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Parts of Speech

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Submitted By JPacrin
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SAMAR COLLEGE
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
CATBALOGAN CITY

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English Correct Usage, American vs. British English, Politically Correct Words, Confusing Words,
Things to Remember When Using Numbers, Phrases, Clauses, Sentences, Punctuation Marks
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In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for:

ENGLISH 101 – STRUCTURE IN ENGLISH

Presented by:

JERRY S. PACRIN
BSED – 3 (CIT)

Presented to:

ALONA MEDALIA CADIZ – GABEJAN, M.E.

September 12, 2013
ENGLISH CORRECT USAGE
There are three (3) main language styles: * Formal * Semi-Formal * Informal
The diagram below illustrates how these styles are rated on a scale of 0 to 10.

Rules of Language Styles
The following rules apply to both written and spoken English.
Know person well and on familiar terms
Know person well and on familiar terms
Know name of person and have exchanged greetings.
Know name of person and have exchanged greetings.
Know title or name of person, Never met or exchanged info.
Know title or name of person, Never met or exchanged info.
Don’t know anything about the person who receives letter
Don’t know anything about the person who receives letter

Different Styles between Formal and Informal English
The followingn examples illustrate the main difference between informal and formal English.

Dictionary of Formal and Informal English TYPE | INFORMAL | FORMAL | Prep | About… | Regarding / Concerning | Idiom | Agree with… | Be bound by … | Conj. | And | As well as … | Idiom | Bearing in mind | Reference being made to … | Conj. | Because … | As a result of / Due to (the fact) … | Verb | Begin | Commence | Conj. | But | While / Whereas | Adj | Careful / Cautious | Prudential | Verb | Carry out | Effect | Verb | Check | Verify | Adj | Enough | Sufficient | Verb | Fill me in | Inform / Tell | Verb | Find out | Ascertain | TYPE | INFORMAL | FORMAL | Verb | Follow | Duly observe | Verb | Get | Receive | Verb | Get in touch | Contact | Verb | Go over | Exceed | Verb | Has to be | Shall be | Verb | Have to give | Submit | Conj. | If … | Should … | Conj. | If … or not. | Whether … or not. | Idiom | If you don’t … | Failing / Failure to … | Idiom | If you’ve got any questions … | Should you have any queries … | Idiom | In accordance with … | Pursuant to | Idiom | In the red | Overdrawn | Verb | Involve | Entail | Idiom | Lost | Inadvertently mislaid | Verb | Make sure | Ensure | Adj | Many | Several / Numerous | Verb | Order | Authorise | Verb | Pay | Settle | Idiom | Put in writing | Provide written confirmation | Idiom | Sorry! | We regret … | Verb | Supply | Furnish | Verb | Take away | Withdraw | Verb | Tell | Disclose | Verb | Trusted | Entrusted | Idiom | We don’t want to do this … | This is a course of action we are anxious to avoid | Idiom | We’ll call the law … | We will have no alternative but involving our legal … | Idiom | When we get … | On receipt | Idiom | Whenever we like … | Without prior notice … | Verb | Write (e.g. Cheque) | Issue (e.g. Cheque) | Verb | Written | Shown / Indicated |

American English vs. British English British and American variants of spelling are used internationally in various fields. However, language learners should stick to the spelling variant that corresponds to the variant of English that they are studying. Be consistent in your choice: if you write "centre" in one sentence and "center" in another, it might be regarded as a mistake, especially in examination papers. The chart below gives examples of spelling differences between BrE and AmE. Some derivative words are also given in the chart; some of them are the same in British and American English, others are not. Note that British spelling variants often exist as secondary spelling variants in American English. BRITISH ENGLISH | AMERICAN ENGLISH | aero | air, aero | aeroplane, aerodrome, airport | airplane, airdrome, airport | aeronaut, aerospace, aerosol, aerial | aeronaut, aerospace, aerosol, aerial | ae | e, ae | anaemia | anemia | anaesthetic | anesthetic, anaesthetic | aesthete, aesthetics | aesthete, aesthetics; esthete, esthetics | archaeology, archaeologist | archaeology, archaeologist; archeology, archeologist | encyclopaedia, encyclopedia | encyclopedia | gynaecology, gynaecologist | gynecology, gynecologist | oe | e | diarrhoea, diarrhea | diarrhea | foetus, fetus, foetal, fetal | fetus, fetal | homeopathy, homoeopathy | homeopathy | oesophagus, esophagus | esophagus | oestrogen, estrogen | estrogen | ction, xion | ction | connection, connexion | connection | inflection, inflexion | inflection | reflection, reflexion | reflection | complexion; crucifixion | complexion; crucifixion | gue | gue, g | analogue | analogue, analog | catalogue | catalogue, catalog | demagogue | demagogue, demagog | dialogue | dialogue, dialog | monologue | monologue, monolog | pedagogue | pedagogue, pedagog | prologue | prologue, prolog | ize, ise | ize | apologize, apologise | apologize | characterize, characterise | characterize | memorize, memorise | memorize | normalize, normalize; normalization, normalisation | Normalize, normalization | organize, organize; organization, organisation | organize, organization | realize, realize; realization, realisation | realize, realization | yse | yze | analyse, analysed, analysing; analysis, analyst | analyze, analyzed, analyzing; analysis, analyst | paralyse, paralysed, paralysing; paralysis | paralyze, paralyzed, paralyzing; paralysis | l, ll | l | cancel, cancelled, cancelling, canceller, cancellation | cancel, canceled, canceling, canceler, cancellation | counsel, counselled, counselling, counsellor | counsel, counseled, counseling, counselor | dial, dialled, dialling, dialler | dial, dialed, dialing, dialer | equal, equalled, equalling; equality | equal, equaled, equaling; equality | jewel, jeweller, jewellery; jewelled | jewel, jeweler, jewelry; jeweled | l, ll | ll | distil, distilled, distilling, distillation, distillery | distill, distilled, distilling, distillation, distillery | enrol, enrolled, enrolling, enroller, enrolment | enroll, enrolled, enrolling, enroller, enrollment | fulfil, fulfilled, fulfilling, fulfilment | fulfill, fulfilled, fulfilling, fulfillmen | install, instal, installed, installation, installer, instalment | install, installed, installation, installer, installment | instil, instilled, instillation, instillator | instill, instilled, instillation, instillator | mme | m, mme | gramme, gram, kilogramme, kilogram | gram, kilogram | to programme, programmed, programming; programmer; a programme | to program, programmed, programed, programming, programing; programmer; a program | our | or | armour, armoury, armoured | armor, armory, armored | behaviour, behavioural | behavior, behavioral | clamour, clamorous | clamor, clamorous | colour, coloured, colourful | color, colored, colorful | favour, favourite, favourable | favor, favorite, favorable | re | er | cadastre | cadastre, cadaster | calibre | caliber | centre, centres, central | center, centers, central | se, ce | se, ce | defence | defense | to license, a licence | to license, a license | Miscellaneous | Miscellaneous | cheque | check | draught | draft |

Politically Correct Words A Criminal - unsavory character
A Crook - morally (ethically) challenged
Abortion - Near-Life Experience
Alcoholic - Anti-Sobriety Activist
Alive - temporarily metabolically abled.
An Immigrant - a newcomer
Assassination - involuntary term limitation
Bald - comb-free
Bald - folically independent
Bald - follicularly challenged.
Battle Fatigued - shellshocked
Blind - optically darker
Blind - photonically non-receptive
Blind - visually challenged
Body Odor - nondiscretionary fragrance.
Broken Down Automobile - mechanically challenged
Broken Home - Dysfunctional Family
Bum - Displaced Homeowner
Bum - Homeless Person
Bum - Involuntarily Domiciled
Cannibalism - Intra-Species Dining
Censorship - Selective Speech
Cheating - Academic Dishonesty
China - Porcelain
Chronically Late - Temporarily Challenged
Clumsy - uniquely coordinated
Commercial Fisherman - Flipper Whipper
Computer Illiterate - Technologically Challenged
Corpse - Permanently Static Post-Human Mass
Corpse / Stiff - Metabolically Challenged
Corpse / Stiff - Terminally Inconvenienced
Cowardly - Challenge Challenged
Cowboys - bovine control officers
Crackpot - certified astrological consultant, certified crystal therapist, or certified past-life regression hypnotist
Crime Rate - street activity index
Dead - Actuarially Mature
Dead - biologically challenged
Dead - environmentally correct human
Dead - living impaired
Dead - metabolically challenged
Dead - persons living with entropy
Deaf - Visually Oriented
Delicatessen - Corpse Farm
Dirty Old Man - sexually focused chronologically gifted individual
Dish Washer - utensil sanitizer
Dishonest - Ethically disoriented.
Dorm - Residence Hall
Drooling Drunk Idiot - person on floor
Drowning - aquatically challenged
Drug Addict - Chemically Challenged
Drunk - spacially perplexed
Drunk / Junkie - in recovery
Earthquake - geological correction
Fail - achieve a deficiency.
Fat - Differently Weighted
Fat - gravitationally challenged
Fat - horizontally challenged.
Fat - horizontally gifted
Fat - People of Mass
Fat - person of substance
Fictional / Mythological - ontologically challenged
Freshman - first-year student
Frog - amphibian American
Full of Crap - fecally plenary
Gang - Youth Group
Garbage Man - sanitation engineer
Gas Station Attendent - petroleum transfer technician
Geek, Nerd, whatever... - socially challenged
Ghetto / Barrio - Ethnically Homogenous Area
Hamburger - Seared Mutilated Animal Flesh
Handicapped - Differently Abled, Handi-Capable
Having PMS - cyclically challenged
Hearing Person - temporarily aurally abled
Homeless - outdoor urban dwellers
Homeless - residentially flexible
Homelessness - Mortgage-Free Living
Housebroken - Family Disfunction
Housewife - domestic engineer
Hunter - Animal Assassin
Hunter - Bambi Butcher
Hunter - Meat Mercenary
Ignorant - factually unencumbered
Ignorant - knowledge-based nonpossessor.
Incompetent - Differently Qualified
Incompetent - Specially Skilled
Incompetent - Uniquely Proficient
Insane People - Mental Explorers
Insane People - Selectively Perceptive
Insult - Emotional Rape
Janitor - sanitation engineer
Klutz - kinesthetically challenged
Large Nose - nasally gifted
Lazy - motivationally dispossessed
Lazy - motivationally deficient.
Learning Disability - Self-Paced Cognitive Ability
Library - Educational Resource Center
Logger - Wood Weasel
Logger - Paper Pirate
Logger -Treeslayer
Loser - Second Place
Loser - uniquely fortuned individual on an alternative career path
Man-hole - maintenance hole
Mankind - humankind
MANkind, HuMAN, PerSON - Earth Children
Mercy Killing - Euthanasia
Mercy Killing - Putting Down/To Sleep/Out of Misery
Messy - differently organized
Meter Maid - Parking enforcer
Midget / Dwarf - Little People
Midget / Dwarf - Vertically Challenged
Mute/Dumb - verbally challenged
Not with somebody at the moment - romantically challenged -
Off - energy-efficient
Old - chronologically gifted
Old Person / Elderly - Gerontologically Advanced
Old Person / Elderly - Senior Citizens
Panhandler - Unaffiliated applicant for private-sector funding.
Paper Bag - processed tree carcass
Perverted - Sexually dysfunctional.
Pimp-mobile / Low-rider - Culturally Responsive Transportation Option
Plagiarism - Previously Owned Prose
Po' - financially inept
Policeman, Policewoman - law inforcement officer
Poor - economically marginalized
Poor - Economically Unprepared
Poor - monetarily challenged
Postman - letter carrier
Pregnant - parasitically oppressed.
Prisoner - client of the correctional system
Prostitute - sex care provider
Psychobabble - constructivist feminist psychotherapy
Psychopath - socially misaligned
Racist - genetically discriminating
Really Big Nosed - nasally disadvantaged
Redneck - person of region
Redneck - rustically inclined
Refugees - asylum seekers
Road Kill - Vehicularly Compressed Maladapted Life Form
Rudeness - Tact Avoidance
Runny Nose - nasally gifted
Senile Bag o' Bones - Alzheimer's Victim
Serial-Killer - Person with difficult-to-meet needs.
Shoplifter - Cost-of-Living Adjustment Specialist
Short - vertically challenged
Sighted Person - temporarily visually abled
Slum - Economic Oppression Zone
Slut - suffering from a sex addiction (female)
Someone who has no other reason to park in a handicapped zone - morally handicapped
Spendthrift - negative saver.
Stained - creatively re-dyed
Steward, Stewardess - flight attendant
Stoned - Chemically inconvenienced.
Stud - suffering from a sex addiction (male)
Stupid - differently-brained
Stupid - intellectually impaired
The Elderly - Senior citizens
Thin - horizontally challenged
Thirsty - osmotically challenged
Tone Deaf - musically delayed
Too old/young - other aged
Too Tall - people of height
Tree-Hugger - environmental activist
Trees - Oxygen Exchange Units
Ugly - aesthetically challenged
Ugly - Cosmetically different.
Ugly - facially challenged
Unemployed - Involuntarily leisured.
Used Books - Recycled Books
Vagrant - Nonspecifically destinationed individual.
Vegetable - noble unconscious hero
Vice President - Post-Coronary Leader of the Free World
Vocal Minority - target equity group
Vomiting - Unplanned Reexamination of Recent Food Choices
Waiter, Waitress - food server
War-Monger - Peacekeeper, patriot
Welfare Bum - economically disadvantaged
Whaler - Blubber Lover
White - melanin-impoverished
White American - racially challenged
White Boy - rhythmically challenged
White Trash - caucasian culturally-disadvantaged
Wife - unpaid sex slave
Worst - least best.
Wrong - differently logical. | |

