Category: Grammar

Words From the Grammar Nazi: Passives and Participles

6/22/2015

She’ll point out every little mistake. She’ll scream at you for using comma splices and split infinitives. She has no tolerance for fragments and run-ons. Today, she’s taken over the Cerebral Writer, and hate her if you will, she does know her grammar (and she only wants to help). Today’s lesson: understanding the difference between participles and passive voice and when it's appropriate to use them.

Participles in Progressive Tenses

I’d like to begin by pointing out a common mistake: that all constructions using certain helping verbs (am, is, are, was, were) are passive. This is not the case. Many participle constructions also contain uses of these words but are not passive. For example:

It was going over there.

The above construction uses the participle phrase “It was going over” to create the past progressive verb tense. This is an active construction. “It” is acting (going over there), not being acted upon. A passive equivalent of the sentence would be:

It was being taken over there.

See the difference? In the first example, “it was going” is different than “it was being taken” (by someone).

However, this kind of construction does weaken the prose when used without a simple verb tense construction to play against. Using “It was over there” on its own weighs down the prose. However, if you anchor it with a simple tense adverbial clause using “when,” “while,” “as,” “since,” “because,” and the like, you create a reference point that makes the progressive relevant:

It was going over there when I last checked.

Just like with passive voice, use progressive tenses sparingly … but don’t cut them out completely. There is a place for both. You just have to know how to use them and do so with purpose.

Now, a Bit of Advice on Passive Voice

If you’ve done any amount of writing and received any reasonable amount of feedback, you’ve received at least some advice about the so-called evils of passive voice. “Never use it,” many will say. Real writers use only strong, “active” prose.

Well, I’m here to tell you there is a place for passive voice. Beyond technical writing and scientific papers, which typically call for enough passive voice use to make any hater’s head spin, there are a handful of instances where passive voice is warranted. (See what I just did there?) ;-)

These are the most relevant examples:

· When the object doesn’t need mentioning or would create redundancy:
· The papers had already been corrected.

· When the subject is unknown:
· The bathroom was occupied.

· When you want to focus on the object more than the subject:
· The fire had been started by an arsonist.

· When you want to pull your readers in to a character’s feeling of helplessness or lack of control:
· Her hands had been tied behind her back.

· When you want to add a deceptive tone to the prose:
· He swore he was nowhere nearby when the car was stolen.

While you might have readers who also do not know the rules, there is always a chance that editors, agents, or reviewers reading your work do. If you take the time to know and understand these rules, your writing will be sharper and you will be able to present it to the world with confidence and skill.

Until next time, my pretties! (Insert evil cackle.)

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Words From the Grammar Nazi: Replacement Therapy, Part 3

2/20/2015

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She’ll point out every little mistake. She’ll scream at you for using comma splices and split infinitives. She has no tolerance for fragments and run-ons. Today, she’s taken over the Cerebral Writer, and hate her if you will, she does know her grammar (and she only wants to help).

Today’s lesson: Make figuring out appropriate pronoun use a little easier by replacing them with simplified words or phrases that are easier to gauge.

Mistakes Using Pronouns

One issue I see too often is pronoun misuse, the most common being confusion between the subject pronoun “I” and the object pronoun “me.” Nearly as common is misuse of the reflexive “myself.”

First off, a subject pronoun works when describing an active noun: someone or something that is doing something:

I am doing something.
She is doing something.
They are doing something.

An object pronoun, rather direct or indirect, is having something done to it. (Pardon the passive voice.)

That was done to me.
That was done to her.
That was done to them.

A reflexive pronoun is something someone does to oneself.

I hurt myself.
She hurt herself.
They hurt themselves.

Now, consider the following incorrect pronoun choices:

Me and my friend went to the park.
They gave the gifts to my friend and I.
They always give trouble to people like myself.

The following replacement examples to show how all three are incorrect:

She went to the park. Since “she” is a subject pronoun, the correct first-person pronoun is “I”: “My friend and I went to the park.”

They gave the gifts to her. Since “her” is an object pronoun, the correct usage here would be the object pronoun “me”: “They gave the gifts to my friend and me.”

They always give trouble to people like them. Since “them” is an object pronoun, the correct choice is the object pronoun “me”: “They always give trouble to people like me.”

