council is an official group, a committee; to counsel is to give advice (thestockbrokercounseledmetosell).

Thetowncouncildecidedtocounseltheyouthgroupontheproperwaytoaskforfunds.

desert,dessert:Adesertisadry,aridplaceor(usuallyusedinthepluralform)deservedrewardorpunishment(justdeserts).Theverbthatmeanstoleaveisalsodesert.Thefoodthatissosweet isadessert.

Whilelostinthedesert,Rexcravedadessertofapplepieàlamode.

discreet,discrete:Discreetmeanscautious,careful,orguardedinconduct.(Bediscreetaboutwhomyoumeet.)Discretemeansseparateordisconnected.

Thedancer ’sdiscreetmovementswerediscretefromthoseperformedbytherestofthechorus.

dual,duel:Thefirstmeanstwo(dualpurposes);thesecondisafightorcontest(thelover ’sjealousywasfuelfortheduel).

Thereweredualreasonsfortheduel:revengeandmoney.

emigrate,immigrate:Toemigrateistoexitacountry;toimmigrateistocomeintoacountry.

TenpeopleweretryingtoemigratefromthetyrannyoftheircountryandimmigratetotheUnitedStates.

ensure,insure:Toensureistomakecertainofsomething;insureisusedonlyforbusinesspurposes(toinsureacar).

Toensurethatwecontinuetoinsureyourhouseandcar,sendpaymentimmediately.

envelop,envelope:Ifyouwrapsomething,youenvelopit;thepapercontainerthatyouuseforyourletterisanenvelope.

Thehiddenpurposeoftheenvelopewastoenvelopthetwosticksofcandythatweremailedtome.

everyday,everyday:Everydaymeansroutineordaily (everyday lowcost);everydaymeanseverysingleday(lowpriceseveryday).Usesinglewordsifyoumeaneverysingleday.

Theeverydayinexpensivepricesofthestoremeantthatmoreshopperscameeveryday.

faze,phase:Tofazeistointimidateordisturb.Asanoun,aphaseisaperiodof time;asaverb, itmeanstoestablishgradually.

Iwasn’tfazedbyhiswishtophaseoutourrelationship.

fewer,less:Usefewertodescribepluralwords;uselesstodescribesingularwords.

Thenewproducthasfewercalories,butlessfat.

forego, forgo: Ifyoumeansomething thathasgonebefore,use forego(a foregoneconclusion); ifyouwantthewordthatmeanstodowithoutsomething,useforgo(theonethatiswithoutthee).

It’saforegoneconclusionthatMegandMarionwillforgosweetswhenthey’redieting.

foreword, forward:Theword thatmeans theopening information inabook is foreword (it comesbeforethefirstimportantwordofthebook);foranyothermeaning,useforward.

To gain insight into the author ’s intent, you should read the foreword before you proceedforwardinthebook.

good,well:Goodisanadjective;itdoesnotmeaninahigh-qualitymanner,orcorrectly.Ifyouwanteitherofthosemeaningsyouneedanadverb,soyouwantwell.

Youdidwellonthetest;yourgradeshouldbegood.

hear,here:Youhearwithyourear.Hereistheoppositeofthere.

DidyouhearthatAuntLucyishere?

hopefully: If youmean Ihope, or it is hoped; then that’swhat you shouldwrite.Hopefullymeansconfidentlyorwithanticipation.

ThedirectorwaitedhopefullyfortheOscarnominationstobeannounced.

imply, infer:Both of these have to dowithwords not said aloud.A speaker implies something; alistenerinferssomething.

Rufusthoughtthebosshadimpliedthatshewouldbebackforaninspectionnextweek,butRuthdidnotinferthat.

in,into:Inmeanswithin;intomeansfromtheoutsidetotheinside.

Gointothehouse,goinmypurse,andbringmemoney.

its,it’s:It’smeansonlyitis(beforeit’stoolate);itsmeansbelongingto it (Igave thedog its foodandwater).

It’sashamethatthedoglostitsbone.

lay,lie:NowIlaymyheadonthepillow;lastnightIlaidmyheadonthepillow;inthepastIhavelaidmyheadonthepillow.Ifithelpstorememberthedifference,theformsoflay(meaningtoputorplace)aretransitive(theytakeanobject).TodayIlieinthesun;yesterdayIlayinthesun;inthepastIhave lain in the sun. The forms of lie (meaning to rest or recline) are intransitive (they take noobject).

AsIlayinbed,IwonderedwhereIhadlaidmywatch.

loose,lose:Loose(whichrhymeswithnoose)meansnottight.Loseistheoppositeoffind.

WillIlosemybeltifit’stooloose?

mayof,mightof,mustof,shouldof,wouldof,couldof:Whenwespeak,weslurthesephrasessothattheyallsoundasiftheyendinof,butinfactallofthemendinhave.Theircorrectformsaremayhave,mighthave,musthave,shouldhave,wouldhave,andcouldhave.

Imusthavethoughtyouwouldhavebeenabletofindtheroomwithoutanydirections.

pair,pear:Thefirsthastodowithtwo(pairofpandas;topairupforthedance);thesecondisafruit(youeatapear).

Theromanticpairboughtapeartoshareonthepicnic.

passed, past:Passed is a verb;past is an adjective (past oftenmeans last) or noun meaning theprecedingtime.

Inthepast,twentyEasterparadeshavepasseddownthisstreet.

peak,peek,pique:Apeakisahighpoint,likeamountainpeak(thinkoftheshapeoftheAinPEAK);topeekatsomethingistotrytoseeit;topiqueistointrigueorstimulate.

Dan tried to pique Lora’s interest in climbing by telling her that she could peek through thetelescopewhentheyreachedthemountain’speak.

pore, pour: If you read something carefully, you poreover it. If you make a liquid go out of acontainer,youpourit.

AfterHarryaccidentallypoured inkon thenewfloor,heporedoverseveralbooks to findouthowtocleanthestain.

principle,principal:Principlemeans lawor belief.Principalmeansmajor orhead; it alsomeansmoneythatearnsinterestinabank.Theprincipalistheheadpersoninaschool;heorsheisyourpalandmakesprincipaldecisions.

Thatisthemostimportantprincipleourprincipalbelieves.

quiet,quite:Quietiscalmorsilence;quitemeanstoacertainextent.Besuretochecktheendingofthewordyouuse; that’swheremistakesaremade.Youcan thinkofbeingasquietasE.T. visitingEarth.

Areyouquitesurethatyouwerequietinthelibrary?

real,really:Realmeansactualortrue;reallymeansintruthorinreality.Exceptinthemostcasualtoneinwriting,neitherrealnorreallyshouldbeusedinthesenseofvery(that’sarealgoodsongontheradio;I’mreallygladthatyoutunedtothatstation).

WhenIrealizedIwasreallylost,therealimportanceofcarryingacompasshitme.

set,sit:Ifyouplacesomething,yousetit.Ifyou’reinanuprightposition(likeinachair),yousit.Inaddition,setisatransitiveverb(itmusthaveanobject);sitisanintransitiveverb(itdoesn’thaveanobject).

Pleasesetthetablebeforeyousitdown.

stationery, stationary: If you mean something that lacks motion, use stationary; if you meansomethingtowritealetteron,usestationery.

Thestationerystorehadapictureofpeopleridingstationarybicycles.

supposed (to): Often the –d is incorrectly omitted from supposed to (meaning expected to ordesignedto).

Inthisjob,youaresupposedtobeabletowriteclearandeffectivememos.

than,then:Ifyoumeannextorthereforeorat that time,youwant then. Ifyouwant theword thatshowsacomparison,usethan.

Forawhile,MaryranmorequicklythanI;thenshedroppedherpace.

that,which:For clauses that don’t need commas (restrictive clauses), use that.For nonrestrictive

clauses,whichneedcommas,usewhich.

Thelocaldogkennels,whichareonmywaytowork,aretheonesthathavebeenfeaturedinthenewslately.

there, their, they’re: If youwant the opposite ofhere, use there; if youmean they are, youwantthey’re;ifyoumeanbelongingtothem,usetheir.

Therearetheemployeeswhothinkthey’regoingtogettheirtenpercentraisestomorrow.

to, too, two: Ifyoumeansomethingadditional, it’s theonewith theadditionalo (too); two is thenumberafterone;tomeansinthedirectionofsomething.

DidoursupervisoraskthetwonewemployeestogotoDetroitandChicago,too?

troop,troupe:Botharegroupsofpeople,buttroupereferstoactorsonly.

ThetroupeofactorsperformedforthetroopofBrownies.

tryand,tryto:Almostalwaysthemistakecomesinwritingtryandwhenyouneedtousetryto.

Theladysaidshewouldtrytogetthedressinmysize;Ihopedshewouldtryandkeeplooking.

useto,usedto:Usetomeansemployforthepurposesof;usedto(oftenmisspelledwithoutthe–d)meansformerlyorinthepast.

Iusedtoliketolistentotheexcusespeoplewouldusetoleaveworkearly.

who,which,that:Don’tusewhichwhenyou’rewritingaboutpeople.

The federal inspector,whogives theorders thatwe allmust obey, said that the environmentalprotectionlaw,whichhadneverbeenenforced,wouldresultinhighercosts.

whose,who’s:Whosemeansbelongingtowhom;who’sisshortforwhois(theapostrophemeanstheihasbeenomitted).

Afterthesockhop,who’sgoingtodeterminewhoseshoestheseare?

your,you’re:Ifyoumeanbelongingtoyou,useyour(thisisourcar;thatisyourcar); ifyoumeanyouare,useyou’re(rememberthattheapostrophemeanstheahasbeenomitted).

Ifyou’regoingtoFlorida,besuretoputsomesunscreenonyourface.

NoSuchWord

Somewordsandphrasesdon’tmakeourlistofcommonlyconfusedwordsbecausetheyaren’tproperwordsatall.Thesearethenonstandardusagesthatyouoftenwon’tfindinthedictionaryandthatyoushouldn’t—ever—useinyourownwriting.Suchwordsandphrasesincludeanyways,can’thardly,can’thelpbut,can’tscarcely,everywheres,hisself,irregardless,nowheres,offof,theirselves,theirself,and—let’snotforget—ain’t.

W

Chapter2PartsofSpeech

hyonearthwouldanyoneotherthananEnglishteacherbeinterestedinthepartsofspeech,youmaybewondering.

Thepartsof speechprovide the essential vocabulary fordiscussinggrammarandgoodwriting.Throughoutthisbook—andinreallife—you’llencounterchoicesconcerningverbtenses(wasgoingwent?),pronouncases(theyorthem?),orcapitalizationofnouns(senatororSenator?).Ifyoudon’tknowwhatverbs,pronouns,andnounsevenare,youwon’tgetfarinlearningtopicktherightwordforeachsituation.

Nouns

Anounsimplygives thenameofaperson (Sammy,man),place (Philadelphia,city), thing (Toyota,car),oridea(philosophy,warmth,love).You’llnoticethatsomeofthenounsmentionedinthepreviousparagrapharecapitalizedandsome

arenot.Propernouns(particularpersons,places,things,orideas)arecapitalized,whereascommonnouns(everydaynamesofpersons,places,things,orideas)arenot.ProperNoun CommonNounFebruary monthEgypt countryMrs.Davis teacher

Nounsaredividedintoseveralothercategories.Concretenounsnamethingsthatcanbeseen,felt,heard, touched, or smelled (star,water,album, television, flower).Abstract nouns name concepts,beliefs,orqualities(freedom,capitalism,courage).Compoundnounsconsistofmorethanoneword,butcountasonlyonenoun(FranklinCountyCommunityandTechnicalCollege).Countnounsarepersons,places,orthingsthatcanbe(surprise!)counted(threecars,seventy-six

trombones);noncountnounscannotbecounted(unease,happiness)andarealwayssingular.Collective nouns are sometimes counted as one unit (that is, considered to be singular) and

sometimescountedseparately(that is,consideredtobeplural).Army,herd,pack,and familyareallcollectivenouns.Inasentence,anounwillacteitherasasubjectorsometypeofcomplement(predicatenominative,

directorindirectobjectofaverb,orobjectofapreposition).Chapter3,onbasicsentencestructure,definesthosetermsandgivesexamplesforeach.

Pronouns

Thetextbookdefinitionofapronounis“awordthattakestheplaceofanoun.”Okay,justwhatdoes

thatmean?Readthisparagraph.

WhenMrs.AnneMarieSchreiner came into the room,Mrs.AnneMarieSchreiner thought toMrs. Anne Marie Schreiner ’s self, “Is the situation just Mrs. Anne Marie Schreiner, or is thetemperaturereallyhotinhere?”Mrs.AnneMarieSchreinerwenttothewindowandopenedthelowerpart of the window, only to have a number of mosquitoes quickly fly right at Mrs. Anne MarieSchreiner.Mrs.AnneMarieSchreinersaidafewchoicewords,andthenMrs.AnneMarieSchreinerbeganswattingthepeskymosquitoes,managingtohitafewofthemosquitoeswhenthemosquitoescametorestonMrs.AnneMarieSchreiner ’sarm.

Isn’t that themostirritatingparagraphyou’veeverread?Nowreadthesameparagraph,butwithpronounsinsertedintherightplaces:

WhenMrs.AnneMarieSchreinercameintotheroom,shethoughttoherself,“Isitjustme,orisitreallyhotinhere?”Shewenttothewindowandopenedthelowerpartofit,onlytohaveanumberofmosquitoesquicklyflyrightather.Shesaidafewchoicewords,andthenshebeganswattingthepeskymosquitoes,managingtohitafewofthemwhentheycametorestonherarm.

Whatadifferenceafewpronounsmake!

TypesofPronouns

Tofigureoutwhichtypeapronounis(somepronounscanbemorethanone),lookatthewaythewordisusedinthesentence.1.Personalpronounsrepresentpeopleorthings:I,me,you,he,him,she,her,it,we,us,they,them.

Icametoseeyouandhimtoday.

2.Possessivepronounsshowownership(possession):mine,yours,hers,his,theirs,ours.

“Theseparkingspacesareyours;oursarenexttothedoor,”theteachersexplainedtothestudents.

3.Demonstrativepronounsdemonstrateorpointoutsomeoneorsomething:this,that,these,those.

Thisishisumbrella;thatisyourumbrella.

4.Relativepronounsrelateonepartofthesentencetoanother:who,whom,which,that,whose.

ThemanwhomIalmosthitlastnightworksinthisshop.

(Whomrelatesbacktoman.)

OnecountrythatI’dliketovisitsomedayisFrance.

(Thatrelatestocountry.)

5.Reflexivepronouns(sometimescalledintensivepronouns)reflectbacktosomeoneorsomethingelseinthesentence:myself,yourself,himself,herself,itself,ourselves,yourselves,themselves.

Youmustaskyourselfwhatyouwoulddoinsuchasituation.

(Yourselfrelatesbacktoyou.)

6.Interrogativepronounsinterrogate(askaquestion):who,whom,which,whose,what.

Whatintheworldwasthatpoliticiantalkingabout?

7.Indefinitepronouns,contrarytotheirlabel,sometimesrefertoadefinite(specific)person,place,orthingthathasalreadybeenmentionedinthesentence.Indefinitepronounsincludeall,another,any,anybody,anyone,anything,both,each,either,everybody,everyone,everything,few,many,most,much,neither, no one, nobody, none, nothing, one, other, others, several, some, somebody, someone, andsomething.Keepinmindthatall,any,more,most,none,andsomesometimesaresingularandsometimesare

plural.Tolearnhowtoalwayschoosecorrectlyfromthismultitudeofpronouns,seeChapter5.

Adjectives

Thetextbookdefinitionofanadjectiveis“awordthatmodifiesanounorpronoun.”

Theframedpicturecamecrashingoffthewallduringtherecentearthquake.

Framedgivesyouinformationaboutpicture,andpictureisathing(anoun),soframedmustbeanadjective.Another method of checking for an adjective is to ask yourself if the word you wonder about

answersoneofthesequestions:

•Whichone?

•Whatkindof?

•Howmany?

Youcanseethatframedanswersbothwhichone?(whichpicture?theframedone)andwhatkind?(whatkindofpicture?theframedone),soitmustbeanadjective.Aspecialcategoryofadjectives—articles—consistsof just threewords:a,an,and the.Aandan

are called indefinite articles because theydonot indicate anyoneor anything specific (ahouse,anhonor); the is called a definite article (actually, it’s the only definite article) because it does namesomeoneorsomethingspecific(theowl,thetransitsystem).Another subcategoryofadjectives iscalleddeterminers.Theseare adjectives thatmake specific

thesenseofanoun; theyhelpdetermine towhichparticularunits thenounsare referring(e.g., thecountry,thoseapples,sevenpencils).Whentryingtofigureoutifawordisanadjective,lookatthewaythewordisusedinthesentence.

Takealookatthesesentences:

Thetensesituationbecamemuchmorerelaxedwhenthelittleboyarrived.

Whatisthetenseofthatverb?

Inthefirstsentence,tensedescribessituation(athing),soit’sanadjective.Inthesecondsentence,tenseisathing,soit’sanoun.

Verbs

Averb is defined as “aword that expresses actionor being.”Verbs that express action areactionverbs.Actionverbsarethemostcommonverbs,andtheyareeasytospot.Forexample:

MarilynjumpedforjoywhenFrankcalledher.

(Jumpedandcalledbothshowaction.)

Action verbs can be divided into two categories: transitive and intransitive. The textbookdefinitionofatransitiveverbis“averbthattakesanobject.”Whatdoesthatmean?Ifyoucananswerwhom?orwhat?totheverbinasentence,thentheverbistransitive.

Icarriedtheinjuredboytothewaitingambulance.

Carriedwhom or what? Since boy answers that question, the verb carried is transitive in thatsentence.

Exhaustedafterahardday’swork,Isankintothesofawithgreatdelight.

Sankwhomorwhat?Nothingin thesentenceanswers that,sotheverbsank is intransitive in thatsentence.

Knowingabouttransitiveandintransitiveverbscanhelpyouwithsomeeasilyconfusedverbs,suchaslieandlay,andsitandset.You’llbeabletoseethatlieisintransitive(Iliedown),layistransitive(I laythebookonthe table),sitis intransitive(I’ll sithere forawhile),andset is transitive(MaryBethsetthevaseonthedresser).

“Being”Verbs

Granted,theactionverbiseasytospot.Butwhatintheworldismeantbythepartofthedefinitionthatsaysaverb“expresses...being”?Thatusuallymeansthatthewordisaformoftheverbbe.Herearetheformsofbe(exceptforbeenandbeing,notoneof themlooks likebe):am, is,are,

was,were,be,being,been.Theseformsalsoincludehasbeen,shouldhavebeen,maybe,andmightbe.

Iamsittingonthedockofthebay.

(amisapresenttenseformofbe)

Yesterdayshewassittingonthedockofthebay.

(wasisapasttenseformofbe)

LinkingVerbs

Just to complicate the situation, thewords in the following list are sometimes action verbs andsometimeslinkingverbs(dependingonwhenyouwenttoschool,youmayknowthemascopulativeverbs).

appearfeellookremainsmellstaybecomegrowproveseemsoundtasteSowhendothesetwelveverbsactasactionverbs,andwhenaretheylinkingverbs?Usethistest:If

youcansubstituteaformofbe(am,is,was,andsoon)andthesentencestillmakessense,bygolly,you’vegotyourselfalinkingverb.Lookattheseexamples.

Thesouptastedtoospicyforme.

Substitutewasorisfortastedandyouhavethissentence:

Thesoupwas(is)toospicyforme.

Itmakesperfectsense.Nowlookatthisone:

Itastedthespicysoup.

Substitutewasorisfortastedandyouhavethissentence:

Iwas(is)thespicysoup.

Itdoesn’tmakemuchsense,soyoudon’thavealinkingverb.

Helping(Auxiliary)Verbs

Another typeofverb thatmayoccur inasentence isahelpingorauxiliaryverb. It can join themainverb(becomingthehelperofthemainverb)toexpressthetense,mood,andvoiceoftheverb.Common helping verbs are be, do, have, can,may, and so on. (The first two sentences of thisparagraphhavehelpingverbs:mayandcan.)

ThePrincipalPartsofVerbs

Thephrase“theprincipalpartsofverbs”referstobasicformsthatverbscantake.InEnglishtherearefourprincipalparts: thepresent infinitive(whichyouseeasthemainentryinadictionary), thepast tense, thepast participle, and thepresent participle.Take a look at theprincipal parts of theseverbs:

You’llnotethatthefirstthreeexamplesallformtheirpastandpastparticiplebyadding–dor–edto the present infinitive.Most English verbs do this; they are called regular verbs. The last threeexamples,however,arenotformedintheregularway;thesearecalled(surprise!) irregularverbs.Allverbsformthepresentparticiplebyadding–ingtothepresentinfinitive.InChapter4,you’lllearnmoreabouthowtoproperlyusethemanytypesofverbs.

Adverbs

Anadverb is aword thatmodifies (describes,givesmore informationabout)averb, adjective,orotheradverb.

Yesterdaythequiterelievedsoldierveryquicklyranoutofthewoodswhenhesawhiscomradefranticallywavingathim.

Theadverbs in that sentenceareyesterday (modifies theverb ran),quite (modifies the adjectiverelieved), very (modifies the adverb quickly), quickly (modifies the verb ran), and frantically(modifiestheverbwaving).Ifyoustillneedhelp findingadverbs, try this.Askyourself if thewordyou’rewonderingabout

answersoneofthesequestions:

•How?

•When?

•Where?

•Why?

•Underwhatcircumstances?

•Howmuch?

•Howoften?

•Towhatextent?

In theexampleabove,yesterdayanswers thequestionwhen?;quiteanswers the question to whatextent?;veryanswersthequestiontowhatextent?(orhowmuch?);quicklyanswersthequestionhow?(ortowhatextent?);andfranticallyanswersthequestionhow?

ConjunctiveAdverbs

Conjunctiveadverbsare in a categoryof their own.Thesewords join independent clauses intoonesentence.(You’llalsoseetheminlistsoftransitionalwordsandphrases.)Someexamples:accordinglyalsobesidesconsequentlyfinallyfurthermorehencehoweverincidentallyindeedinsteadlikewisemeanwhilemoreoverneverthelessnextotherwisestillthereforethusUse conjunctive adverbs to join short sentences intomore complex thoughts; however (did you

noticetheconjunctiveadverbthere?),besurethat:

1.Youhaveacompletethoughtoneithersideoftheconjunctiveadverb.

2.Youputasemicolonbeforeitandacommaafterit.

3.You’rejoiningtwocloselyrelatedthoughts.

4.You’veusedtherightconjunctiveadverb.

Asmallgroupofadverbsknownasintensifiersorqualifiers(veryisthemostcommonintensifier)increasetheintensityoftheadjectivesandotheradverbstheymodify.Othercommonintensifiersareawfully,extremely,kindof,more,most,pretty (as inprettyhappy),quite, rather, really (as in reallysad),somewhat,sortof,andtoo.

ComparisonswithAdjectivesandAdverbs

Sometimesyouneedtoshowhowsomethingcompareswithormeasuresuptosomethingelse.Youmaywant to let your friends know if a new scarymovie you’ve seen is scarier than another oneyou’veallrecentlywatchedtogetherorperhapseventhescariestmovieyou’veeverseen.Inwritingcomparisons,youcanuseoneofthreedifferentforms(calleddegrees)ofadjectivesand

adverbs:

•Thepositivedegreesimplymakesastatementaboutaperson,place,orthing.

•Thecomparativedegreecomparestwo(butonlytwo)people,places,orthings.

•Thesuperlativedegreecomparesmorethantwopeople,places,orthings.Positive Comparative Superlativeblue bluer bluestdirty dirtier dirtiesthappy happier happiesttall taller tallest

Hereareacoupleofrulestohelpyouinformingthecomparativeandsuperlative:Rule#1.One-syllableadjectivesandadverbsusuallyformtheircomparativeformbyadding–er

andtheirsuperlativeformbyadding–est.(Seetheexamplestallandblueinthetable.)Rule #2. Adjectives of more than two syllables and adverbs ending in –ly usually form

comparativeformsbyusingmore(orless)andsuperlativeformsbyusingmost(orleast).Positive Comparative Superlativeawkwardly moreawkwardly mostawkwardlycomfortable morecomfortable mostcomfortablequalified lessqualified leastqualified

Rule#3.Confusionsometimestakesplaceinformingcomparisonsofwordsoftwosyllablesonly.Here’s the rub: Sometimes two-syllablewords use the –er, est forms, and sometimes they use themore,most(orless,least)forms.Positive Comparative Superlativesleepy sleepier sleepiesttiring moretiring mosttiring

Sohowdoyouknowwhethertousethe–er,estformorthemore,mostform?Youhavetouseadictionary(alargedictionary,notapaperbackone)ifyou’renotsure.Iftherearenocomparativeorsuperlativeformslistedinthedictionary,thenusethemore,mostform.Thereareafewexceptionstotheaboverules;theseinclude:

Positive Comparative Superlativebad worse worstfar farther/further farthest/furthestgood better bestwell better bestill worse worstlittle littler/less/lesser littlest/leastmany more mostmuch more mostold(persons) elder eldestold(things) older oldest

One common mistake in both writing and speaking is to use the superlative form when thecomparativeshouldbeused.Rememberthatifyou’recomparingtwopersons,places,orthings,youuseonlythecomparativeform(notthesuperlative).Lookatthissentence:

Ofmytwodogs,thecockerspanielisthefriendliest.

The comparison is between only two (two dogs), so the sentences should be written with thecomparativeform(friendlier)insteadofthesuperlative.

Anotherfrequentmistakeincomparisonsistouseboththe–erandmoreor–estandmost formswiththesamenoun,asinthemosttalleststatueoramorehappierchild.Rememberthatoneformisthelimit.Intheexamples,mostandmoreneedtobeeliminated.Becausesomecomparisonscanbeinterpretedmorethanoneway,besurethatyouincludeallthe

wordsnecessarytogivethemeaningyouintend.Readthissentence:

Inthelongjump,AdelecouldbeatherrivalFernmoreoftenthanherteammateSherry.

Whenthesentenceisconstructedthatway,itisn’tclearifthemeaningisthefollowing:

Inthelongjump,AdelecouldbeatherrivalFernmoreoftenthanherteammateSherrycould.

or

Inthelongjump,AdelecouldbeatherrivalFernmoreoftenthanshecouldbeatherteammateSherry.

Prepositions

Apreposition isaword that linksanounorpronoun tosomeotherword inasentence.Take, forexample,theseshortsentences:

JackandJillwentupthehill.

(Upisaprepositionconnectingwentandhill.)

LittleJackHornersatinacorner.

(Inisaprepositionconnectingsatandcorner.)Followingarethemostcommonprepositions.

aboutaboveacrossafteragainstalongamongaroundatbeforebehindbelowbeneathbesidebetween

beyondbutbyconcerningdespitedownduringexceptforfromininsideintolikeofoffonontooutoutsideoverpastsincethroughthroughouttotowardunderunderneathuntilupuponwithwithinwithoutHere’sonewayof rememberingwhat apreposition is.Lookat the last eight lettersof theword

preposition; they spell position.A preposition sometimes tells the position of something: in, out,under,over,above,andsoforth.You’veheard the ruleaboutneverendingasentencewithapreposition,haven’tyou?Generally,

your writing does sound better if you can structure a sentence so that you don’t end with apreposition.However,sometimesyouwantamorecolloquialorconversationaltone,and—let’sfaceit—inspeaking,weoftenendsentenceswithprepositions.Wouldyoubelikelytosay:

Withwhomareyougoingtotheparty?

or

Whomareyougoingtothepartywith?

