10 Reasons Why Writers Should Learn Good Grammar
Every writer I know has a different perspective on just how good grammar needs to be. Some are sticklers and insist on adhering to the highest standards of the literary order. Others invite creative liberties, and believe that breaking the rules is an art unto itself and should be embraced.
Me? I’m somewhere in the middle. I believe that a writer who is dedicated to her craft will take the time and invest the energy required to master the most basic tools, grammar being foremost among them. But I also believe there are situations in which it’s best to break the rules — as long as you know which rules you’re breaking and why.
Too many times I’ve heard aspiring writers shrug off good grammar, saying they’d rather focus on the story or characters, they’d prefer to use a natural, unlearned approach to keep the writing raw, or they will simply hire an editor to do the dirty work.
I have a hard time buying into those lines of reasoning. Refusing to bother with grammar is just plain lazy, especially for writers who yearn to be more than hobbyists.
10 Good Reasons to Pursue Good Grammar
So, I’ve been thinking about the reasons why writers should embrace grammar rather than shrug it off. Here are 10 reasons why good grammar should be a central pursuit in your writing endeavors:
1. Readability
If your work is peppered with grammatical mistakes and typos, your readers are going to have a hard time trudging through it. Nothing is more distracting than being yanked out of a good story because a word is misspelled or a punctuation mark is misplaced. And you should always respect your readers enough to deliver a product that is easy to use.
2. Communication
Some musicians learn to play by ear and never bother to learn how to read music. Many of them don’t even know which notes and chords they’re playing, even though they can play a full repertoire of recognizable songs and probably a few of their own. But get them in a room with other musicians and they’ll quickly be isolated. You can’t engage with others in your profession if you don’t speak the language of your industry. Good luck talking shop with writers and editors if you don’t know the parts of speech, the names of punctuation marks, and all the other components of language and writing that are seeded in proper grammar.
3. Getting Published
How will you get that short story, essay, or blog post published if you don’t know the basics of good grammar? Sure, some managing editors will go over your work and clean it up for you, but most reputable publishers have enough submissions that they can toss technically weak work right into the trash can without thinking twice.
4. Working with an Editor
I love it when writers say they can just hire an editor. This goes back to communication. If you can’t talk shop with other writers, you certainly won’t be able to converse intelligently about your work and its flaws with a professional editor. How will you respond to feedback and revision suggestions or requests when you don’t know what the heck the editor is talking about? Remember, it’s your work. Ultimately, the final version is your call and you won’t be able to approve it if you’re clueless about what’s wrong with it.
5. Saving Money
Speaking of hiring an editor, you should know that editors will only go so deep into correcting a manuscript. It’s unseemly to return work to a writer that is solid red with markups. Most freelance editors and proofreaders have a limit to how much they will mark up any given text, so the more grammar mistakes there are, the more surface work the editor will have to do. That means she won’t be able to get into the nitty gritty and make significant changes that take your work from average to superior.
6. Investing Time
Learning grammar is a way to invest in yourself. You don’t need anything more than a couple of good writing resources and a willingness to take the time necessary to hone your skills. In the beginning, it might be a drag, but eventually, all those grammar rules will become second nature and you will have become a first-rate writer.
7. Respect & Authority
As a first-rate writer who has mastered good grammar, you will gain respect and authority among your peers. People will take you seriously and regard you as a person who is committed to the craft of writing, not just some hack trying to string words together in a haphazard manner.
8. Better Writing All Around
When you’ve taken the time to learn grammar, it becomes second nature. As you write, the words and punctuation marks come naturally because you know what you’re doing, having put in plenty of practice. That means you can focus more of your attention on other aspects of your work, like structure, context, and imagery (to name a few). This leads to better writing all around.
9. Self-Awareness
Some people don’t have it. They charge through life completely unaware of themselves or the people around them. But most of us possess some sense of self. What sense of self can you have as a writer who doesn’t know proper grammar? That’s like being a carpenter who doesn’t know what a hammer and nails are. It’s almost indecent.
10. There’s Only One Reason to Abstain from Good Grammar
There is really only one reason to avoid learning grammar: you’re just plain lazy. Anything else is a silly excuse. Like I said, I’m all for breaking the rules when doing so makes the work better, but how can you break rules effectively if you don’t know what the rules are?
No matter what trade, craft, or career you’re pursuing, it all starts with learning the basics. Actors learn how to read scripts. Scientists learn how to apply the scientific method. Politicians learn how to… well, never mind what politicians do. We are writers. We must learn how to write. And we must learn how to write effectively. Writing effectively requires using good grammar.
Pitch In!
Share your favorite reasons why writers should embrace good grammar by leaving a comment. Also, feel free to recommend useful writing resources and grammar guides. And keep on writing!