Now, consider the following:

It was I who corrected the mistake.
It had been he who had broken the rule.
He's always been spiteful toward they who shall remain nameless.

With the replacement advice I've given so far, you might assume the three sentences above are incorrect. You would, however, be wrong in this case. While it is correct to write “It was me”; “It had been him”; and “He's always been spiteful toward them,” when looking at constructions such as these, you'll need to consider the phrase rather than the individual word. Let's simplify each.

I corrected the mistake.
He had broken the rule.
They shall remain nameless.

In the above examples, you have to look at the words’ functions and the roles they play in their attached clauses in order to get the pronoun correct.

Now, let's take a quick look at the differences between the relative pronouns “who” and “whom.”
“Who” is a subject pronoun, while “whom” is an object pronoun. When the pronoun is the object of a preposition, the choice is pretty easy; we all know “to whom it may concern” and similar constructions; however, the choice between these two is not always so easy.

In order to choose correctly, use the same tactics you'd use with any other pronoun. If it is doing something, use the subject pronoun; if something is being done to it, use the object pronoun. If in doubt, replace and compare:

Who went to the park? She/he/they/I went to the park.
Whom did she love? She loved her/him/them/me.

Whether referring to first, second, or third person, the types of pronouns--subject, object, or reflexive--used in sentence will always remain the same. Therefore, by replacing pronouns you know are correct with those you are unsure about, you can know your choices will always be grammatically correct.

While you might have readers who also do not know the rules, there is always a chance that editors, agents, or reviewers reading your work do. If you take the time to know and understand these rules, your writing will be sharper and you will be able to present it to the world with confidence and skill.

Until next time, my pretties! (Insert evil cackle.)

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Words From the Grammar Nazi: Replacement Therapy, Part 2

1/30/2015

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She’ll point out every little mistake. She’ll scream at you for using comma splices and split infinitives. She has no tolerance for fragments and run-ons. Today, she’s taken over the Cerebral Writer, and hate her if you will, she does know her grammar (and she only wants to help).

Today’s lesson: Make figuring out appropriate comma use a little easier by replacing them with simplified words or phrases that are easier to gauge.

Noun and Gerund Phrases

One issue I see often is comma placement between a nominal or gerund phrase and the verb phrase the follows. The longer or more complicated either of these nominal phrases is, the more likely it is that writers will make this mistake. By replacing more complicated phrases with single nouns or pronouns, you can test whether that comma actually belongs. Consider the following examples:

Example: “People who love freshly bloomed roses love the prettiest flowers.” Many writers might be tempted to place a comma between “roses” and “love,” but this is incorrect. Let’s replace the noun phrase, “people who love freshly bloomed roses,” with a single word and see how that looks:

Simplified: “They love the prettiest flowers.” No comma, right? Since nominal phrases, no matter what the length, are interchangeable, this means there also is no comma in “People who love freshly bloomed roses love the prettiest flowers."

Here’s another one: “He who plays the game best wins the game.” Tempted to use a comma? Simplify “he who plays the game best” with simply “he”:

“He wins the game.” No comma.

Here are a couple of examples containing gerunds:

“Taking the time to stop and smell the roses helps people find the time to appreciate the finer things in life.” Replace the gerund phrase, “taking the time to stop and smell the roses,” with a single word, such as “that”:

“That helps people find the time to appreciate the finer things in life.” No comma.

“Going over to her mom’s house every Sunday without fail complicates her weekly schedule.” Replace the gerund, “going over to her mom’s house every Sunday without fail,” with “that”:

“That complicates her weekly schedule.” No comma.

Verb and Adverb Phrases

Another big mistake writers make is placing commas between verb phrases and adverb phrases that follow them. Consider the following:

“She was running on the treadmill when the call came.” Tempted to place a comma between “treadmill” and “when”? Simplify the sentence by replacing the verb phrase “was running on the treadmill” with “she was running,” and replacing “when the call came” with “at the time”:

“She was running at the time.” No comma.

Conversely, many people will forego the comma when the adverb phrase comes before the verb phrase, which is incorrect. Always use a comma when an adverbial phrase comes at the beginning of a sentence: “When the call came, she was running on the treadmill.”

