Category: Writing & Grammar

In many languages the placement of a modifier— whether a single word, a phrase, or a clause—does not matter. However, in the English language the placement is very important. Incorrect placement can often lead to an ambiguous or a nonsensical meaning. A modifier should be placed so that the writer’s intended meaning is clear. Four problems may potentially occur with the placement of modifiers: squinting modifiers, misplaced modifiers, dangling modifiers, and the careless placement of only.

Sometimes the modifier is placed so that the meaning is ambiguous. It is not clear whether the modifier belongs with one part of the sentence or with another part. Move the squinting modifier so that the meaning is no longer ambiguous, or use that to cluster the modifier appropriately.

• The marathon coordinator said Friday we would have a trial run.— Squinting (Did the coordinator give this information on Friday, or is the trial run on Friday?)
• Friday the marathon coordinator said we would have a trial run.— Clear
• The marathon coordinator said we would have a trial run on Friday.—Clear
• The marathon coordinator said that Friday we would have a trial run.—Clear
• The marathon coordinator said Friday that we would have a trial run.—Clear
• The company representative told us eventually the president would meet with us.— Squinting (Did the representative eventually tell us, or did the president eventually meet with us?)
• The company representative eventually told us the president would meet with us.— Clear
• The company representative told us the president would eventually meet with us.— Clear

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Most grammar references discourage writers from setting off short introductory words or phrases that refer to time or place. Short usually means one to three words. Some references say one to four words. Some organizations’ style manuals direct writers, editors, and proofreaders to place a comma after these short phrases. Be sure to be consistent.

Here are examples of short phrases of time and place that should not be followed by a comma.

• In 1999 we received a supplemental appropriation to enforce the new regulation.
• On Tuesday we will meet to discuss the proposed downsizing.
• In my office I have the client’s most recent draft of the proposal.
• Today we received the material that should have been delivered yesterday.

The exceptions to this rule include sentences that could be misread without the comma and sentences beginning with three-part dates. Note that the year in a three-part date should always be set off with commas, no matter where it is in a sentence. When two numbers are next to each other, they should be separated by a comma.

Here are examples of short phrases of time and place that should be followed by a comma.

• In 2000, 300 people attended the retirement workshops.
• On October 28, 2000, the committee met to discuss the risks of drug XYZ.

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Note: The following comes from our top-selling grammar book, Abrams’ Guide to Grammar.

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Commas Overview The comma is probably the most used, overused, and misused form of punctuation. For some reason, writers often suffer from comma angst. I have no magic formula for learning comma rules; they are many. Some may even be a judgment call. But even so, you must be able to go to a rule to support any change you make. Once you understand a rule for the comma—again that’s understand, not memorize— you will be able to make a generalization about the rule and apply it to your writing, editing, or proofreading.

Commas with Independent and Dependent Clauses

Two independent clauses can be connected with a comma and a coordinating conjunction (and, but, for, or, nor, yet, and sometimes so.) For example:

• She was a welcome guest in our home, and she always made us feel we were the perfect hosts.

Use a comma to set off an introductory dependent clause. A dependent clause contains both a subject and a verb, but it is incapable of standing alone as a sentence because of the word introducing the clause. Words that commonly introduce dependent clauses include when, that, as, if, unless, although, after, because, since, until, though.

• Because we cut the budget, we will not be able to hire any new staff members this year.

Do not use a comma to set off most adverbial dependent clauses at the end of a sentence unless the clause is parenthetical. Adverbial clauses answer one of the following questions: where? when? why? to what degree? in what manner?

• We will not be able to hire any new staff members this year because we cut the budget.

Note: Dependent clauses that begin with that, which, who, and whom are not adverbial clauses.

Commas After Introductory Constructions

Commas are used to set off most types of introductory constructions. Introductory constructions are words, phrases, or clauses used at the beginning of a sentence or at the beginning of an independent clause elsewhere in the sentence.

Set off an introductory dependent clause with a comma. We have already discussed setting off a dependent clause when it appears at the beginning of a sentence. A dependent clause introduced by a subordinating conjunction is usually not set off if it appears at the end of a sentence.