Thesecondway(withtheprepositionattheend)isalmostalwaysthewaythesentencenormallyissaid.(Infact,speakersusuallyusewhoinsteadofwhominasentencelikethis,butyoucanreadaboutthatmistakeinChapter5.)

Conjunctions

Aconjunctionjoinswordsinasentence;thatis,itprovidesajunctionbetweenwords.Conjunctionsaredividedintothreecategories:1.Coordinatingconjunctionsincludebut,or,yet,so,for,and,andnor.Youmightwanttorememberthembyusingthemnemonicwordboysfan.2.Correlativeconjunctionscannotstandalone;theymusthavea“relative”nearby,usuallyinthesamesentence.Thepairsincludeboth/and,either/or,neither/nor,notonly/also,andnotonly/butalso.3. Subordinating conjunctions are used in the beginning of dependent clauses (words that have asubject and verb but which cannot stand alone as sentences). You may remember that dependentclausesaresometimescalledsubordinateclauses.Themostcommononesarethefollowing:afteralthoughasifasinaslongasasmuchasassoonasassumingthatbecausebeforeeventhoughhowifinorderthatinthatinasmuchasnowthat

onceprovidingthatsincesolongassothatthanthatthoughunlessuntilwhenwheneverwherewhereverwhetherwhile

Interjections

Egad!Youdon’t rememberwhatan interjection is? It’s aword that can either express surpriseorsomeotherkindofemotion,oritcanbeusedasfiller.Interjectionsoftenstandalone.Ifoneispartofasentence,itdoesn’thaveagrammaticalrelationtotheotherwordsinthesentence;ifit’stakenout,themeaningofthesentencewillbeunchanged.Takealookatthesesentences:

Hey,what’sgoingon?

Well,Idon’tknowwhattosay.

Ouch!Didyousteponmytoe?

Hey,well,andouchareinterjections.When you’re expressing a strong emotion or surprise (as in Stop! or Darn it all!), use an

exclamationpoint.Ifyou’reusingmilderemotionormerelyusingafiller(asinlikeorwell),useacomma.Anoteofcautionabout interjections:Use theminmoderation, ifatall. Indialogue, interjections

areusedfarmoreoftenthaninmoreformalwriting(wheretheyarehardlyeverused).

B

Chapter3BasicSentenceStructure

ydefinition,everysentencemusthavethefollowing:(1)apredicate(usuallycalledaverb)and(2)thesubjectofthatverb,and(3)thewordsmustcontainacompletethought.

In this chapter,we’ll considerwhatmakes a sentence complete andhow to identify its elements:subjects, direct objects, prepositional phrases, subordinate clauses, and all the rest.After a look atdifferenttypesandfunctionsofsentences,we’lltacklethemosttroublesomeaspectformanywriters:gettingthesubjectandverbtoagree.

SubjectsandPredicates

Thecompletesubjectistheperson,place,orthingthatthesentenceisabout,alongwithallthewordsthatmodifyit(describeitorgivemoreinformationaboutit).Thecompletepredicate(verb)iswhattheperson,place,orthingisdoing,orwhatconditiontheperson,place,orthingisin.CompleteSubject CompletePredicate(Verb)Theaged,white-hairedgentleman walkedslowlydownthehall.

Thesimplesubjectofasentenceisthefundamentalpartofthecompletesubject—themainnoun(s)andpronoun(s)inthecompletesubject.Inthisexample,thesimplesubjectisgentleman.Thesimplepredicate(verb)ofasentence is thefundamentalpartof thecompletepredicate—the

verb(s)thatareinthecompletepredicate.Intheexample,thesimplepredicateiswalked.Asentencemayalsohavecompoundsubjectsandpredicates.

Theaged,white-hairedgentlemanandhiswifewalkedslowlydownthehallway.

(compoundsubject:gentlemanandwife)

The aged, white-haired gentleman walked slowly and deliberately down the hallway and thenpausedtospeaktome.

(compoundverb:walkedandpaused)Ifyouhavetroublelocatingthesubjectofasentence,findtheverbandthenaskwhoorwhatdidthe

verb.Readthissentence:

Afteratiringmorningatthegym,thesixyoungathletesfellontothefloorinexhaustion.

Theverbisfell.Ifyouask,“Whoorwhatfell?”youanswerathletes,whichisthesubject.Keepinmindthatthesubjectofasentenceisneverinaprepositionalphrase.Also,ifthesentence

is a question, the subject sometimes appears after the verb. To find the subject, turn the questionaroundsothatitresemblesadeclarativesentence:

WhatisAmygoingtodowiththatleftoversandwich?

Now,turnthewordingaroundsothatyouhave:

Amyisgoingtodowhatwiththatleftoversandwich?

Amyanswersthewho?orwhat?questionabouttheverbisgoing.

Complements

Although some sentences are complete with only a subject and a predicate, many others needsomething else to complete their meaning. These additional parts of a sentence are calledcomplements, and there are five types: direct object, object complement, indirect object, predicateadjective, and predicate nominative. Predicate adjectives and predicate nominatives are consideredsubjectcomplements.

DirectObjects

Onetypeofcomplementthat isusedwithatransitiveverbisadirectobject: thewordorwordsthatreceivetheactionoftheverb.Directobjectsarenouns(usually),pronouns(sometimes),ornounclauses(rarely).Youcanfindthedirectobjectbyapplyingthisformula:

1.First,findthesubjectofthesentence.

2.Second,findthetransitiveverb.

3.Third,saythesubjectandpredicate,andthenaskwhom?orwhat?Ifawordanswerseitherofthosequestions,itisadirectobject.

Allofthissoundsmorecomplicatedthanitis.Takealookatthissentence:

Thelittleboyconstantlydribbledthebasketballintheoutdoorplayground.

Youcanfindthesubject(boy)andtheverb(dribbled),soallyoudoissayboydribbledwhomorwhat?Thewordthatanswersthatquestion(basketball)isthedirectobject.Easyenough,huh?

MixingThingsUp

Inordertokeeptheirparagraphsfrombeingtoomonotonous,goodwritersoftenchangethewordorderoftheirsentencesfromthenormalsubject-verbpattern.Readthesetwosentences:

Thesoldierscameoverthehill,determinedtodestroythefortress

Overthehillcamethesoldiers,determinedtodestroythefortress.

Inbothsentences,thesubject(soldiers)andtheverb(came)arethesame,butthesecondsentenceiswritteninwhatiscalledinvertedorder—theverbcomesbeforethesubject.Thecautionhereistobesurethatthesubjectagreeswiththeverb,nomatterwhatorderthesentenceiswrittenin.

ObjectComplements

Another kind of complement used with a transitive verb is an object complement (sometimescalledanobjectivecomplement);itelaboratesonorgivesafullermeaningtoadirectobject.Objectcomplementscanbenounsoradjectives.Takealookatthissentence:

KarenaskedherfriendPauletteforaridehome.

InthissentencethedirectobjectisPaulette(Karenaskedwhomorwhat?Paulette),and thenounfriendistheobjectcomplement(ithelpstocompletetheinformationaboutthewordPaulette).Objectcomplementsthatactinthisway—thatis,theyelaborateonthedirectobject—arenounsorpronouns.Objectcomplementscanalsobeadjectives.Lookatthissentence:

Onawhim,Matthewpaintedhisfingernailsblue.

Thedirectobjectisfingernails(Matthewpaintedwhomorwhat?fingernails),andtheadjectiveblueistheobjectcomplement(itelaboratesonthewordfingernails).Objectcomplementsthatactinthisway—thatis,theydescribethedirectobject—areadjectives.

IndirectObjects

Thethirdtypeofcomplementusedwithatransitiveverbisanindirectobject. Itcomesbeforeadirectobjectandanswers thequestion towhom?or forwhom?after thesubjectandverb.Here isaformulaforfindinganindirectobject:

1.First,findthesubjectofthesentence.

2.Second,findthetransitiveverb.

3.Third,saythesubjectandthepredicate,andthenasktowhom?orforwhom?Ifawordanswersthatquestion,itisanindirectobject.

Lookatthisexample:

KylereluctantlygaveLindathekeystohisnewcar.

Inthissentence,thesubjectisKyleandtheverbisgave.Usingtheformulaofaskingtowhom?orforwhom?afterthesubjectandverb,youwouldsayKylegavetowhom?TheanswerisLinda.Note:withanindirectobject,thewordtoorforisonlyimplied.Ifoneofthosewordsisactually

used,aprepositionalphraseisformed,notanindirectobject.

KylereluctantlygavethekeystoLinda.

(toLindaisaprepositionalphrase,andLindaisnotanindirectobject)

SubjectComplements

Otherkindsofcomplements,calledsubjectcomplements,areusedwithlinkingverbsonly.(Linkingverbs, you’ll remember, are all forms ofbe and, in certain situations,appear, become, feel, grow,

look, remain, smell, sound, stay, and taste.) Subject complements complete (give you moreinformationabout)thesubject.Therearetwotypesofsubjectcomplements:predicateadjectivesandpredicatenominatives.

PredicateAdjectives

Apredicateadjectiveisanadjectivethatcomesafteralinkingverbanddescribesthesubjectofthesentence.Tofindapredicateadjective,applythisformula:

1.First,makesurethesentencehasalinkingverb.

2.Second,findthesubjectofthesentence.

3.Third,saythesubject,saythelinkingverb,andthenaskwhat?Ifthewordthatanswersthequestionwhat?isanadjective,thenyouhaveapredicateadjective.

Hereisanexampleofapredicateadjective:

Crystaliscertainlyintelligent.

Applytheformulaforthissentence:(1)youknowthatisisalinkingverb;(2)youfindCrystalasthesubjectofthesentence;(3)yousayCrystaliswhat?Sinceintelligentanswers thatquestion,andintelligentisanadjective(itdescribesthenounCrystal),thenyouknowthatintelligentisapredicateadjective.

PredicateNominatives

Theothertypeofsubjectcomplementisthepredicatenominative(sometimescalledthepredicatenoun). It also comes after a linking verb and gives you more information about the subject. Apredicate nominative must be a noun or pronoun. Here’s the formula for finding a predicatenominative:

1.First,makesurethesentencehasalinkingverb.

2.Second,findthesubjectofthesentence.

3.Third,saythesubject,saythelinkingverb,andthenaskwho?Ifthewordthatanswersthequestionwho?isanounorpronoun,youhaveapredicatenominative.

Lookatthissentence:

ThatmanoverthereisDeShawn.

Applytheformulaforthissentence:(1)youknowthatisisalinkingverb;(2)youfindmanasthesubjectofthesentence;(3)yousaymaniswho?SinceDeShawnanswersthatquestion,andDeShawnisanoun(itnamesaperson),thenyouknowthatDeShawnisapredicatenominative.

Phrases

Aphraseisagroupofwordsthatactsasaparticularpartofspeechorpartofasentencebutdoesn’thaveaverbanditssubject.Themostcommontypeofphraseistheprepositionalphrase.Aprepositionalphraseisagroupofwordsthatbeginswithaprepositionandendswithanounor

pronoun(theobjectofthepreposition).Hereareafewexamples:

duringtheterriblestorm

afterourdinner

forme

withhisson

Inasentence,prepositionalphrasesactasadjectives(thatis,theydescribenounsorpronouns;theyalso answer the questionwhich one? orwhat kind of?) or adverbs (that is, they describe verbs,adjectives,orotheradverbs;theyalsoanswerthequestionwhen?where?how?why?towhatextent?orunderwhatcondition?).

Adjectivephrase:Severalfriendsfrommyjobaregettingtogethertonight.

(frommyjobmodifiesordescribesthenounfriends)

Adverbphrase:We’llmeetattherestaurantat8P.M.

(attherestaurantmodifiesordescribestheverbmeet)Other phrases are formed by combining a participle with related words to describe a noun or

pronoun.(SeeChapter4foradiscussionofparticiples.)Thesephrasesinclude:

Participialphrase:Fleeingfromthesuddenstorm,manypicnickerssoughtrefugeintheshelterhouseatthepark.

(Fleeingisapresentparticipledescribingthenounpicnickers;fleeingfromthesuddenstormmakesupaparticipialphrase.)

Gerundphrase:SingingthenightawayhelpedJosephforgethistroubles.

(Singing is a gerund; in this sentence, it acts as the subject. Singing the night awaymakes up agerundphrase.)

Infinitivephrase:“Togohomeismyonlywishrightnow,”sighedthetiredmotherafteralongdayofshoppingwiththechildren.

(Togo is an infinitive; in this sentence, it acts as the subject.Togohomemakes up an infinitivephrase.)A final type of phrase is an appositive phrase. An appositive is a noun (usually) or pronoun

(rarely)thatgivesdetailsoridentifiesanothernounorpronoun.Hereisanexample:

My favorite book, a dog-eared copy ofToKill aMockingbird, has accompaniedme onmanyvacations.

Copyisanappositivethatreferstobook.Inthissentence,copyandthewordsthatgowithit—adog-eared—makeuptheappositivephrase:adog-earedcopyofToKillaMockingbird.

Clauses

Likeaphrase,aclauseisusedasaparticularpartofspeechorpartofasentence;however,unlikeaphrase,aclausehasaverbanditssubject.

IndependentClauses

Anindependentclause(sometimescalledamainclause)isagroupofwordsthathasaverbanditssubject.Thesewordscouldstandaloneasasentence;thatis,thewordscouldmakesenseiftheywerebythemselves.Hereisanexample:

Thewhiteindexcardsfelltothefloor.

This isone independentclause. Ithasa subject (cards)andaverb (fell), and it standsaloneas asentence.Now,lookatthissentence:

Thecardsscatteredonthefloor,andIhadtopickthemallup.

This ismade up of two independent clauses. The first—the cards scattered on the floor—has asubject(cards)andaverb(scattered); itcouldstandaloneasasentence.Thesecond—Ihad topickthemallup—hasasubject(I)andaverb(had);italsocouldstandaloneasasentence.

SubordinateClauses

Asubordinateclause(sometimescalledadependentclause)hasaverbanditssubject,butitcan’tstand alone as a sentence. Inorder for a subordinate clause tomake sense, it has tobe attached toanotherpart(tosomeindependentclause)ofthesentence.Lookatthisexample:

Ihadjustalphabetizedthecardswhentheyfellonthefloorandscatteredeverywhere.

Inthissentence,whentheyfellonthefloorandscatteredeverywhereisasubordinateclause.Ithasasubjecttheyandverbsfellandscattered.Butreadthewordsalone:

Whentheyfellonthefloorandscatteredeverywhere

So, what about them?What happened next? If the terminology seems complicated, think of therelationshipthisway:sinceasubordinateclausecan’tstandalone,it’ssecondary(subordinate)tothemain clause of the sentence. Or, a subordinate clause relies (is dependent) on another clause (anindependentclause)that’sinthesentence.Therearethreetypesofsubordinateclauses,andeachactsinadifferentwayinthesentence.

1.Anadjectiveclauseisasubordinateclausethatactsasanadjective;itmodifiesordescribesanounorpronoun. It issometimescalleda relativeclausebecause itoftenbeginswitha relativepronoun(who,whose,whom,which,andthat).

Thatman,whomIwenttohighschoolwith,walkedrightbyasifhe’dnevermetme.

(WhomIwenttohighschoolwithisanadjectiveclausedescribingthewordman.)Careful!Justtoconfuseyou,sometimesanadjectiveclausehasthatdeletedfromit.

ThenewCDthatIwanthasnotyetbeenreleased.

ThenewCDIwanthasnotyetbeenreleased.

2. A noun clause is a subordinate clause that acts as a noun; it can be the subject, predicatenominative,appositive,objectofaverb,orobjectofapreposition.

Rockycouldn’tbelievewhatheheardatthewaterfountain.

(Whatheheardatthewaterfountainisanounclauseservingasthedirectobjectofheheard.)3.Anadverbclauseisasubordinateclausethatactsasanadverb;itcanmodifyordescribeaverb,anadjective,oranotheradverb.Anadverbclauseisintroducedbyasubordinatingconjunction,suchasafter,although,as(if),because,once,until,andwhile.

Mr.Sylvestercametovisitbecauseheneededsomecompanyfortheevening.

(Becauseheneededsomecompanyfortheeveningisanadverbclausethatmodifiestheverbcame.)Remembertouseacommaafteranintroductoryadverbclause,asinthisexample:

Wheneverhecametovisit,Mr.Sylvesteralwaysbroughtaboxofcandyforus.

RestrictiveandNonrestrictiveClauses

Clauses are also divided in anotherway.A restrictive clause (also called an essential or definingclause) is necessary to the basic meaning of the sentence; a nonrestrictive clause (also called anonessentialornondefiningclause)canbeeliminated fromthesentencewithoutchanging itsbasicmeaning.

ThecarthatIwasdrivingwasstolen.

Thecar,whichwasstolenlastSaturday,hasbeenfound.

In the first example, the clause that I was driving is necessary to complete the meaning of thesentence.Inthesecondexample,includingtheclausewhichwasstolenlastSaturdayisnotnecessaryinordertounderstandwhatthesentencesays.Inthisinstance,theclauseismerelyextrainformation.Noticein theprecedingexamples that thatisused to introducerestrictiveclauses,whilewhich is

usedtointroducenonrestrictiveclauses.

SentenceFunctions

Sentences function in fourdifferentways; theycanbedeclarative, interrogative, imperative, andexclamatory.1.Adeclarativesentencemakesastatement:

I’llbeseeingyoutomorrow,andwecantalkaboutourweekendplans.

2.Aninterrogativesentenceasksaquestion:

Doyouthinkwecantalkaboutourweekendplanstomorrow?

3.Animperativesentenceissuesacommand,makesarequest,orgivesinstructions:

Comeheresowecantalkaboutourplans.

Note that in imperative sentences the actual subject of the sentence is often an unstated, butunderstoodyou:

(You)comeheresowecantalkaboutourplans.

4.Anexclamatorysentenceexpressesstrongemotion:

HowIhopewecanbetogetherthisweekend!

Subject-VerbAgreement:KeepingtheHarmony

Whenyoureadyoursentences,doyouhearajarringringthattellsyouthatsomething’swrong?Theproblemmaybethatyouhavedisagreementbetweensubjectsandverbs.Tosmoothoutthesituation,youmustmakeverbsagreewith their subjects innumberand inperson.The firstpartof this rule(maketheverbagreewithitssubjectinnumber)seemssimple:Ifyouuseasingularsubject,youhavetouseasingularverb;ifyouuseapluralsubject,youhavetouseapluralverb.However,anumberofsituationscanarisetomaketheruletrickytofollow.

TheProblemofPrepositions

Oneproblemcomesfromincorrectlymakingtheverbagreewithawordthatisnotthesubject.Toavoid thismistake,mentallydisregardanyprepositionalphrases thatcomeafter thesubject.Takealookatthissentence:

Thetrayoficecubes(has,have)fallenonthekitchenfloor.

Sinceyouknowtodisregardtheprepositionalphraseoficecubes,youthenhave:

Thetray (has,have)fallenonthekitchenfloor.

Now,you’releftwiththesubjectofthesentence(tray).Ofcourse,youwouldsay,

“Thetrayhasfallenonthekitchenfloor.”

FindingthePronouns

When an indefinite pronoun is the subject of your sentence, you have to look at the individualpronoun.Sometimesthisisasnap,aswiththepluralpronounsthattakeapluralverb(both,few,many,others,several).Lookatthesesentences:

“Severalscoutsare[notis]inthestandsattonight’sgame,”whisperedthecoach.

Afewofuswant[notwants]togocampingthisweekend.

Justassomepluralindefinitepronounsareeasytospot,soaresomesingularindefinitepronouns(another,anybody,anyone,anything,each,either,everybody,everyone,everything,much,neither,noone, nobody, nothing, one, other, somebody, someone, something). The problem with indefinitepronouns is that a few of them are considered to be singular, even though they indicate a pluralnumber(e.g.,each,everybody,everyone,everything).Forexample:

Everybodyis[notare]here,sowecangetstartedonthetrip.

Nooneis[notare]goingtocomplainifyouwanttopickupthetabfortonight’smeal.

Nowcomesatrickyrule:Fivepronouns(all,any,most,none,andsome)sometimestakeasingularverbandsometimestakeapluralverb.Howdoyouknowwhichonetouse?Thisis thetime—theonly time—you break the rule about disregarding the prepositional phrases. Take a look at thesesentences:

“Someofthemoneyis[notare]missing!”criedtheteller.

“Someofthepeopleinthebankare[notis]thesuspects,”repliedthepoliceman.

Mostofmycoworkersare[notis]clearedofanysuspicion.

Mostofmyjewelryis[notare]stillmissing.

Ineachcase,youhavetolookattheobjectofthepreposition(money,people,coworkers, jewelry)todecidewhethertouseasingularorpluralverb.

SpecialAgreementSituations

HerearesomemoreodditiesofEnglishgrammar(asifyouhaven’tseenenoughofthemalready):1.The phrase the only one of thoseuses a singular verb; however, the phraseone of thoseuses apluralverb.(Isyourheadspinning?)Maybetheseexampleswillhelp:

TheonlyoneofthosepeopleIfeelcomfortablewithis[notare]GailPrince.

Gailisoneofthosepeoplewhoalwayslisten[notlistens]whenIhaveaproblem.

2.Ifyouhaveasentencewitheveryormanyabeforeawordorgroupofwords,thenuseasingularverb.Forexample:

Manyagoodmanis[notare]tryingtopleasehiswife.

Everywifetries[nottry]tohelpherhusbandunderstand.

3.Whenthephrasethenumberispartofthesubjectofasentence,ittakesasingularverb.Whenthephraseanumberispartofthesubject,ittakesapluralverb.Lookatthesesentences:

Thenumberofpeoplewhocametotheconcertis[notare]disappointing.

Anumberofpeopleare[notis]athomewatchingthefinalsofthebasketballtournament.

4.Whenthephrasemorethanoneispartofthesubject,ittakesasingularverb:

Morethanonepersonis[notare]upsetabouttheoutcomeoftheelection.

5.Another time that subjectsmay be singular or plural iswith collective nouns. Collective nouns

name groups, such as cast, fleet, or gang.Use a singular verb if you mean that the individualmembersofthegroupactorthinktogether(theyactasoneunit).Useapluralverbifyoumeanthattheindividualmembersofthegroupactorthinkseparately.Forexample:

Thecoupleisrenewingitsyearlydonationof$50,000forscholarships.

(Thetwopeopleweredonatingasaunit.)

Thecouplewereclearedofthechargesofembezzlementof$50,000.

(Thetwowereclearedseparately.)6.Stillanotherproblemwithsingularandpluralverbscomeswithexpressionsofamount.Whentheparticular measurement or quantity (e.g., of time, money, weight, volume, food, or fractions) isconsideredasoneunitorgroup,thenuseasingularverb:

Tendollarstoseethismovieis[notare]highwayrobbery!

Iwouldestimatethattwothirdsofthesnowhas[nothave]melted.

7.Somenounslookpluralbutactuallynameoneperson,place,orthing,andsotheyaresingular:

TheUnitedStatesis[notare]defendingitstitleagainsttheUnitedKingdom.

(AlthoughtherearefiftystatesintheUnitedStates,itisonlyonecountry.)

BecauseIthinkthesubjectisfascinating,Ithinkit’soddthateconomicsis[notare]called“thedismalscience.”

(Economicslookslikeapluralword,butit’sonlyonesubject.)8. Here’s another special situation: When you use the words pants, trousers, shears, spectacles,glasses,tongs,andscissorsalone,youuseapluralverb:

Thesepantsare[notis]tootightsinceIreturnedhomefromthecruise.

Do[notDoes]thesetrouserscomeinanyothercolor?

But put the words a pair of in front of pants, trousers, shears, spectacles, glasses, tongs, orscissors,andthenyouneedasingularverb:

Thispairofpantsis[notare]tootightsinceIreturnedhomefromthecruise.

Does[notDo]thispairoftrouserscomeinanyothercolor?

Ifyouthinkaboutit,thelogicbehindtheusageisstrangesincepairmeanstwo,andtwodenotesaplural.Oh,well...

UsingCompoundSubjects

Thefirstruleinthispartiseasy.Compoundsubjects(subjectsjoinedbyand)takeapluralverb:

MaryandMarkare[notis]here.

Mr.andMrs.Claxtonare[notis]joiningusforaninformaldinnertonight.

Here’sanexception:Ifyouhavetwoormoresubjectsjoinedbyand—andthesubjectsarethought

ofasoneunit—thenuseasingularverb.

Peanutbutterandjellyismyfavoritekindofsandwich.

Thesecondruleisalmostaseasy.Singularsubjectsjoinedbyorornortakeasingularverb:

Myteacherormyadviseris[notare]heretohelpmepickmynewclasses.

Thebutcher,thebaker,orthecandlestickmakeris[notare]comingtotomorrow’scareerfair.

Rulenumberthreeisalongthesamelinesasrulenumbertwo.Pluralsubjectsjoinedbyorornortakeapluralverb:

TheSmithsortheJonesesare[notis]visitingtonight.

Thehorsesorthepigsare[notis]makingtoomuchnoisetonight.

Withthesecondandthirdrules,youhavetobesurethatthesubjectsjoinedbyorornorareeitherallsingularorallplural.Followthesetworules:

1.Ifallthesubjectsaresingular,useasingularverb.

2.Ifallthesubjectsareplural,useapluralverb.

What ifyouhaveonesingularsubjectandonepluralsubject joinedbyorornor?Doyouuseasingularorpluralverb?Simple:Yougobythesubjectthat’sclosertotheverb.Soyouwouldwrite:

Mycatormythreedogsare[notis,sincedogsispluralandisclosertotheverb]comingwithmeonthetrip.

Or,ifyouinvertedthesubjects,youwouldwrite:

Mythreedogsormycatis[notare,sincecatissingularandisclosertotheverb]makingmeitchallthetime.

Here,There,andEverywhere

Sometimeswritersandspeakershaveahardtimewithsentencesthatbeginwithhereorthere.

Here’sthemoneyIoweyou.

or

There’splentyoftimeleft.

Writingeitherisfinebecauseifyouchangedthecontractionsintothetwowordseachrepresents,you’dhave“HereisthemoneyIoweyou”and“Thereisplentyoftimeleft.”Noproblem,huh?Nowlookatthesesentences:

Here’sthebooksItoldyouI’dbringtoyou.

There’slotsofsandwichesleft,sohelpyourself.

In these examples if you change those contractions, you have “Here is the books I told you I’dbring toyou”and“There is lotsof sandwiches left, sohelpyourself.”Obviously,you’dneversayeitherofthose(right?),sotheverbformiswrong.Sinceeachofthosesubjectsisplural,youneedthe

pluralverb(are).Sotheruleisthis:Ifyoubeginasentencewithhereorthereandyouhaveapluralsubject,besure

touseapluralverb(usuallytheverbare).

MixedNumbers

Ifyouhaveasentencewithapluralsubjectandasingularpredicatenominative(orviceversa),usetheverbthatagreeswiththesubject,notthepredicatenominative.Forexample:

Althoughthey’reveryexpensive,Susie’sfavoritepresentispinkroses.

Althoughthey’reveryexpensive,pinkrosesareSusie’sfavoritepresent.

Inthefirstsentencethesubject(present)issingular,sothesingularverb(is)isused.Inthesecondsentencethesubject(roses)isplural,sothepluralverb(are)isused.

