The complete idiot guide part 12 pot

Location, Location, Location: Placement of Pronouns Another way to avoid confusing pronoun reference is to go for the squeeze play: Place pronouns as close to their antecedents as logic

2 When Dennis spoke to Keith that morning, Dennis did not realize that he

might win the lottery by the end of the day (Again, Keith might just as easily have been the winner.)

3 When the rain started, we pulled out an umbrella and opened it The rain

dampened our spirits for a while, but we decided to stick it out

4 If you asked Doug to describe Nick, Doug would say that Nick was sly, boring, and cheap and—then Doug would chuckle

5 Ask Nick about Doug, and Nick would say that, while he couldn't be a gossip,

he was sure that Doug had links with the Young Republicans

6 Nick didn't consider Doug a safe driver, either

Location, Location, Location: Placement of Pronouns

Another way to avoid confusing pronoun reference is to go for the squeeze play:

Place pronouns as close to their antecedents as logically possible If too many phrases come between a pronoun and its antecedent, the pronouns may get muddied This can happen even if the intervening material is logically related to the rest of the sen-tence Here are some examples:

Confusing: The statement that the dog

catcher made and that she issued it as a

for-mal policy inflamed the city council, who

knew it would result in widespread anger

Clear: The dog catcher made a statement

and the Mayor issued a formal policy

This inflamed the City Council, which

knew this policy would result in

wide-spread anger

Confusing: Prehistoric people used many

inorganic substances difficult to find at

archaeological sites, which included clay

and rock

Clear: Prehistoric people used many inorganic

substances, including clay and rock, which

are difficult to find at archaeological sites

<f Quoth the Maven

Place pronouns close to their antecedents

Take My Word for It

When you start a new para-graph, repeat the noun from the previous paragraph rather than using a pronoun in its place Repeating the noun (usu-ally a name) can help your reader more easily follow your logic

A Match Made in Writer's Heaven

Just as there's a pot for every lid, so there's an antecedent for every pronoun The pronoun's antecedent must be clearer than the Mississippi River, or your writing will

be as murky as the Big Muddy's depths How to achieve pronoun clarity? Make a pro-noun refer to one specific antecedent As simple as that

Here are some guidelines to follow as you filter your writing to sift out pronoun errors

Take My Word for It

Pronouns are among the most

frequently used words in

English Among the top 1 0 0

words: he, it, his, I, they, you,

she, we, him

$

^ ^ Quoth the Maven

V / When the possessive quality

is added to a noun, that noun

becomes an adjective and is no

longer suitable to be an

ante-cedent

Not in the mood to put the

pro-noun in the possessive case?

Instead, you can revise the

sen-tence so the noun provides the

reference for the pronoun

Possession and Pronouns

Don't use a pronoun to refer to a noun's possessive form (the form that shows ownership) You can't use

a noun's possessive form as the antecedent to a pro-noun, unless the pronoun is also in the possessive case This sounds a lot trickier than it is, trust me and read these examples:

Confusing: The proctologist's discovery brought him

fame

(Because the pronoun him is not possessive, it cannot

be used to refer to the possessive proctologists.) Clear: The proctologist became famous because of

his discovery

Confusing: Leroy 's report was superb Does he know

that?

Clear: Leroy wrote a great report Does he know

that?

It's a Lock

Be sure the pronouns it, this, that, and which refer to only one antecedent These four

sweet little pronouns are especially prone to unclear pronoun reference Here are some examples:

Confusing: Karate is a form of martial arts in which people who have had years and

years of training can, using only their hands and feet, make some of the worst movies

in the history of the world This is interesting

(What is interesting? Karate? Bad movies? The relationship between karate and bad

movies?)

Clear: Karate is a form of martial arts in which people who have had years and years

of training can, using only their hands and feet, make some of the worst movies in the

history of the world This phenomenon is interesting

Confusing: If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving a baby's life, she will choose to save that without even considering if there are men on base

(What will she choose to save?)

Clear: If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving a baby's life, she

will choose to save the baby's life without even considering if there are men on base

Confusing: According to some sources, a rain of comets lasting hundreds of centuries hits the earth every few million years or so Maybe that is how the dinosaurs perished

in a mass extinction 65 million years ago

Clear: According to some sources, a rain of

comets lasting hundreds of centuries hits the

earth every few million years or so Maybe

such a rain of comets killed the dinosaurs 65

million years ago

Confusing: I told my friends that I was going

to be a circus rouster which annoyed my boss

Clear: My boss was annoyed because I told my

friends that I was going to be a circus rouster

Strictly Speaking

Avoid using a pronoun to refer to the title of a document in the doc-ument's first sentence For exam-ple, if the title is "Big Bank's Role

in Mutual Funds," the first sentence cannot be "It is important and

we must stress it." What's the it?

