Writtenwyrdd

What's your peeve?

Over at Blood Red Pencil, new contributor Jim Thomsen has some great observations about common errors found during copyediting.  It's worth a read so you can learn to watch out for them.

Basically, though, the list is

Comma Splices (sentence-smoosh syndrome)

Unclear phrasing (proper noun pinches)

Incorrect homonym choice (homonym homicide)

Inconsistency in verb tense (tense tangles)

Mis- or over-use of hyphens ;) (hyphen hellspawning)

So which of these to you embody unintentionally, and what are you going to do about it?  What bugs you when you read it?  What annoys you so grievously you must either toss the book or kill something?

Envy vs Jealousy: a semantics example

Some of you may have noticed the title change.  Can you believe my brain glossed over "greed"
being there instead of "Jealousy"?  Funny how the mind can see what the eyes do not...

Jen Debenedictus has a great post up from a while back, discussing envy vs. jealousy.  I wanted to link to it because it's really an interesting discussion and an example of semantics and how we writers need to consider the baggage attached to a word, cultural finesses and shades of meaning, and other things that add distinction to a word or drag it into the muck.  Unless you like malapropisms or faux pas, you pay attention to these things.

Additionally, just a reminder about my currently running flash fiction blog contest.  Please see here for the details.

Grammar: Lay vs Lie

Reposted from March 2008.  (And, no, it's not about you, it's about me.  I can never keep this particular rule straight!)

Lay vs. Lie
According to Miss Snark, the incorrect use of "lay" vs. the word "lie" is the "#1 error on otherwise well honed [manuscripts]," so I thought I'd pick up my grammar talk with that problem.

Now I confess: This is my biggest faux pas as well. I cannot seem to recall which is appropriate where. Coincidentally, I recently asked this very question of my old high school English Teacher, Barbara. This woman is the original grammar Nazi (and I mean that in the nicest way, Barbara.) She knows this stuff inside, outside, and sideways.

So, here's what she says:
She lies down. He lays a book on a table. "Lie" is to rest or recline; "lay" is to put or place. Also, "lay" always takes an object, thus "Now I lay me down to sleep" is correct, as "me" is the object of "lay." (It seems simple enough, until you get into specific examples. )

The verb forms.
to lie: lie, lying, lay, (have) lain
to lay: lay, laying, laid, (have) laid
to lie [tell an untruth]: lie, lying, lied, (have) lied

Apparently part of the confusion is that both "lie" and "lay" are similar. In fact, past tense of "lie" is "lay." Yes, this is the basis of many an error, I'm afraid. But if you can use the rule of thumb that generally (but not always) the verb "lie" involves a person reclining/lying down, and the verb "lay" generally (but not always) involves an inanimate object, and that "lay" always takes an object (which answers the question what was lain down), then you will have it correct most of the time...except, of course, if you screw up the conjugation. Ack. (Oh, and let's not forget the other meaning of "lie" which has different conjugations (to lie: lie, lying, lied, (have) lied)...

As a rule of thumb, if the subject cannot move on its own, use "lay." Unless we are talking past tense of "to lie," e.g. "He lay down for a nap an hour ago."

It is extremely easy to accidentally use the wrong conjugation, just like it is easy to use "it's" (it is) for "its" (it posessive). My guess is that "lied" used instead of "lay" for the past tense is the most frequent mistake out there...or maybe it's spelling "laid" as "layed."

Examples.

Right: The dog lay down an hour ago. (The dog rested or reclined.)
Wrong: The dog lied down an hour ago. (Wrong past tense. This is for when you tell an untruth, which I just did here, seeing as the dog hasn't spoken.)

Right: I lay down the newspaper. (Newspaper is the object of the verb "lay.")
Wrong: I have lain down the newspaper. (Lain is the past tense form for "lie.")

And, just to confuse you, you can do this little game. It's excellent practice.

Other sites: Learn English, Grammar Errors, the Write Idea's grammar page. There are so many more, plus that copy of the Chicago Manual of Style or Strunk & White's you have gathering dust on your bookshelf. (And if you don't have one, get a copy. Even used, these books are invaluable.)

PS, do call me on any errors here. Like I said, I suck at this particular area of grammar and might have made a mistake despite my best efforts!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And a contest prep request.  Please see Sunday's post and drop me a contest suggestion here.  And spread the word so we can have more fun, if you would.

