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periodic sentence A sentence that expresses the main idea at the end. With or without their parents' consent, and whether or not they receive the assignment relocation they requested, they are determined to get married.

phrase A group of related words that functions as a unit but lacks a subject, a verb, or both. Without the resources to continue.

possessive The case of nouns and pronouns that indicates ownership or possession (Harold's, ours, mine).

predicate The verb and its related words in a clause or sentence. The predicate expresses what the subject does, experiences, or is. Birds fly. The partygoers celebrated wildly for a long time.

preposition A word that relates its object (a noun, pronoun, or -ing verb form) to another word in the sentence. She is the leader of our group. We opened the door by picking the lock. She went out the window.

prepositional phrase A group of words consisting of a preposition, its object, and any of the object's modifiers. Georgia on my mind.

principal verb The predicating verb in a main clause or sentence.

pronominal possessive Possessive pronouns such as hers, its, and theirs.

proper noun The name of a particular person (Frank Sinatra), place (Boston), or thing (Moby Dick). Proper nouns are capitalized. Common nouns name classes of people (singers), places (cities), or things (books) and are not capitalized.

relative clause A clause introduced by a relative pronoun, such as who, which, that, or by a relative adverb, such as where, when, why.

relative pronoun A pronoun that connects a dependent clause to a main clause in a sentence: who, whom, whose, which, that, what, whoever, whomever, whichever, and whatever.

restrictive term, element, clause A phrase or clause that limits the essential meaning of the sentence element it modifies or identifies. Professional athletes who perform exceptionally should earn stratospheric salaries. Since there are no commas before and after the italicized clause, the italicized clause is restrictive and suggests that only those athletes who perform exceptionally are entitled to such salaries. If commas were added before who and after exceptionally, the clause would be nonrestrictive and would suggest that all professional athletes should receive stratospheric salaries.

sentence fragment A group of words that is not grammatically a complete sentence but is punctuated as one: Because it mattered greatly.

subject The noun or pronoun that indicates what a sentence is about, and which the principal verb of a sentence elaborates. The new Steven Spielberg movie is a box office hit.

subordinate clause A clause dependent on the main clause in a sentence. After we finish our work, we will go out for dinner.

syntax The order or arrangement of words in a sentence. Syntax may exhibit parallelism (I came, I saw, I conquered), inversion ( Whose woods these are I think I know), or other formal characteristics.

tense The time of a verb's action or state of being, such as past, present, or future. Saw, see, will see.

transition A word or group of words that aids coherence in writing by showing the connections between ideas. William Carlos Williams was influenced by the poetry of Walt Whitman. Moreover, Williams's emphasis on the present and the immediacy of the ordinary represented a rejection of the poetic stance and style of his contemporary T. S. Eliot. In addition, Williams's poetry ....

transitive verb A verb that requires a direct object to complete its meaning: They washed their new car. An intransitive verb does not require an object to complete its meaning: The audience laughed. Many verbs can be both: The wind blew furiously. My car blew a gasket.

verb A word or group of words that expresses the action or indicates the state of being of the subject. Verbs activate sentences.

verbal A verb form that functions in a sentence as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb rather than as a principal verb. Thinking can be fun. An embroidered handkerchief. (See also gerund, infinitive, and participle.)

voice The attribute of a verb that indicates whether its subject is active (Janet played the guitar) or passive (The guitar was played by Janet).

Prepared by Robert DiYanni

Index

a/an

in parallel construction 27

in titles 38

abbreviations

punctuation of 3

and writing style 80-81

accordingly, semicolon with 6

active voice 18-19

adjectival modifier 12

adjective(s)

compound, hyphen in 34-35

and writing style 71

adverb(s) 6

awkward 75-76

sparing use of 75

adverbial phrase 44

advertising, language of 81-82

affect vs. effect 45

aggravate vs. irritate 39

agreement, subject-verb 9-11

all right 39

Allingham, William 71

allude 40

allusion vs. illusion 40

almost vs. most 53

along these lines 52

alternate vs. alternative 40

among vs. between 40

and

comma before 5, 6

loose sentences with 25

parallelism with 27

subjects joined by 10

while as substitute for 63

and/or, misuse of 40

Anglo-Saxon vs. Latin 77

antecedent(s)

