Tag: Writing
Pronouns — Good Rules & Evil Tips
[found on grammarbook.com]
“A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun. Pronouns can be in one of three cases: Subject, Object, or Possessive.
Rule 1
Subject pronouns are used when the pronoun is the subject of the sentence. You can remember subject pronouns easily by filling in the blank subject space for a simple sentence.
Example:
______ did the job.
I, you, he, she, it, we, and they all fit into the blank and are, therefore, subject pronouns.
Rule 2
Subject pronouns are also used if they rename the subject. They follow to be verbs such as is,are, was, were, am, and will be.
Examples:
It is he.
This is she speaking.
It is we who are responsible for the decision to downsize.
NOTE: In spoken English, most people tend to follow to be verbs with object pronouns. Many English teachers support (or at least have given in to) this distinction between written and spoken English.
Example:
It could have been them.
Better:
It could have been they.
Example:
It is just me at the door.
Better:
It is just I at the door.
Rule 3
Object pronouns are used everywhere else (direct object, indirect object, object of the preposition). Object pronouns are me, you, him, her, it, us, and them.
Examples:
Jean talked to him.
Are you talking to me?
To be able to choose pronouns correctly, you must learn to identify clauses. A clause is a group of words containing a verb and subject.
Rule 4a
A strong clause can stand on its own.
Examples:
She is hungry.
I am feeling well today.
Rule 4b
A weak clause begins with words such as although, since, if, when, and because. Weak clauses cannot stand on their own.
Examples:
Although she is hungry…
If she is hungry…
Since I am feeling well…
Rule 4c
If a sentence contains more than one clause, isolate the clauses so that you can decide which pronoun is correct.
Examples:
|
Weak |
Strong |
|
[Although she is hungry,] |
[she will give him some of her food.] |
|
[Although this gift is for him,] |
[I would like you to have it too.] |
Rule 5
To decide whether to use the subject or object pronoun after the words than or as, mentally complete the sentence.
Examples:
Tranh is as smart as she/her.
If we mentally complete the sentence, we would say, “Tranh is as smart as she is.” Therefore,she is the correct answer.
Zoe is taller than I/me.
Mentally completing the sentence, we have, “Zoe is taller than I am.”
Daniel would rather talk to her than I/me.
We can mentally complete this sentence in two ways: “Daniel would rather talk to her than to me.” OR “Daniel would rather talk to her than I would.” As you can see, the meaning will change depending on the pronoun you choose.
Rule 6
Possessive pronouns show ownership and never need apostrophes.
Possessive pronouns: mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs
NOTE: The only time it’s has an apostrophe is when it is a contraction for it is or it has.
Examples:
It’s a cold morning.
The thermometer reached its highest reading.
Rule 7
Reflexive pronouns – myself, himself, herself, itself, themselves, ourselves, yourself, yourselves– should be used only when they refer back to another word in the sentence.
Correct:
I worked myself to the bone.
Incorrect:
My brother and myself did it.
The word myself does not refer back to another word.
Correct:
My brother and I did it.
Incorrect:
Please give it to John or myself.
Correct:
Please give it to John or me.”
[found on http://www.grammarbook.com/grammar/pronoun.asp]
Share this:
Need writing prompts?
Check out this site! It is amazing for giving prompts for all types of writing—fiction, nonfiction, poetry…anything!
Share this:
A dash of Em— A dash of En–
[found on makeuseof.com]
“Stop avoiding dashes in your writing just because you don’t know how to type them outside of word processors. Learn the proper keyboard shortcuts and you can type these essential parts of the English language in basic text editors, browsers and anywhere else you may need them. The en dash (–) is my favorite piece of punctuation–it’s perfect for inserting points, like this one–but I’ve been neglecting it in my writing for a couple of years, for a really dumb reason. What’s my dumb reason? I’ve stopped using Word and Open/Libre Office. I know their shortcut for an em dash–type two dashes between two words and they will transform once you type a space after the second word. I stopped using word processors when I started writing for the Internet, however, because they add a bunch of nonsense code to my writing. But outside programs with their own shortcut, I never got around to learning how to write em or en dashes. This means the text editors and browsers I now do my writing in are dashless wastelands. There are online tools for creating em dashes, and I’ve resorted to Googling “en dash” and copying the resulting punctuation, though Not anymore. I’m going to stop restructuring sentences out of laziness, and I’m going to help you do so as well. Here’s how to make your favorite punctuation on your favorite operating system. Keep reading!Create Em and En Dashes On A Mac!