Evil Editor talks conjunctions

I don't comment often on Evil Editor these days, but he's as funny as ever.  Read this query commentary if you really want a laugh (and to learn something about grammar.)

Useful roots for vocabulary building (repost)

Reposted from 8/9/2009:

One of the best things that ever happened to me in high school was Mr. Bini, the English teacher who gave we freshmen a list of Greek and Latin roots and forced us to memorize them.  Worse (to everyone else but me, it seemed) he made us use them, figure out what new words meant and other such 'tortures' in order to drum them into our heads. 

I've never had a better tool handed to me (except perhaps the multiplication tables, which I can at least still remember, unlike all the capitals of Europe or the location and misc info about all the 50 states.)

A quick search online can net you some pretty good word roots.  And, if you memorize them, you will have an incredibly powerful tool to help you increase your understanding of English and broaden your vocabulary. 

I find it particularly useful to know roots in order to build new vocabulary in my speculative fiction.  People may not understand the root consciously, but they generally do absorb a general sense of what a root can mean and get a sort of subliminal hint when the word I create is based on some appropriate Greek, Latin or other foreign word/root.

A few important roots to know:

• a/an: not, without
• a: on
• ab/s, a: from, away, off
• andr/o: male, man
• ante: before, in front
• anti: away, against
• co: with, together
• com: together
• de: reduce, away, down, remove
• di/s: apart, away, not
• dia: through, between, apart, across
• ex: from, out
• extra: out, about, beyond
• gyn: female, woman
• infra: beneath, below
• intra/intro: between, among
• ir: not
• ject: throw
• mis: bad, wrong, to hate
• non: no, not, without
• pan: all, any
• re: again, back, backwards
• self: of, for, or by itself
• serv: save, keep
• un: not, opposite of, lacking
• vers/vert: turn
• xen: foreign

There are many more of these, and it is a good idea (for your vocabulary's sake) to get familiar with the ones on the Espindle list.  It really is the best one I've found so far.

Random grammar and vocabulary stuff:
Did you know about the "phrasal verb"?  It's basically a compound verb, such as "down from," although there are other multi-word verb structures out there.  A good example of these is on EnglishClub.com here. 

EnglishClub.com also has a great page that lists and defines Latin phrases commonly used in English, which includes many of the abbreviations.  Also good stuff to have memorized. Some of my favs (which all of you should learn if you don't know them already):

e.g. (exempli gratia): for example
et al. (et alii, et alia): and others
etc. (et cetera): and the rest, and so forth
et seq. (et sequens, et sequentes, et sequentia): and the following
id. (idem): the same
i.e. (id est): that is

Links:
Espindle "Word Root Quick Reference" page.

(Please see the writing resources page in the top right sidebar, where other useful links are located.)

Recommended reference manual

Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law
Basic Books, 415 pages, trade paperback

I saw a recommendation for this reference book on a blog a week or so ago. For the life of me I cannot recall where I saw it, so I cannot give credit where credit is due.  But it sounded like a good tome to own, so I bought the Associated Press Style Manual.  I like it.  You may get more mileage over the long haul with the Chicago Manual of Style due to its versatility and broader focus; but after a quick look, I can see the AP manual is really, really useful when one wishes to determine tricky usage decisions like "every one" versus "everyone."  Or determining current usage of ampersands (&)--yes, if in a formal title such as Home & Garden.  Or when do you hypenate when using the prefix "ex."  One has to care about such things if one is to sound like one actually learned something in English 101. 

That said, you are basically getting what AP wants used in its articles.  So what you get here is generally accepted (and understandable) usage. 

That's all to the good in my book.  Because a writer needs to look like she knows the language (if anyone ever does know English, the fastest growing language in the universe that simultaneously changes and diversifies at an asymptotic pace toward infinity...)  Ahem.  Getting back to the topic, this book is pretty nifty, providing succinct, meat-and-potatos advice on usage of terms, punctuation, titles, grammar and whatnot, all dropped in alphabetically by topic/word.  There are even some historical citations and breakdowns (for example on various religions).  Common misusages are dissected and clarified.  Commonly confused words are listed and their usage explained. 

The only downside is that you may have difficulty finding things.  "Hurricane eye" is listed, but "Eye of hurricane" or "Eye, hurricane" is not.  But if you looked up "hurricane," you would find what you were looking for. 

Overall, a lot of useful information.  Give it a browse if you see it in a store. 

