English Grammar Workbook for "dummies" - Geraldine Woods
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64 Part I: Laying Out the Concrete Slab: Grammar Basics
Part II
Mastering Mechanics
In this part . . .
In my hometown, it’s possible to find stores where signs proclaim “merchant’s sell Bagels.” You have to give me
a minute to shudder at the small but important mistakes (and I don’t mean mistake’s) in bagel signage. First of all, the apostrophe (the little hook at the end of the word merchant) is wrong, as are, in my informal count, 99.99 percent of the apostrophes I see in all sorts of official spots. Plus, despite the fact that bagels are extremely delicious, they don’t deserve a capital letter. Sigh. Such are the daily trials of a grammarian in New York City.
Wherever you live, in this part, you can practice some aspects of what grammarians call mechanics —
punctuation and capitalization. When you’re done, you’ll be the master of the dreaded comma (Chapter 5), apostrophe (Chapter 7), and the quotation mark (Chapter 8). Plus, you’ll know how to place hyphens and dashes and semicolons, not to mention colons (Chapter 6). Tucked into Chapter 9 are the basics of capitalization. If all these details fry your brain, feel free to refresh yourself with
a bagel or two.
Chapter 5
Exercising Comma Sense
In This Chapter
Punctuating lists correctly
Signaling a direct address
Placing commas in dates and addresses
Using commas to insert introductory words and interrupters
Deciding when descriptions need to be set off by commas
The well-dressed writing of a hundred years ago boasted far more commas than today’s fashionable sentences. The current trend toward what grammarians term open style punctuation calls for commas to be used sparingly. Dwindling though they may be, these little punctuation marks have their place — in lists, direct address, dates and addresses, introductory expressions, interrupters, and certain types of descriptions. In this chapter you can practice inserting and deleting commas until your writing is as proper as a maiden
aunt and as stylish as a supermodel.
Making a List and Checking It Twice
When you’re writing a free-standing list, line breaks signal when one item in a list ends and another begins. Commas do the same thing in sentences. Perhaps Professor MacGregor wants you to do the following:
Go on the Internet.
Locate the origin of the handheld meat patty.
Write a paper on hamburger history.
Inserted into a sentence, the line breaks in the preceding list turn into commas:
Professor MacGregor wants you to go on the Internet, locate the origin of the handheld meat patty, and write a paper on hamburger history.
Notice that the first item isn’t preceded by a comma and that the last two items are separated by and, which has a comma in front of it. Although that last comma is optional, many style manuals, which are stricter than the bouncer at this year’s most popular club, want you to insert a comma before the and or whatever word joins the last two items of the list.
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If any item in a list has a comma within it, semicolons are used to separate the list items. Imagine that you’re inserting this list into a sentence:
Peter McKinney, the mayor
Agnes Hutton
Jeannie Battle, magic expert
In a sentence using only commas, the reader wouldn’t know that Peter McKinney is the mayor and may instead think that Peter and the mayor are two separate people. Here’s the properly punctuated sentence:
Because he has only one extra ticket to the magic expo, Daniel will invite Peter McKinney, the mayor; Agnes Hutton; or Jeannie Battle, magic expert.
Get to work! Insert the list from each question into a sentence (I supply the beginning), and punctuate it properly.
Q. List of things to buy at the pharmacy:
industrial-strength toenail clippers
green shoe polish
earwax remover
Getting ready for his big date, Rob went to the pharmacy to purchase ______________
________________________________________________________________________________
A. Getting ready for his big date, Rob went to the pharmacy to purchase industrialstrength toenail clippers, green shoe polish, and earwax remover. You have three items and two commas; no comma is needed before the first item on the list.
1.Supermarket shopping list:
pitted dates chocolate-covered mushrooms anchovies
pickles
Rob planned to serve a tasteful selection of _____________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
2.Guests:
Helen Ogilbee, supermodel Natasha Nakovee, swimsuit model Blair Berry, automotive salesperson
Hannah Umbridge, former Miss Autoclave
Rob’s guest list is heavily tilted toward women he would like to date, such as _______
________________________________________________________________________________
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3.Activities:
bobbing for cabbages
pinning the tail on the landlord playing double solitaire
After everyone arrives, Rob plans an evening of _________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
4.Goals:
get three phone numbers arrange at least one future date avoid police interference
Rob will consider his party a success if he can __________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
5.Results:
the police arrived at 10:00, 11:00, and 11:30 p.m. no one gave out any phone numbers
everyone thought his name was Bob
Rob didn’t meet his goals because _____________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
You Talkin’ to Me? Direct Address
If the name or title of the person to whom you’re talking or writing is inserted into the sentence, you’re in a direct-address situation. Direct-address expressions are set off from everything else by commas. In these examples, Wilfred is being addressed:
Wilfred, you can have the squash court at 10 a.m.
