Glossary

G.1: Write the phrase you misused and the rule.

Do not write just “G” or “Glossary.”

yet

“Yet” is a coordinating conjunction like “but,” not a conjunctive adverb like “however” or “therefore.” No comma follows “yet.” The phrase “and yet” is redundant for “yet.”

FRAGMENT: I studied the poem. Yet, the meaning escapes me.

REDUNDANT: I studied the poem, and yet the meaning escapes me.

RIGHT: I studied the poem, yet the meaning escapes me.

RIGHT: It is a difficult yet rewarding poem.

“Yet” can also be an adverb meaning “so far,” “besides,” “still” or “eventually” (“I have not done it yet”). “Still yet” is redundant.

you, your, you’re

Two errors are common. Identify the error you committed:

1. Avoid using “you” to mean “a person.” It often causes pronoun shifts (see Sh in Part One), and it may seem to refer specifically to the reader.

WRONG: After students write their first drafts, you will share them in small groups.

RIGHT: After writing first drafts, students will share them in small groups.

WRONG: If you lived in colonial Salem, you could be prosecuted for witchcraft.

RIGHT: In colonial Salem citizens could be prosecuted for witchcraft.

2. Do not confuse “your” (a possessive pronoun) with “you’re” (a contraction of “you are”).

You’re my friend.

I’m your friend.