兒子考獲中五全級第一！
我編寫這個網誌的目標就是用來打好他的基礎，大家努力，您也可以的！
2013年10月26日 星期六
The Parts of Speech 詞類
The Parts of Speech 詞類
Traditional grammar classifies words based on eight parts of speech: the verb (動詞), the noun (名詞), the pronoun (代名詞), the adjective (形容詞), the adverb (副詞), the preposition (介系詞,前置詞), the conjunction (連接詞), and the interjection (情感詞).Each part of speech explains not what the word is, but how the word is used. In fact, the same word can be a noun in one sentence and a verb or adjective in the next. The next few examples show how a word's part of speech can change from one sentence to the next, and following them is a series of sections on the individual parts of speech, followed by an exercise.
- Books are made of ink, paper, and glue.
- Deborah waits patiently while Bridget books the tickets.
- We walk down the street.
- The mail carrier stood on the walk.
- The town decided to build a new jail.
- The sheriff told us that if we did not leave town immediately he would jail us.
- They heard high pitched cries in the middle of the night.
- The baby cries all night long and all day long.
The next few sections explain each of the parts of speech in detail. When you have finished, you might want to test yourself by trying the exercise.
Written by Heather MacFadyen
Review: Parts of Speech
Identify the part of speech of the highlighted word in each of the following sentences:- The clown chased a dog around the ring and then fell flat on her face.
- The geese indolently waddled across the intersection.
- Yikes! I'm late for class.
- Bruno's shabby thesaurus tumbled out of the book bag when the bus suddenly pulled out into traffic.
- Mr. Frederick angrily stamped out the fire that the local hooligans had started on his verandah.
- Later that summer, she asked herself, "What was I thinking of?"
- She thought that the twenty zucchini plants would not be enough so she planted another ten.
- Although she gave hundreds of zucchini away, the enormous mound left over frightened her.
- Everywhere she went, she talked about the prolific veggies.
- The manager confidently made his presentation to the board of directors.
- Frankenstein is the name of the scientist, not the monster.
- Her greatest fear is that the world will end before she finds a comfortable pair of panty-hose.
- That suitcase is hers.
- Everyone in the room cheered when the announcement was made.
- The sun was shining as we set out for our first winter camping trip.
- Small children often insist that they can do it by themselves.
- Dust covered every surface in the locked bedroom.
- The census taker knocked loudly on all the doors but nobody was home.
- They wondered if there truly was honour among thieves.
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Exciting new products and effective marketing strategies will guarantee the company's success.
The Parts of the Sentence 句子基本構件
The Parts of the Sentence 句子基本構件
The parts of the sentence are a set of terms for describing how people construct sentences from smaller pieces. There is not a direct correspondence between the parts of the sentence and the parts of speech -- the subject of a sentence, for example, could be a noun, a pronoun, or even an entire phrase or clause. Like the parts of speech, however, the parts of the sentence form part of the basic vocabulary of grammar, and it is important that you take some time to learn and understand them.Written by Frances Peck
Subject and Predicate
Every complete sentence contains two parts: a subject and a predicate. The subject is what (or whom) the sentence is about, while the predicate tells something about the subject. In the following sentences, the predicate is enclosed in braces ({}), while the subject is highlighted.- Judy {runs}.
- Judy and her dog {run on the beach every morning}. To determine the subject of a sentence, first isolate the verb and then make a question by placing "who?" or "what?" before it -- the answer is the subject.
- The audience littered the theatre floor with torn wrappings and spilled popcorn.
- Stand on your head. ("You" is understood before "stand.")
- There were three stray kittens cowering under our porch steps this morning.
- A piece of pepperoni pizza would satisfy his hunger.
- Team pennants, rock posters and family photographs covered the boy's bedroom walls.
- Her uncle and she walked slowly through the Inuit art gallery and admired the powerful sculptures exhibited there. The second sentence above features a compound predicate, a predicate that includes more than one verb pertaining to the same subject (in this case, "walked" and "admired").
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His terror of spiders kept him out of the dark basement.
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There will be three concerts in the arts centre tonight.
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Would you willingly exchange half your intelligence for one million dollars?
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Despite the storm's destructiveness, the ship, with its crew of amateurs, might have survived in more experienced hands.