O

Chapter4VerbVarieties

nemightsaythat“aroseisaroseisarose”(or“anounisanounisanoun”),butverbsarenotsosimple.Evenagarden-varietyverb,suchasgrow,cangobacktothepast(grew),leaptothe

future (will grow),and change in number (it grows, they grow). It can even transform itself into averbal(growing,grown,ortogrow).Withallofthisvariety,isitsurprisingthattheverbisthepartofspeechthathasseveraldifferentmoods?Inthischapter,we’llsortoutalltheseforms.Whenwe’redone,choosingtherightverbwillnever

againmakeyoutense.

Verbals

Besideseightmainpartsofspeech,therearethreeotherparts—participles,gerunds,andinfinitives—calledverbals.Verbalsarehybridsthatdon’tactasverbsinasentence,butasotherpartsofspeech.

Participles

Aparticiple is part verb and part something else, but it’s used as an adjective. (Remember thatadjectivesansweroneofthreequestions:whichone?whatkindof?orhowmany?)Someparticiplesconsistofaverbplus–ing,asinthesesentences:

Justletsleepingdogslie.

Sleepingconsistsoftheverbsleepplustheending–ing,anditactsasanadjectiveinthesentence.Itdescribesdogs,anditanswersthequestionwhichones?

Shiveringfromthecold,Robertwent immediately to thecoffeepotandpouredhimselfa largecup.

Shiveringconsistsoftheverbshiverplustheending–ing,anditactsasanadjectiveinthesentence.ItdescribesRobert,anditanswersthequestionwhatkindof?orwhichone?Theseareexamplesofpresentparticiples.Otherparticiples,calledpastparticiples,consistofaverbplus–dor–ed,asinthesesentences:

Theentireteam,exhilaratedfromtheunexpectedvictory,embracedthecheeringfans.

Exhilaratedconsistsof theverbexhilarateplus theending–ed, and it acts as an adjective in thesentence.Itdescribesteam,anditanswersthequestionwhatkindof?Sowhat’sthebigdealaboutaparticiple?Sometimesit’susedinthewrongway,andthatcreatesa

danglingparticiple(alsocalledahangingparticipleoranunattachedparticiple).Takealookatthissentence:

Babblingincoherently,thenursequicklywrappedhisarmsaroundthechild.

Theway the sentence iswritten, it seems that the nursewasbabbling (a participle) incoherently.What the writer means (at least, what we hope he or she means) is that the child was babblingincoherently.Thesentenceshouldberewritten,perhapsthisway:

Thenursequicklywrappedhisarmsaroundthebabblingchild.

Gerunds

Likeapresentparticiple, agerund is aword that beginswith averb and ends in–ing.Unlike aparticiple,though,agerundactslikeanoun(thatis,itnamesaperson,place,orthing)inasentence.

Runningupsteephillsforthelastsixmonthshasgreatlyincreasedmystamina.

Hectorthoughthecouldimpresshisbossbystayinglateattheoffice.

Running is a gerund. It is composed of a verb (run), ends in –ing, and is used as a noun in thesentence.Staying is anothergerund. It is composedof averb (stay), ends in–ing, and isused as anouninthesentence.Here’sa rule that isoften ignored:Useapossessivenounorpossessivepronoun (my,your,his,

her,its,our,andtheir)beforeagerund.Lookatthissentence:

Jamescontinuestobeamazedby(Barbara,Barbara’s)singing.

You would use the possessive Barbara’s before the gerund singing. The same is true for thissentence:

Iwasupsetabout(us,our)leavingsoearlyinthemorning.

Thepossessivepronounourshouldbeusedbeforethegerundleaving.

Infinitives

Aninfinitiveiscomposedoftoplusaverb(e.g.,togo,tocarry,todrive).Mostofthetimeyouwillseeinfinitivesusedasnouns,butsometimestheycropupasadjectivesoradverbs.

“Iwanttogohome!”criedtheyoungster.

(Togoisaninfinitiveactingasanoun.)

WecometoburyCaesar.

(Toburyisaninfinitivethatactsasanadverb;ittellswhywecame.)

Harrywasthefirstguyinourcrowdtomarry.

(Tomarryisaninfinitivethatactsasanadjective;itdescribesguy.)

Nowforthebadnews.Sometimesthetopartofaninfinitiveisomitted.

“Pleasehelpmemakethebedbeforeyourparentsgethere,”Arthursaidtohiswife.

Thatsentencemeansthesameas

“Pleasehelpmetomakethebed...”

Once you get used to looking at sentences in this way, you’ll find that recognizing infinitiveswithoutthetowillbecomeautomatic.

ToSplitorNottoSplit

Manyyearsagogrammariansdecidedthatitwaswrongtosplitaninfinitive(thatis,toinsertawordbetweentoandtheverb,asintoplainlysee).Formostpeopletoday,thatruleisanunnecessaryanachronism.Forexample,lookatthefollowingsentence:

GeorgianeededtobetterunderstandtherulesofEnglishgrammar.Wouldn’tthatsentencebelesscleariftheinfinitivewasnotsplit?:

GeorgianeededtounderstandbettertherulesofEnglishgrammar.

or

GeorgianeededbettertounderstandtherulesofEnglishgrammar.

Letyoureartellyouwhetherasplitinfinitiveworks.Ifitdoes,thenbyallmeansuseit;ifnot,leavetheinfinitivealone.

VerbTenses

English verbs are divided into threemain tenses,which relate to time:present, past, and future.Eachmain tense isalso subdivided intoothercategories:simple tense,progressive tense,perfecttense,andperfectprogressivetense.Thesesubcategoriesdifferentiatewhenaparticularactionhasbeendone(orisbeingdoneorwillbedone).

TheSimpleTense:It’sElementary

Thesimplepresenttensetellsanactionthatisusualorrepeated:

IhidefromtheMafia.

Thesimplepasttensetellsanactionthatbothbeganandendedinthepast:

IhidfromtheMafia.

Thesimplefuturetensetellsanupcomingactionthatwilloccur:

IwillhidefromtheMafia.

TheProgressiveTense:OneStepBeyond

Use thepresentprogressive tense toshowanaction that’s inprogressat the time thestatement iswritten,likethefollowing.

IamhidingfromtheMafiatoday.

Presentprogressiveverbsarealwaysformedbyusingam,is,orareandadding–ingtotheverb.Usethepastprogressivetensetoshowanactionthatwasgoingonatsomeparticular timeinthe

past:

IwashidingfromtheMafiayesterday.

Pastprogressiveverbsarealwaysformedbyusingwasorwereandadding–ingtotheverb.Usethefutureprogressivetensetoshowanactionthat’scontinuousandthatwilloccurinthefuture:

IwillbehidingfromtheMafiatomorrow.

Futureprogressiveverbsarealways formedbyusingwillbeorshall beand adding–ing to theverb.

ThePerfectTense:FromthePast

Thepresentperfecttenseconveysaction thathappenedsometimein thepastor thatstarted in thepastbutisongoinginthepresent:

IhavehiddenfromtheMafiaformorethanfiveyears.

Presentperfectverbsarealwaysformedbyusinghasorhaveand thepastparticiple formof theverb.Usethepastperfecttensetoindicatepastactionthatoccurredpriortoanotherpastaction:

I had hidden from theMafia formore than five years before I entered theWitness ProtectionProgram.

Pastperfectverbsarealwaysformedbyusinghadandthepastparticipleformoftheverb.Usethefutureperfecttensetoillustratefutureactionthatwilloccurbeforesomeotheraction:

IwillhavehiddenfromtheMafiaformorethanfiveyearsbeforeenteringtheWitnessProtectionProgram.

Futureperfectverbsarealwaysformedbyusingwillhaveandthepastparticipleformoftheverb.

ThePerfectProgressiveTense:Then,Now,andMaybeLater

Usethepresentperfectprogressivetoillustrateanactionrepeatedoveraperiodoftimeinthepast,continuinginthepresent,andpossiblycarryingoninthefuture:

Forthepastfiveyears,IhavebeenhidingfromtheMafia.

Presentperfectprogressiveverbsarealwaysformedbyusinghasbeenorhavebeenandadding–ingtotheverb.Use thepast perfect progressive to illustrate a past continuous action thatwas completed before

someotherpastaction:

BeforeIenteredtheWitnessProtectionProgram,IhadbeenhidingfromtheMafiaformorethanfiveyears.

Pastperfectprogressiveverbsarealwaysformedbyusinghadbeenandadding–ingtotheverb.Use the future perfect progressive to illustrate a future continuous action thatwill be completed

beforesomefuturetime:

NextmonthIwillhavebeenhidingfromtheMafiaformorethanfiveyears.

Futureperfectprogressiveverbsarealwaysformedbyusingwillhavebeenandadding–ingtotheverb.

IrregularVerbs

MostEnglishverbsformtheirpastandpastparticiplebyadding–dor–ed to thebaseformof theverb(theformyou’dfindlistedfirstinthedictionary).Thesearecalledregularverbs.Unfortunately,anumberofverbformsaren’tformedinthatway;thesearecalledirregularverbs.

Hereisalistofmanyofthosetroublesomeverbs.Base(Infinitive) SimplePast PastParticiplearise arose arisenbe was,were beenbear bore borne/bornbecome became becomebegin began begunbend bent bentbet bet/betted bet/bettedbid bade/bid bidden/bidbind bound boundbite bit bitten/bitblow blew blownbreak broke brokenbring brought broughtbuild built builtburn burned/burnt burned/burntburst burst burstbuy bought bought

catch caught caughtchoose chose chosencome came comecreep crept creptcut cut cutdeal dealt dealtdive dived/dove diveddo did donedraw drew drawndream dreamed/dreamt dreamed/dreamtdrink drank drunkdrive drove driveneat ate eateneaten fell fallenfeed fed fedfeel felt feltfind found foundfit fitted/fit fitfly flew flownfreeze froze frozenget got gotten/gotgive gave givengo went gonegrow grew grownhang(tosuspend) hung hunghas had hadhave had hadhear heard heardhide hid hidden/hidhit hit hithold held heldkeep kept keptknow knew knownlay laid laidlead led ledleap leaped/leapt leaped/leaptlearn learned/learnt learned/learntleave left leftlie(torestorrecline) lay lainlight lighted/lit lighted/litlose lost lostmake made mademean meant meantmeet met metmistake mistook mistakenmow mowed mowed/mownpay paid paidplead pleaded/pled pleaded/pledprove proved/proven proved/provenquit quit/quitted quit/quittedride rode riddenring rang rung

rise rose risenrun ran runsaw(tocut) sawed sawed/sawnsay said saidsee saw seensell sold soldsend sent sentset set setsew sewed sewn/sewedshake shook shakenshine shone/shined shone/shinedshow showed shown/showedshrink shrank/shrunk shrunk/shrunkenshut shut shutsing sang/sung sungsink sank/sunk sunksit sat satsleep slept sleptslide slid slidsling slung slungsmell smelled/smelt smelled/smeltspeak spoke spokenspeed sped/speeded sped/speededspell spelled/spelt spelled/speltspend spent spentspill spilled/spilt spilled/spiltspin spun spunspoil spoiled/spoilt spoiled/spoiltspring sprang/sprung sprungsteal stole stolenstick stuck stucksting stung stungstink stank/stunk stunkstrike struck struck/strickenstring strung strungswear swore swornsweep swept sweptswim swam swumswing swung swungtake took takenteach taught taughttear tore torntell told toldthink thought thoughtthrow threw thrownwake woke/waked waked/wokenwear wore wornweave wove wovenweep wept weptwet wet/wetted wet/wettedwin won won

wind wound wound

Moods

English verbs are divided intomoods, which show the writer ’s attitude toward what he or she issaying.Almostallverbsareused in the indicativemood,whichmeans that theverb’s sentence statesan

actuality.Someexamples:

I’ll be seeing you later on tonight. We’ll go to the movies with our friends. You may wearwhateveryouwant.

Theimperativemoodisusedtomakerequestsorgivecommands.Forexample:

Pleasegivemethephone.

Giveittome—orelse!

The subjunctive mood is used with only two verbs (be and were) and in only two kinds ofsentences:

1.Statementsthatarecontrarytofact(providingtheybeginwithiforunless),improbable,ordoubtful;and

2.Statementsthatexpressawish,arequestorrecommendation,anurgentappeal,orademand

Thefollowingareverbformsusedinthesubjunctivemood:

Hereareseveralexamples:

MaryAlicemovedthattheminutesbe[notare]accepted.

(expressesarequest)

IfIwere[notwas]amillionaire,Iwouldbuyyouacar.

(contrarytofact)

It’simportantthateverybodybe[notis]atthemeetingearly.

(wishorrequest)

P

Chapter5PronounProblems

erhaps pronouns—if they only knew—would be proud that they are the only part of speechbesidesverbsjudgedworthyoftheirownchapterinTheOnlyGrammarBookYou’llEverNeed.

Unfortunately,it’snotmeantasacompliment.Handyandtimesavingastheyare,pronounsfrequentlyposeproblemsforbothspeakersandwriters.(Unlike,forexample,thosecheerfulinterjectionsthatalmostnever—thankgoodness!—causeanygrammatical trouble.)Yetusing theproperpronoun isessentialtoavoidbothconfusionandmiscommunication.In this chapter, we’ll settle some disagreements, find the right persons, clear up some vague

references,andsolvesomepuzzlingcases.We’llevenmasterthatage-old“who-whom”problem.Bythe end, you’ll be able to use pronouns—even those tricky indefinite ones— confidently andcorrectly.First, a quick reminder: Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns. They include the

following.allanotheranyanybodyanyoneanythingbotheacheithereverybodyeveryoneeverythingfewheherhersherselfhimhimselfhisIititself

littlemanymeminemostmuchmyselfneithernoonenobodynonenothingoneotherothersoursourselvesseveralshesomesomebodysomeonethattheirsthemthemselvesthesetheythisthoseuswhatwhichwhowhomwhoseyouyoursyourself

yourselves

ProblemswithAgreement

Pronounsmustagreeinnumberwiththewordstheyreferto(theirantecedents).Readthissentence:

AfterIsawwhomtheletterswerefrom,Itosseditinthewastebasket.

Thesentencedoesn’tmakesensebecauseitisthewrongpronoun.Lettersisapluralnoun,sothepronounusedtoreplaceitshouldalsobeplural.Tocorrectthesentence,itmustbereplacedbythepluralpronounthem.Put anotherway, the rule is this: If a pronoun is plural, theword it refers to (also known as its

antecedent)mustbeplural;ifapronounissingular,theworditreferstomustbesingular.

ProblemswithIndefinitePronouns

Indefinitepronounsincludethefollowing:allanotheranyanybodyanyoneanythingbotheacheithereverybodyeveryoneeverythingfewlittlemanymostmuchneithernoonenobodynone

nothingoneotherothersseveralsomesomebodysomeonesomethingAnyone,anybody,anything,each,either,everybody,everyone,everything,neither,nobody,none,no

one, one, somebody, something, and someone are all considered to be singular words, so they allrequireasingularpronoun.But,ifyouthinkaboutit,thewordeach(forinstance)impliesmorethanone.Ifeachpersonisdoingsomething,thatmeansmorethanone,right?Thesamecanbesaidforeverybody,everything,andeveryone.Thisdoesn’tmatter;allfourwordsareconsideredsingular.Soyoushouldwrite:

Everybodyisseated,andeachiswaitingfortheplanetotakeoff.

Eachofthedogsneedsitspersonalizedcollarbeforeitcanbeenrolledindogobedienceschool.

Acommontendencyineverydayspeechistousetheyortheirinplaceofsomesingularpronouns.Inthefirstexample,youmighthearthesentencespokenthisway:

Everybodyisseated,andtheyarewaitingfortheplanetotakeoff.

Thisusageiscalledthe“singularthey”becausetheyreferstoanantecedentthat’ssingular.

AnExceptiontotheRule

Remembertherulethatsaystodisregardanyprepositionalphrasewhenyou’relookingforthesubjectofasentence?Takealookatthesetwosentences:

Allofthemoneyismissingfromthesafe.

Allofthecookiesaremissingfromthejar.

Inbothsentences,thesubjectisall.Butthefirstsentencehasasingularverbandthesecondsentencehasapluralverb—andbotharecorrect.Withfivepronouns(all,any,most,none,andsome),the“disregardtheprepositionalphrase”ruledoesn’tapply.Forthosefivepronouns,lookattheobjectoftheprepositiontodeterminewhichverbtouse.

Eventhoughusingthe“singularthey”isbecomingmorecommonplace,itsusageisstillfrownedon in somecircles.However, thismaybeoneof the rulesofgrammar that eventually changes, asusingthe“singularthey”helpspreventanoveruseofhisorherorheorshe.Forexample,considerthefollowingparagraph:

When I came downstairs, everybody in the family was already eating their breakfast, andeveryonewasengrossedinreadingtheirdifferentsectionsofthenewspaper.Eachofthemseemedtobeintheirownlittleworld.

Bychangingthepronounstoagreeinnumberwiththeirantecedents,youwouldhave:

When I camedownstairs, everybody in the familywasalreadyeatinghisorherbreakfast, andeveryone was engrossed in reading his or her different sections of the newspaper. Each of themseemedtobeinhisorherownlittleworld.

While the second versionmay be grammatically correct, it sure doesn’t readwell. Oneway toavoid this awkwardness is to rewrite the sentences to use plural nouns and pronouns instead ofsingularones:

WhenIcamedownstairs,allofmyfamilymemberswerealreadyeatingtheirbreakfast.Allofthemwereengrossedinreadingtheirownsectionsofthenewspaper.Theyseemedtobeintheirownlittleworld.

Muchbetter,isn’tit?

VaguePronounReferences

Asyou recall, pronouns arewords that take the place of nouns; antecedents are the nouns that thepronounsreferto.Forexample:

ShirleycalledtosayshewouldbegladtohelpdecorateforthepartyonFriday.

Inthisexample,thepronounsheclearlyreferstoaspecificnounShirley(itsantecedent).Buttakealookatthissentence:

BillyJoeinvitedDarrelltotheranchbecauseheenjoyedhorsebackriding.

Well,now.Justwhomdoes thewordhein thesecondpartof thesentencerefer to—BillyJoeorDarrell?Theantecedentofheisn’tclear.Tomakethesentencereadclearly,itshouldbereworded:

BecauseDarrellenjoyedhorsebackriding,BillyJoeinvitedhimtotheranch.

or

BillyJoe,whoenjoyedhorsebackriding,invitedDarrelltotheranch.

Sometimesapronounhasnoreferenceatall.Readthissentence:

Karenwasafraidhewouldnotremembertopickuptherefreshmentsfortheparty.

Justwhoishe?Unlessthemanhasbeenidentifiedinanearliersentence,thereaderisleftoutinthecoldabouthisidentity.Remember that an antecedent has to refer to a specific person, place, or thing. Look at the

followingsentence.

Theyoungrecordingstarwaselated,buthekeptithidden.

Whatdidthestarkeephidden?Wasitsupposedtorefertothefactthathefeltelated?Inthatcase,thesentencewouldread:

Theyoungrecordingstarwaselated,buthekeptelatedhidden.

Doesn’tmakesense,does it?Thewordelatedcan’tbe theantecedentof itbecauseelated isn’taperson,place,orthing.Thesentenceneedstoberewordedsomethinglikethis:

Theyoungrecordingstarwaselatedwithhishitrecord,buthekepthisfeelingshidden.

Alongthesamelines,sometimesinasentencethereisanounthatthepronounrefersto,butit’snottherightnoun;thecorrectreferenceismissingfromthesentence.Readthissentence:

Afterasuccessfulfishingtripwithhisbrothers,Steveletthemallgo.

Theway thesentence isnowworded,Steve lethisbrothersgo.That’swhat them refers to in thesentence.What the writer actually means is that Steve let all the fish go. The sentence should berewrittenlikethis:

Afterasuccessfulfishingtripwithhisbrothers,Steveletalloftheircatchgo.

Here’sanotherexampleofapronounthatdoesn’trefertotherightantecedent:

Thenewtaxformsarrivedtoday.Theywantmetofillouteverylineonthelastthreepages.

Thewaythissentenceisworded,thetaxformswantyoutodothefillingout.Whatthewritermeantwas that the Internal Revenue Service, or an accounting firm, or the office personnel at work—someone the writer had failed to name—wants the tax forms filled out. The sentence needs to berewordedtomakeitclearwhotheyare.

Thenewtaxformsarrivedtoday.Ouraccountantwantsmetofillouteverylineonthelastthreepages.

Becarefulnottousetheywhenyourefertounnamedpersons;saidanotherway,theymustrefertopeopleyouspecify.Thesameholdstrueforanypronoun,butthey,he,she,anditaretheonesmostcommonlymisusedinthisway.Ifyouthinkthatyoumayhaveanunclearreference,onewaytotestthesentenceistodothis:

1.Findthepronoun.

2.Replacethepronounwithitsantecedent—thenounitrefersto(remember,thenounmustbetheexactword).

3.Ifthesentencedoesn’tmakesense,youneedtorewordyoursentence.

ChoosingtheRightPerson

Youmayhaveinstructionsthatcallforyourpieceofwritingtobewritteninaparticularperson—firstperson,secondperson,orthirdperson.First-personpronounsincludeI,me,my,mine,we,our,andus,andthefirst-personpointofview

expressesthepersonalpointofviewofthespeakerorauthor(IwillbringthebooktoJack).Second-personpronounsincludeyou,your,andyours,andmaterialexpressedinthesecond-personpointofview directly addresses the listener or reader (You will bring the book to Jack). Third-personpronounsincludehe,she,him,her,his,hers,they,them,their,andtheirs.Inthethird-personpointofview,materialisexpressedfromthepointofviewofadetachedwriterorothercharacters(Theywill

bringthebooktoJack).If you’re writing for a class, be sure to check with the instructor to determine if there is a

requirementaboutusingfirst, second,or thirdperson. (Mostacademicwritingmustbe in the thirdperson.)Ifyou’rewritingforacompany,checktoseeifthereareparticularguidelinesaboutwhichpersonyoushoulduse.(Ifyou’restillindoubt,usethirdperson.)

ShiftsinPerson

Oneofthemostcommonproblemsinwritingcomeswithashiftinperson.Thewriterbeginsineitherfirstorthirdpersonandthen—withoutreason—shiftstosecondperson.Take,forexample,thisparagraph:

Even in a casual atmosphere I can be embarrassed by someone else, and this causes you tobecometense.For instance,somebodyyouknowcanembarrassyouatapartyor inaclass. It’ssosimpleforastrangertoembarrassyou.Thiscanbeupsetting,dependingonthekindofpersonyouare;itcanbehurtfulevenifyouarementallystrong.

Thewriterbeginsinthefirstperson(tellingabouthimselforherselfbyusingthepronounI)andthenshiftstosecondperson.Theconstantuseofyousoundsasifthewriterispreachingdirectlytothe reader. That writer doesn’t know the reader and doesn’t know if he or she can easily beembarrassedbyothers,andsoon.Exceptforthebeginningsentence,theentireparagraphshouldberewrittenandputintofirstperson.Hereisonewayofdoingthat:

EveninacasualatmosphereIcanbeembarrassedbysomeoneelse,andthiscausesmetobecometense.Forinstance,somebodyIknowcanembarrassmeatapartyorinaclass.It’ssosimpleforastranger to embarrassme.This canbeupsettingbecauseof thekindofperson I am, and it canbehurtfulevenifIammentallystrong.

Ifyoubegin in thirdperson(which is themostcommonwayofwriting),stay in thirdperson. Ifyoubegininfirstperson(thesecondmostcommonwayofwriting),stayinfirstperson.Ifyoubegininsecondperson,stayinsecondperson.Consistencyisthekey.

UsingtheSecondPerson

Sometimes you are looking for a more informal tone than third person provides. Somethingwritteninsecondperson(usingyouandyour)willhaveamoreconversational tone thanwritinginfirstorthirdperson.Takealookatthisparagraph:

You’llneedtowatchthemixturecarefully,andyoumayhavetostiritquiteoften.Whenyougettothelaststep,makesureyouaddthefinalthreeingredientsslowly.Ifyouaddthemtooquickly,thecombinationwillnotblendandyou’llhaveamessonyourhands.

Thatparagraphistalkingdirectlytoyou,tellingyouwhattodoinyourcooking.Butlookatthesameparagraphwritteninthirdperson:

Themixturemustbewatchedcarefully,anditmayhavetobestirredquiteoften.Atthelaststep,itis important that the final three ingredients be added slowly. If they are added too quickly, the

combinationwillnotblendandamesswillbecreated.

Now,that’sprettyboringandstilted,isn’tit?Thedirectionsarefarbetterifyouwritetheminthesecondperson.

PronounCases

Pronouns are also one of three cases: subjective, objective, and possessive.Theway a pronoun isusedinthesentencedetermineswhichcaseyoushoulduse.

1.SubjectivepronounsincludeI,you,he,she,it,we,andthey.

2.Objectivepronounsincludeme,you,him,her,it,us,andthem.(Notethatyouanditareincludedonbothlists;you’llseewhylater.)

3.Possessivepronounsincludemy,your,his,her,its,our,andtheir.(Possessivepronounsareregardedasadjectivesbysomegrammarians.Thesepronounswon’tbediscussedinthissectionbecausethere’srarelyaproblemwithusingthemcorrectly.)

SubjectivePronouns

Subjective pronouns are used as the subjects of sentences (whomorwhat you’re talking about).Someexamples:

Iamgoingtoleaveformyappointment.

Sheislatealready.

Theywillnevermakeitontime.

Aproblemoccasionallyariseswhensubjectsarecompound.Youmightread,forinstance:

Hisbrothersandhimaregoingtotheballgame.

Margaret,Elizabeth,andmewereatthemallforfourhoursyesterday.

Meandherseeeye-to-eyeonlotsofthings.

Thesepronounsareused incorrectly.Because thepronounsareusedas subjectsof the sentence,theyshouldallbeinthesubjectivecase:I,you,he,she,it,we,orthey.So,thesentencesshouldread:

Hisbrothersandhearegoingtotheballgame.

Margaret,Elizabeth,andIwereatthemallforfourhoursyesterday.

Iandsheseeeye-to-eyeonlotsofthings.

(Actually,it’sconsideredpolitetoputtheotherpersonfirst,soit’sbettertowordthissentencelikethis:SheandIseeeye-to-eyeonlotsofthings.)Ifyou’renotsureifyou’veusedtherightpronoun,trywritingorsayingthesentencewithonlyone

subject.You’dneversay:

Himisgoingtotheballgame.

or

Mewasatthemallforfourhoursyesterday.

Changethepronounstotheonesyou’dnormallyusewhenthere’sjustonesubject(heandI).

ObjectivePronouns

Objectivepronounsareusedastheobjectsinsentences.Youwouldsay,forinstance:

Terrycametoseeherlastnight.

Forthetwins’birthday,MothergavethemseveralnewCDs.

Aswithcompoundsubjects,problemsarisewhentherearecompoundobjects.Peoplesometimeswriteorsaysentenceslikethis:

TheargumentaroselastnightbetweenCarlaandshe.

PleasebuyaraffleticketfromNonnieorI.

Again,eachpronounisusedincorrectlyinthesesentences.Thepronounsareusedasobjectshereandshouldallbe in theobjectivecase:me,you,him,her, it,us,and them.So, the sentences shouldread:

TheargumentaroselastnightbetweenCarlaandher.

PleasebuyaraffleticketfromNonnieorme.

You can use the same trick that you used for the subjective pronoun problem, but substitute theobjectiveform;thatis,writeorsaythesentencewithonlyoneobject.You’dneversay:

Theargumentaroselastnightbetweenshe.

PleasebuyaraffleticketfromI.