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Confusing Words
Here’s a quick-reference list of pairs of words that regularly cause people problems. The words follow the accepted British English spelling. Word 1 | Meaning | Word 2 | Meaning | accept | to agree to receive or do | except | not including | adverse | unfavourable, harmful | averse | strongly disliking; opposed | advice | recommendations about what to do | advise | to recommend something | affect | to change or make a difference to | effect | a result; to bring about a result | aisle | a passage between rows of seats | isle | an island | all together | all in one place, all at once | altogether | completely; on the whole | along | moving or extending horizontally on | a long | referring to something of great length | aloud | out loud | allowed | permitted | altar | a sacred table in a church | alter | to change | amoral | not concerned with right or wrong | immoral | not following accepted moral standards | appraise | to assess | apprise | to inform someone | assent | agreement, approval | ascent | the action of rising or climbing up | aural | relating to the ears or hearing | oral | relating to the mouth; spoken | balmy | pleasantly warm | barmy | foolish, crazy | bare | naked; to uncover | bear | to carry; to put up with | bated | in phrase 'withbated breath', i.e. in great suspense | baited | with bait attached or inserted | bazaar | a Middle Eastern market | bizarre | strange | berth | a bunk in a ship, train, etc. | birth | the emergence of a baby from the womb | born | having started life | borne | carried | bough | a branch of a tree | bow | to bend the head; the front of a ship | brake | a device for stopping a vehicle; to stop a vehicle | break | to separate into pieces; a pause | breach | to break through, or break a rule; a gap | breech | the back part of a gun barrel | broach | to raise a subject for discussion | brooch | a piece of jewellery | canvas | a type of strong cloth | canvass | to seek people’s votes | censure | to criticize strongly | censor | to ban parts of a book or film; a person who does this | cereal | a grass producing an edible grain; a breakfast food made from grains | serial | happening in a series | chord | a group of musical notes | cord | a length of string; a cord-like body part | climactic | forming a climax | climatic | relating to climate | coarse | rough | course | a direction; a school subject; part of a meal | complacent | smug and self-satisfied | complaisant | willing to please | complement | to add to so as to improve; an addition that improves something | compliment | to praise or express approval; an admiring remark | council | a group of people who manage or advise | counsel | advice; to advise | cue | a signal for action; a wooden rod | queue | a line of people or vehicles | curb | to keep something in check; a control or limit | kerb | (in British English) the stone edge of a pavement | currant | a dried grape | current | happening now; a flow of water, air, or electricity | defuse | to make a situation less tense | diffuse | to spread over a wide area | desert | a waterless, empty area; to abandon someone | dessert | the sweet course of a meal | discreet | careful not to attract attention | discrete | separate and distinct | disinterested | impartial | uninterested | not interested | draught | a current of air | draft | a first version of a piece of writing | draw | an even score at the end of a game | drawer | a sliding storage compartment | dual | having two parts | duel | a fight or contest between two people | elicit | to draw out a reply or reaction | illicit | not allowed by law or rules | ensure | to make certain that something will happen | insure | to provide compensation if a person dies or property is damaged | envelop | to cover or surround | envelope | a paper container for a letter | exercise | physical activity; to do physical activity | exorcise | to drive out an evil spirit | fawn | a young deer; light brown | faun | a mythical being, part man, part goat | flaunt | to display ostentatiously | flout | to disregard a rule | flounder | to move clumsily; to have difficulty doing something | founder | to fail | forbear | to refrain | forebear | an ancestor | foreword | an introduction to a book | forward | onwards, ahead | freeze | to turn to ice | frieze | a decoration along a wall | grisly | gruesome, revolting | grizzly | a type of bear | hoard | a store | horde | a large crowd of people | imply | to suggest indirectly | infer | to draw a conclusion | loath | reluctant, unwilling | loathe | to hate | loose | to unfasten; to set free | lose | to be deprived of; to be unable to find | meter | a measuring device | metre | a metric unit; rhythm in verse | militate | to be a powerful factor against | mitigate | to make less severe | palate | the roof of the mouth | palette | a board for mixing colours | pedal | a foot-operated lever | peddle | to sell goods | pole | a long, slender piece of wood | poll | voting in an election | pour | to flow or cause to flow | pore | a tiny opening; to study something closely | practice | the use of an idea or method; the work or business of a doctor, dentist, etc. | practise | to do something repeatedly to gain skill; to do something regularly | prescribe | to authorize use of medicine; to order authoritatively | proscribe | to officially forbid something | principal | most important; the head of a school | principle | a fundamental rule or belief | sceptic | a person inclined to doubt | septic | infected with bacteria | sight | the ability to see | site | a location | stationary | not moving | stationery | writing materials | storey | a level of a building | story | a tale or account | titillate | to arouse interest | titivate | to make more attractive | tortuous | full of twists; complex | torturous | full of pain or suffering | wreath | a ring-shaped arrangement of flowers etc. | wreathe | to surround or encircle |

Things to Remember When Using Numbers
The advice proffered here is meant primarily for standard academic prose. Business and technical writing sometimes goes by a different set of standards, and writers of those kinds of text should consult a manual dedicated to those standards. (The APA Publication Manual has an extensive section devoted to the use of numbers in technical papers. The Chicago Manual of Style [chapter 13] addresses just about every issue that might come up in a technical or mathematical text.) * Write out numbers that require no more than two words, remembering that a hyphenated number between twenty-one and ninety-nine counts as one word. Some writing manuals will suggest that whole numbers from zero through nine should be written as words, and numbers from ten on up should be written as numerals, especially when the word modifies a noun as in five students or two professors. * Use numerals, however, when the number modifies a unit of measure, time, proportion, etc.: 2 inches, 5-minute delay, 65 mph, 23 years old, page 23, 2 percent. * Use numerals for decimals and fractions: 0.75, 3.45, 1/4 oz, 7/8 in. (Notice that abbreviations are always written in the singular form whether they would be expressed as plurals or not: 14 oz, 12 in. The period can be omitted from such abbreviated measurements unless confusion would result [after in., for example]). * Use numerals for any number greater than nine: 237 lb, 32 players. (But this may be determined by context and how exact the numbers are. In business and technical writing, yes, all such numbers would be written as numerals; in other kinds of text, you might see something like six million victims, four thousand volunteers. * Approximate figures — fractional or otherwise — may be written out as words: one half the students, a quarter cup of sugar, a third of the time, four times as often. * Place a hyphen after a unit of measure when the unit modifies a noun: 10-foot pole, 6-inch rule, 3-year-old horse. (The unit of measure in such expressions is, for some reason, always singular.) * When many numbers are involved, use all numerals unless all the numbers are whole numbers less than nine. * When fractional or decimal expression are 1 or less, the word they modify should be singular: 0.7 meter, 0.22 cubic foot, 0.78 kilometer. Precede decimal fractions with a value less than one with a leading zero before the decimal point. * Percentage expressions should be written out as words: Last semester, 78 percent of the first-year students passed English Composition. (as opposed to 78%) * Avoid using ordinals when writing dates: February 14, not 14th. * There are twenty-six students in my wife's third-grade class. * Juan is over 183 centimeters tall. * Hartford has over ninety-three thousand citizens.
(Some people would argue that all such statistical information should be expressed in numerals; when rounded off, however, spelled-out words are appropriate.) * Hartford has 97,500 citizens.
 Consistency is important here! * Juan is about 183 centimeters tall, which means that he is just over 6 feet tall.
 To avoid confusion by running numbers together, combine words and numerals when one number follows another. Generally, write out the shorter number. * My wife teaches 26 third-grade students. * There were 10 four-foot boards on the trucks. * The lab has 24 seventeen-inch monitors. * We need six 50-watt bulbs for this apartment.
 Avoid beginning a sentence with a number that is not written out. * Seventy-two inches equals approximately 1.83 meters.
An exception: you can begin a sentence with a date: * 1997 was a very good year for owls.
 Use figures instead of words for * Dates and years: December 18, 1997. Avoid using ordinals when writing dates: Her birthday is on April 4th. * Decimals, percentages, and fractions: 235.485, 55%, 14 1/4 * Scores: The Bulls won the final game by a score of 114 to 106. * Addresses: 1032 Maple Avenue. Sometimes, though, an address is part of a building's name, and then you'll want to spell it out: One Corporate Plaza. Unless space is at a premium, write out numerical street names (of one hundred or less): 1032 Fifth Avenue. * Political and military units (for numbers of one hundred or less): Seventh Precinct, Fourteenth Congressional District, Fifty-third Regiment, Third Batallion, 112d Artillery * Finances: Tickets cost $35.50 apiece. The city spent $1.1 million for snow removal last year. (Or use $1,100,000.) You can leave the comma out of figures in the thousands: They spent $7500 on that car before junking it. Also, leave the comma out of addresses and year-dates: In 1998, they moved to NE 12887 53rd Avenue. * Ranges: Between 18 and 25 bald eagles have been counted near the Connecticut River this spring. * Time: 9:15 a.m. If you use the word o'clock, however, for rounded off times, spell out the number in words: We left at seven o'clock. Use a.m. and p.m., not AM and PM.
Numbered, Vertical ("Display"), and Bulleted Lists
Writing and reference manuals offer different advice for creating lists. It seems that as long as you're consistent within your document, you can devise just about any means you want for creating your lists, whether you want them as run-in lists (built into the flow of your text) or as vertical lists (indented and stacked up). Technical writing may have its own requirements in this regard, and you should consult a technical writing manual for specific rules. Use parentheses around the numbers (no periods after the number, though) when using a run-in list:
I have three items to discuss: (1) the first item; (2) the second item; and (3) the third item.
Use semicolons to separate the items, whether they're expressed as fragments or full sentences.
For a vertical list (sometimes called a display list), you may choose to capitalize the items or not, and you may choose to put a comma after each item or not. (If you use commas, put a period after the last item.)
We will now review the following three principles: 1. fairness in recruiting 2. academic eligibility 3. scholarly integrity
Your choice to capitalize or not may depend on how elaborate your lists are and how many of them you have in your text. If a vertical list contains complete sentences or lengthy and complex items, you may prefer to end each element in the list with a semicolon, except for the last element, which you will end with a period.
Most coaches conform to three basic principles in recruiting new players: 1. Look for players first who can fill those positions you will need the subsequent year; 2. Look for players who are "court smart" as opposed to being merely athletic; 3. Look for players who are academically eligible and who have an academic purpose in going to college.
Although the elements in the list above begin with capital letters, that is not absolutely necessary. Notice that there is no "and" at the end of the next-to-last element (although some reference manuals allow for or recommend its use). Although we have used numbers for this list, bullets would work equally well if numbering seems inappropriate or irrelevant. The list below is based on a format suggested by the New York Public Library's Writer's Guide to Style and Usage:
Most coaches conform to three basic principles in recruiting new players— * Look for players first who can fill those positions you will need the subsequent year * Look for players who are "court-smart" as opposed to being merely athletic * Look for players who are academically eligible and who have an academic purpose in going to college
Note that this format does not include a period even at the end of the last element. Most writers, however, want to use some kind of punctuation in their listed items. When the introductory statement is a complete sentence, you can end it with either a period or a colon. Use a colon if the sentence is clearly anticipatory of the list, especially if it contains phrasing such as the following or as follows. A colon is also appropriate if the list that follows will be numbered or will establish a priority order. If the introductory statement is not a complete statement, however, neither a period nor a colon would be appropriate since that would interrupt the grammatical structure of the statement; use either no punctuation or try the dash technique noted above.

