Grammar Tips - 6

 

Are You They’re?

 

We all have pet peeves. One of mine is the misuse of there, their, and they’re. While these three sound-alike words may not create problems for any of you, here are some easy-to-remember tips you may offer tutees who can’t remember how to get there from here.

 

Which brings me to the first tip: “There” is directional. “Here” is embedded within it; therefore, getting “there” from “here” is elementary.

 

Second tip: “Their” is a pronoun that involves people—it references two or more people. I suggest that students remember the “people” aspect of “their” by reminding themselves that an “I” in “their” means people are involved.

 

Third tip: Although this tip may be taught in elementary school, we may not “get it” until we are adults. “They’re” is a contraction for “they are.” When you smash the words together, you remove the “a” and an apostrophe takes its place.

 

Got some pet peeves or homonym tips to share?

Go to our wiki at: http://mccwritingcenter.pbwiki.com/and post them for the rest of us.

 

 

 

Grammar Tips - 5

 

Pronouns Running Amok

 

Pronouns—for example, words like he, she, it, they, etc—take the place of nouns. Yet pronouns, while necessary, can muddy a writer’s meaning. A pronoun-addicted writer frequently requires an intervention. The following example demonstrates the murky results of hyperactive pronoun usage:

 

When Sally stopped by her mother’s house to pick her up before going to the market, she was surprised when she didn’t answer the door. She went to the next door neighbor’s house and asked if she had seen her. She said, “The last time I saw her, she was walking her dog. Maybe she’s still walking it.” She then headed down the street toward the dog park to see if she was there walking it.

 

This writer’s straight-forward storyline gets muddled amidst her numerous pronouns. The presence of more than one female in this scenario points to a need to rename the pronouns from “her,” “she,” “them,” and “they” to “Sally,” “her mother,” and “her mother’s neighbor.” In addition, the frequent use of the pronoun “it” also disrupts meaning. Is “it” in the final sentence, the dog, or the dog park? A little guidance is usually enough to empower your tutees to corral and rename their raging pronouns.

 

A simple observation: “I’m having a little trouble understanding who is doing what here,” may help you address this issue. An easy-to-remember rule of thumb is this: A pronoun usually references the most recently-named noun. By pocketing this simple guideline, you can help your tutees clarify their writing.

 

When Sally stopped by her mother’s house to pick her up before going to the market, Sally was surprised when her mother didn’t answer the door. Sally went to the next door neighbor’s house and asked if the neighbor had seen her mom*. The neighbor said, “The last time I saw your mother, she was walking the dog. Maybe she’s still walking it.” Sally then headed down the street toward the dog park to see if her mother was there, walking the dog.

 

(*See, this is up for grabs. I think the meaning of “her mom” is clear here. What do you think?) The rules for pronoun usage are not hard and fast, but you can see how some simple renaming makes the writer’s meaning clearer. Log on to our WC wiki at: http://mccwritingcenter.pbwiki.com/ and weigh in with your ideas.

 

 

 

Grammar Tips - 4

 

Run-Ons

A student once brought me an essay composed of mostly run-on sentences, which made for pretty rough reading. After I offered him any one of three ways in which to treat his hyperactive run-ons, he said, “Oh, I don’t like semicolons,” as if semicolons were a political party. Nevertheless, two options remained for him to employ.  Suppose a tutee asks you to help him with something his teacher has labeled a “run-on” and/or “comma splice.” Here are the options; let him choose whichever one he “likes”:

Tutee Example: “Whenever Brenda works on her algebra homework, she feels frustrated, she sometimes avoids it altogether and watches cartoons instead.”

The tutee has tried to divide two perfectly good sentences with a comma (hence, the term, “comma splice”), most likely because his two sentences are so closely related. He has three options if he wants use these exact sentences:

1). The tutee can make his comma splice into two sentences by inserting a period (instead of a comma) after “frustrated,” i.e. “Whenever Brenda works on her algebra homework, she feels frustrated. She sometimes avoids it altogether and watches cartoons instead.

2). Because your tutee’s “sentence” is actually two sentences/independent clauses, he also has the option of inserting a “FANBOYS” word (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) preceded by a comma, i.e. “Whenever Brenda works on her algebra homework, she feels frustrated, so she sometimes avoids it altogether and watches cartoons instead.”

