Gerund

Gerund

A gerund is a noun formed from a verb. It is an exception to the rule we all learned in elementary school: A noun is a person, place or thing. A noun can also be a verb in the -ing form. Every gerund ends in -ing. In other words, it is a verb behaving as if it is a noun.Gerunds name activities, feelings, or states of being. A grouping of words that include a gerund is called a gerund phrase or a noun phrase.

1) All gerunds end in -ing.
      For example: Writing, thinking, laughing, running, hooting, gigging, teaching, and on and on and so forth..

2) An -ing verb is a gerund when it is the subject of a sentence or the object of a preposition or verb. (There are other cases, but why complicate it at this point?)
      For example:
     Gigging is the best way to hunts frogs. (Gigging is the subject of the sentence. The sentence is about gigging.)

     Going gigging takes up most of Papa Pants's free time. (Gigging is the object of the verb, going.)

     Papa Pants invested all of his IRA funds to building frog ponds and buying gear because he is devoted to gigging. (Gigging is the object of the preposition, to.)

3) Beware! An -ing word is not a gerund when it is describing a noun.
      For example: Gigging equipment, depending on the materials and intricacy, can be very expensive. (Gigging describes the word equipment. It tells the reader what kind of equipment it is. Therefore, gigging in this case is NOT a gerund.)

4) If you are not sure if an -ing verb is a gerund in a sentence, try asking three questions:
      Does ____-ing describe a noun? (If the answer is yes, then it is not a gerund.)
    
      Does ____-ing tell what a noun in the sentence is doing? (If the answer is yes, then it is not a gerund.)

     Is the sentence telling about ____-ing, i.e. is it the subject of the sentence? (Cross out prepositional phrases to find the subject and verb of a sentence. If the answer is yes, then it is a gerund.)

As I said before, gerunds threw me for a loop in 10th grade grammar. And they can be more complicated than what I presented here. And often, when we are being taught about gerunds, those teaching us use grammar jargon to explain. Discipline specific jargon is one of the surest ways to lose a student who has difficulty understanding the concept being taught. 

The goal of this post is to provide a clear explanation of what a gerund is and how to identify one. Did I succeed? Is the word, teaching, in the last paragraph above a gerund? Defend your answer.

Tomorrow: Hyphen

This post is brought to you by the April A to Z Blog Challenge. Check back all through April for daily discussions of writing conventions.

Fragment (of a Sentence)

Fragment

A fragment is a piece of something. So a sentence fragment is a piece of a sentence, but not a complete sentence. It either lacks a subject-verb relationship that allows it to stand alone and or a complete thought.

Examples of sentence fragments:

Watching the boy and his dog. (This clause has a verb, watching, but it does not tell us who is watching; therefore, the subject is missing.)

In the cotton field during the rain storm last night. (This clause is missing a subject and a verb. We know where the action took place, but not who or what did the action or what the action was.)

Even though she wanted a puppy and knew where she could get one. (The problem with this clause is that we have a subject, she, but we never find out what she does.)

After Susanmarie shoved the ladle in her purse. (This fragment is tricky. We have a subject, Susanmarie, and a verb, shoved, but the thought is not complete. We are left wondering what happened after she shoved the ladle in her purse.)
When is it okay to use a sentence fragment in writing?

Tomorrow: Gerund (I really struggled with these boogers in 10th grade grammar.)

This post is brought to you by the April A to Z Blog Challenge. Check back all through April for daily discussions of writing conventions.

Ellipses (Ellipsis Marks)

Ellipses

It is a form of punctuation that looks like this: . . .

Creative writers often use ellipsis marks to indicate an unfinished thought and/or to create ambiguity in the mind of the reader, leaving him to his own interpretation or conclusion, or lack thereof. Formal writers use ellipsis marks to indicate that they have quoted but a portion of a longer passage. The rules are simple:

1) If omitting part of a long quotation, use ellipsis marks after the last punctuation mark.
      For example: "Research scientists have quartered down the genetics of rudimentary barn mice to determine what makes them more or less flavorful to mousers. Even cats born at the barn tend to eventually wander the main house and lurk outside of frequently used doors, patiently waiting for a chance to dash in and jump on the kitchen counters. Scientists believe that if they can breed a more flavorful variety of the common barn mouse, . . ."

2) Use only three marks whether they are placed in the middle of a sentence or at the end.
      For example: Many years ago our agricultural forefathers brought forth . . . cats to keep the feed room vermin free, but alas, cats crave modern amenities and . . .

3) Hear ye, Hear ye! DO NOT overuse this technique.
     

 What really annoys you about writers' use of this punctuation?

Tomorrow: Fragment

This post is brought to you by the April A to Z Blog Challenge. Check back all through April for daily discussions of writing conventions.

Defining Writing Conventions

As I outlined in my March 31 post, I'm walking us through a variety of writing conventions during the April A to Z Blog Challenge. Every writer should master writing conventions for clear written communication. Mastery of writing conventions also allows the writer to misuse them in order to convey particular ideas or emotion, to build a character, or to adequately describe setting.

But many writers are confused about what writing conventions are exactly. They think writing conventions are loosely organized, long weekend get-aways put together in the name of education and networking, which are often accompanied by canoodling and wee-hour efforts to relieve a great number of cans and bottles of their liquid contents. Today, since we are early in the challenge, is a good time to take a look at what the phrase "conventions of writing" really means.

