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Writing & Grammar: Quick/Quickly

by Jennie Ruby  

Can I use quick as an adverb without the -ly, just like I can use slow as an adverb? They are very similar words, after all, and are related because they are opposites. Even so, the guidelines for quick/quickly are a little different. We have less free range to use quick as an adverb without sounding ungrammatical. Look at the following examples: 

• "Kids! Come quick! A kitten is being born!"
• The kids ran quickly out to the garage.

In both cases, quick/ly is an adverb. But the expressioncome quick is a "set phrase"--such a common way of saying something that it would sound odd to change it, even for the sake of grammar. Other examples of set phrases are transition phrases such as "on the other hand" and clichés such as "set in stone."

As with slow, quick is also often an adjective, not an adverb. Here is an example where quick is modifying a noun, not a verb:

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

Nevertheless, I am tempted to use quick instead of quickly as an adverb in some situtations. Let me know what you think of these examples.

Can I use quick instead of quickly in these sentences?

1. The chicken ran (quick/quickly) to the other side of the road.
2. The storm started so (quick/quickly) that I could not avoid getting wet.
3. The bird flew so (quick/quickly) that I could not identify it.
4. The web page loaded (quick/quickly).
5. Click (quick/quickly) on the message box before it disappears.
6. Spring arrived (quick/quickly) this year.

Just like last week, additional examples are welcome. Send your responses to me when ready.

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If you like Jennie's articles, you'll love her classes. Join her online and learn about Writing Effective eLearning Voiceover Scripts and eLearning: Writing Step-by-Step Scripts and Training Documents.

Writing & Grammar: Slow/Slowly

by Jennie Ruby  

Consider these two sentences, both containing the adverb slow/slowly:

The river ran slow that summer.

The runner jogged slowly past the window.

Wait, you might be thinking, shouldn't the first one say slowly? The answer is no, it doesn't have to--the word slowcan be used as an adverb without the -ly! So how do you decide? Bryan Garner, in the Oxford Dictionary of American Usage and Style, tells us, "let rhythm and euphony be your guide."

Of course the word slow is also an adjective, when it is used to modify a noun:

The slow train seemed to take forever to cross the bridge.

Here is this week's challenge. Tell me which way you would go with each of the following examples. Each sentence usesslow/slowly as an adverb, not as an adjective. When should I add -ly, and when should I not? I am trying to come up with concrete ways to explain when to use slow over slowly or vice versa. Can you explain your choices?

1. We drove (slow/slowly) because some children were playing nearby.
2. He walked really (slow/slowly) when he passed the field where his friends were playing.
3. Drag the mouse (slow/slowly) to select just the yellow portion of the image.
4. The space shuttle riding on the back of the airliner appeared to fly very (slow/slowly).
5. The band played (slow/slowly) when the conductor was distracted.
6. The water ran (slow/slowly) because of the water main break.
7. She poured water (slow/slowly) over the cooling noodles.
8. They biked too (slow/slowly) to get to the park before the moon rose.
9. The image (slow/slowly) transitions to gray.
10. The transition (slow/slowly) takes place as you watch.

Additional examples are welcome. Send your responses to me when ready.

Writing & Grammar: One Word or Two?

by Jennie Ruby  

I came across this error in a heartfelt book review:

"It is a painful acceptance of the solitude and the loneliness of each and everyone of us."

The problem is that the writer needed two words rather than one: every one of us. The compound indefinite pronouns everyone, someone, and anyone sometimes need to be separated into two words. This usually occurs when a phrase  starting with the word of follows:

Any one of the rakes will do nicely for this light job.

However, that is not the only time these words need to be separated. Give the following examples a careful reading. Which of these pronouns should be two words, and which should be one word? (And no fair relying on the Microsoft Word grammar checker!)

1. I wanted to eat some grapes, but when I got to the kitchen, I found that everyone was gone.
2. Everyone likes a good joke.
3. I looked in the shed, but I could not find anyone of the rakes.
4. Everyone of my art books was soaked in the flood.
5. Do you need someone to help you lift that sofa?
6. Did you see anyone in the dark alley?
7. Have you seen anyone of the birds alight on the suet?
8. He asked someone of the guards to help him.