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After the movie, Emma and her brother bought a birthday present for their mother.
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His terror of spiders kept him out of the dark basement.
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There will be three concerts in the arts centre tonight.
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Would you willingly exchange half your intelligence for one million dollars?
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Despite the storm's destructiveness, the ship, with its crew of amateurs, might have survived in more experienced hands.
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After the movie, Emma and her brother bought a birthday present for their mother.
- Direct Object
- The advertising executive drove a flashy red Porsche.
- Direct Object
- Her secret admirer gave her a bouquet of flowers. The second sentence above also contains an indirect object. An indirect object (which, like a direct object, is always a noun or pronoun) is, in a sense, the recipient of the direct object. To determine if a verb has an indirect object, isolate the verb and ask to whom?, to what?, for whom?, or for what? after it. The answer is the indirect object.
- The guest speaker rose from her chair to protest.
- After work, Randy usually jogs around the canal.
- Direct Object
- I hope the Senators win the next game.
- No Direct Object
- Did we win?
- Linking verb with subject complement
- He was a radiologist before he became a full-time yoga instructor.
- Linking verb with subject complement
- Your homemade chili smells delicious.
- Transitive verb with direct object
- I can't smell anything with this terrible cold.
- Intransitive verb with no object
- The interior of the beautiful new Buick smells strongly of fish. Note that a subject complement can be either a noun ("radiologist", "instructor") or an adjective ("delicious").
- The driver seems tired.
- I consider the driver tired.
- Paint it black.
- The judge ruled her out of order.
- I saw the Prime Minister sleeping.
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The old house on the hill gave Leonora chills and conjured up images of ghosts and monsters and other unknown beings.
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Next to the china cabinet, Mrs. Wilkes placed a polished side table and an antique jug.
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Despite winning the lottery last week, my cousin still seems unhappy.
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They gave the university a large endowment for the scholarship fund.
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Some experts believe it is easy to overstate the role that genes and heredity play in determining a person's predisposition to alcoholism.
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After the luncheon buffet, she grew drowsy and decided to take a nap.
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I don't know how you can understand anything that professor says.
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There were no credits after the movie.
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His deaf aunt will be going to the symphony next week.
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The company has been mailing George CD catalogues ever since he bought his stereo.
Unusual Sentences
Imperative sentences (sentences that give a command or an order) differ from conventional sentences in that their subject, which is always "you," is understood rather than expressed.Simple Subject and Simple Predicate
Every subject is built around one noun or pronoun (or more) that, when stripped of all the words that modify it, is known as the simple subject. Consider the following example:Likewise, a predicate has at its centre a simple predicate, which is always the verb or verbs that link up with the subject. In the example we just considered, the simple predicate is "would satisfy" -- in other words, the verb of the sentence.
A sentence may have a compound subject -- a simple subject consisting of more than one noun or pronoun -- as in these examples:
Written by Frances Peck
Review: the Subject
Try to determine the simple subject (disregarding any modifiers) in the following sentences, then check your answer to see if it was correct.Written by Frances Peck
Review: the Predicate
Now, using the same sentences, identify the predicate.
Written by Frances Peck
Now, using the same sentences, identify the predicate.
