The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation (5 page)

Read The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation Online

Authors: Jane Straus,Lester Kaufman,Tom Stern

Prepositions

Definition

A
preposition
is a word that indicates location (
in, near, beside
) or some other relationship (
about, after, besides
) between a noun or pronoun and other parts of the sentence. A preposition isn't a preposition unless it goes with a related noun or pronoun, called the
object of the preposition
.

Examples :	Let's meet before noon .
Before is a preposition; noon is its object.
We've never met before .
There is no object; before is an adverb modifying met .

Rule 1
. A preposition generally, but not always, goes before its noun or pronoun. One of the undying myths of English grammar is that you may not end a sentence with a preposition. But look at the first example that follows. No one should feel compelled to say, or even write,
That is something with which I cannot agree
. Just do not use extra prepositions when the meaning is clear without them.

Correct :	That is something I cannot agree with .
Correct :	Where did you get this?
Incorrect :	Where did you get this at ?
Correct :	How many of you can I depend on ?
Correct :	Where did he go?
Incorrect :	Where did he go to ?

Rule 2a
. The preposition
like
means “similar to” or “similarly to.” It should be followed by an object of the preposition (noun, pronoun, noun phrase), not by a subject and verb. Rule of thumb: Avoid
like
when a verb is involved.

Correct :	You look like your mother .
That is, you look similar to her. ( Mother is the object of the preposition like .)
Incorrect :	You look like your mother does .
(Avoid like with noun + verb.)

Rule 2b
. Instead of
like
, use
as, as if, as though
, or
the way
when following a comparison with a subject and verb.

Correct :	You look the way your mother does .
Incorrect :	Do like I ask . (No one would say Do similarly to I ask .)
Correct :	Do as I ask .
Incorrect :	You look like you're angry .
Correct :	You look as if you're angry . ( OR as though )

Some speakers and writers, to avoid embarrassment, use
as
when they mean
like
. The following incorrect sentence came from a grammar guide:

Incorrect :	They are considered as any other English words .
Correct :	They are considered as any other English words would be .
Correct :	They are considered to be like any other English words .

Remember:
like
means “similar to” or “similarly to”;
as
means “in the same manner that.” Rule of thumb: Do not use
as
unless there is a verb involved.

Incorrect :	I, as most people, try to use good grammar .
Correct :	I, like most people, try to use good grammar .
Correct :	I, as most people do , try to use good grammar .

Note

The rule distinguishing
like
from
as, as if, as though
, and
the way
is increasingly ignored, but English purists still insist upon it.

Rule 3
. The preposition
of
should never be used in place of the helping verb
have
.

Correct :	I should have done it .
Incorrect :	I should of done it .

Rule 4
. Follow
different
with the preposition
from
. Things differ
from
other things; avoid
different than
.

Incorrect :	You're different than I am .
Correct :	You're different from me .

Rule 5
. Use
into
rather than
in
to express motion toward something. Use
in
to tell the location.

Correct :	I swam in the pool .
Correct :	I walked into the house .
Correct :	I looked into the matter .
Incorrect :	I dived in the water .
Correct :	I dived into the water .
Incorrect :	Throw it in the trash .
Correct :	Throw it into the trash .

Effective Writing

Rule 1
. Use concrete rather than vague language.

Vague :	The weather was of an extreme nature on the West Coast .
This sentence raises frustrating questions: When did this extreme weather occur? What does “of an extreme nature” mean? Where on the West Coast did this take place?
Concrete :	California had unusually cold weather last week .

Rule 2
. Use
active voice
whenever possible. Active voice means the subject is performing the verb.
Passive voice
means the subject receives the action.

Active :	Barry hit the ball .
Passive :	The ball was hit .

Notice that the party responsible for the actionâin the previous example, whoever hit the ballâmay not even appear when using passive voice. So passive voice is a useful option when the responsible party is not known.

Example
:

My watch was stolen
.

Note

The passive voice has often been criticized as something employed by people in power to avoid responsibility:

Example :	Mistakes were made .
Translation :	I made mistakes .

