Arlene Miller's Blog, page 36

Oh, Boy! Adverbial Clauses!

If you weren’t thrilled enough by the post on adjectival clauses last week, just wait until you read this post on adverbial clauses! 

To quickly review:

A clause is a group of words with both a subject and a verb.
Independent clauses are complete sentences. 
Subordinate, or dependent, clauses cannot stand alone and are not sentences. They are added to sentences.
The types of subordinate clauses are adjectival, adverbial, and noun. Adjectival clauses act like adjectives, telling which ones or what kind. Adverbial clauses act like adverbs, telling where or when or how. And noun clauses are used like nouns: as subjects or objects of a sentence.
Adjectival clauses begin with that, who, which, whom.
Noun clauses begin with what, whom, who, whoever, whomever, whatever

Now let’s talk about adverbial clauses.

Adverbial clauses begin with words known as subordinate conjunctions. These are not the same words we usually think of as conjunctions: and, but, so, or, etc. Those conjunctions are called coordinating conjunctions; they tie things together, but they don’t actually belong to any other words in the sentence. 

Subordinate conjunctions actually belong to the clause they begin. These conjunctions include the following: because, although, until, after, before, whenever, since, as if, as though. Here are some sentences with adverbial clauses:

Because the weather is stormy, we won’t be going out.
Although I haven’t read that book yet, it is on my list.
Can you give me a ride since you are going anyway?
I am not lending you money until you prove you can pay it back.
I will feed the dog after I make my own dinner.
Whenever I see that movie, I cry.

As you can see, these clauses have to be added to independent clauses (sentences) to be complete. Otherwise, they are called fragments. Especially troublesome with students is because. Students are sometimes told not to start a sentence with because. Why? They will often stop after the dependent clause and think it is done: Because I didn’t finish my work. Nope. Not a sentence. Because I didn’t finish my work, I am grounded. Yes. Sentence.

There appears to be a new trend, making because a preposition: I can’t go because homework. (Not recommended)

If you look at the examples above, you will also notice that the sentences can be turned around; the subordinate clause can appear at either the beginning or the end of the sentence. (It can also appear in the middle.) Enter problem #2: the comma.

There is always a comma following an adverbial clause that begins a sentence. Generally, there is no comma if the adverbial clause ends the sentence. Why? Introductory elements (words that come before the subject of the sentence) are generally followed by a comma. 

However, adverbial clauses are usually essential, so there is no comma before them when they are at the end of the sentence. Once in a while you will find one that is not really essential, especially those that begin with although:

I was thinking of going to the movies, although I might not if I find something else to do. (not really essential)
I cannot buy this coat until I get paid. (essential)

Figuring out whether or not to put the comma in can be a shade of gray. Often, this is a case where you can test it out with a pause. If you find yourself pausing before the clause, you can probably put a comma in. Most of the time you won’t pause.

Let’s look at some of the examples in the list above:

Because the weather is stormy, we won’t be going out. We won’t be doing out because the weather is stormy. (essential)
Although I haven’t read that book yet, it is on my list. That book is on my list, although I haven’t read it yet. (debatable)
Whenever I see that movie, I cry. I cry whenever I see that movie. (essential)

Note that some of those subordinating conjunctions can also be used as prepositions. In that case, they are not introducing a clause, but a simple prepositional phrase. Look at the differences:

After the game is over, we can eat dinner (clause). After the game we can eat dinner (phrase, no comma needed).

I can stay until 8 o’clock (phrase). I can stay until the clock strikes eight (clause).

 

Noun clauses are pretty simple, so we won’t wait until next week. Here are some examples of noun clauses:

I know who you are. (I know what? The clause is the object of the sentence, but who is the subject of the noun clause.)

Whoever is watering the plants should hold off for a few days.(Whoever is watering the plants is the subject of the sentence. And Whoever is subject of the noun clause.)

I don’t know what you are talking about. (What you are talking about is the object of the sentence: I don’t know what?  And what is the object of the clause; the subject is you.)

Do you know whom he is talking about? (The clause is the object of the sentence? And whom is the object of the clause: He is talking about whom.

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Grammar Diva News

Next week: What Is Going on With Amazon? (Besides Jeff Bezo’s divorce).