Sincethosepronounssoundwrongwhenthey’rebythemselves,youknowthatthey’rethewrongcase.Changethepronounstotheonesyou’dnormallysaywhenthereisonlyoneobject.Sowhywereyouand iton the lists of both subjective and objective pronouns?Because, unlike

otherpronounsonthelists(Iandme,forexample),Englishusesthesameformforthosetwowords.

Itwasnicetogetasurpriseinthemail.

(Itisusedasasubject.)

Igotitinthemail.

(Itisusedasanobject.)

Youcalledmeatfouro’clock?

(Youisusedasasubject.)

Icalledyoubackatfiveo’clock.

(Youisusedasanobject.)

SituationswithThanandAs

Anotherproblemwithpronounssometimesarisesinasentencewithwordsthatareomittedfollowingthanoras.Lookatthefollowingexamples:

GregsaidtoGrace,“IalwaysthoughtMotherlikedyoumorethanme.”

GregsaidtoGrace,“IalwaysthoughtMotherlikedyoumorethanI.”

Whenthewordsthathavebeenomittedafterthanarerestored, therealmeaningof thesentencesbecomesclear:

GregsaidtoGrace,“IalwaysthoughtMotherlikedyoumorethan(sheliked)me.”

GregsaidtoGrace,“IalwaysthoughtMotherlikedyoumorethanI(likedyou).”

(Eitherway,Gregseemstobeinquiteasnit,doesn’the?)Thesametypeofconfusioncanresultwhenwordsfollowingashavebeenomitted.Forexample,

someonemightsayorwritesomethingalongthelinesof:

Myhusbandfindsphysicsasinterestingasme.

Thisimpliesthat,tothehusband,thesubjectofphysicsandhiswifeareofequalinterest.Now,lookatthecorrection:

MyhusbandfindsphysicsasinterestingasI(do).

Thissignifiesthatbothspousesareequallyinterestedinphysics—which,onehopes,istheintendedmeaninghere.Bymentallyaddingthemissingverbattheendofasentenceusingthanorasinthisway,you’llbe

abletotellwhichpronountouse.

WhoandWhom:ADifferentSlant

Decidingwhethertousewhoorwhommaybethemostdifficultofall theproblemswithpronouns.Doyousay,“ThemanwhoIcalledthismorninghasalreadyplacedanorder”or“ThemanwhomIcalled thismorninghasalreadyplacedanorder”?Howcanyoumakeyourmindupbetween“Thestudentwhoisearlywillgetthebestseat”and“Thestudentwhomisearlywillgetthebestseat”?If you have trouble deciding whether to usewho orwhom (orwhoever orwhomever), try the

followingmethod.1.First,remembertolookonlyattheclauseassociatedwithwhoorwhom.Insomesentences,thereisonlyoneclause,and thatmakes finding the rightwordeasy.Often, though, there ismore thanoneclause(anindependentclauseandoneormoredependentclauses).

2.Next,scramblethewordsoftheclause(ifyouhaveto)sothatthewordsformastatement,notaquestion.3.Now,substituteeitherheorhimforwhoorwhom.Thiswilltellyouwhethertousewhoorwhom.Usethemnemoniche=who,him=whom(thefinalmhelpsyouremembertheassociation).4.Beonthelookoutforpredicatenominatives.Afteryouscramblethewords,ifyouhavealinkingverbratherthananactionverb,usehe(who)insteadofhim(whom).Readytoputallthistoatest?Trythissentence:

(Who,Whom)telephonedsolatelastnight?

In this sentence, no scrambling is necessary. You can substitute he and have a perfectly goodsentence:Hetelephonedsolatelastnight.Sinceyousubstitutedheinsteadofhim(rememberthathe=who),youknowtousewhointheoriginalquestion.Now,trythisexample:

(Who,Whom)wereyoutelephoningsolateatnight?

Scramblethewordstomakeastatement;thensubstituteheorhim,andyouhavethestatement“Youwere telephoning him so late at night.” Since you usedhim in the new sentence, you know to usewhomintheoriginalquestion.Now,foratrickierexample:

Eugeneworriedabout(who,whom)Eddiewouldbeteamedwithinthecompetition.

This sentence has two clauses, but you’re only concerned with the clause that contains thewho/whomquestion.Takethewordsafterabout,scramblethemtomakeastatement,substituteheorhim,andyouhave“Eddiewouldbe teamedwithhim in thecompetition.”Sinceyouusedhim,youwouldknowthattheoriginalsentencewouldusewhom(rememberthemnemonichim=whom), likethis:

EugeneworriedaboutwhomEddiewouldbeteamedwithinthecompetition.

W

Chapter6PunctuationandStyle

hen readers and writers don’t use the same format—the same code—for applying capitallettersandpunctuationmarks,confusionisoftentheresult.Takealookatthefollowing:

whentheenvelopearrivediopeneditandscreamedthisisitiyelledloudlyenoughtowakeupthe whole neighborhood running up from the basement my husband asked whats wrong nothingswrongihastenedtoreplywevejustbecomethelatestwinnersinthestatesweepstakesnowwellhaveenoughmoneytogoonthatvacationwevedreamedabout

Obviously,thewordsarejumbledtogetherwithoutanycapitalizationorpunctuation.Ifthestoryisrewrittenandusesappropriatecapitallettersandpunctuationmarks,thenreadingitbecomesasnap.

Whentheenvelopearrived,Iopeneditandscreamed.“Thisisit!”Iyelledloudlyenoughtowakeupthewholeneighborhood.

Runningupfromthebasement,myhusbandasked,“What’swrong?”“Nothing’s wrong,” I hastened to reply. “We’ve just become the latest winners in the state

sweepstakes.Nowwe’llhaveenoughmoneytogoonthatvacationwe’vedreamedabout.”Much better, wouldn’t you say? The same words are used, but now you can easily read and

understandthestorybecausecapitallettersandpunctuationmarkshavebeencorrectlyinserted.

EndingaSentence

Let’sbeginattheend—ofsentences,thatis.Therearethreemarksthatsignalthatasentenceisover:aperiod,aquestionmark,andanexclamationpoint.

Periods

Aperiodismostoftenusedtosignaltheendofadeclarativesentence(onethatstatesafact)oranimperativesentence(onethatgivesacommandorstatesarequest).Forexample:

Declarativesentence:Themajorityoftheviewersstoppedwatchingtheprogramaftertheformatwaschanged.

Imperativesentence:Handmethepenthatrollednearyou.

Periodsarealsousedinabbreviations:Dr.,Mr.,Ms.,Rev.,i.e.,etc.,andetal.

QuestionMarks

Aquestionmarkgoes at the endof a direct questionor a sentence that ends in questions. (You

knew that, didn’t you?) It is also used to show that there is doubt or uncertainty about somethingwritteninthesentence,suchasaname,adate,oraword.Inbirthanddeathdates,suchas(?–1565),thequestionmarkmeansthatthebirthdatehasnotbeenverified.Lookattheseexamples:

The police are searching for a fugitive known only as Richard-O (?) in connection with thecrime.

(uncertaintyabouttheperson’sname)

Paulsaidhewoulddonatefivethousand(?)dollarstothecharity.

(uncertaintyabouttheexactamountofthedonation)Besuretoincludequestionmarksthatarepartsoftitles:

IrefusetowatchthatnewtelevisionprogramCanYouBelieveIt?

If you have a series of questions that are not complete sentences, a question mark should beincludedaftereachfragment:

Canyoubelievethatit’stenbelowzero?orthatit’ssnowing?orthatmyelectricityhasgoneoff?or that the telephone has gone out? or that I’m completely out of snacks to get me through thisweather?

ExclamationPoints

An exclamation point (exclamation mark) is used to express strong feelings. There’s quite adifferencebetweenthesetwosentences:

Outoftheblue,MarshacalledKylelastnight.

Outoftheblue,MarshacalledKylelastnight!

The second sentence tells the reader that there was something extraordinary about the fact thatMarshacalledKyle.In formalwriting,don’tuseanexclamationpoint (unless,ofcourse,you’requotingasourceor

citinga titlewithanexclamationpoint). In informalwriting,youmight includeexclamationpointsafterinformationthatyoufindtoberemarkableorinformationthatyou’reexcitedabout:

Paulsaidthathewoulddonatefivethousanddollars(!)tothecharity.

or

Paulsaidthathewoulddonatefivethousanddollarstothecharity!

Aswithquestionmarks,check tosee ifanexclamationpoint ispartofa title. If it is,besure toincludeit:

IrefusetowatchthatnewtelevisionprogramICan’tBelieveIt!

QuotationMarks

Themostcommonuseofquotationmarks(“/”)istoshowthereadertheexactwordsapersonsaid,intheexactorderthepersonspokethem.Thisiscalledadirectquotation.Notethedifferenceinthefollowingsentences:

Directquotation:Thebankrobbersaid,“Handoverthemoney.”

Indirectquotation:Thebankrobbersaidtohandoverthemoney.

Thesamemeaningisconveyedeitherway,buttheuseofquotationmarkstellsthereaderthatthewordsarebeingstatedexactlyastheywerespoken.Oneofthemostcommonmistakesmadewithquotationmarksistousethemimmediatelyaftera

word such as saidorasked in sentences that are actually indirect quotations (that is, not the exactwords,intheexactorder,thatthespeakerused).Forexample:

Correct:HarryaskedifAnnawouldpasshimthebutter.

Incorrect:Harryasked,“IfAnnawouldpasshimthebutter.”

SomeGuidelinesforQuotations

Guideline #1.Every time you change speakers, indent and make a new paragraph, even if thepersonquotedisjustsayingoneword.Thisallowsthereadertokeepstraightwho’ssayingwhat.Takealookatthissequence:

Nickpickedupthereceiverandsaid,“Hello.”Avoiceasked,“Whoisthis?”“Nick.”“Nickwho?”“Well,whoisthis?”“Youknowdarnedwellwhothisis.”

Written thatway, it isdifficult for the reader to followwho issayingwhat.Thedialogueshouldstartanewparagrapheach time thespeakerchanges.Thatway, the readercan identify thespeaker.Thisisthewaythepassageshouldbewritten:

Nickpickedupthereceiverandsaid,“Hello.”

Avoiceasked,“Whoisthis?”“Nick.”“Nickwho?”“Well,whoisthis?”“Youknowdarnedwellwhothisis.”Guideline #2. If you’re quoting more than one sentence from the same source (a person or a

manuscript),puttheclosingquotationmarksattheendofthespeaker ’slastsentenceofthatparagraphonly,notattheendofeachsentence.Forexample:

At thediner,Geoff said, “I’ll startwith a cupof coffee and a largeorange juice.Then Iwantscrambledeggs,bacon,andtoastforbreakfast.MayIgethomefrieswiththat?”

Note that there are no quotationmarks after juiceorbreakfast.That tells the reader that Geoffhasn’tfinishedspeaking.Guideline#3. If you’re quotingmore than one paragraph from the same source (a person or a

manuscript),putbeginningquotationmarksatthestartofeachparagraphofyourquoteandclosing

quotationmarksattheendonly.Thisletsthereaderknowthatthewordscomefromthesamesource,withoutanyinterruption.Takealookatthisexample:

Theransomletterread:

“We’llexpecttoreceivetheransommoneybythisafternoon.YoucangetitfromyourGrandfatherPerkins.Weknowhe’sloaded.“Tellhimnottotryanyfunnystuff.Wewantthemoneyinunmarkedbills,andwedon’twantany

policeinvolved.We’llbeintouchintenhourstotellyouwheretodeliverthedough.Justgetitandkeepyourmouthshut.”Notethatattheendofthefirstparagraphthewordloadeddoesn’thavequotationmarksafterit,and

therearequotationmarksat thebeginningandendof thesecondparagraph.Thisshowsthereaderthat the sameperson is speakingor the same source isbeingquoted.Theclosingquotationmarksdesignatewhenthequotationends.Guideline#4.Usequotationmarkstoenclosethetitlesofshortworks(shortpoems,shortstories,

titlesof articles frommagazinesornewspapers, essays, chaptersofbooks, songs, andepisodesoftelevisionorradioprograms):

Harry consulted a chapter called “The Art of Detection” from the bookHow Mysteries AreWritten.

Iparticularlyenjoythesong“LoveLetters,”whichisontheCDABCandXYZofLove.

Guideline #5. If you’re using slang, technical terms, or other expressions outside the normalusage,enclosetheminquotationmarks:

Mygrandmotherdidn’tknowifitwasacomplimentoraninsultwhenIdescribedmybestfriendasbeing“phat.”

Incomputerdiscussiongroups,whatdoes“startanewthread”mean?

Guideline#6.Rememberthatperiodsandcommasgoinsideclosingquotationmarks;colonsandsemicolonsgooutsideclosingquotationmarks.Thismaynotalwayslookright(andit’snotadheredtoinBritishEnglish),butthatisthewayitisdoneintheUnitedStates.Lookatthissentence:

Iwasreadingtheshortstory“ScaredOutofMyWits,”butIfellasleepinspiteofmyself.

SeethecommaafterWitsandbeforetheclosingquotationmarks?Nowlookatthissentence:

Iwasreadingtheshortstory“ScaredOutofMyWits”;Ididn’tfindittobescaryatall.

ThesemicolonisoutsidetheclosingquotationmarksafterWits.Guideline#7.The two other endmarks of punctuation—the questionmark and the exclamation

mark—goeitherinsideoroutsidetheclosingmarks,dependingonwhat’sbeingquoted.Aquestionmark,forinstance,goesinsidetheclosingquotationifwhatisbeingquotedisaquestion:

Marthasaid,“Didyoufallasleepreadingthestory?”

TheactualwordsthatMarthasaidformthequestion,sothequestionmarkgoesinsidetheclosingquotationmark.Exclamationmarksareusedinthesameway:

Marthashouted,“Ihopeyouknowwhatyou’redoing!”

Nowtakealookatthisexample:

DidMarthasay,“Youmusthavefallenasleep”?

The actual words that Martha said (“You must have fallen asleep”) don’t form a question; thesentenceasawholedoes.Thequestionmarkgoesoutside theclosingquotationmarks toshowthereaderthat.Lookatthisexample:

Marthaactuallysaid,“Youmustberight”!

Again,theactualwordsthatMarthasaiddon’tformanexclamation;thesentenceasawholedoes,sotheexclamationmarkgoesoutsidetheclosingquotationmarks.Whatdoyoudowhenboththesentenceasawholeandthewordsbeingquotedformaquestionor

anexclamation?Useonlyoneendmark(questionmarkorexclamationmark)andput it inside theclosingquotationmarks.Lookatthisexample:

DidIhearMarthasay,“Whocalledthisafternoon?”

SingleQuotationMarks

IntheUnitedStates,singlequotationmarksareusedforaquotationwithinaquotation:

“Marksaid,‘I’llbefine,’butthenhecollapsed,”criedShameka.

“I’mreadingthestory‘PlaidBlazersandOtherMysteries,’”saidLaura.

What Mark said (“I’ll be fine”) and the name of the short story (“Plaid Blazers and OtherMysteries”)wouldnormallybeenclosedwithdoublequotationmarks.Butsincethesephrasescomeinsidematerialthatalreadyisindoublemarks,youletthereaderknowwherethequotation(ortitle)beginsbyusingasinglequotationmark.

UsingApostrophes

Peopleoftenbecomeconfusedaboutthepurposeofapostrophesandendupusingtheminallsortsofcreativeways.Youcanwalkintoalmostanystoreandseesignslikethefollowingwithincorrectusesoftheapostrophe:

Specialprice’sthisweek!Renttwomovie’stoday!Fivecan’sfor$4.00!

Noneofthesewordsneedsanapostrophe.Eachisasimpleplural,andyoualmostneverneedtouseanapostrophetodenoteaplural.Usinganapostropheneednotbesodifficult.Let’sstartwiththeeasiestuseoftheapostrophe,thecontraction.

Contractions

Anapostropheoftenindicatesthatatleastoneletterhasbeenomittedfromaword.Thisiscalledacontraction.Forexample,thecontractiondon’tstandsfordonot;theoinnothasbeenomitted.I’llisaformofIwill;inthiscasethewiofwillhasbeenomitted.

Otherexamples:FullForm Contractionisnot isn’tcannot can’tshewill she’llyouhave you’veheis he’s

Possession

Beforeusinganapostrophe,makesurethataphraseactuallydenotespossessionandisnotsimplyaplural.Forinstance,inthephrasethebabies’rattles,thebabiespossessrattles(soanapostropheisused);however,inthephrasethebabiesintheircribs, thebabiesarenotpossessinganythingsoanapostropheisnotneeded.Herearesomeguidelinestohelpyoumakesenseofitall.Guideline#1.Ifasingularnoundoesn’tendin–s,itspossessiveendsin–’s.Saywhat?Takealook

atthissentence:

Thecarsenginewasstillrunning.

Thewordcarsneedsanapostrophetoindicatepossession,butwhere?Use this mental trick to show where to place an apostrophe: Take the word that needs the

apostrophe(cars)andthewordthatit’stalkingabout(engine)andmentallyturnthetwowordsaroundsothatthewordyou’rewonderingaboutistheobjectofaprepositionsuchasof.Whenyouchangecarsenginearound,youcomeupwithengineofthecar.Nowlookattheword

car.Carissingularanddoesn’tendin–s,sotheoriginalshouldbepunctuated–’s.Youshouldhave:

Thecar ’senginewasstillrunning.

Otherexamplesofsingularnounswithapostrophes:

Shannon’sbook

thelion’smane

abook’spages

Guideline#2.Whenyouhavepluralnounsthatendin–s(andmostdo),addanapostropheafterthefinal–s.Thesamementaltrickofturningthetwowordsintoaphraseapplies.Lookatthissentence,whichtalksabouttwogirlswhohaveleftbehindtheirjackets:

Thegirlsjacketswereleftinthecoatroom.

Nowjustapplythetrick.Takethephrasegirlsjackets,andturnitaroundsothatyouhavejacketsof(belongingto)thegirls.Whenyou’veturnedthephrasearoundthistime,thewordgirlsendsin–s.Thisletsyouknowthat

youshouldaddanapostropheafterthe–singirls,sothesentenceshouldreadthisway:

Thegirls’jacketswereleftinthecoatroom.

Otherexamplesofpluralnounswithapostrophes:

fivemusicians’instruments

twenty-fouryears’worth

tentrees’branches

AlthoughmostEnglishpluralsendin–sor–es,thereareanumberofexceptions,suchaschildren,women,anddeer.Ifapluraldoesn’tendin–s,thepossessiveisformedwithan–’s(thatis,treatitasifitweresingular).

thechildren’scoats

themen’sscores

theoxen’syokes

One tricky part left to consider concerns singularwords that end in –s.There are twoways ofpunctuatingthesewords.Guideline#3isusedmoreoftenthanGuideline#4,butyoumaywanttoaskyourinstructororemployerifthereisapreferenceastowhichyoushouldfollow.Guideline#3.Ifasingularwordendsin–s,formitspossessivebyadding–’s(exceptinsituations

inwhichpronunciationwouldbedifficult,suchasMosesorAchilles).Lookatthissentence:

JulieJoneshelpwasinvaluableinfindinganewapartment.

Guideline#3wouldtellyouthat,sinceJonesissingularandendsin–s,you’dshowitspossessivebyadding–’s.Therefore,thesentencewouldbepunctuatedthisway:

JulieJones’shelpwasinvaluableinfindinganewapartment.

However,youmaybetoldtouseanotherrule:Guideline#4.Ifasingularwordendsin–s,formitspossessivebyaddinganapostropheafterthe

–s.Inthiscase,thesentencewouldbewrittenthisway:

JulieJones’helpwasinvaluableinfindinganewapartment.

JointversusIndividualPossession

There is a way to use apostrophes to show the reader whether the people you’re talking aboutpossesssomethingjointlyorindividually.Takealookatthissentence:

JimandAllisonscarswerestolen.

Thequestionis,didJimandAllisonownthecarstogetherorseparately?If,say,JimandAllisonwere a married couple and they had the misfortune of having two of their cars stolen, then thesentencewouldbepunctuatedinthefollowingway:

JimandAllison’scarswerestolen.

Thepossessive isusedafter the lastperson’snameonly.Thisusage tells thereader thatJimandAllisonhadjointownershipofthecars.But say Jim andAllisonwere neighbors, and therewas a rash of car thefts on their block.The

sentencewouldthenbepunctuatedthisway:

Jim’sandAllison’scarswerestolen.

The possessive is used after both names. This usage tells the reader that Jim and Allison hadseparateownershipofthecars.

UsinganApostrophetoFormaPlural:ARareOccasion

Remember the store signs mentioned at the beginning of this section that incorrectly use anapostrophe:

Specialprice’sthisweek!Renttwomovie’stoday!Fivecan’sfor$4.00!

Thewordsthathaveapostrophesarejustplainol’plurals;theydon’tshowownershipinanywayandsodon’tneedapostrophes. (Ifyou’reunsureaboutwhetheryou shoulduseanapostrophe, askyourselfifthewordinquestionownsorpossessesanything.)Thereareafewrareinstanceswhenyouuseapostrophestoformplurals.Thefirstiswhenyou’re

writingabbreviationsthathavemorethanoneperiod.

M.D.=M.D.’s

Also,ifyouhaveproverbialexpressionsthatinvolveindividuallettersorcombinationsofletters,useapostrophestoshowtheirplurals.

Dotyouri’sandcrossyourt’s.

(In these instances, somestyleguidesdictate thatyoushouldn’t italicize the letteryou’remakingplural;otherguidestaketheoppositeview.)Another time that you shoulduse an apostrophe to formaplural iswhenyour readerwouldbe

confusedbyreadingan–salone (for instance,whenan–s is added to an individual letter or lettercombination,tohyphenatedcompounds,ortonumbersusedasnouns).

s=s’s(insteadofss)

Commas

Whenreadersseeacomma, theyknowthat there isaslightpause,and theycan tellhowparticularwordsorphrasesrelatetootherpartsofthesentence.Takealookatthissentence:

WillyoucallMaryAliceLeeandJasonorshouldI?

What’sbeingsaidhere?Thissentencehasentirelydifferentmeanings,dependingonhowcommasareplacedinit.

WillyoucallMary,Alice,Lee,andJason,orshouldI?

WillyoucallMaryAlice,Lee,andJason,orshouldI?

WillyoucallMary,AliceLee,andJason,orshouldI?

CommaswithaSeries

Ifyouhaveaseriesofitems,useacommatoseparatetheitems.Forexample:Thenewconvertible2001FordandChevypickupwereinvolvedinawreck.Howmanyvehicleswereinvolved?Withthefollowingpunctuation,you’dseethat threevehicles

wereinvolved.

Thenewconvertible,2001Ford,andChevypickup...

However,thispunctuationshowsthatonlytwovehicleswereinvolved

Thenewconvertible2001FordandChevypickup...

Useacommabetweentwoormoreadjectivesthatmodifyanoun:

Themaninthetorn,tatteredjacketmovedquicklythroughthecrowded,unlitstreet.

If thefirstadjectivemodifies the ideaexpressedbythecombinationofsubsequentadjectivesandthenoun,thenyoudon’tneedcommas.Lookatthissentence:

Manycountriesdonothavestablecentralgovernments.

Sincecentralgovernmentswouldbeconsideredasingleunit,itisnotnecessarytoseparateitfromtheadjectivemodifyingit(stable)withacomma.Ifyou’reusingand,or,ornortoconnecttheitemsintheseries,don’tusecommas:

Theflagisredandwhiteandblue.

Theflagmightberedorwhiteorblue.

Theflagisneitherrednorwhitenorblue.

CommaswithCompoundSentences

If you have two independent clauses (that is, two complete thoughts that could stand alone assentences)andthey’rejoinedbybut,or,yet,so,for,and,ornot(remember themnemonicboysfan),jointhemwithacomma:

Itwasmorethanthreehourspastlunchtime,andeverybodywasgrumblingaboutbeinghungry.

Theexception:Youmayeliminatethecommaifthetwoindependentclausesareshortandiftherewouldbenodangerofconfusionwiththecommanotinthesentence.Forexample:

Wefilledupwithgasandwewentonourway.

Ifyouhaveasimplesentencewithacompoundverb,don’tputacommabetweentheverbs:

Iwantedtogetsomerest[nocomma]butneededtogetmoreworkdone.

CommaswithQuotedMaterial

Ifaquotedsentenceisinterruptedbywordssuchashesaidorshereplied,usecommasinthisway:

“Forthiscontest,”hesaid,“youneedthreepencilsandtwopiecesofpaper.”

Note that the first comma goes before the closing quotationmark and the second comma goesbeforethebeginningquotationmark.Ifthewordsbeingquotedmakeupaquestionoranexclamation,don’tincludeacomma:

“Putthatdownrightnow!”Barrycried.

CommaswithClauses,Phrases,Appositives,andIntroductoryWords

Usecommastosetapartclauses(groupsofwordsthathaveasubjectandapredicate),participlephrases,andappositives(wordsorphrasesthatgiveinformationaboutanounorpronoun)thataren’tnecessarytothemeaningofthesentence.Takealookatthissentence:

The handsome man over there, the only one who works in the deli department of the localsupermarket,hasblackhairandbrowneyes.

Ifyoutookouttheclausetheonlyonewhoworksinthedelidepartmentofthelocalsupermarket,you’dstillhavethesameessentialpartsofthesentence.Youdon’tneedtoknowwherethemanworksinordertolearnhishairandeyecolor.Here’sanotherwayoflookingatit:Ifyoucantakeoutthepart you’re questioning for commas and the sentence still makes sense, then you should use thecommas.Nowlook:

The only man who works in the deli department of the local supermarket was arrested forstealingfourgrapesandfiveapples.

Inthiscase,ifyouremovedwhoworksinthedelidepartmentofthelocalsupermarket,you’dhaveThe onlymanwas arrested for stealing four grapes and five apples. That isn’t themeaning of theoriginal sentence. Remember: If you need the extra words for the meaning, you don’t need thecommas.Commasarealsousedafter introductorywordssuchasexclamations,commonexpressions,and

namesusedindirectaddressthataren’tnecessaryforthemeaningofasentence.Ifyouhavewordsthatbeginasentenceandyoucouldunderstandthesentencewithout them,useacommatoseparatethemfromtherestofthesentence.Forexample:

Why,don’tyoulooknicetonight!

Kayla,pleasehelpyourbrotherfindhistricycle.

Ifyoumustknow,Ihavebeendyeingmyhairforthepasttenyears.

Acommaisalsousedbeforethesesametypesofwordsandphraseswhentheyappearattheendofasentence,aslongasthey’renotnecessaryforthemeaning:

Don’tyouthinkthatnewCDreallyrocks,Jean-Marie?

You’llbecomingwithustothecompanypicniconSunday,Ihope.

Usecommasaroundwordsthatinterruptasentence(thesearecalledparentheticalexpressions),aslongasthewordsaren’tnecessaryforthemeaning:

Theanswertothenextquestion,Paula,canbefoundonpagethirty-six.

Thistextbook,unliketheoneIhadbefore,iswritteninastyleIcanunderstand.

Use a comma after an introductory verbal (remember that a verbal is a participle, gerund, orinfinitive)orverbalphrase:

Weepingatthesightofthedestruction,thenewsreporterbrokedownoncamera.

Totrytoregainhiscomposure,hetookseveraldeepbreaths.

Useacommaafteranintroductoryadverbclause.(Rememberthatanadverbclauseisagroupofwordsthathasasubjectandaverb,andthatdescribesaverb,adjective,orotheradverb.)Forexample:

BecauseIdidn’tstopattheredlight,Igotaticket.

IfGlenncomesintowntonight,thewholefamilyisgoingtogettogetherforapicnic.