Ways to Make Good Grammar Part of Your Daily Life
I recently started relearning how to play the guitar after a rather long hiatus. It’s not like I ever learned how to play it properly in the first place — so I’m a true beginner. And at times, I find it frustrating. I just want to pick the thing up and rip out a song, but I’m constantly tripping over my own fingers, and let’s not even talk about the pain that comes from pressing your fingertips against thick metal strings, repeatedly and for extended periods of time.
Writing’s not so different from playing the guitar. Sometimes we get hung up on the technicalities of the language, and the creative flow is hindered. It’s not easy to rip out a short story when you’re worrying about whether you can end a sentence with a preposition or whether your terminal punctuation marks go inside or outside of the quotation marks. These kinds of setbacks can be painful.
Learning the rules is a drag when you want to fly, but to master any craft, it’s essential to build a solid foundation. Learn the basics; memorize and practice them until they become second nature, and then you can really take off.
Good Grammar and Writing
You don’t have to learn good grammar in order to write — not the way you have to learn chords and strumming patterns to play the guitar — but it sure helps. Your poem might be captivating, your short story compelling, and your essay might be a veritable masterpiece… when read aloud. But if in writing, the grammar is shoddy, you’re going to have a hard time getting published or finding readers.
Even with years of practice and learning, questions about grammar continue to arise. I’ve seen college professors (who taught English) wonder about the rules of good grammar or turn to a handy reference book to look something up.
That’s why I believe that good grammar is a commitment, and for writers, it’s a lifelong commitment. It’s not what makes a writer, but lack of good grammar can definitely break a writer.
The Grammar Lifestyle
I’ve always been interested in grammar and being able to write well. But since I launched this blog back in 2007, I’ve become increasingly dedicated to understanding grammar. Oh, I break the rules from time to time, but I least I know which rules I’m breaking and why.
Today, I thought I’d share some tips for making good grammar part of your daily life. These tips are taken from my own experience, habits, and practices. All of them have helped me expand my grammar skills and become a better writer.
1. Stop Being Lazy – When you’re not sure if the way you’ve written a sentence is correct, take a couple of minutes to go look it up instead of either rewriting it or hoping for the best.
2. Invest in Writing Tools – These include reference books that deal with grammar and style. My personal favorite is The Chicago Manual of Style.
3. Make it a Chore – Some chores you do every day, while others can be tackled weekly or monthly. Set a schedule for regular grammar lessons and stick to it. They don’t have to be long. You can learn something valuable in five short minutes!
4. Talk About It – Turn your grammar questions into conversations. Ask others how they use language. Oddly, I find that even non-writers have interest in basic grammar questions. And if you can’t find anyone who wants to discuss good grammar, take your conversation online. Remember you should always use a credible resource, but discussing grammar related issues is an ideal way to learn the nuances, intricacies, and to gain broader understanding.
5. Put it to Practice – Every time you learn something new, incorporate it into your writing until it becomes second nature. When I learned that it wasn’t traditionally correct to end sentences with prepositions, I stopped completely until it was as natural as putting terminal punctuation marks inside of quotation marks.
6. Bonus! Don’t Be OCD – Well, you can be OCD if you want. I like to break the rules sometimes. Eventually, I returned to ending sentences with prepositions, but only when it was the best way to communicate an action or idea.
Good Grammar for Writers
Writing isn’t really about grammar; it’s about communication. A writer’s job is to share an idea, inform, or entertain. Yet grammar is essential to clear writing. If you write without understanding grammar, it’s like playing a game without learning the rules. You’ll be all over the place, your performance will be a big mess, and you don’t have a very good shot at winning.
So, make good grammar a part of your daily life. Get it into your routine, and embrace it as part of the work one has to do in order to write well.
Parts of Speech: Adverbs
Some writers (and editors) argue that adverbs are the most unnecessary words in the English language. Why say “She ran quickly” when you can simply say “She sprinted?”
Understanding the construction of language begins with learning the parts of speech. If you know that adverbs can be extraneous, then you can scan your writing to see if you are using too many adverbs, and you can check for adverbs that aren’t necessary, particularly adverb-verb combinations that can be replaced with a better, more descriptive, single verb (such as in the example above where “ran quickly” is replaced with “sprinted”).
Why do so many people rail against adverbs? Using our example again, think about which sentence evokes a stronger image. Most readers would agree that “She ran quickly” is vague whereas “She sprinted” is specific and easier to visualize.
Adverbs: How, When, and Where
Here’s a a quick definition of an adverb:
Adverbs are like adjectives in that they are modifiers, but they modify any other type of word or phrase except for nouns. Examples of adverbs include quickly and dark (as in dark red where the adverb dark modifies the adjective red).
An adverb is one of the eight parts of speech. Specifically, adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. Adverbs may also modify sentences and clauses. So, how do you spot a adverb?
