Other Information!

Other Information?

This is a collection of other rules that you may want to check out! I didn't want to dedicate an entire page to these rules because they are so specific.

Verb Tense consistency

**Notes taken from Grammarly.com **

Verb tense consistency refers to keeping the same tense throughout an entire clause.

Here is an example where the verb tense is not consistent:

• Mark finished his essay, tidies his room, and went out for supper.

Let's look at the verbs here.

• Mark finished his essay, tidies his room, and went out for supper.

Two of these verbs are in past tense, but "tidies" is in present tense. We could fix this in a couple of different ways:

• Mark finished his essay, tidied his room, and went out for supper.

• Mark finished his essay and went out for supper, and now he is tidying his room.

You may be wondering how the second sentence is correct since I have two tenses in one sentence... It is the same sentence, but it is two independent clauses joined together with a comma and a FANBOYS, so it is correct!

Make sure you check the other verbs in the clause when a STAAR question asks whether or not you should change a verb to a different tense.

Transition words

Transition words are words that help connect or link ideas, phrases, sentences, or paragraphs. The table below will show you which transition words are appropriate in specific situations.

Let's say that I am writing an essay about how cute cats are. I am going to practice using transitions below:

• "Cats are the cutest animals that we can legally own. Admittedly, cats are not as loyal as dogs. Dogs obviously show excitement when their owners return home. My cats rarely react when I return home. However, cats do actually care about their owners!"

See how I used "admittedly" to admit a "concession"? I talked about what the other side might say in response to my argument. I used "however" to transition back to the opposite idea!

There are three more situations that I could practice for transitions. Let's see what I can do when I am writing about dogs.

• "Dogs are the best pet to have. Dogs are loyal, brave, and caring. Furthermore, dogs are much more practical than cats. Dogs can be hunting partners, home protection, and dogs can herd livestock. Thus, dogs are definitely better than cats."

• "Taking care of my chihuahua is a lot of work. First, I have to take her out as soon as I wake up. Then, I have to give her expensive wet food because her teeth are bad. Next, I have to make sure she has her 'special blanket' so she will be able to sleep. After that, I have to take her back outside at lunch. Finally, I take her out before bed and feed her again."

Modifiers

**Notes taken from Academicguides.waldenu.edu **

A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that modifies -- or gives information about -- another word in the same sentence. Let's look at three sentences and identify the modifier and what that modifier is "modifying".

• I'm going to the Saturn Café for a vegetarian burger.

  • • The adjective "vegetarian" here is giving information about "burger" because it is telling us what kind of burger it is! "Vegetarian" is our modifier.

• The student carefully proofread her draft.

  • • The adverb "carefully" modifies the verb "proofread" here, which means "carefully" is our modifier.

• She studied in the library.

  • • The phrase "in the library" tells us where "she" is studying, which means "in the library" is our modifier.

What can go wrong?

Well, there are two things that can go wrong with modifiers.

• Misplaced Modifiers

  • • When a modifier is ambiguously or illogically modifying a word, we consider it a misplaced modifier.

      • • Dolger discovered an ancient Mayan civilization using astronavigation.

          • • Our modifier here is "using astronavigation", but who is it referring to? Did Dolger use astronavigation, or did the ancient Mayan civilization use astronavigation?

    • How do we correct misplaced modifiers?

      • • Using astronavigation, Dolger discovered an ancient Mayan civilization.

        • Dolger discovered an ancient Mayan civilization that used astronavigation.

• Dangling Modifiers

  • • When a modifier is not modifying a specific word, we call it a dangling modifier.

      • • After consulting a selection of current publications, research in this area has been sparse.

          • • In this example, it is not clear who is consulting the selection of current publications.

        • How do we correct a dangling modifier?

          • • After consulting a selection of current publications, I determined that the research in this area has been sparse.

            • According to the selection of current publications, research in this area has been sparse.

