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englishgrammarDeMYSTiFieD

Phyllis Dutwin

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v

CONTENTS

Introduction ix

PART ONE ALL ABOUT THE ENGLISH SENTENCECHAPTER 1 The Essential Elements of the English Sentence 3

Subject and Verb 4Sentence Fragments and Run-Ons 5Time and Number: Agreement Between Subject

and Verb 12Perfect Verb Tenses 18Irregular Verbs 19

CHAPTER 2 Introduction to the Parts of Speech 25Parts of Speech 26Nouns 29Verbs 30Adjectives 36Adverbs 40Pronouns 42Prepositions 44Conjunctions 46Interjections 48Articles 48

vi Contents

CHAPTER 3 More About Verbs, Prepositions, and Pronouns 51Perfect Tenses 52Prepositional Phrases 57More About Pronouns 61Personal Pronouns 61Ownership Pronouns 64Mirror Pronouns 65Relative Pronouns 67Who, Whom, That, or Which? 68Demonstrative Pronouns 70Indefi nite Pronouns 71PART ONE TEST 77

PART TWO ALL ABOUT PUNCTUATION AND CAPITALIZATION

CHAPTER 4 Punctuation: End Marks and Commas 89Brief History of Punctuation 89Period 91Question Mark 93Exclamation Point 95Comma 97

CHAPTER 5 More About Punctuation 103Semicolon 104Quotation Marks 111Colon 114Apostrophe 118Dash and Hyphen 120Parentheses and Brackets 123

CHAPTER 6 Capitalization 127Brief History of the Alphabet and Capitalization 127Modern Rules of Capitalization 129PART TWO TEST 137

PART THREE MASTERING GOOD SENTENCE STRUCTURECHAPTER 7 Building Better Sentences 153

Building Balanced Sentences 153Creating Well-Connected Sentences 160Trimming Unnecessary Words from

Sentences 167

CHAPTER 8 Punctuation Builds Sentences 171Punctuation in Sentence Building 171Simple Sentences 172Compound Sentences 174Complex Sentences 179Compound-Complex Sentences 183

CHAPTER 9 Style and Clarity 187Writing Clearer Sentences 188Using Active Verbs 188Placing Important Information Last 191Using Verbs Instead of Nouns 193Avoiding Unclear Pronoun References 195Placing Descriptive Words Correctly 198Deleting Unnecessary Words 200Correcting Illogical Statements 204Writing Balanced Sentences—a Reminder 206Using Prepositions Correctly in a Series 207PART THREE TEST 213

PART FOUR SPELLING AND WORD USAGE SKILLS

CHAPTER 10 Proven Techniques to Improve Spelling 229Who Needs Help with Spelling? 229Techniques for Improving Spelling Skills 231Helpful Spelling Rules—or Not 233Becoming a Better Speller 241

Contents vii

viii Contents

CHAPTER 11 Correct Word Usage 243Easily Confused Words: Homonyms, Homophones,

and Homographs 243Incorrectly Used Words and Phrases 257Words That Sound Almost Alike but Have

Different Meanings 261PART FOUR TEST 265

FINAL EXAM 271

APPENDIX A Most Commonly Misspelled Words 295

APPENDIX B The 50 Most Deadly Common Errors 303Answer Key 311

Index 335

ix

INTRODUCTION

Why should you study English? Do you speak and write English? That’s reason enough. When you speak or write, you present yourself to others, and if you care at all about how you’re perceived—and who doesn’t?—you care about how your use of language represents you. Certainly, not all jobs depend exclusively upon writing and speaking skills, but most do to some signifi cant extent. If you are in school, your teachers have probably set a standard for written and spoken English. As you begin English Grammar Demystifi ed, get ready for a different learning experience. English Grammar Demystifi ed will help you better understand and use the English language, but you will fi nd that this book takes a different approach from the usual English improvement text. In the fi rst two parts of this book, you will learn the basics of English grammar with a thorough overview of the parts of speech and punctuation and capitalization rules. The third part of the book builds on these skills, giving you sound advice on mastering proper sentence structure and refi ning your writing. The fourth part covers important spelling and word usage skills. In support of all of these concepts, you will also fi nd great emphasis on fi nding common errors. In other words, this is not simply a grammar book. Rather, this book identifi es where errors are most commonly made—so you can avoid them. You may, for example, know the defi nition of a pronoun (i.e., a word that takes the place of a noun), but you may not recognize one of the most common pronoun errors. Read the following sentence:

Incorrect: Me and Tom work in the same offi ce.

