The complete idiot guide part 43 pps

Guide to Grammar and Usage 393 Words Often Confused Some pairs of words are mixed up with each other. Sometimes it is because the words sound alike; at other times it is because they are spelled alike. The following words are often confused, misused, and abused. Word accept except affect effect already all ready all together altogether altar alter ascent assent bare bear brake break capital Capitol conscience conscious desert dessert emigrate Definition take leave out influence result before prepared everyone at once completely table of worship to change rising agreement uncovered animal endure stop destroy government seat where the U.S. legislature meets one's sense of right and wrong awake leave behind arid region sweet served at the end of a meal leave a country Example Accept my thanks. Everyone except him. This affects your ear. The effect of the law. Elvis already left. He was all ready to go. They yell all together. It was altogether wrong. Put the Bible on the altar. Alter the skirt. The rocket's ascent took an hour. Nod to show assent. The window was bare. The bear growled. Can you bear the noise? Use the car's brake. Don't break the dish! Visit the capital. Congress meets in the Capitol. Listen to your conscience. She was conscious during surgery. Desert a sinking ship. Camels travel in the desert. I love a rich dessert. She emigrated from France. continues 394 Appendix ( continued Word immigrate lay lie lead led learn teach loose lose passed past principal principle rise raise respectfully respectively stationary stationery than then their there they're weather whether Definition enter a country put down be flat writing material conducted receive facts give facts not fastened misplace went by gone by main head of a school rule get up lift with respect in the stated order staying in place writing paper comparison at that time belonging to them place they are atmospheric conditions if Example To immigrate means to enter a new homeland. present: Lay your cards down, past: He laid the cards down, future: He will lay his cards down, perfect: She has laid her cards down. present: The cat lies down, past: The cat lay down, future: The cat will lie down, perfect: The cat has lain down. That's a lead pencil. We were led to safety. You learn grammar. I teach grammar. The clasp is loose. I might lose the necklace. We passed the new library. They helped in the past. The principal road is Main Street. C. J. Jarvis is the principal. You know the principles of grammar. The cost of living will rise. Raise your arms. The audience clapped respectfully. The red, blue, and green books belong to John, Billie, and Lee, respectively. The car was stationary. Kings have nice stationery. Kansas is bigger than Rhode Island. The state was then very dry. It is their book. Put it there. They're good friends. The weather is rainy. Whether or not you agree. Index « abbreviations, 229-232 abridged dictionaries, 196-198 accusative case. See objective case acronyms, 232 action verbs, 36 active sentences, creating, 297-298 active voice, 18, 73, 297 Adams, Franklin P., 5 adjectival phrases, 140-141 adjective clauses, 157-159 adjectives, 47-50 adverbs, compared, 100-101 articles, 48 common adjectives, 48 comparative degree, 102-103 comparative levels, 102-105 compound adjectives, 48 indefinite adjectives, 48 irregular adjectives, 104-105 linking verbs, using after, 106-107 positive degree, 102-103 proper adjectives, 48 rules, 108 superlative degree, 102-105 adverb clauses, 156-157 adverbial phrases, 140-142 adverbs, 50-52 adjectives, compared, 100-101 common non -ly adverbs, 50 comparative degree, 102-103 comparative levels, 102-105 conjunctive adverbs, 51-52 irregular adverbs, 104-105 misuse of, 20 positive degree, 102-103 rules, 108 superlative degree, 102-105 affect and effect, compared, 303 agreement, 111-112, 119 collective nouns, 115-116 indefinite pronouns, 116-118 number plural, 113-114, 120-121 singular, 112-113 pronouns, antecedents, 122-124 rules, 112 subjects, 119-120 Allan, John, 254 American Heritage Dictionary, The, 197 antecedents, 53 pronouns agreement, 122-124 placement, 20 references, 89-98 anxious and eager, compared, 303 apostrophes, 19, 220-222 apposition, 210 appositive phrases, 140-145 appositives, 142-143 Arabian Nights, The, 272 archaic words, 304 Archimedes, 5 argumentation, 271-273 articles, 48 definite, 48 nouns, 35-36 indefinite, 48-49 as and like, compared, 134-135 assure and ensure and insure, compared, 303 396 The Complete Idiot's Guide to