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

a math free zone! Just think of the letters as standing for wordsor groups of words. Any words or groups of words that you plug in have to be thesame kinds of words or word patterns. That's all there is to it! Let's see how the "formula" works:
Pairs
running and jumping, bothered and bewildered, open or shut, laughing or crying
Series
broken, bedraggled, and bone-tired
an old shoe, a stuffed bear, and a chewed-up blanket
When you write your sentences using parallel structure, your ideas come across more clearly because they're easier to read. Compare the following sentences:
1. Peggotty's toys were an old shoe, a bear that was stuffed, and she had chewed up an old blanket.
2. Peggotty's toys were an old shoe, a stuffed bear, and a chewed-up blanket.
See how the second sentence is smoother and more balanced? If you 'll try to balance your own sentences in this way, your writing will be more forceful.

With reference, we're talking about pronouns again. If you recall, a pronoun is a word that renames (takes the place of) another word (the antecedent). It not only must agree with its antecedent (see agreement: pronoun-antecedent), but it must also clearly refer to the word it renames.
The problem?
If the pronoun doesn't clearly refer to its antecedent, you may cause confusion for your readers. And as we've said before, if you confuse your readers (and it's not that hard to do!), your communication breaks down.
The solution?
Whenever you find a pronoun in your writing, underline it and then draw an arrow back to the specific one word that it renames. If you can't find the word or there seem to be two or more words that it could refer to, you have a problem with reference. Remember: the antecedent must be in the preceding clause or phrase (the one right before the pronoun) if you want to make sure the reference is clear.
Now, let's take a look at a few examples:
1. The Doc always buys my dog food at the pet store because they are so friendly.
2. The owner told Doc that he was looking fit.
3. His brother is a cat breeder, but I'm not interested in it.
4. He tried to put the tape of 1001 Dalmatians in the VCR, but it was broken.
Try drawing an arrow from any of these italicized pronouns to the word they rename. Can't do it? That's because each is an example of a reference problem. Sometimes the problem is easy to fix; sometimes you've got to start all over again, as you can see in the following:
Look back at number 1. The problem is with they: who are they? To fix it, rephrase with something like
". . . because the owners are so friendly" or ". . . because the people who work there are so friendly."
With these changes, there is no problem with clarity.

In number 2, we don't know who was looking fit. Was it Doc or the owner? Fixing sentences like this one can be awkward, but here's one suggestion. "The owner told Doc, 'You look fit.'" Or, if you meant something else you could say, "The owner told Doc, 'I look fit.'"

With number 3, you have a different problem: it has no specificantecedent. The writer is trying to refer to the vague, unstated idea of "cat breeding," but you can't clearly refer to something that doesn't exist. One fix is: "His brother is a cat breeder, but I'm not interested in breeding cats."

In number 4, the pronoun could be referring to either the tape or theVCR. Since it can't refer to both, the meaning is unclear. One solution is: "He tried to put the tape of 1001 Dalmatians in the VCR, but the machinewas broken." Obviously, you could put "tape" in place of "machine" if that was what you meant.
Reference problems can create confusion in your writing, but if you know what they are and use the "underline and arrow" trick to check for them, they shouldn't cause you any trouble.
How about a "Self-Test" to see if you really understand.