***

On last week's challenge, Precise Placement of Only, Nima Regev knocked it out of the park with 100 percent correct:

1. I expected only one of the tomatoes to ripen each week.
2. If you register early, you pay only $495 for the entire conference.
3. Only three participants in the rally were arrested (correct)
4. The three participants were only arrested, not indicted (correct)
5. The participant had contributed only one sample document before the class.
6. The ticket guarantees only entry into the theater, not the seat you will get.

Other correct answers came from Krista Allen, Gwen Zierdt, and Rebecca Fleisch Cordeiro. Michael Stein and Mary Saunders also get extra points for moving the word only to the end of the first clause in example 6, where it receives extra emphasis. Here is Saunders' take:

6. The ticket guarantees theatre entrance only, not the seat you will get.

I especially like this placement because the argumentative tone comes through: this sentence sounds like part of a confrontation with a theater patron. Also, don't think I did not notice the spelling of theatre with re! The er spelling is standard in the United States, but this French spelling is also listed as a variant in Webster's.

Those of you who did not move only in examples 2 and 6 were possibly going by ear--keeping only before the verb matches the pattern of spoken English. I sympathize with the fact that it sounds a little less smooth to place only after pay or afterguarantees, but the added precision might be worth considering a complete rewrite, like this:

The ticket guarantees only that you will get into the theater, not which seat you will get.

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If you like Jennie's articles, you'll love her classes. Join her online and learn about Writing Effective eLearning Voiceover Scripts and eLearning: Writing Step-by-Step Scripts and Training Documents.

Writing & Grammar: Precise Placement of Only

by Jennie Ruby  

While reviewing the submissions from last week's challenge, I noticed that many respondents moved the word only to a position before the verb rather than keeping it where it was in my original. Placement of the word only is frequently tweaked by copyeditors for greater accuracy in writing-especially technical writing. Consider this conversation between police and a participant in a brawl:

How many people hit Joe?

Only I hit him.

Did you kick him, too?

No. I only hit him.

Did you hit other people as well?

No. I hit only him.

Are you sure?

Yes, I am sure. I hit him only.

Notice how the word only was placed in four different places in the sentence "I hit him," with a different meaning each time. The word only is a type of modifier called a limiter. It limits the word right after it in the sentence. Or if it is at the end of the sentence, it modifies the word right before it, with extra emphasis.

In the spoken language we tend to keep it in front of the verb and make its true target clear through verbal emphasis. In the written language, however, we need to move the word only to its rightful place directly before the word or phrase it is modifying.

This week's challenge: Precise placement of only. Some of these sentences have the word only misplaced. Others are correct and clear. Can you spot the difference? 

1. I only expected one of the tomatoes to ripen each week.
2. If you register early, you only pay $495 for the entire conference.
3. Only three participants in the rally were arrested.
4. The three participants were only arrested, not indicted.
5. The participant had only contributed one sample document before the class.
6. The ticket only guarantees entry into the theater, not the seat you will get.

***

Several respondents to last week's challenge entered into the spirit of deciding where to use passive voice based on what they wanted to emphasize in the sentence. I especially liked the treatment of damp earth and debris in this take by Jing Ping (JP) Fan:

Keep your new blower vac clean and use it only with dry leaves. When damp earth and debris are picked up (keep the passive since damp earth and debris are emphasized and they are the initiators of the chamber [being] clogged), the inside of the fan chamber may become clogged, which decreases the performance of the unit. Use a stick or other non-metalic scraper to clean out the unit when it is disconnected from the power source (keep the passive because the state of the unit being disconnected is emphasized). Do not store your blower vac adjacent to fertilizers or chemicals. Such storage can corrode the metal parts.

