English Simplified, Sixth Edition

7/18/2019 English Simplified, Sixth Edition

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Blanche

Ellsworth

Revised

by

John

A

Higgins

1817

Harper

&

Row, Publishers,

New

York

Grand

Rapids, Philadelphia,

St. Louis, San Francisco, London,

Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo

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2/42

-

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PREFACE , ' .

.

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:.. __ ... '_;,:' . : ~ t ~ 1 _ - __ '

The sixth edition of English Simpl ified has been made even more accessible and attractive in response to comments arc

suggestions by some of the several hundred thousand users of the previous edition . The most obvious change in the

e

edition is its brighter, easier-to-read format. A cleaner typeface, color highlighting, and more prominent headings will help "'e

reader find information more readily.

Cross-references have been increased to help the reader locate key topics . "Words Often Confused" and "Usage" have

been merged into a single alphabetical listing. Advice on fragments, comma splices, and fused sentences has been broug'"

together in "Effective Sentences," where it logically belongs.

Content, too, has been substantially strengt hened. The American Psychological Association's documentation guidel i es

have been added to those of the Modern Language Association . "Documentation" has also been combined w't

"Paragraphing" and a new section , "Outlining," into "Beyond the Sentence ," a major new division of the book that focuses

on form rather than rhetoric. "Usage" has been considerably expanded, and throughout the book explanations have bee

fine-tuned and examples freshened .

The accompanying workbook, Exercises to Accompany English Simplified written by Arnold Keller of Vanier College

presents hundreds of new items that reflect changing student populat ions and contemporary interests. Other new features

include a brief glossary of terms and a convenient index to the English Simplif ied text. An Answer Key for the Exercises

s

also available for instructors. '

We wish to thank all the students , instructors, and others who generously offered their assistance in the preparat ion a _

review of this edition, especially Roger Haley, New Mexico State University; Tony Howard, Collin County Communi J

College; Ruth Y Jenkins, California State University at Fresno; Michael Keating, Towson State University; Arnold Keller

Vanier College; Terry Miller, Indian River College; Berwyn J. Moore, Gannon University; Donnetta Suchon, Daytona

Beacr

Community College; Linda Swindall, St. Petersburg Junior College; and Diane Taylor, Oregon Institute of Technology.

The Harper & Row editorial staff deserve our special thanks for their guidance in the preparation of this handsome new

edition.

Blanche Ellswon

John

A.

Higgir.


3/42

GRAMMAR

.

Hehaswashedmywoolsweaters inthewashingmachine,which cannowfit neitherofus.

Peoplewhoaretakingthebusarecomplaining because.theyarenotworkingthewaythey aresupposed to.

Weatealltheoystersitmade himandIfeelbadly.

Well- intentionedadultswrotetheprecedingsentences,thinking themclearandcorrect.Withoutanunderstandingof

the basicgramm arofthe Englishsentence,wecaneasily fall intosuchpitfallsof language.ThissectionofEnglish

Simplified explains basic grammar concisely , in the most common terms, to help you create sentences that are clear,

correct,andeffective.

G-1. TheSentenceandItsParts

Asentence isagrammaticallyindependent unitofexpression,

madeupoftwoessentialpartscalledsub jectandpredicate. In

writing,asentence beginswithacapitalletterandendswith a

period,question mark,orexclamation point.

1.TheTwoMainPartsof aSentence

A. The Subject. The subject part of a sentence (the

complete

subject

) is the part naming the person or

thing that the sentence speaks about. That person or

thingitself is calledthe simple su bject(or justsubject):

[completesubjectinitalics; simplesubjectinbold pri nt]

The old road along the coast leadsyou tothe bridge.

A

noted sc ientist from France willspeakheretonight.

Poor old r. Faust isfinally retiringfrom thecollege.

B. The Predicate. The predicate part of a sentence

(comp letepred icate)is thepartthatspeaks about the

subject. Ittellswhatthesubject does orassertsthatthe

subject issomething.

(1) The simple predicate: Thekeyword(orwords)inthe

predicate-the word stating the actual doing or

being-

is called the

simp

le

pred

icate (or just

predicate)orverb :

[complete predicate in italics; simple predicate in

bold]

Theoldroadalongthecoastleads you to the bridge.

A noted scientist from France will speak here to

night.

PooroldDr.Faustis finally retiring from the college.

(2) Complements: A complement is a word needed

to complete the meaning of some verbs: Sandra

sawOrson. LincolnwasaRepublican. SeeG-3.2B,

page3.

NOTE

Asubject,predicate(verb),orcomplement maybecom pound ;that

is,itmayhavetwoormorepartsjoinedby

and, or,

or

but:

[compound subject andcomplement in italics; compoundpredicate in

bold]

Poemsandstories

delight

ande ify children, teenagers, andadults.

2. TheSentencePattern. SUbject,Verb,andCom

plement(s )usuallyoccur inastandard order,orpattern:5

V(C)(C).Thismeansthatthesubject [5]comes first, then

theverb[V],t h e n p e r h p ~ n e ortwocomplements[(C)].

Thisnormalorderissometimesaltered,asinmostinterrog

ative and exclamatory sentences (see 3 below), in sen

tencessuchas

r>

V 5 V 5 V C

Here are the books andNever have I seen such chaos, and

in sentencesbeginning with expletives (seeG-9.11 page 10).

3. Waysof ClassifyingSentences

A. By P

urpose

Declarative(astatement):Youaremy friend.

Interrogative (aquestion):Areyoumyfriend?

Imperative (acommand orrequest):Closethedoor.

Exclamatory(an expressionof emotion): How gladI am!

B. By Str

uctur

e, according to the number and kinds of

clausestheycontain.Asentencemaybes imple,co m

po

und,

complex , orcompound-complex. G-8.3, page

9,

explainsthesecategories indetai l.

G-2. ThePartsofSpeech:

ASurvey

Everyword performsoneoffivefunctions: naming, expressing

doing or being, modifying, connecting,

or

expressing emotion. In

traditional grammar, these functions are classified into eight

parts of speech: noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb,

preposition; conjunction,

and

interjection.

Learningtorecognize

the parts of speech will help you write with greater ease,

confidence, andaccuracy.

1. WordsThat Name

A. Nouns: A noun is a word that names a person, place, or

thing (includinga qualityoridea):

Person:Maria,woman, Millard Fillmore,doctor

Place:Chicago,Yellowstone Park,waterfront,earth

Thing: shoe, car, dog, carrot, Statue of Liberty, love,

strength,courage, democracy, height

SeeG-3,page3,fordetails aboutnouns.

B. Prono uns (pro- means "for" or "instead of"): As its

namesuggests, a pronoun takes the place of (stands

for)anoun.Thenounthatapronounstands foriscalled

the

antec

edent ofthatpronoun: .

[pronouninbold;antecedent initalics]

Sally tookthreesuitcases withher toParis.

Whenthe Martians come,they may not harm Earthat

all.

SeeG-6,page6,fordetailsaboutpronouns.

2. WordsThat Express Doingor Being: Verbs.

Averbassertssomething aboutthesubjectofasentence.It

tellswhatthesubjectdoes, did, orwill do (anac

ti o

nverb)

1

/


4/42

G-4-4 4

Nowadays I work in Canarsie. Long ago I worked in

Canarsie. SomedayI

will work

inCanarsie. Foryears I

have worked

inCanarsie.

KindsofVerbs. Averbisclassifiedaccordingtothe

kindofcomplement (ifany)thatfollows it.Inaddition,there

isaspecialkindofverbcalledanauxiliary (orhelping)verb

thatmayaccompanyamainverb.

A. AT

rans itive Verb isonethat needs adirect object to

completeitsmeaning.Thatis,itexpressesanactionthat

passes across (transits) froma

doer-the

subject-to a

receiver-the direct object:

Thebatter

hit

theball.

[Batter

didtheaction,hitting;

ball

(direct object) received theaction.]

The judge explained the rules. [Judge did the action;

rules received theaction.]

B. An

Intran

sit ive

Verb

isonethatdoesnotneedadirect

object tocomplete its meaning. Itexpresses anaction

thatdoesnothave areceiver:

Sally sneezed.

Lincoln

died

in 1865.

[In

1865

prepositional phrase,

notdirectobject.]

Portnoy obeyed promptly. [Promptly adverb, not

direct object.]

NOTE: Manyverbscanbe transitiveinsome usesandintransitive inothers.

Dictionarieslabeleachmeanngofaverbasv.t. (verb, transitive) orv.i. (verb,

intransitive).

C. A Linking (State-of -Be ing , Copula

tive) Verb

ex

presses no action at all. It merely expresses state of

being;itindicatesalinkofidentityordescriptionbetween

thesubject andthesubjectivecomplementfollowingthe

verb:

Foster

is

the vice-president.

[Foster vice-president.]

Thistrain

has been

lateallweek.

[Late

describes

train.]

Jack became agrouch. [Jack grouch.]

Thechieflinkingverb is

be.

Itspartsinclude

am, is, are,

was, were, being, been.

Otherlinkingverbsare

become;

seem; anythatmeanroughlythesame asbe, become,

or

seem,

suchas

appear, grow, turn, remain, prove;

and

the verbs of the five senses look, sound, feel, smell,

taste. Some verbs may be linking verbs inone sense

andactionverbs inanother:

Linking Action

I

looked

disheveled.

I

looked

outthewindow.

Nancy

grew

pensive. Nancy

grew

cabbages .

D. Auxiliary

(Helping)

Verbs. A verb may contain more

thanoneword,asin

could have helped.

Thelastwordin

theverbisthe

main verb .Theothersarecalledauxiliary

verbs ,orsimplyauxiliar ies .They convey some condi

tionofthema inverb,suchastenseormood.Onlyafew

verbscan beauxiliaries:have , be (am, is . ..), do, will,

would, shall, should, can, could,

may

, might, must, have

to, ought (to) , need (to),

and

dare (to) :

Theplane

had left

Hawaii.

Theplane is flying herenonstop.

Theplanewill

be landing

soon.

The plane

did arrive

ontime.

Theplaneshou ld arrive ontime.

Theplane

mus t

certainly

have landed

bynow.[Notethat

otherwordsmaycomebetween partsoftheverb.]

