Grammar is something that many take for granted.  Over the years, we develop an "ear" for what sounds right.  This is one of the reasons that reading our writing out loud can be a powerful proofreading tool.  Often, we can hear when something sounds wrong, even if we don't see it when we write and read.

It is not possible to teach grammar with simple tips or suggestions.  The purpose of Grammar Quick Tips is to provide ideas about how to look at our writing.  In many cases, some different ways to think about our work will help us better understand it.  

English is a complex language.  Many good writers cannot explain all the details and intricacies of their work.  Good writing does not need to explain itself.  For some people, improving our writing is all about simplifying the way we express thoughts.  

That is what Grammar Quick Tips is all about.  Those of us that are not confident in our ability to write long, complex thoughts in complete, readable sentences can be good writers if we just follow the KISS principal:  KEEP IT SIMPLE, STUDENTS.

Many of us do not enjoy reading long, complex sentences.  Sometimes, good writing is "hidden," because ideas are presented so clearly that the "writer" becomes "invisible."  In school, most teachers prefer to see students express their ideas in a manner that indicates understanding, not literary greatness.  Isn't this true with most things you read?  Most of us are not ready to "write for the ages."

Remember, poor writing that is not clear is extremely hard to read and understand.  It is not possible to help someone improve their writing if everything is expressed as an incomplete, incoherent thought.  If we learn to express our thoughts to the best of our ability in clear, readable sentences, then someone can help us rewrite those ideas in different styles and levels of complexity.

Most of us will do just fine in school and in every other writing situation is we don't worry about being literary geniuses and quit trying to impress people with the way we use language.  These Grammar Quick Tips are meant to help writers get back to the basics when they proofread, edit, and revise their writing.

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Complete Thoughts, Complete Sentences

Complete Thoughts

Sentences consist of a performer (subject or noun) and action (predicate or verb).  This pattern is critical to effective communication.  It is so critical that we can even recognize it with nonsense words such as:  The widget raddied.  

• Two widgets raddy.  Plural of widget, more than one performer and the action is in the present.
• The blue widget and the white widget raddy.  More than one widget (performers) and the same action.
• The widget raddies and trinkles.  One widget (performer) and more than one action. 
• The blue widget and white widget raddy and trinkle. More than one performer and more than one action.

When writing, editing, and revising, be sure that each sentence has at least one performer (subject or noun) at least one action (predicate or verb), and that the sentence indicates whether that action is happening now (present tense) or previously (past tense) or at a time yet to come (future tense).

Incomplete Thoughts

Simply having a performer and an action, however, is not enough. When a sentence has words like:  when, after, because, as soon as, before, since is not complete unless it finishes the though being expressed.

• "When I arrive" is not a complete thought.  "When I arrive, I will complete the job" is.
• "After I leave" is not a complete thought.  "After I leave, he will also depart" is.
• "Because of the rain" is not a complete thought.  "Because of the rain, the game was canceled" is.
• "As soon as he leaves" is not a complete thought.  "As soon as he leaves, I will also go" is.
• "Before I pay this bill" is not a complete thought.  "Before I pay this bill, I will check the math" is.
• "Since I am not being paid to do this" is not a complete thought.  "Since I am not being paid to do this, I will only work on this project when it relaxes me" is.

Always check your writing to be sure that each thought is expressed as a sentence.  Sentences contain performers (subject or nouns), actions (predicate or verbs), and  indication of when (past, present, future tense).  These statements must be complete thoughts.  Be careful when you use the words:  when, after, because, as soon as, before, since.

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Simple, Compound, and Complex Sentences

Clauses

A clause is a group of related words having a performer (noun) and action (verb).  Clauses can substitute in a sentence for any single-word noun, pronoun, adjective, or adverb.  