Michael Stein also explained why he kept some sentences passive. Notice that he used active for the first half of the sentence about damp earth by making the vac pick up the damp earth. But he keeps "may become clogged" passive(some might say become is a nonaction verb, but that is pretty close to passive):

Keep your new blower vac clean. Use it to pick up dry leaves only. If the vac picks up damp earth and debris, the inside of the fan chamber may become clogged (kept it passive because it is the vac doing the work and not the owner). This may cause the unit's performance to be decreased (kept it passive because it is the vac's performance in question and not the owner's). Disconnect the unit from the power source, and then clean this area out by using a stick or other non-metalic scraper. Do not store the blower vac adjacent to fertilizers or chemicals because the metal parts can become corroded by such storage (kept it passive because it is the vac corroding and not the owner).

Here is his overall logic:

I made the instructions for the owner active and kept passive the actions affecting the blower vac.

Kay Honaker also rewrote the passage with both active and passive voice, and gave this reasoning: "My passive sentences relate to the possibility that someone other than the owner may be doing the actions (such as disconnecting the power source)."

Despite my encouragement to choose passive for some sentences, a number of readers decided to make every sentence active. To do so, they had to make a thing do some of the actions, while a person (the owner or user of the vac) did most actions. Despite my defense of the passive, I think using active for everything really works in this paragraph submitted by Elisia Getts. Notice especially how "This" may decrease the vac's performance and "these" can corrode the metal parts.

It is important for you to keep your new blower vac clean. Use only with dry leaves. If you use the blower vac to pick up damp earth or debris, the inside of the fan chamber may become clogged. This may decrease the vac's performance. If this happens, clean out the fan chamber using a stick or other non-metalic scraper. Be sure to disconnect the blower vac from the power source before cleaning. Do not store the vac next to fertilizers or chemicals as these can corrode the metal parts of the vac.

I also appreciated Mary Jo Feeney's take on the paragraph, which was very similar and all active voice. Here is her final sentence, which also has the fertilizers or chemicals "which" may corrode....

Store the unit away from fertilizers or chemicals which may corrode the metal parts of the unit.

I count this entire challenge a success if I have you thinking about when to use active or passive, rather than writing without consciously choosing whether to use active or passive. Here is a big thanks to those not previously mentioned who also rose to last week's challenge: Jennifer Zapp, Sudha, Vera I. Sytch Brenda Sing, and Stacey Edwards. 

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If you love Jennie's articles, you'll love her classes. Join her online and learn about Writing Effective eLearning Voiceover Scripts and eLearning: Writing Step-by-Step Scripts and Training Documents.

Writing & Grammar: The Power of Passive Voice

by Jennie Ruby  

As writers, we know we are not supposed to use the passive voice. Nearly every writers' guide tells us to prefer the active voice. This is a view I generally endorse. But, as a student in one of my grammar classes recently argued, knee-jerk conversion of every sentence to active may actually make the writing lose its point.

For example, if a paragraph is about Bob, Bob should be in the subject position in most of the sentences. Bob may do some things, but Bob may have some things done to him. To keep him in the subject role, you have to use passive for some sentences, like this:

Bob traveled [active] to Paris last fall. When he purchased [active] his plane tickets, he was offered [passive] a discount on some castle tours. When he arrived [active] in France, however, he discovered [active] that he had been scheduled [passive] for two tours at the same time. He complained [active] at the tour office, and demanded that the second tour be rescheduled [passive].

This week's challenge: Rewrite the following entirely passive paragraph using mostly active voice. If you chose to retain the passive on some sentences, indicate why. [Hint: decide whether this is the story of the blower vac or of "you" the owner of the new power tool.] I'm looking forward to reading your submissions.

Your new blower vac should be kept clean. It should be used only with dry leaves. When damp earth and debris are picked up, the inside of the fan chamber may become clogged. Then the performance of the unit may be decreased. This area should be cleaned out using a stick or other non-metalic scraper. Cleaning should only be done when the unit is disconnected from the power source. The blower vac should not be stored adjacent to fertilizers or chemicals. The metal parts can be corroded by such storage.

***

Many excellent sentences resulted from last week's challenge. Virtually every sentence readers sent in was an improvement over the original with the false subject. Here is the overall best take on the sentences, presented by Stacey Edwards, who also explains how she analyzed each sentence:

Original sentences are numbered. Revisions are beneath each numbered sentence. [Bold face indicates original subject and verb.] 

