Arlene Miller's Blog, page 67

Don’t Dangle Your Participles!

 

Dangling Participle!

You might read the sentence underneath the cartoon on the left and not notice that anything is wrong with it. But read it again (or just look at the picture) and you see that it makes no sense — and is in fact ridiculous. We probably read, write, and speak such sentences frequently without even noticing what they really say! We call this particular error a dangling participle. They are best avoided! The way to avoid writing them is to be careful.

The caption under the cartoon means that time passed slowly for the person waiting for the bus. But is that what the sentence says as it is written? No. It says (and illustrates) that the time is waiting for the bus. Why does it say that? Well, in the English language, , words are assumed to go with other words or phrases that are near them. Since time is placed right after the participial phrase waiting for the bus, it is assumed that they go together and that waiting for the bus describes the word time.

Let’s start out by defining what a participle is.  You know what a verb is. A verb is usually an action word of some kind, even if it isn’t a physical action (for example, think, wonder, assume,  and determine are not physical actions, but they are verbs). A participle is one of the verbals — it used to be a verb, but it is now an adjective. An adjective is not an action word; an adjective describes a noun (person, place, thing, or idea) or a pronoun (I, me, you, they, he, etc.).

A participle comes in one of two types: present or past. So we need to take a verb and add something to it to make it  an adjective.  To make a present participle, we add -ing to the end of the verb. To make a past participle, we use the past tense form of the verb (often an -ed ending, but not always).

Here are some present participles in sentences:

1. The growling dog tried to bite the child. (The participle growling comes from the verb to growl, but is now an adjective describing dog. (Note that in the sentence The dog is growling at the child, growling is no longer a participle; is growling is now a verb.)

2. I saw a dancing elephant at the circus. (The participle dancing comes from the verb to dance, but is now an adjective describing elephant.)

Here are some past participles in sentences:

1. Skating on a frozen lake can be dangerous. (The past participle frozen comes from the verb to freeze in its present perfect form — the form you would use with “has” or “have” or “had.” It is now an adjective describing lake.)

2. The burned building was unrecognizable as the school that it once was. (The past participle burned comes from the verb to burn in its present perfect form — the form you would use with “has” or “have” or “had.” It is now an adjective describing building.)

It is when we use a participle in a phrase (a few related words strung together), usually to begin a sentence, that we run into trouble with dangling participles.  (However, it doesn’t have to be a phrase, and it doesn’t have to be at the beginning of the sentence, as the examples below will show.) Since the participle or participial phrase is an adjective, it is thought to describe whatever noun or pronoun comes right after it. Therefore, you want to make sure that when you are writing, you place whatever that participle or participial phrase is describing, or modifying, directly after the phrase!

Here are some goofs!

1. Reading the newspaper by the window, my cat jumped into my lap. (Who was reading?)

2. Growling, I fed my hungry dog. (Who was growling?)

3. While still in diapers, my mother remarried. (Who was still in diapers?)

4. I saw the beautiful red tulips running  down the street. (What was running down the street?)

5. Freshly painted and waxed, I picked my car up from the shop. (Who was freshly painted and waxed?)

There are usually several ways to correct a sentence. Here is one way to correct each of the above examples. In these “fixes,” the sentence was rewritten without participial phrases.

1. While I was reading the newspaper by the window, my cat jumped into my lap. 

2. Because my dog was growling from hunger, I fed him.

3. My mother remarried while I was still in diapers.

4. I saw the beautiful red tulips as I was running down the street.

5. My car was freshly painted and waxed when I picked it up from the shop.

You could rewrite the sentences keeping the participial phrases, but the rewrite might be awkward or change the meaning of the sentences, so  it isn’t necessary to keep the structure the same. Here are the “fixes” using the same participial phrases:

1. Reading the newspaper by the window, I was surprised when the cat jumped into my lap.

2. Growling, my hungry dog was finally fed.

3. While still in diapers, I saw my mother remarry.

4. Running down the street, I saw the beautilful red tulips.

5. Freshly painted and waxed, my car looked great when I picked it up from the shop.

It is easy to correct the mistakes once you notice that your participle or participial phrase is dangling and doesn’t make sense. One way to find these mistakes is to carefully proofread your writing!

There are other things in sentences that can also be misplaced.  But that’s another blog post!