Would neither ofyou have offered assistance?

NOTE: Verbs of more than one word are sometimescalledverbphrases.

Auxiliariessuchaswould. shoul d. andcan aresometimescalled modals .

3. Correct,EffectiveUseofVerbs

A. Know the Three

Principal

Parts of the Verb. The

principal

parts

arethepartsyouneedtoknowtoform

allsixtenses.They are

Regular Verb Irregular Verb

PresentTense: play see

PastTense: played saw

Past Participle: played seen

Regularverbs form their past tense and pastparticiple

byadding

-ed

tothepresent (withsome minorspe lling

changes, as in

stopped, cried).

Irregular verbs form

thesepartsinvariousways.Somechangevowelswithin

the verb: swim, swam, swum. Some change a conso

nant: build, built, built. Somedonotchange: cost, cost,

cost.

Some change and add an ending:

break, broke,

broken.

Consult your dictionary when in doubt about

verbforms,foryoucannotsafelytakeoneirregularverb

asamodelforanother;consider

make

and

take.

See4D

below.

Some texts and dictionaries give a fourth principal

part,thepresent participle (formed with -ing addedto

thepresent form:

seeing, playing).

It isalways regular,

except forsomeminorspellingchanges (asin

stopping,

loving).

B. Usethe Correct Tenseof a Verb . Verbs change form to

showthetimeoftheaction orlinkingthattheyexpress.

Thesixtenses are

(1) Present tense

(expressing action or linking occur

ringnow,regularly ,oralways): I

see

him.She

sees

me.Walter

takes

the8:02daily .Water

freezes

at0

0

Celsius.(Alternatepresent forms:progressive : I am

seeing him;emphatic:Ido see him.)

(2) Past tense:

I

saw

him.She

saw

me.(Progressive :I

was seeing

him;emphatic: I

did see

him.)

(3) Future tense:

She

will see

metomorrow. (Progres

sive :She will be seeing me.)

NOTE

: Inthefutureandfutureperfect tenses,manycareful writers

stillprefertouse

shall

insteadof

will

after

I

and

we:

I

shall return .

We

shall have left bythen.

(4) Present perfect tense (expressing action orlinking

inwhichthepastisconnectedtothepresent

[perfect

heremeans "completed"]):She has lived hereforty

years. [Sheisstilllivinghere.] I

have seen

hertwice

thisweek. [implying thattheactionofseeingher(or

itseffects) iscontinuing intothe present] (Progres

sive :She has been living here forty years. Ihave

been seeing

herallweek .)

(5) Past perfect tense

(expressing the earlier of two

completedactionsorlinkings): Isaid[yesterday]that

I

had seen

her[lastweek].(Progressive:I

had been

seeing

her.)

(6) Future perfect tense (expressingactionorlinkingto

becompleted before a given future time): She will

have seen

him by Sunday. (Progressive: She

will

have been seeing

him.)

C. UseaVerbThatAg rees in

Person and

Numberwith

Its

Subject.

G-9,page 9,dealswiththevery important

topicofagreement. SeeG-9.1A,page 9,for anexpla

nation ofperson.

D. Distinguish aVerb al from aVerb. A

verbal

isaform

derived from averb. Itis used notas averb but as a


5/42

G-4

5

G-5

noun, adjective, or adverb. There are three kinds of

verbals:infinitives,participles,andgerunds.

(1) Infinitive (to +verb),usedas

noun:

To worry

isfutile.[subject]

Toniwants to travel. [directobject]

Toni's ambition is

to travel.

[subjective

complement]

adjective: Thisistheroadto take. [modifiesroad]

adverb: Thisbookiseasy

to read.

[modifies

easy]

Shecameto help. [modifiescame]

(2)

Participle,

usedasadjective:

Presentparticiple(verb

+-ing):

The

burning

house began to collapse. [modifies

house]

The house, burning furiously, began to collapse.

[modifies

house]

Past participle (third principal part of verb: for

regularverbs,verb+-ed; forirregularverbs,noset

formbutoftenendsin

-en):

Theburned childwasgivenfirstaid.[modifieschild]

Badly

burned,

thechildwasgivenfirstaid.[modifies

child]

Thepapers,

forgotten

inherhaste,layonherdesk.

(3) Gerund (verb

+

-ing),usedasnoun:

Seeing

is

believing.

[subject,subjectivecomplement]

They condone

surviving

by

stealing.

[directobject,

objectofpreposition]

SeealsoG-6.2D(2),page7;P-6.1A(3),page17 .

NOTE: An-ing verbalmaybeeitheragerundoraparticiple.depending

onitsuseinaparticularsentence:

Swimming isexcellent exercise.[gerund:usedassubject noun]

Theswimming childreachedtheraft.[participle:usedasadjective,

modifying child]

4. AvoidTheseErrorsinVerbUse.

A. DoNotShiftTenseWithoutReason.

Wrong: In chapter 1,Nick

moved

to Long Island and

rents ahouse.

Right: In chapter 1, Nick

moved

to Long Island and

rented

ahouse.

Right:Inchapter1,Nick

moves

toLongIslandand

rents

ahouse.

B. AvoidNeedlessUseofthePassiveVoice.

Transitive

verbs havetwo voices. Inthe activevoice, themore

commonone,thesubjectisthedoeroftheverb'saction:

A millioncitizens rousingly cheered thequeen. Inthe

passivevoice, thereceiveroftheactionbecomesthe

subject,andthedoer(ifmentionedatall)appearsina by

phrase:The queen

was cheered

rousinglybyamillion

citizens.

Thepassivevoiceisformedfromthepastparticipleof

theverb, preceded bythe appropriateform ofbe: am

cheered, was taken, might have been told, will be shot.

Ingeneral,theactivevoice,whichstressesthedoerof

an action, is more forceful than the passive, which

stressesthereceiver:

Stronger:With great difficultywe reached thesummit.

Weaker : Withgreatdifficultythesummit

was reached

by

us.

Butwhenthedoeroftheactionisunknown,unimportant,

ortobedeemphasized,thepassiveisappropriate:

Myapartment

was broken

intolastnight.

Dinners served.

Yes,anerror

has been made

inthisoffice.

C. DoNotShiftMoodWithoutReason.The moodofa

verb indicates how the idea of a sentence is to be

regarded. Sentences that state facts oraskquestions

areintheindicativemood:

Thereare fivehorsesinthecorral.

Howmanyhorses

are

thereinthecorral?

Requestsandcommandsareinthe imperativemood:

Count thehorsesinthecorral. [You isunderstoodasthe

subject.]

The subjunctivemoodexpressesdoubt, uncertainty,

wish,or suppositionor signalsacondition contrary to

fact. Inthesubjunctive mood,am, is, andare become

be; was

becomes

were; has

becomes

have;

and -s

endingsaredroppedfromotherverbs :

Wish:God

be

withyou.Long

live

thequeen.

Doubtor uncertainty: Ifhe were able todo it,itwould

takealongtime.

Conditioncontrarytofact:IfI were he, Iwouldgo.

Usethesubjunctivealsoina

that

clausewhenthemain

clausecontainsaverbofcommand, recommendation,

orparliamentarymotion:

Irequestthatthedefendant have apsychiatric exami

nation.

Imovethatthemeeting

be

adjourned.

D. DoNotConfusethePastandPastParticipleofan

Irregular Verb.

Here are theprincipal parts (present,

past,andpastparticiple,respectively;see3Aabove)of

twelvetroublesomeverbs:

begin, began, (have) begun;

drink, drank, (have) drunk; ring, rang, (have) rung; run,

ran, (have) run; sink, sank, (have) sunk;

SWing

swung,

(have) swung; forbid, forbad(e), (have) forbidden; (be)

come, (be)came, (have) (be)come; choose, chose,

(have) chosen; (a)rise, (a)rose, (have) (a)risen; ride,

rode, (have) ridden; shake, shook, (have) shaken . See

yourdictionaryforothers. .

E. Do Not Confuse Verbs Similar in Meaning or

Spelling.

Sometimes substituting a synonym for the

verb that ispuzzling you (suchas

rest

for

lie

and

ut

for lay) helpssolveyourpuzzle. Manysetsoftrouble

someverbsareexplainedinU,pages29-35, including

the following:

accept/except, adapt/adopt, affect/effect,

brake/break, bring/take, can/may, cite/sight, emigrate/

immigrate, hanged/hung, imply/infer, learn/teach, leave/

let, lie/lay.

G-5. UsingAdjectivesandAdverbs

Recallthatanadjectivemodifies(describesorlimits)anounor

occasionallyapronoun,andthatanadverbmodifiesaverbor

sometimesanothermodifer(adjectiveoradverb):

Adjectives: a red barn,aswift ride,ahappy woman[descrip

tive];

this

isle,

seven

crowns,

some

cookies[limiting]

Adverbs:Thehorseranswiftly. [modifyingaverb,ran]

Thehorsewasveryswift.[modifyinganadjective,swift]

The horse ran

very

swiftly. [modifying an adverb,

swiftly]

Manyadverbsare formedbytheadditionof -Iy to adjectives:

smooth/smoothly, unforgettable/unforgettably.

An

-Iy

ending

thus usually signals an adverb but notalways, for friendly,

womanly,

and

saintly

areadjectives.A fewcommon adverbs


6/42

G-6

G-S 6

have

the same

form

as their

corresponding

adjectives:

late,

early, fast.Some adverbs have two forms : slow(ly), quick(ly).

The

sure

way totell an adjective

from

an adverb istodetermine

the word that it modifies: You drive too fast [drive

how?

fast:

adverb]. You are in the

fast

lane [which lane?

fast:

adjective].

The word

not

isan adverb .

1. CorrectUseof AdjectivesandAdverbs

A. Use an Adverb, Not an Adjec

ti

ve,

(1)

Tomodifyanaction verb:

Wrong:

He

sure

works hard.

Right: Hesurelyworks hard .

Wrong :He drives

crazy.

Right: He drives crazily.

(2) Tomodifyanadjective:

Wrong: This is arealfast car.

Right:This is a reallyfast car.

