Tag: Grammar

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Grammar and Grace

How to Write Big Money

I was recently polishing my latest manuscript. One of the subplots involves a grant payout with large sums of money. In the drafts, I wrote the amounts with numerals. I had written $50,000, $30,000, $20,000, and $10,000 twice–all in one paragraph. A beta reader pointed out the mega use of zeroes.

A check in the Chicago Manual of Style made me reel back all those zeroes. Here’s the rule:

Use words not numerals when expressing money unless it’s a ridiculous amount that would be hard to read.

So I rewrote the paragraph and all the other mentions of money throughout the manuscript. For example, $30,000 became thirty thousand dollars. I also rewrote the paragraph so that I wouldn’t have so many thousand and dollars in the same paragraph and tripping up the reader.

Happy writing!

Hope Toler Dougherty holds a Master’s degree in English and taught at East Carolina University and York Technical College. Her publications include three novels Irish Encounter and Mars…With Venus Rising, and Rescued Hearts as well as nonfiction articles. A member of ACFW, RWA, and SinC, she writes for SeriousWriter.com. She and her husband live in North Carolina and enjoy visits with their two daughters and twin sons.

Author of Rescued Hearts
                 Irish Encounter
                Mars…With Venus Rising

Visit Hope at hopetolerdougherty.com

Categories
Grammar and Grace

What’s an Interjection

Last year, we explored seven of the eight parts of speech. Then I took a break to address compound words in several posts and the correct usage of its and it’s.

Now let’s look at the last part of speech–interjections.

Interjections are words that denote strong feelings like surprise, excitement, joy, fear. They’re usually found at the beginning of a sentence and are punctuated with an exclamation point but sometimes can be set off with a comma. They are not grammatically connected to the sentence. They function independently.

Use these words in dialog, but don’t use them in formal writing.

Here are some examples of using interjections:

Wow! Hurricane Florence is really huge.

Ouch! That pepperoni burned the top of my mouth.

Other examples include the following: hey, rats, shoot, whoa, dang, drat, cheers, yikes, yuck.

These are fun words to use, but I’d suggest using them sparingly. Remember to show emotion in your writing, not just with one word and an exclamation point.

Happy writing!

Hope Toler Dougherty holds a Master’s degree in English and taught at East Carolina University and York Technical College. Her publications include three novels Irish Encounter and Mars…With Venus Rising, and Rescued Hearts as well as nonfiction articles. A member of ACFW, RWA, and SinC, she writes for SeriousWriter.com. She and her husband live in North Carolina and enjoy visits with their two daughters and twin sons.

Author of Rescued Hearts
               Irish Encounter
              Mars…With Venus Rising
Visit Hope at www.hopetolerdougherty.com
Categories
Grammar and Grace

Compound Words (Part 3)

This post includes the remainder of compound words from U through Z. The list is intended to help during the editing process.

underachieve

underage

underarm

underbelly

underbid

undercharge

underclothes

undercover

undercurrent

undercut

underdeveloped

underdog

underestimate

underexpose

underfoot

underground

upbeat

upbringing

upcoming

update

upend

upgrade

upheaval

upheld

uphill

uphold

upkeep

upland

uplift

uplink

upload

upmarket

upon

uppercase

upperclassman

uppercut

uppermost

upright

uprising

uproar

uproot

upscale

upset

upshot

upside

upstage

upstairs

upstanding

upstart

upstate

upstream

upstroke

uptake

upthrust

uptight

uptime

uptown

upturn

upward

upwind

waistline

walkways

walleyed

wallpaper

wardroom

warehouse

warfare

warlike

warmblooded

warpath

washboard

washbowl

washcloth

washhouse

washout

washrag

washroom

washstand

washtub

wastebasket

wasteland

wastepaper

wastewater

watchband

watchdog

watchmaker

watchman

watchtower

watchword

watercolor

watercooler

watercraft

waterfall

waterfowl

waterfront

waterline

waterlog

watermark

watermelon

waterpower

waterproof

waterscape

watershed

waterside

waterspout

watertight

waterway

waterwheel

waterworks

wavelength

wavelike

waxwork

waybill

wayfarer

waylaid

wayside

wayward

weathercock

weatherman

weatherproof

weekday

weekend

weeknight

whatever

whatsoever

wheelbarrow

wheelbase

wheelchair

wheelhouse

whitecap

whitefish

whitewall

whitewash

widespread

wipeout

without

woodshop

Happy writing!

 

Hope Toler Dougherty holds a Master’s degree in English and taught at East Carolina University and York Technical College. Her publications include three novels Irish Encounter and Mars…With Venus Rising, and Rescued Hearts as well as nonfiction articles. A member of ACFW, RWA, and SinC, she writes for SeriousWriter.com. She and her husband live in North Carolina and enjoy visits with their two daughters and twin sons.