I expect you to remove all the seeds from the squash, Wilfred.
When you hit a zucchini, Wilfred, avoid using too much force.
The most common direct-address mistake is to send one comma to do a two-comma job. In the last of the three preceding examples, two commas must set off Wilfred.
Can you insert commas to highlight the direct-address name in these sentences?
Q. Listen Champ I think you need to get a new pair of boxing gloves.
A. Listen, Champ, I think you need to get a new pair of boxing gloves. In this example, you’re talking to Champ, a title that’s substituting for the actual name. Direct-address expressions don’t have to be proper names, though they frequently are.
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6.Ladies and Gentlemen I present the Fifth Annual Elbox Championships.
7.I know Mort that you are an undefeated Elbox competitor. Would you tell our audience about the sport?
8.Elboxing is about 5,000 years old Chester. It originated in ancient Egypt.
9.Really? Man I can’t believe you knew that!
10.Yes, the sport grew out of the natural movement of the elbow when someone tried to interfere with a diner’s portion by “elbowing” Chester.
11.Excuse me a moment. The reigning champion has decided to pay us a visit. Miss William could you tell us how you feel about the upcoming match?
12.Certainly Sir. I am confident that my new training routine will pay off.
13.What type of exercises did you do Placida? I may call you “Placida,” right?
14.Sure! I arm-wrestled for eight hours a day Mort and then swam a mile or so for the aerobic benefit.
15.We wish her the best of luck, don’t we folks?
Dating and Addressing
No, this section doesn’t tell you what to wear when taking a comma to dinner and a movie. Nor does this section deal with what sort of speech you need to make when you first meet a comma. Instead, this section enables you to practice placing commas in dates (as in July 20, 2009) and addresses (as in Boise, Idaho).
The date rules are fairly simple:
For a date that includes (in order) the month, day, and year, place a comma after the day. If this kind of date is in a sentence that continues beyond the year, place a comma after the year. (“I plan to blow up the rutabaga patch on August 4, 2006, unless I find a more enticing vegetable.”)
For a date that includes (in order) the day, month, and year, open-style punctuation, which drops commas faster than Superman drops Kryptonite, favors no commas anywhere — before, after, inside, over, or under. You get the idea; no commas. (“The last rutabaga will be harvested on 4 August 2006 and sold at auction.”) Some very traditional English teachers (I’m one) always place a comma after the month and after the year, unless the year ends the sentence, in which case the endmark follows the year. (“The last cabbage will be picked on 30 September, 2008, and made into a doll.”) If you’re writing for a particular person (a professor or a boss), you should check his or her preference. As always, whatever style you choose should be consistent throughout.
For a date that includes (in order) only the month and day, you don’t need any commas. (“In honor of farmer Bill, I will send a contribution to Save the Rutabaga on September 12.”)
For a date that includes (in order) the month and year, no commas are required. (“Bill bought the farm in January 2006 and sold it five years later.”)
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Traditional punctuation places a comma between the month and the year and after the year within a sentence; however, open-style punctuation favors fewer commas, and that’s what I’m advocating. Many style manuals drop both commas if the sentence continues. Which style should you follow? Your call, unless the Authority Figure for whom you’re writing has a preference. No matter what you do, be consistent.
As far as addresses are concerned, the following rules apply:
If you’re writing an address in block form (not in a sentence), use a comma to separate only the city from the state.
If the address is inserted into a sentence, use a comma to show where one line of the address ends and the next begins and between the city and state, which is standard practice. If the sentence continues after the address, insert a comma after the last bit of the address. (“I sent the rutabagas to Evelyn O’Hara, 1322 Wilson Street, Corville, Iowa 70202, but she never replied.”) Note: No comma is placed between the state and the ZIP code.
Punctuation party time! Place commas where you need them in these sentences.
Q. On December 12 2007 I received a letter from Evelyn O’Hara, who now resides at 722 Park Avenue New York City New York 10027 in the heart of Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
A. On December 12, 2007, I received a letter from Evelyn O’Hara, who now resides at 722
Park Avenue, New York City, New York 10027, in the heart of Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Commas separate the day from the year, the whole date from the rest of the sentence, and each part of the address (the house number and street, city, and state). A comma also follows the address. Notice that no comma ever comes between the state and the ZIP code. (They’ve been going steady for years and allow nothing to come between them. Ah, love.)
16.An article in The New York Times of 12 November 2006 reports that rutabagas have very few calories.
17.Evelyn is partial to the rutabagas sold by Clearview Nurseries 17 Fort Benn Parkway Kalama Florida 05789 although they are quite expensive and its rates are going up in September 2007.
18.Her last will and testament is dated April 8 1990 and specifies that rutabaga roses be placed on her grave.
19.Her attorney, Hubert Wilberforce, may be contacted at 78 Crescent Square London Connecticut 86689 for more information.
