Grammar to Get Things Done: A Practical Guide for Teachers Anchored in Real-World Usage 9781134836949, 1134836945

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GRAMMAR TO GET THINGS DONE Grammar to Get Things Done offers a fresh lens on grammar and grammar instruction, designed for middle and secondary pre-service and in-service English teachers. It shows how form, function, and use can help teachers move away from decontextualized grammar instruction (such as worksheets and exercises emphasizing rule-following and memorizing conventional definitions) and begin considering grammar in applied contexts of everyday use. Modules (organized by units) succinctly explain common grammatical concepts. These modules help English teachers gain confidence in their own understanding while positioning grammar instruction as an opportunity to discuss, analyze, and produce language for real purposes in the world. An important feature of the text is attention to both the history of and current attitudes about grammar through a sociocultural lens, with ideas for teachers to bring discussions of language-as-power into their own classrooms. Darren Crovitz is Professor of English and English Education and the Director of English Education at Kennesaw State University, USA. Michelle D. Devereaux is Assistant Professor of English and English Education at Kennesaw State University, USA.

GRAMMAR TO GET THINGS DONE A Practical Guide for Teachers Anchored in Real-World Usage

Darren Crovitz Michelle D. Devereaux

A CO-PUBLICATION OF ROUTLEDGE AND THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF TEACHERS OF ENGLISH

First published 2017 by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 and by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2017 Taylor & Francis The right of Darren Crovitz and Michelle D. Devereaux to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data Names: Crovitz, Darren. | Devereaux, Michelle D. Title: Grammar to get things done: a practical guide for teachers anchored in real-world usage / by Darren Crovitz and Michelle D. Devereaux. Description: New York: Routledge, 2017. | Includes bibliographical references. Identifiers: LCCN 2016028209| ISBN 9781138683693 (hardback) | ISBN 9781138683709 (pbk.) Subjects: LCSH: English language–Grammar–Study and teaching (Secondary) | English language–Study and teaching (Secondary) Classification: LCC LB1631.C775 2017 | DDC 428.0071/2–dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016028209 ISBN: 978-1-138-68369-3 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-138-68370-9 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-54441-0 (ebk) NCTE stock number: 83709 Typeset in Sabon by Florence Production Ltd, Stoodleigh, Devon, UK

This book is dedicated to our students— past, present, and future.

BRIEF CONTENTS

Preface Acknowledgments

CHAPTER 1 Introduction

xv xvii

1

CHAPTER 2 Grammar and Power

17

CHAPTER 3 Teaching Grammar Intentionally

29

CHAPTER 4 Grammatical Concepts

49

Unit 1: Sentences and Sentence Types

52

Unit 2: Clauses

93

Unit 3: Phrases

104

Unit 4: Lexical Categories

144

Unit 5: Punctuation

194

Appendix Index

221 230

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CONTENTS

Preface Acknowledgments CHAPTER 1 Introduction

Defining Grammar Grammar Usage Mechanics A Very Short History of Grammar and Usage in the English Language A Very Short History of Modern Grammar Instruction Approaches to Grammar: Prescriptive, Descriptive, and Rhetorical Prescriptive and Descriptive Grammars Rhetorical Grammar How We Address Grammar(s) in This Book Why Definitions? Form, Function, and Use Parts of Speech or Lexical Categories? The Goal for All: Metalinguistic Awareness References CHAPTER 2 Grammar and Power

What is Standard English? Moralizing Language Grammar(s) and Power, Society, and Identity Power Society Identity Critical Awareness and Grammar Instruction Further Reading References

xv xvii 1 1 2 2 4 4 6 8 8 9 10 11 12 12 14 14

17 19 21 22 22 23 24 25 26 26

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CHAPTER 3 Teaching Grammar Intentionally

Grammar as an Integrated Element of Broader Design Authority, Control, and Punishment (Sample Integrated Unit #1) Specific Grammar Concepts for This Unit What Counts as Intelligence? (Sample Integrated Unit #2) Specific Grammar Concepts for This Unit How to Plan for Specific Grammar Integration Correction and Grammar Instruction: Using Student Work Diagnostically General Issues and What They Mean Passage- and Paragraph-Level Patterns and What They Mean Sentence-Level Patterns and What They Mean Conclusion References CHAPTER 4 Grammatical Concepts

Introduction: What It Is, and What It Ain’t Structure of Chapter 4 Limitations of Chapter 4 Unit 1: Sentences and Sentence Types Concept: The Sentence Overview Form and Function Focusing on Use: How Sentences are Useful in Actual Communication Experimenting with the Sentence Concept: Non-Sentences and Their Uses Overview Form Fragments and Function Focusing on Use: How Non-Sentences are Useful in Actual Communication Experimenting with Fragments and Run-Ons Concept: Simple Sentences Overview Form Function Focusing on Use: How Simple Sentences are Useful in Actual Communication Experimenting with Simple Sentences Concept: Compound Sentences and Conjunctions Overview Form

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CONTENTS

29 30 31 32 35 36 39 40 42 43 46 47 47 49 49 49 50 52 52 52 52 54 55 57 57 57 60 65 65 67 67 67 68 69 69 71 71 71

Function Focusing on Use: How Compound Sentences are Useful in Actual Communication Experimenting with Compound Sentences Concept: Complex Sentences Overview Form Function Focusing on Use: How Complex Sentences are Useful in Actual Communication Experimenting with Complex Sentences Concept: Compound-Complex Sentences Overview Form Function Focusing on Use: How Compound-Complex Sentences are Useful in Actual Communication Experimenting with Compound-Complex Sentences Concept: Active and Passive Voice Overview Form Function Focusing on Use: How Active Voice is Useful in Actual Communication Experimenting with Passive Voice

72

UNIT 2: Clauses Concept: Dependent Clauses Overview Form Function Focusing on Use: How Dependent Clauses are Useful in Actual Communication Experimenting with Dependent Clauses

93 93 93 93 94

UNIT 3: Phrases Concept: Appositive Phrases Overview Form and Function Focusing on Use: How Appositive Phrases are Useful in Actual Communication Experimenting with Appositive Phrases Concept: Participial Phrases Overview Form

73 73 76 76 76 77 78 79 81 81 81 82 82 83 85 85 85 86 87 90

100 100 104 104 104 104 107 108 109 109 110

CONTENTS

xi

xii

CONTENTS

Function Focusing on Use: How Participles are Useful in Actual Communication Experimenting with Participial Phrases Concept: Absolute Phrases Overview Form Function Focusing on Use: How Absolute Phrases are Useful in Actual Communication Experimenting with Absolute Phrases Concept: Gerunds Overview Form Function Focusing on Use: How Gerunds are Useful in Actual Communication Experimenting with Gerunds Concept: Infinitives Overview Form Function Focusing on Use: How Infinitives are Useful in Actual Communication Experimenting with Infinitives Concept: Prepositions Overview Form Function Focusing on Use: How Prepositions are Useful in Actual Communication Experimenting with Prepositions

110

UNIT 4: Lexical Categories Concept: Nouns Overview Form Function Focusing on Use: How Nouns are Useful in Actual Communication Experimenting with Nouns Concept: Action Verbs Overview Form and Function Focusing on Use: How Action Verbs are Useful in Actual Communication Experimenting with Action Verbs

144 144 144 144 146

112 114 117 117 118 119 121 121 124 124 124 125 126 126 129 129 129 130 132 134 136 136 136 139 140 141

150 152 155 155 155 156 159

Concept: Other Verbs Overview Form Function Focusing on Use: How Verbs are Useful in Actual Communication Experimenting with Other Verbs Concept: Adjectives Overview Form Function Focusing on Use: How Adjectives are Useful in Actual Communication Experimenting with Adjectives Concept: Adverbs Overview Form and Function Focusing on Use: How Adverbs are Useful in Actual Communication Experimenting with Adverbs Concept: Pronouns Overview Form Function Focusing on Use: How Pronouns are Useful in Actual Communication Experimenting with Pronouns UNIT 5: Punctuation Concept: Colons Overview Form and Function Focusing on Use: How Colons are Useful in Actual Communication Experimenting with Colons Concept: Semicolons Overview Form and Function Focusing on Use: How Semicolons are Useful in Actual Communication Experimenting with Semicolons Concept: Dashes Overview Form Function Focusing on Use: How Dashes are Useful in Actual Communication

162 162 162 165 166 166 168 168 169 171 173 175 176 176 176 180 180 182 182 182 188 190 191 194 194 194 194 196 197 198 198 198 200 201 203 203 203 204 206

CONTENTS

xiii

Experimenting with Dashes Concept: Hyphens Overview Form Function Focusing on Use: How Hyphens are Useful in Actual Communication Experimenting with Hyphens Concept: Commas Overview Form and Function References

Appendix What’s in this Appendix? Innate Understandings Suffixes Grammar Rants Language and Power Language and Society/Language and Identity Grammar(s) of Their Worlds Open and Closed Word Classes Analyzing Grammar in Chunks Punctuation More Thematic Units References

Index

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CONTENTS

207 209 209 209 210 212 213 215 215 217 219

221 221 222 222 223 223 223 224 224 225 226 227 229 230

PREFACE

In Grammar to Get Things Done, we bring a fresh approach to grammar and grammar instruction for middle and secondary English teachers. We use form, function, and use to help teachers consider grammar in the applied contexts of everyday language use. Focusing on 25 of the most common grammatical concepts, this book helps English teachers gain confidence in their own understanding while positioning grammar instruction as an opportunity to discuss, analyze, and produce language for real purposes. In addition, we explore both the history of and current attitudes toward grammar through a sociocultural lens, with ideas for teachers to bring discussions of languageas-power into their own classrooms. Grammar to Get Things Done is organized into four chapters. Chapter 1 begins with an introduction to conventional definitions of grammar, mechanics, and usage, followed by an overview of the history of English language grammar instruction and a look at understanding grammar from prescriptive, descriptive, and rhetorical perspectives. Chapter 2 focuses on the interrelationship of language, power, culture, society, and identity, examining conventional attitudes about “correct” language use, raising questions about the implications of Standard English assumptions, and discussing concepts of formal and informal English, English dialects, and the troubling consequences of moralizing language use. Chapter 3 addresses how to incorporate grammar concepts into a wider curriculum. Chapter 4 features 25 sections, each devoted to a particular grammar concept: what the concept is (i.e., its form), how the concept works in our language (i.e., its function), and how we use it in the world (i.e., its use). These sections are anchored by a number of applied scenarios—practical student-focused experiments dealing with how each grammatical concept works to get things done. WHAT’S SPECIAL ABOUT THIS BOOK? An Emphasis on Real-World Use: Rather than defining a grammar rule and then offering exercises to reinforce that rule (the format of many grammar books), we focus on a concept’s form, function, and use. We follow this explanation with scenarios that place each concept in “real world” situations designed to reveal grammar’s immediate utility: in influencing others, shaping events, achieving a specific purpose, and otherwise getting things done with words. Grammar is often viewed as a dry and boring subject

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by teachers and students alike, even though we all manipulate grammatical constructions hundreds of times a day to make our way in the world. Power, Society, and Identity: Few texts discuss the implications of teaching Standard English grammar in the secondary English classroom when many high school students do not speak Standard English at home or in their community. This book explicitly discusses how teachers can integrate the sociolinguistic implications of power, society, and identity in tandem with grammar instruction. Additionally, we offer specific ideas on how to begin and sustain these conversations with secondary English students. Grammar Within Thematic Units: Grammar can and should fit within wider thematic units. We provide specific guidance for considering how the meaning and use of specific concepts can fit within a larger theme-driven curriculum. Note: Words in bold type refer to sections in Chapter 4; pages for relevant sections can be found in the Table of Contents.

xvi

PREFACE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This book would not have happened without a lot of help from other people. Thank you to our Kennesaw State University colleagues, past and present, who helped get this project started: Jennifer Dail, Michelle Goodsite, Aaron Levy, Rob Montgomery, Chris Palmer, David Johnson, Bill Rice, Dawn Kirby, and Ryan Rish. Thanks also to the KSU Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, which supported our initial programmatic forays into improving grammar instruction with a Faculty Learning Community grant. Our school partners have provided important assistance with this project: Jeff Crawford, Carolyn Waters, Lisa Jackson, Vijay Koilpillai, Mary Ann Stillerman, and Lori Calandra. Special thanks to Sherrye Tillman at Osborne High School and Sheryl Davis at Walton High School. This project is, in the end, about helping students. Thank you to the students in Sherrye’s and Sheryl’s classes who experimented with these approaches and provided feedback. Thanks also to the many preservice English teachers who worked through earlier versions of these scenarios in our methods courses. In particular, we would like to thank Delisa Mulkey, Ashley Baldwin Kelsey, and Asher Kelsey for their efforts. Naomi Silverman, our editor at Routledge, has been constantly enthusiastic and helpful through this process. Thank you. Tobey Antao at Heinemann read and responded to early work; thanks, Tobey, for your patience and professionalism. And, of course, thank you to our families for their support and understanding throughout this project.

xvii

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

When Michelle taught her first high school class, she fit the stereotype of the uptight English teacher obsessed with correct grammar use. Though her teacher pens were full of purple and green ink instead of red, the result was the same: her students’ papers marked with every error she could find. That, she thought, was good grammar instruction. After all, that was how her own teachers had taught grammar so many years earlier: identify the mistakes in student writing relentlessly and follow that with worksheets, lots of worksheets, to hammer home correct usage. Experience is a persuasive guide. For years, Michelle continued to mark up her students’ papers. She passed out stacks of grammar worksheets in the hope that her students would finally put that comma after the introductory adverbial clause. Strangely, while her students dutifully completed these stand-alone exercises, their own writing never seemed to show much improvement. They continued to make the same grammatical mistakes they’d always made. On some level, Michelle was aware of a disconnect here. Why couldn’t her students transfer the lessons of a worksheet to their own spontaneous writing? She heard other teachers complain about students as lazy or careless. Was that it, or was she missing something important? Assigning those photocopied grammar worksheets felt like teaching and fit comfortably with the conventional expectations of an English classroom. But it was hard for her to ignore the obvious. Her students didn’t seem to be actually learning anything. Eventually, Michelle heard about teachers exploring different ways to teach grammar and help their students write better sentences, passages, and papers. While trying out new approaches seemed sensible, she was reluctant. After all, what if her students asked a question that she couldn’t answer? There was so much about grammar that she didn’t know. And so, fear and tradition kept the bleeding papers and the worksheets front and center for many years, until Michelle really started learning what grammar is and how it really works. DEFINING GRAMMAR As a rookie teacher sharing resources with her colleagues, Michelle found that many veteran teachers’ writing rubrics had the acronym “GUM” at the bottom, for Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics. She was confused by this acronym. Wasn’t grammar just the rules and expectations for comma placement, sentence structure, verb choice, those

1

lovely parts of speech, and the like? There were entire books—she had to buy them in college—that told her the rules of grammar. Why did these teachers differentiate between grammar, usage, and mechanics, and for that matter, what did these words even mean? Grammar “Grammar” has a far simpler definition than Michelle’s college grammar books led her to believe. At its most basic, grammar is “a description of language structure” (Kolln & Gray, 2013, p. 1), a map of the innate understandings of language forms that all native speakers possess. You will never hear a first-language English speaker say “Red the on had shirt a student” because such an utterance is not grammatical, meaning that it doesn’t fit the underlying map in our minds for how English is used. What speakers will say (“The student had on a red shirt,” “The student had a red shirt on”) may vary for different reasons, but it will always be understandable. All developmentally normal first-language speakers have grammatical structures hard-wired into their brains; researchers have found that even before children are born, they are differentiating the particular rhythms of their mother’s language (Kolln & Gray, 2013). By eighteen months of age, children have already identified predictable patterns (that is, they’re picking up the grammar) of their first language and have begun to use them regularly. In English, these patterns include subject-verb (“Kitty run”), verb-object (“Find Mommy”), and noun-modifier (“Hotdog allgone”) (Curzan & Adams, 2012, p. 322). We discuss various American English dialects later in Chapter 2, but it’s worth mentioning a point here on which all linguists agree: all dialects are grammatical (Adger, Wolfram, & Christian, 2007; Charity Hudley & Mallison, 2011; Green, 2007; Labov, 1972; Redd & Webb, 2005; Simpkins & Simpkins, 1981; Wheeler & Swords, 2006). That is, all dialects follow rules that every first-language speaker can understand.1 “Him and me went to the store” will be received in different ways according to the expectations of the listener, but the meaning of the sentence will rarely be in doubt. It’s as understandable as “He and I went to the store,” and that makes it grammatical. Crazy as it may sound, grammar is really about understanding, not about “correctness.” Usage In our experience, usage is what most people mean when they use the overarching term grammar. “Usage” can be understood as the arbitrary rules of language that have been deemed correct by mainstream groups. We think Sledd (1996) provides a helpful explanation: The study of usage is the study of approved choices among socially graded synonyms. I ain’t got none means “I don’t have any” or “I have none.” All three sentences are equally clear; all are governed by stable rules of grammar; but ain’t and multiple negatives are in some quarters socially disapproved.

1. See Chapter 2 for a further exploration of dialectal rules.

2

INTRODUCTION

When we teach correct usage, we teach linguistic manners of the privileged. Correct usage is usage that observes those constantly changing manners. (p. 59, italics in original) What is considered “correct” changes across time and place. Many English teachers will pounce quickly when students use double negatives (“I don’t got no cooties”), but there was a time when such usage was acceptable, as the examples below illustrate: Ther nas no man nowher so virtuous . . . (Chaucer, “The Friar’s Tale”) I never was nor never will be. (Shakespeare, Richard III) Not until the printing of Robert Lowth’s infamous (and we use “infamous” purposefully here) 1762 book A Short Introduction to English Grammar did the double negative attain its current frowned-upon status. Sayeth Lowth, “Two Negatives in English destroy one another, or are equivalent to an Affirmative” (as cited in Schuster, 2003, p. 60), managing in one sentence to condemn a popular usage while also spawning a now-common grammar meme (When you say “I don’t got no cooties” it actually means you do have cooties!!). Languages evolve, and when they do, what counts as correct changes as well. Lowth’s argument against the double negative—that two negatives make a positive— is a long-standing fallacy, one we often hear when talking with teachers about grammar and American English dialects. Turns out that many modern languages (such as Spanish, Portuguese, and French) employ double negatives, and we’re pretty sure that when French speakers say, “Je ne sais pas” [literally, “I don’t know nothing”] they don’t actually mean “I know.” Triple negatives reinforce the silliness of these bogus language prescriptions. When a Southern English speaker says, “Jimmy don’t know nothing noways,” does that speaker really mean that Jimmy does know something . . . but not at all? Of course not. The intended meaning of the statement is clear to any native listener, and superimposing the rules of one discipline (math) onto another (language) produces absurdity rather than clarity. With matters of communication, the rules of logic often don’t apply. Our point here is that usage rules are arbitrary, dictated and elaborated in the college textbooks Michelle bought and in innumerable style guides on bookstore shelves. People are quick to ascribe a moral dimension to language use: your use of “incorrect” or “bad” grammar must indicate something deficient in your upbringing, your culture, your soul. But these judgments and the rules they arise from rest upon shaky ground. Today’s acceptable usage is tomorrow’s faux pas. That said, we are not arguing against the use of a standardized language. Far from it. We think a standardized language is vital, as it provides everyone a means for common communication. Bottom line, grammar and usage are two different aspects of language study. It’s helpful to remind ourselves that usage invokes a set of rules that changes according to mainstream beliefs and practices, and that these beliefs and practices are often then (mis)labeled as “correct grammar” and put into books to be studied and applied. These “rules” about correctness are not set in stone but change according to the whims of dominant social forces.

INTRODUCTION

3

Mechanics “Mechanics” simply refers to the technicalities of writing: conventions such as spelling, capitalization, and basic punctuation. Many people group mechanics with usage, which is perhaps understandable. As with usage, the rules of spelling, capitalization, and punctuation change according to time and place. For example, Lowth capitalizes both “negative” and “affirmative” in the sentence we cited earlier, a move that would be considered incorrect by today’s standards. Travel to England or Australia, and you’ll find that English spellings differ according to place and culture (such as colour and color, aeroplane and airplane, draught and draft, and theatre and theater). The concept of mechanics is bounded by a small list of writing technicalities, similar to the restraints found in usage. One major difference, however, is that mechanics is a concept that only applies to written language. Take heart in knowing that not even the worst grammar snob can judge what you say for non-standard spelling, capitalization, or punctuation. A VERY SHORT HISTORY OF GRAMMAR AND USAGE IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE We live in a time of digital technologies and tools that have transformed how we communicate. New modes of writing (email, instant messaging, texting, tweeting) and communicating (emojis, vines) have, however, come with an accompanying set of reactionary worries. The general fear, really a kind of “moral panic” (Thompson, 1998), is that these new developments are a corrupting influence on conventional literacy: each time a student uses “LOL” or “gr8t” or “i m ritn 2 u” in an essay, it’s sad evidence of a slow decline toward language chaos. At the risk of overgeneralizing, many folks with these concerns seem to see themselves as lonely defenders of linguistic purity, protecting classic standards of correctness against a looming, ungrammatical horde (we talk a bit more about this perspective in Chapter 2). Sometimes this struggle will include an homage to the supposed educational rigor of yesteryear and a plea for back-tobasics, no-nonsense grammar instruction. Through such a lens, it’s easy to imagine an unadulterated, stable, and consistent history of English grammar and usage stretching back across the centuries, with rules and conventions long-established if not inscribed in stone, all of it now under threat from modern sloppiness. This version of English grammar history is, however, an illusion. The truth is a lot more complex. Turns out that language standards have always been in flux, changing across time and place, and buffeted by powerful forces of self-interest and control, and people have bemoaned the gradual but constant fall of the English language since such a thing existed. To understand where the peculiar love of deconstructing sentences and parsing the language into questionably definitive parts of speech came from, we have to go all the way back to 100 B.C.E. Greece, which is where Dionysius of Thrace wrote the first grammar book based on written rather than spoken language (Lindemann, 2001). Before this text, thinkers such as Aristotle and the Stoics saw grammar primarily as a way to better understand speech, while also accepting that language was a product of human nature and, therefore, susceptible to imperfection and anomalies (Weaver, 1996). However, as the centuries marched on, Dionysius’ first grammar book became the

4

INTRODUCTION

basis for Latin grammar texts, which in turn heavily influenced the creation of English grammar books. Oddly enough, many traditional guides used in teaching twentiethcentury American schoolchildren employed the same strategies of Dionysius’ book: memorization of definitions, the use of literary models, and the parsing of language into parts of speech (Lindemann, 2001). By the Middle Ages, grammar had taken on a moral dimension in Europe. The predominant social institution of the time, the Roman Catholic Church, deemed any change in language “emblematic of the human condition since the fall of grace in the Garden of Eden” (Lindemann, 2001, p. 75). Since language change reflected man’s innate sinfulness, it followed that rigid rules of language correctness (of course, reflecting the rules of Latin, which reflected the rules of Greek) were necessary to curtail this degraded condition. The connection between morality and the English language still permeates many aspects of modern communication, as we discuss in further detail in Chapter 2. The medieval Church dictated access to literacy, largely reserving it for the aristocracy and the clergy. The printing press, the Protestant Reformation, the Renaissance, and a growing middle class, however, brought about larger numbers of people who could read and write. Many notable authors of the late 1600s and early 1700s (such as John Evelyn, John Dryden, Daniel Defoe, Joseph Addison, and Jonathan Swift) bemoaned what they saw as a decline of the English language since literacy had been made available to “the common man.” Two of the most famous essays from that time period—Essays Upon Projects by Defoe in 1697 and Proposal for Correcting, Improving, and Ascertaining the English Tongue by Swift in 1712—signaled the beginning of centuries of work to “correct and improve English” (Schuster, 2003, p. 50). The 1700s saw a boom in the grammar book market. According to Ian Michael (1970, as cited in Schuster, 2003) only 32 grammar books were published in the 1600s. Between 1701 and 1750, about the same number were published, and then the market took off. Between 1751 and 1760, 25 English grammar books appeared, and in the following decade, 30 more were published. The medieval idea that English should follow the conventions of Latin—that language hallowed by antiquity and longevity, and thus (wrongly) considered a model for imitation—remained a fundamental assumption in these new texts. We’re still dealing with the fallout from this mistaken belief. For example, whenever a grammar busybody corrects your split infinitive (arguing that “my homework is to carefully read this chapter” should be corrected to something like “my homework is to read carefully this chapter”2) we have those long-dead, Latinbiased scholars to thank. In Latin, it’s impossible to split an infinitive (as infinitives are one word in that language). Likewise, the admonition that you should never end a sentence with a preposition also dates back to antiquity as you simply can’t do that in Latin either. You may not be surprised to learn that these early grammarians were often driven by a desire to preserve the quality of English against what they perceived as degraded common usage: the eighteenth-century version of textspeak and tweets had language purists extremely worried back then too. Convinced of their own righteousness,

2. There’s a frustrating irony at work here. Since so many people believe that split infinitives really are legitimate usage violations, it may be in your best interest to avoid them in order to escape being judged even though the judges themselves are wrong.

INTRODUCTION

5

some of the most zealous actually rewrote the work of Shakespeare, Milton, and other canonical writers to improve grammatical quality. It is important to mention that Lowth’s book (mentioned previously) came to be seen as a seminal grammar work during the 1700s, shaping the form and function of grammar guides for centuries to come. In addition to the questionable assumption that the best way to learn English is to study errors, memorize definitions, and deconstruct sentences and passages, Lowth’s text has problems still perpetuated by language pundits today: 1. Lowth doesn’t discuss or even note the intuitive grammatical knowledge of native language speakers. 2. He uses definitions that do not accurately define grammatical terms or explain them in ways that truly help students understand concepts. 3. He manufactures rules—for grammar, usage, composition, and punctuation—that educated writers and speakers did not observe. (Schuster, 2003, p. 15) These moral and rigid interpretations of the English language soon found their way to North America. “Correct” speaking and writing became both evidence of and a path toward an ordered life and soul, an idea referenced in the Massachusetts “Old Deluder Satan Law” of 1647, which mandated that American colonial communities establish grammar schools such that young people could learn to read holy scripture and so keep the devil at bay (Spring, 1997). Along with the implied moral dimension of language use, grammar instruction in the United States is woven from other presumptive threads. An emphasis on classical forms of correctness (again based on Latin and Greek) is one, which translated to a tradition of rule-following through prescriptive drilling, memory exercises, and analyses of texts (both exemplary and faulty). These historical forces are the DNA of what Edgar Schuster calls “traditional school grammar,”3 which, to a large extent, lives on in today’s classrooms. A VERY SHORT HISTORY OF MODERN GRAMMAR INSTRUCTION Broadly speaking, “traditional school grammar” (TSG) is a set of assumptions about how grammar usage is best learned rather than a specific course of study. Through the 20th century, the latest intellectual fads pushed and pulled language and literacy instruction in different directions, sometimes emphasizing the student as learner (progressivism), sometimes emphasizing “scientific efficiency” in the model of the industrial assembly line (Applebee, 1974). But by and large, TSG remained the governing approach to grammar in the classroom through the 1960s, whereupon literacy theory, research, and instruction began to shift. Mina Shaughnessy’s groundbreaking book Errors and Expectations (1977) called into question what might be called the “deficit view” of language errors: the belief that written mistakes represented a student’s failure to apply discrete rules. In contrast, Shaughnessy argues that errors are developmentally normal and are, in fact, necessary 3. Schuster’s lively book Breaking the Rules: Liberating Writers Through Innovative Grammar Instruction (2003) includes a much more detailed look at the history and flaws of “TSG” and is worth the read.

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INTRODUCTION

in order to grow. Errors are a sign of learners experimenting with language and striving to make meaning with words. By talking with students about what they are trying to do when they make errors, teachers can provide contextual constructive assistance that is likely more helpful than a worksheet of error-correction exercises and rule drills. Shaughnessy’s work coincided with fruitful movements in writing studies—expressivism, cognitive theory approaches, and stage-based processes of writing—that emphasized individual writers’ moves, thoughts, and intentions more so than whether or not they applied established or standardized language rules. These new developments in writing instruction, however, were generally limited to post-secondary classrooms. In most K-12 classrooms, it wasn’t Shaughnessy’s work that changed the course of grammar instruction, but a research study conducted by Roland J. Harris in 1963, which reported that grammar instruction can have a “harmful effect” on students’ writing (Kolln, 1996). From that study forward, grammar instruction has never really recovered as a subject in the secondary English classroom. The grammar instruction referred to in Harris’s study (and the Elley study of 1976) is based on traditional “drill and kill” methods—a decontextualized, rote-memorization, worksheetdriven approach void of context or real-world application. This is grammar instruction that Robert Lowth himself would likely have celebrated. By 1986, traditional school grammar again found itself squarely in the crosshairs of a meta-analysis of research (a meta-analysis is essentially a study about what a lot of other studies seem to indicate as a whole). Hillocks’ work called out isolated grammar instruction as largely useless, suggesting that it could detract from student learning by taking up instructional time that would otherwise be more effectively spent on other activities. As later scholars have pointed out, Hillocks does not condemn grammar instruction as a whole, only what he calls “traditional school grammar” (p. 133), though this distinction seems to have been obscured over the years (Kolln, 1996). In the last few decades, “teaching grammar in context” has become the new normal for English teachers, and studies have demonstrated the positive effects of such instruction (Jones, Myhill, & Bailey, 2013; Myhill, Jones, Watson, & Lines, 2013). But despite some noteworthy texts anchored in this approach,4 just how to teach grammar in context in the English Language Arts classroom remains unclear for many. It might be reasonable to suppose that “grammar in context” implies that grammar study arises from students’ own experiences: from their lives, speech acts, everyday writing, and observations. But the phrase is often enacted more narrowly in the classroom to mean something like “grammar as it happens to appear in whatever text we’re studying in the curriculum.” Novels, poems, articles, and plays can offer obvious examples of grammar in use (or misuse: as we’ve seen, self-styled grammarians from ages past didn’t hesitate to chastise famous writers), but we’ve seen limited success in interpreting “grammar in context” this way. Certainly, grammar concepts can be identified in classroom readings and subsequently discussed, analyzed, and practiced. When the terrain of language study is limited to an outside or assigned text, however, “context” doesn’t usually mean “deeply connected to my own life.” Grammar remains distant and usually perplexing to most students; teachers, often on unsteady ground themselves, step tentatively in such territory. 4. Such as Constance Weaver’s Teaching Grammar in Context (1996) and Harry Noden’s Image Grammar (2011).

INTRODUCTION

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APPROACHES TO GRAMMAR: PRESCRIPTIVE, DESCRIPTIVE, AND RHETORICAL Approaches to understanding grammar as a concept come in many varieties. Linguists speak of “grammars” and differentiate between generative grammar, relational grammar, functional grammar, rhetorical grammar, transformational grammar, and a number of others. For our purposes, we’ll limit the discussion to prescriptive, descriptive, and rhetorical grammars here, as these are terms that (a) most preservice teachers will hear during their college careers and (b) are most relevant to grammar instruction in schools. Prescriptive and Descriptive Grammars The labels “prescriptive” and “descriptive” for grammar originate in the world of linguistics and describe different ways to approach the study of language. We can approach language prescriptively, through the authoritative lens of grammar books that dictate correct usage. Or, we can look at language descriptively, examining how people actually use language in their lives.5 Prescriptive grammar is exactly what it sounds like: prescribed language use. Advocates of prescriptive grammar place priority on the correct use of Standard American English (SAE), as defined in current authoritative texts such as grammar and style books. Not surprisingly, those who see themselves as prescriptivists are often distressed by the general state of language misuse and insistent about students learning and using “correct” SAE grammar. It’s easy to caricature these folks as back-to-basics language scolds and “grammar nazis,” but in their defense, prescriptivists would likely argue that their focus on correct language use is more about practical and professional benefit to students rather than judgment. In comparison, descriptive grammar describes; it’s a description of how speakers and writers actually use language in everyday ways. A descriptivist is interested in how we shift our language in particular contexts and in determining the unique conventions we follow in different communication situations. As with prescriptivists, the stereotype of the descriptivist is an exaggeration: the “anything goes” freewheeling language egalitarian, content to let students speak and write without regard for standards or norms. It’s more accurate to say that descriptivists recognize the cultural dominance and importance of SAE while also seeking to recognize, understand, and leverage their students’ different dialects. Maybe you’re already positioning yourself as a prescriptivist or a descriptivist when it comes to grammar instruction (or maybe you’re somewhere in between). These labels can be slippery if not deceptive, however, with the all-too-common implication that how we use language in day-to-day situations is an incorrect, incomplete, or corrupted version of the “pure” usage defined in official language guides. As Tchudi and Thomas (1996) remind us, “any grammar can be used as a scientific description of how language

5. To some extent, these labels present an unrealistic either/or binary when taken up as descriptors for people. Most of us aren’t solely prescriptive or descriptive in how we view language use. Instead, we tend to slip in and out of these positions depending on the situation. When it’s our language use under interrogation, for instance, it’s a lot easier for us to assume a descriptivist perspective. ☺

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INTRODUCTION

functions [descriptive], and any grammar can be turned into a set of laws or shibboleths about how people ought to talk or write [prescriptive]” (p. 47). In the most basic sense, all grammars are equal. But in the United States, cultural and political forces have established one particular dialect—the aforementioned Standard American English—as the arbitrary norm for correctness. There’s nothing inherently “better” about SAE; it contains no moral superiority except that which we’ve decided, culturally, to assign it. The grammars of African American English, Appalachian English, Cajun English, or any other dialect could just as easily serve as the normative benchmark for how to communicate, as they do in particular communities and contexts. To muddy the water even further, Tchudi and Thomas argue that some aspects of language are both prescriptive and descriptive, such as words functioning as different parts of speech, the subject–verb–object pattern of most sentences, and the fact that sentences typically contain both subjects and predicates. Despite these relevant similarities, the difference between prescriptive and descriptive approaches to grammar instruction can be stark in the classroom. As we’ve seen, prescriptive grammar has dominated English classrooms: think of all the standardized worksheets Michelle was given as a student and that she, in turn, gave to her own students. Almost universally, these worksheets promote a right/wrong paradigm of language often associated with prescriptive assumptions: either your language choice is correct or incorrect (as usage books and similar authorities have defined what is right and wrong). Descriptive grammar, meanwhile, has had many proponents through the years but has only recently found its way into classrooms in the United States. Descriptive grammar approaches encourage students to analyze both their own and others’ language use in order to identify patterns and rules. This understanding is then used comparatively to help students gain a better grasp on the analogous conventions of SAE. Assignments that take a descriptive grammar approach might ask students to research language use in their communities, record how their family and neighbors speak and write, analyze this language-in-use for patterns and conventions, and then compare their findings with other dialects (including SAE). Rhetorical grammar approaches (which we’ll explore next) often sit near or even in the same camp as descriptive grammar strategies. Both approaches encourage students to be active participants in language learning, considering grammar moves in their own lives and in a variety of contexts. Rhetorical Grammar As the name suggests, rhetorical grammar emphasizes rhetoric, with the aim of “understanding both the grammatical choices available to you when you write and the rhetorical effects those choices will have on your reader” (Kolln & Gray, 2013, p. 3). To understand rhetorical effect, students can’t simply study discrete sentences or sentence parts on worksheets; they must consider the choices, big and small, that writers and speakers make in specific situations. Rhetorical grammar opens the door for analyzing real language use and how that language use affects readers (and listeners). This is grammar instruction embedded in contextual daily use, in which we use language for reasons that matter to us (Micciche, 2004).

