Arlene Miller's Blog, page 54

Commas Part 6: Interrupting Phrases

The turkey is almost gone, the stuffing a memory . . . time to resume talking about commas! Last time we talked about commas, we talked about using them to set off words that interrupted a sentence. Today, the topic is phrases that interrupt a sentence and when you use commas . . . and when you don’t.

A phrase is a small group of words that belong together. They do not make a sentence.  We will talk about using commas to set off these types of phrases: idiomatic, appositives, prepositional, and participial.

 Idiomatic phrase – I know, by the way, where you were last night.
Appositive phrase – Dr. Caprone, my next door neighbor, is out of town for the summer.
Prepositional phrase – The cat in the window is very cute.
Participial phrase – The man, chasing his dog down the street, was unable to catch the dog until they had run five blocks.

Idiomatic phrases – Idioms are common sayings. Here are some phrases that are idioms: for example, in my opinion, by the way, as you know (which is actually a clause, but still an idiom). You would generally set these off in commas when they are in the middle of a sentence (and use a comma before them if they end the sentence).

This dress, in my opinion, is better made than the other one.
That movie, by the way, won nine Academy Awards.
This test, as you know, counts for half your grade.

Appositive phrases – An appositive phrase generally describes a noun that comes right before it. An appositive phrase usually is set off in commas. As we said in the post that talked about interrupted words, a single word used as appositive is not always set in commas.

Mr.  Jamison, my math teacher, is really tough.
My sister, a student at Boston University, is coming home for the holidays.
The lead in the play, the girl with the bright red hair, is very talented.
My brother Edward is the tallest member of the family. (If you have more than one brother, you need to identify which one, so Edward is necessary and is not set off.)

Prepositional phrases – Prepositional phrases tell where, when, or what kind and are made up of a preposition, sometimes an article, and then a noun or pronoun. Like an appositive phrases, a prepositional phrase often describes a noun that comes before it. You don’t use commas around prepositional phrases as a rule:

The cat with the white spots is my newest pet.
That blue suit in the window is the one we have chosen for the groom.
The book on the table is due at the library.

Participial phrases – These phrases also describe a noun or pronoun in the sentence. They consist of a participle (a word that looks like a verb with an -ing ending or a past tense form) and words that go with it. Sometimes you set such a phrase off with commas and other times you don’t. It depends on whether or not the phrase is necessary to identify the noun it describes. Here are some examples.

The boy running faster than the rest of the crowd is my classmate. (Which boy?  If you need the phrase to identify him, do not use commas.)
My mother, carefully putting on her makeup, is getting ready for a wedding. (You don’t need the phrase to identify your mother.)
This game, missing some pieces, isn’t able to be played any more.
That cat, sitting in the middle of the street, is in a dangerous spot.
The cat sitting in the middle of the street belongs to my neighbor.

Can you go by the old rule of using commas when you would pause? Yes, that method of deciding actually works much of the time with these phrases. There is sometimes a fine line between using a comma and not — and it seems that it could go either way. Do the best you can in these cases. Grammar and punctuation is more of an art than a science!

Next week we will talk about adjective  phrases and commas. I bet you can’t wait!

 

 

Fifty Shades of Grammar: Scintillating and Saucy Sentences, Syntax, and Semantics is now available. You can find it on Amazon and all other online retailers. Bookstores can order it from Ingram. You can also order it from your favorite brick and mortar bookstore, and Copperfields bookstores in Sonoma County will likely stock it — Petaluma definitely will.

Thank you for making The Best Grammar Workbook Ever an Amazon bestseller. I hope this book can follow in its footsteps. 

Fifty Shades of Grammar is a collection of fifty of my blog posts. It is divided into eight sections: grammar, punctuation, words, writing, holidays, quizzes,  random topics, and the “fifty shades” series of posts. Here are just some of the post titles included:

Don’t Dangle Your Participles!
Which. That. Who, Help!
A Toast to the Semicolon
Apostrophe Catastrophes
Can You Spell These Words?
There Is Nothing to Fear
Five Tips for Great Writing: TOMAS
The Seven Deadly Sins of Writing
National Grammar Day Is March 4!
Some Real Grammar Turkeys: Happy Thanksgiving!
The Alien in Your Future (My Favorite Post)
People Say the Darndest Things
Fifty Shades of Grammar, Parts I, II, III, and Finale

Fifth Shades of Grammar would make a great holiday gift for your favorite word lover! Retail price is $15. It is 211 pages long.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, or at least a peaceful one.

 

 

 

 

Thanksgiving Chuckles

I thought you might like a chuckle of two before Thanksgiving. I didn’t write these, and some may not be politically correct.  Just saying . . . and we will get back to commas next week!

Some Thanksgiving thoughts . . .

I celebrated Thanksgiving in an old-fashioned way. I invited everyone in my neighborhood to my house, we had an enormous feast, and then I killed them and took their land.  Jon Stewart

Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread and pumpkin pie. Jim Davis

Thanksgiving is an emotional holiday. People travel thousands of miles to be with people they only see once a year. And then discover once a year is way too often. Johnny Carson

Thanksgiving Day, a function which originated in New England two or three centuries ago when those people recognized that they really had something to be thankful for — annually, not oftener — if they had succeeded in exterminating their neighbors, the Indians, during the previous twelve months instead of getting exterminated by their neighbors, the Indians. Mark Twain

Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence.  Erma Bombeck

An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day. Irv Kupcine

I love Thanksgiving turkey . . . it’s the only time in Los Angeles that you see natural breasts. Arnold Schwarzenegger

The thing I’m most thankful for right now is elastic waistbands.Unknown Author

Most turkeys taste better the day after; my mother’s tasted better the day before. Rita Rudner

 

Here I am 5 o’clock in the morning stuffing bread crumbs up a dead bird’s butt.  Roseanne Barr

Cooking Tip: Wrap turkey leftovers in aluminium foil and throw them out.  Nicole Hollander

I come from a family where gravy is considered a beverage.  Erma Bombeck

 

Some one-liners . . .