While you might have readers who also do not know the rules, there is always a chance that editors, agents, or reviewers reading your work do. If you take the time to know and understand these rules, your writing will be sharper and you will be able to present it to the world with confidence and skill.

Until next time, my pretties, when we address pronouns. (Insert evil cackle.)

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Words From the Grammar Nazi: Replacement Therapy, Part 1

1/17/2015

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She’ll point out every little mistake. She’ll scream at you for using comma splices and split infinitives. She has no tolerance for fragments and run-ons. Today, she’s taken over the Cerebral Writer, and hate her if you will, she does know her grammar (and she only wants to help).

Today’s lesson: Make figuring out appropriate comma use a little easier by replacing them with simplified words or phrases that are easier to gauge.

Lists of Two

I’ve touched on this in a previous post, but it is such a common mistake—especially when it comes to verb clauses—it deserves the extra attention. Consider the following sentence: “We had so much fun at the party the other night and took tons of great pictures.” Do you think a comma belongs? Replace this sentence with the simplified version:

“We had fun and took pictures.” No comma.

How about this one: “They spent all morning decorating the house with streamers and balloons and had a lot of fun doing it.” Replace this sentence with the simplified version:

“They decorated and had fun doing it.” No comma.

So how could we correctly use commas in the above sentences? The answer: Make sure each is a fully independent clause, which means each has its own stated subject (someone or something doing something):

“We had so much fun at the party the other night, and we took tons of great pictures.”

“They spent all morning decorating the house with streamers and balloon, and they had a lot of fun doing it.”

Here’s one more: “They ate a hearty breakfast then ran a mile to work it off.”

Simplified: “They ate then ran.” No comma.

In this case, “then” functions similarly to the way “and” does. Look at it this way: “They ate a hearty breakfast and ran a mile to work it off.”

There are exceptions. If withholding the comma hinders readability, such as in the case of certain clauses with separate verb tenses or moods, use a comma between them even if they do not have their own independently stated subjects.

Example: “They spent all morning decorating the house with streamers and balloon, and might have had a lot of fun doing it had their attitudes been better.”

Simplified: “They did this, and might have had fun doing it.”

Also, two independent clauses (each has its own stated subject) can be a list of two when following words such as “because,” “as,” “since,” and thus should be treated as such.

Example: “They decided not to go since they had no money and it would be easier to eat at home.” To simplify this, think of the sentence this way: “They decided not to go because of this reason and that.”

Were the sentence lacking “They decided not to go since…” a comma between “they had no money” and “and it would be easier to eat at home” would become necessary: “They had no money, and it would be easier to eat at home.”

Finally, if you have a clause that reflects the actions of the subject rather than the object, a comma will complicate the sentence rather than clarify it.

Example: “She couldn’t believe he stood her up, and was rather upset.” The comma here clarifies that he isn't the one who is upset.

Similarly, if the subject is followed by two actions that need to remain segregated to avoid confusion, use a comma.

While you might have readers who also do not know the rules, there is always a chance that editors, agents, or reviewers reading your work do. If you take the time to know and understand these rules, your writing will be sharper and you will be able to present it to the world with confidence and skill.

Until next time, my pretties, when we tackle noun and gerund phrases. (Insert evil cackle.)

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An Important Message About Editors

10/11/2014

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I’ve touched upon this issue in the past, but I feel it’s time to revisit it. For those of you who have hired freelance editors to polish your work, I can guarantee your experiences and satisfaction rates have been as varied as the prices you’ve paid. For reasons I can only imagine fall between good intentions and just plain greed, expectations placed on editing rates have become exceedingly unrealistic.

According to the Editorial Freelancers Association, basic copyediting (5-10 pages per hour) and proofreading should start at $30 an hour. Heavy copyediting (2-5 pages per hour) should start at $40 per hour. That would make the minimum price for a 300-page novel fall between $900 and $1350 for basic copyediting. According to the Writer’s Market, the average price for copyediting a trade paperback is $49 per hour.