Phrases
A phrase is a group of related words that does not include a subject and verb. (If the group of related words does contain a subject and verb, it is considered a clause.) There are several different kinds of phrases. Understanding how they are constructed and how they function within a sentence can bolster a writer's confidence in writing sentences that are sound in structure and various in form.
NOUN PHRASE
A noun phrase comprises a noun (obviously) and any associated modifiers: * The long and winding road * A noun phrase * any associated modifiers
The modifiers that accompany a noun can take any number of forms and combination of forms: adjectives, of course ("the tall and brilliant professor"); a participial phrase ("the road following the edge of the frozen lake"); an infinitive phrase ("the first man to walk on the moon"); a modifying clause ("the presentation that he had made the day before"); and prepositional phrases ("the building next to the lodge, over by the highway"). [See below for definitions of participial, infinitive, and prepositional phrases.] Usually, a noun phrase will be all of a piece, all the words that compose it being contiguous with the noun itself. It is possible, however, for a noun phrase to be broken, to become what we call discontinuous. Sometimes part of the noun phrase is delayed until the end of the sentence so that that portion of the phrase (usually modifying phrases — participial or prepositional) can receive end weight or focus. In our first example, for instance (noun phrase in dark red) , * Several accidents have been reported involving passengers falling from trains . we could have put the entire noun phrase together: "Several accidents involving passengers falling from trains have been reported recently." Shifting the modifying phrases of the red-colored part of the phrase to the end puts additional emphasis on that part. Here are some other examples: * A rumor circulated among the staff that he was being promoted to Vice President . (instead of "A rumor that he was being promoted to Vice President circulated among the staff.") * The time had come to stop spending money foolishly and to put something away for the future . (instead of "The time to stop spending money foolishly and to put something away for the future had come.") * That hard drive was faulty that you sold me . (instead of "That hard drive that you sold me was faulty.") * What business is it of yours? (instead of "What business of yours is it? ")
Clearly, there is nothing inherently wrong with a discontinuous noun phrase. One very good reason for a discontinuous noun phrase is to achieve a balance between a subject and its predicate: * The story is told that he was once a soldier in French Foreign Legion .
Without the discontinuous noun phrase in the sentence above, we end up with a twelve-word subject, a linking verb, and a one-word predicate — sort of lop-sided.
One thing you want to watch out for with noun phrases is the long compound noun phrase.* This is sometimes called the "stacked noun phrase" or "packed noun phrase." It is common to find one noun modifying another: student body, book cover, water commission. But when we create a long string of such attributive nouns or modifiers, we create difficulties: * People who author web-pages have become aware of what is now known as the uniform resource locator protocol problem.
The difficulty we have here is knowing what is modifying what. Also, the reader keeps expecting the string to end, so the energy of the sentence (and our attention) dwindles into a series of false endings. Such phrases are a particular temptation in technical writing. Usually, the solution to an overly extended compound noun phrase is to take the last noun of the series and liberate it from the rest of the string (putting it at the beginning of the sentence) and then to turn at least one of the modifying nouns into a prepositional phrase: * The problem with the protocol of uniform resource locators is now recognized by people who author web-pages as. . . .
(This is one situation in which making a sentence longer is probably an advantage.)
A vocative — an addressed person's name or substitute name — is often a single word but sometimes takes the form of a noun phrase. A vocative is always treated as a parenthetical element and is thus set off from the rest of the sentence with a comma or a pair of commas (if it appears within the flow of a sentence). When vocatives are proper nouns (usually the case), they are also referred to as "nouns of address." Vocatives are like adverbs: they can pop up almost anywhere in the sentence. Do not, however, get into the habit of throwing commas at people's names; unless the name refers to someone who is actually being addressed, it is not a vocative and will not necessarily be parenthetical: * He told Jorge to turn the boat around. * Jorge, turn the boat around
Quirk and Greenbaum enumerate four different kinds of vocatives: 1. Single names, with or without a title: Jorge, Mr. Valdez, Dr. Valdez, Uncle, Grandma. Dr. Valdez, will you please address the graduates? 2. The personal pronoun you (not a polite form of address): You, put down that gun! The second person pronoun is sometimes combined with other words (but the result is often rather rude and is never used in formal prose ["You over there, hurry up!" "You with the purple hair and silver nose rings, get back in line!"]) The indefinite pronouns can also serve as a vocative: Call an ambulance, somebody! Quick,anybody! Give me a hand! 3. Appellatives (what we call people) of endearment ("Darling," "Sweetheart," "My dear," "Love") Come sit next to me, my dear.; of respect ("Sir," "Madam," "Your Honor," "Ladies and gentlemen") I would ask you, Sir, never to do that again.; of profession or status ("Professor," "Mr. President," "Madam Chairman," "Coach") Please, Coach, let me play for a while. 4. Nominal clause: Whoever is making that noise, stop it now.
PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE
A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition, a noun or pronoun that serves as the object of the preposition, and, more often than not, an adjective or two that modifies the object. Ernest Hemingway apparently fell in love with the rhythms of his prepositional phrases at the beginning of his short story "Hills Like White Elephants":
The hills across the valley of the Ebro were long and white. On this side there was no shade and no trees and the station was between two lines of rails in the sun. Close against the side of the station there was the warm shadow of the buildingand a curtain, made of strings of bamboo beads, hung across the open door into the bar, to keep out flies. The American and the girl with him sat at a table in the shade, outside the building. It was very hot and the express from Barcelona would come in forty minutes. It stopped at this junction for two minutes and went on to Madrid.
Prepositional phrases usually tell when or where: "in forty minutes," "in the sun, against the side, etc." Prepositional phrases can perform other functions, however: Except Jo, the children were remarkably like their father.
A prepositional phrase at the beginning of a sentence constitutes an introductory modifier, which is usually a signal for a comma. However, unless an introductory prepositional phrase is unusually long, we seldom need to follow it with a comma.
You may have learned that ending a sentence with a preposition is a serious breach of grammatical etiquette. It doesn't take a grammarian to spot a sentence-ending preposition, so this is an easy rule to get caught up on (!). Although it is often easy to remedy the offending preposition, sometimes it isn't, and repair efforts sometimes result in a clumsy sentence. Based on shaky historical precedent, the rule itself is a latecomer to the rules of writing. Those who dislike the rule are fond of recalling Churchill's rejoinder: <"That is nonsense up with which I shall not put." We should also remember the child's complaint (attributed to E.B. White): "What did you bring that book that I don't like to be read to out of up for?"
APPOSITIVE PHRASE
An appositive is a re-naming or amplification of a word that immediately precedes it. (An appositive, then is the opposite of anoppositive.) Frequently another kind of phrase will serve in apposition. * My favorite teacher, a fine chess player in her own right, has won several state-level tournaments. [Noun phrase as appositive] * The best exercise, walking briskly, is also the least expensive. [Gerund phrase as appositive] * Tashonda's goal in life, to become an occupational therapist, is within her grasp this year, at last. [Infinitive phrase as appositive]
ABSOLUTE PHRASE
Usually (but not always, as we shall see), an absolute phrase (also called a nominative absolute) is a group of words consisting of a noun orpronoun and a participle as well as any related modifiers. Absolute phrases do not directly connect to or modify any specific word in the rest of the sentence; instead, they modify the entire sentence, adding information. They are always treated as parenthetical elements and are set off from the rest of the sentence with a comma or a pair of commas (sometimes by a dash or pair of dashes). Notice that absolute phrases contain a subject (which is often modified by a participle), but not a true finite verb. * Their reputation as winners secured by victory, the New York Liberty charged into the semifinals. * The season nearly finished, Rebecca Lobo and Sophie Witherspoon emerged as true leaders. * The two superstars signed autographs into the night, their faces beaming happily.
When the participle of an absolute phrase is a form of to be, such as being or having been, the participle is often left out but understood. * The season [being] over, they were mobbed by fans in Times Square. * [Having been] Stars all their adult lives, they seemed used to the attention.
Another kind of absolute phrase is found after a modified noun; it adds a focusing detail or point of focus to the idea of the main clause. This kind of absolute phrase can take the form of a prepositional phrase, an adjective phrase, or a noun phrase. * The old firefighter stood over the smoking ruins, his senses alert to any sign of another flare-up. * His subordinates, their faces sweat-streaked and smudged with ash, leaned heavily against the firetruck. * They knew all too well how all their hard work could be undone — in an instant.
It is not unusual for the information supplied in the absolute phrase to be the most important element in the sentence. In fact, in descriptive prose, the telling details will often be wrapped into a sentence in the form of an absolute phrase: * Coach Nykesha strolled onto the court, her arms akimbo and a large silver whistle clenched between her teeth. * The new recruits stood in one corner of the gym, their uniforms stiff and ill fitting, their faces betraying their anxiety.
A noun phrase can also exist as an absolute phrase: * Your best friends, where are they now, when you need them? * And then there was my best friend Sally — the dear girl — who has certainly fallen on hard times.
It might be useful to review the material on Misplaced Modifiers because it is important not to confuse an absolute phrase with a misplaced modifier.
INFINITIVE PHRASE
An infinitive phrase consists of an infinitive — the root of the verb preceded by to — and any modifiers or complements associated with it. Infinitive phrases can act as adjectives, adverbs, and nouns. * Her plan to subsidize child care won wide acceptance among urban politicians. [modifies plan, functions as an adjective] * She wanted to raise taxes. [noun-object of the sentence] * To watch Uncle Billy tell this story is an eye-opening experience. [noun-subject of the sentence] * To know her is to love her. [noun, predicate nominative] * Juan went to college to study veterinary medicine. [tells us why he went, so it's an adverb]
GERUND PHRASE
Gerunds, verbals that end in -ing and that act as nouns, frequently are associated with modifiers and complements in a gerund phrase. These phrases function as units and can do anything that a noun can do. Notice that other phrases, especially prepositional phrases, are frequently part of the gerund phrase. * Cramming for tests is not a good study strategy. [gerund phrase as subject] * John enjoyed swimming in the lake after dark. [gerund phrase as object] * I'm really not interested in studying biochemistry for the rest of my life. [gerund phrase as object of the preposition in ]
PARTICIPIAL PHRASE
Present participles, verbals ending in -ing, and past participles, verbals that end in -ed (for regular verbs) or other forms (for irregular verbs), are combined with complements and modifiers and become part of important phrasal structures. Participial phrases always act as adjectives. When they begin a sentence, they are often set off by a comma (as an introductory modifier); otherwise, participial phrases will be set off by commas if they are parenthetical elements. * The stone steps, having been worn down by generations of students, needed to be replaced. [modifies "steps"] * Working around the clock, the firefighters finally put out the last of the California brush fires. [modifies "firefighters"] * The pond, frozen over since early December, is now safe for ice-skating. [modifies "pond"]

