11. Elements of Style: First 6 Elementary Rules of Usage
(see Elementary Rules of Usage Handout)
1. Form the possessive singular of nouns by adding ‘s
Follow this rule whatever the final consonant. Thus write,
Charles’s friend
The witch’s malice
12. 2. In a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction, use a
comma after each term except the last.
red, white, and blue
gold, silver, or copper
If you don’t use the serial comma, you could end up with something
like this:
I went to dinner with my parents, Hitler and Stalin.
This makes it sound like your parents are Hitler and Stalin.
13. 3. Enclose parenthetic expressions between commas.
• Parenthetic expression: phrase or clause that is inserted within another
phrase or clause; it adds additional information, but it is not essential for the
main clause to make sense.
Cobras, although they are essentially moody, like an occasional chuckle.
My brother, you will be pleased to hear, is now in perfect health.
14. 4. Place a comma before a conjunction introducing an independent
clause.
• An independent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and verb
and expresses a complete thought. An independent clause is just a complete
sentence.
The situation is perilous, but there is still one chance of escape.
15. 5. Don’t join independent clauses by a comma.
Incorrect: Stevenson’s romances are entertaining, they are full of
exciting adventures.
Correct: Stevenson’s romances are entertaining; they are full of
exciting adventures.
Or
Stevenson’s romances are entertaining, for they are full of exciting
adventures.
16. 6. Do not break sentences in two.
Bad:
He was an interesting talker. A man who had traveled all over the world
and lived in half a dozen countries.
Better:
He was an interesting talker, a man who had traveled all over the world
and lived in half a dozen countries.
18. Advanced Grammar
• Independent Clause (review)— a group of words that contains a
subject and verb and expresses a complete thought. An independent
clause is just a sentence.
• Jim studied for his Creative Writing exam on Grammar.
• Dependent Clause —a group of words that contains a subject and
verb but does not express a complete thought. A dependent clause
cannot be a complete sentence.
• When Jim studied for his Creative Writing exam… (what happened after he
studied? The thought is incomplete).
19. More Advanced Grammar
• Appositive — a noun or pronoun set beside another noun or pronoun
to explain or identify it. (noun in blue, appositive in green)
• I love the wood paneling.
• Your friend Bill is in trouble.
• A beautiful Collie, Skip was my favorite dog.
• Parenthetical expression (review) — phrase or clause that is inserted
within another phrase or clause; it adds additional information, but it
is not essential for the main clause to make sense.
• Cobras, although they are essentially moody, like an occasional chuckle.
• My brother, you will be pleased to hear, is now in perfect health.
20. Some More Grammar
• Gerund — a noun made from a verb by adding “-ing”
• Add “–ing” to cry and you get the gerund “crying.”
• Crying can be cathartic.
• Participle — a word formed from a verb and used as an adjective.
• The crying baby woke us from our deep slumber.
• The traveling man stopped.
• Participial Phrase — used as an adjective to modify a noun or pronoun. It
includes the participle together with its modifiers, objects, or predicate
words.
• Walking rapidly, we reached the town in fifteen minutes.
• Annoyed by its hissing sound, Trina screamed at the rattlesnake.
21. Even More Advanced Grammar
• Restrictive Clauses —limit the possible meaning of a preceding
subject.
• The boy who broke the window at the door is here.
• Nonrestrictive Clauses — tell you something about a preceding
subject, but they do not limit, or restrict, the meaning of that subject.
• Simon Baxter, who is a deep-sea fisherman, is training to be a lion tamer.
