Category: Writing & Grammar

by Jennie Ruby  

I received an email message yesterday from a well-respected anti-virus company to which I subscribe. I was surprised to see a grammar error in the message, because grammar errors are often a give-away of internet scams, and I was sure this was a legitimate message from an established company. The error was a run-together verb that should have been two separate words. How can you make sure you don't make this kind of embarrassing error in your professional communications? First, let's get technical, then let's get practical.

The technical:  We have hundreds of verbs in English that consist of two words: a verb plus a particle. A particle is a small word or phrase that when added to a verb creates a new meaning. Here is an example: throw out. To throw something out is different from just throwing it. The word throw is a verb. The word out is a particle. The combination of throw plus out is a phrasal verb. Phrasal verbs often have an associated noun that serves as a description of the action rather than the action itself. The verb throw out does not have such a noun, but many phrasal verbs do. Here are some examples:

Phrasal verbs: shut down, hand out, set up, clean up

Corresponding nouns: shutdown, handout, setup, cleanup

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by Jennie Ruby  

This week I'd like to share a step-by-step edit of a paragraph sent in by one of my students. Here is the original paragraph. The challenge was to get this down to one sentence.

This section presents the key themes identified from this environmental snapshot.  Section 3.1 will present an overview of environmental IT-enabled quality measurement, Section 3.2 will describe possibilitiesfor the next generation of environmental IT-enabled quality measurement, and some critical challengesto achieving the next generation of environmental IT-enabled quality measurement will be highlighted in Section 3.3.

First, notice the reversal, where Section 3.1 and 3.2 are mentioned first, followed by a description, but then suddenly the description comes first for Section 3.3. Right away, this would be better if it were just a parallel list: Section 1 does this, Section 2 does that, and Section 3 does this other thing.

Second, notice that a bunch of the words are the same for all three sections. Repeating "environmental IT-enabled quality measurement" should not be necessary, so let's look for ways to use that phrase only once.
Third, find the words that are different. I highlighted them in bold above.

Fourth, eliminate the repetition:

This section gives an overview of the key themes identified from this snapshot of environmental IT-enabled quality measurement, and then explores possibilities and critical challenges for the next generation of this technology.

Fifth, depending on the audience for this piece of writing, consider rephrasing in more explanatory words exactly what "environmental IT-enabled quality measurement" is. That phrase is completely baffling to an outsider. It seems to me that it would make more sense if it were "IT-enabled environmental quality measurement."

Sixth, add the human element (our, we) to generate a personal connection with the reader:

Our environmental snapshot revealed ways we can use next-generation IT-enabled measurement systems to improve XXXXXX [whatever it is they improve]; but it also revealed some of the challenges this new technology must overcome to do so.

This Week's Challenge

Rewrite the following paragraph into two or three concise, clear sentences. Make sure to incorporate the personal element. 

This course provides an introduction to the world of motorcycle riding to non-riders and will help non-riders decide if motorcycling is for them. The topics will include: Why ride motorcycles? Is it dangerous to ride a motorcycle? Can motorcycle riding be learned by anyone? Familiarization with enhanced motorcycle maintenance logging and tuning procedures. It's easy to learn to ride a motorcycle. Provides the opportunity to register for any motorcycle safety class and get the textbook free. Courses are taught by instructors trained and certified in motorcycle riding instruction as well as maintenance by the Motor Vehicle Department.

As always, I look forward to reading your submissions.

***

by Jennie Ruby  

Correct answers to last week's challenge came in from nine readers (including a number of first responders–thanks for joining us!) Doug Blackley, Jimmy Moon,Sonia, Nancy Upchurch, Kara Jones, Jing Ping Fan, Linda Craig, and Larena Jackson.

Jing Ping Fan offered these correct answers with explanations in parentheses.

1. The ice cream truck entered the neighborhood and turned on its loudspeaker. (no comma for compound predicate)
2. The loudspeaker sputtered to life, and children came running. (needs a comma for compound sentence)
3. Children were not the only patrons of the ice cream truck, but the adults tended to arrive more slowly. (needs a comma for compound sentence)
4. Icy-cold confections soon moved through the neighborhood and dripped multicolored sweetness on the sidewalks. (no comma for compound predicate)
5. A dog licked the sticky pavement under its owner's feet and a cat looked disdainfully down from its perch on a porch railing. (needs a comma for compound sentence)
6. The truck trundled to the end of the block and turned out into the traffic of the main street, but it left an indelible mark on the memories of the children. (needs a comma for compound sentence)

JP also offers these ways to tell whether you've got a compound predicate or a compound sentence:

The way to tell if it is a compound sentence:

compound sentence =[subject + verb] + conjunction + [subject + verb]

Note:  verb can be a real verb or predicate.