CommasinAddresses

When writing out a mailing address as text (not on separate lines), put a comma between theperson’slastnameandthestartofthestreetaddress,thenafterthestreetaddress,thenbetweenthecityandthestate.Itisnotcustomarytoputacommabetweenthestateandthezipcode.Forexample:

PleaseremitthepaymenttoAbbyHouseholder,4238OldHighway41North,Hebbardsville,KY42309.

If you’re putting address information on separate lines, use a commaonly between the city andstate:

AbbyHouseholder4238OldHighway41NorthHebbardsville,KY42309

If you mention a city and state in text, or a city and country, put commas around the state orcountry:

IhavetovisitClinton,Iowa,onmynextsalestrip.

SheisgoingtoschoolinGrenoble,France,nextspring.

OtherUsesforCommas

1.Putacommaafterthedayoftheweek(ifyou’vestatedit),thedayofthemonth,andtheyear(ifthesentencecontinues):

I’llbeseeingyouonFriday,February23,2001,athalfpastseven.

Ifyou’rewritingonlythedayandmonthorthemonthandyear,nocommaisnecessary:

I’llseeyouonFebruary23.

I’llseeyouinFebruary2002.

2.Putacommaafterthegreeting(salutation)ofallfriendlylettersandtheclosingofallletters:

DearAuntAggie,

Sincerely,

3.Ifaperson’stitleordegreefollowshisorhername,putcommasaroundit:

PleasecallRobertHouseholder,Ph.D.,atyourconvenience.

ThedepositionwasgivenbyEdwardButterworth,M.D.

4.Usingcommastodividenumbersof1,000ormoretomakethemeasiertoread:

Isitmyimagination,orarethere1,376,993rulesforcommas?

Colons

Acolonisusedtointroduceparticularinformation.Oneofthemostcommonusesofacolonis tosignaltothereaderthatalistwillfollow:

Onthecampingtrip,pleasebringthefollowingitems:aflashlight,asleepingbag,twoboxesofmatches,threechangesofclothing,andfoodforsixmeals.

A colon is also used to explain or givemore information aboutwhat has comebefore it in thesentence:

ThereareanumberofcomplaintsthatIhaveagainstthetenant:shetoretheplasterinthelivingroom,herdogstainedthecarpetineveryroom,andshehasnotpaidherrentinthreemonths.

Informalpapers,acolonusuallyprecedesalengthyquotation:

InhisGettysburgAddress,AbrahamLincolnstated:

Four scoreand seven years ago, our forefathers brought forth upon thiscontinent a new nation,conceivedinliberty,anddedicatedtothepropositionthatallmenarecreatedequal.Thereareothertimeswhenacolonisused:

•Inthegreetingofabusinessletter

ToWhomItMayConcern:

•Betweenthehourandminutesintime

ameetingat4:15P.M.

•Individingatitlefromitssubtitle

MyFavoritePunctuationMarks:WhyILoveColons

•InnamingachapterandverseoftheBible

Genesis2:10

•Innamingthevolumeandnumberofamagazine

Time41:14

•Innamingthevolumeandpagenumberofamagazine

U.S.NewsandWorldReport166:31

•Betweenthecityandthepublisherinabibliographicalentry

London:CoventGardenPress

Semicolons

Asemicolonsignalsapausegreaterthanoneindicatedbyacommabutlessthanoneindicatedbyaperiod. The most common use for a semicolon is joining two complete thoughts (independentclauses)intoonesentence.Lookatthefollowingsentences:

Thebanktellerdeterminedthebillwascounterfeit.Therewasnoserialnumberonit.

Eachofthesesentencesstandsalone,buttheycouldbejoinedbyusingasemicolon:

Thebanktellerdeterminedthebillwascounterfeit;therewasnoserialnumberonit.

Oftensemicolonsareusedwithconjunctiveadverbsandothertransitionalwordsorphrases,suchasontheotherhandortherefore.Inthiscase,besurethatyouputthesemicolonatthepointwherethetwothoughtsareseparated.Forexample:

Right:Trafficisworsethanweexpected;therefore,wewon’tbehomebeforemidnight.

Wrong:Trafficisworsethanweexpected,therefore;wewon’tbehomebeforemidnight.

Now,it’stimetobreakaruleaboutsemicolons.Therearetimeswhenasemicolonisusedwhenacommawouldseemtobethecorrectpunctuationmark.Lookatthissentence:

Themanhunt tookplace inLosAngeles,Nashville, Indiana, Stratford,Connecticut,Winnenan,Oklahoma,Dallas,andOlympia.

Noticethattherearecommasafterthenameofeachcityandeachstate.However,thereaderwillprobablybeconfusedaboutthetruemeaningofthesentence.Considerthatasemicolonisa“notchabove”a comma.By substitutinga semicolon inplaceswhereyou’dordinarilyuse a comma,youmakethingsclearerbyshowingwhichcitiesgowithwhichstates.Lookathowthesentenceshouldbepunctuated:

Themanhunt tookplace inLosAngeles;Nashville, Indiana;Stratford,Connecticut;Winnenan,Oklahoma;Dallas;andOlympia.

Readingthesentencethisway,thereadercantellthatthemanhunttookplaceinNashville,Indiana,

as opposed to Nashville, Tennessee. Also, the reader can identify that Winnenan is located inOklahoma.

WhenSemicolonsWon’tWork

Semicolonswon’tworkifthetwothoughtsarenotonthesameplayingfield(thatis,ifthey’renotlogicallyconnected).Lookatthesetwosentences:

Thetellerworeabluesuit.Thepolicewerecalledimmediately.

Althoughbotharesentences,there’snolinkbetweenthem.Ifasemicolonwereusedbetweenthesetwosentences,readerswouldbescratchingtheirheads,thinkingtheyweremissingsomething.

Semicolonsalsowon’tworkifoneofthethoughtsisnotacompletesentence.Lookatthisexample:

Thepolicewerecalledimmediately;screechingthroughthestreets.

Thefirstpartofthesentenceisacompletethought(thepolicewerecalledimmediately),butthesecondpartisnot(screechingthroughthestreets).

Hyphens

A hyphen is a short horizontal line (next to a zero on a keyboard); a dash is longer. But thedifferencesbetweenthesetwopunctuationmarksgomuchdeeperthanjustafewfractionsofaninch.Themostcommonuseofthehyphenistodividewordsattheendsoflines.Theimportantruleto

rememberistodividewordsonlybetweensyllables.If you’re not sure of where the syllables occur, consult a dictionary. In addition, most word

processing software contains automatic hyphenation tools that you may use. One-syllable wordsshouldnotbedivided.Nomatterwherethewordsaredivided,becarefultoleavemorethanoneletterattheendofaline

(andmorethantwoatthebeginningofaline).Youshouldalsoavoidhyphenatingacronyms(suchasUNESCOorNAACP), numerals (such as 1,200 or 692), and contractions (such ashaven’t, didn’t,couldn’t).Keepinmindthatsomestyleguidesmaysaythatpropernouns(thosethatarecapitalized)shouldnotbehyphenated.AlsotrytoavoiddividinganInternetore-mailaddress.Theseaddressesoftencontainhyphensas

partoftheaddress,soanextrahyphenwouldconfusethereader.Ifanglebrackets(describedlaterinthis chapter) are not used, extending the address to the second line without any extra punctuationwouldmaketheaddressclearforyourreader.Youshoulddothatthisway:

WhenItriedtoorder,Iwasdirectedtothissite:

www.anglosaxon.com/rebates/year/1066/.

HyphenswithNumbers

Useahyphen(notadash)betweentwodatesandbetweenpagenumbers:

Prohibition(1919–1933)cameaboutasaresultoftheEighteenthAmendment.

SeethesectionontheRoaringTwentiesformoreinformation.

Technically,bothoftheseinstancesusewhat’scalledan“endash,”whichislongerthanahyphenand shorter than a normal dash, which is usually called an “em dash.” Most word processingprogramshavean“Insert”iconoracharactermapthatyoucanusetoaccessenandemdashes,aswellasothersymbols.Anothercommonuseofthehyphencomeswhennumbersarewrittenaswordsinsteadofnumerals.

Theruleistohyphenatenumbersfromtwenty-onetoninety-nine.

HyphenswithCompoundAdjectives

When a compound adjective (two or more adjectives that go together to form one thought orimage)precedesthenounitmodifies,itshouldbehyphenated.Lookatthesesentences:

CharlesDickenswasanineteenth-centurywriter.

In this case,nineteenth-century is used as an adjective (itmodifies the nounwriter), and so it’shyphenated.Noticethedifference:

CharlesDickenswasawriterwholivedinthenineteenthcentury.

Here,nineteenthcenturyisanoun,andsoit’snothyphenated.

Somewell-knownscientistsarestudyingtheeffectsofglobalwarming.

In this example, well-known is used as an adjective before the noun scientists, and so it ishyphenated.

Somescientistsstudyingtheeffectsofglobalwarmingarewellknown.

Sincewellknownfollowsthenounhere,itisnothyphenated.Anothersituationinwhichyoudon’thyphenateacompoundmodifier—evenifitcomesbeforethe

noun—iswherethefirstmodifieristhewordveryoranadverbthatendsin–ly.Youshouldwrite:

averycondescendingattitude

astrictlyguardedsecret

averylittleamountofmoney

thehighlypublicizedmeeting

Use a hyphen to join adjectives only if together they form the same image. If they’re separatewordsdescribinganoun(asbig,bulkypackage),thendon’tuseahyphen.Takealookatthisexample:

Thecandidatesucceededbecauseofhismanyinfluential,fat-catsupporters.

Fatandcatgotogethertoformtheimagethatdescribesthesupporters,sothey’rehyphenated.Ifthe hyphen were not there, then the reader would see fat cat supporters and might wonder if thecandidatereallyreliedonfatsupportersandcatsupporters.

HyphensforClarification

Sometimeshyphensareneededtoclarifythemeaningofasentence.Forinstance:

Yourfavoritesportsstarresigned!

Shouldyoubeelatedorupset?Thewaythesentenceispunctuatednowthestarwillnolongerplay.If,however,whatthewriterintendedtogetacrosswasthatthestarhadsignedanothercontract, thesentenceshouldcontainahyphenandbewrittenthisway:

Yourfavoritesportsstarre-signed!

Otherwordswiththisidiosyncrasyincluderecreationandrecollect.

Dashes

Adashprovidesawindowforsomeinformalityinwriting,allowingthewritertointroduceasuddenchangeinthoughtortone.Lookatthissentence:

Theodometerhasjustreachedthirtythousandmiles,andIsupposeit’stimetocallthegaragetoschedulea—oops!Ijustpassedthestreetwhereweweresupposedtoturn.

Thedashtellsthereaderthatasuddenideahasinterruptedthespeaker ’soriginalthought.Adashmayalsobeusedtogiveemphasistosomethingthat’scomebefore:

Elizabeth spent many hours carefully planning what she would pack in the van—the van thatwouldbeherhomeforthenextthreemonths.

Anothertimeadashmaybeusedisindefiningorgivingmoreinformationaboutsomethinginthesentence.Readthissentence:

Margaretknewthatwhenshefinallyarrivedathersororityhouse,shewouldbewarmlygreetedbyhersisters—Lillian,Bea,Kwila,andArlene.

Thelastexamplecouldalsobepunctuatedbyusingparenthesesoracoloninplaceofthedash,asinthesesentences:

Margaretknewthatwhenshefinallyarrivedathersororityhouse,shewouldbewarmlygreetedbyhersisters(Lillian,Bea,Kwila,andArlene).

Margaretknewthatwhenshefinallyarrivedathersororityhouse,shewouldbewarmlygreetedbyhersisters:Lillian,Bea,Kwila,andArlene.

Punctuating the sentence with colons is stuffier than using a dash or parentheses. Generallyspeaking,savethecolonforformalwriting.

Parentheses

Usingparentheses tells the reader thatyou’regiving someextra information, something that isn’tnecessary to the meaning of the sentence but is helpful in understanding what’s being read. Forexample:

ForacompletestudyofHitchcock’smovies,consultChapter8(pages85–96).

Keep in mind that if the information is necessary for the sentence to be read correctly, youshouldn’tuseparentheses.Forinstance,ifyou’recomparingstatisticsabouttwofloodsthatoccurredindifferentyears,youmighthaveasentencelikethis:

Thehigh-watermarkofthe1999floodcameinearlyApril,ascomparedtothehigh-watermarkofthe1956flood,whichoccurredinlateMay.

You can’t put of the 1999 flood or of the 1956 flood in parentheses because you need thatinformationforthesentence.However,ifyouhaveasentencewrittenlikethis:

Mylatest(and,Ihope,mylast)adventurewithblinddateswasamonthago;Ihaven’trecoveredyet.

Youcouldomitthematerialinsidetheparenthesesandyou’dstillhavetheessenceofthesentence.Anothertimeparenthesesarecommonlyusedisingivingdates,especiallybirthanddeathdates.

DameAgathaChristie(1890–1976)wrotetwelvenovelsthatfeaturedMissMarple.

In addition, parentheses are used to enclose numbers or letters that name items in a series.Sometimesboththeparenthesesmarksareused,andsometimesjustthemarkontheright-handsideisused:

Beforecheckingthepatient,youshould(a)washyourhands;(b)makesurethepatient’schartisnearby;(c)callfortheattendingnursetosupervise.

or

Beforecheckingthepatient,youshoulda)washyourhands;b)makesurethepatient’schart isnearby;c)callfortheattendingnursetosupervise.

Whetheryouusebothparenthesesorjustone,beconsistentwhenyou’renamingitemsinaseries.Also,beawarethatifyouuseoneparenthesisonly,it’seasytogetthelettermixedupwiththepreced-ingword.Parentheses are also used to give a legislator ’s party affiliation and home state (in the case of

nationalpolitics)orcityorcounty(inthecaseofstatepolitics).

SenatorAbbyBrackman (D-R.I.)met in herWashington officewith a number of constituents,includingRepresentativeMarkDigery(R-Providence).

Another—thoughlesscommon—useforparenthesesistoshowthereaderthatanalternateendingforawordmayberead.Takealookatthissentence:

Pleasebringyourchild(ren)tothecompanypicnic.

Keep inmind that parentheseswould not be used thisway inmore formalwriting; the sentencewouldberewordedtoincludebothchildandchildren.

SquareBrackets

One place where you’ll see square brackets is in dictionaries, where they are used to show thehistoryofthewordbeingdefined.Another use is inmaking certain that quotedmaterial is clear or understandable for the reader.

Supposeyou’requotingasentencethatcontainsapronounwithoutitsantecedent,asinthisexample:

“Heburstontothepartysceneandbegantotakesocietybystorm.”

Justwhoishe?Unlesstheprevioussentenceshadidentifiedhim,yourreaderswouldn’tknow.Inthatcase,you’dusesquarebracketsthisway:

“He[JustinLake]burstontothesceneandbegantotakesocietybystorm.”

Alongthesamelines,youusebracketstoalterthecapitalizationofsomethingyou’requotingsothatitfitsinyoursentenceorparagraph.Forexample:

“[T]heriver ’sbankhaserodedsufficientlytowarrantmajorrepair.”

Use brackets for quotedmaterial only if their use doesn’t change themeaning of what’s beingquoted.If you need to give information that you’d normally put in parentheses—but that information is

alreadyinparentheses—usebracketsinstead.Forexample:

The man who was responsible for the arrest (James Bradson [1885–1940]) was never givencredit.

Normally,youputaperson’sbirthanddeathdatesinparentheses,butsincethosedateswouldbeplacedinmaterialthat’salreadyinparentheses,youusebracketsinstead.Depending on the type ofwriting that you do, youmight need to add the Latinword sic to the

information thatyou’requoting.Sic translatesas“thus,”or“so,”or“in thismanner”; it isused toshowthatwhatyou’requotinghasamistakethatyouarecopying.Lookatthefollowingsentence:

“ThispaintingwasdonatedtothemuseumonSeptember31[sic].”

Now,youknowandIknowthat“thirtydayshathSeptember”—notthirty-one,asabove.Byusing[sic]thereadercantellthatyoucopiedthemistakeasitwaswrittenintheoriginalform.Moststyleguidesallowyoutouseeitherbracketsorparenthesestoletthereaderknowthatyou’ve

addeditalicstoquotedmaterial.Theonlyruleisthatyoukeepusingthesamedevicethroughoutthemanuscript.Takeyourpick:

Thetimeoftheaccidentisasequallyimportantasisthedate[italicsadded].

Thetimeoftheaccidentisasequallyimportantasisthedate(italicsadded).

ItalicsandUnderlining

What’s thedifference inmeaningbetweenunderliningand italics?There isn’t any.With theuseofcomputers, clicking a button and italicizing a word is now just as easy as underlining it. But

sometimes(whenyou’rewritinglonghandorwhenyou’reusingatypewriter),theoptiontoitalicizeisnotavailable.Justremembertouseeitherunderliningoritalicizingconsistentlythroughoutyourdocument.Themostcommonuseofitalicizingorunderliningisintitles,butonlytitlesoflongworks,such

asbooks.Fortitlesofshortworks—suchasshortstories,shortpoems,andessays—quotationmarksareused.Forexample:

TheCompleteSherlockHolmesorTheCompleteSherlockHolmes

(titleofabook)

“TheAdventureoftheSpeckledBand”

(titleofashortstory)Notethatthetitlesofsacredbooksdon’trequireanypunctuationnordobooksoftheBible.

IreadtheBibleforahalfanhourtoday.

AcopyoftheKoranwasonhisbedsidetable.

Here’samorecompletelistofworksthatshouldbeitalicized(underlined):

•Book-lengthpoems(notethatmostpoemsarenotbook-length):LeavesofGrass

•Plays:ARaisinintheSun

•Operas:Carmen

•Movies:Casablanca

•Pamphlets:WhatYouShouldDoBeforeYouSeetheDoctor

•Televisionprograms(thetitleofanepisodefromaprogramwouldhavequotationmarkssinceit’sshorter):TheX-Files

•Worksofart:MonaLisa

•Longmusicalworks(aCDwouldbeitalicized;asongfromtheCDwouldhavequotationmarksaroundit):GreatestLoveSongsoftheNineties

•Magazinesandnewspapers(anarticletitlefromthemagazineornewspaperwouldhavequotationmarksaroundit):Time

•Ships,aircraft,spacecraft,trains:Titanic,U.S.S.Cole(don’titalicizetheU.S.S.);SpiritofSt.Louis;Endeavor

Keepinmindthatarticles(a,an,andthe)areitalicized(underlined)onlywhenthey’repartoftheactualtitle.Forinstance:

IreadSharynMcCrumb’sbookTheRosewoodCasket.

Theispartofthetitleofthebook.Ontheotherhand,youwouldwrite:

IspenttimeaboardtheMirspacecraft.

Miristhenameofthespacecraft;theisnotpartofitsname.Be careful to apply italics (underlining) only to punctuation (commas, periods, questionmarks,

exclamationmarks,andthelike)ifthatpunctuationispartofthetitle.

Mayscreamed,“There’sneverbeenabettermysterythanTheMurderofRogerAckroyd!”

Theexclamationpointandtheendingquotationmarkaren’titalicized,sincetheyaren’tpartofthetitleofthebook.

AddingEmphasis

Lookatthefollowingsentencesandseeifyoucantellthedifference:

“I’mcertainI’mgoingtohavetoarrestyou,”hesaidslyly.

“I’mcertainI’mgoingtohavetoarrestyou,”hesaidslyly.

“I’mcertainI’mgoingtohavetoarrestyou,”hesaidslyly.

“I’mcertainI’mgoingtohavetoarrestyou,”hesaidslyly.

“I’mcertainI’mgoingtohavetoarrestyou,”hesaidslyly.

Canyouseethattheonlydifferenceinthefivesentencesisthewordsthatareitalicized?Theuseofitalicstellsthereaderwhereemphasisshouldbeplaced.Thishelpsthewriterletthereaderknowthespeechpatternsbeingused,anditalsohelpsthereaderunderstandthosepatterns.Becarefulnottooveruseitalics(underlining)foremphasis,oryou’lllosetheemphasisyouwant

tocommunicate.Lookatthissentence:

“Chief,theculpritisMark,notme.Iwasn’ttherewhenthewreckhappened,”Billcriedsullenlytothepoliceman.

Withsomanywordsitalicized,theemphasishaslostitseffectiveness.

IndicatingaDifferentContext

Readthefollowingsentenceandseeifitmakessensetoyou:

Theangrynewspapereditorsaidtotheyoungreporter,“Youimbecile!Youusedrobberywhenyoushouldhaveusedburglary.”

Saywhat?Istheeditortellingthereporterthatheorshecommittedthewrongcrime?No,andifthewriterhadusedthecorrectpunctuationmarks,thenthesentencewouldmakesense.The rule is thatwhenwords, numbers, or letters are used outside of their normal context, they

shouldbeitalicized(underlined).Sothesentencereallyshouldbewrittenthisway:

The angry newspaper editor said to the reporter, “You imbecile!You used robberywhen youshouldhaveusedburglary.”

Written this way, the reader understands that the reporter used the words robbery and burglaryincorrectlyinhisorherstory.You’llalsoapplythisruleifyou’rereproducingasoundthroughaword(ifyou’reusingaform

ofonomatopoeia),asin

Brrr!Ididn’tknowitwasthiscoldoutside.

or

When Jerri dropped her new calculator on the floor, she cringed as it went kerplunkwhen itlanded.

ForeignTerms

One lastuseof italics (orunderlining) is related to thepreviousone.This rule saysyou shoulditalicize(orunderline)aforeignwordorphrase.

Iwaswaveringaboutwhethertogotothefestivalwithmyfriends,butIdecidedcarpediem.

If a foreign word or phrase has become so widely used in English that there wouldn’t be anyquestionofitsmeaning(likeperdiemorsummacumlaude),there’snoneedtoitalicizeit.

AngleBrackets

Yearsago,you’dseeanglebracketsusedonly inamathematicalcontext,with>being thesymbolfor“greaterthan”and<beingthesymbolfor“lessthan.”Today,anglebracketsareoftenusedbeforeandafterURLs(Internetaddresses).Everythingwithintheanglebracketsshouldbecopiedexactlyasitisinorderfortheaddresstowork.Many URLs contain miscellaneous marks of punctuation, including hyphens and periods, so

determining whether a particular punctuation mark is part of the URL is not easy. Look at thissentence:

Besure tocheckout the informationabout thisbookand lotsofourother finepublicationsat<www.-i-love-angle-brackets.net/~angle.brackets>.

ByputtingtheURLinsidebracketsthisway,thereadercantellthattheclosingperiodistheendofthesentenceandisn’tpartoftheURL.Asananotheroption,Internetaddressescanalsobeitalicized;besuretochooseonlyitalicsoranglebrackets(notboth)andbeconsistentthroughoutyourtext.

EllipsisPoints

Whenellipsispointsormarks(threespacedperiods)areused,thereaderknowsthatsomematerialfromaquotationhasbeenomitted.Lookatthissentence:

“MaryJeanleftthegameearlybecauseshefeltthattheteamhadnowayofwinningandshehadaterribleheadache,”saidKathyAnn.

Ifyouneededtoquotethatsentence,butthepartabouttheteamhavingnochanceofwinninghadnorelevancetowhatyouweresaying,youcoulduseellipsispointsinthisway:

“MaryJeanleftthegameearlybecause...shehadaterribleheadache,”saidKathyAnn.

Notethatyoushoulduseellipsispointsonlyifthemeaningofthesentenceisn’tchangedbywhatyouomit.Ifthematerialyouareomittingoccursattheendofasentence,orifyouomitthelastpartof aquoted sentencebutwhat is left remainsgrammatically complete, youwoulduse four ellipsispoints,withthefirstonefunctioningasaperiod.Takethisoriginalpassage:

“A number of new people have joined the secret club. In fact, itsmembership has never beenhigher. Because the club is devoted to reading classical literature, however, its secret enrollmentnumbershavenotbeenquestionedbythepublicatlarge.”

Youcoulduseellipsismarksintheseways:

“Anumberofnewpeoplehavejoinedthesecretclub....Becausetheclubisdevotedtoreadingclassicalliterature,however,itssecretenrollmentnumbershavenotbeenquestionedbythepublicatlarge.”

or

“Anumberofnewpeoplehavejoined....[M]embershiphasneverbeenhigher.Becausetheclubis devoted to reading classical literature, however, its secret enrollment numbers have not beenquestionedbythepublicatlarge.”

Anotheruseforellipsismarksisinquotingsomeoneandtryingtoshowthatthere’sadeliberatepauseinwhatthepersonsaid,asinthefollowingparagraph:

Jimmythoughttohimself,“IfIcanjustholdontotheballlongenoughtogetitovertoMike,Iknowhecangettheshotoff....Ihavetopacemyselfandkeepwatchingtheclock....Twenty-fiveseconds...Fifteenseconds...Eightseconds...Timeforapass.”

TheSlash/Virgule/Solidus

Aslash(alsocalledavirguleorasolidus)iscommonlyusedtomeanor.Thus:

aslash/virgule/solidus=aslashorvirguleorsolidus

Youmay bring your spouse/significant other to the picnic. = Youmay bring your spouse orsignificantothertothepicnic.

Someotherusesoftheslasharethefollowing.1.Inmathematics,theslashisusedtomeanper,asinthissentence:

Thereare5,280feet/mile.

2.Aslashisusedtoformfractions:

9/16(meaning9dividedby16)

3.Inliterature,theslashseparateslinesofpoetrythatarewritteninablockstyle,asinthispassagefromEdgarAllanPoe’s“TheRaven”:

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, / Over many a quaint and

curiousvolumeofforgottenlore—/WhileInodded,nearlynapping,suddenlytherecameatapping,/Asof someonegently rapping, rapping atmychamberdoor—/“’Tis somevisitor,” Imuttered,“tappingatmychamberdoor—/Onlythisandnothingmore....”

4.WiththepopularityoftheInternet,acommonuseofaslashisinURLs.

Hishomepageisat<www.myownwebsite.com/MarkPhillips/home>.

I

Chapter7WritingBetterSentences

f a sentence contains a misplaced or dangling modifier or is essentially illogical, it becomesconfusingatbestand ludicrousatworst.Somebrief sentences, called fragments, arenotproper

sentences at all. At the other extreme, awritermay sometimes string several thoughts together tocreateaseeminglyendlessrun-onsentence.Thischapterwillgiveyousomepointersforlookingcriticallyatyoursentenceconstructionand

thetoolstofixanyproblemsyoufind.

MisplacedModifiers

Simply put,misplaced modifiers are words or phrases that you’ve put in the wrong place. Allmodifiersshouldbeascloseaspossibletowhatevertheydescribeorgivemoreinformationabout.Takealookatthefollowingsentence.

Afterherwreck,Joannacouldcomprehendwhattheambulancedriverwasbarelysaying.

Thewaythesentenceiswritten,theambulancedriverisbarelyspeaking—butsurelythat’snotwhatthewritermeant.Barelyshouldbemovedsothatitmodifiestheverbcouldcomprehend.Thesentenceshouldbewrittenthisway:

Afterherwreck,Joannacouldbarelycomprehendwhattheambulancedriverwassaying.

Misplacedmodifierscanalsobephrases,asinthisexample:

Witnessesreportedthatthewomanwasdrivingthegetawaycarwithflowingblackhair.

Acarwithflowingblackhair?Really?Withflowingblackhairisinthewrongplaceandshouldbemovedasfollows:

Witnessesreportedthatthewomanwithflowingblackhairwasdrivingthegetawaycar.

