Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Foreword
Introduction
1 Grammar 1
Finding Nouns, Verbs, and Subjects 1
Nouns
Verb
Subjects
Using verbs to find subjects
Multiple subjects and verbs in a sentence
Infinitives
You as an understood subject
Subject and Verb Agreement 4
Singular vs. plural verbs
Finding subjects before phrases beginning with of
With or, either. . .or, and neither. . .nor
With and
With interrupting expressions
With portions such as percent, fraction, part, etc.
With here and there
With distances, periods of time, sums of money, etc.
With collective nouns
The subjunctive mood
Clauses and Phrases 9
Independent clauses
Dependent clauses
Phrases
Pronouns 9
Subject pronouns
Object pronouns
Subject and verb agreement with who, that, and which
Subject and verb agreement with anyone, someone, each, etc.
Following than or as
Possessive pronouns
Its vs. it’s
Reflexives: the self pronouns
Consistency with singular pronouns
Pronouns linked with nouns by and or or
Who vs. Whom 16
Whoever vs. Whomever 18
Who, That, Which 19
Adjectives and Adverbs 20
Adjectives modifying nouns and pronouns
Adverbs modifying verbs, adjectives, and adverbs
When to add -ly
Sense verbs: taste, smell, look, feel
Good vs. well
Comparisons such as -er vs. -est and more vs. most
This, that, these, and those
Prepositions 24
Ending a sentence with a preposition
Avoiding extra prepositions
Like vs. as
Of vs. have
Different from vs. different than
In vs. into
Effective Writing 26
Concrete vs. vague language
Active vs. passive voice
Clumsy construction
Double negatives
Parallel construction
Misplaced and dangling modifiers
Fragments
2 Punctuation 31
Periods 31
With complete sentences
With abbreviations at the end of a sentence
Question marks and exclamation points replace periods
Commas 31
To separate three or more items
To separate adjectives
With independent clauses
With introductory words
To set off interrupting expressions
With names
With dates
With city and state
With Jr. and Sr.
With degrees and titles
With dependent clauses
With nonessential words, clauses, and phrases
To introduce or interrupt quotations
To separate statements from questions
To separate contrasting parts of a sentence
With introductory words when they are followed by a series of items
With etc.
Semicolons 35
To replace a period in two closely linked sentences
With words such as namely, however, therefore, etc., when they
introduce a complete sentence
To avoid confusion where commas already exist
With sentences that have multiple clauses
Colons 36
To introduce a series of items
Directly following a verb or preposition
With lists
With two independent clauses where the second explains the first
With long quotations
After the salutation in a business letter
Quotation Marks 37
Use of double quotation marks
With titles of magazines, books, plays, etc.
With periods and commas
Use of single quotation marks
Spacing between single and double quotation marks
With slang, technical terms, and other nonstandard expressions
With quoted material of more than one paragraph
Parentheses and Brackets 38
Parentheses and brackets are not interchangeable
Parentheses for clarification and asides
Parentheses with complete sentences
Parentheses and subject agreement
Commas with parentheses
Brackets are interruptions
Use of [sic]
Use of brackets with quotations
Apostrophes 40
Possession
Singular possession
Nouns ending in s
Plural possession
With regular nouns
With irregular nouns
With names
With compound nouns
To show joint possession
Contractions
With initials, capital letters, and numbers
With time or money
With personal pronouns
Apostrophes vs. single quotation marks
False possessives
With nouns ending in y
Hyphens 43
Between words
With compound adjectives
With compound verbs and compound nouns
With very and -ly adverbs
With ages
For clarification
With spans of time, distance, or other quantities
With compound numbers
With spelled-out fractions
With double last names
With prefixes and suffixes
Prefixes with proper nouns or proper adjectives
Prefixes with double vowels
With self, ex, and all
With re
With suffixes
Suffixes with double letters
Use a dictionary
Dashes 47
Words between dashes are not part of the subject
In place of other punctuation
Spacing
Ellipses 48
Three-dot method
With omitted words or sentences
To express hesitation, changes of mood, etc.
Question Marks 49
With direct questions
Replacing periods
Indirect and rhetorical questions
With sentences that are half statement and half question
With quotation marks
Exclamation Points 49
To show emotion, emphasis, or surprise
Replacing periods
Formal business writing
Justifiable use
3 Capitalization 51
Beginning a document or sentence
Proper nouns and adjectives derived from proper nouns
Unique, formal names
Official names
Titles vs. occupations
Titles in direct address
Kinship names
Nicknames
Geographic regions vs. points of the compass
The before proper nouns
First word of quotations
Course titles
Art movements
Lists following colons
Titles of books, plays, films, songs, etc.
