Users of this twelfth edition of English Simplified will find greatly increased emphasis on clear writing, many more

examples of main concepts, and the latest updates in bibliographic style.

Clarity. The revised final section of Part 1, "Grammar and Sentences," advises users, "If you are not clear, you are not communicating." Clarity is the focus of dozens of new examples showing how to rectify unclear pronoun reference, unclear modifiers, illogical or confused sentence construction, omitted needed words, and confusing use of commas, apostrophes, and hyphens. New sections or subsections cover such topics as cluttered sentences, buried subjects, possessives with understood nouns, overuse of negatives, excessive punctuation, and exaggerated or needless modifiers (awesome, totally ... ).

Examples. I have taken verbatim or adapted a good number of the new examples from published works. In reading recent general-circulation books and periodicals, I have become more concerned with the need to develop a sense of clarity in young writers; hence the added emphasis on that quality in this edition.

Documentation. The MLA works cited list and related material have been fully revised to reflect the significant changes in the new seventh edition (2009) of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. All the sample ApA reference-list entries for electronic sources have been updated, with explanations, in line with the American Psychological Association's 2007 Style Guide to Electronic References.

Other improvements in the twelfth edition include a verb tense overview chart, a new section on correct perfect and passive verb forms, pronunciations added where needed in the "Words Often Confused" listings, an added sample paragraph, a sample tree outline, a more thorough list of essay-development methods, and an extensive pre-submission checklist for essays.

The editors and I believe you will find English Simplified, Twelfth Edition, a valuable compact guide to clear, correct, and effective writing.

For additional practice, an exercise book, Exercises for English Simplified, Twelfth Edition (0-205-63407-9; Answer Key, 0-205-63408-7) is also available.

Many of the improvements mentioned come from reviewers' suggestions. I would like to thank Christine Rauchfuss Gray, The Community College of Baltimore County-Catonsville campus (and current reviser of Exercises for English Simplified); Joseph A. Scherer, CCAC (Community College of Allegheny County), South Campus; David Borofka, Reedley College; Virginia Jansen, University of California, Santa Cruz; Kent Harrelson, Dalton State College; and David A. Sprunger, Concordia College.

My thanks go also to my wife, Elizabeth, for reading the manuscript and advising changes; to my son Bob, for keeping me au courant on what is popular with younger adults; and to the Longman editorial staff, for their excellent support and guidance in preparing this edition.

JOHN A. HIGGINS

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Virginia L. Blanford

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Ellsworth, Blanche

English simplified / Blanche Ellsworth, John A. Higgins.-12th ed.

p.cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-0-205-63329-6

1. English language-Grammar-Handbooks, manuals, etc. 2. English language-Punctuation-Handbooks, manuals, etc. 3. English language-Textbooks for foreign speakers. 1. Higgins, John A. II. Title.

PEI112.E43201O 428.2-dc22

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The verb asserts something about the subject; mostly, it tells what the subject does (or did, or will do), such as cheer; rise, walk, decide, recognize, investigate, go, believe:

Buzzing around the ceiling, Joyce found the fly was disturbing her concentration and couldn't tolerate it.

In the film a lawyer reopens an investigation on behalf of an imprisoned man he repeatedly claimed he was innocent. A Doberman is a poor pet for children, because they attack and bite when annoyed.

Can you tell what is wrong with each of these sentences? Well-intentioned adults too often write sentences like these, thinking them clear and correct. Without an understanding of the basic grammar of the English sentence, we can easily fall into such pitfalls of language. Part 1 of English Simplified explains basic grammar concisely, in the most common terms, to help you create sentences that are clear, correct, and effective.

The sentence is our basic unit of spoken or written thought:

My brother has just arrived home from Afghanistan. How long was he there?

How happy my mother is!

(A written sentence always begins with a capital letter and ends with a period [.], question mark [?], or exclamation point [!].)

A sentence expresses a complete thought. To do so, it must have two parts: subject and verb.

subject names the topic of the sentence. It tells what the sentence is talking about. The subject may be one or more things, persons, places, or ideas, such as airplane, Maria Diaz; beaches, happiness, you, textbook.

t.\

Sub/eel A:udiences cheered. [Sentence is talking about audiencesi Wildly enthusiastic audiences cheered the group on its last tour. [still talking about audiences]

Retail prices of consumer goods often rise before the holidays. [talking about prices]

Maria Cotillard has won the Academy Award for best actress. [talking about Maria Cotillardl

You should preheat the oven to 350 degrees. [talking about you]

The subject word and any surrounding words that relate to it make up together the complete subject:

(i1l~.. ./Complele

!Wildly enthusiastic audiences! cheered the group on its last tour.

!Retail prices of consumer goods! often rise before the holidays.

!My b1'other! has just arrived home from Afghanistan. !That new high-speed computer from the Tronko Corporation!is selling well around the world. !You!should preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Note: Only the most common kind of sentence, the kind

tells something, is shown here. In section 103A you will meet sentences that ask, command, and exclaim. For simplicity, most sentence discussions in this book will deal with sentences that tell

Verb /

Audiences cheered, [Sentence is telling what

audiences did.]

Wildly enthusiastic audiences cheered the group on its last tour. [still telling what audiences did]

Retail prices of consumer goods often rise before the holidays. [telling what prices do]

Maria Cotillard has won the Academy Award for best actress. [telling what Maria Cotillard bas done]

You should preheat the oven to 350 degrees. [telling what you should do]

Another name for the verb is the predicate. The verb and any surrounding words that relate to it make up together the complete predicate:

Verbs of being. A few verbs assert being instead of doing: is, am, are, was, been, seem ....

Will Smith is a box-office idol. [Here Will Smith is not doing anything; rather he is being something.]

Such verbs, called linking verbs, are explained in section 114C (page 7).

Complements. In the complete predicate, some verbs need other words, called complements, to complete their meaning:

Several freshmen staged .... [Staged what? Meaning is not complete.]

Several freshmen staged a protest. [Staged what? Protest (complement) .l

Our favorite box-office idol is .... [Is who? Meaning is not complete.]

Our favorite box-office idol is Will Smith. [Is who? Will Smttb (complement).]

Section 112B, page 5, explains subjects and complements; section 105, page 3, and sections 113-118, pages 6-12, explain verbs.

sentence parts may be compound; that is, they may have two or more elements joined by and, 01; or but:

Compound subject: Both men and women reside at this college.

Compound verb: This college enrolls and graduates students from diverse backgrounds.

Compound complete predicate: Students at this college study hard for their degrees but also enjoy a lively social life.

Subject, verb, and any complements usually appear in a fixed order, or pattern:

S V (C) (C). This means that the subject [S] comes first, then the verb [V], then-perhaps-one or two complements [C]:

The nation's leaders assembled hurriedly.

Retail prices of consumer goods often rise before the holidays.

Students in English 101 write a ten-page paper.

Noises from the street gave her a beadacbe.

I __ v~

My brother has just arrived from Afghanistan.

This usual order is altered in

IVl

Most questions: What did they see? H They did see wbat?]

Many exclamations: Such a jool I was! H I was such a jool.~

Sentences such as

Never bad we seen such chaos. [---1 We

such chaos,]

There were no seats anywhere. [---1 No seats were anywhere.]

Declarative (a statement): The day dawned clear. Interrogative (a question): Did the day dawn clear? Imperative (a command or request): Wake up and greet the day. [You is understood to be the subject.]

Exclamatory (an expression of emotion, often beginning with how or iobai). What a clear day this is! How far we can see!

A clause is one unit of complete subject + complete predicate. Each sentence you have studied so far has just one clause:

Severaljresbmen staged a protest.

That new high-speed computer from the Tronko Corporation is selling well around the world.

Such a one-clause sentence is called a simple sentence. A sentence joining two or more simple-sentence clauses is called a compound sentence. Below, each clause is Iboxedl:

!Several jresbmen staged a protest,! but !most students ignored itl.

ISome jresbmen distributed leaflets,!!otbers picketed the office,! and !many planned a rally!.

A sentence with one or more clauses dependent on a main clause is called a complex sentence:

(IndefJe~denl) I

!Severalft'esbmen staged a protest! r!w'h-e-n-t+h-e-dTe-a-n suspended Maxi.

!Otbel:5 distributed leaflets!!that the protestel:5 bad written!.

A sentence combining a compound and a complex sentence is called a compound-complex sentence:

!Several fi'esbmen staged a protest,! and ,r:co-:1tb:-e--C-,,-d"is---'t,--"i'bt--"lt;---ed'. leaflets!!that the protestel:5 had written!.

For a fuller explanation of clauses, see section 125, page 20.

Traditional English grammar divides all words into eight parts of speech, according to how each word functions in its sentence:

Nouns and pronouns name things. Vet'bs assert (express doing or being).

Adjectives and adverbs modify (describe or limit). Conjunctions and prepositions connect. Interjections exclaim.

To write effectively, you need to understand these parts of speech and how they relate to one another.

A noun is a word that names a person, place, or thing (including a quality or idea):

Person: child, Kevin, lawyer, Jennifer Lopez Place: forest, office, Mount Etna, Market Street

Limiting adjectives (sometimes called determiners) tell which one(s), how many, or how much. There are several kinds of limiting adjectives:

Possessive: my auto, her grades, their policy [tells which auto, grades, policy]

Demonstrative: this auto, those grades, that policy Indefinite: any auto, either grade, many policies, enough tea

Interrogative: which auto? whose grades? what policy? Numerical: one auto, two grades, third policy Articles: an auto, the grades, a policy

Thing: wrench, oatmeal, building, zebra, Sphinx Quality or idea: love, height, democracy, motion

See 111-112, page 5, for details about nouns.

A pronoun takes the place of (stands for) a noun. That noun is called the antecedent of the pronoun. Below, an arrow points from the pronoun to its antecedent:

A~~~··-~·--··~····-------·-···'

Rosa brought a friend with her to the rally.

A--- .. --.-- .... --~ ~

When the trees turn color, they bring out hordes of leaf-peepers.

Pronouns include such words as I, me, myself, we, you, he, his, she, it, them, who, this, everyone, all.

See 121-123, pages 15-18, for details about pronouns.

A verb asserts something about the subject of a sentence. An action verb tells what the subject does, did, or will do. A linking verb tells that the subject is, was, or will be something.

Action: Hummingbirds fly up to sixty miles per hour. [tells what the subject, Hummingbirds, does]

Linking: The hummingbird is nature's helicopter. [tells that the subject is something]

Some verbs contain two or more words: a main verb preceded by one or more auxiliary (helping) verbs:

(in Main (in

/ -.~

The hurricane bas devastated the Gulf Coast.

It will soon be swerving northeast.

A verb of more than one word is sometimes referred to as a verb phrase.

See 113-118, pages 6-12, for details about verbs.

Besides asserting (in a declarative or exclamatory sentence), a verb can also ask (in an interrogative sentence), COII1II1,C/IUJ or request (in an imperative sentence).

To modify means "to change." A modifying word changes or clarifies our concept of another word.

An adjective modifies a noun (or occasionally a pronoun). It describes that noun or limits its meaning.

Descriptive adjectives tell what kind of' bumpy road [what kind of road?]

energetic teenagers [what kind of teenagers?] incredible courage [what kind of courage?] long, boring speech [what kind of speech?]

As these examples show, an adjective usually appears directly before the noun it modifies. A descriptive adjective can appear also after a linking verb (as a complement describing the SUbject):

That song is lively. [LiveO' describes the subject, song.] The statistics seemed reliable.

An adverb usually modifies a verb. It describes how, when, where, or to what degree the action of a verb is done. There are several kinds of adverbs:

Manner: Pat dances gracefully. [dances how?] Time: Pat danced yesterday. [danced when?] Place: Pat dances euerytobere. [dances where?]

Degree: Pat dances excessively. [dances to what extent or degree?]

Note: An adverb phrase or clause can also describe why: Pat dances to keep in condition. (Sections 124-125, page 19, explain phrases and clauses.)

Some adverbs can modify an adjective or another adverb. Such adverbs are called adverbs of degree (or intensifiers or qualifiers):

Pat dances quite gracefully. [gracefully to what degree? how gracefully?] Pat prefers Vel), fast music. [how fast?]

For conjunctive adverbs, see 210B, page 36.

A conjunction joins other words or word groups. There are two main kinds of conjunctions:

A coordinating conjunction (and, but, 01; 1100;for, yet, so) joins words or word groups of the same kind and same importance:

Words: cars and buses

Word groups (phrases): on the open highways and in city traffic

Word groups (clauses): Cars are more convenient, but buses are more efficient.

And, but, 01; or nor may be used with other words to form a correlative conjunction: not only ... but also; (nteither ... (nior; both ... and:

Both cars and buses need frequent inspection. Neither cars nor buses can match the speed of trains.

See 402e, page 53, on using so. See 124-125, pages 19-20, for definitions of phrase and clause.

A subordinating conjunction (if, because, although, when, unless, and others) joins a dependent (subordinate) clause to an independent (main) clause. The subordinating conjunction begins the dependent clause: if we pay them more; because the band was not playing their favorites.

The band will play longer if we pay them more. If we pay them more, the band will play longer.

The crowd grew restless because the band was not playing tbeirfaoorttes.

Because the band was not playing tbeirfaoorites, the crowd grew restless.

Wben the rope broke, I fell. I fell uiben the rope broke.

Caution: Writing a dependent clause alone, as if it were a complete sentence, is a serious error, called afragment:

Fratnnent b I

Wrong: The band will play longer. If we pay them more.

Right: The band will play longer if we pay them more.

Section 129A, page 26, explains how to avoid fragments. Other common subordinating conjunctions are

after provided whenever
as (if) since where
as soon as so that whereas
as though than wherever
before (al)though whether
in order that until while See 125A, B, page 20; 128D, page 24; and 129, page 26, for more on dependent (subordinate) clauses.

Note: Other kinds of words that join clauses are relative pronouns (who, which ... -see 125B, page 20) and conjunctive adverbs (therefore, however ... -see 210B, page 36).

A preposition is a connecting word (such as in, on, of, f07; or into) showing how the noun that follows it is related to another part of the sentence:

Snow the old

The family stayed in the old bouse. Wind whistled through the old bouse. Weeds grew around the old bouse.

Each preposition above shows a different relation between
the noun house and the action of the sentence. Other com-
mon prepositions are
about beside instead of toward
above besides like under
against between near underneath
among by next to until
as despite off up
as well as down onto upon
at during out (of) with
because of except outside within
before from past without
behind in addition to since
below in front of throughout
beneath inside to The whole word group, from the preposition to the following noun, is called a prepositional phrase (Iboxedl in examples below). The noun (or pronoun) is called the object of the preposition:

Preposition IJ'__ Ol</ecl J'fprep,

The diplomats m~tlat the White Housel. Freshmen I with financial problemsl should go Ito berl.

For more on objects of prepositions, see 112e, page 6.

Note: The word to + a verb (we tried to talk to her) is not prepositional phrase; it is called an infinitive. You will

infinitives in section 1 11.

Prepositions of Time, Place, and Travel

Time

Means of Travel

Place

at

a specific moment: at 9:45

at noon

a particular spot:

at home; at work at the store

at Fifth and Main at the end

on

a day or date: on Monday on May 5

on a bicycle on a bus

on a ship

on a plane on a train

the top or surface of:

on Main Street on the roof

on Long Island on the ocean

in

a period of time:

in a week in 2012

(within) an area: in jail; in bed

in her office

in Iowa

in a car

in a carriage in a canoe

Unlike the other kinds of words, an interjection has no grammatical connection with the rest of the sentence:

Mild interjection (punctuated with comma): Oh, I don't care. Well, Dr. Lopez might know.

Strong interjection (punctuated with exclamation point):

Rats! He's cheated us. Wow! It's snowing.

We label each word by what it does in a particular sentence: if it names something, it is a noun; if it describes a noun, it is an adjective, and so forth:

Noun: The display was colorful. Verb: Display your passport.

Noun: The light flickered out.

Verb: They ligbt a fire every evening. Adjective: We could feel a light breeze.

Note: A word's position in a sentence or its ending is often (though not always) a clue to its part of speech. For example:

• A word following a limiting adjective (my, this ... ) is likely to be a noun: my brother, this test (another dUI'C;""-IVIO may come between them: this impossible test). A word following an auxiliary verb is likely to be a verb: has grown, might have been injured (an adverb may between: might have been severely injured).

• A word with an -ly ending is likely to be an adverb: awkwardly, inexorably.

• A word ending in -tion, -ity, -ness, -ment, -hood, or -cy is usually a noun: condition, equality, happiness, argument, statehood, policy.

• A word ending in -ify or -ize is probably a verb: identify, harmonize.

• A word ending in -al, -ous, -ful, or -less is probably an adjective: choral, joyous, hopefitl, hopeless.

She ran as if tigers were chasing her.

A group of words (a phrase or clause) can act as a single word:

His answer surprised everyone.

What he told us surprised everyone.

His accepting the blame surprised everyone.

Group acting as adjective:

Adjective (describing cathedral):

We visited an ancient cathedral.

We visited a cathedral built in 1102.

We visited a cathedral that the Normans built.

Adverb (modifying ran): Group acting as adverb:

She ran desperately. She ran in desperation.

You have already met clauses in section 103B and prepositional phrases in 1 07B; you will learn more about phrases and clauses in 124 and 125, pages 19-20.

Recall that nouns name persons, places, or things.

Nouns are classified in

several ways:

A singular noun names one person, place, or thing: woman, city, house, chair. A plural noun names two or more persons, places, or things: women, cities, houses, chairs. Most singular nouns become plural by the addition of -S, See 312, page 48, for rules on forming plurals.

A common noun names one or more members of a class of things: woman, women, mice, city, chair; auditorium. A proper noun names a specific person, place, or thing: Maria Hernandez, Mickey Mouse, Singapore, Carnegie Hall.

A concrete noun names an object that can be perceived by the senses: woman, Maria Hernandez, mice, cheese. An abstract noun names a quality or idea: liberty, sadness, ambition, love, tragedy, height.

A collective noun names a group of things: jury, team, flock, committee, army.

See 120B, page 14.

Recall the basic sentence pattern you learned in section 102: S V (e) (C). That is, each sentence has a subject, a verb, and perhaps one or two complements. Nouns serve as subjects and complements and do several other jobs as well.

"M'n~u~'~, Recall that the subject names the person or thing that the sentence is talking about. The subject is the noun (or pronoun) that tells who or what is doing or being something:

SubJecl 71'11 . .

sclentlsts studied the newly found VIruS. [Who studiedil This virus was infecting forest deer. [What was infecting?] Last month Drs, Katz and Jackson had isolated the virus. [Who had isolated? (compound subjectjl

Their brilliant work made them famous around the world. [What made?]

A complementis a word in the complete predicate that completes the meaning of the verb. (Not all verbs have complements.) There are four kinds of complements:

A direct object is a noun (or pronoun) needed to complete the meaning of some action verbs. It answers whom or what after the verb; that is, it tells who or what is receiving the verb's action:

Verb object

.w.teru.is): st':utied the newly found v~'Us. [studied what?] The Medical Society commended Drs, Katz and Jackson. [commended whom?]

Around the world environmentalists praised their brilliant work. [praised what?]

For more on direct objects, see 114A below.

An indirect object is a noun (or pronoun) that may follow certain action verbs. It tells to whom, to what, for whom, or for what the action of the verb is done. It ordinarily precedes the direct object:

Inelirect

I.

Love-smitten Myrtle twelve

whom?]

The builders gave the house a slate roof [gave to what?] Party uoreet» did the mayor a favor. [did for whom?] Our local theater group gave the United Fund a benefit performance. [gave for what?]

A subject complement is a noun (or pronoun) that follows a linking verb. It renames or explains the subject:

SIII,/(,cl \

the new dean of students. [Dr. Dunn =

dean. Dean is another name or title for Dr. Dunn.i

A kumquat is a fruit. [Kumquat = fruit. Fruit explains what kumquat is.]

Note: A subject complement can also be an adjective: DI: Dunn is extremely competent.

For more on linking verbs and subject complements, see 114C, page 7.

An object complement is a noun that may follow a direct object to rename or explain it:

H:J.'J~ r:

The named DI: dean of students. [DI: Dunn

= dean. Dean is another name or title for Dr. Dunn.]

Opponents consider her appointment a mistake. [Appointment = mistake.]

The object complement occurs most commonly with such verbs as call, name, designate, elect, consider; appoint, think.

is a noun (or pronoun) that ends a prepositional phrase and answers the question whom or what after the preposition:

Ms. Roy met!with her publishet·!. [with whom?] Stores!in town! struggle !against new malls!. [in what? against what?]

is a second noun that renames or further identifies a nearby first noun:

Noun App ositine

Dr. rJ?/nn, the new d;an, has impressive credentials. [Dean is another name or title for D,: Dunn. It is an appositive (or in apposition) to DI: Dunn.]

[i'11'.'}'! AfJ/JositilJe

They subscribed to an online sel~ice, doubIed~te.eom. The hotel they booked, the Commodore, proved too expensive.

They were forced to stay at the Purple Palace, the one motel they were trying to avoid.

A noun (or pronoun) in direct address names the person being spoken to:

NOUll: Carlo, the manager wants to see you. Pronoun: Get over here, you!

The verb is the core of every sentence. Without a verb, a group of words is only a sentence fragment, not a complete sentence. Recall that a verb asserts something about its subject-that is, it tells what the subject does (did, will do) or that the subject is (was, will be) something:

My car rattles, [What does the car do?]

The Senate voted the bill into law. [What did the Senate do?]

The local volcanoes were frequently spewing lava. [What were the volcanoes doing?]

Fred is Clarissa's new boyfriend. [Fred is being the boyfriend.]

What were they arguing about? [What were they doing? An interrogative sentence asks rather than tells.l

Find me a seat in the front row, please. [In an imperative sentence, the subject is understood to be you: (You) find me a seat.]

For a review of the kinds of verbs, see 105, page 3.

There is a simple way to identify the verb in a sentence. The verb is the word that will usually change its form if you change the time of the sentence:

This week they plan the budget. Last week they planned the budget. Next week they will plan the budget. For the last five years they have planned the budget>

A verb is classified according to the kind of complement (if any) that follows it. In addition, there is a special kind of verb called an auxiliary (or helping) verb that may accompany a main verb.

is an action verb that needs a direct object to complete its meaning. That is, it expresses an action that passes across (transits) from a doer (do-er, the subject-the person or thing that does the action) to a receiver (the direct object-the person or thing upon whom the action is done).

t)

East Greenbush is their new home. [East Greenbush = homes

Her cousin became a minister. [Cousin = minister.] Their last performance uias quite impressive. [Impressive describes performances

Verb THreet object

The telepbl;,zed his elieits: [Broker telephoned

whom? Clients is the direct object.l

Red ligbts stop traffic. [Lights stop what?]

Homer sent Myrtle twelve roses. [Homer sent what?]

is one that does not need a direct object to complete its meaning. It expresses an action that does not have a receiver:

The meeting adjourned.

The chairperson stayed after the meeting. [After the meeting is a prepositional phrase, telling when. It is not a direct object.]

Pollutants act insidiously. [InsidiousOI is an adverb, telling how. It is not a direct object]

Note: Many verbs·can be transitive in some uses and intransitive in others: Mary stopped the fight. Mary suddenly stopped. Dictionaries label each meaning of a verb as V.t. (verb, transitive) or v. i. (verb, intransitive).

expresses no action at all; it merely links what comes before the verb (the subject) and what comes after it (the subject complement). It says that these two are the same (Jared is illy brother) or that the one describes the other (Jared is brilliant):

The chief linking verb is be. Its parts are

is

being

been

are

was

were

am

Other linking verbs are those roughly like be in meaning-

seem appear remain prove become grow turn

-and the verbs of the five senses:

sound

feel

look

smell

taste

Her concoction was (appeared, looked, smelled, tasted, turned) disgusting.

Some verbs may be linking verbs in one sense and action verbs in another:

Linking

I looked disheveled. Mitsuko grew pensive.

Action

I looked out the window. Mitsuko grew cabbages.

A verb may contain more than one word, as in has fallen, is walking, did try, or could have helped. The last word in such a verb

is the main verb. Any preceding words in the verb are called auxiliary verbs, or simply auxiliaries. Each auxiliary helps express the precise meaning of the main verb.

Only a few verbs can be auxiliaries:

• Have (has, had). After these, the main verb uses its -ed form (called the past participle-often irregular): has departed, have cried, had seen. They have traveled from near and far. She had not heard from him since their graduation.

• Be (am, is, are ... ). After these, the main verb uses its -ing form (called the present participle) or sometimes the -ed form (past participle):

-ing form: is flying, was dreaming. The guests are arriving a few at a time. You are driving there, but I am flying.

-ed form: was divided, were stolen. Traffic was diverted downtown. They were never told about him.

• Do (does, did). After these, the main verb keeps its original form: do know, did play. We did call you about that. I do not care.

• Other auxiliaries (called modals):

will, would can, could ought to

shall, should have to

need (to)

may, might must

dare (to)

After a modal, the main verb keeps its original form: will go, could see, might disagree, would advise, has to pay, must return, ought to apologize. The party will begin soon. I might not stay long. I have to be at work early tomorrow.

For more on will and would, see 116C, F, 0, pages 1O-1l. For used to, see 116B, page 10.

A main verb may have up to three auxiliaries, combining the types above: Everyone should be having a good time. Nick and Sophie must certainly have suspected something. Could they have been leading us on?

The three principal parts are the parts you need to know to form any of a verb's tenses (time forms):

Principal Part-e

Present Tense

Past Participle

Past Tense

Regular verb

walk

walked

walked

Irregular verb

see

saw

seen

SECTIONS 113-118. USING VERBS

To form the past tense and past participle of regular verbs, just add -ed to the present tense: stay, stayed, stayed; attend, attended, attended. (Some regular verbs change their spelling slightly: stop, stopped; CIY, cried.)

For irregular verbs, you need to learn their forms, such as sing, sang, sung; break, broke, broken; think, thought, thought. Section 115B below lists the forms of many irregular verbs. Consult your dictionary for others. Do not assume that one irregular verb is like another: make (made, made), for instance, is formed differently from take (took, taken).

Note: Some texts and dictionaries list as a fourth principal the present participle, formed with -ing added to the form: seeing, playing. It is always regular, except for minor spelling changes (stopping, loving).

Here are the standard principal parts of some troublesome irregular verbs and a few regular ones. Asterisked verbs (*) are further explained in 404, pages 54-59.

Present Tense

Past Tense

Past Participle

[be] am, is, are

was, were

been

begin

began

begun

blow

blew

blown

"break

broke

broken

"bring

brought

brought

choose

chose

chosen

(be)come

(be)came

(be)come

cost

cost

cost

dive

dived (not dove)

dived

do

did

done

drink

drank

drunk

drive

drove

driven

fall

fell

fallen

fly

flew

flown

forbid

forbade, forbad

forbidden

freeze

froze

frozen

give

gave

given

went

go

gone

grow

grew

grown

know

knew

known

"lay [to put]

laid

laid

Present Tense

Past Tense

Past Participle

Uses:

*lead [say "leed"]

led

led

SECTIONS 113-118. USING VERBS

Observe carefully where each ending occurs in the tense charts throughout section 116. Proofread your writing very carefully to be sure you never omit these endings.

Overview of the Six Tenses

(Walk is a regular verb; see is an irregular verb.)

The Simple Tenses

(Each tense conveys one time.)

--------~----------

Present

Future

will/shall walk

"lie [to rest]

lay

lain

walked

"lose

lost

lost

walk(s)

saw

, will/shall see

mean

meant

meant

see(s)

The Perfect Tenses'

(Each tense conveys a relation of two times.)

Present Perfect Past Perfect Future Perfect
have/has walked had walked will/shall have
walked
have/has seen had seen will/shall have seen Verb forms are often listed by person, as in the In grammar, there are three persons: the first the person(s) doing the speaking: I or we. The means the person(s) being spoken to: you. The means the person(s) or thing(s) being spoken about:

it, they, or any noun, such as house, athletes, Horace. the meaning of singular and plural, see l l l A, page 5.

pay

paid

paid

Basic form: first principal part. Notice the -s ending.

Singular

Plural

read [say "reed"]

read [say "red"]

read [say "red"]

Person

1st

I walk

we walk

ride

ridden

2nd

you walk

you walk

rode

rung

3rd

he/she/it walks

they walk

"(ajrise

(a)rose

(a)risen

Uses:

(1) When something happens regularly or always: I usually watch the late news. Beth drives a minivan. The sun sets in the west.

(2) When something is happening at the present moment (only with be, have, verbs of mental action, emotion, and the senses, such as see, hem; think, understand, feel, know): I am ready. They have coffee. I hear a plane. She understands it. They know the way.

Progressive form: am, is, or are + -ing form

Singular

Plural

run

ran

run

1st

I am walking

we are walking

say

said

said

2nd

you are walking

you are walking

see

saw

seen

seek

sought

3l'd he/she/it is

'-'Pelfect here has its original meaning (from Latin) of "completed."

sought

shake

shook

shaken

(1) With most verbs, to stress that something is in progress at the present moment: Right now I am [or I'm] exercising. She is [or She's] traveling today.

