*A Few Words about Grammar
* Capitalization
* Faulty Comparisions
* "i.e." vs. "e.g."
* "It's" Or "Its"
* "The Latter" and "The Former"
* "Less" or "Fewer," "Many" or "Much"
* "Lie"/"Lay"
* Parallel Structure
* Past Perfect Tense
* Present Perfect Tense
* Punctuation
* "Respectively"
* Run-On Sentences
* Subject and Verb Agreement
* "Who" or "Whom"
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A Few Words about Grammar
Grammar: Can't live with it, can't live without it. At least, your writing can't live without it. Good grammar is the foundation of good writing, the structure on which your beautiful, clear prose is built. Here are brief explanations of a few of the areas that give people fits.
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Capitalization
Let’s review a pair of important capitalization rules.
“Proper adjectives” are capitalized. These are adjectives
that come from proper nouns, i.e., names. “French,” for instance, comes from
the proper noun “France,” so it is capitalized. Note, the common noun modified by
a proper adjective is not capitalized.
By the same token, languages
are capitalized since they derive from the names of places.
Examples:
I love crusty French bread.
Do you see that German shepherd?
The garden was designed by a Japanese landscape architect.
The ambassador speaks French, Russian, and English.
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Faulty Comparisons
These are subtle and can be
tricky. The problem occurs when the logic of the sentence compares things of
different categories of thought – e.g., people to abstractions (or apples to
oranges?!).
Examples of sentences with a
“faulty comparison”
Like many painters of his era,
Picasso’s paintings displayed an eagerness to represent the world in a new way.
Why it’s faulty:
The sentence compares
“painters,” i.e., people, with
“paintings.” We need to compare people
to people, or paintings to paintings.
Fixes:
Like many paintings created in his era, Picasso’s
paintings displayed an eagerness to represent the world in a new way.
Like many painters of his era, Picasso
created paintings that displayed an eagerness to represent the world in a new
way.
Example:
My brother likes football more
than me.
Why it’s faulty:
The sentence compares how much the brother likes football with
how much he likes the speaker, which
is funny but unintended. We need to compare how
much the brother likes football with how
much the speaker likes football.
Fix:
My brother likes football more than I
do. [Note: The “I do” is short for “I like football”]
Example:
Modern audiences tend to prefer
David Tennant’s performance in Hamlet
to Laurence Olivier.
Why it’s faulty:
The sentence compares David
Tennant’s performance to a person, Laurence Olivier, not to another
actor’s performance. We need to compare a performance
to a performance, or a person to a person.
Fixes:
Modern audiences tend to prefer David Tennant’s performance in Hamlet to Laurence Olivier’s. [Note: “Laurence Oliver’s” is short for
“Laurence Olivier’s performance”]
Modern audiences tend to prefer David Tennant’s performance in Hamlet to that of Laurence Olivier.
[Note: “that of Laurence Olivier” is short for “the performance of Laurence
Olivier”]
Example of a non-faulty
comparison, from Treasure Island:
“Come now, march,” interrupted
he; and I never heard a voice so
cruel, and cold, and ugly as that blind
man’s.” [Note: “that blind man’s” is short for “that blind man’s voice.”]
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“i.e.” vs. “e.g.”
These two little grammatical
beasties are easy to tame.
“i.e.” is short for the Latin
phrase “id est” and means “that is.”
You use it like this:
The Sultan of Swat, i.e., Babe
Ruth, dominated baseball like no one before or since.
Artificial selection, i.e.,
evolution as a result of selective breeding, has resulted in hundreds of dog
breeds.
“e.g.” means “for example” and
is the abbreviation of the Latin phrase “exempli gratia,” which means, roughly,
“given for the sake of example.”
You use it like this:
The baseball greats of the 1920’s, e.g., Babe Ruth and Ty
Cobb, were known in every home.
Truly transformational presidents, e.g., Abraham Lincoln and
the Roosevelts, will be the focus of our discussion.
That’s it—i.e., we’re done!
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"It's" Or "Its"
Its not hard to get this right every time. I mean, "it's" not hard.
Just remember that "it's" is a contraction of the two words "it is," and "its" is used to show possession.
So in this sentence ... "The dog chased it's ball." ... "it's" is wrong because you do not mean to say "The dog chased it is ball." Instead you would write, "The dog chased its ball into the bushes."
In this sentence ... "Its going to be beautiful today." ... "Its" is wrong because you mean to say "it is" going to be beautiful today. Therefore you would write, "It's going to be beautiful today."
It's that simple!
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"The Latter" and "The Former"
"The latter” and “the former” are handy phrases to use when two or more nouns are introduced in a series and then discussed further.
Illustration:
Juliet and Romeo enjoyed the play, but only the latter considered it worth seeing again.
