Learn to write 101 by Kimberly Jackson (free e novels TXT) 📖

if you're having problems with agreement. Now, thinking about that, look at the following sentence and decide what's wrong with it:
The dishes in the kitchen is dirty.
Good guess! The subject and the verb don't agree. What's the probable cause for the problem? Kitchen (a singular noun) is right in front of is (a singular verb). If kitchenwere the subject, that would be okay. But, it's not. Cross out the prepositional phrase and you're left with:
The dishes in the kitchen is dirty.
"The dishes . . . is dirty?" Sounds wrong, doesn't it? The subject is plural, but the verb is singular. They don't agree. The correct version is:
The dishes in the kitchen are dirty.
Once you know how to look for this problem, it shouldn't be too hard to get rid of it when you proofread your paper.
Reversed sentence order
The normal pattern for English sentences is subject-verb. However, there are a few situations where this order is reversed (like this sentence):
o There are snacks on the laundry-room table.
o Where are they?
o On the table are the goodies!
See how the subject comes after the verb in each of these? If you can remember how to locate subjects and verbs, you shouldn't blunder into mistakes when writing reversed-order sentences.
"-body," "-one," and "-thing" words
The correct term for these words is indefinite pronouns, but if you remember them as "-body," "-one," and "-thing" words, you'll probably be able to spot them more easily. You only need to know one thing: if a word has one of these endings (like everybody,everyone, anyone, anything, etc.), it is always singular! You can also include each,either, and neither in this group. Look at the following:
1. Everyone is going on a picnic.
2. Each of the boys is taking his own lunch.
3. If anyone drops something to eat, I'll grab it before he can pick it up.
You shouldn't have problems with these if you simply memorize the endings of words that are always singular.
NOTE: We said that either and neither are always singular; however, if you have two subjects in an either . . . or or neither . . . nor construction, getting the agreement right may give you fits. To get it right, just locate the subject closest to the verb and make the verb agree with it:
o Either the mailman or the construction workers are causing Peggy to bark like crazy.
o Neither the dogs down the street nor the one next door pays any attention.
Compare this with the following:
o Either the construction workers or the mailman is causing Peggy to bark like crazy.
o Neither the one next door nor the dogs down the street pay any attention.
Agreement, in this case, depends on the placement of the subject.
"Who," "which," and "that"
Remember dependent clauses? They have a subject and a verb, but they can't stand alone. That's what we're dealing with here, but with a little something extra. Now we've got to consider pronouns. A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun that comes before it, usually in the same clause or one very close to it.
Peggy is a troublemaker. She bites my ears and steals my food.
"Who," "which," and "that" are pronouns. When they take the place of a singular noun, they are singular; when they take the place of a plural noun, they are plural. This is important to remember when they are the subject of a clause. Compare the following sentences:
1. Big Dog is one of those animals who are very intelligent.
2. Big Dog is an animal who is very intelligent.
In both, who is the subject of a dependent clause. In number 1, it takes the place ofanimals (a plural form). That's why "are" is the correct verb choice. In number 2, whotakes the place of animal (a singular form), and that's why "is" is correct.
This may seem a bit confusing at first, but there's a way to get it right every time. If you find "who," "which," or "that" introducing a dependent clause (like in the examples above):
1. Look at the word right in front of it (usually that's the word it takes the place of).
2. Decide if the word is singular or plural (that will tell you whether "who," "which," or "that" is singular or plural).
3. Make the verb agree!
That's all there is to it!