What is going on with this blog? I have been writing this blog for six years now. Every single week. I have run several “Best of” months and weeks here and there — and I have had three or four guest posts — but basically, I have been writing a new post every week for six years. I am just about out of ideas. If you have any, or anything YOU want to write about, please let me know at info@bigwords101.com OR bigwords101@yahoo.com. I would like to run the weekly posts at least through 2019. I can only write so many things about grammar, but if there are things you want me to write about, please let me know. I could find interesting articles and link you to them. I could find funny pictures. I could give you quizzes. I could write reviews.  I could have Q&A, except getting any contributions would be like pulling teeth

Adjectival Clauses

In last week’s post   we talked about clauses: what they are, what types there are, and what grammar/punctuation problems they cause.

To review, there are two main types of clauses:

Independent Clauses = complete sentences
Dependent, of Subordinate Clauses = sentence fragments

Independent clauses are not an issue for this post.

There are three types of dependent, or subordinate clauses:

Adjective
Adverb
Noun

This post discusses adjective clauses, or should I call them adjectival clauses since adjectival is the adjectival form of adjective.

There are two types of adjectival clauses:

Restrictive, or essential
Nonrestrictive, or nonessential

Restrictive, or essential, clauses are – as the name suggests – necessary for the meaning of the sentence. Therefore, they are NOT set off with commas. They cannot be left out of the sentence without the sentence becoming less clear. And they are introduced by the word that or who or whom (if referring to a human). 

Here are some essential adjectival clauses:

This is the CD that I was talking about yesterday. Which CD? The clause restricts the CD to the one I was talking about yesterday.
The girl who is sitting in the back row is a great musician. Which girl? Oh, the one in the back row.
The cookies that are on the table are not for sale. Which cookies? The ones on the table.

Sometimes people wonder whether or not they can leave the that out in sentences like #1 above. It’s entirely up to you unless leaving it out makes the sentence less clear. Usually, it doesn’t.

Nonessential adjectival clauses, as the name suggests, are additional information – sort of a “by the way” – and are set off with commas. They are introduced by which or who (or whom).

Here are some nonessential adjectival clauses:

That CD on the table, which I bought yesterday, is by a new French jazz group. Which I bought yesterday is additional information. The important information is that it is by a new French jazz group.
The principal violinist for tonight’s concert, who is sitting in the back row in front of your brother, is an amazing talent. If there were more than one principal violist at tonight’s concert, you might need that clause to identify (restrict) which violinist you mean, but there is probably just one.
Those chocolate chip cookies in the box, which took me all night to bake, are for sale.
That tall man, whom I saw at the museum last week, must live around here because I see him all the time. (Why whom? It is the object of the clause, not the subject. The subject is I: I saw whom at the museum. Try substituting he or him instead of who or whom. Him works, so use whom.)

Next Week: Adverbial Clauses (Betcha can’t wait!)

 

It’s Clauses Month (LAST Month Was Santa Claus Month)

This post is the first in a four-part series about clauses. Clauses cause a lot of problems in grammar and punctuation, as we shall see in the weeks ahead. But first what is a clause?

A clause is a group of words. But then, a phrase is also a group of words. (Then there is the use of the word phrase to mean an idiom or saying, which is a little different from a grammatical phrase).  So what is the difference between a phrase and a clause? A clause is a group of words that must have both a subject and a verb. A phrase doesn’t need both a subject and a verb. Here are some phrases:

my next-door neighbor
inside the box
running around
during the afternoon thunderstorm

Here are some clauses:

who is my next-door neighbor
A toy is inside the box.
Running around the house is great exercise for my dog!
Because the cat hid during the afternoon thunderstorm

Notice that the second and third clauses are complete sentences, but the first and last are not. But each of them has a subject and a verb somewhere: who is, toy is, running is, cat hid

A clause can be a complete sentence. Those clauses are called independent because they can stand alone. But many clauses are not complete sentences. Those clauses are called dependent (or subordinate) because they cannot stand alone.

All sentences are made up of clauses. Simple sentences contain one independent clause. Compound sentences contain two or more independent clauses. Complex sentences contain at least one independent clause and at least one dependent clause.

Simple sentence: I went to the movies with my friends.

Compound sentence: I went to the movies with my friends, and my friends paid my way.

Complex sentence: I went to the movies with my friends, who paid my way.

So what possible problems could arise from clauses?