Author of Rescued Hearts
               Irish Encounter
              Mars…With Venus Rising
Visit Hope at www.hopetolerdougherty.com
Categories
Grammar and Grace

Compound Words? (Part 2)

Last time, I offered a list of compound words from A to H. This post continues with the remainder of the H words through T.

honeybee

honeycomb

honeydew

honeymoon

honeysuckle

hookup

hookworm

horseback

horsefly

horsehair

horseman

horseplay

horsepower

horseradish

houseboat

household

housekeeper

housetop

housework

however

intake

ironwork

itself

jackpot

jailbait

jellybean

jellyfish

jetliner

jetport

jumpshot

keyboard

keyhole

keynote

keypad

keypunch

keystroke

keyway

keyword

lifeblood

lifeboat

lifeguard

lifelike

lifeline

lifelong

lifesaver

lifetime

lifework

limelight

limestone

longhand

longhouse

lukewarm

mainland

mainline

matchbox

meantime

meanwhile

moonbeam

moonlight

moonlit

moonscape

moonshine

moonstruck

moonwalk

moreover

mothball

motherhood

motorcycle

nearby

nevermore

newborn

newfound

newsboy

newsbreak

newscaster

newsletter

newsman

newspaper

newsperson

newsprint

newsreel

newsroom

newsstand

newsworthy

nightfall

nobody

noisemaker

northeast

notebook

noteworthy

nowhere

nursemaid

nutcracker

oneself

onetime

overabundance

overboard

overcoat

overflow

overland

overshoes

pacemaker

pancake

passbook

passkey

Passover

passport

paycheck

peppermint

pickup

pinhole

pinstripe

pinup

pinwheel

playback

playboy

playhouse

playthings

ponytail

popcorn

postcard

racquetball

railroad

railway

rainbow

raincheck

raincoat

raindrop

rainstorm

rainwater

rattlesnake

rattletrap

repairman

riverbanks

rubberband

sailboat

salesclerk

sandlot

sandlot

sandlot

sandstone

saucepan

scapegoat

scarecrow

schoolbook

schoolboy

schoolhouse

schoolwork

seashore

setback

sharecropper

sharpshooter

sheepskin

shoelace

shoemaker

shortbread

showoff

showplace

sideburns

sidekick

sideshow

sidewalk

silversmith

sisterhood

skateboard

skintight

skylark

skylight

skyscraper

slapstick

slowdown

slumlord

snakeskin

snowball

snowbank

snowbird

snowdrift

softball

software

somebody

someday

somehow

someone

someplace

something

sometimes

somewhat

somewhere

soundproof

southeast

southwest

soybean

spacewalk

spearmint

spillway

spokesperson

stagehand

standby

standoff

standout

standpipe

standpoint

starfish

steamboat

steamship

stepson

stockroom

stonewall

stoplight

stopwatch

storerooms

stronghold

subway

sunbathe

sundial

sundown

sunfish

sunflower

sunglasses

sunlit

sunray

sunroof

sunup

supercargo

supercharge

supercool

superego

superfine

superfine

supergiant

superhero

superhighways

superhuman

superimpose

superman

supermarket

supermen

supernatural

superpower

superscript

supersensitive

supersonic

superstar

superstructure

supertanker

superwoman

sweetheart

sweetmeat

tablecloth

tablespoon

tabletop

tableware

tadpole

tagalong

tailbone

tailcoat

tailgate

taillight

tailpiece

tailspin

takeoff

takeout

takeout

takeover

talebearer

taleteller

tapeworm

taproom

taproot

target

taskmaster

 

taxicab

I hope these lists are helping with your editing efforts.

Happy writing!

Hope Toler Dougherty holds a Master’s degree in English and taught at East Carolina University and York Technical College. Her publications include three novels Irish Encounter and Mars…With Venus Rising, and Rescued Hearts as well as nonfiction articles. A member of ACFW, RWA, and SinC, she writes for SeriousWriter.com. She and her husband live in North Carolina and enjoy visits with their two daughters and twin sons.

Author of Rescued Hearts
               Irish Encounter
              Mars…With Venus Rising
Visit Hope at www.hopetolerdougherty.com
Categories
Grammar and Grace

How Do You Write Compound Words? (Part 1)

A friend of mine edited my latest manuscript for me. She mentioned that I have a tendency toward not writing compound words correctly. I’m thinking I may not be the only person who struggles with compound words. I’ve begun a list of those pesky words. Here’s the first installment. Sorry the three columns of my original document shows up as one here!