Definition of Writing Conventions: Conventions are the mechanics of a piece, in absence of meaning, theme, plot, etc, though misuse of conventions can obscure the meaning. Proper use of conventions guides the reader through the piece. Writing conventions include

• Spelling
• Capitalization
• Punctuation
• Grammar
• Paragraphing
• Correct Word Usage (especially with homonyms, homophones, and homographs)

Improper use of conventions can confuse the reader and create stumbling blocks for him or her. The reader may get so bogged down in figuring out sentence structure and meaning that the author's creative ideas are lost. Reading a story in which the writer ignored conventions is like listening to a  speech in which the presenter ignored enunciation and pronunciation of words. The message, no matter how magical or awe inspiring, is lost.

Your thoughts? Have you ever had that ugh moment when you went back and read something you published that had a terrible error you didn't catch in the editing process?

Tomorrow: Ellipses

Comma

Comma

It is a form of punctuation that looks like this: ,

I could spend the entire month of April explaining how to use commas. Many of the comma rules require knowledge of other grammatical terms. Keep in mind that a comma is essentially a pause in a string of words. A few quick tips can help correct prevalent usage errors:

1) Use a comma when joining two independent, complete sentences with a conjunction. The most often used conjunctions are and, or, but. Others are yet, nor, so, for.
      For example: Edwayne ate chicken livers for dinner, but he won't touch a gizzard with a gloved hand and a ten-foot pole.

2) Use a set of commas to set off non-essential words (words that could be taken out without changing the meaning) in a sentence.
      For example: Cissy tromped through the parking lot, her flip-flops slapping asphalt, looking for her car.

3) Alert! Alert! DO NOT use a comma between a noun and the word that.
      For example: The catfish that ate the dog food grew the biggest.

4) Use commas to separate lists of nouns, adjectives, phrases, verbs, phrases, clauses.
      For example:  A wicked, slick rattler slithered out of the woods across the path. The Middleton boys ran, jumped, skipped, and hopped. Their mama had always told them that if they came across a rattlesnake not to poke it with a stick, not to kick it with a foot, and absolutely not to stop and look at it.

5) Use a comma after an introductory word, phrase or clause.
      For example:  Nonetheless, the rapscallions contrived a plan to get a closer look. With their mother's warnings ringing in their ears, they tempted fate.

6) Use a comma between a speaker tag and a quote.
      For example:  Junior looked at his younger brothers and warned, "Don't neither one of you dare snitch to mama about this."
     "Awe, Junior," spat PeteJoe, "we ain't gonna tell nobody."

Whatever you do, avoid the comma splice and the dreaded red editing pen. Do not join two complete sentences with a comma alone.

Throw me your comma questions. I'm not Grammar Girl, but I'll give it a shot.

Tomorrow: Defining Writing Conventions

This post is brought to you by the April A to Z Blog Challenge. Check back all through April for daily discussions of writing conventions.

Brackets

Brackets 

It is a form of punctuation that looks like this: [ ]

The use of brackets is less complicated than use of the apostrophe. Still, it is important to know when to use them. Proper use can also be very freeing to a writer. Here's the basics:

1) Use brackets to include explanatory words (the writer's own) within a quote.
      For example, "Marigolds [a hardy summer bloomer] are known to repel insects from vegetable gardens," said Professor Scanolli.

2) Use brackets when you must change a word, such as a pronoun, or capitalization in a direct quote.
      For example, Professor Scanolli believes every Gardener must "find [her] best strategy."

3) Important to Know! [sic] after a word indicates that in transcribing material the original author's spelling has been retained.
      For example, I'm currently transcribing letters written by my aunt and uncle during WWII. They both spell the word night as nite, thus I transcribe it: Good nite [sic] my darling.

Don't overuse brackets as it becomes tiresome to the reader's eye to keep stopping at them. And be very, very careful not to abuse brackets by either a) using them as criticism of another writer's material (pointing out misspellings) or b) using them to change the meaning of quoted material.

How can brackets be freeing to a writer?

Tomorrow: Comma

This post is brought to you by the April A to Z Blog Challenge. Check back all through April for daily discussions of writing conventions.

Apostrophe

Apostrophe

It is a form of punctuation that looks like this: '

Remarkably there are 13 rules for the correct use of an apostrophe. In my opinion, there is no need to tempt bad luck nor to complicate that itty-bitty bit of a pencil mark. So here's the basics:

1) An apostrophe is used to indicate that letters have been left out.
     For example, in the contraction y'all, the apostrophe stands in place of the o and the u to shorten you all to a word much easier to say.

2) An apostrophe is used to indicate possession or ownership.
     For example, if a man has a hat it is the man's hat. If the cat takes the hat, then it is the cat's hat. If lots of cats come and guard the hat so that the man cannot (or can't) get it back, then it is the cats' hat. In plural possession, the apostrophe comes after the s, at the end of the word.  Oh, except when the word's plural form does not have an s, such as when many men have a hat. Then it is the men's hat.

3) Alert! Alert! Names never have apostrophes unless letters are actually left out or the person to whom the name refers is possessing or owning something.

4) This - 1960's and 60's - is a no-no, unless the decade owns something or possesses something.
     For example, one might say the 1960s were groovy, but the 1960's styles were not.

There is so much more to the apostrophe than meets the eye, but curing the common mistakes makes all the difference in a person's writing (and in the naming of children).

Do you have questions or confusion about the use of the apostrophe? Ask me and I'll try to clear it up.

Tomorrow: Brackets

This post is brought to you by the April A to Z Blog Challenge. Check back all through April for daily discussions of writing conventions.