An Important Note to Our Library Readers
Contents
How to Use This Book
Writing Skills Pretest
Pretest
Answer Key
Lesson 1 Capitalization
Lesson 2 - Periods, Question Marks, and Exclamation Points
Lesson 3 - Avoiding Faulty Sentences
Lesson 4 - Commas and Sentence Parts
Lesson 5 - Commas that Separate
Lesson 6 - Semicolons and Colons
Lesson 7 - Apostrophes and Dashes
Lesson 8 - Quotation Marks
Lesson 9 - - Designer - Punctuation
Lesson 10 - Verb Tense
Lesson 11 - Using Verbs to Create Strong Writing
Lesson 12 - Subject-Verb Agreement
Lesson 13 - Using Pronouns
Lesson 14 - Problem Verbs and Pronouns
Lesson 15 - Modifiers
Lesson 16 - Easily Confused Word Pairs
Lesson 17 - More Easily Confused Words
Lesson 18 - Diction
Lesson 19 - More Diction
Lesson 20 - Communicating Yours Ideas
Post-Test
Appendix A - How To Prepare for a Test
Appendix B - Additional Resources

Lesson 1 Capitalization

General Capitalization Rules
Proper Nouns and Proper Adjectives
When NOT to Capitalize
Answers

General Capitalization Rules

Practice

Proper Nouns and Proper Adjectives

Practice
Practice
Practice
Proper Adjectives
Practice

When NOT to Capitalize

Practice

Lesson 2 - Periods, Question Marks, and Exclamation Points

Rules for Using Periods
Rules for Using Question Marks and Exclamation Points
Answers

Rules for Using Periods

Practice

Rules for Using Question Marks and Exclamation Points

Practice

Lesson 3 - Avoiding Faulty Sentences

Complete Sentences
Sentence Fragments
Run-On Sentences
Comma Splices
Answers

Run-On Sentences

Practice

Comma Splices

Practice

Lesson 4 - Commas and Sentence Parts

Commas Following Introductory Words, Phrases, and Clauses
Commas with Appositives
Commas and Nonrestrictive Clauses
Review
Answers

Commas Following Introductory Words, Phrases, and Clauses

Practice

Commas and Nonrestrictive Clauses

Practice

Lesson 5 - Commas that Separate

Commas with Independent Clauses Joined by a Conjunction
Commas to Separate Items in a Series
Commas to Separate Items in a Date or an Address
Commas to Separate Adjectives
Commas to Separate Other Elements of a Sentence
Answers

Commas with Independent Clauses Joined by a Conjunction

Practice

Commas to Separate Items in a Date or an Address

Practice

Commas to Separate Other Elements of a Sentence

Practice

Lesson 6 - Semicolons and Colons

Semicolons
Colons
Answers

Semicolons

Practice

Colons

Colons that introduce
Colons that show a Subordinate Relationship
Practice

Lesson 7 - Apostrophes and Dashes

Apostrophes
Dashes
Practice and Review
Answers

Apostrophes

To Show Possession
Practice
To Show Omission

Dashes

Practice

Lesson 8 - Quotation Marks

Quotation Marks with Direct Quotations
Other Uses of Quotation Marks
Punctuating within Quotation Marks
Answers

Quotation Marks with Direct Quotations

A Word About Dialogue

A Word About Dialogue

Dialogue at a Glance

Punctuating within Quotation Marks

Practice

Lesson 9 - - Designer - Punctuation

Hyphens
Parentheses
Brackets
Ellipses
Diagonals
Numbers
Answers

Numbers

Practice

Lesson 10 - Verb Tense

Principal Parts of Verbs
Consistent Verb Tense
Subjunctive Mood
Answers

Principal Parts of Verbs

Practice

Consistent Verb Tense

Present Tense Forms
Past Tense Forms
Future Tense Forms
How Verb Tenses Convey Meaning
Have, Not Of
Switching Verb Tenses

Subjunctive Mood

Practice

Lesson 11 - Using Verbs to Create Strong Writing

Active vs. Passive Voice
Other Life-Draining Verb Constructions
Use Lively, Interesting Verbs
Answers

Active vs. Passive Voice

Practice
When to use Passive Voice

Other Life-Draining Verb Constructions

Using State-of-Being Verbs
Turning Verbs into Nouns
Adding Unnecessary Auxiliary Verbs
Starting with There or It

Use Lively, Interesting Verbs

Practice

Lesson 12 - Subject-Verb Agreement

Agreement Between Noun Subjects and Verbs
Agreement Between Pronoun Subjects and Verbs
Special Sentence Structures
Answers

Agreement Between Noun Subjects and Verbs

Special Problems
Practice

Special Problems

Doesn't/Don't and Wasn't/Weren't
Phrases Following the Subject
Special Singular Subjects

Agreement Between Pronoun Subjects and Verbs

Singular Pronouns
Watch out for Questions
Plural Pronouns
Singular/Plural Pronouns
Practice

Special Sentence Structures

Compound Subjects
Make Sure You Find the Subject
Practice

Make Sure You Find the Subject

Questions and Sentences Beginning with There or Here
Inverted Sentences

Lesson 13 - Using Pronouns

Pronouns and Antecedents
Pronoun Case
Noun-Pronoun Pairs
Incomplete Constructions
Ambiguous Pronoun References
Improper Reflexive Pronouns
Answers

Pronouns and Antecedents

Practice

Pronoun Case

Problems with Pronoun Case
Practice

Lesson 14 - Problem Verbs and Pronouns

Problem Verbs
Problem Pronouns
Answers

Problem Verbs

Lie/Lay
Practice
Sit/Set
Practice
Rise/Raise
Practice

Problem Pronouns

Its/It's
Your/You're
Whose/Who's
Who/That/Which
There/Their/They're
Practice

Lesson 15 - Modifiers

Adjectives
Adverbs
Adjective or Adverb?
Comparisons
Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers
Answers

Adjectives

Fewer/Less, Number/Amount

Adjective or Adverb?

Good and Well

Comparisons

Avoid Illogical or Unclear Comparisons
Avoid Double Comparisons
Avoid Double Negatives

Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers

Misplaced Modifiers
Dangling Modifiers
Practice

Misplaced Modifiers

Words
Phrases and Clauses

Lesson 16 - Easily Confused Word Pairs

Three-Way Confusion
Easy Misses
To Split or Not to Split
Answers

Three-Way Confusion

Lead/Led/Lead
Quite/Quit/Quiet
Right/Write/Rite
Sent/Cent/Scent
Sight/Site/Cite
To/Too/Two
Where/Wear/Were
Practice

Easy Misses

Brake/Break
Passed/Past
Peace/piece
Plain/Plane
Scene/Seen
Threw/Through
Weak/Week
Which/Witch
Practice

To Split or Not to Split

Already/All Ready
Altogether/All Together
Everyday/Every Day
Maybe/May be
Always Split
Practice

Lesson 17 - More Easily Confused Words

Small But Tricky
Often Used and Misused
Killer a's and al's
Answers

Small But Tricky

By/Buy
Dear/Deer
Die/Dye
Hear/Here
Hole/Whole
Knew/New
Know/No
Meat/Meet
One/Won
Seam/Seem
Practice

Often Used and Misused

Choose/Chose
Loose/Lose/Loss
Suppose/Supposed
Than/Then
Use/Used
Weather/Whether
Practice

Killer a's and al's

Accept/Except/Expect
Advice/Advise
Affect/Effect
Capital/Capitol
Personal/Personnel
Principal/Principle
Practice

Lesson 18 - Diction

Wordiness
Precise Language
Answers

Wordiness

Buzzwords and Fluffy Modifiers
Passive Voice
Intellectual-Ese
Redundancy
Practice

Buzzwords and Fluffy Modifiers

Word
Revised

Intellectual-Ese

Original pretentious memo:
Roosevelt's revised memo:
Pompous memo:
Revised:

Precise Language

Abstract vs. Concrete
Clich - s
Jargon
Practice

Lesson 19 - More Diction

Colloquialism
Tone
Consistent Point of View
Parallelism
Using Gender-Neutral Language

Tone

Avoid Anger
Avoid Cuteness
Avoid Pompousness
Avoid Cheap Emotion

Using Gender-Neutral Language

Gender Traps
Avoiding Gender Traps

Gender Traps

Masculine Nouns or Pronouns
Women as Subordinate to Men
- Men's - Jobs and - Women's - Jobs

Avoiding Gender Traps

Use Gender-Neutral Terms
Convert to the Plural
Restructure Sentences to Avoid Gender Reference

Lesson 20 - Communicating Yours Ideas

Writing to Inform
Writing to Explain
Writing to Persuade

Writing to Inform

The Planning
The Memo

Writing to Persuade

Logical Order
Solid Support
Credibility

Post-Test

Post-Test
Answer Key

Appendix A - How To Prepare for a Test

Combating Test Anxiety
Time Strategies
Avoiding Errors
The Days before the Test
Test Day
After the Test

Combating Test Anxiety

Take the Test One Question at a Time
Develop a Positive Attitude
If You Lose Your Concentration
If you Freeze Before or During the Test

Time Strategies

Pace Yourself
Keep Moving
Don't Rush
Check Yourself

Avoiding Errors

Control Yourself
Directions
Answers
Reading Long Passages
Choosing the Right Answers
If you're Penalized for Wrong Answers
If you Finish Early

The Days before the Test

Physical Activity
Balanced Diet
Rest
Trial Run

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Page iii

An Important Note to Our Library Readers

If you have checked this book out from your school or public library, please do not write in the book itself. Instead use a separate notepad to write down your answers, so that other readers in your library can reuse the material. Thank you for your help and for your consideration of others.

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Page v

Contents

Introduction
How to Use This Book

vii

Pretest

1

Lesson 1
Capitalization

11

General rules, specific rules regarding proper nouns and adjectives

Lesson 2
Periods, Question Marks, and Exclamation Points

19

Ending a sentence, alternate uses for periods

Lesson 3
Avoiding Faulty Sentences

25

Sentence fragments, run-on sentences, comma splices

Lesson 4
Commas and Sentence Parts

35

Relating commas to clauses and phrases

Lesson 5
Commas that Separate

43

Independent clauses, items in a series, items in a date or address, two or more adjectives preceding a noun, contrasting elements and words

Lesson 6
Semicolons and Colons

53

Introductions, subordinate relationships, common confusions with punctuation

Lesson 7
Apostrophes and Dashes

61

Using apostrophes to show possession or omission, dashes to emphasize

Lesson 8
Quotation Marks

69

Dialogue, direct quotations, other punctuation, double and single quotation marks

Lesson 9
"Designer" Punctuation

77

Hyphens, parentheses, brackets, ellipses, diagonal slashes

Lesson 10
Verb Tense

85

Present, past, future tenses; switching tenses; subjunctive mood

Lesson 11
Using Verbs to Create Strong Writing

93

Capturing a reader's interest; using active voice

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Page vii

How to Use This Book

Writing is a lot like fishing. People who are good at fishing study and practice it. They learn which tools to use for catching the best fish in different types of water. No one is born with fishing talent. Some people enjoy it more than others, but everyone can do it if they want. The same goes for writing.

Since you bought this book, you probably want or need to learn more about the process of writing and how to become a better writer. This book will help you acquire the mysterious and coveted power of the pen in 20 easy steps. This book covers the basics of writing: punctuation, usage, diction, and organization. You'll find no fluff in this book; it's for busy people who want to learn as much as they can as efficiently as possible. Each lesson contains enough illustrations for you to get the idea, opportunities to practice the skills, and suggestions for using them in your daily life.

Many people fear a blank sheet of paper or an empty computer screen. "I just don't know what to write. Even when I know what I want to say, I'm afraid it will come out looking wrong or sounding stupid."

But that's one of the things to love about writing. Writing is a process. The first time you write a draft, it doesn't matter if your writing comes out wrong or sounds stupid to you because you can change it as often as you want. You can go over until you're completely satisfied, or until you need to shift gears. You can show your draft to your friends or family and get a response before you ever make it public.

Don't put pressure on yourself by thinking you ever to write a perfect first draft. No one can sit down and write polished memos, reports, or let-

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Page 1

Writing Skills Pretest

Before you start your study of grammar and writing skills, you may want to get an idea of how much you already know and how much you need to learn. If that's the case, take the pretest that follows.

The pretest is 50 multiple-choice questions covering all the lessons in this book. Naturally, 50 questions can't cover every single concept or rule you will learn by working through this book. So even if you get all of the questions on the pretest right, it's almost guaranteed that you will find a few ideas or rules in this book that you didn't already know. On the other hand, if you get a lot of the answers wrong on this pretest, don't despair. This book will show you how to get better at grammar and writing, step by step.

So use this pretest just to get a general idea of how much of what's in this book you already know. If you get a high score on this pretest, you may be able to spend less time with this book than you originally planned. If you get a low score, you may find that you will need more than 20 minutes a day to get through each chapter and learn all the grammar and mechanics concepts you need.

There's an answer sheet you can use for filling in the correct answers on the next page. Or, if you prefer, simply circle the answer numbers in this book. If the book doesn't belong to you, write the numbers 1–50 on a piece of paper and record your answers there. Take as much time as you need to do this short test. When you finish, check your answers against the answer key that follows this test. Each answer tells you which lesson of this book teaches you about the grammatical rule in that question.

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Page 3

Pretest

1. Which version of the sentence is correctly capitalized?

a. Last Thursday, my Mother, my Aunt Sarah, and I went to the museum to see an exhibit of African art.
b. Last Thursday, my mother, my Aunt Sarah, and I went to the museum to see an exhibit of African art.
c. Last Thursday, my mother, my aunt Sarah, and I went to the Museum to see an exhibit of African art.
d. Last thursday, my mother, my aunt Sarah, and I went to the museum to see an exhibit of African Art.

2. Which of the underlined words in the following sentence should be capitalized?

The governor gave a speech at the fourth of July picnic, which was held at my cousin's farm five miles east of town.

a. governor
b. fourth
c. cousin's
d. east

3. Which of the underlined words in the following sentence should be capitalized?

''Last semester, I wrote my history report on the Korean war," my sister told me.

a. semester
b. history
c. war
d. sister

4. Which version uses periods correctly?

a. Dr Harrison will speak at a hotel in Chicago, Ill, on Thurs at 3:00 P.M.
b. Dr. Harrison will speak at a hotel in Chicago, Ill, on Thurs at 3:00 PM.
c. Dr Harrison will speak at a hotel in Chicago, Ill, on Thurs. at 3:00 P.M.
d. Dr. Harrison will speak at a hotel in Chicago, Ill., on Thurs. at 3:00 P.M.

5. Which version uses punctuation correctly?

a. Watch out. The road is icy?
b. Watch out! The road is icy.
c. Watch out? The road is icy!
d. Watch out, the road is icy?

6. Which one is a sentence fragment, that is, NOT a complete sentence?

a. Hearing the thunder, the lifeguard ordered us out of the water.
b. Turn off the lights.
c. Sunday afternoon spent reading and playing computer games.
d. I was surprised to see that my neighbor had written a letter to the editor.

7. Three of the following sentences are faulty. They are either run-ons or comma splices. Which one is NOT a faulty sentence?

a. The newspapers are supposed to be delivered by 7:00, but I am usually finished before 6:45.
b. I called the delivery service this morning, they told me the shipment would arrive on time.
c. Look in the closet you should find it there.
d. I was the first to sign the petition Harry was second.

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Page 10

Answer Key

If you miss any of the answers, you can find help for that kind of question in the lesson shown to the right of the answer.

1. b. Lesson 1

2. b. Lesson 1

3. c. Lesson 1

4. d. Lesson 2

5. b. Lesson 2

6. c. Lesson 3

7. a. Lesson 3

8. d. Lesson 4

9. b. Lesson 4

10. a. Lesson 4

11. b. Lessons 5, 6

12. d. Lesson 5

13. a. Lesson 5

14. c. Lesson 6

15. b. Lesson 6

16. b. Lesson 7

17. c. Lesson 7

18. a. Lesson 7

19. a. Lesson 8

20. b. Lesson 8

21. c. Lesson 9

22. d. Lesson 9

23. a. Lesson 9

24. d. Lesson 10

25. b. Lesson 10

26. b. Lesson 10

27. c. Lesson 11

28. b. Lesson 12

29. d. Lesson 12

30. a. Lesson 12

31. d. Lesson 12

32. c. Lesson 12

33. a. Lesson 13

34. a. Lesson 13

35. d. Lesson 13

36. b. Lesson 14

37. c. Lesson 14

38. d. Lesson 14

39. c. Lesson 15

40. a. Lesson 15

41. d. Lesson 16

42. a. Lesson 16

43. d. Lesson 16

44. c. Lesson 17

45. c. Lesson 17

46. b. Lesson 17

47. c. Lesson 18

48. a. Lesson 18

49. c. Lesson 19

50. d. Lesson 19

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Page 11

Lesson 1
Capitalization

Lesson Summary

Today you'll learn about the fine points of capitalization. The chapter divides capitalization rules into two kinds: general rules governing capitalization and specific rules regarding proper nouns and adjectives.

Start by seeing just how much you already know about the proper use of capital letters. On the next page you see the same passagewritten twice. The first column, called Problem, contains no capitalization at all—definitely a problem in writing! Circle those letters you think should be capitalized in the Problem column, and then check yourself against the Solution column.

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Page 13

General Capitalization Rules

The table below summarizes general capitalization rules. Rules having to do with specific categories of proper nouns are dealt with in the next section.

CAPITALIZATION RULES

Rule

Example

Capitalize the first word of a sentence. If the first word is a number, write it as a word.

This is the first word of the sentence.
Three of us worked the early shift.

Capitalize the pronoun I or the contraction I'm, and the abbreviations B.C. or A.D.

The group left when I asked them to go.
The manuscript was dated 501 A.D.

Capitalize the first word of a quotation.
Do not capitalize the first word of a partial quotation.

I said, "What's the name of your dog?"
He called me "the worst excuse for a student" he had ever seen.

Below is an example of a dialogue that illustrates the above rules. (A note about paragraphing in dialogue: Each time a speaker finishes, begin a new paragraph.)

"Good morning," said the new supervisor as I entered the door.

"Good morning!" I answered, somewhat surprised. "You must be Ms. Barnes. I'm Joshua Haines. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Tell me what you do, Joshua. I'm anxious to learn all about this operation."

"I smiled and said, "That doesn't surprise me. I heard you were a 'sieve for information.'"

Practice

Check your ability to apply the rules above in the practice questions below. Choose the correctly capitalized option from each of the sets below. Answers to each set of questions can be found at the end of the lesson.

1. a. the memo confused me at first. after a few readings i was able to understand it.

b. The memo confused me at first. after a few readings I was able to understand it.

c.The memo confused me at first. After a few readings I was able to understand it.

2. a. "where are you going?" my coworker asked.

"to a meeting i'm not very excited about," i answered.

b. "Where are you going?" my coworker asked.

"To a meeting I'm not very excited about," I answered.

c. "Where are you going?" My coworker asked.

"To a meeting I'm not very excited about," I answered.

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Page 13

General Capitalization Rules

The table below summarizes general capitalization rules. Rules having to do with specific categories of proper nouns are dealt with in the next section.

CAPITALIZATION RULES

Rule

Example

Capitalize the first word of a sentence. If the first word is a number, write it as a word.

This is the first word of the sentence.
Three of us worked the early shift.

Capitalize the pronoun I or the contraction I'm, and the abbreviations B.C. or A.D.

The group left when I asked them to go.
The manuscript was dated 501 A.D.

Capitalize the first word of a quotation.
Do not capitalize the first word of a partial quotation.

I said, "What's the name of your dog?"
He called me "the worst excuse for a student" he had ever seen.

Below is an example of a dialogue that illustrates the above rules. (A note about paragraphing in dialogue: Each time a speaker finishes, begin a new paragraph.)

"Good morning," said the new supervisor as I entered the door.

"Good morning!" I answered, somewhat surprised. "You must be Ms. Barnes. I'm Joshua Haines. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Tell me what you do, Joshua. I'm anxious to learn all about this operation."

"I smiled and said, "That doesn't surprise me. I heard you were a 'sieve for information.'"

Practice

Check your ability to apply the rules above in the practice questions below. Choose the correctly capitalized option from each of the sets below. Answers to each set of questions can be found at the end of the lesson.

1. a. the memo confused me at first. after a few readings i was able to understand it.

b. The memo confused me at first. after a few readings I was able to understand it.

c.The memo confused me at first. After a few readings I was able to understand it.

2. a. "where are you going?" my coworker asked.

"to a meeting i'm not very excited about," i answered.

b. "Where are you going?" my coworker asked.

"To a meeting I'm not very excited about," I answered.

c. "Where are you going?" My coworker asked.

"To a meeting I'm not very excited about," I answered.

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Page 14

3. a. we read the poem written in 1493 A.D.

b. We read the poem written in 1493 a.d.

c. We read the poem written in 1493 A.D.

4. a. When you return from your trip, I want a full report of your activities.

b. when you return from your trip, I want a full report of your activities.

c. When you return from your trip, i want a full report of your activities.

Proper Nouns and Proper Adjectives

All proper nouns and proper adjectives—ones that name a specific person, place or thing—must be capitalized, but remembering which nouns and adjectives are proper can be difficult. The tables below lay out the most common categories of proper nouns and adjectives. Each section begins with a table that illustrates 5–7 related rules, followed by several practice exercises.

PROPER NOUNS, PART ONE

Category of Proper Nouns

Examples

days of the week

Friday, Saturday

months

January, February

holidays

Christmas, Halloween

historical events, periods, documents

Civil War (historical event), Dark Ages (historical period), Declaration of Independence (document)

special events, calendar events

Pebble Beach Fall Classic, Renaissance Festival, Green River Days (special events); Labor Day, Father's Day (calendar events)

names of people and places

John Doe, Lincoln Center, Sears Tower

Practice

Using the rules above, choose the correctly capitalized version of each of the following pairs.

5. a. Chaucer was one of the foremost poets from the Middle ages.

b. Chaucer was one of the foremost poets from the Middle Ages.

6. a. The Olsons spend Labor Day and four weeks of each summer at their lakeside cottage.

b. The Olsons spend Labor day and four weeks of each Summer at their Lakeside cottage.

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Page 14

3. a. we read the poem written in 1493 A.D.

b. We read the poem written in 1493 a.d.

c. We read the poem written in 1493 A.D.

4. a. When you return from your trip, I want a full report of your activities.

b. when you return from your trip, I want a full report of your activities.

c. When you return from your trip, i want a full report of your activities.

Proper Nouns and Proper Adjectives

All proper nouns and proper adjectives—ones that name a specific person, place or thing—must be capitalized, but remembering which nouns and adjectives are proper can be difficult. The tables below lay out the most common categories of proper nouns and adjectives. Each section begins with a table that illustrates 5–7 related rules, followed by several practice exercises.

PROPER NOUNS, PART ONE

Category of Proper Nouns

Examples

days of the week

Friday, Saturday

months

January, February

holidays

Christmas, Halloween

historical events, periods, documents

Civil War (historical event), Dark Ages (historical period), Declaration of Independence (document)

special events, calendar events

Pebble Beach Fall Classic, Renaissance Festival, Green River Days (special events); Labor Day, Father's Day (calendar events)

names of people and places

John Doe, Lincoln Center, Sears Tower

Practice

Using the rules above, choose the correctly capitalized version of each of the following pairs.

5. a. Chaucer was one of the foremost poets from the Middle ages.

b. Chaucer was one of the foremost poets from the Middle Ages.

6. a. The Olsons spend Labor Day and four weeks of each summer at their lakeside cottage.

b. The Olsons spend Labor day and four weeks of each Summer at their Lakeside cottage.

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Page 15

7. a. We studied the declaration of independence in History class.

b. We studied the Declaration of Independence in history class.

8. a. Judy has two Uncles who fought in world war II.

b. Judy has two uncles who fought in World War II.

PROPER NOUNS, PART TWO

Category of Proper Nouns

Examples

names of structures and buildings

Washington Memorial, Emprie State Building

names of trains, ships, aircraft, and other modes of transportation

Queen Elizabeth, Discovery, Sioux Lines, TransWorld Airlines

names of products

Corn King hams, Dodge Intrepid

names of officials

Mayor Daley, President Clinton

works of art and literature

Black Elk Speaks (book), ''Mending Wall" (poem), Mona Lisa (painting)

ethnic groups, races, languages, nationalities

Asian-American Caucasian, French, Indian

Practice

Choose the correctly capitalized version of each of the following pairs.

9. a. I enjoyed spoon river anthology by Edgar Lee Masters.

b. I enjoyed Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters.

10. a. We caught a Vanguard Airlines flight to Orlando.

b. We caught a Vanguard airlines flight to Orlando.

11. a. The Talmud is a guide to the teachings of judaism.

b. The Talmud is a guide to the teachings of Judaism.

12. a. Paul has an editing job with Meredith publishing.

b. Paul has an Editing job with Meredith Publishing.

13. a. The university of iowa has an outstanding Law School.

b. The University of Iowa has an outstanding law school.

14. a. Dr. Gallagher researched her book at the Library of Congress.

b. Dr. Gallagher researched her book at the Library of congress.

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Page 16

PROPER NOUNS, PART THREE

Category of Proper Nouns

Examples

cities, states, and governmental units

Des Moines, lowa; Barrow, Alaska; Republic of South Africa

streets, highways, and roads

Grand Avenue, Interstate 29, Deadwood Road

landmarks and geographical locations

Continental Divide, Grand Canyon

public areas and bodies of water

Superior Forest, Missouri River

institutions, organizations, and businesses

Dartmouth College, Lions, Club, Dodge Trucks

Practice

Choose the correctly capitalized version of each of the following pairs.

15. a. In Switzerland, some citizens speak French, and others speak German.

b. In switzerland, some citizens speak french, and others speak german.

16. a. Near a body of water called firth and forth, you can see Edinburgh, Scotland.

b. Near a body of water called Firth and Forth, you can see Edinburgh, Scotland.

17. a. We drove along the Mississippi river to New Orleans.

b. We drove along the Mississippi River to New Orleans.

18. a. Mount Everest, which is in the middle of the Himalayan Range, is the highest mountain in the world.

b. Mount Everest, which is in the middle of the Himalayan Range, is the highest mountain in the World.

19. a. I have traveled on the Garden state Parkway, a main highway in New Jersey.

b. I have traveled on the Garden State Parkway, a main highway in New Jersey.

Proper Adjectives

Proper adjectives are adjectives—that is, words that modify nouns—formed from a proper noun, often the name of a place. For instance, the proper noun Canada becomes the proper adjective Canadian when it modifies another noun, as in Canadian bacon. Note that the noun is not capitalized unless it is a proper noun in its own right.

Examples:

English muffin, Polish sausage, Japanese yen

Practice

Choose the correctly capitalized version of each of the following pairs.

20. a. Some residents of ireland still speak the Gaelic Language.

b. Some residents of Ireland still speak the Gaelic language.

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PROPER NOUNS, PART THREE

Category of Proper Nouns

Examples

cities, states, and governmental units

Des Moines, lowa; Barrow, Alaska; Republic of South Africa

streets, highways, and roads

Grand Avenue, Interstate 29, Deadwood Road

landmarks and geographical locations

Continental Divide, Grand Canyon

public areas and bodies of water

Superior Forest, Missouri River

institutions, organizations, and businesses

Dartmouth College, Lions, Club, Dodge Trucks

Practice

Choose the correctly capitalized version of each of the following pairs.

15. a. In Switzerland, some citizens speak French, and others speak German.

b. In switzerland, some citizens speak french, and others speak german.

16. a. Near a body of water called firth and forth, you can see Edinburgh, Scotland.

b. Near a body of water called Firth and Forth, you can see Edinburgh, Scotland.

17. a. We drove along the Mississippi river to New Orleans.

b. We drove along the Mississippi River to New Orleans.

18. a. Mount Everest, which is in the middle of the Himalayan Range, is the highest mountain in the world.

b. Mount Everest, which is in the middle of the Himalayan Range, is the highest mountain in the World.

19. a. I have traveled on the Garden state Parkway, a main highway in New Jersey.

b. I have traveled on the Garden State Parkway, a main highway in New Jersey.

Proper Adjectives

Proper adjectives are adjectives—that is, words that modify nouns—formed from a proper noun, often the name of a place. For instance, the proper noun Canada becomes the proper adjective Canadian when it modifies another noun, as in Canadian bacon. Note that the noun is not capitalized unless it is a proper noun in its own right.

Examples:

English muffin, Polish sausage, Japanese yen

Practice

Choose the correctly capitalized version of each of the following pairs.

20. a. Some residents of ireland still speak the Gaelic Language.

b. Some residents of Ireland still speak the Gaelic language.

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PROPER NOUNS, PART THREE

Category of Proper Nouns

Examples

cities, states, and governmental units

Des Moines, lowa; Barrow, Alaska; Republic of South Africa

streets, highways, and roads

Grand Avenue, Interstate 29, Deadwood Road

landmarks and geographical locations

Continental Divide, Grand Canyon

public areas and bodies of water

Superior Forest, Missouri River

institutions, organizations, and businesses

Dartmouth College, Lions, Club, Dodge Trucks

Practice

Choose the correctly capitalized version of each of the following pairs.

15. a. In Switzerland, some citizens speak French, and others speak German.

b. In switzerland, some citizens speak french, and others speak german.

16. a. Near a body of water called firth and forth, you can see Edinburgh, Scotland.

b. Near a body of water called Firth and Forth, you can see Edinburgh, Scotland.

17. a. We drove along the Mississippi river to New Orleans.

b. We drove along the Mississippi River to New Orleans.

18. a. Mount Everest, which is in the middle of the Himalayan Range, is the highest mountain in the world.

b. Mount Everest, which is in the middle of the Himalayan Range, is the highest mountain in the World.

19. a. I have traveled on the Garden state Parkway, a main highway in New Jersey.

b. I have traveled on the Garden State Parkway, a main highway in New Jersey.

Proper Adjectives

Proper adjectives are adjectives—that is, words that modify nouns—formed from a proper noun, often the name of a place. For instance, the proper noun Canada becomes the proper adjective Canadian when it modifies another noun, as in Canadian bacon. Note that the noun is not capitalized unless it is a proper noun in its own right.

Examples:

English muffin, Polish sausage, Japanese yen

Practice

Choose the correctly capitalized version of each of the following pairs.

20. a. Some residents of ireland still speak the Gaelic Language.

b. Some residents of Ireland still speak the Gaelic language.

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21. a. Cortez, a Spanish explorer, conquered the Aztecs.

b. Cortez, a spanish explorer, conquered the Aztecs.

22. a. The actress in the play tried to speak with a Scottish accent.

b. The Actress in the play tried to speak with a Scottish accent.

23. a. I will never attempt to swim the English channel.

b. I will never attempt to swim the English Channel.

24. a. I had never been to a Sri Lankan Restaurant before.

b. I had never been to a Sri Lankan restaurant before.

When NOT to Capitalize

Putting in capital letters where they don't belong is as bad as leaving them out where they do belong. Watch for these capitalization traps.

•Avoid unnecessarily capitalizing compass directions; however, direction words that refer to a specific area of the country should be capitalized.

Examples:

We headed west after the Depression.

The future of the country was cultivated in the West.

•Avoid unnecessarily capitalizing the words referring to family members. Capitalize them only when they are used as names. If a possessive pronoun (my, our, your, his, her, their) comes before the word referring to a family member, the family word is not capitalized.

Examples:

When Uncle Harry visited last winter, none of my other uncles came to see him.

After my mother called me for lunch, Father served the entree.

• Avoid unnecessarily capitalizing the seasons of the year or parts of the academic year.

Example:

If the university offers History of Education 405 in the spring semester, Horace will be able to graduate in May.

•Avoid unnecessarily capitalizing school subjects. They should be capitalized only if they are part of the name of a specific course.

Examples:

I try to avoid math courses because I'm not very good at them.

Betsy is taking Algebra II and Trigonometry I next semester.

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•Avoid unnecessarily capitalizing words modified by propZer adjectives.

Examples:

Polish sausage, not Polish Sausage
Mexican restaurant, not Mexican Restaurant

Practice

Choose the correctly capitalized version of each of the following pairs.

25. a. Digging the Canal through Panama took many years.

b. Digging the canal through Panama took many years.

26. a. The Smoky Mountains are in the Southeastern part of the country.

b. The Smoky Mountains are in the southeastern part of the country.

27. a. Nicholi Milani does more business in the East than in the West.

b. Nicholi Milani does more business in the east than in the west.

28. a. The Midwest had the coldest winter on record in 1993.

b. The midwest had the coldest winter on record in 1993.

29. a. Marianne had never been as far East as Columbus, Ohio.

b. Marianne had never been as far east as Columbus, Ohio.

Skill Building Until Next Time

Find the obituaries in your local newspaper. Examine the capitalization used in the writing. How many of the rules you learned today can you find represented in a single obituary notice?

Answers

1. c.

2. b.

3. c.

4. a.

5. b.

6. a.

7. b.

8. b.

9. b.

10. a.

11. b.

12. a.

13. b.

14. a.

15. a.

16. b.

17. b.

18. a.

19. b.

20. b.

21. a.

22. a.

23. b.

24. b.

25. b.

26. b.

27. a.

28. a.

29. b.

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•Avoid unnecessarily capitalizing words modified by propZer adjectives.

Examples:

Polish sausage, not Polish Sausage
Mexican restaurant, not Mexican Restaurant

Practice

Choose the correctly capitalized version of each of the following pairs.

25. a. Digging the Canal through Panama took many years.

b. Digging the canal through Panama took many years.

26. a. The Smoky Mountains are in the Southeastern part of the country.

b. The Smoky Mountains are in the southeastern part of the country.

27. a. Nicholi Milani does more business in the East than in the West.

b. Nicholi Milani does more business in the east than in the west.

28. a. The Midwest had the coldest winter on record in 1993.

b. The midwest had the coldest winter on record in 1993.

29. a. Marianne had never been as far East as Columbus, Ohio.

b. Marianne had never been as far east as Columbus, Ohio.

Skill Building Until Next Time

Find the obituaries in your local newspaper. Examine the capitalization used in the writing. How many of the rules you learned today can you find represented in a single obituary notice?

Answers

1. c.

2. b.

3. c.

4. a.

5. b.

6. a.

7. b.

8. b.

9. b.

10. a.

11. b.

12. a.

13. b.

14. a.

15. a.

16. b.

17. b.

18. a.

19. b.

20. b.

21. a.

22. a.

23. b.

24. b.

25. b.

26. b.

27. a.

28. a.

29. b.

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Lesson 2—
Periods, Question Marks, and Exclamation Points

Lesson Summary

This lesson shows you which punctuation marks to use to end sentences. These are sometimes referred to as "end marks." It also shows you other ways in which periods are used.

The exercise that follows reviews Lesson 1, Capitalization, and gives you an opportunity to see what you already know about periods and endmarks. Correct the capitalization in the Problem column on the next page, adding periods, question marks, and exclamation points where you think they should go. Check yourself with the Solution column as you go.

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Problem (continued)

Solution (continued)

before henry became a man can you imagine that

before Henry became a man. Can you imagine that?

In fact, henry was so inspired that he decided to pursue a Degree in philosophy at centerville community college he enrolled in history of Philosophy 203 during the Spring Semester by the end of may, henry was hooked on Education and has not missed a class nor a Day of Work since

In fact, Henry was so inspired that he decided to pursue a degree in philosophy at Centerville Community College. He enrolled in History of Philosophy 203 during the spring semester. By the end of May, Henry was hooked on education and has not missed a class nor a day of work since.

Rules for Using Periods

• Use a period after an initial and after every part of an abbreviation, unless the abbreviation has become anacronym-an abbreviation that is pronounced as a word, such as AIDS-or a widely recognized name (TV, FBI, NATO, NASA). Titles-Mr., Ms., Dr., and so on-are also abbreviations that take periods. If the abbreviation comes at the end of a sentence, only one period is needed.

Examples:

The tour leaves on Mon., Jan. 1, at 3 P.M.

The book was written by C. S. Lewis.

A. J. Mandelli researched brain function for the FBI.

•Use a period before a decimal and between dollars and cents.

Examples:

A gallon equals 3.875 liters.

The new textbook costs $54.75.

Only 5.6 percent of our consumers spend over $100.00 per month on our products.

•Use a period at the end of a sentence that makes a statement.

Examples:

Henry Kissinger served under two U. S. presidents.

Wilson will lecture in the forum after school today.

Many consider P. T. Barnum the best salesman ever to have walked the earth.

• Use a period at the end of a sentence that makes a request, gives an instruction, or states a command.

Examples:

Empty the kitchen trash before you take the garbage out.

Turn right at the first stop light, and then go to the second house on the left.

• Use a period at the end of a sentence that asks an indirect question.

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Examples:

My neighbor asked if we had seen his cat. (The direct question was, "Have you seen my cat?")

Quentin wanted to know how we had arrived at that answer. (The direct question was, "How did you arrive at that answer?")

Practice

Choose the correctly written version from each of the following sets of sentences. You will find the answers to each set of questions at the end of the lesson.

1. a. The train passed through Rockford, Ill., on its way to St. Joseph, Mo.

b. The train passed through Rockford, Ill, on its way to St Joseph, Mo.

c. The train passed through Rockford, Ill, on its way to St. Joseph, Mo.

2. a. Ms Cory Ames, Dr Matthew Olson, and H. J. Lane went to Chicago, Ill..

b. Ms Cory Ames, Dr Matthew Olson, and HJ Lane went to Chicago, Ill.

c. Ms. Cory Ames, Dr. Matthew Olson, and H. J. Lane went to Chicago, Ill.

3. a. The bedrooms measured 12 ft. by 14 ft.

b. The bedrooms measured 12 ft by 14 ft.

c. The bedrooms measured 12 ft. by 14 ft..

4. a. Bob asked if the price of the CD was $13.98?

b. Bob asked if the price of the CD was $13.98.

c. Bob asked if the price of the CD was $1398¢.

5. a. Tie your shoe. Before you trip and break a leg.

b. Tie your shoe before you trip and break a leg.

c. Tie your shoe before you trip and break a leg

6. a. Mr and Mrs Fletcher visited 10 cities in 20 days.

b. Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher visited 10 cities in 20 days.

c. Mr and Mrs. Fletcher visited 10 cities in 20 days.

7. a. Mayor and Mrs. Dorian will address the city council at 8:00 PM

b. Mayor and Mrs Dorian will address the city council at 8:00 P.M.

c. Mayor and Mrs. Dorian will address the city council at 8:00 P.M.

8. a. Oh, all right. Tell me your riddle.

b. Oh. all right. Tell me your riddle.

c. Oh, all right Tell me your riddle.

Rules for Using Question Marks and Exclamation Points

•Use a question mark after a word or group of words that asks a question even if it is not a complete sentence.

Examples:

What did you do last night?

Will you put out the trash?

Okay?

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Examples:

My neighbor asked if we had seen his cat. (The direct question was, "Have you seen my cat?")

Quentin wanted to know how we had arrived at that answer. (The direct question was, "How did you arrive at that answer?")

Practice

Choose the correctly written version from each of the following sets of sentences. You will find the answers to each set of questions at the end of the lesson.

1. a. The train passed through Rockford, Ill., on its way to St. Joseph, Mo.

b. The train passed through Rockford, Ill, on its way to St Joseph, Mo.

c. The train passed through Rockford, Ill, on its way to St. Joseph, Mo.

2. a. Ms Cory Ames, Dr Matthew Olson, and H. J. Lane went to Chicago, Ill..

b. Ms Cory Ames, Dr Matthew Olson, and HJ Lane went to Chicago, Ill.

c. Ms. Cory Ames, Dr. Matthew Olson, and H. J. Lane went to Chicago, Ill.

3. a. The bedrooms measured 12 ft. by 14 ft.

b. The bedrooms measured 12 ft by 14 ft.

c. The bedrooms measured 12 ft. by 14 ft..

4. a. Bob asked if the price of the CD was $13.98?

b. Bob asked if the price of the CD was $13.98.

c. Bob asked if the price of the CD was $1398¢.

5. a. Tie your shoe. Before you trip and break a leg.

b. Tie your shoe before you trip and break a leg.

c. Tie your shoe before you trip and break a leg

6. a. Mr and Mrs Fletcher visited 10 cities in 20 days.

b. Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher visited 10 cities in 20 days.

c. Mr and Mrs. Fletcher visited 10 cities in 20 days.

7. a. Mayor and Mrs. Dorian will address the city council at 8:00 PM

b. Mayor and Mrs Dorian will address the city council at 8:00 P.M.

c. Mayor and Mrs. Dorian will address the city council at 8:00 P.M.

8. a. Oh, all right. Tell me your riddle.

b. Oh. all right. Tell me your riddle.

c. Oh, all right Tell me your riddle.

Rules for Using Question Marks and Exclamation Points

•Use a question mark after a word or group of words that asks a question even if it is not a complete sentence.

Examples:

What did you do last night?

Will you put out the trash?

Okay?

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May we go to the movies after we've finished our homework?

Are we?

• Use an exclamation point after a sentence that expresses strong feeling.

Examples:

Look out for that car!

I just can't stand the smell in here!

A word of caution about exclamation points to show strong feeling: Exclamation points are a little bit like salt on food. Most people like a little bit. Nobody likes too much.

•Use an exclamation point after an interjection-a word or phrase expressing strong feeling-when it is written as a single sentence.

Examples:

Doggone it!

Yikes!

• Use an exclamation point after a sentence that begins with a question word but doesn't ask a question.

Examples:

What a dunce I am!

How marvelous of you to come!

Practice

Choose the correctly written version of each of the following sets of sentences.

9. a. Help! I'm falling?

b. Help! I'm falling.

c. Help! I'm falling!

10. a. I can't believe how naive I was!

b. I can't believe how naive I was.

c. I can't believe how naive I was?

11. a. The auditor asked me why I didn't save the receipts?

b. The auditor asked me why I didn't save the receipts.

c. The auditor asked me why I didn't save the receipts!

12. a. Can you tell me the seating capacity of this meeting room.

b. Can you tell me the seating capacity of this meeting room?

c. Can you tell me the seating capacity of this meeting room!

13. a. How utterly disgusting this movie is.

b. How utterly disgusting this movie is?

c. How utterly disgusting this movie is!

14. a. Was Alexander the Great born in 350 B.C.

b. Was Alexander the great born in 350 B.C.?

c. Was Alexander the Great born in 350 B.C.?

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15. a. Our group will meet at the library at 10:00 P.M. to research T. S. Eliot.

b. Our group will meet at the library at 10:00 PM to research T. S. Eliot.

c. Our group will meet at the library at 10:00 P.M. to research TS. Eliot.

16. a. Is this sweater $59.95 or $69.95?

b. Is this sweater $59.95 or $69.95.

c. Is this sweater $5995 or $6995?

17. a. Wow. What a close call that was?

b. Wow! What a close call that was.

c. Wow! What a close call that was!

18. a. Those carpenters. Do you know how much they charged?

b. Those carpenters? Do you know how much they charged?

c. Those carpenters! Do you know how much they charged?

Skill Building Until Next Time

Take a few minutes to practice what you have learned today. If you are reading a book right now, look through a few of the pages until you find at least three examples of each type of endmark you learned about today. Are the endmarks used according to the rules you used today? If you're not currently reading a book, just grab one from the shelf at home or at work.

Answers

1. a.

2. c.

3. a.

4. b.

5. b.

6. b.

7. c.

8. a.

9. c.

10. a.

11. b.

12. b.

13. c.

14. c.

15. a.

16. a.

17. c.

18. c.

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Lesson 3—
Avoiding Faulty Sentences

Lesson Summary

This lesson will help you distinguish between complete sentences and faulty sentences so that you can avoid writing sentence fragments, run-on sentences and comma splices.

Begin your study of complete sentences by looking at the Problem paragraph that appears on the next page. Underline the groups of words that form complete sentences. See if you can distinguish them from the fragments, run-ons, and comma splices included in the paragraph. Then check your work against the Solution paragraph, also on the next page, where the complete sentences are underlined.

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Problem

Solution

Just the other day I came home from work as excited as I had ever been. The night before someone from Publisher's Clearinghouse had called. To tell me that I would be receiving a prize package worth potentially millions of dollars. I was so excited because, unlike other offers, this really sounded legitimate, it sounded to me as though I might really win something this time. I hastily opened the mailbox. Hoping to find the promised envelope. There it was. Between the Life magazine and the Fingerhut catalog. The promised letter. When I finally finished reading the entire mailing. I realized my chances were really no better with this contest than they had been for any other contest I had entered in the past and I was disappointed that I had spent so much time reading all of the material then I threw it all in the recycling basket and went to bed. Dejected.

Just the other day I came home from work as excited as I had ever been. The night before someone from Publisher's Clearinghouse had called. To tell me that I would be receiving a prize package worth potentially millions of dollars. I was so excited because, unlike other offers, this really sounded legitimate, it sounded to me as though I might really win something this time. I hastily opened the mailbox. Hoping to find the promised envelope. There it was. Between the Life magazine and the Fingerhut catalog. The promised letter. When I finally finished reading the entire mailing. I realized my chances were really no better with this contest than they had been for any other contest I had entered in the past and I was disappointed that I had spent so much time reading all of the material then I threw it all in the recycling basket and went to bed. Dejected.

Complete Sentences

1. It has a verb (a word or phrase that explains an action such as want, run, take, give, or a state of being, such as am, is, are, was, were, be). Many sentences have more than one verb. The verbs in the sentences below are highlighted for you.

Examples:

Bob and Alexandra both want a promotion. (action verb)

Yurika drafted a memo and sent it to the sales department. (action verbs)

Herbert and Tan are the chief operators in this department. (state of being verb)

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2. It has a subject (someone or something that performs the action or serves as the main focus of the sentence). As with verbs, many sentences have more than one subject.

Examples:

Bob and Alexandra both want a promotion.

Yurika drafted a memo and sent it to the sales department.

Herbert and Tan are the chief operators in this department.

3. It expresses a complete thought. In other words, the group of words has a completed meaning. Sometimes a group of words has both a subject and a verb but still does not express a complete thought. Look at the following examples. The subjects and verbs are highlighted to make them easier to identify.

Complete sentences (also called independent clauses):

I left an hour earlier than usual.

Our team finished its year-end evaluation.

Roger tried to explain his position

Sentence fragments (dependent clauses):

If I left an hour earlier than usual.

When our team finished its year-end evaluation.

Whenever Roger tried to explain his position.

The next section explains why the groups of words in the second set are not complete sentences.

Sentence Fragments

In the last set of examples above, you may have noticed that each fragment is longer than the similar complete sentence. The groups of words are otherwise the same, but the fragments have an extra word at the beginning. These words are called subordinating conjunctions. If a group of words that would normally be a complete sentence is preceded by a subordinating conjunction, something more is needed to complete the thought. These subordinate or dependent clauses need something more to complete their meaning; therefore, they depend on an independent clause, a group of words that by itself could form a complete sentence. Examine how the fragments from above have been rewritten below to express a complete thought.

If I left an hour earlier than usual, I would be able to avoid rush hour.

When our team finished its year-end evaluation, we all took the next day off.

Whenever Roger tried to explain his position, he misquoted the facts.

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Take a look at sentences 4, 8, and 10. In these sentences, the fragment is a verb (action) separated from the independent clause or the complete sentence. All that is required is to add the fragment to the sentence.

4. We went door to door and tried to sell popcorn and candy.

8. We read the morning paper and saw the picture of our company's new owner.

10. We walked all over downtown and applied for part-time jobs at theaters.

Finally, look at the remaining sentence, 6. In this sentence, extra words are needed to add the fragment to the sentence.

6. We couldn't make the deadline because of the icy roads and hazardous weather.

Run-On Sentences

An independent clause is a group of words that could be a complete sentence all by itself. A run-on sentence is one in which independent clauses have been run together without punctuation (a period, semicolon, or comma).

Examples:

Lynn moved from Minneapolis her job was transferred.

The concert seemed unending it lasted almost until midnight.

We got some gas then we headed off to Omaha.

All three of these examples can be corrected quite easily in one of three ways:

• By adding a period and a capital letter.

Lynn moved from Minneapolis. Her job was transferred.

The concert seemed unending. It lasted almost until midnight.

We got some gas. Then we headed off to Omaha.

• By adding a comma and a conjunction (and, but, or, for, nor, yet, so). Sometimes you have to change the order of the words.

Lynn's job was transferred, and she moved from Minneapolis.

The concert seemed unending, for it lasted almost until midnight.

We got some gas, and then we headed off to Omaha.

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• By turning one of the independent clauses into a dependent clause. To do this you need to add a subordinating conjunction where it fits in the sentence. This can usually be done in several different ways by rewording the clauses or by using different subordinating conjunctions. Remember the list of subordinating conjunction you saw earlier in this lesson?

Lynn moved from Minneapolis because her job was transferred.

When her job was transferred, Lynn moved from Minneapolis.

Since the concert lasted almost until midnight, it seemed unending.

The concert seemed unending because it lasted until almost midnight.

After we got some gas, we headed off to Omaha.

We headed off to Omaha after we got some gas.

Practice

Choose the answers that include only complete sentences. Watch for fragments as well as run-ons. Answers are at the end of the lesson.

1. a. The huge northern pike snapped my line. And took my favorite lure.

b. The huge northern pike snapped my line and took my favorite lure.

2. a. Cathy is a good organizer. She chairs the newly formed committee.

b. Cathy is a good organizer she chairs the newly formed committee.

3. a. The lights were on in the house we assumed you were at home.

b. The lights were on in the house. We assumed you were at home.

4. a. Andy showed a great deal of promise. After only his first month of work.

b. Andy showed a great deal of promise after only his first month of work.

5. a. You will find the manual inside the right-hand drawer of my desk.

b. You will find the manual. Inside the right-hand drawer of my desk.

6. a. Sally needs additional time to complete the project it is more complicated than we thought.

b. Sally needs additional time to complete the project. It is more complicated than we thought.

7. a. After Mavis wrote the program, Sam edited it.

b. Mavis wrote the program Sam edited it.

8. a. Bob signed the application he gave it to the interviewer.

b. Bob signed the application, and he gave it to the interviewer.

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9. a. Edsel was ready for the auditor his department's books were all in order.

b. Edsel was ready for the auditor since his department's books were all in order.

10. a. Alexis found a part-time job that supplemented her income.

b. Alexis found a part-time job. Supplemented her income.

Comma Splices

A comma splice is the last kind of sentence fault you will study today. It is actually a special type of run-on sentence in which a comma is used in place of a semicolon to join two independent clauses without a conjunction. A comma splice can be corrected by putting a semicolon in place of the comma or by adding a conjunction after the comma.

Wrong

Henry lives across the street, he has been there for 25 years.

Correct

Henry lives across the street; he has been there for 25 years.

Henry lives across the street, and he has been there for 25 years.

Wrong

Mary heads the search committee, John is the recorder.

Correct

Mary heads the search committee; John is the recorder.

Mary heads the search committee, and John is the recorder.

Wrong

Sid gave demonstrations all summer long, he returned in the fall.

Correct

Sid gave demonstrations all summer long; he returned in the fall.

Sid gave demonstrations all summer long, but he returned in the fall.

Practice

Here is an opportunity to apply what you have learned about complete sentences, fragments, run-ons, and comma splices. In each of the numbered items below, decide whether the group of words is a correctly written sentence or sentences (S), a fragment (F), a run-on sentence (ROS), or a comma splice (CS). Write the label next to each number, and then check your work against the answer key at the end of the lesson. You may recognize some of these sentences from the opening example paragraph. By now, you know how to correct the ones that were not complete sentences.

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9. a. Edsel was ready for the auditor his department's books were all in order.

b. Edsel was ready for the auditor since his department's books were all in order.

10. a. Alexis found a part-time job that supplemented her income.

b. Alexis found a part-time job. Supplemented her income.

Comma Splices

A comma splice is the last kind of sentence fault you will study today. It is actually a special type of run-on sentence in which a comma is used in place of a semicolon to join two independent clauses without a conjunction. A comma splice can be corrected by putting a semicolon in place of the comma or by adding a conjunction after the comma.

Wrong

Henry lives across the street, he has been there for 25 years.

Correct

Henry lives across the street; he has been there for 25 years.

Henry lives across the street, and he has been there for 25 years.

Wrong

Mary heads the search committee, John is the recorder.

Correct

Mary heads the search committee; John is the recorder.

Mary heads the search committee, and John is the recorder.

Wrong

Sid gave demonstrations all summer long, he returned in the fall.

Correct

Sid gave demonstrations all summer long; he returned in the fall.

Sid gave demonstrations all summer long, but he returned in the fall.

Practice

Here is an opportunity to apply what you have learned about complete sentences, fragments, run-ons, and comma splices. In each of the numbered items below, decide whether the group of words is a correctly written sentence or sentences (S), a fragment (F), a run-on sentence (ROS), or a comma splice (CS). Write the label next to each number, and then check your work against the answer key at the end of the lesson. You may recognize some of these sentences from the opening example paragraph. By now, you know how to correct the ones that were not complete sentences.

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Answers

1. b.

2. a.

3. b.

4. b.

5. a.

6. b.

7. a.

8. b.

9. b.

10. a.

11. F

12. F

13. CS

14. F

15. F

16. F

17. CS

18. ROS

19. S

20. F

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Lesson 4—
Commas and Sentence Parts

Lesson Summary

This lesson and the next one deal with commas. Today's lesson is about how commas relate to the parts of sentences, such as clauses and phrases.

During this lesson you will learn how to use commas in relationship to sentence parts. As you progress through this lesson, remember what you have learned about sentences and sentence faults in Lesson 3. Before you begin this lesson, see how much you already know about commas and sentence parts. Insert commas where you think they should be in the Problem version of the sentences that appear on the next page. Check yourself against the corrected version of the sentences in the Solution section that follows.

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Problem

Solution

Startled I looked up to see a bird flying around the office.

Startled, I looked up to see a bird flying around the office.

After examining the report carefully Edith printed a final copy and mailed it.

After examining the report carefully, Edith printed a final copy and mailed it.

As soon as we finish this last round we can quit for the day.

As soon as we finish this last round, we can quit for the day.

Thinking carefully about the needs of the customers Randall revised his sales plan.

Thinking carefully about the needs of the customers, Randall revised his sales plan.

Because production falls during the winter months we will cut one daily shift.

Because production falls during the winter months, we will cut one daily shift.

Like a confused duckling Richard waddled through the mound of paperwork.

Like a cohhnfused duckling, Richard waddled through the mound of paperwork.

She spends a great deal of time listening to the problems of her customers who have come to depend on her advice.

She spend a great deal of time listening to the problems of her customers, who have come to depend on her advice.

Zig Ziglar the last motivational speaker brought the convention crowd to their feet.

Zig Ziglar, the last motivational speaker, brought the convention crowd to their feet.

The cable car which I am waiting for is already twenty minutes late.

The cable car, which I am waiting for, is already twenty minutes late.

Commas Following Introductory Words, Phrases, and Clauses

Use a comma to set off introductory words, phrases, and clauses from the main part of a sentence. The comma keeps a reader from accidentally attaching the introductory portion to the main part of the sentence and having to go back and reread the sentence. In other words, commas following introductory elements will save the reader time and reduce the chances of misinterpreting what you write. Examine the examples below to see how introductory words, phrases, and clauses are set off with commas.

Words:

Disappointed, we left the movie before it ended.

Annoyed, the manager stomped back into the storeroom.

Amazed, Captain Holland dismissed the rest of the troops.

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Phrases:

Expecting the worst, we liquidated most of our inventory.

Badly injured in the accident, the president was gone for two months.

Reluctant to make matters any worse, the doctor called in a specialist.

Clauses:

If we plan carefully for the grand opening, we can increase sales.

While we were eating lunch, an important fax came.

Because we left before the meeting ended, we were not eligible to win a door prize.