(3)

Tomodifyanotheradverb:

Wrong :She triesawfulhard.

Right: She tries

extremely

hard.

B.

Use

an Adjective

(as

Su bjective Co m plement) After a

nki

ng

Verb.

Janet isjubilant. [Jubilantdescribes Janet.]

She looks

happy. [Happy

describes

she.]

The flowers smell fragrant.[Fragrantdescribes flowers.]

See G-4.2C, page 4, for an

explanation

and full list of

linking verbs. Caution: Distinguish between a l inking

verb and the same verb used as an

action

verb.

C. Use Good and

Well,

ad

and

adly Co rrectly. Use

good and bad (adjectives) as complements after a

linking verb: This is

good.

Ifeel

good.

This fish

tastes

bad.

Use

well

and

badly

(adverbs)to modify anactionverb:

She

sings well.

I

have

failed

badly.

NOTE:Wellcanbeanadject iveinthelimitedsenseof "ingoodhealth":

Iamfeeling

well.

Sheisnota

well

woman .

Ifeelgood,

ontheotherhand,

referstoanykindofgood feeling.

D. Use Comparative and Superl a

ti

ve

Forms

Correctly.

(1) Mostadjectives andadverbshavethreedegrees.

Notice

how the

-er and -est endings

change the

degree:

Positive

(modifying

one thing or action):My bed is

hard.Your horse runs fast.

Comparative

(comparing

two):Your bedisthe

harder

of the two.Your

horse

runs

fasterthan mine

.

Superlative

(comparinq

three or more): Ofthe three

beds,his isthe

hardest.

Your horse runs

fastest

of all.

Most long adjectives and most adverbs use more

and

most

(or

less

and

least)

instead

of

-er

and

-est:

beautiful,

more

beautiful,

most

beautiful

easily, less easily, leasteasily

Some

adjectives and adverbs use either form:

costly,

costlier

,costliest

or

costly,more costly ,most

costly

(2) A

fewadjectivesandadverbshaveirregularformsof

comparison:

good/well,

better

,

best

many/much ,

more,

most

bad /badly, worse ,worst little, less, least

(3)

Use the comparative (not the superlative) when

comparing twothings:

Wrong:Of the two, Sybilisthe

smartest.

Right: Of the two ,Sybil isthe

smarter.

2. AvoidTheseErrorsinAdjectiveand

AdverbUse.

A. Do Not Use Both

Forms

of the Comparat

ive (-erand

More)or

of theS

up

erlat ive

(-est

and Most

)

Together.

One

formis enough:

Wrong: This car ismorefasterthan that one.

Right:This car is

faster

than that one.

B. Do Not CompareAdject i

ves

or

Adverbs

That

Cannot

Log icallyBe Compared,such asunique,perfect,dead,

empty.

Aglass iseither emptyornotempty; itcannot be

more

or less empty (thoughitcan be nearlyempty) :

Wrong: Our designwas

moreunique

thantheirs.

[Unique

means the only one of its

kind ; things

ca

nnot

be

more or less

unique.]

Right:Our

design

was

morenearly unique than theirs

.

G-6. UsingPronouns

A

pronoun substitutes

fora noun,sothatinsteado f

saying The

teamprided the team on the team'srecord,

we can say

The

teamprided

itsel f

on

its

record.

The

noun

that the pronoun

substitutesfor (standsfor) iscalled itsantecedent. Teamisthe

antecedent of

itself

and

its.

(Not all kinds of pronouns have

expressed antecedents.)

Pronouns share almost alltheuses ofnouns. (For thoseuses,

see G-3.2,

page

3.)

1. TheFiveMainKindsof Pronouns

I

A. ThePersonal

Pronoun

s .Thesedesignate one ormore

particular persons or

things

:

Person Singular

Plural

FIRST

[person(s)

speakmq]

I,

my,

mine

,me we,

our

,

ours

,us

SECOND

[person(s)

spoken

to]

you,your,

yours

you,your,

yours

THIRD

[any

other

person(s)

or thing(s)]

he ,his, him

she, her, hers

it,its

they, their, theirs, them

B. The

Interro

ga

ti

ve

and Relative

Pro no uns

(1)

Theinterrogativepronouns

are

who(whose,whom),

which,what.

They

ask questions :

Who

said

that? Whose

car isthat?

What

isthe

time?

hich

ofthecarsishis?

ith

whom

didyouspeak?

(2)

Therelativepronouns

are thesame asthe interrog

ative,plus

that

and the

-everforms:whoever(whom

ever),

Whichever

whatever. Relative pronouns

introduce certainkindsof dependent clauses (some

times

calledre lative c lauses):

The

man whocalledwas angry.

Chicago, whichIoftenvisit, is an excitingcity.

I

approve whatevershedecides.

Use

who

for persons,

which

for things ,and

that

for

either:


7/42

G-6-6 7

Person:The officer

who

made the arrest was com-

mended.

Theoff icer

that

made the arrestwas com-

mended.

Thing: California,

which

Ilove, isalways sunny.

Thestate

that

Ilove isalways sunny.

NOTE:

When

ofwhich

soundsawkward,youmayuse

whose

with

things:

We

entered

the harbor,

whose pattern

of sails and buoys

delightedtheeye.

C. The Demonstrative Pronouns are

this

(plural:

these)

and

that

(plural:

those).

Theypointout:

Thisismyhouse.The ones Iwant are these.

That

isHelen 'shouse.What kindoftreesare

those?

D. The Indefinite Pronouns

refertonoparticularpersonor

thing:

one, someone, everyone, no one, somebody,

anybody, everybody, nobody, something, anything, ei

ther, neither, all, any, both, some, few, many, most,

another,others,

etc.:

Many

willcomplain, but

few

willact;

most

willdo

nothing.

Someone

must do

something,

but

noone

wants to do

anything.

NOTE:Closelyrelatedtotheindefinitepronounsarethetworeciprocal

pronouns,

eachother

and

oneanother.

SeeU,page31.

E. The Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns

are the

-self

forms of personal pronouns:

myself, yourself, your

selves,himself,herself, itself,ourselves, themselves.

(1) Theyarecalledreflexivewhenusedasobjectsoras

subjective complements:

The teammates congratulated themselves on their

victory.

Shemade apromise to

herself.

The boss isnot

himself

today.

(2) Theyarecalledintensivewhenused

as

appositives,

foremphasis:

I

myself

amto blame. Only they

themselves

are to

blame.

Do notuse as ttpronounwhereapersonalpronoun

suffices:

Wrong: John and

myself

went.

Right: John and

I

went.

NOTE:TherearenosuchwordsinstandardEnglishas hisself,oursetts,

theirself, theirselves,yourselfs , tbemsett,themselfs.

2. Using the Right Pronoun Case. The case of

a pronoun is the form it takes in a particular use in a

sentence (subject, direct object, etc.). English has three

cases: nominative, possessive, and objective. Thepro-

nounswith different nominativeand objectiveforms cause

the most confusion:

l/me, he/him, she/her, we/us, they/

them,who/whom.

ObjectiveCase

ossessive Case

ominativeCase

I(ooiectforms)

(oossessive forms

(subiect forms)

me

y,mine

ingular I

him,her ,it

is,her,hers,its

e,she ,it

us

ur ,ours

lural we

them

hey their ,theirs

you

our ,yours

ingularyou

whom

hose

nd who

Plural

A. Nominative Case. Usethedistinctivenominative(sub-

ject) forms-I

he,she,we,they,who-for

(1)

Subject: I

knowit.

She

and Iknowit.

Who

knowsit?

(2) Subjective complement

(after linking verbs): The

murderer is

she.

NOTE:

Althoughinformalusagepermits It

washer

or

Itwasn'tme,

most writers and speakers adhere to the nominative in formal

usage:Itwas

she.

Itwasnot

I.

SeeC(5)below forpronoun case

withtheinfinitive

tobe.

B. Objective Case. Usethedistinctiveobject(ive)

forms-

me, him,her, us, them,whom-for

any kind of object:

Directobject: Weall greeted him.

Indirectobject: Weall gave

him

and

her

presents.

Objectofpreposition: Weallgave apresentto

her.

C. SpecialProblems with Nominative and ObjectiveCases

(1) A pronoun in an and or or compound takes the

samecaseas itwould ifnotcompounded:

Wrong:

Him

and

me

cango.[W Uld yousay

Himcan

go

or

Mecango?)

Right:

He

and

I

cango .

[He

cango.

I

cango.)

Wrong: This gift isfromSallyand I.[from

I?)

Right:Thisgift isfrom Sallyand

me.

[from

me)

(2) A

pronoun followedby

a

nounappositive

takes the

same case as it would ifthe nounwere notthere:

Wrong:

Us

girlswant tothank you.

[Us

want ?)

Right:

We

girlswant tothank you.

[We

want )

Right: Hedid itfor

us

girls. [Hedid itfor

us.)

(3) A

pronoun appositive

takes the same case as the

wordtowhich itisinapposition :

Two

people,you

and

she,

willgo .

Fathertook u ~ n andme owhtown .

Let's[Let us)you and megoto thestore.

(4) A

pronoun inan incomplete comparison

takes the

same case as it would if the comparison were

complete:

Right:Shefound Sidsooner than

I

[did).

Right: She found Sid soonerthan [she found)

me.

(5) Apronounbetweenaverbandaninfinitive(calledthe

SUbject of the infinitive) takes theobjective case:

Iasked

him

tosing.Wewanted

them

tostay.

NOTE: If the infinitive to be has such a subject, any pronoun

following tobe alsotakes theobjectivecase (since be takes the

same case afteritas beforeit):

Theythoughther tobeme. We

wantedthewinnertobehim .

If

tobe

doesnothavesuchasubject ,

anypronounfollowing to betakesthesamecaseasthesubjectof

thesentence(nominative):

Thewinnerwasthought tobeshe.

D. Possessive Case

(1) Usetheapostrophe['} toformthepossessive case

of indefinite and reciprocal pronouns

(someone's,

everybody's,eachother 's, noone 's,

etc.).

(2) Usethepossessivecasebefore

gerund:

Wrong:We resented

him

leaving.

Right:We resented

his

leaving.