Grammar and Style, Second Edition audience considering, 263-269 empathy, 264-265 survey, 265 aural and oral, compared, 305 Austen, Jane, 260 authentic and genuine, compared, 303 B bad news messages, composing, 340-342 bad and badly, compared, 106 base form tenses, 60 verbs, 61 bias-free language, 316-318 Bierce, Ambrose, 235 block style, 329 brackets, 219 bureaucratic language, 319 business letters, 328 designing, 328 formats, 328-330 buzzwords, 291 C capitalization, 223-229 Capote, Truman, 252 case, 78-79 choppy sentences, 184-185 chronological resumes, 332-333 Churchill, Winston, 125 clarity importance of, 11 styles, importance of, 255-258 classes, verbs, 61-64 clauses, 126, 151-152, 160-163 adjective, 157-159 adverb, 156-157 dependent, 152-153 elliptical, 160 independent, 152-153 coordinating, 179-182 nonrestrictive, 97 noun, 159 restrictive, 97 subordinating conjunctions, 153-155, 182-185 Clemm, Virginia, 254 clichés, 321-322 avoiding, 20 proverbs, compared, 323 coherence, styles, importance of, 255-258 collective nouns, 28, 115-116 colloquial language, 301 colons, 213-215 comma splices, 174-175 commands, 279 commas, 209-212,284 unnecessary use of, 19 common adjectives, 48 common nouns, 28 communication standards, 11 comparative levels, adjectives and adverbs, 102-105 compass points, capitalization, 226 complaints, composing, 350-353 compleat and complete, compared, 304 complex sentences, 169 subordination, 182-185 compound adjectives, 48 compound nouns, 28 compound sentences, 169 compound-complex sentences, 170 computer grammar-checking programs, 20, 200 computer spell-check programs, 199 computer thesaurus programs, 202 Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English, The, 197 conjugation, verbs, 65 conjunctions, 39-41 coordinating, 39-40, 179 correlative, 40 subordinate, 40-41, 153-155, 182-185 Index 397 conjunctive adverbs, 51-52, 285 connotations, 201, 299 Conrad, Joseph, 5 consistency, styles, importance of, 253-257 context, importance of, 302 contractions, 221, 241-242 possessive pronouns, 82 Cooper, James Fenimore, 257 coordinating conjunctions, 39-40, 179, 284 coordination sentences, 178-182 subordination, compared, 185 correlative conjunctions, 40 cover letters, creating, 330-337 Crisis, The, 260 Crisp, Quentin, 77 cultural considerations, writing and speech, 11 cultures, organizations, 268 D dangling modifiers, 126-128 dangling participles, avoiding, 20 dashes, 217-218 Dean, Dizzy, 8 Declaration of Independence, The, 272 declarative sentences, 172 definite articles, 48 nouns, 35-36 degrees of comparison, adjectives and adverbs, 102-105 demonstrative pronouns, 54 denotations, 201, 299 dependent (subordinate) clauses, 152-153 adjective, 157-159 adverb, 156-157 noun, 159 subordinating conjunctions, 153-155 detail, writings, importance of, 280-282 Devils Dictionary, The, 235 dialects, 4, 302 Dickens, Charles, 259 diction, 300, 307-310 archaic words, 304 colloquial language, 301 dialect, 302 Edited American English, 301 elevated diction, 301 homophones, 308-309 slang, 301 tone, 302 vernacular, 302 dictionaries, 194-195 computer spell-check programs, 199 purchasing, 196-198 replacing, 197 specialized, 198-199 thesauruses, 201 usage labels, 196 Dictionary of American Regional English, 199 Dictionary of Contemporary Usage, A, 198 Dictionary of Foreign Phrases and Abbreviations, 199 Dictionary of Modern English Usage, 7, 198 Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, 199 Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins, 198 Didion, Joan, 252 direct objects, 81 double negatives, 19, 108-110 doublespeak, avoiding, 318 E e-mail messages, composing, 353-356 eager and anxious, compared, 303 Edited American English, 301 editing sentences, 294-295 effect and affect, compared, 303 efficiency, importance of, 11 Elements of Style, The, 10, 252 elevated diction, 301 ellipses, 217-218 398 The Complete Idiot's Guide to Grammar and Style, Second Edition elliptical clauses, 160 else and other, compared, 105 empathy, audiences, 264-265 English dialects, 4 ensure and insure and assure, compared, 303 essential appositives, 144 etymologies, 199 euphemisms, 320-321 exclamation points, 19, 207 exclamatory sentences, 172 exonerative passive voice, 75 expletives, 294-295 exposition, 271 F farther and further, compared, 304 fewer and less, compared, 103 flaming e-mail messages, 355 flaunt and flout, compared, 304 foreign term dictionaries, 199 formal usage, 8 formats, business letters, 328-330 forward slashes, 219-220 Fowler, Henry, 7 fragments (sentence), 173-174 friendly