1. Well, sometimes people pass off dependent clauses as complete sentences. For that reason, many school children are taught not to begin a sentence with because. Now, of course it is fine to begin a sentence with because, but some people end the sentence after the dependent clause and don’t add the independent clause that is necessary to make a complete sentence.

Because I already saw that movie. NOT A SENTENCE. (sentence fragment)

Because I already saw that movie, I don’t really want to see it again. SENTENCE.

If you are writing dialog, of course you can use fragments. You can also sometimes use fragments in your writing to emphasize something. But it helps if you know you are using a fragment and not a complete sentence!

“Why do I have to clean my room?” her daughter asked.

“Because I said so!” replied Mrs. Smith. 

That dialogue is fine. This fragment used for emphasis in informal writing is also fine:

Please try to write in complete sentences when you are writing formal letters. Why? Because we said so!

2. In adjective clauses (subordinate clauses that we will talk about next week), we run into the problem of who, whom, that, and which. Which one do we use for what?  We also run into the problem of “commas or no commas?” Adjective clauses function as adjectives: they describe nouns. For example:

That girl, who is a friend of my cousin’s, is going to Harvard next year. 

3. In adverb clauses (also subordinate clauses), we run into the problem of when to use commas. Adverb clauses function as adverbs: they tell where or when or why. For example:

After we come home from the game, we will eat dinner. 

Then, there are also noun clauses, which hardly anyone ever talks about . . .but we will.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’s YOUR New Year’s Resolution?

Well, first of all, did you know that  people who make New Year’s resolutions tend to be less happy than those who don’t? I guess that makes sense since most resolutions concern making our lives better. Those who are less happy with the way their lives currently are likely feel there is more room for improvement.

I asked my readers and my social media connections to give me their New Year’s resolutions, promising anonymity. Hmm…..I suppose I should be happy that I got very few responses: I must have a very happy, self-satisfied group of friends and readers!

But I did get a few:

Not to feel critical of the writer who makes an error or to think less of him or her, but just to be grateful I am still able to catch the error! (No, that is not my resolution!!)
Give up swearing. (No, that isn’t mine either!)
Resolving that next year I will make a resolution — and I always do! ( Not mine, I swear!)
 Not taking everything to heart and thinking everything is a slight. Life is too short (Okay, that’s mine!)
Not saying anything at all if I have nothing nice to say. (Mine, but very tough!)

According to Statista, these were the most common resolutions for 2018:

Eat healthier.
Get more exercise.
Save more money.
Take care of oneself better, e.g., get more sleep.
Read more.
Make new friends.
Learn a new skill.
Get a new job.
Take up a new hobby.
I am not making any New Year’s resolutions. (32% of us)

45% of us usually make resolutions (almost half of us are unhappy??)

38% of us never do.

17% infrequently do.

So how is the success rate? Well, 75% of resolutions make it through the first week, 71% make it through two weeks, 64% make it past a month, and 46% make it through six months. That is higher than I would expect!

Here are some tips on how to make your resolutions more successful: (These ideas generally make anything you plan to do more successful.)

Be specific: Instead of saying “get in shape, ” say “exercise three times a week.”
Write the resolutions down.
Make a timetable. Establish small goals along the way. 
Don’t give up. If you eat the whole chocolate cake, don’t give up. Just don’t figure you might as well eat one every day now! (I tend to think like that.)
Get support from friends and family —  or whomever you trust has your best interest in mind.

If you are focusing on good health, here are some suggested resolutions  that are easy to accomplish from Good Housekeeping.

Add more citrus to your grocery cart.
Eat lots of veggies.
Book all your doctor visits for the year. What are you due for?
Confide your resolutions to one friend only.
Become a plant owner. Plants are calming. 
Forget multitasking. Do one thing at a time. (Yeah, sure.)
Scent your environment. Peppermint gives you energy. Lavender reduces stress.
Climb the stairs.
Decorate with memorabilia, for example, old family pictures.
Sanitize your phone weekly. (good one!)
Plan a vacation. At least two a year is healthiest.
Practice yoga.
Listen to novels while you work out.
Volunteer.
Delegate more chores.
Keep clutter out of the kitchen.
Wear workout gear that makes you feel good.
Explore new hobbies.
Listen to upbeat music.
Be sure to take a lunch break.
Donate old clothes. Don’t keep those size 4 jeans until you can get into them again!
Switch up your exercise routine.
Give yourself more compliments.
Spend less time glued to your phone.
Learn a new skill.
Keep up-to-date with current events. (Well, maybe not.)
Meditate every day.
Go to bed on time.
Get some new workout shoes.
Write to yourself. And be kind when you do.

