F-boing-lar!

When you read a name in a book that has an apostrophe in it, how do you pronounce it?

Apparently Friday was International Apostrophe day! So celebrate your apostrophes (by using them correctly and/or mocking incorrect uses). Personally I don't mind apostrophes in fantasy/science fiction names if they have a purpose to be there (I rather like Anne McCaffrey's use of them; it's perfectly logical). On the other hand, I'm a bit irritated by random apostrophes that follow no rules whatsoever.

Here's an article on how apostrophes worked their way into many real, modern names, such as O'Brien, and the use of them in character names in stories.

Personally, I rather like the idea of pronouncing apostrophes as "Boing." Because it's so much fun to say "F-boing-lar" or "O-boing-Conner" whenever I read them...

Er, or maybe not.

What's a comical misuse of an apostrophe you've seen recently?

Grammar Brigade: Insure vs Ensure and misc. rules

Here's a couple more commonly confused terms, and how to keep them straight:

Ensure: To make certain
ex: Ensure that Mike takes his bike this morning.

Insure: As in car insurance, flood insurance, etc.
ex: When my house turned into a pickle, I realized my decision to insure only my car against acts of magical nature was probably unwise.

How to keep them straight:
e: ensure: extra sure, as in, make extra sure it happens!
i: insure: in case of disaster, I want money!


And some miscellaneous grammar rules:

Rule #1

Compound subjects and predicates do not have commas, but compound sentences do.
Examples:

Walking to the store and eating pickles wore me out last week. (compound subject: 1 predicate)
I ran out of pickles and needed to refill my pickle jar with premium-quality pickles. (compound predicate: 1 subject)
My friend Charlie went to the magic store, and I chose a likely house to turn into a pickle. (compound sentence: each part of the sentence has both a subject and a predicate)

 Sometimes you can count verbs, but remember, that only works if there are no infinitives, gerunds, or other instances of verbs acting as non-verbs. "Walking to the store" is considered a single subject, and acts a noun in this sentence (quick definition: gerund=verb phrase acting as a noun).

It's possible to have both a compound subject and predicate without having a compound sentence:
Chuck and I laid the spell and spent the afternoon eating pickles. (2 subjects: Chuck and I; 2 predicates: laid the spell and spent the afternoon eating pickles)

The easiest way for me to tell is to look for a coordinating conjunction: most commonly, and, or, so, for, nor, but, yet. Aka, "FANBOYS." And will usually combine two noun or things acting like nouns, and will combine two predicates. And also usually combines two halves of a compound sentence. Look for both together:

Chuck and I: Neither thing combined has a verb.
laid the spell and spent the afternoon eating pickles: who did these things? Neither has a subject.

Chuck laid the spell, and I spent the afternoon eating pickles.

Chuck laid the spell: Chuck lays a spell. Both subject and predicate present.
I spent the afternoon eating pickles: I ate pickles. Both subject and predicate present.
These two complete sentences are combine with and, thus, a comma is needed.

(Still confused? See clauses for more detailed explanation.)



Rule #2

They can fight over it.

Dual ownership and pluralities:

Annie's and Marie's favorite flower...
Annie's and Marie's favorite flowers...

Which is correct?

Ask yourself, is it the same flower? If so, use singular: flower.
If they have different favorite flowers, it's plural: flowers.

SO:
Annie's and Marie's favorite flower is on the table. (There is a rose on the table)
Annie's and Marie's second-favorite flowers are on the counter. (Annie's got a daisy, Marie has a lily)

Example 2:
The prices for a sweater at two stores are different. (different prices=more than one, use plural)
The price for a sweater at two stores is the same. (same price=one price, use singular)

Example 3:
Chuck's and Stacy's pickle was crunchy. (They shared one pickle between them.)
Sarah's and Lucy's pickles were limp. (Sarah and Lucy each had their own pickle.)


Keep it straight:
Same=singular
Different=plural


Do you have any grammar questions, or want to know how to keep any particular word pairs straight? 

Grammar Brigade: Quotation Marks and Periods

Where to place a period?

First, it's important to know that American and British punctuation are different. For a very long time, the majority of Americans have followed very strict rules regarding periods and commas: always put them inside quotation marks.

Lucas the shark described his daughter as "a cut-throat lawyer in cards."

In July, Abigail and Lucas spent their honeymoon in Vegas, "gambling."

In British English, these same quotes would have the period moved to the outside:

Lucas the shark described his daughter as "a cut-throat lawyer in cards".

In July, Abigail and Lucas spent their honeymoon in Vegas, "gambling".

The distinction in British English is that the period should be outside the quotation marks if it is not part of the quote itself.

With the spread of the Internet, it's becoming more common for Americans to pick up British punctuation, especially in cases when the inclusion of the period inside the quotation marks could create confusion. I imagine that the British form will gradually replace the American, but that's only conjecture; for now, when writing for employers or schoolteachers, punctuate as appropriate to your geographic location.

Consider: 

Lucas circled "tall" and "handsome".

Lucas circled "tall" and "handsome."

What Lucas circled was probably not handsome-with-a-period. But on the American side of the Atlantic, the second example is technically correct. If your professors are American, use the second sentence.

If you work or go to school internationally, you'll want to use the former. 