1. There are two places you can edit a resource calendar: the Working Time tab of the Resource Information dialog box and the Change Working Time dialog box.

You can edit a resource calendar in either the Working Time tab of the Resource Information dialog box or the Change Working Time dialog box.


2. There is a widespread misperception that search fields are case sensitive. (no clear subject or verb)  

Many new employees mistakenly believe that search fields are case sensitive.


3. It is difficult for voting rights advocates to prove in federal court that packing minority voters into majority-minority districts diminishes their ability to elect candidates of choice.

Voting rights advocates have difficulty proving in federal court that packing minority voters into majority-minority districts diminishes the voters' ability to elect their candidates of choice.


4. There is an average wait time for tables of more than 40 minutes. (missing subject)

Diners wait an average of over 40 minutes for tables.


5. It is sometimes desirable to convert user-defined missing values to nulls.

Sometimes, you should convert user-defined missing values to nulls.


6. There is one simple query that can be issued that allows you to select all records from a table but display only a specified column. 

You can issue a single simple query so that you can select all records from a table, but display only a specified column.

Edwards made sure to find a human subject for every sentence, and I do recommend that writers attempt to find that human actor whenever possible.  I especially love what she did with number 2: she figured out that there was no strong subject or verb, so she cast about for a good subject and put that in: "Many new employees" along with a strong verb, "believe."

On the other hand, sometimes it may be legitimate to speak of things doing things. If the concept or function or widget you are explaining is the most important thing in the sentence, you may want to place that in the subject slot. Here is an example where Barbara Wiedl did this:

The average wait for tables is more than 40 minutes.

The reader's principal concern may well be the wait time, and placing it first in the sentence is a good call.

Similarly, both Wiedl and Michael Stein revised number 5 this way:

Converting user-defined missing values to nulls is sometimes desirable.

Lisa Mileusnich gives another good take on number 5 (similar to Stacey's):

Sometimes you should convert user-defined missing values to nulls.

Number 5 also illustrates a common problem I find when I read training materials from which I am trying to learn: the what and how are included, but not the why. By using the words sometimes you at the front, Mileusnich's sentence leads one directly to the question of "When should I make this conversion, and when should I not?" The original, with its "it is sometimes desirable to..." takes the why as a given, as if the reader already knows that conversion is "desirable." Eliminating false subjects may sometimes show us that the sentence could actually contain a lot more information.

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If you love Jennie's articles, you'll love her classes. Join her online and learn about Writing Effective eLearning Voiceover Scripts and eLearning: Writing Step-by-Step Scripts and Training Documents.

Writing & Grammar: Avoid Using False Subjects

by Jennie Ruby  

The subject and the verb are two of the most important items in a sentence. The subject is typically the first unit of meaning in a sentence and the verb is the second. Together they form the core content of the sentence:

The angry chickadee chased the marauding squirrel from the feeder.

By starting with the unique subject and a specific action, you create a strong and interesting sentence. However, many of us don't write our training and business documents that way. Instead, we distance ourselves and our readers from the content of our sentences by using "false subjects." A false subject is the word there or it serving as a placeholder for the true subject. The nonaction verb to be follows, typically in the form of is, are, was, or were, acting as a placeholder for the true action of the sentence.

And where are the true subject and the true action hidden? The true subject might appear after the verb:

There was an angry chickadee chasing a marauding squirrel from the feeder.

But sometimes the subject might not be included in the sentence at all, as the action becomes passive:

There was a squirrel being chased from the feeder.

The cure for this distancing and uninteresting writing style is to (1) notice a false subject at the beginning of a sentence, (2) identify the true subject or actor (who may not even be mentioned in the sentence), and (3) identify the true verb. Once you have identified all of the important content, reconstruct the sentence with the true subject first, then the true verb. Thus,

There are two different ways that a mailbox can be installed.

First I notice the false subject and nonaction verb: "there are." Then I look for the true subject or actor. The true actor is not even in the sentence. To decide on a true actor, I have to think about who would install a mailbox. I could just say "a person," but a more specific person would be better. Maybe a mail carrier or a building contractor installs the mailbox. Or maybe I am talking directly to the reader "you."