I’ve seen self-proclaimed editors charge $1 per page. I know of at least a couple of small presses that pay their copyeditors a flat fee of $200 per book. For those willing to pay no more than this, all I can say is you get what you pay for. To put more simply, if an editor is only making $200-$300 per book, how many books must that person edit per month in order to make a living? Eight? Ten? How closely can a person scrutinize a book at such a fast pace? How many thorough passes can that editor possibly make if he or she only has a few days to complete the work? Moreover, if a person is charging a fraction of industry-standard rates, is that person actually a professional?

If you hire someone worth paying, your editor will know:

the difference between an adverbial, participle, and gerund phrase (for example) and where it’s appropriate to use a comma between a phrase and main clause;
the difference between indicative, conditional, and subjunctive moods and how that difference affects language;
when it’s appropriate to keep passive voice;
when to add a note to the author and when to make a change;
how to make a change without disrupting the writer’s voice and style;
the difference between editing formats and the rules that govern them;
how to correct verb tense agreement issues and parallelisms;
how to spot and correct dangling modifiers;
how to spot and correct language ambiguities;
how to spot and correct redundancies and repetitive word use;
how to use colons, semicolons, and em-dashes; and
when to leave grammatical errors the author has included for stylistic purposes.

A professional editor will make at least two or three passes over a given work, will send edits to the author for revision after one or two passes, and will do a final “clean-up” pass once the manuscript appears finished. A professional editor will take the time to ensure your manuscript is as clean as possible, will take pride in his or her work, and will charge accordingly.

Your novel is an extension of you. It deserves the care and attention only a skilled editor can provide. If money is an issue, find an editor who will divide his or her fee into installments. After all, what’s a cheaper fee really worth if, in the end, your story doesn't come out shining?

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Words From the Grammar Nazi: Which English?

1/29/2014

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She'll point out every little mistake. She'll scream at you for using comma splices and split infinitives. She has no tolerance for fragments and run-on sentences. Today, she's taken over the Cerebral Writer, and hate her if you will, she does know her grammar.

Today's lesson: American English v. British English

While confusion between American and British English isn’t terribly prevalent, I do see a mistake here and there, especially among Indie books. The similarities between the two sets of rules make them easy to confuse, so I thought it might be helpful to share a few of the most common types of mistakes.

Spelling

Because English borrows from so many different languages, resulting in different words following different spelling rules, it can be easy to make a mistake when writing certain words.

Here is a list of what I’ve found to be the most common spelling mistakes:

American

toward

backward

afterward

color

neighbor

odor

parlor

labor

favor(ite)

British

towards

backwards

afterwards

colour

neighbour

odour

parlour

labour

favour(ite)

As you can see, there are two basic patterns here. In the first, words that end with “ard” in American English end instead with “ards” in British English. In the second, we see that many words Americans will end with “or” will end with “our” for those who use British spelling.

Chicago v. Logical Punctuation

Chicago style punctuation, which Americans use, and “logical” style, used by those writing in British English, have only a couple of notable differences. Still, not knowing the rules can contribute to serious mistakes.

In both Chicago and logical styles, a fully quoted sentence will end with the punctuation mark on the inside of the closing comma. Here’s where the two differ: In Chicago style, partial quotes will include the punctuation if it is a comma or a period, but not if it is a question mark, colon, or semicolon; logical style requires that all punctuation marks at the end of partial quotes fall outside the closing quote. For example:

Both styles: “I had no idea Jane was so picky,” she said.
What did she mean when she said the guy was not her “type”?

Chicago style: Just think of me as “another one of the guys.”

Logical style: Just think of me as “another one of the guys”.

The Oxford Comma

One would think the use of a comma named after an English university would be the accepted convention in England, but it is not. It is, however, commonly used in American writing. For more about the Oxford comma, see this article.

While you might have readers who also do not know the rules, there is always a chance that editors, agents, or reviewers reading your work do. If you take the time to know and understand these rules, your writing will be sharper and you will be able to present it to the world with confidence and skill.

Until next time, my pretties! (Insert evil cackle.)

Editing to add (because I realized not too soon after posting this that I'd only covered only a portion of what I should have)....

More words:

American

judgment

realize

recognize

capitalize

socialize

criticize

skeptic

center

fiber

caliber

offense

defense

British

judgement

realise

recognise

capitalise

socialise

criticise

sceptic

centre

fibre

calibre

offence

defence

What other words might I have missed? Please be sure to share your additions!