The one American exception seems to be (according to the Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed.) in cases of websites, where including the period would change the website. 

For a related but-not-quite-an-exception, if you are citing someone in a case where the parenthetical documentation accompanies a single sentence, the period will go after the parenthetical citation:

There were only fourteen snargleblasters on the planet "when Soup de Jour crashed and began his drive to recruit snargles" (The History of Snargleblast 87).

More on the subject of periods in relation to quotation marks can be found at:

Grammar Girl

Capital Community College Foundation

APA Style Guide Blog

Questions? Further exceptions? Which do you use, and why?

Grammar Brigade: Restrictive vs non-restrictive clauses

Some time ago I did a post on which vs. that (okay a few posts). One of the key elements was restrictive vs. non-restrictive clauses.

That's the difference between these two sentences:

I was making a cake for my brother who loves chocolate.
I was making a cake for my brother, who loves chocolate.

The first example implies that the speaker has more than one brother, only one of whom likes chocolate.

The second implies that there is only one brother, and that brother likes chocolate.

Restrictive means that there is more than one possible person to whom the sentence could be referring, and the clause that restricts it specifies which person it's going to.

Non-restrictive means that there is only one person to whom the sentence could be referring even without the clause, and the clause just adds a little more information about that person.

Which is correct?

1.
A. I was writing a book report for the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, when my cat attacked my pen.
B. I was writing a book report for the novel To Kill a Mockingbird when my cat attacked my pen.

2.
C. I read the poem, "Roses," before going to the store.
D. I read the poem "Roses" before going to the store.

3.
E. The book Lost in the Dark, written by Debra Fevers, was too long.
F. The book Lost in the Dark written by Debra Fevers was too long.

4.
G. It was a cold day in April, which is my favorite month, when I found the king.
H. It was a cold day in April which is my favorite month when I found the king.

5.
I. I read a poem, "To Walk in White," before going to the store.
J. I read a poem "To Walk in White" before going to the store.


Answers-
1. B: if you don't specify which book, you'll never know. This is not extra information.
2. D: If you don't specify which poem, you'll never know. Even though there are quotation marks, in this case you should not use commas.
3. E: There is only one book by that title. If you don't specify the author, you still know which book. Therefore, the author is extra information.
4. G: There's only one April. This is extra information.
5. I: Because you say a poem instead of the poem, what's important is that you read a poem, and it doesn't matter which poem. Since the name of the poem is extra information, you would use commas--it's a non-restrictive clause.


Hope that helps clear things up! Are there any specific cases you'd like to look at?

Grammar brigade: the verb "to be"

This post is dedicated to my readers studying the English language. Please answer the poll to let me know if this was a helpful post!

In English, all sentences must have a verb. The most basic sentence is "I am." To be is one of the most commonly used verbs.

I am cold. You are a leviathan. That is Charlie. We are the champions. These are all sentences.

If there is no verb in a phrase, then it is not a sentence. It may be a phrase, a sentence fragment, an interjection, or several other things, but it is not a sentence.

To be used in descriptions

The verb “to be” is commonly used for descriptions:

He is kind.

She is good at baking.

She is a good cook.

He who is king makes the laws.

They are the joy of my heart.

Life is the journey, not the destination.

It would be my pleasure.

I am cold.

Basic uses

It is conjugated as is, are, am, was, has been, and will be.

We use is, are, am, or was when we are talking about present tense progressive (see tensechart) or when we are describing a subject.

I am going to the store. (present tense progressive – something that began before the moment of speaking and continues to happen)

I was going to the palace. (past tense progressive)

I am cold. (describing the state of being: Something is something)

We use be when we are also using helping (or auxiliary) and modal verbs. This includes talking about the future progressive tense.

I will be singing when you come in. (future tense progressive)

I might be angry if you do that.

I can be a ninja for Halloween.

Is and articles

In English, only people are considered masculine or feminine (he or she). Everything else is an it, a neuter object. People may refer to their pets as he or she if the gender is known. Sometimes people will think of their boats/cars/treasured objects as male and female, but this is informal.

Articles are the, a, and an. They are used to say the number (one) of an object, and if it is a specific object (the) or a general one (a/an).

If you are describing a thing as an adjective, you will not need an article:

I am cold.

He is angry.

She is purple.

You are so cute!

It is old.

If you are describing something as a singular noun, you will need an article:

I am a cow.

You are the boss.

It was a giant.

She was like an apple. (simile- a type of comparison used in writing to show a figurative comparison. In other words, she wasn’t really an apple, but she looked like one.)

*a is for words that start with consonants. an is for words that start with vowels or sound like they start with vowels when spoken, except for “hard” u’s like in union, user, or unitard.

If you are describing something (or things) as a plural noun, you do not need an article:

We were kings.

They were like peas in a pod. (simile)

You all are crazy.

Prepositional phrases and adverbs

Prepositions tell you where or when something happened (or where it is located). Adverbs tell you how it happened. They aren’t usually considered when you’re trying to figure out whether to use is, was, are, were, am, will be, or to be.

You are under the table. (prepositional phrase: under is the preposition; the table is where. The preposition acts like adverb.)

It is frequently my fault. (frequently describes how often it is my fault. It’s an adverb, not the noun of the sentence.)