Written by Frances Peck
Objects and Complements
Objects
A verb may be followed by an object that completes the verb's meaning. Two kinds of objects follow verbs: direct objects and indirect objects. To determine if a verb has a direct object, isolate the verb and make it into a question by placing "whom?" or "what?" after it. The answer, if there is one, is the direct object:Not all verbs are followed by objects. Consider the verbs in the following sentences:
Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
Verbs that take objects are known as transitive verbs. Verbs not followed by objects are called intransitive verbs.Some verbs can be either transitive verbs or intransitive verbs, depending on the context:
Subject Complements
In addition to the transitive verb and the intransitive verb, there is a third kind of verb called a linking verb. The word (or phrase) which follows a linking verb is called not an object, but a subject complement.The most common linking verb is "be." Other linking verbs are "become," "seem," "appear," "feel," "grow," "look," "smell," "taste," and "sound," among others. Note that some of these are sometimes linking verbs, sometimes transitive verbs, or sometimes intransitive verbs, depending on how you use them:
Object Complements
(by David Megginson)
An object complement is similar to a subject complement, except that (obviously) it modifies an object rather than a subject. Consider this example of a subject complement:Sometimes, however, the noun will be the object, as in the following example:
In general, verbs which have to do with perceiving, judging, or changing something can cause their direct objects to take an object complement:
Written by Frances Peck
Review: Parts of the Sentence
Identify the hilighted word in each of the sentences below as a simple subject, a verb, a direct object, an indirect object, or a subject complement.Written by Frances Peck
Punctuation
Punctuation
http://www.uottawa.ca/academic/arts/writcent/hypergrammar/punct.html
The following sections will help you understand and use different types of punctuation more effectively in your writing. This chapter begins with the comma, the punctuation mark which usually causes writers the most trouble, before turning to other types of punctuation.Written by Frances Peck
The Comma
Comma usage is in some respects a question of personal writing style: some writers use commas liberally, while others prefer to use them sparingly. Most modern North American style guides now recommend using fewer commas rather than more, so when faced with the option of using a comma or not, you may find it wise to refrain.For instance, the use of a comma before the "and" in a series is usually optional, and many writers choose to eliminate it, provided there is no danger of misreading:
- We bought scarves, mittens and sweaters before leaving for Iceland. (comma unnecessary before "and")
- We ate apples, plums, and strawberry and kiwi compote. (comma needed before "and" for clarity)
- Use a comma before a co-ordinating conjunction that joins independent clauses (unless the independent clauses are very short):
- I wrapped the fresh fish in three layers of newspaper, but my van still smelled like trout for the next week. (commas with two independent clauses)
- She invited him to her party and he accepted. (comma unnecessary with short clauses)
- Use a comma after an introductory adverb clause and, often, after an introductory phrase (unless the phrase is very short):
- After the hospital had completed its fund-raising campaign, an anonymous donor contributed an additional $10,000. (after introductory adverb clause)
- From the east wall to the west, her cottage measures twenty feet. (after introductory prepositional phrase)
- In the bottom drawer you will find some pink spandex tights. (no comma with short, closely related phrase)
- Use a comma to separate items in a series:
- Playing in a band can be exciting, but many people do not realize the hardships involved: constant rehearsals, playing until 2 a.m., handling drunken audience members, and transporting heavy equipment to and from gigs. (the comma preceding "and" is optional unless needed to prevent misreading)
- Use commas to set off non-restrictive elements and other parenthetical elements. A non-restrictive modifier is a phrase or clause that does not restrict or limit the meaning of the word it is modifying. It is, in a sense, interrupting material that adds extra information to a sentence. Even though removing the non-restrictive element would result in some loss of meaning, the sentence would still make sense without it. You should usually set off non-restrictive elements with commas:
- The people of Haiti, who for decades have lived with grinding poverty and mind-numbing violence, are unfamiliar with the workings of a true democracy.
- Those residents of Ottawa who do not hold secure, well-paying jobs must resent the common portrayal of the city as a land of opportunity.
- Mr. Grundy's driving record (with one small exception) was exemplary.
- Placing parenthetical information between dashes has the opposite effect: it emphasises the material:
- Mr. Grundy's driving record -- with one exception -- was exemplary.
- Do not use a comma to separate the subject from its predicate:
- [WRONG] Registering for our fitness programs before September 15, will save you thirty percent of the membership cost.
- [RIGHT] Registering for our fitness programs before September 15 will save you thirty percent of the membership cost.
- Do not use a comma to separate a verb from its object or its subject complement, or a preposition from its object:
- [WRONG] I hope to mail to you before Christmas, a current snapshot of my dog Benji.
- She travelled around the world with, a small backpack, a bedroll, a pup tent and a camera.
- [RIGHT] I hope to mail to you before Christmas a current snapshot of my dog Benji.
- [RIGHT] She travelled around the world with a small backpack, a bedroll, a pup tent and a camera.
- Do not misuse a comma after a co-ordinating conjunction:
- [WRONG] Sleet fell heavily on the tin roof but, the family was used to the noise and paid it no attention.
- [RIGHT] Sleet fell heavily on the tin roof, but the family was used to the noise and paid it no attention.