Oneofthemostcommonproblemswithmisplacedmodifierscomeswithwhatarecalledlimitingmodifiers—wordslikealmost,even,hardly,just,merely,nearly,only(onlyistheonemisplacedmostoften),scarcely,andsimply.To convey the correctmeaning, limitingmodifiersmust be placed infrontofthewordstheymodify.Takealookatthissentence:

Richardhasnearlywreckedeverycarhe’shad.

HasRichardnearlywreckedthecars—inwhichcase,heshouldbegratefulforhisluck—orhashewrecked nearly every car? Watch out for misplaced modifiers (to avoid wrecking nearly everysentenceyouwrite).

DanglingModifiers

Danglingmodifiershavenowordorphrase todescribe; they justdangle,orhang, in the sentencewithoutsomethingtoholdonto.Takealookatthesesentences:

Longearsdroopingonthefloor,Juliewonderedhowthedogcouldwalk.

IsittimeforJulietoconsiderplasticsurgery?

Whileperforming,theaudiencegaspedasthesingerforgotthewordstothesong.

Whywastheaudienceperforming?Theabovesentencesneedtoberewordedsothatthemodifiershavesomethingtoattachto.

Juliewonderedhowthedogcouldwalkwithitslongearsdroopingonthefloor.

Theaudiencegaspedasthesingerforgotthewordstothesongwhilehewasperforming.

SquintingModifiers

Squinting modifiers (sometimes called two-way modifiers) are words that can logically modifysomethingoneithersideofthem,butthereadercan’tbesurewhatthewordsmodify:

TheinstructorsaidafterthesemesterendedthatMarkwaseligibletoretakethetest.

Whatdoesafter thesemesterendedapply to?Did the instructor tellMark thisafter the semesterended, or wasMark eligible to retake the test after the semester ended? To correct this sentence,changetheplacementofthemodifier.

Afterthesemesterended,theinstructorsaidthatMarkwaseligibletoretakethetest.

or

TheinstructorsaidthatMarkwaseligibletoretakethetestafterthesemesterended.

ParallelisminWriting

Usingparallelismmeansthatyouwriteallthesimilarpartsofasentenceinthesameway.Ifyou’veused two nouns, don’t suddenly switch to a gerund. If you’ve used verbs that have a certain tense,don’tsuddenlychangetenses.Herearesomeoftherulesforwritingwithparallelconstructions.

1.Whennamingitems,presentthemallinthesameway.Lookatthisproblemsentence:

ThisafternoonIwashed[pasttenseverbwith–ed],waxed[pasttenseverbwith–ed],andthenIwasvacuuming[pastprogressivetenseverbwith–ing]thecar.

Now,hereistherepairedsentencethat’snowparallel:

ThisafternoonIwashed,waxed,andvacuumedthecar.

2.Whenusingmorethanoneclause,keepthesamevoiceandtypeofintroductionineach.Hereisthe

problemsentence:

Iwasworried thatBillwoulddrive toofast[activevoice], that the roadwouldbe tooslippery[activevoice],andthatthecarwouldbestoppedbythepolice[passivevoice].

Tomakethesentenceparallel,thelastclausecanbechangedtotheactivevoice:

Iwasworried thatBillwould drive too fast, that the roadwould be too slippery, and that thepolicewouldstopthecar.

3.Placeitemsinaseriesinsimilarlocations.Takealookatthissentence:

Mikeisnotonlyverykindbutalsoisverygood-looking.

Let’slookattheproblem:

Mike is not only [correlative conjunction not only comes after the verb] very kind but also[correlativeconjunctionbutalsocomesbeforetheverb]isverygood-looking.

Here’stherepairedsentencethat’snowparallel:

Mikeisnotonlyverykindbutalsoverygood-looking.

4.Orderitemsinaseriesbychronologyordegreeofimportance.Lookatthisproblemsentence:

Misuseofthedrugcanresultinfever,death,ordizziness.

Now,identifytheproblem:

Misuseofthedrugcanresultinfever[somethingthat’sbad],death[somethingthat’stheworstofthethree],ordizziness[somethingthat’sbad].

Here’stherepairedsentencethat’snowparallel:

Misuseofthedrugcanresultinfever,dizziness,ordeath.

5.Useprepositionsforitemsinaseriesconsistentlyandcorrectly.Let’slookatthisproblemsentence:

IhopetoseeyouonNovember20,December13,andonJanuary7.

Here,theprepositiononoccursbeforethefirstandthirditemsintheseries.Tobeconsistent,deletetheonbeforeJanuary7.Thefirstonwillthenapplytoalltheitemsintheseries.Ifdifferentprepositionsapplytoitemsinaseries,besuretoincludeallthecorrectprepositions:

Theinvadingantsareonthelivingroomfloor,thediningroomtable,andthesink.

Theprepositionnormallyusedbeforethesinkwouldbein,noton.Here’stherepairedsentence:

Theinvadingantsareonthelivingroomfloor,onthediningroomtable,andinthesink.

6.Sentencesconstructedinaparallelwayareoftenmoreeffective.Lookatthisexample:

Iwasnervous and frightened, but I hidmyemotions.My sister showed theworld that she feltconfidentandcarefree.

There’snogrammaticalmistakewith thesentences,but theycancertainlybe improvedbybeingwritteninaparallelmanner,asbelow.

Iwasnervousandfrightened,butIhidmyemotions.Mysisterwasconfidentandcarefree,butshe

showedtheworldhowshefelt.

WritingLogically

Nomatterhowmeticulousyouareincraftingthegrammarandpunctuationofyoursentences,ifyourmaterialhaserrorsinlogic,allyourhardworkwillhavebeenfornothing.Asyouwrite,keepthefollowingcommonmistakesinmind.1.Faulty predication occurs when your subject and verb don’t make sense together (that is, thesubjectcan’t“be”or“do”theverb).Takealookatthissentence:

Thenewbreathmintassurescustomersthatitwilllastallday.

Obviously,abreathmintisincapableofassuringanybodyofanything.Thissentenceneedstobereworded:

Themakersofthenewbreathmintassurecustomersthatthemintwilllastallday.

2.Faultycoordinationoccursifyoujoin(combineorcoordinate)twoclausesinanillogicalway:

Imademywaytotheheadofthecheckoutline,yetIrealizedIhadforgottenmywallet.

Thewordyetisusedincorrectly.Thesentenceshouldread:

Imademywaytotheheadofthecheckoutline,butthenIrealizedIhadforgottenmywallet.

Another example of faulty coordination comes in sentences that contain independent clauses ofunequalimportance:

Ipaid$50,000formynewcar,andithastintedglass.

Thecostofthecarismoreimportantthanthefactthatithastintedglass.Tocorrecttheproblem,youcouldmakethesecondclausesubordinatetothefirst.

Ipaid$50,000formynewcar,whichhastintedglass.

3.Absoluteadjectivesarewordsthatcannotbecompared.Round,forinstance—somethingiseitherroundorit’snot.Otherabsoluteadjectivesincludethefollowing:

blankcompletedeademptyeternalfavoritepermanentpuresquarestraight

trueunanimousuniquevacantLookatthisexample:

Ihadn’tstudiedforthetest;thepaperIturnedinwassomewhatblank.

Youcan’thaveapaper that is somewhatblank; either it has somethingon it or it doesn’t.Sincethesearewordsthatcan’tbecompared,besurenottousemore,most,quite,rather,somewhat,very,andotherqualifiersinfrontofthem.4.Faultycomparisonoccursifyoucomparetwounlikepeople,places,orthings:

ThetrafficmishapsinAprilweremorenumerousthanMay.

ThissentencecomparesmishapstoMay,whichmakesnosense.Thesentenceshouldberewrittenlikethis:

ThetrafficmishapsinAprilweremorenumerousthanthemishapsinMay.

Anotherproblemisanambiguouscomparisonthatcouldbeinterpretedtwodifferentways.Lookatthissentence:

DawndislikestravelingalonemorethanDave.

Thereaderisn’tsurewhatthewordmoreappliesto.DoesDawndisliketravelingalonemorethanshedislikesDave,ordoesshedislikeitmorethanDavedoes?5.Sweeping(orhasty)generalizationsuseall-encompassingwordslikeanyone,everyone,always,never,everything,all,only,andnone,andsuperlativeslikebest,greatest,most,least.

Thecountryneverrecoversfromaneconomicdownturninjustoneweek.

Becarefulwithsentenceswithgeneralizationslikethisone.Whathappenstothewriter ’scredibilityif thecountrydoes, in fact, recover fromadownturn inoneweek?Onepossible rewordingof theexampleisthis:

Thecountryalmostneverrecoversfromaneconomicdownturninoneweek.

6.Anonsequiturstatesaneffectthatdoesn’tlogicallyfollowfromitscause.

Iturnedinapaper;therefore,I’llpasstheclass.

Asanyteachercantellyou,turninginapaperdoesn’tnecessarilymeanthatyouwillpasstheclass.Whatifthepaperisnotontheassignedtopicorisplagiarized?Hereareothernonsequiturs:

I’veboughtproductsmadebyCommonwealthFoodsforyears.Theirnewproduct,DogBiscuitsforHumans,isboundtobetasty.

Jackstoleaboxofpaperclipsfromtheoffice.Heprobablycheatsonhistaxes,too.

7.Onefrequentmistakeinlogiccomesfromomittingnecessarywords incomparisons.Read thissentence:

AuntLucylikesCousinLouisemorethanshelikesanyoneinthefamily.

The way the sentence is written, Cousin Louise isn’t in the family. The sentence needs to berewordedthisway:

AuntLucylikesCousinLouisemorethanshelikesanyoneelseinthefamily.

Sometimessentencesneedthewordthanorasinorderforthemtobelogical:

Stevesaidhecouldplaytheguitaraswell,ifnotbetterthan,Jack.

TakingoutthephraseifnotbetterthanleavestheillogicalstatementStevesaidhecouldplaytheguitaraswellJack.Thesentenceshouldbewrittenwiththeextraastocompletethephrase:

Stevesaidhecouldplaytheguitaraswellas,ifnotbetterthan,Jack.

8.Anothermistakeinlogiciscommonlycalledposthoc,ergopropterhoc,whichtranslatesasafterthis,sobecauseofthis.Heretheassumptionisthatbecauseonethingfollowsanother,thefirstcausedthesecond.

Terrywashedhercarinthemorning,anditbegantorainintheafternoon.

Thesecondeventwasnotcausedby the first (although,come to thinkof it, itdoesseemto raineverytimeyouwashyourcar,doesn’tit?).9.Othererrorsoflogicinclude:

•Afalsedilemma(sometimescalledaneither/orfallacy)statesthatonlytwoalternativesexist,whenthereareactuallymorethantwo:

Mrs.Robertsoncangettoherappointmentinoneoftwoways:shecaneitherdrivehercarorshecanwalk.(Mrs.Robertsonhasotherchoices:shecouldcallacab,takethebus,oraskafriendforaride.)

•Aredherringdodgestherealissuebycitinganirrelevantconcernasevidence:

Thedriverinfrontofmerantheredlightandwasspeeding,soit’snotrightthatIgetaticketforgoing100mph ina50mphzone. (What thedriveraheaddid isnot relevant towhetherornot thespeaker’sticketwasjustified.)

•Circularreasoninggoesaroundinacircle(naturally),withnothingsubstantialinthemiddle.Here’sanexample:

Theepidemicwasdangerousbecauseeveryoneintownfeltunsafeandatrisk.(Thesecondpartofthesentenceprovidesnoclarificationaboutwhytheepidemicwasdangerous.)

SentenceFragments

A sentence fragment is defined as “a group of words that is not a sentence.” Okay, so whatconstitutesasentence?Again,asentenceisagroupofwordsthat(1)hasasubject,(2)hasapredicate(verb),and(3)expressesacompletethought.Ifastringofwordsdoesn’tmeetallthreequalifications,thenyouhaveafragment.Takealookat

thesetwowords:

Spotran.

Youhaveasubject(Spot),averb(ran),andthewordsexpressacompletethought.Sinceyouhavealltherequirements(subject,verb,completethought),youhaveasentence.Now,lookatthisgroupofwords:

Althoughshehadanewjobinamodernofficebuilding.

Thisexampleisasubordinateclausethat’spunctuatedasifitwereasentence.Youhaveasubject(she)andaverb (had), butwhatyoudon’thave is a complete thought. If someone saidonly thosewordstoyou,you’dbelefthanging.(Althoughshehadanewjob—what?Shetookofffor theFarEast?Shecalledinsickonherfirstday?)Aparticipialphraseoftencreatesanothercommonsentencefragment,asbelow:

Scaredstiffbytheintensewindandstorm.

Whowasscaredstiff?Obviously,something’smissing.Readthefollowingparagraphandseeifyoucanspotthefragments.

Thelonewomantrudgedupthemuddyriverbank.Determinedthatshewouldmakethebestofabadsituation.Becauseofherfamily’srecentrunofbadluck.Sheknewthatshehadtocontributetothefamily’sfinances.That’swhyshehadaccepteda teachingposition. In this townthatwasnewtoher.

Didyouspotallthefragments?Takealookat:

Determinedthatshewouldmakethebestofabadsituation.

Becauseofherfamily’srecentrunofbadluck.

Inthistownthatwasnewtoher.

Ifyousaidthosewordsalone,wouldanybodyknowwhatyoumeant?No—thosewordsdon’tformcompletethoughts.Now, how can you correct these fragments? Usually the fragment should be connected to the

sentence immediately before or after it—whichever sentence the fragment refers to. (A word ofcaution:Justbesurethatthenewlycreatedsentencemakessense.)Here’sonewayyoucouldcorrecttheparagraphtoeliminatethefragments:

Determinedthatshewouldmakethebestofabadsituation,thelonewomantrudgedupthemuddyriverbank.Sheknewthat,becauseofherfamily’srecentrunofbadluck,shehadtocontributetothefamily’sfinances.That’swhyshehadacceptedateachingpositioninthistownthatwasnewtoher.

Note that to addvariety to the paragraph, one fragment has been added to the beginningof oneothersentence,onetotheend,andone(becauseofherfamily’srecentrunofbadluck)wasinsertedinthemiddleofasentence.You generally shouldn’t use fragments in formal writing; however, using them occasionally is

okayforacasualwritingstyle.Acceptableusesofafragmentincludethefollowing.

•Inashortstoryornovel(butnotexcessively)

•Whenyou’requotingsomeone

•Inabulletedornumberedlist(likethisone)

•Tomakeaquickpoint—butonlywhentheconstructionisn’tconfusingtothereader

Run-OnSentences

Anothermistakenconstructionisarun-onsentence,whichhasat least twocompletethoughts(twoindependentclauses,thatis)butlacksthenecessarypunctuationbetweenthethoughts.One type of run-on, called a fused sentence, occurs when two (or more) sentences are fused

togetherwithoutapunctuationmarktoshowthereaderwherethebreakoccurs.Takealookat thissentence:

Forourannualpicnic,TomandJillbroughthamburgerswebroughtpotatosalad.

In the sentence, there are two separate thoughts: For our annual picnic, Tom and Jill broughthamburgersandwebroughtpotatosalad.Tomakeclearwhereonethoughtendsandanotherbegins,youcan:

Create twoseparate sentences:For our annual picnic,Tomand Jill brought hamburgers.Webroughtpotatosalad.

Insertasemicolon:Forourannualpicnic,TomandJillbroughthamburgers;webroughtpotatosalad.

Insertacommaandoneofsevenconjunctions—but,or,yet,so,for,and,nor:Forourannualpicnic,TomandJillbroughthamburgers,andwebroughtpotatosalad.

Anothertypeofrun-onisacommasplice(sometimesknownasacommafault),asentencethathastwocompletethoughtsthataresplicedtogetherbyjustacomma.Takealookatthissentence:

Jamalwantedtogototheballgame,hisfriendJasonwantedtoseethenewmovie.

Oneithersideofthecomma,youhaveacompletethought.Youcancorrectthesentencewithanyofthethreechoicesmentionedabove.

Using aperiod: Jamalwanted to go to the ball game.His friend Jasonwanted to see the newmovie.

Usingasemicolon:Jamalwantedtogototheballgame;hisfriendJasonwantedtoseethenewmovie.

Addingaconjunction:Jamalwantedtogototheballgame,buthisfriendJasonwantedtoseethenewmovie.

Youmightalsoaddasemicolonandaconnectingwordorphrase:

Jamalwantedtogototheballgame;however,hisfriendJasonwantedtoseethenewmovie.

TransitionalWordsandPhrases

Goodwritersrelyontheuseoftransitionalwordsandphrases(youmightbemorefamiliarwiththetermsconnectingwordsorparentheticalexpressions).Transitionalwordsandphrasesshowyourreaderstheassociationbetweenthoughts,sentences,orparagraphs,andtheyhelpmakeyourwritingsmoother.Lookatthefollowingparagraph:

The blind datewas a disaster. Itwas a complete debacle. Iwas intrigued bywhatmy “friend”SarahhadtoldmeaboutBill;shehadsaidthathewascharmingandwasopentomeetingsomeonenew.Hehadrecentlyseenmeatapartyandhadwantedtomeetme.SarahsaidBillwasjustmytype.Shesaidthathewasanavidreader;wewouldhavelotstotalkabout.Helikedplayingtennis;thatwasaplusforme.Ihadanearliervownevertogooutonanotherblinddate.IagreedtomeetBill.

There’s nothing wrong with the grammar, punctuation, or spelling in that paragraph, but it ischoppyandboring.Nowreadthesameparagraphaftertransitionalwordsandphrases(underlined)havebeenadded:

Theblinddatewasmorethanadisaster.Infact,itwasclearlyacompletedebacle.Atfirst,Iwassomewhatintriguedbywhatmy“friend”SarahhadtoldmeaboutBill;namely,shehadsaidthathewasquitecharmingandalsowasopentomeetingsomeonenew.Infact,hehadrecentlyseenmeinthedistanceatapartyandhadwantedtomeetme.Besides,Sarahsaid,Billwasjustmytype.Shesaidthathewasquiteanavidreaderforonething;therefore,wewouldhavelotstotalkabout.Inaddition,helikedplayingtennis;thatwascertainlyaplusforme.So,inspiteofmyearliervownevertogooutonanotherblinddate,IeventuallyagreedtomeetBillonSaturday.

Muchbetter,isn’tit?Byincludingthetransitions,themovementfromoneideatoanotherismuchsmoother,andthelanguageoftheparagraphhassomelifeinit.

ClassifyingtheConnectors

Transitional words and phrases can be divided into categories according to their use. Thefollowingshouldgiveyoulotsofideasforaddingtransitionalelementstoyourwriting:

•addition/sequence:additionally,afterward,again,also,and,andthen,another...,besides,equallyimportant,eventually,finally,first...second...third,further,furthermore,inaddition,inthefirstplace,initially,last,later,likewise,meanwhile,moreover,next,other,overall,still,too,what’smore

•concession:admittedly,althoughitistruethat,certainly,concedingthat,grantedthat,infact,itmayappearthat,naturally,nodoubt,ofcourse,surely,undoubtedly,withoutadoubt

•contrast:afterall,alternatively,although,andyet,atthesametime,but,conversely,despite,evenso,eventhough,forallthat,however,incontrast,inspiteof,instead,nevertheless,nonetheless,nor,notwithstanding,onthecontrary,ontheotherhand,or,otherwise,regardless,still,though,yet

•examples,clarification,emphasis:afterall,aninstanceofthis,asanillustration,byallmeans,certainly,clearly,definitely,e.g.,even,forexample,forinstance,foronething,i.e.,importantly,indeed,infact,inotherwords,inparticular,inshort,morethanthat,namely,ofcourse,ofmajorconcern,onceagain,specifically,somewhat,suchas,thatis,thatistosay,thefollowingexample,thiscanbeseenin,thus,toclarify,todemonstrate,toillustrate,torepeat,torephrase,toputitanotherway,truly,undoubtedly,withoutadoubt

•placeordirection:above,adjacentto,atthatpoint,below,beyond,closeby,closerto,elsewhere,far,fartheron,here,intheback,inthedistance,inthefront,near,nearby,neighboringon,nextto,ontheotherside,oppositeto,overhead,there,totheleft,totheright,totheside,under,underneath,wherever

•purpose/causeandeffect:accordingly,asaconsequence,asaresult,because,consequently,dueto,forthatreason,forthispurpose,hence,inorderthat,onaccountof,since,so,sothat,then,therefore,thereupon,thus,todothis,tothisend,withthisinmind,withthisobjective

•qualification:almost,although,always,frequently,habitually,maybe,nearly,never,oftentimes,often,perhaps,probably,timeandagain

•result:accordingly,andso,asaresult,asanoutcome,consequently,hence,so,then,therefore,thereupon,thus

•similarity:again,also,and,aswellas,besides,bythesametoken,forexample,furthermore,inalikemanner,inasimilarway,inthesameway,like,likewise,moreover,oncemore,similarly,so

•summaryorconclusion:afterall,allinall,asaresult,ashasbeennoted,asIhavesaid,aswehaveseen,asmentionedearlier,asstated,clearly,finally,inanyevent,inbrief,inconclusion,inotherwords,inparticular,inshort,insimplerterms,insummary,onthewhole,thatis,therefore,toconclude,tosummarize

•time:afterabit,afterafewdays,afterawhile,afterward,again,also,andthen,aslongas,assoonas,atfirst,atlast,atlength,atthattime,atthesametime,before,during,earlier,eventually,finally,first,following,formerly,further,hence,initially,immediately,inafewdays,inthefirstplace,inthefuture,inthemeantime,inthepast,last,lately,later,meanwhile,next,now,on(acertainday),once,presently,previously,recently,second,shortly,simultaneously,since,sofar,soon,still,subsequently,then,thereafter,thistime,today,tomorrow,until,untilnow,when,whenever

I

Chapter8AvoidingCommonErrors

n a recent informal survey, copyeditors and English teachers were asked about mistakes theyfrequently encounter in print or speech. This chapter includes a rundown of themost common

grammaticalandstylisticerrors,alongwithtipsforavoidingtheminyourwriting.First,we’lldiscusshowtoridyourwritingofclichés, redundancies,wordiness,and thedreaded

doublenegative.Thenwe’lltakealookatlistsfromteachersandcopyeditorsofthemostcommon,annoying,and—fortunately—avoidablewritingandstyleerrors.

SteeringClearofClichés

Acliché is aworn-out expression, one you’ve heard over and over. In general, you should avoidusing clichés because they’re unoriginal, stale, and monotonous. Some examples include thefollowing.

costsanarmandaleg

everycloudhasasilverlining

putallyoureggsinonebasket

Torewordanyclichéthatmakesitswayintoyourwriting,try“translating”itinaliteralway.Say,forinstance,thatyou’vewritten:

ItwasplainasthenoseonhisfacethatDrewwouldn’tstickhisneckoutforanybodyelse.

In thatsentence,you’redealingwith twoclichés(plainasthenoseonhis faceandstickhisneckout).Tomakethesentencecliché-free,youcouldchangeitto:

Plainly,Drewwouldn’ttakeariskforanybodyelse.

EliminatingRepetition

Redundantwordsorphraseswaste the reader ’s time.Hereare someexamplesof somecommonredundantphrases,alongwithexplanationsofwhythey’reredundant.RedundantPhrase Explanationadvanceplanning Planningmustbedoneinadvance.askthequestion It’simpossibletoaskanythingexceptaquestion.assembledtogether It’simpossibletoassembleapart.Deletetogether.cashmoney Iscasheveranythingbutmoney?combinedtogether Thingsthatarecombinedmustbetogether.Deletetogether.eachandevery Thewordsmeanthesamething;deleteone.endresult Canyouhavearesultthat’snotintheend?

fewerinnumber Asopposedtofewerinwhatelse?greenincolor Asopposedtogreeninwhat?largeinsize Thewordlargedenotessize;uselargeonly.mixtogether It’simpossibletomixapart,isn’tit?monthofMay EverybodyknowsthatMayisamonth.rectangularinshape Ifsomethingisrectangular,thatisitsshape.sameidentical Somethingthat’sidenticalmustbethesame.Deleteonewordortheother.sumtotal Ifyouhaveasum,youhaveatotal.Deleteonewordortheother.

CuttingOutWordyExpressions

Wordiness is the first cousin of redundant writing. Take a look at the following list of commonwordy expressions, then get to work putting your words on a diet. For more common wordyexpressionsandtheirsuggestedsubstitutes,seeAppendixB.WordyPhrase SuggestedSubstituteasmallnumberof afewduetothefactthat since,becausegiveconsiderationto considerinatimelymanner promptly,ontimereachaconclusion conclude,end,finishuntilsuchtimeas untilwithregardto concerning,about

DoubleNegatives

Nowforthedoublenegative;thatis,twonegativewordsthatareusedtostressdenialoropposition.Examplesoftheseinclude:

After he was laid off, Hal realized that he didn’t need none of the luxuries he’d becomeaccustomedto.

(Didn’tandnonearenegatives.)

Thatmanwasnotdoingnothingbutjuststandingthere!

(Notandnothingarenegatives.)Thewaytocorrectadoublenegativeisgenerallytochangeoneofthenegativeexpressions.For

example,inthefirstexampleabove,changenonetoany:

Afterhewaslaidoff,Halrealizedthathedidn’tneedanyoftheluxurieshe’dbecomeaccustomedto.

Oneexceptiontotheruleofavoidingdoublenegativesiswhenyouintendapositiveorlukewarmmeaning.Readthissentence:

Iwasnotunhappywithmyrecentraise.

Theconnotation in thedoublenegatives (notandunhappy) tells the reader that,while thewriterwasn’tunhappy,heorshewasn’texactlyoverthemooneither.It’s also fine tousedoublenegatives if you’reusing aphraseor clause for emphasis, as in this

example:

“Iwillnottakeabribe,nottoday,nottomorrow,notanytimeinmylife,”thepoliticiancried.

AndtheSurveySays...

Inasurveyaskingforexamplesofblundersthey’veseeninwrittenwork,copyeditorstendedtofocuson errors of grammar, spelling, and usage, while teachers were inclined to concentrate on thespecificsofwriting.Followingeach“complaint”aresuggestionsforeliminatingthesemistakesfromyourwork.

CommonComplaintsfromCopyeditors

1.Omittedwords orwords put in thewrongplace after cutting andpasting the text.Rereadyourmaterial—especiallyafteryou’vecutandpasted.UsethetechniquesinChapter9toproofreadmoreeffectively.2.Use of passive construction when the active voice would be appropriate—and would readbetter,too.Unlessthere’saparticularneedforthepassivevoice,rewritesentencestousetheactivevoice.3. Improper use of apostrophes (especially plural versus possessive). Ask yourself if eachapostrophe you are using has a legitimate use in a contraction or in showing possession. Payparticularattentiontoapostrophesusedwithyours,his,hers,theirs,ours,its (only it’sever takesanapostrophe,andonlywhenyoumeanitis).4.Commacomplaints.Commontransgressionsinclude:

Misplacedoromittedcommas

Commasinsertedbetweenamonthandyear(September,2001)

Commas dropped after parenthetical phrases (such as, “George Bush, president of the UnitedStatessaidhe...”)