Things that act as nouns

Sometimes a word that isn’t a noun, or even a whole phrase, will be used as a noun. These have fancy terms like gerund. Basically, treat them like singular nouns. They usually do not need articles.

Flying above the trees is dangerous.

The thing that appealed to her most was going to the store on Fridays.

They were likely to run off a cliff. (Likely is an adverb; to run off a cliff acts like a noun.)

Giving to charity is the highlight of my day. (The gerund here acts like a noun.)

“He Who Is King”

Who is is a clause that describes he. This is a grammar structure called an appositive. He who is is not very common in modern English, but still sometimes used in formal papers and often in older documents you might study. Appositives, however, are still frequently used.

They look like:

Things that are blue include the sky, the water, and blueberries.

The man, who is my uncle, cannot be trusted.

The book, which is called Under the Sky, is my favorite.

Appositives further describe an object or help identify which of several objects you’re talking about. Check out my articles on That vs which, More whiches, and That. Yes, that. for more about appositives and when to use commas and that or which or who.

Basically, the idea is that something needs more identification (The car that is blue goes fast = there are cars that are not blue) or you want to describe something (I hate running, which is my mother’s favorite exercise = running is my mother’s favorite exercise, but I already have a verb in the sentence [running], so I use an extra clause to describe it).

If you’d like to see more posts like this, please take the poll and let me know what you think! 

Grammar Brigade: Lay vs. Laid

I admit it: this one has tripped me up before. When do I use lay, and when do I use laid? Part of the confusion comes from the fact that the question is also lie vs lay, with the past tense of lie being lay! What? Huh?

I'll make it easier. To start with, let's focus on the present tense of lie vs. lay.

To lie: (past tense, lay) to move in such a way that results in lying down. The subject does this motion itself without help.

To lay: (past tense, laid) to put something down. Requires a direct object (that is, the thing being put down, where the thing being put down is used as a second noun in the sentence.)

And easier still:

I lie down. (Did I do it myself? Then I use lie.)

The book is lying on the table. (The book is lying there. I'm not helping it sit there.)

On the table tells me where;  the "where" is not considered a direct object because it's part of a prepositional phrase. On, by, under, beneath, in, etc. are all "where" statements that tell you the location is not an object.

I lay a book down.  (The book did not lay itself down. If someone else is doing the action, use lay.)

I lay myself down. (Yes, I'm doing the action, but I'm doing it to myself, so myself is the direct object. If you use lay in the present tense, you must use a reflexive noun [myself, itself, yourself].)



Past Tense

Okay. Now let's look at past tense. Here we have lay vs. laid. This is confusing because lay is the past tense of lie, and laid is the past tense of lay. Holy homonyms, Batman!

I went to the store. When I got there, I lay down in the cereal aisle. (I was doing this without help, so I use the past tense of lie.)

The book was laying on the table. (Nobody was helping it sit there.)

I laid a book down on the floor. (I was the one doing the action to the book, so I use the past tense of lay.)

I laid myself down in the cereal aisle. (Myself: if a reflexive noun is used, then we're probably dealing with the past tense of lay.)


Still confused? Look at it this way:

Present                Past               Object Needed?
Lie                       Lay                No
Lay                      Laid               yes


I also suggest checking out Grammar Girl's explanation if you'd like more practice (since that's where I went to figure this out in the first place!)


Practice:

1. Yesterday, my kid brother threw a fit and ___ himself down in the middle of the cafeteria.

2. The hero ___ his love interest down on the operating table to remove her spleen.

3. There's a dragon ____ in the middle of the road. Do you want to ask him to move, or shall I?

4. Yesterday, a goose ____ beneath the troll bridge. Apparently the trolls were on vacation.

5. Three weeks ago, I got mad and ___ down in the cereal aisle.



Answers:

1. laid      2. laid/lays    3. lying    4. lay   5. lay

Now you try! Write a sentence using lay and laid correctly for the comments. For extra brownie points, make it related to the previous comment!

Grammar Brigade: Commonly Confused Terms (2)

a while vs awhile
affect vs effect
beside vs besides
less vs fewer
between vs among vs amid

a while vs awhile

Should we stop for awhile? or Should we stop for a while?

"Awhile" is an adverb. It denotes that we do something for a while. In this case, while is a noun, and a- is a prefix that says "this is an adverb!"

"A while" is a noun. Typically, if you use for or in, you should use "a while."

So, we can stop awhile, or we can stop for a while.

You can sing awhile, or you'll sing in a while.

You also use a while if it can be replaced with a day (or another definitive length of time.)
I dropped my brother off a while ago.
It's been a while since last we saw one another.
A while later, Luke tried to ride the shark to the zoo.


Affect vs effect

Affect is a verb. Effect is a noun.

You can affect the forces of fate, but you won't feel the effect of Luke's adventure until the painkillers wear off.

There are two exceptions to this rule: effect synonymous to enact, used to mean "to make happen," and affect, which is a psychology term and a noun, meaning "a mental state."  
Luke's shark is running for Mayor. It promises to effect a change in shark-riding laws. It has already effected major political reform in Chicago's traffic laws.
The painkillers altered your affect to confusion and shark paranoia.