Next I determine the action or true verb. In this case "installed."

Now I put the true actor and the action verb at the front of the sentence:

You can install a mailbox one of two ways.

Try that process on these sentences. Feel free to invent true actors if they are not present in the sentence. Add action verbs as needed. I can't wait to read your improvements. I expect your suggestions will make the text below far more interesting and stronger.

1. There are two places you can edit a resource calendar: the Working Time tab of the Resource Information dialog box and the Change Working Time dialog box.
2. There is a widespread misperception that search fields are case sensitive.
3. It is difficult for voting rights advocates to prove in federal court that packing minority voters into majority-minority districts diminishes their ability to elect candidates of choice.
4. There is an average wait time for tables of more than 40 minutes.
5. It is sometimes desirable to convert user-defined missing values to nulls.
6. There is one simple query that can be issued that allows you to select all records from a table but display only a specified column.

***

If you love Jennie's articles, you'll love her classes. Join her online and learn about Writing Effective eLearning Voiceover Scripts and eLearning: Writing Step-by-Step Scripts and Training Documents.

Writing & Grammar: Should a Comma Go After Although?

by Jennie Ruby  

I rarely go out on a limb and say the word never in answer to a punctuation question, but I am going to chance it this time: Never put a comma after although--unless what follows it is a completely nonessential interruption. Okay, so it turns out I still can't say never. But let's examine why I want to say never. I have recently seen writers incorrectly do this:

Although, Betsy did not want to go swimming that day, Tommy convinced her to jump.

Although, when the water is warm, she loves to go swimming in the ocean, that day the water was cold.

In the first example, there is no reason for a comma afteralthough. The word although is not a transition word ( likehowever, therefore, or moreover). Instead, although is a "subordinating conjunction." It creates a subordinate clause and is actually part of the clause.

In the second example, the comma after although appears to form a pair with the comma after warm, making the introductory clause "when the water is warm" look as though it is parenthetical, or nonessential. However, it is not nonessential, because if you remove it from the sentence, the part about "that day the water was cold" becomes a non sequitur.

Let's look at an example where the word although is actually followed by an interruption, rather than by an introductory clause:

Although, as Pete said, the rain stopped by midnight, the stream was still flooded at 6 am.

The interrupter "as Pete said" is surrounded by commas, meaning you can leave it out and the sentence does not suffer a loss of meaning.

In speech people sometimes pause after the word althoughwith index finger raised, quizzical look on face, appearing to think of a new thought that contradicts what they just said and that might make them change their mind. In these cases, people tend to pronounce the word although in a long, drawn out manner with an emphasis in the middle: al-THOUGH-ohhh. Their words might be punctuated like this:

I intend to fire Jim--although--didn't he just win a new account? [I might be changing my mind.]

The dashes indicate interrupted thought and a complete departure from the gist of the sentence. A comma would not be a strong enough punctuation mark to indicate this kind of interruption. Contrast that with this:

I intend to fire Jim, although [or even though] he just won a new account. [I'm still going to fire him.]

I intend to purchase a new laptop, although my old one still works.

By far the majority of sentences with although in everyday business, training, or marketing are these ordinary uses, not the long, drawn out because-I-might-be-changing-my-mind types of sentences. So, I return to my original statement: don't use a comma after although.

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If you love Jennie's articles, you'll love her classes. Join her online and learn about Writing Effective eLearning Voiceover Scripts and eLearning: Writing Step-by-Step Scripts and Training Documents.

Writing & Grammar: Can a Sentence End With a Preposition?

by Jennie Ruby  

Can I end a sentence with a preposition? Well, yes and no. The old school rule that you cannot end a sentence with a preposition has some validity, but it has also been mocked by personages high and low. Allegedly, for example, Winston Churchill said, "That is something up with which I will not put."

The practical solution is to try removing the preposition from the end of the sentence. If it changes the meaning of the sentence, put it back. If you can move the preposition to another place in the sentence, try that. If it sounds really odd and convoluted, put it back at the end. Finally, if you have a preposition at the end, and you try moving it and are pleased with the result, leave it in its new position. 

Here are examples to try out (or to simply try). As always,feel free to send your examples to us.

