Guide to Grammar and Usage 383 • Interrogative pronouns begin a question. Examples: who, what, which, whom, whose • Indefinite pronouns refer to people, places, objects, or things without pointing to a specific one. Here are the most common indefinite pronouns. Singular Plural Singular or Plural another anyone each everyone everybody everything much nobody nothing other someone anybody anything either little neither no one one somebody something both few many others several all any more most none some Punctuation Using the correct punctuation is more than following the grammar rules—it enables your audience understand your ideas more clearly. • Periods Use a period after a complete sentence. Example: My dog is named Spot. Use a period after a command. Example: Fasten your seatbelt. 38*t Appendix ( Use a period after most abbreviations. Examples: Dr., Ms., Jr. Use a period after an initial. Example: John F. Kennedy Use a period after each Roman numeral, letter, or number in an outline. Example: I. A. B. 1. 2. • Question marks Use a question mark after a question. Place the question mark inside closing quotation marks if it is part of the quotation. If not, place it outside the quota- tion marks. Examples: "Where are you going?" Chris asked. Do you know who wrote "The Raven"? • Exclamation marks Use an exclamation mark after an exclamatory sentence. Example: What a terrible day! • Commas Use a comma to separate items in a series. Example: Shoppers need comfortable shoes, patience, and money. Use a comma to set off interrupting words and expressions. Examples: Oh, my back aches from lifting weights. My baby, a light sleeper, awakens easily. Use a comma after introductory words and expressions. Examples: Along the route from the stadium, the crowd cheered loudly. When I graduated college, I started paying back my loans. Guide to Grammar and Osage 385 Use a comma to separate parts of a compound sentence. Use the comma before the coordinating conjunction. Example: Henry didn't pay for dinner, but he promises that he will pay next time we go out. Use a comma to set off a direct quotation. Examples: "Tomorrow I will start my diet," she said. "Tomorrow," she said, "I will start my diet." Use a comma after the greeting of an informal letter and the close of any letter. Examples: Dear Sammi, Dear Mudface, Yours truly, Sincerely, Use a comma between the day of the month and the year. Examples: December 7, 1941, July 20, 1969 Use a comma to separate the parts of an address. Do not use a comma before the ZIP Code. Example: She lives at 763 Main Street, Farmingdale, New York 11735. • Semicolons Use a semicolon to separate items in a series when the items contain commas. Examples: We elected Courtney Kassinger, president; Shelby Kravitz, vice presi- dent; Elisabeth Fink, secretary; and Joe Schulman, treasurer. Use a semicolon between main clauses when the conjunction (and, but, yet, so, for, or) has been left out. Example: We have made many suggestions for your landscaping; you haven't accepted a single one. • Colons Use a colon before a list. Example: The grader will be looking for the following elements: a topic sen- tence, specific details, and a strong conclusion. • Parenthesis Use parentheses to enclose additional information. Example: The decline in literacy has been astonishing (see the following chart). Use parentheses to enclose numbers or letters. Example: A book owned by a public library is usually catalogued by (1) title card, (2) author card, (3) subject card. 386 Appendix ( • Hyphen Use a hyphen to show a word break at the end of a line. Example: By the time he finishes this book, your grandfather will be an octo- grammarian. Use a hyphen in certain compound nouns. Examples: pint-size, great-grandmother Use hyphens in fractions and in compound numbers from twenty-one to ninety- nine. Examples: one-half, sixty-six • Quotation marks Use quotation marks to set off a speaker's exact words. Example: "Is that poem a sonnet?" we asked. Use quotation marks to set off the titles of short works such as poems, essays, songs, short stories, and magazine articles. Examples: "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" "The Poet" "We've Only Just Begun" • Apostrophes Use an apostrophe to show ownership. Examples: Lisa's book, Jillian's manuscript, women's room, men's room Use an apostrophe to show that letters have been left out of contractions. Examples: can't, won't, I'll Q Question Marks See Punctuation. Quotation Marks See Punctuation. R Run-On Sentences A run-on sentence is two incorrectly joined sentences. Example: The teacher walked into the room there was a mouse in her desk. You can correct a run-on sentence four ways: • Separate the run-on into two sentences. Example: The teacher walked into the room. There was a mouse in her desk. • Add a coordinating conjunction. The coordinating conjunctions are and, but, or, for, yet, and so. Example: The teacher walked into the room, and there was a mouse in her desk. • Add a subordinating conjunction. Example: When the teacher walked into the room, there was a mouse in her desk. • Use a semicolon. Example: The teacher walked into the room; there was a mouse in her desk. S Semicolons See Punctuation. Sentence Types There are four types of sentences in English: declarative, exclamatory, interrogative, and imperative. • Declarative sentences state an idea. They end with a period. Example: Students are made, not born. • Exclamatory sentences show strong emotions. They end with an exclamation mark. Example: What a good essay this is! • Interrogative sentences ask a question. They end with a question mark. Example: Which parts of the book do you have to study the most? Guide to Grammar and Usage 387 388 Appendix ( • Imperative sentences give orders or directions. They end with a period or an exclamation mark. Example: Sit down and write! Sentence Variety Unless you are writing certain kinds of dialogue, all your sentences