Glossary of composition terms and common errors
The most common expletive is There + some form of to be: There is, There were, There might have been.
Expletives are empty words that we use in conversation to give ourselves time to think, to formulate what we really want or need to say. In written communication, they tend to obscure and weaken the agent. Unless they create emphasis within a parallel sentence, you should look to cut expletives. Look to the right in the sentence, find the agent, and move the agent to the subject place.
Example: There were several reasons why he became a surly and moody child.
Corrected Sentence: He became a surly and moody child for several reasons.
Certain idioms also function as expletives: It is clear, It is true, It is to be hoped. As a writer you want to eliminate these expletives and establish an agent or state the fact directly. To whom is something clear, for whom is something true, who hopes for something?
Example: It is clear that Bill Clinton should be impeached. (clear to whom?)
Corrected Sentence: Many Republicans want to impeach Bill Clinton (Here you replace the expletive with an agent.) Bill Clinton deserves to be impeached. (Here you cut the expletive, state what you take to be the truth, and do not, through the expletive, imply that all share this view.)
Gerunds convert participles into nouns. They eliminate agents by turning an action that would require a subject into a subject. Gerunds long have been a part of our speech: Hunting, Bowling, Swimming, Running, Reading--the list of gerunds is a long one. But if you rely upon gerunds, your prose will become agentless and, perhaps, deceptive.
Examples of Problem Gerunds:
Bowling is fun. (Is it? And for Whom?)
Hunting is a great sport. (Is it? And for whom?)
Running at 3:00 a. m. is a great way to get in shape. (Is it? And for
whom?)
Solution: When you find gerunds in your sentences, try to convert them to participles.
Corrected Sentences:
Running at 3:00 a. m., John alienated many of his neighbors, but he claimed the peace that the exercise brought him outweighed the loss of friendships.
Bowling as many as three nights a week, my uncle had great fun at the lanes.
A loose sentence opens with its subject, predicate, and object; the main part of the sentence comes first. As a result, the relationship of modifiers to this main part will become more tenuous as the sentence lengthens. The reader, having focused upon agent and action, will have increasing difficulty connecting the modifiers to them.
Example:
Root ideas: I ate the pizza. I ate the pizza that my sister baked.
I ate the pizza that my sister baked after I got home from work. (Did your sister bake the pizza after you got home from work or did you only eat the pizza after you got home from work?)
I ate the pizza that my sister baked after I got home from work which was really tough. (Who or what is tough here?)
Solution: When you write a short, simple sentence, do not overextend it. Use short sentences without modifiers attached to make points briefly and forcefully: "I have a dream!" Or include an introductory modifier so that a string of modifiers will not confuse the sentence's meaning: After I got home from work, I ate the pizza that my sister baked.
Misplaced
and Dangling Modifiers (COH)
You should place modifiers as close as possible to the words they
modify.
To do this, of course, you need to know what the modifier modifies.
Dangling
modifiers typically occur when an introductory adjectival phrase or
clause
is not followed by the noun it modifies . You can see this most clearly
with introductory participial phrases.
Examples:
Beaten and bloody, the ring resounded with the gallant fighter's name. ("Beaten and bloody" modify the fighter not the ring; these adjectives are misplaced.)
Breathing deeply and kissing passionately, the bed shook as John and Mary made love. (The introductory participial phrase modifies "John and Mary," not "the bed." Because the phrase stands next to "the bed," it dangles.)
To access the worldwide web, computers are a necessity for students. (Here the introductory infinitive phrase modifies "students," not "computers." Standing next to "computers," the phrase dangles.)
Parallelism depends upon repetition of words or repetition of kinds of words. This repetition should make sentences more emphatic, more memorable, but it also allows writers to avoid repeating other words needlessly. Parallel sentences may be lengthy, but they are shorter than the accumulated loose sentences the writer otherwise would need to present the material. Parallel sentences use roughly the same words in roughly the same places. But the repetition may vary in precision. Consider the Christmas Carol, The Twelve Days of Christmas. It is an exercise in parallel structure:
"On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: five gold rings, four calling birds, three french hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree. "
All the gifts are indirect objects of the verb "gave." The parallelism is very precise (the carol is easy to remember): an adjective ( number), another adjective, then a noun. The last item in the series is the longest and varies slightly the pattern by including a prepositional phrase, "in a pear tree." This lets the reader know that the series is coming to an end. As long as the sentence is, note how much more you would need to write if you did not use parallelism here:
On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me five gold rings. He also gave me four calling birds. Then he gave me three french hens. He gave me two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.