(2) In questions about things in progress (and their answers):

Are you walking? Yes, I am [I'm] walking. Is she 'walking? She is [She's] walking. Are the Smiths coming? The Smiths are coming.

(3) In negatives about things in progress: I am [I'm] not walking. She is [she's] not walking. The Smiths are not [aren't] coming.

Emphatic form: do or does + first principal part

Person

Singular

Plural

shine [to give off light] shone

shone

1st

we do walk

[Shine-to polish-is a different verb. It is regular.]

show

showed

shown, showed

I do walk

2nd

you do walk

you do walk

sink

sunk

3rd

he/she/it does walk

they do walk

sank

sneak

sneaked [not snuck] sneaked

Uses:

(1) In most other questions (and their answers): Do you walk regularly? Yes, I do walk. Does she care for him? She does care. Do the students like Dr. Fossle? They do like him.

(2) In most other negatives: I do not [don't] walk. She does not [doesn't] care for him. They do not [don't] like him.

(3) To emphasize the verb: You never remember my birthday. Yes, I do remember it.

Basic form: second principal part. Notice the -ed ending on regular verbs.

Person

Singular

Plural

speak

spoke

spoken

1st

I walked [regular], I saw [irregular]

we walked, saw

steal

stolen

2nd

you walked, saw

you walked, saw

stole

swear

swore

sworn

3rd

he/she/it walked, saw

they walked, saw

swim

swam

swum

Use: When something was completed at a definite time in the past: I walked two miles yesterday. He died in 1826. I attended college for two years. He lived from 1748 to 1826.

Progressive form: was or were + -ing form

Person

Singular

Plural

swing

swung

swung

1st

we were walking

"take

took

taken

I was walking

2nd

you were walking

you were walking

tear

torn

3rd

he/she/it was walking

they were walking

tore

think

thought

thought

throw

threw

thrown

(a)wake

(a)woke, (a)waked (a)waked, (a)woke(n)

[Awaken is a different verb. It is regular.]

wear

wore

worn

'write

wrote

written

Tense refers to lESE .time: a verb uses different tense forms to show different times. You need to know only three endings to form all the tenses of regular verbs:

-S (sometimes -es)

-ed (sometimes -d)

-ing

Uses:

(1) To stress that something was in progress at a time in the past: I was walking last night. She was studying when I called her.

(2) In questions about things in progress in the past (and their answers): Were you walking? Yes, I was walking. Was she studying? Yes, she was studying.

(3) In negatives about things in progress in the past: I was not [wasn't] walking. She was not [wasn't] studying. The Smiths were not [weren't] coming.

Emphatic form: did + first principal part

Singular

Person

Plural

I did walk

we did walk

1st

2nd

you did walk

you did walk

3rd

he/she/it did walk

they did walk

Uses:

(1) In most other questions (and their answers): Did you walk [yesterday or regularly]? Yes, I did walk. Did she care for him? Yes, she did care. Did the students like Dr. Fossle? They did like him.

(2) In most other negatives: I did not [didn't] walk. She did not [didn't] care for him. The students did not [didn't] like Dr. Fossle.

(3) To emphasize the verb: Yes, I did remember your birthday.

"Used to" form: I used to walk, you used to walk, and so forth. (Notice the spelling: used to.)

Use: When something happened regularly over a time in the past: At home I used to sleep late. She used to ,v rite often but no longer does.

Basic form: shall or will + first principal part

Note: In the U.S., I shall and we shall are considered very formal, Shall can be used in all persons to convey determination or

command: We shall overcome. shall

Person

Singular

Plural

1st

I shall/will walk

we shall/will walk

2nd

you will walk

you will walk

3rd

he/she/it will walk

they will walk

Use: For future happenings: I will [shall] walk tomorrow. She will study just before the test. The Smiths will come. Will you walk tomorrow? I will [I'll] walk.

Progressive form: shall or will + be + -ing form

Person Singular

Plural

1st I shalVwill be walking we shalVwill be walking

2nd you will be walking you will be walking

3rd he/she/it will be walking they will be walking

Use: To stress that something will be in progress: I will [I'll] be leaving soon. She will [She'll] be studying when you call. Will she be studying? No, she will not [won't] be studying.

"Going to" form: am, is, or are + going to + first principal part: I am [I'm] going to walk, you are [you're] going to walk, and so forth.

Uses:

(1) Same as basic future form: Tonight it's going to rain. (2) To stress intent: I'm going to be a ballet star.

Emphatic form: None. Only the present and past tenses have this form.

Basic form: have or has + third principal part

Person Singular

Plural

1st I have walked, I have seen we have walked, seen

2nd

you have walked, seen

you have walked, seen

3rd he/shelit has walked, seen they have walked, seen

Uses: Generally,

(1) When something started in the past but has some connection with the present: I have [I've] walked for hours [I am or may be still walking]. She has [She's] studied since midnight. Ms. Stein has lived here forty years [lived here in the past, is still living here]. The FBI has arrested them [event is close to the present and affects the present].

(2) When something happened at some indefinite time before the present: They have threatened a strike before [at some indefinite time].

Progressive form: have or has + been + -ing form:

I have been walking, you have been walking, and so forth.

Use: To stress that something has been and still is in progress: Have you been walking? I have [I've] been walking since noon. Has she been thinking about changing jobs? Yes, she has [been thinking].

Basic form: had + third principal part

Person

Singular

Plural

I had walked

we had walked

1st

2nd

you had walked

you had walked

he/she/it had walked

3rd

they had walked

Use: To clarify that something has been completed earlier than (or has continued up to the time of) something else in the past: She had walked for hours before help came. Until I arrived with the car, she had walked. The witness said [yesterday] that she had seen the accident [last month]. Ella had already divorced Kurt when she met Max.

Progressive form: had + been + -ing form: I had been walking, you had been walking, and so forth.

Use: To clarify that something was in progress earlier than (or up to the time of) something else in the past:

I had been investing heavily when the market collapsed. She had been acting depressed before her suicide.

Basic form: shall or will + have + third principal part

Person Singular

Plural

..

.,

1st I shalVwill have walked we shalVwill have walked

2nd you will have walked you will have walked

3rd he/she/it will have walked they will have walked

Use: When something will already be completed at a certain future time: They will have escaped [completed action] before the guards find out [future time-notice that this future event takes the present tense--:findJ. By March [future], Stark will already have left office [completed action]. By the time I reach Phoenix, she will have found my letter.

Progressive form: shall or will + have been + -ing form:

I shall/will have been walking, you will have been walking, and so forth.

Use: To stress that something will have been already in progress at a future time: By midnight she will have been studying for fifteen hours nonstop. Next Monday he will have been working here a month.

Note: Sometimes there is little difference in meaning the basic and progressive perfect forms, and either will do: I

since noon. I have been here since noon.

The conditional: would + first principal part: I would walk, you would walk, and so forth.

Use: When something depends on a less-than-probable future condition: If an asteroid struck Earth [in the future], we would all die. [Notice that the other verb, struck, uses the past tense.]

Note: For a more probable or immediate condition, present tense and will: If that approaching asteroid Earth, we will all

The perfect conditional: would have + third principal part:

I would have walked, you would have walked, and so forth.

Use: When a past condition did not actually occur: If an asteroid had struck Earth [it actually did not], we all would have died. [Notice that the other verb, had struck, uses the past perfect tense.]

Cautions with the conditional forms:

Ordinarily, do not use would in both the if clause and the main clause:

Wrong: If an asteroid would have struck Earth, we all would baue died.

Right: If an asteroid had struck Earth, we all would baue died.

Avoid would have liked to have ....

Wrong: They would baue liked to baoe seen Paris. Right: They would baue liked [in the past] to see Paris. They would like [now] to baue seen Paris [in the past] . They would like [now] to see Paris [in the future].

other information on verbs elsewhere: modals in 114D, page 7; voice in 11SC, page 12; mood in 118D, page 13; and agreement in 126, page 21.

When is a verb not a verb? When it is a verbal. A verbal is a form derived from a verb but used instead as a noun, adjective, or adverb. There are three kinds of verbals: infinitives, participles, and gerunds.

(to + verb), used as

A 1I0UII:

To act is her ambition. [subject] She desires to act. [direct object]

Her ambition is to act. [subject complement]

All adjective:

Hers is an ambition to admire. [modifies ambition] All adverb:

Her goal is not easy to attain. [modifies easy] She came here to study. [modifies callie]

Note: The to is

after a very few verbs: Let them fe go. help, either way is correct: We

used as an adjective:

Present participle (verb + -ing).

The cheering crowd stormed the stage. [modifies crowd] The crowd, cheering wildly, stormed the stage. [modifies crowd]

Cheering wildly, the crowd stormed the stage. [modifies crowd]

Past participle (third principal part of verb--see 11 SA, B, pages 7-8). In the first three examples, stunned modifies students:

The stunned students could not believe their grades. Completely stunned, the students could not believe their grades.

TIle students, stunned by their grades, mobbed the professor.

In the following example, beaten modifies Paula Radcliffe:

Paula Radcliffe, beaten in an earlier race, came back to win the New York City Marathon.

Use the present participle with a person or thing that is doing something: a devastating flood (the flood is doing the devastating). Use the past participle with a person or thing to which something has been done: the devastated land (the land has had devastation done to it).

(verb + -ing), used as a noun:

Seeing [subject] is believing [subject complement]. The prisoners considered escaping [direct object] by tunneling [object of preposition].

See 211C, page 36, for possessives with gerunds.

Note: An -ing verbal may be either a gerund or a participle,

depending on its use in a particular sentence:

Running is excellent exercise. [gerund: used as subject noun]

The running water soon turned cold. [participle: used as adjective, modifying wated

Infinitives, participles, and gerunds also have a have form for the earlier of two events: To have worked so hard exhausted him [infinitive]. Having worked hard for years, he was glad to retire [participle]. He was praised for having worked so hard [gerund].

Remember that the perfect tenses (which take have as an auxiliary) need the past participle (third principal part), not the past tense (second principal part):

Wrong

I Right

They had went earlier.

They had gone earlier.

I have just began to write.

I have just begun to write.

Robbers had broke the window.

Robbers had broken the window.

Use the active voice unless you have a specific reason for using the passive (see below).

To make a passive sentence active, ask "Who (or what) is doing the action?" Use the answer as your subject. In both sentences below, Venus Williams is doing the action:

Passive: The tournament was won by Venus Williams. Active: Venus Williams won the tournament.

run a mile every day.

come along

in your car.

You should have took the earlier bus.

have taken the earlier bus.

Use the passive only when

Your emphasis is on the receiver: The senator has been punched by an irate taxpayer. [The focus is on the senator, not the puncher.l

The doer is unimportant: The package will be delivered soon. [The deliverer's name is unirnportant.l

The doer is unhnoum: Their car was stolen from the driveway.

You want to deemphasize 01' conceal the doer: Yes, an error has been made at this office. [The person who committed the error is not named.]

You need to be consistent with nearby verbs:

Inconsistent: Schools were closed [passive] early, police were posted [passive] along main avenues, and the city curtailed [active] municipal office hours.

Consistent: Schools were closed [passive] early, police were posted [passive] along main avenues, and municipal office hours were curtailed [passive].

See l30D, page 29, for more on voice consistency.

The mood of a verb indicates how the idea of the verb is to be regarded. Sentences that state facts or ask questions are in the indicative mood:

The California gold rush started in 1848. When did the California gold rush start?

Requests and commands are in the imperative mood:

Look up the date of the California gold rush. [You is the understood subject.]

Be home by noon.

The SUbjunctive is the least common mood. It expresses doubt, uncertainty, wish, or supposition, or signals a condition contrary to fact. In the SUbjunctive mood, some verb forms change:

The same is true for the passive voice (which uses be as an auxiliary-see ll8C below for an explanation of passive voice):

Wrong

Lori is shook up by the news.

Some wine was drank that night.

The bell had been rang twice.

My car was stole last

Wrong: In the film a Dominican family immigrates . [present tense] to New York but found [past tense] life difficult there.

Right: In the film a Dominican family immigrates to New York butfinds life difficult there. [both verbs in present tense]

Right: In the film a Dominican family immigrated to New York but found life difficult there. [both verbs in past tense]

Transitive verbs have two voices: active and passive. The verb forms you learned in sections 116A-G are all in the active voice, which is the more common one. We form the passive voice with be (am, is, are, was, were,.,) + the past participle (third principal part)-for example, was made, are shined, will be driven:

Active voice: Action goes from subject (the doer) (~) to direct object

(the receiver)

Passive voice: Subject becomes the receiver (f-) of the action. The doer is in a by phrase 01' omitted

Ordinary form

SUbjunctive form

The Republicans (-7) nominated Nora Stern.

Nora Stern (f-) was nominated [by the Republicans].

am, is, are

was

were

Miller now leads the orchestra. The orchestra is now led by Miller.

has

have

lives, goes, thinks, rotates ... [all verbs that end in s]

live, go, think, rotate ... [Drop the s.]

Alice Walker will read the poem.

The poem will be read by Alice Walker.

The Dolphins could have won The game could have been

the game. won [by the Dolphins].

Wish: God be with you. Long live the queen. Far be it from me to interfere in his life. My wish is that she have a happy marriage.

Doubt 01' uncertainty: If I were to tell him, he might tell everyone.

In general, the active voice, which stresses the doer, is more forceful than the passive, which stresses the receiver.

Condition contrary to fact: If I were you, I would tell. He struts around as if he were king of the world.

Also, use the subjunctive in a that clause when the main clause expresses a demand, command, recommendation, request, or parliamentary motion:

They demanded that the management refund their money. The board recommends that the treasurer resign at once.

I move that the meeting be adjourned.

Do not illogically shift moods:

Wrong: To reach the library, first drive [imperative mood] past a supermarket on your right; then you will turn [indicative mood] left at the next corner.

Right: To reach the library, first drive past a supermarket on your right; then turn left at the next corner [both verbs in imperative moodl.

If similar verbs, such as lie and lay, confuse you, try mentally substituting a synonym, such as rest for lie and put for lay. Many sets of troublesome verbs, such as lie/lay and raise/rise, are explained in 404, pages 54-59.

Recall that an adjective modifies (describes or limits) a noun or occasionally a pronoun, and that an adverb modifies a verb or sometimes an adjective or another adverb:

Adjectives: [descriptive] a red barn, a swift ride, a happy woman; [limiting] this isle, seven clowns, some cookies Adverbs: The horse ran SWiftly. [modifying a verb, ran] The horse was oery swift. [modifying an adjective, swift] TIle horse ran eery swiftly. [modifying an adverb, swiftly]

To form most adverbs, add -ly to the adjective:

smooth ~ smoothly delightful ~ delightfully

regrettable ~ regrettably easy -7 easily

Thus a word with an -ly ending is usually an adverb-but not always: friendly, womanly, and saintly, for example, are adjectives. Also, some adverbs have the same form as their corresponding adjectives (late, early, fast.i..), and some have two forms tslow]ly], quick[ly] .. .), The sure way to tell adverbs and adjectives apart is to determine the word that is modified:

You drive too fast. [drive how? Fast = adverb.]

You are in the fast lane. [which lane? Fast = adjective.]

The word not is an adverb.

To modify an action verb:

Wrong: The team played careless today. Right: The team played carelessly today.

To modify an adjective:

Wrong: The political speaker's comments were real outrageous.

Right: The political speaker's comments were really outrageous.

Wrong: We had extreme slow service at McBurger's. Right: We had extremely slow service at McBurger's.

To modify another adverb:

Wrong: Tamara tries awful hard.

Right: Tamara tries awfully [better, quite] hard.

(as a subject

complement):

The weather was dismal. [Dismal describes weathe1:] Our tiny room smelled damp. [Damp describes room.l

See 114C, page 7, for more on linking verbs.

Use good and bad (adjectives) after a linking verb (as subject complements).

They are quite good. I feel good. This fish tastes bad.

Use well and badly (adverbs) to modify an action verb:

She sings well. I have failed badly.

Note: when it means "in good health": I am feeling well. She is not a well woman. I feel on the other hand, refers to any kind of good feeling, as from winning a prize.

Most adjectives and adverbs three degrees.

Notice how the -er and -est endings change the degree:

\

Positive (modifying one thing or action]: Cheryl is a

fast runner and should finish early. .

Comparative (comparing two): Cheryl is z.faster runner than Mia and should finish earlier.

Superlative (comparing three or more): Cheryl is the fastest of all the runners and should finish earliest.

Some comparisons use more or most. Most long adjectives and most adverbs use more and most instead of -er and -est: fanciful, more fanciful, most fanciful; smoothly, more smoothly, most smoothly. Some adjectives and adverbs use either form: costlier, costliest or more costly, most costly. (To express the opposite of more and most, use less and least: less smoothly/least smoothly.)

A few adjectives and adverbs have irregular forms of comparison:

good/well, better, best bad/badly, worse, worst

many/much, more, most little, less, least

The comparative (not the superlative) is for comparing two things:

Wrong: Lee is the smallest of the twins. Rigbt: Lee is the smaller of the twins.

Do not use double comparatives (both more and -er) or superlatives (both most and -esty. One form is enough:

Wrong: This beam is more stronger than the other. Right: This beam is stronger than the other.

An unfamiliar term is the opposite: the writer has not previously mentioned it or does not immediately explain it, nor is it in the reader's prior knowledge (a faraway library, any library).

Rules for Using a(n), the, or No Article

Before- I Use- Example
COUNT NOUNS I All [any] accident victim needs
Unfamiliar singular a or an a [any] good lawyer: A bus has
skidded into a tree. [Reader has
not known about the bus or tree
before.] Ames is a city in Iowa.
[one of many cities in Iowa]
~-----
Unfamiliar plural [no Fires broke out in Florida.
article] [Reader has not known of these
before.] Victims [any victims]
need lawyers promptly.
Familiar (singular the [Victim and lawyer mentioned
or plural) in previous sentence] The
victim should see the lawyer
promptly. The war is over.
The stars are out.
NONCOUNT [usually Peace is near. She prefers
NOUNS no wille. They fought with honor.
article] He felt embarrassment.
SUPERLATIVES I the the most fearful child,
the highest ratings
PROPER NOUNS the the Titanic, the Nile, the Arctic
Singular naming a Ocean, the Senate, the Duke of
ship, body of water York, the President, the Sears
(except lake or Tower, the Statue of Liberty
bay), organization,
personal title, or
structure
All other singular [no Australia, Lake Mead, Bard
College, Queen Victoria,
Sally Stetson
Plural the the Great Lakes, the Smiths,
the Dodgers Wrong: She is the most unlikeliest of heroes.

Right: She is the unlikeliest [or the most unlikely] of heroes.

Before-

Use (with example)-

Do not compare adjectives that cannot logically be compared, such as unique, fatal, impossible, square, empty. A task is either possible or impossible; it cannot be more (or less) impossible. Instead, say more nearly impossible or closer to impossible:

Wrong: Gehry's new museum is more unique than any built previously.

Right: Gehry's new museum is more innovative [more original, closer to unique .. .l than any built previously.

Plural

many flights, most days, [a] few new ideas, all [the] cars, other people, such hats, both nations, enough apples, some players, more people

NONCOUNT NOUNS

[the] most rain, all humankind, other equipment, such joy, more noise, enough trouble, [a] little time,

some sugar

Before a vowel sound (a, e, i, 0, u, sometimes y) use an: an accident, an image, an honest person (h is silent), an uncle, an FBI (eff-bee-eye) agent, an $80 (eighty-dollar) check. Before a consonant (any nonvowel) sound, use a: a car, a mystery, a university (u pronounced as consonant y + u: yu), a young child (consonant y), a D (dee), a $70 (seventy-dollar) check.

For more on determiners, see 106A, page 3.

Before a noun, place adjectives in this order, from the beginning:

First-articles, determiners, and possessive nouns or pronouns: the, some, my, Janet's [my friends] Second-numbers: five, fifth [my five friends] Tbird--descriptive adjectives: enormous, round, old, siluer; cranky [my five old friends]

Fourtb-nouns used as adjectives: car wheels,

bank loans, elephant tusks [my five old college friends]

A pronoun substitutes for a noun, so that instead of saying The song was so popular for the song's witty lyrics that the song sold ten million copies, we can say The song was so popular for its witty lyrics that it sold ten million copies.

The noun that the pronoun substitutes for (stands for) is called its antecedent. In the second example above, song is the antecedent of its and it. (Not all kinds of pronouns have expressed antecedents.)

Pronouns share almost all the uses of nouns. To review those uses, see 112, page 5.

These designate one or more particular persons or things:

Person Singular Plural
FIRST I, my, mine, me we, our, ours, us
[person( s) speaking]
SECOND you, your, yours you, your, yours
[person( s) spoken to]
THIRD he, his, him, they, their, theirs,
[any other person(s) she, her, hers them
or thing(s)] it, its 15

With any noun, you need to know whether to use (1) a/ancalled the indefinite article, (2) the-called the definite article, or (3) no article at all. First, learn these definitions:

A count noun is one that can be counted, such as car: one car, two cars, three cars, several cars ... ; one reason, two reasons, many reasons ....

A noncount noun cannot be counted: health (we do not say one health, two healths, many healths), courage, gold. Noncount nouns include concepts and qualities (truth, honesty), emotions (sadness), activities (swimming), substances (methane, milk), school subjects (chemistry}, and other uncountables (things considered in bulk or mass: baggage, underwear wheat).

Certain nouns are sometimes noncount (I felt joy) and sometimes count (the joys of youth).

A familiar term is one that the reader already knows; the writer may have mentioned it already or may explain it immediately, or it may be in the reader's prior knowledge (such as the campus library).

The above rules are just the basics. To master English articles, notice their use in your reading and listen closely to native English speakers around you and on television.

Before-

Use (with example)-

COUNT NOUNS Singular

one day, eVel)' way, each new clerk, either person, another problem, the other day, such a day

The gender problem. Avoid using he, his, or him in contexts applicable to both sexes:

Considered sexist: A buyer should shop around for the car he wants. Every student needs his calculator. [But half of buyers and students are female.l

Substituting for he, his, and him presents a problem, because English lacks common-gender equivalents of these words. Try either of the following solutions, taking care to preserve clarity and consistency with context:

Shift to the plural where possible: Buyers should shop around for the cars they want. All students need their calculators.

Remove gender where possible: Shopping around for a car will ensure a good buy. Student calculators are required. A worker's attitude affects fits job performance.

Other solutions are less satisfactory. Using he or she, his or her; her or him (every student needs his or her calculator) sounds clumsy, especially after several repetitions. Substituting you or your (in that class you need a calculator) can sound too informal. Using they, their; them with a singular antecedent (every student needs their calculator), is generally not accepted in more-formal English, though it is increasingly common elsewhere.

The interrogative pronouns are who (whose, whom), which, what. They ask questions:

Who broke the silence? W'bose voice was heard? What was said? if/hich of the members spoke? To whom was the remark directed?

The relative pronouns are the same as the interrogative, plus that and the -ever forms: whoever (whomever), whichever; whatever: Relative pronouns introduce certain kinds of dependent clauses:

The diplomat who spied was arrested. High-efficiency furnaces, wbicb save fuel, cost more to buy.

The governor will veto uhateter reaches her desk.

Use who for persons, which for things, and that for either (though in most cases who is better for persons):

PerSOIl: Students uibo (or that) use the dining hall must have meal cards.

Thing: Tonight's meal is fajitas, wbicb I enjoy. A meal that I enjoy is fajitas.

When of which sounds awkward, you may use things: Venice is a city whose traffic jams are CUIIIIIICU

Notice how most pronouns in the chart change their form according to their case:

"",.,u.", are this (plural: these) and that (plural: those). They point out:

This is the page. Take anyone of these. That is her office. Those are the elevators.

or thing:

Number

Indefinite Pronouns

Subjective
(Nominative) Possessive Objective
Case Case Case
Singular I my, mine me
he, she, it his, her, hers, its him, her, it
Plural we our, ours us
they their, theirs them
Singular you your, yours you
or Plural who whose whom Singular

another, anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one, somebody,

someone, something

Plural

both, few, many, others, several

Singular or Plural

all, any, more, most, none, some, such

Many will complain, but few will act; most will do nothing.

Someone must do something, but no one wants to do anything.

All are welcome. Each of the houses is vacant.

The pronouns with different subjective and objective forms cause the most problems: lime, he/him, she/her; we/us, they/them, who/whom.

Use only the subjective forms (1, he, she, we, they, who) for a

Subject: I know it. He and I know it. Who knows it? 77Jey know it.

Subject complement (after linking verbs): The only one invited was she.

Note: Closely related to the indefinite pronouns are the two reciprocal pronouns, each other and one another: See 404, page 56.

are the -self forms of personal pronouns: myself, yourself, yourselves, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, themselves.

They are called reflexive when used as objects or subject complements:

111e computer will reboot itself after a shutdown. [direct object]

The actors produced the play by tbemselues. [object of preposition]

111e dean is not herself today. [subject complement]

Note: Although It was her; It wasn't me, and so forth are common in informal usage, most writers and speakers adhere to the subjective case in formal usage: It was she. It was not 1. If a sentence such as The only one invited was she sounds awkward, you can recast it: She was the only aile invited. See the second l22C note below for pronoun case with the infinitive to be.

Use only the objective forms (me, him, her; us, them, whom) for any kind of object:

Direct object: The environmentalists castigated bim. Indirect object: He told bel' and me the details. Object of preposition: He told the details to us.

They are called intensive when used as appositives, for emphasis:

I myself am to blame. Only they tbemseloes are to blame.

Do not use a -self pronoun where a personal pronoun suffices:

Wrong: The message was for Pat andmyseif. Right: The message was for Pat and me.

(For who and whom, see 122D, E, below and page 18.)

A pronoun in a compound (with and, 01; but) takes the same case as it would if not compounded:

Wrong: Him and me can go. [Would you say Him can go, or Me can go?]

Right: He and I can go. [He can go. I can go.]

Wi'ong: Awards went to Luis and I. [to I?] Right: Awards went to Luis and me. [to me]

Wrong: Between you and I there should be no secrets. Right: Between you and me there should be no secrets.

Caution: There are no such words in standard English as hisself, ourself( s), yourselfs, theirself( s), theirselves, themself(s).

Note: Luis and myself is also wrong. See l21E, page 16.

The case of a pronoun means the form it takes in a particular use in a sentence (subject, direct object, and so forth). English has three cases: subjective (nominative), possessive, and objective.

A pronoun followed by a noun appositive takes the same case as it would without the noun (appositive is defined in 112D, page 6):

Wrollg: Only liS Bostonians know. [liS know?] Right: Only we Bostonians know. [we know] Right: It is known only to us Bostonians. [to us]

A pronoun appositive takes the same case as the word to which it is in apposition:

Subjective case: Two students, you and she, will share the prize.

Objective case: Professor Hunt told us-Len and me-to share the prize.

Objective case: Let's [Let us] you and me try the bookstore.

A pronoun in an incomplete comparison takes the same case as if the comparison were complete. Notice the difference in meaning between these sentences:

Right: She liked Pat more than I [did].

Right: She liked Pat more than [she liked] me.

For more on incomplete comparisons, see 130C, page 29.

Note: For a pronoun between a verb and an infinitive (called the subject of the infinitive), use the objective case: She ordered him to leave. After to be, always use the same case as you do before it: The police thought me to be het:

Note: Do not give a subjective or objective pronoun (he, she, him, her ... ) a possessive antecedent:

Wrong: famous st01Y "The Dead," uses

snow as a symbol. [He should not refer to the

possessive JSJ~~~_~:L--------------~~

Right: In bis famous story "The Dead," Joyce uses snow as a symbol.

You can often easily avoid such a problem:

Right: joyce's famous st01Y "The Dead" uses snow as a symbol.

Who is

subjective case; whom is objective:

l\'fho voted against the child-support law? [subject] 1Vbom can the people blame? ---7 The people can blame uibom? [direct object]

1Vbom can people appeal to? ---7 To uhom can people appeal? [object of preposition]

Note: When in doubt about using who or whom, try substituting he or him. If he sounds right, use who; if him sounds right, use whom:

(1Vho/Wbom) rang the bell? ---7 He rang the bell. ---7 1Vbo rang the bell?

(Wbo/Wbom) did you see? ---7 You did see bim. ---7 You did see whom? ---7 Wbom did you see?

Although using who as an object is common in informal usage (Who did you see? Who did you go with?), formal usage requires who for subjects only, whom for objects:

Whom did you see?

Directly after a preposition, use whom: With whom did you go? By whom was this written? (Exception: if a clause follows the preposition, whoever may be its subject: Give this to whoever answers the doorbell [not whomever-see 122E below].)

The case of a relative pronoun is determined by its use within its clause (for full explanation of clauses, see 125, page 20):

Liu is the one who arranged the affair. [lf1ho = subject of arranged i

Liu is the one whom we should thank. [~ we should thank whom. Whom = direct object of should thank.l We should also thank whoever helped her. [1f1hoever = subject of helped.]