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Words From the Grammar Nazi: Common Adjectival and Adverbial Mistakes

7/13/2013

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She'll point out every little mistake. She'll scream at you for using comma splices and split infinitives. She has no tolerance for fragments and run-ons. Today, she's taken over the Cerebral Writer, and hate her if you will, she does know her grammar.

Today's lesson: the most common adjectival and adverbial mistakes one finds in self-published books.

Even authors aside, most people have no problem identifying adjectives and adverbs. For the small few who do, adjectives modify nouns and adverbs modify adjectives and other adverbs; adverbial phrases modify nominal phrases and adverbial phrases modify adjectival phrases. What many authors don’t know, however, is how to use all of them the right way.

Adjectives v. Adverbs

While most writers know the rules, many seem to forget them when it comes to a number of common words. Take the following sentence, for example:

She talked too loud.

Here, “loud” modifies “talked;” however, “loud” is always an adjective, so it needs to be replaced with an adverb:

She talked too loudly.

Now, there’s still a way to use “loud” here, but we’d need to change the verb to change in a way that shifts the modification to “she,” as exemplified in the following:

She was too loud.

Other common adjectives commonly used in place of adverbs are slow, real, heavy, nice, good, and bad. For example:

She was real smart (wrong). / She was really smart (right).
It rained heavy today (wrong). / It rained heavily today (right).
Play nice (wrong). / Play nicely (right).
You did good (wrong). / You did well (right).
She was hurt bad (wrong). / She was hurt badly (right).

Hyphens

Although there are exceptions, a good rule of thumb when using two or more adjectives strung together is to hyphenate. This rule also applies to adjectives modifying implied nouns. For example:

The ten-year-old boy had blond hair. / The ten-year-old had blond hair.
The last-ditch effort was worthwhile.

However, if using an adverb with an adjective, a hyphen is usually (but not always) incorrect.

She browsed through the adequately stocked aisles.

In some instances, the adverb-adjective combination does require a hyphen, such as in the following example:

She browsed through the well-stocked aisles.

Multiple-word modifiers can be tricky, so always look them up when in doubt.

Commas and Adverbial Phrases

I covered this one in a previous post, but the problem is so prevalent I felt it pertinent to repeat it. An adverbial phrase is any cluster of words that modifies the main clause. It can determine how, when, why, or where the main clause is being performed.

The rule: If the adverbial phrase comes before the main clause, use a comma. Don’t use a comma if the adverbial phrase comes after the main clause. For example:

Earlier that day she went to the park (wrong). / Earlier that day, she went to the park (right).

“Earlier that day” is an adverbial phrase, modifying the main clause, “she went to the park.” Since the adverbial clause comes before the main clause, it needs a comma.

She went to the park, earlier that day (wrong). / She went to the park earlier that day (right).

Here, the adverbial phrase comes after the main clause, so it is incorrect to use a comma in this case.

While you might have readers who also do not know the rules, there is always a chance that editors, agents, or reviewers reading your work do. If you take the time to know and understand these rules, your writing will be sharper and you will be able to present it to the world with confidence and skill.

Until next time, my pretties! (Insert evil cackle.)

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Words from the Grammar Nazi: Parentheticals, Ellipses, and Brackets

6/18/2013

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These grammatical stinkers seem self-explanatory enough: they break up sentences in meaningful ways. Simple, right? While there is some stylistic license to their uses, there are rules to them that every writer should know. Following is the basic break-down:

Parentheticals

Although there are different types of parentheticals, there are also a few different ways to make them. Commas are the standard, although m-dashes and actual parentheses are also acceptable in moderation. So, how do you decide when it is appropriate to veer from the standard?

M-dashes are two dashes placed side-by-side between words (--); if your word processor’s auto-format function is on, this will typically format into one long dash (—). M-dashes are perfect for the parenthetical that needs an extra dramatic flair. Ideally, one uses them the same way one would use commas, basically offsetting nonrestrictive relative clauses, with an opening and closing parenthetical. Nonrestrictive relative clauses contain information that is not necessary to the sentence but adds important details. For example:

The painting, which had taken her a month to complete, was destroyed in the flood.
The painting—which had taken her a month to complete—was destroyed in the flood.