Til next time -

The Grammar Diva

 

 

 

 

How to Write Possessives

How to Write Possessives

Possessives are one of the three cases in the English language (the other two are nominative and objective, but let’s not worry about those!). Latin has five cases and some languages have seven or eight, so we are doing well here. In any case (pardon the pun), possessives imply ownership.

We all learned in grade school that to make a noun possessive, we add an apostrophe and an s. Not wrong, but not the whole story.

The only words that can be made possessive are nouns and pronouns. People have difficulty with both. Just remember that no possessive pronouns have an apostrophe! Here are the possessive pronouns:

First person singular: my, mine 

Second person singular and plural: your, yours

Third person singular: his, her, hers, its (without the apostrophe)

First person plural: our, ours

Third person plural: their, theirs

Okay. Now on to the nouns.

Generally, for singular nouns you add an apostrophe and an s to make them possessive:

This is Mary’s book.

My dog’s bowl is empty.

Your essay’s introduction is very good. (Doesn’t need to be a person to be a possessive.)

Plural nouns that don’t end in an s are also made possessive by adding  an apostrophe and an s.

The children’s playground is across the street.

The mice’s home is in that hole in the wall.

Plural nouns that end in s  (which is most of them) are made possessive with the addition of only an apostrophe.

Her two sisters’ bikes are in the driveway. (One sister’s bike; two sisters’ bikes)

The parties’ themes were both tropical. (One party’s theme; two parties’ themes)

Most singular nouns that end in s or ss are made possessive by adding an apostrophe and an s (yes, really!)

The bus’s tire is flat. (Think of how you would pronounce it. It is spelled exactly as you would say it.)

My boss’s desk is really messy. (Once again, that is how you would say it.)

Thomas’s new car is over there. (You wouldn’t pronounce it Thomas new car, would you??)

I had to memorize Frederick Douglass’s speech. (Yup!)

The princess’s slipper fit perfectly.

Now, lets talk about a few of those words made plural.

What if you had two bosses, and they both had messy desks? My bosses’ desks are really messy. (You have used the plural of boss, which is bosses, and you have added just an apostrophe, like in other plurals that end in s. Once again, that is how you pronounce it. You don’t add another syllable. You don’t say bosses’s, so you don’t spell it that way either.  My boss’s desk and my bosses’ desks are pronounced exactly the same way, even though they are spelled differently–because one is singular and one is plural.)

What if there were three princesses whose slippers all fit perfectly? Same as bosses. The three princesses’ slippers all fit perfectly. (You make princess plural by adding -es, and you add an apostrophe like in plurals that end in s. Once again, princess’s and princesses’ are pronounced the same way, although they are spelled differently because one is a singular possessive and the other is a plural possessive.)

All right. Let’s do the other three examples:

All the buses’ tires are flat. (Bus’s is singular possessive; buses’ is plural possessive)

The two Thomases’ last names both begin with L.(Correct, but you might just want to rewrite it!)

Well, there is only one Frederick Douglass, so I guess we can’t do that one!

Exceptions? Well, of course!

If a word ends in -es that sounds like -ez, you just add an apostrophe to make it possessive — no s.

Examples: Socrates’ (possessive), Hippocrates’ (possessive)

Also, the possessive of Jesus is Jesus’, and I would suppose Moses is treated the same way.

I hear that today is International Apostrophe Day. How appropriate!

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Apostrophes: When To Use Them – And When Not To

Some apostrophes are not OK!

 

Apostrophes—those things that look like single quotes, or maybe commas hanging in the air—have a couple of uses in the English language. First, they are used for contractions. Second, they are used to indicate possession. We are going to talk all about possessives in next week’s blog post (can you wait?). That leaves us with contractions.

Contractions are word combinations with letters left out to save space, I guess. Or perhaps to make it easy to say in conversation. They slide off the tongue much more easily than two separate words. The apostrophe is put in place of the missing letter (or letters). The common words to be shortened in a contraction are not, have, and are (am, is)

Some contractions with not: didn’t, isn’t, aren’t, haven’t, wouldn’t, won’t, can’t.

