English Grammar for the Utterly Confused

228 Index although, as subordinating conjunction, Capitalization, 164–171 135 of abbreviations, 166, 170 of adjectives, 4, 168 an, a, 4 of articles, conjunctions, and prepositions, and, 4 93, 166, 169 of building names, 169 antecedents joined by, 70 of compass points, 167 compound subject joined by, 66 of country names, 167 as coordinating conjunction, 66, 118, of course names, 169 of days, months, and holidays, 169 122 errors in, 79, 93 Antecedents: of ethnicities, 167 of first words, 93, 170–171 pronoun-antecedent agreement, 70 of geographical places, 167 of pronouns, 9, 10, 24–25, 70 of historical events, 167 Apostrophes, 148–149 of institution names, 169 with contractions, 10, 55, 149 of language names, 167 in dates, 149 of names and titles of people, 164–167 misuse of, 92 of nationalities, 167 with personal pronouns, 10 of organization names, 169 with plural forms, 8, 90, 149 of product names, 168 to show omissions, 10, 55, 149 of proper adjectives, 4, 168 to show possession, 8, 148 of proper nouns, 8, 92–93, 170 Apposition, commas in, 152 of religions, 168 Appositive phrases, 23, 102, 103 of time, 170 Appositives, 23, 103 Articles, 4 Case, 20–24 capitalizing, 93, 166, 169 defined, 19 definite, 4 nominative, 20–21, 23–24 indefinite, 4 objective, 20, 21–22, 23–24 as, as subordinating conjunction, 119 possessive, 20, 22–23, 149 as if, as subordinating conjunction, 119 Audience analysis, 120, 133, 187–188 Celestial bodies, capitalizing names of, 170 Awards, capitalizing names of, 170 -ch, plural nouns ending in, 8, 86 -ay, plural nouns ending in, 89 Choice, slashes to show, 156 Churchill, Winston, 137 Basic form of verb, 32 Clarity, lack of, 79 be, as helping verb, 63 Clauses, 105–108 because, as subordinating conjunction, 119, adjective, 107 135 adverb, 107 before, as subordinating conjunction, 135 defined, 101, 105 Bias-free language, 82, 212–214 introductory, 151 Biblical citations, colons in, 150 nonessential, 152 -body, indefinite pronouns ending in, 68 nonrestrictive, 26–27 Brackets, 149–150 noun, 108 Brand names, capitalizing, 168 overview of, 105 Building names, capitalizing, 169 relative, 107 Bureaucratic language, 217 but, as coordinating conjunction, 118, 122

Index 229 Clauses (Cont.): Contractions: restrictive, 26–27 double negatives with, 55 types of, 11, 83, 105–108, 118–120, 121, forming, 10, 55, 149 123, 150, 151, 156 Coordinating conjunctions, 7, 64, 66, 83, Clichés, 214–215 118–119, 122, 132, 151, 190 Closings of letters: Coordination, 132–134 capitalizing, 171 examples of, 133–134 commas in, 151 methods of, 132–133 Collective nouns: subordination versus, 136 defined, 8, 66 subject-verb agreement and, 66–67 Correlative conjunctions, 7, 132 Colloquial language, 200 Country names, capitalizing, 167 Colons, 150, 170 Course names, capitalizing, 169 Comma splices, 119, 121–122 Courtesy titles (see Titles of people) Commas, 150–153, 190 with interjections, 7 Dangling modifiers, 80–81 misuse of, 91–92, 119 Dangling participles, 81 Common adjectives, 4 Dashes, 153 Common nouns, 8 Dates: Comparative degree of comparison, 49–52 Compass points, capitalizing, 167 apostrophes in, 149 Complex sentences, 119, 189 commas in, 153 Compound adjectives, 4 Days of week: Compound-complex sentences, 120, 189 capitalizing, 169 Compound nouns, 8, 154 commas with, 153 Compound sentences, 118–119, 189 Declarative sentences, 117 Compound subject, subject-verb agreement Definite articles, 4 Definitions, quotations marks for, 156 and, 66 Degrees of comparison, 49–52 Compound words, plural forms of, 89 Demonstrative pronouns, 11 Conciseness, 201–205 Denotation, 201 Dependent (subordinate) clauses, 11, methods of achieving, 203–205 redundancy versus, 79, 202–203, 205 105–108, 119–120, 121, 123 Concluding expressions, commas after, 151 Descriptive writing, 188, 189 Conjugation, 33 Dialogue: Conjunctions, 7 capitalizing, 93, 166, 169 commas to set off, 151 coordinating, 7, 64, 66, 83, 118–119, 122, quotation marks with, 155 Diction, 198–201 132, 151, 190 choosing level of, 200–201 correlative, 7, 132 levels of, 198–200 defined, 7 nature of, 198 subordinating, 7, 105–106, 119, 122, 124, 135 Direct address: types of, 7, 83, 105–106, 119, 122, 124, 132, capitalizing titles used in, 165–166 commas in, 152 135, 151, 190 Direct object, objective case to show, 21–22 Conjunctive adverbs, 6, 119, 132, 133, 156, 190 Double negatives, 54–55 Connotation, 201 Dropping letters, 83–84