- Do not use commas to set off words and short phrases (especially introductory ones) that are not parenthetical or that are very slightly so:
- [WRONG] After dinner, we will play badminton.
- [RIGHT] After dinner we will play badminton.
- Do not use commas to set off restrictive elements:
- [WRONG] The fingers, on his left hand, are bigger than those on his right.
- [RIGHT] The fingers on his left hand are bigger than those on his right.
- Do not use a comma before the first item or after the last item of a series:
- [WRONG] The treasure chest contained, three wigs, some costume jewellery and five thousand dollars in Monopoly money.
- [WRONG] You should practice your punches, kicks and foot sweeps, if you want to improve in the martial arts.
- [RIGHT] The treasure chest contained three wigs, some costume jewellery and five thousand dollars in Monopoly money.
- [RIGHT] You should practice your punches, kicks and foot sweeps if you want to improve in the martial arts. Written by Frances Peck
- Abdominal exercises help prevent back pain; proper posture is also important.
- The auditors made six recommendations; however, only one has been adopted so far. Do not use a semicolon to link a dependent clause or a phrase to an independent clause.
- [WRONG] Although gaining and maintaining a high level of physical fitness takes a good deal of time; the effort pays off in the long run.
- [RIGHT] Although gaining and maintaining a high level of physical fitness takes a good deal of time, the effort pays off in the long run. Generally, you should not place a semicolon before a co-ordinating conjunction that links two independent clauses. The only exception to this guideline is if the two independent clauses are very long and already contain a number of commas.
- [WRONG] The economy has been sluggish for four years now; but some signs of improvement are finally beginning to show.
- [RIGHT] The economy has been sluggish for four years now, but some signs of improvement are finally beginning to show. It may be useful to remember that, for the most part, you should use a semicolon only where you could also use a period.
- Henry's mother believes three things: that every situation, no matter how grim, will be happily resolved; that no one knows more about human nature than she; and that Henry, who is thirty-five years old, will never be able to do his own laundry.
- He visited three cities during his stay in the Maritimes: Halifax, Saint John and Moncton.
- Their lobbying efforts were ultimately useless: the bill was soundly defeated.
- My mother gave me one good piece of advice: to avoid wasting time and energy worrying about things I cannot change.
- [WRONG] His neighbour lent him: a pup-tent, a wooden canoe, and a slightly battered Coleman stove. (colon between verb and objects)
- [RIGHT] His neighbour lent him a pup-tent, a wooden canoe, and a slightly battered Coleman stove.
- [WRONG] Her three goals are: to improve her public speaking skills, to increase her self-confidence and to sharpen her sales techniques. (colon between verb and subject complement)
- [RIGHT] Her three goals are to improve her public speaking skills, to increase her self-confidence and to sharpen her sales techniques.
- [WRONG] We travelled to: London, Wales and Scotland. (colon between preposition and objects)
- [RIGHT] We travelled to London, Wales and Scotland. Written by Frances Peck
- Without a doubt, Lady Emily was much happier after her divorce.
- Turn right at the stop sign.
- Bring me a cup of coffee and a cheese danish. When you want to express a sense of urgency or very strong emotion, you may end your imperative sentences and statements with an exclamation mark:
- Look out below!
- Leave this house at once!
- I hate him! Exclamation marks are, however, rare in formal writing. Use them sparingly, if at all.
- Who's on first?
- Where is my flowered cape? Be careful not to use a question mark at the end of an indirect question. Indirect questions are simply statements, and therefore end with a period:
- I wonder who was chosen as Harvest King in the county fair.
- She asked if she could play pinball.
- The teacher asked who was chewing gum. Written by Frances Peck
- One critic ended his glowing review with this superlative: "It is simply the best film ever made about potato farming."
- May replied, "This is the last cookie." You also use quotation marks to set off certain titles, usually those of minor or short works -- essays, short stories, short poems, songs, articles in periodicals, etc. For titles of longer works and separate publications, you should use italics (or underlined, if italics are not available). Use italics for titles of books, magazines, periodicals, newspapers, films, plays, long poems, long musical works, and television and radio programs.
- Once when I was sick, my father read me a story called "The Happy Flower," which was later made into a movie entitled Flower Child, starring Tiny Tim.
