|
Resources - Grammar
Terms and Usage
A
paragraph is coherent when its sentences are related to each other, not
only in content but also in grammatical structures and word choice.
Basic
Definitions
(adapted from The Elements of Grammar,Shertzer,
1986 and Guide to Grammar and
Writing, Capital Community College Foundation, 2004)
Part
of Speech |
Function |
Examples |
Noun |
Names
a person, place, thing, idea, living creature, quality, or event.
Nouns are used as subjects and as objects
of verbs and prepositions. |
Steven,
classroom, textbook, knowledge, turtle, compassion, graduation
|
| Mary
walked home with Susie and Jane.
Antigonish is a town in Nova Scotia. |
Adjective |
Modifies
or describes a noun or pronoun. |
impressive,
blue, Xaverian, five
|
The
impressive presentation guaranteed the group's success.
Erin wore her blue and gold sweater showing her Xaverian
spirit.
They needed only five minutes to prove their point. |
Pronoun |
Replaces
a noun. The word a pronoun replaces is called its antecedent. |
Personal
Pronouns: I, you he, she, it, we, they, me, him, her, it, us, them,
mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs, myself, yourself
Indefinite Pronouns:
everyone, anybody, each, someone
Demonstrative Pronouns:
this, that, these, those
Interrogative Pronouns:
who, whom, what, which, whose |
We
walked home with her.
They live in Antigonish.
I have yours and you have mine.
Everyone likes his music.
This is yours.
Who is taking his course? |
Verb |
Describes
an action or state of being
EVERY SENTENCE MUST HAVE A VERB. |
support,
believe, disagree, was researching, are, seemed |
| Smith's
research supports MacDonald's theory. The authors
believe the procedure will work. Miller et al. disagree,
and they are researching that topic now. The participants'
responses seemed to favour the older approach. The
final results are clear. |
Adverb |
Modifies
or describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.
An adverb answers the question how, where, or when something was
done. |
quickly,
yesterday there, too |
He
ran quickly.
She left yesterday.
We went there.
It was too hot. |
Conjunction |
Connects
words, phrases, clauses, or sentences |
and,
but, or, nor, either, neither, because, although, whether |
Preposition |
Joins
the nouns to some other part of the sentence and often explains
a position.
A preposition never stands alone.
|
since,
after, above, below, from, in, on, through,, unless |
The
technician crawled below the stage to fix the problem.
He made the adjustments during the intermission.
The students came from five different countries.
They brought the information to the meeting.
The books are on the shelf.
|
| Article |
Introduces
a noun |
the,
a, an |
Mary
and John are going to the lecture.
I have the research done, but my paper is not written. |
| Interjection |
Expresses
strong emotion or surprise. Often stands alone, followed by an
exclamation point. |
Great!
Stop! Hooray! |
For
an excellent series of PowerPoints on the parts of speech and other grammar
topics check this site: http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/powerpoint.htm
Purdue University's Online Writing Lab is an excellent site for information
and handouts on any grammar problem: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/index2.html
This interactive site "HyperGrammar" from the Writing Centre,
University of Ottawa provides clear, detailed explanations of the functions
of parts of speech:
http://www.uottawa.ca/academic/arts/writcent/hypergrammar/grammar.html
Avoiding Sentence Fragments (frag)
(Writing A College Handbook, Heffernan & Lincoln,
1982)
A sentence fragment is a part of a sentence punctuated as if it were a
whole one. Because sentence fragments are commonly used in informal, everyday
speech, we often do not recognize them as problems. Sentence fragments
are unacceptable in academic essays. A sentence fragment is missing a
subject, a verb, or sometimes both.
Original |
Medication
is the subject, but there is no verb. |
Revised |
| Medication
that can help this client relax as much as possible. |
Medication
that can help this client relax as much as possible is available over
the counter at any pharmacy. |
| Showing
an ability to think quickly in tight spots. |
This
is a subordinating clause and requires a subject and a verb to
make it complete. |
Showing
an ability to think quickly in tight spots, John autographed the book
signing his name as James Bond. |
| When
I go to work. |
The
subordinating word when makes this a phrase which requires a complete
sentence. |
When
I go to work, I always bring my lunch. |
| Because
it gives you a superstar smile. |
This
starts with a subordinator which makes the group of words a subordinate
clause. It requires a complete sentence. |
Choose
Dynamo toothpaste, because it gives you a superstar smile. |
Spotting and Correcting Sentence Fragments
• Does the "sentence" sound like a sentence?