Happy New Year from The Grammar Diva!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Illustrated 26 Words of Christmas

An angel on your tree . . .

 

 

 

 

 

The ringing of Christmas bells . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cookies in the oven  . . .

 

 

 

 

 

Donner, Dasher, and Dancer . . . 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An elegant Christmas table . . .

 

 

 

 

 

Frost on the lawn . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gifts  . . .

 

 

 

 

Holly on the mantel . . .

 

 

 

 

Icicles dripping  . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joy . . . 

 

 

 

 

 

A cozy, aroma-filled kitchen . . . 

 

 

 

 

 

Lights on the houses . . . 

 

 

 

 

 

Mistletoe for a kiss or two . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Neighbors bustling to and fro . . .

 

 

 

 

Opening gifts . . .

 

 

 

 

 

Presents . . .Surprise!

 

 

 

 

 

The quiet of Christmas Eve . . .

 

 

 

 

 

Reindeer . . . and a sleigh, of course . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

And Santa’s on his way . . .

 

 

 

 

 

Toys under the tree . . . 

 

 

 

 

 

Underwear . . . not a favorite gift  for many . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

Volunteering . . . a special gift to give at Christmas . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

Windows decorated with cheer . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

X-tra treats for friends . . . 

 

 

 

 

 

Yule logs . . . to eat and to watch . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zzz’s . . . and to all a goodnight . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let me take a moment to say that the “ideal” holiday season depicted here is not true for many of us. This season is also a lonely time for many.  A stressful time for many. We may not have family…places to go…parties to be at.  Angels are those who reach out to others. Bell-ringers stand and collect for those who don’t have as much as others. Cookies are brought to neighbors for good cheer.  Dasher, Donner, and Dancer are only characters in a story for some children. An elegant table is just a dream for some. Frosty relationships make for stressful holidays, and gifts are sometimes out of reach to buy. Icicles can hurt when they fall, and joy is something some can only dream of. Some kitchens are not full of loving family and friends, and the light has gone out of some people’s lives. There may be mistletoe, but no one to love — and neighbors whom we don’t know. Some children don’t know what it is to open presents. The quiet for some is merely loneliness. There are no reindeer, no Santa, and no toys. Underwear is appreciated by those who still need the necessities. Volunteers can bring joy into otherwise lonely windows. Xtra treats are too much to wish for for the animals in shelters waiting to be adopted. For many, the Yule log doesn’t burn brightly, and the zzz‘s pass the time until the lonely holidays are past and a new year begins. 

I wrote that because I felt it necessary to mention that the holidays are not wonderful for everyone, and I needed to show the other side. And then there are those of us who celebrate other holidays — so happy Chanukah and Kwanza and any I forgot or don’t know about!

I hope you all have a holiday filled with love.

 

Talents and Limitations

I like to think I know my limitations. And I tend to dislike and envy — at the same time — those who don’t know theirs. 

For example, I am a copyeditor, so I look at other people’s writing. Writing seems to be one of those things that most everyone thinks they can do. (I know I just used the singular they. Sometimes it just works better.) But not so much with things like opera singing and ballroom dancing. 

So I run across people who think they can write fiction, for example. Sometimes their grammar is not up to snuff, they switch from one point of view (I) to another (he) within a paragraph, the dialog is unnatural, or the plot impossible to follow. Or the book is just too plain boring for anyone to enjoy. And no, I don’t claim to be a great fiction writer. Much of it is because I have no training in it. I have little practice in it. I don’t consider myself a primo storyteller. If I were more interested in trying it, would I be better? Yes. Would I be great? Maybe, but maybe not.

So are these things natural talents or learned . . . or both? Do those limitations we put on ourselves actually prevent us from becoming great, or do you need some talent to begin with? Do people tend to be interested in doing the things they are good at, thus becoming better? And not so interested in things they have little skill in, so they never develop that skill?  I am just asking and pondering. I don’t necessarily have answers.

As for me, I think I am a good writer of the type of thing I write: nonfiction, instructional things. I explain things well, which is why I also think I have some talent as a teacher. Classroom noise control? No talent at all. I have always had a talent for grammar, and I was great at Latin. But I couldn’t learn French worth a damn. I was a middling at best ballet dancer, but that is something that also takes a certain type of body, certain types of muscles . . . but maybe all skills are basically like that.

