The Complete Idiot's Guide to Grammar & Style 2nd Ed (2003)

Tài liệu ngữ pháp tiếng anh "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Grammar & Style 2nd Ed (2003)".

Did you nod off when Miss Nelson was explaining parts of speech? Snooze during the unit on punctuation? Go to the bathroom during capitalization? Still can't distinguish between "who" and "whom"? Tell when to start a new paragraph? Write an effective business letter, resume, or letter of complaint?

Do you sometimes misplace your modifiers? Dangle your participles in your reader's face? Does grammar give you the willies? I'll bet the rules of English usage make you shake in your boots If so, then this book is for you! Learning any new skill is daunting and difficult Learning to use grammar and usage correctly and with confidence is no exception But you've learned many other skills, and you know how important improving grammar and writing style can be to your career advancement and ability to communicate I'm going to take you point-by-point through all the important English skills you need, from parts of speech to phrases, clauses, and sentences You'll learn how to craft the documents you need, including business letters, resumes, personal letters, and e-mail missives By the end of this book, you'll

be using English with confidence and skill You'll be able to write that dazzling proposal to win the contract—and finally get that promotion Remember: Mastering the rules of grammar, usage, punctuation, and spelling is well within your abilities

Best wishes,

Laurie Rozakis, Ph.D

RS The Complete Idiofs Guide to Grammar and Style has sold more than

100,000 copies since its publication in 1997! Thank you, dear readers, for recognizing my ability to make grammar easy—and fun—to learn I very much appreciate all the kind e-mails and letters I get about this book, too Your support is greatly appreciated

In this edition, I've added additional practice exercises, more writing models, and many tips for those of you whose first language is not English These changes will make it even easier for you to master the basics of clear written and spoken communication

About the Author

Laurie Rozakis earned her Ph.D in English and American Literature with

"Distinction" from the State University of New York at Stony Brook A full professor of English and Humanities at Farmingdale State University, Dr Rozakis has published a wide variety of reference books, biographies, young

adult books, articles, and scholarship In addition to The Complete Idiofs Guide to Writing Well, The Co?nplete Idiofs Guide to College Survival, and The Complete Idiofs Guide to Creative Writing, Dr Rozakis' latest books include The Big Book of Dates (McGraw-Hill), Super Study Skills (Scholastic), and The AP English Literature and Composition Test (ARCO)

Dr Rozakis has also written parts of numerous language arts, speech, social studies, literature, reading, science, math, consumer education, and spelling

programs for major publishers These include Scholastic's Literacy Place, Scott-Foresman's Literature, Houghton Mifflin's Invitations to Literacy, and Prentice Hall's Literature

To my students, past, present, and future Thank you for your hard work, determination,

and support You make teaching a privilege

Special thanks to Tom Kennedy, Fred Church, and all the other students from years gone

by who stay in touch Its gratifying to know you're happy, successful, and masters of

grammar and style!

Copyright © 2003 by Laurie E Rozakis, Ph.D

All rights reserved No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsi- bility for errors or omissions Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of information contained herein For information, address Alpha Books, 201 West 103rd Street, Indianapolis, IN 46290

THE COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE TO and Design are registered trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc International Standard Book Number: 1-59257-115-8

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2003105471

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Interpretation of the printing code: The rightmost number of the first series of numbers is the year of the book's printing; the rightmost number of the second series of numbers is the number of the book's printing For example, a printing code of 03-1 shows that the first printing occurred in 2003

Printed in the United States of America

Note: This publication contains the opinions and ideas of its author It is intended to provide helpful and

informative material on the subject matter covered It is sold with the understanding that the author and lisher are not engaged in rendering professional services in the book If the reader requires personal assistance

pub-or advice, a competent professional should be consulted

The author and publisher specifically disclaim any responsibility for any liability, loss, or risk, personal or wise, which is incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents

other-of this book

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For details, write: Special Markets, Alpha Books, 375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014

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Product Manager: Phil Kitchel

Senior Managing Editor: Jennifer Chisholm

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Layout/Proofreading: Becky Harmon, Mary Hunt, Ayanna Lacey

Parti: No Uncertain Terms 1

1 Are You Grammarphobic? 3

Probe your feeling about grammar and get clear definitions for grammar, usage, mechanics, and style

2 Conan the Grammarian 13

Discover the most common grammar errors, assess your own writing strengths, and find out how you can improve your writing—right now!

PartZ: Under the Grammar Hammer 25

3 Parts of Speech: Coming to Terms 21

Play with the building blocks of language to grasp the pinnings of writing and speech This chapter teaches you all about nouns, verbs, conjunctions, and prepositions

under-4 Terms of Endearment: More Parts of Speech under-47

Master the rest of the gang, too: adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, and interjections

5 Altered States: Verbs 59

Learn how to use the basic English tenses—and why it's so important to do so Also untangle the web of English verbs;

learn how to form the irregular past tense

6 Woe Is I: Pronouns and Case 77

Who versus whom (Or should I just shoot myself now?)