• Although punctuation may seem arbitrary, most rules are closely related to meaning.

Note that although makes the first clause dependent. The comma after arbitrary helps make the independent clause stand out.

Remember to place a comma after a dependent clause that introduces an independent clause in the middle of a sentence.

• I walked to the library to get Anita Shreve’s new book, but when I arrived, all copies had already been checked out.

Note that the preceding sentence begins with an independent clause. But joins the first independent clause with a second independent clause, which itself is made up of one dependent clause and one independent clause. A comma is placed after book because it introduces an independent clause and makes the independent clause stand out. Remember, more important information should be in the independent clause.

Use a comma to set off an introductory verbal phrase. A verbal phrase is a word group containing a verb form that is used as another part of speech and has no subject. There are three forms of verbals: the infinitive (to walk), which can be an adjective, adverb, or noun; the present participle (walking), which is always an adjective, and the past participle (walked), which is also always an adjective. As with dependent clauses, the use of the comma after the verbal phrase makes the independent clause stand out.

Here are examples of verbal phrases.

• Infinitive phrase: To learn to play the guitar properly, you must take lessons and practice every day.
• Present participial phrase: Offering tender loving care, the nurse was a favorite among the patients on the pediatric ward.
• Past participial phrase: Embarrassed by his ill-spoken words, he quickly changed the subject.

Use a comma to set off transitional words and phrases. Transitions are words or phrases at the beginning of a sentence that help connect the sentence to the preceding sentence.

Here are examples of transitional words and phrases.

• Finally, the seniors will participate in an all-night grad party.
• In the meantime, you may use the computer in the lab.
• As a result, we can all enjoy an extra day off.

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The following comes from our top-selling grammar book, Abrams’ Guide to Grammar.

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If I were to ask you how many parts of speech we have in the English language, I’m sure you would say “eight” and rattle them off: noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection. So I won’t ask.

Remember those horrible vocabulary assignments given to you by your 7th-grade English teacher: “Look up twenty-five words and write the definition, the part of speech, and a sentence.” By the time you got to the end of the list, you were just happy to be done. You probably had no idea what any of the words meant or how they should really be used. The truth is, no word is a part of speech until it’s used in a sentence.

I’ll give you six sentences using the word down, and each time I use it, it will be a different part of speech.

• Eric fell down. (In this sentence down is an adverb because it is modifying the verb fell.)
• Eric fell down the stairs. (In this sentence down is a preposition.)
• The quilt is made of eider down. (In this sentence down is a noun because it names a thing.)
• The down elevator was broken. (In this sentence down is an adjective because it modifies a noun.)
• She downed the ball on the fifty-yard line. (In this sentence down is a verb because it is the action of the sentence.)
• Down! (Okay, so I cheated a bit here. In this sentence down is acting like an interjection, but I guess we would agree that it is really an adverb as it is modifying the understood word get as in “Get down!”)
• As a word person, you may not be asked often to label the part of speech of words, but when you are editing and proofreading, it’s a good idea to have the ammunition to support your changes. In a later module, we will be discussing the difference between adjectives and adverbs to avoid errors such as “I feel badly.”

Deadwood is another word for "wordiness." And wordiness can be contagious. You may start your professional life with a natural, concise writing style, but after a while you may notice that other writers in your organization are incorporating inflated language, redundancies and long sentences into their documents. Before long "bureaucratese" and gobbledygook begin to sound natural. Your writing has now become infected. Remember wordiness and pomposity do not equal formality. And simple words do not equal simple ideas.

Clarity, conciseness and simplicity of word choice do make a difference, especially when the message is complex or the reader is uninformed. Conciseness does not necessarily mean brevity.

The following will help you avoid "deadwood."

• use complete instead of absolutely complete
• use planning instead of advance planning
• use ask instead of ask the question
• use assembled; gathered instead of assembled together
• use continue instead of continue on
• use cooperate instead of cooperate together
• use consensus; general opinion instead of consensus of opinion
• use each; every instead of each and every
• use Easter instead of Easter Sunday
• use identical instead of exactly identical
• use rabbi instead of Jewish rabbi
• use experience instead of past experience
• use shrugging instead of shrugging her shoulders
• use because instead of the reason is because

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The following lesson can be found in our best-selling grammar book, Abrams’ Guide to Grammar.