Remember the fragment section of Lesson 3? One part of it dealt with subordinate or dependent clauses. Subordinate or dependent clauses are what you see in the last set of examples above. The first part of each sentence, the subordinate or dependent clause, is followed by a comma. The two parts of each of these sentences could very easily be reversed and the sentence would still make sense. However, if you reverse the sentence parts, making the independent clause the first clause in the sentence, you would NOT need a comma.

Subordinate clauses after the independent clause:

We can increase sales if we plan carefully for the grand opening.

An important fax came while we were eating lunch.

We were not eligible to win a door prize because we left before the meeting ended.

Practice

Choose the correctly written sentence from each of the following pairs. Answers are provided at the end of the lesson.

1. a. Content for the first time in his life, Bryce returned to school.

b. Content for the first time in his life Bryce returned to school.

2. a. As far as I'm concerned we can call this project a success.

b. As far as I'm concerned, we can call this project a success.

3. a. I will never forget this moment, as long as I live.

b. I will never forget this moment as long as I live.

4. a. By the time we finally made up our minds, the contract had been awarded to someone else.

b. By the time we finally made up our minds the contract had been awarded to someone else.

5. a. Indignant, Mr. Caster left the restaurant without leaving a tip.

b. Indignant Mr. Caster left the restaurant without leaving a tip.

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6. a. Wayne was delighted when he found out he'd been awarded the leading role in the show.

b. Wayne was delighted, when he found out he'd been awarded the leading role in the show.

7. a. By designing the program ourselves, we saved a great deal of expense.

b. By designing the program ourselves we saved a great deal of expense.

8. a. I began working for this company, before I was sixteen.

b. Before I was sixteen, I began working for this company.

9. a. Dripping with water from head to toe, Angie climbed the bank of the river.

b. Dripping with water from head to toe Angie climbed the bank of the river.

10. a. The company honored its oldest employee at the annual meeting.

b. The company honored its oldest employee, at the annual meeting.

Commas help a reader to know which words belong together. Add commas to the following sentences to help make their meaning clear.

1. Inside the house was clean and tastefully decorated.

2. After running the greyhounds settled back into their boxes.

3. Alone at night time seems endless.

4. As he watched the game slowly came to an end.

You should have marked the sentences like this:

1. Inside, the house was clean and tastefully decorated.

2. After running, the greyhounds settled back into their boxes.

3. Alone at night, time seems endless.

4. As he watched, the game slowly came to an end.

Commas with Appositives

An appositive is a word or group of words that immediately follows a noun or pronoun. The appositive makes the noun or pronoun clearer or more definite by explaining or identifying it. Look at these examples. The appositives and appositive phrases have been highlighted.

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Commas and Nonrestrictive Clauses

Earlier in this lesson you learned that a subordinate clause at the beginning of a sentence is followed by a comma, but a subordinate clause any other place in the sentence is not set off by a comma. This is true only if the clause is an essential clause. In some sentences a clause cannot be omitted without changing the basic meaning of the sentences. Omitting such a clause changes the meaning of the sentence or makes it untrue. Such a clause is called an essential or restrictive clause.

Example:

All drivers who have had a drunk driving conviction should have their licenses revoked.

All drivers should have their licenses revoked.

The highlighted clause is essential because the meaning of the sentence is changed drastically if the clause is removed from the sentence. A restrictive clause is not set off with commas.

However, a nonessential or nonrestrictive clause needs to be set off by commas. A clause is nonrestrictive if it simply adds information that is not essential to the basic meaning of the sentence. If a nonrestrictive clause is removed, the basic meaning of the sentence is not changed.

Example:

My father, who is still farming, is 74 years old.

My father is 74 years old.

The highlighted clause is nonrestrictive. If it is removed from the sentence, the basic meaning of the sentence is not changed. Nonrestrictive clauses usually begin with one of these subordinating conjunctions: who, whom, whose, which, or that. (Technically, the proper subordinating conjunction for a restrictive clause is that, while nonrestrictive clauses use which, but in practice many writers ignore this distinction.)

Practice

Each of the sentences in the table below contains a subordinate clause. These are highlighted for you. If the clause is restrictive, or essential, write R in the box at the right. If the clause is nonrestrictive, or nonessential, put N in the box and set the clause off with commas. Answers are at the end of the lesson.

11. Matt who loves to play video games is interested in a computer science career.

__

12. My grandfather who was born in Berlin speaks with a German accent.

__

13. James who is very shy had a great deal of trouble with his first speech.

__

14. The hotel pays the parking ramp fees for anyone who is a registered guest.

__

15. People who are born on February 29 grow old more slowly than the rest of us.

__

16. Animals that have backbones are called vertebrates.

__

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Commas and Nonrestrictive Clauses

Earlier in this lesson you learned that a subordinate clause at the beginning of a sentence is followed by a comma, but a subordinate clause any other place in the sentence is not set off by a comma. This is true only if the clause is an essential clause. In some sentences a clause cannot be omitted without changing the basic meaning of the sentences. Omitting such a clause changes the meaning of the sentence or makes it untrue. Such a clause is called an essential or restrictive clause.

Example:

All drivers who have had a drunk driving conviction should have their licenses revoked.

All drivers should have their licenses revoked.

The highlighted clause is essential because the meaning of the sentence is changed drastically if the clause is removed from the sentence. A restrictive clause is not set off with commas.

However, a nonessential or nonrestrictive clause needs to be set off by commas. A clause is nonrestrictive if it simply adds information that is not essential to the basic meaning of the sentence. If a nonrestrictive clause is removed, the basic meaning of the sentence is not changed.

Example:

My father, who is still farming, is 74 years old.

My father is 74 years old.

The highlighted clause is nonrestrictive. If it is removed from the sentence, the basic meaning of the sentence is not changed. Nonrestrictive clauses usually begin with one of these subordinating conjunctions: who, whom, whose, which, or that. (Technically, the proper subordinating conjunction for a restrictive clause is that, while nonrestrictive clauses use which, but in practice many writers ignore this distinction.)

Practice

Each of the sentences in the table below contains a subordinate clause. These are highlighted for you. If the clause is restrictive, or essential, write R in the box at the right. If the clause is nonrestrictive, or nonessential, put N in the box and set the clause off with commas. Answers are at the end of the lesson.

11. Matt who loves to play video games is interested in a computer science career.

__

12. My grandfather who was born in Berlin speaks with a German accent.

__

13. James who is very shy had a great deal of trouble with his first speech.

__

14. The hotel pays the parking ramp fees for anyone who is a registered guest.

__

15. People who are born on February 29 grow old more slowly than the rest of us.

__

16. Animals that have backbones are called vertebrates.

__

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17. Nicotine which is present in tobacco products is a powerful poison.

''

18. Many Scandinavian names end with sen or son both of which mean son of.

"

19. We live on Fleur Drive which is right next to the airport.

"

20. Mrs. Olson is not a teacher who takes homework lightly.

"

Review

This next exercise reviews everything you have learned so far. The passage below contains no commas, endmarks, or capitalization. Use what you have learned so far to add capitalization, endmarks, and commas to make sense of the Problem version of the passage. Check your work against the Solution version that follows.

Problem

Solution

even though peter liked his job a great deal he always looked forward to his summer vacation it was the highlight of his year usually he spent two weeks in the middle of july at camp wi wi ta which was forty miles from his home he was responsible for six physically challenged children for 24 hrs a day for two wks how he loved camp

Even though Peter liked his job a great deal, he laways looked forward to his summer vacation. It was the highlight of his year. Usually, he spent two weaks in the middle of July at Camp Wi Wi Ta, which was forty miles from his home. He was responsible for six physically challenged children for 24 hrs. a day for two wks. How he loved camp!

peter took the counseling job one he loved dearly very seriously each morning he rose before the first child awoke and never went to bed until the last of his kids went to sleep at night the best part of the job was challenging the kids to do things for themselves peter would insist that they comb their hair or cut their own food even if they begged for help the camp dean and some of the other counselors thought peter was slacking on the job but he didn't see it that way he enjoyed knowing that his kids left camp more capable and confident than they had been when they arrived

Peter took the counseling job, one he loved dearly, very seriously. Each morning he rose before the first child awoke and never went to bed until the last of his kids went to sleep at night. The best part of the job was challenging the kids to do things for themselves. Peter would insist that they comb their hair or cut their own food even if they begged for help. The camp dean and some of the other counselors thought Peter was slacking on the job, but he didn't see it that way. He enjoyed knowing that his kids left camp more capable and confident than they had been when they arrived.

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Skill Building Until Next Time

As you've seen in this lesson, omitting commas before introductory elements or wrongly placing commas around restrictive clauses can lead to humorous misreadings. Write some sentences of your own that are hard to read without commas, like this: "As they ate the horse moved closer." Then correct them by adding commas.

Answers

1. a.

2. b.

3. b.

4. a.

5. a.

6. a.

7. a.

8. b.

9. a.

10. a.

11. N Matt, who loves to play video games, is interested in a computer science career.

12. N My grandfather, who was born in Berlin, speaks with a German accent.

13. N James, who is very shy, had a great deal of trouble with his first speech.

14. R No commas are needed.

15. R No commas are needed.

16. R No commas are needed.

17. N Nicotine, which is present in tobacco products, is a powerful poison.

18. N Many Scandinavian names end with son or sen, both of which mean son of.

19. N We live on Fleur Drive, which is righ next to the ariport.

20. R No commas are needed.

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Lesson 5—
Commas that Separate

Lesson Summary

Besides setting off sentence parts, commas are used in many other situations. This lesson reviews the many instances in which you should use commas to separate sentence elements.

Commas are used to separate or clarify relationships between sentence parts in order to make the meaning of a sentence clear and easy to grasp. In this lesson you'll learn how to use commas to separate independent clauses, items in a series, items in a date or address, two or more adjectives preceding a noun, and contrasting elements and words that interrupt the flow of thought in a sentence. The last section of the lesson explains how to use commas in the greetings and closings of a friendly letter.

Begin by seeing how much you already know about commas that separate. Add commas where you think they are needed to the Problem column on the next page. Check yourself against the corrected version in the Solution column. Try to identify the rules that apply to those you missed as you go through the lesson.

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Problem

Solution

Dear Aunt Jan

Dear Aunt Jan,

I hate to give you my whole life story so I'll start halfway through. When I began my first full-time job I was twenty-one years old a freshly scrubbed college graduate. I worked as an English teacher at Sioux Valley Schools 721 Straight Row Drive Linn Grove Iowa. My first day of teacher workshops was August 28 1976 and I came armed with a nice clean notebook a pen a pencil and a new three-ring binder. I expected a day of meetings but I got nothing of the sort. The only time the entire staff got together was at noon when the principal announced that the parents group had set up a lunch for us in the cafeteria. What a feast: fresh sweet corn vine-ripened tomatoes new potatoes and grilled hamburgers. The president of the school board cooked the burgers nothing less than prime Iowa beef to perfection. It was a first day as you might imagine that I will never forget. I'm looking forward to your next letter.

I hate to give you my whole life story, so I'll start halfway through. When I began my first full-time job, I was twenty-one years old, a freshly scrubbed college graduate. I worked as an English teacher at Sioux Valley Schools, 721 Straight Row Drive, Linn Grove, Iowa. My first day of teacher workshops was August 28, 1976, and I came armed with a nice, clean notebook, a pen, a pencil and a new three-ring binder. I expected a day of meetings, but I got nothing of the sort. The only time the entire staff got together was at noon when the principal announced that the parents' group had set up a lunch for us in the cafeteria. What a feast: fresh sweet corn, vine-ripened tomatoes, new potatoes and grilled hamburgers. The president of the school board cooked the burgers, nothing less than prime Iowa beef, to perfection. It was a first day, as you might imagine, that I will never forget. I'm looking forward to your next letter.

Sincerely

Sincerely,

Commas with Independent Clauses Joined by a Conjunction

As you may recall from Lesson 3, an independent clause is a group of words that could stand alone as a complete sentence. A conjunction is a joining word: and, but, or, for, nor, so, or yet. Sometimes a writer will combine two or

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more independent clauses to form a compound sentence. If a conjunction joins the clauses, place a comma after the first clause. The commas and conjunctions are highlighted in the following examples.

Examples:

I went to bed early last night, so I felt rested this morning.

The city's economic situation has improved, but there are still neighborhoods where many people depend on the generosity of others in order to live.

Susan worked through lunch, and now she is able to leave the office early.

If independent clauses are joined without conjunction, they are separated by a semicolon instead of a comma.

Examples:

I went to bed early last night; I felt rested this morning.

The city's economic situation has improved; however, there are still neighborhoods where many people depend on the generosity of others in order to live.

Susan worked through lunch; now she is able to leave the office early.

Practice

Use commas and semicolons to correctly punctuate the following sentences. Answers are at the end of the lesson.

1. You can safely view an eclipse through the viewing glass of a welding helmet or you can look through a piece of overexposed film.

2. The prisoner showed no remorse as the guilty verdict was announced nor did the tears of the victim's family arouse any emotion.

3. The young calf put its head over the fence and it licked my hand and sucked on my fingers.

4. Icebergs in the Antarctic are flat and smooth but those in the Arctic are rough.

5. I understand your position on this issue I still believe you are dead wrong.

6. I like Sam he likes me for we are best of friends.

7. The inventory is valued at one million dollars but it's not enough to cover our debt.

8. If you know of anyone with data processing experience encourage him or her to apply for this new position.

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Commas to Separate Items in a Series

Commas are used to separate items in lists of similar words, phrases, or clauses in order to make the material easier for a reader to understand. The last item in a series is also usually preceded by a conjunction. Strictly speaking, no comma is needed before the conjunction. (However, many writers—some test writers included—prefer to use a comma before the final conjunction to avoid confusion.)

Examples:

Al, Jane, Herbert, and Willis all applied for the promotion.

The old Tempo's engine squealed loudly, shook violently, and ground to a halt.

The instructions clearly showed how to assemble the equipment, how to load the software, and how to boot the system.

If each item in the series is separated by a conjunction, no commas are needed.

Example:

Billie and Charles and Cameron performed at the company Christmas party.

Commas to Separate Items in a Date or an Address

When giving a complete date in the format month-day-year, put a comma on either side of the year. When giving a date that is only a month and year, no comma is needed.

Use a comma to separate each element of an address, such as the street address, city, state, and country. A comma is also used after the state or country if the sentence continues after the address.

Examples:

We moved from Fayetteville, North Carolina, on May 16, 1993.

Since November 1994, Terry has lived at 654 36th Street, Lincoln, Nebraska.

Dwana attended Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa, both fall 1994 and spring 1995.

Practice

Add commas and endmarks where they are needed to the following sentences. Use not only what you are learning in this lesson but also what you learned in Lesson 4. Answers appear at the end of the lesson.

9. After he ran into the mayor's car with his truck Adam used his cellular phone to call the police his doctor his lawyer and his insurance agent.

10. The homegrown philosopher who lives next door at 251 Acorn Street Libertyville Kansas claims to know exactly who invented the wheel sliced bread and kissing.

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Commas to Separate Items in a Series

Commas are used to separate items in lists of similar words, phrases, or clauses in order to make the material easier for a reader to understand. The last item in a series is also usually preceded by a conjunction. Strictly speaking, no comma is needed before the conjunction. (However, many writers—some test writers included—prefer to use a comma before the final conjunction to avoid confusion.)

Examples:

Al, Jane, Herbert, and Willis all applied for the promotion.

The old Tempo's engine squealed loudly, shook violently, and ground to a halt.

The instructions clearly showed how to assemble the equipment, how to load the software, and how to boot the system.

If each item in the series is separated by a conjunction, no commas are needed.

Example:

Billie and Charles and Cameron performed at the company Christmas party.

Commas to Separate Items in a Date or an Address

When giving a complete date in the format month-day-year, put a comma on either side of the year. When giving a date that is only a month and year, no comma is needed.

Use a comma to separate each element of an address, such as the street address, city, state, and country. A comma is also used after the state or country if the sentence continues after the address.

Examples:

We moved from Fayetteville, North Carolina, on May 16, 1993.

Since November 1994, Terry has lived at 654 36th Street, Lincoln, Nebraska.

Dwana attended Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa, both fall 1994 and spring 1995.

Practice

Add commas and endmarks where they are needed to the following sentences. Use not only what you are learning in this lesson but also what you learned in Lesson 4. Answers appear at the end of the lesson.

9. After he ran into the mayor's car with his truck Adam used his cellular phone to call the police his doctor his lawyer and his insurance agent.

10. The homegrown philosopher who lives next door at 251 Acorn Street Libertyville Kansas claims to know exactly who invented the wheel sliced bread and kissing.

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Commas to Separate Items in a Series

Commas are used to separate items in lists of similar words, phrases, or clauses in order to make the material easier for a reader to understand. The last item in a series is also usually preceded by a conjunction. Strictly speaking, no comma is needed before the conjunction. (However, many writers—some test writers included—prefer to use a comma before the final conjunction to avoid confusion.)

Examples:

Al, Jane, Herbert, and Willis all applied for the promotion.

The old Tempo's engine squealed loudly, shook violently, and ground to a halt.

The instructions clearly showed how to assemble the equipment, how to load the software, and how to boot the system.

If each item in the series is separated by a conjunction, no commas are needed.

Example:

Billie and Charles and Cameron performed at the company Christmas party.

Commas to Separate Items in a Date or an Address

When giving a complete date in the format month-day-year, put a comma on either side of the year. When giving a date that is only a month and year, no comma is needed.

Use a comma to separate each element of an address, such as the street address, city, state, and country. A comma is also used after the state or country if the sentence continues after the address.

Examples:

We moved from Fayetteville, North Carolina, on May 16, 1993.

Since November 1994, Terry has lived at 654 36th Street, Lincoln, Nebraska.

Dwana attended Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa, both fall 1994 and spring 1995.

Practice

Add commas and endmarks where they are needed to the following sentences. Use not only what you are learning in this lesson but also what you learned in Lesson 4. Answers appear at the end of the lesson.

9. After he ran into the mayor's car with his truck Adam used his cellular phone to call the police his doctor his lawyer and his insurance agent.

10. The homegrown philosopher who lives next door at 251 Acorn Street Libertyville Kansas claims to know exactly who invented the wheel sliced bread and kissing.

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11. Estelle was born on January 31 1953 and Arun was born on June 30 1960.

12. Looking for a solution to the printing problem Karissa asked an older employee questioned the supervisor and finally consulted the printer manual.

13. Baruch brought a jello salad to the potluck Shannon brought peanuts M & M's mints and pretzels.

Commas to Separate Adjectives

Use commas to separate two or more equally important adjectives.

Examples:

Alex avoided the friendly, talkative, pleasant boy sitting next to him at school.

The carpenter repaired the floor with dark, aged, oak flooring.

The reporter spoke with several intense, talented high school athletes.

Pay close attention to the last sentence above. You'll notice that the words several, high, and school are also adjectives modifying athletes. Not all adjectives modifying the same word are equally important. Only those of equal importance are separated with a comma. If you apply one or both of these tests, you can easily tell whether a comma is needed:

• Change the order of the adjectives. If the sentence reads just as clearly, separate the adjectives with a comma. If the sentence becomes unclear or sounds awkward, do not use a comma. The first two example sentences above make sense even if the position of the adjectives is changed. The last example sentence makes no sense if you change the order of any of the adjectives other than intense and talented. Therefore, those are the only adjectives separated by a comma.

Alex avoided the talkative, friendly, pleasant boy sitting next to him at school.

The carpenter repaired the floor with aged, dark, oak flooring.

The reporter spoke with intense, several, high, talented, school athletes.

•A second, equally effective test is to place and between the adjectives. If the sentence still reads well, then use commas between the adjectives. If the sentence sounds unclear or awkward, do not use commas. Again, this works with the first two example sentences, but in the last sentence, and makes sense only between intense and talented. Try these two tests with the following sentences. Where do commas go?

We bought an antique wrought iron daybed.

The envelope contained three crisp clean brand new hundred dollar bills.

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You should have punctuated the sentences like this:

We bought an antique, wrought iron daybed.

The envelope contained three crisp, clean, brand new hundred dollar bills.

Commas to Separate Other Elements of a Sentence

•Use commas to separate contrasting or opposing elements in a sentence. The comma functions as a signal to the reader: What follows is an opposite idea. It makes the idea easier for the reader to grasp.

Examples:

We searched the entire house, but found nothing.

We need strong intellects, not strong bodies, to resolve this problem.

The racers ran slowly at first, quickly at the end.

We expected to meet the President, not a White House aide.

•Use commas to separate words or phrases that interrupt the flow of thought in a sentence.

Examples:

The deadline, it seemed clear, simply could not be met.

We came to rely, however, on the kindness and generosity of the neighbors.

The alternative route, we discovered, was faster than the original route.

• Whenever the name of the person being addressed is included in a sentence, it should be set off by commas.

Examples:

Dave, we wanted you to look at this layout before we sent it to printing.

We wanted you to look at this layout, Dave, before we sent it to printing.

We wanted you to look at this layout before we sent it to printing, Dave.

•Mild exclamations included in a sentence are also set off with commas.

Examples:

Well, that was certainly a pleasant surprise.

Yes, I'll call you as soon as we get the information.

Heavens, that was a long-winded speaker.

• Use a comma after the greeting and closing of a friendly letter.

Examples:

Dear Uncle Jon,

Sincerely yours,

Yours truly,

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Practice

Choose the correctly punctuated version of each of the following sets of sentences. Keep in mind what you learned about commas in the previous lesson.

14. a. No, I haven't received a reply just yet, but I expect one any day.

b. No I haven't received a reply just yet, but I expect one any day.

c. No, I haven't received a reply just yet but I expect one any day.

15. a. My steak was burned to a crisp, the burger, on the other hand, was dripping with blood.

b. My steak was burned to a crisp; the burger, on the other hand, was dripping with blood.

c. My steak was burned to a crisp, the burger, on the other hand was dripping with blood.

16. a. Well, Sancha, I wonder if Mindy made it to her interview on time.

b. Well, Sancha I wonder if Mindy made it to her interview on time.

c. Well Sancha, I wonder if Mindy made it to her interview on time.

17. a. When we go on vacation, we need to remember our clothing fishing equipment and cameras.

b. When we go on vacation we need to remember our clothing, fishing equipment, and cameras.

c. When we go on vacation, we need to remember our clothing, fishing equipment, and cameras.

18. a. The correct address I believe is 215 North 34th, Streator, Illinois.

b. The correct address, I believe, is 215 North 34th, Streator, Illinois.

c. The correct address, I believe, is 215, North 34th, Streator, Illinois.

19. a. Our newest employee, a transfer from the home office, is the strong silent absent type, I think.

b. Our newest employee, a transfer from the home office is the strong, silent, absent type, I think.

c. Our newest employee, a transfer from the home office, is the strong, silent, absent type, I think.

20. a. I'm afraid, Mr. Dobbs, that you lack the qualifications for this job; but we have another that might interest you.

b. I'm afraid Mr. Dobbs, that you lack the qualifications for this job, but we have another that might interest you.

c. I'm afraid, Mr. Dobbs, that you lack the qualifications for this job, but we have another that might interest you.

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Answers

1. You can safely view an eclipse through the viewing glass of a welding helmet, or you can look through a piece of overexposed film.

2. The prisoner showed no remorse as the guilty verdict was announced, nor did the tears of the victim's family arouse any emotion.

3. The young calf put its head over the fence, and it licked my hand and sucked on my fingers.

4. Icebergs in the Antarctic are flat and smooth, but those in the Arctic are rough.

5. I understand your position on this issue; I still believe you are dead wrong.

6. I like Sam; he likes me, for we are best of friends.

7. The inventory is valued at one million dollars, but it's not enough to cover our debt.

8. If you know of anyone with data processing experience, encourage him or her to apply for this new position.

9. After he ran into the mayor's car with his truck, Adam used his cellular phone to call the police, his doctor, his lawyer, and his insurance agent.

10. The homegrown philosopher who lives next door at 251 Acorn Street, Libertyville, Kansas, claims to know exactly who invented the wheel, sliced bread, and kissing.

11. Estelle was born on January 31, 1953, and Arun was born on June 30, 1960.

12. Looking for a solution to the printing problem, Karissa asked an older employee, questioned the supervisor, and finally consulted the printer manual.

13. Baruch brought a jello salad to the potluck. Shannon brought peanuts, M & M's, mints, and pretzels.

14. a.

15. b.

16. a.

17. c.

18. b.

19. c.

20. c.

21. c.

22. a.

23. c.

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Lesson 6—
Semicolons and Colons

Lesson Summary

Many people are confused by semicolons (;) and colons (:), but after you work through this lesson, you'll know exactly what to do with both of them.

You learned to use semicolons to separate independent clauses in Lesson 3. In this lesson you'll review that use of semicolons, as well as the use of some of the other punctuation marks you have studied so far. You will learn how to use semicolons with conjunctive adverbs and when to separate items in a series with semicolons. You will also learn to use colons in business communications and other settings.

Begin by seeing how much you know. Insert semicolons and colons where you think they are needed in the Problem column on the following page. Check yourself against the correct version in the Solution column on the right as you go.

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Problem (continued)

Solution (continued)

Delaware. Mr. Powell will respond within two days to remedy the alleged problem or to refund the amount in question."

Delaware. Mr. Powell will respond within two days to remedy the alleged problem or to refund the amount in question."

We appreciate your prompt attention to this matter.

We appreciate your prompt attention to this matter.

Sincerely yours,

Sincerely yours,

Semicolons

There are three different cases in which a semicolon is used to separate independent clauses. (See Lesson 3 if you've forgotten what an independent clause is.)

• To separate independent clauses joined without a conjunction. This rule may seem familiar to you because it was also included in the last lesson.

Examples:

Three doctors began the research project; only one completed it.

Discard the packaging; save the paperwork for accounting.

The hour is over; it's time to stop working.

• To separate independent clauses that contain commas even if the clauses are joined by a conjunction. The semicolon helps the reader see where the break in thought occurs.

Example:

The team needed new equipment, updated training manuals, and better professional advice; but since none of this was provided, they performed as poorly as they had in the previous competition.

• To separate independent clauses connected with a conjunctive adverb. Follow the adverb with a comma. A conjunctive adverb is an adverb that joins independent clauses. Conjunctive adverbs are punctuated differently than regular conjunctions. The first independent clause is followed by a semicolon; the conjunctive adverb is followed by a comma.

Examples:

Our copy of the central warehouse catalog arrived after the budget deadline; consequently, our requests are late.

In the book An American Childhood, Annie Dillard recounts her experiences as a child; furthermore, she questions and speculates about the meaning of life.

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Practice

Practice what you've learned by adding semicolons where they are needed in the following sentences. You will find the answers at the end of this lesson.

1. I need a break I've been working for five hours straight.

2. We have branch offices in Paris, France Berlin, Germany Stockholm, Sweden and Budapest, Hungary.

3. We had no problem meeting the deadline however, we were still able to find ways of streamlining production.

4. We ate swiss steak, riced potatoes, steamed broccoli and fresh bread for dinner but we still had room to eat apple pie for dessert.

5. Paige left some of the confidential documents sitting on her desk at work consequently, she worried about their safety all night long.

Colons

Colons that introduce

• Use a colon to introduce a list of items, as long as the part before the colon is already a complete sentence.

Examples:

These people were cast in the play: Andrea, Horatio, Thom, Alley and Benito.

We packed these items for the trip: cameras, dress clothes, scuba equipment, and beach wear.

• Do not use a colon if the list of items complements a verb; in other words, if it completes the meaning begun by the verb. Look at the sample sentences from above rewritten in such a way that a colon is not necessary.

Examples:

The people cast in the play were Kristin, Horatio, Thom, Alley, and Benito.

For our trip we packed cameras, dress clothes, scuba equipment, and beach wear.

• Use a colon to introduce a formal quotation.

Example:

John F. Kennedy ended the speech with these notable words: "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country."

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Practice

Practice what you've learned by adding semicolons where they are needed in the following sentences. You will find the answers at the end of this lesson.

1. I need a break I've been working for five hours straight.

2. We have branch offices in Paris, France Berlin, Germany Stockholm, Sweden and Budapest, Hungary.

3. We had no problem meeting the deadline however, we were still able to find ways of streamlining production.

4. We ate swiss steak, riced potatoes, steamed broccoli and fresh bread for dinner but we still had room to eat apple pie for dessert.

5. Paige left some of the confidential documents sitting on her desk at work consequently, she worried about their safety all night long.

Colons

Colons that introduce

• Use a colon to introduce a list of items, as long as the part before the colon is already a complete sentence.

Examples:

These people were cast in the play: Andrea, Horatio, Thom, Alley and Benito.

We packed these items for the trip: cameras, dress clothes, scuba equipment, and beach wear.

• Do not use a colon if the list of items complements a verb; in other words, if it completes the meaning begun by the verb. Look at the sample sentences from above rewritten in such a way that a colon is not necessary.

Examples:

The people cast in the play were Kristin, Horatio, Thom, Alley, and Benito.

For our trip we packed cameras, dress clothes, scuba equipment, and beach wear.

• Use a colon to introduce a formal quotation.

Example:

John F. Kennedy ended the speech with these notable words: "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country."

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Practice

Practice what you've learned by adding semicolons where they are needed in the following sentences. You will find the answers at the end of this lesson.

1. I need a break I've been working for five hours straight.

2. We have branch offices in Paris, France Berlin, Germany Stockholm, Sweden and Budapest, Hungary.

3. We had no problem meeting the deadline however, we were still able to find ways of streamlining production.

4. We ate swiss steak, riced potatoes, steamed broccoli and fresh bread for dinner but we still had room to eat apple pie for dessert.

5. Paige left some of the confidential documents sitting on her desk at work consequently, she worried about their safety all night long.

Colons

Colons that introduce

• Use a colon to introduce a list of items, as long as the part before the colon is already a complete sentence.

Examples:

These people were cast in the play: Andrea, Horatio, Thom, Alley and Benito.

We packed these items for the trip: cameras, dress clothes, scuba equipment, and beach wear.

• Do not use a colon if the list of items complements a verb; in other words, if it completes the meaning begun by the verb. Look at the sample sentences from above rewritten in such a way that a colon is not necessary.

Examples:

The people cast in the play were Kristin, Horatio, Thom, Alley, and Benito.

For our trip we packed cameras, dress clothes, scuba equipment, and beach wear.

• Use a colon to introduce a formal quotation.

Example:

John F. Kennedy ended the speech with these notable words: "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country."

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• Use a colon to emphasize a word, phrase, or clause that adds particular emphasis to the main body of a sentence. Again, the part before the colon should already be a complete sentence.

Example:

The financial problems our company has been experiencing have been caused by one thing: poor planning. We were missing a vital piece of information: how the basic product design differed from last year's model.

Colons that show a Subordinate Relationship

Use a colon to show a subordinate relationship in the following cases:

• Between two sentences when the second explains the first.

Examples:

Brenton shouted and threw his fists in the air: He had just set a new world's record.

Nicole put the check into her scrapbook rather than cashing it: It was the first check she had ever earned.

Scott ignored the phone: He knew it was a salesman for whom he had no time.

• Between the title and the subtitle of a book.

Examples:

Internet Starter Kit: A Complete Guide to Cyberspace

Beyond 2000: A Futuristic View of Time

O Death, Where is Thy Sting: Tales from the Other Side

• Between volume and page number or between chapter and verse.

Examples:

World Book Encyclopedia V: 128

New Age Journal of Medicine IX: 23

John 3:16

Genesis 1:1

Psalms 23:2

• Between hour and minute.

Examples:

12:53 A.M.

2:10 P.M.

• After the greeting of a business letter. You learned that commas are used after greetings in personal or friendly letters. A colon signals the reader that what is to follow is a business matter, something to be taken seriously. This is particularly true if you include the position, but not the name of the person to whom the letter is addressed. However, even in a business letter, the closing is followed by a comma.

Examples:

Dear Mr. Strange:

Cordially yours,

Dear Operations Manager:

Respectfully submitted,

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Practice

Choose the correctly punctuated version in each of the following sets of sentences. You will find the correct answers at the end of the lesson.

6. a. I found an outline of the procedure in the policy manual, Volume 3:17.

b. I found an outline of the procedure, in the policy manual, Volume 3:17.

c. I found an outline of the procedure in the policy manual Volume 3,17.

7. a. The tornado destroyed most of the buildings on our farm, however the house was untouched by the violent storm.

b. The tornado destroyed most of the buildings on our farm; however the house was untouched by the violent storm.

c. The tornado destroyed most of the buildings on our farm; however, the house was untouched by the violent storm.

8. a. After a week in the woods I need: a towel, a washcloth, a toothbrush, and a bar of soap.

b. After a week in the woods I need a towel, a washcloth, a toothbrush, and a bar of soap.

c. After a week in the woods I need; a towel, a washcloth, a toothbrush, and a bar of soap.

9. a. Dear Subscriber,

Please renew your subscription by 12,00 A.M. on January 5, 1996, to receive the special bonus.

b. Dear Subscriber:

Please renew your subscription by 12:00 A.M. on January 5, 1996, to receive the special bonus.

c. Dear Subscriber;

Please renew your subscription by 12:00 A.M. on January 5, 1996 to receive the special bonus.

10. a. Each day a new shift begins at 8:00 A.M., 4:00 P.M., and 12:00 A.M.

b. Each day a new shift begins at 8:00 A.M.; 4:00 P.M., and 12:00 A.M.

c. Each day a new shift begins at 8:00, A.M.; 4:00, P.M.; and 12:00, A.M.

11. a. I like to play football, a physically challenging sport; chess, a game of logic and strategy; Super Mario World, a  mindless Super Nintendo game; and the guitar, a relaxing instrument.

b. I like to play football, a physically challenging sport: chess, a game of logic and strategy: Super Mario World, a mindless Super Nintendo game: and the guitar, a relaxing instrument.

c. I like to play football a physically challenging sport, chess a game of logic and strategy. Super Mario World a mindless Super Nintendo game, and the guitar a relaxing instrument.

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12. a. They learned the following information from the interrogation: the suspect's name; the suspect's home address; the suspect's phone number; and the suspect's current employer.

b. They learned the following information from the interrogation the suspect's name, the suspect's home address, the suspect's phone number, and the suspect's current employer.

c. They learned the following information from the interrogation: the suspect's name, the suspect's home address, the suspect's phone number, and the suspect's current employer.

Skill Building Until Next Time

Take a look at some of the letters or communications you have received or written recently. Examine the punctuation. Did the author use endmarks, commas, semicolons and colons correctly? If not, correct them. It will be good practice.

Answers

1. I need a break; I've been working for five hours straight.

2. We have branch offices in Paris, France; Berlin, Germany; Stockholm, Sweden; and Budapest, Hungary.

3. We had no problem meeting the deadline; however, we were still able to find ways of streamlining production.

4. We ate swiss steak, riced potatoes, steamed broccoli and fresh bread for dinner; but we still had room to  eat apple pie for dessert.

5. Paige left some of the confidential documents sitting on her desk at work; consequently, she worried about their safety all night long.

6. a.

7. c.

8. b.

9. b.

10. a.

11. a.

12. c.

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Lesson 7—
Apostrophes and Dashes

Lesson Summary

This lesson will put you in control of apostrophes (') and dashes (—), two of the most commonly misused marks of punctuation.

Apostrophes communicate important information in written language. Dashes, when used sparingly, add emphasis. Before you begin the lesson, see how much you already know. Add apostrophes—and one pair of dashes—where you think they belong in the Problem column on the following page. Check yourself with the Solution column.

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Problem

Solution

My grandfather is quite fond of telling stories from the late 30s and early 40s. The Great Depressions effect was beginning to diminish in the small South Dakota town where he lived. He inherited a 160-acre farm after his father-inlaws death in 1938. Little of the farms cropland had produced anything in the years prior to 38. During his first two years as a landowner, he netted a small profit. With the droughts end in 40 came the beginning of good crops. Even with the governments market quotas, he was able to make enough money to buy another quarter of land. He counted on his sons help to farm the addl land, but they went off to Europe when World War II broke out. He purchased a steam engine tractor one of John Deeres first and farmed the 320 acres by himself. That was the beginning of his most successful years as a farmer.

My grandfather is quite fond of telling stories from the late '30s and early '40s. The Great Depression's effect was beginning to diminish in the small South Dakota town where he lived. He inherited a 160-acre farm after his father-inlaw's death in 1938. Little of the farm's cropland had produced anything in the years prior to '38. During his first two years as a landowner, he netted a small profit. With the drought's end in '40 came the beginning of good crops. Even with the government's market quotas, he was able to make enough money to buy another quarter of land. He counted on his sons' help to farm the add'l land, but they went off to Europe when World War II broke out. He purchased a steam engine tractor—one of John Deere's first—and farmed the 320 acres by himself. That was the beginning of his most successful years as a farmer.

Apostrophes

To Show Possession

Use an apostrophe to show possession. The highlighted words in each of the following examples are possessive adjectives: They show to whom or what a noun belongs.

Singular nouns (add 's)

Plural nouns ending in s (add ')

Plural nouns not ending in s

boy's toy (The toy is the boy's.)

boys' bicycles (The bicycles are the boys'.)

men's schedules (The schedules are the men's.)

child's play

kids' bedrooms

children's opinions

lady's coat

ladies' skirts

women's department

dentist's aide

players' representative

people's choice

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Problem

Solution

My grandfather is quite fond of telling stories from the late 30s and early 40s. The Great Depressions effect was beginning to diminish in the small South Dakota town where he lived. He inherited a 160-acre farm after his father-inlaws death in 1938. Little of the farms cropland had produced anything in the years prior to 38. During his first two years as a landowner, he netted a small profit. With the droughts end in 40 came the beginning of good crops. Even with the governments market quotas, he was able to make enough money to buy another quarter of land. He counted on his sons help to farm the addl land, but they went off to Europe when World War II broke out. He purchased a steam engine tractor one of John Deeres first and farmed the 320 acres by himself. That was the beginning of his most successful years as a farmer.

My grandfather is quite fond of telling stories from the late '30s and early '40s. The Great Depression's effect was beginning to diminish in the small South Dakota town where he lived. He inherited a 160-acre farm after his father-inlaw's death in 1938. Little of the farm's cropland had produced anything in the years prior to '38. During his first two years as a landowner, he netted a small profit. With the drought's end in '40 came the beginning of good crops. Even with the government's market quotas, he was able to make enough money to buy another quarter of land. He counted on his sons' help to farm the add'l land, but they went off to Europe when World War II broke out. He purchased a steam engine tractor—one of John Deere's first—and farmed the 320 acres by himself. That was the beginning of his most successful years as a farmer.

Apostrophes

To Show Possession

Use an apostrophe to show possession. The highlighted words in each of the following examples are possessive adjectives: They show to whom or what a noun belongs.

Singular nouns (add 's)

Plural nouns ending in s (add ')

Plural nouns not ending in s

boy's toy (The toy is the boy's.)

boys' bicycles (The bicycles are the boys'.)

men's schedules (The schedules are the men's.)

child's play

kids' bedrooms

children's opinions

lady's coat

ladies' skirts

women's department

dentist's aide

players' representative

people's choice

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Practice

From each set below, choose the option in which apostrophes are used correctly. You will find the answers to each set of questions at the end of the lesson.

1. a. An employee's motivation is different from an owner's.

b. An employees' motivation is different from an owners'.

2. a. Employees reward's differ from an owners'.

b. Employees' rewards differ from an owner's.

3. a. Elaine has worked three years as a physicians assistant.

b. Elaine has worked three years as a physician's assistant.

4. a. The Mens' Issue's group meets every Saturday morning.

b. The Men's Issues group meets every Saturday morning.

5. a. The companies' sales force has doubled in recent years, and the credit is your's.

b. The company's sales force has doubled in recent years, and the credit is yours.

6. a. The most efficient method is her's.

b. The most efficient method is hers.

7. a. After five years' experience, we earn four weeks' paid vacation.

b. After five year's experience, we earn four week's paid vacation.

8. a. Pat and Janice's proposal requires a month's work.

b. Pat's and Janice's proposal requires a months' work.

9. a. The computer supply store's top-selling printer is Hewlett Packards latest model.

b. The computer supply store's top-selling printer is Hewlett Packard's latest model.

10. a. Ms. Jones's boutique sells the same products as Mr. Smith's.

b. Ms. Jones' boutique sells the same products as Mr. Smiths'.

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To Show Omission

Use an apostrophe to show that letters or numbers have been omitted.

Examples:

Morton doesn't (does not) live here anymore.

speeding ticket.

Who's (who is) on first?

I just can't (cannot) understand this memo.

The task force discussed the nat'l (national) debt.

My first car was a '67 (1967) Chevy.

Grandpa tells stories about life in the '40s (1940s).

Dashes

Remember to distinguish a dash from a hyphen when typing. A dash is two hyphens.

• Use a dash to mark a sudden break in thought or to insert a comment.

Examples:

Here is your sandwich and your—Look out for that bee!

I remember the day—what middle-aged person doesn't—that President Kennedy was shot.

John is sorry—we all are—about your unfortunate accident.

• Use a dash to emphasize explanatory material. You don't have to use a dash, but you may.

Examples:

Knowing yourself—your thoughts, values, and dreams—is the most important knowledge.

''The writer is by nature a dreamer—a conscious dreamer."—Carson McCullers

We spend our summers in Canada—Ontario, to be precise.

• Use a dash to indicate omitted letters or words.

Examples:

"Oh, sh—, I can't believe I forgot to mail that package!"

"Hello?—Yes, I can hear you just fine.—Of course—I think I can.—Good!—I'll see you later.—

• Use a dash to connect a beginning phrase to the rest of the sentence.

Examples:

Honesty, integrity, tenacity—these are marks of motivated salespeople.

Nashville, Tennesse; Olympia, Washington; Oceola, Iowa—these are the prospective locations.

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To Show Omission

Use an apostrophe to show that letters or numbers have been omitted.

Examples:

Morton doesn't (does not) live here anymore.

speeding ticket.

Who's (who is) on first?

I just can't (cannot) understand this memo.

The task force discussed the nat'l (national) debt.

My first car was a '67 (1967) Chevy.

Grandpa tells stories about life in the '40s (1940s).

Dashes

Remember to distinguish a dash from a hyphen when typing. A dash is two hyphens.

• Use a dash to mark a sudden break in thought or to insert a comment.

Examples:

Here is your sandwich and your—Look out for that bee!

I remember the day—what middle-aged person doesn't—that President Kennedy was shot.

John is sorry—we all are—about your unfortunate accident.

• Use a dash to emphasize explanatory material. You don't have to use a dash, but you may.

Examples:

Knowing yourself—your thoughts, values, and dreams—is the most important knowledge.

''The writer is by nature a dreamer—a conscious dreamer."—Carson McCullers

We spend our summers in Canada—Ontario, to be precise.

• Use a dash to indicate omitted letters or words.

Examples:

"Oh, sh—, I can't believe I forgot to mail that package!"

"Hello?—Yes, I can hear you just fine.—Of course—I think I can.—Good!—I'll see you later.—

• Use a dash to connect a beginning phrase to the rest of the sentence.

Examples:

Honesty, integrity, tenacity—these are marks of motivated salespeople.

Nashville, Tennesse; Olympia, Washington; Oceola, Iowa—these are the prospective locations.

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Practice

Choose the option in which dashes and other punctuation are used correctly in each of the following sets.

11. a. We have only one choice—to open a new branch office in the suburbs.

b. We have only one choice to open a new branch office—in the suburbs.

12. a. My suggestion—just in case you're interested, is to apply for a promotion.

b. My suggestion—just in case you're interested—is to apply for a promotion.

13. a. He is the most unreasonable, I guess I should keep my opinions to myself.

b. He is the most unreasonable—I guess I should keep my opinions to myself.

14. a. I can't find that d— pocket organizer that I worked—Oh, here it is.

b. I can't find that d— pocket organizer that I worked, Oh, here it is.

15. a. Brains, brawn, determination—that's what I demand from my people.

b. Brains, brawn, determination: that's what I demand from my people.

Practice and Review

Check yourself with these sample test questions. These extremely difficult questions cover much of what you have learned about punctuation so far. Look at the items carefully. Which of the following options is punctuated correctly?

16. a. Although it may seem strange, my partners purpose in interviewing Dr. E. S. Sanders Jr., was to eliminate him as a suspect in the crime.

b. Although it may seem strange my partner's purpose in interviewing Dr. E. S. Sanders, Jr. was to eliminate him, as a suspect in the crime.

c. Although it may seem strange, my partner's purpose in interviewing Dr. E. S. Sanders, Jr., was to eliminate him as a suspect in the crime.

d. Although it may seem strange, my partner's purpose in interviewing Dr. E. S. Sanders, Jr. was to eliminate him, as a suspect in the crime.

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Practice

Choose the option in which dashes and other punctuation are used correctly in each of the following sets.

11. a. We have only one choice—to open a new branch office in the suburbs.

b. We have only one choice to open a new branch office—in the suburbs.

12. a. My suggestion—just in case you're interested, is to apply for a promotion.

b. My suggestion—just in case you're interested—is to apply for a promotion.

13. a. He is the most unreasonable, I guess I should keep my opinions to myself.

b. He is the most unreasonable—I guess I should keep my opinions to myself.

14. a. I can't find that d— pocket organizer that I worked—Oh, here it is.

b. I can't find that d— pocket organizer that I worked, Oh, here it is.

15. a. Brains, brawn, determination—that's what I demand from my people.

b. Brains, brawn, determination: that's what I demand from my people.

Practice and Review

Check yourself with these sample test questions. These extremely difficult questions cover much of what you have learned about punctuation so far. Look at the items carefully. Which of the following options is punctuated correctly?

16. a. Although it may seem strange, my partners purpose in interviewing Dr. E. S. Sanders Jr., was to eliminate him as a suspect in the crime.

b. Although it may seem strange my partner's purpose in interviewing Dr. E. S. Sanders, Jr. was to eliminate him, as a suspect in the crime.

c. Although it may seem strange, my partner's purpose in interviewing Dr. E. S. Sanders, Jr., was to eliminate him as a suspect in the crime.

d. Although it may seem strange, my partner's purpose in interviewing Dr. E. S. Sanders, Jr. was to eliminate him, as a suspect in the crime.

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20. a. James Autry, Steven Covey, Madeline Hunter—these authors are responsible for my management style, a combination of Autry's personnel philosophy, Covey's process for prioritizing, and Hunter's organizational principles.

b. James Autry, Steven Covey, Madeline Hunter. These authors are responsible for my management style, a   combination of Autry's personnel philosophy, Covey's process for prioritizing and Hunter's organizational principles.

c. James Autry, Steven Covey, Madeline Hunter—these authors are responsible for my management style, a combination of Autrys personnel philosophy, Coveys process for prioritizing and Hunters organizational principles.

d. James Autry, Steven Covey, Madeline Hunter: these authors are responsible for my management style; a combination of Autry's personnel philosophy; Covey's process for prioritizing; and Hunter's organizational principles.

Skill Building Until Next Time

Few people understand the rules of apostrophes and dashes fully. Advertisers are notorious for misusing both types of punctuation. Pay special attention to billboards and advertisements in newspapers and magazines. Look for places where apostrophes and dashes are used correctly. Notice places where they are omitted or added when they shouldn't be. If you job produces promotional material, examine some of your own literature to see if apostrophes and dashes have been used correctly.

Answers

1. a.

2. b.

3. b.

4. b.

5. b.

6. b.

7. a.

8. a.

9. b.

10. a.

11. a.

12. b.

13. b.

14. a.

15. a.

16. c.

17. d.

18. b.

19. b.

20. a.

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Lesson 8—
Quotation Marks

Lesson Summary

This lesson covers rules regarding the use of quotation marks, both double and single. Although these marks are most often found in dialogue, they are important in other writing situations as well.

Begin this lesson by seeing how much you already know about quotation marks. Insert them where you think they belong in the sentences in the Problem column on the following page. Some sentences will also need endmarks and commas. Check yourself against the corrected versions of the sentences in the Solution column.

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Quotation Marks with Direct Quotations

• Use quotation marks to set off a direct quotation or thought within a sentence or paragraph. This includes quotations that are signed, etched, inscribed, carved, and so on.

Examples:

Mr. Hurley called our prototype "a model of pure genius."

I was certain he said, "Campbells will accept delivery on Tuesday."

"When will help arrive?" I wondered.

The sign clearly read, "No trespassing or hunting."

"Happy and Fulfilled," the headstone read.

• Do not use quotation marks for paraphrases or indirect quotations.

Examples:

I was sure Campbells wanted a Tuesday delivery.

I wondered when help would arrive.

The sign said that trespassing and hunting were not allowed.

• Use single quotation marks to set off a quotation within a quotation.

Examples:

"I distinctly heard her say, 'The store opens at 9:00.'" said Gene.

The speaker continued, "I am ever mindful of Franklin Roosevelt's famous words, 'We have nothing to fear but fear itself.' But fear is a terrible thing."

My speech teacher asked, "Does anyone in this room remember the way Jim Nabors used to say, 'Golly'?"

A Word About Dialogue

Correctly punctuating dialogue means understanding how to use quotation marks, commas, and endmarks. Take a close look at the sentences in the dialogue sample below. They include the basic dialogue structures. The words quoted are called quotations, and the words explaining who said the quotations are called tags. In the sample below, the tags are highlighted.

1.  "I'm really thirsty. Let's grab something to drink," said Horace.

2.  Nancy replied, "I'm thirsty, but I don't have any cash. Do you have some?"

3.  "I don't get it," Horace answered. "You're the manager with the high-paying job."

4.  "Well," Nancy replied, "credit cards are all I ever use."

Quoted words are always surrounded by quotation marks. Place quotation marks before a group of quoted words and again at the end.

Tags are punctuated differently depending upon where they appear in the sentence. Whenever the tag follows a   quotation, and the quotation is a sentence that would normally be punctuated with a period, use a comma

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Quotation Marks with Direct Quotations

• Use quotation marks to set off a direct quotation or thought within a sentence or paragraph. This includes quotations that are signed, etched, inscribed, carved, and so on.

Examples:

Mr. Hurley called our prototype "a model of pure genius."

I was certain he said, "Campbells will accept delivery on Tuesday."

"When will help arrive?" I wondered.

The sign clearly read, "No trespassing or hunting."

"Happy and Fulfilled," the headstone read.

• Do not use quotation marks for paraphrases or indirect quotations.

Examples:

I was sure Campbells wanted a Tuesday delivery.

I wondered when help would arrive.

The sign said that trespassing and hunting were not allowed.

• Use single quotation marks to set off a quotation within a quotation.

Examples:

"I distinctly heard her say, 'The store opens at 9:00.'" said Gene.

The speaker continued, "I am ever mindful of Franklin Roosevelt's famous words, 'We have nothing to fear but fear itself.' But fear is a terrible thing."

My speech teacher asked, "Does anyone in this room remember the way Jim Nabors used to say, 'Golly'?"

A Word About Dialogue

Correctly punctuating dialogue means understanding how to use quotation marks, commas, and endmarks. Take a close look at the sentences in the dialogue sample below. They include the basic dialogue structures. The words quoted are called quotations, and the words explaining who said the quotations are called tags. In the sample below, the tags are highlighted.

1.  "I'm really thirsty. Let's grab something to drink," said Horace.

2.  Nancy replied, "I'm thirsty, but I don't have any cash. Do you have some?"

3.  "I don't get it," Horace answered. "You're the manager with the high-paying job."

4.  "Well," Nancy replied, "credit cards are all I ever use."

Quoted words are always surrounded by quotation marks. Place quotation marks before a group of quoted words and again at the end.

Tags are punctuated differently depending upon where they appear in the sentence. Whenever the tag follows a   quotation, and the quotation is a sentence that would normally be punctuated with a period, use a comma

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at the end of the quotation. The period comes at the end of the tag. However, if the quotation is a sentence that would normally be followed with a question mark or an exclamation point, insert the question mark or exclamation point at the end of the quotation. Place a period after the tag. (See sentence 1 on page 73.)

"I'm really thirsty. Let's grab something to drink," said Alvina.

"I'm really thirsty. Do you want to grab something to drink?" asked Alvina.

"I'm really thirsty. Hold it—a Dairy Queen!" exclaimed Alvina.

Sometimes, the tag precedes the quotation. When this happens, place a comma after the tag. Put quotation marks around the quoted words, capitalize the first word of the quotation, and punctuate the sentence as you would normally. (See sentence 2 on page 73.)

Sometimes, the tag interrupts the quotation. If both the first and second parts of the quotation are complete sentences, the first part of the quotation is punctuated in the same way as a quotation with the tag at the end. In other words, the period follows the tag. The rest of the quotation is punctuated in the same way as a quotation preceded by a tag. (See sentence 3 on page 73.)

When the tag interrupts the quotation and the sentence, the words preceding the tag begin the thought, and the words following the tag complete the thought. Place quotation marks around the quoted words and follow the first part of the quotation with a comma. Place a comma after the tag (not a period, since the sentence is not completed). Place quotation marks around the last part of the quotation, but do not capitalize the first letter of the quotation. It is not the beginning of a sentence. Punctuate the rest of the sentence as you would normally. (See sentence 4 on page 73.)

NOTICE: All of the punctuation is inside the quotation marks except the punctuation marks following the tags.

Dialogue at a Glance

• Tag following the quotation mark:

"————," said Rose.

"————?" asked Rose.

"————!" exclaimed Rose.

• Tag preceding quotation:

Iris said, "————."

Iris asked, "————?"

Iris exclaimed, "————!"

• Tag between two sentences of a quotation:

"————," said Lily. "————."

"————?" asked Lily. "————?"

"————!" exclaimed Lily. "————!"

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• Tag interrupting a quotation and a sentence:

"————," said Daisy, "————."

"————," asked Daisy, "————?"

"————," exclaimed Daisy, "————!"

Other Uses of Quotation Marks

• Use quotation marks to set off unfamiliar terms and nicknames. Quotation marks are sometimes used to refer to words used as words, though you will often see italics for words used as words.

Examples:

None of us had heard of "chutney" before we read the article.

He was dubbed "Sir Tagalong" by the other members of the staff.

The Scrabble players disagreed over the term "ptu." (or " . . . over the term ptu.")

• Use quotation marks to indicate irony or raised eyebrows. But avoid overusing quotation marks in this way; it doesn't work if you do it all the time.

Examples:

When we were camping, our "bathroom" was a thicket behind our tent.

Our "guide" never mentioned the presence of poison ivy.

The "fun" of surgery begins long before the operation commences.

• Use quotation marks to set off titles of certain items. Other titles should be underlined or italicized.

Enclose in quotation marks

Underline or italicize

name of a short story or chapter of a book

title of a novel

name of a T.V. program

name of a movie

title of a poem

title of a collection of poetry or an epic poem

headline of an article or title of a report

name of a magazine or newspaper

title of a song

title of a musical, play, or long musical composition

name of a ship, plane, train, etc.

Punctuating within Quotation Marks

Here are the rules regarding the use of other punctuation marks and quotation marks.

• Question marks, exclamation points, and dashes go inside the quotation marks if they are part of the quotation. If they are not, place them outside the quotation marks.

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• Tag interrupting a quotation and a sentence:

"————," said Daisy, "————."

"————," asked Daisy, "————?"

"————," exclaimed Daisy, "————!"

Other Uses of Quotation Marks

• Use quotation marks to set off unfamiliar terms and nicknames. Quotation marks are sometimes used to refer to words used as words, though you will often see italics for words used as words.

Examples:

None of us had heard of "chutney" before we read the article.

He was dubbed "Sir Tagalong" by the other members of the staff.

The Scrabble players disagreed over the term "ptu." (or " . . . over the term ptu.")

• Use quotation marks to indicate irony or raised eyebrows. But avoid overusing quotation marks in this way; it doesn't work if you do it all the time.

Examples:

When we were camping, our "bathroom" was a thicket behind our tent.

