Another grammar day here on Dawn Embers blog and part of the A to Z challenge. We're near the end and I must admit, it will be nice to get back to a regular, few posts a month, schedule in May. Though I also plan to jump around to others blogs to comment on them during May as that part I didn't quite keep up with well this time around. Make sure you check out some of the other blogs here.
Verb
Definition: any member of a class of words that function as the main elements of predicates, that typically express action, state, or a relation between two things, and that may be inflected for tense, aspect, voice, mood, and to show agreement with their subject or object. (source = dictionary.com)
All verbs are not created equal, however. Often times, the ones I need to edit out the most that I'm sure others might too, are the ones that show a general state of being. Yep, the "be" verb commonly known as "is" "was" and "will be". Okay, maybe not "will be" often because who writes in future tense? Not that they don't come in handy at times, but it's easy to overuse the "be" verb along with the adding of -ing to verbs. That's something else I also work on in edits, the number of times the action has the -ing added to it.
Links:
http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/verb.htm
http://www.grammar-monster.com/lessons/verbs.htm
http://www.momswhothink.com/reading/list-of-verbs.html
What are your favorite verbs? Do you have enough action in your sentences?
Showing posts with label grammar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grammar. Show all posts
Saturday, April 25, 2015
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
S is for Sentences
Back to the editing chatter. I am going right down to the nitty gritty and basics with this one. We're getting closer to the end of the month and alphabet. See how the other bloggers are doing over here.
Sentences
Definition: A sentence is a linguistic unit consisting of one or more words that are grammatically linked. A sentence can include words grouped meaningfully to express a statement, question, exclamation, request, command or suggestion.
Grammar. a grammatical unit of one or more words that expresses an independent statement, question, request, command, exclamation, etc., and that typically has a subject as well as a predicate, as in John is here. or Is John here? In print or writing, a sentence typically begins with a capital letter and ends with appropriate punctuation; in speech it displays recognizable, communicative intonation patterns and is often marked by preceding and following pauses.
Basic components:
Source = http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/completesentence.htm
First, it begins with a capital letter.
In addition, it includes an end mark—either a period [ . ], question mark [ ? ], or exclamation point [ ! ].
Most importantly, the complete sentence must contain at least one main clause. A main clause contains an independent subject and verb and expresses a complete thought.
How to edit: Depends on what needs fixed. In some instances it will be taking out the unnecessary, such as extra adverbs, weak words or in my case, the use of the word "just" 4 times in less than half a chapter. Other times, you might need to adjust the comma situation, where the independent subject relates to the verb, or how the complete thought is expressed. On the rare occasion, you will not edit something that is technically considered wrong. There are many ways to edit a sentence and the main point is the method and responsibility is up to you.
How many sentences did you edit today?
Sentences
Definition: A sentence is a linguistic unit consisting of one or more words that are grammatically linked. A sentence can include words grouped meaningfully to express a statement, question, exclamation, request, command or suggestion.
Grammar. a grammatical unit of one or more words that expresses an independent statement, question, request, command, exclamation, etc., and that typically has a subject as well as a predicate, as in John is here. or Is John here? In print or writing, a sentence typically begins with a capital letter and ends with appropriate punctuation; in speech it displays recognizable, communicative intonation patterns and is often marked by preceding and following pauses.
Basic components:
Source = http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/completesentence.htm
First, it begins with a capital letter.
In addition, it includes an end mark—either a period [ . ], question mark [ ? ], or exclamation point [ ! ].
Most importantly, the complete sentence must contain at least one main clause. A main clause contains an independent subject and verb and expresses a complete thought.
How to edit: Depends on what needs fixed. In some instances it will be taking out the unnecessary, such as extra adverbs, weak words or in my case, the use of the word "just" 4 times in less than half a chapter. Other times, you might need to adjust the comma situation, where the independent subject relates to the verb, or how the complete thought is expressed. On the rare occasion, you will not edit something that is technically considered wrong. There are many ways to edit a sentence and the main point is the method and responsibility is up to you.
How many sentences did you edit today?
Saturday, April 11, 2015
J is for Just
As in the word I use way too much. I am not sure why, but during first drafts and the occasional second or third, one of the words I use too often is "just" even though I'm well aware of the overuse. The characters just do a lot of things. Like you should just check out the other blogs in the A to Z challenge.
Just
Definition: (adverb) exactly. or... in the immediate past. Very recently.
(adjective) Based on or behaving according to what is morally right or fair.
As you can probably guess, more often than not, the word just is used as an adverb. He just wanted a little ice cream. She just happened to have what they needed. So forth and so on. While I am pretty good about cutting down the obvious -ly adverbs, for some reason, my typing draft mind is drawn to the word just and I use it all of the time.
In at least two of the edits where I'm fixing sentences and cutting out excess, I take out "just" in almost every chapter. It's something I not only need to be aware about but accept as a factor involved in every edit.
It's just something I do and often have to fix.
Do you use the word just too much? What is your overused word?
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
G is for Gerund
Which is something I probably use far too often. Like: You should be checking out the other blog in the A to Z Challenge. Hehehe, but really, I do use -ing words far too much in attempt at avoiding overuse of was(to be) so the topic does come up during editing.
The Gerund
What is it?
