Saturday, June 28th, 2008
“I went to the zoo and saw elephants and then I saw a tiger and then we ate lunch and I had pizza and then we watched the penguins and then we saw the seal show and then we went to see the bears and then I saw the monkeys and then we had to go home.”
Have you ever heard a child or an airhead talk like this? The entire story is told as if it is massive run-on sentence. Hearing a sentence like this is bad enough, so imagine how terrible it sounds when reading!
You can’t always write how you speak
We often speak in run-on sentences, although most of us do not do it to the extent of the example above. However, even when we do this, we can still communicate clearly by changing tone or making pauses. In writing, however, the reader can’t hear you. Sometimes a sentence needs to be broken down or restructured.
A very long sentence might be punctuated correctly, but it could be too long to be clearly understood. In these cases, it is better to appropriately break up the long sentence into smaller sentences.
Run, sentence, run!
Just because a sentence is long doesn’t mean it is a run-on sentence. Very short sentences can be run-ons. A run-on sentence has at least two independent clauses that can stand alone. In a run-on, the two clauses have not been properly connected to each other with punctuation.
- Run-on: The grass is tall it needs to be cut.
- Correction: The grass is tall, so it needs to be cut.
Correcting a run-on sentence
If a sentence has two independent clauses without punctuation, you have a run-on sentence. There are several ways to correct the run-on.
Run-on sentence example: The movie lasted for three hours it was amazing.
1. Make each clause its own sentence.
- The movie lasted for three hours. It was amazing.
2. Insert a comma and coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, so) between the two independent clauses.
- The movie lasted for three hours, but it was amazing.
3. Insert a semicolon between the two independent clauses.
- The movie lasted for three hours; it was amazing.
4. Insert a semicolon and a transitional word between the two independent clauses. Transitional words indicate that there is a relationship between the two clauses. Examples include: additionally, consequently, furthermore, however, obviously, therefore, in other words, and meanwhile.
- The movie lasted for three hours; however, it was amazing.
5. Restructure the sentence and use a subordinating conjunction. Subordinating conjunctions join a subordinate clause to the main clause. Examples include: unless, as long as, even though, although, until, while, because, and rather than. If the subordinate clause follows the main clause, a comma will not usually be needed before the subordinate conjunction.
- Although the movie lasted for three hours, it was amazing.
- The movie lasted for three hours because it was amazing.
A close relative
Run-on sentences are similar to comma splices, but since run-ons do not typically have a comma they can be more difficult to notice. A comma splice is when independent clauses are joined together by using only a comma. The ways to correct run-on sentences are very similar to the ways to correct comma splices.
Sunday, June 1st, 2008
I don’t know if people think whom sounds inherently awkward or if they just don’t know when to use who and when to use whom. I suspect it’s the latter. Many people, even people getting paid to write, use who where they should’ve used whom and vice versa.
A little background information
Before you can decide whether to use who or whom, you need to understand the difference between a subject pronoun and an object pronoun.
Who is a subject pronoun, along with he, she, you, I, we, they, and it. A subject pronoun is used when the pronoun is the subject of your sentence. The subject does the action.
- Who rolled down the hill?
- She rolled down the hill. (She is the subject. She did the action rolled.)
Whom is an object pronoun, along with him, her, you, me, us, them, and it. An object pronoun receives the action.
- Whom did he take to the movie?
- He took her to the movie. (Her is receiving the action took.)
The trick
There is a simple trick you can use to decide whether to use who or whom. Replace who with he (or whom with him) to see if the sentence is correct. If it is proper to use he, then use who. If it is proper to use him, then use whom.
- Who built the cabinet?
- He built the cabinet. (“Him built the cabinet” is not correct, so you know “whom” would not be correct either.)
- Whom can I ask to dance?
- Can I ask him to dance? (“Can I ask he to dance” is not correct, so you know “who” would not be correct either.)
Using the he/him method to figure out whether to use who/whom doesn’t force you to fully understand why you are using either word. However, if it helps you write correctly, then I’m happy to share this tip!
Wednesday, May 21st, 2008
Today, some of my students were debating whether a hip-hop artist spells his name L’il Wayne, Lil’ Wayne, or Lil Wayne. If only teenagers would care as much about their writing assignments as they do about the details of artists and bands!