(3) Donotusetheapostropheinthepossessivecaseof

personalpronouns (his,hers,its,ours,yours,theirs)

orof

who

(whose):

Whose

bookisthis?Isit

ours

or

theirs?

Itcan'tbe

hers.

Itisacommon errortoconfuse thepossessives

its,

whose,their,

and

your

withthecontractionsit's

(itis),

who's (who is),they're (theyare)

and

youre(youare) .


8/42

Remember that no possessive personal pronoun

evertakesanapostrophe,nordoes whose:

Thedogwagged its tail. Whose dog isthat?

Thedogswagged their tails.Isthat

your

dog?

NOTE: Totellwhichformyouneed,mentallysubstitutetheuncon

tractedform (it is, etc.).Ifitsoundsright,youneedthecontraction:

(Its/It's)

afineday.....

It is

afineday.....

It's

afineday.

The tree shed (its/it's) leaves..... The tree shed it is leaves?

No.....Thetreeshedits leaves.

E.

The Case of the Interrogative Pronouns

Who

and

hom

. Who isnominativecase; whom isobjective:

Who

cameinfirst?[subject]

Whom did you meet? You did meet whom? [direct

object]

Whom didyougowith? You didgowithwhom? [object

ofpreposition]

NOTE:

Whenindoubtaboutusing

who

or

whom,

trysubstituting

he

or

him. Ifhe soundsright,usewho; ifhim soundsright,usewhom:

(WholWhom) rangthebell? He rangthebell.Who rangthebell?

(WholWhom)

did you see? You did see

him.....

You did see

whom?.... Whom didyousee?

Althoughinformalusagepermits Who did you see? andWho did you go

with? mostcarefulwr itersadheretowhom informalusage .Directlyafter

apreposition,alwaysusewhom: Withwhom didyougo?

F. The Case of aRelative Pronounisdeterminedbyits

usewithin itsclause:

Sheistheonewho

scored the goal. [Who

= subjectof

scored.]

She is the one whom we must stop . [We

must

stop

whom. Whom

=

directobjectofmust stop.]

Youmusttellwhoever comes. [Whoever = subjectof

comes.]

Youmusttellwhomever you

meet

. [Whomever

=

direct

objectofmeet.]

Gowithwhoeverasks you . [Whoever = subjectofasks.]

Donotbemisledbyotherinterveningclauses,suchasI

think, it seems, orwe are convinced.

Sheistheonewho Ithinkscored the

goal

.

Sheistheone

whom

itiscertain

we must stop.

3. AvoidingFaultyReference.

Besurethateach

pronoun refers unmistakably only to its antecedent the

nounitstandsfor.

A. Ambiguous Reference occurs when a pronoun may

refertomorethanonenoun.Clarifysuchambiguityby

rephrasingthesentence:

Wrong:Ms.SchatzhasgiventhejobtoIdabecause she

knowswhat must bedone. [Does she referto Ms.

SchatzortoIda?]

Right:Ms.Schatz,who knowswhatmustbedone,has

givenIdathejob.

Right:Ms.Schatzhasgiventhejobto Ida,

who

knows

whatmustbedone.

B. VagueReferenceoccurswhenapronounhasnoeasily

identifiableantecedent.Clarifythesentencebysupply

ingtheneedednoun:

Wrong: InEngland

they

driveontheleft.[Whoare

they?]

Right:The English driveontheleft .

Avoidusing

which,

it,

this,

or

that

torefervaguelytoa

wholeclauseorsentence:

Wrong:Theman haddeliberatelysteppedon hertoe,

which botheredher.[Canyoufindaclearantecedent

ofwhich?]

Right:Theman'sdeliberatesteppingonhertoebotherea

her.

Right:Themanhaddeliberatelysteppedonhertoe,

an

act that botheredher.

It

isacceptablein

It is raining, It is

a

fine day,

etc.

G-7. RecognizingPhrases

Beingabletorecognizephrases(andclauses)helpsyouavoid

agreement errors, fragments, comma splices andfusedsen

tences,andmisplacedordanglingmodifiers.

A phrase is agroup of relatedwords that isless thana

sentence because it lacks subject+verb. (Some phrases

containapartofaverb a verbal.)Aphraseusuallyfunctions

asifitwereasingleword:noun,adjective,oradverb.Forthis

reasonitisimportanttothinkofandrecogn izephrasesasunits.

Therearetwomaink indsofphrases.

1. ThePrepositionalPhrase isusedchieflyas an

adjectiveoradverb.Itconsistsofpreposition

+

object(and

possiblemodifiersofthatobject):

Asadjective:Thehousewith the red shutters isours.[tells

whichhouse]

Asadverb:Shedied in the old hospital. [tellswhere]

Theboysdid it for a joke. [tellswhy]

2.TheVerbal Phrase.

There arethree kinds:infini

tive, gerund, and participial. (See G-4.3D, page 4, for

explanationoftheseterms.)

A. An Infinitive Phrase (infinitive

+

complementormodi

fiersorboth):

Asnoun:

To become governor

isheraim.[subject]

Shewants to become governor. [directobject]

As

adjective

I havea plan

to suggest to you.

[modifes

plan]

Asadverb:Weventuredforthto meet the foe. [modifies

ventured]

Oscariseager

to leave soon.

[modifies

eager]

B. A Part icipial Phrase (a present or past participle

+

complementormodifiersorboth).Itisalwaysusedas

anadjective:

The young man reading a trashy novel is my son.

[modifiesman]

Immersed in

a

trashy novel,

theyoungmanignoredhis

mother.[modifiesman]

Anotherkindofphraseusingaparticipleisthe absolute

phrase(subject+participle+complementormodifiers

orboth),socalledbecauseitisgrammaticallyindepen

dentof thesentence (thoughlogicallyconnected toit):

Her face reddening, Karenmutteredanapology.

Karenmutteredanapology,her face reddening.

C.AGerund Phrase

(-ing

form

+

complementor modifi

ersorboth).Itisalwaysusedasanoun :

Reading

a

trashy novel isawasteoftime.[subject]

Howcanyouenjoyreading a trashy novel? [directobject]

Hischief pastimeis reading a trashy novel. [subjective

complement]

Herelaxes byreading a trashy novel. [object ofpreposition]

For avoidance of dangling or misplaced phrases, see G

10.2C(2),0,pages12,13.

NOTE: Someauthoritiesuse theterm

noun

phrase toreferto anounand its

modifiers

(the five old men in their wheelchairs) ,

andverbphraseforamainverb

anditsauxiliaries(might have been drinking). SeeG-4.2D,page4.


9/42

G-7 9 G-9

G-8. Recognizing Clauses

A clause is a group of related words containing subject

+

verb.

There are two kinds:

independent (main)

and

dependent

(subordinate).

1. Kinds of Clauses

A. An Independent Clause sounds complete and makes

sense when it stands alone. Every simple sentence is an

independent clause; however, the term

clause

usually

refers to such a word group as part of a larger sentence:

I found the key, and I gave it to Helen .

B. A Dependent Clause,

though it contains subject + verb,

cannot stand alone grammatically. What makes a clause

dependent is a connecting word that forces the clause to

be linked to an independent clause:

[dependent clause in

italics;

connecting word in bold]

We will cheer

w

the space shuttle touches down.

I recognized the scarf

th t

she was wearing. .

2. Kinds of Dependent Clauses

A. An Adjective Clause functions as an adjective, modify

ing a noun or pronoun. It is introduced and connected to

the independent clause by the relative pronoun who

(whose, whom), which,

or

that,

or sometimes by

when,

where,

or

why:

The boy

that applied first

was hired. [modifies

boy]

We greeted everyone who arrived. [modifies everyone]

Let's see King Kong, which is playing downtown. [mod

ifies King Kong]

Adjective clauses are either restrictive or nonrestric

tive, depending on their necessity in the sentence. See

P-1.1E(2), page 15, for explanation and punctuation.

B. An Adverb Clause functions as an adverb, modifying a

verb, adjective, or other adverb. It tells ow, when,

where, why, with what result, under what condition, or to

what degree.

It is introduced and connected to the

independent clause by a subordinate conjunction, such

as the ones listed below.

Example

Clause Telling

Adverb Introduced by

Subordinate

Conjunction

when(ever), while, I left before Jo

after, before, since,

Time

[when?]

returned.

as, as soon as,

until

Place [where?] where, wherever We went where

the land was

fertile.

Manner [how?]

He walks as if he 's

dazed.

Cause

[why?]

as, as if, as though

I left

because

I

was angry.

Purpose [why?]

because, since

She came so that

that

(so) that, in order

she might help.

Concession [under

They came, al-

what condition?]

(al)though, even

though they were

tired.

Condition [under

though

You can go if you

what condition?]

if, unless, whether,

leave early.

Result [that what

provided

He ran so fast

that

resulted?]

that

he was exhausted.

Comparison [to

She is taller than I

what degree?]

as, than

[am].

Most adverb clauses can appear at the beginning of a

sentence:

If you leave early, you can go.

C. A Noun Clause functions as a noun. It is introduced and

connected to the independent clause by the relative

pronoun who(ever), which(ever), what(ever), or that or

by when, where, why, how, or whether:

What they did made little sense. [subject]

I know

that he went.

[direct object]

Give whoever answers the door this note. [indirect

object]

Give this note to whoever answers the door.

[object of

preposition]

3. Clauses in Sentences. Sentences can be classi

fied according to their structure that

is, the number and

kind(s) of clauses they have. There are four kinds of

sentences:

A. The Simple Sentence (one independent clause):

The door opened.

B. The Compound Sentence (two or more independent

clauses):

The door opened, and our guests entered.

The clock struck eight, the door opened,

and

our

guests

entered.

C. The Complex Sentence (one independent clause

+ one or more dependent clauses):

[dependent clause in bold]

As the clock struck eight,

the door opened.

D. The Compound-Complex Sentence (a compound

sentence +

one or more dependent clauses):

As the clock struck eight, the door opened and our

guests entered.

G-9. Agreement

In sentences, subjects and verbs have matching forms to show

their grammatical relation. So do pronouns and their anteced

ents. This relation is called

agreement.

1. Make Every Verb Agree with Its SUbject

in Person and Number.