INTRODUCTION

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All speakers and writers make communication choices based on context, meaning that the specific situation, purpose, and people involved influence the language that we use. For example, imagine a teenager, Caitlin, trying to convince her skeptical parents to let her go camping with friends. In making her case, Caitlin has a variety of tactics and language options she can employ, including sentence level choices. She could use modal language choices, for instance, in describing the circumstances of the trip: There would mostly be people there you already know. Janice said that she will drive, and you know she’s very responsible. There might not be any cell reception where we are, but Tara says she could take her Dad’s satellite phone in case there’s any problem. I shouldn’t be home too late on Sunday. A decontextualized approach to grammar concepts in the classroom might ask students to memorize a list of modals, identify modals in ten unrelated sentences, and then rewrite another set of sentences using modals. This approach is problematic, however, in that it often de-emphasizes (or outright ignores) why we might use modals in our actual communication, and what they allow us to do. In discussing Caitlin’s language choices, we can explore how and why modals might be an effective tactic in her particular situation, compared to other options.6 The heart of a rhetorical approach to grammar lies in the recognition that “language continues to develop through the use of language, not through exercises in the naming of parts” (Sanborn, 1986, p. 74). Traditional grammar activities are often locked into a language-for-demonstration model, meaning that a grammatical rule is followed by a series of examples and exercises that serve to affirm said rule. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with demonstration; pretty much every learning situation—dicing vegetables, dribbling a basketball, sewing a quilt, shingling a roof, delivering a speech— involves an aspect of demonstration before doing for oneself. When it comes to grammar instruction, though, we often end up staying within the safety zone of demonstration without venturing into language-in-action, where grammar becomes relevant to daily events and interactions (Myhill, Jones, Watson, & Lines, 2013). Rhetorical grammar goes beyond exercises-that-prove-the-rule to examine actual language-in-action in real contexts. This can get messy. Once language is set free from the boundaries of classroom-approved examples, we have to be ready for questions and conversations about nuance, complexity, appropriateness, and resonance. Many times, finding the “right answer” to a real-life communication challenge isn’t possible, and it’s instead a matter of choosing from options based on the potential effects on listeners or readers. But that’s life. Actual communication situations and dilemmas don’t come with an answer key. In the end, we want students to be confident and practiced enough to make language choices that fit their goals, from situation to situation. HOW WE ADDRESS GRAMMAR(S) IN THIS BOOK In our work with preservice English teachers, we see our candidates struggling with grammar. Many students come into our courses conflating grammar and usage and 6. See Other Verbs in Chapter 4 for a closer look at modals in use.

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INTRODUCTION

subscribing to a right/wrong paradigm of language study (discussed further in Chapter 2). Most are worried about the prospect of teaching grammar to their future students, often because their own explicit grasp on the subject feels so weak. Partly in response, we began paying more attention to grammar in our own teaching. We started working through our own challenges with what we knew (or thought we knew), figuring out realistic scenarios in which specific grammar concepts have an immediate use, experimenting with different activities in our classrooms, and having critical conversations with students about the language choices they make. Gradually, we began creating the grammar activities that appear later in this book. We designed this book for preservice English teachers at all levels, from elementary grades to college. Chapter 1 introduces the definitions and study of grammar. Chapter 2 discusses the social implications of teaching Standard American English grammar and usage to all students. Chapter 3 explores how you can move your grammar instruction beyond decontextualized worksheets to integrating grammatical concepts into thematic units. Next comes the heart of the book: scenario-anchored sections that discuss common grammatical concepts, each organized according to form, function, and use (definitions we expand on below). These sections are predominantly aimed at providing preservice English Language Arts teachers with a constructive foundation for working through grammar concepts with their future students. At the same time, we think you’ll find them accessible and adaptable for a wide range of classroom contexts. Finally, our Appendix is comprised of explicit ideas for teaching grammar and usage in rhetorically strategic ways with K-12 students. WHY DEFINITIONS? You may wonder whether English Language Arts teachers really need to know everything we include in Chapter 4. Definitions, terminology, grammar lingo—is it really that important? Well, the short answer is “yes.” The research has clearly demonstrated that teachers need a firm grasp of grammar and usage to help their students become better writers and language users (Lindemann, 2001; Myhill, Jones, & Watson, 2013). The key, of course, is just how much explicit grammar knowledge teachers need to have. We’ve found that the trouble with many grammar and usage guides boils down to perspective and practicality. Hundreds of pages of concepts, definitions, exercises, and rules can be overwhelming, and in trying to separate the essential from the esoteric (if not the trivial), a lot of people just give up. The concepts discussed in this book, then, are the basics of what teachers need to know: we focus on common grammatical elements typically taught in classrooms, with creative ways to help students see how grammar matters in their lives. Time for a caveat: If you’re currently an English teacher (or a teacher-to-be), we absolutely do not advocate that you turn around and use this text as a straight-offthe-shelf workbook, trying to teach your own students all of this same information in the same format. There are no magic wands with grammar instruction, no quick and easy solutions. To teach grammar well, you have to work through these concepts yourself until you feel confident connecting language choices to specific situations and intentions.

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By way of example, in the section dealing with dependent clauses in Chapter 4, we differentiate between adverbial, adjectival, and nominal clauses. While we think that you, as a teacher, should have a working knowledge of what these terms mean (as they are useful for your own language awareness), we really have to stretch to think of a situation in which such minutiae would be beneficial for your students. Only a small percentage of kids go on to be professional editors, English majors, or English teachers, and while there may be a time for such specific terminology, it’s likely not now. We hope—well, actually, we know—that many of the activities and scenarios that we describe in these pages are effective with middle and high school students. Definitely adapt and experiment with these ideas as you become comfortable with them yourself (it’s what we do when we come across possibly useful material). Just don’t make worksheets of these materials, pass them out in class, and expect your students to suddenly get it, without thinking and experimenting yourself. FORM, FUNCTION, AND USE The grammar concept sections in Chapter 4 are organized according to the form, function, and use of each concept. In their simplest explanations, form is what the concept is and the shapes it takes (adjective, noun, prepositional phrase, verb, etc.); function is what the concept does (its purpose in a phrase, clause, sentence, or paragraph); and use refers to how the concept helps us achieve certain goals in our real-world speaking and writing (e.g., what does passive voice allow us to do with language?). See Table 1.1 for a further exploration of these definitions. We have found that through discussing grammatical concepts through these linguistic lenses (Larsen-Freeman, 2003), our students better understand the otherwise blurry domain of grammar and usage. By exploring language through form, function, and use, we move beyond sometimes strangling definitions of grammar and usage, encouraging students to look more at context—language at work in their lives—as a way to develop metalinguistic awareness. PARTS OF SPEECH OR LEXICAL CATEGORIES? “Parts of speech” is certainly the traditional way we label language. Recently, however, the academic world has explored the limits of this classification scheme. Like most of our arcane grammar and usage rules, this one has its hand in the history pot. Historically, Greek and Latin were both parsed into eight parts of speech, and by now you know what that means: the grammar pedants of the 1700s assumed that English must follow the same formula. Today, linguists and academics are asking important questions about the limitations of the eight parts of speech. For example, what part of speech is “the”? Or what about “ninety-two”? These questions are part of what moves us to discuss language differently—through form, function, use, and here, lexical categories. Another reason we have decided to use the term “lexical categories” instead of the traditional eight parts of speech is due to how we process language. Our brains do not deal with language in discrete bits, which is what the parts-of-speech model implies. Rather, we process language in chunks. A lexical-categories framework still allows for

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INTRODUCTION

Table 1.1 Form, Function, and Use Concept: Dependent Clause FORM

FUNCTION

USE

The shape it takes

What it does in a sentence

How we use it to do things in the real world

A group of words with a subject, predicate, and subordinating word.

Joins with an independent clause to form a complex sentence; can act as an adjective, adverb, or noun.

Because it’s used to provide more information or context about a sentence, we can control meaning by the details we choose to emphasize.

Examples: When we eat dinner together, we feel like a family. (emphasizing an occasion for positive feeling) We feel like a family unless we’re arguing a lot. (emphasizing a negative exception to a normal situation) See how the dependent clauses (in italics) shape meaning in the examples above? The specific detail chosen with the dependent clause is dependent (i.e., it depends on) the writer or speaker’s larger intentions. In these cases, we might expect Example 1 to develop into a narrative piece about family closeness. In contrast, Example 2 takes a turn toward tension. Concept: Participial Phrase FORM

FUNCTION

USE

The shape it takes

What it does in a sentence

How we use it to do things in the real world

A dependent clause featuring a verb with an -ing or -ed ending, often combined with a noun phrase or other sentence elements in an adjectival or adverbial role.

Joins with an independent clause; acts as an adjectival or adverbial modifier; provides specific detail about the subject of a sentence or the sentence as a whole.

Depending on what detail we decide to focus on, we can control how reality is perceived by a reader or listener.

Examples: Vigorously asserting their constitutional rights, the protesters assembled outside the courthouse. (a positive version of a public event) Screaming anti-government slogans and shaking their fists, the protesters assembled outside the courthouse. (a more negative depiction of the same event) In these examples, we see the potential power for defining reality that comes with grammatical choice. Depending on the writer’s intentions, a situation can be shaped in many different ways. Grammar choices can thus affect perceptions of truth and reality.

discussion of nouns, verbs, adjectives, and all the rest, but expands the grouping to categories7 rather than parts. So when we refer to the lexical category of the noun, that category also includes noun phrases and nominal clauses—as well as other grammatical concepts behaving as nouns.8 When we get to Chapter 4, the lexical category concept is really useful for helping us understand how grammar concepts function in context, which the “parts of speech” model generally avoids. 7. Linguists would differentiate between lexical, phrasal, and functional categories, but for our purposes, we will refer to the parts of speech as lexical categories only. 8. For more on this topic, see Nouns in Chapter 4.

INTRODUCTION

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THE GOAL FOR ALL: METALINGUISTIC AWARENESS Our goal in exploring grammatical concepts through form, function, and use is that you’ll gain a metalinguistic understanding of language. Myhill (2011) describes metalinguistic understanding as the “explicit bringing into consciousness of an attention to language as an artifact, and the conscious monitoring and manipulation of language to create desired meaning grounded in socially-shared understandings” (p. 250, as quoted in Myhill, Jones, & Watson, 2013). In other words, when it comes to writing, speaking, and other forms of communication, you can explain what you are trying to do and why you are doing it. But that’s only the first step. Knowing grammatical terms and their application is just part of the broader metalinguistic knowledge teachers need (Myhill, Jones, & Watson, 2013), which is why we go beyond form and function, and look at how and why we use grammatical concepts for specific purposes in everyday communication. As you gain comfort and confidence with form, function, and use, you’ll be able to bring rhetorically strategic grammar and usage plans (see Chapter 3 and the Appendix) into your own classroom so your students can, in turn, become more metalinguistically aware. It’s especially important to remember that metalinguistic awareness does not happen through worksheets but through play: a child’s play with language makes one human adaptation, literacy, easier to achieve because the child’s attention has been focused on the means, the forms of language, whereas in normal communicative contexts, his attention is focused only on the end. (Cazden, 1974, p. 34) We realize that “play” can seem like a very unserious word in these days of standardized curricula and high-stakes exams. Feel free to substitute a euphemism if you like—engaged curiosity, absorbed speculation, immersive experimentation, sportive trialand-error, focused exploration—to keep the administrators and curmudgeons at bay. Just remember that the kind of thinking we hope to develop in students can’t happen in a coercive environment of tedium and drills. People don’t learn much when they’re not engaged or when they just don’t care. So here’s our question, to ourselves and to you: Can we work toward classroom spaces that provide opportunities to play around with language, to practice with language options in low-risk but high-interest situations, to make mistakes and learn from them, to situate language options in real-life dimensions? Our “use” exercises invite you to play constructively with language. In turn, this practice will help you encourage language experimentation with your own students. REFERENCES Adger, C.T., Wolfram, W., & Christian, D. (2007). Dialects in school and communities (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Applebee, A. (1974). Tradition and reform in the teaching of English: A history. Urbana, IL: NCTE. Cazden, C. (1974). Play and metalinguistic awareness: One dimension of language experience. The Urban Review, 7(1), 28–39. Charity Hudley, A.H., & Mallinson, C. (2011). Understanding English language variation in U.S. schools. New York: Teachers College. Curzan, A., & Adams, M. (2012). How English works: A linguistic introduction. Glenview, IL: Pearson.

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Green, L.J. (2007). African American English: A linguistic introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University. Hillocks, G. (1986). Research on written composition. Urbana, IL: NCTE. Jones, S.M., Myhill, D.A., & Bailey, T.C. (2013). Grammar for Writing? An investigation into the effect of contextualised grammar teaching on student writing. Reading and Writing, 26(8), 1241–1263. Kolln, M. (1996). Rhetorical grammar: A modification lesson. The English Journal, 85(7), 25–31. Kolln, M., & Gray, L. (2013). Rhetorical grammar: Grammatical choices, rhetorical effects (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. Labov, W. (1972). Language in the inner city: Studies in black English vernacular. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania. Larsen-Freeman, D. (2003). Teaching language: From grammar to grammaring. Boston, MA: Heinle. Lindemann, E. (2001). A rhetoric for writing teachers (4th ed.). New York: Oxford. Micciche, L. (2004). Making a case for rhetorical grammar. College Composition and Communication, 55(4), 716–737. Myhill, D., Jones, S., & Watson, A. (2013). Grammar matters: How teachers’ grammatical knowledge impacts on the teaching of writing. Teaching and Teacher Education, 36, 77–91. Myhill, D., Jones, S., Watson, A., & Lines, H. (2013). Playful explicitness with grammar: A pedagogy for writing. Literacy, 47(2), 103–111. Noden, H. (2011). Image grammar: Teaching grammar as part of the writing process (2nd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Redd, T.M., & Webb, K.S. (2005). African American English: What a writing teacher should know. Urbana, IL: NCTE. Sanborn, J. (1986). Grammar: Good wine before its time. The English Journal, 75(3), 72–80. Schuster, E. (2003). Breaking the rules: Liberating writers through innovative grammar instruction. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Shaughnessy, M. (1977). Errors and expectations. New York: Oxford. Simpkins, G.A., & Simpkins, C. (1981). Cross-cultural approach to curriculum development. In G. Smitherman (Ed.), Black English and the education of Black children and youth: Proceedings of the National Invitational Symposium on the King Decision (pp. 212–240). Detroit, MI: Harlowe. Sledd, J. (1996). Grammar for social awareness in time of class warfare. The English Journal, 85(7), 59–63. Spring. J. (1997). The American school 1642–2000. Boston, MA: McGraw Hill. Tchudi, S., & Thomas, L. (1996). Taking the g-r-r-r out of grammar. The English Journal, 85(7), 46–54. Thompson, K. (1998). Moral panics. New York: Routledge. Weaver, C. (1996). Teaching grammar in context. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Wheeler, R.S., & Swords, R. (2006). Code-switching: Teaching standard English in urban classrooms. Urbana, IL: NCTE.

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CHAPTER 2

Grammar and Power

To the average person, “grammar and usage” may seem like the dullest of topics for discussion. If folks feel anything toward these twin subjects, it’s usually a combination of anxiety, distaste, and tedium, the negative residue of long-ago experiences as students. Now and then, you’ll encounter someone who’s really jazzed about grammar arcana (e.g., a fan of sentence diagramming), but outside old-school English departments, these people are few and far between. And yet, how we use language—or, rather, how we ought to use language—is often a volatile subject in the public arena. As Lindblom and Dunn note (2006), there have always been self-proclaimed language custodians among us: people eager to identify language missteps and offer scornful or outraged correction (whether such feedback is welcome or effective often appears beside the point). These language caretakers have traditionally operated from media platforms—Lindblom and Dunn call out Dear Abby and Bill O’Reilly as examples—though you’ve no doubt met them in your everyday life. In the Internet era, these grammar police/scolds/nazis have found a fertile new home online. Scroll through your social media feeds, and chances are you’ll come across a posting, image macro, or meme mocking some poor fool’s heinous language violation. As of this writing, Grammarly.com boasts 6.3 million Facebook followers; meanwhile, Weird Al Yankovic’s viral parody “Word Crimes” (2014) sits at 31 million views. We might not be too interested in grammar as a subject of study, but we sure do seem to enjoy watching others exposed as ignorant or careless, held up for public ridicule. Michelle tweets grammar rants1 (@MDDevereaux) that she finds online from bloggers, editors, and self-proclaimed language pedants. These rants come from sensitive purists who “almost choke on their toast”2 because a reporter used “which” instead of “who,” or from noble defenders of The One True Grammar who “battle with demons like wily commas, rampant reductionism and IBKs (idiots behind the keyboard).”3 Some go further. Gwynne’s Grammar (2014) argues that happiness itself is derived in part from proper grammar; on the flip side, others warn that “bad” grammar can ruin your social life:

1. In their work, Lindblom and Dunn (2006) propose using grammar rants in the classroom, and we discuss this idea in some detail in the Appendix. 2. Readman, “BBC Is Setting a Bad Example with Its Use of Grammar,” Western Daily Press, April 14, 2015. 3. Jensen, “Greetings Fellow Grammar Geeks,” Grammar Geeks on Linkedin, November 19, 2014.

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“Please learn and speak good, clear English [. . .] Good grammar will go a long way [. . .] Improper English quickly makes others uneasy and sometimes suspicious, so we have to be able to speak clear, correct English.”4 The repeated insistence that language use should be “clear” in this last piece is particularly interesting—we wonder what this author would make of Michelle’s North Georgia accent and its possible impact on “clarity.” What we find most interesting about this public grammar ranting is the extent to which people habitually moralize language. Think of “bad” language and two definitions come to mind right away: profanity and non-standard (i.e., “incorrect”) English usage. But grammar rants, we argue, suggest something broader about how unorthodox language use—dialects, slang, local idioms, lingo, along with common errors and other deviations from standard usage—is commonly viewed. The unquestioned assumptions underlying most rants reflect deeper cultural notions about power, identity, and control. We’re talking here about ideas that have the power to both realize and constrain human potential and promise; if you’re teaching any aspect of language, this territory is well worth exploring in detail. Any way you look at it, grammar-in-use is never a neutral phenomenon. Why? Because language itself is never neutral. Language doesn’t exist in a vacuum of abstract rules and ideal models. Instead, language use is a practice that embodies our backgrounds, histories, communities, and identities; every day, we use language to gain, sustain, and negotiate power through and within the multiple societies in which we live, work, and play. And grammar is the structure, the framework, the backbone of that language use. We wonder about the background knowledge of those who rant about grammar (or rather, those who rant about “Standard English grammar,” which is really what all the fuss is about). Research has shown over and over again that isolated correction doesn’t actually improve language (see: pretty much all of the research listed in Chapter 1). On the surface, grammar ranters claim honest goals: to protect Standard English and to serve as public lecturers for those so obviously in need. At the same time, it’s not hard to detect a deep vein of superiority, judgment, and snide humor that belies this supposed service to the common good. Does making a public example of someone’s “bad” grammar amount to a variation of cyber-bullying? If not, it’s pretty close. Michelle came across a kind of anti-rant a few months ago: a complaint about the “grammar police” themselves. It defines grammar police in an interesting light: an army of self-professed, sanctimonious crusaders bent on stamping out the vices of ignorance and grammatical incorrectness from message boards, social media sites and product reviews . . . you [the grammar police] publically and extravagantly shame anyone for even the most minor infractions against your view of the pure English language. You might think you are doing this world a favor with your browbeating and your bully pulpit banging, but in reality, your ideological sins pervert language.5

4. Popelka, “Letter: Use of Proper English,” TheLedger.com, July 28, 2015. 5. DeCaro, “An Open Letter to Grammar Police,” Technician, The Student Newspaper of North Carolina State University, June 11, 2015.

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The author goes on to explore three ways that the grammar police “pervert language.” 1. Grammar police deal with such trifles as misplaced commas and homonyms rather than joining discussions around important ideas and concepts [of language and language construction]. 2. Grammar police are bound by rules found in grammar and style books and do not consider whether and how discourse is effective. Language is designed for communication, and the grammar police do not honor this. 3. Grammar police silence dialogue. If people are afraid of having their grammar corrected, they may be hesitant to share ideas and thoughts (and, as we know, we benefit from having multiple voices and perspectives on any topic). We agree wholeheartedly with each of these notes, and we’re especially concerned about the democratic implications of that final point. Let us reiterate one important idea here. We do advocate that teachers and students learn the rules of Standard English, and we do believe that it is our job as educators to make sure all students have access to and are prepared for mainstream paths to success in America—which rely on facility with Standard English. The fact is, our students will be judged by their ability to conform to Standard English expectations in many situations. If they don’t have facility or confidence with Standard English, or if they aren’t practiced with when and how to use it, they risk damaging their credibility and having their ideas dismissed.6 What we also advocate for, though, is an awareness of what Standard English really is and how language works in the world—or really, worlds, since language expectations change drastically across contexts. Only through understanding the social constructions of language, power, society, and identity can we teach grammar ethically, without silencing our students—their thoughts, words, and worlds. WHAT IS STANDARD ENGLISH? After years of working with teachers, preservice and inservice, and having hundreds of conversations with people about language and language use, we think it is fair to say that a lot of people think Standard English is the English language—the correct, proper, and only way to speak, write, and communicate in English. After all, how could anyone think differently? As we can see from the popularity of grammar rants, this fallacy is (unfortunately) widely accepted. While we can say that Standard English is not the English language with great certainty, expert agreement tends to end there. Many linguists have doubts about whether a single Standard English even exists. Rather, some argue that there is a formal Standard English and an informal Standard English. Formal Standard English exists in grammar and usage books, and in formal writing, but many linguists question if this version of Standard English can be spoken at all. We can see the difference between a formal and informal

6. In its most unproductive form we can see this phenomenon at play in what passes for many online “discussions.” A provocative post or comment generates an outraged response (“your a idiot!”), and the combination of insult and unorthodox usage destroys the possibility of common ground and meaningful communication.

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version of Standard English if we consider the roles we take on in our lives. While writing an article for The Atlantic Monthly or some other semi-sophisticated magazine, an author might concern herself with the relative merits of “who” and “whom” and whether to use “that” or “which” (depending on if the relative clause is restrictive or nonrestrictive). However, having dinner with friends that evening, that same person could quite likely have other language priorities and be unconcerned with the minutiae of “that” versus “which.” Here, we see a meticulous user of written formal Standard English who feels quite comfortable shifting her language according to circumstance and expectations. And she should. “Perfect” language use is not only impossible but socially ridiculous.7 We slip into slang, local idiom, regionalisms, and purposeful nonstandard English when the situation calls for it, as a way to connect and build community with others. Even English that looks standard often isn’t. Turns out we’re much more forgiving of written variation when it appears in a format or genre graced by high social status (say, an upscale magazine or journal article) than in other less-vaunted venues (e.g., student essays, hand-written signs, and emails). In his fascinating article “The Phenomenology of Error” (1981), Joseph Williams demonstrates this truth, lacing his piece with one hundred “errors” that go unrecognized as such by unsuspecting readers. Williams is not after a “gotcha” moment—he’s no grammar ranter. His point? What is correct or appropriate is largely a product of the subconscious expectations that we bring to a piece of writing rather than strict adherence to a set of outside rules. Beyond a formal and informal Standard English, linguists do seem to agree that there are regional Standard Englishes: “standard English is a pluralistic notion [. . .] That is, there are regional standards which are recognized within the broad and informal notion of standard American English” (Wolfram & Schilling-Estes, 2006, p. 11). Certainly, American politicians are keenly aware of regional Standard English variation when they speak to different audiences. It’s not surprising that politicians exhibit dialectical regionalisms, sounding like the constituents who voted them into office. What is interesting is their conscious manipulation of this feature of speech, turning it on or off as they believe the context requires. At the 2012 Democratic National Convention, Bill Clinton dropped his “-g’s” and used “liketa” (Gritz, 2013), common usages in his home state of Arkansas. George W. Bush often employed a Texas drawl despite being raised in privilege in New England, and Hillary Clinton’s sudden accent (or “blackcent,” as some critics put it) during speeches in the South during her 2008 presidential run was widely noted (Dowling, 2007). Perhaps one of the most important points to remember about Standard English is that it is a dialect of English—a variation of English—just like African American English, Chicano English, or Southern English. The singular difference is that Standard English is “the socially preferred [variation of English] in influential academic, political, economic, and civic institutions” (Godley & Minnici, 2008, p. 321, italics ours). This definition of Standard English, a socially preferred dialect of English, is important to share with our future students. We must make sure that we don’t elevate Standard English beyond its reasonable place—a common dialect that offers access to the

7. See, for instance, the discussion of “who” and “whom” in Pronouns.

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mainstream power structures in America. Standard English is not right,8 good, or proper— it is just a variation of English with a lot of social capital. MORALIZING LANGUAGE Let’s reinforce that last line: we argue against describing language as right, good, or proper. Not only can a language system not be morally superior (as such terms connote), but when we use such moralizing language, we are affirming a dangerous dichotomy. Over the years, we’ve heard teachers, students, and everyday people on the street describe Standard English as educated, proper, polite, correct, classy, and dignified. If we were to assume, for one moment, that these terms actually describe Standard English, consider the terms that then must describe variations of English that aren’t considered “standard.” Uneducated. Improper. Rude. Bad. Incorrect. Degraded. Crude. In basic terms, this binary is too simplistic for the complexities of language use and the realities of language users. The language we know from birth, that we grew up using, that we use with our family and friends, is an intricate part of who we are, representing the worlds we come from. The negative implications of labeling reach beyond non-Standard Englishes to indict the users of these languages, tarring them with the same descriptors listed above. To take it a step further, do you really want to teach your students that those who use Standard English are, self-evidently, more of certain values (better, more right, more proper, more educated, and more correct), while those who speak a different variation of English are automatically worse (and more wrong, improper, uneducated, and incorrect)? This chain of implication (and imprecation) is not a stretch: We are reinforcing these not-so-subtle messages when we use moralizing language to describe Standard English. To avoid the moralizing connotation of traditional labels (e.g., “good and bad,” “right and wrong”), we advocate for the terms formal and familiar when describing language variations. A foreign language analogy might be helpful here. Unlike English, languages such as French and Spanish (and many others) have two variations of the word “you.” There is a version employed in formal contexts (“vous” in French, “usted” in Spanish), and a version used when communicating informally and/or with someone with whom you are familiar (“tu” in French, “tú” in Spanish). Broadly adapted, attention to a formal/familiar difference can help students develop linguistic dexterity depending on context. Most people have different variations of language at their disposal. Rather than labeling these variations as right and wrong, we can move away from those moralizing terms and begin using formal and familiar as more accurate descriptors. Keep in mind that switching from right and wrong (or some variation thereof) to formal and familiar is not a panacea or a perfect solution; it may, for instance, suggest that there are only two ways of using language. Although we won’t go into great depth about possible variations here, we will point out that all speakers of all languages have

8. Of course, what people actually mean by right also needs to be considered. If right translates to “meeting a lot of general social expectations,” we’re closer to agreement than a definition of right as “naturally better than others.”

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access to multiple ways of using language. For example, Darren is not going to speak to his mother the same way that he speaks to his brother, nor is he going to speak to his son the same way that he speaks to his students. Check out the “Further Reading” list below for articles and books that explore language variations more deeply. GRAMMAR(S) AND POWER, SOCIETY, AND IDENTITY Michelle has taught high school in both urban and rural areas, where students’ grammar did not often reflect the bounded rules of Standard English. One morning talking with her class, most of whom lived far out in the country, she started a sentence with the words, “Mrs. Smith and I . . ..” Before she could finish, Derek piped up in the back. “Nuh-uh, Ms. Devereaux. You’re wrong. It’s supposed to be ‘Mrs. Smith and me’.” Michelle paused for a few seconds, trying to decide what to say to Derek. “Well, actually,” she said, “‘Mrs. Smith and I’ is Standard English.” Derek huffed. “Well, I wouldn’t say that. All my friends would laugh at me.” In this classroom moment, we see Derek clearly assigning more power to the linguistic expectations of his community, and his identity within that community, than to the expected conventions (and grammars) of school. When we teach Standard English grammar, we must remember that grammar is the structure of language, and language is intricately tied to our home life and communities; in fact, it is the primary way we produce (Bucholtz & Hall, 2004) and perform (Curzan & Adams, 2012) our identities. Because of the connections between language and self, grammar can’t be taught in a vacuum (at least not effectively). Standard English grammar instruction is embedded in questions of power, society, and identity. To ignore these complications is to potentially alienate your future students who do not use Standard English structures at home and in their communities (Godley, Carpenter, & Werner, 2007). Below we briefly discuss how Standard English grammar instruction is tied to power, society, and identity. We offer suggestions for further reading at the end of this chapter to help you deepen your understanding of the complications involved in teaching a Standard English grammar in your classroom. Power Many people (including students with whom we’ve worked) see power primarily as a top-down construction: entities with authority (government, law enforcement, media, churches, large companies, etc.) control how people live according to certain rules, parameters, and expectations that they establish or promote. Without a doubt, power is manifested in such ways—through laws and regulations, explicit and implicit codes of conduct, and culturally specific imagery and narratives that define what is normal, true, and right. To push deeper, however, it may also be helpful to think of power as mutually generated between people and groups (Norton, 1997). That is, power is sometimes more than a compulsive force; people actively subscribe and contribute to the maintenance of power dynamics, and at times, establish new ones. For example, think about the subtle strength of tradition that, in some small towns, might define socially approved behavior, and then consider how people might challenge those conventional power

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arrangements. Power dynamics extend into all aspects of life: work, family, various social spaces, and of course, school. Classrooms can act as a microcosm of society, where power is always in play: “those who hold power at a particular moment have to constantly reassert their power, and those who do not hold power are always liable to make a bid for power” (Fairclough, 2001, p. 57). If you’ve ever worked with a particularly rowdy, rambunctious, or recalcitrant group of students, that quotation will ring immediately true—but it’s also the case for pretty much every classroom. And power is often asserted and reasserted through language. As we’ve noted, Standard English as defined by grammar and usage books is considered a powerful dialect because of its social capital, not because it is naturally “right” or “good.” Before we begin teaching Standard English to our future students, we must have critical conversations around the concept of Standard English as an alpha dog dialect, and why it is so. In these discussions, we must also make room for the power that our students may attribute to the dialects that they speak in their homes and communities. We can’t just say, “Okay! Standard English is powerful. Now let’s learn some grammar!” We have to give our students a strong platform to develop and speak to their understanding of how the power of Standard English works in the world, as well as allowing them to assert, analyze, and detail the power that their own dialects have in their worlds. As teachers, we should allow space and respect for these conversations, not just as a syllabus note at the beginning of the year but in a recurring fashion as students learn to navigate between societies with different language variations. We must be conscious that “at no point in the English curriculum is the question of power more blatantly posed than in the issue of formal grammar instruction” (Hartwell, 1985, p. 127). Society When we consider how grammar is connected to society, all we need to do is browse through a book such as Understanding English Language Variation in U.S. Schools (Charity Hudley & Mallinson, 2011) to see the many grammars present in America’s classrooms on a daily basis. Though grammar is commonly imagined as a singular concept because of the unquestioned power of Standard English, remember that linguists agree that all dialects follow specific and unique grammatical and pronunciation rules. The entries in Table 2.1 demonstrate the rule-governed nature of several American dialects. Because language is often a representation of the societies to which we belong (including our homes and communities), we should remember that when we tell students that “Him and me went to the store” is wrong, we may be implicitly telling them that their homes and communities are wrong. Micciche (2004) makes the same connection, noting that, “the grammatical choices we make—including pronoun use, active or passive verb constructions, and sentence patterns—represent relations between writers [and speakers] and the world they live in” (p. 723). We must honor and respect the homes and communities our students come from as we help them master Standard English. Convincing them that Standard English is inherently better than their home language is often a tough sell, and, more importantly, it’s also a lie. Instead, we can talk to them

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Table 2.1 Grammatical Rules of American Language Variations Pattern

Rule

Example

Language Variation(s)

Understood be

“Understood be” occurs when is or are can be contracted in Standard English. Additionally, it can only occur with the subject of the sentence. For example, “That is where they are” can be changed to “That where they are” but not “That is where they” (Pullum, 1999; Wheeler & Swords, 2006). Finally, it does not typically occur with am. For example, “I funny” does not work, but “You funny” does (Devereaux, 2015, p. 198).

She silly when she sees him.

African American English

They driving to Florida.

Chicano English

Generalization of is and was with plural and second person subjects

When the subject is second person (you) or plural (we, they), the use of is and was may be generalized (Devereaux, 2015, p. 201).

You is crazy.

A-prefixing

An a- prefix can occur on –ing verbs, functioning as verbs or complements of verbs. It is important to note that a-prefixing can only occur on verbs whose first syllable is accented. For example, you will never hear a-collectin’ because the stress is not on the first syllable (Devereaux, 2015, p. 204).

Southern English

We was going to John’s house.

He went afishin’ all day long.

African American English Chicano English

Appalachian English

She was acomin’ home tomorrow.

about adding linguistic tools to their toolbox, about learning the codes of power (Standard English) so they can access mainstream power structures (if they so choose). As we have these conversations with students, though, we must also remember to respect and integrate the language variations they bring to the classroom, teaching them to use multiple language variations in rhetorically powerful ways. Identity “Identity” is a multifaceted concept, arguably composed of our social identities, our background, and our personalities (Devereaux, 2015). All of these aspects of self affect how we use language and the variations of language that we have at our disposal. Indeed, language is a crucial tool of identity, part of how we express ourselves to the world (Micciche, 2004). In the same way that our fingerprints make us all unique, so our language does as well. We each have what is known as an ideolect, a “particular assemblage of formal and informal registers, [a] particular pattern of stress and intonation which, if we were to look closely and cleverly enough, we would find unique to the individual” (Edwards, 2009, p. 21). Although we have access to many registers (that is, many variations of language), those registers are unique to who we are. Because of this unique and personal connection between language and self, teachers must be fully aware of the implications of a Standard English-only classroom and policy. Enacting such a policy essentially asks students to leave their identities at the classroom door

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and enter as blank slates, an unlikely idea. Pretending that a group of diverse students should act and respond homogeneously is a detriment to a productive and powerful classroom. By inviting all of our students’ selves into the classroom, including their unique language usages, we are enriching the language in our classrooms and the classroom itself. CRITICAL AWARENESS AND GRAMMAR INSTRUCTION Grammar instruction, as it has traditionally been conceived, has rarely been framed as a subject deeply connected to power, culture, and identity. Instead, it’s often relegated to the basement of the curriculum, where it’s “decidedly not sexy but school-marmish, not empowering but disempowering, not rhetorical but decontextualized, not progressive but remedial” (Micciche, 2004, p. 718). When we teach grammar through worksheets and the red pen, when we ignore the language variations of our students, when we have a Standard English-only policy, when we leave textual analysis and writing out of grammar conversations, when we don’t honor the large amount of knowledge our students possess, then, yes, grammar instruction is too often a cramped, pointless, and tedious thing, more punitive than positive. For grammar instruction to change, we need to change more than just methods and tasks; we need to change how we conceptualize and talk about language. It isn’t just about teaching skills any more— grammar instruction deserves a critical dimension (Dunn & Lindblom, 2003). As we briefly discuss in Chapter 1, your students know grammar innately—after all, they’ve been practicing it their whole lives. (See the Appendix for activities that highlight students’ innate understandings of grammar.) Unfortunately, school often delivers the opposite message: “we disempower students, making them believe they know nothing about the system they’ve been learning and constructing since they were babies” (Sanborn, 1986). Discussions and activities that show students their understandings of language help them begin grammar instruction from a foundation of confidence in their own bank of knowledge and ability. We’ve talked a lot in this chapter about opening lines of dialogue with students, about “the nature and social functions of [Standard English]” (Sledd, 1996, p. 62) in our grammar instruction, including ways to empower students “to critique normalizing discourses” (Micciche, 2004, p. 717) like Standard English. We offer some suggestions for beginning these conversations in Table 2.2. All students need access to the advantages that Standard English can bring. They also deserve the chance to gain critical perspectives on questions of power, society, identity, and equity surrounding Standard English use. Our students know far more about these topics than we often expect or credit. We like the idea of grammar as a tool that we use to get specific things done in our worlds, and we strive to teach our students to think of their language in rhetorically savvy ways. Rather than a “This is English” approach as a teacher—in which critical language conversations have already been settled, and your job is predominantly a matter of presenting rules and definitions for students to adopt without question— entering the classroom with a “this is what you can do with language” attitude (Sanborn, 1986) can yield rich and refreshing opportunities. We focus on these possibilities in the rest of this book.