This guy can spell his name however he wants. However, there are rules for apostrophes when it comes to writing properly. If you have trouble remembering the rules of apostrophe usage, please allow me to remind you.
Own It
Apostrophes are typicall used with the letter s to show ownership.
If you want to show possession for most singular nouns, use an apostrophe followed by the letter s.
To check whether you need to use an apostrophe before the s, turn the phrase into an “…of the…” phrase. For example, “I borrowed the car of Joe.” Joe owns the car, so an apostrophe is needed to show possession.
To show possession for a plural noun ending in s, use an apostrophe without being followed by an s. There are some irregular plural nouns, such as women and people. In these cases, use an apostrophe followed by an s.
- The boys’ bikes are in the garage.
- The children’s snacks are on the table.
Showing possession for names ending in s is up for debate. Some people prefer to use ’s, while other people use an apostrophe without the additional s. Whichever standard you follow in your writing, make sure you follow it consistently.
- I took Charles’s dog to the park. OR I took Charles’ dog to the park.
- That is Mr. Jones’s car. OR That is Mr. Jones’ car.
Possessive pronouns (my, mine, your, yours, their, theirs, his, her, hers, ours, etc.) never get an apostrophe.
Sharing
If you need to illustrate that multiple people own the same item, only the last owner in the list would show possession.
- That is Bobby, Billy, and Burt’s treehouse.
If Bobby, Billy, and Burt are fortunate enough to each have their own treehouse, then you would need to show ownership for each owner in the list.
- Those are Bobby’s, Billy’s, and Burt’s treehouses.
Clarification
Generally, apostrophes are not used to make nouns plural. However, there are some instances where an apostrophe followed by an s does make a noun plural.
To indicate plurals of lowercase letters or numbers, use an apostrophe followed by an s to clarify.
- She dots her i’s with little hearts instead of small dots.
In the above sentence, “i’s” would look like “is” without the apostrophe. If the letter is uppercase, an apostrophe can still be used but is not required. It is mostly a matter of style preference. This is also true for uppercase abbreviations and acronyms, such as CDs (or CD’s). I would say it is more common to not use the apostrophe, and this is what I teach my students.
Contractions
Apostrophes are also used to show there is a missing letter (or letters) in contractions. Contractions always get an apostrophe.
- isn’t = is not
- they’ll = they will
To avoid confusing words such as your/you’re and its/it’s, simply remember that the use of an apostrophe means that there are letters missing when the two words are combined. Read the sentence using both words rather than the contraction to see if it makes sense. When I catch my students making this mistake, I make them read the sentence aloud using both words and they immediately realize their mistake.
Tuesday, May 6th, 2008
What you are about to read has been edited. The following angst-ridden teenage “prose” has been altered to protect the innocent.
Its hard being a teen these days - nobody knows what your going through-nobody cares-and all you have to do is look around to see society crumbling around us-by the way, thanks wal-mart- the middle-class is shrinking and its not cause their moving on up-if your not rich you might as well just feed the rich people you’re babies now cause its what their doing anyway-whats gonna be left when we need social security-yeah thanks to you too baby boomers-but you gotta persevere-fight the good fight-or theyll eat you too-
I had to stop there. I was starting to feel like nobody could understand what I was going through, as I was forced to read through this particular student’s college essay. I remember looking up from the paper to find my wife staring at me with a concerned expression. Even the dog was giving me a funny look. It was more than two years ago, but that essay still makes me cringe.
The student in question had asked me to proofread his college essay. He was hoping to get into a good school out east, maybe even an Ivy, so he could become a professional writer “like Jack Kerouac”. He told me it was a biting piece of social commentary that was certain to impress the folks in admissions—then he handed me a three-page document that was essentially just a longer version of what you see above. I am not exaggerating.
Some of you are probably reading it and wishing you had the opportunity to tell that kid a thing or two about life, but that’s not what bothered me. What bothered me was the way he so brutally and unceremoniously violated one of my favorite punctuation marks, the dash.
I’ll admit, the dash isn’t the easiest punctuation mark to use. Depending on which style manual you consult, the rules do vary—especially if you make a distinction between the “em dash” and the “en dash”. Honestly, I don’t feel that it’s particularly important to differentiate unless you plan on writing at a professional level. It’s mostly a typographical issue, and it’s definitely not something worthy of the extra hour of classroom time that would need to be spent on the subject.
