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Improve your
Punctuation
andGrammar
MARION FIELD
Published by How To Content,

A division of How To Books Ltd,
Spring Hill House, Spring Hill Road, Begbroke,
Oxford OX5 1RX, United Kingdom.
Tel: (01865) 375794. Fax: (01865) 379162.
[email protected]
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How To Books greatly reduce the carbon footprint of their books

by sourcing their typesetting and printing in the UK.
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced

or stored in an information retrieval system (other than for
purposes of review) without the express permission of the
publisher in writing.
The right of Marion Field to be identified as author of this

work has been asserted by her in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
© 2009 Marion Field
First edition 2000

Reprinted 2000
Second edition 2003
Reprinted 2004
Reprinted 2005
Reprinted 2006 (twice)
Reprinted 2007
Third edition 2009
First published in electronic form 2009
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.

A catalogue record for this book is available from
the British Library.
ISBN 978 1 84803 329 0
Produced for How To Books by Deer Park Productions, Tavistock

Typeset by Kestrel Data, Exeter
NOTE: The material contained in this book is set out in good

faith for general guidance and no liability can be accepted
for loss or expense incurred as a result of relying in particular
circumstances on statements made in the book. Laws and
regulations are complex and liable to change, and readers should
check the current position with the relevant authorities before
making personal arrangements.
Contents
Preface ix
1 Following grammatical guidelines 1

Discovering nouns 1
Knowing the articles 7
Making use of pronouns 7
Finding out about verbs 12
Recognising interjections 24
Checklist 24
Practising what you’ve learnt 25
2 Learning about sentence construction 27

Analysing the simple sentence 27
Introducing phrases 28
Identifying main clauses 35
Identifying subordinate clauses 37
Checklist 47
3 Varying your sentences 50

Experimenting with simple sentence 50
Forming compound sentences 52
Checking your commas 55
Forming complex sentences 57
Writing non-sentences 60
Assessing the mood 63
Checklist 64
v
vi / I M P R O V E Y O U R P U N C T U A T I O N & G R A M M A R
4 Colouring your writing 66

Describing the nouns 66
Comparing adjectives 68
Helping your verbs 76
Comparing adverbs 77
Dealing with other adverbs 81
Checklist 86
5 Making sense of punctuation 88

Experimenting with the semicolon 88
Using the colon 91
Discovering the dash 91
Looking at brackets 92
Remembering the question mark 93
Avoiding the exclamation mark 94
Checklist 95
6 Handling apostrophes and abbreviations 96

Showing possession 96
Abbreviating words 99
Handling contractions 100
Using initial letters 101
Using acronyms 101
Checklist 102
7 Writing dialogue 103

Setting out direct speech 103
Using quotations 106
Using titles 107
Changing to indirect speech 108
Writing a play 110
Checklist 110
8 Avoiding common mistakes 112

Revising your punctuation 112
Making nouns and verbs agree 112
C O N T E N T S / vii
Using pronouns correctly 115

Avoiding tautologies 117
Avoiding malapropisms 118
Checking homophones 120
Coping with homonyms 122
Checking your spelling 122
Correcting common mistakes 123
Checklist 127
9 Improving your style 128

Structuring a paragraph 128
Summing up 130
Eliminating jargon 131
Avoiding clichés 131
Dispensing with colloquial language 132
Choosing your words 132
Varying your style 133
Checklist 134
10 Revising your work 135

Revising the parts of speech 135
Reviewing sentence construction 138
Checking punctuation marks 139
Remembering apostrophes 141
Writing in paragraphs 141
Reviewing dialogue 142
Checklist 142
Concluding the review 143
11 Making use of the dictionary and thesaurus 144

Using the dictionary 144
Utilising the thesaurus 149
Checklist 149
Answers to exercises 150

Glossary 160
Further reading 163
Index 164
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Preface
to the Third Edition
Do you have trouble with punctuation? Are you frustrated

when you can’t remember whether to use a comma or a full
stop? Do you have difficulty constructing a sentence that
sounds right? If so, then this book should help you. Written
in an easy-to-read style, it takes you through the basics of
English grammar. It explains the various parts of speech
showing what role they each play in a sentence. It shows you
how to improve your writing by choosing the right words and
varying your sentence structure.
The use of the various punctuation marks is explained and

examples given. After reading this book, you will never
again use a comma instead of a full stop! There is a chapter
on the use of apostrophes. You are shown how to write
dialogue and even how to set out a play. There is a chapter
on avoiding the most common mistakes. At the end of each
chapter there are exercises which will help to reinforce what
you have learnt.
Written in a simple style with frequent headings, this book is

for anyone – of any age – who wishes to improve the
standard of his or her English.
Marion Field
ix
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Following Grammatical
Guidelines
The organisation of language is known as grammar. Every

word in the English language is a particular part of speech
and has a name by which to identify it. Some parts of speech
must be included in a sentence for it to make sense. Others
are used to enhance your writing and make it interesting
to read. The parts of speech that are essential for every
sentence are nouns (or pronouns) and verbs.
DISCOVERING NOUNS
Nouns are the names of things, people or places. There are
different types of nouns but you must include at least one
noun or one pronoun in each sentence you write. There will
be more about pronouns later.
Identifying concrete or common nouns

A concrete or common noun is the name given to a physical
thing – something that can be seen:
book cake dog elephant

fire garage hair jewel
key letter needle orchid
parchment queen recipe sailor
tattoo volunteer watch zoo
1
2 / IMPROVE YOUR PUNCTUATION & GRAMMAR
Forming plurals
A noun is singular if it refers to one thing. Plural means
there is more than one of the item. To make a concrete noun
plural, it is usually necessary to add an ‘s’ at the end of the
word:
Singular Plural
bone bones
dog dogs
ear ears
friend friends
simile similes
metaphor metaphors
zoo zoos
Words that end in ‘ch’, ‘s’, ‘sh’ and ‘z’ have to add ‘es’ for
ease of pronunciation:
Singular Plural
bush bushes
buzz buzzes
crutch crutches
church churches
dash dashes
duchess duchesses
flash flashes
princess princesses
witness witnesses
Some words keep the same word for the plural as the
singular:
Singular Plural
cod cod
deer deer
salmon salmon
sheep sheep
FOLLOWING GRAMMATICAL GUIDELINES / 3
Other words change the form of the word as in the following:
Singular Plural
child children
foot feet
goose geese
ox oxen
man men
tooth teeth
woman women
Identifying vowels and consonants

All words are composed of vowels (a, e, i, o, u) and con-
sonants (all other letters). Words that end in ‘y’ preceded by
a consonant change the ‘y’ to an ‘i’ before adding ‘es’:
Singular Plural
ally allies
county counties
cry cries
enemy enemies
reply replies
Some nouns that end in ‘f’ or ‘fe’ change the ending to ‘ves’
to make the plural:
Singular Plural
half halves
knife knives
wolf wolves
Unfortunately some words ending in ‘f’ keep it before add-

ing an ‘s’:
Singular Plural
hoof hoofs
proof proofs
For the following word you have a choice:
dwarf dwarfs or dwarves
Using proper nouns

A proper noun is the name of a person, a place or a par-
ticular thing or institution. It always starts with a capital
letter.
Names of people
Alice Bernard Betty Clive

Elizabeth Lennie Lucy Richard
Titles are also written with a capital letter:
Mrs Alexander Mr Bell

Prince Edward The Earl of Northumberland
Lady Thatcher The Countess of Wessex
The Duchess of York
Names of places
England Guildford Hampshire London

River Thames Mount Everest The Forest of Dean
The Lake District
Names of buildings and institutions
The British Broadcasting Corporation The British Museum

Buckingham Palace Cleopatra’s Needle
Nelson’s Column The Royal Academy
The Royal Air Force The United Nations
Windsor Castle
Religious names
All proper nouns connected with religion start with capital

letters.
Bible Christian Christianity Christmas

Easter Eid Judaism Jew
Hanukka Hindu Islam Koran
Looking at abstract nouns

An abstract noun is more vague. It refers to a quality, an
idea, a state of mind, an occasion, a feeling or a time. It
cannot be seen or touched. The following are all abstract
nouns:
anger beauty birth brightness

criticism comfort darkness excellence
happiness health jealousy month
patience peace pregnancy war
Finding collective nouns

Collective nouns are nouns that refer to a group of objects or
people. Although they represent a number of things, they
are singular words as they can be made plural.
Singular Plural
class classes
choir choirs
collection collections
congregation congregations
crew crews
crowd crowds
flock flocks
group groups
herd herds
orchestra orchestras
team teams
Introducing verbal nouns or gerunds

The form of the verb known as the present participle always
ends in ‘ing’. As well as being used as a verb, this form can
also be used as a noun. It is called a gerund or verbal noun.
Look at the following sentences which use gerunds.
I like shopping.
The baby’s crying annoyed her.
The howling of the wolves kept the hunters awake.
The growling of the guard dog terrified the burglars.
The pianist’s playing was superb.
Sorting out subjects and objects

The subject of the sentence is the noun or pronoun that is
the main reason for the sentence. It performs the action.
The boy ran across the road.
‘The boy’ is the subject of the sentence.
The object of a sentence is the noun or pronoun to which

something is done.
Lucy played the piano.
The ‘piano’ is the object of the sentence. A sentence must

contain a subject but there does not have to be an object in
the sentence. The following sentence does not contain an
object:
Lucy plays very well.

KNOWING THE ARTICLES

There are three articles:
the a an
‘The’ is the definite article as it refers to a specific thing.
The dress you made is beautiful.
‘A’ and ‘an’ are indefinite articles and are used more gener-
ally.
Cathy is going to make a dress.
‘An’ is also an indefinite article and is used before a vowel

for ease of pronunciation.
I saw an elephant today.
MAKING USE OF PRONOUNS

A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun, a noun phrase or
a noun clause. There will be more about phrases and clauses
later. Each sentence must contain at least one noun or one
pronoun.
Discovering personal pronouns

Personal pronouns take the place of nouns, noun phrases
and noun clauses. They are known as the first, second and
third persons. They can be used as both subjects and objects
within your sentence. Look at the following table.
Singular Plural
Subject Object Subject Object
First person I me we us
Second person you you you you
Third person he him they them
she her they them
it it they them
Notice that the second person is the same in both the

singular and plural. In the past thou (subject) and thine/thee
(object) was used as the singular but today you is in general
use for both although you may still hear thou in some parts
of the country.
Replacing nouns with personal pronouns

So that a noun is not repeated too frequently, a personal
pronoun is often used to replace it. Look at the following
sentence:
Sarah was annoyed that Sarah was not allowed to go to the

party.
Obviously this sentence would be better if the second ‘Sarah’

was replaced by ‘she’.
Sarah was annoyed that she was not allowed to go to the

party.
‘She’ is the subject of the second part of the sentence.
Tracy went to the party. She enjoyed the party.
This sentence would be better if ‘party’ was not used twice.

Tracy went to the party. She enjoyed it.
‘It’ is the object of the second sentence.
When writing, check that you don’t repeat nouns unneces-

sarily. Replace them with pronouns.
Using demonstrative pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns can also replace nouns. The
demonstrative pronouns are:
Singular: this that

Plural: these those
This is their house.
In the above sentence ‘this’ stands for ‘their house’.
Those are his cattle.
‘Those’ replaces ‘his cattle’.
‘This’, ‘that’, ‘these’ and ‘those’ can also be used as adjec-

tives if they are attached to a noun. There will be more
about this in a later chapter.
Using possessive pronouns

Possessive pronouns also replace nouns and indicate that
something ‘belongs’. They are related to the personal pro-
nouns.
10 / I M P R O V E Y O U R P U N C T U A T I O N & G R A M M A R
Personal Possessive
First person – singular I mine
– plural we ours
Second person – singular you yours
– plural you yours
Third person – singular he his
she hers
it its
– plural they theirs
This book is mine.
Yours is the blame.
The prize was his.
That new house is theirs.
Using reflexive pronouns

Reflexive pronouns are used when the subject and the object
of the sentence refer to the same person or thing. They
‘reflect’ the subject.
Personal pronouns Reflexive pronouns

First person singular I myself
Second person singular you yourself
Third person singular he himself
she herself
it itself
First person plural we ourselves
Second person plural you yourselves
Third person plural they themselves
I washed myself thoroughly.
The cat licked itself all over.
You mustn’t blame yourself.

F O L L O W I N G G R A M M A T I C A L G U I D E L I N E S / 11
Notice that the reflexive third person plural pronoun is

themselves not theirselves.
They wore themselves out.
not
They wore theirselves out.
Using intensive pronouns

Intensive pronouns are the same words as reflexive pro-
nouns but are used for emphasis.
He, himself, presented the prizes.
I wrote it myself.
It is not correct to use this form of the pronoun when the

object does not reflect the subject.
That house belongs to myself.
This is incorrect. It should be:
That house belongs to me.
Asking a question
Interrogative pronouns are used to ask a question and are
usually at the beginning of a sentence. They are:
which who whom whose
Which will you wear?
Who is that boy?

To whom are you speaking?
Whose is that?
Do remember to put a question mark at the end of

your sentence.
FINDING OUT ABOUT VERBS

Verbs are the ‘doing’ or ‘being’ words in a sentence. Without
them your work will make no sense. There is one ‘being’
verb, the verb ‘to be’; the rest are ‘doing’ verbs. The verb ‘to
be’ and the verb ‘to have’ are often joined with other words
to change the tense. They are known as auxiliary verbs. The
verb ‘to do’ can also sometimes be used as an auxiliary verb
and placed before another verb.
The truant was running down the street.
The child has fallen over.
She did bake a cake for the competition.
Using finite verbs

For a sentence to make sense it must contain a finite verb as
well as the noun or pronoun which is the subject of the
sentence. The verb must show ‘person’ (first, second or
third), number (singular or plural) and tense (past, present
or future). A finite verb changes its form depending on the
tense. Look at the following sentence:
Mary drew a picture.

‘Mary’ (third person– she) is the subject of the sentence. The

verb ‘drew’ has a ‘person’ connected to it, ‘Mary’, who is
singular (number), and ‘drew’ is the past tense of the verb ‘to
draw’. Therefore it is a finite verb. It would also be a finite
verb in the present tense:
Mary draws a picture.
All sentences must contain at least one finite verb.
Using non-finite verbs

Non-finite verbs never change their form. The non-finite
parts of the verbs are:
◆ the base form of the verb: write, dance
◆ the infinitive – the verb introduced by ‘to’: to be, to write,

to dance
◆ the present participle which always ends in ‘ing’: writing,

dancing
◆ the past participle which sometimes ends in ‘ed’ but has

exceptions as many verbs are irregular.
Looking at the participles

The present and the past participles of ‘doing’ verbs can be
used with the auxiliary verbs ‘to be’ and ‘to have’. This will
change the form of the verb and make a finite verb. A verb
sometimes consists of more than one word.
Revising the verb ‘to be’

Present and past tenses of the verb ‘to be’
Present tense Past tense

I am was
you are were
he, she, it is was
we are were
they are were
Present and past tenses of the verb ‘to have’
I have had
you have had
he, she, it has had
we have had
they have had
Using the present participle

The present participle of the verb can be used with the verb
‘to be’ to form the present and past ‘progressive’ tenses. This
suggests that the action is still continuing. The participle
remains the same but the tense of the verb ‘to be’ changes.
The present progressive tense using the present participle

‘writing’
I am writing.
You are writing.
He, she is writing.
We are writing.
They are writing.

The past progressive tense using ‘writing’
I was writing.
You were writing.
He, she was writing.
We were writing.
They were writing.
Checking the tenses

Both the present progressive and the past progressive tenses
use the present participle not the past. Mistakes are often
made with the verb ‘to sit’.
I was sat in my place.
This is wrong. ‘Sat’ is the past participle of the verb to ‘to sit’
and should be used with the verb ‘to have’ not ‘to be’. The
sentence should read:
I was sitting in my place. (verb ‘to be’ + the present

participle)
or
I had sat in my place. (verb ‘to have’ + the past participle)
The progressive aspect of the verb can also be used in the

perfect tense. This also suggests a continuous action. In this
case the past participle of the verb ‘to be’, ‘been’ is placed
with the verb ‘to have’ and the verb that is being used.
Present perfect progressive tense
The baby has been crying all day.

Past perfect progressive
The student had been working hard all summer.
Using the past participle

The past participle of a verb is often the same as the
ordinary past tense and ends in ‘ed’. It can be used with the
verb ‘to have’ to form the present perfect tense and the past
perfect tense. The present perfect tense uses the present
tense of the verb ‘to have’ and the past perfect uses the past
tense.
Present perfect tense Past perfect tense

I have danced I had danced
you have danced you had danced
he, she has danced he, she had danced
we have danced we had danced
they have danced they had danced
The past participle will have a different ending from ‘-ed’ if

it is an irregular verb.
Present perfect tense Past perfect tense

I have written I had written
You have written You had written
He has written She had written
We have written We had written
They have written They had written
The following table shows some of the irregular verbs:
Base form Infinitive Present participle Past participle

be to be being been
build to build building built
do to do doing done
drink to drink drinking drunk
fling to fling flinging flung
go to go going gone
know to know knowing known
see to see seeing seen
speak to swim swimming swum
wear to wear wearing worn
write to write writing written
Use ‘to be’ with the present participle.