20.Instead of flowers, Evelyn wrote that friends and loved ones should contribute to the United Rutabaga Society 990 Pacific Street Northwest Agonis Oregon 98989.
Introducing (and Interrupting) with the Comma
Do you want to start your sentences off with a bang, or at least a small pop? Fine. Just don’t forget to set off the introductory expression with a comma. Grammatically, introductory expressions are a mixed bag of verbals, prepositional phrases, adverbial
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clauses, and lots of other things you don’t have to know the names of. In short, an introductory expression makes a comment on the rest of the sentence or adds a bit of extra information. It may include a verb form or just mention a place; it may even be as short as yes, no, or well; or it may be much longer. Check out the italicized portion of each of these sentences for examples of introductory expressions:
Snaking through the dark tunnel, Brad Jones thought about the book deal he’d get for his memoirs.
To get out in one piece, Brad planned a diversion.
While he was crossing the lighted area, an order of takeout pizza would be delivered.
Interrupters vary in length. A direct-address element (see the “You Talkin’ to Me? Direct Address” section earlier in this chapter) may be considered a type of interrupter and so may some of the introductory expressions in the preceding samples, even when you move the introducers to the middle of the sentence. The same principle that applies to direct-address elements applies to interrupters: They comment on or otherwise interrupt the main idea of the sentence and thus are set off by commas. In these sentences, the interrupters are italicized:
Cindy Jones, snaking through the dark tunnel, didn’t think about the book deal she’d get for her memoirs.
There was no guarantee, of course, that Cindy would even be asked to write about herself.
Some short introductory expressions or interrupters don’t require commas. For example, in the sentence “In the morning Brad drank 12 cups of coffee,” in the morning isn’t set off by a comma. If the expression doesn’t have a verb in it and is tied strongly to the main idea of the sentence, you can sometimes get away without commas. This test may help: Say the sentence aloud (or in your head, if you’re afraid of attracting the wrong sort of attention). If you hear a natural pause, plop in a comma. If everything runs together nicely, don’t plop.
Up for some practice? Insert commas where needed and resist the temptation to insert them where they’re not wanted in these sentences.
Q. Disgruntled after a long day delivering pizza Elsie was in no mood for fireworks.
A. Disgruntled after a long day delivering pizza, Elsie was in no mood for fireworks. The comma sets off the introductory expression, Disgruntled after a long day delivering pizza.
Notice how all that applies to Elsie? She’s the subject of the sentence.
21.In desperate need of a pizza fix Brad turned to his cellphone.
22.Cindy on the other hand checked the phone number in the pizza directory she had thoughtfully stashed in her purse.
23.Yes pizza was an excellent idea.
24.The toppings unfortunately proved to be a problem.
25.Restlessly Brad pondered pepperoni as the robbers searched for him.
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26.Cindy wondered how Brad given his low-fat diet could consider pepperoni.
27.Frozen with indecision Brad decided to call the supermarket to request the cheapest brand.
28.Cindy of course wanted to redeem her coupons.
29.To ensure fast delivery was crucial.
30.Lighting a match and holding it near his trembling hand Brad realized that time was almost up.
31.Worrying about toppings had used up too many minutes.
32.Well the robbers would have a good story to tell.
33.With renewed determination Cindy speed-dialed the market and offered “a really big tip” for ten-minute service.
34.As the robbers chomped on pepperoni and argued about payment Brad slipped away.
35.Cindy let’s just say was left to clean up the mess.
Setting Off Descriptions
Life would be much simpler for the comma-inserter if nobody ever described anything. No descriptions would mean no comma problems. However, solving your punctuation problems in that way leads to writing that resembles a pay-by-the-word text message — limited in scope, expensive, and not a good idea!
A better plan is to find out more about these basic principles behind punctuating descriptive expressions:
If the description follows the word being described, decide whether it’s extra information or essential, identifying material. If the description falls into the “nice to know but I didn’t really need it” (extra) category, surround it with commas. If the description is in the “gotta have it” bin, omit the commas. For example, in the sentence, “The dictionary on the table is dusty,” the description in italics is necessary because it tells which dictionary is dusty. However, in the sentence, “Charlie’s dictionary, which is on the table, is dusty,” the description in italics is set off by commas, because you already know Charlie’s dictionary is the one being discussed. The part about the table is extra information.
For descriptions that precede the word described, place commas only when you have a list of two or more descriptions of the same type and importance.
You can you tell when two or more descriptions are equally important; they can be written in different order without changing the meaning of the sentence. For example, in the sentence, “The tan, dusty dictionary has never been opened,” the two descriptions — tan and dusty — can be reversed without changing the meaning, so you need a comma. However, in the sentence, “Two dusty dictionaries need some cleaning power now!” the two descriptions aren’t the same type — one is a number, and one is a condition. You can’t say, Dusty two, so you don’t insert commas.