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