Our "guide" never mentioned the presence of poison ivy.

The "fun" of surgery begins long before the operation commences.

• Use quotation marks to set off titles of certain items. Other titles should be underlined or italicized.

Enclose in quotation marks

Underline or italicize

name of a short story or chapter of a book

title of a novel

name of a T.V. program

name of a movie

title of a poem

title of a collection of poetry or an epic poem

headline of an article or title of a report

name of a magazine or newspaper

title of a song

title of a musical, play, or long musical composition

name of a ship, plane, train, etc.

Punctuating within Quotation Marks

Here are the rules regarding the use of other punctuation marks and quotation marks.

• Question marks, exclamation points, and dashes go inside the quotation marks if they are part of the quotation. If they are not, place them outside the quotation marks.

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Examples:

The doctor asked, "Can you feel any pain in this area?" [Part of the quotation]

Have you read Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Birthmark"? [Not part of the quotation]

"I wish I'd never heard of—" Karen stopped abruptly as Nick walked in the room. [Part of the quotation]

"Stage left," "stage right," "upstage, and "downstage"—I always confused these terms. [Not part of the quotation]

• Periods and commas go inside closing quotation marks.

"Let's wait a few minutes," suggested Doris, "before we leave."

• Colons and semicolons go outside closing quotation marks.

I can see only one challenge for the speaker of "The Road Less Traveled": ambivalence.

The critic called the latest sculpture an "abomination to sensitive eyes"; the artist was hurt.

Practice

Choose the correctly punctuated version in each of the following sets of sentences. Check for punctuation other than quotation marks also.

1. a. "Have you ever read the story 'The Open Window' by O. Henry? asked Martha.

b. "Have you ever read the story 'The Open Window' by O. Henry?" asked Martha.

c. "Have you ever read the story "The Open Window" by O. Henry?" asked Martha.

2. a. Did you know it was Winston Churchill who called Russia "a riddle wrapped up in a mystery inside an enigma"?

b. Did you know it was "Winston Churchill" who called Russia "a riddle wrapped up in a mystery inside an enigma?"

c. Did you know it was Winston Churchill who called Russia "a riddle wrapped up in a mystery inside an enigma?"

3. a. After reading a review of Toy Story, I wanted to see the movie.

b. After reading a review of Toy Story, I wanted to see the movie.

c. After reading a review of "Toy Story," I wanted to see the movie.

4. a. Leaving five minutes early on Friday was our "reward."

b. Leaving five minutes early on Friday was our "reward".

c. Leaving five minutes early on Friday was our 'reward.'

5. a. "Megabyte," "baud speed," "internal RAM"—these are all examples of technical terms.

b. "Megabyte," "baud speed," "internal RAM—" these are all examples of technical terms.

c. "Megabyte", "baud speed", "internal RAM"—these are all examples of technical terms.

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Answers

1. b.

2. a.

3. b.

4. a.

5. a.

6. c.

7. a.

8. c.

9. a.

10. c.

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Lesson 9—
"Designer" Punctuation

Lesson Summary

This lesson covers some of the less commonly used punctuation marks, including hyphens, parentheses, brackets, ellipses, and diagonal slashes. While these marks aren't necessary all that often, when they are necessary it's important to use them correctly.

The punctuation marks covered in this lesson—hyphens, parentheses, brackets, ellipses, and diagonals—are not often used in regular writing. However, they serve very specific purposes. Knowing and understanding their functions gives a writer an advantage in communicating ideas. Since most of these rules are so specialized that few people know them, we'll begin immediately with the lesson rather than with an assessment of your current knowledge. The last part of the lesson discusses using numbers in written text.

Hyphens

The main purpose of a hyphen (-) is to join words in creating compound nouns or adjectives. Hyphens signal words that work together for a single purpose.

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Page 77

Lesson 9—
"Designer" Punctuation

Lesson Summary

This lesson covers some of the less commonly used punctuation marks, including hyphens, parentheses, brackets, ellipses, and diagonal slashes. While these marks aren't necessary all that often, when they are necessary it's important to use them correctly.

The punctuation marks covered in this lesson—hyphens, parentheses, brackets, ellipses, and diagonals—are not often used in regular writing. However, they serve very specific purposes. Knowing and understanding their functions gives a writer an advantage in communicating ideas. Since most of these rules are so specialized that few people know them, we'll begin immediately with the lesson rather than with an assessment of your current knowledge. The last part of the lesson discusses using numbers in written text.

Hyphens

The main purpose of a hyphen (-) is to join words in creating compound nouns or adjectives. Hyphens signal words that work together for a single purpose.

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Parentheses

• Use parentheses to enclose explanatory material that interrupts the normal flow of the sentences and is only marginally related to the text.

Thirty-sixth Street (a party street if there ever was one) is a fun place to live.

Our neighbors threw a huge party on New Year's Eve. (Fortunately, we were invited.)

Unfortunately, another set of neighbors (they were not invited) called the police to complain about the noise.

We party-goers (how were we to know?) were completely surprised by the officers.

Notice the last three sentences. Each set of parentheses contains a complete sentence. If the parenthetical construction comes at the end of a sentence, it is punctuated as its own sentence within the parentheses. On the other hand, if it comes within another sentence, no capital letters or periods are necessary. However, if the parenthetical construction in the middle of another sentence is a sentence that would normally require a question mark or exclamation point, include that punctuation.

• Use parentheses to enclose information when accuracy is essential.

The two sons of Richard Hannika (Scott and William) are sole heirs to his fortune.

We hereby agree to sell the heirloom for sixty-three dollars ($63.00).

• Use parentheses to enclose letters or numbers marking a division.

This lesson includes several little-used, often-misused punctuation marks: (a) hyphens, (b) parentheses, (c) brackets, (d) diagonals, and (e) ellipses.

Your task consists of three steps: (1) locating information, (2) writing a report, and (3) delivering a presentation about your findings.

Brackets

• Use brackets to enclose parenthetical material within parentheses.

Brandi planned to work as an aeronautic engineer (she completed an internship at National Aeronautics and Space Administration [NASA]) as soon as she completed her doctoral work.

• Use brackets to enclose words inserted into a quotation.

"The next head nurse [Shawna DeWitt] will face the challenge of operating the floor with a reduced staff."

• Use brackets around the word sic to show that an error in a quotation was made by the original writer or speaker.

"Unless we heel [sic] the nation's economic woes, social problems will continue to mount."

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Parentheses

• Use parentheses to enclose explanatory material that interrupts the normal flow of the sentences and is only marginally related to the text.

Thirty-sixth Street (a party street if there ever was one) is a fun place to live.

Our neighbors threw a huge party on New Year's Eve. (Fortunately, we were invited.)

Unfortunately, another set of neighbors (they were not invited) called the police to complain about the noise.

We party-goers (how were we to know?) were completely surprised by the officers.

Notice the last three sentences. Each set of parentheses contains a complete sentence. If the parenthetical construction comes at the end of a sentence, it is punctuated as its own sentence within the parentheses. On the other hand, if it comes within another sentence, no capital letters or periods are necessary. However, if the parenthetical construction in the middle of another sentence is a sentence that would normally require a question mark or exclamation point, include that punctuation.

• Use parentheses to enclose information when accuracy is essential.

The two sons of Richard Hannika (Scott and William) are sole heirs to his fortune.

We hereby agree to sell the heirloom for sixty-three dollars ($63.00).

• Use parentheses to enclose letters or numbers marking a division.

This lesson includes several little-used, often-misused punctuation marks: (a) hyphens, (b) parentheses, (c) brackets, (d) diagonals, and (e) ellipses.

Your task consists of three steps: (1) locating information, (2) writing a report, and (3) delivering a presentation about your findings.

Brackets

• Use brackets to enclose parenthetical material within parentheses.

Brandi planned to work as an aeronautic engineer (she completed an internship at National Aeronautics and Space Administration [NASA]) as soon as she completed her doctoral work.

• Use brackets to enclose words inserted into a quotation.

"The next head nurse [Shawna DeWitt] will face the challenge of operating the floor with a reduced staff."

• Use brackets around the word sic to show that an error in a quotation was made by the original writer or speaker.

"Unless we heel [sic] the nation's economic woes, social problems will continue to mount."

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Ellipses

Points of ellipsis look like periods, but they do not function as endmarks. Type three periods to form ellipses. These marks indicate omitted material or long pauses.

• Use ellipses to show that quoted material has been omitted. If the omission comes at the end of a sentence, follow the ellipses with a period.

"Four-score and seven years ago . . . equal."

"We hold these truths to be self-evident . . .."

• Use ellipses to indicate a pause or hesitation.

And the winner for "Best Actor" is . . . Dustin Hoffman.

I think that adds up to . . . exactly eighty-three dollars.

Diagonals

Much like the hyphen, a diagonal is a mark used to join words or numbers. The most frequent use of the diagonal is with the phrase and/or, which shows that the sentence refers to one or both of the words being joined.

For breakfast we can make bacon and/or French toast.

Vinegar and/or egg whites added to plain water will make an excellent hair rinse that leaves hair soft and silky.

• Use a diagonal to separate numbers in a fraction.

Normally, it takes us 3 1/2 hours to sort the bulk mail at the end of the week.

You'll need a 1 5/8-inch wrench for this nut.

•Use a diagonal to show line divisions in poetry.

"Goodnight, goodnight, parting is such sweet sorrow / That I shall say good night 'till it be morrow./

Sleep dwell upon thine eyes and peace in thy breast! / Would I were sleep and peace so sweet to rest!"

• Use a diagonal to indicate per or divided by.

The cars in the new fleet average over 25 miles/gallon.

Shares are calculated in this way: net profit/number of shareholders.

Numbers

A few rules guide the use of numbers in writing. In journalistic writing, numbers are preferable to words because they are easier to identify and read. However, a number at the beginning of a sentence is always written as a word. In more formal writing, follow the conventions listed on the next page.

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Ellipses

Points of ellipsis look like periods, but they do not function as endmarks. Type three periods to form ellipses. These marks indicate omitted material or long pauses.

• Use ellipses to show that quoted material has been omitted. If the omission comes at the end of a sentence, follow the ellipses with a period.

"Four-score and seven years ago . . . equal."

"We hold these truths to be self-evident . . .."

• Use ellipses to indicate a pause or hesitation.

And the winner for "Best Actor" is . . . Dustin Hoffman.

I think that adds up to . . . exactly eighty-three dollars.

Diagonals

Much like the hyphen, a diagonal is a mark used to join words or numbers. The most frequent use of the diagonal is with the phrase and/or, which shows that the sentence refers to one or both of the words being joined.

For breakfast we can make bacon and/or French toast.

Vinegar and/or egg whites added to plain water will make an excellent hair rinse that leaves hair soft and silky.

• Use a diagonal to separate numbers in a fraction.

Normally, it takes us 3 1/2 hours to sort the bulk mail at the end of the week.

You'll need a 1 5/8-inch wrench for this nut.

•Use a diagonal to show line divisions in poetry.

"Goodnight, goodnight, parting is such sweet sorrow / That I shall say good night 'till it be morrow./

Sleep dwell upon thine eyes and peace in thy breast! / Would I were sleep and peace so sweet to rest!"

• Use a diagonal to indicate per or divided by.

The cars in the new fleet average over 25 miles/gallon.

Shares are calculated in this way: net profit/number of shareholders.

Numbers

A few rules guide the use of numbers in writing. In journalistic writing, numbers are preferable to words because they are easier to identify and read. However, a number at the beginning of a sentence is always written as a word. In more formal writing, follow the conventions listed on the next page.

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Ellipses

Points of ellipsis look like periods, but they do not function as endmarks. Type three periods to form ellipses. These marks indicate omitted material or long pauses.

• Use ellipses to show that quoted material has been omitted. If the omission comes at the end of a sentence, follow the ellipses with a period.

"Four-score and seven years ago . . . equal."

"We hold these truths to be self-evident . . .."

• Use ellipses to indicate a pause or hesitation.

And the winner for "Best Actor" is . . . Dustin Hoffman.

I think that adds up to . . . exactly eighty-three dollars.

Diagonals

Much like the hyphen, a diagonal is a mark used to join words or numbers. The most frequent use of the diagonal is with the phrase and/or, which shows that the sentence refers to one or both of the words being joined.

For breakfast we can make bacon and/or French toast.

Vinegar and/or egg whites added to plain water will make an excellent hair rinse that leaves hair soft and silky.

• Use a diagonal to separate numbers in a fraction.

Normally, it takes us 3 1/2 hours to sort the bulk mail at the end of the week.

You'll need a 1 5/8-inch wrench for this nut.

•Use a diagonal to show line divisions in poetry.

"Goodnight, goodnight, parting is such sweet sorrow / That I shall say good night 'till it be morrow./

Sleep dwell upon thine eyes and peace in thy breast! / Would I were sleep and peace so sweet to rest!"

• Use a diagonal to indicate per or divided by.

The cars in the new fleet average over 25 miles/gallon.

Shares are calculated in this way: net profit/number of shareholders.

Numbers

A few rules guide the use of numbers in writing. In journalistic writing, numbers are preferable to words because they are easier to identify and read. However, a number at the beginning of a sentence is always written as a word. In more formal writing, follow the conventions listed on the next page.

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• Use Arabic rather than Roman numerals: 1, 2, 3, 4 rather than I, II, III, IV.

• If a number can be written as one or two words, write it as a word. Otherwise, write the numeral: 8, twenty-six, 124, three hundred, 8,549, five million.

• Always write a number at the beginning of sentence as a word even if it is more than two words.

Practice

Add hyphens where they are needed in the following sentences.

1. According to your brain X rays, I see little justification for you to act like a know it all.

2. Father Tan, now an ex priest, reevaluated his theology and became a pro life activist.

3. Syheed's well grounded arguments impressed the crowd of forty five.

4. Ned's time in the four hundred meter freestyle was twenty seven hundredths of a second off the world record time.

5. Following a two hour business venture involving a lemonade stand, the ten year old boy had made a five dollar and fifty cent profit.

Add hyphens, parentheses, brackets, ellipses, and diagonals where they are needed in the following sentences.

6. Muhammad Ali few people remember him as Cassius Clay wrote a poem describing himself as someone who could " . . . float like a butterflie sic, sting like a bee."

7. Year end bonuses will come in the form of dollars and or vacation days for about three fifths 3 5 of our staff.

8. Before leaving today, please 1 collect the latest sales data 2 add up all the figures and 3 leave them in my left hand drawer.

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Skill Building Until Next Time

Look for examples of the punctuation marks from this lesson as you read today. Since they are used less frequently than other marks, you probably won't see them as often. When you do, try to remember how the mark is used. Be especially aware of hyphens, parentheses, brackets, diagonals, and ellipses in advertising copy; check to see if they have been used correctly.

Answers

1. According to your brain X-rays, I see little justification for you to act like a know-it-all.

2. Father Tan, now an ex-priest, re-evaluated his theology and became a pro-life activist.

3. Syheed's well-grounded arguments impressed the crowd of forty-five.

4. Ned's time in the four-hundred-meter freestyle was twenty-seven-hundredths of a second off the world record time.

5. Following a two-hour business venture involving a lemonade stand, the ten-year-old boy had made a five-dollar and fifty-cent profit.

6. Muhammad Ali (few people remember him as Cassius Clay) wrote a poem describing himself as someone who could " . . . float like a butterflie [sic], sting like a bee."

7. Year-end bonuses will come in the form of dollars and/or vacation days for about three-fifths (3/5) of our staff.

8. Before leaving today, please (1) collect the latest sales data, (2) add up all the figures, and (3) leave them in my left-hand drawer.

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Lesson 10—
Verb Tense

Lesson Summary

Verbs—words for actions or states of being—are what drive written language and give it life. Because verbs are so important, mistakes involving verbs really stand out. Those mistakes are also often tested on civil exams. This lesson and the next two will help you avoid some of the most common errors with verbs.

Writers use words to establish their credibility. Few things cast doubt on a writer's believability as much as misusing words—especially verbs. Incorrect verb forms call special attention to themselves and bring the writer's education and intelligence into question. Furthermore, civil service exmas often test your knowledge of how to use verbs and avoid errors involving verbs.

This lesson explains how to use verbs correctly and highlights a few of the most common mistakes writers make. See how many of the seven errors in verb usage you can find in the Problem version of the passage on the following page. In the Solution column, the paragraph is rewritten with the correct verb forms. As you go through the lesson, try to apply the rules you learn to these corrections.

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Problem

Solution

When I was sixteen, my grandmother gave me an heirloom ring that her grandmother had gave her. It was a polished garnet set in hammered silver with two rubies on either side of it. I could of sold it for a small fortune last week. An antique dealer come through town and heard about my ring. He asks to see it. His eyes nearly popped out of his head as he examined it. If I wasn't such a sentimental person, I might have parted with it. But a treasure like that wasn't something you should sell.

When I was sixteen, my grandmother gave me an heirloom ring that her grandmother had given her. It is a polished garnet set in hammered silver with two rubies on either side of it. I could have sold it for a small fortune last week. An antique dealer came through town and heard about my ring. He asked to see it. His eyes nearly popped out of his head as he examined it. If I weren't such a sentimental person, I might have parted with it. But a treasure like that isn't something you should sell.

Principal Parts of Verbs

Verbs have three principal parts:

• Present—the form of the verb that would complete the sentence, ''Today, I ______."

• Past—the form of the verb that would complete the sentence, "Yesterday, I ______."

• Past participle—the form of the verb that would complete the sentence, "Often, I have ______."

For most verbs, it's easy to form the three pincipal parts if you know the present form. Take the verb look, for example. Today, I look. Yesterday, I looked. Often, I have looked. For regular verbs, the past and past participle forms both add -ed to the present form. But English is full of irregular verbs that form the past and past participle in some other way. The table below shows the principal parts of several often misused verbs.

THREE PRINCIPAL PARTS OF VERBS

Present

Past

Past Participle*

do

did

done

go

went

gone

see

saw

seen

drink

drank

drunk

break

broke

broken

bring

brought

brought

choose

chose

chosen

know

knew

known

wear

wore

worn

write

wrote

written

*Note: Past participles must be preceded by the words have, has, or had.

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Practice

Circle the correct form of the verb in each of the following sentences. The answers can be found at the end of the lesson.

1. The team has certainly (do, did, done) a good job on this presentation.

2. The sales clerk just (throw, threw, thrown) away the opportunity to make a huge commission.

3. The senator (speak, spoke, spoken) at the press conference last Monday.

4. The phone has (ring, rang, rung) only once today.

5. The speaker (come, came) to the point very early in the speech.

6. Harriet (see, saw, seen) the prototype for the new product at the convention.

7. The company has not yet (begin, began, begun) to manufacture its most current model.

8. Has the admitting staff (go, went, gone) to lunch?

9. Heather lost a filling when she (bite, bit, bitten) into the piece of hard candy.

10. Ben couldn't believe that someone had actually (steal, stole, stolen) his car from the ramp.

Consistent Verb Tense

The tense of a verb tells when an action occurs, occurred, or will occur. Verbs have three basic tenses: present, past, and future. It's important to keep verb tenses consistent as you write. A passage that begins in present tense should continue in present tense. If it begins in past tense, it should stay in past tense. Do not mix tenses.

Wrong:

Dan opened the car door and looks for his briefcase.

Correct:

Dan opened the car door and looked for his briefcase.

Wrong:

When we increase maintenance services, we reduced repair costs.

Correct:

When we increase maintenance services, we reduce repair costs.

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Practice

Circle the correct form of the verb in each of the following sentences. The answers can be found at the end of the lesson.

1. The team has certainly (do, did, done) a good job on this presentation.

2. The sales clerk just (throw, threw, thrown) away the opportunity to make a huge commission.

3. The senator (speak, spoke, spoken) at the press conference last Monday.

4. The phone has (ring, rang, rung) only once today.

5. The speaker (come, came) to the point very early in the speech.

6. Harriet (see, saw, seen) the prototype for the new product at the convention.

7. The company has not yet (begin, began, begun) to manufacture its most current model.

8. Has the admitting staff (go, went, gone) to lunch?

9. Heather lost a filling when she (bite, bit, bitten) into the piece of hard candy.

10. Ben couldn't believe that someone had actually (steal, stole, stolen) his car from the ramp.

Consistent Verb Tense

The tense of a verb tells when an action occurs, occurred, or will occur. Verbs have three basic tenses: present, past, and future. It's important to keep verb tenses consistent as you write. A passage that begins in present tense should continue in present tense. If it begins in past tense, it should stay in past tense. Do not mix tenses.

Wrong:

Dan opened the car door and looks for his briefcase.

Correct:

Dan opened the car door and looked for his briefcase.

Wrong:

When we increase maintenance services, we reduced repair costs.

Correct:

When we increase maintenance services, we reduce repair costs.

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However, sometimes a writer must show that an action occurred at another time regardless of the tense in which the passage was begun. To allow this, each of these three tenses has three subdivisions: progressive, perfect, and progressive perfect.

Present Tense Forms

Present tense shows action that happens now or action that happens routinely. The present progressive tense shows an action happening now. An auxiliary verb (am, is, or are) precedes the -ing form (progressive form) of the verb. The present perfect tense shows an action that began in the past. An auxiliary verb (have or has) precedes the past participle form of the verb. The present perfect progressive tense also shows action that began in the past and is continuing in the present. Auxiliary verbs (have been or has been) precede the verb written in its -ing form (progressive form).

PRESENT TENSE

Present

Progressive

Perfect

Perfect progressive

shows action happening now

shows action continuing now

shows action that began in the past continues now

shows action that began in the past,

Activists lobby for change.

Activists are lobbying for change.

Activists have lobbied for change.

Activists have been lobbying for change.

Sulfur pullutes the air.

Sulfur is polluting the air.

Sulfur has pulluted the air.

Sulfur has been polluting the air.

All the above present tense forms can be used together without constituting a shift in tense. Look at the paragraph below to see how this is done. The verbs are highlighted, and the brackets identify the tense.

I am writing [present progressive] to protest the condition of the Mississippi River, from which our city draws [present] its drinking water. For years industrial waste has polluted [present perfect] its waters, and officials pay [present] little attention to the problem. People who live near the river have been lobbying [present perfect progressive] for protective legislation, but their efforts have failed [present perfect]. I want [present] safe water to drink.

Past Tense Forms

Past tense shows action that happened in the past. It uses the past form of the verb. The past progressive tense shows a continuing action in the past. An auxiliary verb (was or were) precedes the progressive (-ing) form of the verb. The past perfect tense shows an action completed in the past or completed before some other past action. The auxiliary verb had precedes the past participle form of the verb. The past perfect progressive tense shows continuing action that began in the past. The auxiliary verbs had been precede the progressive form of the verb.

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However, sometimes a writer must show that an action occurred at another time regardless of the tense in which the passage was begun. To allow this, each of these three tenses has three subdivisions: progressive, perfect, and progressive perfect.

Present Tense Forms

Present tense shows action that happens now or action that happens routinely. The present progressive tense shows an action happening now. An auxiliary verb (am, is, or are) precedes the -ing form (progressive form) of the verb. The present perfect tense shows an action that began in the past. An auxiliary verb (have or has) precedes the past participle form of the verb. The present perfect progressive tense also shows action that began in the past and is continuing in the present. Auxiliary verbs (have been or has been) precede the verb written in its -ing form (progressive form).

PRESENT TENSE

Present

Progressive

Perfect

Perfect progressive

shows action happening now

shows action continuing now

shows action that began in the past continues now

shows action that began in the past,

Activists lobby for change.

Activists are lobbying for change.

Activists have lobbied for change.

Activists have been lobbying for change.

Sulfur pullutes the air.

Sulfur is polluting the air.

Sulfur has pulluted the air.

Sulfur has been polluting the air.

All the above present tense forms can be used together without constituting a shift in tense. Look at the paragraph below to see how this is done. The verbs are highlighted, and the brackets identify the tense.

I am writing [present progressive] to protest the condition of the Mississippi River, from which our city draws [present] its drinking water. For years industrial waste has polluted [present perfect] its waters, and officials pay [present] little attention to the problem. People who live near the river have been lobbying [present perfect progressive] for protective legislation, but their efforts have failed [present perfect]. I want [present] safe water to drink.

Past Tense Forms

Past tense shows action that happened in the past. It uses the past form of the verb. The past progressive tense shows a continuing action in the past. An auxiliary verb (was or were) precedes the progressive (-ing) form of the verb. The past perfect tense shows an action completed in the past or completed before some other past action. The auxiliary verb had precedes the past participle form of the verb. The past perfect progressive tense shows continuing action that began in the past. The auxiliary verbs had been precede the progressive form of the verb.

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PAST TENSE

Past

Progressive

Perfect

Perfect progressive

occurred in the past

continuing action in the past

completed prior to another action

continuing action started in the past

Local officials spoke to the management.

Local officials were speaking to the management

Local officials had spoken to the management.

Local officials had been speaking to the management.

The reporter covered the meetings.

The reporter was covering the meetings.

The reporter had covered the meetings.

The reporter had been covering the meetings.

All of the above past tense forms can be used together in writing a passage without constituting a shift in tense. The paragraph below illustrates how this is done. The verbs are highlighted for you, and the brackets identify the tense.

Last year, local officials cited [past] a manufacturing company in our county for improperly disposing of hazardous waste. The company ignored [past] the action and continued [past] to dump its waste as they had been doing. [past perfect progressive] They had dumped [past perfect] waste the same way for years and planned [past] to continue. Several months later the residue seeped [past] into the drinking water supply. A local environmentalist, who had been tracking [past perfect progressive] the company's dumping procedures, alerted local officials. They fined the company $3,000 for damages, but the company has never paid [past perfect] the fine.

Future Tense Forms

Future tense shows action that has yet to happen. The auxiliary verbs will, would, or shall precede the present form of the verb. The future progressive tense shows continuing actions in the future. The auxiliary verb phrases will be, shall be, or would be precede the progressive form of the verb. The future perfect tense shows actions that will be completed at a certain time in the future. The auxiliary verb phrases will have, would have, or will have been precede the past participle form of the verb. The future perfect progressive tense shows continuing actions that will be completed at a certain time in the future. The verb phrases will have been, would have been, or shall have been precede the progressive form of the verb.

All of the future tense forms on the table on the next page can be used together in writing a paragraph. They do not constitute a shift in tense. The paragraph below illustrates how this is done. The verbs are highlighted for you, and the brackets identify the tense.

Starting next week, we will reduce [future] the money we spend on waste disposal. We will do [future] this because our public relations costs have skyrocketed during the year. Since no one in the community will sell [future] land to us to use for waste disposal, we will be relocating [future progressive] in a new community

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FUTURE TENSE

Future

Progressive

Perfect

Perfect progressive

action that will happen

continuing action that will happen

action that will be completely by a certain time

continuing action that will be completed by a certain time

We will begin a letterwriting campaign.

Everyone will be writing letters.

By summer, we will have written reams of letters.

Legislators will have been receiving letters throughout the year.

Newspapers will cover this case.

Newspapers will be covering this case.

By summer, every newspaper will have written about this case.

Newspapers will have been covering the base throughout the year.

with a better business environment. This move would put [future] over three hundred employees out of work. It would reduce [future] the amount of consumer dollars spent at local businesses.

By this time next year, nearly one thousand people will have lost [future perfect] their jobs. Your business leaders will have been looking [future perfect progressive] for ways to replace lost revenue. Furthermore, legislators will be meddling [future progressive] in our local affairs, and the news media will have portrayed [future perfect] us all as fools.

How Verb Tenses Convey Meaning

Managing verb tense carefully helps writers avoid the confusion that comes with thoughtless use. The examples below illustrate how verb tense can completely change the meaning of a sentence.

Example:

Beth discovered that Nick had left work and gone home.

Beth discovered that Nick had left work and went home.

In the first sentence, because gone is the participle form, it goes with had left in the second part of the sentence. So Nick is the one who had gone home. In the second sentence, went is in the simple past tense like discovered in the first part of the sentence. So this time it's Beth who went home.

Example:

Cory told the officer that she had answered the phone and drank a can of soda pop.

Cory told the officer that she had answered the phone and had drunk a can of soda pop.

In the first sentence, drank is in the same tense as told—they're both past tense. So Cory was drinking around the same time as she was telling. In the second sentence, had drunk matches had answered, so in this case Cory was drinking around the time she answered the phone.

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Have, Not Of

When forming the various perfect tenses, people sometimes write of when they should write have probably because they are writing what they hear. I should've (should've is a contraction of should have) sounds a lot like I should of. But the proper form in writing is have, not of.

Wrong:

I could of seen the difference if I had looked more closely.

Correct:

I could have seen the difference if I had looked more closely.

Wrong:

The park ranger should of warned the campers about the bears.

Correct:

The park ranger should have warned the campers about the bears.

Switching Verb Tenses

Sometimes you have to switch from past tense to present to avoid implying an untruth.

Wrong:

I met the new technician. He was very personable. [What happened? Did he die?]

Correct:

I met the new technician. He is very personable.

Wrong:

We went to the new Italian restaurant on Vine last night. The atmosphere was wonderful. [What happened? Did it burn down during the night?]

Correct:

We went to the new Italian restaurant on Vine last night. The atmosphere is wonderful.

Even if a passage is written in past tense, a statement that continues to be true is written in present tense.

Examples:

During Galileo's time few people believed [past] that the earth revolves [present] around the sun.

The building engineer explained [past] to the plumber that the pipes run [present] parallel to the longest hallway in the building.

Subjunctive Mood

When Tevya in Fiddler on the Roof sings, "If I were a rich man . . . ," he uses the verb were to signal that he is, in fact, not a rich man. Normally, the verb was would be used with the subject I, but were serves a special purpose. This is called the subjunctive were. It indicates a condition that is contrary to fact.

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Have, Not Of

When forming the various perfect tenses, people sometimes write of when they should write have probably because they are writing what they hear. I should've (should've is a contraction of should have) sounds a lot like I should of. But the proper form in writing is have, not of.

Wrong:

I could of seen the difference if I had looked more closely.

Correct:

I could have seen the difference if I had looked more closely.

Wrong:

The park ranger should of warned the campers about the bears.

Correct:

The park ranger should have warned the campers about the bears.

Switching Verb Tenses

Sometimes you have to switch from past tense to present to avoid implying an untruth.

Wrong:

I met the new technician. He was very personable. [What happened? Did he die?]

Correct:

I met the new technician. He is very personable.

Wrong:

We went to the new Italian restaurant on Vine last night. The atmosphere was wonderful. [What happened? Did it burn down during the night?]

Correct:

We went to the new Italian restaurant on Vine last night. The atmosphere is wonderful.

Even if a passage is written in past tense, a statement that continues to be true is written in present tense.

Examples:

During Galileo's time few people believed [past] that the earth revolves [present] around the sun.

The building engineer explained [past] to the plumber that the pipes run [present] parallel to the longest hallway in the building.

Subjunctive Mood

When Tevya in Fiddler on the Roof sings, "If I were a rich man . . . ," he uses the verb were to signal that he is, in fact, not a rich man. Normally, the verb was would be used with the subject I, but were serves a special purpose. This is called the subjunctive were. It indicates a condition that is contrary to fact.

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Have, Not Of

When forming the various perfect tenses, people sometimes write of when they should write have probably because they are writing what they hear. I should've (should've is a contraction of should have) sounds a lot like I should of. But the proper form in writing is have, not of.

Wrong:

I could of seen the difference if I had looked more closely.

Correct:

I could have seen the difference if I had looked more closely.

Wrong:

The park ranger should of warned the campers about the bears.

Correct:

The park ranger should have warned the campers about the bears.

Switching Verb Tenses

Sometimes you have to switch from past tense to present to avoid implying an untruth.

Wrong:

I met the new technician. He was very personable. [What happened? Did he die?]

Correct:

I met the new technician. He is very personable.

Wrong:

We went to the new Italian restaurant on Vine last night. The atmosphere was wonderful. [What happened? Did it burn down during the night?]

Correct:

We went to the new Italian restaurant on Vine last night. The atmosphere is wonderful.

Even if a passage is written in past tense, a statement that continues to be true is written in present tense.

Examples:

During Galileo's time few people believed [past] that the earth revolves [present] around the sun.

The building engineer explained [past] to the plumber that the pipes run [present] parallel to the longest hallway in the building.

Subjunctive Mood

When Tevya in Fiddler on the Roof sings, "If I were a rich man . . . ," he uses the verb were to signal that he is, in fact, not a rich man. Normally, the verb was would be used with the subject I, but were serves a special purpose. This is called the subjunctive were. It indicates a condition that is contrary to fact.

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Examples:

If I were a cat, I could sleep all day long and never have to worry about work.

If he were more attentive to details, he could be a copyeditor.

Practice

Circle the correct verb form in each of the following sentences.

11. Before I opened the door, I (ring, rang, had rung) the doorbell.

12. By the time I get to Phoenix, he will (read, have read) my goodbye letter.

13. The scientist explained why Saturn (is, was) surrounded by rings.

14. I would ask for a transfer if I (was, were) you.

15. The leaves on the trees have already (begin, began, begun) to fall.

16. The doctor took my pulse and (measures, measured) my blood pressure.

17. The president wishes he would (of, have) taken a stock option rather than a salary increase.

18. Boswick wishes he would have ordered a bigger sweatshirt because his (is, was) too small.

19. Ms. Grey announced that the floor manager (is, was) responsible for work schedules.

20. We could cut transportation costs if the plant (was, were) closer to the retail outlets.

Answers

1. done

2. threw

3. spoke

4. rung

5. came

6. saw

7. begun

8. gone

9. bit

10. stolen

11. had rung

12. have read

13. is

14. were

15. begun

16. measured

17. have

18. is

19. is

20. were

Skill Building Until Next Time

Listen carefully to people today. Do you hear common errors such as "I could of gone out if I had done my work"? Once you make it a habit to listen for verb choice errors, you'll realize how many people make them. Some mistakes are so accepted that they might not sound strange at first. The more sensitive you are to grammatical errors, the less likely you'll be to make them yourself—in both writing and speaking.

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Examples:

If I were a cat, I could sleep all day long and never have to worry about work.

If he were more attentive to details, he could be a copyeditor.

Practice

Circle the correct verb form in each of the following sentences.

11. Before I opened the door, I (ring, rang, had rung) the doorbell.

12. By the time I get to Phoenix, he will (read, have read) my goodbye letter.

13. The scientist explained why Saturn (is, was) surrounded by rings.

14. I would ask for a transfer if I (was, were) you.

15. The leaves on the trees have already (begin, began, begun) to fall.

16. The doctor took my pulse and (measures, measured) my blood pressure.

17. The president wishes he would (of, have) taken a stock option rather than a salary increase.

18. Boswick wishes he would have ordered a bigger sweatshirt because his (is, was) too small.

19. Ms. Grey announced that the floor manager (is, was) responsible for work schedules.

20. We could cut transportation costs if the plant (was, were) closer to the retail outlets.

Answers

1. done

2. threw

3. spoke

4. rung

5. came

6. saw

7. begun

8. gone

9. bit

10. stolen

11. had rung

12. have read

13. is

14. were

15. begun

16. measured

17. have

18. is

19. is

20. were

Skill Building Until Next Time

Listen carefully to people today. Do you hear common errors such as "I could of gone out if I had done my work"? Once you make it a habit to listen for verb choice errors, you'll realize how many people make them. Some mistakes are so accepted that they might not sound strange at first. The more sensitive you are to grammatical errors, the less likely you'll be to make them yourself—in both writing and speaking.

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Lesson 11—
Using Verbs to Create Strong Writing

Lesson Summary

If verbs drive meaning, lively verbs really make your writing accelerate. This lesson shows you how to use verbs to capture readers' interest.

Few people bother to read uninteresting writing. Even if they read it, they may not absorb the message. This lesson discusses ways to use verbs that will make your writing lively and interesting for the reader. Read the two paragraphs on the next page. Which one seems livelier, more interesting? The paragraphs tell an identical story, but one of them uses verbs effectively to tell the story in such a way that it is more likely to be remembered. The sentences are presented one at a time, side by side so you can make the comparison more easily.

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Problem

Solution

When my brother was asked by the local Rotary Club to speak to them about computer programming, our entire family was amazed by the request.

When the local Rotary Club asked my brother to speak to them about computer programming, the request amazed our entire family.

A gasp was made by mother, a laugh was emitted by my father, and my head was shaken by me.

My mother gasped, my father laughed, and I just shook my head.

My brother is considered by us to be a shy, quiet computer nerd.

We consider my brother a shy, quiet computer nerd.

Since I am regarded by my family as the creative one, I was assigned by my brother the task of creating the visual aids.

Since everyone in the family regards me as the creative one, my brother assigned me the task of creating the visual aids.

The information was organized by my father.

My father organized the information.

Formal invitations were requested by my mother from the Rotary Club secretary and were sent by her to all of our friends.

My mother requested formal invitations from the Rotary Club secretary and sent them to all of our friends.

Organizing and rehearsing of the presentation was worked on by my family until 10:00 P.M. the night before the presentation.

Our family worked until 10:00 P.M. the night before the presentation, organizing and rehearsing.

The fact that he was ready was known by us.

We knew he was ready.

That night three feet of snow was dumped by the skies. The city was paralyzed, and all work and activities were canceled, including the Rotary Club meeting and my brother's presentation.

That night the skies dumped three feet of snow, paralyzing the city and causing all work and activities to be canceled, including the Rotary Club meeting and my brother's presentation.

Active vs. Passive Voice

When the subject of a sentence performs the action of the verb, we say the sentence is active. Write using active verbs to make your writing more conversational and interesting. In a sentence with an active verb, the person or thing that performs the action is named before the verb, or the action word(s), in a sentence. This may sound

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confusing, but the following examples illustrate the difference. The italicized words show who is performing the action. The underlined words are verbs.

Passive Verbs

Active Verbs

I was taken to my first horse show by my grandfather.

My grandfather took me to my first horse show.

I was taught to fish by my mother almost before I was taught to walk.

My mother taught me to fish almost before I learned to walk.

In each of the active verb sentences, the person performing the action is named first. If you look more closely at these examples, you'll notice that the active verb versions are shorter and clearer. They sound more like natural conversation. Strive for these qualities in your writing. The following table illustrates the difference between active and passive voice in several of the verb tenses you learned about in Lesson 10.

Verb Tense

Active Voice

Passive Voice

Present

The clerk opens the mail.

The mail is opened by the clerk.

Past

The clerk opened the mail.

The mail was opened by the clerk.

Future

The clerk will open the mail.

The mail will be opened by the clerk.

Present Perfect

The clerk has opened the mail.

The mail has been opened by the clerk.

Past Perfect

The clerk had opened the mail.

The mail had been opened by the clerk.

Future Perfect

The clerk will have opened the mail.

The mail will have been opened by the clerk.

Most writers prefer active voice to passive voice because it makes the writing active, more alive. Generally, readers find active writing easier to read and remember. In both of the tables above, you can see that active voice sentences tend to be shorter than passive ones.

Practice

Choose the sentence that is written in active voice from each of the following sets. The answers to each set of questions can be found at the end of the lesson.

1. a. Janice carefully packed the china.

b. The china was carefully packed by Janice.

2. a. The CDs were purchased by my mother.

b. My mother purchased the CDs.

3. a. Forty black candles were put on my mother's cake by Dad.

b. Dad put forty black candles on my mother's cake.

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4. a. The snow will be cleared by the plow.

b. The plow will clear the snow.

5. a. Citizens believe that judges do not hand out adequate penalties for drug dealers.

b. It is believed by the citizens that adequate penalties for drug dealers are not being handed out by judges.

6. a. Coins are often thrown in fountains by tourists.

b. Tourists often throw coins in fountains.

7. a. Every Sunday morning millions of children watch TV.

b. Every Sunday morning TV is being watched by millions of children.

When to use Passive Voice

In addition to lacking life, the passive voice can also signal an unwillingness to take responsibility for actions or an intention to discourage questioning. The following sentence illustrates this.

It has been recommended that twenty workers be laid off within the next three months.

The passive voice here is intended to make a definite statement of fact, one that will not be questioned. It leaves no loose ends. Dictators often write and speak in passive voice. A thoughtful person will see past the passive voice and ask questions anyway. Who is recommending this action? Why? Who will be doing the laying off? How will workers be chosen?

Passive voice is not always bad, however. Sometimes, though rarely, it actually works better than active voice. The situations when passive voice is preferable to active voice are outlined below.

1. When the object is more important than the agent of action (the doer).

Sometimes in scientific writing the object is the focus rather than the doer. The following paragraph is written in both passive and active voice, respectively. The first paragraph is more appropriate in this case because the operation, not the doctor, is the focus of the action. The passage cannot be written in active voice without placing the emphasis on the doer, the doctor. Therefore, passive voice is the better choice in this instance.

Passive voice

The three-inch incision is made right above the pubic bone. Plastic clips are used to clamp off blood vessels and minimize bleeding. The skin is folded back and secured with clamps. Next, the stomach muscle is cut at a fifteen-degree angle, right top to bottom left.

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Active voice

The doctor makes a three-inch incision right above the pubic bone. He uses plastic clips to clamp off the blood vessels and minimize bleeding. He folds back the skin and secures it with clamps. Next, he cuts the stomach muscle at a fifteen-degree angle, right top to bottom left.

2. When the agent of action (doer) is unknown or secret.

Sometimes a newswriter will protect a source by writing, ''It was reported that . . . ." In other instances, perhaps no one knows who perpetrated an action: "First State Bank was robbed . . . ."

3. When passive voice results in shorter sentences without detracting from the meaning.

Generally, active voice is shorter and more concise than passive voice. However, there are a few exceptions. Examine the examples in the table below. If using passive voice saves time and trouble, in addition to resulting in a shorter sentence, use it.

Active

Passive

The designers of the study told the interviewer to give interviewees an electric shock each time they smiled.

The interviewer was told to give the interviewees an electril shock each time they smiled.

The police apprehended Axtell, the detectives interrogated him, and the grand jury indicted him.

Axtell was apprehended, interrogated, and indicated.

Other Life-Draining Verb Constructions

If thought is a train, then verbs are the wheels that carry the cargo along. The thought will move more quickly if it is transported by many big, strong wheels. Here are some constructions to avoid and how to choose bigger, better verbs instead.

Using State-of-Being Verbs

State-of-being verbs are all the forms of be: am, is, are, was, were, and so on. State-of-being verbs don't do as much as action verbs to move meaning. In our train-of-thought analogy, state-of-being verbs are very tiny wheels, incapable of moving big thoughts quickly or easily. If you have only trivial things to say, by all means, use state-of-being verbs. If your ideas are more complex or interesting, they will require bigger and better verbs.

Look at the paragraph on the next page. In the first version, most of the verbs are state-of-being verbs. In the second version, action verbs make the paragraph more interesting.

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Active voice

The doctor makes a three-inch incision right above the pubic bone. He uses plastic clips to clamp off the blood vessels and minimize bleeding. He folds back the skin and secures it with clamps. Next, he cuts the stomach muscle at a fifteen-degree angle, right top to bottom left.

2. When the agent of action (doer) is unknown or secret.

Sometimes a newswriter will protect a source by writing, ''It was reported that . . . ." In other instances, perhaps no one knows who perpetrated an action: "First State Bank was robbed . . . ."

3. When passive voice results in shorter sentences without detracting from the meaning.

Generally, active voice is shorter and more concise than passive voice. However, there are a few exceptions. Examine the examples in the table below. If using passive voice saves time and trouble, in addition to resulting in a shorter sentence, use it.

Active

Passive

The designers of the study told the interviewer to give interviewees an electric shock each time they smiled.

The interviewer was told to give the interviewees an electril shock each time they smiled.

The police apprehended Axtell, the detectives interrogated him, and the grand jury indicted him.

Axtell was apprehended, interrogated, and indicated.

Other Life-Draining Verb Constructions

If thought is a train, then verbs are the wheels that carry the cargo along. The thought will move more quickly if it is transported by many big, strong wheels. Here are some constructions to avoid and how to choose bigger, better verbs instead.

Using State-of-Being Verbs

State-of-being verbs are all the forms of be: am, is, are, was, were, and so on. State-of-being verbs don't do as much as action verbs to move meaning. In our train-of-thought analogy, state-of-being verbs are very tiny wheels, incapable of moving big thoughts quickly or easily. If you have only trivial things to say, by all means, use state-of-being verbs. If your ideas are more complex or interesting, they will require bigger and better verbs.

Look at the paragraph on the next page. In the first version, most of the verbs are state-of-being verbs. In the second version, action verbs make the paragraph more interesting.

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State-of-being verbs

The class was outside during noon recess. The sunshine was bright. Earlier in the day there was rain, but later the weather was pleasant. The breeze was slight; the newly fallen leaves were in motion. Across the street from the school was an ice cream truck. It was what the children were looking at longingly.

Action verbs

The class played outside during noon recess. The sun shone brightly. Earlier in the day, rain had fallen, but later pleasant weather arrived. A slight breeze blew the newly fallen leaves. The children looked longingly at the ice cream truck across the street.

Turning Verbs into Nouns

Naturally, if you take the wheels off the train of thought and put them on a flatbed as cargo, the train will not move as well. Look at the two sentences below. In the first one, several verbs have been turned into nouns in order to make the writing sound "intellectual." This "verbification" actually makes the writing more difficult to read. The second sentence communicates the same information with the same amount of sophistication, but turning the nouns back into verbs makes it easier to read. Verb forms are highlighted to make them easier to identify.

The customer service division is now conducting an assessment of its system for the reaction to consumer concerns and the development of new products.

The customer service division is assessing its system for reacting to consumer concerns and developing new products.

Adding Unnecessary Auxiliary Verbs

Generally, if you don't need an auxiliary verb (have, had, is, are, was, were, will, would, and so on) to carry meaning (see Lesson 10), don't use one.

Unnessary Auxiliary Verbs

Corrected Version

After lunch we would meet in the lounge.

After lunch we met in the lounge.

The temperature was rising steadily.

The temperature rose steadily.

Every morning the doors will open at 8:00.

Every morning the doors opens at 8:00.

Starting with There or It

Many sentences unnecessarily begin with there is/are/was/were or with it is/was. Usually all those words do is postpone the beginning of the actual thought. The sentences on the next page illustrate how these life-draining words can be removed from your writing.

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State-of-being verbs

The class was outside during noon recess. The sunshine was bright. Earlier in the day there was rain, but later the weather was pleasant. The breeze was slight; the newly fallen leaves were in motion. Across the street from the school was an ice cream truck. It was what the children were looking at longingly.

Action verbs

The class played outside during noon recess. The sun shone brightly. Earlier in the day, rain had fallen, but later pleasant weather arrived. A slight breeze blew the newly fallen leaves. The children looked longingly at the ice cream truck across the street.

Turning Verbs into Nouns

Naturally, if you take the wheels off the train of thought and put them on a flatbed as cargo, the train will not move as well. Look at the two sentences below. In the first one, several verbs have been turned into nouns in order to make the writing sound "intellectual." This "verbification" actually makes the writing more difficult to read. The second sentence communicates the same information with the same amount of sophistication, but turning the nouns back into verbs makes it easier to read. Verb forms are highlighted to make them easier to identify.

The customer service division is now conducting an assessment of its system for the reaction to consumer concerns and the development of new products.

The customer service division is assessing its system for reacting to consumer concerns and developing new products.

Adding Unnecessary Auxiliary Verbs

Generally, if you don't need an auxiliary verb (have, had, is, are, was, were, will, would, and so on) to carry meaning (see Lesson 10), don't use one.

Unnessary Auxiliary Verbs

Corrected Version

After lunch we would meet in the lounge.

After lunch we met in the lounge.

The temperature was rising steadily.

The temperature rose steadily.

Every morning the doors will open at 8:00.

Every morning the doors opens at 8:00.

Starting with There or It

Many sentences unnecessarily begin with there is/are/was/were or with it is/was. Usually all those words do is postpone the beginning of the actual thought. The sentences on the next page illustrate how these life-draining words can be removed from your writing.

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State-of-being verbs

The class was outside during noon recess. The sunshine was bright. Earlier in the day there was rain, but later the weather was pleasant. The breeze was slight; the newly fallen leaves were in motion. Across the street from the school was an ice cream truck. It was what the children were looking at longingly.

Action verbs

The class played outside during noon recess. The sun shone brightly. Earlier in the day, rain had fallen, but later pleasant weather arrived. A slight breeze blew the newly fallen leaves. The children looked longingly at the ice cream truck across the street.

Turning Verbs into Nouns

Naturally, if you take the wheels off the train of thought and put them on a flatbed as cargo, the train will not move as well. Look at the two sentences below. In the first one, several verbs have been turned into nouns in order to make the writing sound "intellectual." This "verbification" actually makes the writing more difficult to read. The second sentence communicates the same information with the same amount of sophistication, but turning the nouns back into verbs makes it easier to read. Verb forms are highlighted to make them easier to identify.

The customer service division is now conducting an assessment of its system for the reaction to consumer concerns and the development of new products.

The customer service division is assessing its system for reacting to consumer concerns and developing new products.

Adding Unnecessary Auxiliary Verbs

Generally, if you don't need an auxiliary verb (have, had, is, are, was, were, will, would, and so on) to carry meaning (see Lesson 10), don't use one.

Unnessary Auxiliary Verbs

Corrected Version

After lunch we would meet in the lounge.

After lunch we met in the lounge.

The temperature was rising steadily.

The temperature rose steadily.

Every morning the doors will open at 8:00.

Every morning the doors opens at 8:00.

Starting with There or It

Many sentences unnecessarily begin with there is/are/was/were or with it is/was. Usually all those words do is postpone the beginning of the actual thought. The sentences on the next page illustrate how these life-draining words can be removed from your writing.

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Unnessary There or It

Corrected Version

There are three people who are authorized to use this machinery.

Three people are authorized to use this machinery.

There is one good way to handly this problem: to ignore it.

One good way to handle this problem is to ignore it.

It was a perfect evening for a rocket launch.

The evening was perfect for a rocket launch.

There were several people standing in line waiting for the bus.

Several people stood in line waiting for the bus.

Use Lively, Interesting Verbs

If you want to move thought efficiently, work for precision and look for verbs that create an image in the reader's mind. Compare the sentences below to see this principle in action.

Dull

Lively

At my barbershop, someone does you nails and your shoes while your hair is being cut.

At my barbershop, someone manicures your nails and shines your shoes as your hair is cut.

Violent cartoons are harmful to children's emotional development and sense of reality.

Violent cartoons stunt children's emotional development and distort their sense of reality.

Practice

Choose the best sentence from each set below. Keep in mind what you have learned about verbs in this lesson.

8. a. Much concern is being voiced by the citizens over the failure to balance the budget.

b. Citizens are voicing much concern over the failure to balance the budget.

9. a. The game was played by three old men and a young boy.

b. Three old men and a young boy played the game.

10. a. Those who evaluate law enforcement officers consider procedures that avoid lawsuits more valuable than those that effectively enforce the laws.

b. Those responsible for the evaluation of law enforcement officers have a greater consideration for the discharge of procedures that will result in the avoidance of lawsuits than those resulting in effective enforcement of the laws.

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Unnessary There or It

Corrected Version

There are three people who are authorized to use this machinery.

Three people are authorized to use this machinery.

There is one good way to handly this problem: to ignore it.

One good way to handle this problem is to ignore it.

It was a perfect evening for a rocket launch.

The evening was perfect for a rocket launch.

There were several people standing in line waiting for the bus.

Several people stood in line waiting for the bus.

Use Lively, Interesting Verbs

If you want to move thought efficiently, work for precision and look for verbs that create an image in the reader's mind. Compare the sentences below to see this principle in action.

Dull

Lively

At my barbershop, someone does you nails and your shoes while your hair is being cut.

At my barbershop, someone manicures your nails and shines your shoes as your hair is cut.

Violent cartoons are harmful to children's emotional development and sense of reality.

Violent cartoons stunt children's emotional development and distort their sense of reality.

Practice

Choose the best sentence from each set below. Keep in mind what you have learned about verbs in this lesson.

8. a. Much concern is being voiced by the citizens over the failure to balance the budget.

b. Citizens are voicing much concern over the failure to balance the budget.

9. a. The game was played by three old men and a young boy.

b. Three old men and a young boy played the game.

10. a. Those who evaluate law enforcement officers consider procedures that avoid lawsuits more valuable than those that effectively enforce the laws.

b. Those responsible for the evaluation of law enforcement officers have a greater consideration for the discharge of procedures that will result in the avoidance of lawsuits than those resulting in effective enforcement of the laws.

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11. a. There are many reasons that you should avoid foods that are high in fat.

b. You should avoid high fat foods for many reasons.

12. a. After dinner every night we would make popcorn.

b. We made popcorn every night after dinner.

13. a. We gobbled up donuts every morning before work.

b. We had donuts every morning before work.

14. a. A computer technician must have solid people skills.

b. It is necessary for a computer technician to have solid people skills.

Skill Building Until Next Time

As you read newspapers, magazines, textbooks, or other materials today, look for examples of sentences in active voice and in passive voice. Try converting some passive voice sentences into active voice and vice versa. Which version is more effective?

Answers

1. a.

2. b.

3. b.

4. b.

5. a.

6. b.

7. a.

8. b.

9. b.

10. a.

11. b.

12. b.

13. a.

14. a.

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Lesson 12—
Subject-Verb Agreement

Lesson Summary

Without thinking about it, you usually make sure your subjects and verbs agree, both in speaking and in writing. Only a few situations cause difficulty in subject-verb agreement. This lesson will show you how to deal with those few situations in your writing.

When a subject in a clause—the person or thing doing the action—matches the verb in number, we say the subject and verb agree. Most native English speakers have little trouble matching subjects with the correct verbs. A few grammatical constructions pose most of the problems. This lesson explains the concept of subject-verb agreement and provides practice in those problem areas.

Agreement Between Noun Subjects and Verbs

In written language, a subject must agree with its verb in number. In other words, if a subject is singular, the verb must be singular. If the subject is plural, the verb must be plural. If you are unsure whether a verb is singular or plural, apply this simple test. Fill in the blanks in the two sentences

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Lesson 12—
Subject-Verb Agreement

Lesson Summary

Without thinking about it, you usually make sure your subjects and verbs agree, both in speaking and in writing. Only a few situations cause difficulty in subject-verb agreement. This lesson will show you how to deal with those few situations in your writing.

When a subject in a clause—the person or thing doing the action—matches the verb in number, we say the subject and verb agree. Most native English speakers have little trouble matching subjects with the correct verbs. A few grammatical constructions pose most of the problems. This lesson explains the concept of subject-verb agreement and provides practice in those problem areas.

Agreement Between Noun Subjects and Verbs

In written language, a subject must agree with its verb in number. In other words, if a subject is singular, the verb must be singular. If the subject is plural, the verb must be plural. If you are unsure whether a verb is singular or plural, apply this simple test. Fill in the blanks in the two sentences

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below with the matching form of the verb. The verb form that best completes the first sentence is singular. The verb form that best completes the second sentence is plural.

Singular

Plural

One person _____.

Two people _____.

Look at these examples using the verbs speak, do, and was. Try it yourself with any verb that confuses you. Unlike nouns, verbs ending in s are usually singular.

Singular

Plural

One person speaks.

Two people speak.

One person does.

Two people do.

One person was.

Two people were.

Special Problems

Doesn't/Don't and Wasn't/Weren't

Some people have particular trouble with doesn't/don't (contractions for does not and do not) and with wasn't/weren't (contractions for was not and were not). Doesn't and wasn't are singular; don't and weren't are plural. If you say the whole phrase instead of the contraction, you'll usually get the right form.

Phrases Following the Subject

Pay careful attention to the subject in a sentence. Do not allow a phrase following it to mislead you into using a verb that does not agree with the subject. The subjects and verbs are highlighted in the following examples.

