The complete idiot guide part 15 ppt

Chapter 9:
Reaching
an
Agreement:
Hatching
Sentence Parts
123
Strictly
Speaking
Many people now use the
plural
personal
pronoun
their
rather
than
the singular personal pro-
nouns
his and
her
with
the singu-
lar
indefinite
pronouns everyone
and everybody, as in "Everyone
take out
their
pepper
spray."
Purists

still
sneer
at this
usage,
so agree
to disagree at your own peril.
3.
Use a plural pronoun when the
antecedents are joined by
and.
This
is
true
even if the antecedents are
sin-
gular.
•
Toody and Muldoon maintain their
svelte
figures
by eating bean
sprouts rather than donuts.
Because
the two singular antecedents
Toody
and
Muldoon
are joined by and,
use
the plural pronoun their.

4.
Antecedents joined by
or, nor,
or correlative conjunctions such as
either/or,
neither/nor
agree with the antecedent closer to the pronoun.
•
Neither Toody nor the other
officers
eat their
jelly
donuts on duty.
Use
the plural pronoun their to agree with the plural antecedent
officers.
•
Neither the other officers nor
Toody
eats
his donuts on duty.
Use
the singular pronoun his to agree with the singular antecedent
Toody.
Notice
that
the verb
eats
must
also

match.
5.
Be sure
that
the pronoun refers directly to the noun. Confusion occurs when the
pronoun can refer to more than one antecedent. If you end up with this mish-
mash,
rewrite the sentence.
Confusing:
Raul saw an ad in last week's newspaper, but he can't seem to
find it.
What
is it
that
Raul can't find: the ad or the newspaper?
Correct:
Raul can't find the ad he saw in last week's newspaper.
6. Avoid sexist
language.
Traditionally, the pronouns he and
his
were used to refer
to
both
men and women. Not any more. The current correct
usage
is he and
she
or
she

and he.
Error:
An
employee
should
turn
in his timesheet every Friday.
Correct:
An
employee
should
turn
in his
or
her timesheet every Friday.
If
the pronoun pairing
necessary
to avoid sexist
language
is cumbersome (and
you
better
believe
that
it will be), try these options:
•
Recast the sentence into third person, they or
them.
For example:

Employees
should
turn
in their timesheets every Friday.
I2*i
PartZ:
Under
the
Grammar
Hammer
•
Recast the sentence into the second person,
you.
For example: You should
turn
in your timesheet every Friday.
•
Try to eliminate the pronoun altogether. For example: Turn in timesheets
every
Friday.
There's more on sexist
language
in Chapter
25.
7.
Always use common
sense.
When
the sentence doesn't seem to fit the rules and
you

can't figure out how to shoehorn it in, don't improvise,
revise!
Rewrite the
sentence to avoid the problem entirely.
Confusing:
The executive director along
with
the marketing vice president
(was,
were?) at odds over the new scheduling system.
Better:
The executive director and the marketing vice president were at odds
over
the new scheduling system.
Nose to the Grindstone
This one should be a snap, given all the facts you've learned about agreement. In each
case,
choose the verb
that
agrees
with
the subject.
Given by the people of
France
to the people of the United States as a symbol of
a
shared
love of freedom and everlasting friendship, the Statue of Liberty
(1
are/is)

the largest freestanding sculpture ever created. It
(2
weigh/weighs)
450,000 pounds
and
(3
rise/rises)
151
feet above its pedestal. More than 100 feet around, Ms. Liberty
(4
boast/boasts)
eyes
2Vi
feet wide, a
mouth
3 feet wide, and a nose
4
!
/2
feet long.
Her upraised right arm (5 extend/extends) 42 feet; her hand (6
are/is)
nearly
17
feet long. Her fingers (7
are/is)
close to 10 feet long. The statue (8 has/have) an
interior framework of iron
that
(9 keep/keeps) it from toppling over. Tourists and

guides
enjoy (10 their/his/her) time
with
this stirring and symbolic landmark.
Answers
1.
is 3.
rises
5. extends 7. are 9. keeps
2.
weighs 4. boasts 6. is 8. has 10. their
The
Least
You Need to Know
•
Agreement means
that
sentence parts match.
•
Subjects must agree
with
verbs and pronouns must agree
with
antecedents.
•
Avoid sexist
language.
Chapter
Dazed and Confused:
Common Usage Dilemmas