The conjunction can be any of the these: and, but, so, or, for, yet, nor.

This week's challenge

I am offering no explanation this week, because I just want to see what you all think of these sentences. Well, ok, a little explanation. These are examples of complex sentences (not that they are that complicated–complex is a technical grammar term), which contain an independent clause and a subordinate clause. When the subordinate clause is on the front of the sentence, as we saw a couple of weeks ago, it requires a comma. But when the subordinate clause is on the back, it requires a comma only if it is nonessential. Give these a try, because I am eager to see how people make these decisions. 

1. We came upstairs to see what was going on because the electricity had blinked off and on.
2. Leaves, twigs, and hail battered the windows while a vicious wind tore at the screens.
3. We could see the branches of all the trees in the woods surrounding the house whipping horizontally although the tree trunks were nearly invisible for the torrents of rain.
4. A sickly green cast from the evil-looking sky lent an eery feeling while the hair on the backs of our necks stood on end.
5. We ran back down to the basement because we were afraid the heavy, tall trees around the house would fall.
6. We emerged into a leaf- and branch-bestrewn neighborhood after the storm had passed.
7. We walked down the middle of the street while neighbors checked their cars and houses for damage.
8. We did not know that a microburst had occurred over our neighborhood until we saw the evening news.
9. A mile away a parked car was crushed when the roof of a building flew off and fell in the street.
10. Our fence was crushed by a fallen tree although our house and shed were spared.

***

by Jennie Ruby  

Even grammar instructors hate some grammar rules. I myself hate one grammar rule in particular: the injunction against putting a comma in a sentence with a compound predicate. Do you feel me, man? Ok, well maybe I need to explain what that rule is before you can sympathize.

The word "compound" in grammar means you have two of the item in question. A compound sentence contains two sentences. A compound noun is two nouns. A compound adjective is two adjectives. And a compound predicate is two predicates. A predicate, of course (goes without saying, really, doesn't it?) is the verb's part of the sentence: the verb and its entourage of stuff that can follow a verb: a direct object, an adverb or two, an indirect object, and so forth. (Grammar mavens: the technical term for the stuff belonging to the verb is "complement.") Here are examples showing a compound sentence and a compound predicate:

Compound sentence

Her job was to answer every single email message, and she did it very well.

Compound predicate

In her job she answered every phone call and replied to every email message.

In the compound sentence the part after the word and is a complete sentence. Notice the comma before the word and. In the compound predicate the part after and is just a predicate.

The Rule

Do not use a comma in a compound predicate. Do use a comma in a compound sentence joined by and (or another coordinating conjunction).

The Challenge

Put a comma in each of the compound sentences. Leave out the comma in each of the compound predicates. As always, I look forward to seeing your answers.

1. The ice cream truck entered the neighborhood and turned on its loudspeaker.
2. The loudspeaker sputtered to life and children came running.
3. Children were not the only patrons of the ice cream truck but the adults tended to arrive more slowly.
4. Icy-cold confections soon moved through the neighborhood and dripped multicolored sweetness on the sidewalks.
5. A dog licked the sticky pavement under its owner's feet and a cat looked disdainfully down from its perch on a porch railing.
6. The truck trundled to the end of the block and turned out into the traffic of the main street but it left an indelible mark on the memories of the children.

***

Our answers to last week's challenge are brought to you byRebecca Fleisch Cordeiro. She has correctly noted that all of these clauses and phrases are adverbial–answering questions such as when, where, and why the action in the sentence occurred or occurs.

1. Until the barn is full, we will continue to deliver hay. 

Adverbial clause "until the barn is full"… needs a comma

2. Until yesterday, we did not know the groundhog was under the shed. 

Adverbial phrase "until yesterday," less than 5 words, comma optional; I put it in so reader will pause

3. Because the hawk was flying overhead, the small birds hid in the bushes. 

Adverbial clause "because the hawk was flying overhead," so needs comma

4. Because of the hawk's cry, all of the squirrels froze in their tracks. 

Adverbial phrase "Because…cry" with 5 words, so I left the comma in

5. During the cool and damp early morning hours, we stayed on the screened porch. 

Adverbial phrase "During…hours" with more than 5 words, needs comma

6. While the children played in the pool, we sat in the shade.

Adverbial clause "while…pool", so needs comma

7. After you click the icon once, you must wait for the picture to fully load. 

Adverbial clause "after…once", so needs comma

8. After lunch we will cover photo filtering. 

Adverbial phrase "After lunch," less than 5 words, comma optional. I left it out.