4 Writing Numbers 56
Using figures vs. spelling out
Compound numbers
Fractions
Time
Large numbers
Decimals
Dates
Decades
5 Confusing Words and Homonyms 59
Imply vs. infer
Lay vs. lie
Their vs. there vs. they’re
Hundreds more words and homonyms that perplex and confound
6 Quizzes 115
Grammar Pretest 115
Finding Nouns, Verbs, and Subjects—Quiz 1 116
Finding Nouns, Verbs, and Subjects—Quiz 2 117
Subject and Verb Agreement—Quiz 1 117
Subject and Verb Agreement—Quiz 2 118
Pronouns—Quiz 1 119
Pronouns—Quiz 2 119
Who, Whom, Whoever, Whomever—Quiz 1 120
Who, Whom, Whoever, Whomever—Quiz 2 121
Who, Whom, That, Which—Quiz 1 121
Who, Whom, That, Which—Quiz 2 122.
Adjectives and Adverbs—Quiz 1 122
Adjectives and Adverbs—Quiz 2 123
Prepositions—Quiz 1 123
Prepositions—Quiz 2 124
Affect vs. Effect—Quiz 1 124
Affect vs. Effect—Quiz 2 125
Lay vs. Lie—Quiz 1 125
Lay vs. Lie—Quiz 2 126
Advice vs. Advise—Quiz 1 126
Advice vs. Advise—Quiz 2 127
Their vs. There vs. They’re—Quiz 1 127
Their vs. There vs. They’re—Quiz 2 128
More Confusing Words and Homonyms—Quiz 1 128
More Confusing Words and Homonyms—Quiz 2 129
Effective Writing—Quiz 1 129
Effective Writing—Quiz 2 130
Grammar Mastery Test 131
Punctuation, Capitalization, and Writing Numbers Pretest 132
Commas and Periods—Quiz 1 134
Commas and Periods—Quiz 2 135
Semicolons and Colons—Quiz 1 135
Semicolons and Colons—Quiz 2 136
Question Marks and Quotation Marks—Quiz 1 137
Question Marks and Quotation Marks—Quiz 2 138
Parentheses and Brackets—Quiz 1 138
Parentheses and Brackets—Quiz 2 139
Apostrophes—Quiz 1 139
Apostrophes—Quiz 2 140
Hyphens Between Words—Quiz 1 140
Hyphens Between Words—Quiz 2 141
Hyphens with Prefixes and Suffixes—Quiz 1 141
Hyphens with Prefixes and Suffixes—Quiz 2 142
Capitalization—Quiz 1 142
Capitalization—Quiz 2 143
Writing Numbers—Quiz 1 143
Writing Numbers—Quiz 2 144
Punctuation, Capitalization, and Writing Numbers Mastery Test 144
7 Answers to Quizzes 146
Grammar Pretest 146
Finding Nouns, Verbs, and Subjects—Quiz 1 147
Finding Nouns, Verbs, and Subjects—Quiz 2 148
Subject and Verb Agreement—Quiz 1 148
Subject and Verb Agreement—Quiz 2 149
Pronouns—Quiz 1 149
Pronouns—Quiz 2 150
Who, Whom, Whoever, Whomever—Quiz 1 151
Who, Whom, Whoever, Whomever—Quiz 2 151
Who, Whom, That, Which—Quiz 1 152
Who, Whom, That, Which—Quiz 2 152.
Adjectives and Adverbs—Quiz 1 152
Adjectives and Adverbs—Quiz 2 153
Prepositions—Quiz 1 154
Prepositions—Quiz 2 154
Affect vs. Effect—Quiz 1 154
Affect vs. Effect—Quiz 2 155
Lay vs. Lie—Quiz 1 155
Lay vs. Lie—Quiz 2 156
Advice vs. Advise—Quiz 1 156
Advice vs. Advise—Quiz 2 156
Their vs. There vs. They’re—Quiz 1 157
Their vs. There vs. They’re—Quiz 2 157
More Confusing Words and Homonyms—Quiz 1 158
More Confusing Words and Homonyms—Quiz 2 158
Effective Writing—Quiz 1 159
Effective Writing—Quiz 2 160
Grammar Mastery Test 162
Punctuation, Capitalization, and Writing Numbers Pretest 164
Commas and Periods—Quiz 1 165
Commas and Periods—Quiz 2 166
Semicolons and Colons—Quiz 1 166
Semicolons and Colons—Quiz 2 167
Question Marks and Quotation Marks—Quiz 1 168
Question Marks and Quotation Marks—Quiz 2 168
Parentheses and Brackets—Quiz 1 169
Parentheses and Brackets—Quiz 2 170
Apostrophes—Quiz 1 170
Apostrophes—Quiz 2 171
Hyphens Between Words—Quiz 1 171
Hyphens Between Words—Quiz 2 171
Hyphens with Prefixes and Suffixes—Quiz 1 172
Hyphens with Prefixes and Suffixes—Quiz 2 172
Capitalization—Quiz 1 172
Capitalization—Quiz 2 173
Writing Numbers—Quiz 1 174
Writing Numbers—Quiz 2 174
Punctuation, Capitalization, and Writing Numbers Mastery Test 175
Index