Workbook for dummies 1 pdf

w The descriptive word only should precede the word being compared — in this case, only two as compared to three or four or whatever the professor assigns. x Possessive pronouns have no apostrophes. y Admission is singular and takes a singular verb, is. A The adjective Political describes the noun Science. Politically is an adverb and may describe only verbs (speaking politically) or other descriptions (politically inexperienced). B A statement should end with a period, which is missing in the original. C Irregardless isn’t standard English. Substitute regardless. D As and than don’t belong in the same comparison. An as comparison is for equal items and a than comparison for unequal items. E Try and implies two actions, but the sentence refers to one that should be attempted. The proper expression is try to. 283 Appendix: Grabbing Grammar Goofs 32_599321 app.qxp 4/3/06 11:05 PM Page 283 Answers to Exercise Two In the following figure the errors from the original letter are boldfaced and crossed out, with a possible correction following each one, as well as an occasional addition of a miss- ing word or mark. All corrections are boldfaced and underlined. Check the corresponding numbered explanations that follow the revised letter. Higgen Publishing Company 459 elm Elm Avenue Bronxton, VT 05599 October 31, 2006 Mr. Chester Slonton 33 Warwickville Road Alaistair, CA 90990 Dear Mr. Slonton: Thank you for sending us your novel, “The Lily Droops at Dawn.” The Lily Droops at Dawn. To read over more than 1,000 pages about a love affair between plants is a very unique experience. In your talented hands, both of the plants becomes become characters that are well-rounded and of great interest interesting to the reader. Before Mr. Higgen, whom who you know is our founder, commits to publishing this masterpiece, I must ask for some real really minor changes. Most of the editors, including Mr. Higgen, was were confused about the names. You are absolutely right in stating that each of the lovers are is in the lily family,; scientifically they have similar characteristics. Calling the lovers Lila and Lyle would not of have been a problem if the characters were distinguished from one another in personality or habits or appearance. Unfortunately, your main characters resembles resemble each other in petal color and height. True, one of the lilies is said to be smartest smarter, but the reader doesn’t know which. A second problem are is the love scenes. You mention in your cover letter that you can make them more lengthier. Mr. Higgen feels, and I agree, that you write vivid vividly; nevertheless, we think you could cut them alot a lot without losing the reader’s attention. After all, once a person has read one flower proposal, he or she has essentially read them all. Finally, the ending needs work. When the lily droops, the book ended ends. Are you comfortable with a tiny change. ? Market research shows that books with happy endings appeal to the readers, whoever he or she they may be. These volumes sell good well. Instead of drooping, perhaps the lily could spread it’s petals and welcome the dawn. Or dawn or become a rose. Higgen Publishing would like this novel for their its fall list. I hope that you are open to the changes I had outlined in this letter. I cannot help but mention mentioning that Higgen Publishing is probably the only publisher with experience in plant romance volumes. I look forward to having talked talking with you about the editing process. Sincerely, Cynthia Higgen 31 33 36 38 39 40 44 46 52 60 51 54 57 49 47 32 35 37 42 43 48 50 53 55 56 58 59 45 41 34 284 English Grammar Workbook For Dummies 32_599321 app.qxp 4/3/06 11:05 PM Page 284 F Proper names are capitalized. G The title of a full-length work (in this case, a novel) is italicized or underlined, not enclosed in quotation marks. H Over precedes a singular word, and more than precedes a plural. I Unique is an absolute, so no degrees of uniqueness (very unique, a little unique, and so on) exist. J Both is plural and should be matched with the plural verb become. K The original sentence isn’t parallel because it pairs the simple description well rounded with the phrase of great interest. The correction changes the phrase to a simple description, interesting. L The pronoun who is needed to act as a subject for the verb is. M Real is an adjective and appropriate for descriptions of people, places, things, or ideas. The adverb really intensifies the description minor. N Most of the editors is a plural subject and requires a plural verb, were. O Each of the lovers is a singular subject and requires a singular verb, is. P A comma may not join two complete sentences. Use a semicolon instead. Q Would of doesn’t exist in standard English. The proper expression is would have, here changed to the negative would not have. R The plural subject characters needs the plural verb resemble. S Smartest is for the extreme in groups of three or more. Because only two lilies are compared, smarter is correct. T The contraction doesn’t contains an apostrophe. U The singular subject problem takes the singular verb is. V Double comparisons aren’t correct. Use lengthier or more lengthy. W The verb write may be described by the adverb vividly but not by the adjective vivid. X The expression a lot is always written as two words. Y The present-tense verb ends works best with the rest of the sentence, which contains the present-tense verb droops. z This sentence, a question, calls for a question mark instead of a period. Z The plural pronoun they refers to readers. 1 Good is an adjective, but the sentence calls for the adverb well to describe the verb sell. 2 A possessive pronoun, such as its, never includes an apostrophe. 3 The expression or become a rose is a fragment and may not stand as a separate sentence. 4 A company is singular, so the matching pronoun is its. 5 The helping verb had is used only to place one action in the past before another past action. 6 Cannot help but mention is a double negative. 7 Every sentence needs an endmark. This statement calls for a period. 8 Having talked implies a deadline, and the sentence doesn’t support such a meaning. 