7 Multiple-Vehicle Wrecks: Pronoun Reference 89

Discover how the meaning of a pronoun comes from its antecedent, the noun or pronoun to which it refers

8 How to Write and Speak Good: Adjectives

Versus Adverbs 99

Good or well? Learn which part of speech to use when

9 Reaching an Agreement: Matching Sentence Parts 111

Find out how to match subjects and verbs, pronouns and antecedents

10 Dazed and Confused: Common Usage Dilemmas 125

Get a grip on dangling and misplaced modifiers, mixed metaphors, and split infinitives

Usage and Abusage 137

11 Phrases: Prime-Time Players 139

Probe prepositional phrases, admire appositives, and visit with

some verbals

12 Clauses: Kickin'It Up a Notch 151

Learn about independent clauses, dependent clauses, adverb

clauses, adjective clauses, and noun clauses

13 Sentence and Sensibility 165

Discover how to avoid fragments, run-ons, and comma splices

14 Coordination and Subordination: What to Say

When the Cops Come 177

Select the sentence patterns that best convey your meaning

Tools of the Trade 191

15 The Writer's Tools: Round Up the Usual Suspects 193

Find out which tools can help you write better—and how

16 Punctuation: Commas Are Our Friends 203

Learn the nuts and bolts: end marks, commas, semicolons and

colons, apostrophes, and the rest of the gang (quotation marks,

slash and dash, parentheses, brackets, and ellipses)

17 Capitalization and Abbreviations: Go to the

Head of the Class 223

Master the guideposts of our language

18 Guide to Spelling: Hooked on Phonics 233

Bee a good speller

Style: All the Write Stuff 2 U

19 What Is Style, and How Do I Get Some? 251

Define "style" in writing and learn why it is so important

to crafting clear, effective prose

20 In Style 263

First, analyze the importance of audience to writing Then

discover the four kinds of writing: exposition, narration,

argumentation, and description

21 Stylish Sentences 275

Discover how to vary your sentence form and types to create a

more polished and effective writing style

Define "redundancy" and learn how to improve your writing

style by simplifying your sentences

23 Diction: Find the Right Word, Not Its First Cousin 299

Learn the different levels of diction and how to distinguish

between confusing words

24 Don't Go There: Words and Expressions to Avoid 311

Find out why its so important to avoid sexist language,

doublespeak, and clichés

Part 6: In Your Write Mind 325

25 Business Writing: Write Angles 327

Design effective documents for the world of work These

include resumes, cover letters, thank you notes, and good news

and bad news letters

26 Personal Writing: In Your Write Mind 345

Write friendly letters, social notes, and letters of opinion

Parti: No Uncertain Terms I

1 Are You Grammarphobic? 3

How Can You Tell If You're Grammarphobic? 4

What Is Style? 10

A Civil Tongue: Standards for Effective Communication 11

2 (onan the Grammarian 13

Sweet Dreams Aren't Made of These 13

Puppy Love 14 Has It Come to This? 14

Perversity Rules 15

Let Me 'Splain It to You, Lucy 18

Personal Writing Inventory 20

Damage Control 23

Mission Possible 23

Part 2: Under the Grammar Hammer 25

3 Parts of Speech: Coming to Terms 27

Nouns: Prime-Time Players 27

Possessive Nouns: 9/w of the Law 29

Possess It! 29 Plural Nouns: Two's Company, Threes a Crowd 31

Too Much of a Good Thing? 31 Combo Platter 34

A Note on Nouns for Non-Native Speakers 35

Verbs: All the Right Moves 36

Action Verbs: Jumping Jack Flash 36

Chain Gang: Linking Verbs 31

v i i i The Complete Idiot's Guide to Grammar and Style, Second Edition

Mothers Little Helper: Helping Verbs 31 Verb-O-Rama 31

Conjunctions: The Ties That Bind 39

All Tied Up 39 Fit to Be Tied 41

Prepositions: Good Things Come in Small Packages 42

Joined at the Hip 43

A Note on Prepositions for Non -Native Speakers 44

4 Terms of Endearment: More Parts of Speech U

Adjectives: Happy Little Clouds 47

Spice Up Your Sentences with Adjectives 48

A Note on Adjectives for Non-Native Speakers 49 Have Fun with Adjectives 49 And in This Corner 49

Adverbs: Who Ya Gonna Call? 50

Have Fun with Adverbs 51 Conjunctive Adverbs: An Adverb Disguised as a Conjunction 51

Hunt and Peck 52

Pronouns: Pinch Hitters 53

Face the Music 55 Interjections: Zap! Pow! Wow! 56

Just When You Thought It Was Safe to Take a Shower 56

Seventh-Inning Stretch 51

5 Altered States: Verbs 59

Shape Shifters 60 Verb Tense: Nothing a Little Prozac Wouldn't Cure 60

I Feel Your Pain: Principal Parts of Verbs 61

A Class Act: Forming Past Tenses 61

Now Ihayhh Lay Me Down to Sleep 64 Party Pooper: Test Time 65 All Tensed Up: Using Verb Tense Correctly 66