We've talked about pronouns with regard to reference and agreement: pronoun-antecedent. Here we need to cover a few odds and ends, and some of this stuff may really sound odd to you. But these are a few things you should know.
Subjects and objects
First let's look at case--that is, the difference between the subject and object forms of the pronouns. We know what subjects are, and objects are those words that come at the end of prepositional phrases (among other things). You probably already know the differences, but just in case, here's a list of the forms:
Subject Object
I me
you you
he him
she her
it it
we us
they them
The only thing you need to know is that these forms can't be switched around. If the word is a subject, it must be a subject form; if it's an object . . . well, you get the idea. Consider the following:
o Peggy and me barked at the garbage truck.
o Her and me fought over the bone.
Some of you are probably thinking, "What's wrong with these?" In spoken English, you'll hear things like this every day. But in written English, you need to make sure your forms aren't mixed up. The correct versions are "Peggy and I" and "She and I," since the words are the subject of the sentence. Nothing in the object list can be a subject--ever! You wouldn't say, "Me barked" or "me fought"--unless you were trying out for a Tarzan movie.
The same goes for objects of prepositions. You can't use a subject form in a prepositional phrase.
o Big Dog fetched the paper for her and I.
o Peggy ran after John and she.
"For I"? "After she"? These can't be right, since both are in the subject list; but, they're used as objects of the preposition. The correct versions are "for me" and "after her." You shouldn't have as much trouble with these because you don't hear them misused quite as often in this way. But watch out for "just between you and I." That phrase gets a lot of use--even though "I" can't be an object. It's "just between you and me"!
With "to be" verbs
Now we get to the stuff that will sound odd to you. Remember when we talked about "to be" verb forms? (If you need a quick review, click here for a refresher.) Any time a pronoun comes after one of these verbs, the subject form is required.
o It is I.
o It was they.
o It is he.
I told you this would sound funny--but it's correct! So, all these years you've been saying, "It's me" and "It's them," and you've been wrong. Right or wrong, I can't bring myself to say, "It is I." "It's me" sounds more natural. The best thing to do when you write yourself into a construction like this is to rethink and rewrite in a different way. (If anyone tells you otherwise, just say "it was I" who told you.)
With "than" or "as"
Another common pronoun mistake happens in sentences where you use "than" or "as" to compare people or things:
o Peggy is smaller than I.
o The dog down the street is meaner than she.
o Dogs are as smart as they.
You want to use "me," "her," and "them," don't you? You could, but that wouldn't be right. The subject form of the pronoun always comes after "than" or "as." Why? There's an understood verb in the construction.
o Peggy is smaller than I (am).
o The dog down the street is meaner than she (is).
o Dogs are as smart as they (are).
You can see why the object form won't work: "me am," "her is," and "them are" are just plain wrong! Even though you probably hear these kinds of sentences used incorrectly, when you're writing you can get them right if you remember thatunderstood verb.
Relative pronouns: who, whom, whose, that, and which
In addition to renaming another word (like all pronouns), relative pronouns often introduce added details in your sentences. They can also be used to ask questions. Look at the following:
1. Big Dog is the one who is a true grammar hound.
2. Peggy is the dog whom everyone loves to pet.
3. Whose ball is that?
4. She is the one that I like.
5. I want to know which dog trampled the flowers.
These won't cause you too much trouble most of the time. Just remember: when you write about people, use "who," "whom," and "whose." When you write about things, use "which." "That" can be used in either case.
You may, however, have trouble with who and whom. Who is a subject form, and whomis an object. Like the subject and object forms we talked about earlier, you can't switch these around. Let's take a closer look at two of the sentences you just read:
1. Big Dog is the one who is a true grammar hound.
2. Peggy is the dog whom everyone loves to pet.
In number 1, "who" is the subject of the relative clause; in number two, "whom" is theobject. "Fine," you're thinking, "but how do I know when to use 'who' or 'whom?'" You've got a 50/50 chance of getting it right, but you can better the odds if you'll do the following when you find a sentence like one of those above:
1. Mark the spot where "who" or "whom" should go.
2. Look at the group of words to the right of that mark.
Big Dog is the one _____is a true grammar hound.
Peggy is the dog _____ everyone loves to pet.
3. Since "who" or "whom" introduces a relative clause, there should be a subject and a verb in that group of words. (Remember clauses?)
_____is a true grammar hound.
_____everyone loves to pet.
4. If there is no subject, "who" is the right choice. It is the subject form and becomes the subject of the clause.
. . . who is a true grammar hound.
5. If there is a subject, "whom" is the right choice. It is the object form.
. . . whom everyone loves to pet.
Now that's not so hard, is it?
Reflexives
Reflexive pronouns are intensifiers that refer back to the doer of the action (the subject). You know the words: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves,yourselves, themselves.
We often say things like, I'll do it myself, "She'll fix it herself," etc. There's really no problem--except when you use a reflexive in place of a subject or object form. Never write (or say) something like, "Send it either to my secretary or myself." Keep that in mind, and you should be okay.
Pronouns are little words, but they're often troublesome. That's why we've spent so much time on them. But enough, already!


I'm not much for dictionary definitions, but the one for consistency is a good starting point: agreement or logical coherence among things or parts. The "things or parts" that we're going to talk about here are verbs and pronouns. The "agreement or logical coherence" that applies to them is really pretty simple--so simple that you might overlook it in your writing.
Verbs: tense
To make sure your verbs are consistent, just check their tense (the time they refer to). If you're writing in the past tense, for example, don't shift into the present unless you've got a logical reason to do so. If you do, you may confuse your readers about when something happened or something is happening--and you'll be having a problem with consistency. Look at these examples:
1. When Peggy was a pup, she was so uncoordinated that she often falls down.
2. Big Dog barks at the moon, and Peggy crawled through the bushes.
In number 1, the first two verbs ("was") are in the past tense; the third ("falls") is in the present. Why? There's no logical reason for the shift, so the