aboveboard

afterglow

afterimage

afterlife

afternoon

aircraft

airfield

airlift

airline

airmen

airplane

airport

airtime

allover

allspice

alongside

also

another

anybody

anyhow

anymore

anyone

anyone

anyplace

anytime

anyway

anywhere

around

ashtray

babysitter

backache

backache

backbite

backbite

backbone

backbone

backbreaker

backdrop

backfire

background

backhand

backlash

backlog

backpack

backside

backslap

backslide

backspace

backspin

backstage

backstroke

backtrack

backward

ballpark

ballroom

bankbook

bankroll

baseball

basketball

beachcomb

bedclothes

bedrock

bedroll

bedroom

bellbottom

bellboy

bellhop

below

blackball

blackberries

blackbird

blackboard

blackjack

blacklist

blackmail

blackout

blacksmith

blacktop

blowgun

bluebell

blueberry

bluebird

bluefish

bluegrass

blueprint

boardwalk

bodyguard

bodywork

boldface

bookcase

bookend

bookkeeper

bookmark

bookmobile

bookseller

bookshelf

bookstore

bookworm

bootstrap

bowlegs

bowtie

brainchild

brainwash

butterball

buttercup

butterfingers

butterflies

buttermilk

butternut

butterscotch

bypass

cabdriver

cancan

candlelight

candlestick

cannot

cardboard

cardsharp

cardstock

carefree

caretaker

careworn

carfare

cargo

carhop

carload

carpetbagger

carpool

carport

carrack

carryall

carsick

cartwheel

cattail

catwalk

caveman

cheeseburger

cheesecake

clockwise

coffeemaker

comeback

comeback

comedown

commonplace

commonwealth

cornmeal

courthouse

courtyard

crossbow

crossbreed

crosscut

crosswalk

dairymaid

daisywheel

daybed

daybook

daybreak

daydream

daylight

daytime

deadline

dishcloth

dishpan

dishwasher

dishwater

dogwood

doorstop

downbeat

drawbridge

driveway

duckbill

duckpin

duckweed

earache

eardrop

eardrum

earring

earthbound

earthquake

earthward

earthworm

egghead

eggshell

elsewhere

everything

eyeballs

eyeglasses

eyelash

eyelid

eyesight

eyesight

eyewitness

fatherland

firearm

fireball

fireboat

firebomb

firebreak

firecracker

firefighter

fireflies

firehouse

fireproof

firewater

fireworks

fishbowl

fisherman

fisheye

fishhook

fishlike

fishmonger

fishnet

fishpond

fishtail

football

foothill

footlights

footlocker

footnote

footprints

footrest

forbearer

forearm

forebear

forebrain

forecast

forecastle

foreclose

foreclosure

forefather

forefeet

forefinger

forefoot

forego

foregone

foreground

forehand

forehead

foreknowledge

foreleg

foreman

foremost

forepaws

foresee

foreshadow

foresight

forestall

forethought

foretold

forewarn

foreword

forklift

fortnight

friendship

gearshift

glassmaking

goodbye

goodnight

grandaunt

grandchild

grandchildren

granddaughter

grandfather

grandmaster

grandmother

grandnephew

grandnieces

grandparent

grandson

grandstand

granduncle

grasshopper

grassland

graveyard

gumball

haircut

hamburger

hammerhead

handbook

handcuff

handgun

handmade

handout

headache

headdress

headlight

headline

headquarters

hereafter

hereby

herein

hereupon

herself

highball

highchair

highland

highway

himself

homemade

hometown

I’ll add more next time.

Happy writing!

Hope Toler Dougherty holds a Master’s degree in English and taught at East Carolina University and York Technical College. Her publications include three novels Irish Encounter and Mars…With Venus Rising, and Rescued Hearts as well as nonfiction articles. A member of ACFW, RWA, and SinC, she writes for SeriousWriter.com. She and her husband live in North Carolina and enjoy visits with their two daughters and twin sons.

Author of Rescued Hearts
               Irish Encounter
              Mars…With Venus Rising
Visit Hope at www.hopetolerdougherty.com
Categories
Grammar and Grace

Choose the Correct Pronoun by Hope Toler Dougherty

Please stop using pronouns wrong!

Between you and I, I’m sick of people using the wrong pronoun. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong!

Don’t invite Kevin and I to a Super Bowl party this year.  Wrong. Wrong. Wrong!

Are you guilty of saying or writing sentences like the previous ones? You are not alone. I hear TV news anchors torture the language with the wrong pronoun. No, you’re not alone, but you are wrong.  You can, however, learn to use pronouns properly.

Here’s a post that explains correct usage:

http://www.almostanauthor.com/choose-correct-pronoun/.

And here’s one more post just in case you need more explanation about pronouns:

What are Pronouns?

You can learn the correct form. I’m sure of it.

Good luck and happy writing!

Hope Toler Dougherty holds a Master’s degree in English and taught at East Carolina University and York Technical College. Her publications include three novels Irish Encounter and Mars…With Venus Rising, and Rescued Hearts as well as nonfiction articles. A member of ACFW, RWA, and SinC, she writes for SeriousWriter.com. She and her husband live in North Carolina and enjoy visits with their two daughters and twin sons.

Author of Rescued Hearts
               Irish Encounter
              Mars…With Venus Rising
Visit Hope at www.hopetolerdougherty.com
Categories
Grammar and Grace

How to Address Christmas Cards the Right Way

Today, people love to communicate with texts and private Facebook messages and emails and tweets, but around Christmas people still send real cards through the mail.

Unfortunately, people are still making mistakes when it comes to pluralizing proper names in the addresses.