We should inform whomever we see. [~ we see whomever. Whomever = direct object of see.l

Send a note to whoever participated in the affair. [Whoever = subject of parttcipatedi

Do not be misled by other intervening clauses, such as 1 think, it seems, or we are convinced:

Liu is the one who~arranged the affair. Liu is the one whom lit seemsl we should thank.

Use an apostrophe ['] to form the possessive case of indefinite and reciprocal pronouns: someone's, everybody's, no one's, anyone else's, somebody else's, each other's ....

Never use an apostrophe in the possessive case of personal pronouns (his, hers, its, ours, yours, theirs) or of who (whose): Whose book is this? Is it ours or theirs? It can't be hers.

It is a common error to confuse the possessives its, whose, their; and your with the contractions it's, who's, they're, and you're.

Possessive Pronouns (never take apostrophe)

its [belonging to it]

their [belonging to them] your [belonging to you] whose [belonging to whom]

Contractions

(always take apostrophe)

it's [itis]

they're [they are] you're [you are] who's [who is]

The store lost its license. Whose fault was that?

The stores lost their licenses. Was your store included?

To tell which form you need, mentally substitute the uncontracted form (it is, etc.). If that sounds right, you need the contraction:

(Its/it's) a fine day ~ It is a fine day. ~ It's a fine day. The tree shed (its/it's) leaves. ~ The tree shed it is leaves? No. ~ The tree shed its leaves.

Use a possessive pronoun before a gerund:

Wi'o1lg: We resented him leaving. Right: We resented his leaving.

See 211C, page 36, for more on possessives with gerunds.

Unclear: Officer Marchi decided to disobey the

captain's order. It was a foolish thing. [Was the order foolish, or the disobeying?]

Clear: Officer Marchi decided to disobey the captain's foolish order.

Clear: Officer Marchifoofishly decided to disobey the captain's order.

Unclear: The soprano Maria Faustina has cultivated a glamorous image that initially led many to question her seriousness as a person and an artist. Of that there can be no doubt. [Of what can there be no doubt?]

Clear: There can be no doubt that the soprano Maria Faustina has cultivated a glamorous image that initially led many to question her seriousness as a person and an artist.

Clear [another meaning]: There is no doubt of Maria Faustina's seriousness as a person and an artist, though the glamorous image that she has cultivated led many initially to question that seriousness.

Unclear: Profits are down in three of four categories. Production is being curtailed and hundreds of workers are being laid off. Our advertising budget is being slashed. So far we have no solution for it.

Clear: ... So far we have no solution for these problems.

Do not use an adjective as an antecedent:

Wrong: I stopped at a soda store and had one. [Soda is an adjective here, modifying store. The only noun is store, and one certainly does not refer to store.l

Right: I stopped at a store and had a soda.

Right: I stopped at a soda store and had a root beer.

Charlie bought a drill with a variable-speed control. [tells what kind of drill]

As adverb: They rode home on their bicycles [tells how] after the show [tells when].

I bought it for a birthday gift. [tells why]

See 107B, page 4, for a list of prepositions.

There are three kinds: infinitive, participial, and gerund. (See 117, page 11, for an explanation of these terms.)

An infinitive phrase (infinitive + complement or modifiers

or both): '

As noun: To become governor is her aim. [subject] She wants to become governor. [direct object]

As adjective: I have a plan to suggest to you. [modifies plan]

As adverb: We sued the company to obtain justice. [modifies sued-tells why]

Darryl is eager to leave soon. [modifies eaged

A participial phrase (present or past participle + complement or modifiers or both) is always used as an adjective. It may come either before or after the noun it modifies:

Students needing extra credits can enroll in Whiffleball 101. [present participial phrase, modifying students]

Exhausted from his all-night studies, Carl stumbled into the examination room. [past participial phrase, modifying Carn

Another kind of phrase using a participle is the absolute phrase, in which the participle has its own subject:

Her heart pounding wi/dO), Karen rose to speak. [Heart is the subject of the participle poundings

Karen rose to speak, bel' heart pounding Wildly.

Sometimes being or a similar participle is omitted:

Her voice now a mere uibisper, Sueanne kept cheering. [that is, Her voice now being a mere uhisper, or having become a mere wbisped

A gerund phrase (-ing form + complement or modifiers or both) is always used as a noun:

Saving tbe environment will take worldwide effort. [subject]

The speaker stressed saving tbe environment. [direct object]

What can we do about saving tbe environment? [object of preposition]

Her chief concern is saving the environment. [subject complement]

Be sure that each pronoun clearly refers only to its antecedent-the noun it stands for.

occurs when a pronoun may refer to either of two preceding nouns. Clarify any ambiguity by rephrasing the sentence:

Unclear: Ms. Tash told Ms. Romano that she was next. [Who was next?]

Clear: Ms. Tash told Ms. Romano, "I'm next." OR ... "You're next."

For avoiding dangling or misplaced phrases, see 130B, page 27.

Note-Other Kinds of Phrases: Some authorities use the term noun phrase to refer to a noun and its modifiers (the five old men in their wheelchairs), and verb phrase for a main verb and its auxiliaries (might have been drinking).

Unclear: This rug will not match our living-room furniture because it is too modern. [To what does it refer? Which is too modern-the rug or the furniture?]

Clear: This rug, is too modern, will not match our

living-room furniture.

Clear: This rug will not match our living-room ~~

furniture, whicb is too modern.

Unclear: Everyone heard her response to the comment, wbich was uncalled for. [Was the comment uncalled for, or the response?]

Clear: Everyone heard her uncalled-for response to the comment.

Clear: Everyone heard her response to the uncalled-for comment.

Being able to recognize phrases and clauses is a key to good writing. It helps you compose effective sentences and avoid many serious errors in agreement and sentence structure.

occurs when a pronoun has no easily identifiable antecedent. Clarify the sentence by supplying the needed noun or by rephrasing the sentence:

Vague: In Japan they name their years after animals. [77Jey and their have no antecedent. Who are tbey?]

Clear: The Japanese name their years after animals.

It is acceptable in It is raining, It is a fine day, and so on. Avoid using which, it, this, or that to refer to a whole phrase, clause, or sentence in an unclear way:

Unclear: The treaty was approved by Congress, whicb raised hopes for world peace. [Can you find a clear antecedent for uibicb? Is it Congress? the treaty? Actually, neither. The writer meant the approval, which is not in the sentence (the verb, approved, cannot be an antececlent).]

Clear: The treaty's approval by Congress raised hopes for world peace.

Unclear: Acid rain is still a problem in the Northeast, resulting in increased support for a stronger antipollution law in Congress. What will happen because of tbis is uncertain.

Clear: ... What will happen because of tbis new support is uncertain.

Clear: ... What will happen because of this continued pollution is uncertain.

A phrase is a group of related words that is less than a sentence, because it lacks a full verb. (Some phrases include part of a verb-see 124B below.) In a sentence, a phrase functions as a single word (usually an adjective, adverb, or noun); for example, The car sped away [adverb]. The car sped down the street [adverb phrase]. Recognize and regard phrases as units.

Wrollg: In tbe sbouer. Right: I sing in tbe shower.

See Fragments, section 129A, page 26.

There are two main kinds of phrases:

is used chiefly as an adjective or adverb. It consists of preposition + object (and perhaps modifiers of that object):

As adjective: Apples of if1asbington State are especially delicious. [tells which apples]

In most formal writing, it is better to keep the pronoun. (See 110un clause below.)

For punctuation of adjective clauses, see 201F, page 32. An adverb clause is used as an adverb---modifying a verb, adjective, or other adverb. It tells how, when, where, yvh)\ with what result, under or despite what condition, or to what degree. It is introduced and connected to the independent clause by a subordinating conjunction, such as the ones listed below.

She gave a brochure to uboeuer passed by. [object of preposition]

1f!bat we want to know [subject] is uiby you did it [subject complementl.

As with adjective clauses, you may sometimes omit that (I understand ~ you need help), but in formal writing it is usually better to keep it. Definitely keep that if your sentence may mislead without it. For example, a reader starts to read your sentence:

The searchers found Maxwell ...

A clause is a group of related words containing subject + verb (see 103B, page 2). There are two kinds: independent (main) and dependent (subordinate ).

An independent clause sounds complete and makes sense when it stands alone. Every simple sentence is an independent clause; however, the term clause usually refers to such a word group as part of a larger sentence:

bulep!!!.!..ulc1l1 Indef1ende~ause

!The virus began to spread,! and !docto/:I' grew alarmed!. !Their vaccine was gone,!but!tbey boped for more soon!.

Independent clauses are normally connected by and, but, yet, 01; n01; f01; or so (coordinating conjunctions) or a semicolon (;). The conjunction is not considered part of either clause.

A dependent clause does not sound complete and does not make full sense when it stands alone-even though it has subject + verb. It contains a connecting word (such as when, that, or if) that requires the dependent clause to be linked to an independent clause:

You may graduate!when you pay your librmy fines!.

The first tqpic!that Eva cbose for her paper!was rejected. If the track is slic1~, the Daytona 500 race can become

angerous.

We will appreciate!whatevet· you can do!.

Note: Never write a dependent clause alone, as if it were a complete sentence:

Wrong: If you drive.

Right: If you drive, I can nap.

See Fragments, section 129A, page 26.

In dependent clauses (unlike independent clauses) the connecting word is considered part of the clause.

An adjective clause (also called a relative clause) is used as an adjective, modifying a preceding noun or pronoun. It is introduced and connected to the independent clause by the relative pronoun who (whose, whom), which, or that, or sometimes by when or where:

The film frightened children iobo saw it. [modifies children;

Osgood's store, ubtcb is downtown, sells CDs. [modifies store]

Nations tbat reduce tariffs often prosper. [modifies Nations]

It was a time tohen peace prevailed. [modifies time]

Sometimes you may omit the relative pronoun: The people ~ we met were friendly. But doing so may damage clarity.

Introduced by
Adverb Subordinating
Clause Telling- Conjunction- Example
Time [when?] when(ever), while, They kept dancing
after, before, since, after the music
as, as soon as, until stopped.
Place [where?] where, wherever We went where
the land was fertile.
Manner [how?] as, as if, as though He walks as if
he's dazed.
Cause [why?] because, since . I left because
I was angry.
Purpose [why?] (so) that, in She came so that
order that she might help.
Condition if, unless, whether, You may go if "
[under what provided you leave early.
condition ?]
Concession (al)though, even They played,
[despite what though although they were
condition ?] tired.
Result [that that He ran so fast that
what resulted?] he was exhausted.
Comparison as, than She is taller than
[to what degree?] I [am]. But your full sentence is

The searchers found Maxwell had left the area. [a very different meaning]

By adding that, you become clear on first reading:

The searchers found that Maxwell had left the area.

As you learned in section 103B, sentences can be classified according to their structure (the number and kind[s] of clauses they have), as simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex. See page 2 for explanation and examples.

In standard-English sentences, subject and verb must have matching forms; so must pronouns and their antecedents. This matching is called agreement. (See 402, page 52, for a definition of standard English.)

I!reemlent. Every verb must agree with its subject in person and number.

(Person is defined in 116, page 9.) Remember that third person singular verbs take an -s ending in the present tense and use has in the present perfect:

She walks (or has walked), Joe walks, the dog walks Wrong (nonstandard): Mae sing off key.

Right: Mae sings off key.

There are no endings for other persons (except with be):

I walk, we walk (or baue walked) [first personl; you walk [second person]; they walk, the Smiths walk, the dogs walk [third person plural].

The verb be has different forms for each person:

For variety, emphasis, or clarity of sequence, you can shift most adverb clauses to the beginning of the sentence:

Altbougb tbey were tired, they played. If you leave early, you may go.

Usually, a comma follows an adverb clause that begins a sentence.

Wrong (nonstandard): You is late. You be late. You been late. You bas been late.

Rigbt: You are late. You have been late.

A noun clause is used as a noun. It is introduced and connected to the independent clause by the relative pronoun whot ever), whichi ever), whati ever), or that or by when, where, why, how, or whether: The noun clause actually serves as part of the independent clause, such as subject or direct object:

Wbat they knew frightened him. [subject]

I understand that you need help. [direct object]

She gave ioboeoerpassed by a brochure. [indirect object]

Singular

Person

Plural

First

I am [past, was]

we are [past, were]

Second

you are [past, were]

you are [past, were]

Third

he/she/it is [past, was]

they are [past, were]

Note: When two or more subjects in different persons are joined by 01; the verb agrees with the subject nearer to it:

Either she or I am going. In a dependent clause with who or that as subject, the verb agrees with the antecedent of who or that: It is I who am right. [Antecedent of who is 1.]

Singular number refers to one thing, and plural number refers to more than one. Singular subjects must take singular verbs; plural subjects must take plural verbs. As you learned in 126A above, the third person singular, present tense, needs an -s ending, and the verb be has irregular forms:

lVrong (nonstandard): A bear like honey, but it don't [do not] like bees.

Right: A bear likes honey, but it doesn't [does not] like bees.

Wrong (nonstandard): Only one rock concert baoe been scheduled here.

Right: Only one rock concert bas been scheduled here.

Wi'ollg (nonstandard): Was all the planes delayed? Rigbt: Were all the planes delayed?

A whole clause or phrase used as subject is usually singular: !What their plans are! has not been made known. !Knowing when and how to respond! takes years of experience.

Make subject and verb agree regardless of phrases or clauses between them:

Phrase: Their peliormance!on all tests! is impressive. Clause: Trees!that get the disease! are cut down.

An employee who accepts bribes, gratuities, or other favors from clients, even clients who are unaware of our 11lles,

is subject to dismissal.

Parenthetical phrases introduced by (together) with, like, as well as, including, in addition to, and the like do not affect the number of the actual subject:

The city, las well as the suburbs,! votes Democratic. Ted, lin addition to the twins,! has accepted.

Joined by and: Use a plural verb:

A book and a pencil are all I need. Have Haruard and Yale accepted her?

However, if both subjects refer to the same single person or thing, use a singular verb:

Her mentor and friend was at her side during the ordeal. [One person is both mentor and friend.]

Macaroni and cheese is on the menu. [one dish]

Use a singular verb when each, eVelY, or many a precedes the subjects:

Biery dog and cat is tested for rabies.

Many a dog and cat is wandering hungry tonight.

Note: When each follows the subject, use a plural verb: cat and the dog each have had their rabies shots.

Joined by or or nor: Make the verb agree with the nearer subject:

Spinacb or kale was added to the soup. Peas or carrots were added to the soup. Spinach or peas were added to the soup. Peas or spinach was added to the soup.

Make the verb agree with the subject outside the part containing not:

-----------------------------~~

Better salaries, [and] not a new building, are what we need.

Not only better salaries but a new building is what we need.

.'rl[m'OlllIlS. Use a singular verb when the subject is a singular indefinite pronoun, such as one, each, either, neither; everyone, everybody, anyone, anybody, someone, somebody, no one, or nobody. Do not be misled by intervening phrases or clauses:

Each lof the blouses in the shipments I has a tiny defect. Eueryone !Who has ever seen any of her plays I is calling this her best.

After all, any, most, none, some, or such, use either a singular or a plural verb, depending on whether the pronoun refers to something singular or plural:

-4---------------~

The milk was left in the sun; all of it has turned sour. ~.-----~

The guests became bored; all have left.

-------------'" ~

Such were the joys of youth. Such is the way of the world.

In U.S. usage, use a singular verb when thinking of the group as a unit:

The audience was the largest this season.

Use a plural verb when thinking of the group members as individuals:

The audience were leaning, one or two at a time.

Make a linking verb agree with its subject, not with its subject complement:

His problem was wild pitches. Wild pitches were his

problem. '

Such nouns as measles, mumps, hives (diseases); mathematics, economics (subjects of study); billiards; and news are singular. So is United States (one nation). Use a singular verb:

Mathematics is not so difficult as many think.

Mumps leaves some children with impaired hearing. The United States has a four-thousand-mile border with Canada.

Use a plural verb with two-part things such as trousers, pants, pliers, scissors, tweezers:

The tweezers are not useful here; perhaps the pliers are.

Use a singular verb if the antecedent of who, which, or that is singular; use a plural verb if the antecedent is plural:

She is the chimp tbat comprehends. They are the chimps tbat comprehend.

She is the only one of the chimps that comprehends. [Only one comprehends; antecedent of that is one,]

She is one of the chimps that comprehend. [Several chimps comprehend; antecedent of tbat

is cbimpsi

Such nouns as statistics, tactics, athletics, and ethics are singular when they mean a single area of study or endeavor, but plural otherwise:

Statistics is my major. New statistics show a drop in crime. Athletics is a big business today. Athletics are hard

for him.

(words with no meaning in a

~"''''''-'U~. Every pronoun must agree with its antecedent in person and number.

sentence):

There is never the subject. In sentences beginning with there is (was) or there are (were), look after the verb for the subject, and make the verb agree with that subject:

Wrong: There's two taxis at the curb. [Two taxis is .... l There's a taxi and a bus at the curb. [A taxi and a bus is .... l

Right: There is a taxi at the curb. [A taxi is at the curb.l There are two taxis at the curb. [Two taxis are at the curb.l There are a taxi and a bus at the curb. [A taxi and a bus are .... l

Avoid them:

Wrong: Students like English 302 because it exposes you to classic films. I like English 302 because it exposes you to classic films.

Right: Students like English 302 because it exposes them to classic films. I like English 302 because it exposes me to classic films.

Generally, use a singular pronoun when referring to antecedents such as person, woman, man, one, anyone, anybody, someone, somebody, each, either; neither; everyone, everybody:

Neither of the nations would yield on its position. Has anyone lost her bracelet?

Eoeryone in the fraternity pledged his loyalty.

A person should know what he wants in life. [or what she wants in lifel

For a mixed group of men and women, should you use they with a singular pronoun (everyone lost their money)? In formal English, no. For discussion of this important, thorny problem, see 121A, page 16.

Wrong: Was there other problems?

Right: Was there another problem? Were there other problems?

It, on the other hand, is always singular:

It was my fax machine that malfunctioned. It was our fax machines that malfunctioned. Was it our fax machines that malfunctioned?

are

always singular:

Chaucer's Canterbury Tales depicts life in medieval England.

Zeroes is spelled with either -oes or -os.

Follow the same prin~iples as for subject-verb agreement (see 126D, page 22).

With antecedents joined by and, use a plural pronoun:

New Yore State and New England are noted for their fall foliage.

With antecedents joined by or or nor, make the pronoun agree with the nearer antecedent:

Visit New York State or New England for its fall foliage. Visit New York or other northeastern states for their fall foliage.

When considering a sum as a single unit or total, use a singular verb:

Six hundred dollars was too much for that guitar. Seven miles uphill is quite a grueling run.

When considering individual dollars, gallons, miles, and so on, use a plural verb:

The dollars uiere neatly arranged in stacks.

All those miles take a toll on a runner's stamina.

Follow the same principle as for subject-verb agreement (see 126G, page 22); let the meaning of the noun determine the number of the pronoun:

Tonight's audience has angered the performers by its rudeness.

One by one, the audience are leaving their seats.

In an arithmetic problem, use either:

Six and four is [makes] ten. Six and four are [make] ten.

The number takes a singular verb; a number; number of crimes is down. A number of crimes

Make this, that, these, or those agree with the noun it modifies:

Wrollg: I like these kind of fish. [Tbese is plural; kind, singular.]

Right: I like this kind of fish. I like these kinds of fish.

'" After one of the, use a plural noun:

Wt'ong: Portland, Oregon, is one of the most livable city in America.

Right: Portland, Oregon, is one of the most livable cities in America.

Effective sentences are more than just correct, Good writers edit each sentence to gain precision, clarity, economy, originality, and harmony with the rest of the paragraph.

".u"n.x;>;, Sentences that plod dully along one after another, unvaried in length or structure, bore your readers and sap their attention. One short, simple sentence can be forceful: Then the net broke. But a string of short sentences usually sounds choppy and immature:

The book is titled A Street in Brotizeuille. Gwendolyn Brooks wrote it. It contains poems of the Chicago ghetto.

Strings of clauses joined by and or and so are little better:

The book is titled A Street in Bronzeville, and Gwendolyn Brooks wrote it, and .... [A good writer might say Gwendolyn Brooks's A Street in Bronzeville contains poems of tbe Chicago gbetto.]

At the other extreme, a series of long, complex sentences can also stupefy. Like a good baseball pitcher, vary what you serve up. All this section (128) shows you how to do so.

Vary your sentence beginnings, too, where appropriate. You need not always start with the subject; try moving a modifying word, phrase, or clause to the beginning, or shift word order for emphasis:

To attain these goals, the council met frequently. Terrified, freezing, and weak ioltb hunger, the refugees plodded on.

Such cbaos they had never seen.

Caution: Do not vary just for variety's sake; you may weaken your paper, for example, by switching from active voice to passive merely for variety, or by moving a modifier to an unnatural position. Judging when and how to vary becomes easier with wider experience in reading.

U"bunn" You can join related simple sentences with a coordinating conjunction (preceded by a comma) to form a compound sentence:

Choppy (short, simple sentences): The painting was twelve inches square. It was valued at a million dollars.

Better (compound sentence): The painting was twelve inches square, yet it was valued at a million dollars. [The conjunction yet emphasizes the contrast between the size and the value.]

Choppy: Professor Budway retired. His health had worsened.

Better: Professor Budway retired, for his health had worsened. [The conjunction for shows that the second fact caused the first.]

Choppy: French class met at noon. Art met at two. Better: French class met at noon, and art met at two.

[The and, though it has little effect on meaning, shows that the two ideas are related and makes a smoother-reading sentence.]

Avoid overuse of coordination, especially with and or so. See 107A, page 3, for more on coordinating conjunctions.

Combine simple sentences that have the same subjects, verbs, or other parts so that you have only one sentence with a compound part:

Weak: The Republicans are supporting the bill. The Democrats are also supporting it.

Stronger (compound subject): [Both] the Republicans and the Democrats are supporting the bill.

Weak: Senator Lynch will sponsor the bill. She will also campaign for it.

Stronger (compound verb): Senator Lynch will sponsor and campaign for the bill.

Weak: The bill raises farm subsidies. It also cuts taxes. Stronger (compound complete predicate): The bill raises farm subsidies and cuts taxes. OR The bill not only raises farm subsidies but also cuts taxes.

In combining simple sentences, you can emphasize one idea by subordinating the other (reducing it to a dependent clause). Often, subordinating is the clearest way to show how two ideas are related. It is one of the most important skills in good sentence-writing. You may subordinate with (1) adjective clauses, (2) adverb clauses, or (3) noun clauses (see l25B, page 20).

Adjective clauses (beginning with who [whose, whom], which, that, when, or where) let you show which of two ideas you consider more important. Put the more important idea into the independent clause, the less important one into the adjective clause:

Weak: They signed the treaty. This treaty banned nuclear war.

Weak: They signed the treaty, and it banned nuclear war.

Strengthened by adjective-clause subordination:

They signed the treaty, which banned nuclear war. [Sentence stresses the signing-the independent clause.]

The treaty that they signed banned nuclear war. [Sentence stresses the banning-the independent clause.]

Adverb clauses (beginning with when, if, because, although ... -see 125B, page 20, for full list) let you show that two ideas are related by time, cause, condition, and the like:

Weak: The lecture grew dull. Several seniors dozed off.

Strengthened by adverb-clause subordination:

When the lecture grew dull, several seniors dozed off. [When stresses the time relation between the two facts.] Several seniors dozed off because the lecture had grown dull. [Because stresses the causal relation between the two facts.]

Noun clauses (beginning with who, that, what, whatever ... -see l25B, page 20, for full list) provide smoothness, conciseness, and clarity:

Weak: Tickets were selling poorly. The play's backers were never told this.

Weak: Some children are underachievers. Karp's research discovered the reasons for this problem.

Strengthened by noun-clause subordination:

The play's backers were never told that tickets were selling poorly.

Karp's research discovered why some children are underachievers.

With subordination, compounding, and coordination, you can smoothly integrate three or even more ideas:

Weak: Jerome Robbins revolutionized American ballet. He introduced vigorous male dancers. They roughhoused as sailors in Fancy Free. They also fought as street toughs in West Side StD/)'.

Subordinated and coordinated: Jerome Robbins revolutionized American ballet when he introduced vigorous male dancers who roughhoused as sailors in Fancy Free and fought as street toughs in West Side Story.

Subordination can be even more effective when combined with reduction, explained in l28E below.

Caution: Do not overdo subordination;' five or six clauses inexpertly combined in a sentence can bewilder readers. And never subordinate your main idea-the one you would mention if you could mention only one. See l28G, page 25.

Reduction, Wherever possible, eliminate needless words by reducing clauses to phrases and phrases to single words:

Wordy (clause): Because she was discouraged about writing stories, Erika decided to tty nonfiction. Tighter (phrase): Discouraged about writing stories, Erika decided to try nonfiction.

Wordy (clause): The person who is holding the pistol is the starter.

Tighter (phrase): The person holding the pistol is the starter.

Wordy (phrase): She is a child possessed of talent. Tighter (word): She is a talented child.

Here is the last example from l28D above, further tightened by reduction:

Jerome Robbins revolutionized American ballet when he introduced vigorous male dancers roughhousing as sailors in Fancy Free and fighting as street toughs in Wiest Side Story.

For more on cutting needless words, see 401A, page 50.

Use (the same grammatical form for

each item), wherever appropriate, in coordinating or comparing:

Wrong~lIot parallel' They triedlsingingl [gerund] and Ito dance I [infinitive].

Right: They tried Isingingl and Idancingl. Right: They tried Ito sing land I[to] dancel.

Use parallelism with correlative conjunctions (both ... and; not oniy ... but also; [nleither ... [I1Jor). What directly follows the second part of the conjunction should be parallel to what follows the first:

Wrong: The study not 0110' lexaminedl [verb] men but also Iwomenl [noun].

Right: The study examined not olllylmenl[noun] but alsolwomenl [noun].

Wrong: Last season not ollly!iliill the Colts defeat the Bears but alsolthe Vikingsl. [Misplacement of not

only ... but also makes it unclear who defeated whom.] Right: Last season the Colts defeated not Ollly Ithe Bearsl but a1solthe Vikingsl. [Colts won two.]

Right: Last season not olllyithe Coltsl but also Ithe Vikings I defeated the Bears. [Bears lost two.]

Be sure your items are parallel logically as well as grammatically:

Illogical: The city has three museums, a concert hall, an opera bouse, and two hundred garbage trucks. [Garbage trucks do not belong with the other items, which are cultural attractions. Avoid such illogic, unless you intend humor or irony.]

Other examples of parallel structure:

Is it better to die with honor than to live in shame?

She neither sought nor desired the nomination. Brilliant in conception, reuolutionary in structure, and elegant in orchestration, her new symphony was universally praised.

Whatever we experience in our day, whatever we hope to learn, whatever we most desire, whatever we set out to find, we see that the Greeks have been there before us, and we meet them on their way back.

-Thomas Cahill

Marlowe was the only one of the university wits whose talent Shakespeare might have seriously envied, whose aesthetic judgment he might have feared, whose admiration he might have earnestly wanted to win, and whose achievements he certainly attempted to equal and outdo.

- Stephen Greenblatt

Wrong: The campers were bothered b hordes of mosquitoesl [noun], couldn't getto sleep [verb], and lother

campers made noise I [clause].

Right: The campers were bothered bylbordes of mosquitoesl [noun], I'ack of sleep I [noun], and

lother campers' noisel [noun].

Wrong: Job seekers should !consult the want-adsl [verb], Itheir friends I [no verb], orllook online I [verb].

Rigbt: Job seekers should !consult the want-adsl [verb], lask their friends I [verb], or Ilook online I [verb].

Right: Job seekers should consultlthe want-adsHnoun], Itheir !l'iendsl[noun], orlonline sourcesl[noun].

128G. Position Main Ideas Prominenth

Do not bury your main point in the middle of your sentence, in a phrase or dependent clause:

Poor-intended main idea (tbe death of the dinosaurs) lost ill midsentence in a dependent clause: Millions of years ago a huge meteorite, iobicb obliterated the dinosaurs, spread a deadly cloud over the earth.

For proper emphasis, put your main idea at the beginning, or sometimes at the end (as a climax):

Bmphatic=-main point up front: T7Je dinosaurs were obliterated millions of years ago by a huge meteorite that spread a deadly cloud over the earth.

Emphatic and climactic-main point at end: Millions of years ago a huge meteorite, spreading a deadly cloud

over the earth, obliterated tbe dinosaurs. .

25

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_-_ _ .. _-_---------

t,

Note: Jotting the first few words of each item in a column can help you see whether the items are parallel and correct them if not:

Job seekers should

~collsult the want-ads

@ their friends [verb needed]

look online

Use parallelism to emphasize likeness or contrast:

Wrong: Ethanollhas been hailed by some environmentalists I who say lit reduces pollution I, butlother environmentalists have claimedlthatlpollution is increased by itl. [mixes active and passive]

Right:ISomelenvironmentalists claimlthat ethanol pollutes lessl; lothers!, Ithat it pollutes morel.

Use parallelism in comparisons (with as or than):

Wrong: The study was more Icriticall [adjective] than lit offered solutions I [clause].

Right: The study was more !criticall [adjective] than Ihelpfull [adjective].