Clauses
A clause is a group of related words containing a subject and a verb A clause can be usefully distinguished from a phrase, which is a group of related words that does not contain a subject-verb relationship, such as "in the morning" or "running down the street" or "having grown used to this harassment." A review of the different kinds of phrases might be helpful.
Words We Use to Talk about Clauses
Learning the various terms used to define and classify clauses can be a vocabulary lesson in itself. This digital handout categorizes clauses into independent and dependent clauses. This simply means that some clauses can stand by themselves, as separate sentences, and some can't. Another term for dependent clause is subordinate clause: this means that the clause is subordinate to another element (the independent clause) and depends on that other element for its meaning. The subordinate clause is created by a subordinating conjunction or dependent word.
An independent clause, "She is older than her brother" (which could be its own sentence), can be turned into a dependent or subordinate clause when the same group of words begins with a dependent word (or a subordinating conjunction in this case): "Because she is older than her brother, she tells him what to do."
Clauses are also classified as restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses. (The words essential and nonessential are sometimes used and mean the same thing as restrictive and nonrestrictive, respectively. British grammarians will make this same distinction by referring to clauses with the terms defining and non-defining.) A nonrestrictive clause is not essential to the meaning of the sentence; it can be removed from the sentence without changing its basic meaning. Nonrestrictive clauses are often set apart from the rest of the sentence by a comma or a pair of commas (if it's in the middle of a sentence). * Professor Villa, who used to be a secretary for the President, can type 132 words a minute.
Relative clauses are dependent clauses introduced by a Relative Pronoun (that, which, whichever, who, whoever, whom, whomever, whose, and of which). Relative clauses can be either restrictive or nonrestrictive. Review the section on Comma Usage for additional help in determining whether relative clauses are restrictive or nonrestrictive (parenthetical or not) and whether commas should be used to set them off from the rest of the sentence. In a relative clause, the relative pronoun is the subject of the verb (remember that all clauses contain a subject-verb relationship) and refers to (relates to) something preceding the clause. * Giuseppe said that the plantar wart, which had been bothering him for years, had to be removed.
(In this sentence, the clause in this color is a restrictive [essential] clause [a noun clause — see below] and will not be set off by a comma; the underlined relative clause [modifying "wart"] is nonrestrictive [nonessential — it can be removed from the sentence without changing the meaning of the sentence] and is set off by commas.)
Some relative clauses will refer to more than a single word in the preceding text; they can modify an entire clause or even a series of clauses. * Charlie didn't get the job in administration, which really surprised his friends.
Charlie didn't get the job in administration, and he didn't even apply for the Dean's position, which really surprised his friends.
A relative clause that refers to or modifies entire clauses in this manner is called a sentential clause. Sometimes the "which" of a sentential clause will get tucked into the clause as the determiner of a noun: * Charlie might very well take a job as headmaster, in which case the school might as well close down.
Finally, everybody's favorite clause is the Santa Clause, which needs no further definition:

Independent Clauses
Independent Clauses could stand by themselves as discrete sentences, except that when they do stand by themselves, separated from other clauses, they're normally referred to simply as sentences, not clauses. The ability to recognize a clause and to know when a clause is capable of acting as an independent unit is essential to correct writing and is especially helpful in avoiding sentence fragments and run-on sentences..
Needless to say, it is important to learn how to combine independent clauses into larger units of thought. In the following sentence, for example, * Bob didn't mean to do it, but he did it anyway. we have two independent clauses — "Bob didn't mean to do it" and "he did it anyway" — connected by a comma and a coordinating conjunction ("but"). If the word "but" is missing from this sentence, the sentence would be called a comma splice: two independent clauses would be incorrectly connected, smooshed together, with only a comma between them. Furthermore, a long series of clauses of similar structure and length begins to feel monotonous, leading to what is called "Dick and Jane" or primer language (after the kind of prose that we find in first grade textbooks or "primers").
Clauses are combined in three different ways: coordination, subordination, and by means of a semicolon.
Coordination involves joining independent clauses with one of the coordinating conjunctions: and, but, or, nor, for, yet, and sometimes* so. Clauses thus connected are usually nicely balanced in length and import. * Ramonita thought about joining the church choir, but she never talked to her friends about it.
Subordination involves turning one of the clauses into a subordinate element (one that cannot stand on its own) through the use of aSubordinating Conjunction (sometimes called a dependent word) or a Relative Pronoun. When the clause begins with a subordinating word, it is no longer an independent clause; it is called a dependent or subordinate clause because it depends on something else (the independent clause) for its meaning. There are other ways of combining ideas — by turning independent clauses into various kinds of modifying phrases. Again, see the section on Avoiding Primer Language. * Although Ramonita often thought about joining the choir, she never talked to her friends about it. * Ramonita never talked to her friends about joining the choir, because she was afraid they would make fun of her. * Yasmin is Ramonita's sister. Yasmin told Ramonita to join the choir no matter what her friends said.
Joining these with the use of a relative clause:
Yasmin, [who is] Ramonita's sister, told Ramonita to join the choir. . . .
Semicolons can connect two independent clauses with or without the help of a conjunctive adverb (transitional expression). Semicolons should be used sparingly and only when the two independent clauses involved are closely related and nicely balanced in terms of length and import. * Ramonita has such a beautiful voice; many couples have asked her to sing at their wedding. * Ramonita's voice has a clear, angelic quality; furthermore, she clearly enjoys using it.
(Click on the words semicolons and conjunctive adverb above for further help with their use.)
Take these two quizzes on recognizing independent clauses before proceeding to the section on dependent clauses.

Dependent Clauses
Dependent Clauses cannot stand by themselves and make good sense. They must be combined with an independent clause so that they become part of a sentence that can stand by itself. (Review the section on Commas Usage for advice and plenty of exercises on the punctuation requirements when dependent and independent clauses are combined.) Unlike independent clauses, which simply are what they are, dependent clauses are said to perform various functions within a sentence. They act either in the capacity of some kind of noun or as some kind of modifier. There are three basic kinds of dependent clauses, categorized according to their function in the sentence. Remember that a dependent clause always contains a subject and a verb, but it cannot stand by itself. * Adverb clauses provide information about what is going on in the main (independent) clause: where, when, or why. "When the movie is over, we'll go downtown." or "John wanted to write a book because he had so much to say about the subject." * Adjective clauses work like multi-word adjectives. "My brother, who is an engineer, figured it out for me." or "The bridge that collapsed in the winter storm will cost millions to replace." A special kind of adjective clause begins with a relative adverb (where, when, and why) but nonetheless functions as adjectivally. * Noun clauses can do anything that nouns can do. "What he knows [subject] is no concern of mine." or "Do you know what he knows[object]?" or "What can you tell me about what he has done this year [object of the preposition "about"]?" | What they did with the treasure remains a mystery.
Whatever you want for dessert is fine with me.
That you should feel this way about her came as a great surprise to us. | | Juan finally revealed what he had done with the money.
Her husband spent whatever she had saved over the years.
I don't know what I should do next. | | In fact, he wrote a book about what he had done over the years.
We are interested in what he does for a living. | | The trouble was that they had never been there before.
The biggest disappointment of last season was that the women's team didn't make it to the final four. | | My brother, who now teaches math in a small college, never liked math in high school.
The dealership that sold more cars ended up actually losing money.
The Federated Bank, which was founded nearly two centuries ago, folded during the state's economic crisis. | | The team had fallen behind by ten points before they were able to figure out the opponent's defense.
Since he started working nights, he doesn't see much of his kids.
While Josie sat inside watching television, Gladys shoveled the driveway. |
Combinations of Clauses
Review the section on Sentence Variety for help in understanding the variety of sentence patterns. It is difficult to know if you're using different patterns unless you keep in mind the way that clauses are combined in larger sentence-units of thought. Pay special attention to the variety of sentence types: simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences. These are defined by their essential ingredients, the clauses that make them up. There is also a quiz at the end of that section that will test your ability to distinguish among the kinds of clauses that make up a sentence.
Elliptical Clauses
Elliptical Clauses are grammatically incomplete in the sense that they are missing either the relative pronoun (dependent word) that normally introduces such a clause or something from the predicate in the second part of a comparison. The missing parts of the elliptical clause can be guessed from the context and most readers are not aware that anything is missing. In fact, elliptical clauses are regarded as both useful and correct, even in formal prose, because they are often elegant, efficient means of expression. (The omitted words are noted in brackets below). * Coach Espinoza knew [that] this team would be the best [that] she had coached in recent years. * Though [they were] sometimes nervous on the court, her recruits proved to be hard workers. * Sometimes the veterans knew the recruits could play better than they [could play].

Sentences
A sentence is the written expression of a complete thought. In most sentences the reader is given one complete piece of information. This unit teaches you how sentences work and how to write a good sentence.
A sentence needs to contain the following: * a capital letter at the beginning and a full stop at the end * a subject (person / people or thing(s) that is / are doing something) * a verb (action or doing word).
Example

The time (tense) can be past, present or future.