A. There Are Three Grammatical Persons:

the

first

person [the person(s) speaking: I, we], the second

person [the person(s) being spoken to: you], and the

third person

[the person(s) being spoken about: he,

she, it, they, and any noun]. In most verbs, only the third

person present tense singular has a special form: the

ending so

I

run, we run, and you run, but he or she runs.

The verb be is special. The first person is I am, we are

(past tense:

I

was, we were); the second person is you

are (past tense: you were); the third person is he or she

is, they are (past tense: he or she was, they were). Use

the verb form that matches the person of the subject.

Wrong: You is late. Right: You are late.

NOTE: When two or more subjects in different persons are joined by or,

the verb agrees with the subject nearer to it: Either she or I am going.

B. There Are Two Grammatical Numbers: singular

(re

ferring to one thing) and plural (referring to more than

one). Singular subjects must take singular verbs ; plural

subjects must take plural verbs. Except for be (see A

above), only the third person singular in the present and


10/42

G-9

10

G-9

presentperfecttensespresentsa problem,becauseof

its-sending:

[singular inbold;pluralin italics)

Wrong:Jo liketacos.Shedon't[donot)likepizza.

Right:Jo

likes

tacos.Shedoesn't[doesnot)likepizza.

C.

Intervening

Word Groups. Make subject and verb

agree regardlessofphrasesorclausesbetweenthem:

Phrase:Thecollection{of rarebooks)islost.

Clause:The woman 'hownsthesehorses}liveshere.

Parentheticalphrasesintroducedby(together)with,like,

aswellas,including,inadditionto,etc.donotaffectthe

numberoftheactualsubject:

Elizabeth,togetherwithherfriends, iscoming.

Theboys,aswellastheirfather,havearrived.

D.

Two

or More

Subjects

(1)

Joinedbyand. Useapluralverb:

AbookandapencilareallIneed.

re

chemistryandhistoryrequired?

However,ifbothsubjectsrefertoasinglepersonor

thing,useasingularverb:

My friend and benefactoris here. [One person is

bothfriendandbenefactor.)

Scotchandsodais myfavoritedrink.[onedrink)

Usea singular verbwhen eachor everyprecedes

thesubjects:

Every man and every woman is expected to pay.

(2)

Joined byorornor. Makethe verbagree with the

nearersubject:

BettinaorSharon isgoingwithyou.

The Giantsorthe Dodgersaregoing tofinishfirst.

Bettinaorthe twinsaregoingwithyou.

The twinsorBettinaisgoingwithyou.

E.

SingUlar

Pronouns.

Use a singular verb when the

SUbject

is the singular indefinite pronoun one, each,

either,neither,everyone,everybody,anyone,anybody,

someone,somebody,noone,ornobody:

Eachofthem wantsmetostay.

Everyone inallourdormsisgoinghome.

Afterall,any, most, none,some,orsuch, useeithera

singular or a plural verb, depending on whether the

pronounreferstosomethingsingularorplural:

Themilkwasleftinthesun;allofithas turnedsour.

Theguests becamebored;all

have

left.

Such were the joys of youth. Such Is the way of the

world.

F. Collecti veNouns.Useasingularverbwhenthinkingof

thegroupasaunit:

Anew familyhas movednextdoor.

Useapluralverbwhenthinkingofthegroupmembersas

individuals:

Thenew familyhavebeenfightingwithoneanother.

NOTE:InAmerican English,manyautho ritiesprefer thefollowing:

Themembersofthenewfamily

have

beenfightingwithoneanother.

G.

Linking

Verbs. Make a linking verb agree with its

subject,notitssubjectivecomplement:

Booksareherchiefinterest.Herchief interestIsbooks.

H.

SingularNouns

InPluralForm.Suchnounsasnews,

billiards, whereabouts, athletics, measles, mumps,

mathematics,andeconomicsarelogicallysingular.Use

asingularverb:

Herwhereaboutsis unknown.

Measleshas beennearlyeliminated.

However,useapluralverbwithtwo-partthingssuchas

trousers,pants,pliers,scissors,tweezers:

The tweezersare notusefulforthis;perhapsthe pliers

are.

I. Itand ThereasExpletives(wordswithnomeaningina

sentence):

(1)

There isnever the

SUbject.

Insentences beginning

with thereis(was)or thereare(were),lookafterthe

verbfortheSUbject andmaketheverbagreewiththe

subject:

There Is a bee in your bonnet. [A bee is in your

bonnet.)

Therearebatsinyourbelfry.[Batsareinyourbelfry.)

There wereamanandadog inthecar.

(2)

It, ontheotherhand,isalways singular:

ItwasAuntDianewhotelephoned.

Itwas theboyswhotelephoned.

J.

Literary

Titlesand

Words

Consideredas

Words

are

alwayssingular:

TheAmbassadors Isnota lightnovel.

Childrenis anirregularplural.

K.

Sums

of Moneyand Measurements.Whenconsider

ingasumasasingleitem,useasingularverb:

TendollarsIs notmuchmoneythesedays.

Fivegallons is thecapacityofthistank.

Whenconsideringindividualdollars,gallons,miles,etc.,

useapluralverb:

Thedollarswere neatlyarranged instacks.

Gallonsofgasoline arespillingfromthetank.

Inanarithmet icproblem,youmayuseeither:

SixandfourIs

[makes]

ten.Sixandfourare

[make]

ten.

NOTE:Thenumber takesasingularverb;anumber.plural.

L.

RelativePronouns.Useasingularverbiftheanteced

entofwho,

Which

or thatissingular;useapluralverbif

theantecedent isplural:

She isthe only member who smokes. [Antecedent of

whoismember.)

Sheisoneofthememberswhosmoke. [Antecedentof

whoismembers.)

Itis Iwhoam responsible.[AntecedentofwhoisI.)

2. MakeEveryPronounAgree

with

Its

Antecedent inPersonandNumber.

A.

AvoidillogicalShifts

to You.

Wrong: I like swimming because it gives

you

firm

muscles.

Right:Ilikeswimmingbecauseitgivesmefirmmuscles.

Wrong:Ifapersoneatsjustbeforeswimming ,

you

may

getacramp.

Right:

If

apersoneatsjustbeforeswimming,hemayget

acramp.

B.

Singular

Pronouns. Use a singular pronoun when

referringtoantecedents suchasperson,man,woman,


11/42

G-10

-9 11

one, anyone, anybody, someone, somebody, either,

neither, each, everyone, everybody:

Aperson shouldknowwhathe wantsinlife.

Neither ofthewomenwillstate her preference.

Everyone has

her

ownopinionabouttheplan.

NOTE: Whenasingularantecedent(suchasstudent. citizen) maybeof

mixedgender.you havethreechoices:

(1) Usethemasculinepronoun:Everystudent raised

his

hand.

(2) Usebothpronouns:Everystudent raised

his

orher hand.

(3) Change the sentence to plural: All the students raised

their

hands.

Manypeopleconsiderchoice1sexistandchoice2awkward;whenitis

possible andnotinconsistent withsurrounding sentences,choice 3is

usuallybest.

C. AntecedentsJoined by

and, or,

and

nor.

Followthe

sameprinciplesasforsubject-verbagreement(see

10

above).

(1) With antecedents joined by

and, use a plural pro

noun:

Bettina and Sharon

areperforming

their

act.

(2) With antecedents joined by or or nor, make the

pronounagreewiththenearerantecedent:

Either Bettina or Sharon willperform

her

act.

The

Giants

orthe

Dodgers

shouldwin

their

divisional

title.

Either Bettina or the twins willperform their act.

D.Collective Nouns. Follow the same principle as for

subject-verbagreement(see1Fabove);letthemeaning

ofthenoundeterminethenumberofthepronoun:

The family hasmovedinto ts newhome.

The family havesettled their differences.

E. DemonstrativePronounsUsedasAdjectives.Make

this, that, these, orthose agreewiththenounitmodifies :

Wrong: Ilike these kind offish. [These is plural;kind,

singular.] ,

Right:Ilike

this kind

offish.Ilike

these kinds

offish.

G-10. EffectiveSentences

Goodsentencesreflectclearthinking.Aclumsysentencesays

thatanideahasbeenpoorlythoughtout.Consider,therefore,

notonlywhatyouwanttosay,

but

howyoucanbestsayit.A

well-written sentence has unity, coherence, and emphasis.

Unityandcoherencemakeitlogicalandclear;emphasismakes

itforceful.

1.FollowTheseGuidelinestoWriteMore

EffectiveSentences.

A.VarySentenceLength.

Ashort, simplesentence can

be forceful: The queen is dead. But a string of short

sentences usually gives a choppy, childish effect: I

walked through the woods. I saw squirrel. It dar ted up

a

tree.

Combining sentences that have related ideas

clarifiestherelationandrelativeimportanceoftheideas.

Sections B-D below describe some combining tech

niques.

B. UseCoordination. Youcanregardrelatedsimplesen

tences as independent clauses and join them with a

coordinateconjunction(precededbyacomma)toforma

compoundsentence:

Choppy:Thedaydawnedclear.Wetookourumbrellas.

Better:Thedaydawnedclear,butwe tookourumbrellas.

[Theconjunction but showsthecontrastbetweenthe

twofacts.]

Weak:Wewalkedtowork.Thedaywassunny.

Better:Wewalkedtowork,

for

thedaywassunny.[The

conjunctionfor showsthatonefactcausedtheother.]

Choppy:Frenchclassmetatnoon.Artmetattwo.

Better:Frenchclassmet atnoon,and art met attwo.

[The

and

adds little meaning, but the one longer

sentencereadsmoresmooth lythanthetwoshorter

ones.

NOTE: Althoughjoin ingequallyimportantclauseswithcoordinate con

junctionscanbeeffective,usingtoomany and 's orso's offerslittleifany

improvement overthestringofshortsimplesentencesyouaretryingto

avoid,Asalternatives,considercompounding andsubordination, below,

C. Use Compounding. Combine simple sentences that

havethesame

Ubjects

orverbssothatyouhaveonly

onesentence, with acompound subject or predicate:

Weak:Carolislearningtennis.Iamlearningtennis,too.