Here are some simple rules to follow so that you can write names correctly and make sure your cards convey the happy messages you intend.

  1. Add an s to a proper noun that doesn’t end in s to make it plural.

Langston = Langstons
Paterline = Paterlines
Haddock = Haddocks

  1. Don’t change the spelling of a proper noun to make the plural.

Dougherty = Doughertys (not Dougherties)

  1.  Add esto a name that ends in s, x, z, ch, or sh to make it plural.

Capps = Cappses ( I know it looks strange, but trust me.)
Wellons=Wellonses
Edwards = Edwardses
Crews = Crewses
Rakiewicz = Rakiewiczes

Notice that at no time have I used an apostrophe. I haven’t used one because I’m making the names plural, not possessive.

Three rules.

That’s all you need to write your Christmas cards correctly. If you can’t bring yourself to add the es to someone’s name or you can’t bring yourself to leave off the apostrophe, there’s always an easy fallback…Merry Christmas from The Dougherty Family.

Hope Toler Dougherty holds a Master’s degree in English and taught at East Carolina University and York Technical College. Her publications include two novels, Irish Encounter and Mars…With Venus Rising, as well as nonfiction articles. A member of ACFW, RWA, and SinC, she writes for SeriousWriter.com. She and her husband live in North Carolina and enjoy visits with their two daughters and twin sons. Visit her at hopetolerdougherty.com.

 

Categories
Grammar and Grace

Ready for Another Serving of Prepositions?

Have you memorized the list of prepositions yet? Trust me, quickly recognizing prepositions will help you in the long run because we’ll be layering more grammar knowledge based on the use of prepositions.

In the last post, we studied prepositions and prepositional phrases. Remember, a phrase is a group of connected words that doesn’t contain a subject or a verb.

This time we’ll discuss subordinate clauses that begin with prepositions.

Continue reading “Ready for Another Serving of Prepositions?”
Categories
Grammar and Grace

Adverbs–How Do We Know?

 

Adverbs are words commonly used to describe or modify a verb, and adjective, or another adverb. To test whether or not a word is an adverb, ask these questions: “How? How often? To what degree? Where?”.

The following sentence shows four adverbs in Italics.

Earlier, Elsie had waited        there                very                             impatiently.

When?                                     Where?            To what degree?         How?

Earlier, there, and impatiently described the verb had waited. Very describes impatiently, another adverb.

Another common indicator of adverbs is the addition of  -ly at the end of a word.

             quietly, roughly, gingerly, softly, worldly

Many words that may function as adverbs do not end in –ly.  

often, sometimes, then, when, anywhere, anyplace, somewhere, somehow, somewhat
yesterday, Sunday, before, behind, ahead, seldom, never, not  

Also many adjectives do end in –ly.

womanly, manly, comely, costly

Confused yet?

Remember to ask questions about what the word is describing. If it describes a noun but ends in
-ly, it’s an adjective.

The comely cashier gave the crying toddler a lollypop. (Comely describes cashier, a noun.)

When writing fiction, relying on adverbs to show action is considered weak writing. Avoid using them. Replace with descriptive verbs instead.

The teenaged quarterback ran quickly up the front steps.    Weak

The teenaged quarterback bounded up the front steps.        Better

Happy writing!

Categories
Grammar and Grace

Adjectives are Cool!

This month at Grammar and Grace we’re studying adjectives. Adjectives are words that tell something about a noun or a pronoun.

An easy point to remember about adjectives is that they normally come right before or right after the noun or pronoun.

*The red wheelbarrow rests beside the path.

*The donkey–tired and stubborn–refused to finish plowing the field.

Adjectives that come after a verb (usually linking verbs) modify or describe the subject. These adjectives are called predicate adjectives.

*The pesto is yummy.

Adjectives can tell something about appearance–spectacular, nubby; color–black, gold; condition–bashful, intelligent; personality–victorious, ditzy; quantity–empty, packed; shape–snake-like, plump; time–early, retro; taste–sour, bland; touch–sizzling, velvety. (Yes, I agree. Some of these adjectives fit in more than one category.)

Do you notice anything about the adjectives? They don’t end with similar letters that shout, “Hey, I’m an adjective.” Just remember, if a word gives more information about a noun–how many fingers? Five–or if it makes a noun distinct from another noun–the red car, not the blue one–it’s an adjective.

Happy writing!

 

Categories
Write Justified

The Times They Are A-Changin’

As languages go, English is fairly young. It’s been about 1400 years since the Anglo-Saxons imported English into Great Britain. And the struggle to adapt continues because language is dynamic. The English language continues to adjust to changes in word usage and new words that make their way into the vernacular. Just this year, Merriam-Webster added 1000 new words to its dictionary.

It’s our job as writers and editors to keep abreast of such changes and accepted usages. While we may not adapt every new coinage, we need to know what is acceptable usage in the publishing world—thanks to authorities like Merriam-Webster and the Chicago Manual of Style (CMoS). With the 17th edition of CMoS due out in September, here’s a heads up on three changes that are likely to have the greatest impact on your writing/editing.