Adverbs often answer questions. How did she run? She ran quickly. Adverbs also answer when, where, and to what extent:
- She ran yesterday.
- She ran backwards.
- She ran eternally.
There are other ways to spot an adverb. They often have an -ly suffix attached to a word that originally was a noun (quickly). However, just because a word ends with -ly does not mean it’s an adverb or that it is a derivative of a noun. Here’s a bit of trivia: the -ly suffix is related to the word like. How did she run? She ran passionately. She ran like passion.
Another suffix we often see attached to adverbs is -wise. She ran clockwise around the track. As with -ly, the -wise ending does not guarantee that a word is an adverb, but it can be a good indicator.
Gerunds
Gerunds are verbs acting as nouns, and they end in -ing. In the following sentence, the word “running,” which one would expect to be a verb, functions as a noun:
Running is her favorite activity.
Gerunds acting as adverbs are relatively rare but they do occur, especially with expressions of profanity: She was effing running!
Comparative Adverbs
Ever wonder about words that help us make comparisons?
- She runs more (or less) than I do.
- Who runs the most (or the least)?
- She runs more quickly than I do.
These too are adverbs. Other comparative adverbs are created by adding suffixes, such as -er (She’s a faster runner) or -est (She’s the fastest runner).
Do you have any insights to add about adverbs? Do you have any questions about adverbs or any other parts of speech? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment.
Good Grammar and Capitalization
Proper capitalization is one of the cornerstones of good grammar, yet many people fling capital letters around carelessly.
Not every word deserves to be capitalized. It’s an honor that must be warranted, and in writing, capitalization is designated only for very special words.
Capitalization of Titles
Keep in mind that there are several contexts in which we can examine capitalization. For example, when writing a title (of a blog post, for example), almost all of the words in the title are capitalized. This is called title case.
Title case is used for titles of books, articles, songs, albums, television shows, magazines, movies… you get the idea.
Capitalization isn’t normally applied to every word in a title. Smaller words, such as a, an, and the are not capitalized. Some writers use a capitalization rule for only those words longer than three letters. Others stretch it to four. There’s no fixed grammar rule for which words are capitalized in a title and you should check your style guide for specific guidelines.
Capitalization of Acronyms and Abbreviations
Acronyms and many abbreviations are capitalized, regardless of whether the words they stand for warrant capital letters.
First Word of a Sentence
As I’m sure you know, the first word in a sentence is always capitalized.
Capitalization of Proper Nouns
In a recent post on parts of speech, I explained what constitutes as a noun. To keep things simple here today, we’ll refer to a noun as a person, place, or thing. You need not worry about the other parts of speech because only nouns are eligible for perennial capitalization.
There are two types of nouns that matter in terms of capitalization: proper nouns and common nouns. Proper nouns are the names of specific people, places, and things. Common nouns are all the other, nonspecific people, places, and things.
When considering whether to capitalize, ask whether the noun in question is specific. This will tell you if it’s a proper noun, which should be capitalized, or a common noun, which remains in all lowercase letters.
Proper Noun Capitalization Example
The word country is not specific. It could be any country. Even if you’re talking about the country in which you live, which is a specific country, the word itself could indicate any number of nations. So keep it lowercase because it’s a common noun.
Conversely, Chile is a very specific country. You can tell because Chile is actually the name of a particular land in which people reside. When you discuss the people of that land, you won’t capitalize the word people. However, if you’re talking about Chileans, you definitely capitalize because Chileans are a very specific people, from a very specific country, Chile.
Hopefully that makes sense. If not, keep reading because I’m about to confuse you even more.
Capitalization of Web and Internet
Have you ever noticed the word Internet capitalized? How about the word Web? The linguistic jury is still out on these newfangled technology terms, but generally speaking, the Internet is one great big and specific place. The Web is just another word for that same place.
Wait — what about websites? Do they get capitalized? Only if you’re referring to the name of an actual site, like Writing Forward. A website can be any number of pages online. Think of it like a city in Chile, which is similar to a website on the Web or Internet.
Capitalization of Web and Internet is not a hard and fast grammar rule. Lots of people write these words in all lowercase letters. Do note, however, that when these terms are used as adjectives (also known as modifiers or descriptive words), they should never be capitalized:
I was accessing the Internet from an internet cafe.
The first occurrence of “Internet” uses capitalization because it refers to the (specific) Internet. But an internet cafe is a type of cafe and in this example, internet is used as an adjective rather than as a proper noun, and is therefore not capitalized.
Again, capitalizing Web and Internet is optional.
Common Capitalization Errors
Folks often think that capitalization should be applied to any word that’s deemed important. Here’s an example:
We sent the Product to the local Market in our last shipment. Have the Sales Force check to see if our Widgets are properly packaged.