Why can’t you take a turkey to church? They use FOWL language.

Why was the Thanksgiving soup so expensive? It had 24 carrots.

What happened when the turkey got into a fight? He got the stuffing knocked out of him!

What do you get when you cross a turkey with a banjo? A turkey that can pluck itself!

Who doesn’t eat on Thanksgiving? A turkey because it is always stuffed.

Dear Turkeys, don’t worry… they only love us for our breasts too. Sincerely, women.

 If the Pilgrims were alive today, what would they be most famous for? Their AGE.

Why do pilgrims pants keep falling down? Because their belt buckles are on their hats!

Why did they let the turkey join the band? Because he had the drumsticks.

 What did the mother turkey say to her disobedient children? “If your father could see you now, he’d turn over in his gravy!”

What did the turkeys sing on Thanksgiving Day? God save the kin.

Which side of the turkey has the most feathers? The outside.

Why did the turkey cross the road? It was the chicken’s day off!

What do you call a pilgrims vocabulary? Pilgrammar. (UGH!)

How do Rednecks celebrate Thanksgiving? Pump kin!(double UGH!)

 What do you get if you divide the circumference of a pumpkin by its diameter? Pumpkin pi.

And more chuckles . . .

My husband doesn’t think housework is a full-time job. So for Thanksgiving I served him a raw turkey because revenge is a dish best served cold.

 If you didn’t want to sit at the kids’ table then you shouldn’t have seen the new Twilight movie.

I never understood why the Lions and Cowboys always get to play on Thanksgiving. Shouldn’t the Patriots play the Redskins, and then steal their stadium. (Ouch! I didn’t write these.)

 If I was a turkey, I’d be doing everything I could to taste terrible right now.

On Thanksgiving Day, all over America, families sit down to dinner at the same moment . . . halftime. My aunt is bringing her homemade cranberry sauce to our Thanksgiving dinner, and my uncle is bringing his blatant racism!

Want to really freak someone out? Add 2 extra turkey legs to the turkey when it’s in the oven.

For the first time, we are going to have a HAPPY Thanksgiving. This year, I am stuffing the turkey with Prozac!

There is no sincerer love than the love of food. ~ George Bernard Shaw

Thanks to the following websites:

Jokes 4 Us.com

Quotations.about.com

Thanksgivingsayings.net

Happy Thanksgiving from The Grammar Diva to you and yours.

 

 

 

 

Commas Part 5: Interrupting Words

In last week’s post, we talked about introductory words, phrases, and clauses that should be followed by commas at the start of a sentence. Well, the same types of things can be found in the middle of a sentence as well. In this post, we are going to talk about words that can come in the middle of the sentence and interrupt the sentence, so to speak. We will talk about phrases and clauses in the middle (and end) of sentences in the next posts.

Sometimes we put commas around interrupting words. And then, sometimes we don’t. The general rule is that if the word is added information and not necessary to the meaning of the sentence, use commas around it. Make sure you use two commas, one before and one after.

 1.You don’t usually find transition words like first, next, last, and finally in the middle of a sentence, but you could. And when they are in the middle of a sentence, you generally would not use commas, because they are now adverbs or adjectives and not really transition words:

I next put the chocolate into the batter.
I see that you finally bought a new car.
The step that I would do last is making the frosting.

But in a compound sentence you might have a transition word “in the middle.”

I put the chocolate into the batter, and, finally, I made the frosting.
I put the chocolate into the batter, and finally I made the frosting.

That example above could go either way. The first sentence shows finally being used as a transition word. The second example, without the commas, seems to use finally as a simply adverb. Either way is fine.

2. However, however, often appears in the middle of a sentence. It generally is set off with commas.

I know, however, that it was you who stole the cookies! (You could write the same sentence with however at the beginning and just put a comma after it.)
I know you stole the cookies, however, and I am going to punish you. Also correct.
I know you stole the cookies, however, I will let you go this time! NOT correct.

Watch out with words like however and therefore. Look at the words before however in the third sentence above: they make a complete sentence. Now look at the words after however: they also make a complete sentence. There is no conjunction; however is not a conjunction that can connect two sentences. Neither is therefore. You need a conjunction, a semicolon, or a period before however, or you have a run-on sentence. Look at the correct examples with however: if you take however out, you have one sentence that makes sense. (for example, I know you stole the cookies, and I am going to punish you.)

3. You don’t usually find words like yes, no, well, or oh in the middle of a sentence. They are generally used at the beginning, so don’t worry about those. Well, I guess you could find yes or no.

I suppose, yes, you could do that.
I told her that no, she couldn’t go tonight.

4. You might have a name in the middle of a sentence. It could be direct address (calling someone by name – talking to them), in which case you would set the name off in commas.

I asked you, June, to clean up after yourself.
Do you think, Professor Jones, that I could have an extension on my thesis?

But what about this?

My brother John is visiting for Christmas.

Do you set off John with commas? It depends. What do you think the difference is between these two sentences?