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Table 2.2 Critical Questions of Grammar Instruction • Why do we use Standard English? • Does Standard English standardize us as a country? If so, what are the benefits and drawbacks of this standardization? • When do you think you should use Standard English? • Should all people in this country learn Standard English? Why or why not? • How “standard” is Standard English? Who gets to break the “rules” and who doesn’t, and why? • What do we lose, if anything, when we ignore or discourage language variations? What are possible negative effects of ignoring other English dialects? • What situations are you familiar with in which other dialects of English are important to know? • What power structures in society benefit from a Standard English-only classroom? How does this reflect (or not reflect) a democratic society?

FURTHER READING To read more about the grammars of English language varieties and how to talk about them in the classroom, see the following: Adger, C.T., Wolfram, W., & Christian, D. (2007) Dialects in school and communities (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Charity Hudley, A.H., & Mallinson, C. (2011). Understanding English language variation in U.S. schools. New York: Teachers College. Fought, C. (2003). Chicano English in context. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Redd, T.M., & Webb, K.S. (2005). African American English: What a writing teacher should know. Urbana, IL: NCTE. Wolfram, W., & Shilling-Estes, N. (2006). American English: Dialects and variations. Malden, MA: Blackwell. To read more about how to teach power, society, and identity in the secondary English classroom, see the following: Devereaux, M.D. (2015). Teaching about dialect variations and language in secondary English classrooms: Power, prestige, and prejudice. New York: Routledge.

REFERENCES Bucholtz, M., & Hall, K. (2004). Language and identity. In A. Duranti (Ed.), A companion to linguistic anthropology (pp. 369–394). Malden, MA: Blackwell. Charity Hudley, A.H., & Mallinson, C. (2011). Understanding English language variation in U.S. schools. New York: Teachers College. Curzan, A., & Adams, M. (2012). How English works: A linguistic introduction. Glenview, IL: Pearson. DeCaro, G. (2015, June 11). An open letter to grammar police. Technician, The Student Newspaper of North Carolina State University. Retrieved from: www.technicianonline.com/opinion/article_b341f23c-0fef-11e5-ad5f976e76f20492.html Devereaux, M.D. (2015). Teaching about dialect variations and language in secondary English classrooms: Power, prestige, and prejudice. New York: Routledge. Dowling, T. (2007, May 1). The mystery of Hillary Clinton’s accent. The Guardian. Retrieved from: www.theguardian. com/world/2007/may/02/hillaryclinton.uselections2008 Dunn, P.A., & Lindblom, K. (2003). Why revitalize grammar? The English Journal, 92(3), 43–50. Edwards, J. (2009). Language and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Fairclough, N. (2001). Language and power (2nd ed.). Harlow: Longman. Gritz, J.R. (2013, February 8). When presidents say “y’all”: The strange story of dialects in America. The Atlantic. Retrieved from: www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/ 02/when-presidents-say-yall-the-strange-story-ofdialects-in-america/272974/ Godley, A.J., Carpenter, B.D., & Werner, C.A. (2007). “I’ll speak in proper slang”: Language ideologies in a daily editing activity. Reading Research Quarterly, 42(1), 100–131. Godley, A.J., Minnici, A. (2008). Critical language pedagogy in an urban high school English class. Urban Education, 43(3), 319–346. Gwynne, N.M. (2014, September 12). A step-by-step proof that happiness depends partly on grammar. Huff Post Books. Retrieved from: www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/12/ grammar-book-happiness_n_5793208.html

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Hartwell, P. (1985). Grammar, grammars, and the teaching of grammar. College English, 47(2), 105–127. Jensen, K. (2014, November 19). Greetings fellow grammar geeks. Message posted to Grammar Geeks on Linkedin. Retrieved from: www.linkedin.com/grp/post/ 1822758–5940811183949905921 Lindblom, K., & Dunn, P.A. (2006). Analyzing grammar rants: An alternative to traditional grammar instruction. The English Journal, (95)5, 71–77. Micciche, L. (2004). Making a case for rhetorical grammar. College Composition and Communication, 55(4), 716–737. Norton, B. (1997). Language, identity, and the ownership of English. TESOL Quarterly, 31(3), 409–429. Popelka, J. (2015. July 28). Letter: Use of proper English. [Letter to the editor]. TheLedger.com. Retrieved from: www.theledger.com/article/20150728/EDIT02/150729463 Pullum, G. (1999). African American Vernacular English is not standard English with mistakes. In R.S. Wheeler (Ed.), The workings of language: From prescriptions to perspectives (pp. 39–58). Westport, CT: Praeger. Readman, R. (2015, April 14). BBC is setting a bad example with its use of grammar. [Letter to the editor]. Western Daily Press. Retrieved from: www.westerndailypress.co.uk/ BBC-setting-bad-example-use-grammar/story26325297-detail/story.html Sanborn, J. (1986). Grammar: Good wine before its time. The English Journal, 75(3), 72–80. Sledd, J. (1996). Grammar for social awareness in time of class warfare. The English Journal, 85(7), 59–63. Wheeler, R.S., & Swords, R. (2006). Code-switching: Teaching standard English in urban classrooms. Urbana, IL: NCTE. Williams, J. (1981). The phenomenology of error. College Composition and Communication, 32(2), 152–168. Wolfram, W., & Shilling-Estes, N. (2006). American English: Dialects and variations. Malden, MA: Blackwell. Yankovic, W.A. [alyankovicVEVO]. (2014, July 15). Word crimes. [Video file]. Retrieved from: https://youtu.be/ 8Gv0H-vPoDc

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CHAPTER 3

TEACHING GRAMMAR INTENTIONALLY

The teaching of grammar apart from speaking and writing is among the most widely employed, yet least effective, practices in the English teacher’s repertoire. (Peter Smagorinsky, Teaching English by Design, p. 159)

We begin this chapter with this quotation for a couple of reasons. By now you’ve gotten the message that teaching grammar in isolation doesn’t work, a conclusion supported by almost all the existing research on the subject. Yet, as Smagorinsky notes above, this fact hasn’t consigned this practice to the educational museum. Both Smagorinsky (2008) and Weaver (1996) ponder the odd staying power of traditional grammar instruction; rather than repeating their insights, we refer you to their cogent and helpful discussions. For our purposes here, it’s enough to know that worksheets, drills, and conventional textbook approaches to language learning are pretty much a dead end. We’ve also mentioned in several places that you shouldn’t use the grammar approaches in Chapter 4 as a workbook or a handy set of ready-to-go lessons for students, and we mean it. Even if students were to find such work marginally more interesting than conventional grammar drills, without an integrated connection to the other work in an English course, it’s unlikely to make a difference in their language use. A gussied-up, funny, or engaging-but-still-stand-alone grammar lesson is little more than a curiosity shop oddity: a diversion that might be interesting or worthy of attention but is ultimately insubstantial and easily forgotten. Let’s go ahead and say again that the solution is definitely not a matter of simply making grammar lessons more interesting, relevant, or engaging (though that’s a step in the right direction). In Teaching English by Design, Smagorinsky (2008) proposes some general principles aimed at a better experience with grammar concepts. These ideas include the following: 1. Don’t teach grammar out of context. 2. Approach grammar as a generative, useful tool rather than simply as a set of rules for correcting errors. 3. When the attention is on students’ written errors, focus on a few patterns and common issues. 4. Deal with a limited number of grammatical concepts.

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With these suggestions Smagorinsky provides a very general map for handling grammar intentionally in an English course. In this chapter, we’ll explore how we can purposefully integrate grammar into our curriculum rather than treating it as a remedial cul-de-sac. GRAMMAR AS AN INTEGRATED ELEMENT OF BROADER DESIGN Any English teacher preparation program worth its salt will include coursework dealing with English Language Arts methodology. A methods class will usually deal with both the practical elements of teaching (the ins and outs of planning, facilitating, and assessing) and the theoretical principles that guide and inform these decisions. It won’t surprise you to hear that in an English classroom, a lot of preparation involves texts of various kinds. While the word “text” may bring to mind conventional examples (canonical novels, poetry, and short stories followed by student essay writing), in reality what counts as a text worthy of analysis can cover a wide and multimodal spectrum. The typical text-centric nature of the English classroom presents both challenges and opportunities for meaningful grammar instruction, as we’ll see. While there is no single correct way for an English course to be constructed, we’ve found the organizing concept of “curricular conversations” (Applebee, 1996, as detailed in Smagorinsky, 2008) to be rich in possibility. This approach argues for overarching concepts that guide broad units and lend direction to daily and weekly activities. These concepts can be: •

• •

•

thematic (e.g., the American Dream and its various meanings; coming of age and the struggles involved; technology and its role in our lives; or the question of what counts as heroism and what doesn’t); author- or movement-focused (Shakespeare, American Romanticism, the Harlem Renaissance, etc.); genre-based (exploring the nature and expectations of certain texts with questions such as how are certain nonfiction texts such as newspaper articles, speeches, and television commercials constructed? and how do specific writers use story as a persuasive tactic?); skills-focused (e.g., practicing the components of logical argument, such as drafting effective thesis statements and marshalling compelling evidence in writing argumentative essays).

We sometimes think of units organized by overarching themes as “umbrella” units. Umbrellas provide a sheltered space within defined boundaries. Likewise, an overarching unit defines an area of focus in which a variety of texts, perspectives, and activities can yield multiple insights about a particular concept or idea. But let’s take this idea a little further and argue that a conceptually unified unit that integrates multiple English Language Arts strands can be even more beneficial. That is, if we can design a unit that has thematic richness for students while also weaving in the study and practice of contextually appropriate grammar concepts, we can explore the ways that language actually works in the world. Now might be a good time to look at several examples of integrated units to help illustrate what we’re talking about.

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AUTHORITY, CONTROL, AND PUNISHMENT (SAMPLE INTEGRATED UNIT #1) Let’s say you’re organizing an eight-week unit around issues of authority, control, and punishment for 11th-grade American Literature students. Many of the canonical texts in such a course have something to say about these topics, but more importantly, the questions associated with these ideas, like the ones below, extend far beyond the English classroom: 1. What is an individual’s obligation to family, community, culture, or country? 2. To be an individual, to what degree does a person need to resist what’s been taught or told? 3. In what circumstances is it acceptable to defy authority? 4. What differentiates legitimate resistance from criminality, or, in other words, what separates a criminal from a rebel? 5. Under what circumstances is vengeance acceptable, if ever? 6. What makes for a just punishment? Who decides? 7. All things considered, is it better to do what you’re told or to question orders? 8. All things considered, it is better to have more security and less freedom, or less security and more freedom? Sometimes called “essential questions” (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005), these questions (and others like them) invite rich discussions; they were pondered by people thousands of years ago, and surely future generations will grapple with them as well. A unit organized around these themes may use traditional canonical texts, such as The Scarlet Letter, The Crucible, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but can also include pop culture texts (such as the Star Wars saga, The Matrix trilogy, The Hunger Games, and so on) along with ideas such as the American cowboy/outlaw/ gangster mythology and its implications. These questions of authority, control, and punishment are also relevant to daily life. They speak to common conflicts with parents and authority figures that preoccupy young people and provide a pathway for discussing events and episodes reported in the media: school pranks gone awry, zero tolerance policies in schools and their results, protest movements against police violence, artistic challenges to the norm. The texts that we ask students to produce within such a unit can likewise be reimagined. While there’s nothing wrong with a conventional literary analysis paper (“Write an essay arguing how Hawthorne’s use of symbolism affects character development”), its charms and immediate relevance are often lost on students. When literary study deals with themes that are crucial today, however, new opportunities arise for students to demonstrate what they understand and can do: • •

•

How might Nathaniel Hawthorne tell the story of U. S. Army soldier Bowe Bergdahl, who was captured by the Taliban and subsequently labeled a traitor by many? Based on your definition of “reasonable punishment” derived from our readings and discussions, make an informed judgment on the recent situation of a father arrested for spanking his six-year-old son with a belt in a grocery store parking lot. In memo form, provide guidelines to the incoming freshman class about traditional Homecoming pranks that will help them avoid legal problems while still showing school spirit.

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Great, you may be thinking, but how does grammar instruction figure in all of this? We argue that overarching units also provide opportunities to explore how language is used in context to get things done, shape reality, or influence people. For this particular unit, we need to think of grammatical concepts that may help communicators (like your students) deal with situations involving authority, control, and punishment. Specific Grammar Concepts for this Unit Passive (and Active) Voice Students are commonly confused by the difference between passive and active voice; if they recall anything from conventional instruction, it’s that passive voice should simply be avoided. But control of this grammatical construction translates to control over meaning and thus reality; as a result, passive and active voice are great tools for shaping perceptions. Consider the following uses. De-Emphasizing the Doer for Various Purposes

Passive voice de-emphasizes the “doer” of an action in a sentence. Think about that for a second. Why might someone want to hide or shift attention from who’s responsible for an action, and whose interests might such a move serve? There are legitimate reasons to use passive voice for particular communication. News reports, for example, often employ passive voice in describing incidents. Why? Because sometimes the “doer” (or “agent”) of action is less important than the result, so a sentence such as “Two people were killed in a traffic accident at the intersection of I-75 and I-285 early this evening” gives us the serious information upfront—two people are dead—rather than starting with something less important (as in “A traffic accident at the intersection of I-75 and I-285 early this evening killed two people”). Scientific research writing follows a similar convention because who did the experiments is typically less important than what the experiments reveal, so passive phrasing is fairly common,1 as in “Treatment A was shown to be less effective in reducing symptoms.” It matters less here who did the treatment; the actual result is more important. In these circumstances, passive voice carries the implication of objectivity—these are the basic facts of the situation, is often the underlying message—which (not accidentally) acts to establish authority and control over a context. Beyond these daily examples, passive and active voice can be used in more controversial ways that raise issues about authority, responsibility, and blame. Pay close attention to news reports involving police activity, for instance, and you’ll often hear passive phrasing at work in interesting ways. Consider the two sentences below. a. A man was killed today in an officer-involved shooting. b. A police officer shot and killed a man today.

1. Nominalization, discussed in Nouns in Chapter 4, is also a common active voice construction in research writing, as in “Results suggest that traditional grammar instruction has little positive impact on writing improvement.”

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Even though these sentences deal with the same facts and the same event, they say very different things. We might ask students to ponder why we’re much more likely to hear the first statement on mainstream news reports rather than the second. Whose interests are served here, and how is this language connected to power dynamics? Here’s another example: a. The decision was made to terminate your employment with our company. b. Sara Smith, head of personnel, decided to terminate your employment with our company. The kind of passive phrasing in sentence a. is extremely common in organizational communication. Why? The answer is about power and control of consequences. The difficult decision to fire someone includes legal, ethical, and emotional dimensions. Deemphasizing the person (or persons) that actually made the decision does several interesting things. First, it’s more difficult to pin responsibility or blame for the decision on any one individual. This reduces the chance of uncomfortable confrontations while making the matter a company decision, which is tougher to dispute. Second, passive phrasing also presents the matter itself as a fait accompli, creating an established fact rather than emphasizing an individual’s isolated action. Finally, a decision that “was made” seems to exist much further in the past than “Sara decided,” which could have happened a few minutes ago. Are these uses of passive voice—and the interpretations of events they produce— fair? Accurate? Justifiable? These are interesting questions worth considering, especially in the context of universal ideas of authority, control, and punishment. Assigning or Avoiding Blame

When it comes to episodes of guilt, shame, and humiliation, be on the lookout for passive voice. These are powerful human emotions, and even little kids are masters of shaping events through the words they use: a. The milk spilled. b. The lamp broke. c. My shirt got wet. Though not written in passive voice, these statements are what we like to call “passive in spirit,” since milk, lamps, and shirts don’t act by themselves. Each sentence could easily be rewritten so that the doer of the action is brought out of the shadows and emphasized: a. I spilled the milk. b. We broke the lamp. c. I got my shirt wet. When we are the doers in these situations, there is both risk and possible reward in using active voice. We can expose ourselves to possible recrimination, sure. But in owning the action we can also take responsibility, which is often a mark of maturity and leadership.

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It’s easy to use active voice when we’re proud of what we did (I scored the winning goal on Friday night! I cleaned my room! I aced my chemistry test!), but for young people negotiating concepts of integrity, honesty, and trust, there can be real power in using the active voice to own decisions, admit mistakes, and shelter others from blame: a.

We decided to play video games instead of studying for the midterm exam, and we paid the price. b. I threw the rock that broke that window. I apologize. c. My last-minute mistake in the match cost us the victory. A unit devoted to questions of authority, control, and punishment can delve into the nuances of active and passive voice as they appear in routine language use. Almost every day, politicians, celebrities, government officials, and other public figures issue statements in response to some controversy, scandal, or wrongdoing. These can range from sincere mea culpas to the infamous “non-apology”—a statement that actually prevaricates or deflects blame rather than admitting fault. These complex but common statements are great texts to analyze for how active or passive voice shapes the interpretation of events. Dealt with in these contextually rich ways, passive and active voice emerge as powerful tools that young people likely already use to make their way in the world. By paying attention to and practicing how these concepts massage meaning, students are more likely to notice and consider language for its intentions and assess it for its appropriateness. In this way, grammar understanding, discussion, and use goes from classroom trivia to an important facet of democratic engagement. Sentence Modifiers: Absolute Phrases You may be noticing a trend in our discussion so far: namely, that language (and grammar) manipulates perceptions of reality. Along these same lines, the study and practice of sentence modifiers fits well within a unit on authority, control, and punishment. In choosing which details to emphasize with an absolute phrase, writers have great power to shape how others perceive events. As an example, consider an article describing Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor who leaked classified information to journalists about the U.S. government’s surveillance programs. Snowden is a controversial and divisive figure. Some cast him as a traitor who deserves prison time; others view him as a whistleblowing hero whose actions exposed government overreach. A writer taking on Snowden as a topic has the potential to sway opinion depending on which details are emphasized and how. Since language is never neutral, even writing that takes an objective stance may still convey bias and intent based on these choices: a. Chin held high, Snowden addressed reporters. b. Snowden addressed reporters, pale skin glistening with sweat. The italicized sections above are absolute phrases, which in this context serve to focus our attention on specific details. Which details? That’s up to the writer. One of the

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previous sentences conveys calm resilience; the other communicates sickly nervousness. Big difference. What’s especially interesting is that both descriptions (and many others as well) can be technically accurate. A writer can certainly strive for evenhandedness and accuracy, but in the end, decisions have to be made, and those decisions will shape how readers construe people and events. Is Snowden an unsavory coward who fled the country to avoid just punishment, a resolute symbol of integrity and democratic action, or something else entirely? How we describe him and his actions goes a long way to shaping perception. In Image Grammar, Noden (2011) describes sentence modifiers such as absolute phrases as “brushstrokes” that bring vivid detail to the pictures we create with words. We like this description, though absolute phrases aren’t just limited to describing physical things. They can also be used to summarize concepts in expository or persuasive writing, characterize events and actions, and control how a reader understands broad patterns, trends, or forces. Sticking with the Snowden example, imagine a writer exploring the U.S. government’s response to Snowden’s revelations: a.

Options limited due to threats of extradition, Snowden sought temporary asylum in Russia. b. Law enforcement closing in on him, Snowden sought temporary asylum in Russia. c. His reputation unfairly tarnished by accusations of spying, Snowden has recently joined Twitter to defend himself. d. His reputation ruined by his criminal activity, Snowden has recently joined Twitter to defend himself. Here we can see absolute phrases serving different roles. In sentence a., the italicized section functions as a summarizing or transitional phrase, showing cause and effect. In this case, the writer uses an absolute phrase to channel our understanding of Snowden’s actions as perhaps understandable given the circumstances. Sentence b. functions similarly but instead emphasizes his flight from justice, lending a negative hue to Snowden’s behavior. Sentence c. shapes Snowden’s persona for an audience more explicitly, the absolute phrase offering specific judgment on events rather than simply presenting information. And with just a few changes to the absolute phrase (option d.), the writer can instead target Snowden himself for this judgment. Absolute phrases are not alone in their power to shape meaning and control messages. Other sentence modifiers such as participial and appositive phrases also do this work, as does individual word choice. WHAT COUNTS AS INTELLIGENCE? (SAMPLE INTEGRATED UNIT #2) For the next example, we’ll imagine a unit organized around the concept of intelligence: how it’s defined and determined (and by whom), and the effects and implications of these decisions. A set of questions such as the following might fuel inquiry and discussion: 1. Are people born intelligent, or is it a quality that can be developed? 2. Is intelligence determined by how someone thinks, what someone says, or what someone does?

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3. How is ability related to intelligence? 4. Do multiple forms of intelligence exist, and if so, how should we acknowledge or value them? 5. What role (if any) does context or situation play in assessing intelligence? 6. What are the benefits and drawbacks of how schools define learning and intelligence? 7. What’s the difference between intelligence, “smarts,” and common sense? 8. What’s the relationship (if there is one) between intelligence and hard work? 9. What’s the relationship (if there is one) between intelligence and wisdom? 10. What’s preferable: a broad but shallow knowledge about many things, or a narrow but deep knowledge of a few things? Teenagers are aware of dominant cultural assumptions regarding intelligence, and they’ll likely have something to say about how schools sort and label students. Likewise, there are plenty of canonical and alternative textual perspectives on this subject (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Brave New World, Flowers for Algernon, The Big Bang Theory, The Breakfast Club, and Legally Blonde come quickly to mind). As a teacher, one of your goals might be for students to “trouble” conventional or simplistic assumptions of intelligence in order to help students develop more complex understandings. We can think of a lot of engaging discussion activities, applied scenarios, and straight-fromthe-headlines writing prompts and projects that would work within such a unit. And because we’re keeping in mind the language demands integral to these activities, we can also identify and plan for specific grammatical concepts that will be useful as students explore this territory, critique meanings, and express themselves in various forms. Specific Grammar Concepts for this Unit “To Be” Verbs and Sentence Forms Soon after entering any discussion about intelligence, students may find themselves in curious linguistic territory involving our most basic verb, “to be.” It might seem to students that what the word “is” does and means in sentences is abundantly clear, but as Bill Clinton so infamously noted, “It depends upon what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is.” Consider the following sentences: a. b. c. d.

Magda Magda Magda Magda

is is is is

human. here. tall. a jerk.

These simple and very familiar “to be” sentences are actually doing quite different things, summarized in the brackets below. a. b. c. d.

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Magda Magda Magda Magda

[is in the category of] human. [is currently located] here. [has a physical quality we comparatively know as] tall. [exhibits behavior that characterizes her as a] jerk.

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While there are technical terms for the components of each of these forms,2 what’s probably more important in a classroom is a conversation with students about the effect of “is” in these and similar uses. For instance, we might ask students whether “is” describes a permanent reality, a temporary state, an habitual state, or something else. The difference is important! When we write that “Magda is intelligent,” we’re making a linguistic claim (echoed in forms a. and c. above) that conveys permanence or universality. As Postman (1996) notes, language is not reality but rather a metaphorical means of describing reality. Rather than conceiving of intelligence as a fixed quality (“Magda is intelligent,” period), Postman ponders, wouldn’t it be more accurate to describe intelligence as something people demonstrate in particular situations, as in “Magda acts intelligently in the science lab”?3 Questioning the assumptions that live within our use of “to be” sentence patterns isn’t just an academic exercise. Recalling that language use is never neutral, consider the following sentences: a. Alex is in this country in violation of immigration laws. b. Alex is in this country illegally. c. Alex is an illegal. The different connotations in these sentences are stark. The first example portrays a reality based on location and legal status. The second does the same, though the adverb form (“illegally”) both negatively intensifies and judges Alex’s status. Example c. shifts an adjective (“illegal”) into a noun slot (the subject complement) to imply a permanent classification of being. Authors and propagandists know the power of this language move; Scott Westerfeld’s dystopian young adult novels riff on this concept with people labeled as “pretties,” “uglies,” and “specials” (an echo of the alphas, betas, and epsilons of Huxley’s Brave New World). Used to describe people, adjectives-as-nouns have a definite dark side, sometimes reducing complex individuals to a single trait.4 “To be” is not the only basic verb with secret powers. We habitually speak of “having” faith, of “making” money, of “taking” a break, and so on. All of these uses “reflect an habitual way of talking about reality” that may or may not reflect reality itself (Postman, 1996, p. 177). Closely connected to this discussion are the latent connotations that live on in simple, everyday words. For instance, dig into words such as “fine,” “mean,” and “villain” (along with many more examples), and you’ll discover a bias associating rural life or the working class with inferiority.5 When students grapple with the power of basic words to define what is and what isn’t, what has value and

2. Here, subject referent, adverbial, and subject complements. 3. Mrs. Gump’s remark that “stupid is as stupid does” in Forrest Gump (Zemeckis, Tisch, Finerman, Stakey, & Burgess, 1994) reveals similar linguistic nuance. 4. Nouns that may seem utterly normal are often revealed as insulting, inappropriate, and biased over time. Invalid, Oriental, and co-ed are now linguistic museum items, for instance. Might gay and transgender—used as singular nouns—be next? 5. That which is fine (or refined) is characterized by sophistication and polish, as opposed to coarse; mean previously referred to that which was common, average, or shared by all, with connotations of inferior quality; villain literally means “a person from a village or the countryside,” and thus one without manners or morals.

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what doesn’t, we’re only a short step from vital questions that are the responsibility of a democratic citizenry: Are these definitions accurate or distorted, and what are the consequences? How do subtle implications and associations affect meaning? What other definitions are plausible? Who benefits from particular definitions and assumptions? Complex Sentence Structures Done well, a unit that deals with competing or conflicting definitions of intelligence should be relevant to students. Some students will have prospered from the sorting and labeling that conventional schooling employs as a result of these assumptions; many others will have felt marginalized or devalued. All will have first-hand experience negotiating systems and dynamics that operate on narrow assumptions about what does and doesn’t count as intelligence and knowledge. They’re experts on these topics, whether they realize it or not. As students begin to grapple with different interpretations about what it means to know something and “be smart,” it’s reasonable that you might ask them to write about their emerging or evolving viewpoints. Through interviewing family members— an aunt who never finished high school but started her own business, a brother with a talent for singing, a cousin who studies white water like others study books—students may come to see conventional definitions of intelligence as overly restrictive, in need of a wider scope. Meanwhile, a personal inventory of the things they know and can do that aren’t school-sanctioned can also yield new perspectives. Let’s imagine that students have the chance to argue for a revamped definition of intelligence within a particular context: a letter to the district superintendent about elective classes, a college application essay explaining one’s unorthodox strengths, an editorial in a local newspaper responding to negative notions of kids today, or some other realistic situation. A key task in such writing is building bridges with skeptical audiences. This is a complex undertaking; fortunately, grammar can help us with this work. The complex sentence, for example, isn’t named by chance: its structure allows us to express complex thoughts. And making a claim while also acknowledging contrasting views or recognizing differences isn’t just a rhetorically savvy move, it’s a gesture of maturity and respect. Consider the two pairs of sentences below: a. The current Gifted program at our school should be fundamentally changed. b. While the current Gifted program at our school has definite benefits for the students lucky enough to be enrolled, it should be fundamentally changed. c. SAT scores are a poor measure of a person’s ability to succeed in life. d. Even though SAT scores are a convenient way for colleges to rank applicants, they are a poor measure of a person’s ability to succeed in life. Leading with the simple sentence option (a. and c.) runs the risk of coming across as brusque and uncompromising, possibly alienating those who think differently. Choices b. and d., meanwhile, use the dependent clause in a complex sentence structure to acknowledge differing views while still presenting a clear stance. Of course, other possibilities exist (students could go with two simple sentences or a compound sentence, for instance). And there are certainly situations that might call for the boldness of a

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simple sentence. But fluency and confidence with the complex sentence form offers both rhythm and sophistication sometimes missing in other forms. The complex form not only allows for smooth nuance of thought, it communicates in a meta-linguistic way that the writer is capable of such nuanced expression. HOW TO PLAN FOR SPECIFIC GRAMMAR INTEGRATION We hope that the examples in the previous section show how grammar concepts can be related thematically to broader unit topics. Next step: what questions do you need to consider in order to weave intentional grammar work into what you’re already doing? This is where we return to the idea of an English classroom as centered on the interpretation and production of texts of all kinds. Michelle remembers her first years of teaching when her main focus was surviving the text at hand—just get through Romeo and Juliet and hope that students understand the plot and major themes. The idea of students creating texts beyond traditional analytical papers was foreign to her. In those early years of teaching, she neither thought about weaving intentional grammar instruction into what she was doing, nor did she think about the texts that students could produce beyond the conventional (to include the creative, the everyday, and the applied). Unfortunately, canonical text analysis and traditional text production can dominate unit planning, so much so that questions of language use and instruction are simply obscured. We think that a major facet of your planning should include intentional language instruction. To begin exploring how to weave such instruction into your units, you can begin by asking yourself the following questions: • • •

• • •

What language elements or grammar concepts feature prominently in the texts we’ll encounter? Likewise, what language elements will play an important role in the texts students create? Since we have limited time, which grammar concepts offer the most potential? Which seem to fit best within the unit? Which can be practiced in various contexts, including situations relevant to teenagers’ daily lives? Where on the calendar can I schedule regular, meaningful, and cumulative activities around these concepts? How can I ask students to demonstrate their understanding a) within planned writing projects and b) in ways that matter in their lives? How will I know that students have taken up these grammar concepts authentically and usefully?

Figuring out answers to these questions will take time and effort—there’s no way around that. Dropping in a grammar lesson here or there won’t do much good. A “thread” metaphor is more useful, with students regularly revisiting a grammar concept or two in varying contexts and for various purposes throughout a unit. So, two points to remember as you plan for specific, intentional, and deep exploration of grammar-in-use. One, there must be an organizing motif, theme, goal, or focus for your unit. As much as possible, you should choose a focus that matters to young people through the questions posed. Don’t expect students to suddenly get interested by appeals

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to state standards, or threats of mandated tests, or references to arcane matters of public policy. We get interested in topics when they have obvious relevance and connection to our interests, cares, and daily lives. Two, the work of grammar must happen within a rich fabric of texts: those that students read and analyze and discuss, and also those that students create as well (which they can in turn read, analyze, and discuss). Remember that “texts” here are not limited to canonical titles or the textbook. A rich thematic umbrella should allow many texts— popular, multimodal, everyday—into the classroom, and include the contexts of your students’ own lives. For more thematic unit possibilities with grammar, see the Appendix. CORRECTION AND GRAMMAR INSTRUCTION: USING STUDENT WORK DIAGNOSTICALLY So, we hope we’ve convinced you that addressing particular language concepts within a thematically structured unit is a vital part of integrated grammar instruction. However, when your students begin producing their own texts, you’ll also notice other language areas that need attention. The corrective approach to grammar instruction focuses on “errors” in student communication that we, as English teachers, subsequently address. Corrective is a term not without its connotative problems, however. First, lessons emerging from student errors are often the territory of traditional grammar instruction (i.e., worksheets and drills that target and “fix” an identified language problem). “Corrective” also suggests that students’ normal struggles with language are, quite simply, problems to be forever lamented without being fully resolved (because, again, worksheets and drills don’t work). Exasperated vents about appalling grammar mistakes—the shocking truth yet again about what students evidently can’t do—are as old as the hills, and they’re not particularly helpful in creating a supportive atmosphere for language work. We should be clear on one point here: there was never a golden age of language use. As much as we don our rose-colored glasses when looking to the past, there has always been an upheaval in response to the perceived deterioration of language by the masses. For fun, guess when the following lines6 were written: 1. From every college in the country goes up the cry, “Our freshmen can’t spell, can’t punctuate.” Every high school is in disrepair because its [students] are so ignorant of the merest rudiments. 2. The vocabularies of the majority of high-school [students] are amazingly small. I always try to use simple English, and yet I have talked to classes when quite a minority of the [students] did not comprehend more than half of what I said. 3. Our language is degenerating very fast. These complaints, similar to the jeremiads heard from grammar pedants today, were written in 1917, 1889, and 1785 respectively. Rather than mourning for some imaginary grammar utopia that never was, we advocate for more productive and proactive responses to our students’ language use.