Ri ht: The study offered more !criticism I [noun] than solutions [noun].

Get to the point. Do not hide your real subject by opening your sentence with clutter:

Cluttered: In the final analysis, it is important to note that the initial reason that the effects I have mentioned took place is the defaulting by homeowners on subprime mortgages,

Clear and direct: In short, it was homeowners' defaulting on subprime mortgages that caused the chain of events described above.

See 40 lA, page 50, for more on removing clutter.

Fragments, comma splices, and fused sentences are by far the most common, and often the most obvious, of major sentence structure errors. Make it a priority to lid your papers of these faults. Review sections 124-125, on phrases and clauses, if necessary.

A fragment is a piece of a sentence mistakenly written as a full sentence. It may be

A phrase: In the woods. Sleeping in the woods.

A dependent clause, sometimes with part of another clause: When we slept in the woods. That slept in the woods. The campers who slept in the woods.

Just a verbless string of words: The woods dark and deep. Three miles farther away, beyond the forest.

Correct every fragment by either

Attaching it to an independent clause: Sleeping in the woods, the campers had not heard the news. Because they slept in the woods, the campers had not heard the news. The campers, who were sleeping in the woods, had not heard the news.

Or rewriting it as a full sentence by itself: They slept in the woods. Camp was three miles farther away, beyond the forest.

In the incorrect examples below, the fragments are in italics.

Wt'ong: Garbage collections decreased. Because recycling took effect.

Right: Garbage collections decreased because recycling took effect. [fragment attached to independent clause]

Wrong: Audrey Buller's painting Morning GIOlY shows in its foreground an orderly swirl of bright blossoms. ll7bicb contrasts witb a pile of dried leaves beneath, representing death.

Right: Audrey Buller's painting Morning GIOlY shows in its foreground an orderly swirl of bright blossoms, uibicb contrasts witb a pile of dried leaves beneath, representing death. [fragment attached to independent clause]

Wrong: An island that shimmers in the sun.

Right: T7Je island shimmers in the sun. [fragment rewritten as a full sentence]

Wrong: Hermotber a maid in a ricb family's bouse, and berfatber a sailor on an oil tanker.

Right: Her mother was a maid in a rich family's house, and her father was a sailor on an oil tanker. [verbs added to make a sentence]

Wrong: Security was particularly tight at Kennedy Airport, Being a main entry point for smugglers.

OR It being a main entry point for smugglers. OR A main entry point for smugglers.

Right: Security was particularly tight at Kennedy Airport, a main entry point for smugglers. [fragment attached as appositive]

Here are more corrected comma splices (fused sentences are corrected the same way):

Wrong: In recent years adults have been smoking fewer cigarettes, however teenagers have been smoking more.

Right: In recent years adults have been smoking fewer cigarettes; teenagers, however, have been smoking more. [clauses joined by semicolon-see 210A, page 36]

Right: Although adults have been smoking fewer cigarettes in recent years, teenagers have been smoking more. [first clause subordinated]

U'"""""'>'C.', A comma splice occurs when you mistakenly join independent clauses using just a comma rather than a conjunction or semicolon:

Wrong: Running relieves stress, it can prolong life. Wrong: In recent years adults have been smoking fewer cigarettes, teenagers have been smoking more.

A fused sentence occurs when you mistakenly run two independent clauses together using no punctuation or conjunction at all:

Wrong: Running relieves stress it can prolong life. Wro1lg: In recent years adults have been smoking fewer cigarettes teenagers have been smoking more.

Correct splices and fusings (both sometimes called run-ons) in one of the following four ways; choose the way that best fits your purpose and your paragraph:

Separate the clauses into two sentences:

Right: Running relieves stress. It can prolong life.

This is the simplest but rarely the best way, for too many short sentences make your writing sound choppy and immature. (See 128A, page 23.) Moreover, you fail to specify a relation between the ideas in the clauses.

Wrong: Cole's study (2004) concluded that pupils with more stable home environments had higher reading scores, this finding corroborated Lynch's 1999 findings.

Right: ... higher reading scores, a finding that corroborated Lynch's 1999 findings. [last clause subordinated]

Right: ... higher reading scores. This finding corroborated Lynch's 1999 findings. [last clause

made separate sentence]

Remember: ABC-Always Be Clear. If you are not clear, you are not communicating.

If you blend your common sense with what you have learned about grammar and sentence structure, your sentences will ring clear and true, free of the faults described below and elsewhere in English Simplified.

Do not needlessly separate subject and verb, or verb and complement:

Awkward: Sbe, filled with dreams of happiness, married him.

Smooth: Filled with dreams of happiness, sbe married him.

Join the clauses with a coordinating conjunction:

Right: Running relieves stress, and it can prolong life.

Coordinating is often better than writing separate sentences. But do not overuse coordinating either; the conjunction and, especially, may not clarify the relation between your ideas. (See 128B, page 23.)

Awkward: They bought, by emptying their bank accounts and cashing in their bonds, a large house. Smooth: By emptying their bank accounts and cashing in their bonds, they bought a large bouse.

Avoid awkward splitting of infinitives. The two parts of an infinitive belong together; avoid putting words between them (unless your sentence would otherwise be unclear or sound odd):

Wrong: He wanted to every now and then call her. Right: He wanted to call her every now and then.

It is quite all right, however, to place an appropriate adverb within the infinitive: They decided to quickly replace the dog that had died.

Try not to end a sentence with a preposition in formal writing:

Informal: This is the house that Melville lived in. Formal' This is the house in ubicb Melville lived.

Join the clauses with a semicolon:

Right: Running relieves stress; it can prolong life.

A semicolon can give your writing a formal tone; it is often effective in balanced sentences, such as. Yesterday was dreadful; today is delightful. (See 21OA, B, page 36.)

Join the clauses by making one of them a dependent (subordinate) clause, Join them with a subordinating conjunction, such as because, if, when, since, after; although, and unless, or with a relative pronoun: who(m), which, that. (See 128D, page 24.) Subordinating is often the best way to eliminate splices and fusings, since a subordinating conjunction or relative pronoun shows the precise relation between ideas:

Right: Running, uibid: relieves stress, can prolong life. Right: Because running relieves stress, it can prolong life.

Sometimes, however, applying this rule can make your sentence sound awkward or stilted. If so, keep the preposition at the end.

Some verbs contain a particle-a word that looks like preposition but is actually part of the meaning of the verb---e.g.,

up, find out, give up, blow lip ( explode), put up with. It is perall right-sometimes necessary-to end a formal sentence a particle: He had forgotten her telephone number and had to look it up. A verb + pmticle is sometimes called a phrasal verb.

A modifying word, phrase, or clause in the wrong place can make your sentence unclear, confusing, or unintentionally funny. (A well-known joke states, "Last night I shot an elephant in my pajamas. Why it was wearing my pajamas I'll never know!")

Misplaced modifiers

Place each modifier (word, phrase, or clause) as close as possible to the word it modifies:

Adverb:

Wrong: It was sad that the cousins almost lost all their savings in the swindle. [Almost lost means that they came close to losing but lost nothing.l

Right: It was sad that the cousins lost almost all their savings in the swindle.

This same caution applies to only, nearly, scarcely, hardly, just, and even: Only Sara heard the loon, Sara only heard the loon, and Sara heard only the loon all have different meanings.

Phrase:

Wrong: The Brewsters watched the President announce he would raise taxes on teleoision. [Will there be a tax on television?]

Right: The Brewsters watched the President announce on television that he would raise taxes.

Wi'ong: Buried a thousand feet under Yucatan, geologists have found traces of a huge crater. [Were the geologists buried?]

Right: Geologists have found traces of a huge crater buried a thousand feet under Yucatan.

Wrong: Nearing collapse, booing been idle for almost f0l1Y years, Charles and Cathy W1'ight bought the mill in 1992 and began restoration. [Were the Wrights near collapse and long idler]

Right: In 1992 Charles and Cathy Wright bought the mill, nearing collapse after lying idle forforty years, and began restoration.

Note: You may separate a phrase from the word it modifies there is no possibility of a misreading: Tiffany left the party shortly after midnight, filled with curiosity about the man she had just met. [The phrase following the comma clearly refers

Clause:

Wrong: Latoya drove to the street on the map that she bad found. [Did Latoya find the map?]

Right: Latoya drove to the street that she had found on the map.

Wro1lg: The opening of the town's new recreation center for youngsters, with its pool and basketball court, began to overcome the lure of violent television shows and computer games, wbicb pleased many parents. [Did the violent shows and games please the parents?]

Right: The opening of the town's new recreation center for youngsters, with its pool and basketball court, pleased many parents as it began to overcome the lure of violent television shows and computer games.

Avoid "squinting" modifiers. A squinter comes between two words so that the reader cannot tell to which word it refers:

Wi'ong: He promised immediately to repay the money. [This can have either of the two meanings below.l

Right: He immediately promised to repay the money. Right: He promised to repay the money immediately.

Wrong: A coalition of groups concerned about the statewide rise in home foreclosures last month urged the governor to create a $100 million dollar fund to address the issue. [Which happened last month-the rise or the urging?] Right: Last month a coalition of groups ... urged .... Right (other meaning): A coalition of groups concerned about last month 's rise in home foreclosures ....

Be sure your modifiers modify only what you want them to, especially with negatives, with possessives, and before and:

Wrong: It was not her first arrest, as sbe bad told the kuoyer. [Had she told the lawyer that it was her first arrest, or that it was not?]

Right: As sbe bad told the lauiyer; it was not her first arrest. Right (other meaning): It was not her first arrest, tbougb sbe bad told the lawyer it was.

Wrong (printed on a medication box): Attention pharmacist----clispense contents with the enclosed patient's instructions for use. [Was the patient enclosed in the box?]

Right: Attention pharmacist----clispense contents with the enclosed instructions for patient's use. [The instructions are enclosed.]

Wrong: The school office was crowded with late students and teachers. [Were only the students late, or both teachers and students?]

Right: The school office was crowded with teachers and late students. [Only the students were late.]

Right (other meaning): The school office was crowded with students and teachers, all late.

Dangling Modifiers

A modifying phrase is said to dangle when it cannot logically modify any word in the sentence: Walking down the stairs, an exit sign caught Pat's eye. The

Wrong: Prices of some train tickets are higher than planes. [illogically compares prices

with planes]

Right: Prices of some train tickets are higher than those of planes. [Those stands for prices; the sentence now compares prices with prices.]

Wrong: Matthew visits his father more than his sister. [Who visits whom?]

Right: Matthew visits his father more than he visits his sister.

Right (other meaning): Matthew visits his father more than bis sister does.

structure of this sentence (ridiculously) has the sign walking down the stairs, since sign is the nearest noun to the phrase. The sentence should read Walking down the stairs, Pat caught sight of an exit sign.

Correct a dangler in any of the ways shown below.

Wrong: The test was so easy.

Right: The test was so easy that eoeryone passed.

Dangling participle:

Wrong: Sweeping to uictory in the Septemberprimary, election in November seemed assured. [Who swept? The nearest noun to the phrase should name the person who swept.]

Right: Sweeping to oictory in tbe Septemberprimary, Bates felt assured of his election in November. [name of person who swept, Bates, put nearest to phrase]

Right: When Bates swept to oictory in the September primal)" his election in November seemed assured. [phrase expanded into clause naming person who swept]

Wrong: His hair was shaggier than an ape. [Sentence compares hair with ape. Items compared must be of the same kind.l

Right: His hair was shaggier than that of an ape. [That stands for hair; sentence now compares hair with hair.l

Right: His hair was shaggier than an ape's [an ape's hair]. [Do not forget the apostrophe.]

Wrong: Jupiter is larger than any planet in the solar system. [Since Jupiter is included in the solar system, you are saying that Jupiter is larger than itself.]

Right: Jupiter is larger than any other planet in the solar system.

Right: Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system.

Possessives do not count as the "nearest noun":

Wi'Ollg: Sweeping to oictory in tbe primary, Bates's election in November seemed assured.

Right: See above.

Dangling gerund:

Wrong: After baroesting tbe crops, a truck hauled them to market. [Did the truck harvest the crops?]

Right: After baroesting tbe crops, the farmer trucked them to market.

Right: After the farmer harvested tbe crops, she trucked them to market.

Dangling infinitive:

Wrong: To appreciate tbe play, a good seat is needed. [Who is appreciating the play? Not the seat.l

Wrong: To appreciate the play, the box office needs to give you a good seat. [Is the box office appreciating the play?]

Right: To appreciate tbe play, you need a good seat. [You are the appreciator.] OR To appreciate tbe play, get a good seat. [You is the understood subject of get.]

You have already learned to avoid illogical shifts in person and number (Agreement: 126-127, pages 21-23) and in verb tense or mood (118B, D, pages 12-13). Also avoid illogical shifts in your focus within a sentence, such as from one subject or one verb form to another:

Wrong: As the customers poured through the doors, bins filled with bargains could be seen. [Poured is active voice; could be seen, passive. Also, subject shifts confusingly from customers to bins.]

Right: As the customers poured through the doors, they could see bins filled with bargains.

Dangling elliptical clause. An elliptical clause is one from which the subject and all or part of the verb have been dropped as understood.

Full clause: When I was skiing in Utah Elliptical clause: When skiing in Utah

Wrong: Math scores are creeping up, but reading scores have not. [The omitted second verb must be the same

as the first verb (creeping), but have not creeping

makes no sense.]

Right: Math scores are creeping up, but reading scores are not. [are not creeping]

Right: Math scores have crept up, but reading scores have not. [have not crept]

Use an elliptical clause only when its (understood) subject is the same as the subject of the following clause: When I-wtts skiing in Utah, I made a lifelong friend. (I is the subject of both clauses.)

Wi'Ollg: While on the wrestling team, Leo's dog came along to practices. [Was the dog on the team?]

Right (subject of second clause made same as understood subject): While on the wrestling team, Leo took his dog along to practices.

Right (subject and verb of first clause restored):

While Leo was on the wrestling team, he took his dog along to practices.

When finishing a sentence, keep in mind how you began it. All its parts must fit together both grammatically and logically.

Be sure that your subject, verb, and other sentence parts make sense together:

Wrong: The milk container, left in the sun too long, bad gone sour. [The container did not go sour; the milk did.l

Right: The milk, left in the sun too long, had gone sour.

Wi'Ollg: The car sueroed the corner on two wheels. [Swerved does not take an object.]

Right: The car swerved around tbe corner on two wheels.

Wrong: Municipal Stadium was renamed Hyundai Field, a Korean auto company. [Company does not = field) Right: Municipal Stadium was renamed Hyundai Field, for a Korean auto company.

Wrong: Because the Democrats control the state legislature gives them the power to appoint judges. [The subject must tell what gives power, but the Because clause (in the subject position) is only adverbial, telling why.]

Right: The Democrats' control [noun as subject] of the state legislature gives them the power to appoint judges. Right: Because the Democrats control the state legislature, they have the power to appoint judges. [Because clause subordinated; they becomes subject of main clause.l

Do not mix indirect- and direct-question word order:

Wrong: She asked when did tbey leave. [direct-question word order in indirect question]

Right: She asked uiben they had left. [indirect question] Right: She asked, "When did tbey leave?" [direct question]

For more on indirect questions, see 204A, page 34.

When saying that one thing is or means another, be sure that both things are grammatically and logically equal (=):

Wro1lg: Her favorite pastime was at the movies. [Pastime does not = place; a pastime is not a place.l

Right: Her favorite pastime was going to the movies. [Pastime = pastime.]

Wrong: Angioplasty is uiben [or is where] a tiny balloon is inserted into an artery. [When and uibere refer to time and place, but angioplasty is a procedure, not a time or place.] Right: Angioplasty [procedure] is the tnsertion [procedure] of a tiny balloon into an artery, [Procedure = procedure]

Wro1lg: If be is found guilty [adverb clause] means that he will go to prison [noun clause].

Right: A guilty verdict [noun] will mean that he will go to prison [noun clause].

Right (a different approach-first clause subordinated): If he is found gUilty, he will go to prison.

See reason is because in 401A, page 51.

Wrong: At the arena, sellouts of fifteen thousand, common before the gambling scandals, were now only three or four thousand. [Sellouts (fifteen thousand) do not = three or four thousand.]

Right: Crowds that had commonly sold out the fifteen-thousand-seat arena before the gambling scandals now shrank to only three orfour thousand. [Crowds = crowds.l

A long prepositional phrase or a series of prepositional phrases:

In tbe aftermath of tbe scandal, the director resigned.

Unless clarity demands one, you do not need a comma after one short introductory prepositional phrase: After the scandal the director resigned.

A verbal phrase (infinitive, gerund, or participial):

To obtain financial aid, you must complete a long application.

By applying early, you can expect a fast response. Swamped witb last-minute applications, the aid office fell behind.

Without punctuation, much of our writing would be hard to comprehend. Punctuation marks keep our writing clear by separating words or ideas, by grouping them, or by emphasizing them.

Keep track of your overall structure, especially in a longer sentence:

W1'Ong: In 1947 the color barrier in baseball was broken and the Brooklyn Dodgers promoted Jackie Robinson to ' the parent club. [Passive and active voices are mixed· the and makes event 2 seem to follow event 1, but in reality event 2 caused event 1.]

Right: In 1947 the Brooklyn Dodgers broke the color barrier in baseball by promoting Jackie Robinson to the parent club.

Wrong: Little did anyone think that the advent of Jackie Robinson would have such a revolutionary effect on the major leagues since the inception of league play in 1871. [Sucb a expresses degree, but since expresses time; the two make no sense together.]

Right: Little did anyone think that the advent of Jackie Robinson would have tbe most revolutionary effect on the major leagues since the inception of league play in 1871. [The most ... since 1871 compares events of two times.l

Misuse of the comma is the most common punctuation fault. To avoid comma calamities, follow the rules below-and work on developing a good ear for spoken pauses and stops. Commas usually (though not always) match oral pauses.

'lAic1lU~'t:Ij. When two independent clauses are joined by and, but, or, nor, for, yet, or so (a coordinating conjunction), put a comma at the end of the first clause:

The road work was finished by nightfall, and traffic was soon flowing smoothly again.

The work had been scheduled for completion by noon, but heavy morning rains delayed it.

Rains may return tomorrow, or the sun may break through.

However, do not use a comma

• Generally, if there is no full clause (subject + verb) after the conjunction:

Wrong: They voted on the bill Monday, and adjourned Tuesday.

Right: They voted on the bill Monday and adjourned Tuesday.

• After the conjunction:

Wrong: They voted on the bill Monday but, it was defeated.

Right: They voted on the bill Monday, but it was defeated.

• Between very short independent clauses:

Right: He lies and she cheats.

• Between independent clauses not joined by a coordinating conjunction (use a semicolon instead):

Wrong: The starting gun sounded, the crowd roared. [This is a comma splice, a serious error. See 129B, page 26.]

Right: The starting gun sounded; the crowd roared.

An introductory adverb clause:

Because tbe ozone layer was tbinning, skin cancer incidence began to rise.

Wben my parents retire from teaching, they plan to move to Florida.

Note: When the adverb clause follows the independent you usually do not need a comma: My parents plan to move Florida when they retire from teaching. (See 201F note,

on because

An infinitive or gerund phrase used as the subject of a sentence is not an introductory element. Do not set it off:

To obtain financial aid was her goal. Submitting tbe application early is a good idea.

An adverb or phrase applying to the whole following clause, not just to the verb:

Oddly, the newlyweds went to Greenland on their honeymoon. [Oddly describes not how the newlyweds went but the writer's attitude toward the whole statement.]

Without a doubt, they did not realize what they were doing.

For hopefully, see 402C, page 53.

Use commas to separate words, phrases, or clauses in a series of three or more:

Words: They considered Hawaii, Cancun, Rio, and Jamaica for their honeymoon.

Phrases: The bikers roared through tbe park, down tbe main street, and into tbe Capitol parking lot.

Clauses: The stock market declined, interest rates rose, and real estate values tumbled. Financial analysts wondered wby all tbis bad occurred, uibetber tbe market would rebound, and iobat might happen in coming years.

Some writers omit the comma before the final and or a series. Including this comma, however, ensures clarity.

Use a comma before etc. at the end of a series: pork, (See etc., 401A, page 50; 402C, page 53.)

Do not use a comma

• With only two items: She sought peace and quiet.

• If you repeat and or or between each two items: She sought peace and quiet and solitude.

• Before the first item or after the last:

Wrong: She sought, peace, quiet, and solitude. Right: She sought peace, quiet, and solitude.

Wrong: Peace, quiet, and solitude, proved elusive. Right: Peace, quiet, and solitude proved elusive.

In a series of two or more, use commas to separate adjectives of the same kind and importance. Think of the commas as substitutes for and: a cold and blustery and miserable day = a cold, blustery, miserable day [no comma follows the last adjective]:

Hefty, expensive textbooks are not always the best. Too much fried, fatty, greasy food harms one's health.

Do not use commas between modifiers that are not coordinate (that is, the commas are not substituting for and):

• If a modifier describes the following adjective(s) rather than the noun: a bright orange vest [bright is describing orange, not vest].

• If the last adjective is considered part of the noun: a tall pine tree [pine tree is really one item; tall is modifying pine tree].

• If the adjectives are of different kinds; see 120D, page 15.

"",,.Vi",,. These are words or word groups that interrupt the main flow of thought in a sentence but are not necessary to the sentence; they can be removed from the sentence without changing its essential meaning. Set such expressions off with a pair of commas, which act almost like parentheses:

They were, in my opinion, not guilty.

The jury, on tbe other band, convicted them all. The judge, moreooer, smiled at the verdict.

It is unfortunate, to be sure. [Notice the great difference in meaning from It is unfortunate to be sure.]

Some other common parenthetical expressions:

as a matter of fact to tell the truth

incidentally

in the first place

by the way of course

Conjunctive adverbs within a clause, such as however, therefore, and nevertheless, are punctuated as parenthetical:

One senator, boueuer, remained unconvinced. The others, neoertbeless, voted yes.

You may choose not to set off perhaps, likewise, at therefore, thus, and certain similar expressions in where you feel they do not intenupt your thought flow:

Right: It was, perhaps, just an oversight. Also right: It was perhaps just an oversight.

Nonessential clauses. Put commas around clauses that are not essential to the meaning of the sentence (think of them as parenthetical expressions):

Soccer, uibicl: Europeans call football, is growing more popular in the United States.

One large donation to our AIDS fund came from Allison, uibo lost a friend to tbe disease.

Explanation: Without the italicized clauses, the above sentences say

Soccer is growing more popular in the United States. One large donation to our AIDS fund came from Allison.

Do we still know which sport is growing and which woman donated? Yes: soccer and Allison. Thus the italicized clauses are not essential, only parenthetical; like any other parenthetical expressions (see 201E above), they must be set off within commas.

Essential (restrictive) clauses. Omit commas around clauses that are essential to the meaning of the sentence:

The sport tbat Europeans call football is growing more popular in the United States.

One large donation to our AIDS fund came from a woman uibo lost a friend to tbe disease.

Explanation: Without the italicized clauses, the above sentences say

The sport is growing more popular in the United States. One large donation to our AIDS fund came from a woman.

Do we still know which sport is growing and which woman donated? No. Without those italicized clauses, the sentences can refer to any sport and any woman. Thus those clauses give essential, not merely parenthetical, information. They restrict the meaning of sport and woman; they answer the question "which one?"

Remember: Nonessential ~ commas

Essential ~ no commas

The that-test. One easy way to tell whether a clause is essential is to use the that-test. Adjective clauses beginning with that are always essential; so are clauses beginning with a who or which that can be changed to that and still sound right:

Essential' One large donation to our AIDS fund came from a woman lObo [or tbat] lost a friend to tbe disease. [That sounds right.]

Nonessential' One large donation to our AIDS fund came from Allison, uho [but not tbat] lost a friend to tbe disease. [That sounds wrong.]

In U.S. usage, that is generally preferred over which to an essential clause: The team that (rather than which) fifth will miss the playoffs.

Note: A because clause containing your point of emphasis is essential:

The flag has thitteen stripes because they represent tbe original tbtrteen states. [emphasizes the reason; answers the question "Why does the flag have thirteen stripes?"]

A because clause giving merely incidental information is I nonessential:

The flag has thirteen stripes, because they represent tbe original thirteen states. [answers the question "How many stripes does the flag have?" The reason is only incidental.]

Nonessential phrases. Follow the principle for nonessential clauses (see above):

Nonessential' The governor, waving tbe state flag, led the parade.

Essential' A man waving tbe state flag led the parade.

Nonessential: Significantly more progress was made by the control group, composed of 'fiue-year-olds.

Essential' Significantly more progress was made by the group composed of 'ftce-year-olds.

Nonessential appositives. Most appositives are nonessential, needing commas:

The new marketing analyst, Tina Cetraro, gave the keynote speech.

She spoke before 2,100 students, a record attendance. Elaine Chu's first novel, Murder on Mount Monroe, sold quite well.

However, some appositives give essential information, answering "which one?"; they take no commas:

The marketing analyst Tina Cerraro gave the keynote speech. [needed to tell which marketing analyst]

Elaine Chu's novel Murder on Mount Monroe sold quite well. [tells which of her novels]

Controlling your meaning. You control the meaning of your sentences when you use or omit commas, signaling nonessential or essential information:

Nonessential: His sister, Paula, earned a ph.D. [Commas show that we do not need to know the sister's name; thus he must have only one sister.l

Essential: His sister Paula earned a ph.D. [Omission of commas shows that Paula's name is essential, needed to identify which sister; thus he must have more than one sister']

tl

Nonessential: Her friends, who live nearby, worried about her. [All her friends worried about her (and they all live nearby).]

Essential: Her friends who live nearby worried about her. [Only some of her friends worried about her-the ones who live nearby.l

Nonessential: Students, required to use the distant parking lot, are protesting to the dean. [All students are protesting (they all must use the distant 100,] Essential: Students required to use the distant parking lot are protesting to the dean. [Only certain students are protesting-those who must use the distant lot.l

See 202A below for other examples of how commas change meaning.

';'''''''_',u' (see 124B, page 19, for definition) The ATil1 baoing kept bis card, Finch had no cash. Shaunelle, bel' confidence restored, awaited the interview.

Tell us, Marlene, what solution you propose. Mr. President, may we quote you on that?

Yes, these lines imply the poet's fear of death. (expressions of less than strong

emotion):

Well, I think it could use more sauce. Ob, just put it down anywhere.

Note: Strong interjections take exclamation points: back with my purse. See 208, page 35.

Generally, use a comma to set off a direct quotation (someone's exact words) from words that precede, follow, or interrupt it.

"You can't always get what you want," says the song. "This," said Miss Marple, "is the final clue."

Punctuation of quotations is treated fully in 215-219, pages 38-39.

She excelled in many sports, particulariy track,

On weekends we offer several courses, such as Biology 101 and Music 210, for nontraditional students.

The class meets in Room 302, not 202.

Some such as phrases are essential, taking no co such as this are rare.

to prevent misreading. Omitting or misplacing needed commas can muddle or change your intended meaning:

By leaving Nora Helmer gained freedom. [unclear who left] By leaving, Nora Helmer gained freedom. [Nora Ieft.l

By leaving Nora, Helmer gained freedom. [Mr. Helmer left.I

The Democrats said the Republicans were incompetent. [Republicans are incompetent.]

The Democrats, said the Republicans, were incompetent. [Democrats are incompetent.]

Last month the Mortons took their third cruise to the Caribbean on the Atlantic Princess. [All three cruises were on that ship.]

Last month the Mortons took their third cruise to the Caribbean, on the Atlantic Princess. [Not all cruises were on that ship']

The President's primary concern was to soothe the radicals in Congress who were clamoring for war without further delay. [Some radicals wanted war without delay.]

The President's primary concern was to soothe the radicals in Congress, who were clamoring for war, without further delay. [All the radicals wanted war; the President wanted

to soothe them without delay.l .

Stein's last trip to Little Rock in 200S helped settle the lawsuit. [Stein made several trips to Little Rock in 200S.]

Stein's last trip to Little Rock, in 200S, helped settle the lawsuit. [Stein made several trips to Little Rock; the last was in 200S.]

Stein's last trip, to Little Rock in 200S, helped settle the lawsuit. [Stein made trips to several places; the last was to Little Rock in 200S.]

See also 20m, F, page 32.

structures such as

Walter was her first husband; Taylor, her second. [or, less formally, Walter was her first husband, Taylor bersecond.i

The campus is safe after dark, isn't it?

After the greeting of a friendly letter: Dear Frank,

Use a colon in a business letter: Dear M,: Coe:

After the complimentary close in all letters: Very truly yours,

In a month-day-year date, place the year within commas, as if it were parenthetical. Do the same with the state or country in an address:

In Skokie, Illinois, on July 4, 2008, they were married.

Do not use a comma in a month-year or a iav-montn-vear or between a state and a ZIP code: May 2009; 6 June AZ 85032.

Wrong: Many reference books, are now on computer disks. Right: Many reference books are now on computer disks.

Wrong: Municipal bonds prouide, tax-free income. Right: Municipal bonds prooide tax-free income.