My brother John is visiting for Christmas.
My brother, John, is visiting for Christmas.

In the first sentence John is necessary. You can’t leave it out, so it has no commas. Why can’t you leave it out? But in the second sentence, because John is set off with commas. It is not necessary;  it is added information. Why?

The most obvious answer here is that in the first sentence you have more than one brother, so you need to identify him. In the second example, you have only one brother, so his name is additional information.

My wife, Nina, is cooking dinner for the entire family tonight.

Unless you are on Sister Wives, Nina is likely your only wife, so you can set her name off; it’s added information and not identifying which wife.

5. Occasionally you will have other types of words that need to be set of. You might have a participle or a one-word appositive.

A participle, if you remember, is an adjective, but it is made from a verb. Present participles are end in -ing and function as adjectives rather than as the verb in the sentence.  Past participles have the same function, but end in -ed (or are created however the past tense of the particular verb is, for example, written, frozen). 
An appositive is a word or phrase that describes a noun (or a pronoun) that comes right before it (for example, my brother, John).

Usually, participles that come after the noun they describe as well as  appositives are set off with commas:

I set the gift, a sweater, on the chair.
She made cupcakes, chocolate, for the birthday party.
The dog, limping, seemed as if he was hurt.

You have probably heard the old “rule” about setting something off in commas if you would pause. That hint seems to work in this case.

I saw the dog limping down the street. But The dog, limping, ran down the street.
The pond, frozen, was still dangerous for skating. But you would likely say, The frozen pond was still dangerous for skating.

Yes, commas are confusing! If you are speaking, obviously it makes no difference. But when you write . . . .

6. Other random words are often used as interrupters as well as at the beginning sentences. Many times the commas are optional and depend on how you would say it. Would you pause?

I can indeed paint your portrait. Or I can, indeed, paint your portrait. Your choice.
They are, fortunately, safe and sound in their hotel room. or They are fortunately safe and sound in their hotel room. Your choice.
They are obviously the winners of the contest. Or They are, obviously, the winners of the contest. Your choice, but notice that in this case the commas around obviously actually emphasize it. Commas are sometimes used for that purpose. For emphasis, you could also put dashes around obviously here.

So finally, you get a choice in using commas! Next week, interrupting phrases.

Grammar Diva News:

Here is a link to my radio interview on KRCB’s A Novel Idea.

My interview on Blogtalk Radio will be aired on Sunday, November 22 at 2:30 p.m., and I will post the link as soon as I get it.

It looks as if Fifty Shades of Grammar will be available in a week or two. More later!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commas Part 4: Introductory “Stuff”

Commas with Introductory Material

With this post we continue our series on using commas. In Parts 1 and 2, we talked about the Oxford, or series, comma. In Part 3, we talked about commas in compound sentences. Today, we are talking about putting commas after introductory words, phrases, and clauses in sentences, otherwise known as introductory “stuff”!!!

A common way to write a sentence is to start with the subject followed by the verb. However, if you write all your sentences this way, your writing will be boring. So we often begin a sentence with something other than the subject, and this other thing often is followed by a comma to ensure that the sentence is clear and easily readable.

Here are some samples of sentences that begin with the subject and verb:

I decided to travel across the United States later this year. 
The committee and I think that the meeting should be rescheduled for later in the month.
The school is having an open house early next week.

Let’s look at those sentences with something added before the subject:

Finally, I decided to travel across the United States later this year. (word)
After our discussion the committee and I think the meeting should be rescheduled for later in the month. (phrase)
Because it is the beginning of a new academic year, the school is having an open house early next week. (clause)

So, when do we need a comma after an introductory word, phrase, or clause?

Word:

Generally, we put a comma after an introductory word. Here are some examples of introductory words:

Transition words like first, next, last, finally, however
Yes and no
Interjections like well and oh
A person’s name if you are talking to a person (known as direct address)
Random words like indeed,  fortunately, and otherwise (sometimes)

Examples:

First, I would like to show this slide presentation.
Yes, I will go with you.
Well, I don’t think I can.
Mary, please clean your room.
Yes, Mary, I think you should apologize.
Fortunately, no one was hurt.
Indeed I think you should go! (If you really wouldn’t pause after a word like this, you don’t need to put a comma, but most of the time people seem to use the comma. It is fine to use it.)

Phrase:

Phrases a small groups of words that go together. There is usually a comma after an introductory phrase. It does depend upon the type of phrase, though.

Prepositional phrases are made up of a preposition, sometimes an article, and a noun or pronoun: down the stairs, in the house, along the path, at school, etc.If you have a short prepositional phrase at the beginning of the sentence, you really don’t need a comma. If you have a longer, ore involved prepositional phrase, or two of them in a row, use a comma. Here are some examples:

In Paris we saw the Eiffel Tower.
On top of the refrigerator, a mouse sat staring a me.
Down the stairs and out of the house, she ran.

Notice that after the phrase or phrases there is a subject. In the sentences above, the subjects are we, a mouse, and she.  If there is a verb directly after the phrase, DO NOT use a comma because the phrase is serving as a subject or the sentence is simply in an unusual order.

On top of the refrigerator sat a mouse.
Down the stairs and out of the house ran the dog.

Participial phrases usually contain a verb, ending a –ing or –ed, that is being used to describe the subject that comes right after it. Use a comma after such a phrase (or even a lonely participle, like the middle example below) if the subject immediately follows.