First up: the easy one. Apple’s operating system OS X comes with a couple of keyboard shortcuts that make typing em and en dash a snap.- For an en dash (–), use “Option” and “-”.
- For an em dash (—), use “Option”, “Shift” and “-”.
Create Em and En Dashes on Windows!
Windows users can easily make an em dash if they’re using Word: just type two dashes between two words, as I explained above. Outside of Word, however, the story is different: you need to use four digit alt codes. You’re going to need a keyboard with a number pad for this–the block of numbers to the right of the arrow keys:
Laptops without physical number pads can occasionally use the “Fn” key and some letter keys instead of a number keypad–search your keyboard for blue numbers. Lacking that, you may be out of luck.
- To create you dash, first put your cursor where you’d like it and hold down the “Alt” button. Now you need to type a four digit code:
- 0150 for the en dash (–)
- 0151 for the em dash (—).”
[found on http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/type-em-en-dashes-word-processor]
Share this:
We don’t need no stinkin’ italics!
[found on grammar.quickanddirtytips.com]
Did you know…when you italicize a word or phrase, the following punctuation should NOT be in italics?Here are some more fun facts:
“…a medium-sized list of things you probably should italicize. Just be sure to double-check the style guide you’re supposed to use, as rules vary. Here goes:- foreign words not yet assimilated into English—more on that later;
- legal citations;
- letters of the alphabet when you’re referring to them as letters;
- scientific names;
- titles of works, including books, plays, short stories, very long poems, newspapers, and magazines;
- titles of movies and radio and television series;
- names of operas and long musical compositions;
- and names of paintings and sculptures (1).
- You might also be asked to italicize the names of famous speeches, the titles of pamphlets, the names of vehicles (such as Challenger), and words used as words (2).”
[found on http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/how-to-use-italics.aspx]
Share this:
Struggling with lie, lay, lain, laid, lying, laying….?
When do you use them? And HOW?
Here is a simple breakdown to guide your pen:
How does this correlate to the page—in the real world of writing?
Let’s take a look:
PRESENT TENSE:
- I am going to lie down on the floor.
- Henry lay his book on the floor.
PAST TENSE:
- Yesterday, Henry lay in the hammock before dinner.
- Yesterday, I laid the book in the hammock before dinner.
PAST PARTICIPLE:
- He had lain in the sand two hours before they left.
- He had laid the lunchbox in the sand two hours before they left.
Share this:
Writing is Courage
“If we had to say what writing is, we would have to define it essentially as an act of courage.” — Cynthia Ozick
Share this:
Bitter writer? Or Better writer?
[found on goinswriter.com]
“Anyone who writes is a writer, but that doesn’t mean they’re a very good one. So let’s talk about how to become a better writer. We’ll begin with the basics — here are seven key lessons:
- Writing is simple, but not easy.
- Before you get a larger audience, you have to get better.
- Practice makes you better; it’s the repetitions that make it effortless.
- Until you put your work out there, you’re only screwing around. Write for real.
- You can’t practice without discipline. Keep showing up and persevering.
- There will always be resistance; type through it, anyway.
- Get over your excuses and do the work.”
[found on http://goinswriter.com/writing-tips]
Share this:
George Orwell Asks Before Writing…Do You?
[found on writingclasses.com]
“A scrupulous writer, in every sentence that he writes, will ask himself at least four questions, thus:
- What am I trying to say?
- What words will express it?
- What image or idiom will make it clearer?
- Is this image fresh enough to have an effect?
And he will probably ask himself two more:
- Could I put it more shortly?
- Have I said anything that is avoidably ugly?
One can often be in doubt about the effect of a word or a phrase, and one needs rules that one can rely on when instinct fails. I think the following rules will cover most cases:
- Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
- Never use a long word where a short one will do.
- If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
- Never use the passive where you can use the active.
- Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
- Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.”
[found on http://www.writingclasses.com/InformationPages/index.php/PageID/300]**
Share this:
Ending Soon: Publishing Package CONTEST!!!!!
There’s not much time left to enter!
A Book’s Mind is having a Back Cover Battle! WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO??- Write your book’s summary.
- Submit it.
- You could win a Basic Publishing Package!
HURRY! The contest ends June 15th!
Make sure and tell A Book’s Mind that Editing Addict sent you!
Editing Addict, LLC 