By establishing a parallel structure, the author of this carol, no longer needed to repeat the subject or the predicate. The sentence repeats (and directs the readers' focus towards) the objects. Parallel sentences are both long and efficient. They can be particularly useful as you outline a thesis at the end of your introduction. Note that in a parallel structure, you need to be consistent in your use of articles; either drop them in all cases or repeat them in all cases:
In any study of automobiles, you should learn about the clutch, the brakes, the ignition, the fuel system, the piston rods.
In any study of automobiles, you should learn about the clutch, brakes, ignition, fuel system, piston rods.
As you decide whether to repeat articles, you will consider how much emphasis you need to establish the parallelism for your reader.
In the passive voice, you combine a form of the verb "to be" with a past participle. (Past participles typically end in -ed, but see the list of irregular past participles in Agent Prose, p.000). In the passive voice, the subject of the verb is acted upon (it's passive) rather than active. In some passive sentences a preposition will follow the verb and introduce an agent for the action the verb describes. But passive sentences frequently do not include this prepositional phrase and become agentless.
Examples:
They were mistreated by the camp counselors. (Passive voice with
agent)
They were mistreated. (Passive voice without agent.)
The passive voice can occur in any verb tense.
Examples:
They could have been mistreated by the camp counselors.
(Conditional
present perfect)
They will have been mistreated. (Future perfect)
Do not confuse the passive voice with the perfect tense. The perfect tenses combine a form of the verb "to have" with past participle.
Examples:
She has mistreated the campers. (Present perfect)
They will have ruined the party. (Future perfect)
He had destroyed the myths surrounding Century Tower. (Past perfect)
In these perfect tense verbs, the subject does the action that the sentence describes. In a passive verb, the subject does not do the action that the sentence describes. Remember:
ACTIVE VOICE: Subject equals Agent
PASSIVE VOICE: Subject does not equal Agent
In a periodic sentence, you open with introductory subordinate phrases and clauses, which lead up to the subject, predicate, and object the main part of the sentence. A periodic sentence can include more modifiers than a loose sentence because the reader focuses upon the middle or, in some cases, the end of the sentence.
Example: After a tough day at work, I ate the pizza that my sister baked, which was very tasty.
A periodic structure also can place subordinate phrases and clauses between the subject and predicate.
Example: I, a real devotee of deep dish pizza, devoured the pie that my sister baked, taking solace in it after a tough day at work.
Sophisticated writers use periodic structure to lengthen sentences without losing control of them. Periodic sentences also can be particularly useful as you make transitions between your body paragraphs. In the introductory phrase or clause, you may refer to the matter of the previous paragraph, then refer to your new matter in the main part of the sentence.
Periodic Structure See "Periodic Sentence"
This includes the who/whom distinction, so it may seem a trivial and arcane matter. But it's not. Pronouns can function as subjects in sentences or as objects. If you cannot figure out whether the pronoun should be in the subjective or the objective case, you, in effect, admit that your sentence is so imprecise and/or convoluted that you cannot distinguish your subject from your object.
Examples:
Me and him went fishing. (Here the pronouns are the subject of the sentence, so they should be in the subjective case: He and I went fishing.)
To who will they give the job? (Here the pronoun is the object of the preposition "to" and thus the pronoun should be "whom.")
Who do you trust? (Here the pronoun is the object of the verb "trust," and the subject of the sentence is "you." So the sentence should read "Whom do you trust?")
If you have trouble figuring out the case of your pronouns, you may do better to recast the sentence than to spend time and energy trying to solve the riddle of the case. Problems with case are a good sign that you need to establish your agent more strongly. Remember that when pronouns follow prepositions, they most likely are objects of the preposition. So your sentence will read "to him" not "to he."
Personal pronouns replace a noun antecedent, and their relationship to that noun should be clear.
Examples:
My grandfather was a wonderful storyteller. Whenever he began a story, a crowd would gather around him. ("He" replaces "grandfather.")
My grandparents were a devoted couple. They were married for fifty five years and they died within two days of each other. ("They" replaces "grandparents.")
Pronoun reference weakens when sentences include multiple potential antecedents.
Example: My grandparents once took my mother and her sisters on a vacation in Las Vegas. They still talk about it. (Does "They" replace the grandparents, their children, or all the people mentioned?)
Remember that, as odd as this may sound, "It" is a personal pronoun. We use "It" to replace nouns that refer to objects or ideas, sometimes animals.
Example: I left the food for the dog on the table. Just break it into bits. (Here, multiple potential antecedents could result in a very unhappy dog or damaged furniture.)
Demonstrative pronouns, typically "this" or "that," do not replace nouns. Rather they summarize an idea introduced earlier in a sentence or a paragraph. The demonstratives help us to avoid needless repetition, but their reference also must be clear.
Examples:
He always hated what he took to be the elitism of the Greek system. This is why he never joined a fraternity. ("This" replaces the idea "his hatred for the elitism of the Greek system.")