6. All quotations are from Famous Last Words: The American Language Crisis Reconsidered, Harvey A. Daniels (1983).

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First, we can adjust what we expect to see in student writing (or in student communication in general). It’s not exactly breaking news to say that most students struggle with at least a few elements of usage and mechanics. Students may not have developed a strong sense of audience expectations, including how to anticipate a reader’s needs or adjust their language for different contexts; still others need assistance with organizing thoughts that may be only partially formed. If we read student writing expecting evidence of these common challenges—that is, if we read with kind eyes, understanding errors and miscues as developmentally normal and part of the process of individuals learning to gain control of language (Shaughnessy, 1977)—then we’re better positioned to react constructively rather than with dismay and annoyance. Expect errors as a sign of struggle and growth, and you’re off to a more productive start. The next tactic is a tough one, but necessary: we have to resist the urge to physically mark every error we see. When we initially ask our preservice teachers to respond to a typical piece of student writing, they spend most of their time searching out and marking surface errors. The intent may be noble—to identify problems comprehensively so that students can fix them—but the effect and outcome is questionable. Uncommon is the student who appreciates, learns from, or even bothers to address errors marked in this fashion. Instead, a good many will shrug and toss the paper away, their selfimpressions as mediocre or poor writers once again confirmed. Our sense is that teachers mark student writing this way in part as a subconscious demonstration, an oblique way of communicating one’s professional bona fides: I have the knowledge and ability to recognize all common errors when I see them is the unspoken message. That is, marking student mistakes involves an aspect of “teacher performance” that helps maintain our own status and credibility as language experts should anyone happen to come behind us with skeptical eyes. (Say what you want about Ms. Crabapple, but she’s a real stickler for good grammar in those kids’ essays. Good for her!) Try this instead. Next time you’re reading student work, put down your pen. Seriously, lay it down on the table or desk and, at least for the moment, just read. Without that teacherly tool in your hand, you’re less apt to slip into automatic correction mode. Know that it’s going to be difficult to resist when you start seeing those misspellings and fragments and comma splices and grammar slip-ups—you may feel like you’re shirking your responsibility by just letting your gaze glide over them. You may have to dial back your mental grammometer, at least temporarily. But remind yourself of a basic and vital fact: each new piece of student writing you encounter should not act as a professional inquisition of your own grammar competence. Your error-detection skills are not under the scope, and anyway, there is usually more important work to be done. Once you’re confident that you don’t need to mark every problem that you see, feel free to reach for the pen. You’re going to want to make note of what’s working in the writing as a good first strategy, but rest assured that we’re not advocating a “just focus on the positive” approach. The fact is that you’re going to see language issues in student work (inevitably), and you’ll want to help students improve—you just want to make this process useful and efficient for all involved. With a few exceptions, it’s most useful to focus on patterns when addressing issues in student writing. Again, this means you may have to restrain your teacher pen until patterns actually begin to emerge. What patterns? Common repeating issues include sentence boundaries problems (run-ons and fragments), comma errors (often related to

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separating sentence elements that need to stay together), pronoun-antecedent agreement, capitalization, and spelling. Unless students are familiar and practiced with error correction shorthand (hint: most aren’t), pointing out and labeling such problems is unlikely to work by itself. Your pen is not magical; it can’t work alone. Whatever teacher traces you leave on student work (a checkmark, an X, a scrawled note left near an error), some kind of face-to-face, follow-up conversation with students is essential. If you’re dealing with grammar and usage trends in student writing, a class-wide discussion may help, but finding the time to talk with students about their individual issues is pretty important. Occasionally, you’ll encounter individual errors of a different degree. These are language problems that, because of their severity, you’ll feel a need to address immediately. Hairston’s (1981) research on attitudes towards common writing issues includes a list of errors considered so egregious that they result in negative judgment of a writer’s social status.7 These errors include nonstandard verb forms (“he brung,” “they gone”), subject-verb disagreement (“we was”), double negatives (“I don’t have no gum”), and object pronouns as subjects (“Her and James got married”) (Noguchi, 1991). We urge caution here. Remember that too much correction and marking of mistakes can have the opposite of the intended effect, with students shutting down on the work altogether. You’re looking for balance, and you’ll need to trust your sense of language and develop an internal process of triage. Can you live with letting minor errors go unmarked (at least for now) in order to a) emphasize what’s good about the writing, b) focus on one or two patterns of errors at most, and c) give constructive feedback focused on language to get things done? GENERAL ISSUES AND WHAT THEY MEAN Specific sentence-level errors will pop out at you from student work, but just as often you’ll be dealing with more general concerns. Maybe you’ve read student writing and thought, “Hmm. There’s definitely something off about this. I’m not exactly sure what’s wrong with it, but I know it could be better.” If you haven’t had this experience, keep on reading student work because it’s bound to happen. It takes practice and experience with lots of writing to hone your sense of diagnosis when it comes to common issues. It might put you at ease (or maybe it won’t) to know that even veteran teachers can struggle with specific feedback and tactical recommendations with language, resorting to vague terms like choppy or awkward that might generally describe a passage, but don’t do much to help novice writers make their work better. Below we detail some of these vague patterns and offer suggestions for what types of grammar, usage, and mechanics might be taught to address each. Two disclaimers first. Don’t try to tackle all the possible grammar solutions at once; pick one or two to practice with students in various contexts. And be realistic about student progress. Improvement takes time and can be slow in coming. Stick with it, be gentle, and stay focused on language for real purposes.

7. Hairston surveyed professionals in business, law, government, and media several generations ago for their thoughts on common errors. You might consider the benefits and drawbacks of language opinions from this set of respondents, especially considering the discussion of language variation in Chapter 2.

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Passage- and Paragraph-Level Patterns and What They Mean Choppy A passage described as choppy usually means that the sentences move at an odd pace. Take a look at the example below. My neighborhood is dangerous for bike riders. There aren’t any bike lanes. Drivers don’t slow down. There aren’t any sidewalks either. It’s hard to get anywhere on a bike. Bikers don’t have special trails to use. We should have new laws to protect bikers. The repetitive sentence structure here sounds unnatural; “robotic” might be another accurate description. Choppiness is a fairly common characteristic in the work of basic writers and English language learners; not surprisingly, when students establish control over a particular sentence form, they often use it exclusively rather than taking new risks. Writing “choppy” in the margin, however, doesn’t provide much guidance about how to improve this passage. Instead, we can recognize that the writer has a solid foundation of ideas here (namely, a coherent focus with several areas for further exploration) that can be made more fluent through specific grammatical moves dealing with how ideas are connected. Experimenting with different sentence structures (Complex Sentences, Compound-Complex Sentences, etc.), conjunctions (Compound Sentences and Conjunctions), and subordinating conjunctions (Complex Sentences, Dependent Clauses, Semicolons) would help students not just connect basic sentences, but organize ideas through tactics such as “if → then,” “because → reason,” and “assertion → details.” Awkward or Disorganized A passage described as awkward, disconnected, or disorganized has an uneven, herkyjerky feel. Take a look at the example below. My half-sister Milana is an all-star soccer player. There was a tournament last May in Cleveland with about a thousand people. The most important thing was practice and conditioning. By the end, there were only two teams at the top playing in the final championship game. Milana’s best move is the way she can curl a free kick according to her coach. She says that practice makes progress not practice makes perfect. Milana is very serious about soccer. A passage like this can leave a new teacher flustered. The general focus is understandable, but the organization and presentation of ideas is discombobulated. As Weaver (1996) and others have pointed out, such passages almost always violate the “known-new contract.” In English passages, the “new” information often appears at the end of a sentence, with the sentence that follows building on that information (which has now become “known”). In the passage above, this expectation is disrupted: the information at the end of each sentence is not taken up as the focus of the next. This creates a disjointed experience for a reader, as we hop from one subtopic to another with no clear

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thread of connection. Work with Dependent and Independent Clauses and Sentence Types can help here. As students gain confidence, you can introduce them to conjunctive adverbs (see Adverbs and Semicolons) as an inter-sentence connection tactic. Vague or Underdeveloped Vague or underdeveloped passages in student writing can be the result of grammatical constructions, including overuse of nominalization (see Nouns) and passive voice (see Active and Passive Voice). Nominalization and passive voice often go together (e.g., “Symbolism is used throughout The Scarlet Letter”) and can be useful for making broad statements or assertions. When a paragraph or piece is clogged with these constructions, however, we remain locked in the realm of generalities. Part of the solution can be summed up as “be more specific,” and while this advice may give direction, there are certain grammar moves that can help. Transitional sentence markers, such as “for example,” are an explicit means of signaling specificity. Practice with sentence modifiers (see Participial Phrases, Absolute Phrases, and Appositive Phrases) for vivid or precise detail can also help. Context Unclear Perhaps the opposite of vague writing is that which offers plenty of specific detail without a larger context. Raising money is the main goal right now for our group. We need about $5,000 to make the required improvements, which include new rails and benches and signs explaining how to use the equipment along with what is and isn’t allowed. The good news is that we have a couple of sponsors already from businesses in town, and we’ll be selling tickets for a raffle at next week’s game. We’re also making tie-dyed t-shirts with our logo. Lots of detail here, and that’s good, but the writer seems to be assuming that readers know the context of these events. Developing a sense of what audiences are experiencing through a text and what they need for comprehension takes time; many students may never have had the experience of writing for a genuine readership. When writers need practice with providing context, they can benefit from thinking about the broader categories in which subjects fall (i.e., nominalization in Nouns) along with sentence structures (see the various Sentence sections) that serve to establish, unify, or organize a broader discussion. We’re after balance here, a give-and-take between broader statements that provide global context and the rich detail that brings writing to life. Redundant Redundancy is sometimes easy to notice on a diction level: Pollution is big problem these days. Pollution is defined as the dumping of waste products that cause harm or damage. While there are laws to prevent

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pollution, it’s still a major problem. Sometimes pollution is caused by an accident, such as oil spills. Other times companies and people pollute on purpose. While there are groups that fight pollution, the bigger solution is for more people to care about this problem. The age-old student answer for addressing word redundancy is, of course, the thesaurus. While examining word options (see Nouns, Action Verbs, and Adjectives) is important, indiscriminate synonym substitution is a superficial fix. A more integrated approach tackling redundancy might ask students to examine sentence structures (particularly Complex Sentences) to practice coordination and subordination. Part of the trick here is, again, balance. Redundancy in diction or sentence forms usually signals a need for equilibrium between the general and the specific. Wordy In some ways, wordy writing is a good problem to have, indicating that students are stretching their vocabularies or trying out formal registers. On the downside, wordiness can clutter meaning with inappropriate word choice and convoluted sentence structure that distances the writer from the reader: In The Scarlet Letter that was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne it is abundantly clear that the author uses symbolism extensively to make an excellent argument about human nature. Analysis of these symbols will show that they deal with themes such as sin, guilt, and hypocrisy. The scarlet letter that is worn by Hester Prynne is the most imperative thematic symbol that Hawthorne uses in the story to present his important ideas about sin and iniquity. Like a boy wearing his father’s business suit, passages like this one feel awkward, stuffy, or overly elaborate at the expense of directness and clarity. Wordiness often results when students try to follow some arbitrary language rule (such as “never use the first person in formal writing”) or meet what they believe to be the elevated expectations of a genre (“academic essays require big words and long sentences”). How to help students here? Students overzealous in their use of fancy vocabulary can benefit from staying idea-centered rather than language-centered as a general goal. Wordiness can be a signal of still-evolving thoughts that emerge, clause-by-clause, on the page. Such usage is fairly normal, and it’s reasonable to expect passive phrasing (for instance) to dominate our initial, unsteady forays into meaning-making. When we’re not quite sure of the quality of our language or ideas, we can actually distance ourselves as the “doers” in a sentence by using passive voice. For all students, exploring the benefits and drawbacks of nominalization (see Nouns), Passive and Active Voice, and various sentence structures can be helpful. These discussions must be embedded in rhetorical context, with students asking questions about how sentence forms impact readers and listeners in different ways. For a further discussion of concise writing, see the Appendix.

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Sentence-Level Patterns and What They Mean Run-ons, Splices, and Fragments Run-ons, splices, and fragments are what’s known as “sentence boundary” issues. This means that they’re related to a student’s conception of where a sentence begins and ends. Activities with sentences (Complex Sentences, Non-Sentences and Their Uses, etc.) can provide students with strategies to recognize sentences and non-sentences. When spliced sentence patterns are an issue, working through Compound Sentences and Conjunctions can also be beneficial. Agreement Issues Agreement issues typically refer to problems between the subject of a sentence and the verb form. These problems are easy to see when the subject and verb are right next to each other (“Lin walk to the store”), but often tougher when some subject ambiguity exists and when there are a lot of intervening phrases between subject and predicate (“Ty and everyone else at the party loves that new track”). Working through applied activities involving The Sentence, Non-Sentences and Their Uses, and Nouns can be helpful for students here. Word Choice Words, of course, are the currency of communication, and their misuse is one of the first things we’ll notice when reading student work. A gentle approach is important here; risk-taking and experimentation, we think, should be encouraged and appreciated. Patterns of problems with particular words, however, might call for applied activities with Nouns, Action Verbs, and Adjectives. Focused discussion about word implications, connotations, and contextual appropriateness is especially important if vocabulary instruction at your school answers to a top-down test-prep mandate emphasizing memorization and quiz-taking. Punctuation Issues Punctuation issues are really common, and we’re willing to bet that the lion’s share of problems deal with that particularly tricky imp, the comma. Teachers have gnashed their teeth for ages as various remedies for comma errors have failed to produce results. Part of the trouble is the great versatility of that little mark. Commas do so many things within sentences that it’s easy for students to get turned around by the cascading list of supposedly easy-to-follow rules. Traditional advice such as “put a comma where you’d naturally take a breath” doesn’t seem to do much good (surprise, people breathe in different ways, it turns out). It may be vexing to hear that we don’t have a comma cure-all. As we discuss in Commas, we think it’s a little unrealistic to target comma usage without broader discussions of the grammar concepts around which commas play a role. If we set aside specialized and fairly straightforward comma uses (separating items in lists, following

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dialogue markers, etc.), we notice that commas are “boundary creatures,” meaning they live at the borders of: • • •

sentences and clauses; sentences and phrases; necessary and extra information.

Here’s our recommendation: don’t tackle issues with commas as “comma issues.” Instead, consider the broader sentence and passage context, and try to identify the construction or concept in which the comma works (or should or shouldn’t work). This means you’ll find the following topics of varying usefulness: Compound Sentences and Conjunctions, Complex Sentences, Absolute Phrases, Participial Phrases, Appositive Phrases, and many more. CONCLUSION Leaving those photocopied grammar worksheets in the drawer can be downright scary. When you start dealing with the authentic texts your students and you create, there is a possibility you won’t know all the answers immediately. There is no key in the back of the book. But, honestly, we don’t know anyone who teaches because it is easy. We teach because we love language, and we love to share language, literature, and writing with students. When we own the fact that language—and language learning— is a messy process, complicated by everything from school standards to social media, the apparent chaos of language and language teaching can look a lot more like freedom and opportunity. REFERENCES Daniels, H.A. (1983). Famous last words: The American language crisis reconsidered. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University. Hairston, M. (1981). Not all errors are created equal: Nonacademic readers in the professions respond to lapses in usage. College English, 47, 794–806. Noden, H. (2011). Image grammar: Teaching grammar as part of the writing process (2nd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Noguchi, R. (1991). Grammar and the teaching of writing. Urbana, IL: NCTE. Postman, N. (1996). The end of education. New York: Vintage. Shaughnessy, M. (1977). Errors and expectations. New York: Oxford. Smagorinsky, P. (2008). Teaching English by design. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Weaver, C. (1996). Teaching grammar in context. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Wiggins, G. P., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Zemeckis, R., Tisch, S., Finerman, W., Starkey, S., & Burgess, D. In Schmidt, A., Silvestri, A., . . . Paramount Pictures Corporation. (2001). Forrest Gump. Hollywood, CA: Paramount.

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CHAPTER 4

Grammatical Concepts

INTRODUCTION: WHAT IT IS, AND WHAT IT AIN’T Here we are at the heart of the book. In the following pages we explore the grammatical concepts that we believe are most important for English teachers in a way that we hope is useful and engaging. All of these explorations end up at the same question: How is this concept used in real ways by real people to get things done in the world? The scenarios that accompany each concept represent our attempts to get you thinking about ways to engage your students with this question, so that they might see the immediate and future relevance of language study. Structure of Chapter 4 •

For each concept, we move from formal definitions to real-world use. We begin with a general overview of the concept (Overview), then explore what the concept is (Form), how the concept works in our language (Function), and how we use it in the world (Use). We finish each section with a number of Scenarios, explorations of how that grammatical concept works in applied contexts. One note: Sometimes we discuss form and function together, and sometimes we separate it into two headings. For example, we don’t think you need a deep discussion of the form of the semicolon or colon, so you’ll find form and function discussed together in these sections.

•

As a means of helping you compare use-based activities to traditional grammar instruction, we also include a Typical Form Exercises section for each concept. We’re definitely not encouraging you (or your future students) to complete these exercises; rather, we’re pointing out conventional examples of the kinds of decontextualized exercises often found in grammar texts, workbooks, and worksheets. Traditional grammar drills may have their place. But (to be blunt) if such approaches were effective in helping young people use language more fluently, we’d surely see evidence of it by now. We’re pretty sure you’ll recognize the kinds of exercises in these areas since most of us were subjected to them at various points in our school careers.

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Practicing how to use language effectively should be a positive, constructive, and cumulative process. Instead, many students come to dread grammar and language study as practical use becomes contaminated by boredom, negativity, judgment, and scorn. Our goal is to push beyond this traditional mode of teaching grammar with a special look at how the concept works to get things done in our lives. That’s where the scenarios come in. We think real-world application is what’s missing in most grammar instruction, and it’s where we believe that the most fruitful conversations with students reside. Limitations of Chapter 4 Before you dive into the rest of this book, we’ve got a few final caveats. 1. Chapter 4 is not a complete or comprehensive guide to grammar. Instead, we’ve tried to choose concepts that we think are most relevant to teachers of middle and high school students, and then talk about them in ways that are accessible and practical. In these sections, we sometimes decided not to talk about some specialized aspect or exception because it’s easy to get lost in the weeds of grammar arcana. Our goal here is relevance, usability, and application, so we’ve tried to keep our focus limited and our explanations concise. If that opens us up to some legit criticism (How could you leave out mention of grammar facet X? Preposterous!), we can live with that. For really thorny and confusing questions, we recommend that you keep a complete grammar and usage guide on your shelf as a back-up reference. 2. Our organization of concepts is (by necessity) a little arbitrary. You’ll see that we’ve organized the chapter into neat bundles focused on individual concepts. But it’s sometimes difficult to keep the discussion of a single grammatical concept corralled in one place. For example, you can’t really talk effectively about sentence fragments and their uses without discussing certain related concepts (such as what defines a sentence, dependent and independent clauses, complex sentences, subordination, comma rules, and so on). When these related conversations arise, we’ve either tried to clarify with a mini-explanation at that moment, or we’ve pointed you toward other relevant sections. We hope that these choices are more helpful than confusing and that the discussions are reinforcing rather than redundant. 3. The scenarios for each concept are idea-generators rather than ready-to-go activities. If some of these scenarios work as written for your students, that’s great. But don’t expect them to be magically relevant and appropriate for every classroom situation. We don’t know your students—their academic histories, their personal backgrounds, their cultures, and their interests. But you do. Adapt these prompts. Change the focus, names, and language as you need to. Use them as a springboard for your own experiments. Listen to students as they work through applied situations, and notice what they respond to with enthusiasm and insight, and what falls flat or just doesn’t work. Then adjust based on this feedback and try again. There’s also nothing stopping you from following any of these scenarios with some metacognitive and reflective work, asking students how and why they made the language choices that they did.

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4. We’re still working on this stuff ourselves. We’re not grammar experts, but instead teachers trying to find better ways for our students to grasp, apply, and, in turn, teach grammar concepts to their own students. If you’re going to stay fresh as a teacher, you have to keep taking risks, trying out new angles, and seeing what works and what doesn’t. This book is a part of this process. Some of this will work for you, and some of it will need your revision, interpretation, and re-creation to be successful. Either way, we’d love to hear from you about your experiences— good or not-so-good—so that we can keep getting better ourselves. Thanks!

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UNIT 1

Sentences and Sentence Types

CONCEPT: THE SENTENCE OVERVIEW Ask people what defines a sentence, and you’ll hear lots of responses: a noun and a verb, a complete thought, a subject and predicate, a capital letter and a period, and so on. These criteria don’t fully account for the variety of sentences we find in the world, such as the verbless sentence (e.g., “No comment”) and the minor sentences that include exclamations (e.g., “Wow!”) and imperatives (e.g., “Git!”). These “sentences” don’t contain a subject and verb, yet they function as complete thoughts in specific contexts. The word sentence has its origins in Latin as sentire: “to feel, or be of the opinion.” In Middle English, the word had transitioned to its modern spelling and meant “way of thinking, or opinion,” a definition that is perhaps echoed in the “sentences” handed down by a judge or jury (basically an opinion backed by law). We can certainly see one of our modern understandings—“a sentence expresses a complete thought”—reflected in this etymology. The types of sentences we use and how we construct them play a direct role in the voice, style, cadence, and power of our writing.

FORM AND FUNCTION Despite the complications discussed above, it’s not a bad start to think of a sentence as expressing “a complete thought.” Even with the lack of a subject and a verb in sentences such as “Wow!” or “No comment,” a coherent thought is still discernible. In turn, non-sentences might be be characterized as “incomplete thoughts,” as the following examples demonstrate: cont. 52

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• • •

After we eat lunch. Everett, who plays the guitar and the banjo. Since she’s the tallest player on the team.

The “stare test” is a solid tactic for determining whether we’re dealing with a sentence or a non-sentence. Try saying any of the statements above to someone. Your listener will likely stare at you, expecting to hear more information that would make your utterance a complete thought and, possibly, a sentence. While not foolproof, the stare test is a good check for sentence viability. Notice, however, that each of the examples above could be legitimate within a specific conversational context. Yosh: When are you going to the movies? Alexandria: After we eat lunch. Sentences fulfill four functions. They can do the following: 1. Make a statement to relay information, ideas, or opinions (i.e., they are declarative): • • •

Elijah is tall. We’re going to the park today. The Avengers features a team of superheroes.

2. Ask a question (interrogative): • •

What’s your name? How far is it to Kalamazoo?

3. Issue demands or express desires (imperative): • •

Get off the table! Leave me alone.

4. Express emotion (exclamatory): • • •

Oh my goodness! Ridiculous! Aw, snap!

Typical Form Exercises 1. Write an example of each of the following sentences types: declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory. 2. Change the form of the following declarative sentences to make them interrogative and/or imperative. cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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a. The tree loses its leaves in autumn. b. Neptune takes 164 years to orbit the sun. c. The teacher made us memorize that speech from Henry V.

FOCUSING ON USE: HOW SENTENCES ARE USEFUL IN ACTUAL COMMUNICATION We use these four sentence types—in various combinations and forms—for most of our communication. While much of our everyday language use occurs without a lot of conscious planning, an awareness of sentence choices helps us gain more control of events. To begin thinking about sentence choices, let’s imagine that Owen has broken up with Kayla, his girlfriend. Kayla would probably relate the story very differently one hour after the breakup compared to one week later. Let’s look at what Kayla might say. 1. Kayla’s Breakup Talk With a Friend: One Hour After I can’t believe Owen broke up with me! The jerk! I hate him! How he could do it? I gave him everything! Is he crazy? He’ll never get someone as good as me! 2. Kayla’s Breakup Talk With A Different Friend: One Week After So, Owen broke up with me last week. Seriously, he doesn’t know what he gave up. I bought him so many presents, helped him with his homework, and just made him look good everywhere we went. The jerk. In the first narrative, Kayla uses a lot of emotion. How do we know? Look at those interrogative and exclamatory sentences. When we are surprised and upset, of course, we often get loud and struggle for answers. We may use interrogative sentences—questions—inviting listeners (or readers) to sympathize with our anguish, amazement, frustration, or disbelief. However, time creates distance and perspective. When we revisit an experience, we tend to use more declarative sentences as we explain the information, ideas, or opinions surrounding the event, as seen in Kayla’s narrative one week later. As you can see, both examples include “The jerk.” As we have discussed, a sentence does not have to include a subject and a verb. Writers often use fragments to create a sharp, staccato statement, which would be appropriate for Kayla to use in this situation (see Non-Sentences and Their Uses for a further discussion).

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EXPERIMENTING WITH THE SENTENCE In Kayla’s situation above, we saw how time and distance can change how we describe an event. Our audience also affects the types of sentences we use. Scenario 1: Food Fight So you’re eating your PB&J sandwich and minding your own business in the cafeteria earlier today when you find yourself with a front row seat for a massive food fight. JJ, a noted troublemaker, stands up at the next table and hollers a few choice insults at somebody across the room. In response, a trayful of Meatloaf Surprise arcs through the air, landing in the midst of some varsity baseball players and splattering everyone nearby. After that, it’s on. Pizza, milk cartons, fruit, and assorted lunchroom items go airborne until teachers and staff eventually wade in, break it up, and haul off a half-dozen people. Your friends who weren’t there want to know what happened. But you also need to tell the principal the specific details, as he’s been informed that you witnessed the whole thing. Task: Part of effective communication includes knowing your audience and situation. Relate the happenings first to your friends (and remember to make it amazing, of course). Then, get ready, because it’s time to get everything down in writing for your talk with Mr. Ironside, the principal. Bonus: Your pal Otis isn’t as savvy about switching his language choices around depending on who the story is for. Explain to him how you changed your language when you relayed the story to the principal. Scenario 2: Gotta Get That Money Yippee, fundraising season is here again. This year, all the members of your school club are selling candy bars so that your group can go to the national convention in New York City. That’s a lot of chocolate since a trip to the Big Apple ain’t cheap. To make matters worse, your crew this year isn’t the most enthusiastic or experienced of candy floggers. A lot of them are way too shy, too unconvincing, or just don’t know how to move product. They really need to be trained in the art of selling because simply stating “We have candy bars for sale” over and over isn’t cutting it. Task: Get those rookies squared away with a crash course in hawking sweets to the teenage masses. This means helping them understand the power of rephrasing their language in more compelling ways. Show them how to sell by generating persuasive statements (declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory) that make people want to splurge on a tasty snack. cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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Scenario 3: Different Kinds of Bosses Part of success in life is learning when to take on the role of a leader, and then how to do it well. Not surprisingly, communication is key. To lead well, you need to be able to convey information and intention in effective ways. Maybe that sounds easy or like common sense. If you’re the boss, you just tell someone to do something, and they do it. Right? Well, it’s not that simple. If you want to maintain morale and mutual respect, you have to communicate in ways that fit expectations and the needs of everyone involved. That means you need to know your context well. Consider this utterance from everyone’s favorite sci-fi villain, Darth Vader: Alert all commands. Calculate every possible destination along their last known trajectory. Don’t fail me again, Admiral. Vader uses the imperative here, issuing orders. This is a common sentence type in military, emergency, and business contexts, though Vader’s concluding threat probably doesn’t do much for staff morale (one of the downsides of working for a murderous totalitarian empire, evidently). Commands are easy to give, but only using the imperative can create problems. A more useful example might be Captain Jean-Luc Picard of Star Trek. Picard varies his sentence types according to context, audience, and purpose. Sometimes he orders, sometimes he politely requests, sometimes he asks for advice. His careful understanding of communication-in-context sets a professional and respectful example for his crew, which allows for a smoothly functioning organization. Task: You’ve been working at Utopizza for six months. It’s a decent gig, but one thing that feels a little off is the management’s communication style. There are messages and signs posted around the restaurant that seem questionable to you: • • • • • • •

In the parking lot: Do not park in front of the trash cans! On a storage closet near the bathrooms: Keep out! In the bathroom: Could all employees please wash their hands after using the facilities? Near the cash register: Pay your check or we will call the police. In the menu: You cannot substitute toppings on specialty pizzas. In the employee handbook: You will be fired if we catch you stealing money. In the employee break-room: Don’t socialize with customers.

You definitely think that modifying these messages would create a more pleasant experience for both employees and customers. Write out your recommendations for changes (and what, if anything, should stay the same) along with your reasoning for each. Remember to use effective sentence types in communicating with your boss.

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CONCEPT: NON-SENTENCES AND THEIR USES OVERVIEW Run-on sentences and sentence fragments are usually considered “non-sentences” because they don’t adhere to conventional sentence definitions. At the same time, run-ons and fragments surround us in our daily communication as legitimate tools for expressing meaning. As we’ll see, the intentional use of these “non-sentence” options is a key facet of communication. They can help us get things done—if we use them wisely.

FORM Here are some familiar definitions for what does and doesn’t count as a sentence: • • •

A sentence expresses a complete thought. A fragment doesn’t express a complete thought. A run-on may express a complete thought, but it doesn’t use the appropriate punctuation to qualify as a formal sentence.

Unfortunately, these definitions don’t do much to help students recognize these concepts in action or understand everyday use. Before taking a closer look at fragments and run-ons, we’ll review some easy-to-remember procedures for figuring out if you’ve written a formal sentence or something else. Is This a Sentence? Interrogating Your Writing Two simple tools can help students interrogate their writing to make sure they’ve created a sentence: the yes/no test and tag questions (Noguchi, 1991). Let’s look at how these strategies work. Step One: Choose a sentence (or something you think might be a sentence) • •

Andrea slogged through her huge pile of homework. Tomorrow is the big day.

Step Two: Try turning the sentence into a question that you can answer with “yes” or “no”; if you can do this, the original statement is very likely a sentence •

To do this, you may need to change the tense of the verb and add an auxiliary verb. – Andrea slogged through her huge pile of homework. – Did Andrea slog through her huge pile of homework? (yes/no) – Yes, it’s a sentence! cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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•

If the sentence contains a “to be” verb, move it to turn the statement into a question. – Tomorrow is the big day. – Is tomorrow the big day? (yes/no) – Yes, it’s a sentence!

Step Three: Try out the “tag question” tool Tag questions are short phrases added to sentences to turn them into questions. Native speakers of English know how to do this without much conscious thought: •

She’s tall. – She’s tall, isn’t she?

•

We eat breakfast at 7am. – We eat breakfast at 7am, don’t we?

If you can successfully create a tag question with a statement, you know it’s a sentence. •

Andrea slogged through her huge pile of homework. – Andrea slogged through her huge pile of homework, didn’t she? – Yes, it’s a sentence!

•

Tomorrow is the big day. – Tomorrow is the big day, isn’t it? – Yes, it’s a sentence!

Step Four: Finding the Subject and Predicate Next, try inserting the verb from the tag question back into the sentence (for sentences with “to be” verbs, it’s already there). • • • •

Andrea DID slog through her huge pile of homework. Tomorrow IS the big day. She IS tall. We DO eat breakfast at 7am.

Now check this out: the tag-question verbs capitalized above separate the subject (on the left) and predicate (on the right, including the verb), and the sentences make sense at every step. Pretty cool. Let’s try this same process with a sentence fragment. Step One: Choose a sentence (or something you think might be a sentence) • • •

Because tomorrow is the big day. Although he decided not to go. As the wind tore down the tent. cont.

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Step Two: Try turning the sentence into a question that you can answer with “yes” or “no” • • •

IS because tomorrow the big day? DID although he decide not to go? or Although DID he decide not to go? DID as the wind tear down the tent? or As DID the wind tear down the tent?

If students read these aloud, they’ll quickly conclude that none of them work as sentences. They definitely don’t sound like actual yes/no questions, which tells us that the original statements are likely not sentences. Step Three: Try out the “tag question” tool • • •

Because tomorrow is the big day, isn’t it? (could work) Although he decided not to go, didn’t he? (could work) As the wind tore down the tent, didn’t it? (definitely sounds strange)

Though several of these tag question transformations seem like they might be plausible, combined with the yes/no test, it’s clear that these are fragments rather than sentences. As we can see, interrogating your sentences in these ways can help you identify legit sentences, sentence fragments, and the subject and predicate of a sentence. Does it work with run-ons? •

Alana came over to my house the other day and said that she wanted to go to Mason’s house but we couldn’t go because we didn’t have a ride so we stayed at my house and played video games and we called Mason and told him we weren’t coming over.

One great thing about these tools is that students have to stop, look closely, and analyze what they’ve written. There are several options for turning this runon into a question. Students will notice that a single yes/no or tag question is pretty much impossible, but out of this struggle may come the solution (among many) of turning portions of the run-on into simple sentences, and then trying out those tools: 1. Alana came over to my house the other day. a.

DID Alana come over to my house the other day?

2. She wanted to go to Mason’s house. b. She wanted to go to Mason’s house, didn’t she? Whichever way students tackle a run-on sentence, a systematic approach helps. Maybe you ask them to turn the run-on into multiple yes/no questions (which cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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will help your students see the various sentences embedded within). A run-on sentence analysis also invites discussion about other sentence types (such as Compound Sentences). Some final advice: don’t ask students to analyze every single sentence in their writing (that’s a certain recipe for tedium and loathing). Instead, students should focus on sentences that they or someone else have identified as questionable. Use these tools to support students’ understanding of fragments and run-ons, moving students to fluid writing and the purposeful use of non-sentences, which is our next topic.

FRAGMENTS AND FUNCTION Sentence fragments come in multiple forms, and, get ready for this, not all fragments are problems. Intentional sentence fragments can be useful in communication and effective in writing. While unintentional fragments (and run-ons) are a familiar issue for basic writers, we also want students to develop confidence with the purposeful use of these language options. Single Words The simplest fragment is a single word disconnected from a larger meaningful context. It’s actually pretty rare: • •

The party was cancelled at the last. Minute. After. We finished lunch we went to the park.

We can contrast the examples above with common one-word “sentences” that carry inherent sense (again, in a particular context): • • •

Hi! Is that really what this candidate believes? Ridiculous. Canada. The view is great up here.

Or consider this exchange: Tim: Are we going to the park before or after lunch? Jo: After. In the last example, after expresses a complete thought, given the conversational context (essentially, “we’re going to the park after lunch”). This kind of fragment use should be familiar, as we do it all the time in our everyday interactions. In other situations—particularly in online communication—one-word “sentences” have a specific rhetorical meaning: cont. 60

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• •

OMG. The Empire Strikes Back? Best. Movie. Ever. LeBron for MVP? Please.

Phrases and Other Phenomena Sometimes fragments appear as phrases or sentence parts. Again, we might imagine situations where these fragments would be quite understandable within dialogue or in social media contexts. Give it a try! When might the following fragments be appropriate? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Tomorrow afternoon. Because bacon. Running around the house. All the feels.1 I can’t even.

Clauses A common fragment in student writing is the free-floating dependent clause, which contains both a subject and a verb: • • •

When we get home. My dad says I need to study for the test tomorrow. I’m really excited right now. Because tomorrow is the big day. Keith ran around like crazy trying to get our gear out of the rain. As the wind tore down the tent.

Teaching subordinating conjunctions early can help students with clause-based fragment issues (see Complex Sentences and Dependent Clauses). Even with a confident mastery of intentional fragments, students must weigh the benefits and drawbacks of using this concept. A formal writing exam might not be the best place to drop an ironic one-paragraph sentence fragment. Or perhaps it is. The potential reward—interesting writing characterized by personality and voice—does come with some risk. Fragments in Use Fragments are useful rhetorical devices, and writers use them for a variety of purposes. Typically, when fragments occur once or twice throughout a paragraph, the author may want you to see a quick and singular image. Sandra Cisneros (1991) uses this tactic in the vignette “My Name” from The House on Mango Street: In English my name means hope. In Spanish it means too many letters. It means sadness, it means waiting. It is like the number nine. A muddy color. (p. 10)

1. See also Nouns for words used as nouns that typically serve another function (e.g., as verbs or adjectives).

cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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... My great-grandmother. I would’ve liked to have known her, a wild horse of a woman, so wild she wouldn’t marry. (pp. 10–11) The first fragment is a flash of imagery from an unusual description of her name. The second fragment makes us pay attention to a fresh subject: “my greatgrandmother.” Obviously, Cisneros knows how to write a “correct” sentence, but here she uses language creatively for her own needs. She evidently believes the rewards (more powerful prose) to be worth the risk. Fragments are also useful when writing dialogue (which often strays from complete sentence structures). Notice how Lorraine Hansberry (1988) recreates the natural cadences of speech in this example from the play A Raisin in the Sun: Mama (Thoughtfully, and suddenly very far away): Ten thousand dollars— Ruth: Sure is wonderful. Mama: Ten thousand dollars. Ruth: You know what you should do, Miss Lena? You should take yourself a trip somewhere. To Europe or South America or someplace— Mama (Throwing up her hands at the thought): Oh, child! (p. 43) These fragments allow the reader (or viewer) of the play to feel the organic rhythm of speech. (If you think “Oh, child!” is a fragment, see The Sentence for an explanation.) Finally, fragments allow writers to relay a sense of urgency, encouraging a quick reading of a stressful scene. Consider the following example from Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen (2006), a young adult novel about a boy trying to survive in the wilderness: He could do nothing, think nothing . . . he stared at the bear. It was black, with a cinnamon-colored nose, not twenty feet from him and big. No, huge. It was all black fur and huge . . . This one was wild, and much bigger than the one in the zoo and it was right there. Right there. (p. 72) Paulsen’s use of fragments emphasizes the size, proximity, and immediacy of the bear. In the first instance, if he’d instead written something like “No, actually, he was a huge bear,” the enormity of the encounter might have been lost with unnecessary words. Likewise, if Paulsen had written “He was right there” (a complete sentence), we might lose the sense of stunning panic of a large creature so close. Paulsen even gives that second fragment its own paragraph, emphasizing the shock of the moment. We think students should have access to, practice with, and the option of using such a powerful tactic in their own writing. cont. 62

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In sum, fragments allow writers to cut quickly to what is most essential for immediate impact, and that makes them useful tools for writers. Run-ons and Function Run-ons can take various forms. Comma splices, for instance, produce one kind: • •

Tomorrow is the big day, I am graduating. Luis is breaking up with Rae, he wants to go out with Anna.