Beside vs Besides

 Beside is a preposition meaning "next to." I sit beside Charlene. The tooth is beside the fire hydrant. The fire is not beside the fire hydrant.

Besides means either "except" (preposition) or "in addition to" (adverb). Everyone besides Luke liked the shark's platform. Besides, Charlene was the only other candidate, and no one liked her.


Less vs fewer

Fewer is used for "count" nouns: things that can be discretely counted by whole numbers. In other words, fewer people understand the mathematical terms "discrete" and "whole numbers" than understand this example. You don't count partial people (3.5 people? Who cut Luke in half???) Therefore, a count of people is 'fewer.'

Fewer dogs chase bones than chase food.
Charlene received fewer votes than Luke's shark.
Charlene used fewer teaspoons of sugar in her coffee the next morning.

Less is used 'mass' nouns: things that aren't counted individually. There was less salt in the shaker this morning; Charlene used less sugar in the shark soup than last time.

Note that time, money, and distance use less instead of fewer. We walked for less than three miles to get to the store. It took us less than half an hour to purchase more salt. The salt cost less than $100.

Another way to think of it is in terms of number vs amount. If you're talking the number of something, you'll want to use fewer. If you're talking the amount of something, use less.


Between vs among vs amid

Between should always be used for a one-to-one relationship involving two entities. Between Luke and the shark, there was only animosity. Avery and I carried the boulder between us. The two brothers had an agreement between them.

Between can also be used for more than two entities if it is understood that in any give interaction, the between refers to only two individuals. "We traveled between China, Canada, and Chile" works because we go from one country to one country. Without time travel, we cannot go from China to both Canada and Chile at the same time.

Among is used for when the parties involved are count nouns and there are more than two of them, but there is not a direct one-to-one relationship. (Think joint ownership.) The cup sat among the seven empty soda bottles. The countries shared a mutual-defense agreement among them. We agree there would be no back-stabbing among us.

Think about the difference between these sentences:
1) Charlene walked between the desks.
2) Charlene walked among the desks.
In the first, there are two distinct desks she is directly moving between. It's an exact location.
In the second, she is moving among many desks. It's more a general location.

Amid is used for mass nouns. The cup sat amid the trash. There was a tulip amid a sea of green. There was a minute of peace amid the talk of politics.

The shark sat between Luke and Charlene.
The shark sat among the councilors.
The shark sat amid the council.



Awhile vs a while:
Chicago Manual of Style, 16th edition
Grammar girl
Daily writing tips
Grammarly
Affect vs. Effect:
Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed
Grammar girl
Daily writing tips
Beside vs. Besides:
Learn English
Less vs. fewer:
Grammar girl
amid vs between vs among:
Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed
Grammar girl
Translegal: Common Mistakes

Grammar Brigade: Commonly Confused Terms

Sometimes, the things we say mix up the things we write. Today, we'll be looking at some commonly misused words and phrases. Included in the lesson will be:

kind vs. kinds (what kind of fish do you have, what kinds of fish do you have)
should of vs. should have

further vs. farther
like vs. such as
toward vs. towards
number vs. amount

Kind vs. KindsQuiz! Which is a proper answer to this question:
"What kind of fish do you have in that aquarium?"
A) African Black Knife fish, Elephant Noses, and Baby Whales
B) Great white sharks
C) My cat, some angel fish, a couple of goldfish, and a guppy - wait, no more guppy.
D) A dolphin

If you answered B) Great white sharks, you are correct!

"Kind" refers to a single type. So, "What kind of fish" means you can only answer with a single type of fish.

Kinds, on the other hand, refers to multiple kinds of fish. So if I had asked, "What kinds of fish do you have?" you would have had to answer with A) African Black Knife fish, Elephant Noses, and Baby Whales.

Ex: What kind of pet do you have? A dog.
Ex: What kinds of pets do you have? A dog, a cat, and a fire-breathing mongoose. No snakes.

Should of vs. Should Have

Should have. "Should of" is a mistake - this common error comes from hearing the contraction "should've" and assuming the verbal 've transcribes to of. Always use should have, could have, may have, etc.


Further vs. farther

Farther refers to distances.

Further continues an idea or a process. It's metaphorical - no physical distance involved. It can also mean "in addition."

Ex) He moved farther away from the city than Electra did.
Ex) The asteroid continued to move farther from Earth over the rest of the week.
Ex) Further involvement by the FBI was unnecessary.
Ex) There was lots of evidence in his room. Further, the dead body of a guppy was found in the litterbox.

Personally, I prefer to use furthermore for the "in addition" definition. Furthermore, the dead body of a guppy was found in the litterbox.

Like vs. such as

Most people won't hunt you down for these. But, if you plan on writing for a grammar stickler, I'd use "such as" in inclusive lists:

I wear many cool accessories, such as red shoes, gold earrings, and dragon-scale purses.

To many people, like means "similar to" - a comparison that does not include. She looks like a dog (but is not a dog); it's like that time we shot the sheriff (but we didn't shoot the sheriff again).

Pop quiz: Which is correct?
1.
A) Xena hopes no more stalker-glorifying books like Twilight will be published.
B) Xena hopes no more stalker-glorifying books such as Twilight will be published.
2.
A) Amber loves stories such as Twilight, in which handsome boys obsess over clumsy girls.
B) Amber loves stories like Twilight, in which handsome boys obsess over clumsy girls.
3.
A) Luke likes to feed his cat strange things, like sparkly vampires, guppies, and blue gorillas.
B) Luke likes to feed his cat strange things such as sparkly vampires, guppies, and blue gorillas.