One of the print orders is missing.
The software designs by Liu Chen are complex and colorful.
A handbook with thorough instructions comes with this product.
The president, along with her three executive assistants, leaves for the conference tomorrow.

Special Singular Subjects

Some nouns are singular even though they end in s. Despite the plural form, they require a singular verb because we think of them as a single thing. Most of the nouns in the following list are singular. Some can be either singular or plural, depending on their use in the sentence.

kms

measles

physics

sports

mumps

economics

politics

news

mathematics

statistics

checkers

civics

marbles (the game)

athletics

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below with the matching form of the verb. The verb form that best completes the first sentence is singular. The verb form that best completes the second sentence is plural.

Singular

Plural

One person _____.

Two people _____.

Look at these examples using the verbs speak, do, and was. Try it yourself with any verb that confuses you. Unlike nouns, verbs ending in s are usually singular.

Singular

Plural

One person speaks.

Two people speak.

One person does.

Two people do.

One person was.

Two people were.

Special Problems

Doesn't/Don't and Wasn't/Weren't

Some people have particular trouble with doesn't/don't (contractions for does not and do not) and with wasn't/weren't (contractions for was not and were not). Doesn't and wasn't are singular; don't and weren't are plural. If you say the whole phrase instead of the contraction, you'll usually get the right form.

Phrases Following the Subject

Pay careful attention to the subject in a sentence. Do not allow a phrase following it to mislead you into using a verb that does not agree with the subject. The subjects and verbs are highlighted in the following examples.

One of the print orders is missing.
The software designs by Liu Chen are complex and colorful.
A handbook with thorough instructions comes with this product.
The president, along with her three executive assistants, leaves for the conference tomorrow.

Special Singular Subjects

Some nouns are singular even though they end in s. Despite the plural form, they require a singular verb because we think of them as a single thing. Most of the nouns in the following list are singular. Some can be either singular or plural, depending on their use in the sentence.

kms

measles

physics

sports

mumps

economics

politics

news

mathematics

statistics

checkers

civics

marbles (the game)

athletics

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below with the matching form of the verb. The verb form that best completes the first sentence is singular. The verb form that best completes the second sentence is plural.

Singular

Plural

One person _____.

Two people _____.

Look at these examples using the verbs speak, do, and was. Try it yourself with any verb that confuses you. Unlike nouns, verbs ending in s are usually singular.

Singular

Plural

One person speaks.

Two people speak.

One person does.

Two people do.

One person was.

Two people were.

Special Problems

Doesn't/Don't and Wasn't/Weren't

Some people have particular trouble with doesn't/don't (contractions for does not and do not) and with wasn't/weren't (contractions for was not and were not). Doesn't and wasn't are singular; don't and weren't are plural. If you say the whole phrase instead of the contraction, you'll usually get the right form.

Phrases Following the Subject

Pay careful attention to the subject in a sentence. Do not allow a phrase following it to mislead you into using a verb that does not agree with the subject. The subjects and verbs are highlighted in the following examples.

One of the print orders is missing.
The software designs by Liu Chen are complex and colorful.
A handbook with thorough instructions comes with this product.
The president, along with her three executive assistants, leaves for the conference tomorrow.

Special Singular Subjects

Some nouns are singular even though they end in s. Despite the plural form, they require a singular verb because we think of them as a single thing. Most of the nouns in the following list are singular. Some can be either singular or plural, depending on their use in the sentence.

kms

measles

physics

sports

mumps

economics

politics

news

mathematics

statistics

checkers

civics

marbles (the game)

athletics

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below with the matching form of the verb. The verb form that best completes the first sentence is singular. The verb form that best completes the second sentence is plural.

Singular

Plural

One person _____.

Two people _____.

Look at these examples using the verbs speak, do, and was. Try it yourself with any verb that confuses you. Unlike nouns, verbs ending in s are usually singular.

Singular

Plural

One person speaks.

Two people speak.

One person does.

Two people do.

One person was.

Two people were.

Special Problems

Doesn't/Don't and Wasn't/Weren't

Some people have particular trouble with doesn't/don't (contractions for does not and do not) and with wasn't/weren't (contractions for was not and were not). Doesn't and wasn't are singular; don't and weren't are plural. If you say the whole phrase instead of the contraction, you'll usually get the right form.

Phrases Following the Subject

Pay careful attention to the subject in a sentence. Do not allow a phrase following it to mislead you into using a verb that does not agree with the subject. The subjects and verbs are highlighted in the following examples.

One of the print orders is missing.
The software designs by Liu Chen are complex and colorful.
A handbook with thorough instructions comes with this product.
The president, along with her three executive assistants, leaves for the conference tomorrow.

Special Singular Subjects

Some nouns are singular even though they end in s. Despite the plural form, they require a singular verb because we think of them as a single thing. Most of the nouns in the following list are singular. Some can be either singular or plural, depending on their use in the sentence.

kms

measles

physics

sports

mumps

economics

politics

news

mathematics

statistics

checkers

civics

marbles (the game)

athletics

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Here are some examples of how these words work in sentences.

The news is on at 6:00.
Checkers is my favorite game.
Sports is a healthy way to reduce stress.
Low-impact sports are recommended for older adults.

Words stating a single amount or a time require a singular verb. Examine a sentence carefully to see if the amount or time is considered a single measure.

Two dollars is the price of that small replacement part. [single amount]
Two dollars are lying on my dresser.
Three hours was required to complete this simulation. [single measure]
Three hours of each day were spent rehearsing.
Three-quarters of her time is spent writing.

Practice

Circle the correct verb in each of the following sentences. The answers to each set of questions can be found at the end of the lesson.

1. When the comedian (jokes, joke), the audience members (laughs, laugh).

2. A single flower now (grows, grow) where the trees used to (grows, grow).

3. Manuel (speaks, speak) English, but his parents (speaks, speak) Spanish.

4. The clerk (rings, ring) up the sales while the customers (waits, wait) in line.

5. The sopranos (hums, hum) softly while the tenor soloist (sings, sing)

6. The new colors (doesn't, don't) look especially appealing.

7. The door to the building (wasn't, weren't) locked last night.

8. The drive-up teller line (doesn't, don't) open until 9:30 on Saturday mornings.

9. Marge didn't receive the message because the phones (wasn't, weren't) working.

10. He (doesn't, don't) remember if the ties (is, are) still on sale.

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11. One of the clerks (is, are) sorting the rack of trousers that (was, were) mislabeled.

12. The petty cash box, along with the ticket receipts, (is, are) turned in at the end of the day.

13. These statistics (is, are) the result of a flawed study.

14. Statistics (was, were) my most difficult math course in high school.

15. Half of the bagel (was, were) eaten.

16. Half of the bagels (was, were) eaten.

Agreement Between Pronoun Subjects and Verbs

Pronoun subjects present a problem for even the most sophisticated speakers of English. Some pronouns are always singular; others are always plural. A handful of pronouns can be either singular or plural.

Singular Pronouns

These pronouns are always singular.

each

anybody

everyone

one

either

anyone

no one

somebody

neither

everybody

nobody

someone

The pronouns in the first column are the ones most likely to be misused. You can avoid a mismatch by mentally adding the word one after the pronoun and removing the other words between the pronoun and the verb. Look at the following examples to see how this is done.

Each of the men wants his own car.
Each one wants his own car.
Either of the salesclerks knows where the sale merchandise is located.
Either one knows where the sale merchandise is located.

These sentences may sound awkward because so many speakers misuse these pronouns, and you have probably become accustomed to hearing them used incorrectly. Despite that, the substitution trick (one for the words following the pronoun) will help you avoid this mistake.

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11. One of the clerks (is, are) sorting the rack of trousers that (was, were) mislabeled.

12. The petty cash box, along with the ticket receipts, (is, are) turned in at the end of the day.

13. These statistics (is, are) the result of a flawed study.

14. Statistics (was, were) my most difficult math course in high school.

15. Half of the bagel (was, were) eaten.

16. Half of the bagels (was, were) eaten.

Agreement Between Pronoun Subjects and Verbs

Pronoun subjects present a problem for even the most sophisticated speakers of English. Some pronouns are always singular; others are always plural. A handful of pronouns can be either singular or plural.

Singular Pronouns

These pronouns are always singular.

each

anybody

everyone

one

either

anyone

no one

somebody

neither

everybody

nobody

someone

The pronouns in the first column are the ones most likely to be misused. You can avoid a mismatch by mentally adding the word one after the pronoun and removing the other words between the pronoun and the verb. Look at the following examples to see how this is done.

Each of the men wants his own car.
Each one wants his own car.
Either of the salesclerks knows where the sale merchandise is located.
Either one knows where the sale merchandise is located.

These sentences may sound awkward because so many speakers misuse these pronouns, and you have probably become accustomed to hearing them used incorrectly. Despite that, the substitution trick (one for the words following the pronoun) will help you avoid this mistake.

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Watch out for Questions

With questions beginning with has or have, remember that has is singular while have is plural. Pay special attention to the verb-subject combination in a question. In fact, the correct verb is easier to identify if you turn the question into a statement.

Question Form

Statement Form

(Is, Are) some of the customers noticing the difference?

Some of the customers are noticing the difference.

(Has, Have) either of the shipments arrived?

Either [one] of the shipments has arrived.

(Does, Do) each of the terminals have a printer?

Each [one] of the terminals does have a printer.

Plural Pronouns

These pronouns are always plural and require a plural verb.

both

many

few

several

Singular/Plural Pronouns

The following pronouns can be either singular or plural. The words or prepositional phrases following them determine whether they are singular or plural. If the phrase following the pronoun contain a plural noun or pronoun, the verb must be plural. If the phrase following the pronoun contains a singular noun or pronoun, the verb must be singular. See how this is done in the sentences following the list of pronouns. The key words are highlighted.

all

none

any

some

most

Singular

Plural

All of the work is finished.

All of the jobs are finished.

Is any of the pizza left?

Are any of the pieces of pizza left?

Most of the grass has turned brown.

Most of the blades of grass have turned brown.

None of the time was wasted.

None of the minutes were wasted.

Some of the fruit was spoiled.

Some of the apples were spoiled.

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Watch out for Questions

With questions beginning with has or have, remember that has is singular while have is plural. Pay special attention to the verb-subject combination in a question. In fact, the correct verb is easier to identify if you turn the question into a statement.

Question Form

Statement Form

(Is, Are) some of the customers noticing the difference?

Some of the customers are noticing the difference.

(Has, Have) either of the shipments arrived?

Either [one] of the shipments has arrived.

(Does, Do) each of the terminals have a printer?

Each [one] of the terminals does have a printer.

Plural Pronouns

These pronouns are always plural and require a plural verb.

both

many

few

several

Singular/Plural Pronouns

The following pronouns can be either singular or plural. The words or prepositional phrases following them determine whether they are singular or plural. If the phrase following the pronoun contain a plural noun or pronoun, the verb must be plural. If the phrase following the pronoun contains a singular noun or pronoun, the verb must be singular. See how this is done in the sentences following the list of pronouns. The key words are highlighted.

all

none

any

some

most

Singular

Plural

All of the work is finished.

All of the jobs are finished.

Is any of the pizza left?

Are any of the pieces of pizza left?

Most of the grass has turned brown.

Most of the blades of grass have turned brown.

None of the time was wasted.

None of the minutes were wasted.

Some of the fruit was spoiled.

Some of the apples were spoiled.

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Watch out for Questions

With questions beginning with has or have, remember that has is singular while have is plural. Pay special attention to the verb-subject combination in a question. In fact, the correct verb is easier to identify if you turn the question into a statement.

Question Form

Statement Form

(Is, Are) some of the customers noticing the difference?

Some of the customers are noticing the difference.

(Has, Have) either of the shipments arrived?

Either [one] of the shipments has arrived.

(Does, Do) each of the terminals have a printer?

Each [one] of the terminals does have a printer.

Plural Pronouns

These pronouns are always plural and require a plural verb.

both

many

few

several

Singular/Plural Pronouns

The following pronouns can be either singular or plural. The words or prepositional phrases following them determine whether they are singular or plural. If the phrase following the pronoun contain a plural noun or pronoun, the verb must be plural. If the phrase following the pronoun contains a singular noun or pronoun, the verb must be singular. See how this is done in the sentences following the list of pronouns. The key words are highlighted.

all

none

any

some

most

Singular

Plural

All of the work is finished.

All of the jobs are finished.

Is any of the pizza left?

Are any of the pieces of pizza left?

Most of the grass has turned brown.

Most of the blades of grass have turned brown.

None of the time was wasted.

None of the minutes were wasted.

Some of the fruit was spoiled.

Some of the apples were spoiled.

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Practice

Circle the correct verb in each of the following sentences. Answers are at the end of the lesson.

17. Neither of these keys (unlocks, unlock) the back door.

18. Each of the community profiles (takes, take) a creative approach to advertising.

19. All of the tasks (has, have) been assigned.

20. Some of the residents (was, were) pleased with the new development.

21. Either of these light fixtures (is, are) suitable for my office.

22. (Was, Were) any of the samples defective?

23. (Do, Does) each of the phones have multiple lines?

24. (Has, Have) either of the partners announced an intention to reorganize?

25. Neither of our largest accounts (needs, need) to be serviced at this time.

26. Both of the applicants (seems, seem) qualified.

27. A woman in one of my classes (works, work) at the Civic Center box office.

28. None of our resources (goes, go) to outside consultants.

29. A good knowledge of the rules (helps, help) you understand the game.

30. Each of these prescriptions (causes, cause) bloating and irritability.

31. (Have, Has) either of them ever arrived on time?

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Special Sentence Structures

Compound Subjects

• If two nouns or pronouns are joined by and, they require a plural verb.

He and she want to buy a new house.

Jack and Jill want to buy a new house.

• If two singular nouns or pronouns are joined by or or nor, they require a singular verb. Think of them as two separate sentences and you'll never make a mistake in agreement.

Jack or Jill wants to buy a new house.

Jack wants to buy a new house.

Jill wants to buy a new house.

• Singular and plural subjects joined by or or nor require a verb that agrees with the subject closest to the verb.

Neither management nor the employees like the new agreement

Neither the employees nor the management likes the new agreement.

Make Sure You Find the Subject

Verbs agree with the subject, not the complement, of a sentence. The verb, a form of be, links the subject and the complement, but usually the subject comes first and the complement comes after the verb.

Taxes were the main challenge facing the financial department.
The main challenge facing the financial department was taxes.
A serious problem for most automobile commuters is traffic jams.
Traffic jams are a serious problem for most automobile commuters.

Questions and Sentences Beginning with There or Here

When a sentence asks a question or begins with the words there or here, the subject follows the verb. Locate the subject of the sentence and make certain the verb matches it. In the examples below, the subjects and verbs are highlighted in the corrected forms.

Wrong

Corrected

What is the conditions of the contract?

What are the conditions of the contract?

Why is her reports always so disorganized?

Why are her reports always so disorganized?

Here's the records you requested.

Here are the records you requested.

There is four people seeking this promotion.

There are four people seeking this promotion.

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Special Sentence Structures

Compound Subjects

• If two nouns or pronouns are joined by and, they require a plural verb.

He and she want to buy a new house.

Jack and Jill want to buy a new house.

• If two singular nouns or pronouns are joined by or or nor, they require a singular verb. Think of them as two separate sentences and you'll never make a mistake in agreement.

Jack or Jill wants to buy a new house.

Jack wants to buy a new house.

Jill wants to buy a new house.

• Singular and plural subjects joined by or or nor require a verb that agrees with the subject closest to the verb.

Neither management nor the employees like the new agreement

Neither the employees nor the management likes the new agreement.

Make Sure You Find the Subject

Verbs agree with the subject, not the complement, of a sentence. The verb, a form of be, links the subject and the complement, but usually the subject comes first and the complement comes after the verb.

Taxes were the main challenge facing the financial department.
The main challenge facing the financial department was taxes.
A serious problem for most automobile commuters is traffic jams.
Traffic jams are a serious problem for most automobile commuters.

Questions and Sentences Beginning with There or Here

When a sentence asks a question or begins with the words there or here, the subject follows the verb. Locate the subject of the sentence and make certain the verb matches it. In the examples below, the subjects and verbs are highlighted in the corrected forms.

Wrong

Corrected

What is the conditions of the contract?

What are the conditions of the contract?

Why is her reports always so disorganized?

Why are her reports always so disorganized?

Here's the records you requested.

Here are the records you requested.

There is four people seeking this promotion.

There are four people seeking this promotion.

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Special Sentence Structures

Compound Subjects

• If two nouns or pronouns are joined by and, they require a plural verb.

He and she want to buy a new house.

Jack and Jill want to buy a new house.

• If two singular nouns or pronouns are joined by or or nor, they require a singular verb. Think of them as two separate sentences and you'll never make a mistake in agreement.

Jack or Jill wants to buy a new house.

Jack wants to buy a new house.

Jill wants to buy a new house.

• Singular and plural subjects joined by or or nor require a verb that agrees with the subject closest to the verb.

Neither management nor the employees like the new agreement

Neither the employees nor the management likes the new agreement.

Make Sure You Find the Subject

Verbs agree with the subject, not the complement, of a sentence. The verb, a form of be, links the subject and the complement, but usually the subject comes first and the complement comes after the verb.

Taxes were the main challenge facing the financial department.
The main challenge facing the financial department was taxes.
A serious problem for most automobile commuters is traffic jams.
Traffic jams are a serious problem for most automobile commuters.

Questions and Sentences Beginning with There or Here

When a sentence asks a question or begins with the words there or here, the subject follows the verb. Locate the subject of the sentence and make certain the verb matches it. In the examples below, the subjects and verbs are highlighted in the corrected forms.

Wrong

Corrected

What is the conditions of the contract?

What are the conditions of the contract?

Why is her reports always so disorganized?

Why are her reports always so disorganized?

Here's the records you requested.

Here are the records you requested.

There is four people seeking this promotion.

There are four people seeking this promotion.

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Special Sentence Structures

Compound Subjects

• If two nouns or pronouns are joined by and, they require a plural verb.

He and she want to buy a new house.

Jack and Jill want to buy a new house.

• If two singular nouns or pronouns are joined by or or nor, they require a singular verb. Think of them as two separate sentences and you'll never make a mistake in agreement.

Jack or Jill wants to buy a new house.

Jack wants to buy a new house.

Jill wants to buy a new house.

• Singular and plural subjects joined by or or nor require a verb that agrees with the subject closest to the verb.

Neither management nor the employees like the new agreement

Neither the employees nor the management likes the new agreement.

Make Sure You Find the Subject

Verbs agree with the subject, not the complement, of a sentence. The verb, a form of be, links the subject and the complement, but usually the subject comes first and the complement comes after the verb.

Taxes were the main challenge facing the financial department.
The main challenge facing the financial department was taxes.
A serious problem for most automobile commuters is traffic jams.
Traffic jams are a serious problem for most automobile commuters.

Questions and Sentences Beginning with There or Here

When a sentence asks a question or begins with the words there or here, the subject follows the verb. Locate the subject of the sentence and make certain the verb matches it. In the examples below, the subjects and verbs are highlighted in the corrected forms.

Wrong

Corrected

What is the conditions of the contract?

What are the conditions of the contract?

Why is her reports always so disorganized?

Why are her reports always so disorganized?

Here's the records you requested.

Here are the records you requested.

There is four people seeking this promotion.

There are four people seeking this promotion.

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Inverted Sentences

Inverted sentences also contain subjects that follow, rather than precede, the verbs. Locate the subject in the sentence and make certain the verb agrees with it. In the example sentences below, the subjects and verbs in the corrected sentences are highlighted.

Wrong

Correct

Beside the front desk stands three new vending machines.

Beside the front desk stand three new vending machines.

Suddenly, out of the thicket comes three large bucks.

Suddenly, out of the thicket come three large bucks.

Along with our highest recommendation goes our best wishes in your new job.

Along with our highest recommendation go our best wishes in your new job.

Practice

Circle the correct verb in each of the following sentences. Answers are at the end of the lesson.

32. Every other day either Bert or Ernie (takes, take) out the trash.

33. Neither the style nor the color (matches, match) what we currently have.

34. Either the associates or the manager (orders, order) the merchandise.

35. Either the manager or the associates (orders, order) the merchandise.

36. (Is, Are) the men's wear or the women's wear department on the ground floor?

37. Mr. Jefson's passion (is, are) economics.

38. (Was, Were) there any furniture sets left over after the sale?

39. There (isn't, aren't) many days left before the Grand Opening.

40. Here (is, are) the information you requested.

41. Off into the horizon (runs, run) the herd of buffalo.

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Inverted Sentences

Inverted sentences also contain subjects that follow, rather than precede, the verbs. Locate the subject in the sentence and make certain the verb agrees with it. In the example sentences below, the subjects and verbs in the corrected sentences are highlighted.

Wrong

Correct

Beside the front desk stands three new vending machines.

Beside the front desk stand three new vending machines.

Suddenly, out of the thicket comes three large bucks.

Suddenly, out of the thicket come three large bucks.

Along with our highest recommendation goes our best wishes in your new job.

Along with our highest recommendation go our best wishes in your new job.

Practice

Circle the correct verb in each of the following sentences. Answers are at the end of the lesson.

32. Every other day either Bert or Ernie (takes, take) out the trash.

33. Neither the style nor the color (matches, match) what we currently have.

34. Either the associates or the manager (orders, order) the merchandise.

35. Either the manager or the associates (orders, order) the merchandise.

36. (Is, Are) the men's wear or the women's wear department on the ground floor?

37. Mr. Jefson's passion (is, are) economics.

38. (Was, Were) there any furniture sets left over after the sale?

39. There (isn't, aren't) many days left before the Grand Opening.

40. Here (is, are) the information you requested.

41. Off into the horizon (runs, run) the herd of buffalo.

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Skill Building Until Next Time

Listen to people s they speak. Do they use verbs correctly? Do they use the correct ense? Do the subjects and verb match? It's probably not a good idea to correct your family, friends, and co-workers, but you can give yourself some good practice by listening for mistakes.

Answers

1. Jokes, laugh

2. grows, grow

3. speaks, speak

4. rings, wait

5. hum, sings

6. don't

7. wasn't

8. doesn't

9. weren't

10. doesn't, are

11. is, was

12. is

13. are

14. was

15. was

16. were

17. unlocks

18. takes

19. have

20. were

21. is

22. Were

23. Does

24. Has

25. needs

26. seem

27. works

28. go

29. helps

30. causes

31. Has

32. takes

33. matches

34. orders

35. order

36. Is

37. is

38. Were

39. aren't

40. is

41. runs

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Lesson 13—
Using Pronouns

Lesson Summary

Pronouns are so often misused in speech that many people don't really know how to avoid pronoun errors in writing. This lesson shows you how to avoid the most common pronoun errors.

A pronoun is a word that is used in place of a noun. Pronouns that are misused call attention to themselves and detract from the message of a piece of writing. This lesson explains the basic principles of pronoun use and highlights the most common pronoun problems: agreement, case, noun-pronoun pairs, incomplete constructions, ambiguous pronoun references, and reflexive pronouns.

Pronouns and Antecedents

The noun represented by a pronoun is called its antecedent. The prefix ante means to come before. Usually, the antecedent comes before the pronoun in a sentence. In the following example sentences, the pronouns are italicized and the antecedents (the words they represent) are underlined.

The government workers received their paychecks.

Jane thought she saw the missing boy and reported him to the police.

The shift supervisor hates these accidents because he thinks they can be easily avoided.

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Lesson 13—
Using Pronouns

Lesson Summary

Pronouns are so often misused in speech that many people don't really know how to avoid pronoun errors in writing. This lesson shows you how to avoid the most common pronoun errors.

A pronoun is a word that is used in place of a noun. Pronouns that are misused call attention to themselves and detract from the message of a piece of writing. This lesson explains the basic principles of pronoun use and highlights the most common pronoun problems: agreement, case, noun-pronoun pairs, incomplete constructions, ambiguous pronoun references, and reflexive pronouns.

Pronouns and Antecedents

The noun represented by a pronoun is called its antecedent. The prefix ante means to come before. Usually, the antecedent comes before the pronoun in a sentence. In the following example sentences, the pronouns are italicized and the antecedents (the words they represent) are underlined.

The government workers received their paychecks.

Jane thought she saw the missing boy and reported him to the police.

The shift supervisor hates these accidents because he thinks they can be easily avoided.

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A pronoun must match the number of its antecedent. In other words, if the antecedent is singular, the pronoun must be singular. If the antecedent is plural, the pronoun must be plural. Few people make mistakes when matching a pronoun with a noun antecedent. However, sometimes a pronoun is the antecedent for a another pronoun. Indefinite pronoun antecedents frequently result in a number mismatch between pronoun and antecedent. In Lesson 12 you learned about singular pronouns. Here is the list again.

each

anybody

everyone

one

either

anyone

no one

somebody

neither

everybody

nobody

someone

• A pronoun with one of the words from this list as its antecedent must be singular.

Each (singular) of the men brought his (singular) favorite tool to the bachelor party.

Everyone (singular) who wants to be in the ''Toughman" contest should pay up his (singular) life insurance.

Somebody left her purse underneath the desk.

Neither of the occupants could locate his (or her) key to the apartment.

• If two or more singular nouns or pronouns are joined by and, use a plural pronoun.

Buddha and Muhammad built religions around their philosophies.

If he and she want to know where I was, they should ask me.

• If two or more singular nouns or pronouns are joined by or, use a singular pronoun.

Matthew or Jacob will loan you his calculator.

The elephant or the moose will furiously protect its young.

• If a singular and a plural noun or pronoun are joined by or, the pronoun agrees with the closest noun or pronoun it represents.

Neither the soldiers nor the sergeant was sure of his location.

Neither the sergeant nor the soldiers were sure of their location.

Practice

Circle the correct pronoun in each of the following sentences. The answers to each set of questions can be found at the end of the lesson.

1. No one in (her, their) right mind would agree to drive that contraption.

2. Neither the students nor the teacher brought (his, their) book to class.

3. Anyone who wants a ticket to the banquet should sign (his, their) name on this sheet.

4. Ask someone in this office where the instruction manual is, and (he, they) probably can't tell you.

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5. Neither Alexis nor Heidi will inconvenience (herself, themselves) to cover your mistake.

6. If you break a print head or a roller on the printer, (it, they) is hard to replace.

7. I know of someone who might give you (her, their) notes from the course.

8. Almost anybody can improve (his, their) writing by using this book.

9. If you want to make a good impression on a customer, don't talk down to (her, them).

Pronoun Case

Most people have no trouble knowing when to use I, when to use me, or when to use my. These three pronouns illustrate the three cases of the first person singular pronoun: nominative (I), objective (me), and possessive (my). The table below shows the cases of all the personal pronouns, both singular and plural.

PERSONAL PRONOUN CASE

Nominative

Objective

Possessive

I

me

my

we

us

our

you

you

your

he

him

his

she

her

her

they

them

their

it

it

its

Nominative case pronouns (those in the first column) are used as subjects or as complements following linking verbs (am, is, are, was, were—any form of be). Nominative case pronouns following a linking verb may sound strange to you because so few people use them correctly.

They left a few minutes early in order to mail the package. [subject]

I looked all over town for the type of paper you wanted. [subject]

The doctor who removed my appendix was he. [follows a linking verb]

"This is she, or it is I," said Barbara into the phone. [follows a linking verb]

The winners of the sales contest were he and she. [follows a linking verb]

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Objective case pronouns (those in the middle column in the table) are used as objects following an action verb or as objects of a preposition.

The help line representative gave him an answer over the phone. [follows an action verb]

Of all these samples, I prefer them. [follows an action verb]

We went to lunch with Sammy and him. [object of the preposition with]

We couldn't tell whether the package was for them or us. [object(s) of the preposition for]

Possessive case pronouns (those in the third column in the table) show ownership. Few English speakers misuse the possessive case pronouns. Most pronoun problems occur with the nominative and objective cases.

Problems with Pronoun Case

A single pronoun in a sentence is easy to use correctly. In fact, most English speakers would readily identify the mistakes in the following sentences.

Me worked on the project with he.

My neighbor gave she a ride to work.

Most people know that Me in the first sentence should be I and that he should be him. They would also know that she in the second sentence should be her. Such errors are easy to spot when the pronouns are used alone in a sentence. The problem occurs when a pronoun is used with a noun or another pronoun. See if you can spot the errors in the following sentences.

Wrong:

The grand marshall rode with Shane and I.

Donna and me are going to the Civic Center.

The stage manager spoke to my brother and I.

The errors in these sentences are harder to see than those in the sentences with a single pronoun. If you turn the sentence with two pronouns into two separate sentences, the error becomes very obvious.

Correct:

The grand marshall rode with Shane.

The grand marshall rode with me (not I).

Donna is going to the Civic Center. [Use the singular verb is in place of are.]

I (not me) am going to the Civic Center. [Use the verb am in place of are.]

The stage manager spoke to my brother.

The stage manager spoke to me (not I).

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Splitting a sentence in two does not work as well with the preposition between. If you substitute with for between, then the error is easier to spot.

The problem is between (she, her) and (I, me).

The problem is with her. (not she)

The problem is with me. (not I)

Practice

Circle the correct pronouns in the following sentences. Answers are at the end of the lesson.

10. Andy or Arvin will bring (his, their) camera so (he, they) can take pictures of the party.

11. Benny and (he, him) went to the movies with Bonnie and (I, me).

12. Neither my cousins nor my uncle knows what (he, they) will do tomorrow.

13. Why must it always be (I, me) who cleans up the lounge?

14. The pilot let (he, him) and (I, me) look at the instrument panel.

15. Have you heard the latest news about (she, her) and (they, them)?

16. My friend and (I, me) both want to move to another location.

Noun-Pronoun Pairs

Sometimes a noun is immediately followed by a pronoun in a sentence. To make certain you use the correct pronoun, delete the noun from the pair. Look at the following examples to see how this is done.

PRONOUNS IN NOUN-PRONOUN PAIRS

Which Pronoun?

Remove the Noun

(We, Us) support personnel wish to lodge a complaint.

We wish to lodge a complaint.

They gave the job to (we, us) inventory staffers.

They gave the job to us.

The committee threw (we, us) retirees a huge end-of-the-year party.

The committee threw us a huge end-of- the-year party.

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Splitting a sentence in two does not work as well with the preposition between. If you substitute with for between, then the error is easier to spot.

The problem is between (she, her) and (I, me).

The problem is with her. (not she)

The problem is with me. (not I)

Practice

Circle the correct pronouns in the following sentences. Answers are at the end of the lesson.

10. Andy or Arvin will bring (his, their) camera so (he, they) can take pictures of the party.

11. Benny and (he, him) went to the movies with Bonnie and (I, me).

12. Neither my cousins nor my uncle knows what (he, they) will do tomorrow.

13. Why must it always be (I, me) who cleans up the lounge?

14. The pilot let (he, him) and (I, me) look at the instrument panel.

15. Have you heard the latest news about (she, her) and (they, them)?

16. My friend and (I, me) both want to move to another location.

Noun-Pronoun Pairs

Sometimes a noun is immediately followed by a pronoun in a sentence. To make certain you use the correct pronoun, delete the noun from the pair. Look at the following examples to see how this is done.

PRONOUNS IN NOUN-PRONOUN PAIRS

Which Pronoun?

Remove the Noun

(We, Us) support personnel wish to lodge a complaint.

We wish to lodge a complaint.

They gave the job to (we, us) inventory staffers.

They gave the job to us.

The committee threw (we, us) retirees a huge end-of-the-year party.

The committee threw us a huge end-of- the-year party.

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Incomplete Constructions

Sometimes a pronoun comes at the end of a sentence following a comparative word such as than or as.

Harold spent as much time on this project as (they, them).

Duane can build cabinets better than (I, me).

The long day exhausted us more than (they, them).

My youngest child is now taller than (I, me).

In each of these sentences part of the meaning is implied. To figure out which pronoun is correct, complete the sentence in your head and use the pronoun that makes more sense.

Harold spent as much time on this project as they did.

Harold spent as much time on this project as he spent on them.

The first sentence makes more sense, so they would be the correct choice.

Duane can build cabinets better than I can.

Duane can build cabinets better than he can build me.

The first sentence makes more sense, so I is the correct pronoun.

The long day exhausted us more than they did.

The long day exhausted us more than it did them.

The second sentence makes more sense, so them is the correct choice.

My youngest child is now taller than I am.

There is no way to complete the sentence using the pronoun me, so I is the correct choice.

Pronoun choice is especially important if the sentence makes sense either way. The following sentence can be completed using both pronouns, either of which makes good sense. The pronoun choice controls the meaning. The writer must be careful to choose the correct pronoun if the meaning is to be accurately portrayed.

I work with Assad more than (she, her).

I work with Assad more than she does.

I work with Assad more than I work with her.

Use the pronoun that portrays the intended meaning.

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Ambiguous Pronoun References

Sometimes a sentence is written in such a way that a pronoun can refer to more than one antecedent. When this happens, we say the meaning is ambiguous. In the following examples, the ambiguous pronouns are italicized, and the possible antecedents are underlined.

When Eric spoke to his girlfriend's father, he was very polite.

Remove the door from the frame and paint it.

Jamie told Linda she should be ready to go within an hour.

Pat told Craig he had been granted an interview.

See how the sentences are rewritten below to clarify the ambiguous references.

Eric was very polite when he spoke to his girlfriend's father.

Paint the door after removing it from the frame.

Jamie told Linda to be ready to go within an hour.

Pat told Craig that Craig had been granted an interview.

Improper Reflexive Pronouns

A reflexive pronoun is one that includes the word self or selves: myself, yourself, himself, herself, ourselves, themselves. The following section explains ways in which reflexive pronouns are sometimes misused.

• The possessive pronouns his and their cannot be made reflexive.

Wrong:

They decided to do the remodeling theirselves.

Mark wanted to arrange the meeting hisself.

Correct:

They decided to do the remodeling themselves.

Mark wanted to arrange the meeting himself.

• Avoid using a reflexive pronoun when a personal pronoun works in the sentence.

Wrong:

Three associates and myself chose the architect for the building.

The preliminary results of the poll were revealed only to ourselves.

Correct:

Three associates and I chose the architect for the building.

The preliminary results of the poll were revealed only to us.

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Ambiguous Pronoun References

Sometimes a sentence is written in such a way that a pronoun can refer to more than one antecedent. When this happens, we say the meaning is ambiguous. In the following examples, the ambiguous pronouns are italicized, and the possible antecedents are underlined.

When Eric spoke to his girlfriend's father, he was very polite.

Remove the door from the frame and paint it.

Jamie told Linda she should be ready to go within an hour.

Pat told Craig he had been granted an interview.

See how the sentences are rewritten below to clarify the ambiguous references.

Eric was very polite when he spoke to his girlfriend's father.

Paint the door after removing it from the frame.

Jamie told Linda to be ready to go within an hour.

Pat told Craig that Craig had been granted an interview.

Improper Reflexive Pronouns

A reflexive pronoun is one that includes the word self or selves: myself, yourself, himself, herself, ourselves, themselves. The following section explains ways in which reflexive pronouns are sometimes misused.

• The possessive pronouns his and their cannot be made reflexive.

Wrong:

They decided to do the remodeling theirselves.

Mark wanted to arrange the meeting hisself.

Correct:

They decided to do the remodeling themselves.

Mark wanted to arrange the meeting himself.

• Avoid using a reflexive pronoun when a personal pronoun works in the sentence.

Wrong:

Three associates and myself chose the architect for the building.

The preliminary results of the poll were revealed only to ourselves.

Correct:

Three associates and I chose the architect for the building.

The preliminary results of the poll were revealed only to us.

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Skill Building Until Next Time

Identify the pronoun mistake or two that you make most often. In your conversation, make a conscious effort to use the rponoun correctly at least three times.

Answers

1. her

2. his

3. his

4. he

5. herself

6. it

7. her

8. his

9. her

10. his, he

11. he, me

12. he

13. I

14. him, me

15. her, them

16. I

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Lesson 14—
Problem Verbs and Pronouns

Lesson Summary

Sit or set? Your or you're? There or their? Or is it they're? Knowing how to use such problem pairs is the mark of the educated writer. This lesson shows you how.

This lesson covers problem verbs such as lie/lay, sit/set, rise/raise, and their various forms. It also covers problem pronouns such as its/it's, your/you're, whose/who's, who/that/which, and there/they're/their. You can distinguish yourself as an educated writer if you can use these verbs and pronouns correctly in formal writing situations.

Problem Verbs

Lie/Lay

Few people use lie and lay and their principal parts correctly, perhaps because few people know the difference in meaning between the two. The verb lie means to rest or recline. The verb lay means to put or place. The table on the next page shows the principal parts of each of these verbs. Their meanings, written in the correct form, appear in parentheses.

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Lesson 14—
Problem Verbs and Pronouns

Lesson Summary

Sit or set? Your or you're? There or their? Or is it they're? Knowing how to use such problem pairs is the mark of the educated writer. This lesson shows you how.

This lesson covers problem verbs such as lie/lay, sit/set, rise/raise, and their various forms. It also covers problem pronouns such as its/it's, your/you're, whose/who's, who/that/which, and there/they're/their. You can distinguish yourself as an educated writer if you can use these verbs and pronouns correctly in formal writing situations.

Problem Verbs

Lie/Lay

Few people use lie and lay and their principal parts correctly, perhaps because few people know the difference in meaning between the two. The verb lie means to rest or recline. The verb lay means to put or place. The table on the next page shows the principal parts of each of these verbs. Their meanings, written in the correct form, appear in parentheses.

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Page 119

Lesson 14—
Problem Verbs and Pronouns

Lesson Summary

Sit or set? Your or you're? There or their? Or is it they're? Knowing how to use such problem pairs is the mark of the educated writer. This lesson shows you how.

This lesson covers problem verbs such as lie/lay, sit/set, rise/raise, and their various forms. It also covers problem pronouns such as its/it's, your/you're, whose/who's, who/that/which, and there/they're/their. You can distinguish yourself as an educated writer if you can use these verbs and pronouns correctly in formal writing situations.

Problem Verbs

Lie/Lay

Few people use lie and lay and their principal parts correctly, perhaps because few people know the difference in meaning between the two. The verb lie means to rest or recline. The verb lay means to put or place. The table on the next page shows the principal parts of each of these verbs. Their meanings, written in the correct form, appear in parentheses.

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Practice

Write the correct form of lie or lay in each of the blanks below. Answers can be found at the end of the lesson.

1. After the alarm sounded, I _____________ in bed for another hour.

2. _____________ the packages on the mailroom floor.

3. The latest edition of the newspaper _____________ on the desk.

4. The paper carrier _____________the latest edition of the newspaper on the desk.

5. No one had any idea how long the sandwiches had _____________ in the sun or who had _____________ them there in the first place.

Sit/Set

These two verbs are very similar to lie and lay. Sit means "to rest." Set means "to put or place." The table below shows the principal parts of each of these verbs. Their meanings, written in the correct form, appear in parentheses.

FORMS OF SIT AND SET

Present

Progressive

Past

Past Participle*

sit, sits

sitting

sat

sat

(rest, rests)

(resting)

(rested)

(rested)

set, sets

setting

set

set

(put, place; puts, places)

(putting, placing)

(put, placed)

(put, placed)

*The past participle is the form used with have, has, or had.

Choose the correct form of sit or set by using the meanings (the words in parentheses) in the sentence first. Decide which meaning makes the most sense, and then choose the corresponding verb. See how this is done in the example sentences below.

The speaker ____________ the chair next to the podium.

Put or placed makes more sense than rested.

Choose set.

The speaker ____________ in the chair next to the podium.

Rested makes more sense than put or placed.

Choose sat.

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Practice

Write the correct form of lie or lay in each of the blanks below. Answers can be found at the end of the lesson.

1. After the alarm sounded, I _____________ in bed for another hour.

2. _____________ the packages on the mailroom floor.

3. The latest edition of the newspaper _____________ on the desk.

4. The paper carrier _____________the latest edition of the newspaper on the desk.

5. No one had any idea how long the sandwiches had _____________ in the sun or who had _____________ them there in the first place.

Sit/Set

These two verbs are very similar to lie and lay. Sit means "to rest." Set means "to put or place." The table below shows the principal parts of each of these verbs. Their meanings, written in the correct form, appear in parentheses.

FORMS OF SIT AND SET

Present

Progressive

Past

Past Participle*

sit, sits

sitting

sat

sat

(rest, rests)

(resting)

(rested)

(rested)

set, sets

setting

set

set

(put, place; puts, places)

(putting, placing)

(put, placed)

(put, placed)

*The past participle is the form used with have, has, or had.

Choose the correct form of sit or set by using the meanings (the words in parentheses) in the sentence first. Decide which meaning makes the most sense, and then choose the corresponding verb. See how this is done in the example sentences below.

The speaker ____________ the chair next to the podium.

Put or placed makes more sense than rested.

Choose set.

The speaker ____________ in the chair next to the podium.

Rested makes more sense than put or placed.

Choose sat.

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Practice

Write the correct form of sit or set in each of the blanks below. Answers are at the end of the lesson.

6. The board of directors _____________ aside additional money for research and development.

7. My desk is the one _____________ closest to the fax machine.

8. I can't remember where I _____________ the mail down.

9. I _____________ down next to Jill and _____________ my briefcase on the chair next to me.

10. We had _____________ in the waiting room for almost an hour before the doctor saw us.

Rise/Raise

The verb rise means ''to go up." The verb raise means "to move something up." Raise requires an object. In other words, something must receive the action of the verb raise (raise your hand, raise the flag, raise the objection, raise children). The table below shows the principal parts of both verbs.

FORMS OF RISE AND RAISE

Present

Progressive

Past

Past Participle*

rises, rise

rising

rose

risen

(goes up, go up)

(going up)

(went up)

(gone up)

(comes up, come up)

(coming up)

(came up)

(come up)

raises, raise

raising

raised

raised

(moves up, move up)

(moving up)

(moved up)

(moved up)

*The past participle is the form used with have, has, or had.

Choose the correct form of rise or raise by using the meanings (the words in parentheses) in the sentence first. Decide which meaning makes the most sense, and choose the corresponding verb. See how this is done in the example sentences below. Sometimes none of the words seem especially appropriate. Nevertheless, choose the option that makes more sense than any of the others.

The sun _____________ a little bit earlier each day of the spring.

Comes up makes the most sense.

Choose rises.

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Practice

Write the correct form of sit or set in each of the blanks below. Answers are at the end of the lesson.

6. The board of directors _____________ aside additional money for research and development.

7. My desk is the one _____________ closest to the fax machine.

8. I can't remember where I _____________ the mail down.

9. I _____________ down next to Jill and _____________ my briefcase on the chair next to me.

10. We had _____________ in the waiting room for almost an hour before the doctor saw us.

Rise/Raise

The verb rise means ''to go up." The verb raise means "to move something up." Raise requires an object. In other words, something must receive the action of the verb raise (raise your hand, raise the flag, raise the objection, raise children). The table below shows the principal parts of both verbs.

FORMS OF RISE AND RAISE

Present

Progressive

Past

Past Participle*

rises, rise

rising

rose

risen

(goes up, go up)

(going up)

(went up)

(gone up)

(comes up, come up)

(coming up)

(came up)

(come up)

raises, raise

raising

raised

raised

(moves up, move up)

(moving up)

(moved up)

(moved up)

*The past participle is the form used with have, has, or had.

Choose the correct form of rise or raise by using the meanings (the words in parentheses) in the sentence first. Decide which meaning makes the most sense, and choose the corresponding verb. See how this is done in the example sentences below. Sometimes none of the words seem especially appropriate. Nevertheless, choose the option that makes more sense than any of the others.

The sun _____________ a little bit earlier each day of the spring.

Comes up makes the most sense.

Choose rises.

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Without realizing it, we began to _____________ our voices.

Move up makes more sense than any of the other options.

Choose raise.

The river _____________ over two feet in the last hour.

Went up makes the most sense.

Choose rose.

Practice

Write the correct form of rise or raise in each of the blanks below. Answers are at the end of the lesson.

11. The guard _____________ the flag every morning before the sun _____________.

12. The couple _____________ seven of their own children and adopted three more.

13. By late morning the fog had _____________ enough for us to see the neighboring farm.

14. The stockholders _____________ from their chairs to _____________ an objection.

Problem Pronouns

Its/It's

Its is a possessive pronoun that means belonging to it. It's is a contraction for it is or it has. The only time you will ever use it's is when you can also substitute the words it is. Take time to make this substitution, and you will never confuse these two words.

A doe will hide its [belonging to the it—the doe] fawn carefully before going out to graze.

It's [it is] time we packed up and moved to a new location.

The new computer system has proven its [belonging to it] value.

We'll leave the game as soon as it's [it is] over.

Your/You're

Your is a possessive pronoun that means belonging to you. You're is a contraction for the words you are. The only time you will ever use you're is when you can also substitute the words you are. Take time to make this substitution, and you will never confuse these two words.

Is this your [belonging to you] idea of a joke?

As soon as you're [you are] finished, you may leave.

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Without realizing it, we began to _____________ our voices.

Move up makes more sense than any of the other options.

Choose raise.

The river _____________ over two feet in the last hour.

Went up makes the most sense.

Choose rose.

Practice

Write the correct form of rise or raise in each of the blanks below. Answers are at the end of the lesson.

11. The guard _____________ the flag every morning before the sun _____________.

12. The couple _____________ seven of their own children and adopted three more.

13. By late morning the fog had _____________ enough for us to see the neighboring farm.

14. The stockholders _____________ from their chairs to _____________ an objection.

Problem Pronouns

Its/It's

Its is a possessive pronoun that means belonging to it. It's is a contraction for it is or it has. The only time you will ever use it's is when you can also substitute the words it is. Take time to make this substitution, and you will never confuse these two words.

A doe will hide its [belonging to the it—the doe] fawn carefully before going out to graze.

It's [it is] time we packed up and moved to a new location.

The new computer system has proven its [belonging to it] value.

We'll leave the game as soon as it's [it is] over.

Your/You're

Your is a possessive pronoun that means belonging to you. You're is a contraction for the words you are. The only time you will ever use you're is when you can also substitute the words you are. Take time to make this substitution, and you will never confuse these two words.

Is this your [belonging to you] idea of a joke?

As soon as you're [you are] finished, you may leave.

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Without realizing it, we began to _____________ our voices.

Move up makes more sense than any of the other options.

Choose raise.

The river _____________ over two feet in the last hour.

Went up makes the most sense.

Choose rose.

Practice

Write the correct form of rise or raise in each of the blanks below. Answers are at the end of the lesson.

11. The guard _____________ the flag every morning before the sun _____________.

12. The couple _____________ seven of their own children and adopted three more.

13. By late morning the fog had _____________ enough for us to see the neighboring farm.

14. The stockholders _____________ from their chairs to _____________ an objection.

Problem Pronouns

Its/It's

Its is a possessive pronoun that means belonging to it. It's is a contraction for it is or it has. The only time you will ever use it's is when you can also substitute the words it is. Take time to make this substitution, and you will never confuse these two words.

A doe will hide its [belonging to the it—the doe] fawn carefully before going out to graze.

It's [it is] time we packed up and moved to a new location.

The new computer system has proven its [belonging to it] value.

We'll leave the game as soon as it's [it is] over.

Your/You're

Your is a possessive pronoun that means belonging to you. You're is a contraction for the words you are. The only time you will ever use you're is when you can also substitute the words you are. Take time to make this substitution, and you will never confuse these two words.

Is this your [belonging to you] idea of a joke?

As soon as you're [you are] finished, you may leave.

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Without realizing it, we began to _____________ our voices.

Move up makes more sense than any of the other options.

Choose raise.

The river _____________ over two feet in the last hour.

Went up makes the most sense.

Choose rose.

Practice

Write the correct form of rise or raise in each of the blanks below. Answers are at the end of the lesson.

11. The guard _____________ the flag every morning before the sun _____________.

12. The couple _____________ seven of their own children and adopted three more.

13. By late morning the fog had _____________ enough for us to see the neighboring farm.

14. The stockholders _____________ from their chairs to _____________ an objection.

Problem Pronouns

Its/It's

Its is a possessive pronoun that means belonging to it. It's is a contraction for it is or it has. The only time you will ever use it's is when you can also substitute the words it is. Take time to make this substitution, and you will never confuse these two words.

A doe will hide its [belonging to the it—the doe] fawn carefully before going out to graze.

It's [it is] time we packed up and moved to a new location.

The new computer system has proven its [belonging to it] value.

We'll leave the game as soon as it's [it is] over.

Your/You're

Your is a possessive pronoun that means belonging to you. You're is a contraction for the words you are. The only time you will ever use you're is when you can also substitute the words you are. Take time to make this substitution, and you will never confuse these two words.

Is this your [belonging to you] idea of a joke?

As soon as you're [you are] finished, you may leave.

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Your [belonging to you] friends are the people you most enjoy.

You're [you are] friends whom we value.

Whose/Who's

Whose is a possessive pronoun that means belonging to whom. Who's is a contraction for the words who is or who has. Take time to make this substitution, and you will never confuse these two words.

Who's [Who is] in charge of the lighting for the show?

Whose [belonging to whom] car was that?

This is the nurse who's [who is] on duty until morning.

Here is the man whose [belonging to whom] car I ran into this morning.

Who/That/Which

Who refers to people. That refers to things. Which is generally used to introduce nonrestrictive clauses that describe things. (See Lesson 4 for nonrestrictive clauses.) Look at the following sentences to see how each of these words is used.

There is the woman who helped me fix my flat tire.

The man who invented the polio vaccine died in 1995.

This is the house that Jack built.

The book that I wanted is no longer in print.

Abigail, who rescued my cat from the neighbor's tree, lives across the street.

Yassir Arafat, who heads the PLO, met with Israeli leaders.

The teacher asked us to read Lord of the Flies, which is my favorite novel.

Mt. Massive, which is the tallest peak in the Rocky Mountains, looms above Leadville, Colorado.

There/Their/They're

There is an adverb telling where an action or item is located. Their is a possessive pronoun that shows ownership. They're is a contraction for the words they are. Of all the confusing word groups, this one is misused most often. Here is an easy way to distinguish among these words.

• Take a close look at this version of the word: tHERE. You can see that there contains the word here. Wherever you use the word there, you should be able to substitute the word here, and the sentence should still make sense.

• Their means belonging to them. Of the three words, their can be most easily transformed into the word them. Try it. You'll discover that two short markings—connecting the i to the r and then drawing a line to make the ir into an m—will turn their into them. This clue will help you avoid misusing their.

• Finally, imagine that the apostrophe in they're is actually a very small letter a. If you change they're to they are in a sentence, you'll never misuse the word. Look over the example sentences on the next page.

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Your [belonging to you] friends are the people you most enjoy.

You're [you are] friends whom we value.

Whose/Who's

Whose is a possessive pronoun that means belonging to whom. Who's is a contraction for the words who is or who has. Take time to make this substitution, and you will never confuse these two words.

Who's [Who is] in charge of the lighting for the show?

Whose [belonging to whom] car was that?

This is the nurse who's [who is] on duty until morning.

Here is the man whose [belonging to whom] car I ran into this morning.

Who/That/Which

Who refers to people. That refers to things. Which is generally used to introduce nonrestrictive clauses that describe things. (See Lesson 4 for nonrestrictive clauses.) Look at the following sentences to see how each of these words is used.

There is the woman who helped me fix my flat tire.

The man who invented the polio vaccine died in 1995.

This is the house that Jack built.

The book that I wanted is no longer in print.

Abigail, who rescued my cat from the neighbor's tree, lives across the street.

Yassir Arafat, who heads the PLO, met with Israeli leaders.

The teacher asked us to read Lord of the Flies, which is my favorite novel.

Mt. Massive, which is the tallest peak in the Rocky Mountains, looms above Leadville, Colorado.

There/Their/They're

There is an adverb telling where an action or item is located. Their is a possessive pronoun that shows ownership. They're is a contraction for the words they are. Of all the confusing word groups, this one is misused most often. Here is an easy way to distinguish among these words.

• Take a close look at this version of the word: tHERE. You can see that there contains the word here. Wherever you use the word there, you should be able to substitute the word here, and the sentence should still make sense.

• Their means belonging to them. Of the three words, their can be most easily transformed into the word them. Try it. You'll discover that two short markings—connecting the i to the r and then drawing a line to make the ir into an m—will turn their into them. This clue will help you avoid misusing their.

• Finally, imagine that the apostrophe in they're is actually a very small letter a. If you change they're to they are in a sentence, you'll never misuse the word. Look over the example sentences on the next page.

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Your [belonging to you] friends are the people you most enjoy.

You're [you are] friends whom we value.

Whose/Who's

Whose is a possessive pronoun that means belonging to whom. Who's is a contraction for the words who is or who has. Take time to make this substitution, and you will never confuse these two words.

Who's [Who is] in charge of the lighting for the show?

Whose [belonging to whom] car was that?

This is the nurse who's [who is] on duty until morning.

Here is the man whose [belonging to whom] car I ran into this morning.

Who/That/Which

Who refers to people. That refers to things. Which is generally used to introduce nonrestrictive clauses that describe things. (See Lesson 4 for nonrestrictive clauses.) Look at the following sentences to see how each of these words is used.

There is the woman who helped me fix my flat tire.

The man who invented the polio vaccine died in 1995.

This is the house that Jack built.

The book that I wanted is no longer in print.

Abigail, who rescued my cat from the neighbor's tree, lives across the street.

Yassir Arafat, who heads the PLO, met with Israeli leaders.

The teacher asked us to read Lord of the Flies, which is my favorite novel.

Mt. Massive, which is the tallest peak in the Rocky Mountains, looms above Leadville, Colorado.

There/Their/They're

There is an adverb telling where an action or item is located. Their is a possessive pronoun that shows ownership. They're is a contraction for the words they are. Of all the confusing word groups, this one is misused most often. Here is an easy way to distinguish among these words.

• Take a close look at this version of the word: tHERE. You can see that there contains the word here. Wherever you use the word there, you should be able to substitute the word here, and the sentence should still make sense.

• Their means belonging to them. Of the three words, their can be most easily transformed into the word them. Try it. You'll discover that two short markings—connecting the i to the r and then drawing a line to make the ir into an m—will turn their into them. This clue will help you avoid misusing their.

• Finally, imagine that the apostrophe in they're is actually a very small letter a. If you change they're to they are in a sentence, you'll never misuse the word. Look over the example sentences on the next page.

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There [here] is my paycheck.

The new chairs are in there [here].

Their [belonging to them] time has almost run out.

This is their [belonging to them] problem, not mine.

They're [they are] planning to finish early in the morning.

I wonder how they're [they are] going to work this out.

Practice

Circle the correct word in each set of parentheses below. Answers are at the end of the lesson.

15. Finally, the dog stopped (its, it's) barking.

16. Alert me when (its, it's) time to go.

17. (Its, It's) time to get a new clock when the old one stops (its, it's) chiming.

18. Take (your, you're) time with this decision.

19. Take (your, you're) samples with you if (your, you're) leaving.

20. (Your, You're) scheduled to work late this evening.

21. (Your, You're) schedule for this evening has changed.

22. My aunt Sophie is the one (who, which, that) travels for a living.

23. This is the book (who, which, that) I lost earlier this year.

24. Kirk Douglas, (who, which, that) is my favorite actor, finally received an Oscar nomination.

25. Redbird Creek, (who, which, that) runs through my back yard, floods every spring.

26. There's the person (who, which, that) gave me directions to the museum.

27. (Your, You're) likely to find the tapes in (there, their, they're).

28. (There, Their, They're) scheduled to begin construction next week.

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29. (Its, It's) been over an hour since (there, their, they're) food arrived.

30. The clerk (who, which, that) gave me the estimate is over (there, their, they're).

31. (Who's, Whose) been opening the store in the morning?

32. (Who's, Whose) responsibility is it to open the store in the morning?

33. Hilda spoke to the person (who's, whose) in charge of electronics.

34. (Who's, Whose) birthday is it?