You know that me is a pronoun. It takes the place of someone’s name, so you con-clude that it should be used as half of the subject of the sentence. Why is it incorrect in this context? In Chapters 2 and 3, you will learn why it is incorrect, but beyond

x Introduction

that, you will read many examples of this common error and have an opportunity to correct them.

Correct: Tom and I work in the same offi ce.

How to Use This BookEach chapter is fi lled with Written Practice exercises that help reinforce the new grammar concepts you learn. You are strongly encouraged to complete each exer-cise to help identify your strengths and weaknesses as you use this book. Check the Answer Key to fi nd out where any errors exist in your use of English. Each chapter ends with an open-book quiz with ten questions that review the concepts introduced in the chapter. You should try to achieve a score of eight out of ten on a quiz before moving on to the next chapter. Each of the four parts ends with a test of fi fty multiple-choice questions that review the content of that part. These are closed-book tests, and you should try to get a score of 75 percent before moving on to the next part. The book concludes with a fi nal exam with one hundred multiple-choice questions that test your knowledge of all the grammar and usage content of the book. A good score on this exam is 75 percent. The English Grammar Demystifi ed chapters are meant to be studied consecu-tively. From the fi rst chapter on, you will build your English language skills, one upon the other. Don’t skip anything! The only chapters that may (and probably should) be studied on a different schedule are Chapters 10 and 11. Spelling and word usage are almost never-ending challenges for some people; consequently, an organized, segmented approach works better. You simply can’t absorb all that these chapters teach in one sitting. So make studying those chapters an ongoing activity.

PART ONE

ALL ABOUT THE ENGLISH SENTENCE

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3

CHAPTER 1

The Essential Elements of the English

Sentence

In this chapter you will learn:

Subject and Verb

Sentence Fragments and Run-Ons

Time and Number: Agreement Between Subject and Verb

Perfect Verb Tenses

Irregular Verbs

4 English Grammar Demystifi ed

Subject and VerbAlthough it would not be very interesting, the simplest English sentence might be composed of two words and still be correct:

I voted.

Tom drove.

Trees fell.

The point, of course, is that a complete English sentence is composed of a subject (I, Tom, Trees) and a verb, or action (voted, drove, fell). See if you can identify the subjects (person or thing) and verbs (actions) in the following sentences:

1. The senator won.

2. Tom crashed the car.

3. His wife screamed.

4. Arctic air froze New England.

5. We huddled together.

You probably chose the following: senator/won, Tom/crashed, wife/screamed, air/froze, We/huddled. In each case, someone or something performed an action. Now read the following examples, and as you do, ask yourself what’s missing: what else do you need to know to get real meaning from the incomplete sentence?

1. A wandering child.

2. Driving too slowly and stopping frequently.

3. Stormy, then clear.

Undoubtedly, in the fi rst example, you wanted to know what happened to the child. What did he or she do? In the second example, who was driving and stopping? In the third example, what was stormy, then clear? Clearly, something is missing in each example. You weren’t satisfi ed when you read the examples because they are

CHAPTER 1 Elements of the English Sentence 5

all incomplete thoughts missing essential elements: subject (i.e., person, place, or thing) or a verb (i.e., the action). Because of the missing pieces, this kind of incom-plete sentence is called a fragment—a piece of a thought. The following examples include possible completions for the previous fragments. Notice that either a subject or verb was added to each one:

1. A wandering child ran into the street. (The verb ran answers the question, “What did the child do?”)

2. The new driver was driving too slowly and stopping too frequently. (The subject, driver, answers the question, “Who was driving?”)

3. The skies changed from stormy to clear. (The subject, skies, answers the question, “What changed from stormy to clear?)

Sentence Fragments and Run-OnsYou just read examples of incomplete sentences (e.g., A wandering child). Because the examples represent only parts of complete thoughts, they’re called fragments. If, on the other hand, you were to string together sentence after sentence—with no periods or semicolons in sight—you would be committing another type of error called a run-on sentence. You’ll learn about both fragments and run-on sentences in the following sections.

SENTENCE FRAGMENTSFragments sometimes result when writers start sentences with words such as when,after, because, since, before, and as soon as. For example, does the following group of words have a subject and a verb? Is it a complete sentence?

When the new product arrives.

The example has a subjectlike word, product, and a verblike word, arrives, and it is still not a complete sentence. If you say it out loud, you will hear that it is unfi nished:

When the new product arrives . . .

6 English Grammar Demystifi ed

Then what will happen? Possible completions include the following:

When the new product arrives, we’ll call our advertisers.

When the new product arrives, we’ll send a special introductory offer to our best customers.

When the new product arrives, we’ll have to stay late to pack it for shipping.