Answers: 1(A), 2(Either, depending on context. If Amber likes Twilight, then A. If she does not like Twilight, then B.) 3(B).

Toward vs. towards

No mistake. They're interchangeable. Grammar Girl suggests that towards is more British, and toward may be more American, but both are correct.


Number vs. amount

"Number" is used for things that can be physically counted. "The number of shoes in my closet," "the number of teaspoons of salt," etc.

"Amount" is used for money and for things that cannot be physically, individually counted. "The amount of water" is a common use, or "the amount of love."

Liquids are usually amounts, but not containers or measurements of liquids.

All of these are correct:

I want an amount of milk in my glass, or I want a number of milliliters in my glass.
Pay him some amount of money to make him go away.
The amount of time it would take to run to the store for sugar is too long. I'll just use this salt instead.
The number of minutes in an hour changed yesterday to forty.

Sources:

should have vs. should of
further vs. farther
like vs. such; like vs such
toward vs. towards
number vs. amount; number vs. amount

 Note: "What kinds of pet" would be incorrect. Since I used "kinds," my subject must be plural. Kinds has an -s, so add an -s to your subject. Unless you're talking fish, sheep, or another irregularly pluralized item.

Grammar Brigade: Passive for a Point

Passive voice... dreaded, depised, cursed and crushed.  Every "was," "is," and "will be" eliminated with a quick stroke of an active verb.  We all know the drill.

But is it time to retire the drill?

The passive voice exists for a reason.  And, done well, it can have a big impact.

What is the passive voice?  The word "was" does not necessarily mean passive - so no more snipping out statements like, "It was true." and "Helen's hair was blue."  That's not passive voice.  Simply put, passive voice is when something happens to someone, instead of that someone doing something.

For example:
"Jeff was mugged by a troll."  This is passive voice.  The person to whom the action happened, Jeff, comes first in the sentence, and the actor, the troll, is at the end.
"A troll mugged Jeff."  This is active.  The actor is the subject of the sentence.

Which is better?  Well, if I'm trying to start a genocide against all trolls, I'd choose the latter.  But if I'm trying to stress the fact that Jeff had a bad day, I'd go with the former.

The passive voice takes stress off the person/thing doing the action, and puts it on the victim of the sentence.  So, if you've got a multiverse where trolls are just another denizen, you're tempting racism by putting the troll first.  What's important is that poor Jeff got mugged.  It could just have easily been a moody human, a fire fae, or a jabberwocky that mugged him - as long as the police arrest the guy, who cares?

But let's say that all trolls are vile creatures of death, darkness, and evil.  A TROLL mugged Jeff?  Is that how he got that black eye?  DEATH TO ALL TROLLS!  The important thing is that the mugger was a troll - it's not like Jeff got drunk and wandered down a back alley somewhere.  No one really cares about Jeff, anyway.  We just want to kill to trolls.  And that's where active voice comes in - it emphasizes the doer of the action.

So when else is passive useful in a story?

Pass the blame - Do you have a villain?  Are they trying to blame the victim?  Your evil characters will try to avoid accepting blame by using the passive voice.  "She was stabbed by a knife," the sociopath said.  Well, who stabbed her?  He did, of course.  But he doesn't want to accept that responsibility. 

Taking control - There's a character - a young boy - who doesn't have much control over his life.  Things just... happen to him.  He is moved to a small town by his parents.  He was told to wash the dishes.  And then - he left.  He chose to become a fireman.  He took control of his life.  Use a little passive voice (but don't go overboard) in the beginning.  This sets up a contrast to who he becomes later.

Losing control - She's kick-butt.  She's got a squad of alpha men at her beck and call, and she's taken down ten terrorist cells in the last month.  And then - she walks into a classroom full of kids, where her hands are taken and she's dragged into the center of the room by midgets.  Her hands are filled with a book, and all the eyes in the room stare at her expectantly.  The passive voice shows that she's out of her element, no longer sure where she's going and what she's doing.

Where else would you use passive voice?

Thanks to Amy Corwin, for a fantastic presentation on the passive voice!

Grammar Brigade: Tense? It's all in the timing.

(Edit: You may also want to read the post The verb "to be")

Tense - not tension, although it can cause that - is all about when things occur.  But sometimes, it's a little more complicated than it looks, figuring out how to express the when, especially if you're trying to keep your tenses in agreement.

Tense, the verb forms express when things happen, can be loosely categorized into past, present, and future.  That's easy; you already know those!

But tense can also be sub-categorized into simple, progressive, and perfect.  That's a little more complex.

Let's look at an example:

The tense forms of "to walk"

Now let's throw them into a relative timeline:

The "simple" tense takes place right at the specified time - a certain point in the past, the present, or a certain point in the future.  This is a point in time to which you are directly referring, the setting of your story.  It begins during your moment of reference, and ends during the moment of your reference.  For example, Angela walks down to the training arena to talk to Mick.  Angela begins the walk and ends the walk during this sentence.