Main clauses have a performer (noun) and action (verb) and express complete thoughts.  Sentences can be created by connecting two main clauses with one of seven conjunctions:  and, but, or, for, nor, so, yet.  We can omit the conjunction by using a semicolon (;).  NEVER CONNECT TWO MAIN CLAUSES WITH A COMMA (comma splice).

Subordinate clauses  have a performer (noun) and action (verb), but do not express complete thoughts by themselves.  To complete the thought, a subordinate clause depends on or is connected to a main clause.  This can is introduced by a:

• Relative pronoun: who, that, which
• Subordinate conjunction:  if, although, because
• Connective adverb:  why, whenever, before

Sentences

Simple sentences contain one main clause and no subordinate clauses.  These tend to be short, easy to read, and direct.  Examples of simple sentences include:

• Joe ran.
• We are driving to Houston for the game.
• Some fans will boo.
• Haste in writing can make students spend more time revising their work.
• To be very honest about it, I know very little about the intricacies of formal grammar.

Compound sentences contain two or more main clauses and no subordinate clause.  This means that each clause expresses a complete thought.  All main clauses are joined by either a semicolon or one of seven coordinate conjunctions:  and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet.  Examples of compound sentences include:

• We do not practice together; we practice apart.
• Joe would like to finish his paper ahead of time, so we suggested he start his research tomorrow.
• Brett practiced golf swings, he prepared fully for the big match, and then he crushed his opponents in the tournament.
• I can give students the tools they need, but I cannot force them to write good papers.
• To assure success this semester, they have agreed to work with the Writing Lab, and we will review each and every draft together.

Complex sentences contain one main clause and at least one subordinate clause.  Sometimes, the subordinate clause is in front of the main clause.  Other times, it is behind the main clause.  We can also place subordinate clauses inside of the main clause.  Examples of complex sentences include:

• When you enter the stadium, you must have your ticket prominently displayed.  (Note:  subordinate clause is in front of the main clause)
• If at first you don't succeed, keep trying to reach your goals.  (Note:  subordinate clause is in front of the main clause and the "you" subject of the main clause is implied)
• He took his football and went home when is was clear his team was going to lose.  (Note:  subordinate clause is after the main clause)
• John Witherspoon, who has never started a game before, will make his debut at quarterback.  (Note:  subordinate clause is inside of the main clause)
• These Grammar Quick Tips are meant to show you that some thoughts are incomplete.   (Note:  subordinate clause is after the main clause)
• He did not get an "A" because he had the audacity to think that he deserved it.  (Note:  2 subordinate clause are after the main clause, one is "nested" in the other)

Complex sentences can be confusing when the subordinate clause sits inside a main clause.  If in doubt, get help or rewrite sentences so that the meaning is clear.  Even to people with a great deal of experience with the details of formal grammar can become confused when writing or reading these types of complex sentences.  

Are you starting to see the benefits of KISS (Keep It Simple, Students!)?  The "classic" example of a difficult to identify  main clause is represented by the following:  but, alas, it's the best we grammarians can do.

Remember, the writer has choices -- when we are not confident in our work, one option is to edit, revise, or rewrite a sentence so that the meaning is clearer.  Think about this.  Wouldn't you prefer to read simpler, clearer sentences?  How do you think your teachers feel about this?

Compound-complex sentences contain at least 2 main clauses (this makes them compound) and at least one subordinate clause (this makes it complex).  Grammar Quick Tips is not meant to be a grammar text -- let's illustrate this with examples.   

• If Joe has made up his mind, he should write his decision out to document his choice, and then he should give copies of his rational to all parties involved.
• The Writing Lab helped me edit and revise my work, but my English professor knew that was what I was going to do because I told him so.
• The Website indicates that he was never officially hired, but he likes to post comments in the message board.
• Our policy is to not refund money; however, if you have any questions or concerns, please call me so that we can refuse the refund.
• If the computer network works well when the technicians are there, it will occasionally function when you are working with clients; it will cease functioning at all when you are training new employees.
• I only make minor decisions around here, such as where we go to lunch, whom we invite, and what food we eat; my boss makes the big decisions, such as how we can persuade the home office to pay for lunch and how to submit the invoices for reimbursement.
• Where I go to play and how I travel to get there are my business; what I do while I am here is nobody's business. 
• We need to ask that you provide us with a copy of the agreement; we will need to verify the authenticity of the contract.