• Does the "sentence" have a subject and a predicate
(verb)?
• If the "sentence" has both a subject and a predicate,
does it start with a subordinator, a preposition?
Avoiding
Run-on (RO) Sentences
(Making Sense, Margot Northey,1993)
A run-on sentence is a sentence that continues beyond the point where
it should have stopped.
Original |
|
Revised |
| Rock
music is the music of choice in our apartment, but the landlord complains
about the noise every time we turn on the stereo and such was the
case last weekend after BurMac. |
The
"and" should be dropped and
a period or semicolon added after stereo. |
Rock
music is the music of choice in our apartment, but the landlord complains
about the noise every time we turn on the stereo.Such was the case
last weekend after BurMac. |
Another
kind of run-on sentence is one in which two independent clauses are wrongly
joined by a comma. An independent clause is a phrase that can stand by
itself. It is a complete sentence. It shouldn't be attached to another
sentence by a comma, unless a coordinating conjunction (joining word)
is part of the link-up.
Original |
|
Revised |
| Northrop
Frye won international acclaim as a critic, he was an English professor
at the University of Toronto. |
This
run-on error is known as a comma splice or a fused sentence. There
are four ways of correcting it: |
Place
a period after critic and start a new sentence:
|
Northrop
Frye won international acclaim as a critic. He was
an English professor at the University of Toronto. |
Add
a coordinating conjunction after the comma. Sometime you have to recast
the sentence to maintain the meaning as in this case:
|
Northrop
Frye was an English professor
at the University of Toronto, and he won international
acclaim as a critic. |
| Replace
the comma with a semicolon:
|
Northrop
Frye won international acclaim as a critic; he was
an English professor at the University of Toronto.
|
Make
one of the independent clauses subordinate to the other, so that it
can't stand by itself:
|
Northrop
Frye, who won international acclaim as a critic, was an English professor
at the University of Toronto. |
This is a common problem in students' writing. Contrary to what many people
think, words such as however, therefore, and thus cannot
be used to join independent clauses by themselves.Used as coordinating
conjunctions, these words take a semi-colon (;) before the word and a
comma after the word.
Original |
|
Revised |
| She
was accepted into medical school, however, she deferred her admission
for a year to earn her tuition |
This
mistake can be corrected by beginning a new sentence after school
or (preferably) by putting a semicolon in the same place. |
She
was accepted into medical school; however, she deferred
her admission for a year to earn her tuition. |
Subject-Verb Agreement
(Making Sense, Northey, 1993)
Singular subjects require singular verbs; plural subjects require
plural verbs
Original |
|
Revised |
| The
increase (singular subject)
in the rate for freight and passengers were (plural
verb) condemned by the farmers. |
A
verb should always agree in number with its subject. Sometimes,
however, when the subject does not come at the beginning of the
sentence, or when it is separated from the verb by other information,
you may be tempted to use a verb form that does not agree |
The
increase in the rate for freight and passengers was
condemned by the farmers. |
| The
family were upset about the lawyer's manner of presentation
in the courtroom. |
A
collective noun is a singular noun, such as family, army or team,
that includes a number of members. If the noun refers to the members
as ONE UNIT, it takes a singular verb: |
The
family was upset about the lawyer's manner of presentation
in the courtroom. |
| The
team go on a road trip during the reading break. |
The
team goes on a road trip during the reading break. |
| Neither
of the changing rooms have a sauna. |
The
indefinite pronouns, either, neither, and each always take singular
verbs. |
Neither
of the changing rooms has a sauna.
Each of them has a shower. |
| |
Titles
- A title is singular, requiring a singular verb, even if it contains
plural words. |
Tales
of the South Pacific was a best seller.