- I know you like the word "unique," but do you really have to use it ten times in one essay?
- "Well" is sometimes a noun, sometimes an adverb, sometimes an adjective and sometimes a verb.
- Commas and periods always go inside the quotation marks.
- I know you are fond of the story "Children of the Corn," but is it an appropriate subject for your essay?
- "At last," said the old woman, "I can say I am truly happy."
- Semicolons and colons always go outside the quotation marks.
- She never liked the poem "Dover Beach"; in fact, it was her least favourite piece of Victorian literature.
- He clearly states his opinion in the article "Of Human Bondage": he believes that television has enslaved and diminished an entire generation.
- Question marks, exclamation marks, and dashes go inside quotation marks when they are part of the quotation, and outside when they do not.
- Where is your copy of "The Raven"?
- "How cold is it outside?" my mother asked.
- "I think she said `I will try,' not `I won't try,'" explained Sandy.
- The convertible's engine has finally died. (The noun "convertible's" is in the possessive case)
- I haven't seen my roommate for two weeks. (The verb "haven't" is a contraction of "have not") To form the possessive of a plural noun ending in "s," simply place an apostrophe after the "s."
- He has his three sons' futures in mind.
- In many suburbs, the houses' designs are too much alike. Possessive pronouns -- for example, "hers," "yours," and "theirs" -- do not take apostrophes. This is the case for the possessive pronoun "its" as well: when you write "it's" with an apostrophe, you are writing a contraction for "it is."
- The spaceship landed hard, damaging its radar receiver. ("its" is the possessive pronoun)
- It's your mother on the phone. ("it's" is the contraction of "it is") Written by Frances Peck
- I think you would look fine wearing either the silk blouse -- the one with the blue pattern -- or the angora sweater. (abrupt interruption)
- The idea of returning to the basics in the classroom -- a notion which, incidentally, has been quietly supported for years by many respected teachers -- is finally gaining some currency with school administrators. (lengthy interruption containing internal commas) You can use a dash to conclude a list of elements, focusing them all toward one point.
- Chocolate, cream, honey and peanut butter -- all go into this fabulously rich dessert.
- We pored over exotic, mouth-watering menus from Nemo Catering, Menu du Jour, Taste Temptations, and three other reputable caterers -- and rejected them all.
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I wrote letters to: my aunt, the cable company, and my close friend Bernice who moved to Boston four years ago.
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"Can working with a computer really improve one's writing?" they asked.
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They read they studied and they reviewed, yet they could not define the term `onomatopoeia' on the English exam.
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Children sometimes knock at the Wilsons' door, as if taunting the couple to show themselves, but neither the old man nor his sister ever answers.
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We cancelled our subscription to the magazine after it ran a homophobic article; likewise, a number of our friends boycotted the publication.
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My sister's skin used to be as smooth as a childs.
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Aaron asked the counsellor if there were many job opportunities for music teachers and if he would have to leave the province to get a good position?
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They wanted very badly to see Peter Weirs new film, but fate in the form of the year's worst snowstorm intruded.
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How could the rent review administrators have made such a decision, and how will your landlord live with himself?
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"Take me with you," she said. "This little town and it's little people are more than I can bear, but I know everything will be different in New York".
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Last Tuesday the committee agreed on its guest speakers for the coming year.
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I really enjoyed Lost Ground the new short story by William Trevor said Samuel.
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Guido who is my fathers cousin was born in Naples.
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His form was excellent his dive was superior to his other competitors attempts.
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My sisters favourite foods are as follows pepperoni pizza applesauce and strawberries.
The Semicolon
You will usually use the semicolon to link independent clauses not joined by a co-ordinating conjunction. Semicolons should join only those independent clauses that are closely related in meaning.
There is one exception to this guideline. When punctuating a list or series of elements in which one or more of the elements contains an internal comma, you should use semicolons instead of commas to separate the elements from one another:
The Colon
Writers often confuse the colon with the semicolon, but their uses are entirely different.