230 Index Editorial clarification, brackets for, 149 Fragments, 83, 122–124 Edwards, Jonathan, 198–199 Future perfect progressive tense, 37, 38, 39 either . . . or: Future perfect tense, 33, 37, 38, 39 Future progressive tense, 37, 38, 39 pronoun-antecedent agreement and, 70 Future tense, 37, 38–39 subject-verb agreement and, 64, 66 Elements of Style, The (Strunk and White), 201 accurate use of, 39 Elevated diction, 198–199 forms of, 37, 38, 39 Ellipsis, 153–154 else/other, 52 Gender, of pronoun, 26, 70 Emphasis: Generic masculine pronoun, 26 exclamation marks for, 154 Geographical terms: quotation marks for, 156 Empty language, 215–217 abbreviating, 173 -er, in comparative degree, 49, 50, 52 capitalizing, 167 -es: Gerund phrases, 102, 104 plural nouns ending in, 8, 63, 80, 86 Gerunds, 22–23, 103–104 singular verbs ending in, 63, 80 good/well, 51 -est, in superlative degree, 49, 50, 52 Grammar, errors in, 78, 79–83 Ethnicities: Greetings of letters: biased language and, 82, 212 capitalizing, 171 capitalizing, 167 commas after, 151 Euphemisms, 216 even if, as subordinating conjunction, 119 he/she, 26 Event names, capitalizing, 167 Helping verbs, 13, 63 Exclamation marks, 7, 92, 154 Hemingway, Ernest, 118 Exclamatory sentences, 117 her/his, 26 Expository writing, 188 his/her, 26 -ey, plural nouns ending in, 89 Historical events, capitalizing, 167 Historical periods, abbreviating, 173 -f, plural nouns ending in, 88 Holidays, capitalizing, 169 Familiar diction, 200 Hyphens, 154 Famous buildings, capitalizing, 169 fewer/less, 52 I/me, 20–21 Figures of speech, 199 I/myself, 23 Filler words, 203–204 Idioms: First person, 10, 26 First word of sentence, capitalizing, 93, defined, 81 incorrect, 81–82 170–171 if, as subordinating conjunction, 119, 135 for: Imperative sentences, 117 in, as subordinating conjunction, 105 as coordinating conjunction, 118, 122 Indefinite adjectives, 5 as subordinating conjunction, 105 Indefinite articles, 4 Formal diction, 198 Indefinite pronouns: Formulas, slashes in, 156 defined, 12, 67 Fractions: list of, 11 hyphens in, 154 pronoun-antecedent agreement and, 70 slashes in, 156 subject-verb agreement and, 67–69

Index 231 Independent (main) clauses, 83, 105, 106, Letters (textual), greetings (Cont.): 118–120, 121, 150, 156 commas in, 151 Indirect object, objective case to show, 22 salutations, colons after, 150 Infinitive phrases, 102, 104–105 lie/lay, 34 Infinitives, 23, 103–104 Linking verbs, 12–13, 21 Inflated language, 216 Informal diction, 198 adjectives after, 5 -ing, 22–23, 81 defined, 5, 52–53 Initials, periods in, 155 predicate adjectives after, 52–54 Institution names: Lists: capitalizing items in, 171 abbreviating, 174 colons to introduce, 150 capitalizing, 169 -ly: Intensive pronouns, 11, 23 with adverbs, 5–6, 48 Interjections, 7 plural form of, 87 Interrogative pronouns, 12 Interrogative sentences, 117 Main (independent) clauses, 83, 105, 106, Interrupting expressions, 21, 152, 153 118–120, 121, 150, 156 Intervening phrases, 69 Intransitive verbs, 12 Measurements: Introductory expressions, commas after, 151 abbreviating, 173–174 Irregular forms: as singular, 65 adjectives, 50–51 adverbs, 50–51 me/I, 20–21 verbs, 33–37 Metaphors: Irregular verbs, 33–37 defined, 80 Kennedy, John F., 190 mixed, 80 Metric abbreviations, 174 Language names, capitalizing, 167 Misplaced modifiers, 81 Latin expressions, 173 Misreading, commas to prevent, 152–153 lay/lie, 34 Missing words, 93 least, 50 Mixed metaphors, 80 least/less, 49 Modifiers: less/fewer, 52 dangling, 80–81 less/least, 49 defined, 81 Letters of alphabet: misplaced, 81 Months of year: adding, in spelling, 84 capitalizing, 169 apostrophes with, 90, 149 commas after days of, 153 dropping, in spelling, 83–84 Mood, of verb, 32 parentheses to enclose, 154 more/most, 49–50 Letters (textual): most/more, 49–50 closings: myself, 23 capitalizing, 171 Names of people: commas in, 151 capitalizing, 164–165, 167 greetings: commas in, 152 capitalizing, 171 Narrative writing, 188 Nationalities, capitalizing, 167