It’s not uncommon, especially in business writing, to see nouns that are crucial to a company’s business capitalized. This is absolutely incorrect. Here’s correct capitalization of our example:
We sent the product to the local market in our last shipment. Have the sales force check to see if our widgets are properly packaged.
Now, in a rewrite of the example, some of the words will be again capitalized, but only if they are changed into proper nouns – names or titles of things and people.
We sent the Widgetbusters (TM) to WidgetMart in our last shipment. Have our Sales Manager check to see if our widgets are properly packaged.
What about Capitalization for job titles?
Ah, this one’s tricky. Job titles are only capitalized when used as part of a specific person’s title:
- Have you ever met a president?
- Did you vote for president?
- Do you want to become the president?
- Nice to meet you Mr. President.
- He once saw President Obama in a restaurant.
Again, this has to do with specificity. “The president” or “a president” could be any president, even if in using the phrase, it’s obvious by context who you mean. However “Mr. President” or “President Obama” are absolutely specific individuals and they call for capitalization.
That’s it for Capitalization
Do you have questions? Need clarification on capitalization or good grammar? Do you have your own capitalization capers that need to be addressed or do you have more capitalization rules to add? Leave a comment!
Word Pairs: Who vs. Whom
It sounds pretty old fashioned: To whom have you sent those letters? Modern colloquial speakers expect something more along the lines of Who did you send those letters to?
While whom may sound outdated, it can pose a problem, especially if you’re writing for an erudite audience, or if you are a stickler for using words properly and adhering to the rules of grammar.
In the example above, the second sentence (Who did you send those letters to?) breaches the standards set forth by proper grammar, and it breaks the rule in the ongoing battle of who vs. whom.
Here are the two grammar rules violated by our example sentence:
- It ends with a preposition
- Uses who where whom is the correct interrogative pronoun
Interrogative Pronoun! Are You Kidding?
Yeah, I guess it sounds pretty fancy, and no, I’m not kidding. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not one of those grammar sticklers. I do, however, believe that writers who learn the rules can better get away with breaking them. If you are a writer, then it couldn’t possibly hurt to know what an interrogative pronoun is, and how to use it in a sentence, correctly.
Plus, learning about interrogative pronouns will help you know the difference between who vs. whom.
Interrogative Pronoun
Simply put, an interrogative pronoun is a pronoun that is used in a question. You know these words: who, what, where, when, why, and how. Whence and whither are also interrogative pronouns, but I’ll spare you on those. For now.
Who Uses Whom Nowadays?
The word whom seems to have fallen out of favor, although some crotchety old aunt or anal-retentive English teacher might force it into your vocabulary at some point. For all I know, whom could still be used in British English, Canadian English, or Aussie speak. It’s safe to assume that a high profile writing assignment (Ph.D, anyone?) would require you to adhere to strict rules, and to use whom where it would be expected. Also, if you were writing an historical novel, or perhaps a fantasy tale with a medieval flair, you’d want to know such things so your characters would have realistic dialogue.
So, What’s the Difference between Who and Whom?
First I’ll give you the technical answer, then a trick to help you remember which one to use in your own sentence crafting.
Who refers to the subject of a sentence, while whom refers to the object.
Yep, it’s that simple.
Example:
I see you.
In the sentence above, I is the subject and you is the object. I always remember subject as the giver and object as the receiver.
Since who is the proper interrogative pronoun for representing a sentence’s subject, you could say:
Who sees you?
(I do. I see you.)
The object of a sentence is represented with whom, so you would say the following:
I see whom? or Whom do I see?
(I see you.)
Tip for Remember Who vs. Whom
Some months ago, while listening to Grammar Girl (one of my favorite podcasts), I picked up a neat little trick for remembering when to use who vs. whom. Both whom and him are pronouns that end with the letter m. If the sentence can be constructed with him in place of whom, you’re on the right track.
I see whom?
Whom did I see?
I see him.
Grammar sure is fun.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in January, 2008, but has been updated with more information and therefore republished for your reading (and learning) pleasure.
Parts of Speech: Verbs
Verbs are action words, one of the eight parts of speech. They are also one of the two essential components in forming a complete sentence.
In language, verbs are the most active of all the parts of speech. A well chosen verb can communicate action through imagery. For example, “She struts” says a lot more than “She walks.”
Verbs are also flexible. Add the -ing suffix to a verb to make a noun (He revised his own writing). Verbs can also function as adjectives (We have a running dialog). Basically, you can have a lot of fun with verbs, tweaking them to suit your own writerly purposes. But first you have to understand what they are and what role they fulfill.