I took piano lessons as a kid. I was decent at it. I practiced as little as I could get away with. If I had practiced six hours a day, would I ever have been able to be a concert pianist? Who knows? Were my hands too small, my fingers too short?  Maybe.

I was, and to some extent still am, a pretty great tap dancer. I had the natural sense of rhythm and the fast feet to be really good. If I had stuck with it instead of getting married and raising a family, my priority, I could maybe have become as well-known as some of the tap dancers I know. On the other hand, I wouldn’t have become a ballerina or Olympic ice skater no matter what I did.

When I was in my 20s, I decided I wanted to be on Broadway. No, I had no acting talent to speak of, but I did a lot of jazz dance. So, I figured I would need to learn how to sing. So I started taking voice lessons. My teacher said I was a “natural.” I knew I wasn’t, and she was likely depending on the money I paid her for private lessons. But if I had stuck with it, I might have been trainable to have a good enough voice to sing on Broadway — in a chorus. 

Some people exaggerate their skills. They think they are great writers, but their editors think they are not. They think they are great editors, but their writers are not pleased.

Sometimes it is the parents who think their kids are great, whereas the kids know better. Kids can usually tell that they aren’t the best ballerina in the class or the best ice skater in the competition. I have been on both sides of those situations!

We have all seen kids with special talent. There is that special talent that is not common. Lots of kids can be trained to ice skate perhaps, but I have seen kids with amazing talent that is natural and not a result of training. It comes from within. (Since my daughter is a skater, I am familiar with that particular world.) I have a friend who has a niece who is 11 or 12. She is an amazing pianist. She can play, after a year or two of lessons, what it took me 6 years to play . . . and much better. She is a special talent. I am addicted to those television talent shows. There are some kids of 13 who sing like adults — and as good as big stars — without any lessons. There are people with really special talent. 

But there are people who succeed at this type of endeavor with hard work too. I can recall two such instances. When I was tap dancing (as an adult), there was a woman in my class who was okay, but nothing special. I was much better. Her rhythm was questionable and she just didn’t sound very good. Well, she made it to a performing career through a lot of hard work. I couldn’t believe how far she got. And she didn’t have an extreme amount of natural talent. 

When my daughter was competitive ice skating, there was a girl who was a bit younger and hadn’t been skating as long. She was  —  I hate to say it — terrible —  but she was. Her family had enough money to train her to be good, but would money be enough? Would hard work be enough? Her mother saw at this girl’s first competition that she was terrible. Within two days, she switched her daughter to a rink that was more challenging and trained more competitive skaters. I guess her mother blamed the coaching and not a lack of ability. Well, I can tell you that this girl eventually went to sectionals, if not nationals, and became an amazing skater. So what is it? Good training? Hard work? Natural ability? In this case, all of it.

I have no conclusions here. The topic came to mind because I am involved in things that require talent, and I tend to be rather modest. Other people seem to brag about their accomplishments, and I think they are more successful. It is not infrequently that I feel like a real underachiever. Perhaps many of our limitations are the limitations we put on ourselves.

I would love to hear your comments on any of the ideas brought up in this post. I would also like to hear your past or present New ‘s Resolutions for my New Year’s blog post in a couple of weeks. Please e-mail those to me at info@bigwords101.com or bigwords101@yahoo.com. For comments on this post, just use the comment form.

In 2019 I think I will write more about grammar, punctuation, and word usage. However, if you have an idea for a blog post on anything related, please e-mail me — even a book review might be a blog post idea.

Remember that books make great holiday gifts — both mine and every other author’s!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Respect My Authority!!!!

As a copyeditor and grammarian, I sometimes find myself having to defend my position on a point of grammar or punctuation.

For example, someone will ask me why I took out the comma before too at the end of the sentence:

I want to go to Paris too.

Or they will tell me they learned to put only an apostrophe to indicate a possessive in a word that ends with s:

This is Thomas’ book. (I will change it to Thomas’s.)

Or they will ask me if there is a comma after a short introductory phrase like of course:

Of course I will watch your dog for you.

And then, there is the debate about the Oxford comma:

For breakfast I had eggs, ham, toast, vodka and orange juice. OR
For breakfast I had eggs, ham, toast, vodka, and orange juice.