Skill Building Until Next Time

Identify the special verb or pronoun problem that gives you the most trouble. Explain the correct way to use it to a friend or family member. Make a concious effort to use it correctly at least three times today.

Answers

1. lay

2. Lay

3. lay

4. laid

5. lain, laid

6. set

7. sitting

8. set

9. sat, set

10. sat

11. raised, rose or raises, rises

12. raised

13. risen

14. rose, raise

15. its

16. it's

17. It's its

18. your

19. your, you're

20. You're

21. Your

22. who

23. that

24. who

25. which

26. who

27. You're, there

28. They're

29. It's, their

30. who, there

31. Who's

32. Whose

33. who

34. Whose

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Lesson 15—
Modifiers

Lesson Summary

This lesson shows you how to avoid common problems with adjectives and adverbs.

Words and phrases that describe other words are called modifiers. Words that describe nouns and pronouns are called adjectives. Words that describe verbs, adjectives, or adverbs are called adverbs. Entire phrases or groups of words can also function as modifiers. The English language is structured in such a way that modifiers play a vital part in communication. Using them correctly is an important skill.

Adjectives

Adjectives describe a noun or pronoun in a sentence. Here is an easy way to tell if a word is an adjective. Adjectives answer one of three questions about another word in the sentence: which one? what kind? and how many? The table on the next page illustrates this. The adjectives are highlighted to make them easy to identify.

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Lesson 15—
Modifiers

Lesson Summary

This lesson shows you how to avoid common problems with adjectives and adverbs.

Words and phrases that describe other words are called modifiers. Words that describe nouns and pronouns are called adjectives. Words that describe verbs, adjectives, or adverbs are called adverbs. Entire phrases or groups of words can also function as modifiers. The English language is structured in such a way that modifiers play a vital part in communication. Using them correctly is an important skill.

Adjectives

Adjectives describe a noun or pronoun in a sentence. Here is an easy way to tell if a word is an adjective. Adjectives answer one of three questions about another word in the sentence: which one? what kind? and how many? The table on the next page illustrates this. The adjectives are highlighted to make them easy to identify.

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ADJECTIVES

Which One?

What Kind?

How Many?

that cubicle

sports car

many examples

the other arrangement

red stickers

three containers

our first project

wise mentor

several desks

Pay special attention to adjectives that follow linking verbs. Sometimes the adjective follows a verb, but it describes a noun or pronoun that comes before the verb. The following sentences illustrate this. The italicized adjectives describe the underlined nouns.

This cheesecake tastes delicious. [delicious cheesecake]

Chris's change of heart seemed appropriate. [appropriate change]

The room smelled strange. [strange room]

Fewer/Less, Number/Amount

Use the adjective fewer to modify plural nouns, things that can be counted. Use less for singular nouns that represent a quantity or a degree. Most nouns to which an s can be added require the adjective fewer.

The promotional staff had fewer innovative ideas [plural noun] than the marketing staff.

The marketing staff had less time [singular noun] to brainstorm than the promotional staff.

The same principle applies to the nouns number and amount. Use the noun number when referring to things that can be made plural, that can be counted. Use the noun amount when referring to nouns that are singular.

The number of hours [plural noun] we have for this telethon has been reduced.

The amount of time [singular noun] we have for this telethon has been reduced.

Adverbs

Use adverbs to describe verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. Here is an easy way to tell if a word is an adverb. Adverbs answer one of these questions about another word in the sentence: where? when? how? and to what extent? The table below illustrates this. The adverbs are highlighted.

ADVERBS

Where?

When?

How?

To What Extent?

The line moved forward.

I saw him yesterday.

They spoke softly.

I could hardly understand.

Store your gear below.

Come around later.

Cindy types quickly.

You narrowly missed that car.

Stand here.

We'll talk tonight.

He sang happily.

We still won't give in.

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ADJECTIVES

Which One?

What Kind?

How Many?

that cubicle

sports car

many examples

the other arrangement

red stickers

three containers

our first project

wise mentor

several desks

Pay special attention to adjectives that follow linking verbs. Sometimes the adjective follows a verb, but it describes a noun or pronoun that comes before the verb. The following sentences illustrate this. The italicized adjectives describe the underlined nouns.

This cheesecake tastes delicious. [delicious cheesecake]

Chris's change of heart seemed appropriate. [appropriate change]

The room smelled strange. [strange room]

Fewer/Less, Number/Amount

Use the adjective fewer to modify plural nouns, things that can be counted. Use less for singular nouns that represent a quantity or a degree. Most nouns to which an s can be added require the adjective fewer.

The promotional staff had fewer innovative ideas [plural noun] than the marketing staff.

The marketing staff had less time [singular noun] to brainstorm than the promotional staff.

The same principle applies to the nouns number and amount. Use the noun number when referring to things that can be made plural, that can be counted. Use the noun amount when referring to nouns that are singular.

The number of hours [plural noun] we have for this telethon has been reduced.

The amount of time [singular noun] we have for this telethon has been reduced.

Adverbs

Use adverbs to describe verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. Here is an easy way to tell if a word is an adverb. Adverbs answer one of these questions about another word in the sentence: where? when? how? and to what extent? The table below illustrates this. The adverbs are highlighted.

ADVERBS

Where?

When?

How?

To What Extent?

The line moved forward.

I saw him yesterday.

They spoke softly.

I could hardly understand.

Store your gear below.

Come around later.

Cindy types quickly.

You narrowly missed that car.

Stand here.

We'll talk tonight.

He sang happily.

We still won't give in.

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This next table show examples of adverbs modifying verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. The adverbs are highlighted; the words they modify are underlined.

ADVERBS THAT MODIFY

Verbs

Adjectives

Other Adverbs

Mail arrives rgularly.

an extremely exciting time

most cleverly presented

Doves sing mournfully.

a hopelessly difficult problem

quite calmly answered

I responded immediately.

an unusually sound approach

declined quite dramatically

Adjective or Adverb?

Sometimes writers mistakenly use adjectives in the place of adverbs. This is illustrated in the sentences below. The italicized words are adjectives incorrectly used in place of adverbs. The adverb form follows the sentence.

Megan can think of answers very quick. [quickly]

Store these antiques very careful. [carefully]

Ernie whispered the news as quiet as he could. [quietly]

Take special care to choose the correct word when using verbs that deal with the senses: feel, taste, look, smell, sound. If the word following the verb describes a noun or pronoun that comes before the verb, use an adjective. On the other hand, if the word following the verb describes the verb, use an adverb. In the table below, the adjectives and adverbs are highlighted and the nouns or verbs they modify are underlined.

MODIFIERS WITH "SENSE" VERBS

Adjectives

Adverbs

The entire group felt sick after lunch.

The massage therapist felt gently along the patient's spine.

The new keyboard looked strange to me.

The detective looked carefully at the evidence gathered by the pathologist.

The explanation sounded plausible to us.

The biologist smelled the container gingerly.

Good and Well

Good is an adjective. Well is an adverb. Sometimes good is mistakenly used to describe a verb. Use well to describe an action. The words modified by good and well are underlined in the examples below.

Brenton did well on the test.

Raul felt good after the marathon.

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This next table show examples of adverbs modifying verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. The adverbs are highlighted; the words they modify are underlined.

ADVERBS THAT MODIFY

Verbs

Adjectives

Other Adverbs

Mail arrives rgularly.

an extremely exciting time

most cleverly presented

Doves sing mournfully.

a hopelessly difficult problem

quite calmly answered

I responded immediately.

an unusually sound approach

declined quite dramatically

Adjective or Adverb?

Sometimes writers mistakenly use adjectives in the place of adverbs. This is illustrated in the sentences below. The italicized words are adjectives incorrectly used in place of adverbs. The adverb form follows the sentence.

Megan can think of answers very quick. [quickly]

Store these antiques very careful. [carefully]

Ernie whispered the news as quiet as he could. [quietly]

Take special care to choose the correct word when using verbs that deal with the senses: feel, taste, look, smell, sound. If the word following the verb describes a noun or pronoun that comes before the verb, use an adjective. On the other hand, if the word following the verb describes the verb, use an adverb. In the table below, the adjectives and adverbs are highlighted and the nouns or verbs they modify are underlined.

MODIFIERS WITH "SENSE" VERBS

Adjectives

Adverbs

The entire group felt sick after lunch.

The massage therapist felt gently along the patient's spine.

The new keyboard looked strange to me.

The detective looked carefully at the evidence gathered by the pathologist.

The explanation sounded plausible to us.

The biologist smelled the container gingerly.

Good and Well

Good is an adjective. Well is an adverb. Sometimes good is mistakenly used to describe a verb. Use well to describe an action. The words modified by good and well are underlined in the examples below.

Brenton did well on the test.

Raul felt good after the marathon.

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The new marketing strategy way well planned.

The lasagna smelled good when I walked through the door.

Comparisons

Adjectives and adverbs change form when they are used in comparisons. When you compare two items, use the comparative form of the modifier. If you are comparing more than two items, use the superlative form of the modifier.

The comparative form is created in one of two ways:

1.  Add -er to the modifier if it is a short word of one or two syllables.

2.  Place the word more or the word less before the modifier if it is a multisyllable word.

In addition, some modifiers change form completely. Examine the samples in the table below. The first six lines of the table illustrate these special modifiers that change form. The rest use the two rules above.

MODIFIERS IN COMPARISONS

Modifier

Comparitive (for two items)

Superlative (more than two)

good

better

best

well

better

best

many

more

most

much

more

most

bad

worse

worst

little

less or lesser

least

neat

neater

neatest

lovely

lovelier

loveliest

funny

funnier

funniest

extreme

more [or less] extreme

most [or least] extreme

intelligent

more [or less] intelligent

most [or least] intelligent

precisely

more [or less] precisely

most [or least] precisely

When comparing items in a prepositional phrase, use between for two items, among for three or more. Look at how the comparative and superlative forms are used in the following sentences.

Up is the better direction for the stock market to be going. [comparing two directions]

Blue looks better than any other color we've seen. [comparing two colors many times]

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The Buick Park Avenue is the best luxury car available. [comparing more than two cars]

The Mississippi is the best river for walleye fishing. [comparing more than two rivers]

The first run model was more thoroughly tested than the prototype. [comparing two things]

Avoid Illogical or Unclear Comparisons

"Ellie is more disorganized than any woman," is an illogical statement. It implies that Ellie, who is a woman, is more disorganized than herself. Always include the words other or else to keep your comparisons from being illogical.

Ellie is more disorganized than any other woman.

Ted can concentrate better than anyone else in our division.

Avoid Double Comparisons

A double comparison occurs when a writer uses both -er or -est and more or most.

DOUBLE COMPARISONS

Wrong

Correct

Diane is the most friendliest person I know.

Diane is the friendliest person I know.

Judi is less sleepier than I am.

Judi is less sleepy than I am.

The writing in this sample seems more plainer than the writing in the other sample.

The writing in this sample seems plainer than the writing in the other sample.

Avoid Double Negatives

When a negative word is added to a statement that is already negative, a double negative results. Avoid double negatives in your writing. The words hardly and barely can cause problems; they function as negative words. In the example sentences below, the negative words are highlighted. Pay close attention to how the incorrect sentences are rewritten to avoid the double negative.

DOUBLE NEGATIVES

Wrong

Correct

The warehouse doesn't have no surplus stock at this time.

The Warehouse has no surplus stock at this time.

The warehouse doesn't have any surplus stock at this time.

I can't hardly understand this financial report.

I can hardly understand this financial report.

I can't understand this financial report.

The cash on hand won't barely cover this expense.

The cash on hand will barely cover this expense.

The cash on hand won't cover this expense.

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The Buick Park Avenue is the best luxury car available. [comparing more than two cars]

The Mississippi is the best river for walleye fishing. [comparing more than two rivers]

The first run model was more thoroughly tested than the prototype. [comparing two things]

Avoid Illogical or Unclear Comparisons

"Ellie is more disorganized than any woman," is an illogical statement. It implies that Ellie, who is a woman, is more disorganized than herself. Always include the words other or else to keep your comparisons from being illogical.

Ellie is more disorganized than any other woman.

Ted can concentrate better than anyone else in our division.

Avoid Double Comparisons

A double comparison occurs when a writer uses both -er or -est and more or most.

DOUBLE COMPARISONS

Wrong

Correct

Diane is the most friendliest person I know.

Diane is the friendliest person I know.

Judi is less sleepier than I am.

Judi is less sleepy than I am.

The writing in this sample seems more plainer than the writing in the other sample.

The writing in this sample seems plainer than the writing in the other sample.

Avoid Double Negatives

When a negative word is added to a statement that is already negative, a double negative results. Avoid double negatives in your writing. The words hardly and barely can cause problems; they function as negative words. In the example sentences below, the negative words are highlighted. Pay close attention to how the incorrect sentences are rewritten to avoid the double negative.

DOUBLE NEGATIVES

Wrong

Correct

The warehouse doesn't have no surplus stock at this time.

The Warehouse has no surplus stock at this time.

The warehouse doesn't have any surplus stock at this time.

I can't hardly understand this financial report.

I can hardly understand this financial report.

I can't understand this financial report.

The cash on hand won't barely cover this expense.

The cash on hand will barely cover this expense.

The cash on hand won't cover this expense.

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The Buick Park Avenue is the best luxury car available. [comparing more than two cars]

The Mississippi is the best river for walleye fishing. [comparing more than two rivers]

The first run model was more thoroughly tested than the prototype. [comparing two things]

Avoid Illogical or Unclear Comparisons

"Ellie is more disorganized than any woman," is an illogical statement. It implies that Ellie, who is a woman, is more disorganized than herself. Always include the words other or else to keep your comparisons from being illogical.

Ellie is more disorganized than any other woman.

Ted can concentrate better than anyone else in our division.

Avoid Double Comparisons

A double comparison occurs when a writer uses both -er or -est and more or most.

DOUBLE COMPARISONS

Wrong

Correct

Diane is the most friendliest person I know.

Diane is the friendliest person I know.

Judi is less sleepier than I am.

Judi is less sleepy than I am.

The writing in this sample seems more plainer than the writing in the other sample.

The writing in this sample seems plainer than the writing in the other sample.

Avoid Double Negatives

When a negative word is added to a statement that is already negative, a double negative results. Avoid double negatives in your writing. The words hardly and barely can cause problems; they function as negative words. In the example sentences below, the negative words are highlighted. Pay close attention to how the incorrect sentences are rewritten to avoid the double negative.

DOUBLE NEGATIVES

Wrong

Correct

The warehouse doesn't have no surplus stock at this time.

The Warehouse has no surplus stock at this time.

The warehouse doesn't have any surplus stock at this time.

I can't hardly understand this financial report.

I can hardly understand this financial report.

I can't understand this financial report.

The cash on hand won't barely cover this expense.

The cash on hand will barely cover this expense.

The cash on hand won't cover this expense.

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Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers

Misplaced Modifiers

Place words, phrases, or clauses that describe nouns and pronouns as closely as possible to the words they describe. Failure to do this often results in a misplaced modifier—and a sentence that means something other than what was intended.

Words

For example, the words only, almost, and just should be placed as closely as possible to the word described. The best place is right before the words they describe. The placement of the word affects the meaning of the sentence.

The customers only looked at two samples.

The customers looked at only two samples.

In the first sentence above, the customers ''only looked" at the samples; they didn't touch them. In the second sentence, the customers looked at "only two," not three or four, samples. The placement of only changes the meaning.

Here's an example with almost:

Chad almost scored three touchdowns.

Chad scored almost three touchdowns.

In the first version, Chad "almost scored" three times—he must have come close to the goal line three times without actually crossing. In the second version, Chad scored "almost three" touchdowns—maybe 2.2 touchdowns. How many points are awarded for that?

Here's how placing just can affect the meaning of a sentence:

The Hill family just leases a car.

The Hill family leases just a car.

In the first version, the Hill family "just leases" a car, so they don't own or buy a car. In the second, they lease "just a car," not a truck or a van or any other vehicle.

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Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers

Misplaced Modifiers

Place words, phrases, or clauses that describe nouns and pronouns as closely as possible to the words they describe. Failure to do this often results in a misplaced modifier—and a sentence that means something other than what was intended.

Words

For example, the words only, almost, and just should be placed as closely as possible to the word described. The best place is right before the words they describe. The placement of the word affects the meaning of the sentence.

The customers only looked at two samples.

The customers looked at only two samples.

In the first sentence above, the customers ''only looked" at the samples; they didn't touch them. In the second sentence, the customers looked at "only two," not three or four, samples. The placement of only changes the meaning.

Here's an example with almost:

Chad almost scored three touchdowns.

Chad scored almost three touchdowns.

In the first version, Chad "almost scored" three times—he must have come close to the goal line three times without actually crossing. In the second version, Chad scored "almost three" touchdowns—maybe 2.2 touchdowns. How many points are awarded for that?

Here's how placing just can affect the meaning of a sentence:

The Hill family just leases a car.

The Hill family leases just a car.

In the first version, the Hill family "just leases" a car, so they don't own or buy a car. In the second, they lease "just a car," not a truck or a van or any other vehicle.

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Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers

Misplaced Modifiers

Place words, phrases, or clauses that describe nouns and pronouns as closely as possible to the words they describe. Failure to do this often results in a misplaced modifier—and a sentence that means something other than what was intended.

Words

For example, the words only, almost, and just should be placed as closely as possible to the word described. The best place is right before the words they describe. The placement of the word affects the meaning of the sentence.

The customers only looked at two samples.

The customers looked at only two samples.

In the first sentence above, the customers ''only looked" at the samples; they didn't touch them. In the second sentence, the customers looked at "only two," not three or four, samples. The placement of only changes the meaning.

Here's an example with almost:

Chad almost scored three touchdowns.

Chad scored almost three touchdowns.

In the first version, Chad "almost scored" three times—he must have come close to the goal line three times without actually crossing. In the second version, Chad scored "almost three" touchdowns—maybe 2.2 touchdowns. How many points are awarded for that?

Here's how placing just can affect the meaning of a sentence:

The Hill family just leases a car.

The Hill family leases just a car.

In the first version, the Hill family "just leases" a car, so they don't own or buy a car. In the second, they lease "just a car," not a truck or a van or any other vehicle.

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Phrases and Clauses

Phrases and Clauses that describe nouns or pronouns must also be placed as closely as possible to the words they describe. The following sentences contain misplaced modifiers. Pay close attention to how they are rewritten to clarify the meaning.

MISPLACED MODIFIERS

Wrong

Correct

The veterinarian explained how to vaccinate hogs in the community center basement. [Why would you want hogs in the community center?]

In the community center basement, the veterinarian explained how to vaccinate hogs. The veterinarian in the community center basement explained how to vaccinate hogs.

A big dog followed the old man that was barking loudly. [Why was the man barking?]

A big dog that was barking loudly followed the old man.

Barking loudly, a big dog followed the old man.

Dangling Modifiers

Words, phrases, or clauses that begin a sentence and are set off by commas sometimes mistakenly modify the wrong noun or pronoun. These are called dangling modifiers. The following sentences contain dangling modifiers. Pay close attention to how the sentences are rewritten to avoid the problem.

DANGLING MODIFIERS

Wrong

Correct

Flat and useless, Jason removed the bicycle tire. [Why was Jason flat?]

Jason removed the flat and useless bicycle tire. Flat and useless, the bicycle tire was removed by Jason.

Attached to an old stump, Janette saw a No Fishing sign. [Why was Janette attached to an old stump?]

Janette saw a No Fishing sign attached to an old stump.

The No Fishing sign attached to an old stump caught Janette's attention.

While cleaning up after dinner, the phone rang. [Don't you wish you had a phone that cleaned up after dinner?]

While I was cleaning up after dinner, the phone rang.

While cleaning up after dinner, I heard the phone ring.

The phone rang while I was cleaning up after dinner.

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Phrases and Clauses

Phrases and Clauses that describe nouns or pronouns must also be placed as closely as possible to the words they describe. The following sentences contain misplaced modifiers. Pay close attention to how they are rewritten to clarify the meaning.

MISPLACED MODIFIERS

Wrong

Correct

The veterinarian explained how to vaccinate hogs in the community center basement. [Why would you want hogs in the community center?]

In the community center basement, the veterinarian explained how to vaccinate hogs. The veterinarian in the community center basement explained how to vaccinate hogs.

A big dog followed the old man that was barking loudly. [Why was the man barking?]

A big dog that was barking loudly followed the old man.

Barking loudly, a big dog followed the old man.

Dangling Modifiers

Words, phrases, or clauses that begin a sentence and are set off by commas sometimes mistakenly modify the wrong noun or pronoun. These are called dangling modifiers. The following sentences contain dangling modifiers. Pay close attention to how the sentences are rewritten to avoid the problem.

DANGLING MODIFIERS

Wrong

Correct

Flat and useless, Jason removed the bicycle tire. [Why was Jason flat?]

Jason removed the flat and useless bicycle tire. Flat and useless, the bicycle tire was removed by Jason.

Attached to an old stump, Janette saw a No Fishing sign. [Why was Janette attached to an old stump?]

Janette saw a No Fishing sign attached to an old stump.

The No Fishing sign attached to an old stump caught Janette's attention.

While cleaning up after dinner, the phone rang. [Don't you wish you had a phone that cleaned up after dinner?]

While I was cleaning up after dinner, the phone rang.

While cleaning up after dinner, I heard the phone ring.

The phone rang while I was cleaning up after dinner.

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Practice

Circle the correct word in each of the following sentences. The answers to this set of questions can be found at the end of the lesson.

1.  Greg assembled the desk (correct, correctly).

2.  Charlotte seemed (tired, tiredly) after the long plane ride.

3.  This drawer doesn't open as (easy, easily) as it used to.

4.  My new shoes feel more (comfortable, comfortably) than my old ones.

5.  Make your request (polite, politely) if you want a positive response.

6.  The workers walked (slow, slowly) back to the line after the break.

7.  Our team leader seemed (unhappy, unhappily) about something.

8.  The passenger on the other side of the bus looked (angry, angrily).

9.  The night watchman felt (careful, carefully) for the switch.

10.  We looked (thorough, thoroughly) in both locations.

11.  You'll have (fewer, less) trouble with this component if you see (fewer, less) joints.

12.  The (number, amount) of people we hire will depend on the (number, amount) of time we have to fill the order.

13.  Spaghetti tastes especially (good, well) if the noodles are boiled (good, well).

14.  Kelly is the (older, oldest) of the twins and the (taller, tallest) one in the whole family.

15.  The receiving department hasn't heard (anything, nothing) about the delivery date of our order.

16.  Divide these cookies (between, among) the twins, but split the cake (between, among) all the people who come to the party.

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Choose the correctly written sentence from each of the following sets.

17. a. I like olives and pimentoes boiled in oil.

b. boiled in oil, I like olives and pimentos.

18. a. While speeding along a country road, two deer dashed across the road in front of our car.

b. Two deer dashed across the road in front of our car as we were speeding along a country road.

19. a. At the age of four, my grandmother taught me to read.

b. when I was four, my grandmother taught me to read.

20. a. We heard about the bank robbers who were arrested on the evening news.

b. We heard on the evening news about the bank robbers who were arrested.

Skill Building Until Next Time

Practice what you have learned in this lesson by listening to others speak. Many people make mistakes with modifiers as they speak. When you hear such a mistake, think about how you might rephrase what the person said to make it correct. Once again, don't feel compelled to correct the mistakes; just use them as opportunities for mental practice so that no one will have the opportunity to correct you.

Answers

1. correctly

2. tired

3. easily

4. comfortable

5. politely

6. slowly

7. unhappy

8. angry

9. carefully

10. thoroughly

11. less, fewer

12. number, amount

13. good, well

14. older, tallest

15. anything

16. between, among

17. a.

18. b.

19. b.

20. b.

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Lesson 16—
Easily Confused Word Pairs

Lesson Summary

Threw or through? To, two, or too? Brake or break? This lesson and the next one review a host of words that are often confused with other words and show you when to use them.

This lesson covers some of the most commonly confused word pairs, those you are likely to use in your writing. If you learn to distinguish these words, you can avoid errors in your writing. These words are divided into three separate sections with practice exercises at the end of each section. The italicized words following some of the entries are synonyms, words that can be substituted in a sentence for the easily confused words.

Three-Way Confusion

Lead/Led/Lead

• Lead as a verb means guide, direct. As a noun, it means front position. It rhymes with seed.

• Led is a verb, the past tense of lead, meaning guided, directed. It rhymes with red.

• Lead is a noun that is the name of a metal. It rhymes with red.

Examples:

Geronimo led (guided) the small band to safety.

We hope the next elected officials will lead (guide) us to economic recovery.

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Lesson 16—
Easily Confused Word Pairs

Lesson Summary

Threw or through? To, two, or too? Brake or break? This lesson and the next one review a host of words that are often confused with other words and show you when to use them.

This lesson covers some of the most commonly confused word pairs, those you are likely to use in your writing. If you learn to distinguish these words, you can avoid errors in your writing. These words are divided into three separate sections with practice exercises at the end of each section. The italicized words following some of the entries are synonyms, words that can be substituted in a sentence for the easily confused words.

Three-Way Confusion

Lead/Led/Lead

• Lead as a verb means guide, direct. As a noun, it means front position. It rhymes with seed.

• Led is a verb, the past tense of lead, meaning guided, directed. It rhymes with red.

• Lead is a noun that is the name of a metal. It rhymes with red.

Examples:

Geronimo led (guided) the small band to safety.

We hope the next elected officials will lead (guide) us to economic recovery.

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Page 137

Lesson 16—
Easily Confused Word Pairs

Lesson Summary

Threw or through? To, two, or too? Brake or break? This lesson and the next one review a host of words that are often confused with other words and show you when to use them.

This lesson covers some of the most commonly confused word pairs, those you are likely to use in your writing. If you learn to distinguish these words, you can avoid errors in your writing. These words are divided into three separate sections with practice exercises at the end of each section. The italicized words following some of the entries are synonyms, words that can be substituted in a sentence for the easily confused words.

Three-Way Confusion

Lead/Led/Lead

• Lead as a verb means guide, direct. As a noun, it means front position. It rhymes with seed.

• Led is a verb, the past tense of lead, meaning guided, directed. It rhymes with red.

• Lead is a noun that is the name of a metal. It rhymes with red.

Examples:

Geronimo led (guided) the small band to safety.

We hope the next elected officials will lead (guide) us to economic recovery.

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A pound of styrofoam weighs as much as a pound of lead (the metal).

Jake took the lead (front position) as the group headed out of town.

Quite/Quit/Quiet

• Quite is an adverb meaning completely, very, entirely. It rhymes with fight.

• Quit is a verb meaning stop, cease or stopped, ceased. It rhymes with sit.

• Quiet as an adjective means calm, silent, noiseless. As a verb, it means soothe, calm. As a noun, it means tranquility, peacefulness. It almost rhymes with riot.

Example:

The firm was quite (very) surprised when its most productive investment specialist quit (stopped) work and opted for the quiet (calm) life of a monk.

Right/Write/Rite

• Right is an adjective meaning correct, proper, opposite of left.

• Write is a verb meaning record, inscribe.

• Rite is a noun meaning ceremony, ritual.

Example:

I will write (record) the exact procedures so you will be able to perform the rite (ceremony) in the right (proper) way.

Sent/Cent/Scent

• Sent is a verb, the past tense of send. It means dispatched, transmitted.

• Cent is a noun meaning one penny, a coin worth .01 of a dollar.

• Scent is a noun meaning odor, smell.

Example:

For a mere cent (penny) I bought an envelope perfumed with the scent (odor) of jasmine. I sent (dispatched) it to my grandmother.

Sight/Site/Cite

• Sight as a noun means ability to see. As a verb, it means see, spot.

• Site is a noun meaning location, position.

• Cite is a verb meaning quote, make reference to.

Example:

At ninety-five my grandmother's sight (ability to see) was acute enough to sight (spot) even the smallest error in a crocheted doily.

This is the proposed site (location) for the new building.

You must cite (make reference to) the source of your information.

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A pound of styrofoam weighs as much as a pound of lead (the metal).

Jake took the lead (front position) as the group headed out of town.

Quite/Quit/Quiet

• Quite is an adverb meaning completely, very, entirely. It rhymes with fight.

• Quit is a verb meaning stop, cease or stopped, ceased. It rhymes with sit.

• Quiet as an adjective means calm, silent, noiseless. As a verb, it means soothe, calm. As a noun, it means tranquility, peacefulness. It almost rhymes with riot.

Example:

The firm was quite (very) surprised when its most productive investment specialist quit (stopped) work and opted for the quiet (calm) life of a monk.

Right/Write/Rite

• Right is an adjective meaning correct, proper, opposite of left.

• Write is a verb meaning record, inscribe.

• Rite is a noun meaning ceremony, ritual.

Example:

I will write (record) the exact procedures so you will be able to perform the rite (ceremony) in the right (proper) way.

Sent/Cent/Scent

• Sent is a verb, the past tense of send. It means dispatched, transmitted.

• Cent is a noun meaning one penny, a coin worth .01 of a dollar.

• Scent is a noun meaning odor, smell.

Example:

For a mere cent (penny) I bought an envelope perfumed with the scent (odor) of jasmine. I sent (dispatched) it to my grandmother.

Sight/Site/Cite

• Sight as a noun means ability to see. As a verb, it means see, spot.

• Site is a noun meaning location, position.

• Cite is a verb meaning quote, make reference to.

Example:

At ninety-five my grandmother's sight (ability to see) was acute enough to sight (spot) even the smallest error in a crocheted doily.

This is the proposed site (location) for the new building.

You must cite (make reference to) the source of your information.

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A pound of styrofoam weighs as much as a pound of lead (the metal).

Jake took the lead (front position) as the group headed out of town.

Quite/Quit/Quiet

• Quite is an adverb meaning completely, very, entirely. It rhymes with fight.

• Quit is a verb meaning stop, cease or stopped, ceased. It rhymes with sit.

• Quiet as an adjective means calm, silent, noiseless. As a verb, it means soothe, calm. As a noun, it means tranquility, peacefulness. It almost rhymes with riot.

Example:

The firm was quite (very) surprised when its most productive investment specialist quit (stopped) work and opted for the quiet (calm) life of a monk.

Right/Write/Rite

• Right is an adjective meaning correct, proper, opposite of left.

• Write is a verb meaning record, inscribe.

• Rite is a noun meaning ceremony, ritual.

Example:

I will write (record) the exact procedures so you will be able to perform the rite (ceremony) in the right (proper) way.

Sent/Cent/Scent

• Sent is a verb, the past tense of send. It means dispatched, transmitted.

• Cent is a noun meaning one penny, a coin worth .01 of a dollar.

• Scent is a noun meaning odor, smell.

Example:

For a mere cent (penny) I bought an envelope perfumed with the scent (odor) of jasmine. I sent (dispatched) it to my grandmother.

Sight/Site/Cite

• Sight as a noun means ability to see. As a verb, it means see, spot.

• Site is a noun meaning location, position.

• Cite is a verb meaning quote, make reference to.

Example:

At ninety-five my grandmother's sight (ability to see) was acute enough to sight (spot) even the smallest error in a crocheted doily.

This is the proposed site (location) for the new building.

You must cite (make reference to) the source of your information.

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Page 138

A pound of styrofoam weighs as much as a pound of lead (the metal).

Jake took the lead (front position) as the group headed out of town.

Quite/Quit/Quiet

• Quite is an adverb meaning completely, very, entirely. It rhymes with fight.

• Quit is a verb meaning stop, cease or stopped, ceased. It rhymes with sit.

• Quiet as an adjective means calm, silent, noiseless. As a verb, it means soothe, calm. As a noun, it means tranquility, peacefulness. It almost rhymes with riot.

Example:

The firm was quite (very) surprised when its most productive investment specialist quit (stopped) work and opted for the quiet (calm) life of a monk.

Right/Write/Rite

• Right is an adjective meaning correct, proper, opposite of left.

• Write is a verb meaning record, inscribe.

• Rite is a noun meaning ceremony, ritual.

Example:

I will write (record) the exact procedures so you will be able to perform the rite (ceremony) in the right (proper) way.

Sent/Cent/Scent

• Sent is a verb, the past tense of send. It means dispatched, transmitted.

• Cent is a noun meaning one penny, a coin worth .01 of a dollar.

• Scent is a noun meaning odor, smell.

Example:

For a mere cent (penny) I bought an envelope perfumed with the scent (odor) of jasmine. I sent (dispatched) it to my grandmother.

Sight/Site/Cite

• Sight as a noun means ability to see. As a verb, it means see, spot.

• Site is a noun meaning location, position.

• Cite is a verb meaning quote, make reference to.

Example:

At ninety-five my grandmother's sight (ability to see) was acute enough to sight (spot) even the smallest error in a crocheted doily.

This is the proposed site (location) for the new building.

You must cite (make reference to) the source of your information.

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To/Too/Two

• To is a preposition or part of an infinitive. Use it only to introduce a prepositional phrase, which usually answers the question where, or before a verb. Use to for introducing a prepositional phrase: to the store, to the top, to my home, to our garden, to his laboratory, to his castle, to our advantage, to an open door, to a song, to the science room, etc. Use to as an infinitive (to followed by a verb, sometimes separated by adverbs): to run, to jump, to want badly, to seek, to propose, to write, to explode, to sorely need, to badly botch, to carefully examine, etc.

• Too is an adverb meaning also, very.

• Two is an adjective, the name of a number, as in one, two, three.

Example:

The couple went to (preposition) the deli to (infinitive) pick up two (the number) plate dinners because both of them were too (very) tired to (infinitive) cook dinner.

Where/Wear/Were

• Where is an adverb referring to place, location.

• Wear as a verb means put on, tire. As a noun, it means deterioration.

• Were is a verb, the plural past tense of be.

Examples:

The slacks were (form of be) too tight.

The tires showed excessive wear (deterioration)

They will wear (tire) out these shoes if they wear (put on) them toomuch.

Where (location) are the clothes you were (form of be) planning to wear (put on) tomorrow?

Practice

Circle the correct word in the parentheses below. Answers can be found at the end of the lesson.

1. The package will be (sent, cent, scent) if you add another (sent, cent, scent) of postage.

2. We noticed the distinct (sent, cent, scent) of cat litter when we entered the door.

3. Was I (right, write, rite) in assuming I was to (right, write, rite) you a memo about this matter?

4. Who will be performing the (right, write, rite) of baptism at tomorrow's service?

5. If you will simply be (quite, quit, quiet), I will be (quite, quit, quiet) happy to (quite, quit, quiet) annoying you with my constant request for a (quite, quit, quiet) atmosphere in which to work.

6. Our marching band (lead, led) the parade.

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To/Too/Two

• To is a preposition or part of an infinitive. Use it only to introduce a prepositional phrase, which usually answers the question where, or before a verb. Use to for introducing a prepositional phrase: to the store, to the top, to my home, to our garden, to his laboratory, to his castle, to our advantage, to an open door, to a song, to the science room, etc. Use to as an infinitive (to followed by a verb, sometimes separated by adverbs): to run, to jump, to want badly, to seek, to propose, to write, to explode, to sorely need, to badly botch, to carefully examine, etc.

• Too is an adverb meaning also, very.

• Two is an adjective, the name of a number, as in one, two, three.

Example:

The couple went to (preposition) the deli to (infinitive) pick up two (the number) plate dinners because both of them were too (very) tired to (infinitive) cook dinner.

Where/Wear/Were

• Where is an adverb referring to place, location.

• Wear as a verb means put on, tire. As a noun, it means deterioration.

• Were is a verb, the plural past tense of be.

Examples:

The slacks were (form of be) too tight.

The tires showed excessive wear (deterioration)

They will wear (tire) out these shoes if they wear (put on) them toomuch.

Where (location) are the clothes you were (form of be) planning to wear (put on) tomorrow?

Practice

Circle the correct word in the parentheses below. Answers can be found at the end of the lesson.

1. The package will be (sent, cent, scent) if you add another (sent, cent, scent) of postage.

2. We noticed the distinct (sent, cent, scent) of cat litter when we entered the door.

3. Was I (right, write, rite) in assuming I was to (right, write, rite) you a memo about this matter?

4. Who will be performing the (right, write, rite) of baptism at tomorrow's service?

5. If you will simply be (quite, quit, quiet), I will be (quite, quit, quiet) happy to (quite, quit, quiet) annoying you with my constant request for a (quite, quit, quiet) atmosphere in which to work.

6. Our marching band (lead, led) the parade.

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Page 139

To/Too/Two

• To is a preposition or part of an infinitive. Use it only to introduce a prepositional phrase, which usually answers the question where, or before a verb. Use to for introducing a prepositional phrase: to the store, to the top, to my home, to our garden, to his laboratory, to his castle, to our advantage, to an open door, to a song, to the science room, etc. Use to as an infinitive (to followed by a verb, sometimes separated by adverbs): to run, to jump, to want badly, to seek, to propose, to write, to explode, to sorely need, to badly botch, to carefully examine, etc.

• Too is an adverb meaning also, very.

• Two is an adjective, the name of a number, as in one, two, three.

Example:

The couple went to (preposition) the deli to (infinitive) pick up two (the number) plate dinners because both of them were too (very) tired to (infinitive) cook dinner.

Where/Wear/Were

• Where is an adverb referring to place, location.

• Wear as a verb means put on, tire. As a noun, it means deterioration.

• Were is a verb, the plural past tense of be.

Examples:

The slacks were (form of be) too tight.

The tires showed excessive wear (deterioration)

They will wear (tire) out these shoes if they wear (put on) them toomuch.

Where (location) are the clothes you were (form of be) planning to wear (put on) tomorrow?

Practice

Circle the correct word in the parentheses below. Answers can be found at the end of the lesson.

1. The package will be (sent, cent, scent) if you add another (sent, cent, scent) of postage.

2. We noticed the distinct (sent, cent, scent) of cat litter when we entered the door.

3. Was I (right, write, rite) in assuming I was to (right, write, rite) you a memo about this matter?

4. Who will be performing the (right, write, rite) of baptism at tomorrow's service?

5. If you will simply be (quite, quit, quiet), I will be (quite, quit, quiet) happy to (quite, quit, quiet) annoying you with my constant request for a (quite, quit, quiet) atmosphere in which to work.

6. Our marching band (lead, led) the parade.

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7.The drum major, carrying a baton made of (lead, led), will (lead, led) the band.

8. Over the next ridge we will be able to (sight, site, cite) the (sight, site, cite) we've chosen for our new home.

9. I would be honored to have you (sight, site, cite) me in your research.

10. Even though these trousers (where, wear, were) expensive, they are showing (where, wear, were) along the seams.

11. (Where, wear, were) did you buy those earrings?

Easy Misses

Brake/Break

• Brake as a verb means slow, stop. As a noun, it means hindrance, drag.

• Break as a verb means separate, shatter, adjourn. As a noun, it means separation, crack, pause, opportunity.

Examples:

During our break (pause) we spotted a break (crack) in the pipeline.

Brake (slow) gently when driving on glare ice by applying slight pressure to the brake (drag).

Passed/Past

• Passed is a verb, the past tense of pass, meaning transferred, went ahead or by, elapsed, finished.

• Past as a noun means history. As an adjective, it means former.

Examples:

The first runner passed (transferred) the baton to the second just as she passed (went by) the stands. Three seconds passed (elapsed) before the next runner came by.

Harriet passed (finished) her bar exam on the first try.

I must have been a whale in a past (former) life.

Avoid digging up the past (history) if you can.

Peace/piece

• Peace is a noun meaning tranquility.

• Piece as a noun means division, creation. As a verb, it means patch, repair.

Example:

If you can piece (patch) together the pieces (bits) of this story, perhaps we can have some peace (tranquility) around here.

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7.The drum major, carrying a baton made of (lead, led), will (lead, led) the band.

8. Over the next ridge we will be able to (sight, site, cite) the (sight, site, cite) we've chosen for our new home.

9. I would be honored to have you (sight, site, cite) me in your research.

10. Even though these trousers (where, wear, were) expensive, they are showing (where, wear, were) along the seams.

11. (Where, wear, were) did you buy those earrings?

Easy Misses

Brake/Break

• Brake as a verb means slow, stop. As a noun, it means hindrance, drag.

• Break as a verb means separate, shatter, adjourn. As a noun, it means separation, crack, pause, opportunity.

Examples:

During our break (pause) we spotted a break (crack) in the pipeline.

Brake (slow) gently when driving on glare ice by applying slight pressure to the brake (drag).

Passed/Past

• Passed is a verb, the past tense of pass, meaning transferred, went ahead or by, elapsed, finished.

• Past as a noun means history. As an adjective, it means former.

Examples:

The first runner passed (transferred) the baton to the second just as she passed (went by) the stands. Three seconds passed (elapsed) before the next runner came by.

Harriet passed (finished) her bar exam on the first try.

I must have been a whale in a past (former) life.

Avoid digging up the past (history) if you can.

Peace/piece

• Peace is a noun meaning tranquility.

• Piece as a noun means division, creation. As a verb, it means patch, repair.

Example:

If you can piece (patch) together the pieces (bits) of this story, perhaps we can have some peace (tranquility) around here.

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7.The drum major, carrying a baton made of (lead, led), will (lead, led) the band.

8. Over the next ridge we will be able to (sight, site, cite) the (sight, site, cite) we've chosen for our new home.

9. I would be honored to have you (sight, site, cite) me in your research.

10. Even though these trousers (where, wear, were) expensive, they are showing (where, wear, were) along the seams.

11. (Where, wear, were) did you buy those earrings?

Easy Misses

Brake/Break

• Brake as a verb means slow, stop. As a noun, it means hindrance, drag.

• Break as a verb means separate, shatter, adjourn. As a noun, it means separation, crack, pause, opportunity.

Examples:

During our break (pause) we spotted a break (crack) in the pipeline.

Brake (slow) gently when driving on glare ice by applying slight pressure to the brake (drag).

Passed/Past

• Passed is a verb, the past tense of pass, meaning transferred, went ahead or by, elapsed, finished.

• Past as a noun means history. As an adjective, it means former.

Examples:

The first runner passed (transferred) the baton to the second just as she passed (went by) the stands. Three seconds passed (elapsed) before the next runner came by.

Harriet passed (finished) her bar exam on the first try.

I must have been a whale in a past (former) life.

Avoid digging up the past (history) if you can.

Peace/piece

• Peace is a noun meaning tranquility.

• Piece as a noun means division, creation. As a verb, it means patch, repair.

Example:

If you can piece (patch) together the pieces (bits) of this story, perhaps we can have some peace (tranquility) around here.

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7.The drum major, carrying a baton made of (lead, led), will (lead, led) the band.

8. Over the next ridge we will be able to (sight, site, cite) the (sight, site, cite) we've chosen for our new home.

9. I would be honored to have you (sight, site, cite) me in your research.

10. Even though these trousers (where, wear, were) expensive, they are showing (where, wear, were) along the seams.

11. (Where, wear, were) did you buy those earrings?

Easy Misses

Brake/Break

• Brake as a verb means slow, stop. As a noun, it means hindrance, drag.

• Break as a verb means separate, shatter, adjourn. As a noun, it means separation, crack, pause, opportunity.

Examples:

During our break (pause) we spotted a break (crack) in the pipeline.

Brake (slow) gently when driving on glare ice by applying slight pressure to the brake (drag).

Passed/Past

• Passed is a verb, the past tense of pass, meaning transferred, went ahead or by, elapsed, finished.

• Past as a noun means history. As an adjective, it means former.

Examples:

The first runner passed (transferred) the baton to the second just as she passed (went by) the stands. Three seconds passed (elapsed) before the next runner came by.

Harriet passed (finished) her bar exam on the first try.

I must have been a whale in a past (former) life.

Avoid digging up the past (history) if you can.

Peace/piece

• Peace is a noun meaning tranquility.

• Piece as a noun means division, creation. As a verb, it means patch, repair.

Example:

If you can piece (patch) together the pieces (bits) of this story, perhaps we can have some peace (tranquility) around here.

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Plain/Plane

• Plain as an adjective means ordinary, clear, simple. As a noun, it refers to flat country, also sometimes written as plains.

• Plane is a noun meaning airship or flat surface. It is occasionally used as a verb or adjective meaning level.

Examples:

They wore plain (ordinary) clothes.

It was plain (clear) to see.

The meal we ate on the plains (flat country) was quite plain (simple).

It was plain (clear) to us that the enemy did not see our plane (airship) sitting on the open plain (flat country).

Scene/Seen

• Scene is a noun meaning view, site, commotion.

• Seen is a verb, the past participle of see, meaning observed, noticed.

Example:

We caused quite a scene (commotion) at the scene (site) of the accident. It was the worst we had ever seen (observed).

Threw/Through

• Threw is a verb, the past tense of throw, meaning tossed.

• Through is an adverb or a preposition meaning in one side and out the other. Use through to introduce a prepositional phrase: through the door, through the lobby, though the mist.

Example:

Fred threw (tossed) the ball through (in one side and out the other) the hoop.

Weak/Week

• Weak is an adjective meaning flimsy, frail, powerless.

• Week is a noun meaning a period of seven days.

Example:

The patient's heartbeat was so weak (frail) that the doctor was certain he would be dead within a week (seven days).

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Plain/Plane

• Plain as an adjective means ordinary, clear, simple. As a noun, it refers to flat country, also sometimes written as plains.

• Plane is a noun meaning airship or flat surface. It is occasionally used as a verb or adjective meaning level.

Examples:

They wore plain (ordinary) clothes.

It was plain (clear) to see.

The meal we ate on the plains (flat country) was quite plain (simple).

It was plain (clear) to us that the enemy did not see our plane (airship) sitting on the open plain (flat country).

Scene/Seen

• Scene is a noun meaning view, site, commotion.

• Seen is a verb, the past participle of see, meaning observed, noticed.

Example:

We caused quite a scene (commotion) at the scene (site) of the accident. It was the worst we had ever seen (observed).

Threw/Through

• Threw is a verb, the past tense of throw, meaning tossed.

• Through is an adverb or a preposition meaning in one side and out the other. Use through to introduce a prepositional phrase: through the door, through the lobby, though the mist.

Example:

Fred threw (tossed) the ball through (in one side and out the other) the hoop.

Weak/Week

• Weak is an adjective meaning flimsy, frail, powerless.

• Week is a noun meaning a period of seven days.

Example:

The patient's heartbeat was so weak (frail) that the doctor was certain he would be dead within a week (seven days).

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Plain/Plane

• Plain as an adjective means ordinary, clear, simple. As a noun, it refers to flat country, also sometimes written as plains.

• Plane is a noun meaning airship or flat surface. It is occasionally used as a verb or adjective meaning level.

Examples:

They wore plain (ordinary) clothes.

It was plain (clear) to see.

The meal we ate on the plains (flat country) was quite plain (simple).

It was plain (clear) to us that the enemy did not see our plane (airship) sitting on the open plain (flat country).

Scene/Seen

• Scene is a noun meaning view, site, commotion.

• Seen is a verb, the past participle of see, meaning observed, noticed.

Example:

We caused quite a scene (commotion) at the scene (site) of the accident. It was the worst we had ever seen (observed).

Threw/Through

• Threw is a verb, the past tense of throw, meaning tossed.

• Through is an adverb or a preposition meaning in one side and out the other. Use through to introduce a prepositional phrase: through the door, through the lobby, though the mist.

Example:

Fred threw (tossed) the ball through (in one side and out the other) the hoop.

Weak/Week

• Weak is an adjective meaning flimsy, frail, powerless.

• Week is a noun meaning a period of seven days.

Example:

The patient's heartbeat was so weak (frail) that the doctor was certain he would be dead within a week (seven days).

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Plain/Plane

• Plain as an adjective means ordinary, clear, simple. As a noun, it refers to flat country, also sometimes written as plains.

• Plane is a noun meaning airship or flat surface. It is occasionally used as a verb or adjective meaning level.

Examples:

They wore plain (ordinary) clothes.

It was plain (clear) to see.

The meal we ate on the plains (flat country) was quite plain (simple).

It was plain (clear) to us that the enemy did not see our plane (airship) sitting on the open plain (flat country).

Scene/Seen

• Scene is a noun meaning view, site, commotion.

• Seen is a verb, the past participle of see, meaning observed, noticed.

Example:

We caused quite a scene (commotion) at the scene (site) of the accident. It was the worst we had ever seen (observed).

Threw/Through

• Threw is a verb, the past tense of throw, meaning tossed.

• Through is an adverb or a preposition meaning in one side and out the other. Use through to introduce a prepositional phrase: through the door, through the lobby, though the mist.

Example:

Fred threw (tossed) the ball through (in one side and out the other) the hoop.

Weak/Week

• Weak is an adjective meaning flimsy, frail, powerless.

• Week is a noun meaning a period of seven days.

Example:

The patient's heartbeat was so weak (frail) that the doctor was certain he would be dead within a week (seven days).

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Which/Witch

• Which is a pronoun dealing with choice. As an adverb, it introduces a subordinate clause.

• Witch is a noun meaning sorceress, enchantress.

Examples:

Which (choice) one do you want?

This car, which (introduces subordinate clause) I have never driven, is the one I'm thinking about buying.

I don't know which (choice) witch (enchantress) I should consult about my future.

Practice

Circle the correct word in the parentheses below. Answers can be found at the end of the lesson.

12. (Which, Witch) (which, witch) scares you the most?

13. Gerald (threw, through) away his opportunity when he walked (threw, through) the door.

14. Sally slammed on the (brake, break) when she saw the car ahead (brake, break) to avoid the (brake, break) in the concrete road.

15. Have you (scene, seen) that pathetic (scene, seen) in the movie?

16. The confused (which, witch) couldn't decide (which, witch) broomstick to use on Halloween.

17. The sales department has (passed, past) the record it had established in the (passed, past) year.

18. We'll need at least a (weak, week) to repair the (weak, week) linkage in this machine.

19. This (peace, piece) of news should give you some (peace, piece) of mind.

20. The (plain, plane) brown packages were loaded on the (plain, plane).

To Split or Not to Split

Already/All Ready

• Already is an adverb meaning as early as this, previously, by this time.

• All ready means completely ready, totally ready.

Examples:

At age four, Brigitta is reading already (as early as this).

We had already (previously, by this time) finished.

Are we all ready (completely ready) to go?

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Which/Witch

• Which is a pronoun dealing with choice. As an adverb, it introduces a subordinate clause.

• Witch is a noun meaning sorceress, enchantress.

Examples:

Which (choice) one do you want?

This car, which (introduces subordinate clause) I have never driven, is the one I'm thinking about buying.

I don't know which (choice) witch (enchantress) I should consult about my future.

Practice

Circle the correct word in the parentheses below. Answers can be found at the end of the lesson.

12. (Which, Witch) (which, witch) scares you the most?

13. Gerald (threw, through) away his opportunity when he walked (threw, through) the door.

14. Sally slammed on the (brake, break) when she saw the car ahead (brake, break) to avoid the (brake, break) in the concrete road.

15. Have you (scene, seen) that pathetic (scene, seen) in the movie?

16. The confused (which, witch) couldn't decide (which, witch) broomstick to use on Halloween.

17. The sales department has (passed, past) the record it had established in the (passed, past) year.

18. We'll need at least a (weak, week) to repair the (weak, week) linkage in this machine.

19. This (peace, piece) of news should give you some (peace, piece) of mind.

20. The (plain, plane) brown packages were loaded on the (plain, plane).

To Split or Not to Split

Already/All Ready

• Already is an adverb meaning as early as this, previously, by this time.

• All ready means completely ready, totally ready.

Examples:

At age four, Brigitta is reading already (as early as this).

We had already (previously, by this time) finished.

Are we all ready (completely ready) to go?

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Which/Witch

• Which is a pronoun dealing with choice. As an adverb, it introduces a subordinate clause.

• Witch is a noun meaning sorceress, enchantress.

Examples:

Which (choice) one do you want?

This car, which (introduces subordinate clause) I have never driven, is the one I'm thinking about buying.

I don't know which (choice) witch (enchantress) I should consult about my future.

Practice

Circle the correct word in the parentheses below. Answers can be found at the end of the lesson.

12. (Which, Witch) (which, witch) scares you the most?

13. Gerald (threw, through) away his opportunity when he walked (threw, through) the door.

14. Sally slammed on the (brake, break) when she saw the car ahead (brake, break) to avoid the (brake, break) in the concrete road.

15. Have you (scene, seen) that pathetic (scene, seen) in the movie?

16. The confused (which, witch) couldn't decide (which, witch) broomstick to use on Halloween.

17. The sales department has (passed, past) the record it had established in the (passed, past) year.

18. We'll need at least a (weak, week) to repair the (weak, week) linkage in this machine.

19. This (peace, piece) of news should give you some (peace, piece) of mind.

20. The (plain, plane) brown packages were loaded on the (plain, plane).

To Split or Not to Split

Already/All Ready

• Already is an adverb meaning as early as this, previously, by this time.

• All ready means completely ready, totally ready.

Examples:

At age four, Brigitta is reading already (as early as this).

We had already (previously, by this time) finished.

Are we all ready (completely ready) to go?

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Which/Witch

• Which is a pronoun dealing with choice. As an adverb, it introduces a subordinate clause.

• Witch is a noun meaning sorceress, enchantress.

Examples:

Which (choice) one do you want?

This car, which (introduces subordinate clause) I have never driven, is the one I'm thinking about buying.

I don't know which (choice) witch (enchantress) I should consult about my future.

Practice

Circle the correct word in the parentheses below. Answers can be found at the end of the lesson.

12. (Which, Witch) (which, witch) scares you the most?

13. Gerald (threw, through) away his opportunity when he walked (threw, through) the door.

14. Sally slammed on the (brake, break) when she saw the car ahead (brake, break) to avoid the (brake, break) in the concrete road.

15. Have you (scene, seen) that pathetic (scene, seen) in the movie?

16. The confused (which, witch) couldn't decide (which, witch) broomstick to use on Halloween.

17. The sales department has (passed, past) the record it had established in the (passed, past) year.

18. We'll need at least a (weak, week) to repair the (weak, week) linkage in this machine.

19. This (peace, piece) of news should give you some (peace, piece) of mind.

20. The (plain, plane) brown packages were loaded on the (plain, plane).

To Split or Not to Split

Already/All Ready

• Already is an adverb meaning as early as this, previously, by this time.

• All ready means completely ready, totally ready.

Examples:

At age four, Brigitta is reading already (as early as this).

We had already (previously, by this time) finished.

Are we all ready (completely ready) to go?

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Altogether/All Together

• Altogether is an adverb meaning entirely, completely.

• All together means simultaneously.

Examples:

These claims are altogether (entirely) false.

The audience responded all together (simultaneously).

Everyday/Every Day

• Everyday is an adjective meaning ordinary, usual.

• Every day means each day.

Examples:

These are our everyday (usual) low prices.

The associates sort the merchandise everyday (each day).

Maybe/May be

• Maybe is an adverb meaning perhaps.

• May be is a verb phrase meaning might be.

Example:

Maybe (perhaps) the next batch will be better than this one. On the other hand, it maybe (might be) worse.

Always Split

• All right. There's no such word as alright, though you will sometimes see it written this way.

• A lot. There's no such word as alot. There's a word allot, but it means to portion out something.

Example:

I thought it was all right that we allotted tickets to a lot of our best customers.

Practice

Circle the correct word in the parentheses below.

21. I (where, wear, were) my (everyday, every day) clothes almost (everyday, every day).

22. (Maybe, may be) we should design a new model. It (maybe, may be) just the thing to brighten our financial picture.

23. If you had been (already, all ready), we could have (already, all ready) begun.

24. You'll be (alright, all right) if you follow the instructions.

25. When the staff is (altogether, all together), we should have (altogether, all together) enough brainpower for this project.

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Altogether/All Together

• Altogether is an adverb meaning entirely, completely.

• All together means simultaneously.

