Strunk & White Rules 7-11

RULE 7:Use a colon after an independent clause… TO INTRODUCE A LIST OF PARTICULARS: DO NOT SEPARATE A VERB FROM ITS COMPLIMENT: INCORRECT: Your dedicated whittler requires: a knife, a piece of wood, and a porch. CORRECT: Your dedicated whittler requires three props: a knife, a piece of wood, and a porch.

RULE 7 (cont.) Join with a colon if the second interprets or amplifies the first: Try inserting the word “because” to see if it fits. I hate broccoli: my mom makes it every day. A colon may introduce a quotation that supports the preceding clause: The squalor of the streets reminded her of a line from A Tale of Two Cities : “It was the best of the times; It was the worst of times.”

Rule 7 (cont.) Other functions of the colon: Salutation of a formal letter To Whom It May Concern: Notation of time 10:48 P.M. Separate the title of a work Taxes for Dummies: A Do-It Yourself Guide Bible chapter from a verse Genesis 1:1

RULE 8: Use a Dash… To set off an abrupt break or interruption: His first thought on getting out of bed—if he had any thought at all—was to get back in again. To show a long appositive or summary: The rear-axle began to make a noise—a grinding, chattering rasp.

RULE 9: THE NUMBER OF THE SUBJECT IS THE NUMBER OF THE VERB Words that intervene between subject and verb, do not affect the verb. The bittersweet flavor of youth—its trials, its joys, its adventures—is not soon forgotten. Use a singular verb form after each, either, everyone, everybody, neither, nobody, someone. Everybody thinks he has a unique sense of humor.

Rule 9 (cont.) With none, use a singular verb when the word means “no one” or “not one.” None of us is perfect. A plural verb is used when none suggests more than one thing or person. None are so fallible as those who are sure they are right.

RULE 9 (Cont.) A compound subject joined by and almost always requires a plural verb. Joey and Susie are holding hands. Exception: some compound subjects function as ONE UNIT so they would have a singular verb: Bread and butter is all she will eat. Give and take is essential for a happy home.

Rule 9 (cont.) A singular subject remains singular even if other nouns are connected to it by with, as well as, in addition to, except, together with, and no less than. His speech as well as his manner is questionable. Some nouns appear to be plural but are singular (function as one unit), so need a singular verb: The Republican Headquarters is down the street.

Rule 10: Use the proper case of pronoun Personal pronouns and the pronoun who, change form as they function as subject or object: SUBJECT: Who is going dancing tonight? OBJECT: He is dancing with whom? SUBJECT: Sally is the candidate who we think will win. OBJECT: Sally is the candidate whom we hope to elect. (We hope to elect her.) Use the pronoun I if it’s the subject of an understood verb. Sandy writes better than I. (…than I write)

Rule 10 (cont.) Possessive Pronouns show ownership: Adjective modifier (your hat) Noun form (the hat of yours) Gerunds (verb +ing) require a possessive case: Mother objected to our driving on the icy roads.

PARTICIPIAL PHRASE OR GERUND? Participle phrases always function as adjectives, adding description to the sentence. Read these examples: The horse trotting up to the fence hopes that you have an apple or carrot. Trotting up to the fence modifies the noun horse. The water drained slowly in the pipe clogged with dog hair. Clogged with dog hair modifies the noun pipe. Eaten by mosquitoes, we wished that we had made hotel, not campsite, reservations. Eaten by mosquitoes modifies the pronoun we.

PARTICIPIAL PHRASE OR GERUND? Gerund and present participle phrases are easy to confuse because they both begin with an ing word. The difference is the function that they provide in the sentence. A gerund phrase will always behave as a noun while a present participle phrase will act as an adjective. Walking on the beach, Delores dodged jellyfish that had washed ashore. Walking on the beach = present participle phrase describing the noun Delores. Walking on the beach is painful if jellyfish have washed ashore. Walking on the beach = gerund phrase, the subject of the verb is.

Rule 11: beware of misplaced modifiers! A participial phrase at the beginning of a sentence must refer to the grammatical subject. CORRECT: Young and inexperienced, I thought the task was easy. INCORRECT: Young and inexperienced, the task seemed easy to me. INCORRECT: Being in a dilapidated condition, I was able to buy the house very cheap. INCORRECT: Wondering what to do next, the clock struck twelve.