232 Index Negative prefixes, 55 -o, plural nouns ending in, 87 neither . . . nor: Object: pronoun-antecedent agreement and, 70 direct, 21–22 subject-verb agreement and, 64, 66 indirect, 22 Nominative case, 20–21 objective case to show, 20, 21–22 in appositive phrases, 23 of preposition, 9, 22, 24 defined, 20 Objective case, 20, 21–22, 23–24 for predicate nominative, 21, 24 defined, 20 pronoun, 20–21, 23–24 for object of preposition, 22, 24 for subject of verb, 20–21 for object of verb, 24 Nonbiased language, 212–214 to show direct object, 20, 21–22 Nonessential clauses, commas in, 152 to show indirect object, 22 Nonrestrictive clauses, 26–27 Older people, 213 nor: Omissions: as coordinating conjunction, 64, 66, 118, apostrophes for, 10, 55, 149 ellipses for, 153–154 122 -one, indefinite pronouns ending in, 68 singular and plural subjects joined by, 64, or: as coordinating conjunction, 118, 122 66 singular and plural subjects joined by, 64, Noun clauses, 108 Nouns, 8–9, 189 66 Organization names: adjective clauses to describe, 107 adjectives to describe, 5 abbreviating, 174 as antecedents of pronouns, 9, 10 capitalizing, 169 collective, 8, 66–67 Orwell, George (Eric Blair), 217–218 compound, 8, 154 other/else, 52 defined, 8 Outlines: as filler words, 204 capitalizing items in, 171 noun clauses functioning as, 108 periods in, 155 plural forms of, 8–9, 85–90, 149 Ownership, possessive case to show, 20, possessive, 8, 148 pronouns in apposition to, 23 22–23, 149 pronouns combined with, 22 -oy, plural nouns ending in, 89 proper, 8, 92–93, 170 subject-verb agreement and, 62–69 Parallel structure, 80, 137 types of, 8–9, 154 Parentheses, 154 Number: Participle phrases, 102, 104 of pronoun, 26, 62–69, 70 Participles, 103–104 pronoun-antecedent agreement and, 70 subject-verb agreement and, 62–69 dangling, 81 of verb, 32, 62–69 past, 33–37, 104 Numbers: present, 33–39, 104 apostrophes with, 90, 149 Parts of speech, 3–17 commas with, 153 adjectives, 4–5 hyphens in, 154 adverbs, 5–6 parentheses to enclose, 154 conjunctions, 7 interjections, 7