Wrong: A water main has burst, the street is closed. [This error is called a comma splice; see 129B, page 26.]

Ellipsis (the intentional omission of words) in a quoted passage. Retain necessary punctuation preceding the ellipsis:

George V. Higgins has written, "I think the only way to find out whether the story in your mind is any good is to sit down by yourself and try to put all of it on paper .... If the story interests you enough, ... it will interest other people."

The first of the four periods after paper signals the end of the sentence. Follow this practice whether the omission is before or after such a period.

If both you and the original author have used spaced periods, enclose your ellipsis in brackets. See example in 215F, page 38.

You testified earlier-do you recall?-that you didn't know him.

You met him at a party? [A question may be in declarative-sentence form; the question mark signals the tone in which it would be spoken.l

For use of the question mark in quotations, see 218C, page 39; in titles, see 205 above.

But do not use a period

• If the number or letter is within parentheses: (1), (a)

• lithe number is part of a title: Chapter 4

Join independent clauses with and, but, 01; n01; j01; yet, so (conjunctions), or a semicolon:

Right: A water main has burst, and the street is closed. Right: A water main has burst; the street is closed.

in

Do not overload your sentences with commas. Use only those necessary for clarity, pace, or emphasis.

Wrong: Today, just before noon, the new President, and his entourage, will appear in the doorway of the Capitol, to the strains of "Hail to the Chief," and process toward the Inaugural platform, to begin a new administration, with the good wishes of the nation. [eight commas]

Right: Today just before noonl.] the new President and his entourage will appear in the doorway of the Capitol to the strains of "Hail to the Chief" and process toward the Inaugural platform to begin a new administration[,] with the good wishes of the nation. [no commas, or perhaps one or two]

Pause, hesitation, and the like in dialogue and interrupted narrative (do not overuse this device):

This room. Yes, this room .... You was it you? ...

were going out to look for something The tree of

knowledge, wasn't it?

-J. M. Barrie

A nonsentence is a legitimate unit of expression lacking subject + verb. It is found mostly in dialogue.

A greeting: Good evening.

A mild exclamation not within a sentence:

The party is at Sutter's tonight. [declarative sentence] Be there by nine .. [imperative sentence]

I'll ask Carla how she's getting there. [indirect question (a statement about a question); the direct question is "Carla, how are you getting there?"]

An answer to a question: Will you accept? Perhaps.

Oh.

Darn.

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

You may write Ms. either with or without a period, so as you are consistent. Miss never takes a period.

Note: A nonsentence is a correct expression. A fragment (a similar structure unintentionally lacking subject + verb) is an error. Fragments are explained in 129A, page 26.

Do not use a period with

• Many well-known sets of initials: IBM, FBI, NBC,

NASA, UN, YWCA, CD-ROM

• Postal abbreviations of states: MI, AZ, OR

• Radio and television stations: WSQK

• Money in even-dollar denominations: $40

• Contractions: ass'n, sec'y (for association, secretary.

They may also be written as abbreviations: assn., secy.)

• Ordinal numbers: 5th, 2nd, Henry VIII

• Nicknames: Rob, Pat, Sid, Pam

• Common shortened terms: memo, math, exam, lab, gym (All these terms are colloquial; use the full words in formal writing.)

after a title at the head of a paper, even if that title is a sentence:

The Prospects for National Electoral Reform The Electoral System Can Be Reformed

Do, however, use a question mark or exclamation point where appropriate in a title: Can Electoral Reform Succeed?

1. Major stringed instruments A. Violin

B.Cello

Did you get a call? When? From whom? It was from Mr. Ward, wasn't it?

Joan of Arc was born in 1412(?) and died in 1431.

(see 204A, page 34, for

definition)

Senator Henry asked what the program would cost.

Would you please sign the enclosed papers.

Wrong: That purple suit shows his exquisite(?) taste.

The words alone should suffice.

after a strong interjection, an emphatic sentence, or an emphatic expression:

Never! He has a gun!

How gross! What a night!

For use of the exclamation point in titles, see 205 above. For its use in quotations, see 218C, page 39.

The exclamation point is a strong signal, but it loses its effect if overused. Except in quoted dialogue, reserve the exclamation point mostly for expressions that begin with what or how (and are not questions). Elsewhere, use the less dramatic comma or period:

What a fool I was! Why, I never knew that.

Wrong: That's a lie!!! [One 1 is sufficient.l Wi'ollg: You failed again?! [Use either? or I.]

The semicolon signals a greater break in thought than the comma but a lesser break than the period. It is, however, closer to a period than to a comma in most of its uses and is often interchangeable with the period. The semicolon can give your writing a formal tone, as the examples below suggest.

Commercial architects of the 1950s and 1960s designed huge, unadorned glass boxes; the Lever House in Manhattan is a landmark of this style.

The semicolon is particularly effective for showing balance or contrast between two clauses:

The woods abound with wildlife; the lakes teem with fish. Freshmen think they know nothing; sophomores know they know everything.

Clauses a

(therefore, however; nevertheless, thus, moreover; also, besides, consequently, meanwhile, otherwise, then.furthermore, likewise, infact, still):

Most computer printers use ink efficiently; boueoer, some older ones consume it too quickly.

Some printers perform multiple tasks, including copying and faxing; consequently, they may need more frequent repair.

Even when the conjunctive adverb drifts into the second clause, the semicolon stays put between the clauses:

Most computer printers use ink efficiently; some older ones, boueoer, consume it too quickly.

Other Commas

Between independent clauses containing internal commas:

Today we take for granted automobile safety equipment such as air bags, collapsible steering columns, and antilock brakes; yet sixty years ago cars were not required even to have directional signals, seat belts, or outside rearview minors. [The semicolon marks the break between the independent clauses more clearly than another comma would.l

In a series, between items containing internal commas:

The new officers are Verna Brooks, chairperson; Pedro Lopez, social director; Sam Lee, treasurer; and Sharon Grady, secretary,

Possessive nouns show "belonging to." If your cousin has (possesses) a new laptop, we say it is your cousin's laptop; it belongs to her. Cousin's is a possessive noun. An apostrophe and a final s sound are the signals of possession.

To tell whether a noun is possessive, try saying it at the end of an of phrase. For example, which is correct: the teacher house, the teachers house, or the teacher's house? Say to yourself the house of the teacher: If that is what you mean, then teacher is possessive and the teacher's house is correct.

211A. Nouns. To make a singular noun possessive,

adds's: a girl's coat [the coat of a girl], Mr. Bates's dog [the dog of Mr. Bates], Ms. Audi's cats, an eagle's nest, a person's legal right, a fox's bushy tail, the class's record.

Exception: Omit the s on many classical and Biblical names that already end in s: Ulysses' travels, Sophocles' irony, Jesus' teachings.

Note: Some authorities favor not adding the s to any that already end in s: Mr. Bates' dog, the class' Whichever style you choose, be consistent.

211B. Plural Nouns. Since most plurals already end in s, add only an apostrophe to make them possessive: the two girls' coats [the coats of the two girls], the Bateses' dog [the dog of the Bateses], the Audis' cats, all the eagles' nests, a girls' school, six foxes' bushy tails, both classes' performance, For the few plurals that do not end in s, use's: women's rights [the rights of women], the people's voice, the geese's flight.

Caution: Do not mistake ordinary plural nouns (The cats are fed. I know the Audis) or verbs ending in s (She runs fast) for possessives. See 2pB, page 37.

211C. Before Just as

you would say Kirsch's action shocked everyone, say Kirsch's quitting shocked everyone and We were shocked by Kirsch's quitting without notice. Other examples: The UN protested the rebels' constant firing upon the refugees. The townspeople were opposed to the tavern's staying open all night.

But if the possessive sounds awkward (as when modifiers follow it), omit it: The townspeople were opposed to the tavern that played loud music staying open all night.

2nD.

Joint vs. individual possession: If two or more nouns possess something jointly, only the last noun gets an apostrophe:

Jennifer and Rod's new baby is a girl.

If each noun possesses a separate thing, each noun gets its own apostrophe:

Jennifer's and Maria's babies are both girls.

Hyphenated words: Add the apostrophe to the last word only:

Her brotber-in-lau/s job was eliminated.

Possessive pronouns can be confusing. Possessive indefinite and reciprocal pronouns take an apostrophe, just like nouns: anybody's, someone's, each other's, one another's, someone else's, everybody else's ... (see 121D, page 16, for a full list). But possessive personal pronouns never take an apostrophe: his, hers, its, ours, yours, theirs; nor does whose. Its and whose, particularly, cause problems because they look much like the contractions for it is and who is (see 212A and 213A, page 37; 122F, page 18; and 404, pages 54-59).

36

l

I

it

The question mark and the exclamation point go inside the parentheses if the mark belongs to the parenthetical element; otherwise, they go outside:

The book mentions Mechthild of Magdeburg (died 1282?). Have you read much of Samuel Butler (died 1680)?

Sid asked me to lend him fifty dollars (what nerve!).

Instead draw a line through the

deleted words:

Wrong: SUMWler OlyWlPiGs were held ~n (2-00~\ 2-008. Right: SUMWler OlyWlPiGs were held in ~ 2-008.

Use brackets for this purpose; see 225A and 225A note below.

In his autobiography Foster Fenwick declares, "I discovered the wonder drug Flossicam while puttering in my lab in 2006 [the AMA disputes this claim] and tested it rigorously before applying for a patent."

Some newspapers use parentheses instead of '-',,'''''''_'0. not follow their style.

See 215F, page 38, for use of brackets with ellipses in quotations. Sic is Latin for "thus it is." Use it to show that an error in material you are quoting is not yours but the original writer's:

"Police have been questioning the principle [sic] suspect for days," the local newspaper stated.

JUAN [striding to the door]: Someone must help them.

Steps in applying (Iabeled l-? [pages 4a--4d] on your list) must be followed in sequence.

Wherever possible, avoid such complication by recasting the sentence:

In applying, follow steps labeled 1-7 (pages 4a--4d) in sequence.

sister-in-law

will-o' -the-wisp

Scotch-Irish

A good dictionary will show which compounds are hyphenated. Generally, if the compound is not in the dictionary, write it as two words, with no hyphen: tree trunk.

before

a noun:

a well-known author late-model cars fifty-dollar bill

a now-you-see-me-now-you-don't office presence cat-and-mouse game

Ordinarily, do not hyphenate such words when they do not precede nouns:

Hanley is well known. It was a game of cat and mouse.

Do not use a hyphen between an -Iy adverb and an adjective: freshly baked bread [notfi'esbly-baked bread].

With a series of hyphenated modifiers, omit the part after the hyphen until the last item: The drawer contained ten-, twenty-, and fifty-dollar bills.

thirty - three

four- fifths

ninety-eighth

Additional words in the number take no hyphen:

four hundred twenty-five

five twenty-fourths

See 305-307, pages 45-46, for complete numberwriting rules.

Hyphenate a compound adjective containing a number:

ten-year-old boy hundred-yard dash

two- and three-room apartments

forty-hour week ten-dollar bill

Wrong: Amy was the third prize ioinner. [tbird winner or third prize?]

Right: Amy was the tbird prize-winner. [third person to win a prize]

Right: Amy was the third-prize winner. [winner of the prize for third place]

Wmllg: Dr. Doris Wettheim, an adolescent disease specialist at Municipal Hospital, diagnosed Lucy's condition as treatable with antibiotics. [Was the doctor a teenager?]

Right: Dr. Doris Weltheim, an adolescent-disease specialist at Municipal Hospital, diagnosed Lucy's condition ....

Observe the difference within each pair:

a great grandfather [a grandfather who is admired] a great-grandfather [a grandfather'S father]

an unfinished furniture store [a furniture store not fully built] an unfinished-furniture store [a store selling unpainted furniture]

more recent films [additional recent films] more-recent films [films made more recently]

226E. With

ex-manager self-pity

all-county Mayor-elect Bobbs

Secretary-designate Reynolds

When adding most other prefixes or suffixes or combining short roots, do not hyphenate: cooperate, couiorleer; antiterrorist, nonunion, semiliterate, bimonthly, multinational, citywide. But keep the hyphen where

• the root is capitalized: anti-American, Europe-wide

• ambiguity could result: recover [to get back] vs. re-cover [to cover again]; recreation [enjoyable activity] vs. re-creation [creating again]

• awkwardness would result: semi-independent, to avoid an awkward double i.

"It's her time for b-e-d," the child's mother said. "It's c-c-cold in h-here," he stammered.

226G,

Divide

End

example, see line I below the heading in the next column.

Note: Put the hyphen at the end of the first line, never at the beginning of the second line. Do not guess where a word should divide; consult your dictionary. See 304, more details on word division.

Our written language requires attention to several types of details, such as capitalization and number form, that spoken language does not. Such kinds of details are called mechanics. Your attention to the mechanics of writing, including spelling, signals your reader that you are a careful writer, concerned about your paper's readability and clarity.*

sentences:

The salesperson promised, "This car will absolutely never give you trouble."

The slash used in writing is the forward slash (I), not the backward slash (\).

including quoted

Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote in a sonnet, "If thou must love me, let it be for naught / Except for love's sake only." [Leave a space before and after the slash.l

For longer quotations of poetry, see 50lB, page 60.

But do not capitalize the first word of

An indirect quotation (paraphrase): The salesperson promised that the car uould never give me trouble.

A fragmentary quotation: The salesperson promised that the car would "absolutely never" give me trouble.

A sentence in parentheses within another sentence: The salesperson promised (he must have had his fingers crossed) that the car would never give me trouble.

This rule applies also between dashes; see 222B, page 40. (unless the poet

To reach Baltimore, take the Maryland Turnpike/Interstate 95 [alternative names for the same road).

Do not use a slash for a hyphen: St. Louis-Denver [not St. LouislDenver] flights. For and/or, see 402C, page 52.

has used lowercase [small] letters):

If thou must love me, let it be for naught Except for love's sake only.

For

$1.65/Ib. 5/8, xl2.

-Elizabeth Barrett Browning

When? Never. No, not you. Of course.

The debate centered on a vital question: Where is the borderline between individual freedom and national security?

Hemingway said it best: Courage is grace under pressure.

Use lowercase, however, for ordinary statements following colons:

There was a reason for his behavior: he was in love.

1. Qualities of good writing

A. Clarity

B. Conciseness ...

of a book, short story, film, play, article, chapter, song, and the like:

A Thousand Splendid Suns [book) "New Moves on the Colorado" [article)

Always capitalize the first and the last word. Capitalize all other words except

f)

*Other elements of mechanics are treated elsewhere: punctuation in Part 2, manuscript form in section 501.

Articles (a, an, the):

The Day of the Locust

Prepositions (on, in, to ••• ) and to in an infinitive:

Swimming in a Sea of Death

A Night to Remember

Coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or •.• ):

The Sound and the FUlY

Caution: Do not assume that all short words in titles are lowercased; short verbs and pronouns, for example, follow the capitalization rule: "Where Is My Love?"; Some Like It Hot.

Note: Some authorities favor capitalizing prepositions of five or more letters, such as about: Much Ado About Nothing.

Most authorities favor not capitalizing (or italicizing) the before a newspaper or magazine title: The story was in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Always capitalize the first word following a dash or colon in a title: Conquests and Cultures: An International HistOlY.

Capitalize the first and last words in the greeting, or salutation (My dearest Son), but only the first word in the complimentary close (Very truly yours).

To thee, 0 Lord, I pray.

(but not oh):

Why, oh why?

A proper noun, as distinguished from a common noun, is the name of a specific person, place, or thing: Milton, America, Eiffel Towel: (A proper adjective, made from a proper noun, is also capitalized: Miltonic, American.) Do not capitalize the before such nouns: the Ohio River; the Roman Empire, the Department of Commerce.

Proper NOlin Maria

Birmingham October

Flagler College Troy Lions Club

Common NOlin woman

city

month

school organization

Joyce Carol Oates Malaysian

Hispanic Buddhist

Navajo Flemish

Note: Most authorities, though not all, favor Im;VerCHSlnQ black, white, aborigine, and other racial Whichever style you choose, be consistent with all races.

(countries, states, cities, geographic sections; oceans, lakes, and other bodies of water; streets, buildings, rooms, parks, monuments, and so forth):

Slovenia

Arctic Ocean

South Main Street

New Mexico Pacific Rim Barr Building

Santa Barbara Room 67 Lake Huron

Prospect Park Vietnam Memorial

Lakes Erie and Huron (but the Mississippi and Missouri rivers)

Red Sox United Nations

Lutheran Church Red Cross

Republican Party Supreme Court

Board of Health y oho Ski Club Ace Tire Corp.

Hewlett Packard computers [Lowercase the product.]

Tuesday Labor Day

March Fourth of July

Easter Yom Kippur

Mother's Day Ramadan

God (but the gods) the Almighty the Virgin Allah

Note: The modern tendency is not to capitalize jJ"VllVUHO referring to the Deity except to avoid ambiguity: Trust ill Him.

May God shed his grace on you.

Civil War

Great Depression Magna Carta

Battle of Waterloo Renaissance

Civil Rights Act

But twentieth century, feminist movement, mysticism

Howard University Biology 101 [but see Department

303D below] of Music

Senior Class Ph.D.

Stars and Stripes Pulitzer Prize

EmmyAward Blue and Gold

North Star

Saturn

Big Dipper

Do not capitalize sun and moon unless they are personified (considered as persons). Do not capitalize earth unless it is personified or considered as one of the planets: The balloonists returned to Mother Earth. Venus and Mars are the closest to Earth.

U.S.S. Kitty Hawk

Silver Meteor

Endeavour

indicating time, divisions of government, letter equivalents of telephone numbers, call letters of radio and television stations, and certain other well-known letter combinations:

(unless they are part of proper nouns):

The fire department from an upstate county won the firefighting contest at the local high school.

The Mayfield Fire Brigade from Fulton County won the AllNortheast Firefighters' Contest at Northville High School.

B.C. [or B.C.E.] FBI

KDKA

1-800-SKI HERE AIDS

NBC

french fries china [dishes] roman numerals

TV

O.K. [or OK] A.D. [or C.E.]

Mother Nature Old Man Winter the hand of Death

She wanted to travel; he wanted to stay put.

Professor Janet Jordan Colonel Flagg

Chief Justice Roberts the Reverend Graham

"English 405," Ralph insisted, "will do wonders for your writing." [All quoted words are one sentence.]

"Take English 405," Ralph insisted. "It will do wonders for your writing." [It begins a new quoted sentence.l

Do not capitalize a title following a name unless the title shows very high national or international distinction:

Janet Jordan, professor of physics Elizabeth II, Queen of Great Britain

You may capitalize a title of very high distinction when used instead of the person's name. Be consistent in this usage:

The President greeted the Pope.

Capitalize an abbreviated title before or after a name:

the second part is a proper noun):

Thirty-fifth Avenue Mayor-elect Hirsch

Secretary-designate Rae Rand anti-American

is only part of a sentence):

Her courage was called "above and beyond duty."

(unless

Prof. Verna Clark, Ph.D.

Sen. Homer Page, Jr.

(use italics

instead):

Wrong: You were told NOT to go there. Right: You were told not to go there.

The trail led north by northwest.

But do capitalize such words when referring to sections of the nation or world (usually preceded by the):

States in the West and Southeast are gaining population. The Middle East's perspective differs from the West's.

cn.:;t!M.IUc> (unless personified):

The South is warm in winter, hot in summer. ... crown old Winter's head with flowers.

-Richard Crashaw

Work-such as section, preface, appendix, bibliography, page, chapter, act, scene, stanza-within sentences:

I read chapter 4 and checked the index and appendix.

In computer keyboarding, words that do not fit at the end of a typed line are automatically moved to the next line (see 501D, page 60). Nevertheless, you need to know word-division principles for other writing occasions, such as handwritten examinations or letters.

when they

follow a possessive noun or pronoun:

She is Jorge's aunt.

My father has just left.

But do capitalize when the family relationship is used as a title preceding a name or by itself as a name:

General principles: Avoid dividing any words if possible; try especially not to break words on two successive lines. When you must break a word, end the first part with a hyphen (made with one keyboard stroke [-] with no space before it). Do not have the hyphen begin the next line.

A good dictionary is your most reliable guide to hyphenation; remembering the following rules, however, will mean fewer trips to the dictionary.

Jorge greeted Aunt Julia.

Come back, Father.

(unless they are part of specific course titles or proper nouns):

The college offers courses in finance and marketing. The college offers Finance 101 and Marketing 203. [specific course titles]

Courses in Chinese and Japanese are also available. [proper nouns]

the first line to suggest the sound and meaning of the whole word: incen-diary. (better than in-cendiaryy, irregulat; change-able.

handbook, book-keeper, rattle-snake. If a compound word is already hyphenated, break it at an existing hyphen: sisterin-law, self-portrait, twenty-one-month lease.

thoughts, straight, clashed, twelfths, screeched

Wrong: a-part, dough-y

Right: apart, doughy

forty hours, sixty-three athletes, six hundred members, twenty-seventh floor

Some publishers use different styles, such as at 10.

a five-day week, a three-month-old baby, a two-bedroom apartment

one-tenth of the voters, tbree-fourtbs full

But use figures when a whole number precedes: Add 13/, cups of milk.

Four hundred fifty-two people attended the concert.

Never begin a sentence with a figure. If the number is a long one, rewrite the sentence to place the number elsewhere: Attendance at the concert was 1,287.

The conceit drew 452 people.

(However, never begin a sentence with a figure. See 305D above.)

Use commas to separate every set of three digits (except in serial, account, and telephone numbers; addresses; years in dates; and page numbers). Count from the right or from the decimal point:

- 1,287 copies A.D. 1066

$2,383,949.96 2258 Ocean Road

Write very large round numbers as follows:

two million

23 million

4.2 trillion

addresses; room numbers; telephone numbers; television and radio station numbers; chapter, page, and line numbers; serial numbers; decimals and percentages; route numbers; times; statistics; precise measurements:

May 10,2009 459-7245 67.6

Room 217 Route 66 5:02 a.m.

Giants 8, Bucs 7 98. 6°F

276 Fox Road chapter 7 Channel 6

8 percent 82 for; 47 against

6 by 3.2 inches [but six feet long]

Cautions:

• Do not use -st, -tli ... after figures in dates:

Wrong: March l Sth, 2010

Right: March 15,2010 [but thefifteenth of March]

• In formal writing, do not use the form 3/15/10 for a date.

• In writing a time, use figures with a.m. and p.m. and when emphasizing an exact time. Generally, use words otherwise:

3 p.m.

from 2:30 to 3:00 p.m. four o'clock

at 9:45 tomorrow the 8:02 train around half past five

Note: The times 12 a.m. and 12 p.m. can be confusing; is noon and which is midnight? Say 1I00n or midnight (and give both days that midnight separates): noon

midnight midnight June 3/4.

words and figures):

The control group's scores were 196, 57, 122, 10, and 43.

I earn ninety-floe dollars a day. I earn $95.50 a day.

I earn $310 a week. I won $40, $30, and $5 at the races. She won a million dollars. She won $6 million.

She won $6,889,346.

Abbreviations are intended mainly for limited spaces, such as signs, lists, and documentation. In ordinary sentence writing, avoid abbreviations except for those listed in 308.

MI:, Mrs., Ms., Dn, St. (saint), Messrs. (plural of Mr.), Mmes. (plural of Ms. or Mrs.) ... :

Mr. Mark Barber Mr. Barber

Mmes. Sakamoto and Murphy St. Teresa

Ms. Sakamoto Messrs. Barber andZito Rev. Hector Gomez Han. Ida Ives

especially as part of proper names:

Wrong: The Brooks Co. moved to Central Ave.

Right: The Brooks Company moved to Central Avenue.

except in names of firms and in American Psychological Association references-list entries:

Ways and Means Committee Brooks & Logan Corporation

For example, if you think of definition, you can be fairly sure that definite ends in -ite. Examine these pairs:

familiarity familiar stimulation stimulant
grammatical grammar audition audible
peculiarity peculiar symbolic symbol
regularity regular confidential confident
imagination imaginary existential existence
desperation desperate dispensation dispensable Exception: sensation-sensible, sensitive

Associate one word with another, find a word within a word, or make up jingles or nonsense sentences; such mnemonics can help you over the trouble spots in your problem words. Here are some examples:

Emma is in a dilemma.

She dented the superintendent'S CaJ:

Stationery is paper. A principle is a rule. I want a piece of pie.

I don't believe your lie.

Poor grammar will mar your writing. It is vile to have no privileges.

The villain owns a villa in Spain.

There is a rat in separate and in comparative. I have lice on my license!

There is iron in the environment. There is a meter in the cemetery. Tim has a great optimism.

With any professor, one F is enough.

Mentally group words with similar characteristics, such as two sets of double letters (accommodate, embarrass, possess) or three i's (optimistic, primitive) or names of occupations (author, censor, conductor, emperor, investor, sponsor, professor) or the three -ceed words (proceed, exceed, succeed-all other words ending in the same sound are spelled with -cede: recede, concede, intercede ... ; one exception: supersede).

You probably know the old jingle:

Put i before e except after c,

Or when sounded like a, as in neighbor and weigh.

That is, normally use ie:

achieve field niece
believe grief relieve
chief hygiene yield
friend mischief mischievous But write Reverend and Honorable in full if they follow the:

the Reverend Hector Gomez the Honorable Ida Ives

Abbreviate military and civil titles unless you use only the person's last name:

Lt. Col. Fabian Farley Sen. Clara Chisolm

Lieutenant Colonel Farley Senator Chisolm

See 509 introduction and 509B, pages 70-74, for APA style.

Wrong: The new psych. class is filled. Right: The new psychology class is filled.

Ramez Hourani, Sr., visited Barbara Bauer, D.D.S.

a.m.,

except in documentation (see 509, pages 70-74), tabulations, and technical writing.

p.m., B.C., A.D., No. (number), $:

9:30 a.m. A.D. 1054 325 B.C. No.97 $37.50

Do not use such abbreviations without a numeral:

Wrong: She arrived this a.m. Right: She arrived this morning.

To your reader, misspellings are the most obvious of writing errors-like gravy stains on your best shirt or blouse. Yet they are easy for you, the writer, to miss. Do not rely on computer spelling checkers; most cannot tell clam from calm or there from their. Rely on (1) checking a reputable dictionary when you are not sure, and (2) proofreading very carefully-more than just once or twice (see 506B, page 65).

Note: You may choose to write B.C.E. (before the common era) and C.E. (common era) instead of B.C. and A.D. (A.D. precedes the year; the others follow.) You may also choose to write any of these sets of initials without periods; ~~ ",,' style you use, be consistent.

i.e. (that is), viz. (namely), e.g. (jor example), cf. (compare), etc. (and so forth), vs. (versus).

Publishers tend to discourage the use of these abbreviations in the text of formal writing; you will do better to write out the English equivalents unless space is restricted (as in notes). Never write and etc.; it is redundant.

Look attentively at a word; then look away from it and try to see the printed word in your mind.

Say each word aloud, syllable by syllable, a number of times:

ath-let-ic ac-ci-den-tal-ly val-u-a-ble

quan-ti-ty di-sas-trous tem-per-a-ture

gov-ern-ment e-quip-ment min-i-a-ture

(usually without periods): CIA, NASA, NAACp, ABC, IBM. To be sure that your reader knows the meaning of such initials, give the full title at first mention, preferably followed by the initials in parentheses:

The American Automobile Association (AAA) is campaigning for more highway funds .... Officials of the AAA are optimistic.

Practice writing each word several times. Begin slowly and increase your speed until the correct form comes easily. You will need this drill to substitute correct spelling habits for faulty ones. Keep a corrected list of your misspelled words.

See 404, pages 54---59, for explanations of the following and many other such distinctions: to/too/two, their/there/they're, its/it's, your/you're, loosellose, whose! who's, affect/effect, accept/except.

Often you can determine whether to end a word with -er or -at; -ence or -ance, -able or -ible, and so forth, by thinking of a related form of the word where the vowel is clearly pronounced.

Wrollg: Calif. had a flood last Tues., Xmas Eve.

Right: California had a flood last Tuesday, Christmas Eve.

George [not Geo.] Washington slept here.

But after a c, use ei:

deceive perceive

receive receipt

ceiling conceive

Use ei also when the two letters sound like AY.·

freight weigh

neighbor sleigh

vein heir

Actually, ei is usual when the two letters have any sound other than EE: counterfeit, forfeit, foreign, height, neither (think NYE-ther, the British pronunciation), leisure (think British LEZZ-ure).

Exceptions to the ie rule:

After c: financier, society, species Other: protein, seize, weird

Drop a final silent e before a suffix beginning with a vowel (a, e, i, 0, u, and here, y):

write + ing = writing come + ing = coming love + able = lovable Exception: mileage

hope + ed = hoped fame + ous = famous scare + y = scary

But keep the e

After c and g (to keep a "soft" sound) before a suffix beginning with a or 0: notice/able, change/able, trace/able, courage/ous, outrage/ous, venge/ance.

To avoid confusion with other words: singe + ing = singe/ing (to avoid confusion with singing); dye + ing = dye/ing.

Be sure to keep the e when the suffix does not begin with a vowel: hopelful, love/less, lone/ly, safelty, state/ment, same/ness. Exceptions: judgment, argument, acknowledgment, truly, duly.