The investigators found unruly students, decaying buildings, demoralized teachers, insensitive administrators. That is why their report has had such impact. (Can you say what "That" replaces?)
You should include a variety of sentences in your paragraphs. Long
periodic
sentences may make important distinctions for you, even as they tax
your
reader's attention; short loose sentences should give your reader a
break
by suggesting the points at which your discussion is clearest. Parallel
sentences are memorable means to summarizing a lengthy discussion. As
you
proof your essays, you should find a variety of sentences and try to
assure
that you have not fallen into a pattern that your reader will find
monotonous.
Sequence is the order of your body paragraphs. In any essay, your
introduction
should establish a sequence; your body paragraphs should conform to the
sequence that your introduction outlines. Do not change the sequence on
your reader. If you conclude the introduction of an essay on fashion by
claiming that consumers today look for clothing that is comfortable,
durable,
and stylish, then the topic sentences of your body paragraphs should
unfold
1) comfort, 2) durability, 3) style.
Subject-Verb,
Noun-Pronoun Agreement (AGR)
Nouns are either singular or plural. The pronoun that replaces a noun should agree with it in number. So should the verb that a noun subject takes. Most obviously, in the third person, present tense verbs that are singular end in "s"; those that are plural drop the "s."
Examples:
He runs.
They run.
Whenever Tom is frightened, he runs.
Whenever Tom and Woody are frightened, they run.
Students at the university level typically have learned already to make their subjects and verbs, nouns and pronouns agree. But they can face difficult questions about agreement if they write weak subjects. Agreement errors are important because they reveal weak subjects.
Example: Your experiences as an individual directly affects how much love you have to give and how you give it. (The noun that controls number here is "experiences," and the verb should be plural, "affect." But the student got confused because of the prepositional phrase that includes the singular "individual.")
Solution: It's not enough here to correct the agreement error. Rather, take the difficulty establishing number as a sign to revise.
Corrected Sentence: Individuals express love differently, depending on their experiences.
Example: The sexual values of my grandmother's generation differs from the carnal morality of my "X" generation. ("Generation" is singular but it occurs in a prepositional phrase that is part of the weak noun phrase, "The sexual values of my grandmother's generation." "Values" determines number here, so the predicate should be "differ."
Corrected Sentence: My grandmother and her peers have very different sexual values than my generation.
Transitions are the words that connect paragraphs and maintain the sequence of the essay. In this course, the best transitions will be one-word transitions: "next," "also," "then." The worst transitions will be those that you impose upon the essay rather than derive from a sequence.
Cumbersome Transition:
My next point about the role of the automobile in American life is.
With a clear sequence you can use the words in the sequence for transitions. Say you conclude your introductory paragraph with "Automobiles offer us convenience, even as they help us avoid parts of life we would prefer not to see and confer an identity upon us."
Your reader will expect body paragraphs on the topics of
"convenience,"
"avoidance," and "identity." You should use those words to make
transitions
rather than, "My next point about the automobile's role in American
life
is..."
Predicates that contain more than one verb qualify as uncondensed. Uncondensed predicates typically combine some form of the verb "to be able" and/or other infinitives with a noun that refers to the action upon which the reader should focus. You should try to write "one-verb" predicates and thus focus your reader's attention upon a single action. Notice how often writers use "to be able" needlessly, how little a sentence changes when you delete infinitives.
Example: We will be able to do the practice tomorrow. (Uncondensed)
Corrected Sentence: We will practice tomorrow. (Condensed)
Recognize, however, that one-verb predicates are not necessarily one-word predicates. Verbs in perfect, progressive, and future tenses include an auxiliary word.
Examples:
She has slept for over twelve hours. (Present perfect tense)
I was attending Loyola Marymount University. (Past progressive tense)
They will vote by absentee ballot. (Future tense)
A weak subject uses a gerund phrase, infinitive phrase or noun phrase rather than a noun. Weak subjects are "multi-word" rather than "single-word," and they usually include one or more prepositions.
Examples:
Being aware of the problem is important. (Gerund phrase)
To be aware of the problem is important. (Infinitive phrase)
His awareness of the problem in the early 1970s was unique. (Noun
phrase)
Solution: In the case of all these weak subjects, you need to find an agent and put that agent in the subject place. Who is doing the "being" in the first two examples? Who is the "he" referred to in the third sentence?
Corrected Sentences:
Teachers need to recognize dyslexia as a problem.
Richard Holbrook alone recognized in the 1970s that Yugoslavia would
break into warring nations.
As you proof a draft, locate all your sentence subjects and ask these questions:
Have I ever seen one?
Have I ever seen one walking down the street?
You will not always answer "Yes" to these questions. Inevitably, abstractions and institutions wind up in the subject place. But you can revise needlessly abstract sentences so that the subject is clear and concrete.