In This
Chapter
•
Dangle participles
•
Misplace modifiers
•
Mix metaphors
•
Split infinitives
•
Resolve other perplexing grammar
issues
Once upon a time, when writing styles were more formal than they are
now, some people were very careful never to end a sentence
with
a prepo-
sition.
Even then, however, there were stylistic mavericks who let their
prepositions
fall
with
abandon. Winston Churchill was one of these people.
His secretary, appalled, always revised the drafts of Churchill's speeches to
avoid
ending sentences
with
a preposition. Exasperated, Churchill
finally
sent this message to his secretary: "This is the sort of

English
up
with
which I will not put."
126
Part
Z:
Under
the
Grammar
Hammer
In this chapter, you learn
whether
you should or shouldn't follow Churchill's lead and
conclude a sentence
with
a preposition. You
also
find information on other sticky gram-
mar
issues,
including dangling participles and misplaced modifiers. In addition, I bring
you up to speed on the latest grammar
"rulings"
concerning splitting infinitives, using
hopefully,
and choosing between like or as.
Dangling
Modifiers:
Counterintelligence

What's wrong
with
the following sentence?
Coming up the hall, the clock struck 10.
As
written,
the sentence states
that
the clock was coming up the hall. An ambulatory
clock
is possible, but neither highly likely nor terribly desirable. This misunderstand-
ing
about the clock's power of locomotion occurs because the phrase "coming up the
hall"
has nothing to modify or describe. A phrase
left
twisting in the wind like this is
called
a
dangling
modifier.
Remember
that
a
modifier
is a word or phrase
that
gives
more information about the subject, verb, or
object in a

clause.
A modifier is said to "dangle" when
the word it modifies is not actually in the sentence.
"Coming up the hall" is a dangling modifier because
it cannot be attached to any word in the sentence.
Dangling
modifiers confuse your readers and
obscure your meaning. These errors don't jump out
at you like a spelling blooper or a shark attack;
rather, they sneak up on you like April
15
or middle
age.
And they can be just as deadly.
You Could Look
It Up
A
dangling
modifier is
a
word
or phrase
that
describes
something
that
has been
left
out
of the

sentence.
A
clause
is a
group of words
with
its own
sub-
ject and verb. See Chapter
1
2
for a detailed description of
clauses.
Help
Is
on the Way
Because
the basic problem
with
a dangling modifier is a lack of connection, you must
provide a noun or pronoun to which the dangling construction can be attached.
There are two basic ways to do this:
1.
Rewrite the modifier as a subordinate clause.
Dangling:
Confirming our conversation, the shipment will be ordered on Monday.
Chapter
10:
Dazed
and Confused:

Common
Usage
Dilemmas
127
(According to this sentence, the
shipment—not
the
speaker—confirmed
the
conversation.)
Correct:
As I stated in the memo, the shipment will be ordered on Monday.
2.
Rewrite the main clause so the subject or object can be modified by the now-
dangling
phrase.
Dangling:
Confirming our conversation, the shipment will be ordered on Monday.
Correct:
Confirming our conversation, I have arranged for the shipment to be
ordered on Monday.
Man the
Battle
Stations
Time to play, so let's have some fun. Correct each of these dangling constructions by
rewriting the modifier as a subordinate clause or rewriting the main clause so the sub-
ject or object can be modified by the now-dangling phrase.
1.
Do not sit in the chair
without

being fully assembled.
2.
Locked in a vault for 50
years,
the owner of the coins decided to
sell
them.
3.
Important facts might be revealed when leaving.
4.
Making startling new discoveries in science, the
Renaissance
was a time of rebirth.
5.
While driving down the highway, a bad collision was seen.
6. While eating dinner, a fly slipped into her soup.
7.
The
tomb
of the Egyptian pharaoh commanded attention coming into the exhibit.
8.
Sailing
up the river, the Statue of Liberty was seen.
128
PartZ:
Under
the
Grammar
Hammer
Answers

Possible
responses:
1.
You should not sit in the chair unless it is fully assembled.
2.
The owner decided to sell his coins, which had been locked in a vault for 50
years.
3.
You might reveal important facts when you leave.
4.
The Renaissance was a
time
of rebirth when people made startling new discov-
eries
in science.
5.
While we were driving down the highway, we saw a bad collision.
6. While
Cécile
was eating dinner, a fly slipped into her soup.
7.
The
tomb
of the Egyptian pharaoh commanded our attention as we came into
the exhibit.
8. As we sailed up the river, we saw the Statue of Liberty.
Misplaced
Modifiers:
Lost
and Found