Sentence Diagramming

A while back I posted a link to a sentence diagramming software that enabled you to do them electronically.  The catch was that you needed to know how to do diagram to use the software.  So I thought that I would share the sentence diagramming rules.

I'll give it to you in the very VERY basic format. 

Rules for diagramming:

• Object of the Subject and the Verb FORM THE MAIN HORIZONTAL LINE.
• Adverbs, Adjectives and other misc. words like articles (definite and indefinite) are attached directly by lines attached to the main line where they occur.
• Lines for additional clauses and phrases are attached below the main line where they occur in the sentence BUT GET THEIR OWN HORIZONTAL LINES.
• Modifications to the dangling lines are attached to them as well.

A useful link with diagrams is here.   It makes more sense than my explanation.  I found the image on that sentence diagramming site.  (And my rather simplistic explanations are admittedly a bit simplistic.)

I am not sure what purpose sentence diagramming has except to frustrate and confuse kids in school.  I have an English degree, and I assure you, that even in the Masters level courses I took when I was dumb enough to study for a teaching degree* I NEVER ever applied knowledge of sentence diagramming to anything.  So I think it's a waste of time, as you have to know parts of speech in order to apply it.  So it's not a teaching tool per se, but a way for a teacher to come across all snobby.  (My apologies to those of you out there who like sentence diagramming.  You will never convince me it's useful.)

*dumb because I'm not suited to it, not because it isn't a noble and useful profession.

Useful roots for vocabulary building

One of the best things that ever happened to me in high school was Mr. Bini, the English teacher who gave we freshmen a list of Greek and Latin roots and forced us to memorize them.  Worse (to everyone else but me, it seemed) he made us use them, figure out what new words meant and other such 'tortures' in order to drum them into our heads. 

I've never had a better tool handed to me (except perhaps the multiplication tables, which I can at least still remember, unlike all the capitals of Europe or the location and misc info about all the 50 states.)

A quick search online can net you some pretty good word roots.  And, if you memorize them, you will have an incredibly powerful tool to help you increase your understanding of English and broaden your vocabulary. 

I find it particularly useful to know roots in order to build new vocabulary in my speculative fiction.  People may not understand the root consciously, but they generally do absorb a general sense of what a root can mean and get a sort of subliminal hint when the word I create is based on some appropriate Greek, Latin or other foreign word/root.

A few important roots to know:

• a/an: not, without
• a: on
• ab/s, a: from, away, off
• andr/o: male, man
• ante: before, in front
• anti: away, against
• co: with, together
• com: together
• de: reduce, away, down, remove
• di/s: apart, away, not
• dia: through, between, apart, across
• ex: from, out
• extra: out, about, beyond
• gyn: female, woman
• infra: beneath, below
• intra/intro: between, among
• ir: not
• ject: throw
• mis: bad, wrong, to hate
• non: no, not, without
• pan: all, any
• re: again, back, backwards
• self: of, for, or by itself
• serv: save, keep
• un: not, opposite of, lacking
• vers/vert: turn
• xen: foreign

There are many more of these, and it is a good idea (for your vocabulary's sake) to get familiar with the ones on the Espindle list.  It really is the best one I've found so far.

Random grammar and vocabulary stuff:
Did you know about the "phrasal verb"?  It's basically a compound verb, such as "down from," although there are other multi-word verb structures out there.  A good example of these is on EnglishClub.com here. 

EnglishClub.com also has a great page that lists and defines Latin phrases commonly used in English, which includes many of the abbreviations.  Also good stuff to have memorized. Some of my favs (which all of you should learn if you don't know them already):

e.g. (exempli gratia): for example
et al. (et alii, et alia): and others
etc. (et cetera): and the rest, and so forth
et seq. (et sequens, et sequentes, et sequentia): and the following
id. (idem): the same
i.e. (id est): that is

Links:
Espindle "Word Root Quick Reference" page.

(Please see the writing resources page in the top right sidebar, where other useful links are located.)

The apostrophe

After finding the blog Apostrophe Abuse, I am (forcibly) reminded about how frequently one sees misplaced or omitted apostrophes--particularly signage, but all over the place, really.

You might also appreciate this run-down on the usage of apostrophes at Ballywick, another cool site regarding copywriting.  Her 12-step program to stop killing the apostrophe is worth a chuckle.