Some contractions with have: could’ve, would’ve, I’ve, you’ve, we’ve

Some contractions with the to be verb (are, am, is): I’m, you’re, we’re, he’s, it’s, they’re

Well, you know I’m not writing this blog post to talk about contractions. You know all about them. Almost.  So here is all I am going to say about contractions, before I move on to when NOT to use apostrophes:

1. In formal writing (as opposed to conversation or a friendly e-mail), I would suggest avoiding some contractions. The contractions with n’t for not are fine, but I would spell out words such as could have, would have, should have, I have, you have, we are, most of the time. In particular I would not use contractions where the shortened word is have. Is it wrong? No. But it does sound more conversational and less professional.

2. Oh, please, remember that the contraction meaning it is is the one with the apostrophe (it’s).

3. Oh, please remember to put the apostrophe in the you’re that means you are (not your)!

Possessives is the topic for next week, so now we have come to the when not to use an apostrophe part.

Turn your attention to the apostrophe man cartoon above. Yup, you have seen the apostrophe used this way. You have seen it on signs, you have seen it in menus,  and you have seen it on Facebook. DO NOT USE an apostrophe for plurals. Plural words, unless they are plural possessives, do not have apostrophes! EVER, almost. That means no apostrophes in plural words, numbers, letters, or symbols.

The only time you need an apostrophe in a plural is when the word, number, letter or symbol would be confused with another word if there were no apostrophe. Let’s see…how many things does that include?

If you are talking about the letter A, use an apostrophe to make it plural.  Otherwise, it will look like as.

I got all A’s on my report card.

If you are talking about the letter I, use an apostrophe to make it plural. Otherwise, it will look like is.

Make sure you capitalize all your pronoun I‘s.

If you are talking about the letter U, use an apostrophe to make it plural. Otherwise, it will look like us.

There are two u‘s in the word uncut.

It doesn’t matter whether you use the letter in uppercase or lowercase.

Also, note that when you use a letter, number, word, or symbol as itself, it is italicized. However, the apostrophe/s is not in italics. This goes for words, numbers, letters, and symbols without apostrophes as well. The s is not italicized.

There are too many ands in your sentence. (The s at the end of and is not in italics.)

Yes, this rule applies to numbers too.

Do you remember the 1960s? (not 1960′s)
Do you remember the ’60s? (Here, the apostrophe is standing in for the 19, making it a contraction of sorts. But there is no apostrophe after 60.

The letters a, i, and u need apostrophes in their plurals to avoid confusion. That is just about it. 

Next week, apostrophes return as we talk about possessives.

Wake or Awake: What’s the Difference?

Wake or Awake: What’s the Difference?

 

It seems as if many people are confused about wake and awake. Are they they same? If not, which one is correct? When do I use wake and when do I use awake?

Relax. No matter what you do, you will probably be correct. There is really no difference between the two words. They are a bit confusing, though: (1) They can be used as either transitive or intransitive verbs, (2) Some variations are more commonly used as adjectives, (3) There is some variation in past-tense formation, (4) Some forms may be preferred in passive voice rather than active, and (5) Some forms may be used in a more figurative sense, perhaps in literature.

 

So while wake and awake aren’t really difficult, it gives me a chance to explain the meanings of several words that are important in the discussion:

1. Transitive verb: A transitive verb has a direct object. A direct object is the noun or pronoun that receives the action of the verb. Examples:

I woke the baby. I awoke the baby is also correct but not as common.
He woke me up. He awoke me is also correct, but not as common.

When used transitively, woke often is followed by up.

2. Intransitive verb: An intransitive verb has no direct object. Examples:

I wake up at 8 a.m. I awake at 8 a.m. is also fine.
He wakes at midnight to go to work. He awakes at midnight to go to work is also correct.

3. An adjective describes a noun, pronoun, or other adjective. Awake is most often use as an adjective. Examples:

I am awake now. (describes I)
I like teaching the awake students! (describes students)

4. Active voice: In a sentence where the verb is in active voice, the subject performs the action of the verb. Examples:

He woke up early this morning.
I woke her up to get to work on time.

5. Passive voice: In a sentences where the verb is in passive voice, the subject is acted upon and doesn’t do anything. Examples:

I was awakened by the dog’s barking.
He was woken up by his roommate.

Generally, awakened is used in the passive voice. However, I have awakened my brother (active voice) is correct, but not as common.