The Rules
The way I teach dash usage is fairly simple. First, a dash is not a hyphen. Hyphens are shorter than dashes, and they’re used to separate syllables and join words. A dash is used to separate words and phrases, or to convey separation in ideas or trains of thought. It’s also important to note that spaces should not be used before and after dashes, except in situations like the notation of a date range.
In general, the dash is a less formal means of punctuation. For that reason, it should be used sparingly, especially in formal writing. On the other hand, it can be a highly effective way to make an impact with your words.
A dash can be used to indicate a significant break in thought.
I could never sell my wife—even for a lot of money!
OR I could never—even for a lot of money—sell my wife!
A dash can take the place of a colon (grammatically, not biologically).
I purchased three different albums last weekend—Don Ho, Liberace’s Greatest Hits, and German Polka Classics.
A dash can be used at the beginning or end of a series separated by commas.
The pirates—Long Beard, Captain Jim, and Peg Leg—were captured off the coast of Spain.
A dash can serve as a high-impact, informal substitute for parentheses.
The sandwiches—two from Subway and two from Quiznos—were tested in a double-blind experiment.
A dash can be used to interrupt one thought with another, related thought.
The ball game is on Friday—the same night as the prom—after the band’s dinner fundraiser.
Friday, April 18th, 2008
A while back, I was giving some thought to the idea of what makes the writing of one person or publication seem more professional than that of another. Obviously, routine errors in spelling and grammar don’t help anyone’s writing. Beyond that, however, it’s tough to pin down a precise reason that we prefer one passage over another. I thought that if I could understand that, I could offer guidance to help my struggling students perform at the level of the more gifted writers in my classes.
I mentioned this to my friend Ralph, a colleague in the math department, and you could almost see the light bulb go on over his head. “Have you ever made a formal statistical study of it?” he asked.
When I said that I hadn’t, he looked at me like I had lost my mind. Apparently, that’s the obvious solution for an analytical person like himself.
With that on my mind, I sat down to grade another stack of essays from some of my AP seniors. These are kids who, for the most part, have mastered the basics. It’s rare that I find them mixing up “your” and “you’re”, confusing “affect” and “effect”, or dangling participles like there’s no tomorrow. Even still, some are very skilled writers and others are almost painful to read.
This time, I kept a list of errors as I went through the papers. There were a few careless spelling errors, some run-ons, and a couple of mis-used words, but the error that stuck out the most was the apparent inability to obey the rules of parallel sentence structure.
If you’re not familiar with the concept, parallel sentence structure means using the same word pattern to construct a string of sentence elements that are similar in function. It’s actually much easier to explain by example, and most people become very aware of it after being exposed to the concept.
INCORRECT: I tell my students they should read frequently, smile often, and to question everything.
CORRECT: I tell my students they should read frequently, smile often, and question everything.
There are 5 basic scenarios where you’d need to concern yourself with parallel sentence structure, and I’ll go through all of them below:
1. Making Comparisons
If you want to say that something is more than or better than something else, you’ll need to make sure your sentence structure is parallel.
INCORRECT: Eating dinner rolls is better than to throw them.
CORRECT: Eating dinner rolls is better than throwing them. OR It’s better to eat dinner rolls than to throw them.
2. Elements Joined by coordinating conjunctions
In case you’ve forgotten, the coordinating conjunctions are for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so. You can remember them by remembering the word FANBOYS.
INCORRECT: My dog likes eating and to lick himself.
CORRECT: My dog likes eating and licking himself.
3. A Series or a List
If you’re joining a list of items, you need to make sure they are all structured similarly.
INCORRECT: Josh likes nachos, hot dogs, and to drink Mountain Dew.
CORRECT: Josh likes nachos, hot dogs, and Mountain Dew.
INCORRECT: Michael enjoys washing, drying, and to fold his laundry.
CORRECT: Michael enjoys washing, drying, and folding his laundry.
4. When Joining Elements With Correlative Conjunctions
Correlative conjunctions are pairs of words like “neither…nor” or “not only…but also”.
INCORRECT:Tim not only wants a pair of clown shoes but also a red nose.
CORRECT: Tim wants not only a pair of clown shoes but also a red nose. OR Tim not only wants a pair of clown shoes but also wants a red nose.
5. To Join a Linking Verb & a Verb of Being
The one’s a little tough to understand from the description alone, but it becomes much clearer upon examination.