The progressive tense is an action which is taking place at that time - a continuous action which begins before and continues after the moment of referral.  For example, he is walking around the training yard while Angela updates him on the status of the knights.  He was walking before Angela began talking to him, and he will continue walking throughout the conversation, and possibly even after.

The perfect tense is an action which has taken place before the time of reference. By the point of reference, it has already ended.  Angela has walked with Mick through the training yards many times before.  Those walks are all completed.

The perfect progressive indicates a verb taking place over a long period of time, began before the moment of reference and probably before some progressive event.  For example, Laurel has been walking in the courtyard since noon.  That's before Angela came down, and before Mick began walking.  It also continues during the moment - Laurel is still walking while Angela and Mick are walking.

These terms are all relative to one another, and can help place events in order.  See how they're applied here:

The knight Laurel had been practicing his jousts when Mick, Captain of the Guard, joined him in the courtyard.  They sparred together for a few minutes, before Angela interrupted.  Angela was working the purchase order, and needed to know how many straw dummies she should order.  Mick had inventoried the dummies the week night before.  He told her he needed fourteen more.

One last note - you can use all the subtenses in a single paragraph, but it's usually considered poor form to switch tenses (past, present, or future) in the same work without clear time transitions.  This is a general note, and there are cases where it's acceptable, but it's something to avoid.

Try using all four subtenses in a paragraph of your own, and share them here, in the comments!

Grammar Brigade: That. Yes, That.

To each which is a college professor telling you to use that.  Is it true?  Is that the cure-all for whiches?  Just consider:

Which cat do you prefer? =>  That cat do you prefer?

I told my mother the dress she wore made her butt look big, which got me in trouble. =>  I told my mother the dress she wore made her butt look big, that got me in trouble.

The tulips, some of which were red, looked lovely. =>  The tulips, some of that were red, looked lovely.

Houston, we have a problem.

That should be used only in restrictive clauses, after the noun is modified by a superlative adjective, after counting words (such as seven or forty-five), and after the following pronouns:

{all, any, anything, every, everything, few, little, many, much, nothing, none, some, something}

Also, that should never be used to represent people.  Use who or whom instead.

All the zebras got into the clown car, including twelve zebras that belonged to the Evil League of Evil.

In a side note... "of which" may be used in place of "that" post-number concepts.  For example: All the zebras got into the clown car, twelve of which belonged to the Evil League of Evil.

Any explanations of how the zebras earned their invitations from Bad Horse into the Evil League of Evil?  Oh, and bonus points if you know from which show "Evil League of Evil" comes.

Grammar Brigade: More Whiches!

More whiches! 

...  Uh, no.

In a previous post, I spoke about the uses of that versus which.  But 'which' isn't only used in restrictive clauses: it fills several parts of speech!  Some professors might send you which-hunting, and claim that the word 'which' is the phonetic version of ultimate evil.  Not true.  Which has several legitimate purposes, and ridding your vocabulary entirely of it is an equally dangerous proposition to overusing it.

Which, according to Dictionary.com, can be used as an adjective, a pronoun, or a determiner.  In today's blog, we'll look at which as a pronoun.

All information except definitions of which taken from OWL at Purdue. Examples are mine, but everything I learned came from OWL.  It's one of my favorite sites.  Shouldn't it be one of yours, too?

Which as a Pronoun:

In a relative clause:
As a pronoun, it is used in relative clauses or as the object of a preposition.  To be specific, which is a relative pronoun, or a pronoun which introduces a relative clause.  Other examples are who, whom, whoever, whomever, whose, and that. 

A relative clause is a phrase that modifies a word, phrase, or idea.  The word, phrase, or idea is called the antecedent. We'll illustrate with my cat, Bard.

Ex:

Also, I misspelled "antecedent."  Whoops.

That is a pronoun that replaces bird, and "that Bard caught" modifies bird.  Therefore, bird is the antecedent, because it is the word being modified, and "that Bard caught" is the relative clause.

Ex. 2:

The mouse, which Bard ate, had destroyed my cheese.



"which Bard ate" is the relative clause, with which being the relative pronoun that replaces mouse.  Mouse is therefore the antecedent, being modified by "which Bard ate." 

Note:  Why did I use which in one example, and that in the other?  Because in the latter example, which Bard ate is a non-restrictive clause: there is only one mouse to which I could be referring.  In the former, that Bard caught is a restrictive clause: there are lots of birds, so I had to specify which one Bard caught.  Restrictive/non-restrictive clauses don't mean the same thing as relative clauses, but sound enough alike that they're easily confused.  Read up on that vs. which to compare!

Which as the object of a preposition

The barn at which I threw the baseball was blue.

The dragon with which I ate lunch smelled bad.

For which of the following would I pay $10?

Which can be used as the object of a preposition, in which case it is also considered a pronoun.  It can replace an undetermined object (for which), or act as a replacement for a determined object you don't want to restate (the dragon).  In the dragon's case, which should be used, despite the fact that "with which I ate lunch" is a restrictive phrase - because which is the object of the preposition with.

Incorrect: The dragon with that I ate lunch smelled bad.
Incorrect: The dragon that I ate lunch with smelled bad.  (Note: The latter use is accepted in most informal settings, but should not be used in formal writing, because it splits the preposition from the object of the preposition.)