285 Appendix: Grabbing Grammar Goofs 32_599321 app.qxp 4/3/06 11:05 PM Page 285 Answers to Exercise Three In the following figure the errors from the original article are boldfaced and crossed out, with a possible correction following each one, as well as an occasional addition of a miss- ing word or mark. All corrections are boldfaced and underlined. Check the corresponding numbered explanations that follow the revised article. Hold the Tights: a A Former Television Star Plays Shakespeare Silver, the actor that played a talking horse on the Emmy-winning series Mr. Said, is now starring in the Royal Theater production of “Hamlet.” Hamlet. The handsome blond recently agreed to discuss his approach to acting. It were was never about talking, in Silvers’ Silver’s view. As he had munched oats and sipped delicately from a water pail, the colt explained that he learned to talk at the age of one. Him His talking was not fulfilling enough,; only acting met his need for recognition. “I started by reciting monologues for whomever whoever would listen,” he said. “Then one day I got a call from a Hollywood agent offering me the part of Mr. Said.” Tossing his mane in the air, Silver continued, “I plays played that role for nine seasons. You get typecast. Nobody want wants to take a chance on your dramatic ability if they he or she can find someone else for the role.” He added, “Sitting by the phone one day, it rang I heard the phone ring, and my agent told me that I had a an audition.” That audition resulted in him his getting the part. Silver is the only horse that have has ever played Hamlet, as far as he knows. The actor has all ready already began begun rehearsals. His costume includes a traditionally traditional velvet coat but no tights. “Between you and I me,” he whispered, “the tights snag on my fur.” Director Ed Walketers asked Silver to consider shaving, and he Silver also tried several types of material for the tights. Even Silver’s wife got involved in this key costuming decision. “No one tried harder than her she to find tights I could wear,” Silver said. Nothing was suitable for this extremely unique situation. Silver is equally as involved with the role itself. “I relate to Hamlet’s problems,” he explained. “Us We horses often find it hard to take action and being to be decisive.” The role is also exhausting; Silver lays lies down for a quickly quick nap everyday every day before going onstage as Hamlet. 61 64 66 67 69 71 72 75 77 78 80 84 86 88 85 63 62 65 70 73 74 76 79 81 82 83 87 90 89 68 286 English Grammar Workbook For Dummies 32_599321 app.qxp 4/3/06 11:05 PM Page 286 9 The first word of a title and a subtitle should always be capitalized. 0 Silver identifies the horse being discussed. The original sentence has a comma at the beginning of the long, descriptive expression (the actor who played a talking horse on the Emmy-winning series Mr. Said) but none at the end. The second comma is necessary because the information supplied is extra, not essential to the meaning of the sentence. It should be set off from the rest of the sentence by a pair of commas. ! The title of a full-length work (in this sentence, a play) should be in italics or underlined. @ The singular it pairs with the singular verb was. # A singular possessive is formed by the addition of an apostrophe and the letter s. $ The helping verb had places one past action before another past action, but in this sentence the actions take place at the same time. Drop the had. % The possessive pronoun his should precede an -ing form of a verb that is being used as a noun (in this sentence, talking). ^ Two complete sentences shouldn’t be joined by a comma. Use a semicolon instead. & The subject pronoun whoever is needed as the subject of the verb would listen. The preposition for may have confused you because normally an object follows a preposition. However, in this sentence the entire expression (whoever would listen) is the object of the preposition, not just the pronoun. * A quotation mark belongs at the beginning and the end of the quotation. ( The past tense verb matches the meaning of the sentence. ) The pronoun nobody is singular and requires a singular verb, wants. - Only singular pronouns (in this sentence, he or she) can refer to the singular pronoun nobody. _ In the original sentence, it (the phone) is sitting by the phone — illogical! Reword in some way so that the speaker is sitting by the phone. Another possible correction: Add a subject/verb combo to the beginning of the sentence so that it reads When I was sitting by the phone. = The article an precedes vowel sounds, such as the au in audition. + The possessive pronoun his should precede the -ing form of a verb that is being used as a noun (in this sentence, getting). [ Because only one horse is the meaning of the pronoun that, the verb paired with that is singular. Has is singular, and have is plural. { The single word already means “before this time,” the meaning required by the sentence. ] Begun is the combination form of to begin and here is paired with has. } The adjective traditional describes the noun coat. \ Between is a preposition and thus takes an object. The pronoun me is an object. 287 Appendix: Grabbing Grammar Goofs 32_599321 app.qxp 4/3/06 11:05 PM Page 287 | Two males appear in the sentence (Silver and Ed), so the pronoun he is unclear. Substitute a noun. ; The missing word in the original is did, as in than she did. Her is inappropriate as the subject of the implied verb did. : Unique is an absolute and can’t be compared, so the extremely must be deleted. , The comparison equally should not be followed by as. < We is the subject pronoun needed here. Us is for objects. . To keep the sentence parallel, to be should be paired with to take action. Another alternative is to change to take action to acting. > To lay is “to place something else somewhere.” To lie is “to rest or to recline,” the meaning here. / The noun nap must be described by an adjective (quick), not an adverb (quickly). ? The single word everyday means “ordinary.” In this sentence you need the two-word form, which means “each day.” 288 English Grammar Workbook For Dummies 32_599321 app.qxp 4/3/06 11:05 PM Page 288 . “ordinary.” In this sentence you need the two-word form, which means “each day.” 288 English Grammar Workbook For Dummies 32_5993 21 app.qxp 4/3/06 11 :05 PM Page 288 . down for a quickly quick nap everyday every day before going onstage as Hamlet. 61 64 66 67 69 71 72 75 77 78 80 84 86 88 85 63 62 65 70 73 74 76 79 81 82 83 87 90 89 68 286 English Grammar Workbook. Higgen 31 33 36 38 39 40 44 46 52 60 51 54 57 49 47 32 35 37 42 43 48 50 53 55 56 58 59 45 41 34 284 English Grammar Workbook For Dummies 32_5993 21 app.qxp 4/3/06 11 :05 PM Page 284 F Proper names are capitalized. G The title of a full-length