Past Tense 61 Back to the Future 68

A Note on Verbs for Non-Native Speakers 68

It s All in the Timing 10

Number 12 Mood 12

Active and Passive Voice: A Mistake Has Been Made 73

Not So Fast 14

6 Woe Is I: Pronouns and Case 77

Why Can't a Pronoun Be More Like a Noun? 77

Head Case: The Three Cases 78

The Rules 79

Sorry, Wrong Number 83

Seventh-Inning Stretch 84

Who Versus Whom (or Should I Just Shoot Myself Now?) 85

This Hurts You More Than It Hurts Me 86

I Dare You 86 Seventh-Inning Stretch 81

7 Multiple-Vehicle Wrecks: Pronoun Reference 89

How's That Again? 90

It Just Proves There's Someone for Everyone 91

The Numbers Game 91

Tag, You're It 92

Location, Location, Location: Placement of Pronouns 93

A Match Made in Writer's Heaven 94

Possession and Pronouns 94

Its a Lock 94

It and They 95

It Mania 96 Who's on First? 91

8 How to Write and Speak Good: Adjectives Versus Adverbs 99

They Walk Alike, They Talk Alike: You Could Lose

Your Mind 100

Graphic Proof 100

Fm Ready for My Close-Up Now, Mr DeMille 101

Three Degrees of Separation 102

Size Does Matter 103

Good, Gooder, Goodest: Irregular Adjectives and Adverbs 104

Keep Your Balance 105

Other and Else 105

X The Complete Idiot's Guide to Grammar and Style, Second Edition

Tough Sledding: Using Adjectives After Linking Verbs 106

The Badlands 106 Good News; Well News 106 Once More into the Breach, Dear Friends 107

A Note on Adjectives and Adverbs for Non-Native

Speakers 108 Don't Use No Double Negatives 108

Don't Be Making No Mistakes 109

9 Reaching an Agreement: Matching Sentence Parts III

Anyone Got a Match? 112

Singular Subjects and Verbs 112 Plural Subjects and Verbs 113 Seventh-Inning Stretch 114

Collective Nouns 115

Indefinite Pronouns 116

The Pause That Refreshes 118

Walk This Way 119

Hide and Seek 119 Playing the Numbers 120 Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make Me a Match 120

Mix and Match 121

Agree to Disagree 122

Nose to the Grindstone 124

10 Dazed and Confused: Common Usage Dilemmas 125

Dangling Modifiers: Counterintelligence 126

Help Is on the Way 126 Man the Battle Stations 121

Misplaced Modifiers: Lost and Found 128

It Says What? 129 Quiz Show 130

Mixed Metaphors: A Dollar Late and a Day Short 131

Split Infinitives: To Boldly Go Where Everyone Else Goes 133

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly 134

Hopefully 134 Like/As 134 Ending with a Preposition 135

Usage and Abusaqe 137 Phrases: Prime-Time Players 139

Phrases of the Moon 139 Prepositional Phrases: The Big Daddy of Phrases 140

Offspring 1 : Adjectival Phrases 141

Offspring 2: Adverbial Phrases 142

Appositives: Something More for Your Money 142

Appositive Phrases 143 The Moment of Truth 144

Verbal Phrases: Talk Soup 145

Part and Participle 146 Gerund Phrases 141 Infinitive Phrases: The Final Frontier 148

Clauses: Kickin'It Up a Notch 151

Clauses: Phrases on Steroids 151

Independent Clauses: Top Dogs 152

Dependent Clauses: I Get by with a Little Help from

My Friends 153

I Know 'Em When I See 'Em 153

Subordinating Conjunctions Link 'Em Together 153

Looking for Love in All the Right Places 154

Adverb Clauses: Hot Shots 156

Follow the Leader 156 Shape Up Your Sentences 151

Adjective Clauses: Paint by Numbers 157

Relative Clauses: Its All Relative 158

Clauses Make the Sentence 159

Noun Clauses: What's in a Name? 159

Connect the Dots 160

Getting Down and Dirty 160

Sentence and Sensibility 165

I Know It When I See It: The Sentence 166

Seek and Ye Shall Find 166

Hidden Treasures 161

Sentence Structure: The Fab Four 167

Simple Sentences: Simple Isn k as Simple Does 168

Compound Sentences: Compound Interest 169

Complex Sentences: Not So Complex at All 169

x i i The Complete Idiot's Guide to Grammar and Style, Second Edition

Compound-Complex Sentences: The Big Kahuna 110 The Choice Is Yours 110 Face the Music Ill

Sentence Functions: The Four Tops 172

Alley Oops 172

Fragments: Lost in Place 113 Run-Ons and Comma Splices: It Could Be a Stretch 114

Seventh-Inning Stretch 115

\k Coordination and Subordination: What to Say When the Cops Come 177

Coordination: All the Right Moves 178

Mix and Match 119 Dancing Cheek-to-Cheek 119

Don't String Me Along 180 Why Not Give It a Shot? 181

Subordination: What I Did for Love 182

Follow the Leader 183 Dice V Slice 184 Double Dare 184

Duke It Out: Coordination Versus Subordination 185

Parallel Structure: Trod the Straight and Narrow 186

Make It So 181 Time to Face Old Sparky 181

Parft: Tools of the Trade 191

15 The Writer's Tools: Round Up the Usual Suspects 193

Pencil Pusher 193 Using the Dictionary: You Could Look It Up 194

Who You Gonna Call? 195 Read the Labels 196 Shop Till You Drop 196 Specialized Dictionaries: Everyone s an Expert 198