Goodman and Goodman is handling the legal dispute. |
Conciseness
(Handbook for Writers, Troyka,Buckley &Gates,
2001)
Conciseness describes writing that is direct and to the point. Wordy writing
is not concise. and tends to be passive: it deflects responsibility, uses
helping verbs, and often a phrase beginning with by. A simple
example of passive writing is The research was done by Smith and Jones(2004).
They tested..... The first sentence in the example has
the subject as the receiver rather than the doer of the action.
This same sentence written in active voice is more concise: Smith
and Jones (2004) researched and tested the effects of ......
Pronoun
Problems
(Making Sense, Northey, 1993
| Original |
|
Revised |
| The
link between a pronoun and the noun to which it refers must be clear.
If the noun doesn't appear in the same sentence as the pronoun, it
should appear in the preceding sentence. |
| The
textbook supply in the bookstore had run out, and so we borrowed them
from the library. |
Since
textbook is used as an adjective rather than a noun, it cannot
serve as referent or antecedent for the pronoun them. You must
either replace them or change the phrase textbook supply:
|
The
textbook supply in the bookstore had run out, so we borrowed the texts
from the library.
The textbooks in the bookstore had run out, and so we borrowed them
from the library. |
| When
a sentence contains more than one noun, make sure there is no ambiguity
about which noun the pronoun refers. |
| The
public wants increased social services along with lower taxes, but
the government does not advocate them. |
To
what does the pronoun "them" refer: the taxes, the social
services, or both?
|
The
public wants increased social services along with lower taxes, but
the government does not advocate spending increases. |
| Using
it and this without a clear referent can lead to
confusion. |
| Although
the directors wanted to meet in January, it (this) didn't take place
until May. |
Make
sure that it or this clearly refers to a specific noun or pronoun.
|
Although
the directors wanted to meet in January, the conference didn't take
place until May. |
| A
pronoun should agree in number, person, and gender with the noun to
which it refers. |
A
working mother is fortunate if her workplace has a day-care centre
for her young children. |
| When
a Canadian civil servant retires, their pension is indexed. |
Problems
arise, however, when gender is not specified. This error is becoming
increasingly common. To avoid this awkward form of he/she, try to
change the singular pronoun to the plural: |
When
Canadian civil servants retire, their pensions are indexed. |
Comparisons
(Making Sense, Northey, 1993)
Make sure your comparisons are complete. The second element in a comparison
should be equivalent to the first, whether the equivalent is stated or
merely implied.
Original
|
|
Revised |
| Today's
students have a greater understanding of calculus than their parents
|
This
sentence suggests that the two things being compared are calculus
and parents. Adding a second verb (have) equivalent to the first
one shows that the two things being compared are parent's understanding
and student's understanding:
|
Today's
students have a greater understanding of calculus than their parents
have. |
| The
cabinet minister is a tiresome man and so are his press conferences.
|
Press
conferences may be tiresome, but they are not a tiresome man;
to make sense, the two parts of the comparison must be parallel:
|
The
cabinet minister is tiresome, and so are his press conferences. |
Parallel phrasing
A series of items in a sentence should be phrased in parallel wording.
Make sure that all the parts of a parallel construction are in fact equal.
Original |
|
Revised
|
| Mackenzie
King loved his job, his dogs, and mother. |
Once
you have decided to include the pronoun "his" in the
first two elements, the third must have it
|
Mackenzie
King loved his job, his dogs, and his mother. |
| He
failed economics and barely passed statistics, but political science
was a subject he did well in. |
For
clarity as well as stylistic grace, keep similar ideas in similar
form.
|
He
failed economics and barely passed statistics, but did well in political
science.
|
Faulty
Predication
(Making Sense, Northey, 1993; The Writing Center, University
of Wisconsin-Madison. http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/CommonErrors_Para.html)
Be
sure you use grammatically equal sentence elements to express two or more
matching ideas or items in a series.