Change a final y to i before any suffix-

happy + ness = happiness busy + ly = busily

cry + ed = cried lady + es = ladies

-unless the suffix begins with i-

cry/ing

try/ing

baby/ish

bury/ing

-or a vowel precedes they:

chimney/s annoy/ed monkey/s

Exceptions: lay, laid; pay, paid; say, said.

Double a final consonant before a suffix beginning with a vowel (including y) if the original word

Ends in consonant-vowel-consonant (eve):

drop, drop/ping bat, bat/ter hum, hum/mable

And (if more than one syllable) is accented on the last syllable:

ocCUR

ocCUR/red

ocCUR/rence

reFER

reFER/red

reFER/ral

beGIN

beGIN/ning

beGIN/ner

Otherwise, do not double:

Not eve: droop/ing, preVAIL/ing, dent/ed

Not accented on last syllable: OFFer/ing, BENefit/ed, RECKon/ing

Note: If the accent jumps back to an earlier syllable when the suffix is added, do not double: conFER, CONfer/ence,' reFER, REFer/ence.

When adding prefixes or suffixes or combining roots, do not add or drop letters unless you know that one of the spelling rules applies or that the word is irregular (see 314, page 49):

Prefix + Root Root + Suffix Root + Root
dis/appear carefullly book/keeper
dis/satisfied immediate/ly grand/daughter
mis/spell comicallly
re/commend state/ment
un/necessary achieve/ment To form most plurals, add -S to the singular (toy, toys; dollar, dollars; Donna Remington, the Remingtons). The following generalizations cover most other plurals. Consult your dictionary in other cases or when in doubt.

when you say a plural: bush, bush/es; fox, fox/es; buzz, buzzles; church, church/es; class, class/es.

(see 311C above): sky, skies; liberty, liberties; penny; pennies; fly, flies; lady, ladies.

in the following and a few similar nouns: calf, calves; knife, knives; wife, wives; loaf, loaves; wharf, wharves; half, halves; life, lives; shelf, shelves,' wolf, wolves.

tomato, tomatoes; potato, potatoes; hero, heroes

With musical terms, with words having a vowel before the 0, and with most other singular nouns ending in 0, add just -S:

solo, solos radio, radios

piano, pianos studio, studios

alto, altos rodeo, rodeos

,-:\

ij

v

Consult a dictionary for other final-o word plurals.

With some words, you may use either -s or -es:

domino, dominos, dominoes zero, zeros, zeroes

basis, bases; synopsis, synopses; oasis, oases; hypothesis, hypotheses; thesis, theses; axis, axes; parenthesis, parentheses; analysis, analyses; crisis, crises; prosthesis, prostheses

With solid (unhyphenated) compounds, add the -s to the very end: cupfuls, mouthfuls. With hyphenated compounds, add the -s to the noun: fathers-in-law, passers-by.

alumnus, alumni (male); alumna, alumnae (female); stimulus, stimuli; stratum, strata; curriculum, curricula.

With many other such nouns, you may use either the foreign or English plural:

radius, radii or radiuses; stadium, stadia or stadiums; octopus, octopi or octopuses; index, indices

or indexes; appendix, appendices or appendixes; antenna, antennae [of insects] or antennas

[of electronic devices]; phenomenon, phenomena or phenomenons; criterion, criteria or criterions; vertebra, vertebrae or vertebras

Many of these use the foreign plural in scholarly or technical writing and the English plural in general writing. Your dictionary may specify when each should be used.

I Note: Remember that criteria, phenomena, and media are plurals and require plural verbs. Most authorities also consider data plural in formal English. For the singular, use body of data, or, if appropriate, database.

Optimistic has three i's. [not tbree is]

See 212B, page 37.

U'"'~""U"'" such as nite, lite, rite (for right), and thru, which occur mostly in product names. Do not use them elsewhere.

Some words have more than one correct spelling: programmer, programer; kidnapper; kidnaper; dialogue, dialog; catalogue,

catalog. When the dictionary lists two or more spellings, you are safer using the first, which is considered preferred. In U.S. writing, avoid British spellings, such as colma; centre.

Many bothersome spelling words have been explained in sections 310-313 above. Others-pairs of look-alikes or soundalikes, such as advice and advise-are clarified in 404, pages 54-59. Here are one hundred more "demons"; examine them closely:

absence excellent personally
acknowledge fascinating playwright
acquaintance fictitious prejudice
acquire forty prevalent
across fulfill primitive
adolescence guarantee procedure
all right guidance psychology
amateur hindrance pursue
analysis hypocrisy questionnaire
apologize incidentally reminisce
apparent independent repetition
approximately irrelevant restaurant
article irresistible rhythm
auxiliary knowledge ridiculous
business laboratory sacrifice
calendar maintenance schedule
category management secretary
character maneuver sincerely
committee mathematics sophomore
competent meant souvenir
condemn necessary supposed to
conscientious ninety suppression
conscious ninth surprise
courteous nucleus synonym
criticism occasionally tendency
criticize omission tragedy
curiosity opinion twelfth
definite opportunity unusually
description parallel used to
develop particularly vacuum
discipline perform
doesn't permanent
eighth permissible
erroneous perseverance
exaggerate persistent Good writing involves much more than just following the rules for grammar, sentences, and mechanics. The clarity, style, and tone of your writing, and its consequent impression on your readers, depend largely on your choice of words.

Examples of overblown diction, with concise alternatives:

Overblown

crisis situation make a decision

Concise crisis decide converted verify

A large vocabulary is an asset, but trying to impress with "big" words can actually weaken your writing. To convey your meaning accurately, clearly, concisely, and with originality, aim not for the biggest but for the best words.

underwent a conversion determine the veracity of attain the lunar surface

reach the moon utilize the audible emergency sound the alarm warning system

Implementation of federally Our company must soon

mandated reorganization begin federally ordered

procedures within designated cutbacks in some depart-

departments, with the ments. [This gains force

objective of downsizing, also by using active voice

is anticipated by the (must begin) instead of

corporation in the passive (is anticipated).

proximate future. See 11SC, page 12.]

Cut redundancies and other unneeded words. Redundancy means needless repetition, such as six a.m. in the morning. Morning and a.m. mean the same; say either, not both.

Wordy: In the first chapter of the book, for all intents and purposes, it sets the scene for the future events to come in the novel. In my opinion, I think that the large purple mansion, garish in color, is an absolutely perfect setting for mysterious happenings and occurrences.

Concise: The first chapter of the novel sets the scene. The garish purple mansion is a perfect setting for mysterious events to come.

Caution: Not all repetition is redundancy. Sometimes you must repeat for clarity or emphasis. See 503C, page 62.

Proofread carefully to catc~ ... ~()llble negatives, double subjects, and double thats. 1\;Il§1R

anything

Elmo would never have done ~ like that.

They hadfl4 hardly enough food f~r survival. [Hardly, barely, and scarcely mean "almost not" and thus act as negatives.l

After the trial the lawyer Iffie congratulated us. The editorial claimed that, despite the nationwide decrease in crime, lft!tf our city was unsafe.

Two or more negatives in a sentence, even when technically correct, can confuse your reader. Most of the time it is better to state things positively:

Less clear: It is unlawful not to recycle certain items you no longer want.

Clearer: You must by law recycle certain items you are throwing out.

Trim overblown and indirect diction. Use plain, direct wording. It is generally clearer and carries more force than elaborate language. Avoid filling your writing with words ending in -ion, -ity; -ment, or -ize, such as situation or utilize.

State your real subject and verb (the doer of the action,

and the action itself) simply and directly:

Indirect, wordy, less clear: The dissemination of the description of the suspect by the police soon led to her apprehension.

Direct, clearer: The police apprehended the suspect soon after spreading her description.

See also 128E, page 24. on reduction, and 128G, page 25, on eliminating sentence clutter.

Redundant, Overblown,
or Otherwise Wordy Concise
absolutely perfect, perfect, unique. See 119D,
very unique page 14. t\
maintenance activity maintenance
actual fact, true fact fact
and etc. etc. See etc., 402C, page 52.
Where is the car at? Where is the car?
at this (that) point now (then)
in time
ATM machine (the ATM, MLB (or major
M = machine), MLB league baseball)
baseball (the B = baseball)
on a daily basis; on the daily; from this report
basis of this report
but yet, but however use only one: but or yet
or however
each and every use only one: each or every
end result result
in the event that if
residential facility residential building,
residence, home
the fact that she had no her lack of cash; because
cash; due to the fact he knew; except that
that he knew; except it was void
for the fact that it
was void
take the rainfall factor consider rainfall
into consideration
It was a free gift. It was free. Or It was a gift.
general consensus consensus
of opinion
generally (or usually) use only one: always or
always generally or usually Trim these common wordy expressions:

refer back to

in (with) regard(s) to this matter

round in shape; blue in color; 6'11" tall in height The crime situation is improving. My financial situation is very poor.

there are few people who need

connect up; road ends up; climb up; meet up with She got good usage from her car. She utilized her cell phone to call home.

Concise

that kind (or sort) of man

jumped off the wall (usually) continue

Meet me outside the house.

Their romance is over.

refer to

about (or concerning) this matter

round; blue; 6'11" tall

Crime is down. I have little money.

few people need

connect; ends; climb; meet

good use; used her cell phone. Usage means "customary use," as in English usage. Utilize is for special uses: Ground-up glass is utilized for paving.

Avoid exaggerated and needless modifiers. The Grand Canyon is awesome; your friend's new shoes are not. Using an adjective such as awesome, amazing, fabulous, fantastic, tremendous, great, unbelievable, incredible, classic, or terrific to describe something a cut or two above the ordinary dilutes that adjective's real meaning. Use more-realistic words, such as outstanding, first-rate, delightful, exciting, attractive, talented, stylish, thrilling, distinctive, exceptional, praiseworthy.

Cut adverbs such as totally when unnecessary: The bus was fe.faHy jammed.

Do not use literally (meaning "actually, in reality") when you mean its opposite,figuratively:

Wrong: The other team literally killed us in lacrosse yesterday.

Right: The other team trounced [or some similar word] us in lacrosse yesterday.

Redundant, Overblown, or Otherwise Wordy that kind (or sort) ofaman

jumped off of the wall continue on

Meet me outside of the house.

Their romance is over with.

the registration procedure; registration; education; It's

the education process; being torn down.

It's in the process of

being torn down.

for the purpose of studying to study; for studying The reason they died was They died because

because no help came. no help came.

They know the reason why They know why he lied. he lied.

A general term covers a wide grouping; a specific term mentions one of that grouping:

General disease writing science music

Specific malaria

The Great Gatsby archaeology

"America the Beautiful"

(Of course, there may be intermediate terms: writing ~ book ~ novel ~ The Great Gatsby.)

General versus specific statements. Sometimes you must generalize, as in topic and summary sentences:

Global warming seems to be accelerating. [No specific facts are given.l

But to avoid vagueness and prove your point, you need sentences with specifics to support your generalization:

Since the 1970s the amount of Arctic sea ice has shrunk about 8 percent each year.

Be as specific as your context allows: a reddish purple (not just colorfuli sunset; two dozen (not many) onlookers; his dazzling whirls and leaps (not his fine dancing).

General or Vague many, a number of, some, a lot of

More Specific

more than 150, about forty thousand, fewer than twenty, nearly half ...

item, detail, article, idea, deed, quality, event, incident, point (jar

thing she said), foods (jar things

to eat), sights (jar things to see) ...

goods, items, equipment, material(s), books, groceries ...

fine, nice, wonderful, sunny, friendly, considerate,

great record-setting, inspiring ...

thing

stuff

For another example, compare paragraphs 4A and 4B in section 503B, page 61.

Thrifty, frugal, stingy, and parsimonious all refer to holding on to one's money, but each has a different connotation, or implied meaning: you would convey a negative rather than a positive connotation if you used parsimonious instead of thrifty. Likewise, avoid and evade have different implications, as do decline and refuse. A good dictionary will explain shades of difference among similar words.

Avoid cliches (klee-SHAYZ)-trite, overused expressions, such as last but not least, which bore readers and signal your lack of originality. Be suspicious of expressions that pop too readily into your mind-they may well be cliches.

Some Cliches as Old as the Hills

add insult to injury better late than never between a rock and

a hard place

down but not out easier said than done first and foremost hungry as a horse

in this day and age

my mind was a blank quick as a wink raining cats and dogs soft as silk

time flew by

tip of the iceberg tried and true

water under the bridge

Avoid overusing the same words. Watch for words you tend to use too often, such as Vel)' (try quite, rather; or extremely; or better, specify a degree: not Vel)' cold but so cold that our eyelids froze). Another greatly overused word is get (or got). See 402C below.

Use imaginative language. For originality, use your own imaginative comparisons-metaphors or similes (SIM-uh-leez)-where appropriate:

Metaphor: The subway train, a red-eyed dragon, roared into the station.

Simile (uses like or as): Like a red-eyed dragon, the subway train roared into the station.

Standard English is writing or speaking that is both grammatical and universally understood. It can range from fully formal-such as One must choose wisely with whom one associates-to quite informal, or colloquial-such as Use your head when you pick your pals.

Nonstandard English contains expressions and usages that are outside the conventions of standard English-such as I ain't got no money or You be on the right road. Varieties of nonstandard English may include different slang or dialect words (see 402B below). Though certain nonstandard conventions may be acceptable among some groups, standard English is the norm for communication throughout the English-speaking world.

Within standard English, there is no sharp borderline between formal and informal: think of vel)' formal and Vel)' informal as the top and bottom rungs of a ladder, with a number of rungs between them. Keep your language level consistent within each piece of writing.

Determine the best ladder rung for each piece you write, from

• Its nature (a technical report, a campus paper

editorial, a humorous essay ... )

• Its purpose (to amuse, to stimulate thought ... )

• Its occasion (a sports victory, a eulogy ... )

• Its intended audience (high school alumni, a college acceptance committee ... )

A research paper or an article for a scholarly journal, for example, would use the top, most formal rung; a light essay or a talk at a student club meeting would use a less formal rung. Some good aids to language levels are The New Fowler's Modern English Usage (3rd ed.) and the Harper Dictionary of Contemporary Usage (2nd ed.). But your best aid is to read (and listen) extensively on various levels.

In most formal writing, avoid the following: contractions (you're, we've), shortened word forms (math for mathematics), and the use of you for a person (In ancient Rome, when you met ... ).

Unless you are representing the speech of a certain group, do not use words of types not universally understood. These types include

Slang (words usually short-lived-like pbat [outstanding], bling rJlashyornamentation], or amped [enel;gizedl-and used only by a particular social group, such as teenagers)

Regionalisms 01' dialect words (words known only within certain geographical areas or population groupslike tonic or pop for flavored soda uater, or potlatch

for celebration)

Jargon (technical or other vocabulary known only to a particular group): hemodynamically optimal pacing site is medical jargon; sack is baseball jargon for a base but football jargon for tackling the quarterback. If you must use a word unknown to most general readers, define it in parentheses following its first use-the way jargon is defined just above.

E-mail and text-messaging shortcuts, such as BRE (be right back) or Il\1HO (in my humble opinion), and emoticons, such as :-) for a smile. See 504, page 63.

In standard English, never use the boldfaced words labeled ungrammatical in the list below. Generally avoid the other boldfaced expressions as well; follow the principles you have learned in 402A and B.

red and/or green (legal and business jargon, also sometimes unclear). Say red orgreen, or both.

anyways, anywheres, everywheres, nowheres, somewheres (ungrammatical). Say anyway or any way, anywhere, eueryuibere ....

aren't I (ungrammatical). Say am I not. awful. Say quite bad, ugly, shocking. ... awful(ly) good. Say quite, vel)" extremely. want it badly. Say greatly, vel)' much.

being as (how), being that. Say because, since.

you better do it. Say you had better; you'd better. between you and I, told him and I ... (ungrammatical). After a preposition or action verb, say you and me, him and me. See 122C, page 17.

a bunch of people. Say group, crowd.

I bust (busted, bursted) balloons (ungrammatical). Say I burst balloons (present and past), I have

burst balloons.

He had no doubt but that (but what) she knew it. Say He had no doubt that.

can't hardly (scarcely, barely). Say can hardly, scarcely, barely. See 401A, page 50.

can't help but love you. Say can't help louing you. Contact me tomorrow (business jargon). Say Call, See, E-mail. ... (Some authorities, however, do accept the verb contact in formal usage, to mean "get in touch with.") Contact as a noun is always acceptable: Divers made contact with the wreck.

cop(s). Say police cfficeris), police.

could of, may of, might of, must of, ought to of, should of, would of (ungrammatical). Say could have, may have,might have ... or, informally, could've, may'oe. migbt'ue ....

a couple (of) friends, days, problems .... Say two friends, three days, several problems .... Save couple for a joined pair, such as an engaged couple.

Due to the time, we left. Say Because of the time. (Due to is acceptable after be or seem: The delay was due to rain.) See fact that, 401A, page 50.

He enthused (was enthused) about it. Say He was enthusiastic about it.

reading Baldwin, Walker, etc. In sentence writing, say and others or and so forth, or say reading writers such as Baldwin and ~\falker.

every bit as old as. Say just as old as.

every so often, every once in a while. Say occasionally, from time to time.

every which way. Say eoery way.

She has a funny accent. Say peculiar, odd.

get there, get away, (have) got to, get ready, got married, get tired .... Do not overuse get and got. Say arrive, escape, must or baoe to, prepare, (were) married, grow

tired .... See have got below.

If I had of known (ungrammatical). Say had known.

He had(n't) ought to go (ungrammatical). Say He ought to go, he ought not (to) go.

a half a page. Say a half page, half a page. They have got the answer. Say bave the answer.

hisself, ourselffs), yourselfs, themself(s), thelrselffs), theirselves (ungrammatical). Say himself, ourselves, yourselves, tbemseltes.

Hopefully, the bus will come. Some authorities accept this usage; others say that because hopefully means "full of hope" (the bus is not full of hope), the correct usage is We hope the bus will come.

if and when I go. Generally, say either lf I go or when I go.

Ellington's music impacted (on) three generations (business-technical jargon). Say greatly affected, influenced, brought happiness to .... Impact as a noun (a great impact) is acceptable.

irregardless (unnecessary prefix). Say regardless. is when, is where. See 130E, page 29.

It being late, we left. Say Because it was late or Since it uias late. See 129A, page 26, on it being in fragments. kid(s). Say cbildtren).

kind of (sort of) soft. Say rather soft, someuibat soft, or just soft.

a lot (often misspelled alot) of, lots of. Say mucb, many; better, say flfty or dozens of See 40lB, page 51.

mad at you. Say angry toitb you. Mad means "insane." most all the books. Say almost all.

nowhere near ready. Say not nearly ready.

O.K., OK, okay. Say all right, correct (adj.); approval (noun); approve (verb).

everyone outside of John. Say except John. plan on going. Say plan to go.

plenty good. Say quite good. (Plenty is acceptable as a noun: plenty offish.)

You can have money plus fun. You can arrive early; plus, you can stay late (mostly business-commercial jargon). Say You can bate (both) money and fun. You can arriue early; besides [or also, moreooen, you can stay late.

a pretty sum; a pretty long ride. Say quite a large sum, a fairly long ride ....

real good, real smooth. Say Vel)" quite, remarkably .... He looked really old. Say quite old, aged.

They were right tired (regionalism). They went right home. Say quite tired, directly home.

seeing as how, seeing that. Say since, because.

It seldom ever changed. Say seldom or neoer, seldom if euer; hardly eoer.

in bad shape. Say in poor condition.

They were so happy. Say 17Jey were so happy that tbey wept. See 130C, page 29.

She ran so she could stay fit. Say so that she could.

The bill was vague, so the President vetoed it. Joining too many independent clauses with so gives your writing an informal tone. Recast the sentence: The President vetoed the bill because it was vague.

Woods is some golfer! He worried some. Say Woods is quite a golfer! He uiorried somewhat or a little.

It was such a loud noise. There is no such a place. Say such a loud noise that her ears burt [see 130C, page 29]. There is no such place.

This would sure help. Say surely belp. See 119A, page 13.

terribly sad, a terrific win. Say extremely sad, a lastminute win, an exciting win. See 401A, page 50.

them weapons (ungrammatical). Say tbose weapons. these kind (sort, type), those kind (ungrammatical). Say this kind, that kind, this Salt, that type. Kind, type, and sort are singular; they must take singular modifiers. For plurals, say these kinds, those types ....

this (these) here, that (those) there (ungrammatical and redundant). Say just this, that, these, tbose.

Tty and win. Be sure and vote. Say TI)' to win. Be sure to vote.

It was very appreciated. Say vel)' much, greatly.

She waited on a bus (regionalism). Say waited for. But she waited on [served] the mayor's table is correct.

Jones read in the newspaper where Smith had died. Say that Smitb bad died.

If Jackson would have retired, he would have kept his reputation (ungrammatical). Say If Jackson bad retired. See 116G, page 11.

tl

Pronouns. Avoid using he, his, or him in contexts applicable to both sexes, as in Every traveler needs his passport. For nonsexist alternatives, review 121A, page 16.

Nouns. Where both sexes are or may be included, replace single-sex nouns with gender-neutral ones:

Single-sex Inclusive
mankind humankind
seaman sailor
policeman (police) officer
mailman mail carrier
fireman firefighter
repairman repairer
housewife homemaker
waitress server
the average man the average person Use ladies only as a parallel to gentlemen. Omit lady or (generally) woman before pilot, engineer, and the like. Refer to females beyond high school age as (young) women, not girls. Avoid expressions that put women in a lower category, such as farmers and their wives (the wives work the farm too; say justfarmel's or farm families), man and Wife (say husband and wife).

Ethnic, racial, religious. Avoid ethnic stereotypes and negative terms, such as wetback, half-breed, redneck, culturally deprived. Avoid terms that place Europe at the center of the world (say East Asian, not Far Eastern [that is, far east of Europe] or Oriental) or that cast one race as dominant: nonwhite may imply that white is the racial standard; flesh-colored-meaning white flesh-ignores most of the world; words that equate black with bad (a black mark, blacklist) may suggest African racial inferiority.

Call racial, national, ethnic, and religious groups by the names they prefer: African Americans, American Indians (or Native Americans), Inuit (not Eskimos). Omit hyphens in terms such as Italian American and Chinese American.

Do not label a religion a cult; say house of worship, not church (unless referring specifically to Christians).

Disabilities. Say disability rather than handicap (a disability is not necessarily a handicap). Do not refer to persons with disabilities as crippled, deformed, retarded, invalids, mental cases, ajj7icted with ... , and the like; do not call those without disabilities normal (implying abnormality in those with disabilities).

Focus on the person, not the disability: identify a person not as the paraplegic or the amputee but as, for example, the teacher who uses a wheelchair:

Below are sets of two (or more) words that may cause confusion because of their similar appearance, sound, spelling, or meaning. The "dirty dozen," the most common troublemakers, are in color.

a, an. See 120A, page 14.

Accept (verb) means "to receive": John

Mayer the Grammy Award.

Except (usually preposition) means "excluding": He has read all of Shakespeare's plays except Cymbeline.

Note: Except is occasionally a verb, meaning "to exclude":

The judge told the lawyers to except the disputed testimony from their summation.

adapt, adopt. Adapt means "to adjust or make suitable": The freshmen had to adapt their daily habits to campus life.

Adopt means "to take as one's own": She adopted the jargon of computer hackers. They adopted a girl.

advice (say ad VICE), advise (say ad VIZE). Advice (noun) means "counsel": I was skeptical of the salesperson's advice.

Advise (verb) means "to give advice": The salesperson advised me to buy the larger size.

Most commonly, affect (verb) means "to have

an on": Mostly, the disease affected poor people.

Most commonly, effect (noun) means "a result, consequence, outcome": The disease had a devastating effect on the poor.

Note: Less commonly, affect (as a verb) means "to pretend or imitate": He affected a British accent. Effect (as a verb) means "to accomplish, to bring about": The medicine effected a cure.

afterward, afterwards. Americans prefer afterward; the British, afterwards.

aisle, isle. An aisle is a passage between sections of seats: the side aisle.

An isle is an island: the Emerald Isle.

all ready, already. All ready means "fully ready": the runner was all [fully] ready for the marathon.

Already means "previously" or "by this time": Karl had already crossed the finish line,

all together, altogether. All together means "in or as a group": We were all together at the reunion,

Altogether means "wholly, completely": Custer was altogether surprised at Little Big Horn,

allusion, illusion, delusion. Allusion means "an indirect reference": The play has many Biblical allusions,

Illusion means "a temporary false perception or a magic trick": It was an optical illusion,

Delusion refers to a lasting false perception or belief about oneself or other persons or things: He had the delusion of expecting success without effort,

altar, alter, An altar is a table for religious services: The minister approached the altar,

To alter is to change: If it rains, we will have to alter our picnic plans,

among. See between,

amoral, immoral. Amoral means "not concerned with morality": An infant's acts are amoral,

Immoral means "against morality": Murder is immoral. amount, number, Amount refers to things in bulk 01' mass: a large amount of grain; no amount of persuasion,

Number refers to countable objects: a number of books, a number of reasons,

ante-, anti-, Both are prefixes, Ante- means "before": anteroom, antedate, antecedent,

Anti- means "against": antibody, antisocial, antidote, anxious, eager. Anxious conveys wony or unease: Charlene grew anxious about next week's chemistry examination,

Eager conveys strong desire: They were eager to many, any more, anymore. Any more means "additional": Is there any more fuel? There isn't any more,

Anymore means "at present" or "any longer": He doesn't write home anymore,

anyone, anyone, Anyone refers to any single item of a number of items: You may take anyone of these courses,

Anyone means "any person, anybody": Has anyone here seen Kelly?

apt, likely, liable. Apt refers to probability based on normal, habitual, or customary tendency: He was apt to throw things when frustrated,

Likely indicates mere probability: It is llkeO! to rain, Liable, strictly, refers to legal responsibility: Jaywalkers are liable to arrest. Informally, it is used also with any undesirable or undesired risk: He's liable to get into trouble,

See like.

awhile, a while. Do not use the adverb awbile after for or in, One may stay awhile (adverb), stay a while (noun), stay for a iobile (noun), but not for awhile (adverb),

bad, badly. See 119C, page 14,

beside, besides, Beside (preposition) means "at the side of": My lawyer stood beside me [at my side] in court.

Besides (preposition, conjunctive adverb) means "other than" or "in addition (to)": Besides me, only my lawyer knew, My lawyer is clever; besides, she is experienced,

between, among, Between implies two persons or things in a relationship; among implies tbree or more: Emissaries shuttled between London and Moscow. A dispute arose among the four nations,

You may use between with more than two if the relationships are between pairs in the group: Flights between New York, Chicago, and Denver were delayed [between any two of the three],

born, borne, Use born (after be) only to mean "have one's birth": They were born [had their birth] in Brazil.

Use borne before by and elsewhere: The baby was borne by a surrogate mother, She has borne two sons, Zullo has borne the burdens of office well.

brake, break, Brake refers to stopping: Apply the brake, Brake the car carefully,

Break refers to destroying, damaging, exceeding, or interrupting: Don't break the glass, I'll break the record, Take a ten-minute break.

bring, take. In precise usage, bring means "to come (here) with," and take means "to go (there) with": Take this check to the bank, and bring back the cash,

can, may. In formal usage, can means "to be able to" (they can solve any equation), and may means "to have permission to" (you may leave now), iVlay also expresses possibility: It may snow tonight.

canvas, canvass. A canvas is a cloth: Buy a canvas tent. Canvass means "to solicit": Canvass the area for votes,

capitol, capital. Use capitol only for the building where a legislature meets: The governor's office is in the Capitol,

Elsewhere, use capital: Topeka is the state capital [seat of government], The firm has little capital [money], It was a capital [first-rate] idea, Murder can be a capital offense [one punishable by death],

carat, karat, caret, carrot. Gems are weighted in carats, gold in karats, A caret (II) signals an omission: I II going home, A carrot is a vegetable: Eat your carrots,

casual, causal. Casual means "occurring by chance, informal, unplanned": Ours was just a casual meeting, Wear casual clothes, Causal means "involving cause":

No causal relationship was found between his drinking and his death,

censor, censure. To censor is to examine written, visual, recorded, or broadcast material to delete objectionable content: Many parents want to censor violent television shows,

To censure is to criticize or blame: The senator was censured for unethical conduct.

cite, site, sight. Cite means "to quote an authority or give an example": Did you cite all your sources in the paper?

Site means "location": Here is the new building site, Sight refers to seeing: The ship's lookout sighted land, Use your stgbt and hearing,

classic, classical. Classic means "of the highest class or quality": Hamlet is a classic play,

Classical means "pertaining to the art and life of ancient Greece and Rome": Classical Greek art idealized the human figure, Classical music refers to symphonies and the like,

coarse, course, Coarse means "rough, not fine":

coarse wool.