Index 233 Parts of speech (Cont.): Plural nouns: nouns, 8–9 errors in creating, 85–90 prepositions, 9 forming incorrect, 85–90 pronouns, 9–12 guidelines for creating, 8–9, 90, 149 verbs, 12–13 possessive form of, 8 (See also specific parts of speech) Plural subject and verb, 62–63, 65–66 Passive voice, 32, 39–40, 82–83 Poetry: Past participles, 104 capitalizing lines of, 170–171 defined, 33 slashes to separate lines of, 156 of regular and irregular verbs, 33–37 Positive degree of comparison, 49–52 Past perfect progressive tense, 37, 38 Possessive case, 10, 20, 22–23, 149 Past perfect tense, 33, 37, 38 Possessive nouns, 8, 148 Past progressive tense, 37, 38 Precise words, 201 Past tense, 33–39 Predicate, 12–13, 116 accurate use of, 38 Predicate adjectives, 5 defined, 33 defined, 52–53 forms of, 37 after linking verbs, 52–54 of regular and irregular verbs, 33–37 Predicate nominative, nominative case for, Pauses, ellipsis to show, 153 People with disabilities, 212–213 21, 24 Periods, 155, 172, 190 Prefixes, negative, 55 Person: Prepositional phrases, 9, 102–103 of pronoun, 10, 26, 70 Prepositions: of verb, 32 Personal pronouns, 10 capitalizing, 93, 166, 169 Persuasive writing, 188 defined, 9 Phrases, 102–105 list of common, 9 adjectival, 102–103 objects of, 9, 22, 24 adverbial, 102, 103 Present participles, 33–39, 104 appositive, 23, 102, 103 defined, 33 defined, 101, 102 of regular and irregular verbs, 33–37 gerund, 102, 104 Present perfect progressive tense, 37, 38 infinitive, 102, 104–105 Present perfect tense, 33, 37, 38 intervening, 69 Present tense, 33–39 introductory, 151 defined, 33 overview of, 102 forms of, 37 participle, 102, 104 of regular and irregular verbs, 33–37 prepositional, 9, 102–103 subject-verb agreement in, 63 types of, 9, 23, 102–105, 151 Product names, capitalizing, 168 verb, 13 Progressive form of verb, 32 verbal, 102, 103–104 future perfect progressive, 37, 38, 39 Place names: future progressive, 37, 38, 39 abbreviating, 173 past perfect progressive, 37, 38 capitalizing, 167 past progressive, 37, 38 Plural indefinite pronouns, 67–69 present perfect progressive, 37, 38 Pronouns, 9–12, 19–30 adjective clauses to describe, 107

234 Index Pronouns (Cont.): Religions, capitalizing, 168 adjectives to describe, 5 Repetition, 190, 204–205 antecedents of, 9, 10, 24–25, 70 Restrictive clauses, 26–27 in apposition to nouns, 23 Run-on sentences, 83, 121–122 case of, 19, 20–24 combined with nouns, 22 -s: defined, 9 plural nouns ending in, 8, 63, 80, 86, 89, demonstrative, 11 148 gender and, 26, 70 with possessive nouns, 8, 148 indefinite, 11, 12, 67–69, 70 singular verbs ending in, 63, 80 intensive, 11, 23 interrogative, 12 ’s, to show possession, 8, 148 number and, 26, 62–69, 70 Salutations of letters, colons after, 150 person and, 10, 26, 70 Second person, 10, 26 possessive, 10, 20, 22–23, 149 -self/-selves, 11, 23 pronoun-antecedent agreement, 70 Semicolons, 156, 190 reference of, 24–25 reflexive, 11, 23 to create compound sentences, 118, 122, relative, 11, 26–27, 107 132, 133 subject-verb agreement and, 62–69, 80 types of, 9–12, 26–27, 107 misuse of, 92 in sentence coordination, 132, 133 Proofreading errors, 79, 93 Sentences: Proper adjectives, 4, 168 agreement within (see Agreement) Proper nouns, 8, 93, 170 characteristics of, 116 provided that, as subordinating conjunction, comma splices, 119, 121–122 complex, 119, 189 119 compound, 118–119, 189 Punctuation, 147–161, 190 compound-complex, 120, 189 coordination of, 132–134 errors in, 78, 92–93 declarative, 117 (See also specific types) errors in construction, 78, 83, 121–124 Purpose of writing, 120, 133, 188–189 exclamatory, 117 fragments, 83, 122–124 Question marks, 155 functions of, 117 Quotation marks, 155–156 imperative, 117 Quotations: interrogative, 117 run-on, 83, 121–122 brackets in, 150 simple, 118, 189 capitalizing, 170 subordination of, 134–136 colons to introduce, 150 types of, 117–120 ellipses in, 154 Series, commas in, 152 Sexist language, 213–214 Races (see Ethnicities) -sh, plural nouns ending in, 8, 86 Redundancy, 79, 202–203, 205 she/he, 26 Reference, of pronouns, 24–25 Simple future tense, 37, 38, 39 Reflexive pronouns, 11, 23 Simple past tense, 37, 38 Regular verbs, 33–37 Simple present tense, 37 Relative clauses, 107 Simple sentences, 118, 189 Relative pronouns, 11, 26–27, 107

