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Ambiguity

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A possible double meaning that may confuse a listener or reader

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Colloquial

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Used in some dictionaries to label words appropriate only in informal speech

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Consistency

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The result of staying within one pattern and avoiding confusing shifts in tense or grammatical perspective

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Convention

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the customary way of doing things; what a reader or listener expects or is used to

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Economy

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The sparing use of words, avoiding unnecessary wordiness or duplication

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Formal

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the kind of English appropriate in serious discussion and writing

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Grammar

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the study of the forms of words and their arrangement in a language

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Informal

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the kind of Standard English we use in casual conversations and personal letters

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Non-standard

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the everyday language of those with little formal education; inappropriate in school, business, or writing

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Redundancy

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unintentional repetition, needless duplication

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Slang

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extremely informal language; often used in a disrespectful manner

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Standard

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the language of our institutions- of school, church, business, and government

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Word

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parts of speech

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Phrase

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group of related words acting together as one part of speech; not containing both a subject and verb

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Clause

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group of related words containing a subject and a verb

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Sentence

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group of words containing a subject and a verb and expressing a complete thought

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Paragraph

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group of sentences organized around a central or main idea

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Verb

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a word that expresses action or helps to make a statement

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Subject

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a word or words naming person, place, thing, or idea about which something is being said

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Compound Subject/Compound Verb

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Two or more subjects or verbs connected by and or or

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Direct Object

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A noun or pronoun that answers the question whom or what after an action verb. It receives the action of the verb.

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Subject Complement/Predicate Nominative

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A noun or pronoun (or adjective) which follows a be or linking verb and renames or describes the subject. (Think of a be or linking verb as an = sign)

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Nomative Pronoun

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used as subject or subject complement (I, you, he, she, it, we, they, who, whoever)

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Objective Pronoun

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used as an object of verb or of preposition (me, you, him, her, it, us, them, whom, whomever)

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Possessive Pronoun

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shows ownership (my, mine, you, yours, his, her, hers, its, our, ours, their, theirs, whose, whosoever)

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Pronoun Rule #1

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Anyone, everyone, someone, everybody, somebody, anybody, and nobody are singular. The singular pronoun his is used with them

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Pronoun Rule #2

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Avoid double subjects and useless pronouns

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Pronoun Rule #3

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when a pronoun modifies a gerund (a verbal noun), it is used as an adjective and is in the possessive case.

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Pronoun Rule #4

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Never use hisself or theirself, use himself or themselves

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The principal parts of a Verb

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1) the present tense (I break) 2) the past tense (I broke) 3) the past participle (I have broken). This form is used with a helping verb.

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Verb Rule #1

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of is not a substitute for have

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Verb Rule #2

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ought is not preceded by have or had

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Verb Rule #3

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would or should forms of the verb are not used in if clauses

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Verb Rule #4

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use the present subjunctive form in an if clause of a statement that is obviously not true. This is called a condition contrary to fact. The verb most frequently involved is to be. The present of to be in the subjunctive is were.

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Infinitive

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usually proceeded by to: it is used as a noun, adjective or adverb. It can never be the main verb of the sentence.

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Participle

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used as an adjective. The present participle ends in ing. Past participles have several endings (ed, d, t, n, en)

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Gerund

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The ing form used as a noun

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Adjectives and Adverbs

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have three degrees of comparison: positive, comparative, and superlative

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Adjective and Adverb Rule #1

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After linking verbs such as look, seem, appear, taste, smell, feel, sound, use adjectives to describe the subject

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Adjective and Adverb Rule #2

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Really is an adverb; real is an adjective. Do not use real to modify another adjective

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Adjective and Adverb Rule #3

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Adjectives do not modify verbs

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Adjective and Adverb Rule #4

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Good is never an adverb

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Adjective and Adverb Rule #5

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Since scarcely and hardly are negative already, they should not be accompanied by another negative

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Adjective and Adverb Rule #6

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Irregardless is not a word. Use regardless

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Preposition Rule #1

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Generally, a sentence should not end with a preposition. However, you may end a sentence with a preposition if it will make the sentence smoother

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Preposition Rule #2

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Avoid unnecessary prepositions

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Preposition Rule #3

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'Between' refers to two persons, groups, or things; 'among' refers to more than two.

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Preposition Rule #4

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Use 'because of' not 'due to' to introduce a phrase

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Preposition Rule #5

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do not use 'off of' in place of 'from' or 'off'

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Preposition Rule #6

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'into', not 'in', implies going within

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Conjunction Rule #1

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Use 'since' or 'because' instead of 'being' or 'being that' or 'seeing as how' to introduce a clause

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Conjunction Rule #2

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use 'as', not 'like', as a connective between clauses

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Conjunction Rule #3

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'while' means "duration of time." It cannot be used in place of 'but', 'although', or 'and'

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Conjunction Rule #4

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do not say "the reason is because." Use "the reason is."

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Conjunction Rule #5

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do not say "the place is where." Use "the place is."

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denotation

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the objective definition of a word

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connotation

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the emotional associations we have with a word

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How to avoid ambiguity of pronouns

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1) Give pronouns clear antecedents (he, she, it, who, etc.) 2) Avoid general reference (this, that, it, and which) 3) Avoid weak reference 4) Avoid the indefinite use of the pronouns 'they', 'you', and 'it'

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Causes of ambiguity: modifiers and comparisons

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1) Misplaced modifier 2) Dangling modifier 3)Two-way modifiers 4) Incomplete comparisons

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Fragment

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A part of a sentence written as though it were a complete sentence.

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Coordination

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a way to join dependent and independent clauses to form sentences. If these clauses are not connected properly, both by connectives and punctuation, the result is a run-on sentence.

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Excessive Coordination

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fails to show precise relationships between ideas. It is not usually true that every idea you wish to express should carry equal weight.

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Subordination

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consist of an independent clause and one or more dependent clauses.

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Facts

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A fact is something that actually happened and can be proven to be true. If you choose to support an idea with facts, make sure that your facts can be verified and are not merely opinion. for example, you might write a paragraph developing the idea that 1968 was a momentous year by citing the events of that year.

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Examples

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Sometimes a topic sentence may be developed by giving one or more examples of the truth it expresses. The topic sentence "Our school has a club to fit everyone's interest," could be developed with examples.

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Incident

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An incident or brief event may provide an effective means of illustrating the idea expressed in a topic sentence. For example, the topic sentence "Sometimes a pet can seem human," could be developed by a brief story that illustrated the point.

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Reasons

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Topic sentences often make statements that provoke the question "why?" In general, the writer who starts with such a statement should give reasons to support it. For example, a paragraph on the subject of why we should have a woman president could be developed with reasons.

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Comparison and Contrast

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Paragraphs may be developed by comparisons (which show similarities) or by contrasts (which show differences) or by a combination of the two. a special note is needed about the organization of the type of paragraph. It may be done point by point; that is by, making a statement about one thing and comparing or contrasting it immediately with another.

CLEP College Composition – Flashcards

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