6. Literary: Having to do with literature. Awake and its various tense forms (awakened, awoke, awakening, etc.) is more likely to be used in creative writing, or literature. Wake, woke, woken, etc., is more likely to be used in conversation and ordinary writing. Examples:

I was awakened by the music of the rain. (literary)
The rain woke me up. (conversational)

7. Literal: Not to be confused with literary, literal means “based on the actual meaning of the words used.”  Examples:

I woke up late today.
I am awake after all that noise you were making.

8. Figurative: Not in its original, or literal, sense.  Awake and its various tense forms (awakened, awoke, awakening, etc.) is more likely to be used figuratively. Examples:

He was awakened to the realities of life at an early age.
Awaken, birds, and sing to me a song of joy!

To sum it up, you can use pretty much whichever word you like, but in general, you will probably use wake more often than awake, except to use awake as an adjective (for example, I am awake now. )

Here is how you conjugate the words:

Wake:

Present: Wake: I wake up. I wake up my brother.

Past: Woke:  (or waked , but not common) I woke up. I woke up my brother.

Past Participle: Have woken (or have waked, but not common). I have woken up. I have woken up my brother. I have been woken up.

Awake:

Present: Awake. I am awake.

Past: Awoke (or awaked, but not common). I awoke from my nap.

Past Participle: Has awoken (or has awaked, but not common). Sleeping Beauty has awoken.

Awaken - Can’t forget this one.

Present: I awaken the princess. The princess awakens.

Past: I awakened the princess. The princess awakened.

Past Participle: I have awakened the princess. The princess has awakened.

 

However, unless you are writing a fairy tale, you can just use wake!

 

The Origin of Wake (in case you cared)

From Middle English waken, from Old English wacan (to awake), 
First known use is before the 12th century.

Origin of Awake

From Middle English awaken, from Old English awacan and awakien.
First known use is before the 12th century.
 
Something you might want to know about wake and awake:
Knock up is a synonym in British English!









More examples of how you might use these words:




She fell asleep immediately but awoke an hour later.
She fell asleep immediately but woke up an hour later.
I woke her just past midnight.
I awoke her just past midnight.
I awoke several times during the night.
I woke up several times during the night.
I was awakened several times during the night.
I was awake several times during the night.
The baby awoke from his nap.
The baby woke up from his nap.
The baby was awakened from his nap by the doorbell.
The alarm awoke me early.
The alarm woke me early.
They were awoken by a loud bang.
They were woken by a loud band.




 

 

Quotations with Other Punctuation Marks: You Can Quote Me on This!

Quotation marks are used around the exact words someone says and around certain titles (song titles, chapter titles in books, magazine article titles — see my blog post on quotes versus italics.)

Single quotes (‘), as opposed to double quotes (“), are used for quotes inside of quotes and nothing else. Do not use single quotes to emphasize text (do not use double quotes either); use italics or bold for emphasis.

It is often necessary to use other types of punctuation along with quotation marks: commas, periods, colons, semicolons, question marks, and exclamation points. So which comes first, the quotation marks or the other punctuation? Well, it depends….

Here are the rules:

1. Periods and commas ALWAYS go inside the quotation marks. ALWAYS.

Examples:

“Make sure you pack your summer clothes,” Mom said.
Mom said, “Make sure you pack your summer clothes.”
She said, “My favorite song is ‘Somewhere over the Rainbow.’” (Yes, even when there are three quotation marks, one belonging to the song title and the other two belonging to the whole quote. The period or comma is inside all three quotation marks.)

2. Semicolons and colons ALWAYS go outside the quotation marks.

Example:

She said, “I don’t know what to do”; he answered “I don’t know what to do either.”

It is probably never necessary to use colons and semicolons with quotations marks, so I wouldn’t worry about this one.

3. Question marks and exclamation points …. WELL, IT DEPENDS. These can go either way,

If the question mark or exclamation point belongs to just what is in the quotes, it goes inside the quotes.
If the question mark or exclamation point belongs to the entire sentence, it goes outside the quotes. 
If the question mark or exclamation point belongs to both, it goes inside the quotes. Just use one.

Examples:

He said, “Who are you?” (The question mark belongs to the quote only and it goes inside.)

Did he say, “I am John”? (The whole sentence is a question, but the quote itself isn’t. The quote goes outside.)