  • E-mail will become email—no hyphen. This is a progression that many additions to the language make—moving from a hyphenated to closed compound. While some style guides have been rendering email as closed for some time already, when CMoS does so, it’s official.
  • Internet becomes internet—lower cased.
  • Singular they is acceptable in some cases. Although the pronoun they usually refers to a plural antecedent, CMoS acknowledges it can also refer to a singular antecedent. In cases where the gender of the antecedent is not known, the singular they is acceptable, rather than the generic he or the cumbersome he/she. Truth is, this is the way most of us speak. So, in informal writing the following is permitted:

Whoever ratted out the thieves should get an award for their honesty.

Who wants cheese on their burger?

              Keep in mind that singular they, like singular you is treated as a grammatical plural and takes a plural verb:

They have seven PhDs among them.

Their degrees are in the sciences.

Never let anyone tell you English is a staid language. Sometimes, it’s all an editor can do to keep up with the changes.

Categories
Grammar and Grace

What are Pronouns?

 

A pronoun is a word that can take the place of a noun in a sentence which means pronouns can work as subjects, objects, and complements. Pronouns come in different forms and are used for different purposes.

Pronouns can be personal, indefinite, reflexive and intensive, demonstrative, relative, possessive, and interrogative. For this post, we’ll focus on personal pronouns.

Compared to nouns that can be descriptive on their own and especially with an added adjective, pronouns might seem bland. Without them, however, sentences would be boring, awkward, and maybe a tad silly. Take a look at the following sentences.

With pronouns: Anna designed the pattern, cut it out, fitted it to her mom, and sewed it.

Without pronouns: Anna designed the pattern, cut out the pattern, fitted the pattern to Anna’s mom, and sewed the pattern.

Personal pronouns refer to one or more people and are classified according to case: subjective, objective, or possessive.

Subjective Case                     Objective Case                       Possessive Case
I                       We                       Me                   Us                          My, Mine                    Ours
You                 You                      You                 You                         Your, Yours                Your, Yours
He, She, It     They                   Him, Her, It   Them                    His, Her, Hers, Its    Their, Theirs

*Remember that subjective case pronouns are used as subjects or subject complements. Objective case pronouns are used as indirect objects, direct objects, and objects of prepositions. (They can also be subjects or objects of infinitives, but that’s a subject for a future post.)

*Remember to make certain that pronouns refer clearly to their antecedents, the word they’re replacing. Keep them as close as possible to the antecedent.

*Remember to make pronouns agree in number with the antecedents.

Check out this earlier post for more information about pronoun usage and agreement http://www.almostanauthor.com/choose-correct-pronoun/.

Do you have questions about pronouns?

Happy writing!

Categories
Grammar and Grace

What are Nouns?

This time we’ll discuss nouns. Nouns can be common or proper. A common noun is a person, place, or thing. A noun also includes a quality, an idea, or an action. A proper noun is a specific person, place, or thing.

  1. A church sits at the curve of the road. We have three common nouns in that sentence—church, curve, and road.
  2. Love Memorial Church sits on the curve of Rains Mill Road. Notice the changes in this sentence. Church has become specific by being named. When it is specific, it’s capitalized. The same thing happens to road. Curve is still common and doesn’t take a capital letter.

Nouns are typically used in a sentence as the subject, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition. In the first sentence, church is the subject. Curve and road are objects of the prepositions at and of.

  1. We ate the chocolate mousse before dinner. In this sentence, mousse is the object of ate.

An important thing to remember is to capitalize proper nouns.

  1. I took a math class. Math or class isn’t capitalized because it’s not specific.
  2. Breanna almost failed Calculus III in high school. Calculus is capitalized because it’s the specific name of a class.

Exceptions to capitalizing courses are language classes. Always capitalize language classes like English, Chinese, and Arabic.

Nouns are pretty easy to understand, but they’re also very important in a sentence. Having a handle on what nouns do will help you understand more complex grammar points later.

Happy writing!

 

 

 

 

Categories
Grammar and Grace

Let’s Talk About Verbs

Last time, I introduced the eight parts of speech. This time, we’ll focus on verbs.

I’m beginning with the verb because to be a complete sentence and not just a phrase or a fragment, a group of words has to have a verb. A verb is the action part of the sentence or the part that talks about being.

I am. That’s a sentence.

Steelers won. That’s a sentence, too. Of course, a better, more descriptive sentence might be something like—The fantastic Pittsburgh Steelers shut out the stinkin’ New England Patriots and won the Super Bowl.

To understand verbs, we must understand more than just the definition that a verb is a word that describes a state of action or being.

Agreement—A verb must agree with its subject. We’ll discuss this idea more in later posts once I introduce nouns.

Tenses—A verb tense tells the time of the action. To keep things simple, we’ll discuss past, present, and future tenses.

Present—I enjoy avocado on toast.