[Only Romeo considered the play worth seeing again].
Juliet and Romeo enjoyed the play, but only the former considered it worth seeing again.
[Only Juliet considered the play worth seeing again].
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"Less" or "Fewer," "Many" or "Much"
You use “fewer” to indicate a smaller number of something that may be counted, and “less” for something that cannot be counted.
Likewise, you use “many” to indicate a greater number of something that may be counted, and “much” for something that cannot be counted.
Thus you would say,
Tonight’s math homework contains fewer problems than last night’s, and it’s giving me less trouble.
Or ...
Many people are coming to my party, and we’ll have much fun.”
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“Lie” or “Lay,” and those confusing past tenses
The verb “lie” means to recline, like when you’re in bed. “Let sleeping dogs lie.”
The verb “lay” means to put something down, like a hen laying an egg.
Everyone seems to have trouble keeping the verb tenses straight. So let me lay out the rules.
Present tense usage of “lie.” It’s a perfect day to lie in the sun.
Present tense usage of “lay.” Sounds great. Let’s lay a blanket on the grass.
Now the for past tense.
The past tense of “lie” is “lay.”
We lay on the grass for three hours, enjoying good food and listening to the game.
The past tense of “lay” is “laid.”
The giant’s hen laid three golden eggs yesterday.
Finally, let’s lay out the past participles of these two verbs.
The past participle of “lie” is “lain.”
We’ve lain on the grass all day. Let’s get going.
The past participle of “lay” is “laid.”
That incredible hen has laid four golden eggs already this morning!
Now that we have laid it all out, we can let the subject lie!
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Parallel Structure
Parallel Structure
Constructing sentences in a parallel manner makes writing
clear and logical.
For instance, when a categorical term is used to introduce a
series of terms, all of the terms must belong to the category.
The following sentence lacks parallel construction:
Diseases such as small pox, polio, and poor hygiene killed
millions in the twentieth century.
The sentence is ungrammatical because "poor
hygiene" is not a "disease," although it can certainly lead to
disease. If you eliminate the words between "such as" and "poor
hygiene," you have the clearly nonsensical statement:
Diseases such as poor hygiene killed millions in the 20th
century.
Parallel construction is also required when you have a
series of actions. In such a case, the verb forms must be consistent.
Consider: Swimming,
hiking, and to garden are Jen’s favorite pastimes.
The “–ing” verbs “swimming” and
“hiking” agree with each other, but the infinitive “to work” does not agree;
therefore, the sentence lacks parallel structure. The sentence is fixed by
using the –ing form of the verb, i.e., “gardening” —
Swimming, hiking, and gardening are Jen’s favorite
pastimes.
Verb tenses must also agree.
Consider:
Fewer readers are buying paper books as the cost of e–readers
decreases and the number of titles available
for e-readers will increase.
The verb form “are buying” establishes
the present tense for this sentence. “Decreases” properly conforms to the present
tense—but the future tense verb form “will increase” does not. The sentence
should read:
Fewer readers are buying paper books as the cost of e–readers
decreases and the number of titles available
for e-readers increases.
That was clear, understandable, and useful, wasn't it?
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Past Perfect Tense
The "past perfect tense" gives people fits until they master it.
Think of the “past perfect tense” as the deep past, or the past of the past. You use the past perfect tense when you are discussing the past from the point of view of the more recent past. It really helps keep the time frame of a series of events clear. You form the past perfect tense by using "had" and the past participle of the verb in question (the "past participle" of the verb "to go," for instance, is "gone").
Let's look at an example using the most famous lovers in the history of literature.
Let's suppose that Romeo left the famous party at which he met Juliet at 9, and that Juliet arrived at 10.
You would write:
Romeo had already gone home an hour before Juliet arrived at the masquerade party.
You would write "had gone" because Romeo's earlier action, going home, was completed before Juliet's action of arriving. You formed the past perfect tense by using "had" followed by the past participle of "go," i.e., "gone."
You would not write, "Romeo already went home by the time Juliet arrived at the masquerade party," because "went" is the simple past tense of the verb "to go," not the past perfect tense.
For fun, study the great Robert Louis Stevenson's use of the past perfect tense in the following excerpt from Treasure Island. In this passage, the boy Jim has just discovered that the bullying pirate who has lodged at his father's inn for months has died. Notice how all the past perfect forms indicate actions happening before that moment ("had been struck dead," "had ... never liked," "had begun," "second death I had known":
“But haste was all in vain. The captain had been struck dead by thundering apoplexy. It is a curious thing to understand , for I had certainly never liked the man, though of late I had begun to pity him, but as soon as I saw that he was dead, I burst into a flood of tears. It was the second death I had known, and the sorrow of the first was still fresh in my heart.”