Examples:

These claims are altogether (entirely) false.

The audience responded all together (simultaneously).

Everyday/Every Day

• Everyday is an adjective meaning ordinary, usual.

• Every day means each day.

Examples:

These are our everyday (usual) low prices.

The associates sort the merchandise everyday (each day).

Maybe/May be

• Maybe is an adverb meaning perhaps.

• May be is a verb phrase meaning might be.

Example:

Maybe (perhaps) the next batch will be better than this one. On the other hand, it maybe (might be) worse.

Always Split

• All right. There's no such word as alright, though you will sometimes see it written this way.

• A lot. There's no such word as alot. There's a word allot, but it means to portion out something.

Example:

I thought it was all right that we allotted tickets to a lot of our best customers.

Practice

Circle the correct word in the parentheses below.

21. I (where, wear, were) my (everyday, every day) clothes almost (everyday, every day).

22. (Maybe, may be) we should design a new model. It (maybe, may be) just the thing to brighten our financial picture.

23. If you had been (already, all ready), we could have (already, all ready) begun.

24. You'll be (alright, all right) if you follow the instructions.

25. When the staff is (altogether, all together), we should have (altogether, all together) enough brainpower for this project.

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Altogether/All Together

• Altogether is an adverb meaning entirely, completely.

• All together means simultaneously.

Examples:

These claims are altogether (entirely) false.

The audience responded all together (simultaneously).

Everyday/Every Day

• Everyday is an adjective meaning ordinary, usual.

• Every day means each day.

Examples:

These are our everyday (usual) low prices.

The associates sort the merchandise everyday (each day).

Maybe/May be

• Maybe is an adverb meaning perhaps.

• May be is a verb phrase meaning might be.

Example:

Maybe (perhaps) the next batch will be better than this one. On the other hand, it maybe (might be) worse.

Always Split

• All right. There's no such word as alright, though you will sometimes see it written this way.

• A lot. There's no such word as alot. There's a word allot, but it means to portion out something.

Example:

I thought it was all right that we allotted tickets to a lot of our best customers.

Practice

Circle the correct word in the parentheses below.

21. I (where, wear, were) my (everyday, every day) clothes almost (everyday, every day).

22. (Maybe, may be) we should design a new model. It (maybe, may be) just the thing to brighten our financial picture.

23. If you had been (already, all ready), we could have (already, all ready) begun.

24. You'll be (alright, all right) if you follow the instructions.

25. When the staff is (altogether, all together), we should have (altogether, all together) enough brainpower for this project.

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Altogether/All Together

• Altogether is an adverb meaning entirely, completely.

• All together means simultaneously.

Examples:

These claims are altogether (entirely) false.

The audience responded all together (simultaneously).

Everyday/Every Day

• Everyday is an adjective meaning ordinary, usual.

• Every day means each day.

Examples:

These are our everyday (usual) low prices.

The associates sort the merchandise everyday (each day).

Maybe/May be

• Maybe is an adverb meaning perhaps.

• May be is a verb phrase meaning might be.

Example:

Maybe (perhaps) the next batch will be better than this one. On the other hand, it maybe (might be) worse.

Always Split

• All right. There's no such word as alright, though you will sometimes see it written this way.

• A lot. There's no such word as alot. There's a word allot, but it means to portion out something.

Example:

I thought it was all right that we allotted tickets to a lot of our best customers.

Practice

Circle the correct word in the parentheses below.

21. I (where, wear, were) my (everyday, every day) clothes almost (everyday, every day).

22. (Maybe, may be) we should design a new model. It (maybe, may be) just the thing to brighten our financial picture.

23. If you had been (already, all ready), we could have (already, all ready) begun.

24. You'll be (alright, all right) if you follow the instructions.

25. When the staff is (altogether, all together), we should have (altogether, all together) enough brainpower for this project.

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Altogether/All Together

• Altogether is an adverb meaning entirely, completely.

• All together means simultaneously.

Examples:

These claims are altogether (entirely) false.

The audience responded all together (simultaneously).

Everyday/Every Day

• Everyday is an adjective meaning ordinary, usual.

• Every day means each day.

Examples:

These are our everyday (usual) low prices.

The associates sort the merchandise everyday (each day).

Maybe/May be

• Maybe is an adverb meaning perhaps.

• May be is a verb phrase meaning might be.

Example:

Maybe (perhaps) the next batch will be better than this one. On the other hand, it maybe (might be) worse.

Always Split

• All right. There's no such word as alright, though you will sometimes see it written this way.

• A lot. There's no such word as alot. There's a word allot, but it means to portion out something.

Example:

I thought it was all right that we allotted tickets to a lot of our best customers.

Practice

Circle the correct word in the parentheses below.

21. I (where, wear, were) my (everyday, every day) clothes almost (everyday, every day).

22. (Maybe, may be) we should design a new model. It (maybe, may be) just the thing to brighten our financial picture.

23. If you had been (already, all ready), we could have (already, all ready) begun.

24. You'll be (alright, all right) if you follow the instructions.

25. When the staff is (altogether, all together), we should have (altogether, all together) enough brainpower for this project.

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Skill Building Until Next Time

See how many of these easily confused words you can spot in your reading. Try substituting the synonyms you learned.

Answers

1. sent, cent

2. scent

3. right, write

4. rite

5. quiet, quite, quit, quiet

6. led

7. lead, lead

8. sight, site

9. cite

10. were, wear

11. Where

12. Which, witch

13. threw, through

14. brake, brake, break

15. seen, scene

16. witch, which

17. passed, past

18. week, weak

19. piece, peace

20. plain, plane

21. wear, everyday, every day

22. Maybe, may be

23. all ready, already

24. all right

25. all together, altogether

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Lesson 17—
More Easily Confused Words

Lesson Summary

Some of the most commonly used words in the English language are easily confused with other equally common words. To avoid confusing readers, you need to know which ones are which.

This lesson covers more of the most commonly confused words pairs, those you are likely to use in your writing. If you learn to distinguish these words, you can avoid errors. The words are divided into three separate sections with practice exercises at the end of each section. The words in italics following some of the entries are synonyms, words that can be substituted in a sentence for the easily confused words.

Small But Tricky

By/Buy

• By is a preposition used to introduce a phrase (by the book, by the time, by the way)

• Buy as a verb means purchase. As a noun, it means bargain, deal.

Examples:

We stopped by (preposition) the store to buy (purchase) some groceries.

That car was a great buy (deal).

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Page 145

Lesson 17—
More Easily Confused Words

Lesson Summary

Some of the most commonly used words in the English language are easily confused with other equally common words. To avoid confusing readers, you need to know which ones are which.

This lesson covers more of the most commonly confused words pairs, those you are likely to use in your writing. If you learn to distinguish these words, you can avoid errors. The words are divided into three separate sections with practice exercises at the end of each section. The words in italics following some of the entries are synonyms, words that can be substituted in a sentence for the easily confused words.

Small But Tricky

By/Buy

• By is a preposition used to introduce a phrase (by the book, by the time, by the way)

• Buy as a verb means purchase. As a noun, it means bargain, deal.

Examples:

We stopped by (preposition) the store to buy (purchase) some groceries.

That car was a great buy (deal).

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Page 145

Lesson 17—
More Easily Confused Words

Lesson Summary

Some of the most commonly used words in the English language are easily confused with other equally common words. To avoid confusing readers, you need to know which ones are which.

This lesson covers more of the most commonly confused words pairs, those you are likely to use in your writing. If you learn to distinguish these words, you can avoid errors. The words are divided into three separate sections with practice exercises at the end of each section. The words in italics following some of the entries are synonyms, words that can be substituted in a sentence for the easily confused words.

Small But Tricky

By/Buy

• By is a preposition used to introduce a phrase (by the book, by the time, by the way)

• Buy as a verb means purchase. As a noun, it means bargain, deal.

Examples:

We stopped by (preposition) the store to buy (purchase) some groceries.

That car was a great buy (deal).

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Dear/Deer

• Dear is an adjective meaning valued, loved.

• Deer is a noun referring to an animal, a four-legged one that lives in the woods and looks like Bambi.

Example:

The dear (loved) man died when his car struck a deer (animal).

Die/Dye

• Die is a verb meaning pass away, fade.

• Dye as a verb means to color, tint. As a noun, it refers to coloring, pigment.

Example:

We waited for the wind to die (fade) before we decided to dye (color) the sheets.

Hear/Here

• Hear is a verb meaning listen to.

• Here is an adverb meaning in this place, to this place.

Example:

Please come here (to this place) so you can hear (listen to) what I have to say.

Hole/Whole

• Hole is a noun meaning opening, gap.

• Whole as an adjective means entire, intact. As a noun, it means entire part or amount.

Examples:

The whole (entire) group heard the message.

They patched the hole (opening) in the wall.

Knew/New

• Knew is a verb, the past tense of know. It means understood, recognized.

• New is an adjective meaning fresh, different, current.

Example:

I knew (understood) they were planning to buy a new (different) car.

Know/No

• Know is a verb meaning understand, recognize.

• No as an adverb means not so, not at all. As an adjective, it means none, not one.

Example:

As far as I know (understand), we have no (not one) more of these shoes in stock.

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Dear/Deer

• Dear is an adjective meaning valued, loved.

• Deer is a noun referring to an animal, a four-legged one that lives in the woods and looks like Bambi.

Example:

The dear (loved) man died when his car struck a deer (animal).

Die/Dye

• Die is a verb meaning pass away, fade.

• Dye as a verb means to color, tint. As a noun, it refers to coloring, pigment.

Example:

We waited for the wind to die (fade) before we decided to dye (color) the sheets.

Hear/Here

• Hear is a verb meaning listen to.

• Here is an adverb meaning in this place, to this place.

Example:

Please come here (to this place) so you can hear (listen to) what I have to say.

Hole/Whole

• Hole is a noun meaning opening, gap.

• Whole as an adjective means entire, intact. As a noun, it means entire part or amount.

Examples:

The whole (entire) group heard the message.

They patched the hole (opening) in the wall.

Knew/New

• Knew is a verb, the past tense of know. It means understood, recognized.

• New is an adjective meaning fresh, different, current.

Example:

I knew (understood) they were planning to buy a new (different) car.

Know/No

• Know is a verb meaning understand, recognize.

• No as an adverb means not so, not at all. As an adjective, it means none, not one.

Example:

As far as I know (understand), we have no (not one) more of these shoes in stock.

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Dear/Deer

• Dear is an adjective meaning valued, loved.

• Deer is a noun referring to an animal, a four-legged one that lives in the woods and looks like Bambi.

Example:

The dear (loved) man died when his car struck a deer (animal).

Die/Dye

• Die is a verb meaning pass away, fade.

• Dye as a verb means to color, tint. As a noun, it refers to coloring, pigment.

Example:

We waited for the wind to die (fade) before we decided to dye (color) the sheets.

Hear/Here

• Hear is a verb meaning listen to.

• Here is an adverb meaning in this place, to this place.

Example:

Please come here (to this place) so you can hear (listen to) what I have to say.

Hole/Whole

• Hole is a noun meaning opening, gap.

• Whole as an adjective means entire, intact. As a noun, it means entire part or amount.

Examples:

The whole (entire) group heard the message.

They patched the hole (opening) in the wall.

Knew/New

• Knew is a verb, the past tense of know. It means understood, recognized.

• New is an adjective meaning fresh, different, current.

Example:

I knew (understood) they were planning to buy a new (different) car.

Know/No

• Know is a verb meaning understand, recognize.

• No as an adverb means not so, not at all. As an adjective, it means none, not one.

Example:

As far as I know (understand), we have no (not one) more of these shoes in stock.

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Dear/Deer

• Dear is an adjective meaning valued, loved.

• Deer is a noun referring to an animal, a four-legged one that lives in the woods and looks like Bambi.

Example:

The dear (loved) man died when his car struck a deer (animal).

Die/Dye

• Die is a verb meaning pass away, fade.

• Dye as a verb means to color, tint. As a noun, it refers to coloring, pigment.

Example:

We waited for the wind to die (fade) before we decided to dye (color) the sheets.

Hear/Here

• Hear is a verb meaning listen to.

• Here is an adverb meaning in this place, to this place.

Example:

Please come here (to this place) so you can hear (listen to) what I have to say.

Hole/Whole

• Hole is a noun meaning opening, gap.

• Whole as an adjective means entire, intact. As a noun, it means entire part or amount.

Examples:

The whole (entire) group heard the message.

They patched the hole (opening) in the wall.

Knew/New

• Knew is a verb, the past tense of know. It means understood, recognized.

• New is an adjective meaning fresh, different, current.

Example:

I knew (understood) they were planning to buy a new (different) car.

Know/No

• Know is a verb meaning understand, recognize.

• No as an adverb means not so, not at all. As an adjective, it means none, not one.

Example:

As far as I know (understand), we have no (not one) more of these shoes in stock.

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Dear/Deer

• Dear is an adjective meaning valued, loved.

• Deer is a noun referring to an animal, a four-legged one that lives in the woods and looks like Bambi.

Example:

The dear (loved) man died when his car struck a deer (animal).

Die/Dye

• Die is a verb meaning pass away, fade.

• Dye as a verb means to color, tint. As a noun, it refers to coloring, pigment.

Example:

We waited for the wind to die (fade) before we decided to dye (color) the sheets.

Hear/Here

• Hear is a verb meaning listen to.

• Here is an adverb meaning in this place, to this place.

Example:

Please come here (to this place) so you can hear (listen to) what I have to say.

Hole/Whole

• Hole is a noun meaning opening, gap.

• Whole as an adjective means entire, intact. As a noun, it means entire part or amount.

Examples:

The whole (entire) group heard the message.

They patched the hole (opening) in the wall.

Knew/New

• Knew is a verb, the past tense of know. It means understood, recognized.

• New is an adjective meaning fresh, different, current.

Example:

I knew (understood) they were planning to buy a new (different) car.

Know/No

• Know is a verb meaning understand, recognize.

• No as an adverb means not so, not at all. As an adjective, it means none, not one.

Example:

As far as I know (understand), we have no (not one) more of these shoes in stock.

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Dear/Deer

• Dear is an adjective meaning valued, loved.

• Deer is a noun referring to an animal, a four-legged one that lives in the woods and looks like Bambi.

Example:

The dear (loved) man died when his car struck a deer (animal).

Die/Dye

• Die is a verb meaning pass away, fade.

• Dye as a verb means to color, tint. As a noun, it refers to coloring, pigment.

Example:

We waited for the wind to die (fade) before we decided to dye (color) the sheets.

Hear/Here

• Hear is a verb meaning listen to.

• Here is an adverb meaning in this place, to this place.

Example:

Please come here (to this place) so you can hear (listen to) what I have to say.

Hole/Whole

• Hole is a noun meaning opening, gap.

• Whole as an adjective means entire, intact. As a noun, it means entire part or amount.

Examples:

The whole (entire) group heard the message.

They patched the hole (opening) in the wall.

Knew/New

• Knew is a verb, the past tense of know. It means understood, recognized.

• New is an adjective meaning fresh, different, current.

Example:

I knew (understood) they were planning to buy a new (different) car.

Know/No

• Know is a verb meaning understand, recognize.

• No as an adverb means not so, not at all. As an adjective, it means none, not one.

Example:

As far as I know (understand), we have no (not one) more of these shoes in stock.

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Meat/Meet

• Meat is a noun meaning food, flesh, main part.

• Meet as a verb means assemble, greet, fulfill. As a noun, it means assembly.

Examples:

Before a track meet (assembly), it is better to eat foods high in carbohydrates rather than meat (flesh).

The meat (main part) of his message was that our efforts did not meet (fulfill) his standards.

One/Won

• One can be an adjective meaning single. It can also be a pronoun used to mean a single person or thing.

• Won is a verb, the past tense of win. It means prevailed, achieved, acquired.

Example:

Jacquez is the one (pronoun referring to Jacquez) who won (achieved) the most improved bowler trophy this year.

Seam/Seem

• Seam is a noun meaning joint, joining point.

• Seem is a verb meaning appear.

Example:

Does it seem (appear) to you as if this seam (joint) is weakening?

Practice

Circle the correct word in the parentheses below. Answers can be found at the end of the lesson.

1. If the copier isn't repaired (by, buy) noon, we'll need to (by, buy) a new one.

2. (By, Buy) this book that was written (by, buy) a well-known expert on the subject. It's a great (by, buy).

3. The (dear, deer) I had as a pet was quite (dear, deer) to me.

4. The sound began to (die, dye) during the most exciting part of the movie.

5. How do I (die, dye) this shirt?

6. If you sit (hear, here), you'll be able to (hear, here) much better.

7. We can see the (hole, whole) field through this little (hole, whole).

8. I wish I (knew, new) how to operate this (knew, new) equipment.

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Meat/Meet

• Meat is a noun meaning food, flesh, main part.

• Meet as a verb means assemble, greet, fulfill. As a noun, it means assembly.

Examples:

Before a track meet (assembly), it is better to eat foods high in carbohydrates rather than meat (flesh).

The meat (main part) of his message was that our efforts did not meet (fulfill) his standards.

One/Won

• One can be an adjective meaning single. It can also be a pronoun used to mean a single person or thing.

• Won is a verb, the past tense of win. It means prevailed, achieved, acquired.

Example:

Jacquez is the one (pronoun referring to Jacquez) who won (achieved) the most improved bowler trophy this year.

Seam/Seem

• Seam is a noun meaning joint, joining point.

• Seem is a verb meaning appear.

Example:

Does it seem (appear) to you as if this seam (joint) is weakening?

Practice

Circle the correct word in the parentheses below. Answers can be found at the end of the lesson.

1. If the copier isn't repaired (by, buy) noon, we'll need to (by, buy) a new one.

2. (By, Buy) this book that was written (by, buy) a well-known expert on the subject. It's a great (by, buy).

3. The (dear, deer) I had as a pet was quite (dear, deer) to me.

4. The sound began to (die, dye) during the most exciting part of the movie.

5. How do I (die, dye) this shirt?

6. If you sit (hear, here), you'll be able to (hear, here) much better.

7. We can see the (hole, whole) field through this little (hole, whole).

8. I wish I (knew, new) how to operate this (knew, new) equipment.

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Meat/Meet

• Meat is a noun meaning food, flesh, main part.

• Meet as a verb means assemble, greet, fulfill. As a noun, it means assembly.

Examples:

Before a track meet (assembly), it is better to eat foods high in carbohydrates rather than meat (flesh).

The meat (main part) of his message was that our efforts did not meet (fulfill) his standards.

One/Won

• One can be an adjective meaning single. It can also be a pronoun used to mean a single person or thing.

• Won is a verb, the past tense of win. It means prevailed, achieved, acquired.

Example:

Jacquez is the one (pronoun referring to Jacquez) who won (achieved) the most improved bowler trophy this year.

Seam/Seem

• Seam is a noun meaning joint, joining point.

• Seem is a verb meaning appear.

Example:

Does it seem (appear) to you as if this seam (joint) is weakening?

Practice

Circle the correct word in the parentheses below. Answers can be found at the end of the lesson.

1. If the copier isn't repaired (by, buy) noon, we'll need to (by, buy) a new one.

2. (By, Buy) this book that was written (by, buy) a well-known expert on the subject. It's a great (by, buy).

3. The (dear, deer) I had as a pet was quite (dear, deer) to me.

4. The sound began to (die, dye) during the most exciting part of the movie.

5. How do I (die, dye) this shirt?

6. If you sit (hear, here), you'll be able to (hear, here) much better.

7. We can see the (hole, whole) field through this little (hole, whole).

8. I wish I (knew, new) how to operate this (knew, new) equipment.

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Meat/Meet

• Meat is a noun meaning food, flesh, main part.

• Meet as a verb means assemble, greet, fulfill. As a noun, it means assembly.

Examples:

Before a track meet (assembly), it is better to eat foods high in carbohydrates rather than meat (flesh).

The meat (main part) of his message was that our efforts did not meet (fulfill) his standards.

One/Won

• One can be an adjective meaning single. It can also be a pronoun used to mean a single person or thing.

• Won is a verb, the past tense of win. It means prevailed, achieved, acquired.

Example:

Jacquez is the one (pronoun referring to Jacquez) who won (achieved) the most improved bowler trophy this year.

Seam/Seem

• Seam is a noun meaning joint, joining point.

• Seem is a verb meaning appear.

Example:

Does it seem (appear) to you as if this seam (joint) is weakening?

Practice

Circle the correct word in the parentheses below. Answers can be found at the end of the lesson.

1. If the copier isn't repaired (by, buy) noon, we'll need to (by, buy) a new one.

2. (By, Buy) this book that was written (by, buy) a well-known expert on the subject. It's a great (by, buy).

3. The (dear, deer) I had as a pet was quite (dear, deer) to me.

4. The sound began to (die, dye) during the most exciting part of the movie.

5. How do I (die, dye) this shirt?

6. If you sit (hear, here), you'll be able to (hear, here) much better.

7. We can see the (hole, whole) field through this little (hole, whole).

8. I wish I (knew, new) how to operate this (knew, new) equipment.

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9. You (know, no) we have (know, no) idea how to solve this problem.

10. After a kill, a pride of lions will (meat, meet) so each can get a share of the (meat, meet).

11. The Colts (one, won) the game by just (one, won) point.

12. I (seam, seem) to be unable to locate the (seam, seem) in this pipe.

Often Used and Misused

Choose/Chose

• Choose is a verb meaning select. It rhymes with bruise.

• Chose is past tense of choose; it means selected. It rhymes with hose.

Example:

Henry chose (selected) flex hours on Friday afternoons. I will choose (select) the same option.

Loose/Lose/Loss

• Loose is an adjective meaning free, unrestrained, not tight. It rhymes with goose.

• Lose is a verb meaning misplace, to be defeated, fail to keep. It rhymes with shoes.

• Loss is a noun meaning defeat, downturn, the opposite of victory or gain. It rhymes with toss.

Examples:

The chickens ran loose (free) in the yard.

The knot holding the boat to the dock was loose (not tight).

Where did you lose (misplace) your gloves?

The investors will lose (fail to keep) considerable capital if the market suffers a loss (downturn).

Suppose/Supposed

• Suppose is a verb meaning assume, imagine.

• Supposed as a verb is the past tense of suppose and means assumed, imagined. As an adjective it means expected, obligated.

Examples:

I suppose (assume) you'll be late, as usual.

We all supposed (assumed) you would be late.

You were supposed (expected) to have picked up the copies of the report before you came to the meeting.

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9. You (know, no) we have (know, no) idea how to solve this problem.

10. After a kill, a pride of lions will (meat, meet) so each can get a share of the (meat, meet).

11. The Colts (one, won) the game by just (one, won) point.

12. I (seam, seem) to be unable to locate the (seam, seem) in this pipe.

Often Used and Misused

Choose/Chose

• Choose is a verb meaning select. It rhymes with bruise.

• Chose is past tense of choose; it means selected. It rhymes with hose.

Example:

Henry chose (selected) flex hours on Friday afternoons. I will choose (select) the same option.

Loose/Lose/Loss

• Loose is an adjective meaning free, unrestrained, not tight. It rhymes with goose.

• Lose is a verb meaning misplace, to be defeated, fail to keep. It rhymes with shoes.

• Loss is a noun meaning defeat, downturn, the opposite of victory or gain. It rhymes with toss.

Examples:

The chickens ran loose (free) in the yard.

The knot holding the boat to the dock was loose (not tight).

Where did you lose (misplace) your gloves?

The investors will lose (fail to keep) considerable capital if the market suffers a loss (downturn).

Suppose/Supposed

• Suppose is a verb meaning assume, imagine.

• Supposed as a verb is the past tense of suppose and means assumed, imagined. As an adjective it means expected, obligated.

Examples:

I suppose (assume) you'll be late, as usual.

We all supposed (assumed) you would be late.

You were supposed (expected) to have picked up the copies of the report before you came to the meeting.

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9. You (know, no) we have (know, no) idea how to solve this problem.

10. After a kill, a pride of lions will (meat, meet) so each can get a share of the (meat, meet).

11. The Colts (one, won) the game by just (one, won) point.

12. I (seam, seem) to be unable to locate the (seam, seem) in this pipe.

Often Used and Misused

Choose/Chose

• Choose is a verb meaning select. It rhymes with bruise.

• Chose is past tense of choose; it means selected. It rhymes with hose.

Example:

Henry chose (selected) flex hours on Friday afternoons. I will choose (select) the same option.

Loose/Lose/Loss

• Loose is an adjective meaning free, unrestrained, not tight. It rhymes with goose.

• Lose is a verb meaning misplace, to be defeated, fail to keep. It rhymes with shoes.

• Loss is a noun meaning defeat, downturn, the opposite of victory or gain. It rhymes with toss.

Examples:

The chickens ran loose (free) in the yard.

The knot holding the boat to the dock was loose (not tight).

Where did you lose (misplace) your gloves?

The investors will lose (fail to keep) considerable capital if the market suffers a loss (downturn).

Suppose/Supposed

• Suppose is a verb meaning assume, imagine.

• Supposed as a verb is the past tense of suppose and means assumed, imagined. As an adjective it means expected, obligated.

Examples:

I suppose (assume) you'll be late, as usual.

We all supposed (assumed) you would be late.

You were supposed (expected) to have picked up the copies of the report before you came to the meeting.

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9. You (know, no) we have (know, no) idea how to solve this problem.

10. After a kill, a pride of lions will (meat, meet) so each can get a share of the (meat, meet).

11. The Colts (one, won) the game by just (one, won) point.

12. I (seam, seem) to be unable to locate the (seam, seem) in this pipe.

Often Used and Misused

Choose/Chose

• Choose is a verb meaning select. It rhymes with bruise.

• Chose is past tense of choose; it means selected. It rhymes with hose.

Example:

Henry chose (selected) flex hours on Friday afternoons. I will choose (select) the same option.

Loose/Lose/Loss

• Loose is an adjective meaning free, unrestrained, not tight. It rhymes with goose.

• Lose is a verb meaning misplace, to be defeated, fail to keep. It rhymes with shoes.

• Loss is a noun meaning defeat, downturn, the opposite of victory or gain. It rhymes with toss.

Examples:

The chickens ran loose (free) in the yard.

The knot holding the boat to the dock was loose (not tight).

Where did you lose (misplace) your gloves?

The investors will lose (fail to keep) considerable capital if the market suffers a loss (downturn).

Suppose/Supposed

• Suppose is a verb meaning assume, imagine.

• Supposed as a verb is the past tense of suppose and means assumed, imagined. As an adjective it means expected, obligated.

Examples:

I suppose (assume) you'll be late, as usual.

We all supposed (assumed) you would be late.

You were supposed (expected) to have picked up the copies of the report before you came to the meeting.

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Than/Then

• Than is a conjunctive word used to make a comparison.

• Then is an adverb telling when or meaning next.

Example:

Then (next), the group discussed the ways in which the new procedures worked better than (conjunction making a comparison) the old.

Use/Used

• Use as a verb means utilize, deplete. It rhymes with ooze. As a noun, it rhymes with goose and means purpose.

• Used as a verb is the past tense of use and means utilized, depleted. As an adjective, it means second-hand.

• Used to can be used as an adjective, meaning accustomed to, or as an adverb meaning formerly. (Note that you never write use to when you mean accustomed to or formerly.)

Examples:

Just use (utilize) the same password we used (utilized) yesterday.

What's the use (purpose) in trying yet another time?

We should consider buying used (second-hand) equipment.

We used to (formerly) require(d) a second opinion.

Residents of Buffalo, New York, are used to (accustomed to) cold temperatures.

Weather/Whether

• Weather is a noun referring to the condition outside.

• Whether is adverb used when referring to a possibility.

Examples:

The weather (condition outside) took a turn for the worse.

Let me know whether (a possibility) you are interested in this new system.

Practice

Circle the correct word in the parentheses below. The answers can be found at the end of the lesson.

13. If you (choose, chose) your words carefully, you can avoid offending anyone else.

14. The committee (choose, chose) the model with the most special features.

15. The (loose, lose, loss) caused the stockholders to (loose, lose, loss) confidence in the company.

16. How could you (loose, lose, loss) your temper over such a trivial matter?

17. The paper tray seems (loose, lose, loss) to me.

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Than/Then

• Than is a conjunctive word used to make a comparison.

• Then is an adverb telling when or meaning next.

Example:

Then (next), the group discussed the ways in which the new procedures worked better than (conjunction making a comparison) the old.

Use/Used

• Use as a verb means utilize, deplete. It rhymes with ooze. As a noun, it rhymes with goose and means purpose.

• Used as a verb is the past tense of use and means utilized, depleted. As an adjective, it means second-hand.

• Used to can be used as an adjective, meaning accustomed to, or as an adverb meaning formerly. (Note that you never write use to when you mean accustomed to or formerly.)

Examples:

Just use (utilize) the same password we used (utilized) yesterday.

What's the use (purpose) in trying yet another time?

We should consider buying used (second-hand) equipment.

We used to (formerly) require(d) a second opinion.

Residents of Buffalo, New York, are used to (accustomed to) cold temperatures.

Weather/Whether

• Weather is a noun referring to the condition outside.

• Whether is adverb used when referring to a possibility.

Examples:

The weather (condition outside) took a turn for the worse.

Let me know whether (a possibility) you are interested in this new system.

Practice

Circle the correct word in the parentheses below. The answers can be found at the end of the lesson.

13. If you (choose, chose) your words carefully, you can avoid offending anyone else.

14. The committee (choose, chose) the model with the most special features.

15. The (loose, lose, loss) caused the stockholders to (loose, lose, loss) confidence in the company.

16. How could you (loose, lose, loss) your temper over such a trivial matter?

17. The paper tray seems (loose, lose, loss) to me.

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Than/Then

• Than is a conjunctive word used to make a comparison.

• Then is an adverb telling when or meaning next.

Example:

Then (next), the group discussed the ways in which the new procedures worked better than (conjunction making a comparison) the old.

Use/Used

• Use as a verb means utilize, deplete. It rhymes with ooze. As a noun, it rhymes with goose and means purpose.

• Used as a verb is the past tense of use and means utilized, depleted. As an adjective, it means second-hand.

• Used to can be used as an adjective, meaning accustomed to, or as an adverb meaning formerly. (Note that you never write use to when you mean accustomed to or formerly.)

Examples:

Just use (utilize) the same password we used (utilized) yesterday.

What's the use (purpose) in trying yet another time?

We should consider buying used (second-hand) equipment.

We used to (formerly) require(d) a second opinion.

Residents of Buffalo, New York, are used to (accustomed to) cold temperatures.

Weather/Whether

• Weather is a noun referring to the condition outside.

• Whether is adverb used when referring to a possibility.

Examples:

The weather (condition outside) took a turn for the worse.

Let me know whether (a possibility) you are interested in this new system.

Practice

Circle the correct word in the parentheses below. The answers can be found at the end of the lesson.

13. If you (choose, chose) your words carefully, you can avoid offending anyone else.

14. The committee (choose, chose) the model with the most special features.

15. The (loose, lose, loss) caused the stockholders to (loose, lose, loss) confidence in the company.

16. How could you (loose, lose, loss) your temper over such a trivial matter?

17. The paper tray seems (loose, lose, loss) to me.

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Page 149

Than/Then

• Than is a conjunctive word used to make a comparison.

• Then is an adverb telling when or meaning next.

Example:

Then (next), the group discussed the ways in which the new procedures worked better than (conjunction making a comparison) the old.

Use/Used

• Use as a verb means utilize, deplete. It rhymes with ooze. As a noun, it rhymes with goose and means purpose.

• Used as a verb is the past tense of use and means utilized, depleted. As an adjective, it means second-hand.

• Used to can be used as an adjective, meaning accustomed to, or as an adverb meaning formerly. (Note that you never write use to when you mean accustomed to or formerly.)

Examples:

Just use (utilize) the same password we used (utilized) yesterday.

What's the use (purpose) in trying yet another time?

We should consider buying used (second-hand) equipment.

We used to (formerly) require(d) a second opinion.

Residents of Buffalo, New York, are used to (accustomed to) cold temperatures.

Weather/Whether

• Weather is a noun referring to the condition outside.

• Whether is adverb used when referring to a possibility.

Examples:

The weather (condition outside) took a turn for the worse.

Let me know whether (a possibility) you are interested in this new system.

Practice

Circle the correct word in the parentheses below. The answers can be found at the end of the lesson.

13. If you (choose, chose) your words carefully, you can avoid offending anyone else.

14. The committee (choose, chose) the model with the most special features.

15. The (loose, lose, loss) caused the stockholders to (loose, lose, loss) confidence in the company.

16. How could you (loose, lose, loss) your temper over such a trivial matter?

17. The paper tray seems (loose, lose, loss) to me.

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18. I (suppose, supposed) you thought I was the one who was (suppose, supposed) to speak at the banquet.

19. Add even more sugar (than, then) you already have, and (than, then) stir the mixture thoroughly.

20. We found yet another (use, used) for the (use, used) tires that (use, used) to be stacked outside the building.

21. Do you know (weather, whether) this beautiful (weather, whether) is (suppose, supposed) to continue into the weekend?

Killer a's and al's

Accept/Except/Expect

• Accept is a verb meaning receive, bear.

• Except is a preposition meaning but, excluding.

• Expect is a verb meaning anticipate, demand, assume.

Examples:

This client expects (demands) nothing except (but) the most sophisticated options available.

Will you accept (bear) the responsibility for this decision?

We expect (anticipate) everyone to come except (excluding) John.

Advice/Advise

• Advice is a noun meaning suggestion, suggestions. It rhymes with ice. (Hint: Think advICE.

• Advise is a verb meaning suggest to, warn. It rhymes with wise.

Examples:

We advise (suggest to) you to proceed carefully.That was the best advice (suggestion) I've received so far.

Affect/Effect

• Affect is a verb meaning alter, inspire or move emotionally, imitate. Affected, besides being the past tense of affect, can also be used as an adjective meaning imitated, pretentious.

• Effect as a noun means consequence. As a verb, it means cause.

Examples:

How will this plan affect (alter) our jobs? What effect (consequence) will this restructuring have on profits? Will it effect (cause) an increase?

The movie affected (moved emotionally) Marian.

He affected (imitated) an English accent.

The affected (pretentious) speech fooled no one.

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18. I (suppose, supposed) you thought I was the one who was (suppose, supposed) to speak at the banquet.

19. Add even more sugar (than, then) you already have, and (than, then) stir the mixture thoroughly.

20. We found yet another (use, used) for the (use, used) tires that (use, used) to be stacked outside the building.

21. Do you know (weather, whether) this beautiful (weather, whether) is (suppose, supposed) to continue into the weekend?

Killer a's and al's

Accept/Except/Expect

• Accept is a verb meaning receive, bear.

• Except is a preposition meaning but, excluding.

• Expect is a verb meaning anticipate, demand, assume.

Examples:

This client expects (demands) nothing except (but) the most sophisticated options available.

Will you accept (bear) the responsibility for this decision?

We expect (anticipate) everyone to come except (excluding) John.

Advice/Advise

• Advice is a noun meaning suggestion, suggestions. It rhymes with ice. (Hint: Think advICE.

• Advise is a verb meaning suggest to, warn. It rhymes with wise.

Examples:

We advise (suggest to) you to proceed carefully.That was the best advice (suggestion) I've received so far.

Affect/Effect

• Affect is a verb meaning alter, inspire or move emotionally, imitate. Affected, besides being the past tense of affect, can also be used as an adjective meaning imitated, pretentious.

• Effect as a noun means consequence. As a verb, it means cause.

Examples:

How will this plan affect (alter) our jobs? What effect (consequence) will this restructuring have on profits? Will it effect (cause) an increase?

The movie affected (moved emotionally) Marian.

He affected (imitated) an English accent.

The affected (pretentious) speech fooled no one.

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18. I (suppose, supposed) you thought I was the one who was (suppose, supposed) to speak at the banquet.

19. Add even more sugar (than, then) you already have, and (than, then) stir the mixture thoroughly.

20. We found yet another (use, used) for the (use, used) tires that (use, used) to be stacked outside the building.

21. Do you know (weather, whether) this beautiful (weather, whether) is (suppose, supposed) to continue into the weekend?

Killer a's and al's

Accept/Except/Expect

• Accept is a verb meaning receive, bear.

• Except is a preposition meaning but, excluding.

• Expect is a verb meaning anticipate, demand, assume.

Examples:

This client expects (demands) nothing except (but) the most sophisticated options available.

Will you accept (bear) the responsibility for this decision?

We expect (anticipate) everyone to come except (excluding) John.

Advice/Advise

• Advice is a noun meaning suggestion, suggestions. It rhymes with ice. (Hint: Think advICE.

• Advise is a verb meaning suggest to, warn. It rhymes with wise.

Examples:

We advise (suggest to) you to proceed carefully.That was the best advice (suggestion) I've received so far.

Affect/Effect

• Affect is a verb meaning alter, inspire or move emotionally, imitate. Affected, besides being the past tense of affect, can also be used as an adjective meaning imitated, pretentious.

• Effect as a noun means consequence. As a verb, it means cause.

Examples:

How will this plan affect (alter) our jobs? What effect (consequence) will this restructuring have on profits? Will it effect (cause) an increase?

The movie affected (moved emotionally) Marian.

He affected (imitated) an English accent.

The affected (pretentious) speech fooled no one.

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18. I (suppose, supposed) you thought I was the one who was (suppose, supposed) to speak at the banquet.

19. Add even more sugar (than, then) you already have, and (than, then) stir the mixture thoroughly.

20. We found yet another (use, used) for the (use, used) tires that (use, used) to be stacked outside the building.

21. Do you know (weather, whether) this beautiful (weather, whether) is (suppose, supposed) to continue into the weekend?

Killer a's and al's

Accept/Except/Expect

• Accept is a verb meaning receive, bear.

• Except is a preposition meaning but, excluding.

• Expect is a verb meaning anticipate, demand, assume.

Examples:

This client expects (demands) nothing except (but) the most sophisticated options available.

Will you accept (bear) the responsibility for this decision?

We expect (anticipate) everyone to come except (excluding) John.

Advice/Advise

• Advice is a noun meaning suggestion, suggestions. It rhymes with ice. (Hint: Think advICE.

• Advise is a verb meaning suggest to, warn. It rhymes with wise.

Examples:

We advise (suggest to) you to proceed carefully.That was the best advice (suggestion) I've received so far.

Affect/Effect

• Affect is a verb meaning alter, inspire or move emotionally, imitate. Affected, besides being the past tense of affect, can also be used as an adjective meaning imitated, pretentious.

• Effect as a noun means consequence. As a verb, it means cause.

Examples:

How will this plan affect (alter) our jobs? What effect (consequence) will this restructuring have on profits? Will it effect (cause) an increase?

The movie affected (moved emotionally) Marian.

He affected (imitated) an English accent.

The affected (pretentious) speech fooled no one.

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Capital/Capitol

• Capital as a noun means either assets or the city that is the seat of government. As an adjective, it means main, very important, or deserving of death.

• Capitol is a noun referring to the building that houses the government.

Examples:

How much capital (assets) are you willing to invest?

I think that's a capital (main) objective.

First degree murder is a capital (deserving of death) crime.

Albany is the capital (city) of New York.

No legislators were injured in the explosion in the capitol (building).

Personal/Personnel

• Personal is an adjective meaning private.

• Personnel is a noun meaning staff, employees or an adjective meaning dealing with staff or employees.

Examples:

The director of personnel (staff) keeps all the personnel (employee) files in order and guards any personal (private) information they contain.

Principal/Principle

• Principal as a noun refers to the head of a school or an investment. As an adjective, it means primary, major.

• Principle is a noun meaning rule, law, belief.

Examples:

The principal (head) of Calbert High School used the principal (investment) of an endowment fund to cover this month's salaries.

The principal (primary) objective is to make decisions that are in keeping with our principles (beliefs).

Practice

Circle the correct word in the parentheses below. The answers can be found at the end of the lesson.

22. Surely you didn't (accept, except, expect) Weldon to (accept, except, expect) responsibility for this decision when everyone (accept, except, expect) him was consulted.

23. We (accept, except, expect) the delivery to arrive early in the morning.

24. The soothsayer will (advice, advise) you to seek her (advice, advise) often.

25. The new work schedule (affected, effected) production in a positive way.

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Capital/Capitol

• Capital as a noun means either assets or the city that is the seat of government. As an adjective, it means main, very important, or deserving of death.

• Capitol is a noun referring to the building that houses the government.

Examples:

How much capital (assets) are you willing to invest?

I think that's a capital (main) objective.

First degree murder is a capital (deserving of death) crime.

Albany is the capital (city) of New York.

No legislators were injured in the explosion in the capitol (building).

Personal/Personnel

• Personal is an adjective meaning private.

• Personnel is a noun meaning staff, employees or an adjective meaning dealing with staff or employees.

Examples:

The director of personnel (staff) keeps all the personnel (employee) files in order and guards any personal (private) information they contain.

Principal/Principle

• Principal as a noun refers to the head of a school or an investment. As an adjective, it means primary, major.

• Principle is a noun meaning rule, law, belief.

Examples:

The principal (head) of Calbert High School used the principal (investment) of an endowment fund to cover this month's salaries.

The principal (primary) objective is to make decisions that are in keeping with our principles (beliefs).

Practice

Circle the correct word in the parentheses below. The answers can be found at the end of the lesson.

22. Surely you didn't (accept, except, expect) Weldon to (accept, except, expect) responsibility for this decision when everyone (accept, except, expect) him was consulted.

23. We (accept, except, expect) the delivery to arrive early in the morning.

24. The soothsayer will (advice, advise) you to seek her (advice, advise) often.

25. The new work schedule (affected, effected) production in a positive way.

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Capital/Capitol

• Capital as a noun means either assets or the city that is the seat of government. As an adjective, it means main, very important, or deserving of death.

• Capitol is a noun referring to the building that houses the government.

Examples:

How much capital (assets) are you willing to invest?

I think that's a capital (main) objective.

First degree murder is a capital (deserving of death) crime.

Albany is the capital (city) of New York.

No legislators were injured in the explosion in the capitol (building).

Personal/Personnel

• Personal is an adjective meaning private.

• Personnel is a noun meaning staff, employees or an adjective meaning dealing with staff or employees.

Examples:

The director of personnel (staff) keeps all the personnel (employee) files in order and guards any personal (private) information they contain.

Principal/Principle

• Principal as a noun refers to the head of a school or an investment. As an adjective, it means primary, major.

• Principle is a noun meaning rule, law, belief.

Examples:

The principal (head) of Calbert High School used the principal (investment) of an endowment fund to cover this month's salaries.

The principal (primary) objective is to make decisions that are in keeping with our principles (beliefs).

Practice

Circle the correct word in the parentheses below. The answers can be found at the end of the lesson.

22. Surely you didn't (accept, except, expect) Weldon to (accept, except, expect) responsibility for this decision when everyone (accept, except, expect) him was consulted.

23. We (accept, except, expect) the delivery to arrive early in the morning.

24. The soothsayer will (advice, advise) you to seek her (advice, advise) often.

25. The new work schedule (affected, effected) production in a positive way.

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Page 151

Capital/Capitol

• Capital as a noun means either assets or the city that is the seat of government. As an adjective, it means main, very important, or deserving of death.

• Capitol is a noun referring to the building that houses the government.

Examples:

How much capital (assets) are you willing to invest?

I think that's a capital (main) objective.

First degree murder is a capital (deserving of death) crime.

Albany is the capital (city) of New York.

No legislators were injured in the explosion in the capitol (building).

Personal/Personnel

• Personal is an adjective meaning private.

• Personnel is a noun meaning staff, employees or an adjective meaning dealing with staff or employees.

Examples:

The director of personnel (staff) keeps all the personnel (employee) files in order and guards any personal (private) information they contain.

Principal/Principle

• Principal as a noun refers to the head of a school or an investment. As an adjective, it means primary, major.

• Principle is a noun meaning rule, law, belief.

Examples:

The principal (head) of Calbert High School used the principal (investment) of an endowment fund to cover this month's salaries.

The principal (primary) objective is to make decisions that are in keeping with our principles (beliefs).

Practice

Circle the correct word in the parentheses below. The answers can be found at the end of the lesson.

22. Surely you didn't (accept, except, expect) Weldon to (accept, except, expect) responsibility for this decision when everyone (accept, except, expect) him was consulted.

23. We (accept, except, expect) the delivery to arrive early in the morning.

24. The soothsayer will (advice, advise) you to seek her (advice, advise) often.

25. The new work schedule (affected, effected) production in a positive way.

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26. How will this new work schedule (affect, effect) production?

27. What (affect, effect) will this new work schedule have on production?

28. We plan to tour the (capital, capitol) building whenever we visit a state's (capital, capitol) city.

29. We never release (personal, personnel) information about our (personal, personnel).

30. The employees' (principal, principle) concern is workload.

31. The new legislation violates the basic (principals, principles) upon which the country was founded.

Skill Building Until Next Time

Make a conscious effort to use the correct forms of these easily confused words in your writing. You may find it helpful to copy the words and their synonyms onto a separate sheet of paper. This will provide a good review and serve as a handy reference you can keep with you as you write.

Answers

1. by, buy

2. Buy, by, buy

3. deer, dear

4. die

5. dye

6. here, hear

7. whole, hole

8. knew, new

9. know, no

10. meet, meat

11. won, one

12. seem, seam

13. choose

14. chose

15. loss, lose

16. lose

17. loose

18. suppose, supposed

19. than, then

20. use, used, used

21. whether, weather, supposed

22. expect, accept, except

23. expect

24. advise, advice

25. affected

26. affect

27. effect

28. capitol, capital

29. personal, personnel

30. principal

31. principles

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Lesson 18—
Diction

Lesson Summary

''Diction?" you might think. "In a book about writing?" While diction refers to how words are pronounced, it also refers to which words you choose. In order to use language effectively, writers have to write concisely and precisely. This lesson and Lesson 19 focus on how to choose the words that best communicate what you want to say.

A word is a terrible thing to waste. Or is it better to say, "It is a terrible thing to waste a word"? The difference between  these two versions is a matter of diction, using appropriate words and combining them in the right way to communicate your message accurately. This lesson discusses ways to avoid some of the most common diction traps: wordiness, lack of precison, clichés, and jargon. Learning to recognize and avoid such writing weaknesses will turn a mediocre writer into a good one—this means expressing ideas in the best and clearest way possible.

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Wordiness

Excess words in communication waste space and time. Not only that, but they may also distort the message or make it difficult for the reader to understand. Get in the habit of streamlining your writing, making the sentences as concise as possible. If you use five words where three would do, delete the extra words or structure your sentences to avoid them. See if you can rewrite the sentences in the first column to make them less wordy. Check yourself agains the version in the second column.

Wordy

Revised

It was a three-hour period after the accident when the rescue squad that we knew was going to help us arrived. [21 words]

The rescue squad arrived three hours after the accident. [9 words]

It was decided that the church would organize a committee for the purpose of conducting a search for a new pastor. [21 words]

The church organized a committee to search for a new pastor. [11 words]

The additional words in the first column add no information. All they do is take up space.

Buzzwords and Fluffy Modifiers

Buzzwords such as aspect, element, factor, scope, situation, type, kind, forms, and so on sound important, but add no meaning to a sentence. They often signal a writer who has little or nothing to say, yet wishes to sound important. Likewise, modifiers such as absolutely, definitely, really, very, important, significant, current, major, and quite may add length to a sentence, but they seldom add meaning.

Word

The nature of the scheduling system is a very important matter that can definitely have a really significant impact on the morale aspect of an employee's attitude. Aspects of our current scheduling policy make it absolutely necessary that we undergo a significant change.

Revised

The scheduling system can affect employee morale. Our policy needs to be changed.

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Wordiness

Excess words in communication waste space and time. Not only that, but they may also distort the message or make it difficult for the reader to understand. Get in the habit of streamlining your writing, making the sentences as concise as possible. If you use five words where three would do, delete the extra words or structure your sentences to avoid them. See if you can rewrite the sentences in the first column to make them less wordy. Check yourself agains the version in the second column.

Wordy

Revised

It was a three-hour period after the accident when the rescue squad that we knew was going to help us arrived. [21 words]

The rescue squad arrived three hours after the accident. [9 words]

It was decided that the church would organize a committee for the purpose of conducting a search for a new pastor. [21 words]

The church organized a committee to search for a new pastor. [11 words]

The additional words in the first column add no information. All they do is take up space.

Buzzwords and Fluffy Modifiers

Buzzwords such as aspect, element, factor, scope, situation, type, kind, forms, and so on sound important, but add no meaning to a sentence. They often signal a writer who has little or nothing to say, yet wishes to sound important. Likewise, modifiers such as absolutely, definitely, really, very, important, significant, current, major, and quite may add length to a sentence, but they seldom add meaning.

Word

The nature of the scheduling system is a very important matter that can definitely have a really significant impact on the morale aspect of an employee's attitude. Aspects of our current scheduling policy make it absolutely necessary that we undergo a significant change.

Revised

The scheduling system can affect employee morale. Our policy needs to be changed.

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Wordiness

Excess words in communication waste space and time. Not only that, but they may also distort the message or make it difficult for the reader to understand. Get in the habit of streamlining your writing, making the sentences as concise as possible. If you use five words where three would do, delete the extra words or structure your sentences to avoid them. See if you can rewrite the sentences in the first column to make them less wordy. Check yourself agains the version in the second column.

Wordy

Revised

It was a three-hour period after the accident when the rescue squad that we knew was going to help us arrived. [21 words]

The rescue squad arrived three hours after the accident. [9 words]

It was decided that the church would organize a committee for the purpose of conducting a search for a new pastor. [21 words]

The church organized a committee to search for a new pastor. [11 words]

The additional words in the first column add no information. All they do is take up space.

Buzzwords and Fluffy Modifiers

Buzzwords such as aspect, element, factor, scope, situation, type, kind, forms, and so on sound important, but add no meaning to a sentence. They often signal a writer who has little or nothing to say, yet wishes to sound important. Likewise, modifiers such as absolutely, definitely, really, very, important, significant, current, major, and quite may add length to a sentence, but they seldom add meaning.

Word

The nature of the scheduling system is a very important matter that can definitely have a really significant impact on the morale aspect of an employee's attitude. Aspects of our current scheduling policy make it absolutely necessary that we undergo a significant change.

Revised

The scheduling system can affect employee morale. Our policy needs to be changed.

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Wordiness

Excess words in communication waste space and time. Not only that, but they may also distort the message or make it difficult for the reader to understand. Get in the habit of streamlining your writing, making the sentences as concise as possible. If you use five words where three would do, delete the extra words or structure your sentences to avoid them. See if you can rewrite the sentences in the first column to make them less wordy. Check yourself agains the version in the second column.

Wordy

Revised

It was a three-hour period after the accident when the rescue squad that we knew was going to help us arrived. [21 words]

The rescue squad arrived three hours after the accident. [9 words]

It was decided that the church would organize a committee for the purpose of conducting a search for a new pastor. [21 words]

The church organized a committee to search for a new pastor. [11 words]

The additional words in the first column add no information. All they do is take up space.

Buzzwords and Fluffy Modifiers

Buzzwords such as aspect, element, factor, scope, situation, type, kind, forms, and so on sound important, but add no meaning to a sentence. They often signal a writer who has little or nothing to say, yet wishes to sound important. Likewise, modifiers such as absolutely, definitely, really, very, important, significant, current, major, and quite may add length to a sentence, but they seldom add meaning.

Word

The nature of the scheduling system is a very important matter that can definitely have a really significant impact on the morale aspect of an employee's attitude. Aspects of our current scheduling policy make it absolutely necessary that we undergo a significant change.

Revised

The scheduling system can affect employee morale. Our policy needs to be changed.

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The following table lists a host of phrases that can be reduced to one or two words.

Wordy

Concise

Wordy

Concise

puzzling in nature

puzzling

at this point in time

now, today

of a peculiar kind

peculiar

at that point in time

then

regardless of the fact that

although

in order to

to

due to the fact that

because

by means of

by

of an indefinite nature

indefinite

exhibits a tendency to

tends to

concerning the matter of

about

in connection with

with

in the event that

if

in relation to

with

Passive Voice

Some wordiness is caused by using passive voice verbs when you could use the active voice. (See Lesson 11 if you don't remember passive voice.)

Passive

Active

It has been decided that your application for grant money is not in accordance with the constraints outlined by the committee in the application guidelines.

The committee denied your grant because it did not follow the appliation guidelines.

The letter of resignation was accepted by the Board of Directors.

The Board of Directors accepted the resignation.

Intellectual-Ese

The passive sentences above suffer not only from passive voice wordiness, but also from the writer's attempt to make the writing sound intellectual, to make the message more difficult than it needs to be. Writers make this error in many ways. One way is to turn adjectives and verbs into nouns. This transformation usually means that extra words are added to the sentence.

Wordy

Revised

Water pollution [noun] is not as serious in the northern parts of Canada.

Water is not as polluted [adjective] in northern Canada.

Customer demand [noun] is reducing in the area of sales services.

Customers demand [verb] fewere sales services.

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The following table lists a host of phrases that can be reduced to one or two words.

Wordy

Concise

Wordy

Concise

puzzling in nature

puzzling

at this point in time

now, today

of a peculiar kind

peculiar

at that point in time

then

regardless of the fact that

although

in order to

to

due to the fact that

because

by means of

by

of an indefinite nature

indefinite

exhibits a tendency to

tends to

concerning the matter of

about

in connection with

with

in the event that

if

in relation to

with

Passive Voice

Some wordiness is caused by using passive voice verbs when you could use the active voice. (See Lesson 11 if you don't remember passive voice.)

Passive

Active

It has been decided that your application for grant money is not in accordance with the constraints outlined by the committee in the application guidelines.

The committee denied your grant because it did not follow the appliation guidelines.

The letter of resignation was accepted by the Board of Directors.

The Board of Directors accepted the resignation.

Intellectual-Ese

The passive sentences above suffer not only from passive voice wordiness, but also from the writer's attempt to make the writing sound intellectual, to make the message more difficult than it needs to be. Writers make this error in many ways. One way is to turn adjectives and verbs into nouns. This transformation usually means that extra words are added to the sentence.

Wordy

Revised

Water pollution [noun] is not as serious in the northern parts of Canada.

Water is not as polluted [adjective] in northern Canada.

Customer demand [noun] is reducing in the area of sales services.

Customers demand [verb] fewere sales services.

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Another way writers add words without adding meaning is to use a pretentious tone. Below is an actual memo issued by a bureaucrat during World War II. When it was sent to President Franklin Roosevelt for his approval, he edited the memo before sending it on. The original and Roosevelt's edited versions are printed below.

Original pretentious memo:

In the unlikely event of an attack by an invader of a foreign nature, such preparations shall be made as will completely obscure all Federal buildings and non-Federal buildings occupied by the Federal government during an air raid for any period of time from visibility by reason of internal or external illumination.

Roosevelt's revised memo:

If there is an air raid, put something across the windows and turn off the lights outside in buildings where we have to keep the work going.

Here's another example of pretentious writing, along with a clearer revised version.

Pompous memo:

As per the most recent directive issued from this office, it is incumbent upon all employees and they are henceforth instructed to reduce in amount the paper used in the accomplishment of their daily tasks due to the marked increase in the cost of such supplies.

Revised:

Since paper costs have increased, employees must use less paper.

WORD ECONOMY

Stretched Sentence

Concise Sentence

Cassandra seems to be content

Cassandra seems content.

We must know what it is that we are doing.

We must know what we're doing.

This is the book of which I have been speaking.

I spoke about this book.

It is with pleasure that I announce the winner.

I am pleased to announce the winner.

The reason we were late was because of traffic.

We were late because of traffic.

These plans will be considered on an individual basis.

These plans will be considered individually.

The caterer, who was distressed, left the party.

The distressed caterer left the party.

There are new shipments arriving daily.

New shipments arrive daily.

