COMMUNICATION SKILLS II

Linggo, Marso 11, 2012

Avoiding Sentence Errors

COMMA SPLICE

A comma by itself cannot join two sentences. Doing so creates a comma splice.

INCORRECT EXAMPLE: The clouds created a dark sky, the rain began to fall.

1. One way to correct a comma splice is to write the information as two sentences.

CORRECT EXAMPLE: The clouds created a dark sky. The rain began to fall.

2. Another way to correct a comma splice would be to use a comma along with a coordinating conjunction. There are seven coordinating conjunctions whose first letters form the acronym FANBOYS:

For But

And Or

Nor Yet

CORRECT EXAMPLE: The clouds created a dark sky, and the rain began to fall.

3. A third option to correct the comma splice is to use a semi-colon. This punctuation joins what could be two sentences.

CORRECT EXAMPLE: The clouds created a dark sky; the rain began to fall.

SENTENCE FRAGMENTS

Sentence fragments are another common error. A sentence fragment is a group of words, not a complete sentence. Remember that to be a complete sentence, a group of words must have a subject and a verb and must express a complete idea. Thus a group of words must not depend on the sentence before it or after it to provide a complete idea.

INCORRECT EXAMPLE: When working on your term paper, first develop a time table to show when stages must be turned in. Usually one month before the due date.

Usually one month before the due date is a sentence fragment. It does not contain a subject, a verb, nor a complete thought. To correct this fragment, add a subject and a verb.

CORRECT EXAMPLE: When working on your term paper, first develop a time table to show when stages must be turned in. Usually, you should develop a time table one month before the due date.

NOTE: Verb forms ending in -ing, -ed, or -en that do not have a helping verb cannot be used as the single main verb in a complete sentence.

INCORRECT EXAMPLE: The man painting our roof.

CORRECT EXAMPLE: The man was painting our roof.

CORRECT EXAMPLE: The man painting our roof had a dangerous job.

RUN-ON SENTENCES

Run-on sentences join too much information, usually two independent clauses without a conjunction or correct punctuation.

INCORRECT EXAMPLE: Ms. Davis was my first grade teacher in 1975 she is still teaching first grade today in the same school.

CORRECT EXAMPLE: Ms. Davis was my first grade teacher in 1975. She is still teaching first grade today in the same school.

CORRECT EXAMPLE: Ms. Davis was my first grade teacher in 1975, and she is still teaching first grade today in the same school.

CORRECT EXAMPLE: Ms. Davis was my first grade teacher in 1975; she is still teaching first grade today in the same school.

INCORRECT EXAMPLE: My mother is the best cook in the world even though she does not believe it I know she will win the recipe contest at the county fair this year.

CORRECT EXAMPLE: My mother is the best cook in the world. Even though she does not believe it, I know she will win the recipe contest at the county fair this year.

Levels of Usage

It is crucial to learn to differentiate between levels of usage; essays and reports require a more formally constructed language than everyday speech. It is all too easy to pepper written work with colloquial phrases or weak constructions that come naturally to mind but are incorrect or inadequate in the context of formal writing.

Language is sometimes rather arbitrarily divided into three major styles: formal, informal, and popular (vulgar). While there is some overlap between them, they operate under different conditions and achieve different ends.

Sabado, Marso 10, 2012

Verb Usage

A verb is a part of speech that usually denotes action ("bring", "read"), occurrence ("to decompose" (itself), "to glitter"), or a state of being ("exist", "live", "soak", "stand"). Depending on the language, a verb may vary in form according to many factors, possibly including its tense, aspect, mood and voice. It may also agree with the person, gender, and/or number of some of its arguments (what we usually call subject, object, etc.).

Verbs can be conveyed in many ways. Lets look in particular at the word "wear"

She wears a pink dress - This sentence is made up of three main parts, she, being the noun. Wears, being an action or 'doing' word. Pink, describing the noun about to be added to the sentence and, Dress, the noun which pulls all these words together (giving them all one key point) to complete the sentence.