Better:[Both] Carol and I arelearningtennis.

NOTE: Checksubject-verb agreementasyourewriteusingcompound

ing:

Weak:Weputupthetent.Wefellasleepatonce.

Better:Weput upthetentand fell asleepatonce.

NOTE: Ordinarilythereisnocommabetweenthepartsofacompound

predicate.

D. Use SUbordination. In combining simple sentences,

you can emphasize one bysubordinating the other

reducing it to a dependent clause. By doing so you

usuallyexpresstherelationbetweenideasmoreclearly

thanbycoordinationorcompounding:

Weak:Thesuncameout.Sallyheadedforthebeach.

Clear: When the sun came out, Sally headed for the

beach.

[When

stressesthetimeconnectionbetween

thetwofacts.]

Clear:Sallyheadedforthebeachbecause thesuncame

out. [Because stresses the causal connection be

tweenthetwofacts.]

Clear:Sally, who was glad tosee the sun come out,

headedforthebeach.[Theideainthewho clauseis

reducedtosecondaryimportance.]

Becareful notto subordinate themain

idea-the

one

youwouldmentionifyoucouldmentiononlyone :

Wrong: President Kennedy,

who was shot dead,

was

ridinginanopencar.

Right: President Kennedy, whowas riding inanopen

car,was shot dead.

Forafullerdiscussionofsubordination,seeG-B, page9.

E. UseReduction.Whereverpossible,eliminateneedless

words byreducing clausesto phrasesand phrasesto

singlewords:

Wordy (clause): Because she was discouraged about

writing stories, Erikadecidedtotrynonfiction.

Tighter (phrase): Discouraged about writing stories,

Erikadecidedtotrynonfiction,

Wordy(clause):Theperson who is holding the pistol is

thestarter.

Tighter (phrase): The person

holding the pistol

is the

starter.

Wordy(phrase):Sheisachild possessed of talent.

Tighter(word):Sheisa talented child.

NOTE: Usecaution inplacingmodifiers;see2C(2),(3) and2Dbelow,


12/42

G-10

12

G-10

F. Use Parallel Structure (the same grammatical form)

with two or more coordinate expressions, in compari

sons,andwithcorrelativeconjunctions:

Wrong:Kayisvivacious [adjective],withkeenwit[prep

ositional phrase], and has a friendly manner

[verb+complement].

Right: Kay is vivacious, keen-witted, and friendly [all

adjectives].

Wrong:Arthurlikesdrinking and togamble.

Right:Arthurlikes

drinking

and

gambling

[or

todrink

and

togamble].

Wrong:Arthurlikesgamblingmorethantodrink.

Right:Arthurlikesgamblingmorethandrinking.

Wrong:Jonot only likes[verb]dogsbut also cats[noun].

Right: Jolikesnot only dogs[noun]but also cats[noun].

2. Avoid These Faults in Sentence Construc

tion.

A. Fragments. A fragment isapieceofasentence,such

asaphraseor dependentclause,erroneouslypunctu

ated as if it were a complete sentence. When you

discoverafragmentinyourwriting,either(1)attachthe

fragment to an independent clause or (2) rewrite the

fragmenttoformasentencebyitself.Evenastatement

with asubjectand apredicate can bea fragment if it

followsasubordinateconjunction,such asif,when,or

because.

Intheincorrectexamplesbelow,thefragments

areinitalics:

Wrong:Iwashappy.

Because finalswereover.

Right:Iwashappybecause finals wereover. [fragment

attachedtoindependentclause]

Wrong:Anideathatappealedtous .

Right:Theideaappealedtous.[fragmentrewrittenasa

sentencebyitself]

Wrong:Walkingacrossthecampus.Adaslippedandfell.

Right:Walkingacrossthecampus ,Adaslippedandfell.

B Comma Splices and Fused Sentences. A comma

splice

istheerroneousjoining of independentclauses

withacomma ratherthanaconjunction orsemicolon:

Wrong:Thedaywasstifling,itmademesluggish.

Wrong: The Seahawks won easily, they hadsuperior

coaching.

Afused sentence istheerroneousjoiningofindepen

dent clauses withnoconjunctionorpunctuationatall:

Wrong:Thedaywasstiflingitmademesluggish.

Wrong: The Seahawks won easily they had superior

coaching.

To avoid such errors (both also called run-ons or

run-togethers), firstbesurethatyoucanrecognizean

independentclause. ReviewG-8.1A,page9, ifneces

sary. Next, learn these four ways to correct run-ons;

choose the way that best fits your purpose and your

paragraph.

(1) Separate theclauses intotwosentences:

Right:Thedaywasstifling. Itmademesluggish.

Thisisthesimplestbutrarelythebestway,fortoo

many short sentences make your writing sound

choppyandimmature.Moreover,youfailtospecifya

relationbetweentheideasintheclauses.

(2) Join theclauseswith coordinatingconjunction:

Right:Thedaywasstifling,anditmademesluggish.

This is often a better way than making separate

sentences, but you must not overuse this either.

And,especially,showsonlyaverygeneralrelation

betweenideas.

(3) Jointheclauseswith semicolon:

Right:Thedaywasstifling;itmademesluggish.

Asemicoloncangiveyourwritingaformaltone;itis

ofteneffectiveinbalancedsentences,suchasToday

wasdelightful ;yesterdaywasdreadful.

(4) Jointheclausesbymakingoneofthem dependent

(subordinate) clause. Join them with subordinate

conjunctions,suchasbecause,if,when,since,after,

although, and unless, or with relative pronouns:

who(m),which,that.Subordinatingisoftenthebest

way toeliminate run-ens,since thekindsofwords

listedhereshowthepreciserelationbetweenideas:

Right: I feltsluggishbecause the day was stifling.

Right:TheSeahawks,

who had superior coaching,

wondecisively.

Formoreonsubordination,seeG-8.1S,2,page9,

andG-10.1O,page11.

C. Needless Separation of Related Parts of a Sentence

(1) Donotneedlesslyseparatesubjectandverborverb

andcomplement:

Wrong:I,hopingverymuchtoseehim,hurried.

Right:Hopingverymuchtoseehim,

Ihurried.

(2) Place modifying words, phrases, and clauses as

closeaspossible tothewordstheymodify:

Adverb:

Wrong:Whatgreatluck!Ialmostwon $1,000inthe

lottery.[Almost wonmeansthatyoucameclose

butdidnotwinanything.]

Right:Whatgreat luck!Iwon

almost $1,000

inthe

lottery.

Only,nearly,scarcely,hardly,just,andevenpresent

thesameproblem.

Phrase:

Wrong: Notifyus ifyou canstay on the enclosed

card.

Right:Notify usontheenclosedcardifyoucanstay.

[Onthe enclosedcard shouldmodifynotify, not

stay.]

Wrong:

Floating inside thebottle,

Ms. Fleisch saw

somemysteriousspecks.

Right: Ms. Fleisch saw some mysterious specks

floatinginside thebottle.

Clause:

Wrong:Annputahatonherhead thatshehad

ust

bought.

Right:OnherheadAnnputahat thatshe

had just

bought.

(3) Avoid "squintin

g

modifiers. Asquinter comesbe

tweentwo verbs sothat the reader cannot tell to

whichverbitrefers:

Wrong: Mark decided afterhis vacation to see a

doctor.

Right:Markdecidedtosee adoctor

afterhisvacation.

Right: After his vacation Mark decided to see a

doctor.

(4) Avoidawkwardsplitting ofinfinitives. Thetwoparts

ofaninfinitivebelongtogether;avoidputtingwords


13/42

G-10 13

G-10

between them unless your sentence would otherwise

be unclear or sound odd:

Poor: I asked her

to

from time to time

visit

me.

Better : I asked her

tovisit

me from time to time.

(5) Informal English, avoidendinga sentence

a

preposition unless the sentence would otherwise

soundawkward:

Informal: Sculpture is one art [which]she excelled at.

Formal: Sculpture is one art

at which

she excelled.

D. Dangling Modifiers. A modifier (usually a phrase) "dan

gles" when there is no word in the sentence that it can

sensibly modify. Correct a dangler in any of the ways

shown below.

(1) Danglingparticiple:

Wrong: Flying over Switzerland, the jagged Alps

appeared awesome. [The nearest noun to the

phrase should name the person doing the flying.

Instead, the sentence seems to say that the Alps

were flying.] .

Right:

FlyingoverSwitzerland,

Pat was awed by the

jagged Alps. [correct noun put nearest to phrase]

Right: As Patflew

over i t z e r l a ~ d

the jagged Alps

awed him. [phrase expanded Into a clause]

(2) Danglinggerund:

Wrong: After walking forhours,the cabin appeared

in the distance.

Right:

Afterwalking for hours,

the hikers saw the

cabin in the distance.

Right:

Afterthe hikersh d walked for hours,

the

cabin appeared in the distance.

(3) Danglinginfinitive:

Wrong: Tobewellcooked,

you

must boil beets for

half an hour. .

Right:

Tobewellcooked,

beets must be boiled for

half an hour.

(4) pangl ingellipticalclause.

An elliptical clause is one

from which the subject and all or part of the verb

have been dropped as understood, e.g., while[I was]

skiinginUtah :

Wrong: While still a toddler, my father gave me

swimming lessons.

Right: WhileIwasstilla toddler,my father gave me

swimming lessons.

Right:

While still

a

toddler,'

I was given swimming

lessons by my father.

Ellipsis is permissible only when the subject of both

clauses is the same, as in the last example above (I

is the understood subject of the elliptical clause).

E. IncompleteComparisonsor Expressions of Degree

Wrong: I felt so sad.

Right: I felt sosad that Icried.

Wrong: Salaries of airline executives are higher

than

pilots.

Right: Salaries of airline executives are higher

than

thoseof

pilots.

F. Needless Shifts

(1) Innumber:

Wrong: If a

person

works hard,

they

will succeed.

Right: If a personworks hard, hewill succeed.

Right: If

people

work hard,

they

will succeed.

This is a matter of agreement; see G-9.2B, page 10.

(2) Inperson:

Wrong: If a

person

works hard,

you

will succeed.

See the correct sentences in (1) above. Also see

G-9.2A, page 10.