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Present Perfect Tense
You use the “present perfect tense” to indicate actions that began in the past and are still going on, or that have just recently been completed. Don’t be confused by the fact that is called the “present” perfect tense. "Presentness" is part of the present perfect tense, but so is the past.
Let's look at an example.
If you have a beloved dog, you might say, “I have had a lot of great times with Beebop.” You would use “have had” instead of "had" because Beebop is still living with you; he is part of your present.
On the other hand, if good old Beebop has died, you would say, with regret: “I had a lot of great times with Beebop.” Since Beebop is now in the past (although he still lives in your heart), the verb must be in the past tense too, i.e., "had."
Likewise, if you are living in the Bay Area now, you might say: “I have had a lot of great times in the Bay Area.”
On the other hand, if you are discussing your wonderful trip to Yosemite last year, you would say: "I had a great time at Yosemite last year."
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Punctuation
Apostrophes in Possessives
Apostrophes show possession.
The dog’s toy. The cat’s dish.
It’s easy to remember where to put the apostrophe if you
just remember that it goes after the singular word if the subject is singular,
and after the plural word if the subject is plural.
If we are discussing one dog, we would write: “the dog’s
toys.”
If discussing two or more dogs, we would write: “the dogs’
toys.”
A special case exists for the plural forms of “man,”
“woman,” and “child,” because those words are not formed by adding an “s” to
the end, as most words are. Instead, we write “men,” “women,” and “children.”
In forming a possessive, we add an “s” to the end of “men,”
“women,” and “children” simply because it would sound weird not to. Don’t be
confused by the “s”at the end of those words—the apostrophe still goes at the
end of the plural word, just as with any other plural word:
“men’s issues”
“women’s issues”
“children’s playground”
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The Use of Commas, Like This, with Parenthetical Remarks
This issue can be explained by both ear and by grammar.
First, let’s go by ear. A comma, of course, is to indicate a pause, or a
breath, on the part of the speaker. Notice how a speaker would naturally pause
at the commas in the following sentences:
My wonderful dog, Buster, always runs to the door to greet
me when I return home.
Last night’s storm, the first of the rainy season, delivered
two inches of rain.
In grammatical terms, notice that the main idea of each
sentence would still remain even without the information in parentheses:
My wonderful dog always runs to the door to greet me when I
return home.
Last night’s storm delivered two inches of rain.
The information enclosed by commas is called a
“parenthetical” because you could easily imagine it being enclosed by
parenthesis (<these marks are parentheses>). The “parenthetical”
furnishes a bit of extra information about the subject before we go on to
complete the main idea.
The preceding explanation, although brief, should be
sufficient. ;o)
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Punctuation Issue: The Use of The Long Dash
The “long dash,” or “em dash”—this phrase is enclosed by long
dashes—is used to bring the reader to a long stop when dramatic side
information is introduced. The dashes create a longer stop than commas would.
You make a long dash by holding down shift–option–dash.
Notice the drama created by long dashes in the following
sentences:
The pop quiz—an
extraordinarly difficult one—caught
everyone by surprise.
If you haven’t seen King
Lear—undoubtedly one of the finest plays about aging and parenthood in
the history of the theater—I suggest
that you watch for an opportunity to do so.
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Punctuation Issue: Semicolon Usage
The semicolon ( ; ) is a valuable but poorly understood
little punctuation mark. Grammatically speaking, you use a semicolon to join two
independent clauses in lieu of using a comma and a conjunction. It is a dramatic
and effective way of joining closely related ideas and of adding variety to a
piece of writing. Note, an “independent clause” is best thought of as a group of
words that could stand alone as a sentence.
As a rhythmic device, the semicolon creates a longer stop
than a comma, but a shorter stop than a period.
Examples:
Jon spends an inordinate amount of time thinking about punctuation;
Bill prefers football.
Harry Potter proves to be a decent, loyal, honorable chap; Draco
Malfoy, not so much so.
The main building shows few signs of disrepair; the outbuildings,
on the other hand, are in serious need of repair.
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“Respectively”
“Respectively” is a very useful word. It helps the writer structure
a clear sentence when two nouns are introduced and then each is modified by a description.
Example:
City Hall and the Main Library were built in 1922 and 1928, respectively. < City Hall was built in
1922, while the Main Library was built in 1928.
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Run–On Sentences
Run–on sentences are easier to feel than to understand intellectually. If the sentence reminds you up a runaway truck rolling downhill without brakes, it is probably a run–on sentence. If the sentence sounds like an over–excited five–year–old telling you about his trip to the circus and forgetting to breathe, it is probably a run–on sentence. A run–on sentence does not breathe. The ideas in the sentence run together, making it hard for the reader to follow.
Here is an example of a run–on
sentence:
Defeating the Dodgers was quite easy, the Giants do their best
when they play their ancient rivals.
