Parts of Speech: A Brief Review besides between beyond by down during except for from in inside into like near of off on out outside over since through throughout till to toward under until up upon with without 118 Parallel Structure Parallel structure means that words and phrases in a sentence follow the same grammatical pattern. When- ever a sentence has a series of actions, a list of items, or a not only/but also construction, it should have par- allel structure. Parallelism makes ideas easier to follow and expresses ideas more gracefully. Notice how parallelism works in the following examples: Not parallel: We came, we saw, and it was conquered by us. (The first two clauses use the active we ϩ past tense verb construction; the third uses a passive structure with a prepositional phrase.) Parallel: We came, we saw, we conquered. (All three clauses start with we and use a past tense verb.) Not parallel: Please be sure to throw out your trash, place your silverware in the bin, and your tray should go on the counter. (Two verbs follow the to ϩ verb ϩ your ϩ noun pattern; the third puts the noun first and then the verb.) Parallel: Please be sure to throw out your trash, place your silverware in the pin, and put your tray on the counter. (All three items follow the to ϩ verb ϩ your ϩ noun ϩ prepositional phrase pattern.) The following are two more examples of sentences with correct parallel structure: Hermione’s nervousness was exacerbated not only by the large crowd but also by the bright lights. (Each phrase has a preposition, an adjective, and a noun.) Their idea was not only the most original; it was also the most practical. (Each phrase uses the superla- tive form of an adjective [see page 126 for more information on superlatives].) Rule #5: Use parallel structure for any series of actions or items or the not only/but also construction. Grammar and Usage Grammar and usage refer to the rules that govern the forms of words people use and the special combina- tions of words that create specific meanings. In this section, you will review the following areas of basic gram- mar and usage: ■ subject-verb agreement ■ consistent verb tense ■ pronoun cases ■ pronoun agreement ■ pronoun consistency ■ adjectives and adverbs ■ idioms Agreement In English grammar, agreement means that sentence elements are balanced. Verbs, for example, should agree in number with their subjects. If the subject is singular, the verb should be singular; if the subject is plural, the verb should be plural. Incorrect: Robin want to meet us later. (singular subject, plural verb) Correct: Robin wants to meet us later. (singular subject, singular verb) Incorrect: He do whatever he want. (singular subject, plural verbs) Correct: He does whatever he wants. (singular subject, singular verbs) Of course, to make sure subjects and verbs agree, you need to be clear about who or what is the subject of the sentence. This can be tricky in sentences with indefinite pronouns and in inverted sentences. Use the following guidelines for proper subject-verb agreement: ■ Remember that subjects are never found in prepositional phrases, so the subject must be elsewhere in the sentence. Sometimes the subject is the antecedent of a noun found in a prepositional phrase, as in the following example: Only one of the students was officially registered for the class. The pronoun one is the subject of the sentence, not students, because students is part of the preposi- tional phrase of the students. The verb must therefore be singular (was). ■ If a compound, singular subject is connected by and, the verb must be plural. Both Vanessa and X ui want to join the committee. ■ If a compound, singular subject is connected by or or nor, the verb must be singular. Neither V anessa nor Xiu wants to join the committee. – SENTENCE CORRECTION– 119 Verb Review If English is your second language, a quick review of verb conjugation and usage rules might be in order. Turn to Chapter 11 for an overview of verb forms, a list of irregular verbs, and a review of troublesome verbs such as lay/lie. 120 ■ If one plural and one singular subject are connected by or or nor, the verb agrees with the closest subject. Neither Vanessa nor the t r easurers want to join the committee. Neither the treasurers nor V anessa wants to join the committee. ■ In an inverted sentence, the subject comes after the verb, so the first step is to clearly identify the sub- ject. (Sentences that begin with there is and there are, for example, and questions are inverted sen- tences.) Once you correctly identify the subject, then you can make sure your verb agrees. The correct subjects and verbs are underlined in the following examples: Incorrect: There is plenty of reasons to go. Correct: There ar e plenty of reasons to go. Incorrect: Here is the results you have been waiting for. Correct: Here ar e the results you have been waiting for. Incorrect: What is the side effects of this medication? Correct: What ar e the side effects of this medication? Rule #6: Make sure verbs agree in number with their subjects. Consistent Tense One of the quickest ways to confuse readers, especially if you are telling a story or describing an event, is to shift verb tenses. To help readers be clear about when actions occur, make sure verb tenses are consistent. If you begin telling the story in the present tense, for example, stay in the present tense; do not mix tenses as you write. Otherwise, you will leave your readers wondering whether actions are taking place in the present or took place in the past: Incorrect: She le ft the house and forgets her keys again. Correct: She le ft the house and forgot