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A sentence needs a subject and a verb. It must include at least one clause capable of standing alone (independent clause). An independent clause contains a subject and a verb and makes a complete statement.

A dependent clause may not stand alone as a sentence. Although it contains both a subject and a verb, a dependent clause does not express a complete statement. The following words (subordinating conjunctions), and other similar words, will make a clause incapable of standing alone. The more important information should always be in the independent clause; the less important, in the dependent clause.

A sentence fragment is a word group that cannot stand alone as a sentence but is punctuated as if it were a sentence. A fragment is difficult to understand because it is an incomplete statement.

Here are some examples of sentence fragments:

• Running for the bus that was turning the corner.
• The man with the large, black briefcase.
• While we waited during the rainstorm.
• In the afternoon before the meeting.
• That we had a good idea for the convention that was to be held in Houston, Texas, next month.

Here are 10 sentences. See if you can pick out the sentences from the fragments (the answers appear lower down):

1. He went to the conference.
2. When he went to the conference.
3. When he went to the conference, he met with training officers from many Government agencies.
4. As mentioned in the preceding letter.
5. As mentioned in the preceding letter, we will send you a draft of this year’s report.
6. We will send you a draft of this year’s report.
7. Regarding your letter of April 15 about the recent revisions to the Federal Tax Code and their implications for the U.S. economy.
8. Thank you for your letter of April 15 about the recent revisions to the Federal Tax Code and their implications for the U.S. economy.
9. We read with interest your letter of April 15 about the recent revisions to the Federal Tax Code and their implications for the U.S. economy.
10. With respect to your letter of April 15 about the recent revisions to the Federal Tax Code and their implications for the U.S. economy.

_______________________________________

Answers:

Key: S=Sentence; F=Fragment

1. S-The sentence has one independent clause.
2. F-The word when makes this word group a dependent clause.
3. S-The sentence has one independent clause (he met with training officers from many Government agencies) and one dependent clause (When he went to the conference).
4. F-This word group is a phrase, as it has neither a subject nor a verb.
5. S-The sentence has one independent clause (we will send you a draft of this year’s report) with an introductory phrase (As mentioned in the preceding letter).
6. S-The sentence has one independent clause.
7. F-This word group is a phrase, as it has neither a subject nor a verb.
8. S-The sentence has one independent clause.
9. S-The sentence has one independent clause.
10. F-This word group is a phrase, as it has neither a subject nor a verb.

The debate over the use of active or passive voice (the relationship of the subject to the action of the verb) has been raging for years. While there is room for both active and passive voice in today’s writing, I recommend using active voice in technical writing.

If you’ve never had to worry about active and passive voice, think of it this way: if you write a sentence and the verb is in the active voice, then your subject acts; if the sentence is written in the passive voice, your subject is acted upon.

Consider these two sentences:

Trevor bought the soda. (active)

The soda was bought by Trevor. (passive)

In the first sentence, the reader quickly learns that Trevor (the subject) bought a soda (the object). In the second sentence, the first thing you learn is that there is a soda. What about it? Nothing special, except someone bought it. And oh yeah, it was Trevor. As far as I’m concerned, passive writing takes too many words to get to the point. Remember that your goal as a technical writer is to get to the point quickly and efficiently.

Here’s another example:

Tim killed the story. (active)

The story was killed by Tim. (passive)

In the first sentence the subject, Tom, is emphasized. In the second sentence the focus is on the object, the story. The active sentence is far more powerful.

If you write using the passive voice, your sentences can become difficult to understand. Here’s an example:

The DUPLICATE command should be selected. (passive)

Select the DUPLICATE command. (active)

In the first example, learners may get confused. Should the DUPLICATE command already be selected, or are they supposed to select it. In the second example, there is no confusion. You want them to select the DUPLICATE command. Period.

Learn more about Technical Writing, Instructional Design and Grammar in my "Essentials of Techncial Writing" and "Abrams’ Guide To Grammar" books. Visit IconLogic for more information.