Mimosa or no????

There are no real answers to these questions.

You may remember that the title of this post is a quote by Cartman from South Park.

Here are some facts:

English is the official language of 67 countries (although not the United States).
English is the third most commonly spoken language in the world (after Mandarin and Spanish). 
Over 80% of the information stored on computers worldwide is in English.

AND . . . English is the only language that has no AUTHORITATIVE organization guiding it. 

French has the Academie Francaise.
Spanish has the Real Academia Espanola.
German has the Rat fur Deutsche Rechtschreibung.

These organizations are responsible for controlling the evolution of their respective languages in terms of usage, vocabulary, and grammar. Here is a more complete list of such organizations.

What English has are a bunch of dictionaries and a host of style guides. Dictionaries may disagree on spelling, hyphenation, and capitalization. Style guides generally do not handle grammar per se, but punctuation (some, like Oxford commas), capitalization (sometimes), and issues such as writing headings and doing citations. Often when you write something, you will be following a certain style guide, i.e., The Chicago Manual of Style or the Associated Press Stylebook. Many companies have their own style guides with terminology, jargon, and writing standards that may be specific to them, so if you work there you may be following their style guide as well as a more general style guide (like Chicago).

Style guides don’t really handle grammar. A dangling participle is always going to be a dangling participle. No style guide is going to say these sentences are okay:

While still in diapers, my mother remarried.
Freshly painted, I picked up my car at the shop.

And no style guide will disagree that spoken is the past participle of speak, or have gone is the past participle of go.

I have spoke to him many times. (NO)
I have went to Europe three times. (NO)

In English, there are different style guides for different types of writing:

AP  (Associated Press) style for journalism and most forms of corporate communications
USGPO style or AGPS style for government publications
The Chicago Manual of Style for academic publishing — and for when there is no other guide you need to follow
APA  (American Psychological Association) style for the social sciences
AMA (American Medical Association) style for medicine
Bluebook style for legal citations
MLA (Modern Language Association) for academic theses, particularly for citations

Then, there are the other guides that are, or have been, popular:

Kate Turabian (I remember this one from my college days.)
Strunk and White (meh! Similar to my first book, but mine is friendlier, I think.)
Gregg Reference (I love this one.)

So, if you are wondering who makes the rules of the English language, the answer is no one (or everyone).

Please Read These Important Notes from The Grammar Diva!

I have heard from people that my posts are not coming through on e-mail every week. If you are not receiving my posts by e-mail, and you have signed up, and you used to get them, please let me know by e-mail: info@bigwords101.com
If you signed up to subscribe for my blog posts, and you don’t get them, make sure you have gone into your e-mail and confirmed that you want them. Many people skip this step, and if you do, you won’t get the blog posts. This is the necessary double opt-in.
To prepare for my New Years post, I would like you all to send me your New Year’s resolutions, especially if they are out of the ordinary, but even if they are the usual ones. You can also include past resolutions. I am making a list (no names) and checking it twice. Please e-mail them to info@bigwords101.com. Please DO NOT write them as a comment to this post. You can send the resolutions right through Christmas and beyond. 
My offer still holds. If you would like a signed copy of any of my books for the holidays, just e-mail me at that same address: info@bigwords101.com. If you would prefer to buy online, remember that my books make great stocking stuffers for your word-loving friends, students, educators, and who knows who else?

 

 

 

Writing Lists: Part 2

Two weeks ago we talked about writing lists: how to make the items in the list parallel and how to punctuate a horizontal list. Today we will talk about punctuating vertical lists.

Let’s start with the introduction to the list. Sometimes the introduction is a sentence; other times it isn’t. Here are a few possible intros for the same list:

Here are the ingredients for the chocolate cake:
The following ingredients are needed for make the chocolate cake:
The ingredients for the chocolate cake are as follows:
The ingredients for the chocolate cake are
The ingredients for the chocolate cake:
The following are needed for the chocolate cake: 

Those introductions are all fine. Well, almost all. In  #6, we used to say not to use the word following without it describing something as in #2. Following here is an adjective, so it really needs a noun.   And #1 is okay, but it is never best to begin a sentence with there is or here is, although it is not grammatically incorrect to do so. 