The rules.
U.S. rules for apostrophe use are quite simple, really.  I don't get why people have so much trouble with the concept.  Basically, you use an apostrophe to replace a missing part of a word (always a vowel) during a contraction, or you indicate ownership.  (And, as a note of minor significance, an apostrophe can also indicate a 'glottal stop' in certain languages when written in English--for example, Hawaiian.  And in many, many (too many) fantasy novels from the 80s and 90s, lol.)

OWL at Purdue states

The apostrophe has three uses:

1. to form possessives of nouns
2. to show the omission of letters
3. to indicate certain plurals of lowercase letters

Contractions.  An excellent list is here.  Just be sure to remember the big ol' bugaboo, the exception that proves the rule:  its.  The possessive of "it" is "its," no apostrophe; because "it's" is the contraction "it is."

Possession.
First off, what is a plural?  And, second, do you need to pluralize?  Again according to the OWL at Purdue site,

To see if you need to make a possessive, turn the phrase around and make it an "of the..." phrase. For example:

the boy's hat = the hat of the boy
three days' journey = journey of three days

If the noun after "of" is a building, an object, or a piece of furniture, then no apostrophe is needed!

room of the hotel = hotel room
door of the car = car door
leg of the table = table leg

Singular possession.  Simple, really:  Just add an apostrophe+s at the end of the word and Bob's your uncle!

Possession when the word ends in 's'.  This is basically a style issue, so you can choose to either go the s' route or s's route.  Ex. "Judge Thomas' (or Thomas's) majority opinion was that ..."

Possession with group nouns.  This is generally straightforward with some logical exceptions.  Generally, it is done by adding an apostrophe at the end of a plural word.  [Example: "The doctors' lounge is dirty."]  If the plural  noun does not end in an s, then you just add apostrophe+s at the end of the word.  [For example, "The men's room is closed for maintenance."] I've seen it done both ways, too, and I do not think you will get too many demerits for doing it the s+apostrophe way in the latter case here.

Possession with more than one owner.  If you have a compound subject, such as "Sylvia and Dorothy" and you need to pluralize it, you use the same format of s+apostrophe to show plural possession, but you must place it after the last noun in the list.  [Example:  "Tim, Jane and Pauls' new puppy is cute."]  An exception is when possessive pronouns are used.  As these pronouns are typically placed at the last of the subject list, it can be a bit unclear to the readers if you are indicating a plural possessive.  Generally the individual nouns are shown as singular posessive to eliminate confusion:  "John and my car is new" is confusing; "John's and my car is new" is not.

Plural objects & multiple owners:  Where this gets really confusing.  Incorrect but common error:  "John, Susan and Peters' homes are all brand new."   This is incorrect-- unless they own the houses in common.  And even then you should write it differently as this construction is unclear and looks like a mistake!  So, when you are indicating more than one object is possessed, you will need to use separate possessives as in "John's, Susan's, and Peter's homes are all brand new."  Clear as mud?  I thought so.

Forming plurals using apostrophes.  This is more a style issue than grammatical.  Apostrophes are traditionally used for clarity when pluralizing lowercase letters, such as "mind your p's and q's."  Additionally, when there are acronyms used, an apostrophe can be used to show pluralization as well as for possession.  Some people write CD's, some cd's some CDs.  Check the style sheet or style manual you are working from for the particular standard being used by whomever you are writing for.

Common mistakes.
The big issue doesn't seem to be so much the improper use of apostrophes mistakenly when trying to pluralize so much as people randomly sprinkling apostrophes about on the page like salt on a dinner plate!  I believe that part of this problem is the common use of the apostrophe for certain plurals like CD's and so forth-- which appears to have confused a lot of people, who know that an s ending might mean an apostrophe is required, so, because they don't want to be wrong, they drop apostrophes in when there is a plural/word ending in an s or es, wipe their hands and walk away. 

So the big rule of thumb for those folks to use random appostrophes is for them to ask the big question, can they form an "of the" phrase from the words in question?  If not, avoid the apostrophe!

But, you know, people will still find ways to screw up their signage!

Other Grammar sites for your bemusement:
Grammar Girl
English Plus
Grammarbook.com
OWL At Purdue

Grammar refresher: passive voice

Great link on Passive Voice--what it is and what it isn't.  I found it on a blog yesterday and can't recall whose now.

Sentence diagramming

Thanks to spyscribbler, I found a cool site with a sentence diagramming tool.  Knock yourselves out! Might be useful to refresh your memory for parts of speech.  I refuse to get all tied up in playing with this myself though, not after the joining Facebook debacle!