Verbs Defined
As previously stated, a verb is one of the parts of speech and it’s an action word. The types of action that are represented by verbs are as follows:
Action: walk, run, dance, write, think, talk
Occurrence: shimmer, breakdown
State of Being: sit, sleep, be
It’s not necessary to classify verbs based on action, occurrence, and state of being. These are just examples so you can better identify verbs. Some people might say there is no action in “I am.” However, am (a form of the verb “to be”) is most definitely an action — it’s the action of being (from the verb to be).
Sentence Diagramming and Parts of Speech
If you’ve ever attempted sentence diagramming, you probably started out by learning to identify nouns and verbs. For a sentence to be complete, it must contain one of each of these two parts of speech. In sentence diagramming, the noun is the subject, and the verb is the predicate.
I write.
In the sentence “I write,” the noun/subject is “I.” The verb/predicate is “write.” This is basic grammar and the most elementary sentence structure possible. It’s a good thing for a writer to know.
Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
In a sentence, the verb is connected to one or more nouns. At the very least, there is a noun performing the action of the verb (I eat) or receiving the action (The cookies were eaten). Two nouns can be impacted by the same verb (I eat cookies). The number of nouns that a verb affects in a sentence is referred to as the verb’s valence or valency.
Intransitive verbs have valency 1. In other words, the verb is only tied to the sentence’s subject (I eat). I is the subject and eat is the predicate. In this sentence, eat is an intransitive verb.
Transitive verbs have valency 2. The verb is tied to two words in the sentence – the subject and the object (I eat cookies). I is the subject, eat is the predicate, and the word cookies is the direct object. In this sentence, eat is a transitive verb.
All verbs must have valency. There is no such thing as a verb with zero valency. In order for there to be an action, that action has be performed or received by somebody or something. In other words, verbs need nouns in order to exist. Even if the noun isn’t directly stated (Run!), it is implied (You run!).
Verbal Nouns
Gerunds
If you add -ing to a verb and use it as a noun, you’re using a gerund:
Reading books is fun.
In the sentence above, reading (normally a verb) is used as a noun. The verb in the sentence is “is.”
Infinitives
The infinitive form of a verb is its raw form. The classic example of an infinitive is “to be.” Other infinitives include to see, to run, to dance, etc.
Like gerunds, infinitives can function as nouns.
Running is like jogging.
To err is human.
In the example sentences above, the underlined verbs (gerunds in the first sentence, infinitive in the second) are functioning as nouns or more specifically, as verbal nouns.
Agreement
In sentences, verbs must be in agreement with the words they impact. There are several types of verb agreement, including tense and number agreement. Other languages (such as Spanish and French) also mandate gender agreement.
What does verb agreement mean to a writer? Well, your verbs have to match up to your nouns. When it comes to agreement, English writers and speakers are lucky because we don’t have nearly as many agreements to consider as some other languages have.
Tense
Tense can be a challenge for people who are new to speaking or writing English (and for English natives learning any other language). Verb tense agreement warrants its own, lengthy article, so we’ll keep it simple here and just demonstrate the absolute basics.
If something happens in the past, the verb has to be in past tense. You cannot say “She was writes” or “He is danced” (although these phrases might fit nicely in a poem). What you can say is “She was writing” or “She wrote.” You can say “He is dancing” or “He dances.”
It’s important to learn tense and understand how to put verbs into past tense because much writing is done in past tense. Stories – entire novels – are often written in past tense and it’s not at all uncommon for past and present tense to both appear in a single work.
Most native English speakers naturally grasp tense, which is why we won’t get into a lengthy discussion about it here. Mismatched verb tenses can be a giveaway of folks for whom English is a second language. It’s just one of those mistakes natives rarely make. However, as can be seen in the poetic examples above, mixing up tense can produce some endearing phrases, which may be used in some types of writing, such as poetry. However, erroneous tense agreement in a formal paper or business communication is never a good idea.
Third Person, Singular, Present
The only other strict agreement in English is the third person, singular, present tense of a verb, which takes an -s. That’s a mouthful, so here’s an example:
I run.
You run.
He/she runs.
They run.
We run.
For the record, what we’ve just done here is we conjugated the verb “to run.” Verb conjugation is not much fun in English. As you can see, “run” doesn’t get conjugated all that much, the only exception is when it’s attached to “he” or “she,” in which case it takes an -s. Also for the record, conjugating verbs in French or Spanish is far more exciting.
Are there any grammar issues that you’re struggling with? Parts of speech you don’t quite understand? Got questions about verbs? Participles? Types of verbs? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment.
Homophones: Affect vs. Effect
Homophones can be confusing. Luckily, there’s an easy way to remember affect vs. effect.
I see it all the time: affect and effect mixed up as if they were completely interchangeable.
But they’re not.
These two homophones may sound exactly alike, but they don’t even belong to the same parts of speech! If you’ve ever been typing along and come to one of these words, and scrunched up your eyebrows wondering whether to spell it with an a or an e, then this grammar lesson is for you!