The punctuation for those introductions is also correct. Since the word following isn’t used in #1, you could technically use a period instead of a colon, but why would you? A colon tells you to expect a list. Notice that there is no colon in #4, which resembles the horizontal list in the first post in this series (The ingredients for the chocolate care are flour sugar, eggs, milk, and cocoa.). Could you put a colon in #4? Since it stands by itself, it would be okay to use a colon, but you certainly don’t need to. The rule, when we talked about the horizontal lists, was not to use the colon after a verb. Now look at #5. This intro is not a complete sentence like all the others (except #4). However, it doesn’t end in a verb either. It definitely needs a colon, but it sounds kind of wonky to me anyway. 

Moving on  . . .  how do you punctuate the items in the list? 

If the items are each complete sentences, they need a period. Or, if they happen to be questions (it could happen), they need question marks. Single-word list items and phrases should not get periods after them.

The following ingredients are needed for the chocolate cake:

flour
sugar
eggs
milk
baking powder

Perform the following steps to change the batteries:

Open the battery door with a screwdriver.
Remove the used batteries.
Insert two new AA batteries following the guidelines for plus and minus ends.
Close the battery door with the screwdriver. 

Should you use bullets or numbers? If you are listing steps and the order is important, use numbers. Also, if you are saying how many items you are presenting, you might also want to use numbers (Here are the five ingredients you need for the pie:) Otherwise, you can just use bullets. But you don’t even need bullets. Usually items are indented for ease of reading and to show off the items as being in a list.

If you want, you can do a vertical list much as you do a horizontal list:

The ingredients for the cake are

     flour,

     sugar,

     eggs, 

     milk,

     baking powder, and

      cocoa.

That list is perfectly fine. It would probably also be fine with no punctuation at all, but I think it would look a little bare. 

 

Grammar Diva News

I did it! I wrote a 50K-word book in 24 days, winning NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) with six days to spare. I printed out my certificate and already have my winner’s tee shirt (which you do have to pay for). Now the hard work begins: making the book into something decent and readable. It is a very rough draft.

However, I plan to make it a good read, and I have put it up for preorder with a tentative release date of May 1, 2019 (maybe sooner??) It is not yet available as a Kindle preorder because they accept preorders only 90 days in advance. However, it is available so far on Nook, Kobo, and iBooks.

Order on Nook

Order on Kobo

Order on iBooks

 
 
 
 
 
 
Books Make Great Holiday Gifts and Stocking Stuffers!

If you would like to order a personally signed copy of any of my books, please e-mail me at info@bigwords101.com. Free shipping!

Thanksgiving . . . and Beyond

Thanksgiving . . . some quotes you might enjoy:

 

An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day – Irv Kupcinet

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it –  William Arthur Ward
 
I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose – Woody Allen

 

When you practice gratefulness, there is a sense of respect toward others –  Dalai Lama
 
Gratitude turns what we have into enough. ~Author Unknown
 
Grace isn’t a little prayer you chant before receiving a meal. It’s a way to live – Attributed to Jacqueline Winspear
 
We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures – Thornton Wilder
 
The struggle ends when the gratitude begins – Neale Donald Walsch
 
Wherever I have knocked, a door has opened. Wherever I have wandered, a path has appeared – Alice Walker, In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens(Acknowledgments)
 
My socks may not match, but my feet are always warm – Maureen McCullough
 

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy
 
In this world of sin and sorrow there is always something to be thankful for; as for me, I rejoice that I am not a Republican. ~H.L. Mencken (a little Thanksgiving humor)

Thank you to these websites for the quotes!

http://quotegarden.com

https://www.brainyquote.com

 

and Beyond . . .

Here is a reprint of an article I hope you enjoy — now that you might be thinking about holiday gifts:

The holidays are upon us, and once again you are stumped. What do you get someone who apparently has everything? Or at least has the money to buy everything? What do you buy someone you don’t know so well? Books, that’s what! Why? Here are some great reasons:

Books are easy to get. You can get them in a store or online and you can have them delivered anywhere. You can even mail them book rate and save some money.
Books are easy to wrap! No weird shapes! That helps people who wrap the way I do! They also fit nicely in gift bags.
Books come in a huge variety of prices from the very inexpensive on up.
You can buy books for any age recipient, from an infant to a senior — and you can generally tell, or find out, the ages the book was intended for.
You can buy books for any gender of recipient.
Everyone is interested in something, and there is always a book for that “something.” If you don’t know what that something is, there are always bestsellers that interest most everyone.
Books keep on giving. If you like a book, you can then share it with someone else, who can then share it with someone else. Then, you can donate it.
Books are entertaining. Books can take you into a new world — if even for just a little while.
Books are very portable. Especially ebooks. They travel well and fill time well.