3). OR, the tutee can insert a semi-colon (if he is not politically opposed to them) after “frustrated.”A semi-colon acts as an “engagement ring” between two independent sentences (clauses) that are closely related, yet do not want to be separated by a period, i.e. Whenever Brenda works on her algebra homework she feels frustrated; she sometimes avoids it altogether and watches cartoons instead.

Equipped with such information, your tutee will have options that can staunch the bleeding of out-of-control run-ons and comma splices, and his writing will become easier to understand and more enjoyable for others to read. Theoretically, anyhow. If your tutees continue to have trouble spotting run-ons, direct him or her to our green WC handout (in the wooden turnstile), “BackWords* Guide to Proofreading,” or help him or her locate the troubleshooting section within one of the WC’s many writing handbooks. 

 

 

Grammar Tips - 3 

 

(More) Exceptions to the s' Rule

 

Plural irregular nouns were invented to play with your head and the heads of your tutees. Even native speakers can get into trouble with these, so you might comfort your tutee with such information.

Just when you think you've figured out the whole apostrophe thing, words like "women," "children," and "people" spring up, defying the rules about possessive apostrophes and possessive plural apostrophes.

The words "women," "children," and "people," for example, are plural in and of themselves (unlike words like “woman,” “child,” and “person”). Therefore, whenever these innately plural words “own” something, the possessive apostrophe precedes the “s” at the end of the word.

Women's room

Children's toys

People's court

 

Be on the lookout for these when working with your tutees. They can be tricky.

Can you think of additional words that fall into this category?

 

 

Grammar Tips - 2

Apostrophes and Pronouns

 

English grammar and mechanics have a zillion rules, most of them with an exception. Just when your tutee has figured out the rules about possessive apostrophes, there’s yet another rule to trump the one he or she just learned. Such is the case with possessive pronouns. You know pronouns; they rename nouns. Her, his, they, your, it, their, for example. And whenever these pronouns possess something, they do not require an apostrophe. (I don’t know who wrote some of these rules, but he or she must have loved the feeling of power.) This seemingly arbitrary rule-that-trumps-another-rule means the following:

 

Sally’s hairstyle means it is “hers,” not her’s.

 

Mike’s motorcycle means it is “his,” not hi’s or his’ or his’s.

 

The dog’s bone means it is “its,” not it’s.

 

Your house is “yours,” not your’s.

 

 

When your tutees break down in tears upon hearing this exception to the possessive apostrophe rule, try to be understanding, but also bear in mind the frustration is theirs, not their’s and not your’s, either.    

 

 

Grammar Tips - 1                                                              

 Apostrophes

 

Ah, the possessive, yet ubiquitous apostrophe. Many students insert an apostrophe between any letter and its ending "s." But tutees are not the only ones who are confused by possessive apostrophes. Lots of businesses pay big money for signage that says things like: Iguana's $19.95, Fresh Bread and Roll's Made Daily, Open Saturday's. But unless the iguanas, rolls, and Saturdays possess something, they do not require an apostrophe. One way to help tutees understand whether to use an apostrophe is by asking if they can reword the phrase that contains the ending "s" by switching the words around and adding "of" to show that something belongs to somebody.

 

Tutee's sentence: The quarterbacks pass was incomplete.

 

Tutor's rewording: The pass of the quarterback was incomplete; therefore, the word "quarterbacks" requires an apostrophe.

 

By rewording the sentence and using "of," your tutee can see that quarterback "possesses" a pass. Rewording like this also shows the tutee that the sentence is talking about only one quarterback; therefore, the apostrophe goes between the "k" and the "s."

 

New, improved sentence: The quarterback's pass was incomplete.

 

Likewise, if a student has written, “There were two quarterback’s on the field,” you can use the same “of” strategy to make your point: These two quarterbacks don’t possess anything in this instance; therefore, no apostrophe is needed.

 

For kicks, create one concise sentence in which you correctly use the above singular possessive examples: iguana’s, roll’s, and Saturday’s. (Remember to apply the “of” test as back-up!)