Racing across the room, she almost fell on her face.
Sulking, the girl was being punished for her tantrum. 
Sitting in a big, comfy chair, I was reading my book.

The subjects in those sentences immediately follow the participle or the participial phrase: she, the girl, and I. Once again, don’t put a comma if the phrase is followed by a verb (in which case it is probably another kind of phrase, but we don’t need to know what kind!)

Racing across the room is dangerous.
Sulking is not a good habit.
Reading in my big, comfy chair is my favorite thing to do on a rainy day.

So — if the words in the introductory phrase are followed by a verb and appear to be taking the place of the subject, don’t put a comma.  But if the subject follows your phrase, use the comma.

Clause:

A clause is a group of words like a phrase, but one that contains both a subject and a verb and is generally longer than a phrase. A clause at the beginning of the sentence is followed by a comma — unless it is followed by a verb!

Most clauses that appear at the beginning of a sentence begin with words like because, although, if, when, whenever, after, before, since,  wherever. Many times, these clauses make just as much sense at the end of the sentence, but usually we don’t use a comma when they are at the end (or middle). But that is another post.

Because I really want to play the piano, I am going to take lessons.
Although it is raining, I am going for a walk.
Wherever you go, I will follow.

Once again, in sentences where a verb follows the clause, the clause is being used as a subject and does not have a comma:

Where you are going is none of my business.
After I eat dinner is when I want dessert and coffee.

Most of the time you won’t find clauses used as subjects.

So, as a general rule, introductory information in a sentence is followed by a comma.The only time it is wrong to follow it with a comma is when the verb is next rather than the  subject, because if the verb is next, the introductory words are likely being used as the subject — and we don’t put a comma between subject and verb!

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Grammar Diva News:

50 Shades of Grammar: Scintillating and Saucy Sentences, Syntax, and Semantics from The Grammar Diva is currently at the designer’s house, and I am still hoping for a release at the beginning of December. Add it to your holiday gift-giving list. 

I recently did two radio interviews, one on local public radio KRCB and the other on BlogTalk radio. The one on Blog Talk Radio will be aired on Sunday, November 22 at 2:30 p.m. PST. The KRCB has already been aired and the link here goes to the podcast. 

My books may be for sale at the Healdsburg Holiday Gift Gallery. And even if they aren’t, other local authors and artists will be selling their fabulous wares!

I will be a panelist discussing editing at the December 12  meeting of BAIPA, the Bay Area Independent Publishers Association.

 

 

 

 

 

BOO! What Are YOU Afraid Of ????

Happy Halloween!

What are some of the spooky things you are afraid of? Well, here are some suggestions and the real names for them:

Achluophobia– Fear of darkness

Agrizoophobia- Fear of wild animals

Ailurophobia– Fear of cats

Arsonphobia– Fear of fire

Astraphobia or Astrapophobia– Fear of thunder and lightning

Atomosophobia- Fear of atomic explosions

Automatonophobia– Fear of ventriloquist’s dummies, animatronic creatures, wax statues – anything that falsely represents a sentient being

Ballistophobia– Fear of missiles or bullets

Bogyphobia- Fear of bogeys or the bogeyman

Chiroptophobia– Fear of bats

Coimetrophobia– Fear of cemeteries

Coulrophobia– Fear of clowns

Demonophobia or Daemonophobia- Fear of demons

Eisoptrophobia- Fear of mirrors or of seeing oneself in a mirror

Hadephobia- Fear of hell

Helminthophobia– Fear of being infested with worms.

Hemophobia or Hemaphobia or Hematophobia– Fear of blood

Herpetophobia– Fear of reptiles or creepy, crawly things

Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia- Fear of the number 666

Iophobia– Fear of poison

Kosmikophobia– Fear of cosmic phenomenon

Lilapsophobia- Fear of tornadoes and hurricanes

Melanophobia– Fear of the color black

Merinthophobia– Fear of being bound or tied up

Necrophobia– Fear of death or dead things

Noctiphobia– Fear of the night

Nucleomituphobia– Fear of nuclear weapons

Nyctohylophobia- Fear of dark wooded areas or of forests at night

Ophidiophobia- Fear of snakes

Ornithophobia- Fear of birds

Paraskavedekatriaphobia- Fear of Friday the 13th

Phasmophobia– Fear of ghosts

Placophobia– Fear of tombstones

Pneumatiphobia– Fear of spirits

Pupaphobia – Fear of puppets

Samhainophobia: Fear of Halloween

Satanophobia– Fear of Satan

Scelerophibia– Fear of bad men, burglars

Sciophobia, Sciaphobia– Fear of shadows

Spectrophobia– Fear of specters or ghosts

Taphephobia, Taphophobia- Fear of being buried alive or of cemeteries

Triskaidekaphobia– Fear of the number 13

Wiccaphobia: Fear of witches and witchcraft

 

Happy and Safe Halloween from The Grammar Diva!

By the way –  I will be a guest on A Novel Idea this Sunday at 7 p.m. on KCRB radio, 90.9 and 91.0 FM. We’ll be talking . . . grammar! What else!

SIGN UP to receive The Grammar Diva blog post by e-mail every week!

What’s in a Name?

What’s in a Name?

“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” So said Shakespeare. And it is true . . . or is it?

Well, if we called a rose by the name manure, and we knew what manure was, we probably wouldn’t get close enough to even see that the rose still smelled as sweet. We form opinions based on the names of things, of course.