Can you see how sentence structure changes when we move from simple, to compound, to complex, and then to compound-complex sentences?  Remember, good writing does not need to be explained.  If the sentence patterns start to become more difficult to recognize, can you think of ways these statements could be rewritten?  

Many of us would prefer to read simple or compound sentences rather than longer complex or compound complex sentences.  How to structure sentences is up to the writer.  If you prefer to work with smaller "chunks" of information -- that is fine.  When we write, aren't our ideas more important than the complexity of our sentences?

Visualizing Sentence Patterns

Perhaps for some of us, it is easier to identify sentence patterns without the definitions and explanations.  Here are some examples.  Main clauses will be in regular type and subordinate clauses in italics.

• Simple sentence:  I left.
• Compound sentence:  I left, but I know Helen.
• Complex sentence:  I left before Helen came in the room.
• Compound-complex sentence:  I left before Helen came in the room, but I know she was there.

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• Simple sentence:  Joe drove to the fair.
• Compound sentence:  Joe drove to the fair, and he had fun.
• Complex sentence:  Joe drove to the fair after the session ended.
• Compound-complex sentence:  Joe drove to the fair after the session ended, and he had fun because he was relaxed.

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Agreement - Pronouns

Pronouns must agree in person, number, and gender with the nouns they replace.  A pronoun's case must also match the way the pronoun is being used in the sentence (i.e. subject, direct object, indirect object, etc.)   Pronouns must be consistent with the nouns they replace in terms of:

• Person.  First person (I, we); second person (you) third person (she/he, they, one)
• Number.  Singular (it, his/her); plural (they, we)
• Gender.  Masculine (him); feminine (her); Neuter (it).

Demonstrative pronouns point out and include the words:  this, that, these, those.  These pronouns must agree in number with the noun that follow.

• Singular:  this memorandum; Plural:  these memorandums
• Singular:  that show; Plural: those shoes.

Pronoun Case

The type of pronoun used (case) must be appropriate for its functions in a sentence.

Nominative case is the form of a noun or pronoun used in the subject or predicate nominative.   More simply, it is only an issue  with personal pronouns (I, you, he, she, it, we, they) and the forms of who. The word "who" is in the nominative case.

Objective case is the form of a noun or pronoun used in the direct object, indirect object, object of preposition, object complement, and subject of an infinitive.  It is only an issue for personal pronouns ( me, you, him, her, it, us, them) and the forms of who.  The word whom is in the objective case. 

Possessive case of a noun or pronoun is used to show ownership or association.  Most all nouns and indefinite pronouns show possession by ending an apostrophe plus "s"  (for more, see Punctuation Quick Tips).  

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Agreement -- Subject & Verbs

Subjects and verbs must agree in number -- singular subjects need singular verbs, plural subjects need plural verbs.  Remember, nouns that end in "s" or "es" are usually plural, but verbs ending in "s" or "es" are usually singular.  Some verbs remain the same regardless of whether they are singular or plural.  In this case, it does not matter how many they are referring to - they remain the same.  (i.e. wait, must)

Collective nouns identify people, things, or concepts as a group.  Examples include committee, management, group, audience, equipment, staff, and company.

• The audience disagrees with the author's final plot twist.
• The group helps those in need.

Collective nouns typically are considered singular.  When collective nouns are used to refer to several of a group individually, the accompanying verb should be plural.

• The staff whisper among themselves as the donuts are brought in.
• Management argue among themselves before committing to the new budget proposal.