1. Our office does not use these old-style floppy disks any more. I think we should throw them out.
2. What will the meeting be about?
3. Whom am I speaking to?
4. I informed the client where the meeting is at.
5. Which tunnel are we going through?
6. This is a reminder that the east building is the one we are going to.

***

After I read John M. Widen's entry for last week's challenge, I realized that no more need be said: 

1. black coffee cup
   • Please wash my black-coffee cup. Someone put cream in it.
2. cheap jug wine
   • If I decanted my wine into an inexpensive ceramic container, I might refer to it as my cheap-jug wine.
3. long range plan
   • My long range-plan for the rifle club was written on a roll of butcher paper.
4. orange sofa pillow
   • I chose lime green for the orange-sofa pillow. Of course I have no taste in colors or syntax.
5. free range chicken
   • Any poultry that escapes the rifle club might be called free range-chicken, or not.
6. broken CD tower
   • I should throw those old disks away instead of storing them in my broken-CD tower.
7. grape seed oil
   • It's easier to plant new vineyards if you lubricate the planter with grape seed-oil.
8. orange juice maker
   • While celebrating Holi in Mumbai (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holi) we bought drinks from the orange juice-maker.    
9. lower back pain
   • I have lower-back pain so I engaged a chiropractor who promised to lower back-pain.
10. red leaf lettuce
    • There is a head-forming red-leaf lettuce but I prefer the taste of red leaf-lettuce.

And here are the correct answers sent to me by Ginny Supranowitz:

1. black coffee cup
2. cheap jug wine
3. long-range plan
4. orange sofa pillow
5. free-range chicken
6. broken CD tower
7. grape-seed oil
8. orange-juice maker
9. lower back pain (I think lower-back could be hyphenated, but we all know what it means without the hyphen.)
10. red-leaf lettuce

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If you love Jennie's articles, you'll love her classes. Join her online and learn about Writing Effective eLearning Voiceover Scripts and eLearning: Writing Step-by-Step Scripts and Training Documents.

Writing & Grammar: Hyphenating Adjectives (And Answers to Last Week's Challenge)

by Jennie Ruby  

Answers to last week's comma challenge, as presented byJing Ping Fan (Correct answers were also sent in by Susan Benson):

1. The tall and hollow trunk (or The tall, hollow trunk)
2. The upper right corner
3. A quick, easy lesson (or "and")
4. My blue suede shoes
5. The small down arrow
6. A loud and overcrowded stadium (or comma)
7. A small yellow icon
8. A large, cracked hubcap (or "and")
9. The large gray button
10. A wordy and uninteresting paragraph (or comma)

Are you surprised by some of these answers? For example, did you hyphenate upper right corner? Did you place a comma there? Did you want a comma between small and down for the small down arrow? Let's take a closer look at the items that were difficult.

The first thing to remember is that placing a comma between the adjectives means that you could have used the word andthere. When we try that on the expression upper right corner, we get "upper and right corner." When you read that out loud, it sounds a little odd. But more significantly, it implies almost a feeling that there are two different corners being discussed--an upper one and a right one. This is similar to the expression my blue suede shoes. If you say "my blue and suede shoes," it sounds as if you are talking about two different shoes. The word and truly does not work here, so a comma does not work, either.

Try that again on the expression "small down arrow." In describing such an arrow verbally, would you ever say "the small and down arrow"?  The word and does not work here, and for that reason, there should not be a comma betweensmall and down.

When I was a copyeditor on scientific journals, we used to talk about the "makes no difference" concept. The idea was that if it makes no difference in meaning whether you put a hyphen in versus leave it out, then leave it out. I think this concept works well on "upper right corner." Does it matter whether the reader perceives this as meaning the "upper rightcorner" (the upper one of the right corners) or the "upperright corner" (the upper right one of the corners)? No. Either way, the reader arrives at the upper corner on the right-hand side. Upper andright apply to the word corner equally. So there is no need to hyphenate upper and right to force the reader to join them together.