Classification of Sentences:
Classifcation of Sentences By Structure * Simple Sentence
A simple sentence has one independent clause and expresses one idea.
Example

A simple sentence must have one subject - verb combination but the subject may be compound, ie have more than one element.
Example

A simple sentence can also have a compound verb construction.
Example

Simple sentences can only have only one subject-verb combination and commas are not used. Below are some examples of the different combinations that you might find in simple sentences.
Examples

* Compound Sentence
The second type of sentence is the compound sentence. This sentence is composed of two simple sentences joined together by a comma and a joining word (coordinating conjunction). We could also describe a compound sentence as two independent clauses joined by a conjunction. There are seven coordinating conjunctions: * And * But * So * Or * For * Nor * Yet
Example

* Complex Sentence
The third type of sentence is the complex sentence. Complex sentences contain 2 parts – the independent clause and the dependent clause. These parts are joined by a linking word (subordinator) or conjunction.
Example

Understanding how to construct and write complex sentences is important in formal writing.

* Compound – Complex Sentence
A compound-complex sentence is made from two independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses.
Some examples:
1. Although I like to go camping, I haven't had the time to go lately, and I haven't found anyone to go with. independent clause: "I haven't had the time to go lately" independent clause: "I haven't found anyone to go with" dependent clause: "Although I like to go camping... "
* * * * * * * * * * 2. We decided that the movie was too violent, but our children, who like to watch scary movies, thought that we were wrong. independent clause: "We decided that the movie was too violent" independent clause: "(but) our children thought that we were wrong" dependent clause: who like to watch scary movies
Compound-complex sentences are very common in English, but one mistake that students often make is to try to write them without having mastered the simple sentences, compound sentences, and complex sentences first.

Classification of Sentences By Purpose
Most sentences which you write should simply state facts, conjectures, or arguments, but sometimes you will want to give commands or ask questions.
The Declarative Sentence
The declarative sentence is the most important type. You can, and often will write entire essays or reports using only declarative sentences, and you should always use them far more often than any other type. A declarative sentence simply states a fact or argument, without requiring either an answer or action from the reader. You punctuate your declarative sentences with a simple period:
Ottawa is the capital of Canada.
The distinction between deconstruction and post-modernism eludes me.
He asked which path leads back to the lodge.
Note that the last example contains an indirect question, "which path leads back to the lodge." An indirect question does not make a sentence into an interrogative sentence -- only a direct question can do that.
The Interrogative Sentence
An interrogative sentence asks a direct question and always ends in a question mark:
Who can read this and not be moved?
How many roads must a man walk down?
Does money grow on trees?
Note that an indirect question does not make a sentence interrogative:
Direct/Interrogative
When was Lester Pearson prime minister?
Indirect/Declarative
I wonder when Lester Pearson was prime minister.
A direct question requires an answer from the reader, while an indirect question does not.
The Rhetorical Question
Normally, an essay or report will not contain many regular direct questions, since you are writing it to present information or to make an argument. There is, however, a special type of direct question called a rhetorical question -- that is, a question which you do not actually expect the reader to answer:
Why did the War of 1812 take place? Some scholars argue that it was simply a land-grab by the Americans ...
If you do not overuse them, rhetorical questions can be a very effective way to introduce new topics or problems in the course of a paper; if you use them too often, however, you may sound patronising and/or too much like a professor giving a mediocre lecture.
The Exclamatory Sentence
An exclamatory sentence, or exclamation, is simply a more forceful version of a declarative sentence, marked at the end with an exclamation mark:
The butler did it!
How beautiful this river is!
Some towns in Upper Canada lost up to a third of their population during the cholera epidemics of the early nineteenth century!
Exclamatory sentences are common in speech and (sometimes) in fiction, but over the last 200 years they have almost entirely disappeared from academic writing. You will (or should) probably never use one in any sort of academic writing, except where you are quoting something else directly. Note that an exclamation mark can also appear at the end of an imperative sentence.
The Imperative Sentence
An imperative sentence gives a direct command to someone -- this type of sentence can end either with a period or with an exclamation mark, depending on how forceful the command is:
Sit!
Read this book for tomorrow.
You should not usually use an exclamation mark with the word "please":
Wash the windows!
Please wash the windows.
Normally, you should not use imperative sentences in academic writing. When you do use an imperative sentence, it should usually contain only a mild command, and thus, end with a period:
Consider the Incas.
Major and Minor Sentences
A major sentence is a regular sentence; it has a subject and a predicate. For example: "I have a ball." In this sentence one can change the persons: "We have a ball." However, a minor sentence is an irregular type of sentence. It does not contain a finite verb. For example, "Mary!" "Yes." "Coffee." etc. Other examples of minor sentences are headings (e.g. the heading of this entry), stereotyped expressions ("Hello!"), emotional expressions ("Wow!"), proverbs, etc. This can also include nominal sentences like "The more, the merrier". These do not contain verbs in order to intensify the meaning around the nouns and are normally found in poetry and catchphrases.
Sentences that comprise a single word are called word sentences, and the words themselves sentence words.
Sentence patterns
Just about all sentences in the English language fall into ten patterns determined by the presence and functions of nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.
The patterns are most easily classified according to the type of verb used: Verb of being patterns (1, 2, 3) use a form of the verb to be as the main verb in the sentence. is are was were has been have been had been Linking verb patterns (4, 5) use one of the linking verbs as the main verb in the sentence. The linking verb is followed by a noun or adjective functioning as a subjective complement. smell taste look feel seem become appear grow Action verb patterns (6, 7, 8, 9, 10) use one of the many action verbs as the main verb in the sentence. The action verb may be either transitive (take a direct object) or intransitive (not take a direct object). see jump embrace write imagine buy plummet think etc. Terms used to identify various parts of each sentence pattern include the following: * NP = noun phrase This abbreviation refers to a headword noun and its modifiers ("noun phrase") functioning as a subject, direct object, indirect object, subjective complement, or objective complement. * NP1, NP2, NP3, etc. = designations for different noun phrase functions Numbers in sequential order are used with each NP to designate its difference from or similarity to other NPs before and after it. * V-be = verb of being * LV = linking verb * V-int = intransitive verb * V-tr = transitive verb * ADV/TP = adverbial of time or place * ADJ = adjective THE TEN SENTENCE PATTERNS
1. NP1 + V-be + ADV/TP The verb of being is followed by an adverb indicating where or when. More information on subjects The adverbial indicating where or when may be a prepositional phrase. 2. NP1 + V-be + ADJ The verb of being is followed by an adjective that functions as the subjective complement. More information on subjective complements The adjectival functioning as the subjective complement may be a prepositional phrase.

3. NP1 + V-be + NP1 The verb of being is followed by a noun that functions as the subjective complement. Note: The second NP receives the same numerical designation as the first NP because the second NP, the subjective complement, is the same as the subject (Mr. James = teacher).
4. NP1 + LV + ADJ The linking verb is followed by an adjective functioning as a subjective complement. The adjectival functioning as the subjective complement may be a prepositional phrase. 5. NP1 + LV + NP1 The linking verb is followed by a noun functioning as a subjective complement. Note: The second NP receives the same numerical designation as the first NP because the second NP, the subjective complement, is the same as the subject (Joan = Buddhist).
6. NP1 + V-int The action verb takes no direct object. Even if the action verb is followed by a prepositional phrase, the verb is still intransitive as long as it does not take a direct object. 7. NP1 + V-tr + NP2 The action verb is followed by a direct object. More information on direct objects Note: The second NP, the direct object, receives a different numerical designation (NP2) because it is not the same as the subject (NP1).
8. NP1 + V-tr + NP2 + NP3 The action verb is followed by an indirect object and then a direct object. More information on indirect objects Note: The indirect object and the direct object each receive a new numerical designation because each is different from the other and both are different from the subject.
9. NP1 + V-tr + NP2 + ADJ The action verb is followed by a direct object. The direct object is followed by an adjective functioning as an objective complement. More information on objective complements Note: The second NP, the direct object, receives a different numerical designation (NP2) because it is not the same as the subject (NP1).
10. NP1 + V-tr + NP2 + NP2 The action verb is followed by a direct object. The direct object is followed by a noun functioning as an objective complement. Note: The second NP, the direct object, receives a different numerical designation (NP2) because it is not the same as the subject (NP1). The third NP, the objective complement, receives the same numerical designation as the direct object (NP2) because it is the same as the direct object (Jacobsen = friend).

Misplaced Modifiers
A misplaced modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that is improperly separated from the word it modifies / describes.
Because of the separation, sentences with this error often sound awkward, ridiculous, or confusing. Furthermore, they can be downright illogical. Example The example above suggests that a gold man owns a watch.
Misplaced modifiers can usually be corrected by moving the modifier to a more sensible place in the sentence, generally next to the word it modifies. Example Now it is the watch that is gold.
There are several kinds of misplaced modifiers: 1. Misplaced adjectives are incorrectly separated from the nouns they modify and almost always distort the intended meaning.

Example 1 Correct the error by placing the adjective next to the noun it modifies. Corrected

Example 2 Corrected Sentences like these are common in everyday speech and ordinarily cause their listeners no trouble. However, they are quite imprecise and, therefore, should have NO place in your writing.
2. Placement of adverbs can also change meaning in sentences. For example, the sentences below illustrate how the placement of just can change the sentence's meaning. Just means only John was picked, no one else:

Just means that John was picked now: Just means that John hosted only the program, nothing else: Each of these sentences says something logical but quite different, and its correctness depends upon what the writer has in mind.
Often, misplacing an adverb not only alters the intended meaning, but also creates a sentence whose meaning is highly unlikely or completely ridiculous. This sentence, for example, suggests that we brought a lunch slowly: To repair the meaning, move the adverb slowly so that it is near ate. Watch out for adverbs such as only, just, nearly, merely, and almost. They are often misplaced and cause an unintended meaning. This sentence, for example, means that I only contributed the money: Repaired, however, the sentence means that I contributed only $10.00. Like adjectives, adverbs are commonly misplaced in everyday speech, and may not cause listeners difficulty. However, such sentences are quite imprecise and, therefore, should have NO place in your writing. 3. Misplaced phrases may cause a sentence to sound awkward and may create a meaning that does not make sense.
The problem sentences below contain misplaced phrases that modify the wrong nouns. To fix the errors and clarify the meaning, put the phrases next to the noun they are supposed to modify. Example 1 (a buyer with leather seats?) Corrected Example 2 (a corner smoking pipes?) Corrected Example 3 (a house made of barbed wire?) Corrected 4. Misplaced clauses may cause a sentence to sound awkward and may create a meaning that does not make sense.
The problem sentences below contain misplaced clauses that modify the wrong nouns.
To fix the errors and clarify the meaning, put the clauses next to the noun they are supposed to modify. Example 1 ( a buttered woman?) Corrected Example 2 (a hamper that Ralph wore?) Corrected

Be careful! In correcting a misplaced modifier, don't create a sentence with two possible meanings. Example Problem: Did the teacher say this on Monday or will she return the essays on Monday?) Correction #1 (meaning the essays will be returned on Monday) Correction #2 (meaning that the teacher spoke on Monday)