Basically, the University of Southern Florida offers a free program, SenDraw, which will diagram sentences (after you do the legwork).  To whit,

SenDraw can be used to create diagrams for sentences that have you have already analyzed. SenDraw will not automatically analyze and diagram sentences for you. Even seemingly simple English sentences require smart humans to analyze them; consider, for example, the differences between "Time flies like an arrow" and "Fruit flies like a banana."

Your clever device maybe isn't

"Something to keep in mind is that editors get everything amplified. What seems to you to be a trendy or clever opening is, by the time you send it to us, rather hackneyed-- twenty other writers have already thought of that and sent it to us. So your clever opening-- oh, like the hero and heroine colliding in the corridor, my favorite clever opening that I've only seen 10K times-- isn't going to seem too clever. And how unique and true will your story seem, if it's opened in a way that opens so many other stories?"  Alicia at Edit Torrent

Another thoughtful post from Edit Torrent at the above link. These gals have clear rationale for all their gripes, and their posts are well worth reading and rereading just to keep yourself on your toes. 

Cliche?
The point of the quote struck me very forcibly, because we writers can fall in love with our plot choices and refuse to recognize that they are tired or done-to-death devices.  Hence the "rules" that you should never begin a story with your character waking up, with a dream, or with long narrative briefs to your readers, and et cetera. 

I know, I know:  Your precious (purple) prose is different.  It's special.  You can overcome the prejudice against the plot device of your choice by your extreme cleverness. 

Sure.  You go ahead and try it--and I'll be roting for you to succeed at it, too.  But I won't be holding my breath...because, unless you are Ms. Big Name Author, you are merely making the process of getting agented and your work sold much more difficult, it seems to me.

The problem being recognizing what is cliched, trite, dull or overdone before you get all married to it and have to revise it out again. 

Grammar notes.
In the same article, I like how Alicia talks about pace, in the comment section.  "However, when this doubled predicate (without "and") is used throughout the story, in slow as well as fast passages, the device will lose any effectiveness and just become annoying. Our voice shouldn't sound the same all the time- it should fit the moment. And the more obvious the device, the more it should be reserved for the moments where it adds to the experience."  Compound predicates connected by 'and,' anyone?

And, when you add dialog tags, don't forget the punctuation.  Examples below.

• "Stop moving," she ordered.  [Comma replaces period and resides within quotes*.]
• "How are you doing?" Jane asked.  [No comma with question mark.]
• "Don't go!" she screamed.   [No comma with question mark.]
• Jane waved goodbye and said, "See you tonight!" [Comma added preceding quotes.]

It should also be noted that dialog tags are not actions, just tags to indicate who is speaking.  Thus you do NOT do this: 

• "Stop moving," Jane waved him to the side.  Nuh uh, that's a new sentence there, not a dialog tag.

*We're talking American English rules here. 

Cool Site - Dr. Grammar (Oh, and a bit about colons)

Dr. Grammar is a site I just discovered when googling for some info on colon usage.

And about colons:  
I got wrongly gigged by a critquer on use of caps after colons.  I used 'em, he gigged me.  Specifically, capitalization after a colon is optional.  Varying publications will have differing opinions on that; but, technically, you aren't wrong for lower case or caps when you have a list following a colon.  If it's a quote, you capitalize it as you would normally. 

Colon rules of usage, per Websters Manual For Writers & Editors (examples are mine):

1. A colon introduces a clause or phrase that explains, illustrates, amplifies, or restates what has gone before.  Ex.:  Dawn was breaking: The sky flushed rose along the snow-capped peaks.
2. A colon introduces an amplifying word, phrase or clause that acts as an appositive (e.g. equivalent to)  Ex.:  I found a new love: Jazz.  or : jazz.
3. A colon introduces a list or series, often following a phrase such as As follows. 
4. Although the colon usually follows a full independent clause, it also often interrupts a sentence before the clause is complete.  Ex.:  My closest friends are: a big brave bear, a yellow panda, and a cat with nine lives.   In this particular case, I will concede that no caps is better, as the list is part of the sentence.

Punctuation and spacing.  December Quinn informs me (see comments here) that you should use two spaces after the colon, always.  Another point where mileage may vary, but it's easy enough to globally replace an extra space after the colon if you need to make some editor someplace happy.

Cool Site: Edit Torrent. And Grammar.