Biyernes, Marso 9, 2012

Pronoun Usage

The proper use of pronouns has all but ceased in our modern age. In truth, common vernacular has begun to create a new rule with regards to proper usage here- mainly, that there is no rule. Furthermore, the proper use of pronouns has even accrued a sort of negative stigma in our modern speech; it is seen as stuffy, even obtuse in some cases. This is not quite the travesty that some linguistic purists might make it out to be. If the goal of conversation is communication, and if understanding is achieved, then what have we really lost? Yet, there are instances in which one might need to adhere to proper usage, particularly in scholarly writing and, perhaps, in formal interviews, etc. Thus, I have compiled a quick guide to proper pronoun usage. My goal here is to make the rules as simple and accessible as possible. So, without further rambling, let us begin.

Huwebes, Marso 8, 2012

Subject and Verb Agreement

The 20 Rules of Subject Verb Agreement in Standard English

1. Subjects and verbs must agree in number. This is the cornerstone rule that forms the background of the concept.

The dog growls when he is angry. The dogs growl when they are angry.

2. Don’t get confused by the words that come between the subject and verb; they do not affect agreement.

The dog, who is chewing on my jeans, is usually very good.

3. Prepositional phrases between the subject and verb usually do not affect agreement.

The colors of the rainbow are beautiful.

4. When sentences start with “there” or “here,” the subject will always be placed after the verb, so care needs to be taken to identify it correctly.

There is a problem with the balance sheet.Here are the papers you requested.

5. Subjects don't always come before verbs in questions. Make sure you accurately identify the subject before deciding on the proper verb form to use.

Does Lefty usually eat grass? Where are the pieces of this puzzle.

6. If two subjects are joined by and, they typically require a plural verb form.

The cow and the pig are jumping over the moon.

7. The verb is singular if the two subjects separated by and refer to the same person or thing.

Red beans and rice is my mom's favorite dish.

8. If one of the words each, every, or no comes before the subject, the verb is singular.

No smoking or drinking is allowed.Every man and woman is required to check in.

9. If the subjects are both singular and are connected by the wordsor, nor, neither/nor, either/or, and not only/but also the verb is singular.

Jessica or Christian is to blame for the accident.

10. The only time when the object of the preposition factors into the decision of plural or singular verb forms is when noun and pronoun subjects like some, half, none, more, all, etc. are followed by a prepositional phrase. In these sentences, the object of the preposition determines the form of the verb.

All of the chicken is gone.All of the chickens are gone.

11. The singular verb form is usually used for units of measurement.

Four quarts of oil was required to get the car running.

12. If the subjects are both plural and are connected by the wordsor, nor, neither/nor, either/or, and not only/but also, the verb is plural.

Dogs and cats are both available at the pound.

13. If one subject is singular and one plural and the words are connected by the words or, nor, neither/nor, either/or, and not only/but also, you use the verb form of the subject that is nearest the verb.

Either the bears or the lion has escaped from the zoo. Neither the lion nor the bears have escaped from the zoo.

14. Indefinite pronouns typically take singular verbs.

Everybody wants to be loved.

15. * Except for the pronouns (few, many, several, both, all, some) that always take the plural form.

Few were left alive after the flood.

16. If two infinitives are separated by and they take the plural form of the verb.

To walk and to chew gum require great skill.

17. When gerunds are used as the subject of a sentence they take the singular verb form of the verb, but when they are linked by andthey take the plural form.

Standing in the water was a bad idea.Swimming in the ocean and playing drums are my hobbies.

18. Collective nouns like herd, senate, class, crowd, etc. usually take a singular verb form.

The herd is stampeding.

19. Titles of books, movies, novels, etc. are treated as singular and take a singular verb.

The Burbs is a movie starring Tom Hanks.

20. Final Rule – Remember, only the subject affects the verb!

Challenges of Grammar Rules

The problem with some grammar rules from the perspective of modern linguistics is that there is not one absolute grammar in the English language. Most American native English speakers equate standard English with being correct and any non-standard variation of English with being incorrect.

In reality, however, the concept of standard American English is really the privileging of a particular dialect of English that originates from the Ohio River Valley. This is the dialect of English that the anchors of the nightly news speak and that we base our notions of correct and incorrect grammar on. It is important to recognize that no grammar is any more correct or incorrect than any other on a functional level, and our notions of correct and incorrect are culturally constructed.