Plural in Form, Singular in Meaning

Some subjects are plural in form, singular in meaning, and take singular verbs.  Examples include:

• Economics is an important class to those that study business.
• Hives is one way to show stress.
• The news is always disturbing.
• Research and development is my area of specialty.

Some subjects are plural in form, singular in meaning and take plural verbs.  Examples include:

• The premises have been thoroughly searched.
• Our thanks go out to each person that contributed to our fundraiser.
• While he inherited a lot of money, his savings were spent a long time ago.

Expressions of time, money, and quantities, when thought of as single units, take singular verbs.  Examples include:

• Twenty five dollars is too much money for a simple diner.
• Four hours is enough time to see everything at the fair.
• Twenty acres of lakefront property has become available on Squirrel Lake. 

Compound subjects are linked equally with "and." They take a plural verbs.  Examples include:

• Jack and Jill have gone up the hill.
• What he does and what he says are two different things.

Note:  Nouns or pronouns in the subject that are introduced with phrases such as: along with, in addition to, including, rather than, accompanied by, as well as are not equal to the subject.  They are subordinate to and require a plural verb.  Examples include:

• The vice president, accompanied by his staff, is going to the seminar.

However:

• The vice president and his staff are going to the seminar.

Either/Or, Neither/Nor, Not Only/But Also

Look at both halves of statements with either/or, neither/nor, not only/but also to see if subjects are separate elements.  Usually, subjects with either/or and neither/nor take a singular verb.  

When one subject is plural and the other subject is singular, the verb should agree with the closest subject.  It is best to write these types of  statements with the plural subject second.

• Either John or Jerry is responsible for this problem.
• Not only running but also bicycling is being considered for our exercise program.
• Neither my report nor the reports from the field staff are correct.

Agreement -- Viewpoint, Voice, Tenses, Mood

It is not necessary for all viewpoints, voices, moods, and tenses to have agreement from sentence to sentence.  Skillful writers use these devices to enhance their work.  There should be general agreement, however, within the parts or clauses of sentences.  If the sentences themselves read consistent in terms of viewpoint, voice, tenses, and mood; the writer will usually be given the "benefit of the doubt."

Viewpoint -- mine, yours, or other person(s)?

• First person.  The writer refers to themselves (I or me) or to themselves and at least one other person (we, us).
• Second person.  The writer is "talking" directly to one or more persons (you).
• Third person.  The writers is "talking" about people, things, or ideas (he, they, one).

It is perfectly acceptable to switch viewpoints in writing.  In fact, when writing long pieces, this might be the only way to keep the text interesting and clear.  Have you noticed how Writing Quick Tips uses changes in viewpoint?  The key is not whether or not viewpoints change -- focus on whether the changes have a purpose and whether the parts of each sentence are consistent.  

Let's look at some examples:

• Inappropriate change of voice (second & third person).  All students should submit their first drafts before Friday and you should also be ready to defend your thesis.  
• Restructured (second person).  You should submit your draft on Friday and you should also be ready to defend your thesis.
•  Restructured (third person).  All students should submit their first drafts before Friday and they should also be ready to defend their thesis.

Voice:  Active Versus Passive

When we talk about verbs having "voices," we are referring to whether or not the performer (subject) is actually doing the action (verb).

• Active-voice.  The performer (subject) acts.
• Passive-voice.  The performer (subject) does not act -- it just sits passively and receives the action (verb).

Sometimes it is easier to see something than to explain it.  Let's look at some examples of active and passive voices.

• Passive:  The UW-Whitewater's Code of Conduct was established by the Board of Regents years ago.
• Active:  The Board of Regents established the UW-Whitewater's Code of Conduct.

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• Passive:  The pages in Writing Quick Tips are designed to help students earn better grades on their papers.
• Active:  We design the pages in Writing Quick Tips to help students earn better grades on their papers.