Similarly, if the information comes as an aside, parentheses are also acceptable:

The painting (which had taken her a month to complete) was destroyed in the flood.

However, if the information is a necessary aspect to the sentence, a comma is not appropriate. For example:

The painting that had taken her a month to complete was destroyed in the flood. (Here, “that had taken her a month to complete” helps to define that specific painting and therefore is restrictive and does not take commas.)

M-dashes are also used in screenplays to indicate a slight, dramatic pause in dialogue. As per industry standard, they are never auto-formatted, but they do contain spaces between them and the words on either side. Here is an example:

CHARACTER
Good God -- what the hell happened here?

Used sparingly, one can use m-dashes similarly in prose. They also serve, both in screenplays and prose, to indicate where dialogue is being cut off abruptly.

A different type of parenthetical called an appositive as a nominal restatement of the noun it precedes. This one trips up many writers, as it seems natural to create parentheticals out of all nominal restatements. Here’s the simple rule: if the restatement describes the preceding noun in its entirety, it’s an appositive and therefore a parenthetical. If it describes a partial set, it is not an appositive and therefore not a parenthetical. For example:

Tom’s only novel, The Story, is an excellent read. (This is an appositive since Tom has only written one novel and The Story restates “novel” in its entirety, so you must use commas here.)

Poe’s poems “The Raven” and “Annabel Lee” are very chilling. (This is not an appositive since Poe has written more than just these two poems, so you must not use commas here.)

The above parentheticals raise another rule issue, which is knowing when it is appropriate to place the period inside or outside a set of parentheses. Here’s the simple rule: if you have a full and complete sentence within the parentheses, capitalize the first word and place the period on the inside; if you have an incomplete sentence that modifies a main clause as an aside, do not capitalize the first word and place the period on the outside. The above serves as examples of the former. Following is an example of the latter:

I love Poe’s poems “The Raven” and “Annabel Lee” (although I know some people find them to be a bit too chilling).

Ellipses

Much like parentheticals, ellipses seem fairly self-explanatory: they offer a pause or slight shift in idea where it is not appropriate to split via a period or semicolon. They also serve to show dialogue that trails off (but not dialogue that is abruptly cut off). As far as formatting goes, auto-format will cluster an ellipsis into a single unit. Depending upon where one’s writing is intended, this is not always acceptable. For example, many styles and publishers will require spaces between each of the periods. Either way, it is generally accepted practice to provide a space before and after an ellipsis.

Regardless of any other formatting rules, always use three periods—unless you’re using the ellipsis to trail off the end of a sentence. In this case, you always want to use four periods, with no space between the first period and the last word. For example:

“I’m sorry . . . I just don’t know what to say.”
“I’m sorry. . . .”

Brackets

Brackets and parentheses are not interchangeable, although one does want to use brackets on the rare occasion that one would want parentheses within parentheses—in which case the brackets would serve as the innermost set of parentheses.

The most common use for brackets is adding necessary information within quoted, referenced text, typically to replace a pronoun with a proper noun for clarification. Although some will add the bracketed information in addition to the pronoun or otherwise vague text, most formats will require that the brackets actually replace said information. For example, let’s say I’m quoting a reference that uses “he” but I want to make sure those reading my work know I’m talking about Poe:

“He was an exceptional storyteller and poet.”
“[Poe] was an exceptional storyteller and poet.”

Similarly, you can use brackets to alter a quoted word in order to make it fit a lead-in sentence. Let’s say you want to quote the following sentence, “He was an exceptional storyteller and poet,” but you want to use a lead-in sentence. You would want to use brackets to change the capitalization: According to the Generic Almanac, “[h]e was an exceptional storyteller and poet.” You can also use this technique to ensure verb tense agreement within your text. Let’s say you’re writing a piece that is entirely in present tense (such as a paper in MLA style). You might want to change “was” to “is,” and in that case, brackets are also appropriate.

Brackets are also important for quoting material that contains mistakes, ensuring your readers understand said mistakes are those of their quoted authors and not yours. By adding “[sic],” which stands for sic erat scriptum, or “thus was it written,” directly after the mistake, you can ensure your readers understand that you have chosen to keep the quote intact (instead of correcting the misspelled or misused word in brackets), intentionally leaving in the mistake. For example:

According to Generic Almanac, “Rose’s [sic] are the prettiest of all flowers.”