Did he ask, “Who are you?” (The quote is a question, and the whole sentence is also a question. Don’t use two question marks. Use only one, and place it inside the quotation marks.)

Exclamation points are treated exactly the same as question marks.

He screamed, “Help me!” (Quote itself is the exclamation, so the mark goes inside the quotes.)

He had the nerve to say to me,”You are an idiot”! (The whole sentence is exclamation, but the quoted part really isn’t . Mark goes outside.) 

I freaked out when he screamed, “You are on fire!” (Both the quoted portion and the whole sentence are exclamations. Use one mark and put it inside.)

Please refrain from using question marks and exclamation points together.

He screamed, “Do you know the way?” ( You don’t need an exclamation point after the quotes. It already says he screamed.)

 

 

If I Were in a Subjunctive Mood…

Verbs are active little things. If you have been hiding under a rock and don’t know what a verb is, it is an action word like jump, think, write, read, eat, hide.….or a state of being like the verb to be (and its forms: are, am, is).

Verbs, of course, have tense, which tells you when something happened. I am running (present tense) indicates a different time than I was running (past tense). 

Verbs also have voice: active or passive.  When a verb is used in the active voice, the subject is performing the action of the verb. When a verb is used in the passive voice, the subject is not doing anything. Here are examples:

Active Voice: I am driving to the mall.

Passive Voice: I am being driven to the mall.

Verbs also have mood. There are three moods:

Indicative is the usual mood. (Don’t worry about this one.)

Imperative is the command mood. (Don’t worry about this one either.)

Subjunctive is the other mood, You might have to worry about this one.

Subjunctive mood is used for sentences that express demand, request, necessity, urging, resolution, wishful thinking, and improbability. Generally, we use the subjunctive without even thinking about it. It is only the last two (wishful thinking and improbability) that trip us up — that is, if we are native English speakers. I can see where the other uses would be problematic for those whose native language isn’t English (although other languages have subjunctive  mood as well).

All right, already! Can we have some examples here? Of course.

Demand: I insist that I be allowed to go! (not that I am allowed to go)

Request: The parents have asked that they be notified if Johnny fails a test. (not that they are notified)

Necessity: It is necessary that I be given enough money to cover expenses. (not that I am given)

Urging: We strongly suggest that Johnny be given an A on his report card. (not is given)

Resolution: It was decided that I be the chair of the decorations committee. (not that I am)

The above examples are all in subjunctive mood.

Okay. Those were pretty easy, and I am sure you use them without even thinking about it. Of course, you can use the other verb (in parentheses), but it has a different meaning, and will not imply demand, request, necessity, urging, or resolution.

Examples:

I told you that I am allowed to go out on Friday nights. (no demand here)

The parents are notified every time Johnny fails a test. (no request here)

I hope that I am given enough money to cover expenses. (no necessity here)

Johnny is being given an A on his report card. (no urging here)

I am the chair of the decorations committee. ( no resolution here)

The verbs in the above sentences are indicative mood.

Wishful Thinking: This is one of the subjunctive uses that trips us up. Whenever you use wish, you need to use the subjunctive mood.

Examples:

I wish I were going to Paris with you. Not I wish I was going to Paris with you.

He wishes he were taller. Not He wishes he was taller.

Improbability: This is the other subjunctive use that trips us up. When you use an if or as if clause, use the subjunctive if the sentence implies improbability.

Examples:

If I were you, I wouldn’t go to Paris in the winter. Not If I was you, I wouldn’t go to Paris in the winter.

She acted as if she were the boss. Not She acted as if she was the boss.

Many people do not use the subjunctive mood with wish and if these days, but it is still correct. There are other tenses and verbs, of course, that take subjunctive, but it is the examples above that are the most commonly incorrect.

If I were a rich man, da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da…...

Thank you, Frances Caballo, for the suggestion to discuss subjunctive mood!

 

 

 

I’ve Got It! The Difference Between “Got” and “Have”

You’ve Got Mail. America’s Got Talent. I Got You, Babe. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

Maybe you got mail. Or maybe you have mail. But you don’t got mail!

Maybe America got talent. Or maybe (more likely) it has talent. But it don’t got talent.

Maybe I got you. And now, maybe I have you. But I don’t got you!