When to Use a Colon
The colon focuses the reader's attention on what is to follow, and as a result, you should use it to introduce a list, a summation, or an idea that somehow completes the introductory idea. You may use the colon in this way, however, only after an independent clause:
When Not to Use a Colon
You should not place a colon between a verb and its object or subject complement, or between a preposition and its object:
End Punctuation
The punctuation marks that signal the end of a sentence are the period, the question mark and the exclamation mark.
You use the period, by far the most common of the end punctuation marks, to terminate a sentence that makes a statement. You may also use periods with imperative sentences that have no sense of urgency or excitement attached:
You should use the question mark at the end of a direct question:
Quotation Marks
The exact rules for quotation marks vary greatly from language to language and even from country to country within the English-speaking world. In North American usage, you should place double quotation marks (") before and after directly quoted material and words of dialogue:
Quotations Marks with Other Punctuation
One question that frequently arises with quotation marks is where to place other punctuation marks in relation to them. Again, these rules vary from region to region, but North American usage is quite simple:
The Apostrophe
You should use an apostrophe to form the possessive case of a noun or to show that you have left out letters in a contraction. Note that you should not generally use contractions in formal, academic writing.
The Dash
As noted in the section on commas, you can use a dash at the beginning and end of parenthetical information. Usually, you will use dashes when you want to emphasise the information, but you might also use them if the parenthetical information is too long or abrupt to be set off with commas.
Review: Identifying Punctuation Errors
Indicate whether each sentence is punctuated correctly or incorrectly.
Review: Adding Punctuation
Using a separate sheet of paper, punctuate each sentence, then compare your answer to the one provided.
Comma Usage
Superfluous Commas
Equally important in understanding how to use commas effectively is knowing when not to use them. While this decision is sometimes a matter of personal taste, there are certain instances when you should definitely avoid a comma.Using Pronouns
Using Pronouns
http://www.uottawa.ca/academic/arts/writcent/hypergrammar/usepronn.html
Written by Dorothy TurnerPronoun Reference
Pronouns usually refer to other words, called their antecedents because they (should) come before the pronoun. A pronoun's antecedent may be either a noun or another pronoun, but in either case, it must be clear what the antecedent is. Consider this example:- Micheline told Ruth that she would take Jerry to the barn dance.
A pronoun should have only one possible antecedent
If there is more than one possible antecedent for a personal pronoun in a sentence, make sure that the pronoun refers only to one of them:- [WRONG] Jerry found a gun in the trousers which he wore.
- [WRONG] Jerry called Steve twelve times while he was in Reno.
A pronoun should not refer to an implied idea
Make sure that the pronoun refers to a specific rather than to an implicit antecedent: When you leave the antecedent implied instead of stating it explicitly, the reader has to try to guess your sentence's meaning:- [WRONG] John put a bullet in his gun and shot it.
- [WRONG] If I told you had a beautiful body would you hold it against me?
- [WRONG] The craftspersons' union reached an agreement on Ruth's penalty, but it took time.
A pronoun should not refer to adjectives or possessive nouns
You should not use adjectives, or nouns or pronouns in the possessive case, as antecedents. Although they may imply a noun, reference to them will be ambiguous:- In Ruth's apology she told Jerry she'd loved him for years.
- Jerry wore those blasted green knickers; it was his favourite colour.
A pronoun should not refer to a title
When you start your paper, do not write as if the title itself were part of the body of the paper. Often, the title will appear on a separate page, and your opening will be confusing. Imagine, for example, a paper entitled "How to Sew Green Knickers": you should not begin the first paragraph with a sentence like- This is not as easy as it looks.
Use "it," "they," and "you" carefully
In conversation people often use expressions such as "It says in this book that ..." and "In my home town they say that ...". These constructions are useful for information conversation because they allow you to present ideas casually, without supporting evidence; for academic writing, however, these constructions are either too imprecise or too wordy:- [WRONG] In Chapter four of my autobiography it says that I was born out of wedlock.
- [WRONG] In the restaurant they gave me someone else's linguini.
It would be better to rewrite these two sentences as follow:
- [RIGHT] Chapter four of my autobiography states that I was born out of wedlock.
- [RIGHT] In the restaurant, the server gave me someone else's linguini.
