Parts of Speech

1. Parts of Speech ITSW 1410 Presentation Media Software Instructor: Glenda H. Easter

2. Colon • Use a colon before a list of items. Think of the colon as a substitute for the words "that is." • We brought several things to the picnic: champagne, oysters, chocolate truffles and fresh strawberries. Parts of Speech

3. Commas • Remember that you NEVER punctuate words. • You punctuate sentences. • You can’t say "and" takes a comma; "however" takes a semi-colon. • Remember that every punctuation mark tells the reader to expect something. Parts of Speech

4. Commas (Continued) • Don’t use a comma unless you can cite a rule for it. • When in doubt, leave it out. • "Put a comma where you pause" is not a rule of writing. It’s a rule of reading. • There are 46 uses for the comma. Here are the two most frequently asked about. Parts of Speech

5. Uses of the Comma • Put a comma between each item in a series. • The comma after the last item in the series is optional and should be used only if it clarifies the meaning. • This is called the terminal comma. A terminal comma is unnecessary if the word "and" clarifies that the last item in the series is next. Parts of Speech

6. Uses of the Comma (Continued) • DON’T use the terminal comma in a short series. • The flag is blue, green and silver. • DO use the terminal comma in a series that is especially long or complex. • We had milk and cookies, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and cake and ice cream for dinner. Parts of Speech

7. Uses of the Comma (Continued) • Put commas around non-essential material: material that would not change the meaning of the subject if it were left out. If material is part of the subject, it is essential and must not have commas. • Gladys, who loves to ice skate, broke her toe. • The woman who loves to ice skate broke her toe. Parts of Speech

8. Uses of the Comma (Continued) • Put commas around non-essential material (Continued): • His idea, which I like best, is the one about saving money. • The idea that I like best is the one about saving money. • All commas and periods go INSIDE quotation marks, regardless of usage. Parts of Speech

9. Dash • Do not use a dash when you can use a comma. • Dashes Shout. • Parentheses whisper. • Unfortunately, the dash is not on your keyboard (as is the hyphen). Parts of Speech

10. Dash (Continued) • You can create a dash by using the function keys or the "insert, symbol" on your tool bar.Don’t use spaces before or after a dash. If your computer doesn't have a dash, you must create one by using two hyphens. • Don’t use a hyphen for a dash. They are not the same. • dash -- • hyphen - Parts of Speech

11. Parallel Structure • Parallel structure is a grammatical technique for creating a uniform pattern when two or more items are being compared or listed. • The technique requires that each item begin with the same grammatical structure: • I like singing, dancing and cooking. • I like to sing, dance and cook. • I like to sing, to dance and to cook. Parts of Speech

12. Parentheses • Remember that parentheses whisper. • DASHES SHOUT. • If the parenthetical element has a close, logical relationship to the rest of the sentence, use commas. • Use parentheses to set off explanatory elements. • The ingredients in the recipe (flour, sugar, eggs, salt) are common. Parts of Speech

13. Past Tense • There are two very different past tenses in English. Use them correctly. • When the action has been completed: learned, read, swam. • I worked 40 hours last week. • When the action began in the past but has not been completed: have learned, have read, have swum. • I have worked 12 hours so far today. Parts of Speech

14. Run Together Sentences • Every sentence must have a subject, verb and a complete idea. • Don’t separate two sentences (independent clauses) with a comma. • Separate them with a semi-colon or use a period and a capital letter. • No: I like red, my sister does too. • Yes: I like red; my sister does too. • Yes: I like red. My sister does too. Parts of Speech

15. Semi-Colon • Use a semi-colon to separate two independent clauses that are closely related. • Do this to indicate that you don't want the reader to stop with the thought. Parts of Speech

16. Semi-Colon (Continued) • An independent clause is one that can stand alone as a complete sentence. It has a subject, a verb and a complete idea. • Red is my favorite color; half my wardrobe is red. Parts of Speech

17. Semi-Colon (Continued) • When items in a series are complex, long, or contain commas, it is often best to separate the items with a semi-colon rather than a comma. • We elected the following: Mary, president; Sue, vice-president; Richard, secretary; and Roger, treasurer. Parts of Speech

18. That • That can be eliminated before a phrase if the meaning is clear without it. • I told him I was leaving early. • I told him that I was leaving early. (eliminate that) Parts of Speech

19. That (Continued) • That should be used when two phrases could create ambiguity. • This sentence can have two interpretations. • He told me in 1998 he moved to San Francisco. Parts of Speech

20. That (Continued) • Which is the correct meaning? • In 1998 he told me he moved to San Francisco. • He told me he moved to San Francisco in 1998. • Notice how that clarifies the meaning. • He told me that in 1998 he moved to San Francisco. • In 1998 he told me that he moved to San Francisco. Parts of Speech

21. That (Continued) • That and which create a lot of confusion. The main problem is that which can be used in two ways, that in only one. • That is used for essential material, creating what we call a restrictive phrase or clause. If essential material is eliminated, the sentence often changes meaning. Parts of Speech

22. That (Continued) • Which, on the other hand, can be used when you have essential or non-essential material, creating either a restrictive or non-restrictive phrase or clause. • Let’s look at examples. • History books, which do not include women, will not be used. Parts of Speech

23. That (Continued) • History books, which do not include women, will not be used. • The sentence on the previous slide puts commas around the phrase "which do not include women." • By using commas here, we are saying that this phrase is non-essential. Parts of Speech

24. That (Continued) • History books, which do not include women, will not be used. • Therefore, we can delete the phrase and not change the meaning of the sentence. • Non-essential material does not restrict the meaning of the sentence. Parts of Speech

25. That (Continued) • History books, which do not include women, will not be used. • The sentence above means • History books will not be used. • It also means • History books do not include women. Parts of Speech

26. That (Continued) • Now let’s look at the identical words without the commas. • History books which do not include women will not be used. • Because there are no commas in the sentence, we are saying that everything is essential. Parts of Speech

27. That (Continued) • The phrase "which do not include women" restricts the meaning of the sentence. • It becomes part of the complete grammatical subject. Parts of Speech

28. That (Continued) • Notice the most important thing here: the words in both sentences are identical but the meanings differ because we used commas. • The sentence above means • The history books that will not be used are those that do not include women. Parts of Speech

29. That (Continued) • In other words, we might use some history books. That’s different from the first example, which said no history books will be used. • Now that we have clarified how to punctuate that for essential material and which for non-essential material, let’s look at the choices in usage. Parts of Speech

30. That (Continued) • That can be used only for essential material. • And remember, we cannot use commas with essential material. • So the rule is easy: don’t use commas when that introduces essential material. • On the other hand, which can be used for both essential and non-essential material. Parts of Speech

31. That (Continued) • English has a way of creating confusion, doesn’t it? • For example, we can write • History books, which do not include women, will not be used. • History books which do not include women will not be used. Parts of Speech

32. That (Continued) • How can we simplify this confusion? • When we have essential material, we must use that. • So reserve which for non-essential only. Parts of Speech