GRAMMAR TIPS

GRAMMATICAL PITFALLS

SPLIT INFINITIVE—to be avoided in almost all instances. Putting an adverb between “to” and its verb usually changes emphasis and often disrupts the flow of the prose. One can be used if a specific emphasis is intended. An example would be Star Trek’s “To boldly go…” The intended emphasis is on boldness. Unsplitting this (to go boldly) diminishes the boldness aspect.

COMMA SPLICES—are bad, bad, bad. Splicing two sentences together with a comma is never allowed. It is much better to write the two sentences with a period separating. Alternatively, with a colon, semi-colon, or a dash.

DANGLING MODIFIERS—a dangling modifier is a modifying clause, often a participle, whose implied subject is different from that of the main clause. This sounds funny and often confuses the reader. Example: “Walking around the corner, the Taj Mahal showed itself resplendent in the bright sunlight.”

15 GRAMMAR RULES YOU CAN BREAK IN APPROPRIATE PLACES
                                                                                                    Andre Calihanna
                                                                                                    Bookbaby Blog
                                                                                                    July 24, 2019

  1. Never end a sentence with a preposition.
  2. Never begin a sentence with a conjunction.
  3. Know the difference between who and whom. This rule is broken often in dialogue—“who did you invite?” Who is a subject and whom is an object.
  4. Never describe a single noun with a plural pronoun. Often it is better to use non-gender pronouns.
  5. “Into” is directional—“in to” is a verb phrase. To distinguish—replace into/in with the phrase “in order to”—this will tell you if the usage is correct.
  6. Don’t use sentence fragments—people very often leave out pieces of sentences because the meaning is clear from context.
  7. Use the correct verbal agreement for a collective noun. Break this rule when the strictly correct usage sounds wrong—“None of us is going to the party” sounds wrong. (Are) sounds right.
  8. Do not split infinitives—often it is ok to place an adverb in the middle—“to quickly think.”
  9. Don’t use double negatives—double negatives can be used to convey regional dialect, slang, or to add extra emphasis.
  10. Avoid vague pronouns—if a pronoun is not clear as a reference, avoid unless it is clear from the context.
  11. Use farther for physical distance and further for figurative distance. The term farther is slowly being replaced for use in both.
  12. Use fewer and less correctly—fewer is an adjective used to quantify nouns that can be counted, whereas less is an adjective used to quantify intangible nouns that can’t be counted. Example: fewer coins, less money.
  13. Always spell out numbers under ten, actual numerals above ten. However, in an informal article or if space is limited, numerals may suffice.
  14. Use that and which correctly—“that” introduces a non-specific clause, “which” introduces a specific clause. Either is ok in conversation, consider the flow of the sentence.
  15. Use the correct personal pronoun. “I” is the subject of a sentence; “me” is the object. Myself, himself, etc. are used when the subject and object are the same. There are regional differences such as “Me and my mates are going out.”

BONUS—3 rules to never break

  1. Apostrophes show possession and contractions and that’s all—apostrophes are not quotation marks.
  2. Affect vs. effect—affect is a verb meaning to influence or make different and effect is a noun synonymous with result or consequence.
  3. Don’t make up new words (unless your name is Shakespeare). There are 300,000 distinctly usable words available.

A Journalist’s Grammar Guideline on Some Common Pitfalls to Avoid (SARCASM)
                                                                                          From a bulletin board at the
                                                                                          Rocky Mountain News

  1. Don’t use no double negatives.
  2. Make each pronoun agree with their antecedent.
  3. Join clauses good, like a conjunction should.
  4. About them sentence fragments.
  5. When dangling, watch your participles.
  6. Verbs has to agree with their subjects.
  7. Just between you and I, case is important.
  8. Don’t write run-on sentences they are hard to read.
  9. Don’t use commas, which aren’t necessary.
  10. Try to not ever split infinitives.
  11. Its important to use your apostrophe’s correctly.
  12. Proofread your writing to see if you any words out.
  13. Correct speling is essential.
  14. Be more or less specific.
  15. Avoid cliches like the plague.