Commasmisusedwithrestrictiveandnonrestrictiveclauses(nocommasbeforewhich;commasbeforethatusedunnecessarily)

Commas inserted between the subject and the verb (e.g., “The speeding car, was seen goingthrougharedlight”)

5.Numberdisagreements—eithersubject-predicateorantecedent-pronoun.Lookforeachverbanditssubject(oreachpronounanditsantecedent);makesurethatbothofthemaresingularorbothofthemareplural.6.Useofthisasasubject(“Thiscanleadtoconfusion.”).Identifywhatthisreferstoandrewordto

eliminatethisasasubject.7.Mistakesinwordchoice.Theseinclude:

Usingwhichforthatandviceversa

Confusingthey’re,their,andthere

Confusingyourwithyou’re

UsingbetweenyouandIinsteadofbetweenyouandme

Teachers’PetPeeves

1.Difficultygrasping the conceptof a topic sentence.All of the other sentences in a paragraphshouldsupportthetopicsentenceorgiveexamplestoelaborateonit.Ifasentencedoesn’t,eighty-sixit.2.Notransitionfromparagraphtoparagraphinlanguageorthought.Asyourereadyourwork,askyourselfwhereyoumovefromonepointtoanotherorfromoneexampletoanother,thenmakeconnectionswithappropriatetransitionalwordsorphrases.3.Sentencefragments.Readeachsentenceseparatelyandaskyourselfifthewordsinthatsentencemakesensewhenyoureadthemalone.Iftheydon’t,your“sentence”isafragment.4.No sense ofwho the audience is.Common problems arise in the tone used and in addressingsomeonewhoisnotpartoftheaudience(forinstance,writing“WhenyoutakefreshmanEnglish...”whentheaudience—inthiscase,theinstructor—isnottakingfreshmanEnglish).5. Inappropriate colloquial usages. Look through your writing for slang words or idiomaticphrases. Unless your work calls for a relaxed or conversational tone, change to more formallanguage.6.Useof“non-sentences”thathavelotsoffluffbutlittlesubstance.(Forexample,“Languageisimportant to everyday life and society.”) Look for generalizations, clichés, and platitudes in yourwork.Rewordyoursentencestobemorespecific,togivemoredetails,ortobelesshackneyed.

I

Chapter9GettingDowntoBusiness:WritingandRevising

fyou’relikemanywriters,youmayfindthatthehardestpartofwritingisjustgettingstarted.Thefirst sections of this chapter will provide you with a variety of methods for organizing your

thoughtsandgettingyourpen(oryourcomputerkeys)moving.You’llthenmove—finally!—tocreatingyourfirstdraft.(Notetheword“first.”)Whenthatisdone,

takeadvantageofthemanytipshereforrevisingandpolishingyourgreatwork.Nomatterwhattypeofwritingyou’redoing,youcanusethischaptertodevelopyourownprocessforproducingproseasgracefulanderror-freeaspossible.

HelpfulPreliminaries

Atthe“prewriting”stageofthegame,youcanuseone(ormorethanone)ofthetechniquesdiscussedbelowtohelpyouthinkclearlyandkeeptrackofyourideas.You’llprobablycomeupwithanumberof ideas that you’ll eventuallydiscard.That’s fine;whatmatters is gettingyour thoughts onpaper.Afterthat,youcangobackanddecidewhichonesarethekeepers.Onewaytoorganizeyourthoughtsbeforeyouevenbegintheprewritingstageistokeepajournal.

Wheneverideascometoyou,jotthemdowninyourjournal.Whenthetimecomesforwritingyourfirstdraft,you’llalreadyhaveanumberofideas.1.Freewritingisoneofthemosteffectivemethodsofcultivatingideas.Beginbywritingyourtopicatthetopofthepage.Writeanythingrelatedtoyourtopic—words,phrases,orcompletesentences,whateverscrapsofthoughtcometomind.Giveyourselfatimelimitofabouttenminutes.Don’t:

•Beconcernedwithspellingorpunctuation

•Gotothetimeortroubleofgroupingyourideas

•Bothererasinganything

•Worryevenifyoudigressfromyourtopic

•Stopifyoucan’tthinkofaspecificword(justwrite???orXXXorsomeothershorthand)

If you get stumped, just keep your pen moving on the paper or your fingers moving on thekeyboard;chancesareyou’llcomeupwithanewidea.Attheendofyourtimeallotment,lookoveryourwork.Decidewhatbestfitswiththedirectionofyourwork,andcrossoutwhatdoesn’t.Thengobackandunderlinethekeypartsofthemostworkableideas.Youcanrepeattheprocesstoexpandontheideasthatyoulike.Sinceyou’reworkinginten-minute

sessions,theassignmentmaynotseemasoverwhelmingasitfirstdid.2.Questioning is another method to help you develop ideas. Suppose you’ve been given a very

general topic like “relate a terrible dining experience you once had.” Begin by asking yourselfvariations of the reporter ’s fundamental sixw and h questions (who? what? when? where? why?how?)

Whowasinvolved?

(youandyourdatePat)

Whatstartedthe“horrible”partoftheevening?

(youbothbecamesickwhilestillsittingatthetable)

Whendidthishappen?

(onasummereveningin2001)

Wheredidthishappen?

(atSally’sScrumptiousShrimpShack,inSeattle)

Whydidthishappen?

(youhadeatenseafoodthathadn’tbeencookedlongenough)

Howdidtheeveningendattherestaurant?

(themanagergaveyouacomplimentarydinnerandagiftcertificatetoreturnanothertime)Afteraskingyourselfotherwho?what?when?where?why?how?questions,you’llhavecompiled

lotsofdetailstogiveyourreadersamoredescriptivepictureofwhathappenedthatnight.3.Intheprewritingstrategycalledclustering(alsoknownas“mapping”),youusecirclesandlinestoconnectyourthoughts.Beginbydrawingacircleinthemiddleofyourpaperandwritingyourtopicinsideit.Thenstartthinkingofrandomwordsorphrasesassociatedwithyourtopic.Asyouthinkofsomething,write it ina separatecircleandconnect it to themain ideawitha line.Asyou thinkofideasthatareoffshootsofthenewcircles,drawothercircles,writethenewinformationinthem,andthenconnectthem.Don’tworryaboutbeingmessyorinartistic,anddon’tbeconcernedifyoucan’tthinkofanything

associatedwithsomeofthecircles.(Ifyougetstumped,askyourselfoneofthewho?what?when?where?why?how?questions.)4.Anoutlineisakindofblueprintthathelpsyouorganizeyourthoughtsinalogicalpattern.Youcanuseoutliningasaprewritingmethodasawayoforganizingtheideasyougeneratedinfreewriting,questioning,clustering,oranyothertechnique.Here’sanexampleofaformaloutline:

ContrastandCompareWatchingaMovieinaTheaterandatHome

Anumberofdifferencesandsimilaritiesexistbetweenwatchingamovieinatheaterandwatchingamovieathome.

I.Differences

A.Home

1.Greaterfreedom

a.Morecomfort

(1)Canwatchwearingpajamas,ifIchoose

(2)Havechoiceofseatingathome

(a)Cansitinfavoriteeasychair

(b)Canlieonfloororcouch

b.Morechoiceoftimestowatch

(1)Canstoptotalkifphonerings

(2)Canstopforbathroombreaks

(3)CanstopifIwanttogetfoodordrink

2.Fewerrestrictionsaboutfoodordrink

a.Lessexpensiveathome

b.Openchoiceoffoodordrink

B.Movietheater

1.Muchlargerscreenatmovies

2.Betterpopcornatmovies

3.Earlierdateforavailabilitytobeseen

4.Bettersoundsystem

5.Largerseatingcapacity,ifneededforlargegroupoffriends

6.Better“maidservice”(someoneelsepicksupthediscardedcandywrappers,etc.)

II.Similarities

A.(Followthesameformattofillindetailsaboutthesimilaritiesbetweenwatchingamovieatatheaterandathome)

1.

a.

(1)

(2)

(a)

(b)

b.

2.

B.

EachmainentrybeginswithaRomannumeral.Thencometheindentedcapital-letterentries(HomeandMovieTheater)undereachRomannumeral,andbotharewritteninaparallelway(inthiscase,asnouns). Then come indented entries written with Arabic numbers, each begun with a comparativeadjective(Greater,Fewer,Larger,Better,Earlier).Theentriesgoon—lowercaseletters,thennumbersinside parentheses, then lowercase letters inside parentheses—and each subcategory has a parallelgrammaticallayout.

YourFirstDraft

Afteryouhaveyourideasinsomeform,it’stimetowriteyourfirstdraft.Theobjectisnottohavesomethingthat’sreadytoturnintoyourteacher,yoursupervisor,oryoureditor,butjusttogetallofyourideasdownonpaperincompletesentences.In this phase, some writers prefer to begin thinking about mechanics, usage, and spelling, and

othersprefertoworryaboutthefine-tuninglater.Dowhateverworksforyou.Rightnowyourmainconcernsareyourpurpose,youraudience,andtheformatortypeofwritingthat’srequired.

DefiningYourPurpose

Almostallwritingtriestoproveapoint,answeraquestion,giveinstructions,providereflection,orpresententertainment.Typesofwritinginclude:

•Narrative(tellingastory)

•Expository(explainingorgivinginformation)

•Descriptive(providingawrittenpictureofsomeone,someplace,orsomething)

•Informativeorexplanatory(givingdataorsomeothertypeofinformation)

•Expressive(detailingyourthoughtsoremotions)

•Persuasiveorargumentative(attemptingtoinfluenceotherstocomearoundtoyourwayofthinking)

•Analytical(examiningmaterialpresentedtoyou)

Rememberthatyoucanimprovemostnonfictionbyusinglotsofspecificexamplesorsupportingdetails.Takealookatthissentence,writtenforanessayaboutanidealvacationspot:

Englandisagoodplacetovisit.

That sentence doesn’t exactlymake youwant to pack your bags, does it? However, with a fewdetailsadded,itbecomesaworkablesentence:

From the jam-packed boulevards of cosmopolitan London, to the barely wide enoughcobblestone paths of ancient York, to the right-for-rambling lanes of Lake District villages, oldeEnglandcrooksitsfingerandbeckonsme.

Notonlyisitimportantthatyouknowyourpurpose,youmustalsocommunicateittoyourreader—preferably in your first few sentences. For example, reading the revised sentence about visitingEngland,you’dexpectthattherestoftheworkwouldbeaboutwhatafascinatingplaceEnglandistovisit.This sentencewouldbecalledyour thesissentenceor thesisstatement. If yourwriting format

requiresathesisstatement,keepinmindthateverysentenceofyourworkhastobeconnectedtoitinsome way. After you’ve finished, look at each separate sentence or idea and ask yourself if it issomehowrelatedtoyourthesisstatement.Ifitisn’t,crossitout.Itmighthelptokeepalargecopyofyourthesisstatementonapieceofpaperclosetoyourdesk.

Even forwriting thatdoesn’t requirea thesis statement,youmight find thatwritingaone-sentencestatementofyourpurposehelpsyoucenteryourthoughts.

AnticipatingYourAudience

As a writer, you need to be aware of the audience for whom you’re writing. You should keepcertainthingsinmind,likethetone,vocabularylevel,andstylethat’sappropriate.Ifyou’rewritingaletterofcomplaint,forinstance,youmightuseafarmoreaggressivetone(and

maybe even a different level of vocabulary) than if you’rewriting for yourself, your business, oryour instructor.Also, dependingonwhat you’rewriting, your style couldbe formal, informal, orverycasual.Inconsideringyouraudience,thinkaboutthesequestions:

•Arethereageconsiderationsthatwouldmeanyoushouldwriteonaparticularlevel?

•Willyouraudienceexpectextrainformationinyourwork,likequotations,citations,tables,orgraphs?(Thesemightbeneededinanacademicorbusinesspaper.)

•Aretheregeographicconsiderationsorculturaldifferencesthatyouneedtoexplain?

•Areyourreadersofaspecificgender,ordotheyhaveaparticularpoliticalorreligiouspreference?

•What’stheoccupationofyouraudience?

•Whatneeddoesyouraudiencehaveforwhatyou’rewriting?

•Whatinformationdoesyouraudiencealreadyhave?

•Whatmightyouraudiencenotbeawareof?

Keepinmindthatyoudon’twanttoinsultyouraudienceeitherbyusinginappropriatehumororbybeingpatronizingorpretentious,soadjustyourtoneandyourvocabularyaccordingly.

AdheringtoaParticularStyle

Thenextpartofyourworkisdecidingthestyleorformattouse.Ifyouhaveanassignmentfromschool orwork, the stylemay have been decided for you. For example, for school youmight beassigned towrite a three-pageessaycritiquinga recent taxproposal, or at yourbusinessyoumay

needtowriteasummaryofthemainpointsofameetingyouattended.If a particular style is required, be sure you adhere to it. If you’re unsure how to write in a

particularstyleorformat,lookatsuccessfulpastmaterialandmodelyourworkafterit.Also, check to see if you’re required to use a title, page numbers, headings, citations and other

references, anda tableofcontents. If theseare required, findout if theymustbewritten incertainpositionsorinaspecificway.

RevisingYourWriting

Now, it’s time to fine-tune your work by revising it. However, revising is much more than justlooking for misspelled words and an errant comma or two. It entails looking at the big picture(organization,purpose,vocabulary,tone,andsoon)aswellasthelittlebrushstrokesofpunctuation,usage,andspelling.Making these improvements takes time, and you can usually count on writing more than one

revision—sometimesevenfouror five revisions. Ihopeyouhaven’tpassedout fromtheshockofthatidea,butthetruthis,ifyouwantyourwritingtobethebestitcanbe,youneedtodevotealotoftimetotheeditingprocess.

GeneralQuestionstoAsk

Whentakingalookatyourfirstdraft(oryoursecondorthird),youshouldconsideranumberofquestionsinordertodetermineifyourwritingisasgoodasitcouldbe.1.Beginbylookingatyoursubjectandyourpurposeinwriting.Whatwereyousupposedtodointhispiece?Forinstance,ifyouweresupposedtoargueagainstcapitalpunishment,didyoumaintainthat argument throughout or did you slip into an “on the other hand” approach and start givingopposingarguments?2.Isityourintroductionclearenough?Isyourconclusioneffective?Doesitstrayfromthetopicoryourthesisstatement?Onehelpfultrickistoreadyourintroductionandyourconclusion(skippingthepartsinbetween),andaskyourselfifbotharesayingthesamething.Ifnot,youneedtorevise.3. If your piece ofwriting required a thesis, did you state it clearly?Did eachof your supportingpointsrelatetoyourthesis?4.Haveyoupresentedallofyourinformationcoherently?Haveyougivenenoughexamples,facts,ordetailstosupporteachofyourpoints?Ifyougaveexamplesinyourwork,didyouexplainwhyeachexampleissignificant?Doyourexamplesfolloweachotherinalogicalorder?Wouldaddinganythingstrengthenyourwork?5.Isyourtoneandlanguagesuitableforyouraudience?6.Haveyouadheredtotheformattingorstylethatwasmandated?Doyouhavetheprescribedmarginsizes?fontstyle?pointsize?spacingrequirements?pagenumbering?7.Ifyourpaperisaboutaliterarywork,haveyoustatedtheauthor ’sfirstandlastnamesandthetitleofthework?Haveyouusedthepropercitationordocumentationmethods?

ParticularPointstoLookFor

Onceyoumakesurethatyourpieceofwritinghasafirmstructureonasoundfoundation,it’stimetolookatitmoreclosely.1.Haveyouvariedthelengthandstructureofyoursentences?2.Couldyourwordingbemoreconcise,vivid,orexplanatory?3.Have you used any first- or second-person pronouns (I, we, you, us)? Is using them inwritingacceptableinyourclassorworkplace?Haveyoumaintainedaconsistentpointofview?4.Doanyrelatedthoughtsorsentencesrequireatransitionalwordorphrasebetweenthem?5.Haveyouusedtheactivevoicewheneverpossible?Also,lookforsentencesthatbeginwithwordslikeit,this,orthere;thesesentencescanoftenbecomemoreforcefulwhenyourewordthem.6.Arethereanysynonymsthatreplaceanyrepeatedorimprecisewords?Don’thesitatetoconsultadictionaryorthesaurus.7.Isthereanyinappropriateslangorjargonorclichésinyourwork?8.Someinstructorsandcompaniesdictatethatcertainwordsnotbeused.Ifthatappliestoyou,haveyouchecked(onacomputer,usetheFindfunction)forthoseparticularwordsorphrases?Afteryou’vecheckedyourpaper forall thesepoints,you’llprobablyneed to rewritepartsof it.

Whenyou’vedonethat,rereadthesectiononrevisionaboveandapplyittoyourrewrittenversion.(Rememberthatwarningthatmorethanonerevisionwouldbenecessary?)

AFinalReading

Hurray! You’re almost home free. You’ve checked your content, your organization, and yoursentence structure, and nowyou’re ready to do some serious proofreading to help you find thoselittlenitpickyerrorsthatcanchangeamasterpieceintoalaughterpiece.Thehintsthatfollowwillhelptoslowdownyoureyessothattheydon’tgofasterthanyourbrain.

Inotherwords,youreadwhatyouactuallywroteratherthanwhatyouthinkyouwrote.1. Read your paper out loud. Out loud, you must read more slowly, so you’ll often catchgrammaticalandspellingmistakesandsimilarconstructionsthatyou’dmissinsilentreading.2.Readbackward.Startattheendandreadthelastsentence,thenthesentencebeforethat,andsoonuntilyoureachthebeginning.Whenyoureadoutoforder,you’llmoreeasilyspoterrors.3.Look for your most frequent past errors. For instance, if you have trouble with sentencefragments,gobackthroughyourworkandcloselyexamineeachsentence.4.Checkyourspellingyourself.Aspellcheckerwilldetectonlywordsthatarenotinthedictionary.Agoodideaistomakeonepassthroughyourcopylookingforspellingerrorsalone.5.Checkyourtenseusage.Ifyoubeganyourpieceusingthepasttense,forexample,makesurethatyouwrotetherestinthepasttense(notincludinganyquotedmaterial,ofcourse).6.Letsomeoneelseproofreadandrespondtoyourpaper.Thisisknownaspeerediting.Asktheotherreaderstobeascriticalaspossibleandtolookforanykindoferror—inspelling,punctuation,usage,mechanics,organization,clarity,eveninthevalueofyourideas.Chancesareifheorshehad

troublereadingorunderstandingyourmaterial,youshoulddosomeextrarevision.

I

Chapter10WritingFormats:Essays,

Summaries,Reports,andMore

fyou’reconfusedaboutastyleofwritingthatyouneedtodo—whetherforaclass,work,orjustyourself—takealookatthevarioustypesofwritinginthischapter.You’llfinddescriptionsofa

numberofstyles,fromshortessaystoabstractsandprocesspapers.Toget yougoing,we’ll start outwith the short papers.Youmaybe asked to condense all your

knowledgeonasubjectintoapithyessayorabstract,orevenintoasingleparagraph.It’sokay.Takeadeepbreath.Youcandoit,andhere’show.

ASingleParagraph

Themostimportantpartofasingleparagraphisitstopicsentence,whichcontainstheparagraph’smain idea and is often (but not always) the first sentence.All the other sentences in the paragraphshouldsupport the topicsentence insomeway. If theydon’t,cut them.Someways tosupportyourmainideaaretoelaborate,clarify,givedetailsabout,orprovideproofforyourtopicsentence.Some one-paragraph compositions also end with a summary sentence that restates, reviews, or

emphasizesthemainideaoftheparagraph(usingdifferentwords,ofcourse).Readthistopicsentence:

WhileApril is the favorite time of year formany people, I dread it becausemy allergies areaggravatedbybloomingplants,I’munderalotofpressuretogetmytaxesfinishedbythefifteenth,andIhavetoattendsevenbirthdaypartiesforvariousfamilymembers.

After you read this topic sentence, you know that the rest of the paragraphwill give youmoredetailsabouttheallergies,thetax-relatedpressure,andthebirthdayparties.Don’t forget to use transitionalwords or phraseswithin your paragraph.These help showyour

readertheconnectionbetweenthevariousideasyoustateorpointsyoumake.

TheFive-ParagraphEssay

After single paragraphs, beginning writers often proceed to five-paragraph essays. These worksfollow a prescribed form of an introductory paragraph, three body paragraphs, and a concludingparagraph.Justasatopicsentenceisthemainfocusofasingleparagraph,five-paragraphessaysarecentered

aroundathesisstatement(orthesissentence),thecentralvieworargumentofthewholeessay.Yourthesisstatementmaybeeitherargumentativeorinformative,anditshouldbeasummaryofwhatthe

restofyouressaywillcontain.Makesurethatyourthesisstatementisnarrowenoughtocoverinafive-paragraphessay.Yourintroductoryparagraphshouldcontainyourthesisandalsogiveaclearindicationaboutwhat

your body paragraphs will be about. (Some instructors or style guides mandate that your thesisstatementbe thefirstor lastsentenceofyour introductoryparagraph.)Yourfirstparagraphshouldalsoincludesentencesthatdeveloporbuilduptoyourthesisstatement.Yourbodyparagraphsgivemoreelaboratesupport foryour thesisstatement.Eachofyourbody

paragraphsshouldcontaina topicsentenceandmustbedirectly related toyour thesis statement. Inother words, one subtopic (one individual point) can be developed in each of your three bodyparagraphs.Somewriters find that theystaymore focused if they list these threesubtopics in theirthesisstatement.Readthisexample:

Iwillno longer flyZebraairlinesbecause theironlinereservationsystemisnot reliable, theirsupportstaffisnothelpful,andtheirdeparturesandlandingsarerarelyontime.

From the thesis statement alone, readers know the first body paragraph will elaborate on thecomplaintabout the reservation system, the secondbodyparagraphwill elaborateon theproblemswith the support staff, and the third body paragraph will elaborate on the unreliability of theschedules.Besurethatyouwordthepointsinyourthesisstatementinthesameorderasyourbodyparagraphsandthatyouincludetransitionsthattietogetherwhatyousaidintheprecedingparagraphwiththesubtopicyou’rebeginninginthenext.Your concluding paragraph is a summary of what you’ve stated in your body paragraphs (of

course,withdifferentwording).Inthisparagraph,youcanrecaptheprecedingparagraphsandgiveadditional emphasis to your individual points. You should be careful not to introduce any newmaterialinyourconcludingparagraph.Some writers begin their concluding paragraph by restating their thesis statement in different

words.TrystartingoutwiththephraseInconclusionorTosummarize(butdeletethephraseafteryoufinishyourparagraph,assomereadersfindphraseslikethesetobetrite).

TheAbstract

In anabstract (usuallywritten in just one paragraph), you summarize themethodology, essentialsections,andmainpoints (orconclusion)of researchoramanuscript.Byexaminingyourabstractalone,readersshouldbeabletodeterminewhatinformationthecompletemanuscriptcontains.Different instructors,publications,andcompaniesusedifferentstyles,butherearesomegeneral

points:

•Ifyouhaveaspecificwordlimit,writeascloseaspossibletothatlimitwithoutgoingoverit.Abstractsthatexceedaspecifiedwordlimitwilloftenberejectedbecausetheycan’tfitincertaindatabasesorsummaryformats.

•Besureyouemphasizetheprimarydiscoveriesandmajorconclusionsoftheworkandincludethekeywordsoftheresearchorwork(thatiswhatwillbeusedindatabases).

•Yourwordingshouldbeasconciseaspossibleandallirrelevantdetailsshouldbeomitted.

TheArgumentEssay

Anargumentisanessayinwhichyoutakeastanceonaparticularissueandexpandonyourpointofviewwithsupportingevidence.Toconstructanargument,firstaskyourselfwhatyourmainpointis,thendecidewhythatparticularpointisimportant.Forinstance,wouldasegmentofsocietybenefitifyourstanceweretaken?Wouldcertainproblemsbeeradicated?Wouldmoneybesaved?Besure topursuesome lineof thought that’sopen toquestion—orelse it’snotanargument. In

otherwords,youwouldn’twritesomethinglike:

Cottoncandyismostlymadeoutofsugar.

That’sbecauseit’sasimplestatementoffact—there’snothingtoargue.However,ifyouwrotethatpeople should eat more cotton candy, you’d have a basis for debate and could proceed with anargument.Give a lot of thought to the evidence you can give to support your point. If you can’t think of

severalreasonsyourpointisimportant(orifyoucan’tfindreasonsthroughresearch),abandonthatparticularideabecauseyouwon’tbeabletosupportitwellenough.Notethatthestrengthofanargumentessayliesnotonlyintheevidenceprovidedbythewriterto

supporthisorherpoint,butinthewriter ’sabilitytoanticipateopposingargumentsandtoobjectivelydisprovethem.

TheCause-and-EffectEssay

Inacause-and-effectessay,youexaminetherelationshipsbetweenhowcertaineventsbringaboutorleadtootherevents.Forinstance,ifyou’relookingatthecausesofU.S.involvementinWorldWarII,you’dwriteabouttheimmediatecause(thebombingofPearlHarbor)aswellascausesthathadbeenbuildingupforsometime(growinghostilitiesbetweentheUnitedStatesandGermanyandtheUnitedStatesandJapan,increasingbondsbetweentheUnitedStatesandtheAllies,andsoon).Besurethatthereisactuallyarelationshipbetweenyoursuggestedcauseandeffect.For instance,

supposeyoubuyanewcarandthentwodayslaterthedealershiplowersthepriceonthemodelyoubought.Thedealership’ssalehadnothingtodowithyourpreviouspurchaseofthecar,sotherewasnocause-and-effectrelationship.The following transitionwords andphrases can come in handywhenwriting a cause-and-effect

essay:accordingly, as a consequence, as a result, because, consequently, for this purpose, for thatreason,hence,inorderthat,so,sothat, then,therefore,thereupon,thus,todothis, to thisend,withthisinmind,andwiththisobjective.

CompareandContrast

In a comparison-and-contrast paper, you record the similarities and the differences of people,places,events,andsoon.Besuretoomitanystatementsoftheobvious(e.g.,MercuryandMarsare

bothplanetsthatrevolvearoundthesun).Comparing and contrasting two people—or places or works— makes for an interesting or

informative piece only if you look beyond what’s readily apparent and describe or examinesimilaritiesanddifferencesthatyourreadersmaynothavebeenawareoforhavethoughtabout.Ifanassignmentcallsonlyforcomparison,makesurethatyoudon’tcontrast—orviceversa.Ifthe

assignmentcallsforboth,giveeachapproximatelythesameamountofspace.Thefollowingtransitionwordsandphrasesareusefulforshowingcontrast:afterall,alternatively,

although, and yet, at the same time, but, conversely, despite, even so, even though, for all that,however, in contrast, in spite of, instead, nevertheless, nonetheless, nor, notwithstanding, on thecontrary,ontheotherhand,otherwise,regardless,still,though,andyet.Transitionwordsandphrasesofsimilarityincludeagain,also,and,aswellas,besides,bythesame

token, forexample, furthermore, ina likemanner, in a similarway, in the sameway, like, likewise,moreover,oncemore,similarly,andso.

ACriticalAnalysis

Inacriticalanalysis,youexamineandassessaworkfromanumberofpointsofview.Requirementsoftenvarybyinstructororcompany,butyoushouldalwaysincludethefollowing.

•Enoughbackgroundinformationtofamiliarizeyourreaderwiththepieceyou’reanalyzing(includingthenameoftheauthororartist)

•Adescriptionofthewaythepiecewaswritten

•Thegeneralthesisbehindthepieceorasynopsisofthework

Thefollowinglistofquestionsmaybehelpfulwhencomposingacriticalanalysis.

•Whatbiographicaldataabouttheauthororartistisimportant?

•Whatarethepurpose,tone,andformatofthepiece?

•Howcantheworkbeinterpreted?

•Isthereanyinformationintheworkthat’sinaccurateorincomplete?

•Inwhatwayswasthepiecesuccessful,andhowdidtheauthororartistachievethatsuccess?

•Inwhatwaysdidtheauthororartistfail?

•Whatcouldtheauthororartisthavedonetobemoresuccessful?