Got and have are two different verbs. And actually, the verb is get, not got. To get is to obtain something. To have something is to already possess it. So, if you got a dog, now you have a dog.

Let’s review the tenses and straighten this out.

Present Tense Form:

I get a dog (or I am getting a dog).

I have a dog.

Past Tense Form:

I got  a dog.

I had a dog.

Past Participle Form:

I have gotten a dog.

I have had a dog.

So remember if you use got, it is  the past tense of get. You can’t use it in the present tense.

Got it???

 

Sometimes, Sometime, and Some Time

Sometimes, Sometime, and Some Time

Sometimes, sometime, and some time may look very similar, but each has a different meaning. You probably haven’t thought about it much (or at all), and you have likely used them correctly, but they can cause confusion. 

Sometimes indicates a certain frequency with which something happens. It really means some of the time. For example:

Sometimes we go to the movies on Saturdays. (Some of the time we go to the movies on Saturday, and other times we don’t.)

Sometime, without the s, is different. It means at some certain point in time. For example:

Please come visit me sometime after I move .

I will be moving out of state sometime in September.

Some time is obviously two separate words and different from the other two. You pause between the two words when you correctly use some time. Some time means exactly that — a certain amount of time. For example:

Do you have some time to help me with my move?

I will have some time next week to meet with you.

To sum up:

Sometimes indicates frequency.

Sometime indicates a certain point in time.

Some time indicates an amount of time.

Sometimes I think that I might have some time to have fun sometime in the future when I don’t have a blog post to write!

(But, of course, I love writing these blog posts, so that was just an example!)

 

A Well-Lighted Blog Post—Or Is It Well-Lit?

 

Lit Versus Lighted

The present tense is light or lighting: I light a candle. I am lighting a candle.

But what about the past tense? It is lit or lighted? I lit the candle or I lighted the candle?

What about the past participle form (or present perfect tense)? Is it have lit or have lighted?

You choose. Both forms are correct and totally acceptable in both American English and British English. 

So….is this a well-lit blog post—or  is it well lighted?

Once again either one is correct when used as an adjective, although right now the American usage favors lighted for the adjectival use.

For example:

Watch out for the lighted candle on the table.

However….Watch out for the lit candle  on the table…is also correct.

As always, if you are using the same word repeatedly in the same piece of writing, be consistent. Choose one way and stick with it.

………………………………….

While we are on the subject of light…..

There are two words that are so similar that, frankly, I never even thought about the difference until recently, when I was corrected!

The words are the same except for one letter, but they have totally different meanings. And although one of the words would seem to have an extra syllable, they are generally pronounced the same way:

Lightening and lightning.

One word has an e in the middle; the other doesn’t.

Lightening is a form of the verb to lighten, either in the sense of color or weight:

I am lightening my hair from brown to blonde.
I am lightening the load by taking the heavy books out of the box.

Lightning, without the e, isn’t a verb at all (although I have heard it used as one). It is a noun referring to the streaks of light in the sky that come along with thunder. Please don’t use it as a verb, by the way! (It was lightning out last night.) I don’t think it’s right….but correct me if I’m wrong!

 

 

Imply/Infer and Bring/Take:Two-Way Communication

Imply and Infer/Bring and Take

Imply and infer are often confused. The easiest thing to remember about them is that they go in opposite directions.

First of all, to imply means to suggest something without coming right out and saying it directly. 

For example, if I have a frown on my face and am teary eyed, my facial expression implies that I am sad. Or, if I say, “I don’t even want to talk about my test score,”  I am implying that I probably didn’t do very well.

Now, you are looking at my frown and teary eyes. You process the information you are seeing and infer that I am sad. Or, you listen to me talk about my test score and infer that I didn’t do very well.

So, imply goes out, or away from, the speaker and toward the viewer or listener. →

Infer comes in from the person who is implying to the viewer or listener. ←

I say I don’t want to talk about my test score. I am implying I didn’t do well.

You are listening to what I said. You infer that I didn’t do well from what I am saying (or implying). 

Bring and take are also often confused, but no one really notices because many people never really thought about how they are different, including me!

Bring and take also go in two different  directions.

You take things away. →

You bring them back. ←

For example: 

Please take these books back to the library.  Then, bring some new ones home with you.

Take this cup of sugar over to the neighbor, and bring the empty cup back.

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