A course is a path or a series of lessons: race course, art course,

compare to, compare with, Compare to means "to liken, to point out one or more similarities": The rookie is being compared to Michael Jordan,

Compare with means "to examine to determine similarities and differences": The report compares U,S, medical care uxtb that of Canada,

compliment, complement. Compliment means "to express praise": The dean complimented Harris on her speech,

Complement means "to complete, enhance, or bring to perfection": The illustrations should complement the text.

The nouns compliment and complement are distinguished similarly, Free tickets are complimentary.

comprise, compose, include. Comprise means "to be made up of (in entirety)." The whole comprises the parts: Our league comprises eight teams, Do not use is comprised of

Compose means "to make up, constitute," It is the opposite of comprise, TIle parts compose the whole: Eight teams compose our league, Our league is composed cf eight teams.

Include means "to contain (but not necessarily in entirety)": Our league includes teams in Wichita and Omaha,

One another refers to more than two: TIle jurors looked at one another with relief when the judge dismissed them all.

eager, See anxious.

See affect.

emigrate, immigrate. Emigrate means "to leave a country"; immigrate means "to enter a new country":

Millions emigrated from Europe. They immigrated to America.

eminent, imminent. Eminent means "distinguished":

She's an eminent surgeon.

Imminent means "about to happen": Rain is imminent. ensure, Insure, Ensure is preferred for "make sure, guarantee": To ensure your safety, wear seat belts.

Insure refers to insurance (protection against loss):

Insure your valuables.

envelop (say en VELL up), envelope (say EN vel ope or ON vel ope). To envelop (verb) is to surround: Fog envelops us. An envelope (noun) holds a letter: Seal the envelope. everyone, every one. Eueryone means "everybody":

Eoeryone [everybodyl Ieft early.

Elsewhere, use eoery one (meaning "every single item or person"): EVelY one of the glasses was broken. When the glasses fell, we picked up eoery one.

See accept.

famous, notable, notorious. Famous means "widely known": it usually has favorable connotations.

Notable means "worthy of note" or "prominent"; a person can be notable without beingfamous.

Notorious means "widely known in an unfavorable way": Jesse James was a notorious bandit.

farther, further, Farther refers to physical distance:

Roadblocks kept the troops from goingfartber.

Further means "to a greater extent or degree": The UN decided to discuss the issue further:

fewer, less. Fewer refers to number; use it with countable things: Fewer lakes are polluted these days.

Use less with things that are not countable but are considered in bulk or mass: Less wheat grew this year.

formally, formerly, Formally means "according to proper form": Introduce us formally.

Formerly means "previously": They for/11erO'lived here. former, Iatten flrst, last. Former and latter refer to the first and second named of only two items: Concerning jazz and rock, she prefers the former ljazz], but he prefers the latter [rock]. In a series of three or more, use first and last.

Often, however, your sentence will read better without former or latter. In popular music she prefers jazz, though he prefers rock.

forth, fourth, Forth means 'forward": Go forth and conquer. FoU/1b is 4th: They paraded on the Fourth of July.

See 119C, page 14.

hanged, hung. Strict usage requires banged when you mean "executed": She was hanged as a spy.

Elsewhere, use bung. They bung the flag high. healthy, healthful. Healthy means "possessing health":

The children are bealtby.

Healtbful means "conducive to health": Bran is healthful. historic, historical. Historic means "famous or important in history": July 4, 1776, is a historic date.

Historical means "pertaining to history": Good historical novels immerse us in their times.

if, whether. When presenting alternatives, preferably use uibetber for precision: Tell us uhetber [not ifl you pass or fail. Also, drop an unneeded or not after uibetber. He was unsure tobetber tlf ftet to go.

illusion. See allusion.

Immigrate. See emigrate.

imminent. See eminent.

immoral. See amoral.

imply, infer, Writers or speakers imply (state indirectly or suggest): The union's statement implied that the management was lying.

Readers or listeners infer (draw a conclusion or derive by reasoning): From these data we infer that a recession is near.

in, into. Use into with movement from outside to inside:

The nurse ran into Wilcox's room.

Elsewhere, use in: Wilcox lay quietly in his bed. include. See comprise.

incredible, incredulous. A fact or happening is incredible (unbelievable): Astronomical distances are incredible.

A person is incredulous (unbelieving): He was incredulous when told how far the Milky Way extends. individual, person, party, Do not use party or individual when you mean simply person: They heard from a certain person (not individual or party) that she was engaged. Except in legal and telephone-company usage, and when you mean "one taking part," do not use party to refer to one person.

Use individual only when emphasizing a person's singleness: Will you act with the group or as an individual? ingenious (say injEENyus), ingenuous (say injENNyu us). Ingenious means "clever"; ingenuous means "naive, having childlike frankness": Ingenious swindlers forged a deed to the Brooklyn Bridge and sold it to an ingenuous out-of-towner.

instance, instants, instant's. Instance means "a case or example": She noted each instance of violence. [plural: instances

Instants is the plural of instant, which means "a brief time, a particular moment": She did it in a few instants.

Instant's is the possessive of instant: They came at an instant's notice.

insure. See ensure.

isle. See aisle.

Its is the possessive of it: The bus lost its wheel.

It's is the contraction of it is. Use it's only if you can correctly substitute it is in your sentence: It's [it isl ready.

last, latter. See former.

later, latter. Later; the comparative from of late, means "more late." For latter, see former.

See lie.

lead, led. Lead (rhymes with need) is the present tense of the verb meaning "to conduct, to go at the head of, to show the way": Browne can lead us to prosperity.

Led is the past tense and past participle of the same verb: Browne [haslled us to prosperity.

Lead (rhymes with dead) is a metal: I need a lead pipe. learn, teach. Learn means "to acquire knowledge":

Toddlers must learn not to touch electrical outlets.

Teach means "to impart knowledge": Parents must teacb toddlers not to touch electrical outlets.

leave, let. Leave means "to depart": I must leave now.

Let means "to permit": Let me go. less. See feuer.

lessen, lesson. To lessen is to diminish: His pain lessened.

A lesson is a unit of learning: Study your lesson. liable, likely. See apt.

Lie means "to rest" and is an intransitive verb (it never takes an object): Don't lie on the new couch. The islands lie under the tropical sun. Here lies Jeremiah Todd.

Lay means "to put, to place" and is a transitive verb (it must take an object): Lay your bead on this pillow. Let me lay your fears to rest.

To complicate matters, the past tense of lie is spelled and pronounced the same as the present tense of lay:

continual, continuous. Continual means "frequently repeated": She receives continual annoying calls from a man she dislikes.

Continuous means "without interruption": The explorers could hear the continuous roar of the falls.

convince, persuade, Some authorities see these words as synonyms. Others say to use convince for changing a person's belief (Convince me that it's true) but persuade for moving a person to action (I persuaded her to go).

After convince, use of or that, not to: She convinced me of her love (or tbat she loved me).

correspond to, correspond with. Correspond to means "to be similar or analogous to": The German gymnasium corresponds to the American preparatory school.

Correspond uiitb means "to be in agreement or conformity with": His behavior did not correspond untb our rules. It also means "to communicate with by exchange of letters." council, counsel, consul. Council means "a deliberative assembly": The Parish Council debated the issue.

Counsel (noun) means "advice" or "attorney": He sought the counsel of a psychologist. She is the counsel for the defense.

Counsel (verb) means "to advise": They counseled us to wait before marrying.

Consul means "an officer in the foreign service": The distinguished guest was the consul from Spain. credible, credulous, creditable. Credible means "believable": A witness's testimony must be credible.

Credulous means "too ready to believe; gullible":

A credulous person is easily duped.

Creditable means "praiseworthy": The young pianist gave a creditable performance of a difficult work. decent (say DEE cent), descent (say de CEN7). Decent means "proper, right": This is not a decent film for children.

Descent means "a going down" or "ancestry": The plane's descent was bumpy. He's of Guyanese descent. delusion. See allusion.

device (say de VICE), devise (say de VIZE). A device (noun) is an invention or a piece of equipment: This device turns the lights on at dusk.

To devise (verb) is to invent: Devise a new mousetrap. different from, different than. Formal usage requires different from: His paper is hardly

different from yours.

Many authorities consider different than acceptable introducing a clause: The results were different than we [smoother than

differ from, differ with. Differfrom expresses unlikeness: His paper differs greatly from mine.

Differ iottb expresses divergence of opinion: The President differed uiitb Congress regarding welfare. disinterested, uninterested, Disinterested means "not influenced by personal interest; impartial, unbiased": A disinterested judge gives fair rulings.

Uninterested means simply "not interested": The uninterested judge dozed on the bench.

each other, one another, Each other refers to two persons or things: The lovers gazed fondly at each other.

Present Past Past Participle

lie [rest] ---7 lay [rested] ---7 (has) lain [rested]

lay [place] ---7 laid [placed] ---7 (has) laid [placed]

Yesterday Sandra lay [restedl too long in the sun. She should not have lain [restedl there so long. Yesterday the workers laid [placedl the foundation. They have laid [placedl it well.

In formal English, do not use like (preposition) where as, as if, or as tbougb (conjunction) sounds

right. The old house had remained just as (not like)

I remembered it. It happened just as (not like) [it did] in the novel. Act as if (or as tbougb, but not like)

you belong here.

17Je way is a good alternative: The old house had remained just tbe way I remembered it.

loose, lose. Loose (usually adjective-rhymes with goose) is the opposite of tight or confined: The loose knot came undone. The lions are loose!

Loose is also sometimes a verb: Nero loosed the lions on them.

Lose (verb-rhymes with snooze) is the opposite of find or win: Did you lose your keys? We may lose

the battle.

may. See call.

maybe, maybe. Maybe is an adverb meaning "perhaps":

Maybe Professor Singh will be absent.

May be is a verb: She may be at a conference. moral (say MORE (1), morale (say more AI). Moral (as an adjective) means "righteous, ethical": To pay his debts was a moral obligation.

Moral (as a noun) means "a lesson or truth taught in a story": The moral of the StOlY is that greed is wrong.

Morale (noun) means "spirit": Our morale sagged. notable, notorious. See famous.

number. See amount.

one another. See eacb other.

oral, See verbal.

party, person. See individual.

passed, past. Passed (verb) is from pass: I passed the test. Our tour bus passed the museum.

Past (noun) means "a former time": Forget the past. Past (preposition) means "by, beyond": Walk past it. percent, percentage, Use percent with a specific figure: 45 percent. Otherwise, use percentage: a small percentage of voters.

woman, women. Woman, like man, is singular: that woman. Women, like men, is plural: those women.

write, See right, rite, write.

Your is the possessive of you: Wear your You're is a contraction of you are: You're late. See 122F, page 18.

sight, site. See cite.

sit, set. Sit, sat, sat is an intransitive verb (takes no object) meaning "to be seated": They sat on the floor.

Set, set, set is generally a transitive verb (needs an object) meaning "to put or place": She set her book on the desk. (Set is equivalent to sit only in regard to a hen's setting on her eggs.)

stationary, stationery, Stational), means "not moving; not movable": Stational)! targets are easily hit.

Stationery is writing paper. take. See bring.

teach. See learn.

than, then. Than (conjunction) is used in comparing:

She was more fit than he [was]. See 122C, page 17.

Then is an adverb meaning "at (or after) that time" or "in that case; therefore": They then replicated the study. The vote may be tied; then the chairperson must decide. that. See who.

who, which, that. Use who to refer to persons; use which only for things; use that for persons or things: The player who [or that, but not whicbl scores lowest wins. See 122D, E, pages 17,18.

Whose is the possessive of who: Whose hat is this? If!ho's is contraction of uibo is: Who's that? See 122F, page 18.

Note: The percentage is singular: The percentage of deaths is small. A percentage is either singular or plural, depending on what follows: A percentage of the fruit is spoiled. A percentage of the men are here.

personal (say PER son al), personnel (say per son Ell). Personal means "private": This is a personal matter, not a public one.

Personnel are formal members of a group, such as employees of a company: Notify all personnel. persuade, See convince.

practical, practicable, Practical means "useful, sensible, not theoretical"; practicable means "feasible, capable of being put into practice": Practical people with practical experience can produce a practicable plan.

precede, proceed, To precede is to come before:

X precedes Y. Proceed means "to go forward": The parade proceeded along Main Street.

presence, presents. Presence means "being present; attendance": Their presence at the ball was noted.

Presents are gifts, such as birthday presents.

p"" ..... ".", principal. A principle is a rule or a truth renlenlbe:r:principlE = rul.E). The Ten Commandments are moral principles. Some mathematical principles

are difficult.

Elsewhere, use principal, meaning "chief, chief part, chief person": All principal roads are closed. At 8 percent, your principal will earn $160 interest. The principal praised the students.

quiet, quite. Quiet means "not noisy": This motor is quiet.

QUite means "very, completely": I'm not quite ready. mise, rise, Raise, raised, raised ("to lift; to make come up") is a transitive verb (needs an object): They raise tomatoes. The teacher raised the window. Raise our salaries!

Rise, rose, risen ("to ascend") is an intransitive verb (never has an object): The sun is rising. Salaries rose. respectfully, respectively, Respectfully means "in a manner showing respect": Act respectfully at worship. Respectfully yours.

Respectively means "each in the order given." Use it, when there is no better way, to clarify order: Brooks, McGee, and Black won in 2007, 2008, and 2009, respectively. But better: Brooks won the award in

2007, McGee in 2008, and Black in 2009.

right, rite, write, A rite is a ceremony: our initiation rite.

To write is to put words on paper: i'(irite us from India. Elsewhere, use rigbt. the right [correct] way, a right [not wrong] answer, a right [not leftl turn, the rigbt to vote.

Tbeir is a possessive pronoun: The litigants arrived with their lawyers. Their faces were tense.

Tbere is an adverb of place: Sit there. It is also an expletive (an introductory word): There is no hope.

They're is a contraction of they are: Tbey're suing her. See 122F, page 18.

threw, through. Tbreio is the past of tbroui. I tbreui the ball. For through, see next entry,

through (say THROO), thorough (say THURR ob). Through means "from end to end or side to side of": through the tunnel. It can also mean "finished." He was through with work.

Thorough means "complete, exact": a thorough search. To is a preposition: They drove to

Miami. also introduces an infinitive: They wanted

to find work.

Too is an adverb meaning "also" or "excessively": They took her too. He was too old to care. Do not use too for Vel)': She didn't seem Vel), happy [not too happy].

Two is a number: Take two of these pills.

toward, towards, Americans prefer toward; the British, towards.

uninterested. See disinterested.

verbal, oral, Strictly, verbal means "expressed in words, either written or spoken": Many computer programs use pictorial instead of verbal commands. (For the grammatical term verbal, see 117, page 11.)

Oral means "spoken": Give oral, not written, responses. weak, week. iffeak means "not strong": weak from the flu. A week is seven days.

weather, whether, Weather refers to rain, sunshine, and so forth. Whether introduces alternatives: whether they win or lose. See also if, tohetber.

See 119C, page 14. whether, See if, tobetber; ueatber. which. See who.

while, though, whereas, The basic meaning of while is "during the time that." Avoid using it to mean and, but, though, or whereas, especially if two times are involved:

This test proved negative, whereas [or though or but, but not whilellast month's was positive.

Most sentences that you write will become parts of larger units of writing-paragraphs-and most paragraphs will become parts of still larger units-essays, letters, e-mailingspapers, articles, and so forth. This final part of English Simplified, after presenting some pointers on manuscript form, explains the basics of writing paragraphs, e-mails, essays, and research papers, and surveys research paper documentation.

If keyboarding, use white highquality paper, 20-pound or business weight. Use black ink only; set your printer to a high-quality setting (not "draft" or "quick"). Choose a plain font, such as Courier or Times New Roman, and a type size of 10 or 12 points (see samples in 510, page 75). Do not use boldface. For multi-page papers, turn on pagination.

If handwriting, use white, lined, 81/2-by-ll-inch paper (not torn from a notebook). Write on one side only, on every other line, using black or blue ink.

Whether handwriting or keyboarding, use double spacing and be sure margins are one inch all around (see 510, page 75). Indent each new paragraph one-half inch in handwriting, five spaces or one tab stroke in keyboarding. Do not indent the first line of a page unless it begins a paragraph. Do not leave extra space between paragraphs or leave one line of a paragraph alone at the top or bottom of a page.

Quotations. Separate from the text any prose quotations longer than four lines or verse quotations longer than three lines; use no quotation marks; indent (from left margin) one inch in handwriting, ten spaces or two tab strokes in keyboarding; maintain double spacing.

Keep shorter quotations in the body of your text; enclose them in quotation marks; see 2151, page 38, and 508A, page 69.

For placing of titles, see 510A, page 75. For punctuation and capitalization of titles, see 205, page 35; 219A, page 39; and 301F, page 43.

Number all pages with arabic numerals (1, 2 ... ) in the upper right corner, with no periods or parentheses. If using MLA style, precede each page number with your last name; if using APA, instead of your last name use a short form of your title. See 510, page 75, for examples.

Right justifying means making every line of text end precisely at the right margin (computers have a command that will do this). However, unless your instructor permits, do not right justify your papers. Also, unless your instructor permits, do not divide a word at the end of a line when the whole word will not fit. Put the whole word on the next line (computers do this automatically or have a command that will cancel hyphenation).

Before handing in a paper, proofread it carefully (see 506B, page 65). If you have many errors, redo

the page or even the whole paper, especially if you are word processing. If you have only a few minor errors, make changes neatly, as follows:

Deletions. Draw a horizontal line through words to be deleted. Do not use parentheses. See 224A, page 41.

Insertions. Above the line write the word(s) to be inserted, and just below the line use a caret (1\) to show the point of insertion.

Paragraphing. Use the 7! sign to show the point at which you wish to begin a paragraph. Write No 7! if you wish to remove a paragraph indention.

Generally, a paragraph contains several sentences clearly related in meaning, developing a single topic. Paragraphs are also visual entities that reduce a page-long mass of print to smaller units that are more inviting to read.

Paragraphs vary greatly in function, structure, length, and style. A paragraph of dialogue, for example, may contain only a few words (each new speaker gets a new paragraph-see 215H, page 38). A transitional paragraph between main parts of a long paper may have only one or two sentences. The guidelines in sections 502 and 503 apply mainly to body paragraphs (those developing your main idea) of expository (explanatory), descriptive, and persuasive papers. Introductory and concluding paragraphs are shown in section 506, page 65.

Indent the first Ilt.S'.z;uline of each paragraph as instructed in 50lE above, and leave the remainder of the last line blank. The length of a paragraph depends on the topic and its needed development. The typical paragraph may run four to eight sentences, though sometimes one or two important sentences deserve a paragraph of their own. If your paragraph gets too long, break it into shorter paragraphs at a logical dividing point, such as between major reasons or examples.

\'IeIUE:nC{~. Develop your paragraph around a single main topic or idea, usually stated in one sentence called the topic sentence. Read paragraphs 1-6 on pages 61-63 to see how each topic sentence (lboxedl) controls the content of its paragraph. The other sentences ordinarily give evidence to support what the topic sentence asserts, Most

f)·1

often, you will place your topic sentence first-or just after an introductory or transitional sentence.

Paragraph 1 (topic sentence first)-about biological body cells:

The wonder of cells is not that things occasionally go wrong, but that they manage evelything so smoothly for decades at a stretch. They do so by constantly sending and monitoring streams of messages-a cacophony of messages-from all around the body: instructions, queries, corrections, requests for assistance, updates, notices to divide or expire. Most of these signals arrive

by means of couriers called hormones, chemical entities such as insulin, adrenaline, estrogen, and testosterone that convey information from remote outposts like the thyroid and endocrine glands. Still other messages arrive by telegraph from the brain or from regional centers in

a process called paracrine signaling. Finally, cells communicate directly with their neighbors to make

sure their actions are coordinated.

-Bill Bryson You may sometimes place the topic sentence last, with your supporting sentences leading up to it, as a climax.

Paragraph 2 (topic sentence lasn=from a student essay:

I was born at Fort Benning, Georgia, while my father was stationed overseas. Before I was two, we had to relocate to Washington, D.C., where he was assigned to the Pentagon (my two sisters were born during this tour of duty). Then came other three-year stints that uprooted us to Korea; Fort Sill, Oklahoma; Germany;

and finally, as I stumbled into adolescence, the Pentagon again. With each transfer, my closest friends became mere pen pals. I Though all this world traveling has provided me with exceptional adventures and a global perspective on people and cultures, I would trade it all for the stability of having grown up in one home townJ

Sometimes, in addition to an opening topic sentence, you may provide a conclusion, or clincher sentence, that sums up your thinking on the topic, as in the following paragraph from a student research paper.

Paragraph 3 (topic and clincher sentences):

Within the past decade some scientists have shaken Americans' ideas on physical fitness by challenging established medical teaching on how to avoid obesity and by even claiming that being fat might not be bad. Dietary orthodoxy has long taught that limiting intake of fatty foods, such as meats, fries, and cheese,

is vital to keeping fit. By 2002, however, as reported in the New York Times, some nutritionists were beginning to espouse the long-ridiculed opposite view proclaimed by Dr. Robert Atkins: that fatty foods are harmless, and that to lose weight one should instead avoid carbohydrates, such as pasta and rice (Taubes 22). Since then, another once-promising way to prevent obesity, by increasing the body's hormone leptin, has also been ruled out by scientists who found equal amounts of leptin in fat and thin people (Gorman 52). In 2005 a surprising study reported in Time found that being slightly overweight is actually better for one's health than being thin (Kluger 62). Most recently, a 2007

study concluded, according to Time, that "even the most rigorously adhered to diet will not produce the

same results from person to person" (Sayre 67).

Until more-definitive studies can be completed, it seems, Americans cannot confidently follow anyone

ellow brick road to h sical fitness.

Occasionally you may need more than one full sentence to state your topic (or less, as in paragraph 4B below). Experienced writers sometimes just imply a topic sentence.

All other sentences in your paragraph should support the general idea you state in your topic sentence. Many inexperienced writers fail to develop their paragraphs fully enough; they may merely paraphrase the main idea several times or add vague generalizations instead of convincing, detailed evidence. Compare the development in paragraphs 4A and 4B below. Which writer better convinces you of what the topic sentence asserts?

Paragraph 4A

The capital of Ghana was vety crowded, but that made it all the more interesting. All kinds of vehicles filled the streets. Some of these streets were broad, others narrow and unpaved. Many pedestrians added to the crowded conditions. The mix of children and adults, young women and old men, made this city a colorful one.

Paragraph 4B

Each morning Ghana's seven-and-one-half million people seemed to crowd at once into the capital city where the broad avenues as well as the unpaved rutted lanes became gorgeous with moving pageantry:

icyc es, attere orries, an carts, American and

European cars, chauffeur-driven limousines. People

on foot struggled for right-of-way, white-collar workers wearing white knee-high socks brushed against

market women balancing large baskets on their heads as they proudly swung their wide hips. Children,

bright faces shining with palm oil, picked openings

in the throng, and pretty young women in western clothes affected not to notice the attention they

caused as they laughed together talking in the

musical Twi language. Old men sat or stooped

beside the road smoking homemade pipes and

looking wise as old men have done eternally.

-Maya Angelou

Put enough specific evidence in your paragraph to support your main idea strongly, convincing even skeptical readers of what your topic sentence asserts.

Ways of development. For each paragraph, choose the most appropriate way(s) to present your support, such as with

• Facts or examples (see all the sample paragraphs)

• One or more reasons (paragraphs 5, 6-page 62)

• Elements of a description (paragraph 4B), definition (5), or explanation (1, 3, 5, 6)

• A sequence of time (paragraphs 2, 3), process (1), or cause-effect (5, 6)

• Points of comparison or contrast (paragraphs 3, 4B, 6). A special kind of comparison is an analogy (clarifying a concept by comparing it to something

familiar); paragraph 1, for example, likens cell communication to human communication with the words requests for assistance ... couriers ... remote outposts ... telegraph ... neighbors.

Your paragraphs cohere (hold together well) when you clearly signal or imply how your ideas relate to one another-when your thought flows smoothly from the first sentence through the last (and from one paragraph to the next). You can achieve coherence by using (1) a controlling structure, (2) transitions, and (3) repeated key words or phrases.

A controlling structure. If you can think of a structurea skeleton-around which to build a paragraph, your reader should find the paragraph clearer to read. Such a structure can be as simple as labeling your reasons first, second, and third (try climactic order-build from lesser reasons to the most important).

Paragraph 2, for example, is structured around staying and moving; paragraph 4B, around groups of people; paragraph 6, around a pyramid.

Transitional expressions make both your meaning and your structure clearer:

Purpose

Examples

Show time relationships

before, after[ ward], previously, formerly, meanwhile, at last, simultaneously, until then

Indicate stages of thought

first, [not firstly], second, then, next, finally

Introduce particulars

for example, for instance, in particular

Show cause or effect

consequently, as a result, because of these

Signal further evidence

in addition, moreover, furthermore, also

however, yet, but, still, on the other hand, nevertheless

Mark a contrast or change of direction

Show other relationships

above all, that is, likewise, similarly, more important

Signal a conclusion

therefore, thus, then, on the whole, in sum [avoid the trite in conclusion]

You may use all or part of a sentence for transition, either at the beginning of your paragraph or within it:

But the new science could not rely on these pioneers alone ....

... Despite such difficulties ....

Nor is depression the only effect. ... In appearance .... In actuality ....

Repetition of key words or phrases gives your reader signposts to follow your train of thought. A repetition may consist of the word itself, a synonym, or a pronoun referring to the word, such as this, these, that, which, or such. Repeating a familiar term from the preceding sentence near the beginning of your new sentence works especially well. Check these repeated terms in paragraphs 1-6:

• In paragraph 1 (page 61): messages (similar words: signals, signaling, communicate)

• In paragraph 2 (page 61): words of staying (stationed, tour of duty, stints, stability) and moving (relocate, uprooted, transfer, traveling)

• In paragraph 3 (page 61): scientists (nutritionists), obesity tfat, fatty, overweight),fit(ness)

• In paragraph 5 (below): disorder, image, ritual (behavior)

• In paragraph 6 (below): national (big time), band,

reputations (name recognition)

See how paragraphs 5 and 6 below each begin with a transition linking the paragraph to the preceding paragraph in its book (Yet another type ... in paragraph 5, Together these factors ... in paragraph 6), and how each paragraph is held together by transitions (italicized) and repeated expressions (boldfaced). *

Paragraph 5

Yet another type of anxiety disorder is the obsessive-compulsive dis01'der. With this, disturbing ideas or images flood the person's mind-this is the obsessive part of the disorder, The sufferer then creates routine, repetitive rituals to rid the mind of these images. One of the most famous characters in theatrical literature depicting an obsessive-compulsive disorder is Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare's Macbeth. Lady Macbeth saw

the image of blood on her hands after she committed

a murder. She washed her hands again and again to rid herself of the feeling of guilt associated with this mental image. Her hand-washing, of course, had no effect whatsoever-it was a meaningless and repetitious behavior because it did not absolve her of her guilt.

Such a routine and repeated ritual is the compulsive part of an obsessive-compulsive disorder.

-Don Colbert

Paragraph 6

Together these factors produced a unified national band business pyramid that affected black jazz bands. On the top were a few very successful national bands earning excellent salaries and fine reputations. These bands built their names through recordings and radio broadcasts, with careful nurturing by managers. This name recognition was then exploited for financial gain during national tours of ballrooms, nightclubs, and theaters. On the next leuel, less successful national bands followed the same pattern on a smaller scale. Still lcuier, the territory bands

continued, but they were definitely marked

*Italics and boldface added by the authors of English Simplified.

'h"",,,,,,nn and If you are allowed

to choose your own topic or if you are assigned a broad subject, such as campus life, you will have to narrow, or limit, your topic to one that (1) lies within your interests, knowledge, and available resources, (2) should interest your readers, and (3) can be treated adequately within the given length and deadline.

Too broad: Life on campus

Race relations in college

The decline of American cities

Limited: City slicker at a rural campus

Sharing an interracial dorm room

Helping this city cope with big-box stores

One long-range approach to topic-choosing is to keep a journal (a daily record) of your experiences and observations. September journal entries can lead to effective December essays.

Yom Start early and maintain a disci-

plined schedule, so that you will not have to submit a rush job. Remember: plans change. Along the way, if an idea is not working out or if a much better one hits you, revise your topic, your central idea (thesis), or your outline. Revising during planning is easier than rewriting later.

Preliminary considerations

Your audience. To whom are you writing? Your instructor, of course, but probably also your classmates-or perhaps readers of the campus newspaper. Consider your audience's probable knowledge of your subject and attitudes toward it; fit your content and voice-word choice, sentence structure, tone-to your audience.

Your purpose. Do you want to explain the why or how of your topic (exposition)? To persuade your audience to think or act differently? To describe or tell (narrate) something important?

Prewriting. How do you fashion a headful of jumbled thoughts and facts into a coherent essay? Try one or more of these ways, or create your own:

Brainstorming. Just write, nonstop, a list of whatever enters your mind on your subject. Do not pause to evaluate or rethink anything, no matter how far-out it seems. Then choose your most promising ideas and begin working with them. You may brainstorm either with others or by yourself.

Freewriting. Try freewriting if you have difficulty starting. Just start writing, nonstop, sentences on anything even loosely related to your subject. Repeat if you have to. Eventually your mind should unlock thoughts on your subject.