You can lose your car keys, your
temper,
and even your
head—but
please,
don't
mis-
place your modifiers. It's as tacky as a pork chop at a bar mitzvah.
A
misplaced
modifier
is just
that:
a phrase, clause, or word placed too far from the noun
or pronoun it describes. As a result, the sentence
fails
to convey your exact meaning.
But
misplaced modifiers usually carry a double wallop: They often create confusion or
imply something unintentionally funny. This is not a good thing when you want to
make a
competent
impression
with
your writing. Here's an example of
a
misplaced
modifier:
They bought a
puppy

for my sister
they
call
Fido.
modifies.
As
this sentence is
written,
it means
that
the sister, not
You
Could
Look
It
UD
t
^
ie
P
u
PPy'
*
s
name
d
Fido. That's because the
modi-
""'
fier "they call Fido" is in the wrong place in the sen-

tence. To
correct
a misplaced modifier, move the
modifier as close as possible to the word or phrase it
is
describing. Here's how the sentence should read:
They bought a
puppy
they
call
Fido
for my sister.
A
misplaced
modifier
is
a
phrase,
clause,
or
word
placed
too far
from
the
word
or words it
Chapter
10:
Dazed

and Confused:
Common
Usage
Dilemmas
129
It
Says
What?
Study this chart to see how a misplaced modifier can distort a writer's meaning. Then
see
how I moved the modifier so the sentence makes sense.
Sentence
#1:
The patient was referred to a psychologist
with
several emotional problems.
What
the writer thinks it
says:
The patient has emotional problems.
What
the
sentence
really
says:
The psychologist has emotional problems.
Correction:
The patient
with
several emotional problems was referred to a psychologist.

Sentence
#2: Sam found a
letter
in the mailbox
that
doesn't belong to her.
What
the writer thinks it
says:
Sam found a
letter
that
doesn't belong to her.
What
the
sentence
really
says:
The mailbox doesn't belong to Sam.
Connection:
Sam found a
letter
that
doesn't belong to her in the mailbox.
Sentence
#3: Two cars were reported stolen by the Farmingdale police yesterday.
What
the writer thinks it
says:
The Farmingdale police reported two stolen

cars.
What
the
sentence
really
says:
The police stole the two
cars.
Correction:
Yesterday, the Farmingdale police reported
that
two cars were stolen.
Sentence
#4:
Please take
time
to look over the brochure
that
is enclosed
with
your family.
What
the writer thinks it
says:
Look over the brochure
with
your family.
What
the
sentence

really
says:
The brochure is enclosed
with
your family.
Correction:
Please take
time
to look over the enclosed brochure
with
your family.
Sentence
#5: Luis had driven over
with
his wife, Chris, from their home in a Chevy for
the basketball game.
What
the
writer thinks it
says:
Luis and Chris
JÉI11&
/»
nj
~
, ,

A
-a,
•

/-u
*.
u,
JHSHkV
J
Quoth
the
Maven
drove
in
their Chevy to the game.
m
Çjr"
^mVjT^
To avoid these embarrassing
What
the
sentence
really
says:
Luis
and
Chris
^V
sentenœ errofS( p
|
Qœ Q modjfjer
live
in a Chevy.
Collection:

Luis had driven over in a Chevy
with
his wife, Chris, from their home for the
basketball game.
as
close as possible to the
word
it
modifies
or describes. And do
something
about
that
tie, please.
BO
Part
2:
Under
the
Grammar
Hammer
Quiz
Show
It's show time! To see if
you've
got the hang of writing sentences
with
correctly placed
modifiers,
rewrite each of the following

bollixed-up
sentences.
1.
The writer read from his new book wearing
glasses.
2.
You are welcome to visit the cemetery where famous Russian composers, artists,
and
writers are buried daily except Thursday.
3.
As we begin, I must ask you to banish all information about the case from your
mind, if you have any.
4.
A superb and inexpensive restaurant; fine food expertly served by
waitresses
in
appetizing forms.
5.
Many of the trustees congratulated him for his speech at the end of the meeting
and
promised their support.
6. For
sale:
An antique desk suitable for a lady
with
thick
legs
and
large
drawers.