What about people? I think we all know that we can tell something about people from their names . . . and mostly in this post, I am talking about first names, rather than last names. Last names tell us a lot too. Often, but not always, they give us clues to the owner’s nationality or race. Goldberg? Probably Jewish. O’Connor? Probably Irish.  Himmelblau. Probably German. Rosetta. Probably Italian. Garcia. Probably Hispanic. Wong. Probably Chinese. Johnson. Maybe African-American. 

A recent study found that people discriminate against others based on their names. This is not surprising. People discriminate against others based on all kinds of things: gender, sexual orientation, height, weight, accent, grammar (of course!), educational background, social status, job . . . and the list goes on.

I was listening to the radio a few weeks ago and heard the story about Raven-Symoné, one of the co-hosts of the television show The View. After the program played a YouTube video poking fun at inner city African-American names, she said she wouldn’t hire anyone with a “ghetto” name.

This remark obviously made the news. So, I started thinking about names and how certain things about our names do reveal things about us and help to create an impression of us, whether true or not.

First of all, what is a ghetto name? Generally, they are inner city African-American names. Here are some common so called “ghetto” names:

Latifah
Shaniqua
Laquisha
Tay Tay
De’Lanice
Sha’Londria
Mo’Nique

Ghetto names aside, what else can we say about first names?

You get two resumes, virtually alike in terms of experience and education. One applicant’s first name is Mary; the other’s is Trixie. Who might you lean toward without even meeting them if you are hiring someone to work in your insurance agency? How about your strip club? (My apologies to anyone named Trixie.)

Many celebrities have either completely changed or altered their names. Why? Probably for a variety of reasons. They want a name with more star quality. They want a name easier to pronounce and remember. They want a name without a religion or nationality connected to it. Here are just a few of the celebrities who have changed their names:

 Eric Marlon Bishop –  Jamie Foxx 

Ella Maria Lani Yelich-O’Connor – Lorde 

Carlos Irwin Estevez – Charlie Sheen

Onika Tanya Maraj – Nicki Minaj

Peter Gene Bayot Hernandez – Bruno Mars

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta – Lady Gaga

Mark Vincent – Vin Diesel

Ilyena Vasilievna Mironoff – Helen Mirren (I wonder why she changed that one!)

Norma Jean Mortenson – Marilyn Monroe

Stevland Hardaway Judkins – Stevie Wonder

Terry  Gene Bottea  – Hulk Hogan

Robert Allen Zimmerman – Bob Dylan

Louis Szekely –  Louis C.K

Cornelius Crane Chase – Chevy Chase

Lawrence Harvey Zeiger – Larry King

Frederick Austerlitz – Fred Astaire

Melvin Kaminsky – Mel Brooks

Krishna Pandit Bhanji – Ben Kingsley

Diane Hall – Diane Keaton (I don’t quite get this one, but now we know where Annie Hall came from!)

In addition to celebrities changing their names, immigrants have often changed their names (both first and last) whether to save their lives, avoid discrimination, or  fit into their new lives better.

And then there are authors. Authors often use pseudonyms for a variety of reasons:

When Susan Eloise Hinton wrote her book about gangs in the Midwest, it was the 1960s and she was only 16 years old. Her publishing company didn’t think anyone would buy a book abut gangs written by a 16-year-old girl in those days. So she hid her gender by using the pseudonym S. E. Hinton for The Outsiders. It seemed to work.
It is decades later, but perhaps J.K. Rowling did the same thing. 
Often authors write in two very different genres and like to use two different names. For example, I write as myself when I write grammar books, but when I write chick novels, I use JoJo Baker. 
Some writers want to conceal their identity. For example, I wrote Trashy Novel using the pseudonym JoJo Baker because I didn’t want to reveal the book to my 7th graders!

Here are some interesting thoughts about names:

Men named Dave make the best husbands.
Strippers and showgirls often change their names to girlie names like Daphne, Honey, Trixie, and Lulu.
Prudence, Mary, and Joanne wouldn’t make it as pole dancers.
We often dislike someone at first because they have the same name as someone we disliked in our past.
Teachers often fall into the last category, having students with the same name as a problem student of another year.
Some people can get by with only one name: Madonna, Rhianna, Cher, Adele, Ringo.

Names also give us an idea of someone’s age. For example, let’s take my name. Hardly anyone names a baby Arlene these days (actually, hardly anyone ever named a baby Arlene!). But those people who are named Arlene are generally from my generation. And I grew up with Lindas and Debbies. Hardly anyone names her baby Linda or Debbie now. We know that a Bertha or a Gertrude is not going to belong to a young child these days. These names were popular even before Linda and Debbie.  

Here are some popular names by decade:

1900 – John and Mary
1910 – Add William and Helen, Margaret, and James to those
1920 – Add Betty
1930 – Add Richard, Barbara, and Shirley.
1940 – Add Carol and Patricia (Boy’s names stayed more stable)
1950 – Add Susan, Deborah, Linda, Michael, and David
1960 – Add Lisa and Kimberly
1970 – Add Christopher, Jason, Kimberly, Amy, and Melissa
1980 – Add Jessica, Jennifer, Matthew, and Joshua
1990 – Add Samantha, Sarah,  and Ashley
2000 – Emma, Hannah, Olivia, Madison, Andrew

Here are some popular names of 2015:

Chloe, Emily, Aaliyah, Emma, Jennifer, Olivia, Hannah, Jessica, Sarah, and Lily
Jacob, Muhammad, Shawn, Aaron, Daniel, Jonah, Alex, Michael, James, and Ryan

A couple of other things about names I would like to mention. 