Past—I enjoyed avocado on toast yesterday.

Future—I will eat avocado on toast tomorrow.

Notice that the spelling of the verb changes for the past tense. Usually, adding the suffix -ed to a verb makes it past tense. For the future tense, I added a helping verb will.

Linking verbs—These verbs join a subject to its complement. Common linking verbs are be, am, is, are, was, were, been, being—forms of the verb to be. Verbs of the senses are also linking verbs—feel, smell, sound, look, seem, and taste.

Her voice sounded shrill. (Sounded links voice to shrill.)

She is the Olympic swimmer. (Is links she to swimmer.)

Helping verbs—These verbs are also called auxiliary verbs. They help form proper tenses. Common helping verses include the linking verbs as well as have, has, had, shall, will, may might, can, would, should, could, must, and ought.

Beth has invited several people to the Parade of Tables, but only two have accepted.

Irregular verbs—These verbs do not take an addition of the suffix -ed to form the simple past tense. Some irregular verbs include the following: eat/ate/eaten, see/saw/seen, come/came/come, drink/drank/drunk, drive/drove/driven.

This post is an attempt to remind readers about the function of verbs. Understanding the function will help make your writing clear, correct, and concise.

Do you have questions about verbs?

Happy writing!

Categories
The Writer's PenCase Uncategorized

Seamless Self–Editing––Part VIII

The Writer's PenCase

As this series draws to a close, here are a couple practical exercises you can do at home to learn and practice your own seamless self-editing. Cutting word usage in half, and a proofreading exercise will assist you in learning more about how to edit your own manuscript. Because our object is to become “publish-ready.” #amwriting #publishready #seamlessediting

Continue reading “Seamless Self–Editing––Part VIII”
Categories
Grammar and Grace

Introducing the Eight Parts of Speech

For 2017, let’s understand the basics of English grammar by learning the eight parts of speech. They are the following:

Verb

Noun

Pronoun

Adjective

Adverb

Preposition

Conjunction

Interjection

All words are classified by the role they play in a sentence, or the work they do. Some words may be classified as two or three different parts of speech, but no word can be all eight. Some words will be classified as only one.

Here’s an example of one word in three different parts of speech. Brown can be an adjective, a noun, and a verb.

*The brown four-wheeler slid into the snow-covered ditch. (adjective)

*The brown in the painting overwhelmed the mood of the composition. (noun)

*Before placing the roast in the crock pot, brown the meat on all sides. (verb)

The word brown is used differently in all three sentences.

In the upcoming posts, we’ll learn about all the different parts of speech. Understanding the parts of speech will help in understanding future grammar and punctuation problems.

Happy writing!

Categories
Write Justified

The Common Comma – Part II

 

The comma is one of those punctuation marks that has an outsized impact in relationship to its size. It’s the little but mighty mark of the punctuation world.

One place where a comma can make a big difference is in restrictive and nonrestrictive—or if you prefer—essential and nonessential clauses. Essential/restrictive clauses include necessary information that must not be set off with punctuation, such as these examples:

Jan and Perry bought the clock that chimes on the hour and half hour.

The fabric (that) Jenny needed to finish her project was backordered.

A theater that has served a small southern Missouri town for fifty years will close next month.

Nonrestrictive or nonessential clauses or phrases are set off with commas. Note how a slight change in the wording and punctuation changes the meaning of these sentences:

 The clock, which chimes on the hour and half hour, was Jan and Perry’s anniversary gift.

         Here the description (modifier) of the clock is not essential to the sentence and is set off in commas.)

The fabric, which was backordered, would not arrive before the project deadline.

The Omni Theater, which has served a small southern Missouri town for fifty years, will close next month.

       Making the clause nonrestrictive indicates that the Omni is one of several theaters in the small town. The previous sentence with its restrictive clause limits the closing to the theater that has served the town for fifty years.

Note the use of that and which. That is used for restrictive clauses, which for nonrestrictive. Nonrestrictive clauses could be eliminated without changing the basic meaning of a sentence, thus they are set off with commas.

Similar rules apply to appositives.

An appositive is a word or phrase modifying or describing a noun. A nonrestrictive appositive restates the noun or pronoun without changing the essential meaning of the sentence.

 Peggy’s husband, Robert, is a model train aficionado.

        Since Peggy has only one husband, the appositive Robert is nonessential and is set off in commas.

My brother John is five years younger than me.

I have more than one brother so it is essential to identify which one is younger. Here, John is a restrictive appositive; no comma.

Fredrick Backman’s debut novel, “A Man Called Ove,” is one of my favorite books.

An author can only have one debut novel, so either debut or the book title could be eliminated without changing the basic meaning of the sentence.

Backman’s novel A Man Called Ove has been on the New York Times Best Sellers list for more than forty weeks.

Backman’s debut novel is the only one to have been on the best seller list this long, thus the title restricts the modifier to that book and no comma is required.

Like language itself, punctuation rules are evolving—especially in the age of social media. But the publishing world still adheres to these. Aspiring authors ought to, also.