Correct answers also came from Vicki Hendricks, Sonia Verma, and Jing Ping Fan (JP).

***

by Jennie Ruby  

I wrote about commas in introductory phrases last week. This week let's take the issue of introductory elements a step further, differentiating introductory phrases from introductory clauses. But first, let's look at some answers from last week's challenge:

Once again, our reader Jing Ping Fan (JP) comes through with a perfect set of answers, annotated with explanations. Thank you! Her answers are perfect, but she also notes which commas are needed versus optional. Plus, bonus, she explains that number 5 needs the comma because the introductory element is a clause, not a phrase.

1. After the sudden afternoon rainstorm, three kids were rescued from a flash flood. (comma needed)
2. Before noon, we had already covered all of the class material. (comma optional)
3. In 2010 our outreach program was updated to include a Twitter feed. (comma optional)
4. Sometime after 2012 is when support for version 3.5 will end. (No comma)
5. Unless the creek floods, we will go kayaking tomorrow. (comma needed Note: When an adverb clause begins the sentence, use a comma to separate the two clauses.)
6. By the end of the session, we all understood introductory elements. (comma preferred)
7. Yesterday the website was down for an hour. (comma optional, but prefer not to add in this type of sentence)
8. Tomorrow is our deadline for completing these two modules. (No comma)

If your answers do not match the ones above, you still may have them punctuated correctly. For example, Audrey McAfee also used correct punctuation on all of the sentences, but she put commas in all of them except number 7. 

Karen L. Busser also sent in correct answers, and sheadded her own trick for telling whether the introductory word is really introductory: if you can move the introductory element to the end of the sentence without changing the meaning or changing the sentence into a question, then it is introductory. Once you are sure the element is introductory, you then decide whether the comma is needed by the guidelines mentioned in my previous article.

Mary Saunders sent in a set of correct answers, and added, "We use the Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications(Third Edition), which states, 'Use a comma following an introductory phrase.'  This rule makes it easy for us!"

If you incorrectly punctuated some of the sample sentences, check this: a comma is required if the introductory element has five words. A short phrase of time or place is comma-optional only if it is less than five words: one, two, three, or four words long.

Let's now look at some introductory phrases that require commas. Did you notice the word phrases in that last sentence? To get to the next level with commas, you need to identify phrases versus clauses. Let's tackle that concept now.

Phrase Versus Clause

A phrase is a group of words that does not contain a subject-verb combination.

A clause is a group of words that does contain a subject and a verb.

Phrase: after the storm
Clause: after the storm was over [storm is the subject; was is the verb]

Phrase: Until noon
Clause: Until she arrived [she is the subject; arrived is the verb]

Phrase: Because of the flood
Clause: Because the river flooded [river is the subject; flooded is the verb]

Notice that a phrase and a clause may start with the same word! What makes one of them a clause, however, is a subject and a verb. The clauses we are focusing on here are, as JP mentioned above, adverbial clauses. That means they contain information explaining things like when, where, in what manner, and why.

Introductory adverbial clauses require a comma. Short (fewer than five words) introductory phrases of time or place do not. Their comma is optional.

Challenge: Phrases Versus Clauses

Identify each of these introductory elements as a phrase or a clause, and indicate whether a comma is required. As always, send your answers/comments directly to me.

1. Until the barn is full we will continue to deliver hay.
2. Until yesterday we did not know the groundhog was under the shed.
3. Because the hawk was flying overhead the small birds hid in the bushes.
4. Because of the hawk's cry, all of the squirrels froze in their tracks.
5. During the cool and damp early morning hours we stayed on the screened porch.
6. While the children played in the pool we sat in the shade.
7. After you click the icon once you must wait for the picture to fully load.
8. After lunch we will cover photo filtering.

***

by Jennie Ruby  

Do I need a comma after "In 2008"? That is one of the most frequent questions I am asked in grammar classes. The answer I must give is that the comma is usually optional. For seekers of definitive answers with which to mow down the opposition, this "optional" nonsense is an unacceptable situation. So for them, and for you, if you are seeking definite answers, I must dig deeper.

First, let's distinguish the particular kind of introductory element for which the comma is "optional." But before even doing that, let's define "introductory element"!

An introductory element is a word, phrase, or clause that is placed before the beginning of the sentence. We have to make sure something is "introductory" before throwing commas at it. Here are some examples of introductory elements. In each case, we have a complete sentence even if we remove the introduction:

• Tomorrow, we must weed the garden. [comma optional]
• On Thursday, the trash truck ran over the mailbox. [comma optional]
• After the game, the kids ran to the convenience store to buy energy drinks. [comma optional]

Here are some examples of those same words and phrases used not as introductory elements, but as part of the sentence:

• Tomorrow was always her focus.
• On Thursday is when we plan to hold the kick-off meeting.
• After the game will be a good time to ask for a signed photograph.