Rule 3
. Avoid overusing
there is, there are, it is, it was
, etc.

Example :	There is a case of meningitis that was reported in the newspaper .
Revision :	A case of meningitis was reported in the newspaper .
Even better :	The newspaper reported a case of meningitis . (Active voice)

Example :	It is important to signal before making a left turn .
Revision :	Signaling before making a left turn is important .
OR
Signaling before a left turn is important .
OR
You should signal before making a left turn .

Example :	There are some revisions that must be made .
Revision :	Some revisions must be made . (Passive voice)
Even better :	Please make some revisions . (Active voice)

Rule 4
. To avoid confusion (and pompousness), don't use two negatives to make a positive without good reason.

Unnecessary :	He is not unwilling to help .
Better :	He is willing to help .

Sometimes a
not un
- construction may be desirable, perhaps even necessary:

Example
:

The book is uneven but not uninteresting
.

However, the novelist-essayist George Orwell warned of its abuse with this deliberately silly sentence: “A not unblack dog was chasing a not unsmall rabbit across a not ungreen field.”

Rule 5
. Use consistent grammatical form when offering several ideas. This is called
parallel construction
.

Correct :	I admire people who are honest, reliable, and sincere .
Note that are applies to and makes sense with each of the three adjectives at the end.
Incorrect :	I admire people who are honest, reliable, and have sincerity .
In this version, are does not make sense with have sincerity , and have sincerity doesn't belong with the two adjectives honest and reliable .

Correct :	You should check your spelling, grammar, and punctuation .
Note that check your applies to and makes sense with each of the three nouns at the end.
Incorrect :	You should check your spelling, grammar, and punctuate properly .
Here, check your does not make sense with punctuate properly , and punctuate properly doesn't belong with the two nouns spelling and grammar . The result is a jarringly inept sentence.

Rule 6
. Word order can make or ruin a sentence. If you start a sentence with an incomplete phrase or clause, such as
While crossing the street
or
Forgotten by history
, it must be followed closely by the person or thing it describes. Furthermore, that person or thing is always the main subject of the sentence. Breaking this rule results in the dreaded, all-too-common
dangling modifier
, or
dangler
.

Dangler :	Forgotten by history, his autograph was worthless .
The problem: his autograph shouldn't come right after history , because he was forgotten, not his autograph.
Correct :	He was forgotten by history, and his autograph was worthless .
Dangler :	Born in Chicago, my first book was about the 1871 fire .
The problem: the sentence wants to say I was born in Chicago, but to a careful reader, it says that my first book was born there.
Correct :	I was born in Chicago, and my first book was about the 1871 fire .

Adding -
ing
to a verb (as in
crossing
in the example that follows) results in a versatile word called a
participle
, which can be a noun, adjective, or adverb. Rule 6 applies to all sentences with a participle in the beginning. Participles require placing the actor immediately after the opening phrase or clause.

Dangler :	While crossing the street, the bus hit her . (Wrong: the bus was not crossing.)
Correct :	While crossing the street, she was hit by a bus .
OR
She was hit by a bus while crossing the street .

Rule 7
. Place descriptive words and phrases as close as is practical to the words they modify.

Ill-advised :	I have a cake that Mollie baked in my lunch bag .
Cake is too far from lunch bag , making the sentence ambiguous and silly.
Better :	In my lunch bag is a cake that Mollie baked .

Rule 8
. A sentence fragment is usually an oversight, or a bad idea. It occurs when you have only a phrase or dependent clause but are missing an independent clause.

Sentence fragment :	After the show ended .
Full sentence :	After the show ended, we had coffee .

Other books

She Died Young by Elizabeth Wilson

Hush Hush #2 by Anneliese Vandell

The World Is the Home of Love and Death by Brodkey, Harold

Unholy Magic by Stacia Kane

Dead Demon Walking by Linda Welch

Shadows in the Dark by Hunter England

Ámbar y Sangre by Margaret Weis

Immortal Fire by Desconhecido(a)

Meanmna: Book One of the Daearen Realms by Emmy Gatrell

Lily of the Valley by Sarah Daltry