Parts of Speech ITSW 1410 Presentation Media Software Instructor: Glenda H. Easter

Parts of Speech2 Colon  Use a colon before a list of items. Think of the colon as a substitute for the words "that is." – We brought several things to the picnic: champagne, oysters, chocolate truffles and fresh strawberries.

Parts of Speech3 Commas  Remember that you NEVER punctuate words.  You punctuate sentences.  You can’t say "and" takes a comma; "however" takes a semi-colon.  Remember that every punctuation mark tells the reader to expect something.

Parts of Speech4 Commas (Continued)  Don’t use a comma unless you can cite a rule for it.  When in doubt, leave it out. – "Put a comma where you pause" is not a rule of writing. It’s a rule of reading.  There are 46 uses for the comma. Here are the two most frequently asked about.

Parts of Speech5 Uses of the Comma  Put a comma between each item in a series.  The comma after the last item in the series is optional and should be used only if it clarifies the meaning.  This is called the terminal comma. A terminal comma is unnecessary if the word "and" clarifies that the last item in the series is next.

Parts of Speech6 Uses of the Comma (Continued)  DON’T use the terminal comma in a short series. – The flag is blue, green and silver.  DO use the terminal comma in a series that is especially long or complex. – We had milk and cookies, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and cake and ice cream for dinner.

Parts of Speech7 Uses of the Comma (Continued)  Put commas around non-essential material: material that would not change the meaning of the subject if it were left out. If material is part of the subject, it is essential and must not have commas. – Gladys, who loves to ice skate, broke her toe. – The woman who loves to ice skate broke her toe.

Parts of Speech8 Uses of the Comma (Continued)  Put commas around non-essential material (Continued): – His idea, which I like best, is the one about saving money. – The idea that I like best is the one about saving money. – All commas and periods go INSIDE quotation marks, regardless of usage.

Parts of Speech9 Dash  Do not use a dash when you can use a comma.  Dashes Shout.  Parentheses whisper.  Unfortunately, the dash is not on your keyboard (as is the hyphen).

Parts of Speech10 Dash (Continued)  You can create a dash by using the function keys or the "insert, symbol" on your tool bar. Don’t use spaces before or after a dash. If your computer doesn't have a dash, you must create one by using two hyphens.  Don’t use a hyphen for a dash. They are not the same. – dash -- – hyphen -

Parts of Speech11 Parallel Structure  Parallel structure is a grammatical technique for creating a uniform pattern when two or more items are being compared or listed.  The technique requires that each item begin with the same grammatical structure: – I like singing, dancing and cooking. – I like to sing, dance and cook. – I like to sing, to dance and to cook.

Parts of Speech12 Parentheses  Remember that parentheses whisper.  DASHES SHOUT.  If the parenthetical element has a close, logical relationship to the rest of the sentence, use commas.  Use parentheses to set off explanatory elements. – The ingredients in the recipe (flour, sugar, eggs, salt) are common.

Parts of Speech13 Past Tense  There are two very different past tenses in English. Use them correctly. – When the action has been completed: learned, read, swam. I worked 40 hours last week. – When the action began in the past but has not been completed: have learned, have read, have swum. I have worked 12 hours so far today.

Parts of Speech14 Run Together Sentences  Every sentence must have a subject, verb and a complete idea.  Don’t separate two sentences (independent clauses) with a comma.  Separate them with a semi-colon or use a period and a capital letter. – No: I like red, my sister does too. – Yes: I like red; my sister does too. – Yes: I like red. My sister does too.

Parts of Speech15 Semi-Colon  Use a semi-colon to separate two independent clauses that are closely related.  Do this to indicate that you don't want the reader to stop with the thought.

Parts of Speech16 Semi-Colon (Continued)  An independent clause is one that can stand alone as a complete sentence. It has a subject, a verb and a complete idea. – Red is my favorite color; half my wardrobe is red.

Parts of Speech17 Semi-Colon (Continued)  When items in a series are complex, long, or contain commas, it is often best to separate the items with a semi-colon rather than a comma. – We elected the following: Mary, president; Sue, vice-president; Richard, secretary; and Roger, treasurer.

Parts of Speech18 That  That can be eliminated before a phrase if the meaning is clear without it. – I told him I was leaving early. – I told him that I was leaving early. (eliminate that)

Parts of Speech19 That (Continued)  That should be used when two phrases could create ambiguity.  This sentence can have two interpretations. – He told me in 1998 he moved to San Francisco.

Parts of Speech20 That (Continued)  Which is the correct meaning? – In 1998 he told me he moved to San Francisco. – He told me he moved to San Francisco in  Notice how that clarifies the meaning. – He told me that in 1998 he moved to San Francisco. – In 1998 he told me that he moved to San Francisco.

Parts of Speech21 That (Continued)  That and which create a lot of confusion. The main problem is that which can be used in two ways, that in only one.  That is used for essential material, creating what we call a restrictive phrase or clause. If essential material is eliminated, the sentence often changes meaning.

Parts of Speech22 That (Continued)  Which, on the other hand, can be used when you have essential or non-essential material, creating either a restrictive or non-restrictive phrase or clause.  Let’s look at examples. – History books, which do not include women, will not be used.

Parts of Speech23 That (Continued) – History books, which do not include women, will not be used.  The sentence on the previous slide puts commas around the phrase "which do not include women."  By using commas here, we are saying that this phrase is non-essential.

Parts of Speech24 That (Continued) – History books, which do not include women, will not be used.  Therefore, we can delete the phrase and not change the meaning of the sentence.  Non-essential material does not restrict the meaning of the sentence.

Parts of Speech25 That (Continued) – History books, which do not include women, will not be used.  The sentence above means – History books will not be used.  It also means – History books do not include women.

Parts of Speech26 That (Continued)  Now let’s look at the identical words without the commas. – History books which do not include women will not be used.  Because there are no commas in the sentence, we are saying that everything is essential.

Parts of Speech27 That (Continued)  The phrase "which do not include women" restricts the meaning of the sentence.  It becomes part of the complete grammatical subject.

Parts of Speech28 That (Continued)  Notice the most important thing here: the words in both sentences are identical but the meanings differ because we used commas.  The sentence above means – The history books that will not be used are those that do not include women.

Parts of Speech29 That (Continued)  In other words, we might use some history books. That’s different from the first example, which said no history books will be used.  Now that we have clarified how to punctuate that for essential material and which for non-essential material, let’s look at the choices in usage.

Parts of Speech30 That (Continued)  That can be used only for essential material.  And remember, we cannot use commas with essential material.  So the rule is easy: don’t use commas when that introduces essential material.  On the other hand, which can be used for both essential and non-essential material.

Parts of Speech31 That (Continued)  English has a way of creating confusion, doesn’t it?  For example, we can write – History books, which do not include women, will not be used. – History books which do not include women will not be used.

Parts of Speech32 That (Continued)  How can we simplify this confusion?  When we have essential material, we must use that.  So reserve which for non-essential only.