Mapping (clustering). Write your subject or tentative topic in the center of a page. Then, around it, jot down ideas and

as minor league, copying the styles of the national bands and losing their most talented musicians to the lure of the big time.

-Thomas J. Hennessey

"","",,,,, Unity means that every sentence must fit precisely within your stated topic. Look again at paragraph 1 (page 61). Suppose the paragraph had ended like this:

The body's 206 bones also help keep each of us functioning throughout life. Both strong bones and good cell communication are needed for a healthy body.

Such sentences would ruin the paragraph's unity, because they introduce a new topic-bones-not covered by the topic sentence.

Emphasis means that your main points get the most space-standing out clearly, not lost in a clutter of unexplained detail.

Using a controlling structure, transitional expressions, and key repetitions not only aids coherence but also helps preserve unity and emphasis. Look again at paragraph 6. Notice how the image of a pyramid, with its top, middle, and bottom levels, unifies the paragraph and keeps the emphasis firmly on the three levels of bands and their interrelation.

In an e-mail or any

• Always include a subject line.

• Offer a polite greeting and closing.

• Be brief and clear about your point.

• Adjust the formality of your tone as necessary.

• Avoid sending confidential messages.

• Edit your text as necessary.

• Avoid writing in all capital letters.

• Never resort to flaming (online profanity, name calling, and the like).

• Use emoticons (a group of keyboard characters that represent facial expressions, such as :-) for a smile) for informal messages only.

• Proofread carefully before sending.

• Always respond promptly.

Just as you build related sentences into paragraphs, you build related paragraphs into longer pieces of writing. One kindperhaps two to four pages long in college-is an essay. Essays allow you to ponder and evaluate your own life experiences, observations, thinking, reading, media experiences, and imagination to convey your ideas on just about any kind of topic.

facts as they come to you; circle each one-bigger or heavier circles for broader ideas. Draw lines between the central subject and the big circles, then between each big circle and the smaller circles that relate to it. Cross out dead-end circles that you find connect nowhere.

Questioning. Like a newspaper reporter, ask yourself who, what, when, where, why, and how about your topic.

505C. a Thesis. Your essay must not be a mere pile

of facts about a topic. Pondering your jotted-down facts and ideas should lead you toward one controlling idea, or point, that you want to convey-what your essay would say if boiled down to one sentence. This is called your thesis. Write a thesis sentence stating this point. Be sure the sentence asserts something about your topic (says what you will show about your topic).

A thesis is not merely a restatement of the topic. Nor is it a stale statement of something rather obvious, such as We must keep our nation secure against terrorists. A thesis presents a reasonably original point that can arouse readers' interest, stimulate their thought, and perhaps generate lively discussion.

Paths to a good thesis. One path to forming a thesis is to ask yourself a key question, such as "What did I learn from sharing a dorm room with a person of another race?" The answer can become your thesis: "Sharing a biracial dorm room breaks down racial preconceptions, brings understanding, and can lead to friendship." (These three effects of sharing can become the divisions of the body of your essay; see 506A, page 65.)

Another way to form a thesis is to complete this sentence:

In this essay I will show that .... The words following show that will form a thesis sentence (in your actual essay, drop the words In this essay I will show that): In this eSB&)' I vfi.ll Baovi taa!: smaller downtown stores can thrive along with giant suburban stores to the benefit of the whole community.

Qualities of a good thesis sentence. A good thesis sentence (1) focuses on one worthwhile, interest-arousing assertion,

.\ .f

(2) promises afresh insight into or deeper understanding of the topic, and (3) can be convincingly supported by your facts and logic.

Compare these thesis sentences:

campus is becoming increasingly multiracial. Gust a fact or observation]

Increasingly strong bonds between whites and Asians on our campus are only further alienating other minorities. [limited, original, insightful]

Campus racial harmony is desirable. [too broad, stale, unarguable]

Nearly everyone on this campus is a racist. [too broad, unsupportable]

To create a nonthreatening learning environment at our college, the administration must take the lead in eliminating racial bias. [limited, supportable]

Your purpose and thesis will determine the way in which you organize your ideas. Here are the most common approaches:

• Narrations generally follow time order (e.g., my victory over cancer). Explanations of a process (laying tracks in recording music) also use time order. Be sure to clarify any technical terms.

• Descriptions use spatial order (a strip mine).

Be sure to move consistently: left ~ right;

far ~ near; outside ~ center; or in some similar logical progression.

• Explanations (why some prefer music on old vinyl LPs) are open to many kinds of order, such as simple -7 complex; familiar -7 unfamiliar; or analogy (a comparison with something more familiar-see 503B, page 61).

• Definitions (the true meaning of liberal)

• Classifications or divisions (types of people one meets at a bar)

• Comparisons or contrasts (Republican and Democratic solutions to recession) can proceed by either (1) presenting all of one side of the issue, then all of the other (first the Republican' ideas, then the Democrats') or (2) -often better-presenting each side's ideas alternately, point by point (unemployment, inflation, government's role ... ).

• Cause-effect papers can move from effect (acid rain) to cause(s) or from cause (more couples over thirty-five having children) to effect(s).

• Persuasive (argumentative) papers (vote for the Green Party this fall) try to change readers' thinking on an issue. Move from your least convincing point to your most convincing.

• Problem-solution papers (see sample essay, page 66).

SECTIONS< 505-506. ESSAYS

An outline helps you determine the sequence and relative importance of your ideas. After deciding on your approach, make some kind of tentative outline of your essay (stay flexible-change it as needed). At the beginning of any outline, write your thesis sentence.

A scratch outline. Just jot down your main points in order. Leave ample space between each; in the space below each main point, list supporting items (indented). A variation of this outline is the topic sentence outline: write the topic sentence you intend for each paragraph. (The scratch outline is good also for in-class timed essays and examination essay questions.)

A tree outline lets you see clearly where each of your points or facts fits best and how sound your overall structure is:

A formal outline clarifies the sequence and relative importance of ideas, using numbers, letters, and indenting. Your instructor may require one (you might want to build it from a preliminary scratch or tree outline):

Thesis: Smaller downtown stores can thrive along with giant suburban stores to the benefit of the whole community.

1. The problem

A. Big-box stores built only in suburbs

B. Downtowns abandoned by shoppers II. Arguments against big-box stores

A. Exclude poor and elderly shoppers

1. From wide choice of goods

2. From low prices

B. Cause loss of city tax revenue

C. Limit workers to low-paying jobs III.Arguments for big-box stores

[Continue with A, B ... , 1, 2, 3 ... , IV, V ... as needed.]

Maintain parallel structure in a formal outline. See 128F, page 25.

Essays have three parts: introduction, body, and conclusion. (See example, 506C, page 66.)

The introduction (usually one paragraph) arouses reader interest, presents the topic and often the thesis, and may suggest the essay's organization. You may arouse interest with a surprising fact (half of America's children live in nontraditional families), a question (what can account for our endless fascination with UFOs?), an anecdote (one day last week I saw ... ), or a common assumption that you will challenge (we take for granted that America's roads are the world's best).

The body develops the thesis in several paragraphs (not necessarily three as shown in the 506C sample). What you learned about writing good paragraphs (adequate development, coherence, unity, and emphasis-section 503) applies equally here. Your thesis sentence may suggest the divisions of your paper's body (similarity of students' [1] goals, [2] ages, and [3] interests encourages racial harmony).

The conclusion should (re)emphasize your thesis. It may briefly restate your main points and may make a prediction or suggest action. A good conclusion ends with a strong sentence that both signals "the end" and keeps readers thinking about what you have shown.

A good essay is usually the product of several drafts and revisions. Use the checklist below to improve your drafts and polish the final paper. In writing your early drafts, do not stop to edit for grammar, mechanics, or style; keep your thoughts flowing. When possible, have one or more classmates read your drafts for feedback and proofread your final paper.

CHECKLIST

1. Revising drafts. Focus on content:

• Introduction: interest-arousing? topic made clear? leading smoothly into body?

• Thesis: clear, appropriate, limited, provable?

• Supporting evidence: sufficient? more specifics needed? free of unsupported generalizations? unbiased? in logical order?

• Unity: everything on topic-no drifting off? free of extraneous or redundant statements?

• Coherence: ideas in logical order? each point leading clearly to the next?

• Emphasis: main points clearly led up to and given most space?

• Conclusion: following logically from thesis and supporting evidence in body? not too broad? ending strong?

2. Editing. Focus on sentences and wording:

Paragraph structure: topic sentences clear? other sentences clearly related to them?

Sentences: varied in length, type, wording? strong, effective?

Word choice, tone, degree offormality: appropriate to topic and audience? word meanings clear for readers? concise, specific? nondiscriminatory? Flow of thought: made clear by transitional expressions, repetition of key words?

3. Proofreading. Focus on details of correctness:

Keyboarding: text free of repeated or omitted words, etc.?

Manuscript form: correct margins, spacing, indentations, etc. (see section 501)?

Grammar: correct pronoun reference, modifier placement, sentence structure, agreement, etc.? clarity throughout?

Punctuation: correct, adequate, conveying meaning clearly?

Mechanics and spelling: capitalization, etc., correct and consistent?

Editing-proofreading hints:

• One read-through is not enough. Proofread slowly, with concentration, several times.

• Remember that most computer spelling checkers do not catch homonyms (there for their) or wrong words correctly spelled (clam for calm), and that grammar-style checkers are often imprecise.

• If possible, read your paper into a recording device and listen to the playback as you proofread.

• Do one proofing backward, from last sentence to first, to catch sentence-structure errors.

• Do another proofing backward, word by word, to catch spelling errors and repeated or omitted words.

This is a problem-solution paper. After an interest-arousing opening, the introduction presents the problem; then, rather than stating the paper's thesis at this point, the writer makes the reader think about the problem by suggesting that both sides have valid arguments (paragraphs 2 and 3). The body of the essay will lead the reader toward the writer's thesis, which is withheld until the conclusion.

The first body paragraph presents one side of the argument (topic sentence, italicized); the second body

.-) , •. ~

paragraph, the other side (topic sentence, italicized). The third body paragraph gives the writer's solution to the problem (topic sentence, italicized).

The conclusion begins with the thesis (in bold), summarizing the solution to which the writer has led the reader. The essay then suggests how to effect the solution and ends with a pithy, easily remembered sentence. *

Big-Box Stores-Can Smaller Be Better?

"What's happened to this town?" I gasped, staring out the car window at the rows of empty storefronts along Main Street, "For rent" signs in most of their dusty windows. Five years ago, when we last drove through this small city, the stores had been thriving. As we reached the new arterial highway outside town, I realized what had happened. There gleamed a bright new supersize mall, anchored by a huge Wow-Mart at one end and a giant Home Castle

Center at the other-so-called big-box stores. Between were other chain stores, acres of parked cars, and hundreds of scurrying, seemingly happy purchasers. The giant retailers had sucked the area's consumers away from the small downtown shops-a migration that, I knew from the newspapers, was occurring around the nation. Deplorable, I concluded at first.

Yet I knew that many people were extolling the benefits of big-box stores. Were these retail

giants, then, a blight or a boon?

Urban leaders, enoironmentalists, traditionalists, and advocates for tbe POOl' den)' the big-box construction boom as devastating to the lives of many city dwellers. (A few counties have even passed zoning laws banning such stores.) Nearly always, these huge outlets are built at malls outside city limits, where open land is available. Yet only customers with cars can travel there; the carless-mostly poor or elderly-are shut off from the malls' low prices and wide selection of goods (except sometimes for slow, sporadic bus service). As the new mega stores drive downtown

stores out of business, these poor and elderly are left with fewer and fewer places to shop and must pay higher prices. City real-estate values then declinewho wants to move into a ghost town?-and the

city's sales-tax revenue is siphoned off to the already wealthier suburbs hosting the big boxes. Though jobs are available at the new malls-to those who can

get there-many of them pay little. Finally, environmentalists point out that all the driving to malls increases air pollution.

Yet advocates of big-box stores proclaim their many advantages. Customers find lower prices for everything from lettuce to lawn mowers; they also enjoy easy parking, a wide array of high-quality goods, twenty-four-hour service, and security protection. Employment-seekers

do find hundreds of new jobs, often with health-care

and other benefits; though most of these jobs are not high-paying, many exceed the minimum wage.

County governments reap sales and real-estate tax revenues that benefit not only the suburbs but also

the cities in those counties.

*Italics and boldface added by the authors of English Simplified.

Is there any way, I wondered, to gain the benefits of big-box malls without their inevitable damage to nearby cities? Then I thought, if there is no room for big boxes

in cities, why not smaller boxes? The highly profitable Wow-Mart and Home Castle chains could very easilyand cheaply-buy block-size plots in deteriorated downtowns and erect smaller versions of their stores, providing parking in secure underground garages and perhaps preserving or reconstructing the historic old storefronts to keep the neighborhood intimacy that once made downtown shopping enjoyable. Then the city's poor would have the low prices, plentiful goods, and jobs that are all now out of their reach. The giant retailers' profit margins at these stores would probably not be

as high as in the malls, but these corporations could easily absorb the difference, and their public image as being socially concerned would soar. Downtowns could thrive again.

It seems clear, then, that big boxes and smaller boxes can both succeed within an urban-suburban area, to the benefit of all, The big-box corporations just need to be motivated into building these smaller outlets downtown. How? County governments can require that if a corporation wants to erect a big box in the suburbs it must also build a smaller store downtown; and the municipality can grant the corporation tax credits for doing so. Community groups can make sure that retailers who do build downtown receive much favorable publicity and community support. Finally, the big-box corporations themselves can realize that what benefits the community benefits them as well. Big box-small box, though no panacea, will help mostly everyone, to a large extent, come out a winner.

___ ' '",__ Unlike most class

essays, research papers are based largely on data gathered from libraries, computer-based sources, and sometimes interviews or other field research. The great amount of work involved demands that you start early, set up a workable schedule, and adhere to it strictly. Rarely are A papers written at 4 a.m. on deadline day.

What was said for essays (section 505A, page 63) applies even more here: narrow your focus. Dangers to our national parks is a book-length topic, but the snowmobile controversy in our northern national parks fits research-paper length. You can limit a topic by

• Taking part of the whole: Choose one of Hemingway's short stories rather than a whole range of them.

• Restricting time, place, or both: not Roosevelt's foreign

policy but Roosevelt's China policy, 1936-1941.

A topic must be researchable, not based primarily on personal experience or speculation; it must lend itself to objective, even-handed treatment leading to a conclusion based solidly on your evidence; it must

be completable with resources available to you. You will need perhaps ten or more sources, never just one or two.

Follow the guidelines for essays, section 505C, page 64. In particular, try forming a question that your research can answer. Remember that your initial thesis is tentative and will probably be revised as your research progresses.

Print sources include general and reference books, periodicals (magazines, newspapers, journals), and government documents. Locate books through your library's computerized catalog. If you find few or no books on your exact topic (e.g., why the high-rise housing projects of the 1950s and 1960s failed), look under broader or related topics (urban renewal, urban problems, inner-city housing, U.S. architecture 1950-1975). You may find a book with some information on your topic; check its index, and scan its bibliography for further sources.

General reference works, Encyclopedias, almanacs, and other reference works, such as the Dictionary of American Biography, are good places to begin research on many topics.

Indexes, Most periodical articles are listed in periodical indexes, such as the New York Times Index and the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature, and subject indexes, such as the Social Sciences Index, MLA Bibliography, and Education Index. Such indexes are usually on CD-ROMs or online.

Electronic sources have become almost as important as printed ones (in some fields even more important), especially for recent information:

TV and radio programs, films, video and audio tapes, CDs,DVDs

CD-ROMs: compact computer discs of encyclopedias, indexes, and much else.

Online sources of all kinds: indexes, abstracts of articles, and even full texts of some articles or books; newspapers from many nations; newsgroups; discussion groups; and countless other sites accessible, if you do not already know the Internet address (URL) , through meta-search engines, such as Metacrawler, and then search engines, such as Google, Yahoo! or AltaVista (but see "Special cautions" in 507E, page 68).

Keyword searches: To look for sources (do a keyword search) with a search engine, type your topic in the Search or similar box on the computer screen. The Library of Congress Subject Headings can help you find the best keywords for your topic.

Put + or AND (depending on the engine) before words you want included, and - or NOT before those you want excluded:

malaria + drug + treatment - quinine

malaria AND drug AND treatment NOT quinine.

Use quotation marks around words you want searched as a group ("urban renewal"-otherwise you may get data on urban air pollution or furniture renewal). To broaden your search use OR, especially for closely related terms ("urban renewal" OR "urban housing"); to narrow a search, add more terms (+ Chicago + J950s) or exclude some (- Canada).

Field work. Some topics lend themselves to gathering original data through interviews, questionnaires, or objective direct observation (such as observing and recording the nursing habits of newborn puppies of different breeds). You may interview an authority in person, by phone, or electronically. In an interview or questionnaire, make your questions concise, specific, to the point, objective, and easily answerable in a form usable in your paper.

For each promising source you locate, write in a computer file or on a separate index card the source's title, author; and publication or electronic source information. See 509, pages 70-74, for examples of needed information. Use MLA, APA, or whatever style your instructor directs. Computer printouts of bibliographies are helpful but must be merged with your other bibliography items.

Sources. Not all sources you find will be equally reliable. Reliability depends on

Type of publication, Avoid tabloid newspapers and most newsstand magazines, as well as publications that seem to be pushing a product. Your college library is the best place to find reliable print sources. Scholarly journals and books from university presses are generally the most reliable, but also acceptable are favorably reviewed general books and reputable periodicals such as the Atlantic Monthly, Scientific American, Time, Newsweek, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. But see "Objectivity" below.

Author's expertise. Choose an author such as a professor or well-known expert in the field in preference to a general journalist or freelancer; look for her credentials on the book jacket or accompanying the article. And see that she gives sources for her facts.

Recency. Be sure your sources are up to date (especially in the sciences), except when an older work is a classic or basic study in its field.

Objectivity. With few exceptions (such as rigidly scientific studies), each source will reflect its author's

leanings on the subject. Find and present a fair balance of viewpoints on your topic. Distinguish between fact and opinion or assertion (fact: Americans buy millions of packs of chewing gum each year; opinion/assertion: gum chewers make a poor impression on others). Be alert for one-sided arguments and unsupported claims. Be wary of data from sources advocating a cause or a product ("Sixty-two percent of Americans do not chew enough gum." Who says so? How was this determined? What is "enough"?).

Special cautions for Internet sources. Though the Internet contains many highly reliable sources, it is an ungoverned system: anyone can say anything-perhaps slanted, defamatory, or wholly false. Web sites ending in .edu or .gov are generally reliable (except that nonexpert student groups can also use .edu). Sites with .org (nonprofit groups) and .com (profit-seeking companies) range from quite reliable (the New York Times) to highly biased (a political party's site). For most topics, avoid chat rooms and the like that give only laypersons' opinions; be very wary of bias or false information among Web logs (blogs). Wikipedia and the like (referred to as wikis) are open to anyone to contribute information; supposedly, other users will correct errors, but this cannot be assured.

Note: Many online sources periodically change their data; write down the date of the site's latest update and the date you accessed the site.

Note-taking and planning go hand in hand. With a clear plan you will do less unneeded reading and note-taking; and as your knowledge of the topic grows, you can sharpen your plan. In taking notes you may (1) quote directly, (2) paraphrase (see below), or (3) summarize what the source says. Quote sparingly; your paper should be mostly your own words.

Take notes in separate files or on a separate set of cards from your bibliography cards. Record the page number (if any) of the information, and key each note card to its corresponding bibliography card (e.g., McCulloch, John Adams 287).

A paraphrase is a restatement of source material in your own words. It is longer and more detailed than a summary. It must

• Acknowledge the source

• Be entirely in your own words and sentence structure (but if you just cannot restate a phrase or so, quote it)

• Use the same general order as the source

• Not contain your own ideas or comments

Unacceptable paraphrase of part of paragraph 6, page 62- fails to mention the source, stays too close to source's

wording (italicized), and inserts student's comment ("deliberately prejudicial ... "):

Nationwide, the band business had a unified pyramid structure that affected black jazz bands. This arrangement was deliberately prejudicial toward black bands. The top level comprised a few oery successful national bands that had good salaries and reputations. They made a name through recordings and radio broadcasts, with careful nurturing from managers; this name enabled them to

get rich from national tours of ballrooms, nightclubs,

and theaters ....

Acceptable paraphrase:

Hennessey maintains that black bands were affected by the development of a national three-tiered commercial band structure. The few first-level bands did very well, under "careful nurturing" by managers who helped them get radio time and record contracts; thus they became nationally known and could get lucrative bookings at the most popular entertainment spots ....

See also 508B, page 70.

When finished taking notes, look over your data and revise your outline, thesis, or both, as needed. Arrange your notes in an order matching your outline, and start writing your first draft. All that has been said about good paragraphs (502-503, pages 60--63) and essays (505-506, pages 63-67) applies here as well.

Research papers, many reports, and articles for publication require documentation of all information obtained from books, periodicals, and other outside sources. Documentation consists of (1) citations-acknowledgments, at the point of use in your text, of the sources of material you have used, and (2) a references list-an alphabetical list at the end of your paper of all the sources you used (also called a works cited list or a bibliography-see 509, pages 70-74). Papers in English, foreign language, and some other humanities require the Modern Language Association (MLA) style; those in the behavioral sciences and some other subjects use the American Psychological Association (APA) style.*

Note: There is a modified form of both MLA and APA styles, called the Columbia Online Style (COS). It has been designed especially to accommodate electronic sources. If your instructor lets you or wants you to use this style, consult the Internet for details and examples, e.g., http://faculty.ccp.edu/deptiresourceguide/CGuideCOS.html

facts, such as President Grant died in 1885 in upstate New York). You must tell enough about each source that your reader can locate the source and the information, and you must always make clear where the source material begins and ends in your text. (See 508B, "Avoiding Plagiarism," page 70.)

The MLA Style. If you cite a general idea of an entire work, you need mention only the author's name in your text (the body of your paper): Lewis surveys Dante's work and his influence on world literature, particularly on nineteenth- and twentieth-century British and American wri ters. [You may add Lewis's first name; you must add it if you cite two Lewises in your paper.]

If you quote, paraphrase, or summarize a specific fact or idea from a source, cite in your text the author's name and the page from which the material came:

• Direct quotation: According to one recent study of Dante, "T. S. Eliot's

mind and imagination were infested with Dante over a literary lifetime" (Lewis 195). [195 = page. If your paper cites

two authors named Lewis, add the first initial.]

• Paraphrase (see 507F, page 68, for definition): Lewis asserts that Dante greatly influenced all of T. S. Eliot's writing and literary thought (195).

• Paraphrase integrating direct quotation: Lewis asserts that T. S. Eliot's writing and literary thought were constantly "infested with Dante" (195).

Your reader can find full information about the source by turning to your works cited list:

Lewis, R. W. B. Dante. New York: Viking, 2001. Print. [Viking = publisher.]

You must identify the sources of all facts and ideas, including opinions, that you obtain from your research (exception: widely available

*APA-based material in section 508-510 Copyright © 2001, 2007 by the American Psychological Association. Adapted with permission.

Note: If your works cited list contains more than one entry by the same author(s), give the title before the page number in your citation: (Lewi s , Dan t e 195) . (For a long title, give a shortened version.) For electronic sources that have no paging, give the paragraph number, if any: (Lewi s , par. 78). Otherwise, give just the author's name: (Lewis).

The APA Style. If you cite a general idea of an entire work, mention the author(s) and year of publication in your text: Lewis (2001) surveys Dante's works and his influence on world literature, particularly on nineteenthand twentieth-century British and American writers.

or

Another study surveys Dante's works and his influence on world literature,

particularly on nineteenth- and twentieth-century British and American writers (Lewis, 2001).

If you quote, paraphrase, or summarize a specific fact or idea from a source, cite in your text the author's last name, the year of publication, and the page from which the material came: Lewis (2001) asserts that T. S. Eliot's writing and literary thought were constantly "infested with Dante" (p. 195).

or

According to one recent study, "T. S. Eliot's mind and imagination were infested with Dante over a literary lifetime" (Lewis, 2001, p. 195).

Your reader can find full information about the source by turning to your references list.

Note: If your references list contains two or more entries by the same author(s) with the same publication year, list these entries alphabetically by title (under the author's name) in your references list, and in your citations assign each entry a letter in its references-list order: (Lewi s , 2001 a) .

Plagiarism is the taking of person's words or ideas without acknowledgthat person's authorship. Done intentionally, it is stealing. Even if unintentional, it is a serious violation

of research ethics that normally leads to an automatic failing grade or worse. Your reader must be able to distinguish between your ideas or words and those of your sources.

Whole papers. You plagiarize when you submit a whole paper that someone else wrote (perhaps from the Internet). Nor should you submit a paper that you have written for another course (unless your instructor permits).

Paragraphs. You plagiarize also when you lift a whole block of sentences from a source (even in your own paraphrase) and just place a citation at the end. Why is this plagiarism? In the following student paragraph, who is the source of sentences I and 2?

In the twentieth century, the

poet Ezra Pound was filled with the knowledge and influence of Dante. Pound's epic poem The Cantos, which took him fifty years to complete, is full of various elements borrowed from the Divine Comedy. Yet Pound said that The Cantos contained material "that wasn't in the Divina Commedia" (Lewis 194-195).

Actually, the whole paragraph is paraphrased from Lewis. But the student seems to be claiming sentences

I and 2 as her own (thus leaving herself open to a charge of plagiarizing them), because she does not state where the material from Lewis begins.

Avoid such an accusation by placing a clear acknowledgment of your source at the beginning of the passagesuch as Lewis points out that in the twentieth century ....

Sentences and phrases. You plagiarize whenever you fail to clearly cite a source; that is, when you

Use a source's words (even with slight changes) as if they were your own, without citing the source.

Original passage (from Dante, by R. W. B. Lewis): T. S.

Eliot's mind and imagination were infested with Dante over a literary lifetime.

Student plagiadsm-no source cited: Over hi s 1 i terary lifetime, T. S. Eliot's mind and imagination were heavily influenced by Dante ....

Use a source's idea, even in your own paraphrase, without citing that source. Student plagiarism of Lewis:

Throughout his career, T. S. Eliot was greatly influenced by Dante.

Fail to enclose the source's exact words in quotation marks, even if you cite your source. Student plagiarism of Lewis-no quotation marks: T. S. Eliot's mind and imagination were infested with Dante for his entire literary life (Lewi s 195). Even if you take only one distinctive expression, such as "infested with," without quoting, you have plagiarized.

For legitimate ways to use the Lewis material in your paper, see 508A, page 69. See also 507F, page 68, on paraphrasing.

One aid to avoiding plagiarism: When you take notes, first read and comprehend what the source is saying (or a section of it). Then look away from the source and jot down the source's ideas in your own words. Finally, check what you wrote against the source for accuracy.

Normally, every source you cite in your text must also appear in your works cited/references list, and vice versa. Follow the models in the chart (starting on the next page), noting details such as punctuation and capitalization. Section 5 lOB, page 75, gives sample pages and details of alphabetizing entries. Type all works cited/references list entries with a hanging indent (first line at left margin, remaining lines indented five spaces or one tab stroke; most keyboarding programs have a "hanging indent" command).

Give only last name and initials of all authors; reverse all names. Use &, not and.

Place date just after author nume(s), in parentheses. Do not abbreviate month.

Use no capitals in titles and subtitles, except for first word and proper nouns. (But do capitalize periodical titlcs.) Use no quotation marks; italicize full-length works and periodicals. Include A, An, or The beginning

Cite the medium only for certain non-print sources. See sample entries 18-27 below.

References

Ferling, J. (2007). Almost a miracle:

The American victory in the War of Independence. New York:

Oxford University Press.

American Psychological Association. (2001).

Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington, IX::: Author. [If author and publisher are the same, just write Au thor for the publisher.]

Ward, G. C., & Burns, K. (2007). The war:

An intimate history, 1941-1945. New York:

Knopf. [Give names of all authors up to six; see itern IZ below. Beyond

six authors, add et al. after the sixth.]

4. Editor

Wintz, C. D. (Ed.). (2007). Harlem speaks:

A living history of the Harlem Renaissance. Naperville,

Author(s)

Give name(s) exactly as on title page, but reversed (last name first); if two or three authors, reverse only first author's name.

Place date after title. Abbreviate month.

Use standard use

quotation marks around short works. Italicize full-length works and periodicals.

Omit A, An, or The beginning periodical titles.

its form of publication: Pr in t , Web, Television, Film, CD, Performance, Address ....

1. Basic form

Ferling, John. Almost a Miracle: The American Victory in the War of Oxford UP,

New edition

Modern Language Association of America.

MIA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 7th ed. New York: MLA, 2009. Print.

3. More than one author (List authors in same order as on title page.)

Ward, Geoffrey C., and Ken Burns. The War:

An Intimate History, 1941-1945. New York: Knopf, 2007. Print.

Wintz, Cary D., ed. Harlem Speaks:

A Living History of the Harlem Renaissance. Naperville:

Sourcebooks, 2007. Print.