Pronoun-Antecedent agreement

**Notes taken from Guidetogrammar.org **

A pronoun (I, me, he, she, herself, you, it, that, they, etc.) usually refers to something earlier in the text (its antecedent) and must agree in number -- singular/plural -- with the thing to which it refers.

There are a few things that we need to be aware of:

• The indefinite pronouns (anyone, anybody, everyone, everybody, someone, somebody, no one, nobody) are always singular.

• Pronoun-antecedent agreement can create gender issues. If one were to write, for example, "A student must see his counselor before the end of the semester," when there are female students present, there is an issue with pronoun-antecedent agreement. To avoid this issue, the writer could say:

  • • "Students must see their counselor before the end of the semester."

    • "A student must see his or her counselor before the end of the semester."

• You could use "their" with an indefinite pronoun in order to keep things gender neutral.

  • • "Somebody left their jacket on the bench."

• Who, Whose, Whom?

  • • One of the most frequently asked questions about grammar is about choosing between the various forms of the pronoun who: who, whose, whom, whoever, whomever. The number (singular or plural) of the pronoun (and its accompanying verbs) is determined by what the pronoun refers to; it can refer to a singular person or a group of people.

      • • • The person who hit my car should have to pay to fix the damages.

          • The people who have been standing in line the longest should get in first.

    • It might be useful to compare the forms of who to the forms of the pronouns he and they. Their forms are similar:

      • • • Singular

            • • Subject form: he/who

              • Possessive form: his/whose

              • Object form: him/whom

          • Plural

            • • Subject form: they/who

              • Possessive form: their/whose

              • Object form: them/whom

    • To choose correctly among the forms of who, re-phrase the sentence so you choose between he and him. If you want him, write whom; if you want he, write who.

      • • • Who do you think is responsible? (Do you think he is responsible?)

          • Whom shall we ask to the party? (Shall we ask him to the party?)

          • Give the box to whomever you please. (Give the box to him.)

          • Give the box to whoever seems to want it most. (He seems to want it most. [And then the clause "whoever seems to want it most" is the object of the preposition "to."])

          • Whoever shows up first will win the prize. (He shows up first.)

Active vs passive voice

**Notes taken from Grammarly.com **

Active voice means that a sentence has a subject that acts upon its verb. Passive voice means that a subject is the recipient of a verb's action.

• Active Voice

  • • When the subject of a sentence performs the verb's action, we say that the sentence is in the active voice.

      • • Monkeys adore bananas. (The monkey is performing the action of "adoring".)

        • The cashier counted the money. (The cashier is performing the action of "counting".)

        • The dog chased the squirrel. (The dog is performing the action of "chasing".)

• Passive Voice

  • • A sentence is in passive voice when the subject is acted on by the verb.

      • • Bananas are adored by monkeys.

        • The money was counted by the cashier.

        • The squirrel was chased by the dog.

• When should I use passive and active voice?

  • • Using the active voice conveys a strong, clear tone.

    • Passive voice can be seen as weaker and subtle.

      • • However, sometimes passive voice is useful! For example, if I wanted to write an essay about squirrels, I would probably use "the squirrel was chased by the dog" because it focuses on the squirrel rather than the dog.

    • A good rule of thumb is to try to put the majority of your sentences in the active voice.

• How do I change a sentence in passive voice to active voice?

  • • Here is a sentence that is written in passive voice:

      • • An error has occurred with your account, but every attempt was made to remedy it.

        • This sentence sounds stiff and a little dishonest. Who would want to do business with a company that is avoiding responsibility?

    • Here is the same sentence, but rewritten in active voice:

      • • We made an error with your account, but we have made every attempt to remedy it.

        • To make the sentence active rather than passive, the subject was identified: we. It was "our company" that was responsible.

    • Here is another example in a passive voice:

      • • If there are any questions, I can be reached at the number below.

        • This sentence is vague and weak because it does not identify the subjects in either clause. Who might have questions to ask? The person being addressed: you.

    • Here is the rewritten sentence in active voice:

      • • If you have any questions, call me at the number below.