Computer Spell Checkers: Marvels of Technology 199

Electronic Grammar Software: Help Is Only a Button

Away 200 The Thesaurus: War of the Words 201

Lets Go Shopping 202 Whiz-Bang Thesaurus Programs 202

16 Punctuation: Commas Are Our Friends 203

Punctuation Matters 203

Show Me the Money 204

Period, Question Mark, Exclamation Mark: The End of

the Line 205

The Period: Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200 206

The Question Mark: Inquiring Minds Want to Know 206

Exclamation Marks: Gosh and Golly! 201

The Pause That Refreshes 201

The Comma: A Major Player 209

First Impressions Count 209

Sentence Interruptus 210

In Media Res 211 Dazed and Confused 211

Bean Counters 211

Constant Commas 212

The Semicolon: Love Child of the Comma and the Period 213

The Colon: What a Party Animal 213

Semi-Tough 214 Quotation Marks: Quote/Unquote 215

A Little Dabba Do Ya 216

Not Separated at Birth: The Dash and the Hyphen

(and Let's Add the Ellipsis for Fun) 217

The Dash: Long and Lean 211

The Hyphen: Short and Sweet 218

The Ellipsis: Dot, Dot, Dot 218

Parentheses and Brackets: Bosom Buddies 218

(Parentheses) 219 [Brackets] 219

Slash and Burn 219 Apostrophes 220

Once More, Dear Friends 221

17 Capitalization and Abbreviations: Go to the Head of the Class 223

Capitalization: A Capital Idea 223

xiv The Complete Idiot's Guide to Grammar and Style, Second Edition

18 Guide to Spelling: (looked on Phonics 23}

Bee a Good Speller 234

If U Cn Reed This 235

Quick and Dirty Tricks of the Trade 235

Attaching Prefixes and Suffixes: Bits and Pieces 237

Attaching Prefixes: Front-End Collision 257 Attaching Suffixes: Rear-End Collision 231

Go for the Gusto 241

Y/IUse 246

Spelling Demons 246

Ten Tough Spelling Words—and Ways to Make Them Tender 246

Part 5: Style: All the Write Stuff 2W

19 What Is Style, and How Do I Get Some? 2SI

Style: Write On! 251

The 3C's: Consistency, Coherence, Clarity 253

Consistency 253 Coherence 255 Clarity 251

I'll Have What's on His Plate 258

Lie Like a Rug 261

20 In Style 263

Audience: People Who Need People 263

Inquiring Minds Want to Know 264

I Share Your Tain 264 Who's Who 266 Culture Vulture 268

Model Behavior 269

Live and Learn 210 Make It Your Own 210

Four Play 270

Exposition: Writing That Explains 271

Narration: Writing That Tells a Story 272

Argumentation: Writing That Persuades 272

Description: Writing That Describes 275

21 Stylish Sentences 27S

Flexible Flyers 276

Vary Sentence Types 216

Vary Sentence Lengths 277

Add Questions and Commands 219

Focus on the Subject 219

Add Details 280 Use Vivid Verbs 283

Invert Word Order 283

Play with Pronouns 283

Between a Rock and a Hard Place 284

Punctuation and Style: Little Things Matter a Lot 284

22 Conciseness: The Department of Redundancy Department 287

Slash and Burn 287 Thrift, Thrift, Thrift 290

Eliminate Unneeded Words and Phrases 291

Revise Sentences That Begin with Expletives 294

Combine Sentences That Repeat Information 295

Don't Say the Same Thing Twice 296

Make Passive Sentences Active 291

23 Diction: Find the Right Word, Not Its First Cousin 299

Diction: Proper Words in Proper Places 300

Elevated Diction 301

Edited American English 301

Colloquial Language 301

Slang 301 Vernacular 302

Tone-on-Tone 302 Ten Distinctions Worth Making (or at Least Worth

Being Able to Make!) 303

Twenty-Five Headaches 305

¥mr You're On 301

Homophones: Give Piece a Chance 308

Grin and Bare Bear It 309

x v i The Complete Idiot's Guide to Grammar and Style, Second Edition

Z*t Don't Go There: Words and Expressions to Avoid 311

Sexist Language: Political Roadkill 312

On Thin Ice 313 Nonsexist Language: Level the Playing Field 314

Top of Your Game 316

The Cliché Expert 321

Gorgeous George 323

A Note on Words and Expressions to Avoid for Non-Native Speakers 324

Part 6: In Your Write Mind 32S

25 Business Writing: Write Angles 327

Chronological Resume 332 Skills Resume 333 Cover Letters 336

Bread-and-Butter Notes 338

Good News, Bad News 339

Good News 340 Bad News 340

26 Personal Writing: In Your Write Mind 3 t i

Friendly Letters: My Baby, She Wrote Me a Letter 346

Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Vm Yours 346 Model Letter 341

B & B Revisited 348

I Feel Your Pain: Letters of Condolence 348

According to most studies, people's number one fear is public speaking Number two is death Death is number two Does that seem right? That means to the average person, if you have to go to a funeral, you're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy

—-Jerry Seinfeld, SeinLanguage

Picture this: You're standing in front of a large conference room full of business ates You've put on your best new clothes for a special occasion: You're about to present the project you've been working on for six hard months You know it's a good idea— you've considered it from every angle and you're sure it can't fail—but you're not sure you can sell everybody on it In fact, you're scared to death of embarrassing yourself Why?

associ-If you're like most people, part of your fear comes from the worry that you might not use good grammar—wait, make that proper grammar—when you start speaking, or that somehow you've messed up the writing in the 60-page report you've just handed out You don't have a run in your panty hose—you checked—but your infinitives might

be split wide open You can tell that your zipper's not down, but you've got this tional fear that your participles are dangling You're a smart dresser, for certain—but are you just plain smart?