Contrast that with the expressions "blue laundry marker" and "high priced sedan." In both of these, the way you group the words does make a difference. Let's take out the spaces to show which two words are being read more closely together. If you read these aloud, you can hear that there is a big difference between a "bluelaundry marker" (you can use it only on blue clothes!) and a "blue laundrymarker" (it marks blue on any color clothes). Likewise, there is a difference between a "highpriced sedan" and a "high pricedsedan." The first makes sense, and the second is nonsensical.  What is a "pricedsedan"? In this last example, you do need to hyphenatehigh and priced to help the reader understand: a high-priced sedan.

Try this method on the following examples: If the first two words need to be read together, hyphenate. If the last two words need to be read together, leave it alone. And if it does not matter which two words are read together, also leave it alone.

1. black coffee cup
2. cheap jug wine
3. long range plan
4. orange sofa pillow
5. free range chicken
6. broken CD tower
7. grape seed oil
8. orange juice maker
9. lower back pain
10. red leaf lettuce

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If you love Jennie's articles, you'll love her classes. Join her online and learn about Writing Effective eLearning Voiceover Scripts and eLearning: Writing Step-by-Step Scripts and Training Documents.

Writing & Grammar: Adjectives Versus Adverbs

by Jennie Ruby  

Last week's challenge was a tough one. Several readers correctly punctuated the sentences but did not correctly identify which commas were optional. Sadly, only a minority of respondents got everything right. Here are the answers as presented by Larena Jackson. The goals were to correctly punctuate (or refrain from punctuating) these introductory phrases and to indicate whether the comma was optional or required.

1. In the morning she will leave the house by 7:30.  
   (optional comma as refers to time-In the morning, she...)
2. Over the rainbow is where the pot of gold should be.
3. After the long and boring meeting, we finally broke for coffee. (required-prepositional phrase more than 4 words)
4. After all, the boss is my best friend. (required-prepositional phrase acts as transition)
5. In 2009 the software was completely revised. (optional comma as refers to time-In 2009, the software...)
6. On the other hand, Bill might be better suited for the job than Bob is. (required- prepositional phrase acts as transition)

Respondent Carrie Noxon brought up one thing I did not mention in my column last week: some organizations may have an in-house style that makes the optional comma after a short introductory phrase mandatory.   She writes, "Our standard calls for a comma with introductory prepositional phrases. For us, it is always required. We also like the Oxford comma."

These two rules mean Noxon's organization uses "close punctuation," meaning that all optional commas are mandatory. As soon as I read her comment, I guessed that she must work at a law firm, and indeed, that turned out to be true. Legal writing has a great need for consistency and precision, and using more commas tends to help in that goal.

Correct Answers were sent in by:

• Larena Jackson
• Vera I. Sytch
• Carrie Noxon
• Lorna McLellan
• Michael Stein

Adjectives versus Adverbs

Adjectives describe nouns. Blue, tall, funny, long--these are all clearly descriptions of things: The blue screen, the tall coffee, the funny face, a long drive. Sometimes one adjective in front of a noun is not enough to fully describe or identify the item. Then we use two or more: The big old truck, the upper left corner of the screen, a small gray mouse. As soon as you have multiple adjectives in front of the noun, you need to ask whether you need commas between the adjectives. Here's how you tell: if you cannot reverse the order of the adjectives you do not need a comma between them.

Read this out loud:

The small brown bird

It sounds natural and normal. Now try reversing the adjectives:

The brown small bird

It sounds wrong or at least "funny." You do not need a comma between these adjectives because they are in the proper order.

If you can reverse the order of the adjectives, you need to ask a second question: can you place the word and between the adjectives. Here is an example where you can reverse the adjectives:

the small furious rodent

the furious small rodent

You can place the word and between the adjectives, and it sounds natural:

The small and furious rodent

Now, you decide whether to keep the word and or replace it with a comma:

The small, furious rodent

Here is this week's challenge: Decide whether you should place a comma between these adjectives. 

1. The tall hollow trunk
2. The upper right corner
3. A quick easy lesson
4. My blue suede shoes
5. The small down arrow
6. A loud overcrowded stadium
7. A small yellow icon
8. A large cracked hubcap
9. The large gray button
10. A wordy uninteresting paragraph  

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