should be gram- matically correct. In addition, craft your sentences to express your ideas in the best possible way. Strive for rhythm, pattern, and variety as well. Here are some ideas to try: • Expand short sentences by adding detail. Short: The plane took off. Expanded: The plane took off, a shrieking golden ribbon in the morning sky. • Combine short sentences. Short: O. Henry wrote a short story called "The Gift of the Magi." A husband sells his watch to buy his wife combs. They are for her beautiful hair. Combined: In O. Henry's short story "The Gift of the Magi," a husband sells his watch to buy his wife combs for her beautiful hair. • Change sentence openings. Sentence: I unlocked the attic door with great difficulty. Revised: With great difficulty, I unlocked the attic door. Sentences A sentence is a group of words that express a complete thought. A sentence has two parts: a subject and a predicate. The subject includes the noun or pronoun that tells what the subject is about. The predicate includes the verb that describes what the subject is doing. Subject Predicate New York City is called the "Big Apple." Subject and Verb Agreement See Agreement of Subject and Verb. Guide to Grammar and Usage 389 T Tense Avoid shifting tenses in the middle of a sentence of a paragraph. Wrong: I was walking to class when a huge dog jumps up and attacks me. Right: I was walking to class when a huge dog jumped up and attacked me. Transitions Transitions are words that connect ideas and show how they are linked. The follow- ing chart shows some of these transitions and the relationships they create. Relationship Addition Example Time Contrast Comparison Result Summary Place Transition Words also, and, besides, too, in addition to, further for example, for instance, thus, namely next, then, finally, first, second, third, fourth, afterward, before, during, soon, later, meanwhile, subsequently but, nevertheless, yet, in contrast, however, still likewise, in comparison, similarly therefore, consequently, as a result, thus, due to this, accordingly as a result, in brief, in conclusion, hence, in short, finally in the front, in the back, here, there, nearby Use transitions to show how ideas are linked. Without transition: Lisa completed her research. She started her outline. With transition: After Lisa completed her research, she started her outline. V Verb Tense The tense of a verb shows its time. Every verb has three parts. Verb Part Example Present tense break Past tense broke Past participle broken 390 Appendix ( • Some verbs are regular. This means they form the past tense by adding -d or -ed to the present form. • Other verbs are irregular. This means their form changes in the past tense. The following chart shows the most common irregular verbs. Present Tense arise bear beat become begin bend bite blow break bring burst catch choose come creep dig dive do draw drink drive eat fall fight fly forget forgive freeze get give Past Tense arose bore beat became began bent bit blew broke brought burst caught chose came crept dug dived or dove did drew drank drove ate fell fought flew forgot forgave froze got gave Past Participle arisen born or borne beaten become begun bent bitten blown broken brought burst caught chosen come crept dug dived done drawn drunk driven eaten fallen fought flown forgotten forgiven frozen gotten or got given Present Tense g° grow hang hang (execute) hide hold hurt kneel know lay lead lie (horizontal) lie (falsehood) lose prove ride ring rise run say see shake show sing speak steal swim take teach throw wake write Past Tense went grew hung hanged hid held hurt knelt knew laid led lay lied lost proved rode rang rose ran said saw shook showed sang spoke stole swam took taught threw woke or waked wrote Guide to Grammar and Usage 391 Past Participle gone grown hung hanged hidden held hurt knelt known laid led lain lied lost proved or proven ridden rung risen run said seen shaken showed or shown sung spoken stolen swum taken taught thrown woken or waked written 392 Appendix ( Verbs Verbs are words that name an action or describe a state of being. There are four basic types of verbs: action verbs, linking verbs, helping verbs, and verb phrases. • Action verbs tell what the subject does. Examples: jump, kiss, laugh • Linking verbs join the subject and the predicate and name and describe the subject. Examples: be, feel, grow, seem, smell, remain, appear, sound, stay, look, taste, turn, become • Helping verbs are added to another verb to make the meaning clearer. Examples: am, does, had, shall, can, did, may, should, could, have, might, will, do, has, must, would • Verb phrases are made of one main verb and one or more helping verbs. Examples: will arrive, could be looking w Word Choice See Diction. Wordiness Write simply and directly. Omit unnecessary details or ideas that you have already stated. Use a lot of important detail, but no unnecessary words. • Omit unnecessary words. Wordy: We watched the big, massive, black cloud rising up from the level prairie and covering over the sun. Better: We watched the massive, black cloud rising from the prairie and covering the sun. • Rewrite the sentence to eliminate unnecessary words. Wordy: Sonnets, which are a beautiful poetic form, have 14 lines and a set rhythm and rhyme. Better: Sonnets are a beautiful poetic form with 14 lines and a set rhythm and rhyme. . has two parts: a subject and a predicate. The subject includes the noun or pronoun that tells what the subject is about. The predicate includes the verb that describes what the subject. past tense by adding -d or -ed to the present form. • Other verbs are irregular. This means their form changes in the past tense. The following chart shows the most common irregular verbs watched the big, massive, black cloud rising up from the level prairie and covering over the sun. Better: We watched the massive, black cloud rising from the prairie and covering the sun.