irra-In a word, yes You are

The most common myth about grammar is that people who don't use it correctly are somehow less intelligent than those who do Wrong! Intelligence and grammar are unrelated Consider Jerry Seinfeld, who is quoted at the start of this foreword He's

an incredibly clever comedian whose jokes are always built around insightful tions of the human condition Now consider the quote itself Frankly, if his grammar were a car, they'd be towing it away to the junkyard right about now It's a lemon for sure—but that doesn't mean Jerry Seinfeld can't parallel park, if you know what I mean His sentences have a style that's appropriate for his audience—and he's been so suc-cessful at it that people have been copying him for years

observa-Have you ever heard the joke about the boy named Cass who was absent for a few days

in first grade, missed the lesson about the letter C, then for the next few days kept

getting into trouble for signing a cuss word next to the date on his homework papers? This is how many people feel about grammar—that they were absent when their teachers taught the basic rules and have been paying for it ever since The truth is, you were probably there when your teacher taught grammar So why didn't you learn the proper rules? Well, honestly, it could be—at least partially—your teacher's fault

If you were like almost every other unfortunate elementary school student, your teacher probably sat in front of the room carefully explaining—in a voice dull enough to make rocks start to fidget—how to parse sentences, how to conjugate irregular verbs, what past perfect tense means, what a gerund is, etc Maybe you also got to read from a textbook—oh boy!—full of snappy, interesting sentences about Tom and Sue and Bob's plain brown dog It was a recipe for failure Somehow you passed the class, of course, but did you really take anything in? Did you master the English language? Of course not; nobody could—not in an environment like that Your teachers were crazy to expect those lesson plans to work

You did your best, under the circumstances—and now it feels impossible to go back and set things straight

But it's not impossible, because the circumstances have just changed Laurie Rozakis is your teacher now Trust me, you're in good hands I've been teaching with Dr Rozakis for several years now, and what always amazes me is how she makes grammar fun Her students laugh while they learn—and they definitely learn She has a knack for making even the most complex concepts simple, understandable, and memorable Her students love her

They also respect her—she's not only an entertaining teacher, but a wise one As far as I can tell, Laurie Rozakis knows everything there is to know about grammar and style This book is the next best thing to being in her classroom yourself You'll remember what she teaches you and start using it in your daily life almost immediately You'll look forward to reading this book just as much as you used to look forward to avoid-ing your homework You'll be amazed at how easy it is The conference room will never be quite as intimidating again, either—and, if you're lucky, you could pick up a joke for the lunchroom, too

Read on and enjoy

Gwydion Suilebhan

Gwydion Suilebhan is writing program coordinator and Curriculum Content

Specialist for the Institute for the Academic Advancement of Youth at Johns Hopkins University He also works as a freelance writer, teacher, and curriculum designer A

collection of his poems, Inner Harbor, was published in 1997 by Woods House Press

You know you have the intelligence, ambition, and resilience to succeed, but one problem holds you back "I'm afraid of making embarrassing errors when I speak and write," you say to yourself When it comes to expressing ideas or communicating your opinion, you're afraid your message is garbled or just plain incorrect

Having washboard abs and a body-fat count lower than the inflation rate will get you only so far in life You know you need to know the basics of good writing—grammar, usage, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling—to get where you want to go That's why you bought this book

Memorizing lists of grammar rules isn't the answer Wading through dictionaries and

grammar books is about as exciting as watching reruns of Gilligans Island or Green Acres

Besides, you can never find what you need; there are so many words! Your online spell checker drives you mad; the grammar checker buzzes like a pinball machine You know you need to do the following:

• Understand how to use the different writing aids, including dictionaries,

thesauruses, style guides, reference books, and computer programs

• Identify the parts of speech and know when to use each kind

• Make English grammar work for you

• Write logical, complete, and graceful sentences

• Use correct capitalization and punctuation

• Write effective letters, memos, and electronic messages

What You'll Learn in This Book

Success-conscious people are grammar-conscious people for many good reasons You know that if you want to get ahead in almost any business or profession, you must speak and write reasonably correct English That's what this book can help you achieve You'll learn that business and personal writing is not a mysterious activity at which only a few people can succeed Rather, writing is a craft, like barefoot aluminum foil dancing or cooking that can be learned by almost anyone willing to invest the required time and energy

xxii The Complete Idiot's Guide to Grammar and Style, Second Edition

This book is divided into six sections that teach you the practical, hands-on grammar and usage rules you need You'll understand why certain rules exist and what function they serve in writing and speech Most of all, you'll finish this book convinced that writing is fun as well as useful and important

Part 1 , "No Uncertain Terms," first explores how many people feel about grammar,

usage, and the mechanics of writing This part provides the standards for effective

communication, too Next, you'll get the definitions of grammar, usage, mechanics, and style, so we're all starting this dance on the same foot Then you'll assess your own

writing strengths and shortcomings to find out how you can improve your writing— right now!