(3)

Insubjector voiceof verb:

Wrong: As

weapproached

the house I

laughtercould

beheard.[Approachedis active; couldbeheard,

passive. SUbject shifts from

we

to

laughter.]

Right: As

weapproached

the house,

wecouldhear

laughter.

(4) Intense

of

verb. See G-4.4A, page 5.

(5)

Inmoodof verb:

Wrong:

Finish

your work, and then you

shouldrest.

[Finishis imperative in mood; shouldrest,indica

tive.]

Right:

Finish

your work, and then

rest.

G. Faulty Predication. See U pages 33 and 34, under is

h n

,iswhereand reason is because.

H. Redundant or Inflated Wording

(1) Redundancy (needless repetition) in general:

Wrong:

In

this book

it

states that we have an

absolutelyunique town hall. Thistownhallis the

tallest

inheight

in the nation.

Inmyopinion ,Ithink

that we should be proud of that.

Right: This book states that we have a unique town

hall, the tallest in the nation. We should be proud

of that.

(2) Double negatives:

Wrong: I

can'thardly

hear you.

[Hardly,barely,

and

scarcelymean almostnot,and thus act as nega

tives.]

Right: I

canhardly

hear you. I

cant

hear you.

(3) Superfluous

that:

Wrong: We know

that,

although we won,

that

we

won't get the prize.

Right: We know

that,

although we won, we won't get

the prize.

(4) Inflatedorobscurephrasing.

Avoid elaborate mod

ifiers and unnecessary Latinate diction (words with

endings such as -tion, -ity, -ize,

or

-ify).

Avoid also

useless suffixes (as in zealousnessfor zeal); unfa

miliar foreign phrases; and needless, unexplained

jargon (technical or other terms that the general

reader would not know, such as multi-modalityap

proach toESL).

Express your ideas in clear, direct language. By all

means, try to increase your vocabulary, but use

words with accuracy and intent to convey meaning ,

not merely to impress your reader. Otherwise, your

writing may appear affected, and you may even

obscure your ideas:

Inflated: Individuals who have undergone the training

process in emergency rescue procedures have in

numerous situations demonstrated the ability to

implement such techniques in the prevention of

fatalities from accidents occurring within their own

dwelling units.

Better: People trained in emergency rescuing have

often been able to save lives in accidents in their

own homes.


14/42

tionmarksarethetrafficsignalsofwriting.Withoutpunctuation,manyawrittenpassagewouldbecomeas

alargecitywithouttrafficlights.Thewriter'suseofpunctuationassiststhereaderthroughtheheavytraffic

ideasthatawrittenpassagemaycontain.

Somepunctuationmarksseparate wordsorideas;others emphasize them;stillothersgroup andkeep together

d ideas. Inall,punctuationmarksclarifywritten material thatwould otherwiseconfuseandperhaps mislead.

Mostpunctuation rules are notdifficult to master. Careful writers learn theserulesandtend toconform tothe

patternof punctuation,reservingtheiror iginality notfordevisingtheirownmodeofpunctuation butfor

ingandarrangingthewordswithwhichtheyconveytheir ideas.

1 . TheComma [,]

seofthecommaaccountsforabouthalfofallpunctuation

ingthefollowingrulesshouldenableyou

learlyandeffectively.

UseaCommatoSetOff

A. Independent(Main)Clauses.Acommafollowsthefirst

oftwoindependentclausesthatarejoinedbycoordinate

conjunctions and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so.):

The play's star is Glenda Glimmer, and its author is

Tennessee Miller.

Miller'searlyplayswerewidelyacclaimed,but hismore

recentoneshavefailed.

Donot useacomma

Ifthere is no full clause (subject +verb) after the

conjunction:

Wrong:Georgestraightened histie,and putonhis

jacket.

Right: George straightened his tie and put on his

jacket.

After theconjunction:

Wrong:Iorderedchickenbut, heordered lobster.

Right: Iorderedchicken,but heordered lobster.

Betweenveryshortindependentclauses:

Heliesandshecheats.

Between independentclauses notjoinedbyacoor

dinateconjunction(useasemicolon instead):

Wrong:Thestartinggunsounded ,thecrowdroared.

Right:The startinggunsounded ;thecrowd roared.

Seecomma splicesandfusedsentences,G-10.2B,

page12.

B. IntroductoryElements

(1) An introductory adverb clause:

If you pay full tuition now, youmayregisterbymail.

NOTE: Usuallyyouneednocommawhentheadverbclausefollows

themainclause: Youmayregister bymailif you pay full tuition now.

(2) A long prepositional phrase or a series of preposi-

tional phrases :

In the cool air of that April morning, westrolledalong

theboulevard.

NOTE: Unlessclaritydemandsone,youdonotneedacommaafter

oneshortintroductoryphrase :In the morning westrolledalongthe

boulevard.

(3) Averbal phrase :

Speaking off the record, themayoradmittedtheerror.

To play bridge well, youneedagoodmemory.

Byplaying bridge every week, Stellasharpenedher

mind.

Aninfinitiveorgerundphraseusedasthesubject of

asentenceisnotanintroductoryelement.Donotset

itoff:

To play bridge well ismyambition.

Playing bridge every week sharpenedStella'smind.

C. Items In a Series. Use commas to separate words,

phrases,orclausesinaseriesofthreeormore:

Words:Ienjoytheold filmsofBogart, Cagney, Garbo,

andHepburn.

Phrases: The book is available in bookstores, at

newsstands, orby mail.

Clauses: She took French lessons, she studied

guidebooks, andshe talked to people who had been

to Paris.

NOTE: Some writers omit thecomma before and or or ina series.

Includingthiscomma,however,ensuresclarity.

Useacommabeforeetc. attheendofaseries:pork,beans,etc.

Donot useacomma

Withonlytwoitems:Edboughtspaghetti andpork.

Whenyourepeatand oror betweeneverytwoitems:

Edboughtspaghettiand pancakemixand pork.

Beforethefirstitemorafterthe lastitem:

Wrong:Edbought, spaghetti, pancakemix,and pork.

Right:Edbought spaghetti, pancakemix,andpork.

Wrong:Spaghetti,pancakes,andpork, are notevery-

one'sfavorites.

Right: Spaghetti, pancakes, and pork are not every

one'sfavorites.

D.CoordinateAdjectives.

Inaseriesof twoormore,use

commastoseparateadjectivesofequ alimportance.Do

notputacommaafterthelastadjective:

Tall, stately treeslinedtheroadway.

Vulgar, snide, orobscene remarksarenotappreciated

here.

NOTE: Certaincombinations of adjectivesflow naturallytogether and

neednocommas:little red schoolhouse;five funny old men;additional

monetary demands.Determiningwhen toomit commas is tricky, but

generally, if the adjectives sound odd in a different order red little

schoolhouse, old funny five men, monetary additiona l demands), you

probablyshouldomitcommas.

E. ParentheticalExpressions.

These arewordsorword

groups that interrupt the main flow of thought in a

sentence and are not essential to the meaningof the

sentence.

(1)

General parenthetical expressions:

14


15/42

P-1 15 P-1

Shewas, in my opinion, outstanding.

He, on the other hand, performed unconvincingly.

The entireproduction,moreover, lackedvitality.

Itisunfortunate,to be sure. [Note thevastdifference

inmeaningfrom It is unfortunate to be sure.]

Othercommonparentheticalexpressionsincludeas

matter of fact, to tell the truth, of course, inciden-

tally, namely, in the first place, therefore, thus,

consequently, however, nevertheless.

NOTE: Not all these expressions are always set off. You may

choosenottosetoffperhaps, likewise, at least, indeed, therefore,

thus,

andcertainothers insentences where youfeel theydo not

interruptyourthoughtflow:

Wemay,perhaps, havebeenharshinfiringJenkins.

Wemayperhaps havebeenharshinfiringJenkins.

SeeP-5B,page17,forother punctuationwith therefore, however,

andotherconjunctive adverbs.

(2) Nonrestrictive (nonessential) clauses. A

nonrestric

tive

clause(usuallybeginningwith

which

or a formof

who) isparenthetical.The informationitgivesisnot

essential to the meaning of the sentence. Being

parenthetical,suchaclauseissetoffwithincommas:

Parsons Boulevard, which runs past my home, is

being repaved.

PennyPrentiss,

who lives in Hill Hall,

has won the

award.

A restrictive clause is essential to the meaningof

the sentence. Itidentifies a preceding noun ; it an

swersthe question "whichone?" Such aclauseis

writtenwithoutcommas:

Thestreet

which runs past my home

isbeingrepaved.

Awoman who lives in Hill Hall has won the award.

Theserestrictiveclausestellwhich streetand which

woman. Without the clauses the sentences could

referto any streetorany woman.There isaneasy

test to distinguish restrictive from nonrestrictive

clauses. A restrictive clause will sound right if you

substitute that for who or which; a nonrestrictive

clausewill not:

Soundsright:Awoman that lives in Hill Hall haswon

theaward. [Testworks; clauseis restrictive.Omit

commas.]

Soundswrong:Penny Prentiss that lives in Hill Hall

has won the award. [Testfails; clause is nonre

strictive.Use commas (and who).]

(3) Nonrestrictive (nonessential) phrases. Follow the

principlefor nonrestrictiveclauses (see (2) above):

Restrictive:Thewomanwearing red isJack'ssister.

Nonrestrictive:Ms.Atlee,wearing red, isJack'ssister.

Restrictive :The locker with the Yosemite poster is

mine.

Nonrestrictive:Locker356,

with the Yosemite poster,

ismine.'

(4) Most appositives:

America'sgreatestplaywright, Eugene O'Neill, was

once asailor.

The hermitcrab, aSouth Pacific species, sealsitself

into itshomefor life.

NOTE: Someappositives arerestrictive andtakenocommas:

Theplaywright Eugene O'Neill wasonceasailor.

Iwroteto mydaughterElla. [oneofseveraldaughters]

F. Absolutephrases

The day being warm, weheadedfor the beach.

Bosley, his clothes hanging in tatters, staggered into

camp.

G. NamesorOtherWordsUsedinDirectAddress

Henry, what are you doing?