And here are four ways to correct it:
With a period:
Defeating the Dodgers was quite
easy. The Giants do their best when they play their ancient
rivals.
By adding a conjunction (a small
connecting word such as “since,” “because,” “and,” “or,” “for,” etc.):
Defeating the Dodgers was quite easy, for the Giants do their best
when they play their ancient rivals.
With a colon (this: : ):
Defeating the Dodgers was quite easy:
the Giants do their best when they play their ancient rivals.
With a long dash (this: — ):
Defeating the Dodgers was quite
easy—the Giants do their best when they play their ancient rivals.
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Subject and Verb Agreement
Brief explanation. The subject of a sentence is the person or thing doing something. The verb is the action the subject takes.
Consider this sentence:
"William writes some mighty fine tales."
"William" is the subject and "writes" is the verb. William "agrees" with the verb "writes" because both are singular (William Shakepeare was a "singular" writer! never mind).
Now consider this:
"William and Mary throw some truly fine dinner parties."
"William and Mary" are a plural subject, and so they agree with the plural verb "throw."
Problem Area: Subject and Verb Agreement When Verb Comes First
Mistakes are often made when the verb comes before the subject. This is because the subject comes before the verb in most sentences, so our ears are not accustomed to hearing the error when it's the other way around.
Consider this sentence:
"There's quite a few reasons to learn how to cook."
"There's" is a contraction of the words "There is." "Is" is wrong because it is singular, and does not agree with the subject of the sentence, "reasons," which is plural.
It's really easy to get this right every time if you turn the words around and think of a sentence beginning with the subject. If you were to begin a sentence with, "Your reasons," you would surely recognize that the verb would be the plural "are," as in: "Your reasons are good."
That's why you wouldn't say "Here's the neighbors." "Neighbors" is plural, so you'd use the plural "are" in "Here are the neighbors."
Example:
High above the city rises dozens of gleaming skyscrapers.
The singular verb, “rises,” does not agree with the plural
subject, “skyscrapers.”
The error becomes pretty clear if we put the words in the
more common word order:
Dozens of gleaming skyscrapers
rises high above the city.
Using the more common word order, we would write:
Dozens of gleaming skyscrapers
rise high above the city.
Likewise, if the verb is to come first, we must write:
“High above the city rise
dozens of gleaming skyscrapers.”
Example:
On the review board sit five of the city’s most respected
architects.
The singular “sit” does not agree with the plural “architects.”
We need to write:
Five of the city’s most respected architects sit on the review
board.
Problem Area: Subject and Verb Agreement When Subject And Verb Are Widely Separated
Mistakes are often made when the subject and verb are widely separated by other words, especially when a noun other than the subject sits right next to the verb.
Consider this sentence: The soup with roasted vegetables taste delicious.
The sentence is wrong because the true subject, i.e., the main thing we are talking about, is "soup," which is singular. A singular subject, of course, takes a singular verb, which in this case would be "sounds" ... as in, "Lunch sounds great, I'll meet you at 12." People make this kind of mistake because a plural noun, "vegetables," happens to be sitting right next to the verb. But we're not saying "the vegetables taste delicious," we're saying "the soup ... tastes delicious." Which soup? The soup with roasted vegetables. So, "The soup with roasted vegetables tastes delicious."
It's easy to get this right if you just boil (a little soup humor) the sentence down to a simple two-word subject-verb phrase. In the example, the phrase is "soup taste." You can hear how wrong that sounds -- and how right "soup tastes" sounds. Easy!
Hm ... soup for lunch sounds great.
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"Who" or "Whom"
Who hasn't wondered when to use "who" and when to use "whom?"
It's not too hard when you know the rule.
You use "who" when you are indicating the subject of a clause, that is, the person who is doing something. You use "whom" to indicate the object of a clause, that is, the person receiving an action.
It's easy with examples.
You would write, "Do you know who signed for my package?" "Who" is called for because it refers to the subject of the clause, that is, the person who took the action of signing for the package. Here's a trick. If you knew the answer, would you say, "He signed for the package" or "Him signed for the package?" Obviously you would say "He." So just remember that "who" is used for subjects -- just like "he."
On the other hand, you would write, "Whom do you want to hire for the new position?"
The subject is "you," that is, the person doing the hiring, and the object is "whom," that is, the unknown person to be hired. Let's use the trick again. If you knew that a man was going to be hired, you would say, "You are going to hire him," not "You are going to hire he." "Him" is for objects, and so is "whom." "Her" is for objects too.
So if you turn around the sentence and ask yourself whether you would use "he" or "him" (or "she" or "her"), you will know for sure whether to use "who" or whom."
Okay, who has questions? (It's "who" because "who" stands for the subject, as in "He has questions" or "She has questions."). But you knew that.