Groups of words may seem to be sentences because they contain subject and verb-type words, but beware of incomplete thoughts! In the initial example (When the new product arrives.), product seems to be the subject and arrives seems to be the verb, yet the example is still an incomplete thought. As you read the following examples, decide if each has the subject and verb it needs:

1. Looking at the job market from a new perspective. (Hint: Beware of sentences that start with -ing ending words.)

2. My friend who teaches a wellness course.

3. Heading for the West Coast for a fi ve-day vacation.

4. Your doctor’s appointment scheduled for Tuesday.

5. When the man waiting to see you.

Let’s take a look at what’s missing. In the fi rst example, who is looking at the job market? The subject is missing. The second example is tricky. My friend is the sub-ject. The words who teaches a wellness course describe the friend. Still there is no verb. What does your friend do? Try this: My friend who teaches a wellness course drives 100 miles a day to get to her class. The verb is drives. In the third example, who was heading for the West Coast? The subject is missing. In the fourth example, the verb is missing. The fi fth example needs an action to complete it.

Written Practice 1-1

Finish the following statements to make them complete sentences. There are several possible ways to complete the sentences; just be sure that each sentence has a subject and verb.

1. Before I leave for California .

2. As soon as the rain stops .

3. Because I’m trying to get a promotion .

4. When I exercise several times a week .

5. After I took a nutrition course .

6. As soon as the rain stops and we have all the information we need

about the weather .

7. Before I started this job and when I was looking for one .

8. Since you started working here and agreed to take the early shift

.

9. After they serve lunch and we’ve stayed a while .

10. Tom, whom everyone admires since he was precinct captain

.

SENTENCE FRAGMENTS IN INFORMAL ENGLISHWhen we’re writing or speaking informally to friends and relatives, we do use frag-ments, and that’s all right. However, the important word in the previous sentence is informally. Obviously, you need to know the difference between formal and infor-mal occasions. Informal: You say to your son, “Need money?” He says, “Sure.” You both under-stand very well what those fragments mean. In the workplace, informal English doesn’t always work, especially in written communications. Look at this memo:

MEMO

From: Claire

To: Gino

Re: Offi ce Supplies

Got enough supplies?

In this case, there have to be many questions in the reader’s mind. What supplies is Claire asking about? For what period of time is Claire inquiring—this quarter, next month, this afternoon? Better:

CHAPTER 1 Elements of the English Sentence 7

8 English Grammar Demystifi ed

MEMO

From: Claire

To: Gino

Subject: Offi ce Supplies

We are ordering tomorrow for the third quarter. What offi ce supplies will you need? Please include all paper goods as well as computer supplies and printer ink. Please e-mail me or place your order on my desk by 4 P.M.

Thanks,

Claire

RUN-ON SENTENCESIf fragments are pieces of sentences, run-ons are too many pieces running together. Have you ever seen or written a sentence such as the following?

Our new boss gave us his list of procedures some were already in our schedule.

Run-on sentences are very confusing to read since you don’t know where one fi n-ishes and another starts. The two thoughts in this sentence could each stand alone:

Our new boss gave us his list of procedures. Some were already in our schedule.

Or since the thoughts are closely connected, they could be combined using a punc-tuation mark as shown in the following examples. (You’ll learn much more about this in Chapter 4 and Chapter 5.)

Our new boss gave us his list of procedures; some were already in our schedule.

Our new boss gave us a list of procedures, but some were already in our schedule.

Another kind of sentence error is called a “comma fault” because sentences are strung together with the use of commas. For example:

We had to register we did, then we stood in line for an hour, then the line didn’t

move, we went home.

Note that removing the commas does not correct the problem, but results in a run-on sentence. You can, however, choose one of the following actions to correct the sentence:

1. Write separate sentences.

2. Change one or more commas to semicolons.

3. Insert a coordinating conjunction such as and or but following the comma.

4. Make one clause dependent upon the other.

All of these options will come into play in later chapters on building sentences and on punctuation.

Written Practice 1-2

Correct the following sentences.

1. My hours will be 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. yours will be 8 A.M. to 4 P.M.

2. Driving 230 diffi cult miles to our children’s home is exhausting we really prefer to fl y there.

3. We dread the Parkway portion of the trip, it’s busy even during off-hours.

4. A medical myth states that we use only 10 percent of our brain, studies using imaging show that no part of the brain is completely inactive, don’t believe everything you read or hear.

5. Larry says he’ll be right on time tomorrow I’ll believe it when I see it.

6. When you’ve fi nished unpacking.

CHAPTER 1 Elements of the English Sentence 9