For my encore, ladies and gentlemen, I will play

Treumerei.

H. Yes andNo attheBeginningofaSentence

Yes, wehave necktieson sale.

I. Mild Interjections

(expressions of less than strong

emotion):

Well, I'llhaveto thinkthat over .

Oh, what did she say?

NOTE: Stronginterjectionstakeexclamationpoints:What! I can'tbelieve

it.

J. DirectQuotations.Generally,useoneormorecommas

toseparateadirectquotationfromprecedingorfollowing

words:

"I love you," shewhispered.

And

I," hereplied," loveyou ."

Punctuationofquotations istreatedfullyinP-8,page18.

K. Examples Introduced by Such as Especially

Particularly;

ExpressionsofContrast

Iraenjoysallcrafts,especially wood carving,

Onweekendsweofferseveralcourses ,such asBiology

101and Music210, for nontraditionalstudents.

Dresden lies inEast Germany,not West Germany.

NOTE: Somesuch asphrasesarerestrictive:Dayssuch as thisarerare.

2. UseaCommaAlso

A. InPlaceofOmittedorUnderstoodWords

ShirleyattendsHarvard;her brother, Yale.

B. BeforeaConfirmatoryQuestion

It's awarm day, isn't it?

C. InLetters

(1) After the greeting in friendly letter: Dear Mabel,

NOTE: Useacolonafterthegreetinginabusinessletter :Dear Ms.

Worth:

(2) After the complimentary close in all letters: Very

truly yours,

D. In Dates and Addresses,

In a month-day-year date,

placetheyearwithincommas,asifitwereparenthetical.

Dothe same with the state orcountryinanaddress:

On March 3, 1970, I was born in Kokomo, Indiana,

during ablizzard.

NOTE: Donotuseacommabetweenthestateandthe zipcode,

E.ToGroupWordstoPreventMisreading

Inside, the dog was growling, [not Inside the dog . ..]

After eating, the child becamesleepy, [not After eating

the child . ..]

3. Do

Not

UseaComma

A. ToSeparateSubjectandVerborVerbandComple

ment

Wrong:Deciduous trees, change color inthe fall.

Right: Deciduous

trees change

colorinthefall.

Wrong: On our trip we saw, countless lakes and hills.

Right: Onour tripwe

saw

countless

lakes

and

hills.


16/42

P-1 16 P-4

B.

To Join Two Independent Clauses in Place of a

Coordinate Conjunction (and,but, or, nor, for, yet,

so)

or

Semicolon.

Avoidingthiserror,calledacomma

spli ce, isexplainedinG-10.2B,page12.

-2. ThePeriod[.]

UseaPeriod

A. AfterEverySentenceExceptaDirectQuestionoran

Exclamation

Theindexdroppedsixpoints.[declarativesentence]

Sellyourstocksnow.[imperativesentence]

Iasked how Ishouldsellthem. [indirectquestion;the

directquestionwouldbe

Howshall Isell them?]

B. Afteran AbbreviationorInitial

Mr.,U.S.,Dr.,Calif.,M.D.,Rev.,lb.

NOTE:Ms. takesaperiod.Missdoesnot.

Do

not

useaperiodwith

Well-known initialsof manyorganizations: IBM, FBI,

CBS,UN,YMCA

Radioandtelevisionstations:WSQK

Moneyineven-dollardenominations:$40(but$40.99)

Contractions:ass'n,sec'y [for

association, secretary.

Theymayalsobewritten

essn.,secy.]

Ordinalnumbers:5th,2nd,HenryVIII

Nicknames:Rob,Pat,Sid,Pam

Common shortened terms: memo, math, exam, lab,

gym,TV [All thesetermsare colloquial; use the full

wordsinformalwriting.]

C. AfteraNumberor LetterinaFormalOut line

I. Sportstaughtthissemester

A.

Swimming

B. Softball

NOTE:

Do

not

useaperiod

Ifthenumberorletteriswithinparentheses:(1).(a)

Ifthenumberispartofatitle:chapter4,HenryV

SeeB-2,page37,formoreonoutlineform.

D. InaGroupofThree ( )toShow

(1) Ellipsis

(the intentional omission of words) in a

quotedpassage.Retainnecessarypunctuationpre

cedingtheellipsis:

"But,inalargersense,wecannotdedicate.. . thisground.

The brave men, living and dead,.

.

haveconsecrated

it.

"

Abraham Lincoln,"GettysburgAddress"

Thefirstofthefourfinalperiodssignalstheendof

thesentence.

(2) Pause,hesitation,andthelike

indialogueandinter

ruptednarrative(donotoverusethisdevice) :

"PerhapsI'mnotfittedtobeamother?Perhaps .andif

so . andhow

?"

Doris

Lessing,"AManandTwoWomen"

E. AfteraNonsentence. (Anonsentenceisalegitimate

unitofexpressionlackingsubject +predicate.Itisfound

mostlyindialogue.)

(1) A

greeting:

Goodmorning.

(2) A

mildexclamation

notwithinasentence:

Oh, Shucks.

(3) Ananswerto

a

question:

WhencanIgetthere?

Bynine.

NOTE:

A nonsentence is a correct expression. A fragment (asimilar

structureunintentionally lackingsubject+predicate) isanerror.Frag

mentsareexplainedin

G-l0.2A,

page

12.

2. Do

ot

Use a Period After a Title

of a

compositionorreport,evenifthattitleisasentence:

AcidRaininthe1990's

AcidRainIsaGlobalProblem

Do, however, use a question mark or exclamation point

whereappropriate:

AcidRain:CanWeStopIt?

P-3. TheQuestionMark[?]

1. UseaQuestionMark

A. AfteraDirect Question

Areyougoing?Where?Atwhattime?

It'salongtrip,isn'tit?

You

said did

Ihearyoucorrectly?-thatyou'reready.

You met her at the airport? [A question may be in

declarative-sentenceform;thequestionmarksignals

thetoneinwhichitwouldbespoken.]

Foruseofthequestionmarkinquotations,seeP-8.3C,

page19;intitles,seeP-2.2,thispage.

B. WithinParenthesestoIndicateDoubtorUncertainty

Chaucerwasbornin1340(?)anddiedin1400.

2. Do otUseaQuestionMark

A. AfteranIndirectQuestion

SherwoodaskedwhetherIwouldbethere.

B. AfteraPoliteRequest InQuest ionForm

Willyoukindlysendmeacopyofthereport.

C.Within Parentheses to ExpressHumoror Irony

Wrong:Theyaresuchacharming(?)couple.

P-4. TheExclamationPoint

[ ]

1. UseanExclamationPointAfteran

EmphaticWord, Sentence,orOther

Expression.

Wonderful! Ican'tbelieveit!

Holycowl Whataplay!

For use ofthe exclamationpoint intitles,see P-2.2, this

page.

2. Do otUseanExclamationPoint

A. AfteraMildInterjectionoraSentenceThatSuggests

Only Mild Excitement or Emotion. The exclamation

pointis astrongsignal,but one that quickly losesits

effectifoverused.Ingeneral,outsideofquoteddialogue,

reservetheexclamationpointforexpressionsthatbegin


17/42

P-6-4 17

withhowor what (and are not questions).Elsewhere,

usethelessdramaticcommaorperiod:

Howcrudeofhim! Why,Ineverknewthat.

B. MoreThanOnce,orwithOtherPauseorStopMarks

Wrong:Holycow!!![One issufficient.]

Wrong:Yousoldthecowforahandfulofbeans?![Use

ei

ther?

or!]

Foruseoftheexclamationpointinquotations,seeP-8.3C,

page19.

P-5. TheSemicolon[;]

The semicolon signals a greater break in thought than the

commabutalesserbreakthantheperiod.Itis,however,closer

toa periodthanto acomma inmostof its usesandisoften

interchangeablew iththeperiod.Thesemicolonofteng ivesyour

writingaformaltone,asthefollowingexamplessuggest.

UseaSemicolon

A. BetweenIndependent Clauses Not JoinedbyaCoordI

nateConjunction

Sincethemid-1970'sAmerica'scampuseshavebeenrela

tively quiet; today's students seem interested more in

coursesthancauses.

Thesemicolonisparticularlyeffectiveforshowingbalanceor

contrastbetweentwoclauses:

Thelakesaboundwithfish; thewoodsteemwithgame.

Peopleareusuallywillingtogiveadvice;theyaremuchless

inclinedtotake it.

B. BetweenIndependentClausesJoinedbyaCon junctive

Adverb(therefore,however,nevertheless, thus,moreover,

also, besides, consequently, meanwhile, otherwise, then,

also,furthermore,likewise, infact,stil/):

Onweekdayswecloseateleven;however,onweekendswe

stayopenuntilone.

Take six courses this semester; otherwise you may not

graduate.

NOTE:Thecommaaftersomeconjunctiveadverbsisoptional.

Someconjunctiveadverbsmaydriftintothesecondclause,

butthesemicolonremainsbetweentheclauses :

Onweekdayswecloseateleven;onweekends,however,

westayopenuntilone.

C. Between Independent Clauses Joined by aCoordinate

Conjunction When There Are Commas Within the

Clauses

Today people can buy what they need from department

stores,supermarkets,anddiscountstores;butinColonial

days, when such conveniences did not exist, people

dependedongeneralstoresandpeddlers.[Thesemico

lon marks the break between the independent clauses

moreclearlythanacommawould.]

D. Between Items in a Series When There Are Commas

Withinthe Items

At the high school alumni dinner I sat with the school's

best-knowngraduate,HarperWyckoff; theeditorofthe

schoolpaper;twostarsoftheschoolplay,afellowanda

girlwho latermarriedeachother; andTad Frump, the

classclown.

1.UseanApostrophe

A. To Form the PossessiveCase of Nouns.A nounis

possessiveifitcanalsobeexpressedasthelastwordin

an of phrase: the captain's chair= the chair of the

P-6. TheApostrophe[']

captain.

(1) Formthepossessives

of these with an apostrophe

+s

Almostallsingularnouns:

awoman's coat

Mr.Smith'scar

Ms.Davis's boat

abird's nest

aperson

Documents

English Simplified, Sixth Edition