Which can also refer to the previous clause as a whole (which we probably should have seen coming). 

We would later grow hungry, which we probably should have seen coming.

In this case, which is a pronoun replacing the entire previous clause.

In cases in which you are uncertain as to whether to use that or which, check out the Online Writing Lab at Purdue.

What's your favorite example of using which as an object of a preposition?

Grammar Brigade: That vs. Which

Ever engaged in a bout of which-hunting?  Confused as to whether which or that should take the place of honor in your sentence?

The answer depends on whether or not your clause is restrictive.  No, I don't mean handcuffs.  I mean, does the phrase change the meaning of the sentence?

"The car that was painted with flames along its sides could go up to 120mph."  This sentence implies that there are multiple cars, so it's necessary to specify which car could go 120mph (the one with flames on its sides.)  In this case, your clause is restrictive, because you need to specify which one of the cars can go that speed. 

"The car, which had flames painted along its sides, could go up to 120mph."  This sentence implies that there is only one car that matters.  You could throw out the phrase, and the gist of the sentence would still be understood (the car is fast!)  Therefore, your clause is nonrestrictive. 

In other words, if your phrase clarifies which object is being discussed, use that.  If your phrase is simply adding another description to an object, use which (and usually commas.)
Examples:

My clock, which was on my bed stand, kept me awake all night.  (Non-restrictive: you already know which clock is mine.)

The clock that is on the bookshelf is hideous.  (Restrictive: there is more than one clock in the apartment.)

The Canadian goose took the bread that was stale.  (Restrictive: the goose did not take the bread that wasn't stale, but there was some non-stale bread around.)

The chipmunk stole the rest of the ham sandwich, which was very tasty.  (Non-restrictive: there's only one ham sandwich.  It was sadly missed, and no other sandwich will ever be as delicious again.)


Exception:

If you've already used that to introduce a restrictive clause in a sentence, you may use which to introduce the next.  Ex:  My die that was blue which always rolled poorly mysteriously disappeared yesterday.  (This sentence implies that I have several dice, several of which are blue, and several of which roll poorly.)

Questions?  Comments?  Examples?  Eulogies for dearly departed ham sandwich?


References:
Who vs. Which vs. That from GrammarBook
Which versus That from Grammar Girl
That Vs. Which from DailyWritingTips

Grammar Brigade: homonyms explained

What's a homonym?

Homonyms are two words which sound the same, but are spelled differently.

Let's look a few commonly misused homonyms:
It's vs. its; there vs. they're vs. their; let's vs. lets; you're vs. your; whose vs. who's; capital vs. capitol; principle vs. principal; passed vs. past

It's: A contraction of "it is."  Do not use anywhere you would not use "It is."
ex: It's purple.
Its: The possessive of "it."  Use when "it" owns something.
ex: Its hat is purple.

There: A place.  Should only be used when pointing at something, or in text when "there" has been clearly specified.
ex: It is over there. 
There: A way of starting a sentence in passive voice.  (Why are you using passive voice in your writing?  You'd better have a good reason.  No, really.)
ex: There is nothing worse than getting squashed by a falling toilet. 
They're:  A contraction of "They are." Use only when you would use "they are."
ex: They're in Georgia.
Their: The possessive form of "they." Use when they own something.
ex: Their car broke down in Georgia.

Let's: A contraction of "let us."  Use only as a substitute for "let us."
ex:  Let's go to Canada.
Lets: The present tense conjugation of "let" (as a synonym for "allow") for a singular person.
ex:  He lets me borrow his flour.

You're: A contraction of "you are."  Use only as substitute for "you are."
ex:  You're angry, aren't you?
Your:  The possessive of "you."  Use when you own something.
ex:  Your book bag is heavy.

Whose:  The possessive of "who."  Use when you are trying to determine the owner of something, or when you are using "who" as a pronoun.
ex:  Whose book bag is that?
ex:  I gave it to Jacob, whose book bag needed the extra space.
Who's:  The contraction of "who is."  Use only to replace "who is."
ex:  Who's responsible for the laundry this week?

Capital: A city that serves as the seat of government for an area, or an asset such as wealth, or a capital letter.
ex:  Raleigh is the capital of North Carolina.
Capitol: Only used to name a building; specifically, the building in which the legislature meets.
ex:  We were really bored during our tour of the Capitol Building.

Principle:  A moral purpose.
ex:  It's against my principles to eat raw steak.
Principal:  An adjective meaning most important, or the leader of a school, or the initial investment of money before interest is added.
ex:  The principal objective is to not get eaten by the dinosaurs; after that, you need to capture the flag.

Passed:  The past tense of the verb "to pass."  Use only if someone has physically moved from behind to ahead of something, or passed a test.
ex:  I passed the test with flying colors.
ex:  He passed me in the right-hand lane.
Past: A location; a time period; a preposition; an adverb; "past" locates something in time and space.
ex: I stuck my tongue out as I drove past him.
ex: One look at the funny breeches told him everything: he was stuck in the past, with no way home.
ex: In my past life, I was an osterich.
ex: The days for mourning are now past.
ex: It was half past three.
What are the most common homonym mistakes you see?