Comma splices happen when a comma joins two independent clauses. They can be corrected easily enough, by (1) replacing the comma with a semicolon or period or (2) adding a coordinating conjunction after the comma. Sometimes we see more complicated versions of run-ons in student writing, with multiple subjects and complements joined by a series of conjunctions. Remember this example? •

Alana came over to my house the other day and said that she wanted to go to Mason’s house but we couldn’t go because we didn’t have a ride so we stayed at my house and played video games and we called Mason and told him we weren’t coming over.

Here we have what we call the “train of thought” run-on, fairly common for basic writers. There’s a sense here of thoughts transcribed into writing without worrying too much about mechanics. These types of run-ons can actually be positive: it means that the student is processing ideas into prose, and in the case above, that the writing is sensible. Run-ons in Use Run-ons can create a sense of breathless, frantic energy, of someone’s thoughts moving so quickly that they escape conventional boundaries, which means writers have another powerful tool at their disposal. (It’s important to note again that, like all tools, this one should be used purposefully—unintentional run-ons are lapses that need attention rather than tactical tools.) Notice how Sandra Cisneros (from The House on Mango Street again) uses a run-on to describe her outfit and the embarrassment it causes her: Everybody laughing except me, because I’m wearing the new dress, pink and white with stripes, and new underclothes and new socks and old saddle shoes I wear to school, brown and white, the kind I get every September because they last long and they do. (p. 47) Here Cisneros uses a run-on to help us feel the narrator’s in-the-moment discomfort, a negative feeling that goes on and on, just like the sentence. Run-ons can also be rhetorically strategic when you want to build suspense. The following cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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example comes from Todd Strasser’s novel The Wave (1981). Laurie, a student going against a huge and powerful student organization called “The Wave,” finds herself leaving the school newspaper room later at night than she anticipated: As she closed the door of The Grapevine office and turned off the light, that nervousness she felt all week began to return again. The Wave was undoubtedly smarting from the wounds The Grapevine had inflicted, but it was still strong in Gordon High, and Laurie was aware that as the head of the paper, she . . . no, she told herself, you’re just being silly and paranoid. The Wave was nothing serious, just a classroom experiment that had gotten slightly out of hand. There was nothing to be afraid of. (p. 109) In this case, the use of long sentences and a run-on creates drama, putting us next to Laurie’s thoughts and worries as they happen. Quite often, these scene- and mood-setting sentences are followed by dramatic action or conflict reflected in a series of short sentences (and possibly, fragments) that depict sudden events. Run-ons and punctuation go hand-in-hand. For example, in both of the literary examples above, a few changes to the punctuation, and those long sentences wouldn’t be run-ons. Fragments and run-ons aren’t just problems to fix in student writing (though it may seem so at first). These sentence varieties also offer ways to involve readers by establishing mood, generating tension, and speeding or slowing down the reading experience for a particular effect.

Typical Form Exercises Identify which of the statements below are sentences. For any non-sentences, rewrite them as sentences. 1. Three times we listened to the train whistle. 2. Halfway to the football stadium and twenty minutes after we’d left the restaurant where we celebrated Draymond’s birthday. 3. Yesterday she spent most of the day in Atlanta. 4. Doing the laundry again after waiting for four hours. 5. Not if we can’t ever agree on the most basic color of paint for the clubhouse. Rewrite the run-on sentence below so that it conforms to Standard English sentence rules. In what may be the most exciting finish to a high school lacrosse game in local history, Terese Nguyen scored two goals in ten seconds, tying the game in regulation, in overtime the Tigers scored first to take home the victory, up next is the regional playoff match against Mountain View High.

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FOCUSING ON USE: HOW NON-SENTENCES ARE USEFUL IN ACTUAL COMMUNICATION Our language use changes according to the situation, the audience we’re addressing, and our purpose in communicating. That means that we have to think through the benefits and drawbacks of particular language options. This is especially true for non-standard choices like fragments and run-ons. These can be powerful tools, but students really need to consider context and how such moves will be received. That takes practice. Experiment with the scenarios below to see how fragments and run-ons might play an effective role in particular situations.

EXPERIMENTING WITH FRAGMENTS AND RUN-ONS Scenario 1: Ghost Stories Everyone likes a good scary story, and you need one for the next campfire in the woods (or darkened house with only flashlights for illumination). You know how these go: your friends gather in the dim light while someone tells the tale of a maniac on the loose or the ghost that haunts the attic. Next time, you want to have a good story of your own to tell. Task: Practice your story by drafting it first. Experiment with run-ons to build tension and create mood (before the apparition/monster/creature appears) and then use fragments to make the action happen quickly (when the scary moment arrives). Scenario 2: Thirty Seconds of Face Time When you’re trying to get across a lot of information in a short amount of time, you might speak with more run-ons than usual. You get on an elevator and immediately recognize that the person across from you is your idol—the celebrity, athlete, singer, actor, author, gamer, whoever— that you love and respect above all others. You have maybe thirty seconds to tell that person how awesome you think they are. At the same time, you want to convey that you’re not just some average fanboy or fangirl. After all, you’re a true fan, not some poseur. Task: Before this actually happens, though, you should probably try to write it down first. You can certainly use run-ons and fragments. You only have thirty seconds, after all! Go! cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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Scenario 3: Advertising Your Town Buckstown, a village on the other side of your county, has had great success with their campaign and slogan entitled “Because Buckstown.” Accompanied with clever social media advertising and imagery, “Because Buckstown” has turned that sleepy little town into a quirky center for arts, music, and crafts, with a lot of tourist dollars flowing in. Now the leaders of your town are seeking to revitalize the depressed downtown area, and they’re calling for marketing proposals. They love what Buckstown has done, but your town isn’t Buckstown. The town leaders need some visionary ideas for drawing people in, and they need a catchy modern slogan to go along with it. Task: Put together a pitch for your town’s downtown development: what should be emphasized in renovation, and why? What should your town be known for? How can you compete with Buckstown without copying their success? As part of your plan, create a cool sentence fragment slogan and argue for its effectiveness. Scenario 4: Remixing the Mocking Run-On As the rapper Eminem demonstrates in the film 8 Mile, you can sometimes rob an adversary of rhetorical ammunition by addressing stereotypes about yourself first, in service of a larger and more honest message. Task: Folks from your neighborhood have often been mocked and looked down upon by others. You’ve heard the stereotypes and insults over and over. But now your neighbors are unifying around a central issue, speaking out, and changing the story. And you’re joining the movement. First, choose one of the following issues affecting your neighborhood: • • • • • • •

police-community relations; pollution; city services (clinics, job placement, etc.); access to healthy food options; housing costs and conditions; safe recreational areas for kids; some other important concern that people are talking about.

Then, write a public statement in which you contrast the commonplace assumptions about you and your neighborhood with the more complex reality. In your first paragraph, try to use a run-on sentence to capture all the stereotypes people imagine when they think of where you live and who lives there. Then, in the next paragraph, pivot to the reality of the people and places you know and what they care about and want from life.

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CONCEPT: SIMPLE SENTENCES OVERVIEW As the name suggests, simple sentences are the most basic form of conventional sentences. While many writers eventually gain fluency in other sentence forms, simple sentences remain the workhorse of our communication. Because simple sentences (along with compound sentences) often characterize the prose of basic writers, this form may seem too elementary of a topic to spend much time worrying about. Used intentionally, however, simple sentences can have a powerful effect on readers and listeners.

FORM Simple sentences are composed of one independent clause. Recall that an independent clause in its most basic form is a subject and a predicate: • • •

Juan ran. Sparks flew. I like dogs.

Simple sentences are not always short, however. Various phrases and sentence elements (participles, absolutes, appositives, prepositions, adverbials, adjectivals, etc.) mean that these sentences can take a variety of forms. • • • •

Shem bought a bag of cheddar-flavored chips. Language Arts, my third class of the day, is my favorite course. Stroking a large orange cat, the criminal mastermind contemplated both world domination and the perfect mocha latte. Sweaty and tired, Abe wrenched on the stubborn pipe, angry at how long this repair project was taking.

Simple sentences can also have an implied subject, as in the examples below: • •

Please bring your pencil to class. Stop talking this instant.

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FUNCTION Simple sentences provide information in various ways by: •

stating something (these are known as declarative sentences) –

•

commanding (imperative) –

•

Give me some pie.

asking (interrogative) –

•

This pie is ready to eat.

Do you like pie?

exclaiming (exclamatory) –

This pie is absolutely awesome!

Although simple sentences are often defined as expressing “a complete thought,” such an explanation raises its own questions. What, after all, counts as a complete thought?2

Typical Form Exercises Simple sentences are the first kind we learn to write as children and the most common form we encounter in written communication. While simple sentences can be quite versatile, many teachers are familiar with the rather robotic rhythm of a long string of them. My favorite food is pizza. I like pepperoni and mushroom. My brother likes garlic. I don’t like the taste of garlic. Pizza Barn is my favorite pizza place. They also have calzones and strombolis. We like to go there on Saturday night. Sometimes we have pizza delivered instead. I will always love pizza. If your students need work on branching out from simple sentence structures, check out Compound, Complex, and Compound-Complex Sentences.

2. See Schuster’s discussion in Breaking the Rules (2003), pp. 38–40.

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FOCUSING ON USE: HOW SIMPLE SENTENCES ARE USEFUL IN ACTUAL COMMUNICATION Most students don’t need much practice in using simple sentences as a general form. But they can still benefit from learning how to use these sentences rhetorically, that is, for a particular effect on a reader or listener. For instance, sometimes a well-chosen simple sentence at the beginning or the end of a paragraph—or even as its own separate paragraph—can have a powerful effect on a reader.

EXPERIMENTING WITH SIMPLE SENTENCES Scenario 1: Testify Regan is somewhat famous in your school for being “out there.” She dresses differently than most people, listens to obscure bands, reads off-the-wall novels, and wears her hair in a very unique style. Most people take her differences in their stride, but some of your peers can’t resist the temptation to tease and mock. Regan is no cringing violet, though; she stands up for herself and is not afraid to call out and challenge her critics publicly. With a new anti-bullying initiative in place to create a safer school, your principal has asked Regan to speak about her unique perspective to incoming students. Because you’re a trusted friend, she has asked you for some help on her talk. Task: Help Regan draft some remarks and tell her story. Try to use some wellchosen simple sentences in powerful ways—to speak directly and plainly—in order to grab an audience’s attention and get them to listen. Keep in mind that simple sentences can be very effective in • • • • •

introducing an idea summarizing or ending a passage focusing a reader’s or listener’s attention changing subjects repeating key ideas or themes

Here are some possible “sentence frames” that you might try out: Declarative or Exclamatory • • •

“This is/isn’t . . .” “I am/am not . . .” / “You are . . .” “We can . . .”

Interrogative • •

“What do you . . .” “Who are we . . .” cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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Imperative • • • •

“Don’t . . .” “Be . . .” “Always . . .” / “Never . . .” “Remember to . . .”

Scenario 2: Honest and Direct The “thank you” letter is a classy and professional way to express your appreciation, especially when you’re looking for a job. If a company has interviewed ten strong applicants and only one of them has sent a follow-up note of thanks, that just might be the difference. You’ve wanted to work at Enigma for as long as you can remember. It’s a cool store that focuses on stuff that you really care about in an area you want to pursue for a career. You were fortunate to get an interview for a job opening yesterday, and you think it went pretty well. Now it’s time for a follow-up email, and you really want to nail this so that you have best chance at landing the position. Task: Compose a thank-you email to the manager at Enigma. Try to use wellchosen simple sentences to be direct and appreciative, and conclude with a sentence about looking forward to their decision.

Scenario 3: A Real Apology No one is perfect. Everyone screws up. When we make mistakes in life, we have the opportunity to make amends, starting with a straight-up apology to the people we’ve wronged or let down. Task: Brad was only trying to prank his friends Tila and Trace when he Photoshopped their faces onto Grant Wood’s painting American Gothic and then distributed posters of this image around school and on social media. Unbeknownst to him, the couple had just broken up the previous evening, and their separation was not pleasant. Needless to say they’re both angry at Brad, and Tila is especially embarrassed. Brad knows he needs to apologize, and he’s come to you for help. Work with him to draft an apology that is direct and heartfelt. Tila and Trace don’t especially need to hear all about his justifications and reasons. For this job, simple sentences can help convey candid remorse. See what you can come up with. (For a related discussion of apologies and language use, see Active and Passive Voice.) cont. 70

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Scenario 4: Ending a Relationship What’s the best way to end a relationship? Your friend Yulia was just going to send a text to her soon-to-be-ex Casey, but after thinking about it (and talking it over with you) she’s decided that a face-to-face conversation is more respectful. She knows it’s not going to be easy. They’ve been dating for a long time, and Casey is happy in the relationship. But Yulia is determined to make a clean break and move on. Task: Help your friend prepare for her heart-to-heart with Casey by planning out what she’s going to say. You’ll probably need a mix of different sentences, but try to use some simple sentences intentionally—be direct and clear—without being cruel.

CONCEPT: COMPOUND SENTENCES AND CONJUNCTIONS OVERVIEW Compound sentences are fairly basic structures, not too complicated to create and useful for particular stylistic and rhetorical effects. Because they are defined by the use of a conjunction, discussing both compound sentences and conjunctions together makes sense.

FORM Compound sentences are typically formed by two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction and a comma: independent clause, coordinating conjunction + independent clause Conjunctions include for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so. As just about everybody knows, these words can be remembered with the acronym FANBOYS. Note: As students practice with constructing compound sentences, some of them will start creating Complex Sentences that use subordinating words, such as while, though, although, even though, and so on. Technically, using these adverbs shifts an independent clause to a dependent clause, turning the sentence from compound to complex. Is this is problem? Does it matter? We don’t necessarily think so. In line with our emphasis on function and use, what is rhetorically effective in a given situation is probably most important. The compound sentence is a basic form to master. It’s helpful to consider the stylistic and rhetorical benefit of compound structures in certain situations, especially using the more sophisticated yet and nor conjunctions.

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FUNCTION Compound sentences are used to show a comparison or relationship between the nouns in the different clauses. • • • •

Ali bought a double latte, and Kim chose an herbal tea. (creates a comparison) English is my favorite class, but I absolutely hate chemistry. (creates a comparison) You can leave your plate on the counter, or you can put it in the dishwasher. (reveals options) The movie was boring, so we left early. (shows a consequence)

Notice that the examples above use the most common conjunctions—and, but, or, and so. Most students have little difficulty creating such sentences because the conjunctions are so familiar. Yet, For, and Nor Yet, for, and nor are less common but more sophisticated conjunctions. Knowing how to use them broadens a writer’s choices and signals a more mature control of language to readers: •

• •

We must continue to fight, for the battle has just begun. (Reveals a reason; notice that “for” in this example is a conjunction rather than its more common prepositional use, as in I bought this drink for Jeff.) I’m not really fond of comedy clubs, yet I’m still sitting here at Chuckles. (Reveals an unexpected outcome through contradiction or point-counterpoint.) The Hotel Conquistador had no space, nor was there room at the Thrifty Motel.* (Adds a comparison emphasizing a lack of something.) *Notice that the “nor” conjunction transforms the nature of the second independent clause: unlike the other examples, “was there room at the Thrifty Motel” can’t stand alone as a sentence. In this case “nor” essentially means “and + [negative] verb,” i.e., “The Hotel Conquistador had no space, and there was no room at the Thrifty Motel.”

Typical Form Exercises 1. Create a comparison between the following using a compound sentence and the conjunctions and or but. Provide whatever extra details you need. • • •

Monday, Friday pizza, barbecue sewer rat, pigeon cont.

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2. Create a relationship between the following using a compound sentence and the conjunctions or or so. Provide whatever extra details you need. • • • •

dirty bathroom, clean the toilet new car stereo, new rims North Korea, peace talks reality TV shows, teen-focused magazines

FOCUSING ON USE: HOW COMPOUND SENTENCES ARE USEFUL IN ACTUAL COMMUNICATION Establishing comparisons, relationships, or consequences are common uses for compound sentences. Many students have mastered certain compound sentence and conjunction forms, so part of our job may be to create situations in which alternate forms become necessary, valuable, or useful.

EXPERIMENTING WITH COMPOUND SENTENCES Scenario 1: Justice For All Conjunction Focus: and, but, so, or You’re really tired of your younger siblings arguing about their toys. They especially seem to have trouble sharing the collection of Matchbox cars, which come in various shapes and sizes. Since you’re in charge because you’re babysitting them, it’s time to lay down the law. Task: Use a compound sentence to tell them, once and for all, who gets which toys. Enough! Ginny gets the blue and yellow cars, and Caden gets the red and black ones! I get all the rest. Scenario 2: Science Fiction Point-Counterpoint Conjunction Focus: but, yet Your friend Damian is totally obsessed with Star Trek. Most of the time you’re fine with his fanboy rants, but tonight you need to remind him that the Star Wars universe is just as interesting. Task: Use a compound sentence to both acknowledge your friend’s opinion and state the value of Star Wars. cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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Damian, I hear what you’re saying. You make some good points, but you’re forgetting the bigger picture. Star Trek was a groundbreaking show, yet Star Wars has wider cultural appeal.

Scenario 3: Making a Deal Conjunction Focus: and, but, so, or Your roommate is really into crazy decorating, and now she’s got the bright idea of painting the apartment in a variety of primary colors. While you like the idea of some fresh color on the walls, you’re not quite ready for a radical makeover. Task: Use a compound sentence to propose painting a couple of rooms in different colors. Moonbeam, I really love your free spirit and energy, and I’m totally into revamping our place. But maybe we can take it step-by-step rather than doing everything at once. How about this. You choose the colors for the bathrooms and the kitchen, and I’ll figure out the paint for the living room and hallway.

Scenario 4: The Ironic “Yet” Conjunction Focus: yet, used for comedic, ironic, or critical effect a.

You are a politician in a public debate looking to land a “zinger”—a memorable line that exposes your opponent’s weakness. You need to show that your adversary’s statements do not match her actual actions.

Task: Use a compound sentence with the conjunction “yet” to get the job done. Senator Slick likes to claim that she’s an environmentalist, yet her record of voting for pollution-friendly policies tells a different story. b. You’re visiting a new fast-food joint in town, Cool Burger. Everyone’s been raving about the awesome food, but your meal—if you can even call it that—had you feeling quite ill. Task: Use a compound sentence with the conjunction “yet” to reveal the truth behind the hype. Cool Burger supposedly specializes in gourmet hamburgers, yet the thingin-a-bun I ordered more closely resembled a science experiment. cont. 74

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Scenario 5: The Memorable Well-Balanced Line Conjunction Focus: but, or, so, and “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” “Give me liberty, or give me death!” Memorable lines from history’s greatest speeches often use the parallel rhythm of a compound sentence structure for impressive effect. Now it’s your turn. a.

At your school’s Homecoming pep rally, you’ll have a few moments on the microphone to motivate your peers to support the school’s football team in the big game.

Task: Use a parallel compound sentence structure to create a classic rallying cry. b. Olivia, one of your good friends, is a vegan with a strong sense of social justice. She’s organizing a protest outside the gates of a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation—a factory farm—not far from town. She wants to draw attention to recent animal cruelty accusations so that improvements can be made regarding how hogs and other animals are treated, so she’s planning a banner that will stretch alongside the front gate. She needs help with the wording, however—it’s got to be a memorable statement that the media will pick up and broadcast. Task: Help Olivia draft an effective compound sentence in support of her cause. Scenario 6: The Dramatic Reason or Consequence Conjunction Focus: for The use of for as a conjunction in a compound sentence often conveys an archaic, traditional, spiritual, or majestic tone. “Forgive them, father, for they know not what they do.” “I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.” “My heart is full of tears at this farewell, for you are beautiful, and I have loved you dearly.” To raise money, you and other members of your school’s gaming club are designing a Halloween Haunted House experience for the Fall Festival. You have some great costumes and scares planned out, but now you need to work on some creepy gothic signs, banners, and inscriptions that add to the atmosphere. The messages on the signs have to sound authentically ancient and foreboding. cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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Task: Use compound sentences along with the for conjunction to come up with some sample warnings, omens, and signs. Woe upon all intruders, for they shall be cursed!

CONCEPT: COMPLEX SENTENCES OVERVIEW The ability to use complex sentences is a critical marker of writing fluency, separating basic writers from those more advanced. As the name suggests, using complex sentences allows a writer or speaker to express complex ideas. We’ll consider ways to look at complex sentences metaphorically that can help students understand sentence components and how they fit together. We’ll also consider where, when, and how complex sentences appear in everyday communication and how they can be useful for certain purposes. Right now, we won’t spend a lot of time getting into the weeds with the different kinds of dependent clauses (see Dependent Clauses for that, ☺ ). In the end, what’s important for students is not classifying and naming sentence parts, but being able to use them purposefully in their communication.

FORM Complex sentences are formed with one independent clause and at least one dependent clause. • • •

After Juli finished her math homework, she started on her project for the science fair. Since we’re using his garage for band practice, Kelly gets to be the lead singer, even though he has a mediocre voice. My cat Matteo, whose meow sounds like a harmonica, is very friendly.

The independent clause is bolded in the examples below. Notice that the independent clauses could stand alone as separate sentences. • • •

After Juli finished her math homework, she started on her project for the science fair. Since we’re using his garage for band practice, Kelly gets to be the lead singer, even though he has a mediocre voice. My cat Matteo, whose meow sounds like a harmonica, is very friendly. cont.

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Also note that the dependent clauses can’t function as complete sentences: • • • •

After Juli finished her math homework Since we’re using his garage for band practice Even though he has a mediocre voice Whose voice sounds like a harmonica

Instead, they add context and depth to the ideas expressed in the whole sentence. In this sense, complex sentences are useful for expressing complex ideas more concisely than simpler sentences can.

FUNCTION The complex sentence form provides an audience with more information about the main sentence idea. Specifically, the dependent clause often provides more information about the topic of the independent clause related to when, why, or under what conditions. • • •

I always throw up before playing in a big game. (provides information about when) The rebels retreated because they ran out of ammunition. (provides information about why) Tomas drew the bow back again even though he was exhausted. (provides information about under what conditions)

Notice that the dependent clause can be shifted in these sentences. Moving the clause to the front of the sentences changes the rhythm and the emphasis. • • •

Before playing in a big game, I always throw up. Because they ran out of ammunition, the rebels retreated. Even though he was exhausted, Tomas drew the bow back again.

If we know that readers tend to focus on the information at the end of a sentence, then we can think about the placement of the dependent clause as a rhetorical choice. If I want to focus on Tomas’ actions, maybe “drew the bow back again” goes at the end. If I want to emphasize his physical state, maybe the dependent clause works better at the end. Complex sentences can also provide clarifying information about the nouns in a sentence, often with words such as whose, which, and that: • • •

The singer whose voice you heard on that track has never been identified. The storm that knocked out power to the city also produced several tornadoes. The conversation, which Marcel had been ignoring, turned to sports. cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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Note that the bolded dependent clauses (which act adjectivally) can’t be moved around in the sentence—they have to appear directly following the subject they’re describing. (See Dependent Clauses for more discussion about that and which.)

Typical Form Exercises 1. Identify the independent and dependent clauses in the following sentences. a. When we got back from the beach, we all took naps. b. My brother, who thinks he’s the funniest guy in our high school, is coming over later. c. My dog won’t fetch sticks even though he went to dog-training school. 2. Write three examples of complex sentences. Switch your sentences with a partner and identify the independent and dependent clauses.

FOCUSING ON USE: HOW COMPLEX SENTENCES ARE USEFUL IN ACTUAL COMMUNICATION People use complex sentences frequently in their daily lives without thinking much about it. Complex sentences are a way to quickly convey essential information about people, situations, objects, and events. Conventional exercises sometimes ask students to combine two simple sentences to create a complex sentence form. • • •

Sabah finished her homework. Then she got started on her project for the science fair. After Sabah finished her homework, she got started on her project for the science fair. Sabah got started on her project for the science fair after she finished her homework.

We need to go beyond sentence combining, however, to ask students to consider the rhetorical effects of choices on meaning. Just asking what sentence varieties are possible is only a start; we need to follow with questions about how each variation alters meaning. In fact, the entire passage or paragraph impacts such choices, which is why sentence exercises in isolation aren’t usually effective. You might ask students to flesh out the context of the examples below— what larger discussion might they be a part of? After that, they can consider how complex sentence choices serve the purpose of a larger passage or paragraph. cont. 78

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1. Jozy can’t make it to the fellowship meeting on Saturday. He’s got an obligation at work. 2. I need to write thank-you notes for my birthday presents. I have to do this before I can head out to the park. 3. The commercial was for a product called Sneeze-Ease. It aired directly before the season debut of Criminals. Complex sentences also allow us to refine statements for particular purposes. After imagining a wider context for the examples below, students can create a dependent clause to address the specific need listed in the parentheses. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

My sudden fit of sneezing surprised a few people (when) Tony’s three-pointer won the game (when) We had a sad ride home (when/why) Banjo music seems appropriate (under what conditions) The milk began to go bad (when/why) Jenna thrust the shovel into the wet soil (under what conditions)

Finally, complex sentences allow us to provide nuance. After establishing a wider context for the statements below, students might generate a dependent clause addressing the specific need in parentheses (they might consider using subordinating conjunctions such as although, while, despite, even though, and in spite of). 1. Edgar Allan Poe’s poetry deserves to be included in our curriculum (contrast with another perspective) 2. Students should have the freedom to leave campus during lunch hour periods (acknowledgment of opponent’s concerns) 3. The defendant is responsible for the harm he caused (acknowledgment of context or circumstance) 4. Banu is the best person for the job (awareness of differing opinion)

EXPERIMENTING WITH COMPLEX SENTENCES Scenario 1: Friday Night Plans Your friends are all headed to Firefly Lake this Friday night for what sounds like a great time around the campfire. But guess what? Your family has other plans for you. Your Uncle Ralph needs help scrubbing out the garbage cans, Grandma could use a hand making the sardine casserole, and your twin cousins expect you to help them complete a 2,000-piece abstract art puzzle. Task: In an email, explain to your family how you plan to meet all your obligations, either before or after your big Friday evening plans. Use complex sentence structures to help get the job done. cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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Scenario 2: Carlee’s Concoctions Your pal Carlee sure is creative in the kitchen . . . maybe a little too creative sometimes. Yesterday you sampled her turnip–rutabaga–okra smoothie (with extra flaxseed juice), and the impact on your bowels later on was distressing. Task: Jot Carlee a note letting her know what happened (don’t get too specific). Be sure to use complex sentence structures to emphasize the cause-and-effect consequences of her bold culinary choices.

Scenario 3: Spirit Friday Ever since you switched schools to Greybrick Central, you’ve been surprised that there’s no Spirit Fridays. And it really shows, too—most of your new peers don’t seem to have much pride in their school’s identity, support for the sports teams, or interest in starting clubs. You’ve been telling your teachers that a series of Spirit Fridays—with different themes every couple of weeks—would really build enthusiasm and morale with students. Task: Now your English teacher has invited you to meet with Assistant Principal Carruthers to state your case. Do so convincingly with complex sentences, emphasizing the likely effects of your proposal.

Scenario 4a: Storybook Summarizer Did you ever notice that most stories, even those for little children, almost always have some kind of conflict that needs to be resolved? Summarizing such stories well is hard to do with just a simple sentence. For instance, “a special reindeer leads Santa’s sleigh” doesn’t suggest much of the drama in the story of Rudolph. Instead, a more accurate summary might pivot on plot conflict: • • •

After being teased because he looks different, a reindeer plays a special role on Christmas Eve. When an evil queen targets her, a princess finds help from woodland dwarves. A young boy whose parents have been murdered discovers he has a magical destiny.

Task: Using a complex sentence structure, summarize the plot of some familiar childhood classics. Then, if you have the actual story in book form, compare your sentence to the summary in the bibliographic information on the first page or two—it’s sometimes included by the publisher. cont. 80

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Scenario 4b: Album Blurbs The album section of your favorite music website, Down Low Music and Reviews, include helpful one-sentence summaries of new albums. You notice that the writers get a lot of information into these single sentences, often by using a complex structure: •

• •

DJ Linguistic’s Trance Hall Moves, whose tracks borrow liberally from the style of artists such as Daft Punk and The Chemical Brothers, has enough original beats to deserve a second listen. After the disappointing effort of 2010’s Straight from the Dome, Li’l Red goes back to his legit West Coast roots on the latest album. The vinyl version of the record, which features two additional tracks unavailable on the digital download, also comes with a limited-edition signed photograph.

Down Low is now inviting some of its regular visitors to contribute their own summaries of recent music. Create several one-sentence summaries in the manner of the examples above (i.e., with a complex sentence structure).

CONCEPT: COMPOUND-COMPLEX SENTENCES OVERVIEW Compound-complex sentences are perhaps the most difficult to master of the four basic sentence types. They’re usually longer and more elaborate than other sentence forms, so they require increased concentration on meaning and syntax to create.

FORM A compound-complex sentence is formed by combining at least two independent clauses with at least one dependent clause. In the examples below, the independent clauses are underlined, and the dependent clauses are in bold. • • • •

Jordyn wanted to go swimming in Lake Pleasant, and eventually everyone agreed, even though there are “No Swimming” signs posted everywhere. My brother, who likes to collect Marvel comics, just bought a rare Spiderman issue online, and it cost him almost $300. Country and hip hop are the most popular genres of music; while a few artists have achieved crossover success, these two musical areas remain quite distinct. We enjoyed all the short films in tonight’s festival, but as we all know, there can be only one winner.

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FUNCTION Compound-complex sentences are useful for showing complexity in the form of distinction, comparison, detail, and elaboration. Because it’s possible to do all of these things with simpler kinds of sentences, students may avoid this sentence form: the conjunctions and semicolon in the examples above could easily be replaced with periods, for instance. So, then, why use the compound-complex form at all? The answer is twofold. First, in uniting ideas within one sentence (rather than separating them into several sentences), a writer is able to emphasize the connection between those ideas. The other reason deals with pacing and rhythm, and the effect that these admittedly subtle effects have on a reader. Good writing flows for a reader, which means its individual sentence parts are linked in ways that are rhythmic and balanced.

Typical Form Exercises 1. Combine the individual sentences below to create a compound-complex sentence. a.

Michelle’s favorite restaurant serves lamb chops. While this dish is often delicious, she’s also had a few bad chops in her time. b. Cayenne pepper is an essential spice for the kitchen. Its strong flavor adds pop to any dish. Be careful about adding too much. 2. Write three compound-complex sentences. Then, identify the independent and dependent clauses in each.

FOCUSING ON USE: HOW COMPOUND-COMPLEX SENTENCES ARE USEFUL IN ACTUAL COMMUNICATION How often do you find yourself in situations that call for careful and accurate writing and speech? What about situations that call for even-handedness, fairness, or compassion? Simple sentences are fine for simple statements (think of bumper stickers, slogans, and memorable one-liners), but life is often more complicated— especially when we need to take other people’s feelings and viewpoints into consideration. When practicing compound-complex sentences, it’s a good idea to invoke situations that call for subtlety, precision, justice, care, and reason (though like any tool, sentence structures can be used unethically as well, for propaganda, distortion, and stereotyping). If part of our jobs as English teachers is to help our students become more complex people, then practicing the language structures that go hand-in-hand with such development are vital. cont. 82

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Compound-complex sentences are useful when we’re dealing with the details of a subject, or when we’re considering multiple perspectives. This makes them helpful for situations that call for elaboration, comparison, and qualification. The independent clauses in a compound-complex sentence are sometimes connected with a Semicolon, a construction fairly common in academic and professional writing. Combined with a conjunctive adverb (such as however, nevertheless, moreover, and so on), such sentences can serve to pivot from, amplify, or add nuance to a point.

EXPERIMENTING WITH COMPOUND-COMPLEX SENTENCES Scenario 1: Junk Food in School The national campaign for healthier food in schools is now a local reality. Cookies, pies, and other sweet snack foods are gone as cafeteria options, and the few vending machines in the school only sell bottled water, fruit juice, and granola bars. Aside from some grumbling from students, these changes haven’t caused too many problems. The real issue has been with fundraising for clubs. In the past, clubs could raise money selling cupcakes or candy bars before or after school, but now events like bake sales are prohibited if the products don’t meet the designation of “healthy food.” Most people think that better food policies are a good thing for the school, but these rules seem to have been implemented too stringently. Task: Without the Drama Club’s fall bake sale, the annual field trip to see The Nutcracker in the city won’t happen. You’ve helped the club collect over 1,000 signatures for a petition to lift the junk food ban for registered fundraising events, but you need a letter to the school board with these signatures that explains the situation and requests a policy change. Draft a paragraph that explains the situation and acknowledges the need for a reasonable snack food policy while also arguing for a fundraising exemption. Use a compound-complex sentence or two to get this work done. Scenario 2: Whiffleball Guidelines There are only three members of the Acorn Street Whiffleball League (ASWL)— you, your brother, and Lupe from next door—but you’ve had some awesome contests over the years. You always play in the side yard between houses, and that means lots of arcane rules about batted balls and what they mean: • • •

Ball hits the side of the Peterson’s house = single Ball hits the Peterson’s roof = home run Ball to the right of or hitting the Peterson’s porch = foul ball cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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• • • • •

Ball hits the branches of the sycamore tree = double Ball in the street = triple Ball ends up anywhere off the ground = automatic out Ball hits your own house = foul ball Two foul balls = automatic out

And that’s just a few of the rules. Now the ASWL is excited to welcome two new members, Jacob and Chen, who just moved in across the street. Task: To help Jacob and Chen understand the intricacies of the game, create a guide for them explaining the rules. Use a compound-complex sentence in your explanation. Scenario 3: Youth Court Judge Your town has a unique process for dealing with young people aged 13–17 who have pleaded guilty to violating certain laws. These cases are channeled to the “Youth Court,” in which young offenders are represented and sentenced by their peers. To serve on the Youth Court, a student must complete a training period that involves studying legal procedure, rules for testimony and evidence, and courtroom etiquette and communication. When students take on the role of defense attorney, prosecutor, or judge, they need to do more than simply make statements (“my client deserves leniency”). They have to justify their thinking with explanations that explain their reasoning (“my client deserves leniency in this situation; he’s a first-time offender who is remorseful about his crime and is committed to making amends”). Task: You’re the judge in the case of fifteen-year-old Bailey Brasso, who’s admitted to breaking windows down at the old tire factory. The prosecutor has noted the cost of window replacement ($600) and the fact that Bailey has been in trouble previously. Bailey’s representative has countered with the fact that Bailey’s parents are currently going through a divorce, that his actions didn’t cause injury, and that he’s apologetic about his behavior. You have the option of requiring Bailey to serve a certain amount of community service (usually ranging from 20–80 hours) or of deciding on no punishment at all. In a paragraph, explain your decision in a way that shows that you’ve considered the various aspects of the case. Use a compound-complex sentence to help. Scenario 4: Who’s the Winner? Everyone looks forward to the Spring Talent Show, with its combination of musical acts, comedy skits, and weird creativity from students. This year, you have the privilege of serving on the judging committee, which will be deciding on formal recognition for the best acts of the evening. cont. 84

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In the “Best Vocal Performance” category, two very different acts are rated very highly. Tiana’s rendition of a Rihanna hit brought down the house, but Jeremiah Brown’s haunting, piano-accompanied original song literally had people in tears. Both acts are about equal in quality, creativity, and intensity of audience reaction. Now your committee has to figure out who wins. Task: Draft a statement to read to the audience announcing your decision in the “Best Vocal Performance” category. As part of noting the excellence of these two performances and the difficulty in making a choice, use a compound-complex sentence.