Books are educational!


If you would like to purchase a signed copy of any of The Grammar Diva’s books, please send me an e-mail at bigwords101@yahoo.com
Free shipping. Sorry, but shipping only to the United States. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Writing Lists: Part 1

There are basically two types of written lists: horizontal lists and vertical lists. Many people have questions about capitalizing and punctuating lists. 

Here is a horizontal list:

These are the ingredients for the cake: flour, sugar, eggs, baking powder, cocoa, oil, and cinnamon.

Here is a vertical list:

These are the ingredients for the cake:

     flour

     sugar

     eggs

     baking powder

     cocoa

     oil

     cinnamon

Does it matter whether you use a vertical list or a horizontal list? No. However, in this case, where you have a single word as a list item and no particular order to the list items, a horizontal list makes sense — and saves a lot of space.

The one thing that sometimes trips people up with horizontal lists like the one above is the punctuation. Look at this similar “list” of the same items:

The ingredients for the cake are flour, sugar, eggs, baking powder, cocoa, oil, and cinnamon.

Note that there is no colon in this list. It is different from the first list:

These are the ingredients for the cake: flour, sugar, eggs, baking powder, cocoa, oil, and cinnamon.
The ingredients for the cake are flour, sugar, eggs, baking powder, cocoa, oil, and cinnamon.

In list 1, cake ends a sentence, so you use a colon before the list items.  These are the ingredients for the cake is a complete sentence.

In list 2, the ingredients for the cake are is not a sentence; the list of items completes the sentence, so you use no colon.

In other words: Don’t use the colon after a verb (are is a verb in list 2).

It doesn’t matter at all which way you want to write that list. Just know when the colon would be incorrect. As far as the Oxford comma before and cinnamon, well, that is up to you, but I would use it. 

Although it is important in horizontal lists, parallelism of list items is even more important in a vertical list where you are likely to have longer list items.  Parallelism in list items simply means that all your list items are of the same grammatical structure. If one item in your list is a complete sentence, all items should be complete sentences. If one item is a phrase, all items should be phrases. And they should all be structured the same way.

Here is a vertical list that is not parallel:

These items will be discussed at the meeting:

     Raises

     Layoffs

     Ad campaigns

     Whether or not we will have a Christmas party

The last item is a clause. Christmas party would be parallel to the rest of the items. 

Here is another vertical list that is not parallel:

Here are some ideas I have for our vacation:

We will visit the zoo.
We will hike through the canyon.
We will rent bicycles and ride through the countryside.
Eating out at five-star restaurants is fun too. 

Once again, the last item is not parallel with the others. Although the items are all complete sentences, the last one is not structured the same way and doesn’t seem to fit. 

Here is another list that is not parallel:

Here are some ideas I have for our vacation:

visiting the zoo
hiking through the canyon
a bicycle ride through the countryside
eating out at five-star restaurants

This time item #3 is written in a different structure. It’s not too bad, but it still is not parallel (riding a bicycle through the countryside).

And here is a horizontal list that isn’t parallel:

We need someone to hang the decorations, pick up the cake, set up the chairs, and pouring the drinks. 

What about numbers versus bullets? You don’t need numbers or bullets. You can just indent your items to make them stand out. Bullets are always fine too. Numbers are preferable when your list items need to be in a certain order, or when the number of items is significant (for example, if your lead-n sentence is Five Things to Do in Paris). 

Next week will be the annual Thanksgiving post (even if we are a day or two late). In two weeks, watch for Lists Part 2, which will include the punctuation and capitalization of lists.

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Grammar Diva News

As I mentioned before, I am participating in NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, the goal of which is to write a 50,000 word novel (or 50,000 words of a longer novel) in the month of November. I am actually writing a memoir, so I am called a Nano Rebel, but that’s okay! I am now up to over 34,000 words.  Because I am writing so fast, the draft manuscript will need a lot of work! However, I will be putting the book up for pre-sale on Kindle and other online readers (you can’t offer pre-sales on Amazon for paperbacks) probably next week. I promise you a good read. I am aiming for May 1, 2019, release date.