Affect vs. Effect
In the ongoing wars between homophones, affect vs. effect is one of the most brutal fights on the battlefield. One is usually a noun (but not always) and the other is usually a verb (but not always). So the war wages on, and in the meantime misspellings and typos run rampant whenever one of these two words appears in print.
To Affect
Affect is almost always a verb. It is something that happens. You are affected or you affect. This word is never preceded by an article such as an or the because it’s not a thing, it’s an action. When writing, or speaking for that matter, and unsure of the spelling, ask yourself if the word is being used as an action. If it is, then go with affect.
a = action
a = affect
An Effect
Effect is a noun, and that is a thing. It’s not something you do, it’s something you have, or give, or something that just is. We hear this word most commonly in reference to fancy film making — you know — special effects. “The special effects in that movie were groundbreaking!” Note the use of the article, the, as in the effect. See that? Easy!
the = article
effect = noun
Also note that if used with an adjective or noun phrase, it’s effect (with an e):
- After effect
- Special effect
- Greenhouse effect
- Sound effect
- Effects of alcohol
- In effect…
- Adverse effects
- Positive/negative effects
- Cause and effect
- Side effects
More Homophones?
That’s all for today! Do you think the battle of affect vs. effect can be won? Will we eventually learn how to spell these two homophones correctly or will they someday merge into a single word?
Do you have any homophones that you need clarified? Or are there any homophones out there that you just can’t seem to remember? Leave a comment and I’ll try to come up with a clever mnemonic device just for you! If you’re too shy to leave a comment, go ahead and use the contact form!
And if you have any tips or tricks for remembering how to spell affect vs. effect, then please share your knowledge. Or, if you are stuck on any homophones, drop a comment. There’s a good chance your grammar question will be answered in an upcoming post.
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in January, 2008, but has been updated with new information and therefore republished for your reading pleasure.
Punctuation: The Difference Between Dashes and Hyphens
To the passive reader, it’s a short horizontal line that appears somewhere in a text, usually joining two words together. To a writer, it’s something else entirely, but what? Is it a dash, a hyphen, or a minus sign? More than once, I’ve been pecking away at my keyboard and stopped suddenly when confronted with this versatile and confounding punctuation mark.
When you use this mark, do you know whether you’re using it as a dash or hyphen?
Many people use dashes and hyphens interchangeably, which is understandable, since most of us use the exact same keyboard character for both dashes and hyphens. However, they are technically two completely different punctuation marks.
Dashes also come in a couple of different formats: the em-dash (long) and the en-dash (short).
This post looks at the following punctuation marks:
- Hyphens
- Dashes
- Em-dashes
- En-dashes
Hyphens
A hyphen is used to connect words in order to form a compound. It was also used commonly during the typewriter era to show that a word was broken at a carriage return, but that usage is rarely seen these days. Examples include:
- ten-year-old
- merry-go-round
- editor-in-chief
- co-worker
Hyphens are also used to denote prefixes and suffixes when they are not affixed to a base word. Also, certain modifier combinations call for hyphenation.
Hyphenated Modifiers
When two modifiers together modify another word, they are often hyphenated. For example, in the phrase “real-world situations,” the words “real” and “world” are connected with a hyphen. Note that “real” modifies “world” (the world is real) and as a single unit (a hyphenated modifier), the two words together modify “situation.” This is standard practice when one modifier modifies another to form a single modifier to a noun or verb.
Note, however, that adverb-adjective combinations are not normally hyphenated. For example, a “well understood concept” is not hyphenated (“well” is an adverb modifying the adjective “understood”).
In a future post, we’ll take a more detailed look at hyphenated modifiers.
Dashes
There are two types of dashes: the em dash (–) and the en (-) dash.
The Em Dash
This is also called the double dash–and rightly so–because it actually consists of two dashes presented without spacing before or after, and used to evoke emphasis (note that the spacing is up for debate as some style guides and writers include a single space before and after the em dash). This kind of dash is often used to “set off an element added to amplify or to digress from the main clause” (Publication Manual of the APA, 2001, p. 291).
The En Dash
An en dash is really used more like a hyphen because it connects words. This connection forms a compound adjective where each individual word has equal weight. Here are two examples: Did you receive the July-August issue of the publication? Will you be on the San Francisco-New York flight?
Why are they called em and en dashes?
In typesetting, the em dash is the same width as the letter m, while the en dash matches the width of the letter n. It’s interesting to note that technically, a hyphen should be a tad bit shorter than the en dash. However, typewriters and computers only have the one punctuation mark (right above the p key) which must do triple duty (hyphen, em dash, and en dash), so unless you’re a professional typesetter, there’s no need to worry about measuring your marks.