A gerund is a noun made from a verb by adding "-ing." The gerund form of the verb "read" is "reading." You can use a gerund as the subject, the complement, or the object of a sentence.
The trick is these aren't always the easiest to spot because the -ing can also be a present participle, or it may act much like a verb. According to Grammar Girl there are nouny gerunds, verby gerunds and gerunds in compound nouns. But most of the sources say that they always end in -ing.
And that reaches the extent of my knowledge on gerunds... I haven't done an edit with a full focus on searching for them in particular. I tend to focus on things I have used too often and try to figure out then how to rewrite the sentence to make it better. Some of that involves finding a way to cut down on -ing, which I hope is eliminating a few gerunds when they aren't needed, but hard to say for sure.
There are others who know way more than me about gerunds. Here are a few links to ponder:
http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/gerund.htm
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/gerunds.htm
http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/what-is-a-gerund
How do you gerund? Do you need to edit some out now?
The Gerund
What is it?
A gerund is a noun made from a verb by adding "-ing." The gerund form of the verb "read" is "reading." You can use a gerund as the subject, the complement, or the object of a sentence.
The trick is these aren't always the easiest to spot because the -ing can also be a present participle, or it may act much like a verb. According to Grammar Girl there are nouny gerunds, verby gerunds and gerunds in compound nouns. But most of the sources say that they always end in -ing.
And that reaches the extent of my knowledge on gerunds... I haven't done an edit with a full focus on searching for them in particular. I tend to focus on things I have used too often and try to figure out then how to rewrite the sentence to make it better. Some of that involves finding a way to cut down on -ing, which I hope is eliminating a few gerunds when they aren't needed, but hard to say for sure.
There are others who know way more than me about gerunds. Here are a few links to ponder:
http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/gerund.htm
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/gerunds.htm
http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/what-is-a-gerund
How do you gerund? Do you need to edit some out now?
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
F is for Fragmentation
Check out the other blogs taking part in A to Z blog challenge.
Yep, sentence fragments. Back to the technical side of editing. This time it's to talk we're going to focus on a very specific aspect and one I always remember with the warning of know the rule before you break the rule.
What is a fragment sentence?
- Simply put, it's an incomplete sentence. Most noticeable factor that makes it such is that the sentence will be missing something important - the main clause. Every sentence in general is recommended to have a main clause, which is noted as a subject and a verb.
While it's recommended to finish your sentences, there are also times when a fragment sentence not only works but is necessary. Some of the examples on sites about sentence fragmentation are ones that need to be fixed due to punctuation errors, there are other times where it will be fine to keep a sentence or two that may lack a part of the main clause.
Dialogue - There are times when people don't complete their sentences or talk in fragments as speech doesn't always follow the rules dictated by grammar. There are times when a character will say something, be interrupted or imply the subject while focusing on the verb. It's okay to have the occasional fragment in dialogue if it fits the moment.
Command - Sometimes a command will be said or something similar to a command will be expressed within a story. This is the implied subject type of fragment sentence that can also be found at times in dialogue. This might be something liked: Run! Whoever is being told to do the action is the subject within the sentence but it's not outright stated. Instead, the focus is on the action/command and it can work as a single word sentence. However, other single word sentences don't. Work. (See, typo formed a single word sentence and while work could be one on its own, in this case, it's not a correct use of fragmentation.
Some handy links on fragments:
http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/fragment.htm
http://www.english-grammar-revolution.com/sentence-fragments.html
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/fragments.htm
Do you use sentence fragments? Find any in editing that need fixed?
Yep, sentence fragments. Back to the technical side of editing. This time it's to talk we're going to focus on a very specific aspect and one I always remember with the warning of know the rule before you break the rule.
What is a fragment sentence?
- Simply put, it's an incomplete sentence. Most noticeable factor that makes it such is that the sentence will be missing something important - the main clause. Every sentence in general is recommended to have a main clause, which is noted as a subject and a verb.
While it's recommended to finish your sentences, there are also times when a fragment sentence not only works but is necessary. Some of the examples on sites about sentence fragmentation are ones that need to be fixed due to punctuation errors, there are other times where it will be fine to keep a sentence or two that may lack a part of the main clause.
Dialogue - There are times when people don't complete their sentences or talk in fragments as speech doesn't always follow the rules dictated by grammar. There are times when a character will say something, be interrupted or imply the subject while focusing on the verb. It's okay to have the occasional fragment in dialogue if it fits the moment.
Command - Sometimes a command will be said or something similar to a command will be expressed within a story. This is the implied subject type of fragment sentence that can also be found at times in dialogue. This might be something liked: Run! Whoever is being told to do the action is the subject within the sentence but it's not outright stated. Instead, the focus is on the action/command and it can work as a single word sentence. However, other single word sentences don't. Work. (See, typo formed a single word sentence and while work could be one on its own, in this case, it's not a correct use of fragmentation.
Some handy links on fragments:
http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/fragment.htm
http://www.english-grammar-revolution.com/sentence-fragments.html
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/fragments.htm
Do you use sentence fragments? Find any in editing that need fixed?
About Me
- Dawn Embers
- I am a writer still trying to find the right path. A multi-tasker, distracted writer with many different novels and still have hopes of someday becoming published. I have a blog on writing in general, a blog on my own writing and fitness, and a book review blog.
A to Z Blog Challenge
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