Guide
to
Grammar
and
Usage
373
Nominative
(Pronoun
as
it
we
they
who
whoever
Subject)
Objective
(Pronoun
as
it
us
them
whom
whomever
Objective)
Possessive
(Ownership)
its
our, ours
their, theirs
whose
whoever

Clauses
Clauses
are groups of words
that
have a subject and a verb.
•
Independent
clauses
are complete sentences.
•
Dependent
clauses
are fragments. They cannot stand alone; they can only be
part
of a
sentence.
Clichés
Clichés
are descriptive phrases
that
have lost their effectiveness through overuse.
Examples:
sweet as sugar, tried and
true,
raining cats and dogs slow but sure
Replace
clichés
with
fresh, new descriptions.
Colons

See
Punctuation.
Commas
See
Punctuation.
Comparative
Adjectives and Adverbs
Follow
these rules to make correct comparisons
with
adjectives and adverbs.
•
Use the comparative degree (-er or
more
form) to compare two things.
•
Use the superlative form
(-est
or
most
form) to compare more than two things.
•
Never use -er and
more
or -est and
most
together.
ilk
Appendix
C

Review
the following
Part
of Speech
adjective
adverb
adjective
adverb
chart.
Positive
wide
widely
faithful
faithfully
Comparative
wider
more widely
more faithful
more faithfully
Good
and
bad
do not follow these guidelines. They have
Part
of Speech
adjective
adverb
adjective
adverb
Positive

good
well
bad
badly
Comparative
better
better
worse
worse
Superlative
widest
most widely
most faithful
most faithfully
irregular
forms.
Superlative
best
best
worst
worst
Conjunctions
Conjunctions connect words or groups of words.
Examples:
and, but, or for, because, although
Contractions
Contractions are two words combined.
When
you contract words, add an apostrophe
in

the space where the letters have been taken out.
Examples:
•
does + not = doesn't
•
we + re = we're
•
I
+
will
=
I'll
Don't
confuse contractions
with
possessive pronouns. Study this chart.
Contraction
Possessive
Pronoun
it's (it is)
you're (you are)
they're (they are)
who's (who is)
its
your
their
whose
Guide
to
Grammar

and
Usage
375
D
Dangling
Modifiers
A
dangling
modifier is a word or phrase
that
describes something
that
has been left
out of the sentence.
•
Dangling:
Making startling new discoveries in science, the
Renaissance
was a
time
or rebirth.
•
Correct:
The
Renaissance
was a
time
of rebirth when people made startling new
discoveries
in science.

Diction
Diction is a writer's choice of
words.
Be sure you select words
that
are suitable for
your audience, purpose, and tone. Depending on your audience, you can use words
that
are formal or words
that
are informal. Informal
language
includes
slang.
This
level
of diction is not suitable for formal discourse.
Be
sure to avoid sexist
language.
This is
language
that
assigns
qualities to people on
the basis of their gender. This
language
discriminates against people by limiting
what
they can do. Here are some guidelines:

•
Avoid using
he
to refer to
both
men and women.
Sexist:
He is a good writer so he knows how to select suitable words.
Okay:
Good writers know how to select suitable words.
•
Avoid using
man
to refer to men and women.
Sexist:
Man is a social creature.
Okay:
People are social creatures.
•
Avoid
language
that
denigrates people.
Sexist:
lady lawyer, male nurse
Okay:
lawyer, nurse
376
Appendix
(

Double Negatives
Use
only one negative word to express a negative
idea.
Here are the most frequently
used negative words:
-n't
no not only
neither no one nothing
scarcely
never nobody nowhere
Exclamation
Marks
See
Punctuation.
F
fragments
A
sentence fragment
is
a group of
words
that
does not express a complete thought.
Most times, a fragment is
missing
a subject,
a
verb, or
both.

Other
times, a fragment
may
have a subject and a verb but still not express a complete thought.
Example:
The writer
gone
to the office.
The verb is not complete. The sentence should read:
The writer
has
gone
to the office.
You can correct a fragment two
ways:
•
Add the
missing
part
to the sentence
Fragment:
In the cabinet over the bookshelf.
Complete:
I keep the aspirin in the cabinet over the bookshelf.
•
Omit
the subordinating conjunction or connect it to another sentence.
Fragment:
When
you go to the convention.

Complete:
When
you go to the convention, be sure to wear comfortable shoes.
Guide
to
Grammar
and
Osage
377
l
Interjections
Interjections show strong emotion. Often, interjections are set
off
with
an exclamation
mark.
Examples:
Oh!, Wow!, Look out!
M
Misplaced
Modifiers
A
misplaced modifier is a
describing
word
that
is
placed too far away from the noun
or the pronoun
that

it is
describing.
As a result, the sentence does not convey its
meaning.
It may
also
produce confusion or amusement. To convey the error, move
the modifier as close as possible to the word or phrase it is describing.
Example:
The writer read from his new book wearing
glasses.
The modifier
wearing
glasses
is
in the wrong
place.
The sentence states
that
the book,
not the writer, was wearing
glasses.
Move the modifier so
that
the sentence reads:
The writer
wearing
glasses
read from his new book.
N