Index 235 since, as subordinating conjunction, 135 Supreme Being, capitalizing, 168 Singular indefinite pronouns, 67–69 Symbols, apostrophes with, 149 Singular subject and verb, 62–65 Slang, 200 Tense, 31, 32–39 Slash, 156 basic form, 32 so, as coordinating conjunction, 118, 122 forms of, 37, 38, 39 Specific words, 201 future, 37, 38–39 Spelling errors, 78, 83–91 future perfect, 33, 37, 38, 39 future perfect progressive, 37, 38, 39 adding letters, 84 future progressive, 37, 38, 39 confusing word pairs, 90–91 incorrect, 80 dropping letters, 83–84 past, 33–39 forming incorrect plurals, 85–90 past perfect, 33, 37, 38 transposing errors, 85 past perfect progressive, 37, 38 Standard American English, 199–200 past progressive, 37, 38 States, abbreviating, 173 present, 33–39, 63 Strunk, William, Jr., 201 present perfect, 33, 37, 38 Style (see Writing style) present perfect progressive, 37, 38 Subject of sentence: principal verb parts, 33–39 compound, 66 progressive form, 32, 37, 38, 39 hard-to-find, 69 of regular and irregular verbs, 33–37 linking verbs and, 12–13, 21 shifting, 39 recognizing, 116 subject-verb agreement and, 63 subject-verb agreement and, 62–69, 80 time and, 33, 37–39 Subject of verb, nominative case for, 20–21, that: 24 as demonstrative pronoun, 11 Subject of writing, 120 as relative pronoun, 11, 26–27, 107 Subject-verb agreement, 62–69, 80 the, 4 with collective nouns, 66–67 these, as demonstrative pronoun, 11 errors in, 69 Third person, 10, 26 hard-to-find subjects and, 69 this, as demonstrative pronoun, 11 with indefinite pronouns, 67–69 those: intervening phrases and, 69 plural subject and verb, 62–63, 65–66 as demonstrative pronoun, 11 singular subject and verb, 62, 63–65 as relative pronoun, 11 Subordinate (dependent) clauses, 11, though, as subordinating conjunction, 105–108, 119–120, 121, 123 135 Subordinating conjunctions, 7, 105–106, 119, till, as subordinating conjunction, 135 Time: 122, 124, 135 Subordination, 134–136 abbreviating, 170, 173 capitalizing, 170 coordination versus, 136 colons in, 150 examples of, 135–136 tense and, 33, 37–39 methods of, 134–135 Titles of people: [See also Subordinate (dependent) abbreviating, 155, 172 capitalizing, 165–166 clauses; Subordinating conjunctions] commas in, 152 Suitable diction, 200 Superlative degree of comparison, 49–52

236 Index Titles of people (Cont.): Verbs (Cont.): nonbiased use of, 214 tense of, 31, 32–39, 63, 80 periods in, 155, 172 transitive, 12 types of, 12–14, 21, 32, 52–54, 63 Titles of works: voice of, 32, 39–40, 82–83 capitalizing, 93, 166 colons in, 150 Vernacular, 200 quotation marks with, 155 Voice of verb, 32, 39–40 as singular, 65 active, 32, 39–40, 82–83 to be, 36, 52–53, 63 incorrect, 82–83 Trademarks, capitalizing, 168 passive, 32, 39–40, 82–83 Transitive verbs, 12 Voice of writer, 190 Transposing letters, 85 Twain, Mark (Samuel Clemens), 200 we/us, 22 well/good, 51 unless, as subordinating conjunction, 119, when, as subordinating conjunction, 105, 135 135 where, as subordinating conjunction, 135 wherever, as subordinating conjunction, 135 us/we, 22 which, as relative pronoun, 11, 26–27, 107 Usage errors, 77–97 White, E. B., 201 who: capitalization, 79, 93 grammar and usage, 78, 79–83 as nominative pronoun, 23–24 proofreading, 79, 93 as relative pronoun, 11, 26, 107 punctuation, 78, 92–93 who/whoever, 24, 27 sentence construction, 78, 83, 121–124 who/whomever, 27 spelling, 78, 83–91 whom: as objective pronoun, 23–24 Verb phrases, 13 as relative pronoun, 11, 107 Verbal phrases, 102, 103–104 whose, as relative pronoun, 107 Verbals, 103 Word breaks, hyphens in, 154 Verbs, 31–44, 189 Word pairs, 90–91 Words as words: action, 12, 13 apostrophes with, 90, 149 adverb clauses to describe, 107 quotation marks with, 156 adverbs to describe, 6 Writing style, 133, 183–195 conjugating, 33 audience and, 120, 133, 187–188 defined, 12 developing, 189–190 helping, 13, 63 elements of, 185–187 intransitive, 12 nature of, 184–185 irregular, 33–37 purpose and, 120, 133, 188–189 linking, 5, 12–13, 21, 52–54 mood of, 32 -x, plural nouns ending in, 8, 86 number of, 32, 62–69 objects of, 24 -y, plural nouns ending in, 9, 86 person of, 32 yet, as coordinating conjunction, 118, 122 recognizing, 116 you, 190 regular, 33–37 subject-verb agreement and, 62–69, 80