Part 2 , "Under the Grammar Hammer," gets into the nitty-gritty of grammar:

parts of speech, pronoun reference, pronoun case, verb usage, the difference between adjectives and adverbs, and subject-verb agreement It's all the stuff you ignored in high school and English Comp 101 because you were too busy trying to get a date This part concludes with a survey of the most common usage dilemmas Along the way, there are lots of brand-new ways to make it easier for non-native English speak-ers to learn the basics of English

Part 3, "Usage and Abusage," describes the building blocks of paragraphs: phrases,

clauses, and sentences You learn all about prepositional phrases, appositives and appositive phrases, verbal phrases, gerund phrases, and infinitive phrases This part also covers sentence structure and function, fragments and run-ons, and sentence coordination and subordination This sounds heavier than a sumo wrestler, but you know I'll make it fun

Part 4, "Tools of the Trade," first explores the importance of using all the resources

available to writers: dictionaries, computer spell-checkers, books of synonyms and antonyms, and reference books Then I give you a complete refresher course in the signposts of our language: punctuation, capitalization, abbreviations, and spelling

Part 5, "Style: All the Write Stuff," helps you give your writing grace, clarity, and

that essential^ ne sais quoi that separates your writing from everyone else's This

sec-tion also covers active and passive voice, conciseness, dicsec-tion (word choice), and levels

of language

Part 6, "In Your Write Mind," helps you develop powerful writing strategies that

enable you to write successful business and personal communications This part ers such important writing situations as business and personal letters and e-mail In the chapter on personal communication, you'll learn how to write effective letters to friends, companies, and people suffering losses

cov-Last, there's an appendix of model writing samples and a glossary of grammar and usage The glossary of grammar and usage makes it easy for you to pinpoint specific

writing issues and get the answers you need—-fast!

I

More for Your Money!

In addition to all the explanation and teaching, this book contains other types of

information to make it even easier for you to master writing and speaking skills Here's how you can recognize these features:

Strictly Speaking

Want to dazzle your date?

Stump your spouse? Have some

witty chitchat for the next office

party? Use these grammar

teasers to astound and amaze

your friends and enemies alike

You Could Look It Up

Like every other skill worth knowing, grammar and usage have their own terminol- ogy These definitions explain all those terms to prevent you from dangling your participles in public

Take My Word for It

You could skip these tasty

tid-bits, but you won't want to

because they're too much fun!

Danger, Will Robinson

These warnings help you stay on track—so you don't end up lost in space

Quoth the Maven ,

t V r These are little expert tips that make correct writing easier

Acknowledgments

To my long-suffering husband, who endured bologna rather than turkey with his cranberries, stuffing, and gravy (Okay, so I was a little preoccupied with this book to

make the turkey Bologna is a recognized food group.) He has always been my

strongest supporter and staunchest friend

xxiv The Complete Idiot's Guide to Grammar and Style, Second Edition

And to my dear children Charles and Samantha, please stop referring to The Night Mom Forgot the Turkey It is not a national holiday I promise to remember the large dead bird at any and all appropriate future meals

Also, a tip of the hat to Gary Goldstein, my editor for the second edition of this book Tom Stevens, development editor, and Keith Cline, super copy editor, deserve credit for making me look much smarter and more careful than I am! And much grat-itude to the amazing Christy Wagner, senior production editor, a fabulous colleague and production editor par excellence

My deepest thanks to Marguerite Owens Kassinger, Amy Losi, Joanne Marrone, and Charles Rozakis for providing resumes And a kiss for Pessha Snedeker, president of the southwest division of my fan club!

Special Thanks to the Technical Reviewer

The Complete Idiofs Guide to Grammar and Style, Second Edition, was reviewed by an

expert who double-checked the accuracy of what you'll learn here, to help us ensure that this book gives you everything you need to know about grammar and style Special thanks are extended to Doug Stein

Doug Stein recently retired from the New York City School System, where he taught high school English and History for more than 3 5 years (and has lived to tell about it) He now does private tutoring in the New York City area in these subjects—when not rescuing dangling modifiers for Alpha Books and others fortunate publishers and writers He now keeps busy freelance writing and editing for a number of local publi-

cations When not working, he resides with his wife, Gail (the author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning Spanish on Your Own) in New York City

Trademarks

All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be or are suspected of being trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized Alpha Books and Penguin Group (USA) Inc cannot attest to the accuracy of this information Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark

In 1983, a linguist named Geoffrey Nunberg published an essay called

"The Decline of Grammar" in the Atlantic Monthly magazine The article

described the battle between different approaches to grammar and language usage Truth be told, the article was about as dry as unbuttered melba toast Nonetheless, the magazine was deluged with letters, many of them quite irate When the smoke cleared, the editors realized that they had received one of the largest reader responses in years

More than two decades later, most of the burning issues of the early 1980s have cooled, but interest in language usage remains as fierce as ever And

you thought your mother was the only one who cared if you said, "Can I

go to the bathroom?" instead of "May I go to the bathroom?"

Now that you've finally gotten permission to go potty, it's time to see what grammar, usage, mechanics, and style are all about

Are You Grammarphobic?

In This Chapter

• Learn how people feel about grammar

• Probe the influence of words on thought and speech

• Define grammar, usage, mechanics, and style

A favorite proverb of the arts-and-crafts set is "One picture is worth a thousand words." Nope It really isn't so Just try to use a picture to teach people You'll quickly find out that you need a thousands words—or more!—

to tell them exactly what to look at and why

Whatever you might have heard about cultural illiteracy, the closing of the American mind, and TV rotting our brains, Americans are passionately in love with their language, perhaps more so now than ever before And we greatly respect people who can use English correctly, with skill, grace, and flair We know they tend to succeed in whatever they attempt, because they have the tools to communicate, persuade, and inform effectively, no matter what the message

it P a r t i : No Uncertain Terns

In this chapter, you learn that you're not alone in your desire to master the rules of standard written English—or in your fear of banging your head against

a brick wall while trying to do so Then you meet the

movers and shakers of English: grammar, usage, ics, and style Along the way, we explore your feelings

mechan-about English

How Can You Tell If You're Grammarphobic?