•Aretherehistorical,psychological,geographical,gender,racial,cultural,orreligiousconsiderationsthathaveanimpactonthework?

Ifyou’rewritingacriticalanalysisofaliterarywork,youneedtoconsiderpointssuchastheme,symbolism,imagery,figurativelanguage,setting,andcharacterization.Remembertoavoidusingthefirst-personpointofviewinacriticalanalysisunlessyourteacher,editor,oremployerhasspecifiedthatyoumay.Inmost instances,yourpersonal likeordislikeofaworkwouldnotbeconsideredasuitablesubject.

APersonalJournal

The material you write in a journalmight be very personal or very detached—or anything inbetween. You might wish to use a journal just to record snippets of thoughts about work, orquotationsthatyoufindappealingorinspirational,oreventhefoodsyoueateveryday—oryoumaychoosetowriteaboutmorepersonalexperiencesofyourprivatelife.Ifyoumustkeepa journalforaclass,youmightbegivenspecific topics toreflectupon.In this

case,besureyouunderstandwhetheryourjournalentrieswillbesharedwithothers,anddon’twriteanything that you feel is too personal (after all, you don’t want the whole world to know yourpersonalbusiness!).

DescriptiveEssays

An essay of description relies on imagery to be successful. Your readers are dependent on yourwordsaloneinordertosee,hear,smell,taste,orfeelyoursubject.Forexample:

Theunexpectedspringstormsentsharppelletsofrainontomyface,forcingmetoswallowthedropletsasIpanickedandscreamedforhelp.

Inthissentence,thereadercansee,feel,andtastetherain,canhearthescream,andcanthereforegetagoodpictureofthenarrator ’spredicament.Inashortstoryornovel,descriptionofasettinghelpsreadersfeelclosertothecharactersorthe

plot because they can see and appreciate the characters’ environment. In a nonfiction work,descriptionhelpsreadersknowhowafinishedproductshouldlook(orfeel,taste,smell,orsound).Works of description rely on details, so be generous with them. Since description relates to as

manyof the senses as possible, use adjectives and adverbs liberally. In addition, take a look at theverbs you use and see if you can substitute ones that are more descriptive or precise. Instead ofwriting,“Themanwalkedintotheroom,”forexample,givethereaderabetterlookathowthemanentered.Didhetiptoeintotheroom?bound?slink?prance?Nowaddadjectivesandadverbs.Didthewell-dressedmanscurryintotheroombreathlessly?Didtheseedy-lookingmanslinkintotheroomfurtively?Didthealways-latemantiptoeintotheroomhesitantly?Whileyoushouldchooseyourdescriptivewordscarefully,becarefulnottooverdothem.Keepin

mindthateverynoundoesn’tneedanadjective(muchlesstwoorthree)andeveryverbdoesn’tneedanadverb.

AutobiographicalNarratives

If you’re writing an autobiographical narrative (sometimes called a personal narrative), you’retellingastoryaboutanoteworthyexperienceinyourlife.Thistypeofstory(usuallywritteninthefirstperson)revolvesaroundanincidentthatmadeanimpactinyourlifeortaughtyouanimportantlesson.

Be sure to focus on a story that is not only important to you but also is valuable enough to beshared. The story of your exhilaration the first time you were behind the wheel of a car may besomethingyou’dliketoremember,butitalonewouldbeboringforyourreaders.However,ifyoulearnedsomevaluablelesson(suchashowyoulearnednottotrytotalkyourwayoutofaspeedingticket) or an amusing anecdote (such as how you met your favorite movie star by accidentallycrashingintohisorhercaronthefreeway),thenyouhaveanincidentthatyoucandevelopintoanautobiographicalnarrative.Besuretoaddconcretedetailstoexplainandenhanceyourplot,setting,andcharacters.Thesewill

helpyoure-createtheincidentsoyourreaderswillstayinvolvedinyourstory.

ThePrécis

Aprécis(pray-cee,fromtheFrenchwordforprecise)isaclearandlogicalsummaryorabridgementofanotherauthor ’swork.Yourprécisshouldincludethesubstanceorgeneralideasputforthintheoriginalwork,butyoumustuseyourownwords.Inwritingaprécis,youmust:

•Identifytheauthor ’stoneandpointofview.

•Includethekeywordsandmajorpointsoftheoriginalwork.

•Includeanyvaluabledatathatillustratesorsupportstheoriginalwork.

•Disregardanyintroductoryorsupplementaryinformation.

•Useyourownvoice(youdon’thavetocopytheoriginalauthor ’stoneorvoice).

•Notgiveyouropinionoftheauthor,thework,ortheideaspresented.

Ingeneral,yourprécisshouldbenomore thanone-third the lengthof theoriginalworkyou’resummarizing. Remember that requirements (both of length and of format) vary with instructors,publishers,andcompanies,sobesuretocheckwiththemaboutwhattheyspecify.

TheProcessPaper

Aprocesspaperisakindofhow-toorexplanationpaperthatexplainsaparticularprocessbygivingstep-by-step directions or by describing certain changes or operations. Remember that a processpapermustbewritteninchronologicalorder.Foraprocesspaper,it’simportanttodefineyouraudience,becausethey’lldeterminewhatkindof

languageyou’lluseandhowmuchdetailyou’llgointo.Forinstance,inaprocesspaperabouthowtochangeatire,you’dwriteinalessdetailedmannerforanaudienceofmechanicsthanyouwouldforagroupofbeginningdrivers.If you’re writing for a general audience, you need to explain anything that they might find

confusingorunfamiliar.Think abouthowyouwould explain theprocess to children.Then reread

your material and add a simple explanation of any words or concepts that children wouldn’t befamiliarwith(withoutbeingpatronizing!).Besuretobeprecisewhenyougivemeasurements.Ifyouwrite“Usealittlecompostinthemixture,”yourreadersmaythinkthat“alittle”isatablespoon,whenyouactuallymeantagallon.Remember that transitionwords andphraseshelpyour reader see the chronological flowof the

steps(next,afterthat,finally)aswellastheplacementofmaterials(above,besidethat,totheright).Besuretocheckwithyourinstructor,publisher,orcompanyaboutanymandatesregardingpoint

of view (usually a process paper is written in second person), use of bulleted lists, and use ofillustrations,diagrams,orphotos.

BusinessandTechnicalWriting

Works ofbusiness and technical writing often have many fine points specific to the field beingdiscussed.Thebusinessyou’rewritingforprobablyhasparticularstylesthatyou’reexpectedtouse.In general, however, in business and technical writing, you should concentrate on five areas:audience,clarity,conciseness,tone,andcorrectness.First, keep inmindwho’s going to receive your information. If you’rewriting for the general

public,you’llprobablyneed to takeadifferent slant than ifyou’rewriting toabusiness associate.Sometimesyou’llneedtouseabasic,“here-are-the-instructions”tone.Othertimes—forexample,inbusinessdealings—you’llneedtobemoreformal.Make sure that your writing is clear and concise. Use vocabulary that your audience will be

familiarwith.Ifyoumustintroduceawordorconceptthat’sunfamiliartoyouraudience,besuretoexplainitinplainlanguage.Afteryou’vewrittenyourpieceasclearlyaspossible,gobackthroughitandseeifthereareany

placesyoucanshortenit.Youraudiencewillreadandrememberashortpiecemoreeasilythantheywillalongone.Finally,besuretocheck—andrecheckandrecheck—yourspelling,punctuation,andwordusage.Yousuredon’twantsomethingyouwrotetobethelatestjokearoundthewatercooler.

TheResearchPaper

In a research paper you investigate a topic (often one that’s been approved by an instructor orpublisher)throughconsultingvarioussources,interpretingwhatthesourcesrelate,developingideasorconclusions,andcitingthesourcesinyourpaper.Aresearchpapermightbeoneofthelongestand(dareIsayit?)mostwork-intensivepiecesyou’lleverhavetowrite.Research papers fall into one of two categories:analytical papers,which provide evidence that

investigatesandevaluates issues,orargumentativepapers,whichprovideevidence to supportyourpointofviewandconvinceyour readers thatyou’re right.Researchpaperscanbewritten inmanyformats;besurethatyouknowwhetheryou’resupposedtouseaspecificdocumentationstyle.ThetwomostpopulararetheModernLanguageAssociation(MLA)style,whichisdetailedintheMLAHandbookforWritersofResearchPapers,andtheAmericanPsychologicalAssociation(APA)style,

whichisdetailedinthePublicationManualoftheAmericanPsychologicalAssociation.Otherbooksthatyoumaybedirectedtouseinclude:

•TheAmericanMedicalAssociationManualofStyle:AGuideforAuthorsandEditors,byC.L.Iverson,A.Flanagin,P.B.Fontanarosa,etal.(Baltimore,MD:Williams&Wilkins,1998.)

•TheChicagoManualofStyle:TheEssentialGuideforWriters,Editors,andPublishers,JohnGrossman(preface).(Chicago,IL:UniversityofChicagoPress,1993.)

•EffectiveWriting:ImprovingScientific,Technical,andBusinessCommunication,byChristopherTurkandJohnKirkman.(NewYork,NY:E.&F.N.Spon,1989.)

•FormandStyle:ResearchPapers,Reports,Theses,byCaroleSlade.(Boston,MA:HoughtonMifflinCompany,1999.)

•GoodStyle:WritingforScienceandTechnology,byJohnKirkman.(NewYork,NY:Chapman&Hall,1992.)

•AManualforWritersofTermPapers,Theses,andDissertations,byKateL.Turabian.(Chicago,IL:UniversityofChicagoPress,1966.)

•ScientificStyleandFormat:TheCBEManualforAuthors,Editors,andPublishers,byEdwardJ.Huth.(NewYork,NY:CambridgeUniversityPress,1994.)

Hereareafewproblemscommontoresearchpaperstoavoid:

•Topicsthataretoobroad(forinstance,“Jupiter:TheFifthPlanet”or“WhyAmericansEnjoytheCinema”)

•Papersthatdon’tadheretospecifiedpagelimitsorwordlimits

•Papersthatdon’tfollowthedirectionsaboutfontsize,fontstyle,spacing,andmarginsize

•Papersthatcontainmaterialthatisplagiarized

•Citationsthataren’twrittenintheprescribedmanner

Besureyou’reawareofanytimelinesaboutmaterialyoumustturninbeforeyouractualpaperisdue.Someinstructorsgivegradesondifferentphasesofwritingaresearchpaperlikethefollowing.

•Identificationofyourtopic

•Apreliminaryproposalofyourpaper

•Yournotes(sometimesrequiredtobeoncardsofaspecificsize)

•Anoutlineofyourpaper

•Variousdraftsofyourpaper

•Identificationofbibliographicinformationandfootnotestyle

TheReview

Whiletherearemanywaystowriteareview,everywayhasthisincommon:yougiveyouropinion

about something and you also support or explain your opinion. Because you’rewriting a criticalevaluation, not only do you have to mention both the noteworthy and the flawed aspects of yoursubject,youalsohavetoexplainwhatmadethemreceivehighorlowmarks.Always keep your audience in mind. If you’re reviewing a new restaurant, for instance, you’d

probablyneedtogivemoreexplanationofunusualmenuitemstoageneralnewspaperaudiencethanyouwouldtothereadersofGreatGourmetGoodiesinAmericamagazine.Yourinstructor,yourcompany,orthepublicationyou’rewritingformaymandatespecificissues

for you to address in your review. Take some time to read other reviews from magazines,newspapers,orscholarlypapersthatarewritteninasimilarstyleandformat.

AppendixA1001FrequentlyMisspelledWords

1.abdicate2.absence3.academically4.accelerator5.accessible6.acclaim7.acclimated8.accommodate9.accompanied10.accomplish11.accordion12.accumulate13.achievement14.acknowledge15.acoustics16.acquaintance17.acquitted18.acute19.adequately20.adjacent21.adjective22.admission23.admittance24.adolescent25.adultery26.advantageous27.adverb28.advertisement29.aerial30.aerobic31.aggravate32.algebraic

33.alleged34.allegiance35.alliance36.alliteration37.allotting38.almanac39.already40.altogether41.amateur42.ambassador43.among44.analogy45.analysis46.analyze47.anecdote48.angle49.annihilate50.annual51.annul52.antagonist53.antithesis54.apartheid55.apartment56.apologetically57.apparatus58.apparent59.appearance60.appositive61.aptitude62.arguing63.argument64.arrangement65.ascend66.aspirin67.assessment68.associative69.assonance70.asterisk71.atheist

72.athletics73.attendance74.attitude75.autumn76.auxiliary77.awfully78.bachelor79.balance80.ballet81.balloon82.bankruptcy83.barbarian84.barbaric85.barbecue86.barbiturate87.bargain88.basically89.battalion90.bazaar91.beautiful92.beggar93.beginning94.behavior95.beneficial96.benefited97.bilingual98.biography99.biscuit100.bisect101.bizarre102.blasphemy103.bologna104.bookkeeper105.bouillon106.boulevard107.boundary108.boycott109.bracelet110.brackets

111.buffet112.buoyant113.bureaucrat114.burial115.calculation116.camouflage117.candidate118.cantaloupe119.caramel120.caravan121.carburetor122.caricature123.caring124.cartographer125.catalyst126.catapult127.catastrophe128.category129.cellar130.centimeters131.chagrined132.challenge133.changeable134.changing135.character136.characteristic137.chassis138.chastise139.chocolate140.chord141.chrome142.chromosome143.chunky144.cigarette145.cinnamon146.circumference147.circumstantial148.citizen149.cliché

150.climbed151.cliques152.coefficient153.coherence154.coincide155.collectible156.colonel157.colony158.colossal159.column160.coming161.commingle162.commission163.commitment164.committed165.committee166.communication167.commutative168.comparative169.compatible170.compelled171.competent172.competition173.complementary174.completely175.complexion176.composite177.concede178.conceit179.conceivable180.conceive181.condemn182.condescend183.conferred184.congratulations185.congruent186.conjunction187.connoisseur188.conscience

189.conscientious190.conscious191.consensus192.consequences193.consistency194.consolidator195.consonance196.constitution197.consumer198.continuous199.contraction200.controlled201.controller202.controversial203.controversy204.convection205.convenient206.coolly207.coordinates208.corollary209.corporation210.correlate211.correspondence212.counselor213.courteous214.courtesy215.criticism216.criticize217.crowded218.crucifixion219.cruelty220.curriculum221.curtail222.cyclical223.cylinder224.dachshund225.daughter226.debacle227.decadent

228.decagon229.deceit230.deep-seated231.deferential232.deferred233.definitely234.dependent235.depose236.descend237.describe238.description239.desirable240.despair241.desperate242.detrimental243.devastation244.develop245.development246.diagonal247.diameter248.dictionary249.difference250.dilettante251.diligence252.dimension253.dining254.disappearance255.disappoint256.disastrous257.discipline258.discrimination259.disdainfully260.disguise261.dispel262.dispensable263.dissatisfied264.disservice265.distinguish266.diversified

267.dormitory268.drugged269.drunkenness270.easily271.economy272.ecosystem273.ecstasy274.efficiency275.eighth276.either277.electrolyte278.electromagnet279.elegy280.elevation281.eligible282.eliminate283.ellipsis284.embarrass285.emigrate286.eminent287.emperor288.emphasize289.empire290.employee291.empty292.enamel293.encouragement294.encouraging295.endeavor296.enemy297.enormous298.enthusiastically299.entirely300.entrance301.equality302.equator303.equipped304.espionage305.espresso

306.essential307.exaggerate308.excellence309.excess310.exercise311.exhaustion312.exhibition313.exhilarate314.expansion315.experience316.experiment317.exponent318.expression319.extinct320.extraneous321.extremely322.extrovert323.exuberance324.factor325.fallacious326.fallacy327.familiarize328.fantasy329.fascinate330.fascination331.fascism332.favorite333.feasible334.federation335.feisty336.felicity337.feminine338.fiction339.fictitious340.financially341.financier342.fiscal343.fission344.fluent

345.forcibly346.foreign347.foresee348.foreshadowing349.forfeit350.formula351.forty352.fourth353.frantically354.frequency355.fudge356.fulfill357.fundamentally358.galaxy359.gauge360.genius361.geography362.government363.governor364.grammatically365.grandeur366.graphic367.grievous368.grizzly369.grocery370.guarantee371.guerrilla372.guidance373.gyration374.handicapped375.happily376.harass377.heinous378.heist379.hemorrhage380.heredity381.heritage382.heroes383.hesitancy

384.hexagon385.hierarchy386.hieroglyphics387.hoping388.horizontal389.hospital390.humorous391.hygiene392.hyperbole393.hypocrisy394.hypocrite395.hypotenuse396.hypothesis397.ideally398.idiom399.idiomatic400.idiosyncrasy401.ignorance402.illogical403.imaginary404.imitate405.immediately406.immigration407.immortal408.implement409.inaudible410.incidentally411.incredible412.indicted413.indispensable414.individually415.inequality416.inevitable417.influential418.information419.ingenious420.initially421.initiative422.innocent

423.innocuous424.inoculate425.instantaneous426.institution427.insurance428.insurgency429.intellectual430.intelligence431.intercede432.interesting433.interfered434.interference435.interjection436.interminable437.intermittent438.interrogate439.interrupt440.intricate441.introduce442.introvert443.invertebrate444.irony445.irrelevant446.irresistible447.irritable448.isosceles449.isthmus450.jealousy451.jewelry452.journalism453.judicial454.jugular455.kaleidoscope456.kerosene457.kindergarten458.kinetic459.laboratory460.laborious461.lapse

462.larynx463.latitude464.legitimate465.length466.lenient467.liaison468.library469.license470.lieutenant471.lightning472.likelihood473.likely474.limerick475.lineage476.liquefy477.literature478.llama479.longitude480.lose481.lounge482.lovely483.luxury484.lyric485.magistrate486.magnificence487.mainland488.maintain489.malicious490.manageable491.manufacture492.mariner493.martyrdom494.mass495.mauve496.meadow497.mean498.meanness499.median500.medieval

501.mediocre502.melancholy503.melodious504.metallic505.metaphor506.mien507.migratory508.mileage509.millennium510.millionaire511.miniature512.minute513.mischievous514.misnomer515.missile516.misspelled517.monarchy518.mosquitoes519.mundane520.municipal521.murmur522.muscle523.myriad524.mysterious525.myth526.mythology527.naïve528.narcissism529.narrative530.nationalism531.naturally532.necessary533.necessity534.neighbor535.neurotic536.neutral537.neutron538.nineteen539.ninety

540.ninth541.nonpareil542.noticeable543.novelist544.nowadays545.nuclear546.nucleus547.nuisance548.nutrition549.nutritious550.oasis551.obedience552.obsolete553.obstacle554.obtuse555.occasionally556.occurred557.occurrence558.octagon559.official560.omission561.omitted562.onomatopoeia563.opaque564.opinion565.opossum566.opponent567.opportunity568.oppose569.opposition570.oppression571.optimism572.optimistic573.orchestra574.orchid575.ordinarily576.origin577.originate578.outrageous

579.overrun580.oxymoron581.pageant582.pamphlet583.panicky584.panorama585.paradox586.paralysis587.paralyze588.parenting589.parliament590.particular591.pastime592.patronage593.pavilion594.peaceable595.peasant596.pedestal597.peers598.penetrate599.penicillin600.peninsula601.pentagon602.perceive603.performance604.perimeter605.permanent606.permissible607.permitted608.permutation609.perpendicular610.perseverance611.persistence612.personal613.personality614.personification615.personnel616.perspiration617.persuasion

618.pessimistic619.pharaoh620.pharmaceutical621.phenomenon622.Philippines623.philosophy624.physical625.physician626.picnicking627.pilgrimage628.pitiful629.pixie630.pizzazz631.placebo632.plagiarism633.plagiarize634.plague635.planning636.plausible637.playwright638.pleasant639.pneumonia640.politician641.polygon642.polyhedron643.portray644.Portuguese645.possession646.possessive647.possibility648.postscript649.potato650.potatoes651.power652.practically653.prairie654.precede655.precedence656.precipitation

657.precision658.precocious659.predicate660.preference661.preferred662.prefix663.prehistoric664.premier665.premiere666.preparation667.preposition668.prescription669.presence670.prestige671.presumption672.prevalent673.prime674.primitive675.prism676.privilege677.probability678.probably679.probation680.procedure681.proceed682.professor683.prognosis684.prominent685.pronounce686.pronunciation687.propaganda688.propagate689.protagonist690.protein691.proximity692.psalm693.psychoanalysis694.psychology695.publicly

696.pumpkin697.pursue698.puzzling699.pyramid700.pyrotechnics701.quadrant702.quadrilateral703.quadruple704.qualify705.qualms706.quandary707.quantity708.quarantine709.quell710.quench711.querulous712.query713.quest714.questionnaire715.queue716.quibble717.quiescent718.quinine719.quintessentially720.quipster721.quizzes722.quorum723.quotation724.quotient725.radioactive726.rampage727.rampant728.rampart729.rarefy730.ratio731.realistically732.realize733.realtor734.rebellion

735.recede736.receipt737.receive738.receiving739.reception740.recession741.reciprocals742.recognize743.recommend744.rectify745.reference746.referred747.referring748.reflections749.refraction750.regiment751.rehearsal752.reign753.reimburse754.reincarnation755.relieve756.relieving757.religious758.remembrance759.reminiscence760.remittance761.repetition762.representative763.repugnant764.resemblance765.reservoir766.resistance767.resources768.responsibility769.responsibly770.restaurant771.restoration772.resume773.retaliate

774.retrospect775.reveal776.rheumatism777.rhombus778.rhyme779.rhythm780.rhythmical781.ridiculous782.rotary783.rotations784.sacrifice785.sacrilegious786.safari787.safety788.salami789.salary790.sanitize791.sarcasm792.satellite793.satire794.saturate795.scalene796.scenery797.schedule798.scholastic799.scrimmage800.secede801.sediment802.segregate803.segue804.seismic805.seismograph806.seize807.sensitive808.sensory809.sentry810.sequence811.sergeant812.serpent

813.severely814.shady815.shameful816.shanghai817.shepherd818.sherbet819.sheriff820.shining821.shishkebab822.shrewd823.siege824.significance825.simian826.similar827.simile828.siphon829.situation830.skeptical831.skimp832.skinned833.soliloquy834.sophomore835.souvenir836.spasmodic837.specifically838.specimen839.sphere840.sponsor841.spontaneous842.stalemate843.stamen844.statistic845.statistics846.statue847.stimulus848.stopped849.straitjacket850.strategy851.strength

852.strenuous853.stretch854.stubbornness855.studying856.stupefy857.subcontinent858.submersible859.subordinate860.succeed861.success862.succession863.sufficient864.summary865.summed866.superintendent867.supersede868.supervisor869.supplementary870.supposed871.supposition872.suppress873.surround874.surroundings875.susceptible876.suspicious877.sustenance878.Swedish879.swelter880.syllable881.symbolic882.symmetrical883.sympathy884.symphonic885.synchronize886.syncopation887.synonymous888.synopsis889.synthesize890.syringe

891.tachometer892.taciturn893.talkative894.tangent895.tangible896.tapestry897.tariff898.technical899.technique900.technology901.temperamental902.temperature903.tenant904.tendency905.terminator906.terrain907.tertiary908.themselves909.theology910.theoretical911.theories912.therefore913.thermal914.thermodynamic915.thesaurus916.thorough917.though918.thought919.through920.tolerance921.tomorrow922.tortoise923.tournament924.tourniquet925.traffic926.tragedy927.transcend928.transferring929.transitory

930.transparent931.trapezoid932.tried933.trough934.trousers935.truly936.twelfth937.tyranny938.ukulele939.unanimous940.undoubtedly941.universal942.unmistakable943.unnatural944.unnecessary945.unscrupulous946.usually947.utopian948.vaccine949.vacuum950.vagabond951.valedictory952.valuable953.variation954.vaudeville955.vehicle956.vendor957.veneer958.vengeance959.ventriloquist960.venue961.veracity962.versatile963.vestige964.village965.vinegar966.violence967.visage968.visible

969.warrant970.warring971.warrior972.watt973.weather974.welcome975.wherever976.whether977.whisper978.whistle979.whittling980.wholesome981.withhold982.woman983.women984.wreak985.writing986.written987.wrongful988.wrung989.xylophone990.yacht991.yawn992.yea993.yeah994.yuppie995.zenith996.zephyr997.zinnia998.zodiac999.zoological1000.zoology1001.zucchini

AppendixBSuggestedSubstitutesforWordyPhrases

WordyPhrase SuggestedSubstituteaconsiderablenumberof manyanumberof some,severaladverseimpacton hurt,setbackaffordstheopportunityof allows,letsalongthelinesof likeamoftheopinion thinkareofthesameopinion agreearrivedattheconclusion concludedasaconsequence becauseasamatteroffact infactasameansof toascertainthelocationof findatthepresenttime currently,now,todayatthispointintime nowbasedonthefactthat becausebeawareofthefactthat knowcametoarealization realizedcometoanagreement agreeconcerningthematterof about,regardingconductaninvestigation(or)experiment investigate,experimentconsideringthefactthat because,sincedespitethefactthat although,thoughdrawtoyourattention toshow,pointouteachandeveryone each,allextendaninvitationto inviteforthereasonthat because,since,whygiveanindicationof showhasarequirementfor requires,needshastheabilityto,hasthecapacityfor canifconditionsaresuchthat ifinapositionto can,may,willinadditionto besides,beyond,and,plusinalllikelihood(or)probability likely,probablyinaneffortto toincloseproximityto near,close,aboutinlargemeasure largelyinlightofthefactthat since,becauseinspiteofthefactthat although,despiteintheabsenceof withoutinthecourseof during,while,in,atintheeventof(or)that ifinthefinalanalysis finally

inthemajorityofinstances usuallyinthemidstof during,amidintheneighborhoodof near,close,aboutintheverynearfuture sooninthisdayandage currently,now,todayinviewofthefactthat because,sinceisawareofthefactthat knowsitisimperativethatwe wemustitismyunderstanding Iunderstanditisoftenthecasethat oftenmakeadecision decidemakeapurchase buymakeanapplication applymakeaninquiryregarding askabout,inquireaboutnotwithstandingthefactthat althoughonthegroundsthat because,since,whyoneofthe a,an,oneowingtothefactthat because,since,whyplaceamajoremphasison stresstakeintoconsideration considerthatbeingthecase thereforethefactthat thatthroughtheuseof through,by,withtoacertaindegree somewhatundercircumstancesinwhich when

AppendixCHelpfulGrammarandWritingWebSites

GuidetoGrammarandWritinghttp://ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/index.htm

Informationongrammarconceptswithanumberofinteractivequizzes.

GrammarBytes!InteractiveGrammarReviewwww.chompchomp.com/menu.htm

Alistofgrammartermswithinteractiveexercisesoncommasandirregularverbs.

FunBrain.comwww.funbrain.com/com/spell/index.html

Asiteforyoungstudentsandparentswitheasyandhardspellingquizzes.

ASpellingTestwww.sentex.net/~mmcadams/spelling.html

Atestoffiftydifficultspellingwords.

ReadingfromScratchwww.dyslexia.org/spelling_rules.shtml

Alistofrulesthathelpteachspellingfromthesoundslettersmake.

Bartleby.comwww.bartleby.com

Anextremelyhelpfulsitethatallowsyoutosearchadictionary,encyclopedia,andthesaurus,aswellasanumberofguidestoEnglishusageandbooksofclassicpoetryandliterature.

Merriam-WebsterOnLinewww.m-w.com/home.htm

Asearchablecollegiatedictionaryandthesaurus,alongwithaWordoftheDayandinteractivewordgames.