Pronouns are a handy way to keep from repeating nouns too much. Consider the following:
o When Big Dog snuck under the fence, Big Dog ran to the dumpster.
o When Big Dog snuck under the fence, he ran to the dumpster.
Clearly the second sentence sounds better.
When we talked about subject-verb agreement, we said that the subject and the verbmust agree in number. That is, you have to make sure that both are singular or both are plural. The same goes for pronouns and antecedents.
A pronoun renames (takes the place of) a noun that comes before it.
An antecedent is what we call the noun that comes before the pronoun.
Two examples should be enough:
1. I get worried when the neighbors let their dog out.
2. The dog goes wild, and he always messes up my front yard.
In number 1, neighbors is the antecedent; their is the pronoun. They agree becauseboth are plural. In number 2, dog is the antecedent, and he is the pronoun. They agreesince both are singular. If you are having problems with pronoun-antecedent agreement, underline all your pronouns; then, locate the antecedent for each. Make sure that both are the same in number. That's all you have to do.
With subject-verb agreement, we also talked about indefinite pronouns ("-one," "-body," and "-thing" words). With pronouns, we need to look at the "-one" and "-body" words again. (Also include "either," "neither," and "each.") These are always singular, and that should be easy enough to remember. But most beginning writers seem to have trouble with them. Part of the problem is the way we speak. Few would notice anything wrong if they heard someone say,
o Everyone needs to take their dog to the vet regularly.
o Everybody was enjoying their vacation.
These sound okay, right? Maybe so, but they're wrong if you're writing. Words like "everyone" and "everybody" are always singular, so the plural pronoun their can't agree with them. The correct
versions are:
o Everyone needs to take his dog to the vet regularly.
o Everybody was enjoying her vacation.
You could use his or her in either sentence, depending upon the context.
Sexism in the language
Some suggest that you should always use "he or she," "his or her," or "him or her" instead of simply using the masculine "he," "his," or "him." If you're worried about the sexist tradition of using masculine pronouns to refer to all people, then rewrite your sentences in the plural, as in "People need to take their dogs to the vet regularly." "The people were enjoying their vacations."
You could use "he or she" (etc.), but it sounds awkward and will eventually lead to an agreement problem--if it doesn't bore your readers to death first. For instance:
If an owner doesn't take proper care of his or her dog, then he or she will find his or her pet may suffer. The pet will be grateful to him or her if he or she takes care of his or her reponsibilities. When he or she . . . .
You may be an inexperienced writer, but you're not an inexperienced listener. That passage simply sounds dumb. Like I said, if you're worried about a sexist slant, go for the plurals!


o Having been thrown in the air, the dog caught the stick.
o Smashed flat by a passing truck, Big Dog sniffed at what was left of a half-eaten hamburger.
The best way to begin talking about dangling modifiers is to show you a couple so you can see the problem for yourself: the writer has unintentionally said something that he (or she) didn't intend. The dog wasn't "thrown in the air," and Big Dog wasn't "smashed flat." We can work out what is actually meant. But a reader shouldn't have to work things out.
Sentences like these are funny--but that's just the problem. Any time you draw attention to how you've said something instead of what you've said, your communication suffers. If you're writing something important, and I stop to chuckle over a faulty construction, the overall effect is lost.
So how do you get rid of these? Do the following:
1. Check for modifying phrases at the beginning of your sentences.
2. If you find one, underline the first noun that follows it. (That's the one that is being modified.)
3. Make sure the modifier and noun go together logically. If they don't, chances are you have a dangling modifier.
4. Rewrite the sentence.
Let's go back to the opening sentences and see how this works:
o Having been thrown in the air, the dog caught the stick.
o Smashed flat by a passing truck, Big Dog sniffed at what was left of a half-eaten burger.
Both sentences begin with a modifying phrase. In number 1, dog is the first noun that follows; in number 2, it's Big Dog. Neither one goes logically with the modifier, so we need to rewrite the sentences. Sometimes you can rework the noun into the phrase itself. Often, you have to completey revise. One possible correction for each sentence is:
o When the stick was thrown in the air, the dog caught it.
(Here, the modifying phrase has become a dependent clause. The meaning is clear.)
o Big Dog sniffed at what was left of a half-eaten burger that had been smashed by a passing truck.
(Again, the phrase has been retwritten as a clause.)
There are many ways to get rid of a dangling modifier. How you do it isn't that important, but being able to spot the problem and get rid of it is!


A modifier is a word or a phrase that describes something else. You should place it as close as possible to what it describes. If you don't, your intended meaning may not be clear. Consider the unintentional meanings in the following:
o The young girl was walking the dog in a short skirt.
o The dog was chasing the boy with the spiked collar.
You can see what's wrong. The dog isn't "in a short skirt" and the boy doesn't have a "spiked collar." Because the modifier is misplaced, we have to think for a minute before we get the intended meaning. The correct versions are:
o The young girl in a short skirt was walking the dog.
o The dog with the spiked collar was chasing the boy.
See how the proper placement clarifies the meaning?
You also need to watch the placement of modifiers such as almost, even, hardly,nearly, often, and only. A couple of examples should be enough:
1. Big Dog almost ran around the yard twenty times.
2. He nearly ate a whole box of treats.
In both sentences--when he "almost ran" and "nearly ate"--nothing happened! He didn't quite get around to doing either thing. What is intended is:
1. Big Dog ran around the yard almost twenty times.
2. He ate nearly a whole box of treats.
Remember: if you give your readers a chance to interpret something in more than one way, they'll usually get it wrong! By placing your modifiers correctly, you'll eliminate this possibility and have a better chance of getting your point across.


When we talk about parallel structure, or "faulty parallelism" as some call it, we're dealing with a balancing act. The idea isn't too hard, but most people don't think about it.
So what are we balancing? . . . pairs of words or series of words. Look at the following:
Pairs
a and b
a or b
Series
a, b, and c
a, b, or c
Looks kind of like an algebra equation, doesn't it?
Have no fear! This is