Grammar Brigade: Semicolons, the forgotten punctuation

I was going to do a lesson on using semicolons.  However, I cannot possibly outdo The Oatmeal's semicolon lesson.

I can, however, paraphrase it for those too lazy to follow the link, or those who fear being sucked into The Oatmeal's endless supply of ridiculously funny pages.  (Go ahead and bookmark the page for later.  You know you want to.)

Semicolons are usually used to connect two independent clauses together.
ex:  I love morning glories; my mother loves hydrangea.
This should only be done when the two independent clauses are actually related.
NO!: I love morning glories; Sister Anne drove the van to a conference in Italy. :NO!

They can also be used in sentences wherein there are already commas (for the purposes of clarity.)
ex:  I have visted Austin, Texas; Memphis, Tennessee; Juneau, Alaska; and New York, New York.
ex:  My teacher, Mr. Norris, loved apples; and when finished eating, he would bury the cores under piles of nasty, steamy tar.

Questions, besides why Mr. Norris loves to bury apple cores beneath tar?

Grammar Brigade: Clauses, and why they matter

What's a clause?

A clause is a group of words which contains both a subject and a verb. 
ex: He walks.
ex: while I ran
ex: if you look under the couch

Sometimes, clauses have implied subjects.  That's okay, too - they still count as clauses.
ex: Don't do that!  (implied subject: person addressed)
ex: Run!  (implied subject: person addressed)
ex: don't worry (implied subject: someone who should probably be worried)

Note: Clauses with implied subjects are different from interjections.  Interjections are one-word expressions, usually showing emotion.  They can stand alone, or be added to a sentence.
ex: Oops.  (not a clause!)
ex: Wow!  (not a clause!)

Clauses come in two types: independent and dependent. 

An independent clause is a clause that is, in and of itself, a sentence.  It can stand on its own, although you might want to add more to it.
ex: He runs.
ex: He throws a Frisbee at Mike.
ex: Mike dodges the ninja star disguised as a Frisbee.

A dependent clause is a clause that cannot stand on its own.  By itself, it is just a sentence fragment.  It is preceded by a conjunction or a marker word.
ex: because Mick didn't move fast enough
ex: when Mick dodged
ex: if I do a cartwheel

Dependent clauses must be tacked on to independent clauses in order to be a full sentence (They're kind of needy that way.)  This usually requires punctuation, in the form of a comma, unless one of the clauses is particularly short.
ex: When Mick ran for president, I voted for the other guy.
ex: If I do a cartwheel, I will break my neck.
ex: I'll bake the cake, while you make the icing.
ex: I laughed when Susan dropped flour on Mick.  (I laughed/ when Susan dropped flour on Mick) ("I laughed" is short - no comma is needed in this case!)

Independent clauses may be joined together to form a full sentence, but they require either the addition of conjunctions (and, so, but, yet, for, nor, or), or the use of a semicolon.
ex: I walked to the store, but Mick ran.
ex: I walked to the store; Mick ran.
ex: I planted a gardenia outside, and now my yard smells nice.
ex: I planted a gardenia outside; now my yard smells nice.

Some common words can be added to independent clauses without removing their independent status.  Some of these are words like: however, moreover, also, nevertheless, furthermore.
ex: I walked to the store; however, Mick ran.  (Still need that semi-colon!)
ex: I planted a gardenia outside; nevertheless, my yard still smells like fish.

If you combine two independent clauses with a comma, then you have a comma splice.  This is a type of run-on sentence, and your paper will bleed red when your editor returns it to you.
NO!:  I walked to the store, Mick ran.  :NO!
NO!:  I planted a gardenia outside, now my yard smells nice.  :NO!
NO!: I planted a gardenia outside, nevertheless, my yard still smells like fish.  :NO!

Be supportive for your dependent clauses.  Give them the punctuation they need in order to survive an editor's brutal attack.

(Thanks to Purdue OWL for definitions!)

This Grammar Brigade attack is brought to you by... common comma errors!

Do you have a grammar question?  If I don't know the answer, I'll look it up!

The Grammar Brigade: Commas and Addressing People

Look, Charlie, it's the Grammar Brigade!  That's right; we often forget the importance of grammar in our hurry to get the story across.  But good grammar does make a difference.  Bad grammar is one of my pet peeves (just ask anyone I've edited,) so I'll be putting up the occasional lesson for frequently forgotten rules.

Today's topic: Commas in addressing people.  I frequently see writers forget to set names off with commas.  This makes a difference.  Consider:

Fly to the North James.

Huh?  Where is "North James"? Is that a city?

Oh, you mean:  Fly to the North, James.  As in, James the character should be flying North.

When directly addressing a person, set off their name with a comma.

Nora, look out!  The Grammar Brigade is out to get you!

Don't worry, mom; it's not as bad as it looks.  (Note: "Don't worry" is a complete clause.  If you add anything else, you'll usually need a semi-colon.  This is another common mistake.)

In all of these cases, the name is a way to identify to whom the sentence is addressed.  "Luke walked to the store" does not need a comma, because you're not directly addressing Luke.  "Cherry, Luke walked to the store" does need a comma - you're informing Cherry that Luke walked to the store; thus, you are directly addressing her (and she probably just asked where Luke was, at the same time that Sally asked where her shoes were.)

Any questions?