Due to the fact that we were late, we missed the door prizes.

We came late and missed the door prizes.

The consideration given in the latest promotion is an example of how I was treated unfairly.

I was not fairly considered for the latest promotion.

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Another way writers add words without adding meaning is to use a pretentious tone. Below is an actual memo issued by a bureaucrat during World War II. When it was sent to President Franklin Roosevelt for his approval, he edited the memo before sending it on. The original and Roosevelt's edited versions are printed below.

Original pretentious memo:

In the unlikely event of an attack by an invader of a foreign nature, such preparations shall be made as will completely obscure all Federal buildings and non-Federal buildings occupied by the Federal government during an air raid for any period of time from visibility by reason of internal or external illumination.

Roosevelt's revised memo:

If there is an air raid, put something across the windows and turn off the lights outside in buildings where we have to keep the work going.

Here's another example of pretentious writing, along with a clearer revised version.

Pompous memo:

As per the most recent directive issued from this office, it is incumbent upon all employees and they are henceforth instructed to reduce in amount the paper used in the accomplishment of their daily tasks due to the marked increase in the cost of such supplies.

Revised:

Since paper costs have increased, employees must use less paper.

WORD ECONOMY

Stretched Sentence

Concise Sentence

Cassandra seems to be content

Cassandra seems content.

We must know what it is that we are doing.

We must know what we're doing.

This is the book of which I have been speaking.

I spoke about this book.

It is with pleasure that I announce the winner.

I am pleased to announce the winner.

The reason we were late was because of traffic.

We were late because of traffic.

These plans will be considered on an individual basis.

These plans will be considered individually.

The caterer, who was distressed, left the party.

The distressed caterer left the party.

There are new shipments arriving daily.

New shipments arrive daily.

Due to the fact that we were late, we missed the door prizes.

We came late and missed the door prizes.

The consideration given in the latest promotion is an example of how I was treated unfairly.

I was not fairly considered for the latest promotion.

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Another way writers add words without adding meaning is to use a pretentious tone. Below is an actual memo issued by a bureaucrat during World War II. When it was sent to President Franklin Roosevelt for his approval, he edited the memo before sending it on. The original and Roosevelt's edited versions are printed below.

Original pretentious memo:

In the unlikely event of an attack by an invader of a foreign nature, such preparations shall be made as will completely obscure all Federal buildings and non-Federal buildings occupied by the Federal government during an air raid for any period of time from visibility by reason of internal or external illumination.

Roosevelt's revised memo:

If there is an air raid, put something across the windows and turn off the lights outside in buildings where we have to keep the work going.

Here's another example of pretentious writing, along with a clearer revised version.

Pompous memo:

As per the most recent directive issued from this office, it is incumbent upon all employees and they are henceforth instructed to reduce in amount the paper used in the accomplishment of their daily tasks due to the marked increase in the cost of such supplies.

Revised:

Since paper costs have increased, employees must use less paper.

WORD ECONOMY

Stretched Sentence

Concise Sentence

Cassandra seems to be content

Cassandra seems content.

We must know what it is that we are doing.

We must know what we're doing.

This is the book of which I have been speaking.

I spoke about this book.

It is with pleasure that I announce the winner.

I am pleased to announce the winner.

The reason we were late was because of traffic.

We were late because of traffic.

These plans will be considered on an individual basis.

These plans will be considered individually.

The caterer, who was distressed, left the party.

The distressed caterer left the party.

There are new shipments arriving daily.

New shipments arrive daily.

Due to the fact that we were late, we missed the door prizes.

We came late and missed the door prizes.

The consideration given in the latest promotion is an example of how I was treated unfairly.

I was not fairly considered for the latest promotion.

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Page 156

Another way writers add words without adding meaning is to use a pretentious tone. Below is an actual memo issued by a bureaucrat during World War II. When it was sent to President Franklin Roosevelt for his approval, he edited the memo before sending it on. The original and Roosevelt's edited versions are printed below.

Original pretentious memo:

In the unlikely event of an attack by an invader of a foreign nature, such preparations shall be made as will completely obscure all Federal buildings and non-Federal buildings occupied by the Federal government during an air raid for any period of time from visibility by reason of internal or external illumination.

Roosevelt's revised memo:

If there is an air raid, put something across the windows and turn off the lights outside in buildings where we have to keep the work going.

Here's another example of pretentious writing, along with a clearer revised version.

Pompous memo:

As per the most recent directive issued from this office, it is incumbent upon all employees and they are henceforth instructed to reduce in amount the paper used in the accomplishment of their daily tasks due to the marked increase in the cost of such supplies.

Revised:

Since paper costs have increased, employees must use less paper.

WORD ECONOMY

Stretched Sentence

Concise Sentence

Cassandra seems to be content

Cassandra seems content.

We must know what it is that we are doing.

We must know what we're doing.

This is the book of which I have been speaking.

I spoke about this book.

It is with pleasure that I announce the winner.

I am pleased to announce the winner.

The reason we were late was because of traffic.

We were late because of traffic.

These plans will be considered on an individual basis.

These plans will be considered individually.

The caterer, who was distressed, left the party.

The distressed caterer left the party.

There are new shipments arriving daily.

New shipments arrive daily.

Due to the fact that we were late, we missed the door prizes.

We came late and missed the door prizes.

The consideration given in the latest promotion is an example of how I was treated unfairly.

I was not fairly considered for the latest promotion.

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Writers sometimes stretch their sentences with unnecessary words, all in an effort to sound intelligent. The table on the previous page illustrates stretched sentences have been rewritten more concisely.

Redundancy

Another writing trap that takes up space is redundancy, repeating words that express the same idea or in which the meanings overlap. If you stop to think about phrases like those below—and many others—you'll see that the extra words are not only unnecessary but often just plain silly.

enclosed with this letter

continue on, proceed ahead

remit payment

repeated over gain

absolutely necessary

gather together

weather outside

compulsory requirement

postpone until later

temporarily suspended

refer back

necessary requirements

past history

plain and simple

ask the question

Enclosed means it's in this letter, doesn't it? Remit means pay. And how can something be more necessary than necessary? The weather outside as opposed to the weather inside? Past history as opposed to . . . ? You see the point. Keep it simple. (Not plain and simple.)

Practice

Try rewriting the following sentences to remove the fluffy wording. Suggested revisions are at the end of this lesson, but your versions may be different; there's more than one way to rewrite these sentences.

1. Stephanie is a very important employee who has played a significant role in the success of this company.

2. Some educators hold with the opinion that corporal punishment should in fact be reinstated in our schools to act as a deterrent to those students who are considering engaging in inappropriate behavior.

3. It is certainly a true statement that bears repeating over and over again that technological advancements such as computers can assist employees in performing in a very efficient manner, and that these self-same computers may in fact result in considerable savings over a period of time.

4. I arrived at a decision to allow the supervisor of my department to achieve a higher golf score in order to enhance my opportunities for advancement in the event that such opportunities became available.

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Writers sometimes stretch their sentences with unnecessary words, all in an effort to sound intelligent. The table on the previous page illustrates stretched sentences have been rewritten more concisely.

Redundancy

Another writing trap that takes up space is redundancy, repeating words that express the same idea or in which the meanings overlap. If you stop to think about phrases like those below—and many others—you'll see that the extra words are not only unnecessary but often just plain silly.

enclosed with this letter

continue on, proceed ahead

remit payment

repeated over gain

absolutely necessary

gather together

weather outside

compulsory requirement

postpone until later

temporarily suspended

refer back

necessary requirements

past history

plain and simple

ask the question

Enclosed means it's in this letter, doesn't it? Remit means pay. And how can something be more necessary than necessary? The weather outside as opposed to the weather inside? Past history as opposed to . . . ? You see the point. Keep it simple. (Not plain and simple.)

Practice

Try rewriting the following sentences to remove the fluffy wording. Suggested revisions are at the end of this lesson, but your versions may be different; there's more than one way to rewrite these sentences.

1. Stephanie is a very important employee who has played a significant role in the success of this company.

2. Some educators hold with the opinion that corporal punishment should in fact be reinstated in our schools to act as a deterrent to those students who are considering engaging in inappropriate behavior.

3. It is certainly a true statement that bears repeating over and over again that technological advancements such as computers can assist employees in performing in a very efficient manner, and that these self-same computers may in fact result in considerable savings over a period of time.

4. I arrived at a decision to allow the supervisor of my department to achieve a higher golf score in order to enhance my opportunities for advancement in the event that such opportunities became available.

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Precise Language

Work to make your writing as precise as possible. In doing so, you communicate more meaning using fewer words. In other words, you make your writing more concise. Choose exact verbs, modifiers, and nouns to help you transmit an exact meaning.

IMPRECISE VS. PRECISE

Verbs

Emilia participated in the protest.

Emilia organized the march on the capital.

Hannah won't deal with sales meetings

Hannah won't attend sales meetings.

Dick can relate to Jane.

Dick understands Jane's feelings.

Modifiers

These bad instructions confused me.

These disorganized, vague instructions left me with no idea how to repair the leak.

Toy Story is a good movie with fun for all.

Toy Story is a clever animated film with humor, adventure, and romance.

We had a nice time with you.

We enjoyed eating your food, drinking your wine, and swimming in your pool.

Nouns

I always have trouble with this computer.

I can never get this computer to save or to print.

I like to have fun when I take a vacation.

I like to swim, fish, and eat out when I'm on vacation.

Let me grab some things from my locker.

Let me grab my purse and books from my locker.

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Abstract vs. Concrete

Abstract language refers to intangible ideas or to classes of people and objects rather than the people or things themselves. Abstractions are built on concrete ideas. Without a grasp of the concrete meanings, a reader can't be expected to understand an abstract idea. Journalists and law enforcement professionals are especially aware of the distinction between abstract and concrete as they write. They strive to present the facts clearly, so the reader can draw conclusions. They avoid making the assumptions for the reader, hoping the facts will speak for themselves. Concrete language requires more time and thought to write, but it communicates a message more effectively. Additional words are an advantage if they add meaning or increase precision.

Abstract Assumption

Concrete Details

Strader was drunk.

Strader smelled strongly of alcohol, slurred his words when he spoke, and stumbled often as he walked.

The couple was in love.

The couple held hands, kissed often, hugged, and ignored everything around them.

Billie is reliable and responsible.

Billie always arrives on time, completes her assignments, and helps others if she has time.

Clichés

A cliché is a tired, overworked phrase that sucks the life out of writing. These are cliché phrases: a needle in a haystack, quiet as a mouse, crack of dawn, tough as nails, naked truth, hear a pin drop, and so on. Authors use clichés when they don't have the time or ability to come up with language that is more precise or more meaningful. Although clichés are a sort of "communication shorthand," they rely on stereotypical thinking for their meaning. A writer who uses clichés is relying on unoriginal, worn-out thinking patterns to carry a message. If the message is important, fresh language will make a stronger impression than old, overused phrases. Original language stimulates thought and heightens the reader's concentration. Moreover, a fresh image rewards a reader who is paying close attention to what you have written.

Imagine that a writer wanted to explain how difficult it was to find the source of a problem. Look at the two versions presented below. One relies on a cliché to communicate the message; the other uses a fresher, more original approach. Which version is likely to make the stronger impression, to communicate the message more effectively?

Finding the source of this problem was harder than finding a needle in a haystack.

Finding the source of this problem was harder than finding a fact in a political advertisement.

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Abstract vs. Concrete

Abstract language refers to intangible ideas or to classes of people and objects rather than the people or things themselves. Abstractions are built on concrete ideas. Without a grasp of the concrete meanings, a reader can't be expected to understand an abstract idea. Journalists and law enforcement professionals are especially aware of the distinction between abstract and concrete as they write. They strive to present the facts clearly, so the reader can draw conclusions. They avoid making the assumptions for the reader, hoping the facts will speak for themselves. Concrete language requires more time and thought to write, but it communicates a message more effectively. Additional words are an advantage if they add meaning or increase precision.

Abstract Assumption

Concrete Details

Strader was drunk.

Strader smelled strongly of alcohol, slurred his words when he spoke, and stumbled often as he walked.

The couple was in love.

The couple held hands, kissed often, hugged, and ignored everything around them.

Billie is reliable and responsible.

Billie always arrives on time, completes her assignments, and helps others if she has time.

Clichés

A cliché is a tired, overworked phrase that sucks the life out of writing. These are cliché phrases: a needle in a haystack, quiet as a mouse, crack of dawn, tough as nails, naked truth, hear a pin drop, and so on. Authors use clichés when they don't have the time or ability to come up with language that is more precise or more meaningful. Although clichés are a sort of "communication shorthand," they rely on stereotypical thinking for their meaning. A writer who uses clichés is relying on unoriginal, worn-out thinking patterns to carry a message. If the message is important, fresh language will make a stronger impression than old, overused phrases. Original language stimulates thought and heightens the reader's concentration. Moreover, a fresh image rewards a reader who is paying close attention to what you have written.

Imagine that a writer wanted to explain how difficult it was to find the source of a problem. Look at the two versions presented below. One relies on a cliché to communicate the message; the other uses a fresher, more original approach. Which version is likely to make the stronger impression, to communicate the message more effectively?

Finding the source of this problem was harder than finding a needle in a haystack.

Finding the source of this problem was harder than finding a fact in a political advertisement.

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Here are two more examples contrasting clichés with fresher, more original language. When you check your writing, look for ways to replace frequently used words and phrases with something fresh and original.

We rose at the crack of dawn.

We rose with the roosters.

Having Sam at our negotiations meetings was like having a loose cannon on deck.

Having Sam at our negotiations meetings was like having a German shepherd's tail in your crystal closet.

Jargon

Jargon is the technical, wordy language used by those associated with a trade or profession. Often it is full of passive voice, acronyms, technical terms, and abstract words. Writers use jargon in an attempt to sound educated, sophisticated, or knowledgeable. Actually, jargon muddies and even distorts the message. Compare the following two paragraphs.

Alex demonstrates a tendency to engage inappropriately in verbal social interaction during class time. His grades are deficient because he suffers from an unwillingness to complete supplementary assignments between class periods.

Alex talks in class when he isn't supposed to. He has low grades because he doesn't do his homework.

The first paragraph above leaves the impression that Alex is a sociopath with a serious problem. The second portrays him as a student who needs to talk less and work more. When you write, strive for clear, plain language that communicates your message accurately. Clear communication leaves a better impression by far than pretentious, abstract, jargon-filled words.

Practice

Choose the option that expresses the idea most clearly and concisely. Answers are at the end of the lesson.

5. a. On June 17, Dr. Sam Boswell and Ms. Lorene Webb had an argument over a parking space in the Eagle Supermarket parking lot. Police officers told them both to go home instead of arresting them.

b. On or about June 17, in the Eagle Supermarket parking lot, Dr. Sam Boswell and Ms. Lorene Webb were allegedly involved in an altercation over a parking space. The police were called. There were no arrests. Both parties were advised to go home by the police officers.

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Here are two more examples contrasting clichés with fresher, more original language. When you check your writing, look for ways to replace frequently used words and phrases with something fresh and original.

We rose at the crack of dawn.

We rose with the roosters.

Having Sam at our negotiations meetings was like having a loose cannon on deck.

Having Sam at our negotiations meetings was like having a German shepherd's tail in your crystal closet.

Jargon

Jargon is the technical, wordy language used by those associated with a trade or profession. Often it is full of passive voice, acronyms, technical terms, and abstract words. Writers use jargon in an attempt to sound educated, sophisticated, or knowledgeable. Actually, jargon muddies and even distorts the message. Compare the following two paragraphs.

Alex demonstrates a tendency to engage inappropriately in verbal social interaction during class time. His grades are deficient because he suffers from an unwillingness to complete supplementary assignments between class periods.

Alex talks in class when he isn't supposed to. He has low grades because he doesn't do his homework.

The first paragraph above leaves the impression that Alex is a sociopath with a serious problem. The second portrays him as a student who needs to talk less and work more. When you write, strive for clear, plain language that communicates your message accurately. Clear communication leaves a better impression by far than pretentious, abstract, jargon-filled words.

Practice

Choose the option that expresses the idea most clearly and concisely. Answers are at the end of the lesson.

5. a. On June 17, Dr. Sam Boswell and Ms. Lorene Webb had an argument over a parking space in the Eagle Supermarket parking lot. Police officers told them both to go home instead of arresting them.

b. On or about June 17, in the Eagle Supermarket parking lot, Dr. Sam Boswell and Ms. Lorene Webb were allegedly involved in an altercation over a parking space. The police were called. There were no arrests. Both parties were advised to go home by the police officers.

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6. a. The most expeditious option in a situation such as this is inevitably also the most advantageous option.

b. The fastest way is the best way.

7. a. Too many television viewers prefer mindless entertainment to thought-provoking programs.

b. Too many television viewers prefer "Gilligan's Island" to "The MacNeil-Lehrer Report."

8. a. The research department found that customers are not satisfied with our magazines.

b. Consumer attitude studies by the research department clearly indicated an extremely low level of customer satisfaction with regard to our newsstand products.

Skill Building Until Next Time

Listen to public officials as they deliver prepared speeches. Do they speak clearly and plainly, or are they trying to sound "official"? A truly competent, intelligent speaker or writer doesn't need a mask of pretentious, abstract, sophisticated-sounding language.

Answers

1. Stephanie has contributed a lot to this company's success.

2. Some educators believe that unruly students should be spanked.

3. Using computers can save time and money.

4. I let my supervisor beat me at golf so that she would promote me.

5. a.

6. b.

7. b.

8. a.

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Lesson 19—
More Diction

Lesson Summary

This lesson continues the ideas presented in the last lesson: writing clearly and communicating accurately. It covers colloquialism, loaded language, consistent point of view, parallelism, and gender-neutral language.

Good writers know that communicating requires choosing words carefully. Writing styles that are too formal or informal, inappropriate, or just plain emotional, turn readers off. You may have the best ideas in the world, but if you can't get them across in writing, no one will ever act on your great ideas. On the other hand, commonplace ideas that are well expressed are more likely to get attention. How you choose your words has everything to do with whether your writing gets the attention it deserves.

Colloquialism

Colloquialisms are informal words and phrases such as a lot, in a bind, pulled it off, and so on. These words and phrases are widely used in conversations between friends, but in written communication they portray an attitude of chumminess or close friendship that may cause your message to be taken

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Lesson 19—
More Diction

Lesson Summary

This lesson continues the ideas presented in the last lesson: writing clearly and communicating accurately. It covers colloquialism, loaded language, consistent point of view, parallelism, and gender-neutral language.

Good writers know that communicating requires choosing words carefully. Writing styles that are too formal or informal, inappropriate, or just plain emotional, turn readers off. You may have the best ideas in the world, but if you can't get them across in writing, no one will ever act on your great ideas. On the other hand, commonplace ideas that are well expressed are more likely to get attention. How you choose your words has everything to do with whether your writing gets the attention it deserves.

Colloquialism

Colloquialisms are informal words and phrases such as a lot, in a bind, pulled it off, and so on. These words and phrases are widely used in conversations between friends, but in written communication they portray an attitude of chumminess or close friendship that may cause your message to be taken

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less seriously than you intended. You may even insult your reader without meaning to. A friendly, colloquial tone is fine in a personal letter; however, a more formal tone is better for business communications, which are meant to be taken seriously. Compare the following paragraphs. If you received these two memos from an employee, which would you take more seriously?

I think the way we promote people around here stinks. People who aren't that good at their jobs get promoted just because they pal around with the right people. That puts across the idea that it doesn't matter how much time I put in at work or how good of a job I do; I won't get promoted unless I kiss up to the boss. I'm not that kind of guy.

I think our promotion system is unfair. Average and below average employees receive promotions simply because they befriend their superiors. This practice leaves the impression that commitment and quality of work are not considered. I choose not to socialize with my supervisors, and I feel as though I am not being promoted for that reason alone.

The writer of the first paragraph sounds as if he doesn't take his job all that seriously. And yet he probably does; he just hasn't managed to communicate his seriousness in writing because he has used language that is more appropriate in a conversation with his friends than a memo to his supervisor. The writer of the second paragraph, on the other hand, conveys his seriousness by using more formal language. He has done so without falling into the opposite trap, discussed in the last lesson, of trying to sound too intelligent. He has used plain, but not colloquial, language.

The following sentences illustrate the difference between colloquial and formal diction. By substituting the highlighted words, the sentence becomes more formal rather than colloquial.

Colloquial

More Formal Words

I have around three hours to finish this job.

I have about three hours to finish this task.

The pasta was real good.

The pasta was very good.

We got sick from the food.

We became ill from the food.

It looks live we could win.

It looks as if we could win.

I'm awful tired.

I'm very (or quite or extremely) tired.

Tone

Tone describes a writer's emotional attitude toward the subject or the audience. The more reasonable and objective a message seems, the more likely it is to be considered seriously. Raging emotions seldom convince anyone to change an opinion, and they seldom convince anyone who is undecided. Persuasion requires clearly presented facts and logically presented arguments. A reader or listener will give the most credibility to an argument that seems fair and objective. Emotion can reduce credibility. Use it carefully.

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Avoid Anger

Avoid accusatory, angry words that make demands. Consider the two paragraphs below. Which one is most likely to persuade the reader to take action?

I just got this stupid credit card bill in the mail. None of these outrageous charges are mine. I can't believe some big corporation like yours can't find a way to keep its records straight or keep its customers from being cheated. If you can't do any better than that, why don't you just give it up? I reported my stolen credit card five days before any of these charges were made, and yet you idiots have charged me for these purchases. The fine print you guys are so fond of putting in all of your contracts says I am not (I'll say it again just to help you understand) not responsible for these charges. I want them removed immediately.

The credit card bill I received on April 25 contains several charges that need to be removed. I reported my stolen credit card on April 20. When I called to make the report, the representative referred me the original contract that states, ''No charges in excess of $50.00 nor any made more than 24 hours after the card has been reported stolen shall be charged to the customer's account." Naturally, I was quite relieved. All of the charges on this account were made more than 24 hours after I reported the stolen card. Please remove the charges from my account. Thank you very much.

No matter how angry you might be, giving your reader the benefit of the doubt is not only polite but also more likely to get results. (This principle is even more important when you're writing a supervisor, employee, or client than when you're writing a big credit card company.) The first letter is the one you might write in the heat of the moment when you first get your credit card bill. In fact, writing that letter might help you get the anger out of your system. Tearing it up will make you feel even better. Then you can sit down and write the letter you're actually going to send—the second version.

Use sarcasm (bitter, derisive language) and irony (saying the opposite of what you actually mean) carefully in your writing. Like anger, sarcasm brings your credibility into question. Overusing sarcasm can make you seem childish or petty rather than reasonable and logical. Furthermore, in order for irony to be successful, the reader must immediately recognize it. Unless the reader fully understands, you risk confusing or distorting your message. A little well-placed irony or sarcasm may invigorate your writing, but it requires careful, skillful use.

Avoid Cuteness

Avoid words that make your writing sound flippant, glib, or cute. Although the writing may be entertaining to the reader, it might not be taken seriously. The paragraph below protests a decision, but fails to offer a single reason why the decision was wrong. It may get the attention of the reader, but it won't produce any results, except perhaps the dismissal of its author.

I'm just a li'l ol' girl, but it's clear to me that this decision is dead wrong. I'm afraid that the people who made it have a serious intelligence problem. If they took their two IQ points and rubbed them together, they probably couldn't start gasoline on fire. If you were one of those people . . . . Oh well, it's been nice working for you.

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Avoid Anger

Avoid accusatory, angry words that make demands. Consider the two paragraphs below. Which one is most likely to persuade the reader to take action?

I just got this stupid credit card bill in the mail. None of these outrageous charges are mine. I can't believe some big corporation like yours can't find a way to keep its records straight or keep its customers from being cheated. If you can't do any better than that, why don't you just give it up? I reported my stolen credit card five days before any of these charges were made, and yet you idiots have charged me for these purchases. The fine print you guys are so fond of putting in all of your contracts says I am not (I'll say it again just to help you understand) not responsible for these charges. I want them removed immediately.

The credit card bill I received on April 25 contains several charges that need to be removed. I reported my stolen credit card on April 20. When I called to make the report, the representative referred me the original contract that states, ''No charges in excess of $50.00 nor any made more than 24 hours after the card has been reported stolen shall be charged to the customer's account." Naturally, I was quite relieved. All of the charges on this account were made more than 24 hours after I reported the stolen card. Please remove the charges from my account. Thank you very much.

No matter how angry you might be, giving your reader the benefit of the doubt is not only polite but also more likely to get results. (This principle is even more important when you're writing a supervisor, employee, or client than when you're writing a big credit card company.) The first letter is the one you might write in the heat of the moment when you first get your credit card bill. In fact, writing that letter might help you get the anger out of your system. Tearing it up will make you feel even better. Then you can sit down and write the letter you're actually going to send—the second version.

Use sarcasm (bitter, derisive language) and irony (saying the opposite of what you actually mean) carefully in your writing. Like anger, sarcasm brings your credibility into question. Overusing sarcasm can make you seem childish or petty rather than reasonable and logical. Furthermore, in order for irony to be successful, the reader must immediately recognize it. Unless the reader fully understands, you risk confusing or distorting your message. A little well-placed irony or sarcasm may invigorate your writing, but it requires careful, skillful use.

Avoid Cuteness

Avoid words that make your writing sound flippant, glib, or cute. Although the writing may be entertaining to the reader, it might not be taken seriously. The paragraph below protests a decision, but fails to offer a single reason why the decision was wrong. It may get the attention of the reader, but it won't produce any results, except perhaps the dismissal of its author.

I'm just a li'l ol' girl, but it's clear to me that this decision is dead wrong. I'm afraid that the people who made it have a serious intelligence problem. If they took their two IQ points and rubbed them together, they probably couldn't start gasoline on fire. If you were one of those people . . . . Oh well, it's been nice working for you.

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The conclusion implied in this writer's last sentence—that she doesn't expect to work here much longer—is probably accurate.

Avoid Pompousness

Avoid words that make your writing sound pompous or preachy. Few people respond positively to a condescending, patronizing tone. Compare the two paragraphs below, both written by employees seeking a promotion. Which employee would you promote if they were both vying for the same position and had nearly identical work records and qualifications?

If you examine my service and work record for the past two years, I believe you will find a dedicated, hardworking employee who is ideal for the floor manager position. I believe all employees should be on time for their jobs. You will see that my attendance record is impeccable, no absences and no tardies. You can see from my monthly evaluations that I was a high-quality employee when I was hired and that I have consistently maintained my high standards. I strive to be the kind of employee all managers wish to hire, and I believe my record shows this. I am also extremely responsible. Again, my record will reflect that my supervisors have confidence in me and assign additional responsibility readily to me because I am someone who can handle it. I am a man of my word, and believe that responsibility is something to be treasured, not shirked. As you compare me with other employees, I feel confident that you will find I am the most competent person available.

Thank you for considering me for the position of floor manager. As you make your decision, I would like to highlight three items from my service and work record. First, in two years I have not missed work and have been tardy only once, as the result of an accident. Second, my supervisors have given me the highest ratings on each of the monthly evaluations. Finally, I was pleased to have been given additional responsibilities during my supervisors' vacation times, and I learned a great deal about managing sales and accounts as a result. I welcome the challenge that would come with a promotion. Thank you again for your consideration.

Both writers highlight the same aspects of their employment records. Yet the first writer seems so full of himself that his superiors might wonder whether he has the people skills to be an effective supervisor. No one wants to work for a supervisor who is prone to such pronouncements as "responsibility is something to be treasured, not shirked." The other writer's just-the-facts approach is bound to make a better impression on the decision-makers.

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Avoid Cheap Emotion

Avoid language that is full of sentimentality or cheap emotion. You risk making your reader gag. The following paragraph illustrates this error.

We were so deeply hurt by your cruel thoughtlessness in failing to introduce us to Charlton Heston. He is the most wonderful, talented, masculine actor to have ever walked the face of the earth. My friend Charlotte and I so admire him and have ever since we can remember. Our admiration is a deep-channeled river that will never stop flowing. I'm sure you can imagine just how sorely disappointed and deeply wounded we were when we were not given the opportunity and honor to shake the hand and hear the voice of this great man. Neither I nor my dearest friend can seem to forget this slight, and I'm sure we will remain scarred for many years to come.

Are you gagging yet? Instead of regretting not having introduced the writer to the great Charlton Heston, the reader probably congratulates himself on not having let this nut case get near him.

Consistent Point of View

Authors can write using the first person point of view (I, me, we, us, my, our), second person point of view (you, your), or third person point of view (she, he, one, they, her, him, them, hers, his, one's, theirs). Avoid switching points of view within or between sentences. Keep the point of view consistent throughout.

Inconsistent

Consistent

Citizens pay taxes, which entitle them [third person] to have some way in how their [third person] government is run. We [first person] have a right to insist on efficient use of four tax dollars.

We citizens pay taxes, which entitles us to have some say in how to government is run. We have a right to insist on efficient use of our tax dollars.

I [first person] enjoyed my trip to the park. You [second person] could see trees budding, flowers blooming, and baby animals running all over.

I enjoyed my trip to the park. I saw trees budding, flowers blooming, and baby animals running all over.

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Avoid Cheap Emotion

Avoid language that is full of sentimentality or cheap emotion. You risk making your reader gag. The following paragraph illustrates this error.

We were so deeply hurt by your cruel thoughtlessness in failing to introduce us to Charlton Heston. He is the most wonderful, talented, masculine actor to have ever walked the face of the earth. My friend Charlotte and I so admire him and have ever since we can remember. Our admiration is a deep-channeled river that will never stop flowing. I'm sure you can imagine just how sorely disappointed and deeply wounded we were when we were not given the opportunity and honor to shake the hand and hear the voice of this great man. Neither I nor my dearest friend can seem to forget this slight, and I'm sure we will remain scarred for many years to come.

Are you gagging yet? Instead of regretting not having introduced the writer to the great Charlton Heston, the reader probably congratulates himself on not having let this nut case get near him.

Consistent Point of View

Authors can write using the first person point of view (I, me, we, us, my, our), second person point of view (you, your), or third person point of view (she, he, one, they, her, him, them, hers, his, one's, theirs). Avoid switching points of view within or between sentences. Keep the point of view consistent throughout.

Inconsistent

Consistent

Citizens pay taxes, which entitle them [third person] to have some way in how their [third person] government is run. We [first person] have a right to insist on efficient use of four tax dollars.

We citizens pay taxes, which entitles us to have some say in how to government is run. We have a right to insist on efficient use of our tax dollars.

I [first person] enjoyed my trip to the park. You [second person] could see trees budding, flowers blooming, and baby animals running all over.

I enjoyed my trip to the park. I saw trees budding, flowers blooming, and baby animals running all over.

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Parallelism

Two or more equivalent ideas in a sentence that have the same purpose should be presented in the same form. This is called parallel structure. Using parallel sentence structures not only helps your writing flow smoothly, but also helps readers quickly recognize similar ideas. Look at the following examples of parallel words, phrases, and clauses.

Not Parallel

Parallel

My roommate is miserly, sloppy, and a bare.

My roommate is miserly, sloppy, and boring.

My roommate is a miser, a slob, and a bore.

My vaccum cleaner squealed loudly, shock violentely, and dust filled the air.

My vaccum cleaner squealed loudly, shock violently, and filled the air with dust.

We soon discovered that our plane tickets were invalid, that our cruise reservations had never been made, and our travel agent left town.

We soon discovered that our plane tickets were invalid, that our cruise reservations had never been made, and that our travel agent had left town.

Pairs of ideas should always be presented in parallel constructions. The following sentences present two or more equivalent ideas using similar forms.

The committee finds no original and inspiring ideas in your proposal. What is original is not inspiring, and what is inspiring is not original.

We came, we saw, we conquered.

Belle was a timid, talented, and creative person.

Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.

Using Gender-Neutral Language

It may seem that language is neutral, simply a tool for expressing ideas. Although this is partly true, our language reflects our values and communicates to others our social biases about gender and other issues. If an entire culture is gender-biased, the language automatically becomes a vehicle for expressing and perpetuating those biases. One of the first steps toward overcoming such a prejudice is to examine the language and change it so that it no longer perpetuates false stereotypes about gender.

Some people resist changing the language, thinking that the words are harmless and that those who are offended are simply too sensitive. The fact remains that many readers are sensitive to and offended by the traditional use of masculine pronouns to refer to both sexes or by diminutive suffixes indicating gender. Saying, "Man must fulfill his destiny" or "Emily Dickinson was a great poetess" strikes them as archaic at best and insulting at worst.

Whenever emotionally charged words distract a reader, the message suffers. A reader who is offended by the words won't get the meaning.

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Parallelism

Two or more equivalent ideas in a sentence that have the same purpose should be presented in the same form. This is called parallel structure. Using parallel sentence structures not only helps your writing flow smoothly, but also helps readers quickly recognize similar ideas. Look at the following examples of parallel words, phrases, and clauses.

Not Parallel

Parallel

My roommate is miserly, sloppy, and a bare.

My roommate is miserly, sloppy, and boring.

My roommate is a miser, a slob, and a bore.

My vaccum cleaner squealed loudly, shock violentely, and dust filled the air.

My vaccum cleaner squealed loudly, shock violently, and filled the air with dust.

We soon discovered that our plane tickets were invalid, that our cruise reservations had never been made, and our travel agent left town.

We soon discovered that our plane tickets were invalid, that our cruise reservations had never been made, and that our travel agent had left town.

Pairs of ideas should always be presented in parallel constructions. The following sentences present two or more equivalent ideas using similar forms.

The committee finds no original and inspiring ideas in your proposal. What is original is not inspiring, and what is inspiring is not original.

We came, we saw, we conquered.

Belle was a timid, talented, and creative person.

Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.

Using Gender-Neutral Language

It may seem that language is neutral, simply a tool for expressing ideas. Although this is partly true, our language reflects our values and communicates to others our social biases about gender and other issues. If an entire culture is gender-biased, the language automatically becomes a vehicle for expressing and perpetuating those biases. One of the first steps toward overcoming such a prejudice is to examine the language and change it so that it no longer perpetuates false stereotypes about gender.

Some people resist changing the language, thinking that the words are harmless and that those who are offended are simply too sensitive. The fact remains that many readers are sensitive to and offended by the traditional use of masculine pronouns to refer to both sexes or by diminutive suffixes indicating gender. Saying, "Man must fulfill his destiny" or "Emily Dickinson was a great poetess" strikes them as archaic at best and insulting at worst.

Whenever emotionally charged words distract a reader, the message suffers. A reader who is offended by the words won't get the meaning.

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Gender Traps

Below are samples of the type of language to avoid because the emotional charge may sidetrack the ideas.

Masculine Nouns or Pronouns

The most serious difficulty comes when using pronouns. If the pronoun he is used to refer to an indefinite person—a teacher, a student, a postal carrier—the underlying assumption seems to be that all teachers or students or postal carriers are male. The same problem comes up with words such as someone, somebody, everyone, no one, or nobody. Below are some examples of gender traps in sentences and possible ways to revise them.

Poor

Better

A presidential candidate must realize that his life is no longer his own.

Presidential candidates must realize that their lives are not their own

If a student wishes to change his schedule, he must see his advisor, who will tell him how to proceed.

a) If a student wishes to change his or her schedule, he or she must see his or her advisor, who will tell him or her how to proceed. [This sentence solves the mismatching number problem by using both a masculine and a feminine singular pronoun. Howerver, the writing seems awkward and unwidely.]

b) If students wish to change their schedule, they must see their advisor, who will tell them how to proceed. [In this sentence, making the noun student into plural students solves the pronoun mismatch problem.]

c) If you wish to change your schedule, see your advisor, who will tell you how to proceed. [This sentence uses the 2nd person pronouns "you" and "your."]

If anyone wants to improve his test scores, he should take good notes and study.

a) Anyone who wants improved test scores should take good notes and study. [Restructure the sentence to avoid the pronoun reference.]

b) Students who want to improve their test scores should take good notes and study. [Turn anyone into the plural students.]

c) Anyone who wants to improve his or her test scores should take good notes and study. [Use both the masculine and feminine singular pronouns.]

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Gender Traps

Below are samples of the type of language to avoid because the emotional charge may sidetrack the ideas.

Masculine Nouns or Pronouns

The most serious difficulty comes when using pronouns. If the pronoun he is used to refer to an indefinite person—a teacher, a student, a postal carrier—the underlying assumption seems to be that all teachers or students or postal carriers are male. The same problem comes up with words such as someone, somebody, everyone, no one, or nobody. Below are some examples of gender traps in sentences and possible ways to revise them.

Poor

Better

A presidential candidate must realize that his life is no longer his own.

Presidential candidates must realize that their lives are not their own

If a student wishes to change his schedule, he must see his advisor, who will tell him how to proceed.

a) If a student wishes to change his or her schedule, he or she must see his or her advisor, who will tell him or her how to proceed. [This sentence solves the mismatching number problem by using both a masculine and a feminine singular pronoun. Howerver, the writing seems awkward and unwidely.]

b) If students wish to change their schedule, they must see their advisor, who will tell them how to proceed. [In this sentence, making the noun student into plural students solves the pronoun mismatch problem.]

c) If you wish to change your schedule, see your advisor, who will tell you how to proceed. [This sentence uses the 2nd person pronouns "you" and "your."]

If anyone wants to improve his test scores, he should take good notes and study.

a) Anyone who wants improved test scores should take good notes and study. [Restructure the sentence to avoid the pronoun reference.]

b) Students who want to improve their test scores should take good notes and study. [Turn anyone into the plural students.]

c) Anyone who wants to improve his or her test scores should take good notes and study. [Use both the masculine and feminine singular pronouns.]

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Note that you cannot simply change the words he and his to they and theirs. "If anyone wants to improve their test scores, they should good take notes and study" is grammatically incorrect. The pronouns they and their don't match their antecedent, anyone, in number, because anyone is singular and they is plural.

Women as Subordinate to Men

There are many subtle ways in which writers can make it seem as if men are always leaders and women are always subordinate.

Poor

Better

A principal and his staff need to establish good communication.

The principal and staff need to establish good communication.

If you ask the nurse, she will summon the doctor if he is available.

If you ask, a nurse will summon an available doctor.

Bob took his wife and children to a movie.

Bob and Mary took their children to a movie.

Emil asked his secretary to check the mail.

Emil asked the secretary to check the mail.

Writers also fall into a similar kind of trap when they refer to men according to their abilities, while referring to women according to their appearance.

Poor

Better

Dr. Routmeir and his attractive, blond wife arrived at the party at 9:00 P.M.

a) Dr. and Ms. Routmeir arrived at the party at 9:00 P.M.

b) Herman and Betty Routmeir arrived at the party at 9:00 P.M.

The talented violinist and his beautiful accompanist took the stage.

The violinist and the accompanist took the stage.

Note that in both sentences in the first column above, the man is referred to by his profession, while the woman is referred to by her appearance. To avoid the appearance of assigning value to men because of their accomplishments and to women because of their appearance, refer to both in the same context, either physical or professional. Furthermore, in the first example the man is addressed by a formal title, and the woman is not identified except as the wife belonging to the man. To avoid the appearance of referring to the woman strictly as the possession of the man, refer to both by name.

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"Men's" Jobs and "Women's" Jobs

Avoid making special note of gender when discussing a job traditionally done by men or women—those traditions don't hold any more! The first sentence below makes traditional assumptions, while the second does not.

When a man on board collapsed, a lady pilot emerged from the cockpit, and a male nurse offered assistance.

When a passenger collapsed, a pilot emerged from the cockpit, and a nurse offered assistance.

The references lady pilot and male nurse call attention to themselves because they assume that the reader will automatically assign a gender to the job. Readers who do not think in terms of the traditional stereotypes will be offended by the writer's assumption that they do engage in stereotypical thinking.

Avoiding Gender Traps

As a writer, you must understand the effect of gender references on readers. You can avoid offending readers unintentionally with gender-specific language in three ways: using gender-neutral terms, using the plural, or restructuring sentences altogether to avoid a gender reference. All of these tactics have already been illustrated in the revised sentences above. More examples appear below.

Use Gender-Neutral Terms

There are a lot of words in English that traditionally have taken different forms for male and female persons. These distinctions are becoming obsolete. Nowadays, most people prefer one term to refer to both men and women in their particular roles. And this change doesn't have to be awkward, as you can see in the table below.

Gender-Specific

Gender-Neutral

waiter, waitress

server

stewardess, steward

flight attendant

policeman, policewoman

police officer

chairwoman, chairman

chairperson, chair

man-made

synthetic, artifical

foreman

supervisor

manpower

employees, personnel

man, mankind

humanity, people

In the past, it was common to use the word man to refer to all humanity, both men and women. Nowadays, that usage will offend many readers. The sentence below demonstrates this kind of usage while the second one offers a more appropriate alternative.

If man wishes to improve his environment, he must improve himself.

If humanity wishes to improve its environment, each individual must improve.

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"Men's" Jobs and "Women's" Jobs

Avoid making special note of gender when discussing a job traditionally done by men or women—those traditions don't hold any more! The first sentence below makes traditional assumptions, while the second does not.

When a man on board collapsed, a lady pilot emerged from the cockpit, and a male nurse offered assistance.

When a passenger collapsed, a pilot emerged from the cockpit, and a nurse offered assistance.

The references lady pilot and male nurse call attention to themselves because they assume that the reader will automatically assign a gender to the job. Readers who do not think in terms of the traditional stereotypes will be offended by the writer's assumption that they do engage in stereotypical thinking.

Avoiding Gender Traps

As a writer, you must understand the effect of gender references on readers. You can avoid offending readers unintentionally with gender-specific language in three ways: using gender-neutral terms, using the plural, or restructuring sentences altogether to avoid a gender reference. All of these tactics have already been illustrated in the revised sentences above. More examples appear below.

Use Gender-Neutral Terms

There are a lot of words in English that traditionally have taken different forms for male and female persons. These distinctions are becoming obsolete. Nowadays, most people prefer one term to refer to both men and women in their particular roles. And this change doesn't have to be awkward, as you can see in the table below.

Gender-Specific

Gender-Neutral

waiter, waitress

server

stewardess, steward

flight attendant

policeman, policewoman

police officer

chairwoman, chairman

chairperson, chair

man-made

synthetic, artifical

foreman

supervisor

manpower

employees, personnel

man, mankind

humanity, people

In the past, it was common to use the word man to refer to all humanity, both men and women. Nowadays, that usage will offend many readers. The sentence below demonstrates this kind of usage while the second one offers a more appropriate alternative.

If man wishes to improve his environment, he must improve himself.

If humanity wishes to improve its environment, each individual must improve.

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Page 171

"Men's" Jobs and "Women's" Jobs

Avoid making special note of gender when discussing a job traditionally done by men or women—those traditions don't hold any more! The first sentence below makes traditional assumptions, while the second does not.

When a man on board collapsed, a lady pilot emerged from the cockpit, and a male nurse offered assistance.

When a passenger collapsed, a pilot emerged from the cockpit, and a nurse offered assistance.

The references lady pilot and male nurse call attention to themselves because they assume that the reader will automatically assign a gender to the job. Readers who do not think in terms of the traditional stereotypes will be offended by the writer's assumption that they do engage in stereotypical thinking.

Avoiding Gender Traps

As a writer, you must understand the effect of gender references on readers. You can avoid offending readers unintentionally with gender-specific language in three ways: using gender-neutral terms, using the plural, or restructuring sentences altogether to avoid a gender reference. All of these tactics have already been illustrated in the revised sentences above. More examples appear below.

Use Gender-Neutral Terms

There are a lot of words in English that traditionally have taken different forms for male and female persons. These distinctions are becoming obsolete. Nowadays, most people prefer one term to refer to both men and women in their particular roles. And this change doesn't have to be awkward, as you can see in the table below.

Gender-Specific

Gender-Neutral

waiter, waitress

server

stewardess, steward

flight attendant

policeman, policewoman

police officer

chairwoman, chairman

chairperson, chair

man-made

synthetic, artifical

foreman

supervisor

manpower

employees, personnel

man, mankind

humanity, people

In the past, it was common to use the word man to refer to all humanity, both men and women. Nowadays, that usage will offend many readers. The sentence below demonstrates this kind of usage while the second one offers a more appropriate alternative.

If man wishes to improve his environment, he must improve himself.

If humanity wishes to improve its environment, each individual must improve.

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Page 172

Convert to the Plural

One of the stickiest gender-reference problems is how to deal with a sentence such as, "A student must do his homework if he wants to succeed in his classes." The easiest way to avoid those troublesome he words is to turn the singular pronouns he, she, him, hers, or his into the plural pronouns they and their. Of course, then you must also revise the antecedents of those pronouns so they are also plural (see Lesson 13):"Students must do their homework if they want to succeed in their classes." Here are some other examples.

Gender-Specific

Gender-Neutral

The doctor uses his best judgment.

Doctors use their best judgment.

Every student must do his homework.

Students must do their homework.

A company executive is wise to choose his words carefully.

Company executives are wise to choose their words carefully.

If a manager wants respect, he should behave respectably.

Managers who want respect should behave respectably.

Restructure Sentences to Avoid Gender Reference

Finally, you can avoid gender references altogether by restructuring your sentences. See how this is done in the following examples.

Gender-Specific

Gender-Neutral

Man has always turned to his intellect to solve problems.

People have always turned to their intellect to solve problems.

A company executive is wise to drive himself relentlessly.

Anyone who desires success must work relentlessly.

A nurse must take her job seriously.

A nurse must take the job seriously.

Someone left his umbrealla in the cloakroom. He should call Last and Found.

The person who left an umbrella in the cloakroom should call Lost and Found.

The ladies enjoyed the shopping trip.

The shoppers enjoyed their trip.

Skill Building Until Next Time

Pay close attention to the tone and style of everything you write or read. Is the degree of formality appropriate for the message and the audience? Do you sense emotional overload? Is the point of view consistent? Are equivalent ideas presented equally? Does the writing contain gender references? If so, are they likely to offend the reader?

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Page 172

Convert to the Plural

One of the stickiest gender-reference problems is how to deal with a sentence such as, "A student must do his homework if he wants to succeed in his classes." The easiest way to avoid those troublesome he words is to turn the singular pronouns he, she, him, hers, or his into the plural pronouns they and their. Of course, then you must also revise the antecedents of those pronouns so they are also plural (see Lesson 13):"Students must do their homework if they want to succeed in their classes." Here are some other examples.

Gender-Specific

Gender-Neutral

The doctor uses his best judgment.

Doctors use their best judgment.

Every student must do his homework.

Students must do their homework.

A company executive is wise to choose his words carefully.

Company executives are wise to choose their words carefully.

If a manager wants respect, he should behave respectably.

Managers who want respect should behave respectably.

Restructure Sentences to Avoid Gender Reference

Finally, you can avoid gender references altogether by restructuring your sentences. See how this is done in the following examples.

Gender-Specific

Gender-Neutral

Man has always turned to his intellect to solve problems.

People have always turned to their intellect to solve problems.

A company executive is wise to drive himself relentlessly.

Anyone who desires success must work relentlessly.

A nurse must take her job seriously.

A nurse must take the job seriously.

Someone left his umbrealla in the cloakroom. He should call Last and Found.

The person who left an umbrella in the cloakroom should call Lost and Found.

The ladies enjoyed the shopping trip.

The shoppers enjoyed their trip.

Skill Building Until Next Time

Pay close attention to the tone and style of everything you write or read. Is the degree of formality appropriate for the message and the audience? Do you sense emotional overload? Is the point of view consistent? Are equivalent ideas presented equally? Does the writing contain gender references? If so, are they likely to offend the reader?

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Page 173

Lesson 20—
Communicating Yours Ideas

Lesson Summary

The previous lessons have dealt with words and sentences. This final lesson is about the bigger issues involved in a piece of writing as a whole. By focusing on the purpose of your writing, you can develop your ideas in a logical, effective way to have the biggest possible impact on your readers.

Mastering writing detail is important, but the main purpose of writing is to communicate a message with a specific purpose to an audience. Most writing does one of three things: inform, explain, or present an argument. Writing effectively involves discovering what you want to say, organizing your ideas, and presenting them in the most logical, effective way. This lesson discusses all of these issues.

Writing to Inform

Good, informational writing is clear, simple, and orderly. In business writing, it's important to get right to the point. No one has time to spend reading your warm-ups, the words you write while you're trying to get to the point. The best communications state the point directly and present the information clearly.

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Page 173

Lesson 20—
Communicating Yours Ideas

Lesson Summary

The previous lessons have dealt with words and sentences. This final lesson is about the bigger issues involved in a piece of writing as a whole. By focusing on the purpose of your writing, you can develop your ideas in a logical, effective way to have the biggest possible impact on your readers.

Mastering writing detail is important, but the main purpose of writing is to communicate a message with a specific purpose to an audience. Most writing does one of three things: inform, explain, or present an argument. Writing effectively involves discovering what you want to say, organizing your ideas, and presenting them in the most logical, effective way. This lesson discusses all of these issues.

Writing to Inform

Good, informational writing is clear, simple, and orderly. In business writing, it's important to get right to the point. No one has time to spend reading your warm-ups, the words you write while you're trying to get to the point. The best communications state the point directly and present the information clearly.

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Page 175

The Planning

Main idea: Mr. Lundsky requested information about the printers (models, date of purchase) used in our department and justification for the technology requests we made last year.

Purpose: Provide the information so the department can get what it requested

Audience: Mr. Lundsky, technology coordinator

I. Data

A. Current computers and memory

1. PS1, 4 mb RAM

2. PS2, 8 mb RAM

3. AST, 8 mb RAM

4. PS2, 8 mb RAM

5. Compaq Presario, 16 mb RAM

B. Printers

1. NEC, 1991

2. Epson, 1992

3. HP Laserjet II, 1993

4. HP Deskjet 560, 1995

II. Requests

A. Additional printer

1. HP Deskjet 660C for Compaq Presario

2. Reason: newest, most powerful computer needs color capability

B. Memory upgrades

1. two 8 mb SIMMs for PS1

2. two 8 mb SIMMs for PS2s respectively

3. 8mb SIMMs for AST

C. Justification for memory upgrades

1. Most recent programs require a minimum of 16 mb RAM

2. 8 mb SIMMs are the most cost effective

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Page 176

The Memo

To: Mr. Lundsky

From: Allie McGinnis

Re: Technology assessment and needs of sociology department as requested

Date: May 9, 1996

I am providing the information you requested about equipment we have in our department. I am also outlining our additional requests and the reasons for these requests.

These are the machines, memory capacity, and printers we have at this time:

• PS1, 4 mb RAM, NEC Silentwriter printer (purchased in 1991)

• PS2,8 mb RAM, Epson LQ2 dot matrix printer (both purchased in 1992)

• AST, 8 mb RAM, no printer (purchased in 1992)

•PS2,8 mb RAM, Laserjet II printer (both purchased in 1993)

• Compaq Presario, 16 mb RAM, HP Deskjet 560 (purchased 1995)

We are requesting five 8-megabyte memory SIMMs to upgrade all of the computers to at least 16 mb of RAM. The most recent programs we have purchased require a minimum of 10 mb. Eight-mb SIMMS are the most cost-effective way to buy additional memory. A single 8-mb SIMMs is $95.00, while 4-mb SIMMs are $72.00 and 2-mb SIMMs are $59.00 each. We also need an HP Deskjet 660C. We plan to move the HP Deskjet 560 to the AST, which has no printer, and put the new printer with color capability on our newest, most powerful unit.

Thank you for considering our request.

Writing to Explain

Another form of writing you're likely to use often is explanation. You may need to provide reasons for an action or policy, or you may need to explain how a product is used.

For this type of writing, follow the same planning process as you would for a written communication designed to present information.

1. Summarize the main idea and purpose.

2. Determine the audience.

3. Brainstorm ideas.

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Page 176

The Memo

To: Mr. Lundsky

From: Allie McGinnis

Re: Technology assessment and needs of sociology department as requested

Date: May 9, 1996

I am providing the information you requested about equipment we have in our department. I am also outlining our additional requests and the reasons for these requests.

These are the machines, memory capacity, and printers we have at this time:

• PS1, 4 mb RAM, NEC Silentwriter printer (purchased in 1991)

• PS2,8 mb RAM, Epson LQ2 dot matrix printer (both purchased in 1992)

• AST, 8 mb RAM, no printer (purchased in 1992)

•PS2,8 mb RAM, Laserjet II printer (both purchased in 1993)

• Compaq Presario, 16 mb RAM, HP Deskjet 560 (purchased 1995)

We are requesting five 8-megabyte memory SIMMs to upgrade all of the computers to at least 16 mb of RAM. The most recent programs we have purchased require a minimum of 10 mb. Eight-mb SIMMS are the most cost-effective way to buy additional memory. A single 8-mb SIMMs is $95.00, while 4-mb SIMMs are $72.00 and 2-mb SIMMs are $59.00 each. We also need an HP Deskjet 660C. We plan to move the HP Deskjet 560 to the AST, which has no printer, and put the new printer with color capability on our newest, most powerful unit.

Thank you for considering our request.

Writing to Explain

Another form of writing you're likely to use often is explanation. You may need to provide reasons for an action or policy, or you may need to explain how a product is used.

For this type of writing, follow the same planning process as you would for a written communication designed to present information.

1. Summarize the main idea and purpose.

2. Determine the audience.

3. Brainstorm ideas.

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Page 178

III. Reliability

A. Warranties

B. Weekly maintenance checks

C. Service

D. Two-hour replacement guarantee

First paragraph: Everyone in the promotional department at KCBD-TV will find this new Sharp copy machine a huge improvement over the older model. You'll appreciate how easy it is to use this new copier for daily tasks, and anyone can perform the routine maintenance on the machine. This, our most reliable copier, is backed by a long-term warranty and a quick, efficient service plan.

Writing to Persuade

The other most common type of writing involves presenting a clear, convincing argument. Your written communication may be a single message, or it may be the first in a series of exchanges that will eventually result in a compromise. Each type of argument requires a different approach; however, both kinds of persuasive communications must have three common characteristics: logical order, solid support, and credibility.

Logical Order

Even the brightest and best ideas make no impact if a reader cannot recognize or follow them. Arguments must be carefully organized to create the desired effect on the reader.

The strongest positions are the beginning and the ending of a communication. Place your strongest argument in one position or the other and arrange the rest in such a way that they can be clearly stated and easily linked together.

Solid Support

Good persuasion not only makes a clear, strong claim but also proves the claim with solid support. Here are some ways to support your assertions:

• Examples, either personal or researched.

• Objective evidence, such as facts and statistics.

• Citing an authority. Use a qualified, timely authority whose opinions are applicable to your special situations. If the reader is not familiar with the authority, explain why the person is qualified.

• Analogy. If you can think of a clear comparison with which the reader is automatically familiar, present the comparison clearly. Carefully point out all of the similarities and explain why the comparison is useful and applicable.

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Page 178

III. Reliability

A. Warranties

B. Weekly maintenance checks

C. Service

D. Two-hour replacement guarantee

First paragraph: Everyone in the promotional department at KCBD-TV will find this new Sharp copy machine a huge improvement over the older model. You'll appreciate how easy it is to use this new copier for daily tasks, and anyone can perform the routine maintenance on the machine. This, our most reliable copier, is backed by a long-term warranty and a quick, efficient service plan.

Writing to Persuade

The other most common type of writing involves presenting a clear, convincing argument. Your written communication may be a single message, or it may be the first in a series of exchanges that will eventually result in a compromise. Each type of argument requires a different approach; however, both kinds of persuasive communications must have three common characteristics: logical order, solid support, and credibility.

Logical Order

Even the brightest and best ideas make no impact if a reader cannot recognize or follow them. Arguments must be carefully organized to create the desired effect on the reader.

The strongest positions are the beginning and the ending of a communication. Place your strongest argument in one position or the other and arrange the rest in such a way that they can be clearly stated and easily linked together.

