Grammar Overview

1. Grammar Overview

3. Grammar Overview Rules are meant to eliminate ambiguity, not make communication a mine field.

4. Grammar Overview Example 1: �This proposal would revoke the license of any driver found to be intoxicated for a period of 90 days.� -- Senator John Glenn Example 2: �These are the guidelines for handling threatening phone calls from the Human Resources Dept.�

5. Grammar Overview Example 3: �The CEO e-mailed the figures to John just before he left for vacation.� Example 4: �The sales manager discussed the high cost of living with two women sales reps.�

6. Grammar Overview Structural Rules Regulatory Rules Gate Keeping Rules

7. Grammar Overview Structural Rules Inviolable Rules: Govern inherent structure of language Example: Articles precede nouns, verbs precede objects, subjects and verbs agree. Regulatory Rules Formal Standards: Those rules that distinguish standard/ �educated� from non-standard/dialect speech and writing Example: Use of contractions, slang Gate Keeping Rules Misguided Standards: Rules that distinguish nitpicking grammarians from the rest of us Example: Splitting infinitives, ending sentences with prepositions.

8. Grammar Overview Subject-Verb Disagreements Pronoun Errors Modifier Problems

9. Grammar Overview Subject/verb disagreement happens when the verb doesn�t agree in number (singular/plural) with the subject. Many people have disagreement problems with long sentences containing prepositional phrases. Ignore the intervening phrase to make the verb form easy to select: Not one (of the managers) has/have submitted his or her report. The feedback (from the employees who attended the training meetings) is/are positive. The successful candidates (for each promotion) were/was announced by the CEO.

10. Grammar Overview Subject -- Pronoun Some pronouns are always singular (everyone, anybody, everybody, each, anybody, either, much, no one, nobody). Everybody is required to submit his or her time cards to the supervisor. Each of the managers is expected to complete his or her training by the end of the summer. Avoid the awkward and wordy �his or her� by switching to the plural: All of the managers are expected to complete their training by the end of the summer.

11. Grammar Overview Subject -- Pronoun Many pronouns may be singular or plural, depending on the function of noun they refer to (all, any, more, most, none, some). All of the report has been been submitted. All of the reports have been filed.

12. Grammar Overview Subject -- Pronoun -- Verb When two subjects are joined by correlative conjunctions (or, either/or, nor, neither/nor, not only/but also), the verb and pronoun should agree with the subject nearest to the verb. Neither the janitors nor the assistant was able to open the conference room. The bank teller or the supervisors have to balance their cash drawers before leaving. Quick tip: When there are 2 subjects joined by these conjunctions, just �eliminate� the first subject to decide on the correct verb and pronoun to use.

13. Grammar Overview Subject -- Pronoun -- Verb Note: When 2 subjects are joined by and, or both/and, they are always plural. Both the CEO and the Vice President are addressing the annual meeting.

14. Grammar Overview When you have two pronouns together, remove the first one to determine what case the second should take: You and I/me should collaborate on this project?? (You and) I should collaborate on this project. The client asked if Tom and I/me had the brochure ready?? The client asked if (Tom and) I had the brochure ready.

15. Grammar Overview When should I use who/whom? When deciding between who and whom, just restate the sentence and substitute a pronoun for who/whom. The pronoun�s case will tell you which form to use (who=he/she, whom=him/her) She wanted to know who/whom will be chairing the meeting (He will be�) We need to find out from who/whom we can get the specs. (We can get the specs from her.) Who/whom should I contact at the meeting? (I should contact them)

16. Grammar Overview Use (myself, yourself, itself, him/herself, our/your/themselves) only to emphasize a noun that has already been named. Mark and I will make the final presentation. Incorrect: Mark and myself will make the final presentation. Correct: I will make the final presentation myself.

17. Grammar Overview Who/Whom will you ask to meet with the auditors? I asked Tom and he/him to work overtime this weekend to complete the project. The bonuses were meant for the director and she/her. Jane and I/me need to ask the CEO and the Board of Directors for his/their input.