her keys again. Incorrect: When we w ork together, we got better results. Correct: When we w ork together, we get better results. When we w orked together, we got better results. Rule #7: Keep verb tenses consistent. Pronouns Pronouns, as noted earlier, replace nouns, so you don’t have to repeat names and objects over and over. There are several different kinds of pronouns, and each kind of pronoun follows different rules. PERSONAL PRONOUNS Personal pronouns refer to specific people or things. They can be either singular (I) or plural (we); they can be subjects (I) or objects (me). Pronouns reflect three points of view: first person (I, we), second person (you), and third person (he, she, it, them). SUBJECT OBJECT POINT OF VIEW singular I me first person you you second person he him third person she her third person it it third person plural we us first person you you second person they them third person Pronoun mistakes are often made when you use the subject form when you really need the object form. Here are two guidelines to follow: ■ Always use the object pronoun in a prepositional phrase. Pronouns and nouns in prepositional phrases are always objects: He promised to bring a souvenir for Betty and me . Please keep this between us . ■ Always use the subject pronoun in a than construction (comparison). When a pronoun follows than,it is usually part of a clause that omits the verb to avoid redundancy: I realize that Alonzo is more talented than I . [than I am] Sandra is much more reliable than he . [than he is] Rule #8: Use the correct subject or object form of personal pronouns. Determine whether a pronoun is functioning as a subject or object in the sentence. – SENTENCE CORRECTION– 121 POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS The possessive pronouns its, your, their, and whose are often confused with the contractions it’s (it is or it has), you’re (you are), they’re (they are), and who’s (who is). Because writers use apostrophes to show possession in nouns (Louise’s truck, the rug’s pattern), many people make the mistake of thinking that pronouns use apos- trophes for possession, too. But possessive pronouns do not take apostrophes. When a pronoun has an apos- trophe, it always shows contraction. POSSESSIVE PRONOUN MEANING EXAMPLE its belonging to it The dog chased its tail. your belonging to you Your time is up. their belonging to them Their words were comforting. whose belonging to who Whose tickets are these? CONTRACTION it’s it is It’s time to eat. you’re you are You’re not going to believe your eyes. they’re they are They’re getting their tickets now. who’s who is Who’s got my tickets? Rule #9: Use apostrophes with pronouns to show contraction only. Pronouns do not need apostrophes to show possession. The pronouns who, that, and which are also often confused. The following lists the general guidelines for using these pronouns correctly: ■ Use who or whom when referring to people: She is the one who should make that decision, not I. ■ Use that when referring to things: This is the most important decision that she will make as director. ■ Use which when introducing clauses that are not essential to the information in the sentence (nonre- strictive), unless they refer to people. In that case, use who. – SENTENCE CORRECTION– 122 123 Sam bought a suit to wear to his new job, which will begin on Monday. Emily married Sonny, who has been in love with her since first grade. Antoinette, who is a computer programmer, would be a good match for Daniel. Rule #10: Use who for people, that for things, and which for nonessential clauses that do not refer to people. Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement Just as subjects (both nouns and pronouns) must agree with their verbs, pronouns must also agree with their antecedents — the words they replace. For example, consider the following sentence: Children will often believe everything their parents tell them. The word children is the antecedent and is replaced by their and them in the sentence. Because children is plural, the pronouns must also be plural. Indefinite pronouns can also be antecedents. Singular indefinite pronouns require singular pronouns: E veryone has his or her own reasons for coming. N either of the physicists could explain what she saw. Plural indefinite pronouns, on the other hand, require plural pronouns, just like they require plural verbs: both few many several B oth of them have finished their work. Only a f ew are still in their original cases. Contraction Confusion It is easy to make a mistake with pronouns and contractions because apostrophes are used to show posses- sion of nouns (Ralph’s car). With pronouns, however, possession does not require an apostrophe. If you get con- fused, think of a possessive pronoun that doesn’t get confused with contractions, such as my or our. These do not have apostrophes; other possessive pronouns should not either. Here is one way to remember to use that when referring to things: both words begin with the letters th. . VIEW singular I me first person you you second person he him third person she her third person it it third person plural we us first person you you second person they them third person Pronoun mistakes are. contraction. POSSESSIVE PRONOUN MEANING EXAMPLE its belonging to it The dog chased its tail. your belonging to you Your time is up. their belonging to them Their words were comforting. whose belonging to who Whose. apostrophes with pronouns to show contraction only. Pronouns do not need apostrophes to show possession. The pronouns who, that, and which are also often confused. The following lists the general guidelines for