Solid Support

Good persuasion not only makes a clear, strong claim but also proves the claim with solid support. Here are some ways to support your assertions:

• Examples, either personal or researched.

• Objective evidence, such as facts and statistics.

• Citing an authority. Use a qualified, timely authority whose opinions are applicable to your special situations. If the reader is not familiar with the authority, explain why the person is qualified.

• Analogy. If you can think of a clear comparison with which the reader is automatically familiar, present the comparison clearly. Carefully point out all of the similarities and explain why the comparison is useful and applicable.

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Page 178

III. Reliability

A. Warranties

B. Weekly maintenance checks

C. Service

D. Two-hour replacement guarantee

First paragraph: Everyone in the promotional department at KCBD-TV will find this new Sharp copy machine a huge improvement over the older model. You'll appreciate how easy it is to use this new copier for daily tasks, and anyone can perform the routine maintenance on the machine. This, our most reliable copier, is backed by a long-term warranty and a quick, efficient service plan.

Writing to Persuade

The other most common type of writing involves presenting a clear, convincing argument. Your written communication may be a single message, or it may be the first in a series of exchanges that will eventually result in a compromise. Each type of argument requires a different approach; however, both kinds of persuasive communications must have three common characteristics: logical order, solid support, and credibility.

Logical Order

Even the brightest and best ideas make no impact if a reader cannot recognize or follow them. Arguments must be carefully organized to create the desired effect on the reader.

The strongest positions are the beginning and the ending of a communication. Place your strongest argument in one position or the other and arrange the rest in such a way that they can be clearly stated and easily linked together.

Solid Support

Good persuasion not only makes a clear, strong claim but also proves the claim with solid support. Here are some ways to support your assertions:

• Examples, either personal or researched.

• Objective evidence, such as facts and statistics.

• Citing an authority. Use a qualified, timely authority whose opinions are applicable to your special situations. If the reader is not familiar with the authority, explain why the person is qualified.

• Analogy. If you can think of a clear comparison with which the reader is automatically familiar, present the comparison clearly. Carefully point out all of the similarities and explain why the comparison is useful and applicable.

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Page 179

If you are supporting a moral or emotional claim, use logic or emotional appeals made with vivid description and concrete language.

Credibility

A written communication is credible if the reader believes the writer or finds the writer trustworthy. Regardless of the history between the writer and reader, each communication provides a fresh opportunity to establish credibility.

In any communication, you can establish credibility in one of three ways:

•  Demonstrate your knowledge of the subject. Show that you have personal experience that makes your perspective on the subject reliable. If you have no personal experience from which to draw, show that you have consulted a variety of reliable, neutral sources and that your views are based on your research.

•  Demonstrate fairness and objectivity. Show that you have taken into account all of the significant viewpoints. Convince your reader that you understand and value other perspectives on the subject and that you see their merit. Show that you have carefully considered all of the evidence, even that which does not support your point of view.

• Seek areas of agreement. This is especially valuable if your communication is the beginning of a process that will result in a compromise. Find out what the viewpoints have in common and begin building trust and credibility on common ground.

Use the same six steps outlined above to plan a persuasive communication. Examine the following writer's plan for a written communication that argues in favor of a new scheduling policy.

Claim: store needs a better system for scheduling employees

Audience: store's general manager

Purposes: (1) point out problems inherent in the current policy, (2) outline the qualities a new scheduling policy should have, (3) point out the advantages of a scheduling policy with those qualities, (4) show that customers will receive better service, (5) show that employees understand and are willing to share the burden of developing and implementing a new policy.

I. Problems with current policy

A. Based solely upon seniority

B. Arbitrary within seniority brackets

C. Equal number for all shifts

1. Doesn't allow for employees willing to be flexible

2. Not enough employees during peak sales times

3. Too many employees during off-peak sales times

4. Leads to minimal employee commitment

D. No incentive for good attendance

II. Qualities of an effective scheduling policy

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Page 181

Post-Test

Now that you've spent a good deal of time improving your grammar and writing skills, take this post-test to see how much you've learned. If you took the pretest at the beginning of this book, you have a good way to compare what you knew when you started the book with what you know now.

When you complete this test, grade yourself, and then compare your score with your score on the pretest. If your score now is much greater than your pretest score, congratulations—you've profited noticeably from your hard work. If your score shows little improvement, perhaps there are certain chapters you need to review. Do you notice a pattern to the types of questions you got wrong? Whatever you score on this post-test, keep this book around for review and to refer to when you are unsure of a grammatical rule.

There's an answer sheet you can use for filling in the correct answers on the next page. Or, if you prefer, simply circle the answer numbers in this book. If the book doesn't belong to you, write the numbers 1–50 on a piece of paper and record your answers there. Take as much time as you need to do this short test. When you finish, check your answers against the answer key that follows this test. Each answer tells you which lesson of this book teaches you about the grammatical rule in that question.

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Page 183

Post-Test

1. Which of the following is a sentence fragment (not a complete sentence)?

a. Property taxes rose by three percent.
b. Although the mayor and three members of the city council were defeated.
c. The voters were decidedly against building the new stadium.
d. Be sure to vote in the next election.

2. Which version is correctly capitalized?

a. After we headed west on interstate 70, my uncle Paul informed us that his Ford Taurus was almost out of gas.
b. After we headed west on Interstate 70, my Uncle Paul informed us that his Ford Taurus was almost out of gas.
c. After we headed West on Interstate 70, my Uncle Paul informed us that his Ford Taurus was almost out of gas.
d. After we headed West on interstate 70, my Uncle Paul informed us that his Ford taurus was almost out of gas.

3. Which version is punctuated correctly?

a. That building, with the copper dome is our state capitol.
b. That building with the copper dome, is our state capitol.
c. That building, with the copper dome, is our state capitol.
d. That building with the copper dome is our state capitol.

4. Which version is punctuated correctly?

a. The temperature was eighty degrees at noon; by 6:00 P.M. it had dropped to below forty.
b. The temperature was eighty degrees at noon, by 6:00 P.M. it had dropped to below forty.
c. The temperature was eighty degrees at noon by 6:00 P.M., it had dropped to below forty.
d. The temperature was eighty degrees at noon by 6:00 P.M. it had dropped to below forty.

5. Which version is punctuated correctly?

a. It was one managers' idea to give us a month's vacation.
b. It was one manager's idea to give us a months vacation.
c. It was one manager's idea to give us a month's vacation.
d. It was one managers idea to give us a month's vacation.

6. Which version is punctuated correctly?

a. ''Look out! shouted Jake. There's a deer in the road."
b. "Look out!" shouted Jake. "There's a deer in the road."
c. "Look out"! shouted Jake. "There's a deer in the road."
d. "Look out! shouted Jake." "There's a deer in the road."

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Page 190

Answer Key

If you miss any of the answers, you can find help for that kind of question in the lesson shown to the right of the answer.

1. b. Lesson 3

2. b. Lesson 1

3. d. Lesson 4

4. a. Lesson 5

5. c. Lesson 7

6. b. Lesson 9

7. a. Lesson 9

8. d. Lesson 12

9. c. Lesson 15

10. a. Lesson 11

11. c. Lesson 19

12. b. Lesson 2

13. c. Lesson 1

14. d. Lesson 10

15. a. Lesson 10

16. d. Lesson 13

17. b. Lesson 14

18. a. Lesson 15

19. c. Lesson 17

20. d. Lesson 18

21. c. Lesson 19

22. a. Lesson 18

23. b. Lesson 2

24. d. Lesson 1

25. d. Lesson 3

26. a. Lesson 7

27. c. Lesson 6

28. c. Lesson 9

29. b. Lesson 4

30. a. Lesson 12

31. d. Lesson 13

32. a. Lesson 14

33. b. Lesson 17

34. d. Lesson 16

35. c. Lesson 6

36. c. Lesson 4

37. a. Lesson 5

38. c. Lesson 10

39. b. Lesson 6

40. b. Lesson 9

41. d. Lesson 12

42. a. Lesson 13

43. d. Lesson 7

44. c. Lesson 8

45. c. Lesson 11

46. b. Lesson 16

47. a. Lesson 15

48. d. Lesson 14

49. c. Lesson 17

50. d. Lesson 16

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Page 191

Appendix A—
How To Prepare for a Test

A standardized test is nothing to fear. Many people clutch and worry about a testing situation, but you're much better off taking that nervous energy and turning it into something positive that will help you do well on your test rather than inhibit your testing ability. The following pages include valuable tips for combating test anxiety, that sinking or blank feeling some people get as they begin a test or encounter a difficult question. Next, you will find valuable tips for using your time wisely and for avoiding errors in a testing situation. Finally, you will find a plan for preparing for the test, a plan for the test day, and a great suggestion for an after-test activity.

Combating Test Anxiety

Knowing what to expect and being prepared for it is the best defense against test anxiety, that worrisome feeling that keeps you from doing your best. Practice and preparation keeps you from succumbing to that feeling.

Nevertheless, even the brightest, most well-prepared test takers may suffer from occasional bouts of test anxiety. But don't worry; you can overcome it.

Take the Test One Question at a Time

Focus all of your attention on the one question you're answering. Block out any thoughts about questions you've already read or concerns about what's coming next. Concentrate your thinking where it will do the most good—on the question you're answering.

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Page 191

Appendix A—
How To Prepare for a Test

A standardized test is nothing to fear. Many people clutch and worry about a testing situation, but you're much better off taking that nervous energy and turning it into something positive that will help you do well on your test rather than inhibit your testing ability. The following pages include valuable tips for combating test anxiety, that sinking or blank feeling some people get as they begin a test or encounter a difficult question. Next, you will find valuable tips for using your time wisely and for avoiding errors in a testing situation. Finally, you will find a plan for preparing for the test, a plan for the test day, and a great suggestion for an after-test activity.

Combating Test Anxiety

Knowing what to expect and being prepared for it is the best defense against test anxiety, that worrisome feeling that keeps you from doing your best. Practice and preparation keeps you from succumbing to that feeling.

Nevertheless, even the brightest, most well-prepared test takers may suffer from occasional bouts of test anxiety. But don't worry; you can overcome it.

Take the Test One Question at a Time

Focus all of your attention on the one question you're answering. Block out any thoughts about questions you've already read or concerns about what's coming next. Concentrate your thinking where it will do the most good—on the question you're answering.

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Page 191

Appendix A—
How To Prepare for a Test

A standardized test is nothing to fear. Many people clutch and worry about a testing situation, but you're much better off taking that nervous energy and turning it into something positive that will help you do well on your test rather than inhibit your testing ability. The following pages include valuable tips for combating test anxiety, that sinking or blank feeling some people get as they begin a test or encounter a difficult question. Next, you will find valuable tips for using your time wisely and for avoiding errors in a testing situation. Finally, you will find a plan for preparing for the test, a plan for the test day, and a great suggestion for an after-test activity.

Combating Test Anxiety

Knowing what to expect and being prepared for it is the best defense against test anxiety, that worrisome feeling that keeps you from doing your best. Practice and preparation keeps you from succumbing to that feeling.

Nevertheless, even the brightest, most well-prepared test takers may suffer from occasional bouts of test anxiety. But don't worry; you can overcome it.

Take the Test One Question at a Time

Focus all of your attention on the one question you're answering. Block out any thoughts about questions you've already read or concerns about what's coming next. Concentrate your thinking where it will do the most good—on the question you're answering.

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Page 192

Develop a Positive Attitude

Keep reminding yourself that you're prepared. The fact that you have read this book means that you're better prepared than most others who are taking the test. Remember, it's only a test, and you're going to do your best. That's all anyone can ask of you. If that nagging drill sergeant voice inside your head starts sending negative messages, combat them with positive ones of your own.

• "I'm doing just fine."

• "I've prepared for this test."

• "I know exactly what to do."

• "I know I can get the score I'm shooting for."

You get the idea. Remember to drown out negative messages with positive ones of your own.

If You Lose Your Concentration

Don't worry about it! It's normal. During a long test it happens to everyone. When your mind is stressed or overexerted, it takes a break whether you want it to or not. It's easy to get your concentration back if you simply acknowledge the fact that you've lost it and take a quick break. You brain needs very little time (seconds really) to rest.

Put your pencil down and close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths and listen to the sound of your breathing. The ten seconds or so that this takes is really all the time your brain needs to relax and get ready to focus again.

Try this technique several times in the days before the test when you feel stressed. The more you practice, the better it will work for you on the day of the test.

If you Freeze Before or During the Test

Don't worry about a question that stumps you even though you're sure you know the answer. Mark it and go on to the next question. You can come back to the "stumper" later. Try to put it out of your mind completely until you come back to it. Just let your subconscious mind chew on the question while your conscious mind focuses on the other items (one at a time—of course). Chances are, the memory block will be gone by the time you return to the question.

If you freeze before you ever begin the test, here's what to do.

1. Take a little time to look over the test.

2. Read a few of the questions.

3. Decide which ones are the easiest and start there.

4. Before long, you'll be "in the groove."

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Page 192

Develop a Positive Attitude

Keep reminding yourself that you're prepared. The fact that you have read this book means that you're better prepared than most others who are taking the test. Remember, it's only a test, and you're going to do your best. That's all anyone can ask of you. If that nagging drill sergeant voice inside your head starts sending negative messages, combat them with positive ones of your own.

• "I'm doing just fine."

• "I've prepared for this test."

• "I know exactly what to do."

• "I know I can get the score I'm shooting for."

You get the idea. Remember to drown out negative messages with positive ones of your own.

If You Lose Your Concentration

Don't worry about it! It's normal. During a long test it happens to everyone. When your mind is stressed or overexerted, it takes a break whether you want it to or not. It's easy to get your concentration back if you simply acknowledge the fact that you've lost it and take a quick break. You brain needs very little time (seconds really) to rest.

Put your pencil down and close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths and listen to the sound of your breathing. The ten seconds or so that this takes is really all the time your brain needs to relax and get ready to focus again.

Try this technique several times in the days before the test when you feel stressed. The more you practice, the better it will work for you on the day of the test.

If you Freeze Before or During the Test

Don't worry about a question that stumps you even though you're sure you know the answer. Mark it and go on to the next question. You can come back to the "stumper" later. Try to put it out of your mind completely until you come back to it. Just let your subconscious mind chew on the question while your conscious mind focuses on the other items (one at a time—of course). Chances are, the memory block will be gone by the time you return to the question.

If you freeze before you ever begin the test, here's what to do.

1. Take a little time to look over the test.

2. Read a few of the questions.

3. Decide which ones are the easiest and start there.

4. Before long, you'll be "in the groove."

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Page 192

Develop a Positive Attitude

Keep reminding yourself that you're prepared. The fact that you have read this book means that you're better prepared than most others who are taking the test. Remember, it's only a test, and you're going to do your best. That's all anyone can ask of you. If that nagging drill sergeant voice inside your head starts sending negative messages, combat them with positive ones of your own.

• "I'm doing just fine."

• "I've prepared for this test."

• "I know exactly what to do."

• "I know I can get the score I'm shooting for."

You get the idea. Remember to drown out negative messages with positive ones of your own.

If You Lose Your Concentration

Don't worry about it! It's normal. During a long test it happens to everyone. When your mind is stressed or overexerted, it takes a break whether you want it to or not. It's easy to get your concentration back if you simply acknowledge the fact that you've lost it and take a quick break. You brain needs very little time (seconds really) to rest.

Put your pencil down and close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths and listen to the sound of your breathing. The ten seconds or so that this takes is really all the time your brain needs to relax and get ready to focus again.

Try this technique several times in the days before the test when you feel stressed. The more you practice, the better it will work for you on the day of the test.

If you Freeze Before or During the Test

Don't worry about a question that stumps you even though you're sure you know the answer. Mark it and go on to the next question. You can come back to the "stumper" later. Try to put it out of your mind completely until you come back to it. Just let your subconscious mind chew on the question while your conscious mind focuses on the other items (one at a time—of course). Chances are, the memory block will be gone by the time you return to the question.

If you freeze before you ever begin the test, here's what to do.

1. Take a little time to look over the test.

2. Read a few of the questions.

3. Decide which ones are the easiest and start there.

4. Before long, you'll be "in the groove."

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Page 193

Time Strategies

Pace Yourself

The most important time strategy is pacing yourself. Before you begin, take just a few seconds to survey the test, making note of the number of questions and of the sections that look easier than the rest. Rough out a time schedule based upon the amount of time available to you. Mark the halfway point on your test and make a note beside that mark of what the time will be when the testing period is half over.

Keep Moving

Once you begin the test, keep moving. If you work slowly in an attempt to make fewer mistakes, your mind will become bored and begin to wander. You'll end up making far more mistakes if you're not concentrating.

As long as we're talking about mistakes, don't stop for difficult questions. Skip them and move on. You can come back to them later if you have time. A question that takes you five seconds to answer counts as much as one that takes you several minutes, so pick up the easy points first. Besides, answering the easier questions first helps to build your confidence and gets you in the testing groove. Who knows? As you go through the test, you may even stumble across some relevant information to help you answer those tough questions.

Don't Rush

Keep moving, but don't rush. Think of your mind as a seesaw. On one side is your emotional energy. On the other side is your intellectual energy. When your emotional energy is high, your intellectual capacity is low. Remember how difficult it is to reason with someone when you're angry? On the other hand, when your intellectual energy is high, your emotional energy is low. Rushing raises your emotional energy. Remember the last time you were late for work? All that rushing around causes you to forget important things—like your lunch. Move quickly to keep your mind from wandering, but don't rush and get yourself flustered.

Check Yourself

Check yourself at the halfway mark. If you're a little ahead, you know you're on track and may even have a little time left to check your work. If you're a little behind, you have several choices. You can pick up the pace a little, but do this only if you can do it comfortably. Remember—don't rush! You can also skip around in the remaining portion of the test to pick up as many easy points as possible. This strategy has one drawback, however. If you are marking a bubble-style answer sheet, and you put the right answers in the wrong bubbles—they're wrong. So pay close attention to the question numbers if you decide to do this.

Avoiding Errors

When you take the test, you want to make as few errors as possible in the questions you answer. Here are a few tactics to keep in mind.

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Page 193

Time Strategies

Pace Yourself

The most important time strategy is pacing yourself. Before you begin, take just a few seconds to survey the test, making note of the number of questions and of the sections that look easier than the rest. Rough out a time schedule based upon the amount of time available to you. Mark the halfway point on your test and make a note beside that mark of what the time will be when the testing period is half over.

Keep Moving

Once you begin the test, keep moving. If you work slowly in an attempt to make fewer mistakes, your mind will become bored and begin to wander. You'll end up making far more mistakes if you're not concentrating.

As long as we're talking about mistakes, don't stop for difficult questions. Skip them and move on. You can come back to them later if you have time. A question that takes you five seconds to answer counts as much as one that takes you several minutes, so pick up the easy points first. Besides, answering the easier questions first helps to build your confidence and gets you in the testing groove. Who knows? As you go through the test, you may even stumble across some relevant information to help you answer those tough questions.

Don't Rush

Keep moving, but don't rush. Think of your mind as a seesaw. On one side is your emotional energy. On the other side is your intellectual energy. When your emotional energy is high, your intellectual capacity is low. Remember how difficult it is to reason with someone when you're angry? On the other hand, when your intellectual energy is high, your emotional energy is low. Rushing raises your emotional energy. Remember the last time you were late for work? All that rushing around causes you to forget important things—like your lunch. Move quickly to keep your mind from wandering, but don't rush and get yourself flustered.

Check Yourself

Check yourself at the halfway mark. If you're a little ahead, you know you're on track and may even have a little time left to check your work. If you're a little behind, you have several choices. You can pick up the pace a little, but do this only if you can do it comfortably. Remember—don't rush! You can also skip around in the remaining portion of the test to pick up as many easy points as possible. This strategy has one drawback, however. If you are marking a bubble-style answer sheet, and you put the right answers in the wrong bubbles—they're wrong. So pay close attention to the question numbers if you decide to do this.

Avoiding Errors

When you take the test, you want to make as few errors as possible in the questions you answer. Here are a few tactics to keep in mind.

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Page 193

Time Strategies

Pace Yourself

The most important time strategy is pacing yourself. Before you begin, take just a few seconds to survey the test, making note of the number of questions and of the sections that look easier than the rest. Rough out a time schedule based upon the amount of time available to you. Mark the halfway point on your test and make a note beside that mark of what the time will be when the testing period is half over.

Keep Moving

Once you begin the test, keep moving. If you work slowly in an attempt to make fewer mistakes, your mind will become bored and begin to wander. You'll end up making far more mistakes if you're not concentrating.

As long as we're talking about mistakes, don't stop for difficult questions. Skip them and move on. You can come back to them later if you have time. A question that takes you five seconds to answer counts as much as one that takes you several minutes, so pick up the easy points first. Besides, answering the easier questions first helps to build your confidence and gets you in the testing groove. Who knows? As you go through the test, you may even stumble across some relevant information to help you answer those tough questions.

Don't Rush

Keep moving, but don't rush. Think of your mind as a seesaw. On one side is your emotional energy. On the other side is your intellectual energy. When your emotional energy is high, your intellectual capacity is low. Remember how difficult it is to reason with someone when you're angry? On the other hand, when your intellectual energy is high, your emotional energy is low. Rushing raises your emotional energy. Remember the last time you were late for work? All that rushing around causes you to forget important things—like your lunch. Move quickly to keep your mind from wandering, but don't rush and get yourself flustered.

Check Yourself

Check yourself at the halfway mark. If you're a little ahead, you know you're on track and may even have a little time left to check your work. If you're a little behind, you have several choices. You can pick up the pace a little, but do this only if you can do it comfortably. Remember—don't rush! You can also skip around in the remaining portion of the test to pick up as many easy points as possible. This strategy has one drawback, however. If you are marking a bubble-style answer sheet, and you put the right answers in the wrong bubbles—they're wrong. So pay close attention to the question numbers if you decide to do this.

Avoiding Errors

When you take the test, you want to make as few errors as possible in the questions you answer. Here are a few tactics to keep in mind.

< Prev

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Page 193

Time Strategies

Pace Yourself

The most important time strategy is pacing yourself. Before you begin, take just a few seconds to survey the test, making note of the number of questions and of the sections that look easier than the rest. Rough out a time schedule based upon the amount of time available to you. Mark the halfway point on your test and make a note beside that mark of what the time will be when the testing period is half over.

Keep Moving

Once you begin the test, keep moving. If you work slowly in an attempt to make fewer mistakes, your mind will become bored and begin to wander. You'll end up making far more mistakes if you're not concentrating.

As long as we're talking about mistakes, don't stop for difficult questions. Skip them and move on. You can come back to them later if you have time. A question that takes you five seconds to answer counts as much as one that takes you several minutes, so pick up the easy points first. Besides, answering the easier questions first helps to build your confidence and gets you in the testing groove. Who knows? As you go through the test, you may even stumble across some relevant information to help you answer those tough questions.

Don't Rush

Keep moving, but don't rush. Think of your mind as a seesaw. On one side is your emotional energy. On the other side is your intellectual energy. When your emotional energy is high, your intellectual capacity is low. Remember how difficult it is to reason with someone when you're angry? On the other hand, when your intellectual energy is high, your emotional energy is low. Rushing raises your emotional energy. Remember the last time you were late for work? All that rushing around causes you to forget important things—like your lunch. Move quickly to keep your mind from wandering, but don't rush and get yourself flustered.

Check Yourself

Check yourself at the halfway mark. If you're a little ahead, you know you're on track and may even have a little time left to check your work. If you're a little behind, you have several choices. You can pick up the pace a little, but do this only if you can do it comfortably. Remember—don't rush! You can also skip around in the remaining portion of the test to pick up as many easy points as possible. This strategy has one drawback, however. If you are marking a bubble-style answer sheet, and you put the right answers in the wrong bubbles—they're wrong. So pay close attention to the question numbers if you decide to do this.

Avoiding Errors

When you take the test, you want to make as few errors as possible in the questions you answer. Here are a few tactics to keep in mind.

< Prev

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Page 193

Time Strategies

Pace Yourself

The most important time strategy is pacing yourself. Before you begin, take just a few seconds to survey the test, making note of the number of questions and of the sections that look easier than the rest. Rough out a time schedule based upon the amount of time available to you. Mark the halfway point on your test and make a note beside that mark of what the time will be when the testing period is half over.

Keep Moving

Once you begin the test, keep moving. If you work slowly in an attempt to make fewer mistakes, your mind will become bored and begin to wander. You'll end up making far more mistakes if you're not concentrating.

As long as we're talking about mistakes, don't stop for difficult questions. Skip them and move on. You can come back to them later if you have time. A question that takes you five seconds to answer counts as much as one that takes you several minutes, so pick up the easy points first. Besides, answering the easier questions first helps to build your confidence and gets you in the testing groove. Who knows? As you go through the test, you may even stumble across some relevant information to help you answer those tough questions.

Don't Rush

Keep moving, but don't rush. Think of your mind as a seesaw. On one side is your emotional energy. On the other side is your intellectual energy. When your emotional energy is high, your intellectual capacity is low. Remember how difficult it is to reason with someone when you're angry? On the other hand, when your intellectual energy is high, your emotional energy is low. Rushing raises your emotional energy. Remember the last time you were late for work? All that rushing around causes you to forget important things—like your lunch. Move quickly to keep your mind from wandering, but don't rush and get yourself flustered.

Check Yourself

Check yourself at the halfway mark. If you're a little ahead, you know you're on track and may even have a little time left to check your work. If you're a little behind, you have several choices. You can pick up the pace a little, but do this only if you can do it comfortably. Remember—don't rush! You can also skip around in the remaining portion of the test to pick up as many easy points as possible. This strategy has one drawback, however. If you are marking a bubble-style answer sheet, and you put the right answers in the wrong bubbles—they're wrong. So pay close attention to the question numbers if you decide to do this.

Avoiding Errors

When you take the test, you want to make as few errors as possible in the questions you answer. Here are a few tactics to keep in mind.

< Prev

I l@ve RuBoard

Next >

Page 193

Time Strategies

Pace Yourself

The most important time strategy is pacing yourself. Before you begin, take just a few seconds to survey the test, making note of the number of questions and of the sections that look easier than the rest. Rough out a time schedule based upon the amount of time available to you. Mark the halfway point on your test and make a note beside that mark of what the time will be when the testing period is half over.

Keep Moving

Once you begin the test, keep moving. If you work slowly in an attempt to make fewer mistakes, your mind will become bored and begin to wander. You'll end up making far more mistakes if you're not concentrating.

As long as we're talking about mistakes, don't stop for difficult questions. Skip them and move on. You can come back to them later if you have time. A question that takes you five seconds to answer counts as much as one that takes you several minutes, so pick up the easy points first. Besides, answering the easier questions first helps to build your confidence and gets you in the testing groove. Who knows? As you go through the test, you may even stumble across some relevant information to help you answer those tough questions.

Don't Rush

Keep moving, but don't rush. Think of your mind as a seesaw. On one side is your emotional energy. On the other side is your intellectual energy. When your emotional energy is high, your intellectual capacity is low. Remember how difficult it is to reason with someone when you're angry? On the other hand, when your intellectual energy is high, your emotional energy is low. Rushing raises your emotional energy. Remember the last time you were late for work? All that rushing around causes you to forget important things—like your lunch. Move quickly to keep your mind from wandering, but don't rush and get yourself flustered.

Check Yourself

Check yourself at the halfway mark. If you're a little ahead, you know you're on track and may even have a little time left to check your work. If you're a little behind, you have several choices. You can pick up the pace a little, but do this only if you can do it comfortably. Remember—don't rush! You can also skip around in the remaining portion of the test to pick up as many easy points as possible. This strategy has one drawback, however. If you are marking a bubble-style answer sheet, and you put the right answers in the wrong bubbles—they're wrong. So pay close attention to the question numbers if you decide to do this.

Avoiding Errors

When you take the test, you want to make as few errors as possible in the questions you answer. Here are a few tactics to keep in mind.

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Page 194

Control Yourself

Remember the comparison between your mind and a seesaw that you read about a few paragraphs ago? Keeping your emotional energy low and your intellectual energy high is the best way to avoid mistakes. If you feel stressed or worried, stop for a few seconds. Acknowledge the feeling (Hmmm! I'm feeling a little pressure here!), take a few deep breaths, and send yourself a few positive messages. This relieves your emotional anxiety and boosts your intellectual capacity.

Directions

In many standardized testing situations a proctor reads the instructions aloud. Make certain you understand what is expected. If you don't, ask. Listen carefully for instructions about how to answer the questions and make certain you know how much time you have to complete the task. Write the time on your test if you don't already know how long you have to take the test. If you miss this vital information, ask for it. You need it to do well on your test.

Answers

Place your answers in the right blanks or the corresponding ovals on the answer sheet. Right answers in the wrong place earn no points. It's a good idea to check every five to ten questions to make sure you're in the right spot. That way you won't need much time to correct your answer sheet if you have made an error.

Reading Long Passages

Frequently, standardized tests are designed to test your reading comprehension. The reading sections often contain passages of a paragraph or more. Here are a few tactics for approaching these sections.

This may seem strange, but some questions can be answered without ever reading the passage. If the passage is short, a paragraph around four sentences or so, read the questions first. You may be able to answer them by using your common sense. You can check your answers later after you've actually read the passage. Even if you can't answer any of the questions, you know what to look for in the passage. This focuses your reading and makes it easier for you to retain important information. Most questions will deal with isolated details in the passage. If you know what to look for ahead of time, it's easier to find the information.

If a reading passage is long and is followed by more than ten questions, you may end up spending too much time reading the questions first. Even so, take a few seconds to skim the questions and read a few of the shorter ones. As you read, mark up the passage. If you find a sentence that seems to state the main idea of the passage, underline it. As you read through the rest of the passage, number the main points that support the main idea. Several questions will deal with this information. If it's underlined and numbered, you can locate it easily. Other questions will ask for specific details. Circle information that tells who, what, when, or where. The circles will be easy to locate later if your run across a question that asks for specific information. Marking up a passage in this way also heightens your concentration and makes it more likely that you'll remember the information when you answer the questions following the passage.

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Page 194

Control Yourself

Remember the comparison between your mind and a seesaw that you read about a few paragraphs ago? Keeping your emotional energy low and your intellectual energy high is the best way to avoid mistakes. If you feel stressed or worried, stop for a few seconds. Acknowledge the feeling (Hmmm! I'm feeling a little pressure here!), take a few deep breaths, and send yourself a few positive messages. This relieves your emotional anxiety and boosts your intellectual capacity.

Directions

In many standardized testing situations a proctor reads the instructions aloud. Make certain you understand what is expected. If you don't, ask. Listen carefully for instructions about how to answer the questions and make certain you know how much time you have to complete the task. Write the time on your test if you don't already know how long you have to take the test. If you miss this vital information, ask for it. You need it to do well on your test.

Answers

Place your answers in the right blanks or the corresponding ovals on the answer sheet. Right answers in the wrong place earn no points. It's a good idea to check every five to ten questions to make sure you're in the right spot. That way you won't need much time to correct your answer sheet if you have made an error.

Reading Long Passages

Frequently, standardized tests are designed to test your reading comprehension. The reading sections often contain passages of a paragraph or more. Here are a few tactics for approaching these sections.

This may seem strange, but some questions can be answered without ever reading the passage. If the passage is short, a paragraph around four sentences or so, read the questions first. You may be able to answer them by using your common sense. You can check your answers later after you've actually read the passage. Even if you can't answer any of the questions, you know what to look for in the passage. This focuses your reading and makes it easier for you to retain important information. Most questions will deal with isolated details in the passage. If you know what to look for ahead of time, it's easier to find the information.

If a reading passage is long and is followed by more than ten questions, you may end up spending too much time reading the questions first. Even so, take a few seconds to skim the questions and read a few of the shorter ones. As you read, mark up the passage. If you find a sentence that seems to state the main idea of the passage, underline it. As you read through the rest of the passage, number the main points that support the main idea. Several questions will deal with this information. If it's underlined and numbered, you can locate it easily. Other questions will ask for specific details. Circle information that tells who, what, when, or where. The circles will be easy to locate later if your run across a question that asks for specific information. Marking up a passage in this way also heightens your concentration and makes it more likely that you'll remember the information when you answer the questions following the passage.

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Page 194

Control Yourself

Remember the comparison between your mind and a seesaw that you read about a few paragraphs ago? Keeping your emotional energy low and your intellectual energy high is the best way to avoid mistakes. If you feel stressed or worried, stop for a few seconds. Acknowledge the feeling (Hmmm! I'm feeling a little pressure here!), take a few deep breaths, and send yourself a few positive messages. This relieves your emotional anxiety and boosts your intellectual capacity.

Directions

In many standardized testing situations a proctor reads the instructions aloud. Make certain you understand what is expected. If you don't, ask. Listen carefully for instructions about how to answer the questions and make certain you know how much time you have to complete the task. Write the time on your test if you don't already know how long you have to take the test. If you miss this vital information, ask for it. You need it to do well on your test.

Answers

Place your answers in the right blanks or the corresponding ovals on the answer sheet. Right answers in the wrong place earn no points. It's a good idea to check every five to ten questions to make sure you're in the right spot. That way you won't need much time to correct your answer sheet if you have made an error.

Reading Long Passages

Frequently, standardized tests are designed to test your reading comprehension. The reading sections often contain passages of a paragraph or more. Here are a few tactics for approaching these sections.

This may seem strange, but some questions can be answered without ever reading the passage. If the passage is short, a paragraph around four sentences or so, read the questions first. You may be able to answer them by using your common sense. You can check your answers later after you've actually read the passage. Even if you can't answer any of the questions, you know what to look for in the passage. This focuses your reading and makes it easier for you to retain important information. Most questions will deal with isolated details in the passage. If you know what to look for ahead of time, it's easier to find the information.

If a reading passage is long and is followed by more than ten questions, you may end up spending too much time reading the questions first. Even so, take a few seconds to skim the questions and read a few of the shorter ones. As you read, mark up the passage. If you find a sentence that seems to state the main idea of the passage, underline it. As you read through the rest of the passage, number the main points that support the main idea. Several questions will deal with this information. If it's underlined and numbered, you can locate it easily. Other questions will ask for specific details. Circle information that tells who, what, when, or where. The circles will be easy to locate later if your run across a question that asks for specific information. Marking up a passage in this way also heightens your concentration and makes it more likely that you'll remember the information when you answer the questions following the passage.

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Page 194

Control Yourself

Remember the comparison between your mind and a seesaw that you read about a few paragraphs ago? Keeping your emotional energy low and your intellectual energy high is the best way to avoid mistakes. If you feel stressed or worried, stop for a few seconds. Acknowledge the feeling (Hmmm! I'm feeling a little pressure here!), take a few deep breaths, and send yourself a few positive messages. This relieves your emotional anxiety and boosts your intellectual capacity.

Directions

In many standardized testing situations a proctor reads the instructions aloud. Make certain you understand what is expected. If you don't, ask. Listen carefully for instructions about how to answer the questions and make certain you know how much time you have to complete the task. Write the time on your test if you don't already know how long you have to take the test. If you miss this vital information, ask for it. You need it to do well on your test.

Answers

Place your answers in the right blanks or the corresponding ovals on the answer sheet. Right answers in the wrong place earn no points. It's a good idea to check every five to ten questions to make sure you're in the right spot. That way you won't need much time to correct your answer sheet if you have made an error.

Reading Long Passages

Frequently, standardized tests are designed to test your reading comprehension. The reading sections often contain passages of a paragraph or more. Here are a few tactics for approaching these sections.

This may seem strange, but some questions can be answered without ever reading the passage. If the passage is short, a paragraph around four sentences or so, read the questions first. You may be able to answer them by using your common sense. You can check your answers later after you've actually read the passage. Even if you can't answer any of the questions, you know what to look for in the passage. This focuses your reading and makes it easier for you to retain important information. Most questions will deal with isolated details in the passage. If you know what to look for ahead of time, it's easier to find the information.

If a reading passage is long and is followed by more than ten questions, you may end up spending too much time reading the questions first. Even so, take a few seconds to skim the questions and read a few of the shorter ones. As you read, mark up the passage. If you find a sentence that seems to state the main idea of the passage, underline it. As you read through the rest of the passage, number the main points that support the main idea. Several questions will deal with this information. If it's underlined and numbered, you can locate it easily. Other questions will ask for specific details. Circle information that tells who, what, when, or where. The circles will be easy to locate later if your run across a question that asks for specific information. Marking up a passage in this way also heightens your concentration and makes it more likely that you'll remember the information when you answer the questions following the passage.

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Page 195

Choosing the Right Answers

Make sure you understand what the question is asking. If you're not sure of what's being asked, you'll never know whether you've chosen the right answer. So figure out what the question is asking. If the answer isn't readily apparent, look for clues in the answer choices. Notice the similarities and differences in the answer choices. Sometimes this helps to put the question in a new perspective and makes it easier to answer. If you're still not sure of the answer, use the process of elimination. First, eliminate any answer choices that are obviously wrong. Then reason your way through the remaining choices. You may be able to use relevant information from other parts of the test. If you can't eliminate any of the answer choices, you might be better off to skip the question and come back to it later. If you can't eliminate any answer choices to improve your odds when you come back later, then make a guess and move on.

If you're Penalized for Wrong Answers

You must know whether there's a penalty for wrong answers before you begin the test. If you don't, ask the proctor before the test begins. Whether you make a guess or not depends upon the penalty. Some standardized tests are scored in such a way that every wrong answer reduces your score by one fourth or one half of a point. Whatever the penalty, if you can eliminate enough choices to make the odds of answering the question better than the penalty for getting it wrong, make a guess.

Let's imagine you are taking a test in which each answer has four choices and you are penalized one fourth of a point for each wrong answer. If you have no clue and cannot eliminate any of the answer choices, you're better off leaving the question blank because the odds of answering correctly are one in four. This makes the penalty and the odds equal. However, if you can eliminate one of the choices, the odds are now in your favor. You have a one in three chance of answering the question correctly. Fortunately, few tests are scored using such elaborate means, but if your test is one of them, know the penalties and calculate your odds before you take a guess on a question.

If you Finish Early

Use any time you have left at the end of the test or test section to check your work. First, make certain you've put the answers in the right places. As you're doing this, make sure you've answered each question only once. Most standardized tests are scored in such a way that questions with more than one answer are marked wrong. If you've erased an answer, make sure you've done a good job. Check for stray marks on your answer sheet that could distort your score.

After you've checked for these obvious errors, take a second look at the more difficult questions. You've probably heard the folk wisdom about never changing an answer. If you have a good reason for thinking a response is wrong, change it.

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Page 195

Choosing the Right Answers

Make sure you understand what the question is asking. If you're not sure of what's being asked, you'll never know whether you've chosen the right answer. So figure out what the question is asking. If the answer isn't readily apparent, look for clues in the answer choices. Notice the similarities and differences in the answer choices. Sometimes this helps to put the question in a new perspective and makes it easier to answer. If you're still not sure of the answer, use the process of elimination. First, eliminate any answer choices that are obviously wrong. Then reason your way through the remaining choices. You may be able to use relevant information from other parts of the test. If you can't eliminate any of the answer choices, you might be better off to skip the question and come back to it later. If you can't eliminate any answer choices to improve your odds when you come back later, then make a guess and move on.

If you're Penalized for Wrong Answers

You must know whether there's a penalty for wrong answers before you begin the test. If you don't, ask the proctor before the test begins. Whether you make a guess or not depends upon the penalty. Some standardized tests are scored in such a way that every wrong answer reduces your score by one fourth or one half of a point. Whatever the penalty, if you can eliminate enough choices to make the odds of answering the question better than the penalty for getting it wrong, make a guess.

Let's imagine you are taking a test in which each answer has four choices and you are penalized one fourth of a point for each wrong answer. If you have no clue and cannot eliminate any of the answer choices, you're better off leaving the question blank because the odds of answering correctly are one in four. This makes the penalty and the odds equal. However, if you can eliminate one of the choices, the odds are now in your favor. You have a one in three chance of answering the question correctly. Fortunately, few tests are scored using such elaborate means, but if your test is one of them, know the penalties and calculate your odds before you take a guess on a question.

If you Finish Early

Use any time you have left at the end of the test or test section to check your work. First, make certain you've put the answers in the right places. As you're doing this, make sure you've answered each question only once. Most standardized tests are scored in such a way that questions with more than one answer are marked wrong. If you've erased an answer, make sure you've done a good job. Check for stray marks on your answer sheet that could distort your score.

After you've checked for these obvious errors, take a second look at the more difficult questions. You've probably heard the folk wisdom about never changing an answer. If you have a good reason for thinking a response is wrong, change it.

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Page 195

Choosing the Right Answers

Make sure you understand what the question is asking. If you're not sure of what's being asked, you'll never know whether you've chosen the right answer. So figure out what the question is asking. If the answer isn't readily apparent, look for clues in the answer choices. Notice the similarities and differences in the answer choices. Sometimes this helps to put the question in a new perspective and makes it easier to answer. If you're still not sure of the answer, use the process of elimination. First, eliminate any answer choices that are obviously wrong. Then reason your way through the remaining choices. You may be able to use relevant information from other parts of the test. If you can't eliminate any of the answer choices, you might be better off to skip the question and come back to it later. If you can't eliminate any answer choices to improve your odds when you come back later, then make a guess and move on.

If you're Penalized for Wrong Answers

You must know whether there's a penalty for wrong answers before you begin the test. If you don't, ask the proctor before the test begins. Whether you make a guess or not depends upon the penalty. Some standardized tests are scored in such a way that every wrong answer reduces your score by one fourth or one half of a point. Whatever the penalty, if you can eliminate enough choices to make the odds of answering the question better than the penalty for getting it wrong, make a guess.

Let's imagine you are taking a test in which each answer has four choices and you are penalized one fourth of a point for each wrong answer. If you have no clue and cannot eliminate any of the answer choices, you're better off leaving the question blank because the odds of answering correctly are one in four. This makes the penalty and the odds equal. However, if you can eliminate one of the choices, the odds are now in your favor. You have a one in three chance of answering the question correctly. Fortunately, few tests are scored using such elaborate means, but if your test is one of them, know the penalties and calculate your odds before you take a guess on a question.

If you Finish Early

Use any time you have left at the end of the test or test section to check your work. First, make certain you've put the answers in the right places. As you're doing this, make sure you've answered each question only once. Most standardized tests are scored in such a way that questions with more than one answer are marked wrong. If you've erased an answer, make sure you've done a good job. Check for stray marks on your answer sheet that could distort your score.

After you've checked for these obvious errors, take a second look at the more difficult questions. You've probably heard the folk wisdom about never changing an answer. If you have a good reason for thinking a response is wrong, change it.

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Page 196

The Days before the Test

Physical Activity

Get some exercise in the days preceding the test. You'll send some extra oxygen to your brain and allow your thinking performance to peak on the day you take the test. Moderation is the key here. You don't want to exercise so much that you feel exhausted, but a little physical activity will invigorate your body and brain.

Balanced Diet

Like your body, your brain needs the proper nutrients to function well. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables in the days before the test. Foods that are high in lecithin, such as fish and beans, are especially good choices. Lecithin is a mineral your brain needs for peak performance. You may even consider a visit to your local pharmacy to buy a bottle of lecithin tablets several weeks before your test.

Rest

Get plenty of sleep the nights before you take the test. Don't overdo it, though, or you'll make yourself as groggy as if you were overtired. Go to bed at a reasonable time, early enough to get the number of hours you need to function effectively. You'll feel relaxed and rested if you've gotten plenty of sleep in the days before you take the test.

Trial Run

At some point before you take the test, make a trial run to the testing center to see how long it takes. Rushing raises your emotional energy and lowers your intellectual capacity, so you want to allow plenty of time on test day to get to the testing center. Arriving ten or fifteen minutes early gives you time to relax and get situated.

Test Day

It's finally here, the day of the big test. Set your alarm early enough to allow plenty of time. Eat a good breakfast. Avoid anything that's really high in sugar, such as donuts. A sugar high turns into a sugar low after an hour or so. Cereal and toast, or anything with complex carbohydrates is a good choice. Eat only moderate amounts. You don't want to take a test feeling stuffed!

Pack a high energy snack to take with you. You may have a break sometime during the test when you can grab a quick snack. Bananas are great. They have a moderate amount of sugar and plenty of brain nutrients, such as potassium. Most proctors won't allow you to eat a snack while you're testing, but a peppermint shouldn't pose a problem. Peppermints are like smelling salts for your brain. If you lose your concentration or suffer from a momentary mental block, a peppermint can get you back on track. Don't forget the earlier advice about relaxing and taking a few deep breaths.

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Page 196

The Days before the Test

Physical Activity

Get some exercise in the days preceding the test. You'll send some extra oxygen to your brain and allow your thinking performance to peak on the day you take the test. Moderation is the key here. You don't want to exercise so much that you feel exhausted, but a little physical activity will invigorate your body and brain.

Balanced Diet

Like your body, your brain needs the proper nutrients to function well. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables in the days before the test. Foods that are high in lecithin, such as fish and beans, are especially good choices. Lecithin is a mineral your brain needs for peak performance. You may even consider a visit to your local pharmacy to buy a bottle of lecithin tablets several weeks before your test.

Rest

Get plenty of sleep the nights before you take the test. Don't overdo it, though, or you'll make yourself as groggy as if you were overtired. Go to bed at a reasonable time, early enough to get the number of hours you need to function effectively. You'll feel relaxed and rested if you've gotten plenty of sleep in the days before you take the test.

Trial Run

At some point before you take the test, make a trial run to the testing center to see how long it takes. Rushing raises your emotional energy and lowers your intellectual capacity, so you want to allow plenty of time on test day to get to the testing center. Arriving ten or fifteen minutes early gives you time to relax and get situated.

Test Day

It's finally here, the day of the big test. Set your alarm early enough to allow plenty of time. Eat a good breakfast. Avoid anything that's really high in sugar, such as donuts. A sugar high turns into a sugar low after an hour or so. Cereal and toast, or anything with complex carbohydrates is a good choice. Eat only moderate amounts. You don't want to take a test feeling stuffed!

Pack a high energy snack to take with you. You may have a break sometime during the test when you can grab a quick snack. Bananas are great. They have a moderate amount of sugar and plenty of brain nutrients, such as potassium. Most proctors won't allow you to eat a snack while you're testing, but a peppermint shouldn't pose a problem. Peppermints are like smelling salts for your brain. If you lose your concentration or suffer from a momentary mental block, a peppermint can get you back on track. Don't forget the earlier advice about relaxing and taking a few deep breaths.

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Page 196

The Days before the Test

Physical Activity

Get some exercise in the days preceding the test. You'll send some extra oxygen to your brain and allow your thinking performance to peak on the day you take the test. Moderation is the key here. You don't want to exercise so much that you feel exhausted, but a little physical activity will invigorate your body and brain.

Balanced Diet

Like your body, your brain needs the proper nutrients to function well. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables in the days before the test. Foods that are high in lecithin, such as fish and beans, are especially good choices. Lecithin is a mineral your brain needs for peak performance. You may even consider a visit to your local pharmacy to buy a bottle of lecithin tablets several weeks before your test.

Rest

Get plenty of sleep the nights before you take the test. Don't overdo it, though, or you'll make yourself as groggy as if you were overtired. Go to bed at a reasonable time, early enough to get the number of hours you need to function effectively. You'll feel relaxed and rested if you've gotten plenty of sleep in the days before you take the test.

Trial Run

At some point before you take the test, make a trial run to the testing center to see how long it takes. Rushing raises your emotional energy and lowers your intellectual capacity, so you want to allow plenty of time on test day to get to the testing center. Arriving ten or fifteen minutes early gives you time to relax and get situated.

Test Day

It's finally here, the day of the big test. Set your alarm early enough to allow plenty of time. Eat a good breakfast. Avoid anything that's really high in sugar, such as donuts. A sugar high turns into a sugar low after an hour or so. Cereal and toast, or anything with complex carbohydrates is a good choice. Eat only moderate amounts. You don't want to take a test feeling stuffed!

Pack a high energy snack to take with you. You may have a break sometime during the test when you can grab a quick snack. Bananas are great. They have a moderate amount of sugar and plenty of brain nutrients, such as potassium. Most proctors won't allow you to eat a snack while you're testing, but a peppermint shouldn't pose a problem. Peppermints are like smelling salts for your brain. If you lose your concentration or suffer from a momentary mental block, a peppermint can get you back on track. Don't forget the earlier advice about relaxing and taking a few deep breaths.

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Page 196

The Days before the Test

Physical Activity

Get some exercise in the days preceding the test. You'll send some extra oxygen to your brain and allow your thinking performance to peak on the day you take the test. Moderation is the key here. You don't want to exercise so much that you feel exhausted, but a little physical activity will invigorate your body and brain.

Balanced Diet

Like your body, your brain needs the proper nutrients to function well. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables in the days before the test. Foods that are high in lecithin, such as fish and beans, are especially good choices. Lecithin is a mineral your brain needs for peak performance. You may even consider a visit to your local pharmacy to buy a bottle of lecithin tablets several weeks before your test.

Rest

Get plenty of sleep the nights before you take the test. Don't overdo it, though, or you'll make yourself as groggy as if you were overtired. Go to bed at a reasonable time, early enough to get the number of hours you need to function effectively. You'll feel relaxed and rested if you've gotten plenty of sleep in the days before you take the test.

Trial Run

At some point before you take the test, make a trial run to the testing center to see how long it takes. Rushing raises your emotional energy and lowers your intellectual capacity, so you want to allow plenty of time on test day to get to the testing center. Arriving ten or fifteen minutes early gives you time to relax and get situated.

Test Day

It's finally here, the day of the big test. Set your alarm early enough to allow plenty of time. Eat a good breakfast. Avoid anything that's really high in sugar, such as donuts. A sugar high turns into a sugar low after an hour or so. Cereal and toast, or anything with complex carbohydrates is a good choice. Eat only moderate amounts. You don't want to take a test feeling stuffed!

Pack a high energy snack to take with you. You may have a break sometime during the test when you can grab a quick snack. Bananas are great. They have a moderate amount of sugar and plenty of brain nutrients, such as potassium. Most proctors won't allow you to eat a snack while you're testing, but a peppermint shouldn't pose a problem. Peppermints are like smelling salts for your brain. If you lose your concentration or suffer from a momentary mental block, a peppermint can get you back on track. Don't forget the earlier advice about relaxing and taking a few deep breaths.

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Page 196

The Days before the Test

Physical Activity

Get some exercise in the days preceding the test. You'll send some extra oxygen to your brain and allow your thinking performance to peak on the day you take the test. Moderation is the key here. You don't want to exercise so much that you feel exhausted, but a little physical activity will invigorate your body and brain.

Balanced Diet

Like your body, your brain needs the proper nutrients to function well. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables in the days before the test. Foods that are high in lecithin, such as fish and beans, are especially good choices. Lecithin is a mineral your brain needs for peak performance. You may even consider a visit to your local pharmacy to buy a bottle of lecithin tablets several weeks before your test.

Rest

Get plenty of sleep the nights before you take the test. Don't overdo it, though, or you'll make yourself as groggy as if you were overtired. Go to bed at a reasonable time, early enough to get the number of hours you need to function effectively. You'll feel relaxed and rested if you've gotten plenty of sleep in the days before you take the test.

Trial Run

At some point before you take the test, make a trial run to the testing center to see how long it takes. Rushing raises your emotional energy and lowers your intellectual capacity, so you want to allow plenty of time on test day to get to the testing center. Arriving ten or fifteen minutes early gives you time to relax and get situated.

Test Day

It's finally here, the day of the big test. Set your alarm early enough to allow plenty of time. Eat a good breakfast. Avoid anything that's really high in sugar, such as donuts. A sugar high turns into a sugar low after an hour or so. Cereal and toast, or anything with complex carbohydrates is a good choice. Eat only moderate amounts. You don't want to take a test feeling stuffed!

Pack a high energy snack to take with you. You may have a break sometime during the test when you can grab a quick snack. Bananas are great. They have a moderate amount of sugar and plenty of brain nutrients, such as potassium. Most proctors won't allow you to eat a snack while you're testing, but a peppermint shouldn't pose a problem. Peppermints are like smelling salts for your brain. If you lose your concentration or suffer from a momentary mental block, a peppermint can get you back on track. Don't forget the earlier advice about relaxing and taking a few deep breaths.

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Page 196

The Days before the Test

Physical Activity

Get some exercise in the days preceding the test. You'll send some extra oxygen to your brain and allow your thinking performance to peak on the day you take the test. Moderation is the key here. You don't want to exercise so much that you feel exhausted, but a little physical activity will invigorate your body and brain.

Balanced Diet

Like your body, your brain needs the proper nutrients to function well. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables in the days before the test. Foods that are high in lecithin, such as fish and beans, are especially good choices. Lecithin is a mineral your brain needs for peak performance. You may even consider a visit to your local pharmacy to buy a bottle of lecithin tablets several weeks before your test.

Rest

Get plenty of sleep the nights before you take the test. Don't overdo it, though, or you'll make yourself as groggy as if you were overtired. Go to bed at a reasonable time, early enough to get the number of hours you need to function effectively. You'll feel relaxed and rested if you've gotten plenty of sleep in the days before you take the test.

Trial Run

At some point before you take the test, make a trial run to the testing center to see how long it takes. Rushing raises your emotional energy and lowers your intellectual capacity, so you want to allow plenty of time on test day to get to the testing center. Arriving ten or fifteen minutes early gives you time to relax and get situated.

Test Day

It's finally here, the day of the big test. Set your alarm early enough to allow plenty of time. Eat a good breakfast. Avoid anything that's really high in sugar, such as donuts. A sugar high turns into a sugar low after an hour or so. Cereal and toast, or anything with complex carbohydrates is a good choice. Eat only moderate amounts. You don't want to take a test feeling stuffed!

Pack a high energy snack to take with you. You may have a break sometime during the test when you can grab a quick snack. Bananas are great. They have a moderate amount of sugar and plenty of brain nutrients, such as potassium. Most proctors won't allow you to eat a snack while you're testing, but a peppermint shouldn't pose a problem. Peppermints are like smelling salts for your brain. If you lose your concentration or suffer from a momentary mental block, a peppermint can get you back on track. Don't forget the earlier advice about relaxing and taking a few deep breaths.

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Leave early enough so you have plenty of time to get to the test center. Allow a few minutes for unexpected traffic. When you arrive, locate the restroom and use it. Few things interfere with concentration as much as a full bladder. Then find your seat and make sure it's comfortable. If it isn't, tell the proctor and ask to change to something you find more suitable.

Now relax and think positively! Before you know it the test will be over, and you'll walk away knowing you've done as well as you can.

After the Test

Two things:

1. Plan a little celebration.

2. Go to it.

If you have something to look forward to after the test is over, you may find it easier to prepare well for the test and to keep moving during the test. Good luck!

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Appendix B—
Additional Resources

If using this book has whetted your appetite for learning to write better, you may want to continue your study. Many high schools and community colleges offer inexpensive writing courses for adults in their continuing education departments, or you may be able to find a teacher who is willing to tutor you for a modest fee. In addition, you might consult one of the following books:

• Better English by Norman Lewis (Dell)

Useful for general information; suited to both native and nonnative speakers of English.

• English Made Simple by Arthur Waldhorn and Arthur Ziegler (Made Simple Books)

Designed for nonnative speakers of English; also good for native speakers with little training in grammar.

• Errors in English and How to Correct Them by Harry Shaw (HarperCollins)

Addresses specific problems in both writing and grammar; useful for nonnative speakers of English.

• Grammar by James R. Hurford (Cambridge University Press)

Thorough coverage of parts of speech, sentence structure, usage, punctuation, and mechanics; especially good for native speakers of English.

• Grammar Essentials by Judith Olson (LearningExpress)

All the rules of grammar explained in plain English; includes lots of exercises so you practice what you learn.