Celebrities like to give weird names to their kids: Scout, North, Suri . . .I guess they can get away with it, and their kids probably won’t be bullied because of it!

When you run into a child named Rainbow, Sunshine, Happiness, or Wednesday, you can be almost sure his or her parents were hippies!

Tune in next week for the Halloween post — and then back to our comma series.

New Car Sign! Watch out for me!      New Business Cards!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commas Part 3: Compound Sentences

 

Parts 1 and 2 of the comma posts talked about the series, or Oxford, comma. A series is a listing of three or more words, phrases, clauses, or sentences. This post talks about using commas with compound sentences.

A compound sentence consists of two sentences joined together with either a semicolon or with a comma and a conjunction.

You can join two sentences together with a semicolon if the two sentences are closely related to each other. That is a decision for you to make. (You never have to use the semicolon to join sentences, though.) For example

I am moving to Southern California; my sister lives in Northern California.

If you have been listening to me or reading my books , you probably know that you cannot join two sentences with a comma unless you also use a coordinating conjunction. The most common of these is and. However, there are six more of these conjunctions, and together they spell FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. Here are examples of compound sentences using each of the FANBOYS. They are not interchangeable, and which one you use depends on the sentence.

I am moving to Southern California, and I am taking my three dogs with me.
I am moving to Southern California, for I don’t like the cold weather of Chicago.
I do not like the snow, nor do I like the cold weather.
I am moving to Southern California, but the rest of my family is staying in Chicago.
I am moving to Southern California, or I am going to freeze to death!
I don’t like the cold weather, yet I love the culture of Chicago.
I don’t want to shovel any more snow, so I am moving to Southern California.

Notice that there is no T in the word FANBOYS; therefore the word then is NOT a conjunction:

I am moving to Southern California, then I am throwing my snow shovel away! WRONG
I am moving to Southern California, and then I am throwing my snow shovel away! RIGHT

Of course these coordinating conjunctions are used to connect words, phrases, and clauses too; they are not just used in compound sentences.  For example

Jack and Jill went up the hill. (connecting two words – no comma with two words)
Do you want fish or chicken? (connecting two words)
Did he go into the garage or across the street? (connecting two phrases – no comma with two phrases)
She didn’t talk to me either before the movie started or after our friends left. (connecting two clauses – no comma)

So generally you do not use a comma when there are just two words, phrases, or clauses. However, sometimes with but or yet you can, because the two things are opposites. But that is another blog post!

She was tiny, yet fierce.
The movie was good, but violent.

Let’s get back to the comma in compound sentences . . . here are two things to remember:

If the compound sentence is really short, you do not need a comma. The comma is mainly for ease of reading.

I came home and I went to bed.
She sang and she danced.

Make sure your sentence is really compound before you use the comma. That is, the text before the conjunction and the text after the conjunction are both complete sentences with subjects and verbs. If the text after the conjunction is not a complete sentence, there is no comma.

I went to college in Florida, and I attended graduate school in California. (compound)
I went to college in Florida and attended graduate school in California. (not compound – no subject after the and)
Are you going to vacation in Europe this year, or are you going to stay home?
Are you going to vacation in Europe this year or just stay home?

NEWS:

You might be interested in the news release The Grammar Diva put out this week.

NEXT WEEK:

Why, a Halloween post, of course!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commas Part 2: More About the Oxford (Series) Comma

The Oxford Comma

Let’s go back to last week’s post about the Oxford comma. The Oxford comma is, of course, the comma used — or not used — before the last item in a series.

I believe all the examples given in that last post were series of words. However, not all series are made of just single words. We can have a series of phrases, a series of dependent clauses, or even a series of sentences. Here are some examples:

Series of Phrases (a phrase is a small group of related words) :

The small boy ran out of the house, across the street, and to the neighbor’s house. (The Oxford comma is used before the and.)

Series of Dependent Clauses (a dependent clause is a group of words that has a subject and a verb but is not a complete sentence):

Nothing looked as beautiful and peaceful as our neighborhood after the storm was over, before the street was plowed, and when the moon came up. (Oxford comma is used before the and.)

Series of Sentences. You may not do it often, but there are times when you may want to connect a group of sentences.

I graduated from The University of California at Santa Barbara, my brother graduated from UCLA, and my sister is currently a student at the University of Arizona.  

 If you look at the last example, you will see that there are three complete sentences in that one sentence. To me, the Oxford comma really makes all the above examples sentence clearer. But remember, even with these other types of series, the final comma before the conjunction — the Oxford comma —  is not required. 

If you are going to string a few sentences together into one longer sentence, it is easier if each sentence is pretty simple, like the ones in the above example. If you have more complicated sentences, perhaps with commas already within them, you will want an alternative to stringing them together with commas. You will need to use semicolons, perhaps, or rewrite — but that is another blog post.

What if you have a vertical list? You have the option to set up a vertical list the same way you set up a sentence (horizontal list, or series), with or without the Oxford comma –or you can do it another way, without commas. Let’s take a look at a vertical list.

1. The ingredients are

3 eggs, 
2 cups of milk,
1 tablespoon of butter, and
2 ounces of chocolate.

You can, or course, eliminate the Oxford comma, as in the following example.

2. The ingredients are

3 eggs,
2 cups of milk,
1 tablespoon of butter and
2 ounces of chocolate.

And of course, you can eliminate the commas and the conjunction and altogether.