That said, we still have to contend with the fear factor I'll bet you know what I mean

I whisper "grammar" and your eyes roll back in your head; I mutter "predicate tive" and you pass out cold How bad is it, bunky? Take this quiz to see if you're suffer-ing from mild or acute "grammar-itis."

nomina-Put a check next to each answer that applies to you

1 Knowing that I have to tell the difference between "lie" and "lay" makes me feel like General Pickett charging his doomed division up Cemetery Hill

2 I think euphemisms are just another word for nothing left to lose

3 Having to conjugate an irregular verb feels like a kick in the gut from Jackie Chan

4 I'd rather shoot myself in the foot than be asked when and how to use the possessive case before a gerund

5 Chewing ground glass is more appealing to me than having to write a resume and a letter of application for a job (no matter how good the job sounds)

6 I'd rather dive into a pile of double-edge razor blades than have to distinguish between "who" and "whom."

7 I have to write a 20-page report on employee morale? Beam me up, Scotty

8 Having my finger slammed in a car door is less painful than knowing if I should use an adjective or adverb after a linking verb

9 I'd sit two inches from a speaker playing Whitney Houston when she hits that high C if it would get me out of writing a bad-news business letter

10 Rip out my intestines with a fork? No problem It's far preferable to having to send e-mail to my boss

Bonus: I break into a cold sweat at the very thought of seeing my tenth-grade

English teacher

Take My Word for It

Most of us think the English we

speak is the standard version

People who use other forms,

we think, are speaking dialects

In fact, most of us speak a

dialect, a language that reflects

the speech of a particular region

Answers

All checked Your tenth-grade teacher really did a number on your head,

didn't she?

7 to 9 checked Everything will be okay, baby Mama's here now

4 to 6 checked Help is just a few pages away

1 to 3 checked Liar, liar, pants on fire

None checked Want to write this book for me?

There's no denying that the rules of standard written English are scary, more

frighten-ing than a sail on the Titanic or a night with Michael Jackson English rules are scary,

yes—but difficult, no Hey, you can program a VCR, ride on a New York City subway, and make withdrawals from an ATM You can learn all you need to know to write a

better report, memo, or letter You know your efforts will be repaid manifold, like

compound interest on a CD

Word Power

"Give me a lever long enough and prop strong enough," Archimedes wrote, "and I can single-handed move the world." More than two thousand years later, the celebrated

novelist Joseph Conrad responded: "Do not talk to me of Archimedes' lever He was

an absentminded person with a mathematical imagination Give me the right word

and the right accent, and I will move the world."

These comments are powerful confirmation of the marvel of language For more than three thousand years, people have declared their love, made their demands, pledged

their support, and taken on the 1RS because of the flexibility and beauty of language Millions of us, young and old alike, have turned words into communication thanks to our language We've prayed at its altar, damned its rules, and stretched its limitations We've molded it like so much Silly Putty to conform to our needs

War of the Words

But not everyone worships language with the same enthusiasm "Fine words butter no parsnips," observes an English proverb with noticeably less ebullience Writer Franklin P Adams cranked, "Words mean one thing on Monday and another on Tuesday." And an anonymous Romanian checks in with this saying: "With words alone, you don't make the soup."

6 P a r t i : No Uncertain Terms

That statements about the power of language can contradict each other only serves to prove the ability of language to express a wide variety of feelings and opinions

The force Be with You

Where do you stand on the power of English? Take this instant test to see Put a check next to each statement you agree with

1 Next to sex, language is the most exciting form of communication we have

2 Words are as vital to life as food, drink, and sex, but on the whole we don't show as much interest in language as we do in the other pastimes

3 If you write with confidence, you'll do better in nearly all aspects of your life

4 Using correct English can help you get a better job

5 The phrasing of a sentence has decided the fate of many a friendship, and for all we know, the fate of many a kingdom

6 Knowing how to use English can improve your chances of getting a date

on a Saturday night—a hot date, too

7 People become great leaders through their command of words

8 Much of the mischief in the world arises from words

9 The whole purpose of writing and speech is to be understood

10 You cannot get ahead if you can't write with confidence

11 When words fail, wars begin When the wars finally end, we settle our putes with words

dis-12 Every word we know makes a difference, because every word is an idea

13 Words are the only things that last forever; they are more durable than the hills

14 Words are the most powerful drug we have

15 Every time you write something, you say much more than you think you say

Bonus: True or False: If the art of conversation stood a little bit higher, we would

have a lower birthrate

People who cherish language are not linguistic police who arrest the miscreants who split their infinitives or dangle their participles in public Rather, they are people like you, people who recognize the need to speak and write with confidence

Term Limits

This brings us to the matter of English itself What exactly are the components of

English? There are four standard conventions of written and spoken English:

To the rest of us, grammar is a branch of linguistics that deals with the form and

structure of words It's an attempt to make explicit and conscious what the skilled

writer and speaker of English does intuitively

and unconsciously When people are said to

have "good" or "bad" grammar, the

under-standing is that they choose to obey or ignore

the rules of accepted usage associated with

their language

Grammar is one of the oldest fields of study,

as well as one of the most durable Even

Plato can be labeled an early grammarian,

because he was responsible for dividing

the sentence into subject and verb (onoma

and rheme), a division it has retained

Dazzle your friends; toss this out at the

next cocktail party

You Could Look It Up

Grammar is a branch

of linguistics that deals with the form and structure of words

Take My Word for It

Grammarians are not necessarily writers, but writers must always

be grammarians, whether they are aware of it or not

What Is Usage?