position in sentence 29-30

anticipate vs. expect 40-41

anybody

vs. any body 41

pronoun after 60

anyone vs. any one 41

apostrophe, use of 1

appositive

introductory 13

position in sentence 30

pronoun as 12

punctuation of 4-5, 9

article(s)

in parallel construction 27

in titles 38

as

comma before 5

vs. like 51-52, 82

as good or better than 41

as regards 49

as to whether 41

as well as, subjects joined by 10

as yet 41

attributives, in dialogue 31, 75, 76

auxiliary verb(s) 20

modal 20

being, misuse of 41, 56

besides, semicolon with 6

between vs. among 40

both ... and, parallelism with 27

breezy style 73-74

brevity. See concise writing

business, language of 82-83

business firms, names of 2

but

comma before 5

loose sentences with 25

use of 41-42

while as substitute for 63

can

vs. may 42

sparing use of 20

care less, misuse of 42

case

of pronouns 11-13

case (noun), misuse of 42

certainly 42

character, misuse of 42

claim (verb) 42-43

clarity in writing 79

clause(s)

punctuation of 3-7

restrictive vs. nonrestrictive 3-5, 59

clever 43

colloquialism(s) 34

colon, use of 7-8

comma(s)

with abbreviations 3

in compound sentence 6-7

before conjunction 5, 6

in dates 2-3

with parenthetical expressions 2-5

vs. period 7

with quotations 36

serial 2

compare to vs. compare with 43

comparisons

case of pronoun in 12

than in 59

complement

inverted position of 33

in periodic sentence 32

composed of vs. divided into 44

composition, principles of 15-33

compound adjective, hyphen in 34-35

compound sentence

comma in 6-7

semicolon in 5-6

compound subject

verb form after 10

comprise 43

concise writing 23-24

active voice and 18-19

positive statements and 19-20

concrete language 21-23

conditional verbs 20

conjunction(s)

comma with 5, 6

loose sentences with 25

parallelism with 27

consider vs. considered as 43

contact (verb) 43

contraction vs. possessive 1

coordinating conjunctions

comma with 5, 6

loose sentences with 25

cope with 44

correlative conjunctions

comma with 5

parallelism with 27

could, sparing use of 20

currently, misuse of 44

dash, use of 9

data 44

dates

numerals vs. words for 35

punctuation of 2-3

degrees (academic), punctuation of 3

dependent clause

punctuation of 5

design 15, 70-71

details, reporting 21-22

dialect 78-79

dialogue

adverbs in 75

attributives in 31, 75, 76

dates and numbers in 35

paragraphing of 16

sentence fragment in 7

tense in 31

different than, misuse of 44

direct address, name or title in 3

direct object 36

disinterested vs. uninterested 44

divided into vs. composed of 44

due to 44-45

each

pronoun after 60

verb form after 10

each and every one 45

eccentric vs. standard language 81-84

effect vs. affect 45

e.g., punctuation of 3

either, verb form after 10

either... or, parallel construction with 27

elude vs. allude 40

emphatic word/expression

position in sentence 32-33

as sentence fragment 7

enormity 45

enthuse, misuse of 45

enumeration, comma in 2

etc. 45-46

punctuation of 3

every, compound subject qualified by 10

everybody

vs. every body 41

pronoun after 60

verb form after 10

everyone

pronoun after 60

verb form after 10

except, subjects joined by 10

exclamations 34

expect vs. anticipate 40-41

facility 46

fact 46

(the) fact is ... 60

(the) fact that 24

factor 46

fancy words, avoiding 76-78

farther vs. further 46

Faulkner, William 68

feature 47

fewer vs. less 51

figures of speech 80

finalize 47, 82, 83

first..., second..., third, parallelism with 27

firstly ... , secondly ... , thirdly, misuse of 57

fix (verb) 47

flammable 47

folk 47

for, comma before 5, 6

for conscience' sake 1

foreign words 81

form, principles of 34-38

Forster, E. M., 25-26

fortuitous 47

Frost, Robert 68-69

funny 50

further vs. farther 46

gerund

vs. participle 13, 55-56

possessive case with 12

get 48

Gibbs, Wolcott 83

gratuitous 48

have got 48

he is a man who 48

he or she, avoiding 60-61

he said, in dialogue 31, 75, 76

headings 34

Hemingway, Ernest 68

hopefully 48

however 48-49

hyphen 34-35

I vs. myself 12

i.e., punctuation of 3

illusion vs. allusion 40

imitation, in writing 70

imply vs. infer 49

importantly, misuse of 49

in addition to, subjects joined by 10

in regard to 49

in terms of 50

in the last analysis 4

indefinite pronouns

possessive case of 1

independent clause(s)