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• Passive:  The fire alarm should be pulled only in case of an emergency, such as a fire.
• Active:  You should pull the fire alarm only in case of an emergency, such as a fire.

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• Passive:  The recommendation to expand the summer session course offerings has been approved.
• Active:  The Student Council has approved the recommendation to expand the summer session course offerings.

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• Passive:  Our quarterback was injured by an overly aggressive linebacker.
• Active:  An overly aggressive linebacker injured our quarterback.

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See how the active-voice sounds stronger?  Because it implies action, active-voices command the reader's attention.  Passive voices are useful, however, when the writer wants to "hide" the "performer" in a sentence or wishes to make a courteous statement with a softer command. 

In general, it is important to be consistent.  Good writing does not switch voices within a clause or sentence.  

Tenses

Many that study second languages find that memorizing the various tenses is a challenge.  Most native speakers choose appropriate verb tenses without giving the matter much thought.  To illustrate this, let's look at some examples.

Simple Active Voice

• Present.  I deserve to receive an "A" today.
• Past:  I deserved to receive an "A" yesterday.
• Future.  I will deserve to receive an "A" at the end of the semester.
• Present perfect.  I have deserved to receive an "A" during my studies here.
• Past perfect.  I had deserved to receive an "A" prior to failing the exam.  
• Future perfect.  I will have deserved to receive an "A" when I submit this paper.

• Present.  I am studying today.
• Past:  I was studying until you stopped by.
• Future.  I will be studying all day.
• Present perfect.  I have been studying all day.
• Past perfect.  I had been studying for 2 hours until the fire alarm rang.
• Future perfect.  I will have been studying here for 4 years before I receive my degree.

• Present.  The information is explained in lecture.
• Past:  The information  was explained in lecture last week.
• Future.  The information will be explained in lecture 
• Present perfect.  The information had been explained in lecture even before it was assigned as a reading.
• Future perfect.  The information will have been explained in lecture before the final examination.

Tenses will not always agree within sentences or from clause to clause.  When referring to different time frames, use the appropriate tense for the time frame being referred to.  When writing about different times frames, you must use different tenses.  Don't change tenses without a good reason -- this looks awkward at best.  Readers (teachers) are sure to notice.  

As a general rule, always express a subordinate-clause verb in the present tense when it is used to express a general principle.  For example:

• Chancellor Jones ruled that student organizations are responsible for the conduct at their social outings.

Mood

Sentences express one of 3 "moods" and, no, none of these refer to the writer's state of mind.

• Indicative-mood sentences state a fact or ask a question.
• Imperative-mood sentences give commands.
• Subjective-mood sentences state conditions that are unlikely or contrary to fact, express doubt, state strong preference or demand, make concession, demonstrate need, or show resolution.   

  For most of us, subjective-mood sentences are trickier to work with.  To show subjective mood, use a plural verb with a singular subject.  To express present time, use the past tense.  To express past time, use the present tense.  Instead of using forms of "to be" verbs, show subjective mood with the single word "be."  

  Because these suggestions are counter to virtually EVERYTHING covered in Grammar Quick Tips, some examples are in order.

  • If lack of ability were the problem, I would not have asked you to do the assignment.  (subjective-mood version of:  Lack of ability is not the problem)
  • If I were a millionaire, I would not accept this job.  (subjective-mood version of: I am not a millionaire)
  • If I were you, I'd delegate that task to someone else in the group.  (subjective-mood version of:  I am not you)
  • I demand that he leave the classroom immediately (indicative-verb mood would be:  he leaves)
  • That he trusts the counselor is the key.  (not a state of fact nor a command, empresses a necessary condition)
  • I would recommend that she be reappointed as soon as possible (not a fact nor command, expresses a wish or desire)
  • If I accept this challenge, I will expect a bonus (subjective-mood version of:  Probable -- I may do it)
  • If I accepted this challenge, I would expect a bonus (subjective-mood statement that it is unlikely I will accept the challenge)

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