Categories
Grammar and Grace

Compliment or Complement?

Earlier this week I wrote a post for my own blog and was reminded about two things: the difference between compliment and complement and the definition of a subjective complement.

Compliment and complement sound exactly alike. They’re homophones. They are spelled differently and have different meanings, however.

A compliment is a flattering statement. Your dinner guest might say, “This pesto is delicious. I’d love your recipe.” He’s complimented your cooking.

A complement is a thing that completes something else or brings it to perfection. A nice complement to angel hair pasta with pesto is a ripe tomato.

The tricky thing is remembering how to spell the correct form. Try this mnemonic device. I like compliments ( because don’t we love compliments?). The I in the previous statement can remind you to use the word with the i in it.

A subjective complement is one of those phrases you learned about in grade school. It’s a word or phrase that follows a linking verb (be, am, is, are, was, were,…) and renames or describes the subject.

My high school English teacher was a monster.  (Not true, by the way.) Monster is the subjective complement because it renames teacher.

I have another example of a subjective complement, but I’m not sure it’s appropriate for this blog. I used it in the post I mentioned in the first paragraph. If you want to read it, go here. Read all the way to the end.

Now, go give someone a compliment!

Categories
The Writer's PenCase

Seamless Self-Editing—Part II

The Writer's PenCase

Last month, we talked about what “publish-ready” means.  This time, we’ll look at basic proofreading. Spell check in Microsoft Word or whatever word processing program you use—is simply not good enough. #amwriting #publishready #selfediting

Continue reading “Seamless Self-Editing—Part II”
Categories
Grammar and Grace

Irregardless, Not a Word?

A few weeks ago I enjoyed a lovely dinner with friends at a cool restaurant in Raleigh. The first time I ate there—decades ago—I was a young English major and ordering quiche and raspberry iced tea made me feel cool, too. Quiche was an exotic dish back then. The name of the place added to my delight because I understood the clever use of a non-word, Irregardless Café.

Yes, that’s right. Irregardless is not a word. It could be a blend of irrespective and regardless, but it’s wrong to use. Use regardless instead.

Regardless of the outcome of the soccer game, I’ll treat myself to frozen yogurt.

Another word used incorrectly is impact. Impact is a noun, not a verb.

How did the new law impact bathroom usage? Wrong. Instead write, how did the new law affect bathroom usage?

Finally, let’s consider a whole sentence that is used incorrectly. I could care less means exactly the opposite of what the speaker intends. I could care less means…I could care less. Think about it! If you could care less, care less. If you couldn’t, use I couldn’t care less instead.

Despite how often you may hear these words in daily speech or on TV, they are not correct. They may make for a cool name of a restaurant, but using them incorrectly doesn’t endear you to old English teachers, editors, or grammar police.

Categories
Grammar and Grace Uncategorized

Dangling Modifiers

Last month, I overheard a conversation about dangling modifiers. Lots of laughter. Lots of confusion. Lots of questions.

“What’s a dangling modifier?” “Wait. What’s a modifier?”

Let me explain.

A modifier adds description to a sentence. A modifier can be a word, a phrase, or a clause. In English, the modifier usually appears right before the noun it’s describing, but sometimes we find the modifier right after the word it describes.

Terrified, Penny prayed during the bumpy flight, which passed through a thunderstorm.

In the above sentence, terrified comes before Penny and describes her state of mind. Bumpy precedes flight. Which passed through a thunderstorm comes after flight.

In a dangling modifier situation, the modifier is placed near the wrong word. The construction makes the sentence confusing. Because the modifier doesn’t have a word to hang onto, it dangles, not attached to anything in the sentence.

Crushed by the Dear John text, the chocolate cake beckoned to Nancy from the countertop.

Crushed by the Dear John text comes before chocolate cake. Cake is the noun it’s supposed to modify, but cakes can’t be crushed by a Dear John text.

Here’s a correct way of writing the sentence: Crushed by the Dear John text, Nancy ate the chocolate cake that beckoned to her from the countertop.

Nancy is a person who can by crushed by a text, so the modifier is describing the correct word.

Try another one.

Thrilled by the letter of acceptance, the party plans commenced right away.

Plans can’t be thrilled. Thrilled by the letter of acceptance is dangling.

Write instead:

Thrilled by the letter of acceptance, Jordan commenced planning his party.

How about a one-word dangling modifier?

Sleepy, the bed looked inviting.

Do you see the problem? Bed can’t be sleepy.

A correct version would be—Sleepy, I crawled into the comfy bed.

When you start looking for dangling modifiers, you can find them easily, and a lot of times, they make for some funny sentences.

Have you found a dangling modifier lately that you can share in the comments? Please do!

Categories
Grammar and Grace

Five Words or Phrases to Avoid

Lots of time we hear verbal patterns that may be acceptable (to some people) in speech, but they are considered ungrammatical in the written word. Below are five examples of words or phrases to avoid in your written communications.