How do you use dashes and hyphens in your writing? Do you have any questions or thoughts to add? Leave a comment.
Parts of Speech: Adjectives
Understanding the different parts of speech is essential for writers who want to craft prose intelligibly.
A basic understanding of language and mastery of grammar helps writers understand the craft from a mechanical standpoint, and can result in superior writing abilities.
Parts of speech make up the fundamental building blocks of language. Do you know an adverb from an adjective? A conjunction from an interjection?
If you’re a writer, you should.
In a post titled “Parts of Speech,” we identified adjectives as follows:
Adjective: An adjective is a word that modifies a noun or pronoun. Often, adjectives are descriptive as in comfortable or red. Traditionally, adjectives included determiners, words that indicate definiteness as in articles a vs. the, or quantity as in one, some, or many. Linguists are increasingly separating determiners as unique parts of speech.
This definition only scratches the surface.
Interesting Facts About Adjectives
Did you know that not all languages have adjectives? Most do, though. And those that don’t use alternative parts of speech (such as verbs) to modify nouns and pronouns, thereby fulfilling the same role that adjectives play in English.
Also, words that are adjectives in one language may not be adjectives in another language. According to Wikipedia: “English uses “to be hungry” (hungry being an adjective), French uses “avoir faim” (literally “to have hunger”)…”
Adjectives lend themselves particularly well to derivation, which is the linguistic alteration of a word by adding a suffix (such as -ness, -ise, -al). Add -ize to the adjective glamor and you get glamorize.
Adjectives vs. Determiners: Separate Parts of Speech?
Determiners are a subclass of adjectives, which modify nouns by limiting their meaning. Determiners may precede descriptive adjectives.
Articles (a, an, the) are determiners as are words such as some, each, many, and few (to name a few). Other determiners are demonstratives, possessive determiners, quantifiers, and cardinal numbers (first, second, third, etc.). Many determiners are listed as pronouns, such as your or their.
Linguists increasingly regard determiners and adjectives as two separate and distinct parts of speech. However, that is not usually reflected in grammar references material. For example, most dictionaries still classify determiners as adjectives.
Types of Adjectives
There are several types of adjectives. Here’s a quick look at a few of them.
- Attributive adjectives – normally precede the nouns that they modify and are considered part of the noun phrase.
- Predicative adjectives – are linked to the nouns they modify, usually with a predicate (e.g. “the car is fast” rather than “the fast car”).
- Absolute adjectives – modify either the subject of a sentence or a nearby noun, and are best demonstrated by example: “The car, fast and sleek, sped through the intersection.”
- Substantive adjectives – are still modifiers, but used as freestanding nouns. Example: “There are two cars, a fast one and a red one. I’ll take the fast one, you take the red.”
Each of these types of adjectives warrant an entire study. This is just a brief overview so you understand how diverse the part of speech can be.
Adjectival Phrases
Most parts of speech team up with other words in a sentence to form phrases, and adjectives are no exception. In an adjectival phrase, the ajective is at the head. A single adjective in a sentence constitutes an adjectival phrase.
More often, adjectives that are modified by other adjectves or by adverbs make up an adjectival phrase (such as glaceing very in front of any adjective). More than one adverb or complement can be used to modify an adjective within an adjectival phrase.
Modifiers and Writing
Modifiers are essential to writers. They are the words that help us describe characters and scenes, but they are not meant to be crutches. They should be used conservatively for the greatest impact. Consider the following two sentences:
She quickly ran to the other side of the field.
She sprinted to the other side of the field.
Which of these sentences creates a more distinct image in your mind?
Highly descriptive verbs and nouns will always carry more impact that flat verbs and nouns that are modified with fancy adverbs and adjectives. Keep this in mind with your own writing, and try not to lean on modifiers as a crutch to enhance your writing.
Do you have anything to add? Do you have any questions about adjectives any other parts of speech? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment.
Homophones: Accept and Except
The English language is fraught with sound-alike words that look nothing alike on the page, or the screen. These homophones have given many students headaches as they agonize over word choice while composing essays and even short stories.
Accept and except are two such words. Though not among the most commonly confused homophones, these two words do occasionally find themselves getting mixed up and used incorrectly.
Here’s a quick way to remember the difference between accept and except.
Accept
Accept means to take or receive, agree or consent, undertake responsibility, or reconcile oneself to something. In a sense, it means to acknowledge. You can’t really accept something without acknowledging it, except in some very far out circumstances. Since both words start with ac, it should be easy to remember whether accept belongs in your sentence.
I accept your proposal.
I except your proposal.
Is the proposal acknowledged? Then choose accept.