7.
For
sale:
Several very old dresses from grandmother in beautiful condition.
8. Wanted: Man to take care of cow
that
does not smoke or drink.
9. For
sale:
Mixing bowl set designed to please a cook
with
a round
bottom
for
efficient
beating.
10.
We almost made a profit of
$10.
Chapter 10: Dazed and Confused: Common Usage Dilemmas
131
Answers
Did you get these nice clear
revisions?
1.
Wearing
glasses,
the writer read from his new book. (Or: The writer, wearing
glasses,
read from his new book.)

2.
Daily, except Thursday, you are welcome to visit the cemetery where famous
Russian
and Soviet composers, artists, and writers are buried.
3.
As we begin, I must ask you to banish any information about the case from your
mind.
4.
A superb and inexpensive restaurant; fine food in appetizing forms is served
expertly by waitresses.
5.
At the end of the meeting, many of the trustees congratulated him for his speech
and
promised their support.
6. For
sale:
An antique desk with thick
legs
and
large
drawers suitable for a lady.
7.
For
sale:
Several very old dresses in beautiful condition from grandmother.
8. Wanted: Man
that
does not smoke or drink to take care of cow.
9. For
sale:

Mixing bowl set with round bottoms for efficient beating designed to
please
a cook.
10.
We made a profit of almost ten dollars.
Mixed
Metaphors: A Dollar Late and a Day Short
Figures
of speech use words for more than their literal meaning. There are a number
of
different kinds of figures of
speech,
including
hyperbole,
understatement,
personification,
analogies,
similes,
and
metaphors.
Today,
class,
our focus is on the metaphor.
A
metaphor
is a figure of speech
that
com-
pares
two unlike things. The more familiar

thing helps describe the
less
familiar one.
Unlike their first cousins, similes, metaphors
do not use the words like or
as
to make the
comparison.
"My heart is a
singing
bird" is
an
example of
a
metaphor.
You
Could
Look
It Up
A
metaphor is a
figure
of
speech
that
compares two
unlike
things. The more
familiar
thing

helps describe the
less
familiar
one.
132
Part
2:
Under
the
Grammar
Hammer
As
you can tell from the preceding definition, metaphors are innocent creatures
that
never did harm to anyone.
That
being the
case,
how can we explain this abomination:
"I
don't want to say they lost sight of the big picture, but they have marched to a
different drummer," Victor Fortuno, the general counsel of
Legal
Services
Corporation,
said
of the individual lawyer's
challenges.
"Whether
it will upset

the apple cart, I don't know."
Like
the
title
of this section, this
passage
is a
mixed
metaphor,
a
combination of
images
that
do not work
well together. It's like
that
old joke: "Keep your eye
on the ball, your ear to the ground, your nose to the
grindstone,
your shoulder to the wheel: Now try to
work in
that
position." Here are some other mixed
metaphors:
•
Milking the
temp
workers for all they were
worth,
the manager barked orders at

them.
(The first image
suggests
cows; the second,
dogs.
That's one animal too many.)
•
Unless we tighten our belts, we'll sink like a
stone.
You
Could
Look
It
Up
_,
A
mixed metaphor is a
combination of images
that
do
not
work
well
together.
Strictly
Speaking
Mixed metaphors occur when
writers
string
together

clichés.
Don't
string
together
clichés
and
you
won't
get mixed metaphors.
More
on this in Chapter 24.
(Belts
and a stone? I think not.)
•
The fallback was a bulldozer, running up and down the field like an
angel.
(Only
Ali
could float like a butterfly and sting like a bee; this football bulldozer
can't move like an
angel.)
•
The movie weaves a story
that
herds characters and readers into the same camp.
(Let's
not mix spiderwebs and cattle roundups.)
Like
all comparisons, metaphors must contain elements
that

can be compared
logically—
even if not explicitly. The comparison must be consistent as well. Like my sister zoom-
ing
to the sweaters at a department store super
sale,
stay focused on a
single
element
when you create metaphors. Otherwise, you risk creating the dreaded mixed metaphor.
Don't mix your drinks or your metaphors and you'll go far.
Here are two more
suggestions
to help you keep your metaphors straight:
•
Use only a
single
metaphor per paragraph.
•
Make sure the verb matches the action the subject of the metaphor might take.
(For example: a bulldozer driving up the field.)