3. The ingredients are

3 eggs
2 cups of milk
1 tablespoon of butter
2 ounces of chocolate

In the first two list examples, I used a period at the very end because the whole list is really a sentence if you read through it. If you are going to write it with the commas and the conjunction, you should also include the period at the end. In the third example, I used no punctuation. You could put a period after each item in example 3 because each item completes the sentence, “The ingredients are . . .” But no,  you don’t have to.

So a series in a sentence is actually a list, but a horizontal list rather than a vertical one. And a series doesn’t have to be just single words. A series can be made up of phrases, clauses, or complete sentences too. The Oxford comma is used the same way in these types of series. And again, it is optional, but I prefer to use it.

Oh, wait. You want to put a colon after “The ingredients are”? Technically it isn’t correct because the sentence doesn’t end there, so you don’t want to put a full stop there with a colon. The list items complete that thought. Can you use a colon? I have seen it done. People like to introduce

lists with colons. If the introduction is a complete sentence, then you do use a colon. For example, if the introduction had said, “The ingredients are as follows,” you would use a colon (or a period). 

The ingredients are as follows:

But we digress . . .

Stay tuned for Commas Part 3: What About Compound Sentences? next week.

Grammar Police Don’t Carry Guns – An Editorial

The Grammar Police

People who like to follow grammar rules are often called The Grammar Police or Grammar Nazis. I don’t know why such militant names have been assigned to us, but I will let you chew on that . . .

This week’s post is not about grammar. I notice that whenever I deviate from writing about grammar — for example when I interview an author or other colleague — subscribers seem upset. A few unsubscribe; comments decrease. On the other hand, blogging experts say bloggers should not be pigeonholed into always writing about their area of expertise and should be able to express themselves, as their readers want to get to know them better.

Whatever the case may be, I have decided to write another type of post this week. Grammar will return next week with Part 2 of the Comma Series. 

This has been a disappointing week for social liberals. As many “old” people do, I  listen to talk radio, I watch CNN when there is a big story (since they do go on and on about it), and I only very occasionally call in to talk radio although I am often tempted to. Although I have been on talk radio (Ronn Owens, KGO), I still always feel cut short when I call, so I tend not to. I also post my opinions on Facebook, which maybe I shouldn’t do. My mother, who was not often complimentary to me, said that I was quiet and never talked, but when I did talk, I talked at the wrong time. Sometimes I feel that her words are true and that I should keep my mouth shut on social media. But I digress . . 

As I said, this has been a disappointing week for social liberals. First there was the threat of unfunding Planned Parenthood, which leads to the abortion issue once again. Then there was the Pope and all the publicity he received, the end of which was his talk with Kim Davis, which brought up the gay marriage issue. Then, finally, there was the umpteenth mass shooting, which brought up the issue of gun control.  

I never considered myself a political person. I generally don’t follow world events , or even national news, that closely. I do usually vote, always for President, and in some other elections as well. But I do have some strong feelings about some social issues, namely, choice, gun control, and the separation of church and state.

If you don’t want to hear my opinions, you can stop reading here. But these are just my opinions and you certainly don’t have to agree. 

Choice: I am pro-choice. No two ways about it. I am also pro-Planned Parenthood.

Planned Parenthood is a women’s health service. Among its services are abortions. It does other things, and  abortions are not funded by our taxes. 
Check out this video by Bill Nye to see how, scientifically, the anti-choice argument doesn’t make sense.
What constitutes a viable human being is often a question of religion. Since we have freedom of religion, you can’t impose your religious beliefs on me or anyone else. Separation of church and state.
A man will never go through an unwanted pregnancy. I mean REALLY go through it. So, in my opinion, men really don’t have a whole lot of say in this. And they have NO say at all unless they are involved in a specific situation with a specific pregnant woman.
I am tired of hearing how everyone who goes through a pregnancy termination is forever regretful and traumatized. This is just not true. 
Children who are born to women who cannot afford them and are in no position to raise them are expensive for taxpayers if you want to talk about finances. They often also have traumatic lives.
In my opinion, there is probably a huge overlap of people who are anti-choice and those who oppose gun control. So . . .terminating a pregnancy is murder , but mass shootings aren’t?
Abortion is legal. It has been legal since Roe v. Wade in 1973.

Separation of church and state: I have a firm belief in the separation of church and state.

I do identify with a religion, although I wouldn’t consider myself extremely religious.
The United States is a democracy — a government run by the people and for the people. It is not a theocracy, a government run by religion. So says the Constitution.
To me, the Pope is a religious figure. He is the head of the Catholic church. He is not a politician. 
I questioned why the Papal visit was so highly publicized. I don’t believe the main religion in this country is even Catholicism. However, it did no harm, I guess. Until . . .
Most law-abiding Americans did not get 15 minutes with the Pope during his visit to America. Yet, Kim Davis, who has broken the law in her clerk position, did. I don’t personality care what her views on gay marriage are. Her job is to process marriage licenses. Her personal religious views cannot rule her job performance. She did not do her job.  Apparently, she was appointed to her position, so she cannot be fired.  Why can’t she be fired? And more important, who appointed her? And why is the Pope cheering her on, if that is indeed what he did, although the Vatican apparently now denies that. The Pope, great Pope as he may be, should not be influencing social issues in this country that are LAWS! 

Gun control: Not too difficult to figure out how I feel about this one!