Use ‘to have’ with the past participle.
Introducing phrases
If you have only non-finite parts of the verb – base form,
infinitive, present and past participles, in your work, you are
not writing in sentences. The following examples are phrases
because they do not contain a finite verb. There will be more
about phrases in the next chapter.
Leap a hurdle
To be a teacher
Running across the road
Written a letter
None of the above has a subject and the participles ‘running’

and ‘written’ need parts of the verbs ‘to be’ or ‘to have’
added to them. A sentence must have a subject. The
previous examples have none. A subject must be added.
Look at the revised sentences.
She leapt the hurdle.
A subject ‘she’ has been added and ‘leapt’ is the past tense.
John wanted to be a teacher.
‘John’ is the subject and ‘wanted’ is the finite verb. It has

person, number and tense so this is a sentence.
She was running across the road.
The subject is ‘she’ and ‘was’ has been added to the present
participle to make the past progressive tense. The finite verb
is ‘was running’.
He has written a letter.
‘He’ is the third person and ‘has’ has been added to the past
participle to make the perfect tense. The finite verb is ‘has
written’.
A finite verb can be more than one word.
Looking at tenses
Finite verbs show tense – past, present and future.
The present and past tenses

The past tense often ends in ‘ed’. Notice that the third
person singular in the present tense usually ends in ‘s’.
To play
Present tense Past tense
I play I played
you play you played
he, she, it plays he, she, it played
we play we played
they play they played
There are however, many exceptions where the past tense

does not end in ‘ed’. Following are some of the verbs which
have irregular past tenses. As with verbs that end in ‘ed’, the
word remains the same for all persons.
Infinitive Past tense

to build built
to do did
to drink drank
to fling flung
to grow grew
to hear heard
to know knew
to leap leapt
to swim swam
to tear tore
to write wrote
The past and perfect tenses

Your essays and short stories will usually be written in the
past tense. For the purpose of your writing, this will be the
time at which the actions are taking place. If you wish to go
further back in time, you will have to use the past perfect
tense. Look at the following example:
He looked at the letter. Taking another one from the

drawer, he compared the handwriting. It was the same. He
had received the first letter a week ago.
‘Looked’ and ‘compared’ are the past tense because the

actions are taking place ‘now’ in terms of the passage.
‘Had received’ is the past perfect tense because the action is
further back in time.
The future tense

When writing the future tense of the verb, use ‘shall’ with
the first person and ‘will’ with the second and third person.
I shall go to London tomorrow.
You will work hard at school.
Mark will write to you this evening.
That tree will shed its leaves in the aturum.
We shall win the match.
They will move house next month.
However, sometimes ‘shall’ and ‘will’ can change places for

emphasis.
I will go to London tomorrow. (This suggests

determination)
You shall go to the ball, Cinderella. (It will be made

possible)
Present participle and infinitive

The verb ‘to be’ followed by the present participle ‘going’ is
also used to express the future tense. It is followed by the
infinitive of the appropriate verb. The use of this is be-
coming more common.
I am going to start writing a novel.
They are going to visit their mother.

Sometimes the verb ‘to be’ followed by the present participle

also indicates the future.
The train is leaving in five minutes.
The film is starting soon.
The future progressive

As with the present progressive and the past progressive
tenses, the future progressive also uses the present participle.
I shall be visiting her next week.
The Browns will be buying a dog soon.
Looking at direct and indirect objects

There are both direct and indirect objects. If there is only
one object in a sentence, it will be a direct object and will
have something ‘done to it’ by the subject.
Tom scored a goal (direct object).
Judy ate her lunch (direct object).
Sometimes there are two objects as in the following sen-

tences:
She gave me some sweets.
He threw Mary the ball.
‘Sweets’ and ‘ball’ are both direct objects. ‘Me’ and ‘Mary’
are indirect objects. The word ‘to’ is ‘understood’ before
them.
She gave (to) me the sweets.
He threw (to) Mary the ball.
Looking at complements
If the word at the end of the sentence refers directly to the
subject, it is known as the complement and the preceding
verb will usually be the verb ‘to be’.
Joan (subject) is a nurse (complement).
Michael (subject) was the winner of the race

(complement).
Transitive and intransitive verbs

Verbs that are followed by an object are called transitive
verbs. Those that have no object are intransitive. Some verbs
can be used both transitively and intransitively.
Transitive verbs
If there is an object in the sentence, the verb is transitive.
He threw the ball.
‘The ball’ is the object and therefore the verb ‘threw’ is

transitive.
The doctor examined the patient.
‘The patient’ is the object. The verb ‘examined’ is transitive.

Intransitive verbs
If the verb is not followed by an object, then it is an intransi-
tive verb.
She dances beautifully.
He writes very neatly.
There is no object in either of these sentences so both

‘dances’ and ‘writes’ are intransitive.
Verbs that are both transitive and intransitive

Many verbs can be used both transitively and intransitively.
It depends on how they are used in the sentence.
He wrote a letter. (transitive: ‘letter’ is the object.)
She writes beautifully. (intransitive. There is no object.)
Joe swam a length. (transitive: ‘length’ is the object.)
The girls swam quickly. (intransitive. There is no object.)
Using the active or passive voice

Look at these two sentences:
His mother scolded Tom. (Active voice)
Tom was scolded by his mother. (Passive voice)
In the first sentence the mother is doing the action. This is

called the active voice. In the second sentence Tom has
something done to him. This is known as the passive voice.
Both are acceptable but you can choose which is more
suitable for the work you are writing. The active voice is
commonly used as it has a more direct effect and usually uses

fewer words. However, there are certain situations where the
passive voice is more appropriate. Look at the following
sentence:
The traitor was condemned to death.
The important person here is the traitor. We are not in-

terested in who condemned him to death.
RECOGNISING INTERJECTIONS
Interjections have no particular part to play in the sentence.
They can express disgust, surprise, fear, fatigue, elation,
boredom or some other emotion. Some examples are:
ah eh oh er hello
well really
They can sometimes be more than one word and are often
followed by exclamation marks:
Oh dear! What a pity! Oh no! Dear, dear!
CHECKLIST
◆ Nouns are the names of things.
◆ Proper nouns always start with a capital letter.
◆ Pronouns take the place of nouns.

◆ Verbs are ‘doing’ or ‘being’ words.
◆ A sentence must contain at least one noun or pronoun

and one finite verb.
PRACTISING WHAT YOU’VE LEARNT

1. Write the plurals of the following words:
cat crutch child deer

duchess dwarf half lady
man marriage metaphor simile
2. In the passage identify all the following:
concrete nouns proper nouns abstract nouns

collective nouns gerunds finite verbs
personal pronouns demonstrative pronouns
possessive pronouns interrogative pronouns
Jenny decided to go to the town. She had suffered a bout

of depression the day before when she had been in the
audience at the local theatre. One of the actors had
collapsed. She thought a day’s shopping would be therapy
for her. That had helped her in the past. It started to rain
hard and she went to a cafe for a coffee. She left her
umbrella in the stand. When she left, there were several
umbrellas and she couldn’t remember which was hers.
Which one was it?
3. In the following passage, identify the non-finite and finite

verbs.
Jo was bored. He wanted to play football but it was

raining. Staring gloomily out of the window, he looked in
vain for some blue sky. Annoyed, he picked up his latest

football magazine to see if he could do the crossword.
4. In the following sentences identify the complements,

direct objects and indirect objects
(a) The teacher gave Jack a library book to read.

(b) She wrote several letters while she was waiting.
(c) He bought an ice cream at the kiosk near the beach.
(d) She gave him an apple.
(e) Their headmaster became an inspector.
(f) Peter is a good swimmer.
5. In the following sentences which verbs are used transi-

tively and which intransitively?
(a) The baby cried all day.

(b) He gave a lecture about the eclipse.
(c) He threw the ball accurately at the wicket.
(d) She is always talking.
6. Change the following sentences to the passive voice.
(a) The hostess served the guest of honour first.

(b) The landlord installed night storage heaters for his
XXstenants.
See page 151 for suggested answers.

Learning About
Sentence Construction
Words must be combined in a certain way to form sentences.

This is known as syntax. In the previous chapter it was
established that each sentence must contain a subject (noun
or pronoun) and a finite verb (showing person, number and
tense). However, your writing will be very monotonous if
you use only this pattern and do not vary your sentence
construction. There are many different forms you can use.
Sections of your sentences that contain finite verbs and are
linked together are called clauses. There are two types –
main and subordinate. They will be explained in detail later.
ANALYSING THE SIMPLE SENTENCE

A sentence that consists of a subject and a finite verb is
known as a simple sentence. This is a grammatical term and
has nothing to do with the content of the sentence. It may
contain additional words or phrases (groups of words that do
not contain a finite verb). It consists of one main clause.
Looking at the subject and predicate

The simple sentence can be divided into two parts – the
subject and the rest of the sentence called the predicate.
27
Subject Predicate
The boy ran across the road.
The stream trickled along beside the path.
Jack is an electrician.
She gave me my wages.
A variety of phrases and clauses can be used to enhance your

writing.
INTRODUCING PHRASES
Phrases are groups of two or more words that do not contain
a finite verb. They do not make sense on their own but add
detail to the sentence. Phrases can do the same work as parts
of speech. There are adjectival phrases, adverbial phrases
and noun phrases. There will be more about adjectives and
adverbs later. There are also prepositional phrases, par-
ticipial phrases and infinitive phrases. Some phrases can be
classified under two headings.
In the above sentences ‘across the road’ and ‘beside the

path’ are both phrases. They don’t make sense by themselves
but they can be used as the subject, object or the com-
plement of the sentence. They are sometimes introduced by
a non-finite verb – the infinitive or the present or past
participle.
Looking at infinitive phrases

The infinitive is the part of the verb introduced by ‘to’. An
infinitive phrase is introduced by the infinitive.
To be a nurse was her ambition.

L E A R N I N G A B O U T S E N T E N C E C O N S T R U C T I O N / 29
‘To be a nurse’ is an infinitive phrase as it starts with the

infinitive ‘to be’. It is also a noun phrase as it functions as the
subject of the sentence.
She was to become a popular teacher.
‘To become a popular teacher’ is an infinitive phrase as it

starts with the infinitive ‘to become’. It is also a noun phrase
as it acts as the complement of the sentence.
To be a doctor was his ambition.
‘To be a doctor’ is a phrase using the infinitive ‘to be’. In this

case the whole phrase is the subject of the main clause and
‘ambition’ is the complement.
Looking at participial phrases

A participial phrase is introduced by a past or present parti-
ciple.
Running quickly across the road, she stumbled.
The present participle ‘running’ introduces the phrase and so

it is a participial phrase.
Leaping out of bed, he ran to the window.
This sentence starts with the present participle ‘leaping’

and is therefore a participial phrase. It adds detail to the
sentence and is followed by a comma.
Handcuffed to a policeman, the prisoner was led away.

‘Handcuffed’ is the past participle and introduces the phrase

which also functions as an adjectival phrase qualifying the
noun ‘prisoner’.
Gripped by fear, she stared at her questioner.
‘Gripped’ is the past participle and ‘gripped by fear’ is also a

participial phrase.
Looking at adjectival phrases

Like adjectives, adjectival phrases modify (describe) nouns
or pronouns.
The man, tall and elegant, walked on to the platform.
‘. . . tall and elegant’ is an adjectival phrase modifying the

noun ‘man’.
The crowd, becoming upset, was ready to riot.
‘. . . becoming upset’ is an adjectival phrase qualifying the

noun ‘crowd’.
The headmaster, furiously angry, strode on to the plat-

form.
‘. . . furiously angry’ is an adjectival phrase which describes

the headmaster. There will be more about adjectives in the
next chapter.
Looking at adverbial phrases

Like adverbs, adverbial phrases answer the questions: how?
when? why? where?
They have gone to France. (where)
(Adverbial phrase of place and also a prepositional phrase.)
A total eclipse took place on 11 August 1999. (when)
(Adverbial phrase of time and also a prepositional phrase.)
He was driving much too quickly. (how)
(Adverbial phrase qualifying ‘was driving’.)
Exhausted by the heat, she sat down in the shade. (why)
(Adverbial phrase of reason and also a participial phrase.)
Adverbial phrases can indicate:
Place
She waited in the restaurant.
The letter was on the table.
He stood by the gate.
Direction
He walked across the road.
The boy walked moodily along the path.

The train hurtled through the tunnel.
Time
The play finished at ten o’clock.
She worked after lunch.
The train left on time.
Looking at noun phrases

Noun phrases are groups of words that can serve as subjects,
objects, or complements in your sentence.
The dark clouds overhead suggested rain.
‘The dark clouds overhead’ is a noun phrase that is the

subject of the sentence. This could be replaced by a pro-
noun.
They suggested rain.
The visitors admired the elegant beauty of the house.
‘. . . the elegant beauty of the house’ is the object of the

sentence and could be replaced by the pronoun ‘it’.
The visitors admired it.
The school’s football team won the match.
‘The school’s football team’ is the subject of the sentence.
She refused to play tennis.

‘. . . to play tennis’ is the object of the sentence. It is also an

infinitive phrase.
Her ambition was to write a novel.
‘. . . to write a novel’ is the complement of the sentence. It

refers to ‘ambition’. It is also an infinitive phrase.
Using a gerundive phrase

A gerund is the present participle used as a noun. A gerun-
dive phrase begins with a gerund.
Swimming every day helped him to recover.
‘Swimming’ is a gerund and ‘Swimming every day’ is the

subject of the sentence.
Learning about prepositions

A preposition is a word that indicates the relationship of a
noun or pronoun to some other part of the sentence. The
word ‘preposition’ means to be ‘placed before’. Prepositions
are usually placed before the noun and are often used in
phrases.
Some prepositions are:
above after at before by down

for from in into near on
opposite past towards through to under
with without
Some of these words can also be used as other parts of

speech. It will depend on their role in the sentence.
Looking at prepositional phrases.

A prepositional phrase begins with a preposition. In the
following sentences the prepositions, followed by nouns,
form phrases and are underlined.
Cautiously, they crept into the room.
She placed the book on the table.
The clouds moved across the sky.
Most prepositional phrases can be identified as other phrases

as well. The above sentences are all adverbial phrases as
they say where something happened. There will be more
about adverbs later. Look at the following sentences.
The treasure was buried under the apple tree.
‘. . . under the apple tree’ is a prepositional phrase as it

begins with a preposition. It is also an adverbial phrase of
place as it says where the treasure was buried.
The house, by the lake, belongs to Lord Melton.
‘. . . by the lake’ begins with the preposition ‘by’ and so is a

prepositional phrase. However it is also an adjectival phrase
as it describes the lake.
Using phrasal verbs

Phrasal verbs are verbs that are followed by a preposition
which is part of the meaning of the verb. The preposition can
be separated from the verb but this often produces a clumsy
construction so it is better to keep them together. In most
cases they have to be kept together or the sense is lost. Some

examples are:
clear off clear up fall over fly away

kick off jump up pick up run away
throw away
He jumped up in alarm.
She threw away the wrapping paper.
When the baby fell over, she cried.
The boy ran away from school.
IDENTIFYING MAIN CLAUSES

A simple sentence contains one main clause which can be
constructed in various ways. However, it must contain only
one finite verb. A main clause can be constructed in various
ways. Some are suggested below.
Subject and finite verb
It (subject) rained (finite verb).
Subject, finite verb and direct object
Kay (subject) watched (finite verb) television (direct

object).
Subject, finite verb, indirect object and direct object
His parents (subject) gave (finite verb) Brian (ind. object)

a bike (dir. object).
Subject, finite verb and complement
The trickle of water (subject) became (finite verb) a

deluge (complement).
Phrase, subject, finite verb, direct object and phrase
Fielding the ball (phrase), he (subject) threw (finite verb)

it (direct object) at the wicket (phrase).
List of main clauses
David was doing his homework, Mary was playing the

piano, Tony was cooking the dinner and Sue was feeding
the baby.
Each of the above main clauses is separated by a comma and

the last one is preceded by ‘and’.
Joining main clauses joined by conjunctions (connectives)

Two or more main clauses can be joined together to make a
compound sentence. To do this you will need to use one of
the co-ordinating conjunctions ‘and’, ‘but’, ‘or’. Conjunc-
tions (connectives) are joining words used to link clauses,
phrases and words together.
Making use of co-ordinating conjunctions

Simple sentences are all main clauses because they contain
only one finite verb. If there is more than one finite verb in
your sentence, you will have more than one clause. Check
that you have used a conjunction to join them. In each of the
following sentences there are two main clauses which have
been linked with a co-ordinating conjunction. They are com-
pound sentences.
(The teacher shouted) and (the class fell silent).
(Jane may go to the party) but (you will remain at home).
(You will do your homework) or (you will not be allowed

to go out).
The co-ordinating conjunctions can also be used to link items

and introduce phrases.
◆ hat and coat
◆ a raincoat but no umbrella
◆ London or Paris
He heard the tramp of feet and the shouts of the men.

(phrase)
There was paper but no sign of a pen. (phrase)
You can use that book or this collection of newspapers.

(phrase)
Do not use commas to separate two main clauses.
IDENTIFYING SUBORDINATE CLAUSES

Subordinate clauses are linked to a main clause by subordi-
nating conjunctions. A sentence that contains main clauses
and subordinate clauses is known as a complex sentence.
Using subordinating conjunctions

Subordinating conjunctions are used to link main clauses to
subordinate clauses. Some of them are:
after although as because before

if since that though unless
until when while
The conjunction can go between the two clauses.
(They played tennis) although (it had started to rain).
(She went to the supermarket) because (she had run out

of milk).
The conjunction can also be placed at the beginning of the

sentence. In this case the subordinate clause comes first and
a comma separates the two clauses.
Although (it had started to rain), (they played tennis).
Because (she had run out of milk), (she went to the

supermarket).
If you begin a sentence with a subordinating

conjunction, you must follow this with two clauses
and put a comma between them.
Forming subordinate clauses

There are a variety of subordinate clauses you can use. They
have the same role as parts of speech.
Using adverbial clauses

There are a variety of adverbial clauses. The type depends
on their function in the sentence.
Adverbial clauses of time

An adverbial clause of time will indicate when an event
happened. Remember that it must contain a subject (possibly
‘understood’) and a finite verb.
The traffic started to move when the police had cleared

the road.
In the above sentence the adverbial clause of time could

stand alone. The subject is ‘police’ and ‘had cleared’ is the
finite verb. The clause tells us when the traffic started to
move.
As the shadow of the moon moved across the sun, it

became very dark.
When the children had left, she cleared up the remains of

the party.
‘. . . the shadow of the moon moved across the sun’ and ‘the
children had left’ are adverbial clauses of time saying when
something happened.
Adverbial clauses of place

Adverbial clauses of place show where something took place.
They are often introduced by the word ‘where’.
A flourishing town grew up where once a bomb had been

dropped.
I can’t remember where I left my bag.

‘. . . once a bomb had been dropped’ and ‘I left my bag’ are

both adverbial clauses of place linked to the main clauses by
‘where’. They say where something happened.
Adverbial clauses of reason

Sometimes the subordinate clause will give a reason for the
main clause. This is known as an adverbial clause of reason.
The match was cancelled because it was raining.
‘. . . it was raining’ was the reason for the match being

cancelled.
As he was late home, they went out for a meal.
‘. . . he was late home’ is an adverbial clause of reason

answering the question why they went out for a meal.
Adverbial clauses of manner

Like adverbs of manner, adverbial clauses of manner say
how something is done.
She ran as though her life depended upon it.
The adverbial clause of manner ‘her life depended on it’

explains how she ran.
Adverbial clauses of comparison

An adverbial clause of comparison makes an explicit
comparison.
Sandra works harder than her sister does.

Sandra is being compared with her sister.
Adverbial clauses of degree

An adverbial clause of degree will indicate the degree to
which something is done.
I love you more than I can say.
He works as hard as he can.
Both the adverbial clauses of degree show to what extent ‘I

love’ and ‘he works’.
Adverbial clauses of purpose

Adverbial clauses of purpose indicate the purpose of the
main clause.
The prisoner was locked in so that he would not escape.
The purpose of the locked door was to prevent the prisoner’s

escape.
Adverbial clauses of result

An adverbial clause of result shows what results from the
main clause.
It was so hot that her shirt was sticking to her.
Her shirt was sticking to her as a result of the heat.

Adverbial clauses of condition

An adverbial clause of condition indicates the conditions
under which something will be done.
If you finish your homework, you may go out.
Finishing the homework is the condition which must be

fulfilled before the main clause ‘you may go out’ can take
effect.
Unless it stops raining, the repairs will not be completed.
Including ‘then’
If the subordinate clause begins with ‘if’, the main clause
after the comma can sometimes begin with ‘then’. In this
case it does not need ‘and’ before it.
If fairy tales are entertainment, then explaining the

symbolism is a waste of time.
The subjunctive
If the adverbial clause of condition suggests something that
cannot be fulfilled, the subjunctive tense of the verb is used.
The clause usually starts with ‘if’ and applies to the first or
third persons. Instead of using ‘was’, ‘were’ is used.
If I were to tell you, you would not believe it.
If she were taller, she could be a model.

Using relative pronouns

Relative pronouns have a similar function to conjunctions.
They link subordinate clauses to main clauses. They are
usually preceded by a noun.
The relative pronouns are:
which that who whose whom
‘Which’ and ‘that’ are linked to things while the others are
used with people. ‘That’ can be either a conjunction or a
relative pronoun. It depends how it is used.
I like the dress that is green.
‘That’ follows the noun ‘dress’ so it is a relative pronoun.
Notice that in the following examples the main clause has

been ‘split’ by the subordinate clause which has been in-
serted into it. Commas have been placed either side of the
subordinate clause.
The thief, who was a young boy, ran away.
The main clause is The thief . . . ran away.

The subordinate clause is . . . was a young boy
The subject of the subordinate clause is ‘the thief’ which is

‘understood’.
The house, which had been empty for years, was now
occupied.
Main clause: The house . . . was now occupied.

Subordinate clause: (The house) had been empty for
years
The boy, whose trainers had been stolen, won the race.
Main clause: The boy . . . won the race.

Subordinate clause: . . . trainers had been stolen
The golfer, whom I supported, played very well.
Main clause: The golfer . . . played very well.

Subordinate clause: . . . I supported
The relative pronoun usually follows the noun to which it

refers. This will avoid ambiguity. Make sure your writing
is clear and that you have said what you mean. If your
sentences are too long, it is easy for your reader to lose the
sense of what you are saying.
Using whom
‘Whom’ can sometimes be preceded by a preposition. There
is a tendency today to ignore the traditional rule, ‘Don’t end
a sentence with a preposition.’ Prepositions are often found
at the end of sentences today. However, those who wish to
preserve the purity of the English language will probably
keep the rule.
This is the boy to whom I gave the money.
The preposition, ‘to’ precedes ‘whom’. The colloquial form

would be:
This is the boy who I gave the money to.
In this case ‘who’ is used instead of ‘whom’ and the preposi-

tion ‘to’ ends the sentence. The ‘who’ could be omitted and
‘understood’.
This is the boy I gave the money to.
Here are two more examples of the formal and the informal:
To whom are you speaking?
This sounds rather pompous so you would probably say:
Who are you speaking to?
It is the schoolmaster for whom the bell tolls.
It is the schoolmaster who the bells tolls for.
In the latter example the first sentence sounds better. Your

choice of sentence will probably depend on the particular
type of writing you are doing at the time.
Using adjectival clauses

Like adjectives, the adjectival clause qualifies a noun or
pronoun which is found in the main clause. Remember that
all clauses must contain a subject (sometimes ‘understood’)
and a finite verb.
He looked at the door which was locked.

The door is described as being locked. The adjectival clause

is ‘. . . was locked’. The subject ‘door’ is ‘understood’ and the
relative pronoun ‘which’ links the adjectival clause to the
main clause. The finite verb in the adjectival phrase is ‘was
locked’.
His wife, who is a model, has gone on holiday.
‘. . . is a model’ describes the wife. The main clause is ‘His

wife . . . has gone on holiday’. The relative pronoun, ‘who’,
links the adjectival clause to it. The finite verb in the adjecti-
val clause is ‘is’.
Adjectival clauses are often introduced by the following

words:
who whom whose which that
‘That’ can sometimes be ‘understood’ so it is not always

necessary to include it.
This is the house (that) they have built.
It is important to put the adjectival clause as close as

possible to the noun or pronoun it is describing. If you don’t,
your sentence may be ambiguous.
She bought a dress from the charity shop which needed

some repair.
Obviously it was the dress not the shop that needed repair!
She bought a dress, which needed some repair, from the

charity shop.
CHECKLIST
◆ Each clause must contain a subject and a finite verb.
◆ There are main and subordinate clauses.
◆ Conjunctions and relative pronouns link clauses.
◆ A preposition shows the relation between one word and

another.
◆ Don’t use commas instead of full stops.
◆ A phrase is a group of words that does not contain a

finite verb.
◆ There are different types of phrases.
◆ Adjectival clauses qualify a noun.
◆ There are a variety of adverbial clauses.

1. Make each of the following groups of sentences into one
sentence by using conjunctions or relative pronouns.
(a) Elaine was a popular teacher. She had worked at the

XXssame school for many years. She taught English.
(b) Clive was in a furious temper. His computer has
XXscrashed. He had to complete some work in a hurry.
(c) It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining. The birds
XXswere singing. The flowers were smiling. Helen felt

XXsglad to be alive.
(d) The old lady put her hand on the shelf. It collapsed.
XXsShe fell heavily bruising her face.
(e) The book launch was scheduled for October. It was
XXspostponed until November. The printer had not
XXsfinished printing the books.
2. Pick out and name the clauses and phrases in the follow-
ing sentences:
(a) Angrily, she flung the book on the table.

(b) The student wriggled his way into the pothole.
(c) He yearned to fly on Concorde.
(d) Dreaming of her holiday made her forget her un-
XXshappiness.
(e) Furiously angry, she shouted at her daughter.
(f) They have gone on holiday.
(g) To visit Australia was his ambition.
(h) The postponed match was to take place the following
XXsday.
(i) Gazing out of the window, he wondered what he
XXsshould do next.
(j) Hurrying to catch her train, Denise tripped and fell
XXsheavily.
3. Pick out and identify the subordinate clauses in the

following passage:
The prisoner, who had been badly beaten, crouched in the

corner of his cell. He had been caught while he was
climbing out of the window of the house where the
terrorists had been hiding. He had gone there because a

meeting had been arranged with the leader. If he had
stayed in his hotel, he would have been safe. He had tried
as hard as he could to persuade the terrorists to release
their hostage but it had not worked. Unless something was
done soon, the hostage would be killed.
4. Correct the following sentences:
(a) If I was a giant, I could reach that shelf.

(b) If she was to ask me, I would go.

Varying Your
Sentences
It is important to vary your sentence structure. If all your

sentences are simple ones consisting of one main clause, the
impression you give will be rather juvenile. You will need
some simple sentences and you can vary their pattern but
you will also need compound sentences (two or more main
clauses) and complex sentences (a mixture of main clauses
and subordinate clauses).
EXPERIMENTING WITH THE SIMPLE SENTENCE

As we have already seen, there are a number of variations
you can use with the simple sentence. It does not always
form the same pattern.
Looking at examples
The simple sentence can consist of only two words.
Helen gasped.
This follows the accepted grammatical pattern. It has a

subject (Helen) and a finite verb (gasped). The latter, as
required, shows person (third), number (singular) and tense
50
V A R Y I N G Y O U R S E N T E N C E S / 51
(past). The next sentence is slightly longer and contains an

object as well.
She (subject) gripped (finite verb) the table (object).
It could be elaborated with the addition of a phrase.
She gripped the table with both hands (phrase).
Then, collapsing on the floor, she sobbed.
‘Then’ is an adverb of time introducing the participial

phrase, ‘collapsing on to the floor’, which is followed by the
main clause, ‘she sobbed’.
The events of the day had upset her.
‘The events of the day’ is a noun phrase acting as the subject

of the sentence.
‘Had upset’ is the finite verb.
‘Her’ is the object of the sentence.
She was terrified.
The above sentence uses the adjective ‘terrified’ as the com-

plement of the sentence. It refers to the subject ‘she’.
Never again would she go out alone.

This sentence starts with a phrase; the verb ‘would’ and the
subject ‘she’ have been inverted in this construction. In the
following sentence a phrase has been used as the comple-
ment.
It would cause more trouble.
‘It’ is the subject.
‘Would cause’ is the finite verb.
‘More trouble’ is a noun phrase used as the complement.
When all the sentences are put together, they make

an acceptable paragraph. Although they are all simple
sentences, the pattern has been varied to make the work
more interesting.
Helen gasped. She gripped the table with both hands.

Then, collapsing on to the floor, she sobbed. The events of
the day had upset her. She was terrified. Never again
would she go out alone. It would cause more trouble.
FORMING COMPOUND SENTENCES

Compound sentences are composed of two or more main
clauses and there are several variations that can be used.
You can have a number of main clauses within one sentence
provided your construction is correct. A clause has to
contain a subject and a finite verb. You can have several
clauses in a sentence and each of them will have a specific
purpose. There are two types of clauses – main and sub-
ordinate. Each clause must contain a subject and a finite

verb. Each sentence must contain at least one main clause. If
there is only one clause in a sentence, it is a main clause
and the sentence is a simple sentence. Remember that you
cannot use a comma to separate two main clauses unless
you have started your sentence with a conjunction. Use a
co-ordinating conjunction to join them or separate them
using a full stop.
Linking main clauses

To join two main clauses to form a compound sentence, you
will have to use one of the co-ordinating conjunctions, ‘and’,
‘but’, ‘or’. The main clauses can consist of only a subject and
a finite verb or they can be expanded with extra words or
phrases.
(It was very quiet) and (there was a strange atmosphere).
The two bracketed main clauses are linked by the co-

ordinating conjunction ‘and’. The following sentence has
three main clauses.
(She tried to get up) but (her legs were shaking) and (they
would not support her).
The conjunction ‘but’ separates the first two main clauses.

The final clause ‘they would not support her’ is introduced
by ‘and’. The pronoun ‘they’ could have been left out as it
would have been ‘understood’.
. . . her legs were shaking and would not support her.

The following sentence uses the conjunction ‘or’ to link the

clauses.
(She must leave soon) or (it would be too dark to see).
Use a co-ordinating conjunction to link two clauses

– not a comma.
If your work is constructed properly, you can use a number

of clauses within one sentence.
Making a list
You can use a list of main clauses. In this case, as in any
other list, the clauses are separated by commas and the last
one is preceded by ‘and’. Although it is not now considered
necessary to put a comma before ‘and’, it is sometimes done.
If so, it is known as the Oxford comma as the Oxford
University Press uses it but many other publishers do not.
If there is a danger of the sentence being misunderstood,
then a comma should be inserted before ‘and’. (Fowler, the
acknowledged authority on English usage feels the omission
of the Oxford comma is usually ‘unwise’.) It is not used in
the following examples. ‘I’ is the subject of each of the
clauses in the following sentences but it needs to be used
only once – at the beginning. It is ‘understood’ in the follow-
ing clauses.
I closed down the computer, (I) signed my letters, (I)

tidied my desk, (I) picked up my coat and (I) left the
office.
It is certainly not necessary to include the ‘I’ in each clause.

The first four main clauses are separated by commas and the
last one is preceded by ‘and’. In the following sentence the
subject of each of the clauses is different so the subject
obviously has to be included. Again, commas separate the
first four and the last one is preceded by ‘and’.
The wind howled round the house, the rain beat against
the windows, the lightning flashed, the thunder roared and
Sarah cowered under the table.
In the following sentence, although three of the clauses have

the same subject ‘he’, the subject has to be included so the
sentence makes sense.
He was annoyed, his wife was late, he disliked the house,

he was very tired and the food was tasteless.
Because ‘his wife was late’ is between ‘He was annoyed’ and
‘he disliked the house’, ‘he’ has to be repeated.
CHECKING YOUR COMMAS

The comma was introduced into English in the sixteenth
century and plays a very important part in punctuation.
However, it must not be used instead of a full stop. If you
write a sentence with two main clauses separated by a
comma, it is wrong. Either put a full stop between them or
use a conjunction to link them.
My name is Bob, I live in London.

This is wrong. It should be:
My name is Bob. I live in London.
or
My name is Bob and I live in London.
The two clauses could also be separated by a semicolon.

There will be more about this later.
My name is Bob; I live in London.
Using commas
Commas can be used for the following purposes:
◆ To separate items in a list. Remember there must be

‘and’ before the last one.
I bought some pens, a pencil, a file, a pad, a ruler and an

eraser.
◆ To separate a list of main clauses.
Jack was doing his homework, his sister was practising the
piano, their father was reading the paper and the baby was
crying.
◆ To separate the subordinate clause from the main clause

when starting the sentence with a subordinating con-
junction.
Because she was ill, she stayed at home.

◆ To separate a subordinate clause in the middle of a main

clause.
The dog, who was barking loudly, strained at his leash.
◆ After a participial phrase at the beginning of a sentence.
Looking out of the window, she realised it was raining.
◆ To separate phrases in the middle of a main clause.
The girl, tall and elegant, stepped into her car.
There will be more about commas in the chapter on

dialogue.
FORMING COMPLEX SENTENCES

A complex sentence can contain any number of main clauses
and subordinate clauses. It must contain at least one main
clause and it must be carefully constructed so that all the
clauses are linked correctly.
Using subordinate clauses

There are a variety of subordinate clauses you can use to
make your writing more interesting. Vary them and their
positions so that your work ‘flows’. Following are some
examples:
She hobbled to the door which was shut.
Main clause: She hobbled to the door . . .

Adjectival clause modifying
the noun ‘door’: . . . was shut.
Relative pronoun as link: which
Before she could open it, she heard a noise.
Main clause: . . . she heard a noise.

Adverbial clause of time: . . . she could open it
Subordinating conjunction: Before . . .
The comma separates the clauses because the sentence
begins with a conjunction.
She ran to the window, which was open, and peered out.
Main clause: She ran to the window . . .

Adjectival clause modifying
‘window’: . . . was open . . .
Relative pronoun linking
clauses: . . . which . . .
Main clause (subject
understood): . . . (she) peered out.
Co-ordinating conjunction: . . . and . . .
Using ‘who’
The man, who was looking up at her, looked very angry.
Main clause: The man . . . . . . looked very angry.

Adjectival clause: . . . was looking up at her . . .
Relative pronoun: . . . who . . .
It was the man who had followed her and who had
frightened her dog so he had run away.
Main clause: It was the man . . .

Adjectival clause: . . . had followed her . . .
Adjectival clause: . . . had frightened her
dog . . .
Adverbial clause of reason: . . . he had run away.
Relative pronoun: who
Subordinating conjunction: so
Be careful with the construction in the above sentence.

‘Who’ has been used twice. You can only use ‘and who’ if it
follows a subordinate clause which has been introduced by
‘who’. In this sentence ‘who followed her’ is a subordinate
clause introduced by ‘who’ so the ‘and who’ that follows
later is correct. The following sentence is incorrect:
The man had followed her and who had frightened her
dog.
The ‘who’ is, of course, unnecessary. It should be:
The man had followed her and had frightened her dog.
Looking at more examples

Shaking with fear, she rushed to the door and tried to
open it while the doorbell rang persistently.
Main clause: . . . she rushed to the

door . . .
Main clause: . . . tried to open it . . .
Adverbial clause of time: . . . the doorbell rang
persistently
Participial phrase: Shaking with fear . . .
She had to get away but the door was locked and she
could not open it.
Main clause: She had to get away . . .

Main clause: . . . the door was locked . . .
Main clause: . . . she could not open it.
Co-ordinating conjunctions: . . . but . . . and . . .
While she was trying to open the door, a light appeared at

the window and she screamed.
Main clause: . . . a light appeared at the

window . . .
Main clause: . . . she screamed.
Adverbial clause of time: . . . she was trying to open
the door . . .
Subordinating conjunction: While . . .

Omitting relative pronouns

Like the subjects of clauses, relative pronouns can also
sometimes be omitted. They are ‘understood’ so the sense is
not lost. Leaving out ‘that’ can often ‘tighten’ your writing.
I chose the book (that) you recommended.
Here is the article (that) I enjoyed.
‘That’ is unnecessary as both sentences can be understood

without it.
I chose the book you recommended.
Here is the article I enjoyed.
WRITING NON SENTENCES

There are occasions when properly constructed sentences
are not used. When writing dialogue or using very informal
language, the rules will sometimes be ignored although the
words must still make sense.
Newspapers often omit words to make their headlines more

eye-catching. Look at the following:
Murdered by her son

MP found guilty of fraud
Pile-up on the motorway
Miracle birth
All of these headlines make sense although words are

missing from the ‘sentences’. We also frequently ignore
grammatical rules when we talk. We also often use ‘non-
sentences’ when writing notices.
Speech
A pound of apples please.
No smoking
Got a pencil?
What a nuisance!
Notices
No smoking
Keep off the grass
Cycling prohibited
All of these make sense although they are not proper

sentences. They would not be used in formal writing.
Using ‘and’ and ‘but’

In his amusing book, The King’s English, Kingsley Amis
describes the idea that you may not start a sentence with
‘and’ or ‘but’ as an ‘empty superstition’. It is permissible to
start a sentence or even a paragraph with either of the two
co-ordinating conjunctions but they must not be overused in

this way or they lose their effect. They can be used for
emphasis or to suggest what is to follow later. But they must
not be used as the continuation of the previous sentence.
They should start a new idea but be used sparingly.
Examples using ‘and’
He walked to the bus stop. And waited half an hour for a

bus.
This is incorrect as the second sentence follows on from the

first. No full stop is needed between the two clauses.
He walked to the bus stop and waited half an hour for a

bus.
It was too cold and wet to go out. He was bored. And he

had finished his library book.
The ‘and’ at the beginning of the last sentence adds momen-

tum to the idea of the boredom. If the last two sentences
were joined, it would not be as effective.
Examples using ‘but’

‘But’ can be used in the same way. Remember not to use it
at the beginning of a sentence if it is a continuation of the
previous one.
She waited all day but her son did not come.
She waited all day. But her son did not come.
Either of the above examples would be acceptable although

the second one has a stronger emphasis.
At last he met her again. But he had waited many years.
Joining these two sentences with ‘but’ would not work and
some of the sense would be lost.
I hoped to play tennis but it rained all day.
This sentence is better using ‘but’ as a conjunction. Little

would be gained if ‘but’ started a second sentence.
ASSESSING THE MOOD

The mood refers to the particular attitude of the speaker or
writer contained in the content of the sentence. There are
three moods – the declarative mood, the interrogative mood
and the imperative mood.
Making use of the declarative mood

The declarative mood is used when you are making a state-
ment so this is the one you are likely to use most frequently.
Properly constructed sentences will be used.
The man entered the house but found it empty. There was
a chair overturned by the table and the window was open.
Utilising the interrogative mood

The interrogative mood, as its name suggests, is used for
asking questions so is more likely to be used when you are
writing dialogue.
‘Is there anyone there?’ he called. ‘Where are you?’
It is also sometimes effective within a narrative to create a

particular effect.
Using the imperative

The imperative is also more likely to be used in dialogue. It
is used for commands.
Come here.
Put out that cigarette.
Stop talking.
Go to bed.
All of these are sentences and follow the rules but the
subject, ‘you’ (second person – singular or plural) is under-
stood. The person being given the orders is ‘you’.
CHECKLIST
◆ Each sentence must contain at least one main clause.
◆ A simple sentence has only one main clause.
◆ A compound sentence contains two or more main

clauses.
◆ A complex sentence contains a mixture of main and

subordinate clauses.
◆ Don’t use commas to separate two main clauses.
◆ Vary your sentence structure.
◆ There are a variety of different clauses you can use.


1. Identify the phrases and clauses in the following
sentences.
(a) The match was cancelled because of the weather.

(b) We can go when you are ready.
(c) The policeman chased the thief, caught him, hand-
XXscuffed him and took him to the police station to
XXscharge him.
(d) Leaping out of the car, she dashed into the shop.
(e) Julie was doing her homework, Dan was laying the
XXstable, their father was reading the paper and their
XXsmother was preparing dinner.
2. Punctuate the following passage:
George leapt out of bed stubbing his toe on the chair that
was beside him hobbling to the window he stared gloomily
out it was raining perhaps it would brighten up later he
watched the milkman drive down the road he was late
sleepily he drifted into the bathroom to wash and shave he
cursed as he cut himself dabbing the blood with a piece of
cotton wool he wondered how he would perform at the
interview he must not be late

Colouring Your Writing
The remaining parts of speech can be used to enhance your

writing. Adjectives and Adverbs are modifiers. To modify
means to add a word to another word to increase, lessen or
change slightly its meaning.
DESCRIBING THE NOUNS

Adjectives are words which modify nouns or pronouns. A
noun by itself can be very stark. It also does not always
provide enough information. If you ask in a shop for
oranges, you do not need to describe them but if you need
help in buying a coat, you will have to give more informa-
tion. Adjectives will be required to describe it:
blue long red short thick thin
When writing, adjectives can add colour to your sentences

and enable you to paint a picture with words. They are
always related to a noun or pronoun and the most common
ones are those which describe some quality in a person or
thing.
Positioning your adjective

Adjectives can be placed before the noun, as in the following
sentences:
66
C O L O U R I N G Y O U R W R I T I N G / 67
She was wearing a blue dress.
They had a delicious meal.
The clever boy passed his exams.
Listing the adjectives

If there is a list of adjectives before the noun, separate them
with commas.
She was wearing a blue, flowered dress.
They had a huge, delicious meal.
The clever, little boy passed his exams.
You are a very naughty, disobedient, mischievous boy.
Ending the sentence

Adjectives can also be placed at the end of the sentence
following the verb.
Her essay was excellent.
The sky grew dark.
The leaves turned brown.
If there is a list of adjectives at the end of the clause,

remember that the last one must be preceded by ‘and’.
The lecturer was handsome, kind, gentle and good-

natured.
The book was readable, humorous and well-written.

COMPARING ADJECTIVES
Adjectives can be used to compare one thing with another
and to show varying degrees. Look at the following sentences.
Julie was tall.
Ben was taller.
Chris was the tallest.
In the first sentence ‘tall’ describes Julie. It is known as the

positive degree. In the second one, ‘taller’ compares the two
by implication and is known as the comparative degree.
‘Tallest’, the superlative degree, suggests that in the matter
of height, Chris is superior to the other two.
To form the comparative for most adjectives ‘er’ is added

while the superlative ends in ‘est’.
Positive Comparative Superlative

bright brighter brightest
cold colder coldest
dark darker darkest
fast faster fastest
few fewer fewest
happy happier happiest
hot hotter hottest
nice nicer nicest
pale paler palest
pretty prettier prettiest
quick quicker quickest
sad sadder saddest
short shorter shortest
small smaller smallest
thick thicker thickest
thin thinner thinnest
wide wider widest
If the adjective ends in a single consonant, remember to

double it before adding the ending.
If the adjective ends in ‘y’, remember to change it to an ‘i’

before adding ‘er’ or ‘est’.
The comparative compares two things only. Use the

superlative when more than two are involved.
Noting exceptions
Not all adjectives follow the pattern illustrated above. Some
words would be too clumsy to pronounce if ‘er’ or ‘est’ were
added. In this case ‘more’ is added before the positive form
for the comparative and ‘most’ for the superlative.

beautiful more beautiful most beautiful
benevolent more benevolent most benevolent
careful more careful most careful
energetic more energetic most energetic
evil more evil most evil
rapid more rapid most rapid
Sometimes the superlative is used for emphasis rather than

comparison.
It was most kind of you to invite me.
He is most particular about the creases in his trousers.
The child is most careful when she crosses the road.
With some comparatives and superlatives you have a choice.

You can add ‘er’ and ‘est’ or ‘more’ and ‘most’. Do not use
both!
lovely lovelier (more lovely) loveliest (most lovely)

clever cleverer (more clever) cleverest (most clever)
This rule has no exceptions. You either use one or the other.
Do not use more lovelier or most cleverest!
Some adjectives change the word for the comparative and

superlative.
Postive Comparative Superlative

bad worse worst
far farther (or further) farthest (or furthest)
good better best
little less least
much more most
Some adjectives because of their meaning stand alone and

the comparative and superlative forms cannot be used. Some
of these are:
perfect round square unique excellent
Using possessive adjectives

Don’t confuse possessive adjectives with possessive pro-
nouns which usually stand alone. Possessive adjectives
usually precede a noun. They are:
my your his her its our their
That is my book.
Where is your homework?
His behaviour was atrocious.

Her hair looks pretty.
Its fur was wet
This is our house.
Their daughters are visiting today.
Personal Pronoun Possessive Pronoun Possessive Adjective

I mine my
you yours your
he his his
she hers her
it its its
we ours our
they theirs their
None of the possessive pronouns have apostrophes.
Coping with the gerund

The possessive adjective should also be used before a gerund
(verbal noun) as in the following examples:
I hope you don’t mind my mentioning it.
‘Mentioning’ is the gerund and ‘my’ the possessive adjective

that modifies it.
His parents disapproved of his smoking.
‘Smoking’ is the gerund and ‘his’ the possessive adjective

that modifies it.
Noting the errors

Note that the object form is incorrect. The following
sentences are wrong.
I hope you don’t mind me mentioning it.
His parents disapproved of him smoking.
‘Me’ and ‘him’ are objects and cannot serve as adjectives.
Demonstrating with adjectives

Demonstrative adjectives are the same words as demonstra-
tive pronouns but they are always used before a noun, not
alone. They are:
this that these those
This book is very readable.
That pavilion has just been built.
These apples are very juicy.
Those flowers are beautiful.
‘This’ (singular) and ‘these’ (plural) are used for something

nearby. ‘That’ (singular) and ‘Those’ (plural) are used for
things at a distance.
Asking questions
Interrogative adjectives, which also precede a noun, are
used to ask questions and a question mark is placed at the
end.
Whose book is this?
Which coat do you prefer?
What town is this?

When are you going away?
Why have you told me?
Deciding on the quantity

Some adjectives can indicate the number or quantity. They
must precede a noun.
There were only ten players on their team.
There were many phone calls as a result of the advertise-

ment.
She won several matches.
They showed no interest in the house.
Have you any money?
There are some biscuits left in the tin.
Using ‘few’
‘Few’ is a strange word as it can be used in different ways.
I intend to take a few days off.
This indicates the number of days but not when and uses the
indefinite article ‘a’.
There are few telephones left in the sale.
This suggests there are hardly any telephones left and no

article is used.
The few days remaining she spent clearing her desk.

This indicates the particular days that are left and uses the
definite article ‘the’.
Using a noun as an adjective

Sometimes a noun is used as an adjective. You can tell which
part of speech it is because of its function in the sentence.
He climbed over the garden wall.
‘Garden’ is an adjective modifying wall.
She walked into the garden.
‘Garden’ is a noun.
I received twenty birthday cards.
‘Birthday’ is an adjective modifying ‘cards’.
It was my birthday yesterday.
‘Birthday’ is a noun.
They chose apple pie for dessert.
‘Apple’ is an adjective modifying ‘pie’.
Most of the apples fell off the tree.
‘Apples’ is a noun.
They wore summer dresses for the outing.
‘Summer’ is an adjective modifying ‘dresses’.
She bought new dresses for the summer.
‘Summer’ is a noun.
The girls disliked their school uniform.
‘School’ is an adjective modifying ‘uniform’.
Their school was burgled last week.
‘School’ is a noun.
Borrowing the present participle

The present participle which ends in ‘ing’ can also be used as
an adjective if it is placed before a noun to describe it.
The mother picked up the crying baby.
The child was frightened of the barking dog.
The plumber mended the dripping tap.
She stared sadly at the pouring rain.
Starting with capital letters

When forming an adjective from a proper noun always start
with a capital letter.
Proper Noun Adjective

Belgium Belgian
England English
France French
Spain Spanish
All adjectives relating to countries begin with a

capital letter.
Dutch Flemish
Adjectives should be used sparingly. Don’t litter your work

with them. Use them to enhance your writing. Never use
them to ‘pad’ your work. Some adjectives are grossly over-
worked. ‘Nice’, ‘good’, and ‘bad’ are examples. Find
synonyms (similar words) to replace them. If you can’t think
of one, use a thesaurus to help you. There will be more
about the thesaurus later.
HELPING YOUR VERBS

Adverbs are words that qualify or modify verbs, adjectives
or other adverbs. There are various types.
Ending words with ‘ly’

Adverbs of manner usually end in ‘ly’. They say how some-
thing is done. They are formed by adding ‘ly’ to an adjective
and they contribute to the meaning of the verb. The follow-
ing list gives you some examples.
Adjective Adverb
beautiful beautifully
brisk briskly
careful carefully
cold coldly
comfortable comfortably
immediate immediately
pretty prettily
quick quickly
slow slowly
stealthy stealthily
He walked quickly down the lane.
She writes beautifully.
Unsteadily she stood up.
If the adjective ends in ‘l’, you must still add ‘ly’ so there will
be a double ‘l’ at the end: beautiful – beautifully.
For adjectives that end in ‘le’ change the ‘e’ to a ‘y’:

comfortable comfortably
For adjectives that end in a consonant followed by ‘e’, simply

add ‘ly’: immediate immediately
Do not change the position of the ‘e’ to make the

ending ‘ley’!
COMPARING ADVERBS
Adverbs of manner can be compared in the same way as
adjectives. As most of them end in ‘ly’ the comparative will
usually have ‘more’ in front of it and the superlative will
have ‘most’ in front of it.

beautifully more beautifully most beautifully
brightly more brightly most brightly
carefully more carefully most carefully
Noting the exceptions:
badly worse worst

little less least
much more most
well better best
As with the adjectives, the superlative can also be used for

emphasis.
He drove most carefully.
The embroidery was done most skilfully.
Placing the adverbs

Adverbs can be placed at the beginning of a sentence, in the
middle or at the end.
Carefully, he placed the box on the table.
He placed the box carefully on the table.
He placed the box on the table carefully.
The last one is not as good as the other two. The placing of
the adverb will depend on the sentence.
Avoiding errors
‘Hopefully’ is often used incorrectly to replace the verb.
Hopefully I shall pass my exams.

This should be:
I hope I shall pass my exams.
or
It is hoped I shall pass my exams.
‘Hopefully’ is an adverb which should be used to modify a

verb.
The dog dug hopefully for the bone.
‘Regretfully’ and ‘thankfully’ are also used incorrectly.
Regretfully we shall not be able to attend your wedding.
This should be:
We regret we shall not be able to attend your wedding.
or
It is regretted that we shall not be able to attend your

wedding.
Thankfully we reached the shore before the storm broke.
This should be:
We were thankful that we reached the shore before the

storm broke.
Noting the exceptions

The following words end in ‘ly’ but they are adjectives:
friendly kindly leisurely lonely lovely
To make them into adverbs you should change the ‘y’ to an

‘i’ and then add ‘ly’.
friendlily kindlily leisurelily lonelily lovelily
The words are rather clumsy so they are rarely used and
today the adjective is often accepted as an adverb as well. It
is better to use another word or change your sentence so you
can use the adjective. Instead of:
The nurse behaved kindlily to the patient.

It would be better to say:
The nurse behaved in a kindly manner towards the

patient.
Here are two more examples;
She walked leisurelily through the woods.
She took a leisurely walk through the woods.
He gestured friendlily to his partner.
He made a friendly gesture towards his partner.
When adjectives ending in ‘ic’ are made into adverbs, ‘ally’ is

added instead of just ‘ly’.
ecstatic ecstatically enthusiastic enthusiastically

DEALING WITH OTHER ADVERBS

Adverbs can have several other functions.
Looking at the time

Adverbs of time say when something takes place. Look at
the following examples. The adverbs of time are under-
lined.
Robert went to London yesterday.
She arrived late for her interview.
The party is tomorrow.
The train will soon be here.
Then they entered the castle.
The match has now ended.
Then is an adverb of time. Do not use it as a

conjunction to join clauses! If you place it between
two clauses put and before it.
They locked the car and then went to the town.
not: They locked the car, then went to the town.
Finding the place

Adverbs of place say where something took place. All the
following sentences answer the question ‘where?’ The ad-
verbs of place are underlined.
The fog swirled around.
The play will take place there.
Here is your packed lunch.

We went abroad this year.
The golf player searched everywhere for his ball.
Asking a question
Interrogative adverbs ask a question and usually start the
sentence. They answer the questions: where? how? why?
when?
Where are you going?
How are you?
Why did you buy it?
When do you go on holiday?
Don’t forget to put a question mark at the end!
Some of the words used as adverbs can also be used as other

parts of speech depending on their use in the sentence.
Knowing the number and degree

Adverbs of number show how often an action takes place.
He scored twice.
The child was allowed to go on the roundabout once.
Adverbs of degree show the extent to which an action takes

place.
I quite like it.

The area had been completely devastated by the bomb.
You have had enough.
Modifying adjectives
Adverbs of degree can also modify adjectives.
In the following examples all the adverbs modify the adjec-

tive they precede.
It was extremely hot.
The adverb ‘extremely’ modifies the adjective ‘hot’.
He was very kind.
The adverb ‘very’ modifies the adjective ‘kind’.
She was terribly upset.
The adverb ‘terribly’ modifies the adjective ‘upset’.
He was too late for the wedding.
The adverb ‘too’ modifies the adjective ‘late’.
Modifying other adverbs

In the following examples the adverbs modify other adverbs.
Joan has worked fairly hard.
The adverb ‘fairly’ modifies the adverb ‘hard’.

The winner ran exceedingly fast.
The adverb ‘exceedingly’ modifies the adverb ‘fast’.
The ambulance came very quickly.
The adverb ‘very’ modifies the other adverb ‘quickly’.
Adverbs can also be used with adjectives to modify them.
I am extremely well, thank you.
The adverb ‘extremely’ modifies the adjective ‘well’.
Other adverbs used in this way are: too, much, more, how-
ever.
Classifying the adverbs

Some adverbs cannot be classified in the same way as those
above. Words like ‘yes’, ‘no’ and ‘not’ are sometimes classi-
fied as adverbs. So are words that suggest agreement or
uncertainty as in the following.
assuredly certainly maybe perhaps

probably surely
Certainly you can come with me.
Surely it’s going to be fine.
It’s probably going to rain.

‘Maybe’ and ‘perhaps’ have similar meanings. ‘Perhaps’ is

the more formal word. ‘Maybe’ can be used when writing in
a more colloquial style or in dialogue.
Sparing the adverbs

As with adjectives, some adverbs are used unnecessarily. By
their incessant use, they often lose their impact and even
their meaning can become obscured. Look at the following
examples.
He’s a terrifyingly good player.
‘Terrifyingly’ has connotations of terror but this sentence

debases the word. Why not replace both adverb and adjec-
tive with ‘excellent’?
He’s an excellent player.
What about the following?
She cooked a superbly delicious meal.
This is going ‘over the top’. Use the adjective ‘superb’ by

itself.
She cooked a superb meal.
The following are familiar expressions but in all of them the

adverb has lost its original meaning.
I’m frightfully sorry.

She’s awfully happy.
He’s terribly kind.
Using ‘only’
The word ‘only’ should be placed immediately before the
word or phrase it is intended to modify.
He only went to the Tower of London. (He went nowhere

else.)
Jeff is the only one allowed to visit her. (No one else can
go.)
She spoke only to her friends. (She spoke to no one else.)
Other words that follow a similar pattern are:
even mainly often quite rarely
It is quite ready.
Her garden is mainly grass.
She could not even write her name.
They rarely go out.
It often rains in August.
CHECKLIST
◆ Adjectives qualify or modify nouns or pronouns.
◆ Adjectives formed from a proper noun start with a

capital letter.
◆ Don’t confuse possessive pronouns and possessive

adjectives.
◆ Adverbs qualify or modify verbs, adjectives and other

adverbs.

1. Pick out the adjectives from the following passage.
It was a beautiful day; there was no sign of rain so Doreen

and Jack decided to go for a long walk along the cliff top.
Having sauntered along for two hours, they stopped at a
picturesque pub for a welcome coffee and some biscuits.
Their feet were very sore and they were glad to sit in the
attractive garden on the wooden benches overlooking the
small bay. The only sound was the distant roaring of the
sea and the crying of the gulls. It was so peaceful.
2. Identify the types of adverbs in the following passage.
Doreen looked dreamily over the bay. Jack was taking a

leisurely stroll to the cliff edge and she watched him lazily.
Carefully, she eased her feet out of her shoes and leant
back, sighing happily. She knew they would be too late for
tea if they did not soon move but she felt so content.
Butterflies floated around and she wondered why anyone
ever went abroad. Why not stay in this very beautiful
country? It had so much to offer.

Making Sense
of Punctuation
Punctuation, as we have already seen, is vitally important.

Words must be broken up into sentences so they make sense
and each word must be chosen carefully. As well as commas
and full stops, there are five other punctuation marks that
can be used to vary your work.
EXPERIMENTING WITH THE SEMICOLON

The semicolon was first recorded in England in 1644. You
will sometimes find it spelt with a hyphen but as both the
Oxford Dictionary and Fowler, the acknowledged authority
on English, write it as one word, that is assumed to be correct!
It can be used to separate sentences when you don’t wish to
use a full stop. Usually the sentence following a semicolon is
closely linked to the previous one. Both sentences must
contain a main clause. They must make complete sense on
their own. There is no capital letter after a semicolon.
He looked up at the sky; dark clouds indicated a storm.
In the preceding example two simple sentences have been

separated by a semicolon. A full stop could have been used
instead.
88
M A K I N G S E N S E O F P U N C T U A T I O N / 89
He looked up at the sky. Dark clouds indicated a storm.
You could also link the two clauses by a conjunction.
He looked up at the sky where dark clouds indicated a

storm.
Do not use a comma instead of a semicolon.
Making use of the semicolon

You can use more than one semicolon in a sentence. In this
case the sentences will follow naturally on from one another.
She opened the door; the room had been ransacked;

clothes and papers were everywhere; the window was
broken.
You can also use a semicolon if the second clause empha-

sises the previous one.
Jack won a medal for bravery; it was presented by the

Queen.
A conjunction could have been used to join the statements

but the second one would then have lost some of its power.
Jack won a medal for bravery which was presented by the

Queen.
Emphasising a contrast
If you wish to emphasise a contrast, you could also use a
semicolon.
Claire passed the test with flying colours; Laura failed.
‘Laura failed’ stands in stark contrast to the previous

sentence.
There is no reason why complex sentences should not also

use semicolons.
Because it was raining, they stayed indoors; they played

Scrabble.
The first section contains a subordinate clause followed by a

main clause. The second one contains only a main clause.
Varying your sentences

Using a semicolon can provide variety in your writing. You
have a range of possible sentence patterns. Vary the length
of your sentences. Don’t make them too long. A simple
sentence can be effective if it follows a series of complex
ones. Sometimes a number of short sentences can be used to
build up suspense in a story. If you use complex sentences,
make sure they are constructed correctly.
You can also use a semicolon to separate a list of items when

these contain commas. In this case clauses are not used.
Those present at the conference were the Chairman of the

Governors, Mr Ken Regan; the Headmistress, Ms Judith
Ray; the Deputy, Mr John Smith; two members of staff,
Mrs Kay Winter and Mr Tom King.
Commas only, could have been used provided the last one
was preceded by ‘and’. However, as each name is rather
long, it is better to break up the sentence with semicolons.
USING THE COLON

The colon was adopted into the English language in the
sixteenth century. It is not one of the most frequently used
punctuation marks. Like the semicolon, it is not followed by
a capital letter. It has several purposes.
◆ To introduce examples expanding the previous sentence.
It had not rained for months: the ground was dry, the
animals were dying and there was nothing to harvest.
◆ To introduce a list.
The following items were put into the auction: a Victorian

gilt mirror, a Constable painting, an Edwardian chair and
a tapestry needlecase.
◆ To emphasise two main clauses.
To err is human: to forgive, divine (the finite verb ‘is’ is

understood).
◆ To reinforce the previous sentence.
I have no sense of direction: I always get lost when I visit a

new town.
DISCOVERING THE DASH

The dash is often overworked today. If it is used too much, it
loses its effect. Use it sparingly and never use it instead of a

comma or full stop. It can be used for emphasis but not too
frequently.
Use it in the middle of a sentence to separate your additional

words: a dash should go either side of them.
I saw – or thought I saw – a white figure disappearing into

the woods.
A single dash can be used between two clauses to reinforce

the first one.
Your spelling is weak – you must learn the basic rules.
LOOKING AT BRACKETS
Round brackets can sometimes be used instead of dashes to
insert an extra idea into a sentence. Like dashes, they should
be used sparingly.
The Millennium Dome (in spite of all the problems) was

completed on time.
Both dashes and brackets can usually be replaced by com-

mas if they are in the middle of a sentence.
I saw, or thought I saw, a white figure disappearing into

the woods.
The Millennium Dome, in spite of all the problems, was

completed on time.
Square brackets are used when words within a quotation are

not part of the original material.
The lecturer stated, ‘I consider this play [Hamlet] to be

Shakespeare’s greatest.’
Explaining parentheses
Extra ideas that are inserted in this way to expand the
sentence are known as parentheses. If said aloud, they are
spoken in a lower tone and there is a pause either side of
them. They resemble ‘throwaway’ lines.
Do not use parentheses too frequently or they will lose their

impact. They will interrupt the ‘flow’ of your work and
irritate your reader. Used sparingly, they are effective but
usually it is better to rework them into the main structure of
your sentence. Think carefully before you use them and
make sure they are used correctly and add something to your
sentence.
REMEMBERING THE QUESTION MARK

A question mark is always placed at the end of a question.
Do remember it. So many people forget to include it. If you
have used a question mark, you do not require a full stop as
well.
Where are you?
It’s not raining, is it?
If you are reporting a question that someone else has said,

you do not need a question mark.
She asked if I had change for a pound.
However, if the actual question she asked is used, a question

mark is required.
‘Do you have change for a pound?’ she asked.
Notice that the question mark goes inside the inverted com-
mas. There will be more about dialogue in Chapter 7.
Single words that ask a question are also followed by a

question mark.
How? Why? When? Where? Who? What?
AVOIDING THE EXCLAMATION MARK

Like the dash, the exclamation mark should be used rarely if
it is not to lose its effect. Do not use it for emphasis. Your
choice of words should convey this. If a speaker exclaims, an
exclamation mark should be used after the words.
‘Don’t touch me!’ she exclaimed.
The word ‘exclaimed’ does not have to be used. It can be

suggested, as in the following sentence:
‘They’ve won!’ she shouted.
An exclamation mark can also be used to indicate an

element of irony. The speaker or writer is commenting with
‘tongue in cheek’.
He was given a new bike for Christmas. Now he’s set to

win the Olympics!
You must not use a full stop as well as an exclamation mark.

Neither is it correct to use several exclamation marks for
emphasis. Use them rarely or they will lose their effect.
CHECKLIST
◆ A semicolon can separate main clauses.
◆ Do not use a comma instead of a semicolon or full stop.
◆ Do not use a capital letter after a semicolon or a colon.
◆ Don’t forget the question mark after a question.
◆ Don’t overuse the exclamation mark.

Punctuate the following passage:
David flung open the office door and sat down at his desk
he had a great deal to do would he complete the report
in time he knew he should not have left it till the last
moment switching on the computer he keyed in the pass-
word and started to list the items to be included the state-
ment from the assessors the secretary’s report the year’s
accounts and the government recommendations crash he
started what was that rushing to the window he looked out
two men or was it more were running across the road.

Handling Apostrophes
and Abbreviations
Apostrophes have two purposes. They can be used to show

possession or to indicate the omission of a letter or letters.
SHOWING POSSESSION
When a noun has something belonging to it, an apostrophe is
placed at the end of the word and the ‘possession’ follows.
When a singular noun shows possession, the apostrophe is
put at the end of the word and an ‘s’ is added.
The horse’s coat shone.
Clive’s cricket ball broke the window.
The dog tore the child’s coat.
The apostrophe comes before the ‘s’ when singular.
Coping with the ‘s’

If there is already an ‘s’ at the end of the word, the rule still
applies. Some words end in double ‘s’.
The princess’s gown was the most beautiful at the ball.
The witness’s evidence was false.
96
H A N D L I N G A P O S T R O P H E S A N D A B B R E V I A T I O N S / 97
In some cases, particularly in names, the extra ‘s’ can be

omitted when there is a single ‘s’ at the end of the word.
His Achilles’ tendon was torn.
His father mended James’ toy engine.
Some of Dickens’ novels have been televised.
Making a plural noun possessive

To make a noun plural, you usually have to add an ‘s’.
Because the ‘s’ is already there, you do not need to add one
when putting in the apostrophe. Put the apostrophe after
the ‘s’.
The ladies’ cloakroom was closed for renovation.
The boys’ playground was flooded.
Put the apostrophe after the ‘s’ when plural.
Remembering to add ‘es’

Don’t forget to add ‘es’ if the word ends in double ‘s’.
The duchesses’ hats were spectacular.
The waitresses’ aprons were dirty.
Do not use an apostrophe merely because the noun

is plural; for example, ‘potatoes’ for sale’ is
incorrect.
There are a number of words which do not add an ‘s’ for the
plural. In some cases the word is changed.
Examples
Singular Plural
child children
foot feet
goose geese
man men
mouse mice
tooth teeth
woman women
Words that do not end in ‘s’ to make the plural are treated
the same as singular nouns when they are made possessive.
The apostrophe follows the word and an ‘s’ is added.
The children’s adventure playground proved very popular.
The mice’s tails looked like rubber tubes.
The men’s golf tournament was cancelled.
The women’s lunch was held at a luxurious hotel.
If there are two nouns indicating ownership of one thing, the

apostrophe will be placed after the second noun.
Chris and Daniel’s boat is moored at Bosham.
Using time
Apostrophes are also needed in the following examples:
She was given a week’s notice.
They had two months’ holiday.

ABBREVIATING WORDS
When writing in a formal style, do not abbreviate words
unless you are using dialogue.
Omitting letters
If you omit letters from a word to abbreviate it, put an
apostrophe in place of the letters.
Cannot Can’t
Could have Could’ve
Do not Don’t
It has It’s
It is It’s
‘Its’ possessive has no apostrophe.

It’s = it is or it has
The abbreviation for ‘have’ is ‘ve’ not ‘of’.
Could’ve = could have Might’ve = might have
Shortening a word
If a word is shortened and therefore the missing letters are at
the end of the word, a full stop is used to indicate this:
abbreviation abbr.
adjective adj.
adverb adv.
document doc.
etcetera etc.
information info.
language lang.
The names of counties are also shortened and require full

stops. They always start with capital letters.
Berkshire Berks.
Buckinghamshire Bucks.
Gloucestershire Glos.
Lincolnshire Lincs.
Nottinghamshire Notts.
Staffordshire Staffs.
Counties that have their own abbreviations also require full

stops.
Hampshire Hants.
Oxfordshire Oxon.
If you write the initials of a person’s name before the sur-

name, separate them with a full stop.
B.J. Brown M.R. Moss V.A. Thomas
However, it is becoming increasingly common to omit the

full stop particularly when typing the name.
Titles can be abbreviated if they are followed by the person’s

full name and a full stop is then used. The abbreviation
should not be used if only the surname follows it.
Capt. Kenneth Smythe or Captain Smythe not Capt.

Smythe
Prof. Ian Blythe or Professor Blythe not Prof. Blythe
Rev. Anthony Harris or Reverend Harris not Rev. Harris
HANDLING CONTRACTIONS
Contractions are when the abbreviation is created by using
the first and last letters of the original word. A full stop at
the end is not required.
Doctor Dr Mister Mr
Mistress Mrs Road Rd
Saint St Street St
No full stop is required after a contraction.
USING INITIAL LETTERS

The names of many groups and organisations are now better
known by the initial letters of their names. No full stop
between the letters is required.
BA Bachelor of Arts
BBC British Broadcasting Corporation
BC Before Christ
MP Member of Parliament
RAF Royal Air Force
USA United States of America
LEARNING ACRONYMS
Other initial letters can be pronounced as words. These
are known as acronyms. It is becoming so common to use
acronyms that we often forget what the letters stand for. No
full stops are needed between the letters. Here are some
examples:
AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

ASH Action on Smoking and Health
LAMDA London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
RADA Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
UNICEF United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund
VAT Value Added Tax
CHECKLIST
◆ An apostrophe is used to show possession or when letters
are omitted.
◆ The apostrophe goes before the ‘s’ when the noun is

singular.
◆ The apostrophe goes after the ‘s’ when the noun is plural.
◆ Do not use full stops after contractions.
◆ An acronym is a word formed from the initial letters of

other words.

Put apostrophes where necessary in the following passage.
You may have to correct some words.
Johns parents were going on a weeks holiday. While they

were away, he would stay at his grandparents house. He
hoped theyd take him to the childrens adventure play-
ground. He would go on lots of rides. His mothers dog
would be put in the kennels while they were away. His
friends family was going on a months holiday to America.
John had been very envious of Bens new suitcase.
His parents and Bens parents took the two boys out for
a meal before they left. John noticed that the waitress
stockings were laddered. He didnt like some of the food
on the menu but eventually decided on the ‘chefs special’.
He would of liked a hamburger but it was not available.

Writing Dialogue
Within a short story, a novel or even a biography, dialogue

can be written either as direct speech or as indirect speech.
SETTING OUT DIRECT SPEECH

Direct speech is the actual words that are said by a character.
They are enclosed in inverted commas and there are rules to
be followed:
◆ When a person starts to speak, always begin a new para-

graph.
◆ The paragraph begins at the beginning of the sentence in

which the speech occurs.
◆ The first word of a person’s speech always starts with a

capital letter.
◆ Always put a punctuation mark before closing the

inverted commas.
◆ A comma is usually used to separate the speech from

words before or after it.
◆ Use a full stop if no words follow the speech.
103
◆ The punctuation mark always goes inside the inverted

commas.
Looking at examples
‘I don’t want to go,’ she said.
He replied, ‘It is important.’
Notice the commas before ‘she’ and after ‘replied’ and the
full stop after ‘important’. If a question is asked, a question
mark replaces the comma. You do not need both punctua-
tion marks.
‘Are you going to London?’ she asked.
There must always be a punctuation mark before

the inverted commas are closed.
Sometimes the sentence is broken in the middle by ‘she said’

or something similar. In this case the punctuation is a little
more complicated. If the speech is broken in the middle of a
sentence, a comma follows the extra words.
‘I know,’ Esther remarked, ‘where the treasure is hidden.’
There is a comma after ‘remarked’ because Esther has not

completed her sentence. However, if the sentence is com-
pleted but the speaker continues to speak, a full stop is
needed.
W R I T I N G D I A L O G U E / 105
‘I know where the treasure is hidden,’ remarked Esther.

‘It’s beneath the apple tree in Bingham’s Wood.’
Here, two separate sentences have been interrupted by

‘remarked Esther’. The full stop could not have been placed
after ‘hidden’ so it comes after ‘Esther’. If a speaker speaks
for several sentences, close the inverted commas at the end
of the speech. Do not close them at the end of each sentence.
Addressing a character
Commas are also used when someone is addressed by name.
Depending on the position of it, the comma goes before or
after the name.
‘John, come here,’ said the teacher.
‘Come here, John,’ said the teacher.
Asking a question
A comma is also used before the following phrases at the
end of a sentence:
didn’t you? won’t it? hasn’t he? don’t you? didn’t she? etc.
It won’t rain, will it?
She hasn’t got a coat, has she?
Sometimes this type of question is rhetorical. That means it

does not require an answer.
Having a duologue
If there are only two speakers, it is not always necessary to
identify them after each speech. Each person’s speech is one
paragraph even if it is only a single word. When the speech is

finished, start a new paragraph when you return to the
narrative.
‘Laura’s coming to dinner,’ announced Helen.

‘Why did you invite her?’ demanded her husband. ‘You
know I can’t stand her.’
‘She took me out for lunch so I wanted to repay her
invitation. You don’t really mind, do you?’
‘Is anyone else coming?’
‘No.’
‘I think I’ll go to the pub,’ remarked Jerry. ‘Two’s com-
pany. Three’s a crowd.’
‘Oh please, Jerry,’ pleaded Helen, ‘don’t go. She’ll think it
so strange.’
‘Too bad.’
‘Don’t be late, will you?’
He headed for the door and slammed it behind him. Helen
burst into tears.
Speaking in paragraphs
If, for some reason, a character is speaking for a long time, the
words will have to be broken up into paragraphs. Perhaps a
story is being told. It might continue for several pages. In this
case put inverted commas at the beginning of each paragraph
but do not close them until the person has finished speaking.
USING QUOTATIONS
If quotations are used, these are placed within inverted
commas. However, when typing, quotations can be shown in
italics.
Quoting within a speech

Occasionally a quotation may be incorporated within the
direct speech. This will also need inverted commas to
separate it from the main body of the speech. You can use
either single or double inverted commas to enclose direct
speech. If you have used single ones, use double ones for
your quotation or vice versa. If the quotation comes at
the end of the speech, put the punctuation mark after the
‘quotation marks’ and then close the inverted commas.
Harry asked, ‘Who said, ‘‘Greater love has no man than

this that a man lay down his life for his friends’’?’
Harry is asking a question so the question mark goes after

the quotation and then the inverted commas are closed.
USING TITLES
You will also need inverted commas when writing the titles
of books, plays, films, etc. Italics are usually used when the
work is printed.
Shakespeare’s play ‘Hamlet’ is one of the greatest plays

ever written.
If a title is used within direct speech, the same rules apply as

for quotations.
‘I’m going to see the film ‘‘Shakespeare in Love’’,’

announced Julie.
‘‘For GCSE we’re studying ‘Romeo and Juliet’, ‘Far from

the Madding Crowd’ and ‘Anthology of War Poems’,’’
Peter told his mother.
Notice that each title is enclosed in inverted commas. In the

first example single inverted commas have been used for
the direct speech and double for the title. In the second
example it is the other way round. Nowadays publishers
usually use single inverted commas for direct speech and
quotations and titles apear in italics.
CHANGING TO INDIRECT SPEECH

Sometimes you may wish to ‘report’ what someone has said
rather than quote the actual words. This is called indirect
speech or ‘reported speech’ and no inverted commas are
needed. In the following example the direct speech has been
changed to indirect.
Direct speech: ‘I am going to London,’ she said.
Indirect speech: She said that she was going to London.
The conjunction ‘that’ has been added and the first person ‘I’
has been changed to the third person ‘she’. All pronouns and
possessive adjectives must also be changed into the third
person when writing indirect speech. The tense has been
changed from the present to the past.
In all cases of indirect speech there must be a ‘saying’ verb

followed by ‘that’. (Sometimes ‘that’ can be omitted and
‘understood’.) The tense of the ‘saying’ verb determines the
tense of the verbs that follow it. In the previous example
‘said’ is the past tense so the past tense is used in ‘was going’
and ‘said’. Look at the following examples:
Ben Williams reports from Brussels that the European

Parliament is now sitting.
The government announced that the crisis was over.
The sales force reports that business is booming.
Because indirect speech is not so ‘immediate’ as direct

speech, some words also need to be changed:
here becomes there

this becomes that
these becomes those
today becomes that day
tomorrow becomes the following day
yesterday becomes the previous day
‘I’ve been here before,’ he said.
He said that he had been there before.
‘Did you go out yesterday, Sally?’ asked John.
John asked Sally if she had gone out the previous day.
‘We’ll go to the Zoo tomorrow,’ he told his son.
He told his son (that) they would go to the Zoo the

following day.
The word ‘that’ could be omitted so it is ‘understood’; ‘he told

his son’ has been moved to the beginning of the sentence.
WRITING A PLAY
Inverted commas are not required when writing a play. Stage
directions are shown in italics or brackets. The characters’
names are followed by a colon. When one character leaves
the stage, the stage direction is ‘Exit’. When two or more
characters leave the stage, use the plural form ‘Exeunt’.
(Enter Helen and David. He is carrying a tray of tea.)
Helen: Put the tray on the table, please.
David: (Puts tray on table) Do you want me to pour?
Helen: No, it’s all right. I’ll wait till Betty comes in.
David: Shall I call her?
Helen: No thank you. She said she had to finish a letter.

She’ll be here soon.
CHECKLIST
◆ Direct speech is enclosed in inverted commas.
◆ Always put a punctuation mark before closing the

inverted commas.
◆ A new paragraph is used for each speaker.
◆ No inverted commas are used for indirect speech.
◆ Put a colon after the character when writing a play and

do not use inverted commas.

1. Correct the following passage:
Alan stared at his wife in dismay are you sure your

pregnant he asked of course Im sure she replied crossly
but we agreed we couldnt afford a baby yet did you forget
to take the pill I suppose I must have done what are we
going to do about it he queried there’s nothing we can do
of course there is I wont have an abortion if thats what
you mean I might of agreed once but not now but how can
we afford to keep a child he said in exasperation we hardly
afford to keep ourselves dont be so ridiculous Kate scoffed
Im going to read the pamphlet the doctor gave me its
called Baby Care she left the room before he could reply.
2. Set out the above passage in play form.

Avoiding Common
Mistakes
It is important always to check your work to make sure you

have not made any careless mistakes.
REVISING YOUR PUNCTUATION

Always check that your punctuation is correct. Make sure
you have not used commas instead of full stops. If you are in
doubt, always use a full stop or a semicolon. If you do this,
you are less likely to make a mistake. Remember that each
sentence must contain at least one main clause. A main
clause consists of the subject and a finite verb. There may be
additional words but they are optional. Don’t forget to put a
question mark at the end of a question.
MAKING NOUNS AND VERBS AGREE

If a noun is singular, it must be followed by the singular form
of the verb. Remember that collective nouns are singular
although they refer to a number of people or objects. It is a
common mistake to use the plural form of the verb with
some collective nouns. ‘Government’ is a singular noun so
the singular form of the verb should be used with it.
112
A V O I D I N G C O M M O N M I S T A K E S / 113
The government is planning to hold a referendum.
The team was playing very well.
The following words are also singular:
each everyone everything nobody someone
Everyone is here.
Each of you has three questions to answer.
Everything is ready.
Has nobody come?
Someone has done this.
Looking at more examples

‘Either . . . or’ and ‘neither . . . nor’ are also followed by the
singular form of the verb if the nouns are singular.
Either you or your partner was given the manuscript.
Neither Jane nor Peter was allowed to go on the trip.
However if the nouns are plural, the plural form will be

used.
Neither his employers nor his colleagues are willing to

support him.
If two nouns are used before a verb, the following verb will
be plural.
Jack and Mary are moving house.

If ‘Jack and Mary’ were replaced by the pronoun ‘they’, the

plural form of the verb would automatically be used. If you
are in doubt, replace the nouns with a pronoun to find the
correct form of the verb.
Adding a phrase
Sometimes a singular noun is followed by a phrase which
contains a plural noun. In this case the verb is connected to
the singular noun and will therefore be singular.
The award winning athlete, with all his team mates, was
invited to Berlin.
‘Athlete’ is singular so it is followed by the singular form of

the verb, ‘was invited’. If both nouns had been incorporated
into a noun phrase as the subject of the sentence, the plural
form of the verb would have been used.
The award winning athlete and all his team mates were
invited to Berlin.
‘The award winning athlete and all his team mates’ is a noun
phrase acting as the subject of the sentence. It is plural so the
plural form of the verb follows.
Looking at exceptions
There are some expressions which contain two nouns
so closely linked with each other that they are almost in-
separable. Because of this, it has become acceptable to use
the singular form of the verb. Most of them seem to be
involved with food!
Your fish and chips is on the table.
Salt and pepper seasons food.
A roll and butter goes together.
Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding is a traditional Sunday

meal.
Bread and butter was handed round.
There is a needle and thread in my workbasket.
Using ‘of’
If a singular noun is followed by ‘of’ and a plural noun, the
singular verb is used. It is the singular noun that is related to
the verb. In the following examples the singular noun and
the verb are both underlined.
There is a pile of plates on the table.
That pair of socks belongs to Dan.
The collection of papers has blown out of the window.
His pocketful of coins was jingling.
A pound of pears is very expensive.
USING PRONOUNS CORRECTLY

There is often confusion when two pronouns or a noun and a
pronoun are used at the beginning or end of a sentence or
clause. When a pronoun is used as an object, its form is
different from its use as the subject of the sentence.
Subject Object
I me
you you
he, she, it him, her, it
we us
they them
Peter and I are going shopping.
There are two subjects in this sentence – ‘Peter’ and ‘I’. If

you remove ‘Peter’, you will know that ‘I’ is the correct
pronoun. It would not be:
Peter and me are going shopping.
You would not say, ‘Me is going shopping.’
However if the pronoun is used as an object, it is different.
The audience liked my partner and me.
‘My partner and me’ are the objects of the sentence so in this
case the pronoun is ‘me’. Remove ‘my partner’ and you will
realise why. You would not say: The audience liked I.
Other examples:
The teacher praised him for his project. (object)
He was praised for his project. (subject)
I gave her some sweets. (object)
She gave me some sweets. (object)

The problem usually arises when there are two subjects or

two objects. To check you have the correct word, remove
one of them to see if the remaining one sounds right.
AVOIDING TAUTOLOGIES
A tautology is when the same thing is said twice in different
ways. ‘Tauto’ is Greek for ‘the same’. Tautologies should be
avoided as they are unnecessary. Your writing should be
clear and you should not need to repeat yourself. If you
think carefully about what you wish to say, you will avoid
using superfluous words. They will spoil your writing. It is so
easy to add an extra adjective for emphasis when all you are
doing is repeating yourself.
Looking at examples
She picked up the tiny, little baby.
‘Tiny’ and ‘little’ mean the same thing. You don’t need both.
She cried tears.
Of course she did! We use tautologies often when speaking

but the spoken word and the written word are different.
When you write, think about your words first and then edit
them to get the best sentence. How often have you heard the
following expressions?
First and foremost
Each and every one

They are tautologies. One of the words is sufficient. Equally

absurd are the following:
A round circle A circle is, of course, round.
An unexpected surprise. A surprise has to be unexpected.
An old antique picture. You can hardly have a new

antique!
A three-cornered Of course a triangle is

triangle. three-cornered.
Looking back in ‘Looking back’ is the same as

retrospect. ‘in retrospect’.
Future outlook. An outlook always looks to the

future.
New innovation. An innovation is new.
Final completion. A completion has to be final.
Look at the following sentences and note the obvious tau-

tologies:
The first chapter started the book.
The students received the prizes one after the other in

succession.
The applause was deafening as every member of the

audience clapped loudly.
AVOIDING MALAPROPISMS
In Sheridan’s play The Rivals his character, Mrs Malaprop,
loved the sound of long words. Unfortunately she was never
sure of their meaning and consequently often used the wrong
one. She has given her name to the misuse of words.
A malapropism is a word that is used in mistake for one that

sounds similar. It usually results in nonsense and Sheridan
used it to great effect in his comedy. In the following extract
Mrs Malaprop describes the education she would give her
daughter if she had one.
She should have a supercilious (superficial) knowledge of

accounts. I would have her instructed in geometry
(geography) that she might learn something of the
contagious (contiguous) countries . . . and that she might
reprehend (comprehend) the true meaning of what she is
saying. This . . . is what I would have a woman know and I
don’t think there is a superstitious (superfluous) article in
it.
Don’t fall into the same trap as Mrs Malaprop!

Check your words in the dictionary.
Avoiding confusion
The two words ‘comprise’ and ‘compose’ are often confused.
The verb ‘comprise’ requires a complement to follow it.
His library comprises a collection of rare books and manu-

scripts.
The verb ‘composed’ is usually followed by the preposition

‘of’.
His library is composed of rare books and manuscripts.

Following is a list of other words which are often confused.
already (before a time) all ready (everything prepared)

altogether (on the whole) all together (everyone together)
always (at all times) all ways (every way)
amiable (friendly – person) amicable (pleasant – thing)
anyone (any person) any one (any particular thing)
complement (thing that compliment (flattering comment)
completes)
council (body of people) counsel (to advise someone)
disinterested (impartial) uninterested (not interested)
ensure (make sure) assure (give confidence) insure
(guarantee)
especially (in particular) specially (for a special purpose)
everyone (all – people) every one (each thing)
fictional (made up story or fictitious (untrue)
person)
historic (something of note) historical (relating to history)
practise (verb) practice (noun)
principal (head of college) principle (a moral precept)
prophecy (noun) prophesy (verb)
stationary (not moving) stationery (paper etc.)
wander (to walk around) wonder (to think about)
CHECKING HOMOPHONES
Homophones are words that sound the same as other words
but mean something different and are spelt differently. It is
very easy to use the wrong one so do make sure you are
correct. Some of the most common are:
there their they’re
There (place) is our house.
Their (possessive) luggage is in the coach.
They’re (they are) going on a cruise.

here hear
Here (place) is your tea.
I can’t hear (verb) you.
allowed aloud
He was allowed (verb) to stay up late.
She spoke aloud (adverb).
to two too
I am going to (preposition) London.
They have two (number) dogs.
It is too (qualifying adverb) hot.
your you’re
Take your (possessive) lunch with you.
You’re (you are) looking very pretty.
Although the pronunciation of off and of is not identical, the

two words are often confused.
He took off (part of the verb: ‘to take off’) his hat.
This is part of (preposition) the document.
To use off and of together is incorrect.
She fell off of her horse.

This should be:
She fell off her horse.
COPING WITH HOMONYMS

Homonyms are words that have the same spelling but may
be pronounced differently and have different meanings.
bow (noun) a tied ribbon or part of a violin.

bow (verb or noun) To incline the head
refuse (noun) rubbish

refuse (verb) to show obstinacy
row (noun) a line or an argument

row (verb) to argue angrily
CHECKING YOUR SPELLING

English spelling is not easy because although there are some
rules, these are often broken. It is very important therefore
to use a dictionary if you are unsure of a word. Check the
spelling and the meaning.
Using the Spell Check

The Spell Check on your word processor won’t pick up
malapropisms or homophones. It will only tell you if words
are spelt incorrectly. It is a useful tool but it is necessary to
read over your work as well and check any words you are
not sure about.
CORRECTING COMMON MISTAKES

Following is a list of common mistakes:
◆ It’s = it is or it has.
◆ Its possessive does not have an apostrophe.
◆ The ending for an adverb of manner is ‘ly’ not ‘ley’.
◆ ‘All right’ is the correct spelling. Not alright.
◆ ‘On to’ is two words not one.
◆ Use ‘try to’ not ‘try and’.
◆ Use ‘while’ not ‘whilst’.
◆ ‘A lot’ is two words.
◆ ‘In front’ is two words.
◆ Do not modify the following words. They stand alone:
excellent perfect round square

triangular unique
Looking at other common mistakes

‘Also’, ‘then’ and ‘like’ are not conjunctions. Put ‘and’ before
‘also’ and ‘then’ in the middle of a sentence.
She went to Paris and also to Bruges.
I did my shopping and then had lunch.
Do not use ‘like’ as a conjunction. Use ‘as if’ or ‘as though’.

It looks as if it will be sunny.
not
It looks like it will be sunny.
‘Like’ should be followed by an object (noun or pronoun).
Pat looked like her mother.
Remember to use ‘different from’ not ‘different to’ or ‘differ-

ent than’.
The job was different from any of my previous posts.
It should be ‘bored with’ or ‘bored by’ not ‘bored of’.
I am bored with this book.
He was bored by the lecture.
The same applies to the colloquial ‘fed up’. It should be ‘fed

up with’ not ‘fed up of’.
I am fed up with this weather.
not
I am fed up of this weather.
Using less and fewer

The word ‘less’ is often incorrectly used when it should be
‘fewer’. ‘Less’ refers to a measured quantity. ‘Fewer’ refers
to something that is counted.
There should be less sugar in that recipe.
This year there are fewer teachers at the school.
Using the possessive form

‘Theirs’ and ‘yours’ never require an apostrophe. They are
possessive pronouns.
That house is theirs.
This book is yours.
Giving a reason
A sentence containing the words ‘the reason being’ is wrong.
You do not need to include the word ‘being’.
We are sorry to be late. The reason (being) is that we had

an accident.
You could, of course, condense the sentence to:
We are late because we had an accident.
or
The reason we are late is that we had an accident.
In some cases ‘because’ could be replaced by ‘that’.
The reason he was tired was because he had been driving

all day.
This could be:

The reason he was tired was that he had been driving all
day.
or
He was tired because he had been driving all day.
Frequently the word ‘reason’ is superfluous. It is ‘under-

stood’ through the sense of the sentence.
Avoiding double negatives

I have not got no books.
This means you have got some books. The ‘not’ cancels out
the ‘no’. It should be:
I have not got any books.
or
I have got no books.
The double negative can be used for effect but it should be

used sparingly or it will lose its effect.
He was not unkind to her but he showed a lack of care.
This would not have been so effective without the double

negative.
It was no little achievement to win the gold medal.
This would have been just as effective as:
It was a great achievement to win the gold medal.

CHECKLIST
◆ Make sure your nouns and verbs agree.
◆ Avoid tautologies and malapropisms.
◆ Avoid double negatives.
◆ Check your work carefully.

Correct and punctuate the following passage:
The government are planning a referendum about a

common currency neither the labour nor the conservative
party have spoken a great deal about it as their have been
alot of other events to occupy there time recently
they have been to busy too talk to their constituents about
it many MPs have been abroad and each and everyone
have been on holiday from westminster when they return
it is hoped they will here what the people are saying
parliament is very different to the parliament of too
hundred years ago today it comprises of both men and
women peers and they will attend the opening of
parliament in november they have to be present they
cannot give no reasons for not attending.

Improving Your Style
You have now been shown how to vary your sentence

construction. Your sentences should be organised into
paragraphs and you must plan your work before you start
writing. Decide what is to go into each paragraph.
STRUCTURING A PARAGRAPH
A paragraph consists of several sentences dealing with one
topic. Your work should always be broken up into para-
graphs. If it is one long piece with no paragraphs, it will be
very difficult to read. Each paragraph should be indented so
that the reader is aware you are starting afresh. (For typed
letters and single spaced typing a space can be left between
the paragraphs instead of indenting. However, this should
not be done in hand-written work.)
Each paragraph should be related in some way to the one

before it and the one after it.
Planning the topic sentence

The topic sentence is the main sentence in the paragraph.
The other sentences expand on it. Its positioning in the
sentence can vary. In the following example it comes at
the beginning and the rest of the sentences tell you more
about it.
128
I M P P R O V I N G Y O U R S T Y L E / 129
Starting the paragraph

Kate sat dejectedly in the airport lounge and stared
around her. Two teenagers were chattering excitedly
about their proposed holiday. A mother was tearfully
bidding good-bye to her daughter while her husband stood
beside her. A small boy was zooming around making loud
aeroplane noises. All of them seemed to have purpose in
their lives except her.
The topic sentence which starts the paragraph sets the scene
and we are then told more detail in the following sentences.
The last one leads naturally on to the following paragraph
which will explain why Kate is depressed.
Ending the paragraph

She should have been so happy. A man walked by and she
looked up, startled. For a moment she had thought it was
Mark. She wondered what he was doing now. Was he
thinking of her? Tears flooded her eyes. Tomorrow should
have been her wedding day.
In the above paragraph the sentence leads up to the topic

sentence at the end. It sums up the previous sentences and
suggests that the following paragraph will give reasons for
the cancelled wedding. Sometimes the topic sentence will be
in the middle with the opening sentences preparing the
groundwork and the following ones continuing to expand it.
Inserting the topic sentence

She should have known something was wrong when he so
often worked late. He had frequently made excuses for
not meeting her. However, she was unprepared for the
stark message left on her answer phone. He had told

her bluntly that he was going to marry her best friend.
He hoped she would understand and they could remain
friends. She could still hear every word. It was burnt into
her memory for ever.
The first two sentences build up to the answer phone

message and the ones after the topic sentence expand it.
Choosing a single sentence paragraph

It is important to vary the length of your paragraphs. Occa-
sionally you can use a single sentence paragraph but don’t
use it too often. It is sometimes used for dramatic effect.
Kate was relaxing in the drawing room with a book when

she heard the front door bell. Idly she speculated about
the visitor. It was no doubt someone for her aunt. After all
no one knew where she was. She heard the door behind
her open and her aunt’s voice informing her she had a
visitor. Turning quickly, she gasped.
Mark stood in the doorway, looking sheepish.
In the previous example the single sentence paragraph

stands out starkly after the build up to it in the previous
paragraph.
Summing up
Your opening paragraph should provide an introduction to
your work and the last one a conclusion. Make sure the
opening sentences are interesting so the reader will want to
read on. Your paragraphs should work for you. Vary the
length and change the position of the topic sentence. Make

sure that one paragraph leads naturally on to the next. Use
the single sentence paragraph sparingly. Remember that
dialogue has specific rules for paragraphing. Each speaker
starts the speech at the beginning of a new paragraph.
ELIMINATING JARGON
‘Jargon’ derives from a Middle English word meaning
‘meaningless chatter’. It is described in the Oxford dictionary
as ‘unintelligible words, gibberish’. It has come to mean
language used by a particular group of people – lawyers,
teachers, politicians and others. Some ‘jargon’ words have
become common usage. Words ending in ‘-ise’ have become
embedded in our language:
finalise prioritise privatise normalise
If you are a member of a particular group, you may be

tempted to use your ‘in’ jargon at other times. Guard against
this. Remember that the words and expressions will probably
only be intelligible to other members of your group.
Avoid using jargon.
AVOIDING CLICHÉS
You should also avoid clichés in your writing. These are
expressions that have been used over and over again. They
were original when used for the first time – probably by
Shakespeare or in the Bible.
He stopped dead in his tracks.

She went as white as a sheet.
I can see it in my mind’s eye. (Shakespeare)
All that glitters (glisters) is not gold. (Shakespeare)
There’s nothing new under the sun. (The Bible)
Don’t hide your light under a bushel. (The Bible)
It is very easy to use clichés because they are so well known

and often seem exactly right. But it is better to create your
own original expression.
Avoid clichés. Create your own expressions.
DISPENSING WITH COLLOQUIAL LANGUAGE

Colloquial language is language that is used in speech or
when writing informally. It should be avoided in formal
writing. It is not always easy to distinguish between colloqui-
alisms and slang. One dictionary may classify a word as
colloquial while another may regard it as slang. Slang is the
most extreme type of informal language.
When writing formally, avoid colloquialisms and slang

although they are permissible in your dialogue. Occasionally
you may wish to use a colloquial word in your formal work
to create a particular effect. In this case enclose it in inverted
commas.
CHOOSING YOUR WORDS

As well as making sure your grammar and punctuation are
accurate, you should think carefully about your choice of
words before you write. This is why planning any piece of

work you do is essential.
Economising on words
Make your writing ‘tight’ by avoiding repetition and making
sure you don’t use several words if one will do. Delete
unnecessary adverbs of manner. Your verb should
frequently be sufficient to indicate how something is done.
She ran quickly out of the room.
This would be more effective if you used the verb ‘rushed’.
She rushed out of the room.
Don’t use tautologies which are simply repetition or

malapropisms (words that sound similar to other words but
are used incorrectly)!
VARYING YOUR STYLE

You will have to adapt your style of writing to the particular
work you are doing. A newspaper report will not be the
same as a short story. The report of a football match will
differ from a true account of an exciting incident. Read
widely to enlarge your vocabulary and notice how other
writers use language. Don’t copy them. Learn from them but
develop your own style. Write frequently and your style will
improve.
CHECKLIST
◆ A paragraph deals with one topic.
◆ Use the single sentence paragraph sparingly.
◆ Avoid jargon, clichés and colloquialisms in formal

writing.

Write a short story or an article using one of the following
titles:
◆ Lost!
◆ Remembering Yesterday
◆ A Childhood Memory
◆ The Journey
◆ The Visit
◆ Escape!
◆ The Hostage
10
Revising Your Work
This chapter is a revision one to reinforce what you have

learnt.
REVISING THE PARTS OF SPEECH

Each word is a part of speech which has a role to play in
your sentence.
Remembering nouns
Concrete or common nouns are the names of things:
book table
Proper nouns are the names of people or places and always
start with a capital letter:
Alison England
Abstract nouns are states or feelings: beauty happiness

Collective nouns are singular words which refer to a group of
objects or people:
team crowd audience
Gerunds are verb-nouns formed from the present participle

of the verb:
crying shopping
135
Using the articles

The articles are the words: the a an
‘The’ is the definite article used for specific items.
‘A’ and ‘an’ are more general. ‘An’ is used before a vowel.
These are the indefinite articles.
Utilising pronouns
Pronouns take the place of nouns:
the boy he
my brother and I we
Relative pronouns link clauses:
This is the girl who stole the book.
Choosing the right verb form

Verbs are ‘doing’ or ‘being’ words. Finite verbs are ‘com-
pleted’ verbs which show person, number and tense.
She threw the ball.
‘Threw’ is the finite verb; ‘she’ is the third person singular

(number) and the tense is the past.
The non-finite verbs are:
the infinitive to do to jump

present participle (always ends in ‘-ing’) doing jumping
past participle (used with verb to have) He had done.
She has jumped.
R E V I S I N G Y O U R W O R K / 137
Using adjectives
Adjectives qualify nouns. They either precede the noun or
follow the verb ‘to be’.
I will use the blue counter.
My counter is blue.
Identifying adverbs
Adverbs qualify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs.
She laughed happily. (Adverb of manner qualifying verb

‘laughed’.)
He was very handsome. (Adverb qualifying adjective
‘handsome’.)
They ran very quickly to the scene. (Adverb qualifying
adverb ‘quickly’.)
Making use of conjunctions

Conjunctions link clauses: because while when if
You can go out when it stops raining.
Using prepositions
Prepositions show the relationship between one word and
another:
The bird flew into the room.

Adding interjections
Interjections are expressions showing an emotion. They are
not necessary to the sentence.
Oh! Goodness me!
REVIEWING SENTENCE CONSTRUCTION

A sentence must contain at least one noun or pronoun,
which is the subject of the sentence, and a finite verb.
Classifying clauses
There are two types of clause – main and subordinate. Each
sentence must contain at least one main clause. A clause
contains one finite verb. Subordinate clauses can be linked to
main clauses by the use of conjunctions. If you have more
than one finite verb in a sentence, you have more than one
clause. Check that you have linked the clauses with conjunc-
tions.
She was crying because her mother had punished her.
She was crying (main clause)
her mother had punished her (subordinate clause)
because (conjunction)
Do not put a comma between two main clauses unless you

are writing a list of main clauses. Remember that the last one
must be preceded by ‘and’.
Jack switched on the computer, picked up his notes, keyed

in his password and started typing.
Using phrases
Phrases are groups of words that do not contain a finite verb
and can be used to add detail to a sentence.
Running across the road, she embraced her sister.
Running across the road (participial phrase)
He carefully placed the evidence on the table.
on the table (prepositional phrase)
CHECKING PUNCTUATION MARKS
Remembering the full stop

Never use a comma instead of a full stop. Put the latter when
your sentence is completed, checking that you have linked
your clauses appropriately. A full stop can also be used after
abbreviations but not contractions.
Using the comma

Use a comma for the following purposes:
◆ To separate items or clauses in a list remembering the

last one must be preceded by ‘and’.
◆ To separate the subordinate clause from the main clause

when you start your sentence with a conjunction.
◆ To separate dialogue from the person who is speaking.

◆ To separate adjectival clauses in the middle of a main

clause.
◆ To separate phrases from the rest of the clause.
◆ Before or after a name when the person concerned is

being addressed.
◆ Before expressions like ‘will you?’ ‘haven’t you?’
Making use of the semicolon

A semicolon is not as strong as a full stop and can be used to
separate main clauses if one follows closely on to the first.
You can also use it if a list of things or people follow it.
Using the colon

A colon can also be used to introduce a list and to expand
the previous sentence. It is sometimes used to reinforce the
previous sentence. A colon is also used after the character’s
name when writing a play.
Sparing the exclamation mark

Use the exclamation mark if you have written the word
‘exclaimed’ but be wary of its use at other times. Don’t use it
too much or its effect will be lost.
Remembering the question mark

Do remember to put a question mark at the end of a
question even if it is a rhetorical one (one that does not
require an answer).
REMEMBERING APOSTROPHES
The apostrophe has two uses.
Showing possession
The apostrophe is used to show that a noun has something
belonging to it. Usually if the noun is singular, the apostrophe
goes before the ‘s’ and if it is plural, it goes after the ‘s’.
The boy’s coat.
The boys’ playground.
The exception is when the noun does not need an ‘s’ to make
it plural. In this case the apostrophe goes before the ‘s’ which
is added.
The children’s clothes.
The mice’s tails.
Omitting letters
The apostrophe is also used when a letter is omitted. The
apostrophe is placed instead of the missing letter or letters.
could not couldn’t

have not haven’t
might have might’ve
WRITING IN PARAGRAPHS
Remember to arrange your sentences in paragraphs. Each
one should deal with one topic and there should be a topic
sentence to introduce it or sum it up. Use single sentence
paragraphs occasionally for effect.
REVIEWING DIALOGUE
Using direct speech

Direct speech should be enclosed in inverted commas. A
new paragraph is started for each speaker. Use a comma to
separate the speech from the speaker. If a speaker speaks
for several paragraphs, open the inverted commas at the
beginning of each paragraph but do not close them until
the speech is completed.
Changing to indirect speech

Indirect speech is reporting what someone has said and
therefore inverted commas are not required. The first person
is usually changed to the third and the present tense to the
past.
Writing a play
Inverted commas are not needed when writing a play. Put a
colon after the character’s name. Put stage directions in
brackets (or in italics if typing).
CHECKLIST
◆ Each part of speech has a role to play in the sentence.
◆ Each sentence must contain at least one main clause.
◆ Make sure clauses are linked correctly.
◆ Do not use a comma instead of a full stop.
◆ Write in paragraphs.
CONCLUDING THE REVIEW

Correct and punctuate the following passage:
I don’t want to be married in church exclaimed sarah non-

sense dear of course you do everyone wants a white wedding
in church her mother replied st pauls church will be perfect
with its beautiful porch its setting is ideal it would of been
alright if i was ten years younger but im thirty and i dont
want to go to church it would be hypocritical well have to
make a guest list her mother ignored her when are we going
to meet james parents i shall need a list of guests from them
to sarah clenched her fists mother i dont want a big church
wedding james and i want a quiet wedding with no fuss her
mother wasnt listening she was already making plans sarah
flounced out of the room slamming the door what are we
going to do she said to james that evening my parents want a
big white wedding all i want is to slip away quietly with you
and get married i thought youd like to choose the childrens
dresses teased james to match your beautiful white gown
what children my nieces of course there longing to be brides-
maids oh dear sighed sarah id forgotten about them and my
parents want to meet yours do you think thats a good idea
theyll have to meet sometime replied james are you serious
about wanting a quiet wedding of course i am then lets run
away to gretna green.

11
Making Use of the

Dictionary and Thesaurus
If you are serious about improving your standard of writing,

a dictionary and a thesaurus are useful books to have beside
you.
USING THE DICTIONARY

The dictionary contains a vast amount of information and it
can be a fascinating experience to browse through it if you
have time.
The first dictionaries

The first major dictionary was produced by Dr Samuel
Johnson in 1755. There had been earlier ones but they were
very rudimentary. The first ones were produced by monks in
the fifteenth century. Latin was the traditional language of
the mediaeval church and the monks tried to find English
equivalents for Latin words. Dr Johnson had a reputation as
a man of learning and, unlike some of his contemporaries in
the eighteenth century, he recognised that language is con-
stantly changing. Today, with the advent of new technology
and the consequent increase of new words, dictionaries have
to be constantly updated.
144
M A K I N G U S E O F T H E D I C T I O N A R Y A N D T H E S A U R U S / 145
Finding derivations of words

English is a difficult language to learn because it derives
from so many different languages. Latin has already been
mentioned and many Latin words and phrases are still in use
today.
curriculum vitae – an account of one’s career
et cetera – and so on
in camera – not in open court
infra dig – beneath one’s dignity
in memoriam – in memory
nota bene – note well
rigor mortis – the stiffening of a corpse
Introducing French
William the Conqueror brought the French language to
these shores in 1066. In spite of reaction by the Anglo-Saxon
natives, French words and phrases crept into the English
language. Some are still in use today.
à la carte – separate items on a menu
au gratin – cooked in breadcrumbs and grated

cheese
avant-garde – new progressive ideas
corps diplomatique – diplomatic corps
deja vu – a sense of having experienced

something before
en masse – all together

fait accompli – something done that cannot be

changed
mot juste – the right word
table d’hôte – fixed price menu
petit mal – mild form of epilepsy
pot-pourri – a mixture
rendezvous – a meeting
Incorporating foreign words

Because the English travelled the world, words from many
other languages have been incorporated into the English
language. Words that derive from other languages are identi-
fied in the dictionary. You will find a list of abbreviations in
the front of your dictionary. Among them will be foreign
languages. Here are four words that derive from other
languages.
Hottentot Afrikaans (Afrik.)
hour Greek (Gk)
sabre Polish (Pol.)
shawl Persian (Pers.)
Identifying parts of speech

Your dictionary will classify each word as a particular part of
speech. Remember that some words can be more than one
part of speech depending on the way they are used in the
sentence. Some dictionaries will give examples. Below is a
list of the usual abbreviations used for parts of speech with
definitions given also for revision purposes.
Noun (n.) – a person, place, thing, state or idea
Pronoun (pron.) – a word that replaces a noun
Verb (v.t.) – a transitive verb that takes an

object
Verb (v.i.) – an intransitive verb that doesn’t

take an object
Adjective (a.) – a word that describes a noun
Adverb (adv.) – a word that qualifies a verb, an

adjective or another adverb
Conjunction (conj.) – a word that joins two clauses in a

sentence
Preposition (prep.) – a word that shows the relationship

between one word and another
Interjection (int.) – an exclamation
Helping pronunciation
The dictionary will also indicate on which syllable the
stress is placed and this will help you with pronunciation.
Most dictionaries use ‘received pronunciation’, the stardard
English with no accent associated with speakers from the
South of England. Regional dialects are ignored although
sometimes American pronunciation is mentioned.
Giving definitions
On most occasions you will use your dictionary to check the
spelling or the meaning of a word. Many words have more
than one meaning and the dictionary separates them clearly.
Most dictionaries will also have an appendix at the back
containing new words or words that have been omitted from
the main part of the dictionary.
Showing prefixes and suffixes

A prefix is a group of letters placed in front of a root word to
change the meaning.
appear disappear dependent independent

happy unhappy script postscript
A suffix is a group of letters placed after the root word. This

also changes the meaning.
beauty beautiful bright brightness

dark darkness hope hopeless hopeful
Both prefixes and suffixes will be found in most dictionaries

and they are usually followed by a list of words in which they
are used.
Using hyphens
The dictionary will also indicate where hyphens are neces-
sary but not all sources agree on their inclusion in particular
words.
Investigating portmanteau words

Portmanteau words are words formed by the combination of
two other words. Lewis Carroll is credited with creating this
one in his book Alice Through the Looking Glass.
chortle – from chuckle and snort
Portmanteau words are very popular today.
brunch – from breakfast and lunch
motel – from motor and hotel
Oxbridge – from Oxford and Cambridge

UTILISING THE THESAURUS

A thesaurus is a very useful book. It contains a number of
synonyms (words which have a similar meaning to another
word). If you can’t find the right word or you have repeated
a word too many times, a thesaurus will help you find an
alternative.
It was Peter Mark Roget who produced the first thesaurus.

He was a professor of physiology who helped to found the
University of London. He completed the first draft of a
thesaurus for his own use in 1806 and added to it over the
next forty years. When he retired in 1840, he continued to
work on it and his final work was published by Longmans in
1852. The book was very popular and during his lifetime
twenty-eight editions were published. After his death, his
son and then his grandson continued his work.
Roget’s Thesaurus, as it has become known, is still in use and

is frequently updated. Today there are many other thesauri
on the market including small pocket editions. It is certainly
worthwhile to invest in one. You will find it an invaluable
aid.
CHECKLIST
◆ A dictionary gives parts of speech, pronunciation,
definitions and derivations.
◆ A thesaurus consists of a collection of synonyms.
◆ Use a dictionary and a thesaurus to help you widen your

vocabulary.
Answers to Exercises
CHAPTER 1
1. Plurals:
cats crutches children deer
duchesses dwarfs–dwarves halves ladies
men marriages metaphors similes
2. Concrete or common nouns:

town theatre actors
café coffee umbrella stand
Proper noun: Jenny
Abstract nouns: depression therapy past
Collective noun: audience
Gerund: shopping
Finite verbs:
decided had suffered had been
had collapsed would be had helped
150
A N S W E R S T O E X E R C I S E S / 151
started went left
were could (not) remember was
Personal pronouns: she it
Demonstrative pronoun: that
Possessive pronoun: hers
Interrogative pronoun: which
3. Finite verbs:
was wanted was raining looked picked up
could do
Non-finite verbs:
Infinitive: to play to see
Present participle: staring
Past participle: bored annoyed
4. Complements: (e) inspector (f) a good swimmer
Direct objects: (a) a library book (b) several letters

(c) an ice cream (d) an apple
Indirect objects: (a) Jack (d) him
5. Transitive verbs: (b) gave (c) threw
Intransitive verbs: (a) cried (d) is . . . talking

6. Passive voice:
(a) The guest of honour was served first by the hostess.
(b) Night storage heaters were installed by the landlord for
his tenants.
CHAPTER 2
1. Linking sentences
(a) Elaine, who taught English, was a popular teacher and
had worked at the same school for many years.
(b) Clive was in a furious temper because his computer had
crashed and he had to complete some work in a hurry.
(c) It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, the birds
were singing, the flowers were smiling and Helen felt
glad to be alive.
(d) The old lady put her hand on the shelf but it collapsed
and she fell heavily, bruising her face.
(e) The book launch was scheduled for October but it was
postponed until November because the printer had not
finished printing the books.
2. Identifying phrases and clauses

(a) . . . she flung the book . . . main clause
. . . on the table . . . prepositional phrase/
adverbial phrase
(b) The student wriggled his way . . . main clause

. . . into the pothole. prepositional phrase/
adverbial phrase
(c) He yearned to fly on Concorde. main clause

. . . to fly on Concorde infinitive phrase
(d) Dreaming of her holiday . . . noun phrase using a

gerund (subject of
sentence)
(it) made her forget . . . main clause
(e) Furiously angry . . . adjectival phrase

. . . she shouted at her main clause
daughter . . .
(f) They have gone on holiday. main clause

. . . on holiday prepositional phrase/
adverbial phrase
(g) To visit Australia was his main clause

ambition.
. . . to visit Australia . . . infinitive phrase
(h) The postponed match . . . noun phrase

(subject of sentence)
(it) was to take place main clause
. . . the following day adverbial phrase
(i) Gazing out of the window . . . participial phrase

. . . he wondered . . . main clause
. . . he should do next . . . noun clause
(object of wondered)
(j) Hurrying to catch her train . . . participial phrase

. . . Denise tripped and fell heavily. main clause
3. Identifying the subordinate clauses

. . . had been badly beaten . . . – adjectival clause
modifying ‘prisoner’.
. . . he was climbing out of the – adverbial clause of

window . . . time
. . . the terrorists had been – adverbial clause of

hiding . . . place
. . . a meeting had been – adverbial clause of

arranged . . . reason
. . . he had stayed in his hotel . . . – adverbial clause of

condition
. . . as hard as he could . . . – adverbial clause of

degree
. . . something was done . . . – adverbial clause of

condition
4. Subjunctive:
(a) If I were a giant, I could reach that shelf.
(b) If she were to ask me, I would go.
CHAPTER 3
1. Phrases and clauses

(a) The match was cancelled . . . main clause
. . . of the weather . . . prepositional phrase
(b) We can go . . . main clause

. . . you are ready. adverbial clause of
time
(c) The policeman chased the thief . . . main clause

. . . caught him . . . main clause
. . . handcuffed him . . . main clause
. . . took him to the police main clause
station . . .
. . . to charge him . . . infinitive phrase
(d) Leaping out of the car . . . participial phrase

. . . she dashed into the shop . . . main clause
(e) Julie was doing her homework . . . main clause

. . . Dan was laying the table . . . main clause
. . . their father was reading the paper . . . main clause
. . . their mother was preparing diner . . . main clause
2. Punctuation
George leapt out of bed, stubbing his toe on the chair which
was beside him. Hobbling to the window, he stared gloomily
out. It was raining. Perhaps it would brighten up later. He
watched the milkman drive down the road. He was late.
Sleepily he drifted into the bathroom to wash and shave. He
cursed as he cut himself. Dabbing the blood with a piece of
cotton wool, he wondered how he would perform at his
interview. He must not be late.
CHAPTER 4
1. Adjectives:
beautiful no long cliff two
picturesque welcome some sore glad
attractive wooden small only distant
peaceful
2. Adverbs:
dreamily (manner) lazily (manner) carefully (manner)
happily (manner) too (qualifying adjective ‘late’)
soon (time) so (degree) around (place)
abroad (place) very (qualifying adjective ‘country’)
so (qualifying adverb ‘much’) much (degree)
CHAPTER 5
Punctuation
David flung open the office door and sat down at his desk;
he had a great deal to do. Would he complete the report in
time? He knew he should not have left it till the last
moment. Switching on the computer, he keyed in the pass-
word and started to list the items to be included: the state-
ment from the assessors, the secretary’s report, the year’s
accounts and the government’s recommendations. Crash! He
started. What was that? Rushing to the window, he looked
out. Two men – or was it more – were running across the
road.
CHAPTER 6
Apostrophes
John’s parents were going on a week’s holiday. While they
were away, he would stay at his grandparents’ house. He
hoped they’d take him to the children’s adventure play-
ground. He would go on lots of rides. His mother’s dog
would be put in the kennels while they were away. His
friend’s family was going on a month’s holiday to America.
John had been very envious of Ben’s new suitcase.
His parents and Ben’s parents took the two boys out for
a meal before they left. John noticed that the waitress’s
stockings were laddered. He didn’t like some of the food on
the menu but eventually decided on the ‘chef’s special’. He
would’ve liked a hamburger but it was not available.
CHAPTER 7
1. Dialogue
Alan stared at his wife in dismay.
‘Are you sure you’re pregnant?’ he asked.
‘Of course I’m sure,’ she replied crossly.
‘But we agreed we couldn’t afford a baby yet. Did you
forget to take the pill?’
‘I suppose I must have done.’
‘What are we going to do about it?’ he queried.
‘There’s nothing we can do.’
‘Of course there is.’
‘I won’t have an abortion if that’s what you mean. I
might’ve agreed once but not now.’
‘But how can we afford to keep a child?’ he said in
exasperation. ‘We can hardly afford to keep ourselves.’
‘Don’t be so ridiculous,’ Kate scoffed. ‘I’m going to read
the pamphlet the doctor gave me. It’s called ‘‘Baby Care’’.’
She left the room before he could reply.
2. Play form:
(Enter Alan and his wife, Kate)
Alan: Are you sure you’re pregnant?
Kate: Of course I’m sure.
Alan: But we agreed we couldn’t afford a baby yet. Did

you forget to take the pill?
Kate: I suppose I must have done.
Alan: What are we going to do about it?
Kate: There’s nothing we can do.

Alan: Of course there is.
Kate: I won’t have an abortion if that’s what you mean.

I might’ve agreed once but not now.
Alan: But how can we afford to keep a child? We can

hardly afford to keep ourselves.
Kate: Don’t be so ridiculous. I’m going to read the

pamphlet the doctor gave me. It’s called Baby
Care. (Exit)
CHAPTER 8
Correction:
The government is planning a referendum about a common
currency. Neither the Labour nor the Conservative party has
spoken a great deal about it as there have been a lot of other
events to occupy their time. Recently they have been too
busy to talk to their constituents about it. Many MPs
have been abroad and each one has been on holiday from
Westminster. When they return, it is hoped they will hear
what the people are saying. Parliament is very different from
the parliament of two hundred years ago. Today it comprises
both men and women peers and they will attend the opening
of Parliament in November. They have to be present. They
cannot give reasons for not attending.
CHAPTER 10
Punctuation
‘I don’t want to be married in church!’ exclaimed Sarah.
‘Nonsense, dear. Of course you do; everyone wants a white

wedding in church,’ her mother replied. ‘St Paul’s Church
will be perfect with its beautiful porch. Its setting is ideal.’
‘It would’ve been all right if I was ten years younger. But
I’m thirty and I don’t want to go to church. It would be
hypocritical.’
‘We’ll have to make a guest list.’ Her mother ignored her.
‘When are we going to meet James’ parents? I shall need a
list of guests from them too.’
Sarah clenched her fists. ‘Mother, I don’t want a big church
wedding. James and I want a quiet wedding with no fuss.’
Her mother wasn’t listening. She was already making
plans. Sarah flounced out of the room slamming the door.
‘What are we going to do?’ she said to James that evening.
‘My parents want a big white wedding. All I want is to slip
away quietly with you and get married.’
‘I thought you’d like to choose the children’s dresses,’
teased James, ‘to match your beautiful white gown.’
‘What children?’
‘My nieces, of course. They’re longing to be bridesmaids.’
‘Oh dear,’ sighed Sarah. ‘I’d forgotten about them. And
my parents want to meet yours. Do you think that’s a good
idea?’
‘They’ll have to meet some time,’ replied James. ‘Are you
serious about wanting a quiet wedding?’
‘Of course I am.’
‘Then let’s run away to Gretna Green.’
Glossary
Acronym. A word formed from the initial letters of other

words.
Active voice. The subject does the action.
Adjective. A word that describes a noun.
Adverb. A word that qualifies a verb, an adjective or
another adverb.
Clause. main: A group of words that contain both a subject
and a verb and make sense by themselves.
subordinate: A group of words containing a verb that
depends on the main clause. They cannot stand alone.
Cliché. A well worn saying.
Conjunction. A word that links two clauses together.
Gerund. A present participle used as a noun.
Homonym. A word that is spelt the same but pronounced
differently and with a different meaning.
Homophone. A word that is pronounced the same as
another but spelt differently.
Interjection. An exclamation.
Inverted commas. Speech marks: These are marks put
around speech and quotations.
Jargon. Words or expressions used by a particular group of
people.
Malapropism. A word used incorrectly instead of a similar
sounding one.
160
G L O S S A R Y / 161
Noun. abstract: A word that denotes a quality or state.

collective: A singular word which refers to a group of
people or things.
concrete: The name of a thing.
proper: The name of a person or place.
Object. A noun or pronoun that follows the verb and is
related to the subject.
Paragraph. A group of sentences dealing with the same
topic.
Passive voice. Something is done to the subject.
Phrase. A group of words not necessarily containing a verb
or making sense on its own.
Prefix. Letters placed before the root word to change the
meaning.
Preposition. A word that governs a noun or pronoun.
Pronoun. demonstrative: It takes the place of a noun but is
general not personal.
This, these, that, those
interrogative: A pronoun that is used at the start of a
question.
personal: A personal word that takes the place of a noun.
I, you, he, she, it, we, they
possessive: Used when something belongs.
relative: This has a similar role to a conjunction. It joins
clauses together but is closely linked to a noun.
Subject. The noun or pronoun on which the rest of the
clause depends.
Suffix. Letters placed after the root word to change the
meaning.
Summary. A shortened version of a longer piece of writing.
Synonym. A word that can be used to replace another.
Syntax. The way words are combined to form sentences.
Tautology. A statement that is repeated in a different way in

the same sentence.
Thesaurus. A book which will give a selection of synonyms.
Topic sentence. The main sentence in a paragraph. This is
elaborated in the rest of the paragraph.
Verb. intransitive: A verb that is not followed by an object.
transitive: A verb that is followed by an object.
Further Reading
Write Right, Jan Venolia (David St John Publisher)

The King’s English, Fowler (Oxford)
Roget’s Thesaurus (Longman)
Write On, Richard Bell and Pauline Bentley (Writers News)
English Grammar, B. A. Phythian A. A., M. Litt. (Hodder &
Stoughton)
Correct English, B. A. Phythian M. A., M. Litt. (Hodder &
Stoughton)
Improve Your Written English, Marion Field (How To
Books)
For more advanced students

Mastering Advanced English Language, Sara Thorne
(Macmillan)
For light reading

The King’s English, Kingsley Amis (Harper Collins)
163
Index
abbreviations, 99–100 result, 41

acronyms, 101 time, 31, 39
adjectives, 9, 66–76, 137 clichés, 131–2
demonstrative, 72 colloquial language, 132
interrogative, 72–3 colons, 91
possessive, 70–1 commas, 54–7, 90–1, 105
adverbs, 76–86, 137 comparisons, 68–70
degree, 82–3 comparative, 68–70, 77
interrogative, 82 positive, 68–70, 77
manner, 76–7 superlative, 68–70, 77
number, 82 complements, 22, 29, 33
place, 81–2 conjunctions (connectives), 36,
time, 81 137
apostrophes, 96–9, 141 co-ordinating, 37
articles, 7, 136 subordinating, 37–8
consonants, 3
brackets, 92 contractions, 100–1
round, 92
square, 93 dashes, 91–2
definitions, 147
capital letters, 4–5 derivations, 145–6
clauses, 27, 138–9 dictionary, 122, 144
main, 27, 35–7 direct speech, 103–6, 142
subordinate, 37–42 double negatives, 126
adjectival, 45–7 duologue, 105–6
adverbial, 38–42
comparison, 40 exclamation marks, 94–5
condition, 42
degree, 41 full stops, 139
manner, 40
place, 31, 39 gerunds, 6, 71, 135
purpose, 41
reason, 40 homonyms, 122
164
I N D E X / 165
homophones, 120–2 prepositional, 28, 34

hyphens, 148 play form, 110, 142
plurals, 2–5, 97–8
indirect speech, 108–9, 142 portmanteau words, 148
infinitives, 23, 28–30, 146 predicates, 27–8
initial letters, 101 prefixes, 148
interjections, 24, 138 prepositions, 33, 137
inverted commas, 94 parentheses, 93
pronouns, 7–12, 115–17, 136
jargon, 131 demonstrative, 9
intensive, 11
malapropisms, 118–19 interrogative, 11–12
mistakes, 112–28 personal, 7–9, 71
modifiers, 67 possessive, 9–10, 71
moods, 63–4 reflexive, 10–11
declarative, 63 relative, 43–7, 60, 136
imperative, 64 pronunciation, 147
interrogative, 63 punctuation, 88–94, 139–40
nouns, 1–5, 74, 112–14, 135 question marks, 93–4

abstract, 5, 135 quotation marks, 106–7
collective, 5
concrete/common, 1, 135 rhetorical questions, 105
proper, 4, 135
semicolons, 88–91
objects, 6–7, 32, 116–17 sentences, 27–64, 90–1
direct, 21–2 complex, 37, 57–60
indirect, 21–2 compound, 36, 52–5
Oxford comma, 54 non sentences, 60–1
simple, 27, 50–2
paragraphing, 106, 128–31, 141 singulars, 2–5
parentheses, 93 spelling, 122
persons, 7 style, 129–33
first, 7–8 subject, 6–7, 27–9, 32, 116–17
second, 7–8 subjunctive, 42
third, 7–8 suffixes, 148
phrases, 17–18, 28, 114, 139 syntax, 27
adjectival, 28, 30
adverbial, 28, 31–2 tautology, 117–18
gerundive, 39 thesaurus, 149
infinitive, 28 titles, 107–8
noun, 28, 32–3 topic sentences, 128–31
participial, 28–30
verbs, 12, 136 subjunctive, 42

active voice, 23–4 tenses, 18
auxilliary, 12 future, 18, 20
finite, 12–13, 136 future progressive, 21
infinitive, 13, 19–20, 136 past, 14, 18–19
intransitive, 22, 23 past perfect, 16, 19
irregular, 16–17 past perfect progressive, 16
non-finite, 13, 136 past progressive, 15
participles present, 14, 18
past, 13, 15, 16–17, 136 present perfect, 16
present, 13, 15, 20, 75, 136 present perfect progressive,
passive voice, 23–4 15
phrasal, 34 transitive, 22–3
pass participle, 13, 15, 16–17, vowels, 3, 7
136
present participle, 13–15, 20,
75, 136

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First edition 2000

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ISBN 978 1 84803 329 0

Produced for How To Books by Deer Park Productions, Tavistock

NOTE: The material contained in this book is set out in good

1 Following grammatical guidelines 1

2 Learning about sentence construction 27

3 Varying your sentences 50

4 Colouring your writing 66

5 Making sense of punctuation 88

6 Handling apostrophes and abbreviations 96

7 Writing dialogue 103

8 Avoiding common mistakes 112

Using pronouns correctly 115

9 Improving your style 128

10 Revising your work 135

11 Making use of the dictionary and thesaurus 144

Answers to exercises 150

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Do you have trouble with punctuation? Are you frustrated

The use of the various punctuation marks is explained and

Written in a simple style with frequent headings, this book is

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The organisation of language is known as grammar. Every

Identifying concrete or common nouns

book cake dog elephant

2 / IMPROVE YOUR PUNCTUATION & GRAMMAR

FOLLOWING GRAMMATICAL GUIDELINES / 3

Other words change the form of the word as in the following:

Identifying vowels and consonants

Unfortunately some words ending in ‘f’ keep it before add-

4 / IMPROVE YOUR PUNCTUATION & GRAMMAR

For the following word you have a choice:

dwarf dwarfs or dwarves

Using proper nouns

Alice Bernard Betty Clive

Titles are also written with a capital letter:

Mrs Alexander Mr Bell

England Guildford Hampshire London

Names of buildings and institutions

The British Broadcasting Corporation The British Museum

FOLLOWING GRAMMATICAL GUIDELINES / 5

All proper nouns connected with religion start with capital

Bible Christian Christianity Christmas

Looking at abstract nouns

anger beauty birth brightness

Finding collective nouns

6 / IMPROVE YOUR PUNCTUATION & GRAMMAR