In each of these sentences, we have a complete sentence only if we include the first word or phrase; the first word or phrase is actually the subject of the verb.

All of the examples above are one-word adverbs(tomorrow) or short prepositional phrases of time or place. These are the particular kinds of introductory elements for which most grammar guides say the comma is optional.

Most, but not all–I do have one grammar book on my shelf that simply states: Use a comma after every introductory element. But all of my other principal references–the Chicago Manual of Style, the Gregg Reference Manual, and Abrams' Guide to Grammar–say that the comma is optional after one-word adverbs and short prepositional phrases of time or place. And what counts as short? Fewer than five words.

So if these references tell us the comma is optional, how do we decide whether to use it or not? Your in-house style guide may clear this up for you. As an organization, you can decide whether to require the comma, or to forbid that comma, or to leave the decision up to each writer or editor on a case-by-case basis.

Check your in-house style guide (you have one, right?), and then tell me whether a comma is needed in these examples (be careful-they might not all be the kind of introductory element discussed above!): 

1. After the sudden afternoon rainstorm three kids were rescued from a flash flood.
2. Before noon we had already covered all of the class material.
3. In 2010 our outreach program was updated to include a Twitter feed.
4. Sometime after 2012 is when support for version 3.5 will end.
5. Unless the creek floods we will go kayaking tomorrow.
6. By the end of the session we all understood introductory elements.
7. Yesterday the website was down for an hour.
8. Tomorrow is our deadline for completing these two modules. 

***

by Jennie Ruby  

Can I use quick as an adverb without the -ly, just like I can use slow as an adverb? They are very similar words, after all, and are related because they are opposites. Even so, the guidelines for quick/quickly are a little different. We have less free range to use quick as an adverb without sounding ungrammatical. Look at the following examples: 

• "Kids! Come quick! A kitten is being born!"
• The kids ran quickly out to the garage.

In both cases, quick/ly is an adverb. But the expressioncome quick is a "set phrase"–such a common way of saying something that it would sound odd to change it, even for the sake of grammar. Other examples of set phrases are transition phrases such as "on the other hand" and clichés such as "set in stone."

As with slow, quick is also often an adjective, not an adverb. Here is an example where quick is modifying a noun, not a verb:

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

Nevertheless, I am tempted to use quick instead of quickly as an adverb in some situtations. Let me know what you think of these examples.

Can I use quick instead of quickly in these sentences?

1. The chicken ran (quick/quickly) to the other side of the road.
2. The storm started so (quick/quickly) that I could not avoid getting wet.
3. The bird flew so (quick/quickly) that I could not identify it.
4. The web page loaded (quick/quickly).
5. Click (quick/quickly) on the message box before it disappears.
6. Spring arrived (quick/quickly) this year.

Just like last week, additional examples are welcome. Send your responses to me when ready.

by Jennie Ruby  

Consider these two sentences, both containing the adverb slow/slowly:

The river ran slow that summer.

The runner jogged slowly past the window.

Wait, you might be thinking, shouldn't the first one say slowly? The answer is no, it doesn't have to–the word slowcan be used as an adverb without the -ly! So how do you decide? Bryan Garner, in the Oxford Dictionary of American Usage and Style, tells us, "let rhythm and euphony be your guide."

Of course the word slow is also an adjective, when it is used to modify a noun:

The slow train seemed to take forever to cross the bridge.

Here is this week's challenge. Tell me which way you would go with each of the following examples. Each sentence usesslow/slowly as an adverb, not as an adjective. When should I add -ly, and when should I not? I am trying to come up with concrete ways to explain when to use slow over slowly or vice versa. Can you explain your choices?

1. We drove (slow/slowly) because some children were playing nearby.
2. He walked really (slow/slowly) when he passed the field where his friends were playing.
3. Drag the mouse (slow/slowly) to select just the yellow portion of the image.
4. The space shuttle riding on the back of the airliner appeared to fly very (slow/slowly).
5. The band played (slow/slowly) when the conductor was distracted.
6. The water ran (slow/slowly) because of the water main break.
7. She poured water (slow/slowly) over the cooling noodles.
8. They biked too (slow/slowly) to get to the park before the moon rose.
9. The image (slow/slowly) transitions to gray.
10. The transition (slow/slowly) takes place as you watch.

Additional examples are welcome. Send your responses to me when ready.

by Jennie Ruby  

I came across this error in a heartfelt book review:

"It is a painful acceptance of the solitude and the loneliness of each and everyone of us."