Many of your readers are likely to be sophisticated readers, who read more than just the words to get the meaning. They're reading the rhythm, the structure of sentences, the punctuation, the word choice, the ratio of black ink (or pixels) to white paper (or screen). They're even reading the shape of words. All this can add to the meaning of the passage. They will love it when you exploit their greater meaning-making ability to good purpose. But their greater sensitivity means that they will be put off by signifiers that are NOT to a purpose, because they will react with a meaning-making that turns out to be unfulfilled-- meaning interruptus! Alicia at Edit Torrent

Edit Torrent has a lot of great articles.  The cited one is on the use of sentence fragments.  This one is on passive voice.  These are just two of many informative posts on grammar and writing, all well worth a browse.  Alicia also has a useful site full of info for writers, including a fantastic article, "Top Ten Plotting Mistakes Writers Make".

Grammar: Lay vs. Lie

Lay vs. Lie
According to Miss Snark, the incorrect use of "lay" vs. the word "lie" is the "#1 error on otherwise well honed [manuscripts]," so I thought I'd pick up my grammar talk with that problem.

Now I confess: This is my biggest faux pas as well. I cannot seem to recall which is appropriate where. Coincidentally, I recently asked this very question of my old high school English Teacher, Barbara. This woman is the original grammar Nazi (and I mean that in the nicest way, Barbara.) She knows this stuff inside, outside, and sideways.

So, here's what she says:
She lies down. He lays a book on a table. "Lie" is to rest or recline; "lay" is to put or place. Also, "lay" always takes an object, thus "Now I lay me down to sleep" is correct, as "me" is the object of "lay." (It seems simple enough, until you get into specific examples. )

The verb forms.
to lie: lie, lying, lay, (have) lain
to lay: lay, laying, laid, (have) laid
to lie [tell an untruth]: lie, lying, lied, (have) lied

Apparently part of the confusion is that both "lie" and "lay" are similar. In fact, past tense of "lie" is "lay." Yes, this is the basis of many an error, I'm afraid. But if you can use the rule of thumb that generally (but not always) the verb "lie" involves a person reclining/lying down, and the verb "lay" generally (but not always) involves an inanimate object, and that "lay" always takes an object (which answers the question what was lain down), then you will have it correct most of the time...except, of course, if you screw up the conjugation. Ack. (Oh, and let's not forget the other meaning of "lie" which has different conjugations (to lie: lie, lying, lied, (have) lied)...

As a rule of thumb, if the subject cannot move on its own, use "lay." Unless we are talking past tense of "to lie," e.g. "He lay down for a nap an hour ago."

It is extremely easy to accidentally use the wrong conjugation, just like it is easy to use "it's" (it is) for "its" (it posessive). My guess is that "lied" used instead of "lay" for the past tense is the most frequent mistake out there...or maybe it's spelling "laid" as "layed."

Examples.

Right: The dog lay down an hour ago. (The dog rested or reclined.)
Wrong: The dog lied down an hour ago. (Wrong past tense. This is for when you tell an untruth, which I just did here, seeing as the dog hasn't spoken.)

Right: I lay down the newspaper. (Newspaper is the object of the verb "lay.")
Wrong: I have lain down the newspaper. (Lain is the past tense form for "lie.")

And, just to confuse you, you can do this little game. It's excellent practice.

Other sites: Learn English, Grammar Errors, the Write Idea's grammar page. There are so many more, plus that copy of the Chicago Manual of Style or Strunk & White's you have gathering dust on your bookshelf. (And if you don't have one, get a copy. Even used, these books are invaluable.)

PS, do call me on any errors here. Like I said, I suck at this particular area of grammar and might have made a mistake despite my best efforts!

Grammar Refresher: Definitions

I'm going to repost this particular grammar article from the old blog, because it never hurts to refresh one's memory on grammar terms.  I find I use some of them so seldom that I have to look them up once in a while.  For reference, I shall be using the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed., or the Merriam-Webster Manual for Writers & Editors, unless otherwise noted.

Parts of speech.
This is a simple list. I don't go for fancy-dancy crap when it comes to grammar. I treat it like plumbing--insert tab A into slot B--because that's simplest.