colon after 7-8

comma before conjunction introducing 5

comma separating 6-7

semicolon separating 5-6

indirect discourse, tense in 31

indirect object 89

infer vs. imply 49

infinitive

split 58, 78

inside of 49

insightful 50

interesting, 50

intransitive verb 44, 51

introductory phrase

participial 13-14

punctuation of 5

irregardless, misuse of 50

irritate vs. aggravate 39

it's vs. its 1

-ize 50

Jr., punctuation of 3

kind of 51, 62

Latin vs. Anglo-Saxon 77

lay 51

leave vs. let 51

lend vs. loan 52

less vs. fewer 51

let vs. leave 51

lie vs. lay 51

like vs. as 51-52, 82

Lincoln, Abraham 77

linking verb(s)

agreement with subject 11

literal/literally 52

little 73

loan vs. lend 52

logical predicate 32

loose sentence(s) 25-26

-ly, awkward use of 75-76

main clause

punctuation of 5-7

statement supplementing 4

mannerisms 17, 42

margins 35

may

vs. can 42

sparing use of 20

meaningful 53

memento 53

metaphor, use of 80

might, sparing use of 20

modal auxiliaries

sparing use of 20

modifier(s)

adjectival 12

position of 30-31

most vs. almost 53

myself vs. I 12

names (of firms), comma in 2

names (of persons) in direct address 3

possessive case of 1

nature 53

nauseous vs. nauseated 53

needless words, omitting 23-24

negative statements, avoiding 19-20

neither, verb form after 10

nice 53

no less than, subjects joined by 10

nobody

vs. no body 41

verb form after 10

nominative pronoun 12

none, verb form after 10

nonrestrictive clause 59

punctuation of 3-5

nor

comma before 5

vs. or 53-54

not, misuse of 19-20

not... but, parallel construction with 27

not only ... but also, parallel construction with 27

noun(s)

in apposition. See appositive

possessive case of 1

used as verb 54

and writing style 71-72

number

of verb 9-11

numerals 35

object

direct 36

indirect 89

pronoun as 11, 12

object complements

inverted position of 33

in periodic sentence 32

offputting 54

one 54-55

one of, verb form after 9-10

one of the most 55

ongoing 54

opinion, injecting in writing 79-80

or

in and/or 40

comma before 5

vs. nor 53-54

oral vs. verbal 63

-oriented 55

Orwell, George 22-23

overstatement 73

overwriting 72

Paine, Thomas 67

paragraphs 15-17

parallel construction 26-28

parentheses 36

references in 37

parenthetical expressions 2-5

partially vs. partly 55

participial phrase

introductory 13-14

punctuation of 4-5

participle

as verbal 13, 55-56

passive voice 18

past tense, in indirect discourse 31

people 56

period vs. comma 7

periodic sentence

effectiveness of 32

vs. loose sentence 25, 26

personal pronouns

case of 11-13

after each/every 60

personalize 56

personally 56

persons 56

phrase

adverbial 44

participial 4-5, 13-14

prepositional 13-14

positive statements 19-20

possess 56-57

possessive

apostrophe in 1

with gerund 12

with participle 55-56

pronominal 1

of pronouns 12

before titles 38

predicate

logical 32

preposition(s)

at end of sentence 77-78

in parallel construction 27

prepositional phrase

at beginning of sentence 13-14

present participle, as verbal 13, 55-56

present tense, in summaries 31

presently 57

prestigious 57

pretty 73

principal verb 29

pronominal possessive 1

pronoun(s)

antecedent of 29, 60

case of 11-13

after each/every 60