CONCEPT: ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE OVERVIEW The difference between active and passive voice can be confusing. We’ve had many students tell us that the only thing they remember from lessons on these concepts is that they “shouldn’t use passive voice,” though most people have a hard time explaining just what that means or the reason for this advice. This is a little ironic since even small children know implicitly when to use passive instead of active voice, especially when they don’t want to get in trouble! The key to understanding the importance of active and passive structures is knowing when and why we would use either one. Both of these structures are powerful tools that we can use to shape how others understand ideas and events.

FORM Sentence structure in English often follows the common pattern of SVO (subject, verb, object). These kinds of sentences are typically written in active voice, in which the subject is synonymous with the agent of the sentence (the “doer” of the action). But when a sentence is passive, the agent (the “doer”) is not in the subject slot. Consider the examples below. • •

The girl threw the ball. The president gave a long speech.

These examples are both written in active voice. They have subjects (girl, president) that are also agents in the sentences. The girl and the president are both “doing” the action in each situation. cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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However, sentences following the SVO pattern can often be written using passive voice. With passive voice, the subject does not “do” the action, but instead the subject is acted upon by another named or unnamed agent. • •

The ball was thrown by the girl. A long speech was given by the president.

In the first sentence, the subject (ball) is not the agent—rather than doing anything itself, it is instead acted upon by another force (the girl). The same relationship exists with the second sentence: the speech is the subject but not the agent (the “doer”) of the sentence. In passive sentences, the agent (the “doer”) is sometimes found towards the end of the sentence within a “by” phrase (as in the examples above). Sentences written in passive voice can leave out the “by” phrase (and thus, the agent) entirely: • •

The ball was thrown. (by whom?) A long speech was given. (by whom?)

A lot of teachers use the “by” phrase as a quick hack to test whether a sentence is passive. If you can add “by zombies” to the end of a sentence, chances are it’s in passive voice. Verb Form As seen in the examples above, passive voice constructions use a consistent verb phrase: an auxiliary verb form (often a form of “to be”) + a past participle of the main verb.

FUNCTION The choice of using active or passive voice is a choice about focus, emphasis, and meaning. Does the writer or speaker want us to focus more on the girl or on what happened to the ball? Likewise, does the writer or speaker want to emphasize the president and what he did, or the fact that a speech happened? The difference is important because it changes the focus of the sentence, and thus, the meaning of what we’re trying to convey. In general, passive voice de-emphasizes the agent (the “doer” of the sentence) in order to focus on a different subject.

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Typical Form Exercises Rewrite the sentences below, changing the passive voice to active voice. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

The passage was rewritten before it was submitted. The camping trip was ruined by the thunderstorms. The bicycle had been damaged after she borrowed it. It could be said that the election was unfair. Her project was completed at the same time as his was completed.

FOCUSING ON USE: HOW ACTIVE VOICE IS USEFUL IN ACTUAL COMMUNICATION We’re no strangers to active voice since the SVO sentence pattern dominates our everyday language. Because active voice puts the emphasis on the agent (the “doer”) of the sentence, we use it when we want to report on people, events, and actions. Active voice is also a good fit for describing things that we’re proud of: • • •

I saved that boy from drowning! I mowed the lawn and cleaned out the garage. I scored the highest in my class on the quiz!

In contrast, when we’re feeling ashamed or guilty, or when we’re trying to avoid blame or responsibility (i.e., when we’re trying to avoid being seen as the “doer”), we’ll often use passive voice, conveniently leaving off the “by” phrase. • • •

The Frisbee was thrown into the river (by me). The kitchen didn’t get cleaned (by me). The new carpet got ruined (by us).

One way students might practice purposeful use of active voice is through describing uncomfortable episodes in different ways. Part of learning to be an adult is grappling with concepts of integrity and honor (along with guilt, blame, and consequences). It can be uncomfortable to use active voice to confess or accept culpability, but doing so is often a sign of maturity and leadership. • • •

We decided to skip school, and now we’re being punished. I took the car without permission. I knew that was wrong, and I apologize. My failure to double-check the show time means we’re really late for the concert. It’s my fault.

At the very least, the various language options available—and how they shape the meaning of a situation—can make for discussions that are relevant to students’ lives. cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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It turns out that passive voice actually plays a big role in how language is used in the world. Although writing in active voice is often stressed in classroom contexts, passive voice is helpful for certain purposes. 1. Avoiding blame or guilt. Even small children know how to manipulate sentence structure to avoid blame. • •

The toy was broken. The juice got spilled.

This form is so common that we often leave out the auxiliary verb, which creates the illusion that an inanimate object is responsible for events. • •

The toy broke. The juice spilled.

Though these constructions might technically be considered active voice, we think of them as “implied passive voice” or passive in spirit. 2. Emphasizing a different subject for a particular reason. Field-specific professional writing employs passive voice for specific reasons. For instance, scientific research writing often emphasizes results and findings rather than who did the work: • •

Experiments were conducted to determine the toxicity of the new drug. Results were shown to be compatible with previous findings.

Here, the researcher or scientist is less important than the generalizable results of the work, so passive voice is appropriate. Similarly, the language of law, contracts, regulations, and warnings is often characterized by passive voice: • • •

Water damage is excluded from the list of covered property. If payment is not received by 5pm on the due date, a late fee will be automatically charged to the account. Viewer discretion is advised.

It might be worth asking students about the impression this legal language conveys, and how passive voice contributes to this effect. 3. News reporting. Listen or read breaking news reports that involve accidents or crimes, and you’ll often find passive voice at work. • •

A man was shot to death today at a local apartment complex. Two people were seriously injured this afternoon in an automobile accident near exit 52 on I-10.

If we think about circumstances, these sentence choices make sense. With breaking news, the “who, what, where, when, and how” of an event is addressed quickly, with the most important information about victims often coming first. cont. 88

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Breaking news usually means that the “doer” of these events is not known (often the case for crimes) or relatively less important (as in what exactly caused an accident). Interestingly, later news reports and investigative writing may identify causal agents, in which case active voice becomes more appropriate: • •

Police are looking for several suspects wanted in connection with a string of robberies in Midtown. A 25-vehicle pile-up on the interstate claimed the lives of three people over the weekend as a blizzard swept through the region.

As the agents of events become clearer, they’re more likely to become the focus of a news report. Enter active voice. Short passive voice statements are fairly common in newspaper headlines (e.g., Candidate accused of lying; All-star pitcher suspended for positive drug test; New Tarantino film boycotted), especially when the “doer” of an action is less important than other factors. 4. Distancing the doer intentionally for political reasons. Consider the following statements: 1. Mistakes were made, but now we turn toward the future. 2. A decision was reached to discontinue our relationship. 3. A man was killed today in an officer-involved shooting. Each of these sentences is a good example of shaping meaning (or even reality as other people understand it) through language moves. That is, they’re clear examples of political language:3 language purposefully crafted to shape a reader’s or listener’s view of reality for an ulterior purpose. Each of these statements deflects, minimizes, or hides responsibility or blame through sentence structure. It’s kind of amazing when you think about it, but that’s how language often works in life.4 Public statements released by politicians, celebrities, or other powerful people confronted by scandal are often interesting examples of passive language. Singer Chris Brown’s statement after being charged with domestic abuse,5 no doubt vetted if not written by lawyers, is worth looking at in detail. It is five well-crafted sentences that combine both passive and active voice. Even seemingly mundane statements like examples 2 and 3 above are laden with subtle meaning, especially considering the other ways these ideas could be expressed.

3. Arguably all language use is political, dealing as it does with the dynamics of human interaction. Some examples just provide a clearer look at power in use than others do. 4. Maybe we should have called this book Grammar to Hide Things You’ve Done. 5. Google it.

cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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EXPERIMENTING WITH PASSIVE VOICE Scenario 1: Grandpa’s (Formerly) Fine Ride On your 17th birthday, your grandpa let you drive his restored Ferrari around town. While cruising, you decided to really test the wheels of this ride by flooring the gas pedal. In your speed frenzy you rear-ended an ice-cream truck, scattering frozen treats all over the street. Thankfully, no one was injured, but now you need to call your grandpa to explain what happened. Keep in mind that you can use language to reduce some of your personal blame. Task: Write a transcript of the telephone call in which you attempt to soften the news for your poor grandfather. Use passive voice to de-emphasize your responsibility. Scenario 2: Party Post-Mortem While your parents were away, you decided to throw a party. Unfortunately, Trevor sent a message to his entire social media friend list and linking your address to Google Earth. Trevor is proud of his 3,281 Facebook friends. You will go down in history as a legendary figure at school. Not so much when your parents come home, though. Task: Write an email to your parents confessing the outcome but deflecting the blame using passive voice. You want to prepare them for what they’re going to find, but at the same time you want to make sure that your punishment doesn’t last through college. Dear Mom and Dad, I hope you guys are having a great time at Grandma’s. A situation has arisen while you’ve been away. A small gathering was planned at our home, and things got a bit out of hand. Several valuable items have been slightly damaged, including Great Aunt Ruth’s urn. I was there every second saying “Guys, don’t go in that room, please,” and “Please don’t touch that! That’s my parent’s wedding china,” and “Another fire? Why??!” Some poor decisions were made, but the good news is that everything’s under control now. I do realize that some form of grounding must be given for this incident, but I hope that you guys can find it in your hearts to see that I am better than this. Mistakes were made; no one is denying that. Please don’t make another one by punishing your loving, repentant child too excessively. P.S. Something strange was done to the downstairs toilet. I don’t know what. It can be discussed later. P.P.S. I love you.

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Scenario 3: Fixing Headlines Your pal Jules is on the staff of the Chanticleer, your school’s newspaper. She’s come to you for advice about the headlines in the latest issue, worried that students, teachers, administrators, and parents might be bothered by how some of these stories are depicted. Take a look at the headlines that Jules has so far: • • • • • •

Perfect SAT Score Achieved Marco Lee, Student Leader and Committee Chair, Reschedules Prom Hank Hunter Commits Crucial Error; Varsity Baseball Loses New School Mascot Chosen By Student Vote Parents Angered By New Musical Principal Wenner Suspends Two Star Athletes

News headlines are supposed to pass the TACT test: they should be tasteful, attractive, clear, and true. Jules is worried that these headline drafts might not pass the test. Task: Help Jules work on these headlines. Which should be changed, and why? How does changing the voice (active or passive) in these headlines affect their quality? Write out recommendations for each headline so that Jules can move forward confidently. Scenario 4: Apology or Non-Apology? Alexander might be one of the wittiest people in your school, and as live host for the televised morning announcements every day, he has quite a platform for his humor. He’s well-liked by just about everyone, and his personality keeps even the sleepiest kids awake in homeroom. Yesterday, however, his morning shtick went south in a big way. He made a passing wisecrack on the air about the body weight of a friend, Tabitha. Now Tabitha’s mortified, the student body is buzzing with the drama, and the school administration is not happy at all with Alexander. He clearly needs to apologize to Tabitha, and the principal has asked him to do so publicly, on air, tomorrow morning. Alexander has drafted his apology and has asked you for your thoughts. Here it is. Words cannot express how shocked and saddened I am by the events that transpired yesterday. If anyone was offended or hurt by what was said, I can only say that this was not the intention. I want to thank everyone who has supported me through the last 24 hours. A lot of lies and untruths have been spread about me, but I won’t spend time on the haters. I work very hard to make sure that I can be the best student, person, and citizen I can be. I would like to put this incident behind me, and I promise to refocus on delivering the best morning show to you, the awesome students of Monroe High School. Go Bulldogs! cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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Task: Provide some specific, line-by-line feedback to Alexander about this “apology.” If he doesn’t get this right, it’s only going to increase his problems. Think about the pros and cons of active and passive voice (along with other sentence constructions) in your assessment and suggest some alternative statements he might consider.

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UNIT 2

Clauses

CONCEPT: DEPENDENT CLAUSES OVERVIEW A dependent clause is dependent—it needs to be connected to sentences in order to be functional. Sometimes called subordinating6 clauses, dependent clauses are 1. characterized by subordinating words (such as who, whom, which, that, after, while, when, where, etc.), 2. always have a subject and a predicate, and 3. provide more information about some facet of the independent clause.

FORM The form of a dependent clause is fairly straightforward (it’s when we begin talking about function that these clauses get messy). Even though all dependent clauses have a subject and predicate, dependent clauses don’t capture a complete thought. Take a look at these examples: • • • • •

That he can go. While she sat in the car. After the concert began. Which he already knew. Who is pink and purple. cont.

6. That description of “subordinating” also makes sense if we consider other uses. Those in subordinate ranks (think of a private in the army, or an administrative assistant in a company) are expected to have direct oversight from more powerful people who guide their work.

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At least conventionally, these clauses can’t stand alone (see Non-Sentences and Their Uses for exceptions). They also don’t pass the “stare test” (see The Sentence). That is, if you spoke these dependent clauses aloud, a listener would stare at you, waiting to hear the rest of the sentence or to get some clarification. Try it! In most cases, dependent clauses need to be paired with an independent clause to make sense. • • • • •

She told him that he can go. While she sat in the car, Jamie ran into the store. Darien showed up after the concert began. Charlene told him the answer, which he already knew. What’s the name of the creature who is pink and purple?

Sometimes the subordinating word and the sentence subject are the same, as seen in sentence 5 above (creature and who). This is typical in adjectival clauses, which we discuss below.

FUNCTION There are three ways dependent clauses can function: adverbially, adjectivally, or nominally. Adverbial Clauses Like individual adverbs (see Adverbs), adverbial clauses can modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Most typically, adverbial clauses modify the verb of the independent clause. Adverbial clauses may be the easiest clauses to recognize for two reasons: 1. They have recognizable subordinating conjunctions (e.g., after, before, until, while, because, since, etc.). 2. Adverbial clauses, like adverbs, can typically be moved around in a sentence, as in the examples below: • • • • •

Kazuo cooked dinner for everyone in class before he left on his trip. Before he left on his trip, Kazuo cooked dinner for everyone in class. My sister loves to take in stray animals because she is an animal lover. Because she is an animal lover, my sister loves to take in stray animals. My sister, because she is an animal lover, loves to take in stray animals.

Remember that some subordinate conjunctions also function as prepositions (e.g., after, as, and before). We can determine how these words function (as subordinate words or prepositions) by looking at what follows these words: cont. 94

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if a subject and verb follows, it’s a dependent clause; if a noun or noun phrase follows, it’s a prepositional phrase: 1. 2. 3. 4.

They all got ice cream after the game. They all got ice cream after the game ended. Before the game we all got ice cream. Before the game started, we all got ice cream.

Sentences 2 and 4 have both a subject and verb following the subordinating word (so it’s a subordinating conjunction). In 1 and 3, only noun phrases follow the preposition (so it’s a preposition). When we work with adverbial clauses, we should remember that subordinating conjunctions indicate a specific relationship between the dependent clause and the independent clause in a sentence. Dependent Clause Relationships Dependent clauses can deal with time, concession, contingency, condition, reason, result, comparison, or contrast. Typical words and phrases that act as subordinating conjunctions are listed below. • • • • • • • •

Time: when, whenever, after, as, before, once, since, until, now, that, while, as long as, as soon as Concession: though, although, even though, if, while Contingency: if, once Condition: if, in case, as long as, unless, provided that Reason: because, since, as long as Result: so, so that Comparison: as, just as, as if Contrast: while, whereas

Punctuating Adverbial Clauses If the sentence begins with an adverbial clause, always put a comma at the end of the clause. •

Since the game was rained out, all of the team members came over to my house to watch a movie.

If the sentence is “interrupted” with a dependent clause (except when the subordinating word in the dependent clause is “that”), always set it off with commas. •

All of the team members came over to my house, since the game was rained out, to watch a movie.

If the adverbial clause is at the end of the sentence, no comma is necessary. cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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•

All of the team members came over to my house to watch a movie since the game was rained out.

Adjectival Clauses (also called Relative Clauses) Adjectival clauses modify or identify a noun phrase and can be found next to the noun that the clause modifies. They typically use four different subordinating words: that, which, who, and whom (although if “who” is possessive, you may see “whose”). Like all dependent clauses, adjectival clauses have a subject and verb. • • • •

The house that John built is on the ocean. He went to the store that is around the corner. Earl’s mother, who is from Puerto Rico, travels around the world. I sold the car, which hasn’t worked in months, for spare parts.

Unlike adverbial clauses, adjectival clauses can’t move around in the sentence; they need to be close to the noun they describe. Punctuating Adjectival Clauses Punctuation is an interesting beast when it comes to adjectival clauses as it takes us into the “restrictive” and “nonrestrictive” world. If you are interested in the nuances of restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses—notoriously confusing concepts— there are plenty of books available that go into great detail. We’ll keep it to two important points here: 1. A restrictive clause clarifies meaning by limiting (or “restricting”) the range of the noun phrase it modifies. Consider: • •

The dog really impressed me. The dog that played Benji in the movie really impressed me.

Notice how the bolded clause restricts “dog” to a very specific example. An important grammar-cheat note: the word “that” is almost always used in a restrictive way. Here’s another: • •

The irksome thing is the stupidity of it all. The irksome thing that bothers me most about my job is the stupidity of it all.

The restrictive clause helps limit the scope so we know exactly what irksome thing we’re talking about. In the examples above, you’ll also notice the absence of commas. Clauses that restrict don’t need them! That’s because the information in the clause is vital to the meaning of the sentence. Removing the clauses in bold from the examples above fundamentally changes the meaning of the sentences. cont. 96

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2. Nonrestrictive clauses also provide information about a noun, but it’s information we could live without. That is, the added info doesn’t “restrict” meaning: • • • •

His new phone can hold thousands of songs. His new phone, which he got yesterday, can hold thousands of songs. When I visited Paris, I went to the Eiffel Tower. When I visited Paris, I went to the Eiffel Tower, which was built for the World’s Fair.

The bolded clauses offer more detail about a noun, but it’s detail that we could omit without changing the basic sentence meaning. You’ve likely noticed the commas in the examples of above. Because they add extra rather than essential information, nonrestrictive clauses require commas (or some other punctuation such as parentheses or dashes). And here’s another little grammar-cheat: the word which is almost always used in a nonrestrictive way. Figuring out the nature of these clauses can be difficult because we typically need context (a paragraph or a passage) to let us know whether a clause is really restrictive or nonrestrictive. The whole topic can be challenging for students, and we’re frankly dubious about whether teaching the distinction is worth it. Boiling the discussion down to the usage difference between “that” and “which” might be a happy compromise. Students tend to overuse “which,” thinking that it makes their writing sound more academic, and incorrect punctuation of “that” and “which” clauses are common mistakes in high school and college student writing. Nominal Clauses Like all clauses, nominal clauses include a subject and predicate. Unlike other clauses, nominal clauses take “noun slots” in sentences. Noun slots can include the subject, object of the preposition, direct object, indirect object, object complement, and subject complement. Nominal clauses only fill four of those slots: subjects, objects of the preposition, direct objects, and subject complements. When identifying nominal clauses, you can use the same trick you do for identifying the boundaries of a noun phrase: substitute the entire clause with a pronoun. Easy. One last useful bit of information—nominal clauses typically begin with a handful of words: that (the most common), what, where, wherever, whichever, and whoever. Let’s look at nominal clauses and how they function in their four slots: subjects, objects of the preposition, direct objects, and subject complements. Subjects •

That she cheated on the test was clear. cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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• •

That he was a happy person seemed obvious to all of us. That Sherrye wanted to play on the team was apparent.

As you can see, we can replace each nominal clause with a pronoun. • • •

It was clear. It seemed obvious to all of us. It was apparent.

These sentences may feel a bit awkward. As a result, we often see a pronoun used and the nominal clause moved to the end of the sentence. • • •

It was clear that she cheated on the test. It seemed obvious to all of us that she was a happy person. It was apparent that Sherrye wanted to play on the team.

These nominal clauses are still considered to function as subjects; they have just shifted their position. Objects of the Preposition Every now and then, we see nominal clauses as objects of the preposition. When this happens, the nominal clause typically begins with “where.” • •

He traveled far to where his mother was born. She lives two blocks down from where you work.

**A Quick Refresher: Definitions of Direct Objects and Subject Complements** Both direct objects and subject complements come after verbs, but it is the type of verb that tells us whether the noun phrase is a direct object or a subject complement. Direct objects follow transitive verbs and subject complements follow linking verbs. Easy enough, right? But how are we supposed to tell the difference between those two verbs? Sure, transitive verbs are action verbs and linking verbs are “to be” verbs, but linking verbs can also look like action verbs (e.g., look, smell, feel, etc.). Not so easy any more. Grammar books provide a lot of complicated tricks to identify direct objects and subject complements. For example, a typical definition for a transitive verb is that the subject is the doer and the object is the receiver. And sometimes that works, as in the example below: •

The students questioned the teacher.

Here, the students are the doer and the object (teacher) is the receiver of the question. Many usage books tell us we can ask “who” or “what” of the verb to identify the direct object. The students questioned who? The teacher. cont. 98

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Rather than always trying to define direct objects and subject complements, the best bet is to ask one question: do the two noun phrases on each side of the verb “equal” one another? If the noun phrase follows the verb and does not equal the subject, it is a direct object (meaning a transitive verb has been used). If the noun phrase following the verb does equal the subject, it is a subject complement (meaning the information complements the subject’s information, and a linking verb has been used). Let’s look at some subject complements to clarify this. •

Derrick became a professional baseball player.

Can we do this? •

Derrick = a professional baseball player.

Guess what we have? A subject complement! Let’s try it again. • •

The chili smells spicy. Handan is an aspiring ballerina.

Can we do it? • •

chili = spicy Handan = an aspiring ballerina.

One last trick for identifying subject complements (and, therefore, direct objects): if the verb looks like an action verb, see if you can replace the supposed action verb with is, am or are. • •

Derrick is a professional baseball player. The chili is spicy.

Since both of those substitutions work, we know we are dealing with linking verbs and not action verbs; therefore, what follows is a subject complement (and not a direct object). Whew! Okay! Now that we have revisited the difference between a direct object and subject complement, let’s look at nominal clauses in those two slots. Subject Complements Remember to ask yourself whether or not the subject and noun phrase (or in this case, nominal clause) can equal the subject. • •

My excuse is that I didn’t have the money. My excuse = that I didn’t have any money. cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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• •

The reason she said she wouldn’t go is that her mom is visiting. The reason = that her mom is visiting

Direct Objects Remember that sometimes the best way to identify a direct object is to see if it’s a subject complement. Can we use the equal sign with these sentences? • •

She showed that the lever could be moved sideways too. She = that the lever could be moved sideways too

• •

He applauded whoever walked on the stage. He = whoever walked on the stage

Clearly these equal signs don’t work, which means we have direct objects here. As you can tell, nominal clauses can make writing seem clunky and awkward. Replace them when you can with clearer and more concise options.

Typical Form Exercises 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Write two sentences containing adverbial clauses. Write two sentences containing adjectival (or relative) clauses. Write two sentences containing nominal clauses. Move the clauses to different places in your sentences. Try to create one restrictive and one non-restrictive clause.

FOCUSING ON USE: HOW DEPENDENT CLAUSES ARE USEFUL IN ACTUAL COMMUNICATION Because of their ability to show a relationship, dependent clauses are essential in real communication. The scenarios below practice some of the specific functions of dependent clauses.

EXPERIMENTING WITH DEPENDENT CLAUSES Specific function: Concession (though, although, even though, if, while) Scenario 1a: Lucas Needs Help You’ve promised to help your friend Lucas—who is running for student body president—make posters for his campaign this weekend. You did so knowing that he is probably not going to win since the election is basically a popularity contest, cont. 100

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and he’s not that popular. But now there’s another problem. You’ve just been invited to a party on Saturday by another friend, Haley, and the party conflicts with Lucas’s poster-making time. Task: Write a note to Haley that explains why you can’t come to her party. Be respectful to both of your friends. Use a subordinating conjunction to help explain the situation. Haley, Your party sounds like it’s going to be awesome! Unfortunately, I can’t make it because of a previous commitment. Even though I can’t come, I wanted to thank you for inviting me. If for some reason my plans change, I will definitely be there. Scenario 1b: Pleading for Leniency Your coach has been very clear: anyone late to practice again will be kicked off the team. You’ve been on time for a month, even getting there early for extra drills. That is, until today, when your girlfriend’s car broke down out on Rt. 22 after school. By the time you got there and back, practice had already started. Task: Prepare a statement to your coach that asks for lenience. Use a dependent clause to help explain the situation. Be respectful.

Specific function: Contrast (while) Scenario 2a: You’re Wearing That?! Your friend Adia wants to wear an absolutely hideous outfit to a party. You must stop her from being humiliated! Task: Using the subordinating conjunction while, write her a few lines to gently advise that she choose a new outfit. Adia, we need to talk. It’s about your plan to wear flannel overalls to the party on Friday. While I definitely appreciate your unique fashion sense, I think you might want to consider a more mainstream outfit for this event. Not everyone is receptive to such bold choices, and I wouldn’t want you to get your feelings hurt. Sometimes people are cruel to trendsetters. Just a suggestion. I totally heart you!

Specific function: Contrast (whereas). cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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Scenario 2b: Adopting a Role In Debate Club, you’re taking on the role of a land developer arguing for the productive use of a nearby river valley—it’s the perfect place for a new neighborhood! Your opponents, who represent an environmental group, are insisting for preservation of this land as a wild ecosystem. Use whereas to contrast their views with your own. My work as a developer creates jobs and stimulates the economy, whereas my opponents are more interested in unreasonable restrictions on growth. It’s time to transform an empty patch of land into a thriving neighborhood.

Specific function: Reason (because, since, as long as) Scenario 3: Let’s Make a Deal You’re babysitting your little brother for the night while your parents are out. As if that’s not enough work, they’ve also left a long list of chores to be completed before they get home. But you just had an idea: enlisting the help of your brother. He won’t do anything without some kind of reward, so you need a plan. Task: Use one of the subordinating conjunctions above in order to persuade your brother to help. Keep in mind that if he gets that treat too soon, you’re stuck doing all the work. Hey Joey, listen up. We have a few small projects we need to do before Mom and Dad get home. They won’t take very long, and as long as you help me with them, you can play video games until bedtime. Plus, since I know you like chocolate-chip ice cream, I’ll buy you a cone when we go to the store tomorrow. What do you think?

Specific function: Condition (if, in case, as long as, unless, provided that) Scenario 4: No More Bankrolling Here comes Darrell again, looking to bum a few dollars off you. That guy hasn’t paid you back for any of the cash you’ve lent him all year, even after multiple extensions and reminders. You’re a generous person, but this is getting silly. Task: Write a note to Darrell explaining the situation. Using a subordinating conjunction from the list above, lay out your terms for lending him more money. cont. 102

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Darrell, I’ve loaned you money many times over the past year, and you have yet to pay me back. Buddy, I’m sorry you are having financial issues, but this is crazy. Unless you start paying me back, I don’t think we can hang. This is hurting our friendship. If you don’t even make an attempt, I definitely cannot help you out anymore. Save your change, bro. If you start to pay me back, maybe we can hang again. Peace.

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UNIT 3

Phrases

CONCEPT: APPOSITIVE PHRASES OVERVIEW The appositive phrase is another grammatical construction that sounds complicated but is actually common and pretty easy to grasp. You’ll find appositives to be useful in all kinds of writing but especially so in nonfiction, informational, academic, and professional situations. Newspaper and magazine articles, college textbooks, press releases, speeches: all of these genres use appositives to convey a lot of information in a concise way.

FORM AND FUNCTION Put simply, an appositive is a noun phrase that “renames” another noun. If that sounds confusing, consider these examples: • • •

My bedroom, the messiest place in my house, is off limits to everyone. I wanted you to meet my cousin, Raquel. I didn’t finish my English homework, five chapters of reading, until after dinner.

The bolded words above are appositive phrases: they add more detail to the nouns beside them by acting as a synonym of sorts. Although it may seem like appositives are modifying nouns or noun phrases, you can always identify an appositive (and know that it’s functioning as a noun) because it can take the place of the noun. Look what happens when we switch the appositive phrase with the noun it describes: • •

The messiest place in my house, my bedroom, is off limits to everyone. I wanted you to meet Raquel, my cousin. cont.

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•

I didn’t finish five chapters of reading, my English homework, until after dinner.

These variations are completely viable as sentences, helping to show how appositives act as noun substitutes. Appositives are a convenient way to combine simple sentences. Why would we need to do so? Take a look at the examples below. 1. My dad is a great guy. He’s a former Marine. 2. Mikaela Adams has been accepted to Stanford University. She was the 2014 Central High School valedictorian. Mikaela was also a Merit Scholar. 3. The car was parked on the grass. It was a Chevy. The car was rust-spotted. It also didn’t have any hubcaps. While there’s nothing precisely wrong with these passages, by the time we get to examples 2 and 3, it’s clear that something is slightly off. The series of sentences begin to take on a flat, choppy, repetitive quality. Beginning writers often produce these kinds of passages—a series of simple declarative statements that lack rhythm, pace, or flow. Appositives can help. Notice that these sentences already have a number of noun substitutions (underlined) as they’re written. 1. My dad is a great guy. He’s a former Marine. (My dad = a great guy = he = a former Marine) 2. Mikaela Adams has been accepted to Stanford University. She was the 2014 Central High School valedictorian. Mikaela was also a Merit Scholar. (Mikaela Adams = she = the 2014 CHS valedictorian = a Merit Scholar) 3. The car was parked on the grass. It was a Chevy. The car was rust-spotted. It also didn’t have any hubcaps. (The car = it = a Chevy) This fact makes combining these sentences a matter of incorporating the extra information about the noun into an appositive phrase. Noun

Possible appositives

My dad

a great guy; a former Marine

Mikaela Adams

the 2014 Central High School valedictorian; a Merit Scholar

The car

a rust-spotted Chevy; a Chevy without hubcaps

Combining the sentences in the examples with appositive phrases (in bold below), we might get the following: cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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1. My dad, a former Marine, is a great guy. 2. Mikaela Adams, the 2014 Central High School valedictorian and a Merit Scholar, has been accepted to Stanford University. 3. The car, a rust-spotted Chevy with no hubcaps, was parked on the grass. Note that a writer could vary what is used as the appositive. • •

My dad, a former Marine, is a great guy. My dad, a great guy, is a former Marine.

Which appositive should be used? That depends on the writer’s goals. Usually what appears at the end of the sentence carries the most emphasis. So, if you’re writing a passage about your father’s admirable qualities, the first sentence might be best. If your goal instead involves tracing your dad’s military background and its influence on him, the second might fit better. It’s important here to remember that there’s no single correct answer—there are usually multiple options for a writer, depending on intent. You will almost always find the appositive right beside the noun it renames. Although appositives may look like they function as adjectives, they always function as nouns. Punctuation and Appositives In the examples above, the appositives are set apart in the sentence with commas. Appositive phrases, as with participles and absolutes, can be set apart by dashes or parentheses. Dashes will make the appositive stand out more starkly to readers; parentheses will make it appear less essential. The punctuation option you use will depend on your purpose and your audience. (See Dashes for more details.) It would be nice to end here and say that’s all you need to know about punctuation and appositives. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. We have to return to that concept of restrictive and nonrestrictive again (sorry!). If the appositive is restrictive (meaning the appositive is required for the sentence to make sense), don’t use commas (or dashes or parentheses). •

My teacher Mr. Yang is retiring this year. –

–

•

This sentence is restrictive if you have multiple teachers. In this case, the appositive (Mr. Yang) gives us essential information: which teacher is retiring. If you only have one teacher, the appositive is nonrestrictive and so comes with commas: My teacher, Mr. Yang, is retiring this year.

The book Ready Player One is going to be made into a movie. –

We need the appositive Ready Player One to know which book is going to be made into a movie. cont.

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If the appositive is nonrestrictive (meaning the appositive is not required for the sentence to make sense), use commas (or dashes or parentheses). •

Ronnie, my next door neighbor, is moving to Arizona. –

•

We don’t need the appositive for the sentence to make sense. “Ronnie is moving to Arizona” makes complete sense on its own.

Her daughter, an Olympic-trained swimmer, is taking her to Ireland this summer. –

We don’t need the appositive for the sentence to make sense. “Her daughter is taking her to Ireland this summer” makes complete sense on its own.

Typical Form Exercises Combine each group of sentences below into a single sentence. Use an appositive phrase to preserve all-important elements from the original sentences. 1. Colin plays tennis professionally. He is a citizen of Nigeria. 2. Cockroaches are known for their survivability. They are a common household pest. 3. Cleveland is a city on the upswing. It is the hometown of NBA star LeBron James. 3. Twitter is extremely popular. It is a social media site. It’s increasingly used by governmental agencies and politicians. 4. Brittany’s dog is overdue for a vet visit. Her dog is a mutt. His name is Baxter. He’s twelve years old.

FOCUSING ON USE: HOW APPOSITIVE PHRASES ARE USEFUL IN ACTUAL COMMUNICATION Like so many other phrases—absolutes, participles, and infinitives—appositives can help tighten our writing, transforming repetitive simple sentences into more concise prose. As the examples above show, appositives can create rhythm and flow and are helpful when you need to convey a lot of information about one subject. Mastering appositives will make your writing appear more sophisticated and mature.

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EXPERIMENTING WITH APPOSITIVE PHRASES Scenario 1: Exposing the Truth In your campaign for state senator, you’ve been careful to stay away from mudslinging and name-calling. But now your opponent, businessman Oliver Alconberry, has launched a series of ads that distort your record and besmirch your name. These accusations are untrue. But the latest polling seems to show that Alconberry’s negative advertising is working. You’ve decided to target your opponent directly in an upcoming speech. It’s time people learned the truth about your adversary. Here’s what you know about Oliver Alconberry: not a native of this state; owns businesses cited numerous times for pollution violations; wears very expensive clothes and shoes; drives a Rolls-Royce; lives in an exclusive gated community; investigated for charges of corruption while mayor; never worked a manual labor job; family has been extremely rich for generations; did not serve in the military; advocates for raising taxes on the poor; has moved several companies to Mexico to cut labor costs; is not a fan of baseball or football. Task: In preparation for your speech, draft a paragraph that uses appositives to convey a picture of your opponent that will achieve your goals. Scenario 2: Condensing the Details The latest issue of Inside Gaming is approaching, and the major feature article still has problems. Somehow a rookie writer was assigned to the project—a close look at Annihilation, the latest console game from Sigma Studios—and he’s having trouble tightening his prose and cutting out unnecessary words and phrases. Now you’ve been brought in to fix the piece fast. Task: Write an introduction to the article that informs the reader about the basics of the game quickly and completely. Use appositives to get the job done. Basic facts about Annihilation: designed by Sigma Studios (Sigma has only been making games for three years; previously released Pinball Zombies and Arc of Avalon to moderate success); multiplayer strategy game; online live-play option; dystopian quest storyline; players can choose a variety of mutant human characters to play; character traits evolve during game play; collaboration and sacrifice is essential; goal is establishing a safe zone on a future war-ridden Mars by seeking out fellow mutants, collecting resources, resisting attack, and designing useful technologies. cont. 108

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Scenario 3: Piling on the Description Some people think you have the world’s best job: you get paid to eat in the best restaurants and then tell people about the experience. It’s definitely enjoyable, but it’s also hard work. Your reviews of restaurants are scrutinized by foodies, restaurant owners, and the dining public, and you have a reputation for being meticulous in your description of a location’s atmosphere, service, food quality, and meal presentation. Such careful detail is important in justifying your evaluation of a restaurant. If you’re going to give a place a bad rating, you’d better have the specific information to back it up. Your credibility depends upon your accurate eye for detail. This week, you visited The Canteen, a new Western-themed steakhouse. You were less than thrilled with the food. Task: Write a paragraph that uses appositives to describe the restaurant and your meal and sets up the rest of your review. Details about The Canteen and your visit: restaurant slogan is “home of real pioneer grub”; logo is a ten-gallon hat with an arrow through it; interior features rough-hewn benches and tables; old ranch equipment on the walls; all food is served in metal pie plates and drinks come in mason jars; old Western black-and-white movies play on mounted TVs; you ordered the Buckaroo and a Cowboy Cupcake; the Buckaroo is strip steak marinated in pepper sauce and cooked in butter (yours was chewy and overcooked); the Cowboy Cupcake is a hot brownie served in a metal coffee cup—yours was lumpy and missing the “Rocky Mountain Snow” (ice cream); for a drink you ordered a Texas Twister (which was basically a root beer with a mint garnish).

CONCEPT: PARTICIPIAL PHRASES OVERVIEW Much like the term “absolute phrase,” the participial phrase can cause students’ eyes to glaze over. (Grammatical concepts, it seems, have rarely been named with an eye toward emphasizing real-life uses or engaging learners.) But just as absolutes are common and useful structures in narratives and descriptive writing, participles are versatile and low-stress tools that can add detail and energy. Historical accounts, stories both fictional and nonfictional, and all kinds of descriptive writing rely on this useful concept.

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FORM Participles and participial phrases are pretty easy and can help tighten writing. To identify participles, we need to remember two things: 1. Participles are verbs with -ing, -ed, or -en endings that 2. function as adjectives. Let’s dig into these a little more.

FUNCTION A participle is born when the continuous (-ing) or past (often -ed or -en) form of a verb is used as an adjective (e.g., running, arguing, written, forgotten, angered, etc.). 1. Abandoned, the fort fell into ruins. 2. Abdi, listening and nodding, sat with Diane after the funeral. 3. Carter was embarrassed. Participles tend to stay close to the noun they modify and can go anywhere an adjective can go: before the noun (#1), after the noun (#2), or as a subject complement (#3). See Adjectives for more information about where adjectives, and therefore participles, can go. A participial phrase is a participle combined with other sentence elements that act in an adjectival role. • • •

Exhausted after hours behind the wheel, I pulled off the highway at the next exit. Arguing at length about the film, Abigail dominated the conversation. The soccer ball, forgotten by the two boys, sat in the weeds.

Punctuation and Participial Phrases If the participial phrase begins a sentence, use a comma. •

Cheering in the stands, the parents celebrated their children’s graduation.

If the participial phrase interrupts a sentence, use commas. •

The dog, barking loudly at the neighbor, stayed behind the fence.

If the participial phrase ends a sentence, well, here’s where we need to go into more detail. Unfortunately, we’re going to need to talk about restrictive and nonrestrictive again (see Dependent Clauses). cont. 110

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Remember, if the participle is restrictive (meaning it is required information; it “restricts” the meaning of a particular noun), then we do not use a comma. •

He watched the woman leaning against the wall.

Without the information leaning against the wall, we can’t be sure which woman he is watching. If the participle is nonrestrictive (meaning the information isn’t extraneous), then we do use a comma. •

She watched the sunset, shifting colors of orange and red.

We don’t need the description of the sunset for the sentence to make sense. In this case, the participle is extra information. Because participles are often found in narrative writing, we feel safe in saying most that end sentences are nonrestrictive (meaning they will use a comma). In fact, we’re going to go out on a limb here, and say (brace yourself, grammar pedants), this is one of those rules that we would probably never teach high school students. Teach them participles because, as we argue below, they can certainly help narrative writing. But for your future students who will be English majors and publishers and editors, they can learn this esoteric rule of participles and punctuation in college.

Typical Form Exercises Identify the participles or participial phrases in the following sentences. 1. The kudzu vines, winding over the porch and up the chimney, covered the house. 2. Leering from the brush, the tiger waited for its prey. 3. Seymour stood impatiently in the rain, whistling a tune. Revise these sentences to include a participial phrase. 1. Poe wrote about dark matters of the soul because he was plagued by fear. 2. Populations of honeybees have dwindled because they’ve been affected by pesticides and parasites. 3. We’re extra fired up about the crosstown football game this year because we were pranked by Northside’s seniors.

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FOCUSING ON USE: HOW PARTICIPLES ARE USEFUL IN ACTUAL COMMUNICATION Participles add specific focus, detail, and texture to sentences and can indicate implication, specificity, and causation. Implication Let’s start with a typical sentence that a basic writer might produce: •

When I climbed the stairs, I was nervous.

While there’s nothing wrong with this sentence, it doesn’t have much energy. It tells us what’s going on, but it doesn’t make us see or feel much. Breaking the sentence into its components, here’s what we have: • •

Describes Action: I climbed the stairs Describes Mental State: I was nervous

It may seem that in describing her mental state, the writer is being detailed and direct. And she is, but telling readers directly often results in writing that feels flat. Here’s where participles come in. Instead of telling us about being nervous, participles can show nervous. • • •

Describes Action: I climbed the stairs Describes Mental State: I was nervous Physical Indication: trembling

Here, “trembling” is physically specific in a way that “nervous” is not. We see the action and details, engaging us as we recreate the moment in our own minds. Once a writer has made this step, she can substitute the physical indication (i.e., the participle) for the mental state: I climbed the stairs. I was trembling. Finally, the writer can omit unnecessary words and shift the participle. • •

I climbed the stairs, trembling. Trembling, I climbed the stairs.

When a writer feels confident with these choices, other options such as absolutes can add texture. • •

Hands trembling, I climbed the stairs. My hands trembling, I climbed the stairs, trying to remember what I was going to say. cont.

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The results are options that make writing better—and in this case, “better” means more interesting to read. Specificity A lot of what makes narrative, descriptive, or expository passages compelling rests in the details, and participles can help with that. We’ll start again with a general sentence that a student might produce. •

I waited outside the gas station.

Using participles or participial phrases, we can quickly add specific details to this scene by focusing on certain actions and what they reveal. • • • •

Slapping mosquitoes, I waited outside the gas station. Counting the change in my pocket, I waited outside the gas station. I waited outside the gas station, checking my phone, frustrated by my brother’s laziness. I waited outside the gas station, watching the action at the pumps: a family with two screaming kids, a couple of teenagers in a pickup truck full of fishing gear, a leather-clad grey-bearded biker filling the tank of his Harley.

The exact construction a writer chooses will depend on intention—what the writer wants a reader to notice or feel. And intention, of course, depends on purpose. Telling a story, explaining a situation, making an argument: all will call for a different focus. Causation If we look closely at how participial phrases “connect” to independent clauses, we can often see an implied element of causation. We can use this connection to help students move from what they already know to experimenting with new sentence variations. Most basic writers can construct a sentence that includes a “because” phrase; it’s one of the essential communication concepts that we learn at an early age. This concept often takes the form of action → “because” → reason. • • •

I skipped school on Friday because I scored an invite to the party at the lake. I ate half the pizza because I was starving after volleyball practice. Dillon couldn’t go to the dance because he got grounded for staying out late.

Writers can use this familiar structure to experiment with participles, making the “because” relationship implicit rather than explicit. This is often just a matter of omitting a few words and rearranging the sentence. •

Scoring an invite to the party at the lake, I skipped school on Friday. cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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• •

Starving after volleyball practice, I ate half the pizza. Grounded for staying out late, Dillon couldn’t go the dance.

These sentences have a different emphasis, rhythm, and style. Revising with participles also works with adjectives and adverbs (or any sentence element acting adjectivally or adverbially). Here are a few examples with the omitted section in bold. •

I left the gym because I was tired. – I left the gym, tired. – Tired, I left the gym.

•

My girlfriend broke up with me because she was angry about what I’d posted online. – My girlfriend broke up with me, angered about what I’d posted online. – Angered about what I’d posted online, my girlfriend broke up with me.

EXPERIMENTING WITH PARTICIPLE PHRASES Scenario 1: Game Designer (You’ll note that this scenario is essentially the same as Scenario 1 in Absolute Phrases. Participles and absolutes do similar work in focusing attention.) You work for an entertainment company developing a new board game called Telepathy, and you’re helping write the game’s instruction manual. Telepathy is a competitive game with teams of two: Partner 1 draws a card, on which is written the name of a person, object, or animal. Through clues, Partner 1 has to get Partner 2 to correctly guess the word on the card. An incorrect guess means that the other team gets a turn. The tricky part is the nature of the clues. Partner 1 has to create a single sentence describing specific details or actions about the person, object, or animal, with a pronoun in place of the subject on the card. The more precise the description, the more likely the partner is to identify the subject and answer correctly. Let’s look at a few examples. Clue #1 (not so good) “It flies through the air.” What’s the problem with Clue #1? Well, “it flies through the air” could refer to a thousand different things: a rock, a spaceship, a cigarette butt, a pterodactyl, an arrow, a sparrow, a loogie, and so on. cont. 114

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Clue #2 (a little bit better) “Roaring, it flies through the air.” The addition of the participial phrase in Clue #2 helps makes things more specific, but only a little. We still don’t know if we’re talking about a jumping lion, a rocket, a helicopter, a dirt bike, a UFO, or a car falling off a cliff. Clue #3 (quite effective) “Activated by a faraway command and powered by heat-seeking technology, it flies through the air toward its designated target.” With some well-chosen detail in the participial phrase and the rest of the sentence, Clue #3 really helps specify the subject (a missile). Here are a few more examples of well-written clues that will go in the how-toplay instructions for Telepathy. • • •

Chewing its cud, the animal stood in the field, udders slowly filling with milk. Addressed to “All staff” and filled with new rules about lunch breaks, it made its way through the office. Dilapidated and deserted, it seemed to sink into the surrounding fields, red paint slowly fading on its plank-board sides, abandoned tools turning to rust in its belly.

Task: Using participial phrases, create a series of poor, average, and good clue examples for the subjects below that will help players understand the game. Once you have samples prepared, try them out with another member of your design team for feedback and revision. Then develop a larger list of game subjects and examples. Possible Subjects: Crow, Fire Ant, Tractor, Thunder, Submarine, Lamppost, Ferris Wheel, Glacier Scenario 2: Stage Director Part of your job as stage director for the Awesome Playhouse is to help actors understand the mood and tone of their characters. Instead of just telling actors how they should feel, you find it helpful to demonstrate that mood and tone are communicated through action and posture. For example, take the sentence “John picks up the knife.” If we need to show that John is angry at this moment, we could say “Angrily, John picks up the knife,” but this doesn’t help an audience see John’s anger. A better description might be “Shaking with rage, John picks up the knife.” That’s something an actor can understand and demonstrate through a physical performance. cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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Task: Use a participial phrase to transform the following script. Your goal is to help the actors playing these roles “see” what they can do to communicate the intended mood. 1. 2. 3. 4.

The The The The

young woman stands near the window (mood: anxiety) president addresses the reporters (mood: determination) CEO leans over the table (mood: frustration) class clown ridicules the school’s lunch menu (mood: humor)

Scenario 3: The Impact of Experience Most colleges and universities ask that applicants submit a personal statement or essay as part of the application process. These essays often ask you to explain your interests as part of making a case for why you should be admitted to the school. With college on the horizon, you’ve been reviewing sample application essays, and you’ve noticed some common features in strong examples. Good essays often make an explicit connection between an experience that students have had and what this means for their future interests and preparation for college. You’ve underlined a few examples of this tactic: 1. Learning firsthand the basics of applied programming during my internship at MetaCortex, I’ve gained confidence that I have what it takes to succeed in a computer science program. 2. As a summer camp counselor, I became a mentor for young people, providing guidance and leadership for campers while discovering that I had a talent for teaching. 3. Influenced by the work ethic of Ms. McKay, my high school softball coach, I’ve devoted myself to learning as much as I can about the field of Exercise Science. Task: Now you’re ready to give this tactic a try. First, list a few unique experiences you’ve had that set you apart as an individual. Then, use a participial phrase (or several of them) to connect that experience to your goals for a college or career. Scenario 4a: Helping People Make the Connection, Part 1 You are part of Earth Sense, a student volunteer organization that informs the public about local environmental issues. Your major goal is to help people understand how local land development has a negative impact on natural areas. Participial phrases help you do this. For instance, last month you wrote the following: •

Disrupted by development along the Forest Park Freeway, the habitat of the endangered tiger frog has been shrinking.

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Task: Now you’re working on a few more articles connecting the events below. Using participial phrases, draft statements showing the connection. • • • •

Shore Town Mall construction: fish die-offs in the harbor Suburban pesticide use: population of pollinator species Solar paneling: impact on the electric grid Fracking on the old Johnson Ranch: seismic activity

Scenario 4b: Helping People Make the Connection, Part 2 You write a fanzine devoted to the stylistic influences adopted by current pop stars. Your readers love how you show that every musical act draws on inspiration from previous performers, and the participial phrase is a tool that helps you do this. For instance, in making the costume connection between Katy Perry and Madonna, you crafted the following sentence: •

Drawing on the outrageous costumes and frank sexuality of Madonna, Katy Perry has carved out her own pop starlet/harlot style.

Not bad. But now you have another deadline approaching, and you need to make the connections listed below. Task: Draft a few sentences using participial phrases to demonstrate the linkage between the artists below (or other musical acts of your own choosing). • • • •

Drake influenced by Kanye West Miley Cyrus influenced by Britney Spears Beyonce influenced by Whitney Houston [a musical act] influenced by [another musical act]

CONCEPT: ABSOLUTE PHRASES OVERVIEW Absolute phrases are good examples of grammatical concepts that, with their unfamiliar and formal-sounding name, seem more complex than they actually are. Absolutes are actually common sentence phrases that are useful in creating vivid expository, narrative, and descriptive writing—although we rarely use them in everyday speech. Like participial phrases, they are common sentence elements in stories, first-person accounts, and reporting.

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FORM Christensen (1968, as cited in Noden, 2011, p. 79) offers a succinct list of absolute forms from his examination of classic and modern literature: • • • • • •

Noun + -ing, -ed, or -en verb (lip quivering, fist knotted, heart broken) Noun + adverb (head down, hat off) Noun + adjective (head sweaty, shirt white and crisp) Noun + preposition (pen in hand) Preposition + noun + any of the above variations (with hair standing up on the back of her neck) Possessive pronoun + noun + any of the above variations (his knees drawn to his chest)

What to Remember Most absolute phrases will take the form of the first item on the list above, with perhaps some other sentence elements thrown in (e.g., prepositional phrases, etc.): •

Noun + -ing, -ed, or -en verb (lip quivering, fist knotted, heart broken)

If you can remember this form, you’ll be well on your way to handling this concept. Absolute phrases can often be shifted to different locations in a sentence because they modify the entire sentence rather than one specific word. • • • • • •

Her heart pumping madly, Janine pulled the ripcord. Janine pulled the ripcord, her heart pumping madly. Ricardo strode toward the podium, his tuxedo accented by a red bowtie. His tuxedo accented by a red bowtie, Ricardo strode toward the podium. The family Bible, leather cover worn from decades of use, sat on its own table. The family Bible sat on its own table, leather cover worn from decades of use.

The good news is that whatever the form of an absolute phrase, the punctuation rule is easy: commas always set off the absolute, no matter where it occurs in the sentence (beginning, middle, or end). Like other phrases, you can also use the dash to emphasize the absolute (or parentheses to whisper it).

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FUNCTION Unlike other phrases, absolutes modify the entire sentence. Absolutes have two functions: 1. Explain a cause or condition (behaving adverbally). 2. Add detail or a point of focus in the main clause (behaving adjectivally). Explaining a Cause or Condition When the absolute phrase functions as an adverb (explaining a cause or condition), it contains critical information about how the events in the independent clause came to be. • • •

His army facing enemy forces on three sides, General Washington was forced to order a retreat. Campaign rocked by allegations of funding violations, Governor Fishbane dropped out of the race. The door firmly locked, the prisoner sat in the corner gazing at nothing.

Notice how the absolute phrases above (in bold) provide us with a vital cause or relevant detail that helps us understand motives, behavior, and context. When an absolute phrase behaves adverbially, we can easily add “when,” “since,” or “because” and a to be verb: 1. [When] the door [was] firmly locked, the prisoner sat in the corner gazing at nothing. 2. [Since] the door [was] firmly locked, the prisoner sat in the corner gazing at nothing. 3. [Because] the door [was] firmly locked, the prisoner sat in the corner gazing at nothing. Each of these options weaves a different tale. In sentence 1, the prisoner seems to be responding to the finality of that locking door. In 2, we might surmise that the prisoner has previously tested the lock’s strength and has resigned himself to being trapped. In sentence 3, the tone is perhaps the most definitive—the locked door directly causes the prisoner’s behavior. Kolln and Gray (2013) remind us that one of the most hotly debated Constitutional amendments contains an adverbial absolute: •

A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

This amendment is partly controversial because we are unsure of which subordinating conjunction is implied: cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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•

When a well-regulated militia [is] necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

•

Because a well-regulated militia [is] necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

•

Since a well-regulated militia [is] necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

Certainly each of these sentences has a different meaning, which may explain why we still debate this amendment more than two hundred years later. Adding Detail or a Focal Point When absolutes function adjectivally, we can think of them as a close-up camera shot. Noden (2011) calls this function “zooming in,” focusing on a particular detail or action. For this reason, absolutes (and participles) are common in fiction, as they allow storytellers to create precise pictures in the minds of readers.7 Michelle spent ten minutes looking through her bookshelf and found multiple examples of absolutes in almost every book she picked up. Here are a few examples of absolutes working adjectivally. •

They stand in rigid terrific hiatus, the horse trembling and groaning. (Faulkner, As I Lay Dying, p. 12) –

•

Eventually he saw the cold, unfriendly blue of earliest morning, the moon and a few stars still lingering in the sky. (Lahiri, The Namesake, p. 18) –

•

Here, “they” is Jewel and the horse; however, the absolute focuses us on the horse trembling and groaning as Jewel works to jump on his back and break him.

In the independent clause, we see the morning; the absolute zooms us toward the faint moon and stars in the sky.

Through my tears I saw Jem standing in a similar pool of isolation, his head cocked to one side. (Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, p. 178) –

The independent clause gives us a large view of Jem, but the absolute focuses us on part of him, telling us more about his reaction to his Aunt Alexandria.

7. Noden’s Image Grammar (2007) is a great resource for teaching absolute phrases.

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Typical Form Exercises Add an absolute phrase to the sentences below. 1. 2. 3. 4.

The The The The

teacher stared at the student. storm slowly approached. biologist pointed at a tiny green frog. politician stood before the reporters.

Combine the pairs of sentences below into a single sentence. Convert one sentence in each pair into an absolute phrase. 1. 2. 3. 4.

Claire charged down the field. She gripped the lacrosse stick with two hands. The volcano rose above the town. Its caldera puffed smoke. Rio texted Penelope about her plans this weekend. His hands shook. The Captain Burger fast food chain has closed numerous restaurants. Its profits are tumbling.

FOCUSING ON USE: HOW ABSOLUTE PHRASES ARE USED IN ACTUAL COMMUNICATION In narrative writing, absolutes emphasize key details. But they can also add energy since they necessitate that a writer change verb tenses in ways that sharpen the immediacy of a scene, increasing the sense of drama and suspense. In expository writing, absolutes allows for a rhythmic means of conveying a cause-and-effect relationship. They are a useful tool in the explanation, elaboration, or retelling of subjects and events common in all kinds of nonfiction writing. Along with appositive phrases and participial phrases, absolute phrases can be a useful tactic for addressing “choppy” writing (see Chapter 3).

EXPERIMENTING WITH ABSOLUTE PHRASES Scenario 1: Game Designer (You’ll note that this scenario is essentially the same as Scenario 1 in Participial Phrases. Participles and absolutes do similar work in focusing attention.) You work for an entertainment company developing a new board game called Telepathy, and you’re helping write the game’s instruction manual. Telepathy is a competitive game with teams of two: Partner 1 draws a card, on which is written the name of a person, object, or animal. Through clues, Partner 1 has to cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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get Partner 2 to correctly guess the word on the card. An incorrect guess means that the other team gets a turn. The tricky part is the nature of the clues. Partner 1 has to create a single sentence describing specific details or actions about the person, object, or animal, with a pronoun in place of the subject on the card. The more precise the description, the more likely the partner is to identify the subject and answer correctly. Let’s look at a few examples. Clue #1 (not so good) “It flies through the air.” What’s the problem with Clue #1? Well, “it flies through the air” could refer to a thousand different things: a rock, a spaceship, a cigarette butt, a pterodactyl, an arrow, a sparrow, a loogie, and so on. Clue #2 (a little bit better) “Engine roaring, it flies through the air.” The addition of the absolute phrase in Clue #2 helps makes things more specific, but only a little. It’s probably not an animal, but we still don’t know if we’re talking about a rocket, a helicopter, a dirt bike, a UFO, or a car falling off a cliff. Clue #3 (quite effective) “Heat-seeking radar activated, it flies through the air toward its designated target, guided by a faraway hand.” With some well-chosen detail in the absolute phrase and the rest of the sentence, Clue #3 really helps specify the subject (a missile). Here are a few more examples of well-written clues that will go in the howto-play instructions for Telepathy. • •

•

Webbed-feet paddling through the waters of an Australian lake, it sifted through the mud with its odd nose, looking for food. (a platypus) Hands shaking from alcohol withdrawal, he scribbled furiously, conjuring images of dark decay and dying women as rain pounded down from the Baltimore sky. (Edgar Allan Poe) Electronic ears tuned to military radio frequencies, it orbited the earth, monitoring secret signals from North Korea and China. (a spy satellite)

Task: Using absolute phrases, create a series of poor, average, and good clue examples for the subjects below that will help players understand the game. Once you have samples prepared, try them out with another member of your design team for feedback and revision. Possible Subjects: Koala, Termite, Redwood Tree, Gas Station, Juggler, Garbage Dump, Billboard, Hamburger. cont. 122

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Scenario 2: Encounter with Fame (A Celebrity, Author, Politician, or Athlete) You’ve worked hard as a writer, mostly on articles for your school newspaper, and you’ve even gotten some of your stuff printed in area magazines. Now, your big break is here. It turns out that a rather famous person—one of your favorite celebrities—has recently bought a home in the area and wants to support young people in their career dreams. You’ve been selected to meet with this VIP, conduct an interview, and write about your experience. This is a seriously big deal and could lead to great things for you. But there are also some challenges. You don’t want to just audio-record an interview and print a transcript. That’s not journalism or real writing. Instead, you want to re-create your live experience with this celeb for your readers: make them feel like they were there, make them see what you saw and notice what you noticed. You have to capture this person’s appearance, mannerisms, expressions, and physical gestures, as well as the room you were in, and the home itself. It won’t be easy, but you know you can do it. Task: Now you’re ready to give it a shot. Create a series of observations from your interview experience that really zoom in on some of the details that you think will really engage readers. Use absolute phrases to help make the scene come alive. Scenario 3: Moments of Growth Your school district now requires every high school student to successfully complete a Senior Project. The project is a year-long community-based exploration of a particular career field, craft, or area of study; upon completing their work alongside adult mentors in the community, students must present a formal report and presentation before a panel of judges. In the written report, students are expected to reflect on what they’ve learned through the Senior Project experience. Judges are looking for moments of growth: places where students’ thinking, perspectives, or attitudes have changed. This means that when you write the report, you have to consider three things: 1. how you thought or what you believed before the experience; 2. how the experience challenged and changed you; and 3. your thinking and beliefs now. To do parts 1 and 2 above, you need to write about yourself from a distance, depicting yourself back then as different from the way you are now. When writing about yourself in this way and in recreating the events that changed you, absolute phrases can be helpful. Take a look at this example: On my first day, I arrived at Green Fields cooperative farm as a complete rookie, my mind filled with nostalgic images of family farms and chickens cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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scratching in the front yard. I was in for a surprise. Green Fields is a modern facility, with lots of plate glass and stainless steel, fifty acres of crops stretching away from a cluster of shiny buildings. When you’re at Green Fields, you’re expected to get busy, not stand around watching. I was put to work on that first day spreading mulch— three massive cartloads—around rows of watermelon plants. After twenty minutes I knew I was in for a test. With the sun beating down on my head, I was thankful that I remembered my sunscreen. The work was relentless. I shoveled, and then shoveled some more, fragrant compost steaming around me. I could feel the muscles burn in my arms and back. The people around me seemed in good spirits despite the hard work, and after an hour or so, I found my rhythm. Task: Following this example, describe the compelling experience you had as part of your Senior Project. Use absolute phrases to make us feel what you felt and see what you saw.

CONCEPT: GERUNDS OVERVIEW Remember that grammatical concepts have both form and function. Form is “what it is” and function is “how it behaves.” For example, a word can be a preposition in its form, but it may behave like an adverb or adjective (see Prepositions for more information). Much in the same way, a gerund has a verb form, but it always behaves (functions) like a noun.

FORM Gerunds are pretty simple to understand if we remember two rules: 1. gerunds are always verbs with -ing endings, that 2. function like nouns. Let’s talk about these two rules a little more.

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FUNCTION 1. Gerunds always take the form of a verb with an -ing ending while acting as nouns. • • • •

Running takes a lot of Jahan’s time. He enjoys running. Although he also has other hobbies, Jahan’s passion is running. If you let him, he will talk about running all day.

Like participles, gerunds can also appear as part of a phrase. • • • •

Running in the mornings takes a lot of Jahan’s time. He enjoys running on wooded trails. Although he also has other hobbies, Jahan’s passion is running long distances. If you let him, he will talk about running trails all day.

2. Gerunds function like a noun. Present participles are also action verbs with an -ing ending; however, you can differentiate them from gerunds by how they function in a sentence. Here are the keys to remember: • • •

Gerunds always function like a noun. Nouns can take six places in a sentence: subject, object of preposition, direct object, indirect object, object complement, and subject complement. Since gerunds behave like nouns, you can always replace a gerund or gerund phrase with a pronoun. You cannot replace a present participle with a pronoun.

Let’s look at our examples and see how they function.8 •

Running takes a lot of Jahan’s time. – Running functions as the subject. – It takes a lot of Jahan’s time.

•

If you let him, Jahan will talk about running all day. – Running functions as the object of the preposition “about.” – If you let him, he will talk about it all day.

•

He loves running. – Running functions as the direct object. – He loves it.

•

Jahan gives running his time. – Running functions as the indirect object. – Jahan gives it his time.

8. For a discussion of how nouns function, see Nouns.

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•

Jahan calls his passion running. – Running functions as an object complement.9 – Jahan calls his passion it.

•

Although he also has other hobbies, Jahan’s passion is running. –

Running functions as the subject complement.

Remember the secret to identifying subject complements: you can replace the verb with an equal sign and the sentence still makes sense. Jahan’s passion = running. –

Jahan’s passion is that.

Typical Form Exercises 1. Write five total sentences, one for each place a gerund can be in a sentence:10 subject, subject complement, object of the preposition, direct object, and indirect object. It can be the same gerund (like the examples above) but doesn’t need to be. 2. When you are finished, underline your gerund and double-check your work by seeing if you can replace the gerund with a pronoun (typically you can replace gerunds with the pronouns it, this, or that).

FOCUSING ON USE: HOW GERUNDS ARE USEFUL IN ACTUAL COMMUNICATION As we discussed above, gerunds function (or behave) like nouns. Gerunds are most commonly used to turn favorite activities from verbs to nouns, such as swimming, singing, dancing, acting, or camping, just to name a few.

EXPERIMENTING WITH GERUNDS Scenario 1: XTreme Adventures Your friend Arvidas is applying for the position of Forest-and-River Guide with XTreme Nature Adventures, an organization specializing in wilderness activities.

9.

It is rare to find a gerund as an indirect object or object complement. As you can see in these examples, this format sounds awkward and stilted.

10.

Because gerunds are rarely used in the object complement slot, you would rarely see this usage in a grammar book. By the way, don’t ever do this to your students.

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One of the sections of the application is a short narrative explaining how the applicant’s hobbies, interests, and experiences have served as preparation for becoming a Forest-and-River Guide. Arvidas is super-excited about this opportunity and has asked you for help with his narrative. Here’s what he has so far. I am very excited about the chance to be a Forest-and-River Guide. I like to camp, hike, and explore, and I’m a big fan of trails. For the last two years I led my whitewater raft team down two class 4 streams and I also was the captain of our raft team in last year’s state tournament. I also like to help other people learn about nature. Problems on the trail are also no problem for me. I like to figure out solutions when there’s a problem and to help other people do the same. I’d say that’s one of my main talents. Task: Work with Arvidas to rewrite this passage so it’s more balanced between what he’s done and likes to do (verb forms) and the talents and experience he has (gerund forms). Follow-up Make a list comparing the verb forms from the passage to the gerund forms: Table 4.1 Verb Forms and Gerund Forms

Verb Form

Gerund Form

I like to camp and hike

Camping and hiking are two interests ____________________

I have led two teams

Team-leading is another talent I have ____________________

I like to solve problems

I am skilled at problem-solving _________________________/ Figuring out problems is _______________________________

Notice that the verb forms often deal with current states of being or past events, while the gerund forms establish stable concepts. There are benefits with this kind of gerund nominalization (see Nouns), as it allows a speaker or writer to translate events or feelings into broader abstract categories with which he or she has experience and familiarity. Scenario 2: Viral Meme Creation Xavier writes for an alternative culture website, and he likes thinking up new ideas for the next big viral sensation. He focuses on three areas: stunts, dance moves, and happenings, three things that can be easily video-recorded and uploaded to the web. cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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Task: He’s asked you to help him brainstorm new ideas in each of these categories. Here are the details. Flesh out your ideas for new memes and detail your thinking. Use gerunds to get the job done. Stunts: Xavier isn’t interested in meme-type stunts like Batmanning and owling and planking—those are way too dangerous. And milking—dumping a gallon of milk on your head—just isn’t very clever at all. Help him develop and name several new stunts that are safe and school appropriate but still funny. Dance Moves: Everyone is totally over twerking. Popping and locking and breakdancing are cool but not exactly new. Moshing isn’t that creative, and no one’s been voguing since Madonna was a thing. Line-dancing, meanwhile, doesn’t look like it’s ever going away. Develop and name some new possibilities that might light up the dance floor. Happenings: Happenings are public forms of art or performance, often surprising or humorous. Flash-mobbing is a recent example, and zombie walking was popular for a while. Of course, busking—playing music in public spaces for tips—has been around for a long time. Xavier needs some fresh ideas to generate public buzz. Follow-up After considering various examples that use the gerund format, consider the benefits or drawbacks of using other noun forms. For example, what sounds better: moonwalking or The Moonwalk? Cabbage patching or The Cabbage Patch? Twerking or The Twerk? How do we tell which form works best? Scenario 3: Helping the Noobs Many teams, groups, and organizations have a “how to” manual (sometimes called a primer) that helps novices understand basic concepts related to an activity and how to do them. Often (but not always) these concepts are worded as gerunds. For instance, a handbook for a little league baseball team might have sections that include information about Hitting, Fielding, Pitching, Stealing, and Bunting. A primer for how to play Monopoly might include sections on Dice Rolling, Buying Properties, Making Deals, Getting Out of Jail, and Winning the Game. A manual for gardening might feature information about Tilling, Planting, Fertilizing, Pruning, Harvesting, and Over-Wintering. And similarly, a handbook for lifeguards at a community pool might include a list of activities that are prohibited because they are dangerous, such as running, diving, fighting, and horsing around. Task: One of the interest, activity, or hobby groups that you’re involved with wants to develop guidelines to help newbies understand important concepts, skills, and areas. Create a list for the group, and consider gerund forms for your concept headings. cont. 128

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Follow-up Introduce your list to the rest of the class and invite questions about the concepts. Through this discussion, what other concepts or skills might need to be included? Which concepts seem better phrased as gerunds, and which are better in other forms? What patterns do you notice in how we name actions and activities?

CONCEPT: INFINITIVES OVERVIEW Like gerunds and participles, infinitives fall into a category known to grammar folk as verbals. To put it simply, verbals look like verbs but they don’t function like them. You likely know infinitives by the form “to” + verb (as in to go, to sing, to soar, and so on), but they actually function as nouns, adjectives, and adverbs.

FORM As noted, infinitives take the form “to” + verb as in to see, to question, and to bounce. • • •

Rhianna likes to dance. Sarah loves to bounce on her trampoline. Maya couldn’t wait to fulfill her dream—to play the cello in a symphony.

Like other grammar concepts (gerunds, participles, etc.), infinitives can appear in phrases. In the sentences above, the infinitive itself is bolded, and the infinitive phrase is underlined. Dangling Infinitives Although they aren’t verbs, verbals still show an action, which in turn means that they need an actor. •

Sarah loves to bounce on her trampoline. –

•

Sarah is the subject of the sentence. She is taking the action of the infinitive, to bounce.

Maya couldn’t wait to fulfill her dream—to play the cello in a symphony. –

Maya is the subject of the sentence. She is taking the action of the infinitive, to play. cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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So far, so good. But if an infinitive is missing an actor, then it’s “dangling,” and that’s a problem. Let’s see what a dangling infinitive looks like. • –

The book must be read and summarized to complete the assignment.

The book (the subject of the sentence) is not completing the assignment. It can’t take the action. Therefore, the infinitive is dangling.

Compare that sentence with this one. • –

You must read and summarize the book to complete the assignment.

In this revision, you is the subject of the sentence. You also takes the action of the infinitive “to complete.” With this revision, we’ve fixed the issue and the infinitive no longer dangles.

The actor in the sample sentences above is also the subject of the sentence. But the actor can also be the direct object of the sentence. • –

The teacher told him to stop.

In this example, to stop is the infinitive, but him (which is the direct object) is the actor who needs to stop.

FUNCTION Most infinitives function as adjectives, adverbs, and nouns. Infinitives as Adjectives Adjectives modify the meaning of nouns, and infinitives functioning as adjectives do the same thing. •

My favorite movie to watch over and over again is War Games. –

•

The infinitive phrase, to watch over and over again, modifies movie.

I dream of having a backyard to play in.11 –

The infinitive phrase, to play in, modifies backyard.

Infinitives as Adverbs Remember that adverbs tell us more about what’s happening: why, when, where, and to what extent.

11.

Here’s that pesky ending-a-sentence-with-a-preposition non-rule. See Prepositions and Chapter 1 for more detail.

cont. 130

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•

Ronaldo is taking chemistry and biology to prepare for medical school. –

•

The infinitive phrase, to prepare for medical school tells us why Ronaldo is taking chemistry and biology.

Sharice left early to visit her grandmother. –

The infinitive phrase, to visit her grandmother, tells us why she left early.

Infinitives as Nouns Infinitives can also function in noun slots: subject, direct object, subject complement, object complement, and (very occasionally) as an object of a preposition. Also, since Appositive Phrases function as nouns, we can find infinitives that do what appositives do, and thus, function as nouns. •

To play cello for a symphony is her dream. –

•

Her dream is to play cello for a symphony. –

•

The infinitive phrase is an object complement. The verb wanted needs a direct object. Remember we ask who or what to identify the direct object. In this case, who wanted? is her, which is our direct object. Object complements tell us more about an object in the sentence. Here, the infinitive phrase tells us more about her.

She didn’t want anything except to play the cello. –

•

The infinitive phrase is functioning as the subject complement, describing her dream. We know it is a subject complement because we can replace the verb with an equal sign and get the same meaning.

Her mom wanted her to play the cello. –

•

Here, the infinitive phrase is functioning as the subject of the sentence.

The infinitive phrase is the object of the preposition. There are only a few prepositions that can take infinitives, such as except and about.

Her dream—to play cello for the symphony—will take a lot of work. –

The infinitive phrase is an appositive. Remember that appositives function as nouns. Here, the phrase to play the cello for the symphony is renaming dream.

Reality Check: The fact that an infinitive can act as anything from a direct object to an adverb to a verb probably feels exasperating. Why can’t we just call a verb cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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a verb? Well, in most cases, we can. And while these nuances don’t need to be inflicted on your students, you as a teacher are responsible for knowing more. Yes, it may seem like trivia sometimes, but gaining a general sense of these nuances can help you in determining what’s important for your students, and what isn’t.

Typical Form Exercises Identify the infinitive and infinitive phrase in the following sentences. Label the function (e.g., noun, adjective, etc.) of the infinitive. 1. 2. 3. 4.

Monique sings every day to train her voice for the opera. To drive across the county is a life goal of mine. She wanted Jerry to go to the mall with her. Charlee’s ideal picture to imagine is a brand new BMW.

FOCUSING ON USE: HOW INFINITIVES ARE USEFUL IN ACTUAL COMMUNICATION Perhaps the most common use of infinitives in communication is what’s called the “infinitive of purpose.” We often use infinitives when questioned, as in the following. •

Why are you going to the store? – To buy milk and eggs.

•

Why were the police there? – To direct traffic.

•

Why did she call you? – To ask me a favor.

We also often see infinitives of purpose in sentences explaining “why.” • • •

I went to the store to buy milk and eggs. The police were there to direct traffic. She called to ask me a favor.

Infinitives can also help us be succinct. Think of (probably) the most famous infinitive phrase in the English language: “To be or not to be, that is the question” (straight out of Hamlet). With that little infinitive phrase, a timeless philosophical cont. 132

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question is born. If we try asking the same question differently, the poetic power wouldn’t be nearly as effective: • • •

Am I better off alive or dead? Does my existence have purpose or not? What is the meaning of life?

To prove our point, let’s look at another famous infinitive: •

“I want to drink your blood.”

Try to reword this sentence in a way that is as clear and concise. “I want your blood”? No. We’re talking vampires here; “drinking” is an important component of the sentence. “Drinking your blood is what I want”? No. Too wordy. “Drink your blood I want”? No. That construction only works for Yoda, and we’re pretty sure he’s not a vampire. The infinitive form powers this sentence. When we think of the verbals at our disposal, infinitives are unique. Gerunds (with their -ing form) and participles (with their -ing, -ed, and -en forms) show something that is happening or did happen. Infinitives are the only verbal we have that can show an intention (to drink, to fly, to see) or a state of being (to be). That makes them especially useful in certain situations. Before we move on to scenarios, we should discuss that supposed problem, the split infinitive. Here are a few examples: • •

We need to quickly clean up this mess! Keri intends to politely decline the invitation to Burning Man.

These sentences sound perfectly fine, but language purists sometimes insist that the infinitive form must not be “split” by other words, so the adverbs above would need to be moved: • •

We need to clean up this mess quickly! Keri intends to decline politely the invitation to Burning Man.

To be blunt, there is no basis for this “rule,” which derived solely from centuriesold attempts to superimpose the conventions of Latin onto a Germanic language (English).12 Everyone’s favorite split infinitive, of course, comes from the Star Trek mission statement: “To boldly go where no one has gone before.” Just for fun, let’s see what happens when we un-split the infinitive: “To go boldly where no man has gone before.” Huh. Suddenly that sentence isn’t quite so, well, bold, is it?

12.

See Chapter 1 for a discussion of this “rule.”

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EXPERIMENTING WITH INFINITIVES Scenario 1: Sometimes Tentative is Good It’s your second go-round on the yearbook advertising committee, and you’ve learned a few lessons from your rookie season. Last year, other students on the committee tried to out-promise each other with comments like the following: • • •

“I’m gonna sell ad space to every business on Water Street. Watch and learn.” “No one’s ever got Westfield Golf Club and Resort to buy an advertisement. I’m changing that.” “Mark it down, I’m cracking $10k in ad sales this season.”

There are some cool incentives for bringing in big advertising numbers, which explains the enthusiasm. But when the dust settled last year, none of those big talkers had even come close to their targets. This year, you’re taking a different approach. It’s all about tentative objectives rather than stating certain facts about the future. With this tactic, you’re able to “under-promise and over-deliver,” which is what the professionals recommend. Task: Lay out some detailed plans for raising yearbook advertising revenue this season, including numbers, customers, and scope. Use infinitive phrases as in the model below to protect yourself from raising unreasonable expectations: • • •

“. . . I plan to . . .” “. . . I intend to . . .” “. . . one of my goals is to . . .”

Scenario 2: The Villain’s Speech It’s a convention (if not an outright cliché) of action movies: the talkative villain, explaining devious plans and revealing diabolical intentions, usually right before being outsmarted by the hero. LEX LUTHOR: “To commit the crime of the century, a man naturally wants to face the challenge of the century.” JAMES BOND (restrained): “Do you expect me to talk?” GOLDFINGER: “No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die!” DR. EVIL: Scott, I want you to meet daddy’s nemesis, Austin Powers. SCOTT EVIL: What? Are you feeding him? Why don’t you just kill him? DR. EVIL: I have an even better idea. I’m going to place him in an easily escapable situation involving an overly elaborate and exotic death. cont. 134

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Here’s the deal. Your pal Augustus is putting the finishing touches on the script for his short film Saturn’s Rings—think elves in space—but he’s struggling with the final scene. He needs a powerful monologue for the film’s villain, a towering caped creature known as Skoll. The scene hits all the expected beats (bad guy apparently in total control divulges his evil intentions), but Augustus is stuck writing Skoll’s triumphant speech. Task: Take a crack at drafting Skoll’s intentions for galactic destruction. Be sure to use infinitives to lay out this villain’s dastardly plans. Scenario 3: The Artist Inside “Every one of us,” says the poet Ariel Appletree, “is an artist, an oddball, a freak. And because of that, every one of us can change the world.” When Appletree visited your school recently, she caused quite a stir with her crazy costumes, weird poems, and provocative comments. At a school assembly, a student asked her this question: “Why do you create art? What’s the point? Why bother?” In a booming voice, Appletree responded with this: Thank you. There is no question more important. Why do I make art? I make art . . . to wake people from the deep sleep of the culture they were born into, . . . to grab them and shake them and scream in their faces, . . . to name and defeat the racists and the sexists and the plutocrats, . . . to force them to look, to see, and then to see again, . . . and to challenge you to open your eyes and seek the truth. Some people dismissed her as a nut, but a lot of people really liked her. In fact, she’s inspired a local Facebook meme with the following structure. Why do I [verb/verb+noun]? I [verb/verb+noun] . . . [infinitive phrase #1 describing positive impact] . . . [infinitive phrase #2 describing positive impact] . . . etc. The interesting thing about this meme is how some people will list an activity or interest (“I play soccer,” “I hunt,” “I cheer,” “I cosplay”) and then explain the often-surprising ways that it allows them to make the world better. Task: Give this meme a shot yourself. Be sure to use infinitives to show the unique ways that your affinity moves the dial in a positive direction.

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CONCEPT: PREPOSITIONS OVERVIEW In elementary school, you may have learned that a preposition is anywhere a mouse can go in relation to a log (or anything a plane can do in relation to a cloud, or something similar). A mouse can go under a log, around a log, across a log, through a log, to a log, down a log, by a log, and on and on. But this basic definition certainly doesn’t cover all the prepositions in the English language. A mouse can’t go since a log or go according to a log. Prepositions are one of our most useful (and most used) lexical categories in English, giving us important details about time, place, location, relationship, and so much more.

FORM Of the twenty most common words used in the English language, eight are prepositions (of, to, in, from, with, on, at, and by). Prepositions are important because they provide vital details, like situating the “place” of other players in the sentence, which is the most common use of prepositions (and why those old elementary school tricks are useful). • • •

The mouse is at the log. The mouse is on/in/inside/within the log. The mouse is by/near/behind/above the log.

Prepositions also situate the “time” of other players in the sentence. • • •

The mouse ran until sunset. The mouse ran throughout the night. The mouse ran during the night.

Prepositions can also show other relationships. Cause and Effect • •

Why did the mouse run? The mouse ran because of the cat.

Similarity • •

How did the mouse run? The mouse ran like a cat. cont.

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Means • •

By what means did the mouse run? The mouse ran with a cane.

Addition • •

With what/with whom did the mouse run? The mouse ran with the rat.

The Prepositional Phrase The words following a preposition help situate other parts of the sentence. It isn’t typically helpful to know that the mouse is just “in” without any additional context. Readers usually need to know what the mouse is “in”—a log, a cabinet, a cat’s mouth? However, when the context is clear, the details of the prepositional phrase may be omitted (as they’re implied or previously stated). • • • •

Up ahead lay a rotted old log. The mouse ran in. The doctor is in. (her office) The stock market is up. (compared to where it began the day) All aboard! (the train)

A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition followed by: 1. 2. 3. 4.

a a a a

noun; noun phrase; pronoun; or nominal clause.13

All these elements behave like nouns. Whatever is part of a noun phrase (determiners, adjectives, adverbs, etc.) is, in turn, part of the prepositional phrase. Fun Fact: The word “preposition” actually clues us in about this element’s organization. A preposition is so-called because it’s “pre-positioned” before a noun or noun phrase. Common Prepositions As we discussed above, most of us probably memorized a list of simple prepositions that situated “place” long ago. Here’s a list of the most common prepositions in the English language (Kolln & Funk, 2012):

13.

For a discussion of nominal clauses, see Dependent Clauses.

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137

aboard about above across after against along amid among around as at atop before

behind below beneath beside between beyond but (except) by concerning despite down during except for from

in into like near of off on onto out outside over past per regarding

since through throughout till to toward under underneath until up upon with within without

Prepositions, however, can also take two- or three-word forms (called phrasal prepositions). Phrasal prepositions contain a preposition preceded by another form word, such as an adverb, adjective, or conjunction: according to ahead of along with as for

aside from because of but for contrary to

except for instead of next to out of

prior to thanks to up to

Three-word phrasal prepositions contain a preposition + noun + preposition: by means of in accordance with in back of in case of

in in in in

charge of front of lieu of search of

in spite of on account of on behalf of

Of course, your students will be familiar with many prepositions from the first list above. You can use their knowledge as a foundation for building their fluency with phrasal prepositions, which are quite common in academic and professional communication.

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FUNCTION Adverbially and Adjectivally Prepositions functioning as adverbials tell us manner (with great flare), place (in the log), purpose (because of the storm), frequency (since breakfast), and time (throughout the night). Prepositions functioning as adjectivals are a little easier to identify because they just clarify which one. With the sentence “The boy behind the house threw the ball,” we can ask, which boy? The prepositional phrase clarifies: the one “behind the house.” Let’s check out some more examples. •

The students studied after the game.

After the game tells us when the students studied, so it functions adverbially. Like adverbs, adverbials can typically move around in a sentence (which makes for an easy hack to tell whether a prepositional phrase is functioning adverbially or adjectivally). •

After the game, the students studied.

Here’s another one. •

The cake with the pink frosting is my birthday cake.

With the pink frosting describes the cake in more detail; since it describes a noun, the prepositional phrase functions adjectivally. We can also do the move test: can we move the prepositional phrase around in the sentence successfully? •

With the pink frosting, the cake is my birthday cake.

Clearly, that doesn’t work. Again, we can typically move adverbials but not adjectivals. Prepositions or Subordinating Conjunctions? When we’re talking about prepositions, remember that we can’t just look at the lists above, find one of those words in a sentence, and say, “Look, everyone! There’s a preposition!” Because words can take on different roles, we always have to consider how they function in sentences. Here are some examples. • •

After the game, we got ice cream. After the game ended, we got ice cream.

Although after can function as a preposition, it can also function as a subordinating conjunction. In the first sentence, after is a preposition. We know this because it cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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is followed by a noun phrase, and we can see it is functioning as an adverbial, telling us when we got ice cream (also note you can move the prepositional phrase to the end of the sentence, and it still makes sense). In the second sentence, after functions as a subordinating conjunction at the beginning of a dependent clause because it’s followed by a subject (the game) and a verb (ended). Never End a Sentence with a Preposition . . . In the 17th century, scholars worked tirelessly to make English, a Germanic language, follow the rules of Latin (the basis of Romance languages such as French, Italian, and Portuguese). Writer John Dryden noted that prepositions do not end Latin sentences, and in an effort to increase the social capital of English, he declared that English sentences should follow this same rule. “Don’t end your sentence with a preposition” still echoes in English classrooms today. However, every day, people use sentences that end in prepositions without social calamity, especially when the alternative is rather awkward (for instance, you’re unlikely to hear anyone ask, “About what are you talking?”). A famous statement, often attributed to Winston Churchill, demonstrates the nonsense of this rule: “Ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put.” All of this said, it might be better to follow this archaic Latinate rule when writing for formal audiences, rather than risk being negatively judged by grammar gatekeepers.

Typical Form Exercises 1. Write five sentences, each containing at least one prepositional phrase. 2. Trade your work with a partner. Underline the prepositional phrases in your partner’s paper and explain how each preposition functions. 3. Make sure you explain why each preposition functions as an adjectival or adverbial.

FOCUSING ON USE: HOW PREPOSITIONS ARE USEFUL IN ACTUAL COMMUNICATION Think for one minute about directions: telling someone how to get to your locker, to the gymnasium, to your favorite restaurant. It’s almost impossible to give someone directions without using prepositions. As we said previously, prepositions place one thing in relation to another thing. Without them, we would have a hard time understanding where anything was!

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EXPERIMENTING WITH PREPOSITIONS Scenario 1a: The Secret Party It’s your birthday—sweet!—and you have a really cool party planned in a totally new venue in the city. Club Idiosyncrasy is tucked away, hard-to-find, and so new that it doesn’t appear in any GPS software. This is partly good, since you don’t want jokers crashing your gig, but it’s also not good if nobody you’ve invited can find the joint. Task: You have to make sure that people can find the party, or guess what? No party. Provide very specific driving, walking, climbing, and other directions for your guests to ensure that everyone gets there with no trouble. Be sure to use very specific prepositional phrases to get the job done. Scenario 1b: The Virtual Reality Challenge One of the most fun Senior Week traditions at your school is The Virtual Reality (VR) Challenge. Teams select one member to don a VR helmet, and then they must guide that person—through voice commands only—to find a hidden object in a particular place. Each team’s effort is timed, and the eventual winners’ names are inscribed on the Grand Plaque in the cafeteria, lofty recognition indeed. Your team is up next. Aroldis has been chosen as the searcher, and he’s now helmeted and ready to go. You’ve been handed the envelope with the object and its location on a map—and it’s gonna be tough. In his VR 3-D world, Aroldis is standing on the front steps of a haunted mansion. The object he needs to find is within, and you have the map that shows where it is. Task: With your powers of specific language use, guide Aroldis to the hidden prize within that vast building. Be sure to be careful and comprehensively specific— he doesn’t need to be falling down any stairs or getting hopelessly lost—so that your team gains eternal honor. Oh, and use those prepositional phrases, of course. Scenario 2: How to Respond? You understand why you were dismissed from Paragon, your school’s most elite student organization. Paragon membership is limited to those students with the highest academic achievement, notable and sustained community service records, flawless character, and model behavior. The first two criteria were never a problem for you. As for flawless character, well, you have your doubts about whether that’s even possible for a human, but whatever. It’s the “model behavior” element that they cited in kicking you out. As everyone in the school knows, you got into a very public fight at the Homecoming dance, and that turned out to be a major problem for Paragon. cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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Of course, there are a lot of details that you never had a chance to explain. How you ignored the taunts of your adversary multiple times. How you made sure that your friends stayed out of the conflict. How you repeatedly tried to defuse the situation and keep the peace. But then came the insults about your mother and your sister, and at that point, you decided your honor was on the line. You’re not proud of what you did—and given another chance you’d try harder not to resort to violence—but every person has a limit. You’re determined to write a letter to the Paragon advisory board, but just what that letter will entail you haven’t decided. You believe you have a good case for reinstatement based on the values of the group, the circumstances of the fight, and your otherwise impressive record. So that’s one option. Letter Option #2 would likewise explain your conduct fully but would not request reinstatement. You’re not even sure you want to be a part of Paragon anymore given how quickly they showed you the door. Task: Choose a purpose and draft a letter to the Paragon bigwigs. You’ll need to adopt a formal voice, and you’ll want to take advantage of some advanced prepositional phrases to characterize events and make your points. The list below may help: prior to in spite of / despite contrary to according to regarding in reference to in accordance with aside from

Scenario 3: The Suggestive Title The “Ten-Minute Play” series created by your school’s Drama and Theater teacher, Ms. Toure, has been a great success. The idea is pretty simple. Any student (not just drama kids) can submit a manuscript, and the best are chosen to be performed during Spirit Week all around the school. Algebra class gets a little more interesting when a troupe suddenly pops in to do a Quentin Tarantino-inspired riff about gangsters dividing up heist money. The theme for this year’s Ten-Minute Plays is “movie spin-offs”—all the scripts have to extend from existing films and characters. The scripts also have to be titled in a way that references the film that spawned it. Because you run with a particularly clever crew, you’ve all decided to work on some scripts based on some of your favorite movies. You’ve got some pretty sharp dialogue that should impress and get some laughs, but now you need some snappy titles. You’ve noticed cont. 142

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that a lot of memorable titles are basically just prepositional phrases (or just prepositions), like the ones below. • • • • • •

Of Mice and Men Between Shades of Gray Star Trek: Into Darkness Through the Looking Glass Up Inside Out

Task: Brainstorm prepositional phrase titles for your ten-minute scripts—your film inspirations are listed below. Make sure that your own titles refer to something related to the previous film; if your title is too obscure, your work might not be selected for production. Table 4.2 Film Titles and Prepositions

Original Film

Your 10-Minute Script Title

Star Wars The Fast and the Furious Avatar The Hobbit Frozen

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UNIT 4

Lexical Categories

CONCEPT: NOUNS OVERVIEW Nouns aren’t a scary concept for most people. They name things (noun actually means name, etymologically) and naming is one of those skills we pick up at an early age. But there’s more to nouns than perhaps meets the eye. We’ll focus especially on the areas below: • •

How nominalizations (abstract concepts expressed in noun forms) are a common marker of academic and professional language. How various words can take on noun functions in certain situations and for specific purposes.

FORM Traditional definitions tell us that a noun is a person, place, thing, or idea. These types of limited definitions, however, can constrain our ability to fully understand or explain grammatical concepts. For example, nouns also refer to concepts (freedom), states (frustration), activities (running), time (tomorrow), and more (Curzan & Adams, 2012). Instead of just thinking of nouns as people, places, things, or ideas, maybe we can consider nouns rhetorically with this question: “How do nouns behave in actual communication?” Michelle uses the following sentence in her classes and presentations, asking students and participants to identify each word’s part of speech (though we advocate for the use of “lexical categories” rather than “parts of speech,” it’s often good to start with familiar terms). •

The hurmung sneruffs fallowly thaberwolded the grambous guffs. cont.

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Without fail, folks from middle school on up can easily name the nouns in this sentence (as well as other lexical categories). Why? Because we know the qualities and behavior of nouns innately. We know their rules, even if we’ve never been told. Here are the rules for nouns—or rather, for words that act as nouns: 1. Nouns are signaled by a determiner (a, an, the, and others that we’ll discuss later). 2. Nouns can be made plural (and possessive). 3. Nouns can be part of a noun phrase (underlined below) and occupy what is called the “headword” position. •

The hurmung sneruffs fallowly thaberwolded the grambous guffs.

Even though we aren’t sure what sneruffs or guffs are, native English speakers know that they’re nouns because of the three rules above (along with a few other qualities of English sentences). Let’s test out these rules a little bit more. • • •

The very pesky pulley system became stuck. Wei tried to fix the bungled cords. He called Cherif to help him understand the complicated and frustrating creation.

We’ve underlined each noun phrase—the noun and all of its modifiers (determiners, adverbs, and/or adjectives)—and bolded the nouns. Words like Wei and Cherif are easily recognizable as nouns. However, words like system and creation may be more difficult to name as such. Rather than relying on an old (and, honestly, incomplete) definition, we can run our new rhetorical check. 1. Nouns can be made plural and possessive. Yes! All of the bolded nouns above can be made either plural or possessive. 2. Nouns can be part of a noun phrase and occupy the “headword” position.14 System, Wei, cords, Cherif, and creation are all headwords in the sentences above.15

14.

Now for some wonky stuff: the “head” of a phrase determines the lexical phrase type, and different lexical phrases can be embedded in one another. For example, “the very small snail” is a noun phrase because the headword, “snail,” is a noun. Embedded in that noun phrase is an adjective phrase, “very small,” consisting of an adverb (very) and adjective (small).

15.

Even though “Wei” and “Cherif” don’t have modifiers here, they are still considered noun phrases. We can imagine them with modifiers, of course (“Here comes the handsome and handy Cherif”).

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3. Nouns can be signalled by a determiner. Three noun phrases in the sentences above have determiners16 (“the”). We can often tell that a word is functioning as a noun—even if it usually functions as a verb or adjective—if it includes a determiner (a, an, the) or takes a plural or possessive form. 1. I like her red car. In this sentence, red functions as an adjective and modifies car. 2. She prefers the red over the blue. Here, both red and blue function as nouns and both are headwords of noun phrases. 3. Did you see the fight? In this sentence, fight functions as a noun; it’s the headword of the noun phrase and is signalled by a determiner. 4.

He fights her.

Here, fights functions as a verb (even though it has an -s on it, it isn’t a plural -s); it’s the verb of the sentence.

FUNCTION Nouns are pretty versatile and occupy a lot of slots in sentences; obviously, we need them to make sense of our worlds. Nouns function as subjects, objects of the preposition, direct objects, indirect objects, object complements, and subject complements. We’ll discuss each of these functions very briefly, but you’ll notice discussions of these sentence slots throughout this chapter since so many grammatical concepts function as nouns (e.g., infinitives, pronouns, nominal clauses, and gerunds). Subjects Subjects do things or take a “to be” verb in a sentence. Remember that only nouns (or lexical categories that function as nouns) can take subject slots.

16.

Determiners go beyond the traditional articles (a, an, and the). For more discussion of determiners, see Pronouns. By the way, proper names can have determiners (“I have two Weis and a Cherif in my class.”)

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• • •

François won the tournament. Kindness is a wonderful gift. Books are for sale.

Objects of the Preposition We often need nouns (or, of course, lexical categories that function as nouns) after a preposition to situate other elements in the sentence. • • •

The goose flew through the night. The goose perched on the fence. The goose squatted beside the lake.

Take a gander at these incomplete sentences, each missing the noun phrase following the preposition: •

The goose flew through. – Through what?

•

The goose perched on. – On what?

•

The goose squatted beside. – Beside what? Without the noun, we can’t situate the goose.17 Direct Objects Direct objects receive the action of the verb.18 You can identify the direct object by asking who or what of the subject and verb. •

Matthew saw Katie. – Who did Matthew see? Katie (direct object)

•

Demetria plays the guitar. – What does Demetria play? Guitar (direct object)

•

The police asked the question. – What was asked? Question (direct object)

Indirect Objects There can’t be an indirect object without a direct object, which means that the indirect object has a relationship with the direct object. In fact, the indirect object can often be found between the verb and direct object.

17.

Though in the context of a larger passage in which the noun is implied, these can work (e.g., The duck leaned against the stump. The goose squatted beside.).

18.

See Other Verbs for a deeper discussion of transitive verbs and direct objects.

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Remember, to identify direct objects you ask the subject and verb who or what. To identify the indirect objects, you ask the direct object to whom or for whom. As you might guess by the whom question, the indirect object is quite often a person. To help you better understand the steps you need to take to identify the indirect object, we name both the direct and indirect objects below. •

I bought my dad new oven mittens. – I bought my dad who or what? Mittens (direct object) – To whom or for whom did I buy the mittens? My dad (indirect object)

•

Raphelo gave Mika a ride. – Raphelo gave who or what? A ride (direct object) – To whom or for whom did Raphelo give the ride? Mika (indirect object)

An easy trick to identify indirect objects: move the indirect object after the direct object and turn it into a prepositional phrase (Kolln & Gray, 2013). • •

I bought new oven mitts for my dad. Raphelo gave a ride to Mika.

Object Complements Object complements typically follow direct objects, renaming (nouns) or clarifying (adjectives) the direct object. Because of this function, object complements are typically seen with only certain verbs (e.g., elect, make, call, name, consider, keep, etc.) •

Maria calls her mother a friend. – Maria calls who? Her mother (direct object) – What does she call her mother? A friend (object complement)

•

Rhonda named Li her vice president. – Rhonda named who? Li (direct object) – What does Rhonda call Li? Her vice president (object complement)

Remember, object complements can also be adjectives. •

Maria calls her mother silly. – Maria calls who? Her mother (direct object) – What does she call her mother? Silly (object complement)

•

Rhonda made Li upset. – Rhonda made who? Li (direct object) – What did Rhonda make Li? Upset (object complement) cont.

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Subject Complements Subject complements are nouns or adjectives—both “complement” (meaning “complete,” or give more information about) the subject. Subject complements follow linking verbs (see both Dependent Clauses and Other Verbs for more information). As a quick tutorial here, linking verbs are easy to identify because you can replace them with an equal sign (=) and the comparison between what comes before and after the verb makes sense. •

Celia is a professor. – Can I replace “is” with an equal sign? – Celia = professor – Yes! It makes sense. “Professor” is a subject complement.

•

School is hard work! – Can I replace “is” with an equal sign? – School = work – Yes! It makes sense. “Work” is a subject complement.

Like object complements, subject complements can also be adjectives. •

Celia is nice. – Celia = nice. – Nice is a subject complement, but it is an adjective.

•

School is easy. – School = easy. – Easy is a subject complement, but it is an adjective.

Typical Form Exercises Underline the noun phrase(s) and circle the nouns in the following sentences. 1. 2. 3. 4.

Aniyah paid for our meal at the restaurant. Kangaroos are common in Australia. After the snowstorm, we spent an hour shoveling the driveway. This classic novel from the 19th century is full of old-fashioned slang and expressions. 5. Captain Sparrow led a ragtag band of miscreants across the width of the Caribbean Sea, battling a variety of villains and monsters.

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FOCUSING ON USE: HOW NOUNS ARE USEFUL IN ACTUAL COMMUNICATION Nominalization One marker of more sophisticated language ability is the use of nominalization, which involves defining specific actions (often expressed in verbs or gerunds) within a broader noun category. When we nominalize, we give a categorizing name to a set of actions. Nominalization is a major part of academic, professional, media, and formal communication, so knowing how to make this linguistic and cognitive move is valuable. To begin, notice the difference in the following sentences. A. Lisi needs to make the sentences and paragraphs in her essay connect better. B. Lisi needs to improve her essay’s organization. A. Parents have a role that takes a lot of time, effort, and responsibility. B. Parenthood comes with many challenges. A. A lot of people only use social media to brag, post selfies, and talk about themselves. B. Narcissism and vanity drive much of social media. A. To get into Adams College, I have to submit an application. B. Admittance to Adams College requires an application. A. We analyzed the fibers in the laboratory during the investigation. B. Laboratory analysis of the fibers was conducted during the investigation. One difference you may have noticed is that the nominalizations in the B sentences (in bold) make a more generalized assertion about the topic. We often tell students to “be more specific” in their writing, which is generally sound advice. But in most communication, specific facts and details only make sense within a larger framework of ideas. That is, generality is often necessary and expected when referring to broad concepts, ideas, positions, and statements. The key here is hierarchy. Particularly with argumentative or expository communication, audiences expect general statements (e.g., topic sentences, thesis statements, claims, etc.) that are balanced with specific detail explaining those statements. Nominalizations are quite useful when a summary statement is needed—they’re less effective when we expect details. In writing, an audience may expect that a series of examples will follow or accompany a nominalization. You may have also noticed the formal register of the nominalizations above. They carry a more academic, legal, or scientific tone. Not surprisingly, nominalizations are extremely common in the realms of academia, business, industry, law, science, and other fields that deal primarily with informational texts. Finally, notice that in several of the examples above, nominalization is used with Passive Voice phrasing. Students are often told to avoid the passive voice, despite the fact that it is quite common in field-specific contexts, including scientific cont. 150

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research reporting, law enforcement, legal and contractual language, and similar areas. In de-emphasizing the subject of a sentence, passive phrasing places focus on the object, and nominalization adds both a formality and a distance that matches this move. Noun Versatility Adjectives Acting as Nouns As we mentioned earlier, many words that typically appear as other lexical categories can function as nouns. Consider the words in bold below. • • • • •

At the Wild Vine wine tasting, Sheila tried the red. There are special rules for handling sharps in the laboratory. I’ll share my lunch with you since you’re down to your last fry. My photo of the toga party got 55 likes on Facebook. The rubric includes headings titled “Look Fors” and “Take Aways” to help guide reviewers.

This noun variability might seem intimidating, but in context this language use is common and can be quite appropriate. Media, popular culture, business, and political contexts provide a continuous assortment of examples: • • • • •

Scott Westerfeld’s young adult novels include Uglies, Pretties, Specials, and Extras. Presidential hopeful Magda Torrez visited a number of Iowa towns. The New York City dailies are all leading with the mayoral scandal. Jake visits Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on the regular. Ella did me a solid when she cancelled her trip and helped me move.

Verbs Acting as Nouns Words that usually function as verbs can also act as nouns. Gerunds (along with Infinitives) are perhaps the most common examples: • • •

Verb form: Raoul is running in the Peachtree Marathon. Gerund form: Running is one of Raoul’s hobbies. Infinitive form: To run a marathon is Raoul’s lifelong dream.

Gerunds also fit the rhetorical rules for nouns, so we might speak of “the running of the marathon” or ask “How many runnings of the NYC Marathon have been delayed by weather?” See Gerunds and Infinitives for more details. Other typical verbs can switch to a noun role in certain situations. Some are so flexible—such as plan, set, drop, wave, fly, hope, call, and many more—that it’s difficult to say if they act primarily as verbs or as nouns. It all depends on the situation. Other words clearly have a “verbness” to them, only occasionally taking on a noun role, as in the examples below: cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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• • •

The Grand Canyon is regarded as a natural wonder. Visiting the Strip in Las Vegas is a must! Hang-ups are most common for telemarketers during the early evening.

The kind of “creative nouning” happens everywhere, from the professional workplace to the playground basketball court. People use language flexibly to express themselves about things they care about, create a sense of community, and identify with others.

EXPERIMENTING WITH NOUNS Scenario 1: Titles that Pop You work for a team that helps companies organize conferences. It’s a big operation with a lot of money involved, so it’s important that the titles of the conference presentations really get people interested. Guess what? You’re in charge. a.

First, practice using nominalization to summarize a specific situation. In the chart below, transform the sentence of specific details on the left into a more general statement using a nominalization.

Table 4.3 Summarizing and Nominalization Sentence of Specific Detail

Nominalized Version

Our city has a problem with trash in rivers, untreated sewage, and bad air quality.

Pollution is a major problem in our city.

In the Amazon, thousands of acres of rainforest are being cut down. My personal belief is that people can and should benefit from each other. Kyra is interested in how immigrants to the U.S. adjust and gradually adopt elements of American culture. Women getting belittled, insulted, and attacked by men is still an issue in our culture. The suburbs of Atlanta are continuing to grow as more people move to the area. Middle- and upper-class people are moving into historically poor areas, buying and renovating homes, and driving out working class folks.

b. Major public debates, conferences, and gatherings often have a title that summarizes the relevant issues being discussed. Since you’re in charge of the cont. 152

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naming committee for the events below, your job is to come up with a snappy title for each one that summarizes the subject. To make matters more challenging, your boss really likes a specific title format that looks like this: Nominalization: Question or Statement that Provides More Detail • • •

Driver-Free Transportation: The Wave of the Future? The Superstar Athlete: Is There an “I” in “Team”? Controversial Creation: The Rise of Rap in Popular Music

Task: Develop titles that use this formula for the following conference topics. Be ready to explain your decisions to your boss! 1. A session about the benefits and challenges of not eating meat. 2. A debate about whether local police organization should have military-grade equipment and vehicles. 3. A discussion about whether human growth hormone and similar drugs should be banned from professional wrestling. 4. A panel about the narrow range of images depicting women and girls in video games. 5. A research session about the psychological reasons that people modify their bodies in extreme ways. Scenario 2: The Power of Summary You really like the writing of your new reporter, Jackson. He does a great job of visiting sites, getting interesting interviews, capturing the specific details, and spinning a story that people want to read. Your job once he’s submitted his articles is to write one-sentence summaries that will appear in the front of the magazine. Task: Jackson’s provided the notes for several upcoming articles below. For each one, write a summarizing sentence with a nominalization that accurately represents the article. Superhero Films • • • •

Action and superhero films are becoming more formulaic. There’s a “how-to” manual scriptwriters use with common plot elements. Companies like it because the films are reliable products. Critics say this makes films worse; audiences are split.

The New State Test • • •

There’s a new state test for students based on new curriculum standards. The test is controversial. Teachers will be evaluated on how students score. cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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•

These changes are supposed to help make education better but many people aren’t convinced.

Healthy School Food • • • • • •

A new law will ban junk food in school. Vending machines will stock only water, juice, and fruit. The law is designed to address childhood obesity. Administrators are concerned about losing money from snack sales. Many students are upset by the change. School food quality has been a consistent complaint.

Digital Schooling • • • •

Some schools are trying to go entirely paperless. Students have to submit all of their work digitally. