This Blog

This blog addresses problems in grammar, research, and style that I have frequently encountered in my students' and my own writing. I aim to explain these problems and provide resources for others who may encounter similar difficulties.

Wednesday, 22 June 2011

Advice/Advise, Device/Devise, etc.


In each of these pairs, the word with the “c” is usually the noun; the word with the “s” is the verb. 

I need some advice.  Could you advise me, please?
Left to her own devices, she devised an ingenious plan.
He is licensed to drive, but he forgot his driver’s licence at home.
The team has a practice tonight; they will practise scoring goals.

I remember the difference with a mnemonic.  “C” comes before “s” alphabetically just as “n” (noun) comes before “v” (verb) alphabetically.

However, the difference can also be one of usage.  As always, check a style guide for the audience for whom you write.  For example, “practice” is a noun and a verb in American English.


Resources

ESLdesk has good quizzes for commonly confused words; advice/advise is amongst them.  World-English has a quiz for practice/practise and Santa Monica College has one for device/devise.

If you cannot remember what a noun or a verb is, I always suggest watching the Schoolhouse Rocks videos.  They are accessible and instructive.

Nouns:


Verbs:


 

Thursday, 16 June 2011

Capitalization - Titles


When presenting a title of a published work within your text, always consult the style appropriate style guide for your particular class, publication, or reader.  Though the styles are similar, there are some minor differences.  I have outlined some of the main points for three common styles that you might encounter.


MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (MLA)

With MLA style, you separate the title from subtitle with a semi-colon, and you should capitalize all principle words (nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and subordinating conjunctions (after, although, as soon as, because, etc.), including those that follow hyphens in compound words.

You do not reproduce and special characters such as ALL CAPS or capitalize articles, prepositions coordinating conjunctions if they are not the first word of the title.

E.g. Memory in Hearing-Impaired Children: Implications for Vocabulary Development Attitudes toward Mental Health Workers


The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA)

With APA, you capitalize major words in the same way that you would with MLA; however, APA differs from MLA in that you should capitalize all words of four letters or more, even if they are minor (“toward” is a preposition, but has a capital in the example).  As well, you capitalize both words of a hyphenated compound if first is capitalized.

E.g. Memory in Hearing-Impaired Children: Implications for Vocabulary Development Attitudes Toward Mental Health Workers


The Chicago Manual of Style

The Chicago Manual of Style states that you follow the same format as you would for headline-style titles.  You should capitalize first and last words and all major words.  Unlike APA but like MLA, you should have lower case letters for prepositions regardless of their length.  The exceptions are prepositions that are used adverbially or adjectivally (i.e. Look Up).  It also specifies that you should provide lowercase for “the second part of a species name, such as fulvescens in Acipenser fulvescens, even if it is the last word in a title or subtitle” (449).

E.g. Memory in Hearing-Impaired Children: Implications for Vocabulary Development Attitudes toward Mental Health Workers


Resources

American Psychological Association.  Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 6th ed.  Washington: APA, 2010.
Gibaldi, Joseph.  MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 7th ed.  New York: MLA, 2009.
University of Chicago.  The Chicago Manual of Style. 16th ed.  Chicago: U of Chicago P, 2010.

Friday, 10 June 2011

Bring and Take


“Bring” and “take” differ by way of location.  In general, we use “bring” when something comes towards us; we use “take” when something goes away from us:

Bring me a cup of coffee, please.”
Take it away: the coffee is cold.”


Resources

John Lawler at the University of Michigan explains the difference well.  The Chicago Tribune has a good article on commonly confused words; it relies on Grammar Girl’s explanation for bring and take.

EC Learn English has a good quiz for these verbs in different conjugations.

Friday, 3 June 2011

Among and Between

Both “among” and “between” are prepositions. Prepositions show the connections between two nouns or phrases.  There are numerous prepositions in English such as on, by, from, for, with, to, of, in, at, behind, by, near, over, and under.

“Between” refers to two items; “among” refers to three or more:

The jackpot was divided between the two winners.
The jackpot was divided among the three winners.

Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden (Gen 3:8).
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman (Gen 3:15).


Resources

The University of Minnesota has a good “quicktips” sheet on prepositions.

Capital Community College has a quiz to recognize prepositions.

Wednesday, 1 June 2011

Commas – Independent Clauses and Coordinating Conjunctions


Let’s start with the obvious questions: what is an independent clause and what are coordinating conjunctions?


Independent Clauses

Independent clauses are groups of words that could be complete sentences.  They must have a subject and a complete verb:

He walked into the room.
She left.

My wife is in my heart.
My son is in my wallet.

The Dallas Cowboys will not win the Super Bowl next year.
The team will still be considered America’s team.


Coordinating Conjunctions

There are seven coordinating conjunctions in English.  These seven can be remembered by the mnemonic “f.a.n.b.o.y.s.” (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so):

F.or
A.nd
N.or
B.ut
O.r
Y.et
S.o


Joining Independent Clauses

When you have two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction, you place a comma after the first independent clause but before the coordinating conjunction:

He walked into the room, and she left.

My wife is in my heart, but my son is in my wallet.

The Dallas Cowboys will not win the Super Bowl next year, yet the team will still be considered America’s team.

Compare this use of a comma with my previous entry.


Resources

The Writing Center at the University of Wisconsin explains well how to join independent clauses.  Towson University has a good page on the general use of coordinating conjunctions.  Concordia University explains the differences between phrases and clauses and between dependent and independent clauses.

Karyn Hollis from Villanova University and Quia have good quizzes.