DANGLING MODIFIERS
A dangling modifier is a phrase or clause that is not clearly and logically related to the word or words it modifies (i.e. is placed next to). Two notes about dangling modifiers: * Unlike a misplaced modifier, a dangling modifier cannot be corrected by simply moving it to a different place in a sentence. * In most cases, the dangling modifier appears at the beginning of the sentence, although it can also come at the end.
Sometimes the dangling modifier error occurs because the sentence fails to specify anything to which the modifier can refer. Example 1 This sentence does not specify who is looking toward the west. In fact, there is nothing at all in the sentence to which the modifying phrase looking toward the west can logically refer. Since the modifier, looking toward the west, is sitting next to the funnel shaped cloud, the sentence suggests that the cloud is doing the looking.
Example 2 This sentence means that my mother enrolled in medical when she was nine years old!
At other times the dangling modifier is placed next to the wrong noun or noun substitute. Example 1 Because of the placement of walking to the movies, this sentence suggests that the cloudburst is walking to the movies even though a possible walker - Jim - is mentioned later. Example 2 Since having been fixed the night before is placed next to Priscilla, the sentence means that Priscilla was fixed the night before. As the above examples show, dangling modifiers result in inaccurate and sometimes ludicrous statements.
How to correct dangling modifiers
Dangling modifiers may be corrected in two general ways. Correction Method #1 1. Leave the modifier as it is. 2. Change the main part of the sentence so that it begins with the term actually modified. 3. This change will put the modifier next to the term it modifies. Thus, this dangling modifier may be corrected to Now the sentence means that I was looking toward the west. Using the same method, this dangling modifier may be corrected to Now the sentence means that Jim was drenched by the cloudburst.
Correction Method #2 1. Change the dangling modifier phrase to a subordinate clause, creating a subject and verb. 2. Leave the rest of the sentence as it is. Thus, the dangling modifier may be corrected to Now the sentence means that I (not my mother!) was nine years old when my mother enrolled in medical school.
Using the same method, the dangling modifier may be corrected to Now the sentence means that the car (not Priscilla!) was fixed.
Click on the link below to complete the final exercise.

Punctuation Marks
The set of marks used to regulate texts and clarify their meanings, principally by separating or linking words, phrases, and clauses.

Marks of punctuation include ampersands, apostrophes, brackets, colons, commas, dashes, ellipsis, exclamation points, hyphens, parenthesis, periods, question marks, quotation marks, semicolons, and slashes.

* Apostrophes (‘)
We use an apostrophe [ ’ ] to create possessive forms, contractions, and some plurals (see below). The apostrophe shows where a letter or letters have been left out of a contracted verb: I am = I'm | you are = you're | she is = she's | it is = it's | do not = don't | she would = she'd | he would have = he would've | let us = let's | who is = who's | she will = she'll | they had = they'd |
Whether or not contractions are appropriate in academic prose is a matter of personal taste and debate. See the section on Tone for a discussion of contractions. Also, ask your instructor before using contractions in a paper that will be graded.
This Guide has an entire section devoted to a description of possessives. You can click HERE to go to that section (and accompanying quizzes) or read this summary.
In possessives, the placement of the apostrophe depends on whether the noun that shows possession is singular or plural. Generally, if the noun is singular, the apostrophe goes before the s. The witch's broom. If the noun is plural, the apostrophe goes after the s: The witches' brooms. However, if the word is pluralized without an s, the apostrophe comes before the s: He entered the men's room with an armload of children's clothing. If you create a possessive with a phrase like of the witches, you will use no apostrophe: the brooms of the witches.
Remember that it's means it is or it has. Confusing it's with its, the possessive of it, is perhaps the most common error in writing. Remember, too, that there is no appropriate contraction for "there are." Don't confuse "they're," which means "they are" with "there are" (which can sound like "ther're," [or some such set of rumbling r's] in casual speech).
An apostrophe is also used to form some plurals, especially the plural of letters and digits. Raoul got four A's last term and his sister got four 6's in the ice-skating competition. This is particularly useful when the letter being pluralized is in the lower case: "minding one's p's and q's" or "Don't forget to dot your i's." (In a context in which the plural is clear, apostrophes after upper-case letters are not necessary: "He got four As, two Bs, and three Cs.") It is no longer considered necessary or even correct to create the plural of years or decades or abbreviations with an apostrophe: * He wrote several novels during the 1930s. * There are fifteen PhDs on our faculty. * My sister and I have identical IQs.
(If you wrote Ph.D. with periods, you would add an apostrophe before the pluralizing "s": Ph.D.'s) If the abbreviation or acronym ends in "S," it's a good idea to separate this final "S" from the pluralizing "s" with an apostrophe: SOS's

* Brackets ( [] )

Use brackets [ [ ] ] in the following situations:
You can use them to include explanatory words or phrases within quoted language:
Lew Perkins, the Director of Athletic Programs, said that Pumita Espinoza, the new soccer coach [at Notre Dame Academy] is going to be a real winner.
If you are quoting material and you've had to change the capitalization of a word or change a pronoun to make the material fit into your sentence, enclose that changed letter or word(s) within brackets:
Espinoza charged her former employer with "falsification of [her] coaching record."
See the description of the ellipsis for information on using brackets to set off an ellipsis that you have used to indicate omitted language in a quotation.
Also within quotations, you could enclose [sic] within brackets (we italicize but never underline the word sic and we do not italicize the brackets themselves) to show that misspelled words or inappropriately used words are not your own typos or blunders but are part of an accurately rendered quotation:
Reporters found three mispelings [sic] in the report.
(It is bad manners, however, to use this device to show that another writer is a lousy speller or otherwise unlettered. Also, use it only when it is important to maintain the original spelling for some reason. If you can edit (remove) the error without violating some scholarly or ethical principle, do so.) Note, also, that the word sic means "thus" or "that's how it was" and is not an abbreviation; thus, no period.
If you have italicized or underlined words within quoted language that was not italicized or underlined in the original, you can note that change in brackets included within the sentence or paragraph:
It was the atmosphere of the gym that thrilled Jacobs, not the eight championship banners hanging from the beams [italics added].
("Italics mine" or "emphasis added" would be other acceptable phrases.)
You can use brackets to include parenthetical material inside parenthetical material:
Chernwell was poet laureate of Bermuda (a largely honorary position [unpaid]) for ten years.
Be kind to your reader, however, and use this device sparingly.

* Colons ( : )
Use a colon [ : ] before a list or an explanation that is preceded by a clause that can stand by itself. Think of the colon as a gate, inviting one to go on:
There is only one thing left to do now: confess while you still have time.
The charter review committee now includes the following people: the mayor the chief of police the fire chief the chair of the town council
You nearly always have a sense of what is going to follow or be on the other side of the colon. (Compare the function of a semicolon in this regard.) You will find differing advice on the use of a colon to introduce a vertical or display list. See Using Numbers and Creating Lists.
We will often use a colon to separate an independent clause from a quotation (often of a rather formal nature) that the clause introduces:
The acting director often used her favorite quotation from Shakespeare's Tempest: "We are such stuff as dreams are made on; and our little life is rounded with a sleep."
With today's sophisticated word-processing programs (which know how much space to put after punctuation marks), we insert only one space (hit the space-bar only once) after a colon.
It might be useful to say, also, when we don't use a colon. Remember that the clause that precedes the mark (where you're considering a colon) ought to be able to stand on its own as an independent clause. Its purpose might be strictly to introduce the clause that follows, so it might feel rather incomplete by itself, but grammatically it will have both a subject and a predicate. In other words, we would not use a colon in situations like the following: * Her recipe for gunpowder included saltpeter, dry oatmeal, and ground-up charcoal briquets. (no colon after "included") * His favorite breakfast cereals were Rice Krispies, Cheerios, and Wheaties. (no colon after "were") * Her usual advice, I remember, was "Keep your head up as you push the ball up the court." (no colon after "was")
One of the most frequently asked questions about colons is whether we should begin an independent clause that comes after a colon with a capital letter. If the independent clause coming after the colon is a formal quote, begin that quoted language with a capital letter.
Whitehead had this to say about writing style: "Style is the ultimate morality of mind."
If the explanatory statement coming after a colon consists of more than one sentence, begin the independent clause immediately after the colon with a capital letter:
There were two reasons for a drop in attendance at NBA games this season: First, there was no superstar to take the place of Michael Jordan. Second, fans were disillusioned about the misbehavior of several prominent players.
If the introductory phrase preceding the colon is very brief and the clause following the colon represents the real business of the sentence, begin the clause after the colon with a capital letter:
Remember: Many of the prominent families of this New England state were slaveholders prior to 1850.
If the function of the introductory clause is simply to introduce, and the function of the second clause (following the colon) is to express a rule, begin that second clause with a capital:
Let us not forget this point: Appositive phrases have an entirely different function than participial phrases and must not be regarded as dangling modifiers.
There is some disagreement among writing reference manuals about when you should capitalize an independent clause following a colon. Most of the manuals advise that when you have more than one sentence in your explanation or when your sentence(s) is a formal quotation, a capital is a good idea. The NYPL Writer's Guide urges consistency within a document; the Chicago Manual of Style says you may begin an independent clause with a lowercase letter unless it's one of those two things (a quotation or more than one sentence). The APA Publication Manual is the most extreme: it advises us to always capitalize an independent clause following a colon. The advice given above is consistent with the Gregg Reference Manual.
We also use a colon after a salutation in a business letter . . .
Dear Senator Dodd:

It has come to our attention that . . . . .
. . . and when we designate the speaker within a play or in court testimony:
BIFF: He had the wrong dreams. All, all, wrong.
HAPPY (almost ready to fight Biff): Don't say that!
BIFF: He never knew who he was.