18. Grammar Overview Ask the customer to call Pete or me/myself directly with any further problems. Looking back, it seems that us/we investors were too greedy, but it is generally the early investors who/whom make the most money. Neither our long-term securities nor our savings account are/is earning any money in the current market.

19. Grammar Overview Misplaced: Words that are separated from the idea that they describe. Fix: Move the misplaced part of the sentence next to the word it modifies. Example: The topic of the meeting is the future of tech stocks in the Baldwin Boardroom. Dangling: Words that have no logical ideas to describe in the sentence. Fix: Rewrite the sentence to make the reference clear--you may have to identify the subject. Example: Quickly summoning an ambulance, the corpse was carried to the mortuary.

20. Grammar Overview Some rules distinguish standard (or "educated") from nonstandard ("uneducated") speech and writing. However, Good business writing style has relaxed considerably over the last couple of decades, and sometimes a more relaxed writing style sounds more natural.

21. Grammar Overview Bending the Rules v. Adapting to an Audience Bear in mind that �good writers� also are aware of their audience and their intention. Using contractions to sound conversational or non-standard verb forms (like �ain�t,� for example) to sound folksy, may work in casual communication or to inject humor, but should be avoided in formal or sensitive situations.

22. Grammar Overview Many of the so-called �rules� taught in classrooms are folklore, invented by eighteenth century grammarians intent on bringing elements of Latin, Greek, and French into English. The rule against splitting infinitives, for example, was invented during this neo-classical era in England�for the simple reason that Latin contains no split infinitives It is impossible to split an infinitive in Latin, since its infinitives contain only one word instead of two.

23. Grammar Overview Expert Rules on the Split Infinitive The English world may be divided into (1) those who neither know nor care what a split infinitive is; (2) those who do not know, but care very much; (3) those who know and condemn; (4) those who know and approve; (5) those who know and distinguish. Source: H.W. Fowler, A Dictionary of Modern English Usage, 1926

24. Grammar Overview Myth #1: Don�t split an infinitive. A word between the �to� and the infinitive disturbs normal word order. Therefore, this word attracts stress and can be distracting or disjunctive. Rather rephrase these sentences: He attempted to by any means possible gain their vote for his candidacy. He wanted to carefully examine the sales figures. Rather split the infinitive judiciously(i.e. don�t overuse) for effect. She questioned him further in order to better understand the problem. The operating expense projections are dependent upon management�s ability to successfully control fixed and variable costs.

25. Grammar Overview Rather split the infinitive judiciously (i.e. don�t overuse) for effect. She questioned him further in order to better understand the problem. The operating expense projections are dependent upon management�s ability to successfully control fixed and variable costs.

26. Grammar Overview Myth #2: Never end a sentence with a preposition. �This is the sort of English up with which I will not put.� Source: Winston Churchill, The Columbia World of Quotations (1996)

27. Grammar Overview Reason for �rule�: Because stress falls on the last part/word of the sentence, we want to emphasize an important word. Example: Note differences in stress below: He authorized us to spend one million dollars. This is the file to put current receipts in. This is the file for current receipts. Put current receipts in this file. However, when stress falls on the word before the preposition, the rule is unnecessary: She is a difficult person to get on with

28. Grammar Overview Myth #3: Never begin a sentence with �and,� �but,� or �because.� Making sentence structure varied and giving your reader signposts to your meaning are valuable effects of beginning sentences with these words: Our company is number one in the industry. And we�re proud of it. We thought we could beat the market. But we were wrong. Because the market is slowing down, we need to design new marketing strategies.

29. Grammar Overview You are aiming for effectiveness in your usage, not prissy correctness. Your ultimate goal should be clear communication.

30. Grammar Overview http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/errors/index.html This is a pragmatic site put together by an English professor at Washington State University. http://www.bartleby.com/141/index.html This is the website for the classic Strunk and White text, 1918, for those of you who are staunch fans. http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/ -This website is easy to read and navigate. Author is an English professor at Rutgers.