Simple definitions.
Subject is what is doing the action. [JIM ate lunch.]
The Verb is the action performed. [Jim ATE lunch.]
The Object is what is being acted upon. [Jim ate LUNCH.]
The object of the sentence falls in the Predicate, which is more or less the stuff that isn't the Subject or Verb. [Jim ate LUNCH AT THE TABLE IN THE CAFETERIA.]
Adverbs typically modify Verbs; Adjectives usually modify nouns. [Big Jim SLOWLY ate lunch. (Adverb) BIG Jim slowly ate lunch. (Adjective)]
Modifiers are a common term for any word that modifies, so Adverbs and Adjectives can be conveniently lumped together. (I like this one much better cuz it's easier to use correctly.) [Jim SLOWLY ate HIS SOGGY BALOGNA sandwich.]
Prepositions are those varied little words that indicate location (remember the doghouse exercise from grade school? In, around, about, etc.) [Jim ate his lunch AT the table IN the cafeteria.]
A Clause or a Phrase can modify the sentence. They can be compound, independent, dependant and can modify verbs or nouns. They deserve a long explanation to themselves, so that's all I'm saying here, except that a Clause has a subject and verb, while a Phrase does not.

Actual definitions.

• Sentence. "A word, clause, or phrase or a group of clauses or phrases forming a syntactic unit which expresses an assertion, a question, a command, a wish, an exclamation, or the performance of an action."
• Subject. "A word or word group denoting that of which something is predicated[.]"
• Predicate. "The part of a sentence or clause that expresses what is said of the subject and that usually consists of a verb with or without objects, complements, or adverbial modifiers."
• Clause. "A group of words containing a subject and a predicate and forming part of a compound or complex sentence."
• Case. "An inflectional form of a noun, pronoun, or adjective indicating its grammatical relation to other words."
• Phrase. "Two or more words in sequence that form a syntactic unit that is less than a complete sentence."
• Adverb. "A word... typically serving as a modifier of a verb, an adjective, another adverb, a preposition, a phrase, a clause, or a sentence, expressing some relation of manner or quality, place, time, degree, number, cause, opposition, affirmation, or denial, and in English also serving to connect and to express comment on clause content."
• Modifier. " a word or phrase that makes specific the meaning of another word or phrase."
• Verb. "A word that characteristically is the grammatical center of a predicate and expresses an act, occurrence, or mode of being, that in various languages is inflected for agreement with the subject, for tense, for voice, for mood, or for aspect, and that typically has rather full descriptive meaning and characterizing quality but is sometimes nearly devoid of these especially when used as an auxiliary or linking verb."
• Object. "A noun or noun equivalent (as a pronoun, gerund, or clause) denoting the goal or result of the action of a verb."
• Preposition. "a function word that typically combines with a noun phrase to form a phrase which usually expresses a modification or predication."

Wow. Isn't that a mouthful of words to gargle? I'd be confused if I had never run across this stuff before!

-ings & -lys & Ejaculations, Oh My!!!

Over on Evil Editor's blog, a recent post reminded me that I dislike Only In The (Rule)Box thinking.  Specifically, the insistence that one cannot use any dialog tag but 'said' generally, and that gerunds and adverbs are B.A.D. bad.

Not that EE is wrong; I believe his point about dialog tags is an excellent one.  (And his advice is automatically better than mine because he's EE and appears to know what he's talking about.)  It's just that I get tired of the bandwagon agreement I keep hearing about advice in general, making said opinions and advice into cast-in-concrete rules that make or break a writing project.  And I say NO.  It is the writer's ability that makes or breaks the project, not whether or not she abides by a series of five or fifty or five hundred rules about How To Write.  We all know these rules are broken all the time by good writers; and I aspire to that sort of craft skill. 

It is the insistence of the rabid throng who follow RULES absolutely that make me want to scream Think For Yourselves, Damn It! 

Because I believe it is inherent in my job as a writer to challenge these so-called rules, which are really observations of what generally works easily and well.  In a larger scope, such as the use of "ejaculated" instead of "said" it is really FASHION.  Yes, fashion.  And we writers have our very own trend-watchers insisting that we all must wear pink because it's the new black or some such.

Pshaw, I say.  Ejaculate away, and not only in your erotica.  I mean, let's not take this rule-following too seriously.  Let's engage our artistic minds and our crafty skills to use the so-called bad words to effect.

They are words.  They are our tools.  Learn to use them creatively,  not slavishly.

Maybe I should just shrug and say Rules Are For Sissies.  But they aren't; they are actually helpful as rules of thumb, just not when they are absolutes.

Rant over.  Thanks for bearing with me!