* Commas ( , )

1. Use a Comma Before a Coordinator
Use a comma before a coordinator (and, but, yet, or, nor, for, so) that links two main clauses:
"The optimist thinks that this is the best of all possible worlds, and the pessimist knows it."
(Robert Oppenheimer)

"You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try."
(Beverly Sills)
However, do not use a comma before a coordinator that links two words or phrases:
"Jack and Diane sang and danced all night."
2. Use a Comma to Separate Items in a Series
Use a comma between words, phrases, or clauses that appear in a series of three or more:
"You get injected, inspected, detected, infected, neglected, and selected."
(Arlo Guthrie)

"It is by the goodness of God that in our country we have three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice either of them."
(Mark Twain)
Notice that in each example a comma appears before but not after the coordinator.
3. Use a Comma After an Introductory Word Group
Use a comma after a phrase or clause that precedes the subject of the sentence:
"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."
(Franklin Roosevelt)

"If at first you don't succeed, failure may be your style."
(Quentin Crisp)
However, if there's no danger of confusing readers, you may omit the comma after a shortintroductory phrase:
"At first I thought the challenge was staying awake, so I guzzled venti cappuccinos and 20-ounce Mountain Dews."
4. Use a Pair of Commas to Set Off Interruptions
Use a pair of commas to set off words, phrases, or clauses that interrupt a sentence:
"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind."
(Rudyard Kipling)

"Literature is all, or mostly, about sex."
(Anthony Burgess)
But don't use commas to set off words that directly affect the essential meaning of the sentence:
"Your manuscript is both good and original. But the part that is good is not original, and the part that is original is not good."
(Samuel Johnson)

* Dashes ( – )
Use a dash [ — ] (or two hyphens [ -- ] on old-fashioned typewriters) or dashes as a super-comma or set of super-commas to set off parenthetical elements, especially when those elements contain internal forms of punctuation:
All four of them—Bob, Jeffrey, Jason, and Brett—did well in college.
In most word-processors, the dash is created by holding down the option key and hitting the key that has the underline mark above the hyphen. This can vary, though, from program to program. Usually, you get an en dash (see below) with the option + hyphen key, and you get the larger em dash (used more frequently) with option + shift + hyphen keys.
Do not use dashes to set apart material when commas would do the work for you. Usually, there are no spaces between the dash and the letters on either side of a dash, although the dash is frequently shown that way in documents prepared for the World Wide Web and e-mail for typographical and aesthetic reasons (because the WWW authoring and e-mail clients have little control over line-breaks).
In writing dialogue, the dash is used to show breaks in thought and shifts in tone:
"How many times have I asked you not to —" Jasion suddenly stopped talking and looked out the window.
"Not to do what?" I prompted.
"Not to — Oh heck, I forget!"
A dash is sometimes used to set off concluding lists and explanations in a more informal and abrupt manner than the colon. We seldom see the dash used this way in formal, academic prose.
Modern word processors provide for two kinds of dashes: the regular dash or em dash (which is the same width as the letter "M," — ) and the en dash (which is about half the width, the same as the letter "N," – ). We use the em dash for most purposes and keep its smaller brother, the en dash, for marking the space between dates in a chronological range: "Kennedy's presidency (1961–1963) marked an extraordinary era. . . ."; in time: 6:30–8:45 p.m.; and between numbers and letters in an indexing scheme: table 13–C, CT Statute 144–A.
The en dash is also used to join compound modifiers made up of elements that are themselves either open compounds (frequently two-word proper nouns) or already hyphenated compounds: the Puerto Rican–United States collaboration, the New York–New Jersey border, post-Darwinian–pre-Freudian theorems. The Gregg Reference Manual and the Chicago Manual of Style both recommend using the en dash whenever a compound modifier is combined with a participle as in "a Frank Lloyd Wright–designed building," "a White House–backed proposal," and "a foreign exchanged–related issue." A string of modifiers in a single compound, though, is joined with hyphens: hilarious, never-to-be-forgotten moments. If you are using an old-fashioned typewriter that cannot create an en dash, you can denote to your typesetter or editor that a hyphen is to be converted to an en dash by using a hyphen and hand-writing the letter "n" above it.
Some reference manuals are urging editors and publishers to get rid of the en dash altogether and to use the em dash exclusively, but en and emare still handy words to know when you're trying to get rid of those extra e's at the end of a Scrabble game. Finally, we use what is called a 3-em dash (or six typewriter hyphens) when we're showing that someone's name or a word has been omitted (perhaps for legal reasons or issues of taste):
Professors ______ and ______ were suspended without pay for their refusal to grade papers.

* Ellipsis ( … )
An ellipsis [ … ] proves to be a handy device when you're quoting material and you want to omit some words. The ellipsis consists of three evenly spaced dots (periods) with spaces between the ellipsis and surrounding letters or other marks. Let's take the sentence, "The ceremony honored twelve brilliant athletes from the Caribbean who were visiting the U.S." and leave out "from the Caribbean who were":
The ceremony honored twelve brilliant athletes … visiting the U.S.
If the omission comes after the end of a sentence, the ellipsis will be placed after the period, making a total of four dots. … See how that works? Notice that there is no space between the period and the last character of the sentence.
The ellipsis can also be used to indicate a pause in the flow of a sentence and is especially useful in quoted speech:
Juan thought and thought … and then thought some more.
"I'm wondering …" Juan said, bemused.
Note carefully the spacing of the ellipsis marks and the surrounding characters in the examples above. In mid-sentence, a space should appear between the first and last ellipsis marks and the surrounding letters. If a quotation is meant to trail off (as in Juan's bemused thought), leave a space between the last letter and the first ellipsis mark but do not include a period with the ellipsis marks.
If words are left off at the end of a sentence, and that is all that is omitted, indicate the omission with ellipsis marks (preceded and followed by a space) and then indicate the end of the sentence with a period … . If one or more sentences are omitted, end the sentence before the ellipsis with a period and then insert your ellipsis marks with a space on both sides. … As in this example. A coded ellipsis (used in the construction of this page) will appear tighter (with less of a space between the dots) than the use of period-space-period-space-period.
When words at the beginning of a quoted sentence are omitted, it is not necessary to use an ellipsis to indicate that words have been left out when that fragment can fit into the flow of your text. An exception: in a blockquoted fragment, use an ellipsis to indicate an omission:
According to Quirk and Greenbaum, the distinctions are unimportant … for count nouns with specific reference to definite and indefinite pronouns.
However, if the material quoted can be read as a complete sentence, simply capitalize the first word of the material and leave out the ellipsis marks:
This principle is described by Quirk and Greenbaum:
The distinctions for count nouns with specific reference to definite and indefinite pronouns remain unimportant.
When a lengthy quotation begins with a complete sentence and ends with a complete sentence, do not use an ellipsis at either the end or the beginning of the quotation unless it is, for some reason, important to emphasize that some language has been omitted.*
The ellipsis should be regarded as one unit and should not be broken at the end of a line. Toward that end, it is useful to know the code that will create an unbroken and unbreakable ellipsis for you on the word-processing program you are using. On most machines, it's a simple matter of holding down the option key and hitting the semicolon, but this varies from program to program. To avoid problems when you reformat a paper (change margins, font sizes, etc.), the spaces that surround the ellipsis should also be created as "non-breaking spaces."
The MLA Handbook recommends using square brackets on either side of the ellipsis points to distinguish between an ellipsis that you've added and the ellipses that might have been in the original text. Such a bracketed ellipsis in a quotation would look like this:
"Bohr […] used the analogy of parallel stairways […]" (Smith 55).
(Other research manuals — the APA Publication Manual and the Chicago Manual of Style — do not address this use of bracketed ellipses.)
The plural of ellipsis is ellipses (handy to remember when you're playing Scrabble), but the points themselves (the dots that make up the ellipsis) are called ellipsis points or ellipsis marks.

* Exclamation Points ( ! )
Use an exclamation point [ ! ] at the end of an emphatic declaration, interjection, or command.
"No!" he yelled. "Do it now!"
An exclamation mark may be used to close questions that are meant to convey extreme emotion, as in
What on earth are you doing! Stop!
An exclamation mark can be inserted within parentheses to emphasize a word within a sentence.
We have some really(!) low-priced rugs on sale this week.
Note that there is no space between the last letter of the word so emphasized and the parentheses. This device should be used rarely, if ever, in formal text.
An exclamation mark will often accompany mimetically produced sounds, as in
"All night long, the dogs woof! in my neighbor's yard" and

"The bear went Grr!, and I went left."
If an exclamation mark is part of an italicized or underlined title, make sure that the exclamation mark is also italicized or underlined:
My favorite book is Oh, the Places You'll Go!
(Do not add a period after such a sentence that ends with the title's exclamation mark. The exclamation mark will also suffice to end the sentence.) If the exclamation mark is not part of a sentence-ending title, don't italicize the exclamation mark:
I've asked you not to sing la Marseillaise!
In academic prose, an exclamation point is used rarely, if at all, and in newspaper writing the exclamation point is virtually nonexistent.

* Hyphens ( - )
Although smart word-processors seem to have taken over the job of hyphenating broken words at the right-hand end of our lines and spellcheckers can review our use of hyphens in other places, these technological marvels are by no means infallible. Microsoft Word, for example, flags as misspelled almost any word with an unhyphenated prefix: antidiscrimination and cogeneration, for example, are marked as misspelled words and re-sign, co-bra, ever-green, and be-loved are marked as correctly hyphenated words by that software.* Generally, it is a good idea notto use justified text in academic papers; that will cut down on a lot of decisions about hyphenating. The APA Publication Manual, in fact, insists that you not break words at line-endings in any case, but that can lead to lines that are too brief and aesthetically unbalanced.
The rules for hyphenating at line endings are so complicated that no one can be expected to keep track of them. If you're ever in a situation where you have to hyphenate at line-breaks, go to a dictionary—unless you can explain why you would break experience between the e and the r, that is, and then you can do whatever you want. Remember that if you adjust one line-break for aesthetic reasons, that may well affect subsequent line-breaks in the text.
Probably the best reference text for these decisions (next to looking up everything in a dictionary, that is) is The Chicago Manual of Style. An excellent online resource on hyphen use is the Editing Workshop by Sonia Jaffe Robbins at New York University. Tom Little voices a dissenting opinion in "The Great Hyphenation Hoax," which seeks to free writers of the innumerable rules and imponderable tables of the Chicago Manual of Style.
Hyphens have other uses a. creating compound words, particularly modifiers before nouns (the well-known actor, my six-year-old daughter, the out-of-date curriculum b. writing numbers twenty-one to ninety-nine and fractions (five-eighths, one-fourth) c. creating compounds on-the-fly for fly-by-night organizations d. adding certain prefixes to words: When a prefix comes before a capitalized word or the prefix is capitalized, use a hyphen (non-English, A-frame, I-formation). The prefixes self-, all-, and ex- nearly always require a hyphen (ex-husband, all-inclusive, self-control), and when the prefix ends with the same letter that begins the word, you will often use a hyphen (anti-intellectual, de-emphasize), but not always (unnatural, coordinate, cooperate). By all means, use a good dictionary when in doubt! For further information about compound nouns and compound modifiers, see the separate section on Compound Words.
There is no space between a hyphen and the character on either side of it.
Suspended Compounds
With a series of nearly identical compounds, we sometimes delay the final term of the final term until the last instance, allowing the hyphen to act as a kind of place holder, as in
The third- and fourth-grade teachers met with the parents.
Both full- and part-time employees will get raises this year.
We don't see many 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children around here.
Be careful not to overuse this feature of the hyphen; readers have to wait until that final instance to know what you're talking about, and that can be annoying.

* Parenthesis ( () )
Use parentheses [ ( ) ] to include material that you want to de-emphasize or that wouldn't normally fit into the flow of your text but you want to include nonetheless. If the material within parentheses appears within a sentence, do not use a capital letter or period to punctuate that material, even if the material is itself a complete sentence. (A question mark or exclamation mark, however, might be appropriate and necessary.) If the material within your parentheses is written as a separate sentence (not included within another sentence), punctuate it as if it were a separate sentence. * Thirty-five years after his death, Robert Frost (we remember him at Kennedy's inauguration) remains America's favorite poet. * Thirty-five years after his death, Robert Frost (do you remember him?) remains America's favorite poet. * Thirty-five years after his death, Robert Frost remains America's favorite poet. (We remember him at Kennedy's inauguration.)
If the material is important enough, use some other means of including it within your text—even if it means writing another sentence. Note that parentheses tend to de-emphasize text whereas dashes tend to make material seem even more important.

* Periods ( . )

Use a period [ . ] at the end of a sentence that makes a statement. There is no space between the last letter and the period. Use one space between the period and the first letter of the next sentence. This goes against the grain for people using the typography instilled by generations of old-fashioned typewriter users, but modern word-processors nicely accommodate the spacing after a period, and double-spacing after a period can only serve to discombobulate the good intentions of one's software.