Original |
|
Revised |
| The
candidate's goals include winning the election, a national health
program, and the educational system. |
When
the subject of a sentence is not grammatically connected to what
follows (the predicate), the result is faulty predication:
|
The
candidate's goals include winning the election, enacting a national
health program, and improving the educational system. |
| Some
critics are not so much opposed to capital punishment as postponing
it for so long. |
Some
critics are not so much opposed to capital punishment as they are
to postponing it for so long. |
| The
reason he was defeated was because he couldn't handle people. |
A
sentence beginning with "The reason was" demands a "that"
clause to complete it; the conjunction "because" which
means the same as "the reason was" is redundant.
|
The
reason he was defeated was that he couldn't handle people.
or
He was defeated because he couldn't handle people.
|
| The
climax is when the servant discovers the body. |
Faulty
predication also occurs with "is when" and "is
where" constructions. Use a noun phrase after "is with"
to complete the sentence.
|
The
climax is the discovery of the body by the servant.
or
The climax is the servant's discovery of the body.
or
The climax occurs when the servant discovers the body.
|
Special Problems, Rules and Spelling
Most of your writing will be done in the present tense. Breast
cancer is the number one killer among women.
However, if you are referring to an experiment that was completed in the
past, then the results are described in the past tense. MacDonald
discovered that.. She found several discrepancies in the results.
Similar
Sounding Word
| Affect |
to
influence (verb) |
Effect |
the
cause (noun) |
| Choose |
to
pick |
Chose
|
past
tense of to choose |
| Cite |
to
point out, to say |
Site |
position or
location (Web site) |
| Here |
in
this place |
Hear |
to
sense sound by ear |
| Hole |
opening |
Whole |
complete,
an entire thing |
| No |
negative |
Know |
to
comprehend or understand |
| Lose |
to
misplace |
Loose
|
not
tightly fastened |
| Whether |
if |
Weather
|
climate
conditions |
| There |
expletive |
Their |
possessive |
Commonly
Misused Words
(Handbook for Writers, Troyka, Buckley & Gates,
2001)
Original |
|
Revised |
| It
was on Friday that we missed class. |
"There"
indicates direction or place. Often a sentence beginning with
there is/are or it is can be reworded to be more concise.
|
On
Friday, we missed class. |
| There
was a new teacher waiting for us. |
A
new teacher was waiting for us. |
| |
"Their"
- possessive form of they
|
Their
books are in the classroom.
The boys cleaned
out their lockers. |
| |
"They're"
- contraction for they are
|
They're
coming to the party with us. |
"A
lot" is often misspelled as one word. It is two words. |
Canadian
vs American spelling
There are several words which fall into this category. Both versions are
completely acceptable. Most computer programs recognize the American spellings
and Spell check may indicate the Canadian spelling is incorrect. You can
choose the American version of the words, ignore the recommended change
or add the Canadian version of the word to your personal dictionary. The
most important point is remain consistent when spelling these words.
Canadian |
American |
centre |
center |
favour |
favor |
honour |
honor |
colour |
color |
behaviour |
behavior |
counselling |
counseling |
Writing
Coherent Paragraphs
(Handbook for Writers, Troyka, Buckley, Gates,
2001)
A paragraph is coherent when its sentences are related to each other,
not only in content but also in grammatical structures and choice of words.
Techniques of Coherence
1. Use transitional expressions effectively.
2. Use pronouns effectively.
3. Use deliberate repetition effectively.
4. Use parallel structures effectively.
Using Transitional Expressions
Transitional expressions are words and phrases that signal connections.
Continuity by Addition
Woodpeckers use their beaks to find food and to chisel out nests. In addition,
they claim their territory and signal their desire to mate by drumming
their beaks on trees.
Continuity by Contrast
Most birds communicate by singing. Woodpeckers, however, communicate by
the duration and rhythm of the drumming of their beaks.
Continuity by Result
Woodpeckers communicate by drumming their beaks on dry branches or tree
trunks. As a result, they can communicate across greater distances than
songbirds can.
Back
to Resources
Home
The
Writing Centre
PO Box 5000
Antigonish, Nova Scotia
B2G 2W5
Tel: 902-867-5221
|
Webmail