This week we wrap up our three-part miniseries on pronouns by taking on one of the most hotly debated grammar questions — the use of like versus as — and how your choices will dictate which pronouns you use.
Posted by Terri Porter Jun 11, 2015 4:30:00 AM
This week we wrap up our three-part miniseries on pronouns by taking on one of the most hotly debated grammar questions — the use of like versus as — and how your choices will dictate which pronouns you use.
Topics: conjunctions, pronouns, prepositions, like
Posted by Terri Porter Jun 4, 2015 4:30:00 AM
Mark Twain may not have been talking about pronouns when he said “Comparison is the death of joy,” but the sentiment somehow fits. Just ask anyone who struggles with figuring out which pronouns to use with comparatives such as than, as and like.
How can three little words wreak so much havoc with pronouns? The short answer is that all three words can perform multiple functions in a sentence, and when the function isn’t clear, the resulting usage is mixed.
Topics: conjunctions, pronouns, prepositions, pronouns with than, comparatives
Posted by Terri Porter May 7, 2015 5:00:00 AM
Never start a sentence with a conjunction. Never end a sentence with a preposition. How many times have you heard these and similar refrains?
Some find a certain comfort in such absolutes because correcting the problem is generally easy — they see one of these errors, and they fix it. But rigidity can be stifling, especially when the reasoning behind it is “because that’s the way we’ve always done it.”
Does that mean writers can just make up their own rules as they go along? Of course not. But questioning the basis for rules serves two purposes: (1) It increases understanding of the rules and their application, and (2) it allows for evolution of the language.
Topics: conjunctions, prepositions, rules for writing
Posted by Julie DeSilva Jun 26, 2012 5:30:00 AM
It's an unusual water ski, no one knows much about it is an example of the so-called comma fault--using a comma to connect two independent clauses. The comma is not a connector; it is a separator. The semicolon, however, can function as both a connector and a separator, and at the same time: It's an unusual water ski; no one knows much about it. If we use a comma, then we have to supply a connector--that is, a conjunction such as and: It's an unusual water ski, and no one knows much about it.
Topics: parallel structure, parallelism, punctuation, conjunctions
Posted by Phil Jamieson Jun 13, 2012 5:30:00 AM
We often find mismatched subjects and verbs in even the most smartly edited client documents. But that's why we're here! Check out this week's post on the subject.
Topics: numbers, plural or singular verb, conjunctions, plural
Posted by Phil Jamieson Aug 24, 2010 4:30:00 AM
If you're in the newspaper business, you know how to properly capitalize headlines. But people writing white papers, press releases, brochures, and even résumés need to know what's right and what's wrong in order to retain the respect and admiration, to say nothing of the trust, of their readers. So take note!
Most style guides call for lower-casing prepositions, articles, and many conjunctions. But there are lots of extenuating circumstances that call for uppercasing those words sometimes. Read on, but first:
- A preposition is a word that could describe your relationship to a cloud: you're in the cloud, under the cloud, above the cloud, around the cloud, by the cloud, before the cloud, after the cloud. These italicized words are prepositions.
- The articles are the, a, and an -- they point out things: the boy, a man.
- Conjunctions join things: and, or, nor, while, etc.
The Chicago Manual of Style says to always capitalize the first and last words of a headline, no matter what. Lowercase prepositions, regardless of length, except when they are stressed (as through in A River Runs Through It), are used adverbially or adjectivally (as up in Look Up, down in Turn Down, on in The On Button, etc.), are used as conjunctions (such as before in Look Before You Leap), or are part of a Latin expression used adjectivally or adverbially (e.g., De Facto, In Vitro, etc.). CMS specifies lowercasing the conjunctions and, but, for, or, nor. Always lowercase to and as.
Examples:
Topics: capitalization, conjunctions, preposition, style guide, Chicago Manual of Style, Gregg Reference Manual
Posted by Phil Jamieson Aug 10, 2010 5:00:00 AM
Topics: conjunctions, whereas