The same basic rule applies to the pronoun "you." In informal conversation and in instructional writing (like HyperGrammar), English speakers often use the pronoun to mean something like "a hypothetical person" or "people in general"; academic writing, however, needs to be more precise, and you should use "you" only when you want to address the reader directly (as I am doing here). Consider this example:
- [WRONG] In the fourteenth century, you had to struggle to survive.
- [RIGHT] In the fourteenth century, people had to struggle to survive.
- [RIGHT] In the fourteenth century, English peasant farmers had to struggle to survive.
Use "it" consistently within a sentence
There are three common uses of the pronoun "it":- As an idiom
- "It is snowing";
- To postpone the subject
- "It is untrue that a rhinoceros can run faster than my tights"; and
- As a personal pronoun
- "I wanted a rhinoceros for my birthday, but did not get it." You may use all of these in academic writing, but to avoid awkwardness, you should not use more than one within a single sentence:
- [WRONG] When it is my birthday, I hope to receive a rhinoceros, and I will walk it often.
- On my birthday, I hope to receive a rhinoceros, and I will walk it often.
- My mother, who gave me the rhino, must love me very much. My rhino, whom I call Spike, wanders at will through the house.
- The rhino, which is a much maligned and misunderstood animal, is really quite affectionate. Its horn is a matt of hair which is sort of stuck to its snout.
- The rhino that hid behind the television was missing for days.
- Rhinos that like to swim cause both plumbing and enamelling problems for their owners.
- The answer that everyone missed was "Etruscan."
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It says in this article in The Atlantic Advocate that Frederictonians are taking up line dancing in unprecedented numbers.
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They say Frederictonians often gather at clubs and dance the night away.
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Recently Frederictonians gave a demonstration of their craft at the Saint John Exhibition.
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When a dancer which is talented performs the best-known numbers, the entire audience becomes involved.
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In Martha's Guide to Fredericton she lists all the line dancing halls within 50 kilometres.
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Although Fredericton is a small town it has many interesting sights, and Ruth enjoys spring because it is the season when all dancers buy new outfits.
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It is normal for tourists to visit Fredericton from all over Canada, especially in the summer, to watch the dancers.
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Line dancing has a long and illustrious history, and it is especially popular with the older generation.
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Grandparents, who were the first generation to line dance, taught their children to consider the activity as part of Fredericton's heritage.
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The reasons for keeping this tradition alive include an awareness of your roots and pride in your heritage.
Use "who," "which," and "that" carefully
Historically, writers, editors, and publishers have had difficulty establishing a clear guidelines for using the relative pronouns "who," "which," and "that," in formal writing, but over the last fifty years or so they have come a loose standard. According to this standard, the pronoun "who" usually refers to people, but may also refer to animals that have names:Review: Pronoun Reference
In each of the following sentences, decide whether the writer used the hilighted pronoun appropriately for academic writing.Tricky Points of Pronoun Usage
This section covers some relatively tricky points which are no longer standard in spoken English, though many people still insist upon them in formal writing.Pronouns in Apposition
A pronoun should also be in the subject case when it is in apposition to a subject or subject complement, and in the object case when it is in apposition to the object of a verb, verbal, or preposition:- [RIGHT] Three craftspeople -- Mary, Albert, and he -- made the accessory for Jerry.
- [RIGHT] The accessory was made by three craftspeople, Mary, Albert, and him.
- [RIGHT] The three craftspeople involved were Mary, Albert, and she.
"Us" and "we" before a Noun
A first-person plural pronoun used with a noun takes the case of the noun. If the noun functions as a subject, the pronoun should be in the subject case; if the noun functions as an object, the pronoun should be in the object case:- We rowdies left the restaurant late.
- The restaurant owner mumbled at all us slow eaters.
Using 'than' or 'as' in a Comparison
In elliptical comparisons, where the writer has left some words out of a sentence, the case of the pronoun at the end of the sentence determines its meaning. When a sentence ends with a subjective pronoun, the pronoun must serve as the subject of the omitted verb. When a sentence ends with an objective pronoun, the pronoun must serve as the object of the omitted verb:- Elliptical
- Ruth likes Jerry better than I.
- Complete
- Ruth likes Jerry better than I like Jerry.
- Elliptical
- Ruth likes Jerry better than me.
- Complete
- Ruth likes Jerry better than she likes me. Written by Dorothy Turner