  1. Being as/Being that–Don’t use in place of because or since.

Being as the cake was frosted, we had to eat it.  Wrong

Because the cake was frosted, we had to eat it.   Correct

  1. Can’t hardly—This phrase is a double negative and not acceptable in standard English.

I can’t hardly wait for the first day of summer.  Wrong

I can hardly wait for the first day of summer.     Correct

I can’t wait for the first day of summer.              Correct

 Could of/Should of/Would of—These expressions are ungrammatical uses of could have, should have, and would have. They probably originate from the contractions in speech, could’ve, should’ve, and would’ve. Use the proper form in written English.

  1. Different from/Different Than—The correct usage is different from, not different than.

North Carolina eastern style barbeque is different from western style.

  1. Due to—This expression is a wordy construction. Use because

Due to the fact that Duke lost the game, the team didn’t advance. Wordy

Because Duke lost the game, the team didn’t advance.                   Much better

 Clean up your manuscripts by avoiding these ungrammatical expressions. Clean up your speech patterns by avoiding them, too.

Happy writing!

Categories
Grammar and Grace

How to Pluralize Names for Christmas Cards

I love Christmas. I especially love sending and receiving Christmas cards. We send out a lot from our house, and we receive a lot in return. We always include a picture of the whole family. The pictures we receive from our friends find a place on our refrigerator and adorn it all year.

20151025_174741

I don’t, however, love the envelopes addressed to The Dougherty’s or closings that read, Love from the Jones’. Ack!! I’m happy to hear from old friends, but I can’t stop my toes from curling when I see those errant apostrophes.

Here are some simple rules to follow so that you can write names correctly and make sure your cards convey the happy messages you intend.

  1. Add an s to a proper noun that doesn’t end in s to make it plural.

Langston = Langstons
Maurer = Maurers
Tate = Tates

  1. Don’t change the spelling of a proper noun to make the plural.

Dougherty = Doughertys (not Dougherties)

3.  Add es to a name that ends in s, x, z, ch, or sh to make it plural.

Capps = Cappses ( I know it looks strange, but trust me.)
Edwards = Edwardses
Fox = Foxes
Rakiewicz = Rakiewiczes

Notice that at no time have I used an apostrophe. I haven’t used one because I’m making the names plural, not possessive.

Three rules.

That’s all you need to write your Christmas cards correctly. If you can’t bring yourself to add the es to someone’s name, there’s always an easy fallback—Love from The Dougherty Family.

Categories
Grammar and Grace

How to Choose the Correct Pronoun

What’s wrong with this sentence? Me and Cam finished the Army Ten-Miler. Me should be I, right? Easy. Most people agree pretty quickly on that sentence structure.

How about this one? Mrs. Powell invited Sara and I to lunch.  Anything wrong? Yes. I should be me in this sentence. Although me is the correct pronoun, more and more professional people today (including print reporters as well as newscasters) use the wrong pronoun.

Does it sound tricky? Sometimes I is correct. Sometimes me is correct. How do you choose the correct pronoun?

Here’s a simple way to check:

Mrs. Powell invited Sara and ______ to lunch.

How would you say it if the invitation included only the speaker?

Mrs. Powell invited I to lunch. No.
Mrs. Powell invited me to lunch. Yes.
So—Mrs. Powell invited Sara and me to lunch. Yes.

I in the above sentence is a direct object.

*Pronouns that work as direct objects, indirect objects, or objects of prepositions must be objective pronouns.

Here’s a list of objective pronouns:

me                      us                     whom
you                     you                  whomever
him, her, it      them

A direct object tells who or what receives the action done by the subject.

Irene Hannon has written many books.|
The Steelers will beat the Patriots this year.
The children’s librarian read them a story.

An indirect object tells for whom or for what an action is done.

The blogger wrote his authors an email.
Bailey and I sent the seniors an invitation.
Zac Brown could sing me a song any time.

Here’s a list of prepositions:

About             along               before             between          during             in
above              amid                behind            beyond            except             including
across             among             below              by                    excluding        inside
after                as                     beneath           despite           following        into
against           at                      beside              down               from                like

 

near                through          until                within                as to                    with regard to
of                     to                       up                    without             except for           because of
on                    toward            upon               according to    in addition to    by means of
over                under               via                   along with        in case of            in regard to
since               underneath   with                apart from       instead of            in spite of

 

Use the simple test above, and you shouldn’t have any problem choosing the correct pronoun.

Happy writing!

Hope Toler Dougherty holds a Master’s degree in English and taught at East Carolina University and York Technical College. Her publications include three novels Irish Encounter and Mars…With Venus Rising, and Rescued Hearts as well as nonfiction articles. A member of ACFW, RWA, and SinC, she writes for SeriousWriter.com. She and her husband live in North Carolina and enjoy visits with their two daughters and twin sons.

Author of Rescued Hearts
               Irish Encounter
              Mars…With Venus Rising
Visit Hope at www.hopetolerdougherty.com

 

 

 

 

 

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