letters, composing, 346-347 further and farther, compared, 304 future perfect progressive tense, 68 future perfect tense, 60, 68 future progressive tense, 68 future tense, 60, 68 G gatekeepers, 264 genitive case. See possessive case genuine and authentic, compared, 303 gerunds, 140, 147-149 "Gettysburg Address," 260 good news messages, composing, 340 good and well, compared, 106 grammar-checking programs, 200 grammarians and writers, compared, 7 H Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 253 helping verbs, 3 7 homonyms, 245, 299 homophones, 235, 245, 308-309 hopefully, usage, 134 hyphens, 217-218 I idioms misuse of, 20 modals, 70 imperative mood, 73 imperative sentences, 172 imply and infer, compared, 305 incomplete sentences, 19 indefinite adjectives, 48 indefinite articles, 48-49 indefinite pronouns, 54-55, 116-118 independent (main) clauses, 152-153 coordinating, 179-182 subordinating conjunctions, 153-155 indicative mood, 72 indirect objects, 81 infer and imply, compared, 305 infinitive phrases, 140, 148-149 prepositional phrases, compared, 149 split infinitives, 18, 133 inflated language, 320 inflections, 78 informal usage, 8 insure and ensure and asssure, compared, 303 intensive pronouns, 54, 83 nonstandard intensive pronouns, avoiding, 83 interjections, 56 interrogative pronouns, 54 interrogative sentences, 172 intransitive verbs, 65 irregular adjectives, 104-105 irregular adverbs, 104-105 irregular verbs, 62-65 it, as unclear antecedent, 95-97 J-K jargon, 318-319 bureaucratic language, 319 euphemisms, 320-321 inflated language, 320 Kidder, Tracy, 252 King, Martin Luther, Jr., 187 L labels, dictionaries, 196 Last of the Mohicans, The, 257 less, least, compared, 103 letters bad news 340-342 business, 328-330 complaint, 350-352 condolence, 348-349 friendly, 346-347 good news, 340 opinion, 350-353 thank you, 338-339 like and as, compared, 134-135 Lincoln, Abraham, 260 linguistics, 7 linking verbs, 37, 82 adjectives, using after, 106-107 longhand, writing, 193-194 M main clauses. See independent main clauses many, usage, 117 McMurtry, Larry, 270 McPhee, John, 252 me and /, compared, 83 measurements, singularity, 120 mechanics, 10 messages, composing bad news, 340-342 e-mail, 353-356 good news, 340 Index 399 metaphors, 131 mixed, avoiding, 20, 131-132 misplaced modifiers, 128-131 mispronounced words, spelling errors, 244-245 mixed metaphors, avoiding, 20, 131-132 mnemonics, 236 modals, 70 Modern American Usage, 198 modified block style, 329 modifiers, 126. See also adjectives; adverbs. dangling, 126-128 misplaced, 128-131 moods imperative, 73 indicative, 72 subjunctive, 73 verbs, 72 N narration, 271-272 New Dictionary of American Slang, The, 199 New Rogefs Thesaurus of the English Language in Dictionary Form, The, 202 nominative case (subject), 79 nonessential appositives, 144 non-native speakers of English, 44, 49, 68, 108, 324 nonrestrictive clauses, 97 nonstandard English, 8-9 notes, composing, 338-339 noun clauses, 159 nouns, 27-36 appositives, 142-143 case, 78 collective, 28, 115-116 common, 28 compound, 28 definite articles, 35-36 plural, 31-34, 120 possessive, 29-30 predicate nominatives, 80, 119 *tOO The Complete Idiot's Guide to prepositional phrases, 43 pronouns, 53-56 proper, 28 word origin, 28 numbers, 112 agreement, 119-120 collective nouns, 115-116 commas, 211 indefinite pronouns, 116-118 plural, 113-114 nouns, 120 verbs, 120-121 singular, 112-113 0 objective case (accusative), 79 one-word commands, 166 oral and aural, compared, 305 organizations, cultures, 268 Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, 198 orthography, 235 Orwell, George, 323 other and else, compared, 105 Oxford English Dictionary, The, 198 P Paine, Thomas, 260 parallel structure, 186-189, 256 parentheses, 218-219 participle phrases, 140, 146-147 dangling participles, avoiding, 20 parts of speech, 27-60 passive voice, 18, 73-75, 297 active voice, converting to, 297-298 exonerative passive voice, 75 past participles, 61 past perfect tense, 60, 68 past progressive perfect tense, 68 past progressive tense, 68 past tense, 60-61, 67-68 ir and Style, Second Edition Pennington, James, 254 perfect form, tenses, 60 periods, 206, 284-285 personal pronouns, 53 persuasion, 272-273 perverse rules, 15-18 phonology, 235 phrases, 139-140 adjectival, 140-141 adverbial, 140, 142 appositive, 140-145 gerund, 140 infinitive, 140 participle, 140 prepositional, 140-141 redundancies, 296 verbal, 140, 145-146 gerund, 147-148 infinitive, 148-149 participle, 146-147 See also clauses Plato, 7 plural, 112 