Cool Site - Common Errors In English

Moonrat posted a wonderful link on her blog, Editorial Ass.  (See sidebar.)  All the grammar you ever flubbed is right here, folks.  Don't drive yourself crazy, though.  I took Master's level courses for this stuff, and it still confuses me. 

Simile vs. Metaphore

If you are anything like me, you can forget silly little details.  My over 40 memory is even getting a bit fuzzy about definitions I could remember without any trouble.  Like Simile and Metaphor.

So, for everyone's edification:

Simile:  The comparison of two unlike things using a connector such as 'like' or 'as.' 
Examples:  He is as busy as a bee.   Her cheek was soft as down.  His smile was like the sun.

Metaphor: Allusion that treats one thing as another literally to suggest a likeness or analogy between them.
Examples:  The serpent creek twisted across the trail.  Drowning in money.  Pain sang along her veins.

And for Carolyn Jean:
Allusion: "an implied or indirect reference especially in literature."  (Webster's online)

Pronouns..."It is I"???

Pronouns.  Those happy little stand-ins for nouns.  The bane of clarity if we aren't careful.  And the subject of some really strange old rules that confused us in high school English.

I know you know what I mean: The use of "I" versus "me" in English has been a headache-inducing problem for many of us our whole lives.  I mean, is it logic or illogic that dictates use of "I" in the sentence, "It is I," for example.  I'm not even sure they're still teaching this, but I never agreed with it.  Antiquated AND awkward.  Bleh.

In my search for insightful material, I ran across this site, Grammar Police, by Robert Brunner, which discusses various oddities of grammar.  Scroll down past all the other amusing and insightful jabs to "Between You and I," where the author says, "'Who is there?' `It's me!' ...or is it ...`Who is there?' `It is I!' Compare the answers 'Me am' and 'I am' to see which is correct."  Thereby making my point about "It is I."  (But do read the bit on the eternal present on this page, too: A hoot!)

*A quick review of terms.
Pronoun: used in place of a noun or noun phrase. There are several types.
Subjective pronoun: pronoun used in the subject of a sentence. (I, you, he, she, it, we, they)
Objective pronoun: pronoun that is the object of a sentence. Object personal pronouns.  (Me, you, him, her, it, us, them)
Personal pronoun: pronoun expressing a distinction of person. (I, you, he, she, it, we, they)
Relative pronoun: pronoun (as `that' or `which' or `who') that introduces a relative clause referring to some antecedent.
Possesive pronoun: pronoun indicating possesion.  (His, hers, theirs, mine, etc.)
Reflexive pronoun: Pronoun used when the complement to the verb is the same as the subject.  (Myself, yourself, ourselves, themselves, herself, himself, itself)

*And some obscure pronoun terms I thow in just because.
Anaphoric pronoun: pronoun that refers to an antecedent. [The use of a linguistic unit, such as a pronoun, to refer back to another unit, as the use of her to refer to Anne in the sentence Anne asked Edward to pass her the salt.]
Reciprocal pronoun: a pronoun or pronominal phrase (such as `each other') that expresses a mutual action or relationship between the individuals indicated in the plural subject.

A useful (read: quick-and-dirty) explanation is on the Writer's Digest site, Questions & Quandaries, which has a lot of useful info. 

If the pronoun is the subject of a clause, always use the nominative case, or “I.” I went to the park. After watching a scary movie, I hid under my bed for three days.  The author, Brian Klems, says

Whenever the pronoun is the object of the verb or the object of a preposition, you must use the objective case, or “me.” The principal called me to her office. She wanted to talk to me. The same rule applies even if a prepositional phrase contains two or more objects. Doug makes fun of my sister and me for hiding under the bed when we’re scared.

Also, if you find that the pronoun is the subject of an infinitive (to be, to hold, to pummel, etc.), use the objective case. My mom needed me to cut the grass.

Rule of thumb.
Sometimes, these stupid pronouns can cross your eyes.  Such as in compound clauses.  Example, "Look at John and me." Versus, "Look at John and I."  To use Mr. Brunner's method, which makes sense, to say, "Look at I" or "Look at me"?  Obviously, it's "me" we'd select.  Therefore, the compound predicate should include the pronoun that functions by itself. 

When in doubt, break the sentence down as above.

A few good links.
For some simple yet clear definitions of English parts of speech, go to Use English, an ESL site.  Looking at our native tongue as a foreign language student would is extremely educational.  Other good sites are in the sidebar.  And don't forget the free dictionaries available online. 

*Definitions paraphrased from FreeDictionary.com