Usage is the customary way we use language in speech and writing Because we use

lan-guage for different purposes, there are a various levels of usage The following table lists the big three

8 P a r t i : No Uncertain Terms

Level of Usage

1 Standard English: formal usage

2 Standard English: informal usage

3 Nonstandard usage

Examples

They have done nothing

They've done nothing

Dey ain't done nothin'

You Could Look It Up

Usage is the customary

way we use language in speech

and writing

The main difference between standard English and nonstandard English appears in the use of pronouns and certain verb forms For example, where a speaker

of standard English would use brought, a speaker of nonstandard English would use brung There are also

several words and expressions that are considered nonstandard, such as slang words

j X ^ _ J / Quoth the Maven

In most cases, substandard usage is associated with the uneducated In a few rare cases, however, people have made substandard usage their trademark Dizzy Dean, a pitcher for the St Louis Cardinals who later became a radio and TV sports broadcaster,

is a case in point Typical of his utterance: "Didn't nobody come around after the game and ask whether we'd throwed or threw the ball in there to make a play We won 'em,

no questions asked."

The following table describes formal usage, informal usage, and nonstandard usage in more detail

The Language Rank and File

Formal

Informal

Business letters, resumes, cover letters, serious speeches, newspaper articles, scholarship Most books, magazines newspapers, business letters, many textbooks, political speeches

Standard verbs, adverbs

with -ly endings, standard

vocabulary, standard punctuation

Standard verbs, adverbs with

-ly endings, standard

vocab-ulary, standard punctuation, contractions, some slang

Level of Usage Uses Characteristics

Nonstandard Conversation, movies, Nonstandard verbs, adverbs

television, radio, comic without -ly, slang words,

strips, regional expressions nonstandard punctuation,

"creative" spelling

The correct level of usage is the one that is appropriate for the occasion For example,

you would use formal usage in a job application letter, resume, and business letter

Informal usage is more fitting for a personal letter, greeting card message, and

conver-sation Even in these days when everything goes, nonstandard usage is as tacky as

• Active and passive voice

• Correct word choice

There's more (isn't there always?), but that's enough to hit you with at once I cover

all these concerns (and more) in Parts 2 and 3

1 0 P a r t i : No Uncertain Terms

What Is Mechanics?

As its name suggests, mechanics is the nuts and bolts of clear writing The six members of

the mechanics gang are as follows:

abbreviations, capitalization,

ital-ics, numbers, punctuation, and

quotation marks

Mechanics allow writers to show the grouping and relationship of words They signal pace and intonation Best of all, they help you say what you mean clearly and so avoid misunderstanding

What Is Style?

In life, personal style is that essential^ ne sais quoi that distinguishes Iman from

Roseanne, Ethel Merman from Pee Wee Herman People with style can wear white shoes after Labor Day and not get arrested by the Style Police; they never have lipstick

on their teeth, toilet paper on their heels, or rings around their collars Heck, they

don't even have to wear collars to look sharp Personal style is the way you dress, walk,

and talk to make an impression on those you meet

In writing, style is an author's distinctive way of writing

Style is made up of elements such as word choice, sentence length and structure, punctuation, figures of speech, and tone Writers might change their style for different kinds of writing and to suit different audi-ences In poetry, for example, writers might use more imagery than they would use in prose (nonpoetry)

You Could Look It Up _,

A writer's style is his or

her distinctive way of writing

Quoth the Maven

When it comes to writing style, the head weenie at the roast was New Yorker writer

E B White In the summer of 1 9 5 7 , White revised and reissued a slender writing book he had used at Cornell, written by his professor, William Strunk Fewer than 1 0 0 pages long, the book has never been out of print since—and with good cause; it's a honey

guide-A Civil Tongue: Standards for Effective Communication

Good writing and speaking meets five basic standards: It's clear, complete, correct, efficient, and effective Here are some examples:

• Clear The reader gets the meaning you, the writer, intended There's no ambiguity

or guesswork; everyone's on the same page I cover issues of clarity in Chapter 19

• Complete Good writing is the bun and the beef; the reader gets the complete

package With effective communication, readers have everything they need to evaluate the message and act on it See Part 5 for these issues

• Correct The writing is free from errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics

There are no bloopers in such areas as spelling, capitalization, word order, and sentence structure All this is covered in Parts 2 , 3 , and 4

• Efficient The words are arranged on the page to save the reader time The

lay-out is clear and crisp, so the message is easy to track Here are the Top Two of page arrangement:

• Organization

• Visual impact

You'll learn all about these

considera-tions in Part 6

Effective Because all the ducks are in a

row, effective writing conveys a positive

image of the writer and his or her

com-pany, organization, or group Because it

treats the reader with consideration,

good writing creates good feelings, too

See Part 6 for more on this

Danger, Will Robinson

Cultural considerations are very important to effective writing and speech Americans, for instance, value direct appeals Check out any of our advertise-ments and you'll see what I mean The Japanese, in contrast, prefer subtle messages where the point must be inferred

The Least You Need to Know

• Grammar is a branch of linguistics that deals with the form and structure of words

• Usage is the customary way we use language in speech and writing The correct level of usage is the one that is appropriate for the occasion

• Mechanics include punctuation, numbers, quotation marks, capitalization, viations, and italics

abbre-• A writer's style is his or her distinctive way of writing

• Good communication is clear, complete, correct, efficient, and effective