* Question Marks ( ? )

Use a question mark [ ? ] at the end of a direct question. It is considered bad form to use a question mark in combination with other marks, although that is often done in informal prose in an attempt to convey complex tones: He told you what!? That combination (or similar combination) of punctuation marks is sometimes called an interrobang, but the interrobang currently has no role in academic prose.*
A tag question is a device used to turn a statement into a question. It nearly always consists of a pronoun, a helping verb, and sometimes the word not. Although it begins as a statement, the tag question prevails when it comes to the end-mark: use a question mark. Notice that when the statement is positive, the tag question is expressed in the negative; when the statement is negative, the tag question is positive. (There are a few exceptions to this, frequently expressing an element of surprise or sarcasm: "So you've made your first million, have you?" "Oh, that's your plan, is it?") The following are more typical tag questions:
He should quit smoking, shouldn't he?
He shouldn't have quit his diet, should he?
They're not doing very well, are they?
He finished on time, didn't he?
She does a beautiful job, doesn't she?
Harold may come along, mightn't he?
There were too many people on the dock, weren't there?
(Be careful of this last one; it's not "weren't they?")

Be careful not to put a question mark at the end of an indirect question.
The instructor asked the students what they were doing.
I asked my sister if she had a date.
I wonder if Cheney will run for vice president again.
I wonder whether Cheney will run again.

Be careful to distinguish between an indirect question (above), and a question that is embedded within a statement which we don’t want to end with a question mark.
We can get to Boston quicker, can't we, if we take the interstate?
His question was, can we end this statement with a question mark?
She ended her remarks with a resounding why not?
I wonder: will Cheney run for office again?

Put a question mark at the end of a sentence that is, in fact, a direct question. (Sometimes writers will simply forget.) Rhetorical questions (asked when an answer is not really expected), by the way, are questions and deserve to end with a question mark:
How else should we end them, after all?
What if I said to you, "You've got a real problem here"? (Notice that the question mark here comes after the quotation mark and there is no period at the end of the statement.)
Sometimes a question will actually end with a series of brief questions. When that happens, especially when the brief questions are more or less follow-up questions to the main question, each of the little questions can begin with a lowercase letter and end with a question mark.
Who is responsible for executing the plan? the coach? the coaching staff? the players?
If a question mark is part of an italicized or underlined title, make sure that the question mark is also italicized:
My favorite book is Where Did He Go?
(Do not add a period after such a sentence that ends with the title's question mark. The question mark will also suffice to end the sentence.) If the question mark is not part of a sentence-ending title, don't italicize the question mark:
Did he sing the French national anthem, la Marseillaise?
When a question ends with an abbreviation, end the abbreviation with a period and then add the question mark.
Didn't he use to live in Washington, D.C.?
When a question constitutes a polite request, it is usually not followed by a question mark. This becomes more true as the request becomes longer and more complex:
Would everyone in the room who hasn't received an ID card please move to the front of the line.

* Quotation Marks ( “ “ )
Use quotation marks [ “ ” ] to set off material that represents quoted or spoken language. Quotation marks also set off the titles of things that do not normally stand by themselves: short stories, poems, and articles. Usually, a quotation is set off from the rest of the sentence by a comma; however, the typography of quoted material can become quite complicated. Here is one simple rule to remember:
In the United States, periods and commas go inside quotation marks regardless of logic.
In the United Kingdom, Canada, and islands under the influence of British education, punctuation around quotation marks is more apt to follow logic. In American style, then, you would write: My favorite poem is Robert Frost's "Design." But in England you would write: My favorite poem is Robert Frost's "Design". The placement of marks other than periods and commas follows the logic that quotation marks should accompany (be right next to) the text being quoted or set apart as a title. Thus, you would write (on either side of the Atlantic): * What do you think of Robert Frost's "Design"? and * I love "Design"; however, my favorite poem was written by Emily Dickinson.
Further, punctuation around quoted speech or phrases depends on how it fits into the rest of your text. If a quoted word or phrase fits into the flow of your sentence without a break or pause, then a comma may not be necessary: * The phrase "lovely, dark and deep" begins to suggest ominous overtones.
Following a form of to say, however, you'll almost always need a comma: * My father always said, "Be careful what you wish for."
If the quoted speech follows an independent clause yet could be part of the same sentence, use a colon to set off the quoted language: * My mother's favorite quote was from Shakespeare: "This above all, to thine own self be true."
When an attribution of speech comes in the middle of quoted language, set it apart as you would any parenthetical element: * "I don't care," she said, "what you think about it."
Be careful, though, to begin a new sentence after the attribution if sense calls for it: * "I don't care," she said. "What do you think?"
Convention normally insists that a new paragraph begins with each change of speaker:
"I don't care what you think anymore," she said, jauntily tossing back her hair and looking askance at Edward.
"What do you mean?" he replied.
"What do you mean, 'What do I mean?'" Alberta sniffed. She was becoming impatient and wished that she were elsewhere.
"You know darn well what I mean!" Edward huffed.
"Have it your way," Alberta added, "if that's how you feel."
In proofreading and editing your writing, remember that quotation marks always travel in pairs! Well, almost always. When quoted dialogue carries from one paragraph to another (and to another and another), the closing quotation mark does not appear until the quoted language finally ends (although there is a beginning quotation mark at the start of each new quoted paragraph to remind the reader that this is quoted language). Also, in parenthetical documentation, the period comes after the parenthetical citation which comes after the quotation mark" (Darling 553).
In reporting "silent speech"—noting that language is "said," but internally and not spoken out loud—writers are on their own. Writers can put quotation marks around it or not: * Oh, what a beautiful morning, Curly said to himself. * "Oh, what a beautiful morning!" Curly said to himself.
Some writers will set such unspoken language in italics or indent it in order to set it off from other "regular" language. That's probably not a good idea if there is a lot of it because the indents can be confusing and italics can become tiresome to read after a while. The decision will probably depend on the amount of silent speech within the text. Probably the best way to handle silent speech is to find an author whom you like who does a lot of this—Graham Swift in his novel Last Orders, for instance—and copy that author's style. Consistency, of course, is very important. | |
Be careful not to use quotation marks in an attempt to emphasize a word (the kind of thing you see in grocery store windows—Big "Sale" Today!). Underline or italicize that word instead. (The quotation marks will suggest to some people that you are using that word in a special or peculiar way and that you really mean something else—or that your sale is entirely bogus.)
We do not enclose indirect quotations in quotation marks. An indirect quotation reports what someone says but not in the exact, original language. Indirect quotations are not heard in the same way that quoted language is heard. * The President said that NAFTA would eventually be a boon to small businesses in both countries. * Professor Villa told her students the textbooks were not yet in the bookstore.
Double Punctuation with Quotations
Occasionally — very occasionally, we hope — we come across a sentence that seems to demand one kind of punctuation mark within quotation marks and another kind of punctuation mark outside the quotation marks. A kind of pecking order of punctuation marks takes over: other marks are stronger than a period and an exclamation mark is usually stronger than a question mark. If a statement ends in a quoted question, allow the question mark within the quotation marks suffice to end the sentence. * Malcolm X had the courage to ask the younger generation of American blacks, "What did we do, who preceded you?"
On the other hand, if a question ends with a quoted statement that is not a question, the question mark will go outside the closing quotation mark. * Who said, "Fame means when your computer modem is broken, the repair guy comes out to your house a little faster"?
If a question ends with a quotation containing an exclamation mark, the exclamation mark will supersede the question and suffice to end the sentence. * Wasn't it Malcolm X who declared, "Why, that's the most hypocritical government since the world began!"
A single question mark will suffice to end a quoted question within a question: * "Didn't he ask, 'What did we do, who preceded you?'" queried Johnson.
Single Quotation Marks
In the United States, we use single quotation marks [ ‘ ’ ] to enclose quoted material (or the titles of poems, stories, articles) within other quoted material: * "'Design' is my favorite poem," he said. * "Did she ask, 'What's going on?'" * Ralph Ellison recalls the Golden Age of Jazz this way: "It was itself a texture of fragments, repetitive, nervous, not fully formed; its melodic lines underground, secret and taunting; its riffs jeering—'Salt peanuts! Salt peanuts!'"
British practice, again, is quite different. In fact, single-quote marks and double-quote marks are apt to be reversed in usage. Instructors in the U.S. should probably take this into account when reading papers submitted by students who have gone to school in other parts of the globe.
In newspapers, single quotation marks are used in headlines where double quotation marks would otherwise appear. * Congress Cries 'Shame!'
In some fields, key terms may be set apart with single-quote marks. In such cases, periods and commas go outside the single-quote marks: * Sartre's treatment of 'being', as opposed to his treatment of 'non-being', has been thoroughly described in Kaufmann's book.
When the term is case-sensitive, capitalization remains unchanged despite placement in the sentence. * 'tx_send' determines whether the signal will be output through TX Output Port. * If the constant REG_RESET is set, then resets will be registered.

* Semicolons ( ; )
Use a semicolon [ ; ] * to help sort out a monster list:
There were citizens from Bangor, Maine; Hartford, Connecticut; Boston, Massachusetts; and Newport, Rhode Island.
OR
We had four professors on our committee: Peter Wursthorn, Professor of Mathematics; Ronald Pepin, Professor of English; Cynthia Greenblatt, Professor of Education; and Nada Light, Professor of Nursing.

* to separate closely related independent clauses:
My grandmother seldom goes to bed this early; she's afraid she'll miss out on something.
The semicolon allows the writer to imply a relationship between nicely balanced ideas without actually stating that relationship. (Instead of saying because my grandmother is afraid she'll miss out on something, we have implied the because. Thus the reader is involved in the development of an idea—a clever, subliminal way of engaging the reader's attention.)
It is rare, but certainly possible, that you will want a semicolon to separate two independent clauses even when those two independent clauses are connected by a coordinating conjunction. This is especially true when the independent clauses are complex or lengthy and when there are commas within those independent clauses. You might consider breaking those two independent clauses into separate sentences when this happens. * Coach Auriemma realized that his next recruiting class contained two superb guards, a fine post player, and a power forward; but as of the end of the spring recruiting season, he was still pushing to discover better first-year players for the interior positions.

* Slashes ( / )

A slash or slant or solidus or virgule [ / ] (take your pick of names) is used to indicate a choice between the words it separates. * Using the pass/fail option backfired on her; she could've gotten an A.
The slash can be translated as or and should not be used where the word or could not be used in its place. To avoid gender problems with pronouns, some writers use he/she, his/her, and him/her. Many authorities despise that construction and urge writers either to pluralize when possible and appropriate (to they, their, them) or to use he or she, etc. instead. Notice there is no space between the slash and the letters on either side of it.
There is, however, a space when the slash is used to indicate a line-break in quoted poetry: "The woods are lovely, dark, and deep / but I have promises to keep." (This way of quoting poetry is limited to four or five lines of verse, within the normal flow of text.)
When using slashes in a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) for a World Wide Web address (http://www.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/), be especially sure not to include spaces and not to confuse the slash with its backward cousin, \, used as a path separator in Windows (for example, c:\program files\Adobe).

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