It and They

Ever heard, "It said on television that " or "In the office they say "? Such expres-sions are sloppy, imprecise, and confusing Who are these mysterious "it"s and "they"s?

Eliminate this error by using the pronouns it and they carefully

Give it a shot Repair the following sloppy statements by straightening out the sloppy useof"it"sand"they"s

1 It said on the radio that it's going to rain tomorrow

2 In a book they say that animal testing is a bad idea; the animals all get nervous and give the wrong answers

3 It said that a Freudian slip is when you say one thing but mean a mother

4 In a company they say that a committee is a group of the unwilling, picked from the unfit, to do the unnecessary

5 The book says that applying computer technology is simply finding the right wrench to pound in the correct screw

Answers

1 The radio announcer said that it's going to rain tomorrow

2 The author said that animal testing is a bad idea; the animals all get nervous and give the wrong answers (Better yet, give the author's name.)

3 A Freudian slip is when you say one thing but mean a mother

4 Employees say that a committee is a group of the unwilling, picked from the unfit, to do the unnecessary

5 The author says that applying computer technology is simply finding the right wrench to pound in the correct screw (Better yet, give the author's name.)

It Mania

It has become a fast-food word, more commonplace than burgers, fries, and a shake

Advice for life: Don't eat too much junk food, wear your galoshes when it rains, and

don't overuse it

The word it has three uses:

• As a personal pronoun Chris wants to see how long he can stay in the clothes

dryer, but it is broken

• As an expletive It is fun to eat raw cookie dough and feel sorry for yourself

when you're home alone on Saturday night

• As an idiomatic expression for weather, time, or distance It is cloudy today

It is noon It is quite a distance to the home

The unclear "it" problem arises when these uses are combined in one sentence, like this one:

Confusing: Because our electric knife was overheating, it came as no surprise that it

broke just as it was time to carve the bird

Clear: It came as no surprise that the electric knife broke just as it was time to carve

the bird

Confusing: It will be a successful project if the

computer doesn't overload its memory

Clear: The project will succeed if the

com-puter doesn't overload its memory

Confusing: It is clear that it is not fulfilling its

duties

Clear: Clearly, the board of directors is not

fulfilling its duties

Danger, Will Robinson

Avoid using an unnec-essary pronoun to repeat the sub-ject Here's a no-no: "The shorter woman, who nodded at me, she knew me." The sentence should

be written: "The shorter woman, who nodded at me, knew me."

Who's on First?

Another confusing issue concerns the pronouns who, which, and that Here, the rule is

a snap:

1 Who refers to people or animals (only animals with names or special talents, like

Socks the First Cat or Rex the Wonder Pooch) Here's an example or three:

• The student, who was a dope, said, "Professor Zigler, I don't believe I

deserve this F you've given me."

• The professor, who was a sensible man, said, "I agree, but unfortunately it

is the lowest grade the university will allow me to give."

• Lassie, who was known for his

intelligence and courage, was actu-ally played by a series of collies

That and which refer to things, groups,

and unnamed animals The choice

between which and that depends on

whether the clause introduced by the

pronoun is restrictive or nonrestrictive

Use that or which for restrictive clauses

and which with nonrestrictive clauses

Here are some examples:

You Could Look It Up

A restrictive clause is essential to a sentence; a

nonre-strictive clause adds extra

mean-ing, is set off by commas, and can be removed from the sen-tence See Chapter 1 2 for a more detailed description of clauses

Strictly Speaking

Like my thighs, the distinction

between that and which is

becoming less firm Some writers

still reserve that for restrictive

clauses and which for

nonrestric-tive clauses Others don't

• Once, at a social gathering, Gladstone said

to Disraeli, "I predict, sir, that you will die

either by hanging or by some vile disease." (restrictive clause)

• Disraeli replied, "That all depends, sir, upon

whether I embrace your principles or your mistress." (restrictive clause)

• Sacred cows, which are holy, make the best

hamburger, (nonrestrictive clause)

Give it a shot Fill in the blanks with who, which, or that

1 The car hit me rolled into a ditch and so did I

2 My car, came from Rent-a-Wreck, had relatively little damage

3 The concept intrigued the Securities and Exchange Commission involved insider trading

4 The report I wrote recommended the concept

5 The woman came to visit me in jail was my former boss

h^_Jy Quoth the Maven _

A clause introduced by that

will almost inevitably be

restric-tive Do not use a comma

around restrictive clauses, as in

this example: "The menu that the

waiter handed me made my

mouth water."