INCORRECT: For Snowball, to succeed is urinating in the litter box.
CORRECT: For Snowball, to succeed is to urinate in the littler box.
Once you’ve mastered these scenarios, you’ll greatly improve your ability to impress others through the written word. Hopefully, my students will see it the same way.
Thursday, April 3rd, 2008
photo credit: Zach Klein
In any career, you have those days where you start to wonder if anything you do matters at all. I feel like that a lot lately. I was grading papers last night when I came across the following “sentence” in a student’s short story:
Katie walked over the bridge, her boyfriend was with another girl down below.
As I progressed through the stack, I came across four more before tossing the papers to the floor in disgust. I’d be angry if it weren’t for the fact that I catch grown adults making the same mistake on a daily basis. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen a few in the notes I’ve gotten back from their parents.
Unfortunately, no amount of ranting is going to solve the problem. If you’re reading this and you don’t see the problem with the quoted sentence above, keep reading.
Identifying the Problem
The sentence above is a comma splice. If I were an English textbook, I’d tell you that a comma splice is when a sentence has been formed out of two independent clauses that are joined by a comma with no conjunction. You’d look at me like I was either completely crazy or totally irrelevant, and we’d go our separate ways. I don’t consider that an option, so I’m going to try to explain this a little more clearly.
In normal terms, a comma splice is when you try to combine two simple sentences by sticking a comma in between the two of them. Remember the criteria for declaring something a sentence:
- Subject: This is the “who” or “what” of a sentence, and it’s usually at the beginning.
- Predicate: At its most basic, this is the verb - the “what’s going on” part of the sentence.
In the example above, we have two simple sentences:
- Katie walked over the bridge. Subject? Katie. Predicate? …walked over the bridge.
- Her boyfriend was with another girl down below. Subject? Her boyfriend. Predicate? …was with another girl down below.
Don’t Worry, We Have Options
Sometimes I’ll point out a comma splice to a student, only to see him grab an eraser to get rid of the offending comma. That doesn’t solve the problem. Erasing the comma merely creates a new problem, the run-on sentence. Luckily, there are a number of ways to fix a comma splice that don’t involve committing further sins against grammar.
Presto Change-O:
The semicolon was created for exactly this kind of situation. Change the comma to a semicolon and you’re in the clear.
Katie walked over the bridge; her boyfriend was with another girl down below.
You Gotta Keep ‘Em Separated:
Just separate the sentences and move along.
Katie walked over the bridge. Her boyfriend was with another girl down below.
Depends…
It won’t work in all situations, but you can remedy many comma splices by making one section of the sentence dependent on the other.
As Katie walked over the bridge, her boyfriend was with another girl down below.
Remember Conjunction Junction?
I noticed Schoolhouse Rock t-shirts in the local Hot Topic a while back, so I’m assuming modern teens have some idea what I’m talking about. Conjunctions are those handy sentence-joiners like and, but, or, yet, nor, so, and for. Just add one to the sentence above and suddenly, everything works. Other acceptable conjunctions include after, although, unless, as, because, even though, if, since, until, when, and while.
Katie walked over the bridge, but her boyfriend was with another girl down below.
OR
Katie walked over the bridge, even though her boyfriend was with another girl down below.
A Few Notes
After a lesson like this one, I can always expect at least one student to bring me a copy of some classic work that includes the error in question. Although it might bother some teachers, it thrills me to think that a student would take the time to investigate the matter to prove me wrong.
For those students, I have just one rule: If a publishing house has spent thousands of dollars editing, publishing, and promoting your work, I’ll forgive a couple of well-placed comma splices. If not, I (and most everyone else) will just assume that you lack an understanding of the rule.
Tuesday, March 25th, 2008
Thank you for stopping by my tiny corner of the web. Ward of Words is my ode to better writing. My goals with this blog are to share my love of writing, to help educate those who are interested in improving their writing, and to have a little fun doing it!
My intention is to tackle a few new blog posts each month. Over time, Ward of Words should become a fabulous resource.
In addition to my obvious love of reading and writing, I’m an avid photographer, gardener, and amateur guitarist. I’m happily married with two beautiful and mostly trouble-free teenage girls.
Currently, my hobbies are focused on taking photographs of orchids and teaching my oldest daughter to drive.
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