collective nouns, 115-116 indefinite pronouns, 116-118 nouns, 31-34, 120 subjects, 113-114 verbs, 113-114, 120-122 Poe, Edgar Allan, 253-254 Pooley, Robert, 85 positive degree, adjectives and adverbs, 102-103 possessive case (genitive), 79 possessive nouns, 29-30 possessive pronouns, 54, 94 contractions, 82 predicate nominatives, 80, 119 predicates, 36 prefixes, 237 prepositional phrases, 43-45, 118, 140-141 adjectival, 141 adverbial, 142 infinitives, compared, 149 Index M)l prepositions, 42-46 ending sentences with, 135 present participles, 61 present perfect progressive tense, 68 present perfect tense, 60, 67 present tense, 60-61 Pride and Prejudice, 260 primary audiences, 264 principal parts, verbs, 61 progressive form, tenses, 60 pronoun references, 89-98 pronouns, 53-56, 77-78 agreement, 20 antecedents, 53 agreement, 122-124 appositives, 142-143 case, 78-79 demonstrative, 54 frequency, 94 indefinite, 54-55, 116-118 inflections, 78 intensive, 54, 83 interrogative, 54 personal, 53 placement, 20, 93 plural personal, 123 possessive, 54, 94 contractions, 82 predicate nominatives, 80, 119 pronoun references, 89-98 reflexive, 54 nonstandard reflexive, 83 relative, 54 rules, 79-84 style, 256 proper adjectives, 48 proper nouns, 28 proverbs and clichés, compared, 323 punctuation, 203-208 apostrophes, 19, 220-222 brackets, 219 colons, 213-215 commas, 209-212 unnecessary use of, 19 dashes, 217-218 ellipses, 217-218 exclamation marks, unnecessary use of, 19 exclamation points, 207 hyphens, 217-218 importance of, 284-286 parentheses, 218-219 periods, 206 question marks, 206-207 quotation marks, 215-217 semicolons, 179, 213-215 slashes, 219-220 M question marks, 206-207 questions, 279 quotation marks, 215-217 Random House College Dictionary, The, 198 readers, 171 redundancies, 19 avoiding, 287-290 phrases, 296 repetition, compared, 296 referents, 89-98 reflexive pronouns, 54 nonstandard reflexive pronouns, avoiding, 83 regional term dictionaries, 199 regular verbs, 62 relative clauses, 158 relative pronouns, 54 repetition, 256-257 redundancy, compared, 296 restrictive clauses, 97 resumes, 330 chronological, 332-333 creating, 330-337 skills, 333-335 run-on sentences, 19, 174-175 kdl The Complete Idiot's Guide to S secondary audiences, 264 semiblock style, 329 semicolons, 19, 179, 213-215, 284 sensual and sensuous, compared, 305 sentence fragments, 173-174 sentences, 19, 165-167 active, creating, 297-298 choppy, 184-185 combining, 295-296 comma splices, 174-175 complex, 169 compound, 169 compound-complex, 170 coordination, 178-182 editing, 294-295 elements, 36 fragments, 173-174 functions, 172 length, varying, 277-279 one-word commands, 166 parallel structure, 186-189 prepositions, ending with, 135 revising, 294-295 run-on, 174-175 simple, 168 stringy, 180 structure, 167, 170-171 subordination, 182-185 types, varying, 276 sexist language, avoiding, 312-315 silent letters, 245 simple form, verbs, 61 simple future tense, 68 simple past tense, 67 simple sentences, 168 singular, 112 collective nouns, 115-116 indefinite pronouns, 116-118 subjects, 112-113 verbs, 112-113 ir and Style, Second Edition skills resumes, 333-335 slang, 8, 301 slanted language avoiding, 323 slashes, 219-220 speaking, standards, 11 spell-check programs, 199 spelling, 234-235 commonly mispronounced words, 244-245 commonly misspelled words, 246-248 contractions, 241-242 homophones, 235 importance of, 235 improving, 235-237 irregular endings, 245 prefixes, 237 rules, 242-244 silent letters, 245 suffixes, 237-241 split infinitives, 18, 133 Standard Written English, 8, 301 Steele, Richard, 270 Stevenson, Robert Louis, 134 stringy sentences, 180 Strunk, William, 10 style, 10,251-253 audience considering, 263-269 empathy, 264-265 clarity, 257-258 coherence, 255-257 consistency, 253-255 developing, 258-260 importance of, 284-286 myths, 261-262 Orwell, George, 323 subject case. See nominative case subjects, 36 agreement, 119-120 plural subjects, 113-114 singular subjects, 112-113 verbs, agreement, 19 . yell all together. It was altogether wrong. Put the Bible on the altar. Alter the skirt. The rocket's ascent took an hour. Nod to show assent. The window was bare. The bear growled library. They helped in the past. The principal road is Main Street. C. J. Jarvis is the principal. You know the principles of grammar. The cost of living will rise. Raise your arms. The. rise raise respectfully respectively stationary stationery than then their there they're weather whether Definition enter a country put down be flat writing material conducted