Except
You know what’s special? The letter x. It’s special because it’s so rarely used. Wouldn’t you agree? We could almost say that the letter x is an exceptional letter. Remember this letter and these words together: x, exceptional, except. Because except always indicates something that is special, or different from the others. It means with the exclusion of, with exception, or otherwise. It marks something unique.
Everyone accept me had read the book.
Everyone except me had read the book.
Does this sentence indicate something or someone that is unique, like one person who didn’t do something that everyone else did? Mark it with an x and use except.
Accept and Except, and Other Homophones
What other homophones can you come up with besides accept and except? Are there any that you find especially perplexing? Share them in the comments!
Word Pairs: Farther? Further?
Believe it or not, farther and further each have distinctly different meanings although people tend to use them interchangeably.
And it’s no surprise, because these two words look a lot alike, sound a lot alike, and the difference in meaning is quite subtle. Plus, there are a few circumstances when they are legitimately interchangeable.
Let’s solve the farther, further mystery for once and for all. After all, word pairs aren’t difficult or confusing if you make them fun!
Farther
The word farther deals with physical distance or that which can be measured. One way to remember this is to recall the phrase “far away.”
Examples include:
- I jog a little farther each day.
- Do you live farther away from the city now?
- The library is farther from my house than the bookstore.
Further
Further also deals with distance, but not in physical terms. Use further when you’re talking about figurative distance or a general advancement. Some interchangeable terms include furthermore, moreover, and in addition. Further also indicates a greater degree of something. Here are examples of how to use further correctly in a sentence:
- I’ll be delving further into the topic at a later date.
- I am further along in my holiday shopping than I was last year at this time.
- Further, I intend to finish my shopping before the end of the week.
Farther / Further
In some cases, you can use either of these words, especially when the distinction isn’t clear. For example, if you are discussing a book, you could argue that there is physical distance between the pages because they can be measured. However, since the distance between pages is not geographical in nature, usage of farther or further is ambiguous. When it’s not completely clear which word to use, you can choose either one, though it’s usually safer to go with further because it has less restriction that its cousin.
- I’m farther along in the book than other members of my book club.
- The other members of my book club are further along in the book than I am.
If you have any tips for remembering farther – further, then please do tell!
Do you have grammar questions? Are there any word pairs that confound you? Send me an e-mail or leave a comment with your suggestions for grammar topics!
How to Use a Semicolon
Lots of people aren’t quite sure how to use a semicolon.
The semicolon might be the most misunderstood punctuation mark in the English language. This dot-comma combination is often used where a period, colon, or even a plain old comma belongs.
Underused and often abused, the semicolon is useful in a number of writing situations. Although proper semicolon use requires a little finesse, this particular punctuation mark is surprisingly easy to understand.
Here’s the lowdown on semicolon use:
- The semicolon establishes a close connection between two sentences or independent clauses.
- A semicolon can replace conjunctions and or but.
- Semicolons indicate a stronger separation than a comma.
- A semicolon is often used in lists to separate items when some of the items in listed subsets require commas.
- The semicolon is always followed by a lower case letter with proper nouns being the only exception (proper nouns are always capitalized).
- Semicolon use can be applied to separate two clauses or sentences that are saying the same thing in different ways.
- As with other punctuation marks that denote the end of a clause or sentence, there is no space between the semicolon and the word preceding it; there should be a single space after the semicolon.
Want real examples that show how to use a semicolon? You got ‘em!
- I watched the Grammy Awards last night; I was most pleased that Amy Winehouse won and thought it was a great show this year.
- I love music; however, I haven’t played my own guitar in several years.
- I have lived in several different cities: San Francisco, California; Haiku, Hawaii; and Santa Barbara, California.
- When I was in fourth grade, I won the spelling bee for my entire school and went to the district championships. I practiced every night, memorized all the words on the list, and felt confident that I had a shot at winning; I got nervous on stage and misspelled one of the words even though I knew the proper spelling.
- I’m fascinated by names and their meanings; Melissa means honey bee.
- There’s nothing like the gentle drum of water hitting against the window pane; I love the rain.
- This is not only a grammar post, it’s also a tag from by Rudy Amid in which I’m asked to write seven weird facts about myself; the seventh is that I’m using my blog to multitask and be a good sport about memes.
In many cases, semicolon use is appropriate or grammatically correct, but when a period will do the trick, go with two separate sentences. In other words, if you can choose between separating clauses by a semicolon or writing two separate sentences (using a period), write two separate sentences. This makes text easier to read.
How often do you use semicolons? Ever? Do you think it’s best that this punctuation mark is used sparingly, or should we all aim for increased semicolon use — start a new fad, maybe? Share your thoughts on how to use a semicolon in the comments.
Oh, and I tag anyone who feels like sharing seven weird facts about themselves. Post them on your blog, and then come back and leave a comment here! And don’t forget to keep practicing proper semicolon use.