Nonstandard
English
Nonstandard
English
are words and phrases
that
are not considered correct
usage.
Here is a list of
words
and phrases to avoid in writing and speech.
Nonstandard
English
Standard
Written
English
irregardless
regardless
kind of
a
kind of
off
of
off
being
that
because
had ought ought
this here this
378

Appendix
(
continued
Nonstandard
English
hisself
the reason is because
like
I told you
that
there
Standard
Written
English
himself
the reason is
that
as
I told you
that
Nouns
A
noun is a word
that
names a person, place, or thing. Nouns come in different
varieties.
•
Common nouns name a type of person, place, or thing.
Examples:
boy, city, food

•
Proper nouns name a specific person, place, or thing.
Examples:
Harris,
Pensacola,
Rice-a-Roni
•
Compound nouns are two or more nouns
that
function as a
single
unit.
A com-
pound noun can be two individual words, words joined by a hyphen, or two
words combined.
Examples:
Individual
words:
time
capsule
Hyphenated words: step-brother
Combined words: sunshine
P
Parts of Speech
English
words are divided into eight different parts of speech according to their function
in
a sentence.
See
Adjectives, Adverbs, Conjunctions, Interjections, Nouns,

Prepositions,
Pronouns, and Verbs for a description of each kind.
Periods
See
Punctuation.
Guide
to
Grammar
and
Usage
379
Phrases
Phrases
are groups of
words
that
function in a sentence as one part of
speech.
Phrases
do not have subjects or verbs.
Examples:
by the lake, near the closet,
with
them, a
large
publishing house
Plural Nouns
Plural
nouns name more than one person, place, or thing. Follow these guidelines to
form the plural of nouns:

•
Add s to form the plural of most nouns.
Singular
bird
hat
Plural
birds
hats
•
Add
es
if the
noun
ends in
s,
sh,
ch,
or x.
Singular
class
inch
box
•
If the
noun
ends
Singular
city
lady
•

If the
noun
ends
Singular
essay
monkey
•
If the
noun
ends
Singular
Plural
classes
inches
boxes
in y
preceded
by a
consonant,
change the y to
/
and add es.
Plural
cities
ladies
in y
preceded
by a
vowel,
add s.

Plural
essays
monkeys
on o
preceded
by a
vowel,
add s.
Plural
radio
radios
ratio ratios
380
Appendix
C
•
If the noun ends in
o
preceded by a
consonant,
the noun can takes
es,
s, or either s
or es.
Singular Plural
Takes
es
potato
potatoes
hero heroes

Takes
s
silo
silos
solo
solos
Either
zero zeros, zeroes
tornado tornados, tornadoes
•
Add s to most nouns ending in/
Singular Plural
brief
briefs
chief
chiefs
Exceptions:
Change
the/or
fe
to v and add
es.
Singular
self
wolf
leaf
knife
life
wife
half

thief
Plural
selves
wolves
leaves
knives
lives
wives
halves
thieves
•
In compound words, make the main word plural.
Singular Plural
sister-in-law
sisters-in-law
mother-in-law mothers-in-law
Guide
to
Grammar
and
Usage
381
•
Some nouns change their
spelling
when they become plural.
Singular
Plural
child
children

man men
foot feet
tooth
teeth
louse
lice
mouse mice
•
Some nouns have the same form
whether
they are
singular
or plural.
Singular
Plural
swine
swine
series series
deer deer
sheep sheep
moose
moose
species
species
Possession
Possession
shows ownership. Follow these rules to create
possessive
nouns.
•

With
singular
nouns, add an apostrophe and
s.
Examples:
girl,
girl's
manuscript; student, student's ideas
•
With
plural nouns ending in
s,
add an apostrophe after the s.
Examples:
girls, girls'
manuscript; students, students' ideas
•
With
plural nouns not ending in
s,
add an apostrophe and
s.
Examples:
women, women's books; mice, mice's tails
Prepositions
Prepositions
are words
that
link a noun or a pronoun follow it to another word in the
sentence.

382
Appendix
(
Here
are some of the most common prepositions:
about
above
across
after
against
along
amid
around
as
at
before
behind
below
beneath
beside
between
beyond
but
by
despite
down
during
except
for
from

in
inside
into
like
near
of
off
on
onto
opposite
out
A
prepositional phrase is a preposition and its object.
Examples:
on the wing, in the door
Pronoun and Antecedent Agreement
See
Agreement of Pronoun and
Antecedent.
Pronouns
Pronouns
are words used in place of
a
noun or another pronoun.
•
Personal pronouns refer to a specific person, place, object, or thing.
First
person
Second
person

Third
person
Singular
I,
me, mine, my
you,
your, yours
Singular
he,
him, his
she,
her, hers, it
Plural
we, us, our, ours
you,
your, yours
Plural
they,
them,
their
theirs, its
•
Possessive
pronouns show ownership.
Examples:
yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs, whose
outside
over
past
since

through
toward
under
underneath
until
upon
with
within