Answers

1 The car that hit me rolled into a ditch and so

did I

2 My car, which came from Rent-a-Wreck, had

rela-tively little damage

3 The concept that intrigued the Securities and

Exchange Commission involved insider trading

4 The report that I wrote recommended the concept

5 The woman who came to visit me in jail was my

former boss

The Least You Need to Know

• Make a pronoun clearly refer to a single antecedent

• Place pronouns close to their antecedents

• Make a pronoun refer to a definite antecedent

How to Write and

Speak Good: Adjectives

Versus Adverbs

In This Chapter

• Explore the positive, comparative, and superlative degrees

• Learn about irregular adjectives and adverbs

• Cope with adjectives and linking verbs

• Deal with double negatives

You know it's going to be a bad day when

• Your twin forgets your birthday

• You open the newspaper and find your picture under a caption that reads: "WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE."

• You have to figure out whether to use bad or well in a sentence

That last scenario is the real killer

You learned in Chapter 4 that adjectives and adverbs are describing words; the former

describes a noun or pronoun; the latter, a verb, adjective, or other adverb Here, you learn how to use these words with skill and confidence so you'll never again face the

dreaded bad/well dilemma

They Walk Alike, They Talk Alike:

You Could Lose Your Mind

Both adjectives and adverbs are modifiers—words that describe other words For example: Adjective: The quick fox jumped

Adverb: The fox jumped quickly

Ah ha! you say Adverbs end in -ly; adjectives don't, so that's how I can tell these suck-ers apart Not so fast, kemosabe Some adverbs end in -ly, but not all Further, some adjectives also end in -ly, such as lovely and friendly As a result, the -ly test doesn't cut

the mustard Instead, the key to telling the difference between adjectives and adverbs

is understanding how they work:

• Adjectives describe a noun or pronoun

• Adverbs describe a verb, adjective, or other adverb

As you learned in Chapter 4, the only dependable way to tell whether you should use

an adjective or an adverb is to see how the word functions in the sentence If a noun

or pronoun is being described, use an adjective If a verb, adjective, or other adverb is being described, use an adverb Here's an example to refresh your memory:

He is a skillful driver

(The adjective skillful describes the noun driver.)

The cabby drove skillfully

(The adverb skillfully describes the verb drove.)

Graphic Proof

Use the following table to keep adjectives and adverbs straight That way, we'll all be reading from the same sheet music as we play together in the rest of this chapter

In the Know: Adjective or Adverb?

Modifier

Adjectives

Adjectives

Adverbs

Adverbs

Adverbs

Function

Describe nouns

Describe pronouns

Describe verbs

Describe adverbs

Describe adjectives

Example

The busy bee never rests

(The noun is bee.)

She felt disappointed

(The pronoun is she.)

The child cried bitterly

(The verb is cried.)

The child cried very bitterly

(The adverb is bitterly.)

The child was truly annoyed

(The adjective is annoyed.)

I'm Ready for My Close-Up Now, Mr DeMille

Reality check: Are you still with me? Find out by taking this little quiz Identify the underlined word or words in each of the following sentences Hint: The answer will

be either "adjective" or "adverb." Those are better odds than you get in Vegas

1 My school colors were "clear."

2 Question: How many surrealists does it take to screw in a light bulb? Answer: Two One to hold the giraffe firmly and the other to fill the bathtub with brightly colored machine tools

3 If the cops arrest a mime, do they tell her that she has the right to remain silent?

4 Maybe you're right Maybe I should have been insulted when the mind

reader charged me half price

5 For three days after death, hair and fingernails continue to grow slowly, but phone calls taper off

6 Diplomacy is the art of saying "nice doggy" until you can find a big rock

7 Is it true that cannibals don't eat clowns because they taste funny?

8 Murphy's Oil Soap is the chemical most commonly used to clean elephants

9 Giraffes have no vocal cords

10 A man ordered a taco He asked the server for "minimal lettuce." The server said he was sorry, but they only had iceberg

Answers

1 Adjective

2 Adverb, adjective

3 Adverb

4 Adjective

5 Adverb

6 Adjective

7 Adverb

8 Adverb

9 Adjective

10 Adjective

Three Degrees of Separation

Often, you'll want to compare things rather than just describe them Not to worry; English has this covered Adjectives and adverbs have different forms to show degrees

of comparison We even have a name for each of these forms of degree: positive, com-parative, and superlative Let's meet the whole gang

Strictly Speaking

What do these three words have

in common: childish, yellowish,

and flowery? They are all

adjec-tives created from nouns

Creating adjectives from nouns:

another hobby you might want to

consider

• Positive degree: the base form of the adjective or

adverb It does not show comparison

• Comparative degree: the form an adjective or adverb takes to compare two things

• Superlative degree: the form an adjective or adverb takes to compare three or more things

The following table shows the three degrees of com-parison with some sample adjectives and adverbs

Comparative Levels of Adjectives and Adverbs

Part of Speech

Adjective

Adjective

Adjective

Adverb

Adverb

Adverb

Positive

low big fat highly widely easily

Comparative

lower bigger fatter more highly more widely more easily

Superlative

lowest biggest fattest most highly most widely most easily