At one point in my life, there were guns in my house. They were not mine, and I did not like them there.  I did even shoot targets one or twice at a shooting range. It was an experience I  probably could have lived without.
I don’t understand hunting, but if you want a hunting gun, fine. However, you probably don’t need an arsenal of them. And one idea is renting hunting rifles when you need one to hunt. (I don’t think there have been many hunters who then became mass murderers.)
I don’t understand target shooting either, but you want to go to a shooting range, fine. You don’t need an arsenal, or a semiautomatic for this either. And you could always rent a gun at the range. 
Having a gun by the bedside to protect yourself is not effective, as is borne out by the evidence. More people shoot family members or other innocent people than ever actually save themselves from intruders with guns.  However, if you insist, have a gun by the bed. One gun.
We can put chips in credit cards and in dogs. If we put a chip inside guns we could track them. 
Why does anyone need a semiautomatic? For hunting? For target practice? Get rid of them. 
Why does anyone need six or ten or fifteen guns? Unless they collect guns, there is no good use for an arsenal of weapons. Limit the number of guns someone buys. 
How about background checks? How about the videotaping all gun purchase transactions? How about not selling guns online? How about background checks at gun shows? How about people actually doing the required checks?
Yes, I know. There’s the black market. Gun laws will result in only the lawless having guns. If everyone had a gun, those mass shooters would be killed before they could do harm. I know the arguments. However, countries with stricter gun laws have fewer shooting deaths.
Yes, I do think it is something more than the gun laws. It is something with our society that glorifies violence. There is something about our society that is very different from the society, say, in Japan, where there are barely any gun fatalities. 
Yes, there needs to be something done about mental health issues. But, in my opinion, it is easier to tighten gun laws that to fix the mental health issues. That takes time and is much more complex than tightening gun laws.
Oh, yes, there is that second amendment right to “bear arms.” I guess 230 years ago, you may have needed a rifle to defend yourself. Things are a little different now. Maybe we just shouldn’t have that right any longer. And did “bear arms” mean to own an arsenal of 15 weapons, including  semiautomatics?

If everyone could carry a gun around, things would be a lot more peaceful. Someone would have shot that guy who ran onto the campus in a bulletproof shirt and carrying four guns. Not only is that probably not true, but I don’t want to live in a world like that. Do you?

If no one had a gun, police wouldn’t need guns either. Not even the Grammar Police.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commas Part 1: Why You Should Use the Oxford Comma

Ah . . .the Oxford comma — one of grammar’s most enduring battles. What is it, and why should you use it?

The Oxford comma is also known as the series comma. It is the comma that some people put before the conjunction (usually and) that introduces the final item in a series. It was first used by the Oxford University Press. However, its use goes in and out of style . . . some writers use it, while others abhor it and find that it clutters the text. Here is an example of both using and omitting the Oxford comma:

The students included Tom, Luisa, Mike, Jimmy, Stacy, and Elizabeth. Oxford comma used.
The students included Tom, Luisa, Mike, Jimmy, Stacy and Elizabeth. Oxford comma not used.

The above sentence is clear either way. Only an idiot would not be able to figure out that Stacy and Elizabeth are separate people.

But such is not always the case.

Recently, a Texas high school teacher made the news when he used this example (complete with drawings) to illustrate the importance of the Oxford comma to his class of sophomores:

We invited the strippers, JFK and Stalin.

The teacher has apologized and has faced no undue punishment, since it was an isolated incident.

I think you can see the misunderstanding that can develop in some cases when the final series comma is not used. Are the strippers JFK and Stalin? Or are we talking about three separate people? This is much clearer:

We invited the strippers, JFK, and Stalin. No room for misunderstanding here!

I actually used this example with my 7th graders, but I did change the wording! But not much! I think I said something along the lines of

At the party were the supermodels, President Obama and Michelle Obama. Hmmm….

How about this sentence?

I went out to lunch with my boss, the company CEO and a close friend.

Well, if I have used the Oxford comma in the rest of what I am writing, the reader would probably understand that it does not belong here, and I am talking about just one person, my boss, who is also the company CEO and a close friend of mine.

If I never use the Oxford comma, the reader might be confused. Am I talking about three people or just one? Did I really mean

I went out to lunch with my boss, the company CEO, and a close friend.

In this case, I went out with three people. But if I never use the comma in my writing, a reader might be confused. If you don’t like the Oxford comma and you don’t use it, you do have to use it in this particular case if you do mean three people. Otherwise, your reader won’t know what you mean. That is why I think it is best to always use the Oxford to separate all items in the series. Then, when you don’t use it, that means the items are not separate. 

Which brings us to the topic of consistency in your writing. Either use the Oxford or don’t in any one particular piece of writing. You can’t go back and forth. It might be confusing, and it will not look good. I personally  like the Oxford (can you tell?), so when I am copyediting someone’s work, I consistently use it if they have been inconsistent. However, I don’t make them use it if it is clear they don’t want to. Obviously, I will put it in when it is necessary to avoid confusion.

Here are some examples where the Oxford comma would have really cleared things up!

The reporter interviewed George Clooney’s two ex-girlfriends, Brad Pitt and John Hamm.
I dedicated my new CD to my parents, John Lennon and God.
Highlights of my recent trip included meeting the Prime Minister, a 102-year-old artist and a dildo collector.
For dinner I ate chicken, potatoes and milk.
Top news stories: world leaders meeting in Geneva, Obama-Castro handshake and same-sex marriage date set
I was practicing my twerking with my cousins, Miley Cyrus and Louis CK.
I traveled cross-country last summer with my boyfriend, a single father and a pole dancer.

Use the Oxford comma! It just makes sense!

Coming soon, fall/winter 2015!