Of course, you can always choose to correct the quote, in which case you’ll want to use brackets as well: “[Roses] are the prettiest of all flowers.”

While you might have readers who also do not know the rules, there is always a chance that editors, agents, or reviewers reading your work will know them (and will judge your work accordingly). If you take the time to know and understand these rules, your writing will be sharper and you will be able to present it to the world with confidence and skill.

Until next time, my pretties! (Insert evil cackle.)

2 Comments

Words From the Grammar Nazi

2/25/2013

7 Comments

As writers, many of us use our intuitions to get through much of our prose. While this might be a good thing where characterization, dialog, and storyline are concerned, it can also be a huge pitfall when it comes to proper punctuation use. Before formally learning all of the rules, for example, I based my own comma use on various canonical works I’d read. After all, the authors of acclaimed classics had to have gotten it right . . . right? Unfortunately, the answer to that is not always a “yes.” Following are a few of the most common errors I see in other authors’ writing.

Inattention to the adjectival phrase: An adverbial phrase’s location in a sentence will determine whether you should use a comma between it and the main clause. An adverbial phrase is any cluster of words that modifies the main clause. It can determine how, when, why, or where the main clause is being performed.

Example [phrases and clauses labeled in brackets]: If the adverbial phrase comes before the main clause [adverbial phrase], use a comma [main clause]. Don’t use a comma [main clause] if the adverbial phrase comes after the main clause [adjectival phrase].

Failure to use the Oxford comma when it really counts: There has been much debate recently on whether the Oxford comma should remain a grammatical rule. Many people have opted to drop it altogether; however, there are some instances in which it is absolutely necessary.

Example: “I’m going out later with my parents, Anna and Paul.” The readers don’t really know this, but my parents’ names are not Anna and Paul. I’m actually going out later with four people: my parents, Anna, and Paul.

Take note that there are rare instances in which using the Oxford comma can create ambiguity, and in those circumstances, it should be eliminated.

Example: “I’m going to a movie with my mother, Carol, and Jesse.” In this case, readers might mistake Carol for my mother, when she is one of two friends who will be joining my mother and me.

Using a comma to break up a list of two: This one should be a no-brainer, but I see it far too often. Even if the list is comprised of actions, never use commas unless that list contains three or more items.

Example: After we go to the store, we’ll organize the kitchen, and make dinner [wrong]. After we go to the store, we’ll organize the kitchen and make dinner [right].

Failing to use a comma when addressing someone: This is a problem I see often in dialog. Most of us have read the comical example, “Let’s eat Grandma!” Unfortunately, far too few people actually heed the rule. Unless you’re actually planning on eating Grandma, don’t forget the comma.

Using a semicolon before a participle phrase: Far too many people have no clue how to use semicolons, being under the impression that there are places in which they can be used interchangeably with commas. This is rarely true. Never use a semicolon unless you have a complete clause on both sides; those clauses should also have a strong enough relation to one another to merit a semicolon rather than a period. (See how that works?)

Example of improper semicolon use in a participle phrase: When they got to the beach, they made a sand castle; taking great care not to knock it over [wrong]. When they got to the beach, they made a sand castle, taking great care not to knock it over [right].

Using commas in a list in which semicolons are more appropriate: Going back to the necessity of using commas in a list of at least three items (the debate over the Oxford comma aside), there are a couple of instances in which commas need to be replaced with semicolons. The first instance is when listing items that, in themselves, have commas. The second is when listing phrases that come after a colon.

Examples: We got up early yesterday, having set the alarm for five; ate a quick breakfast of eggs, toast, and juice; and got to the conference by seven. The group made the following mistakes: heavy use of grammatical errors; using numerous run-on sentences; and failure to use spell-check.

While you might have readers who also do not know the rules, there is always a chance that editors, agents, or reviewers reading your work do. If you take the time to know and understand these rules, your writing will be sharper and you will be able to present it to the world with confidence and skill.

Until next time, my pretties! (Insert evil cackle.)

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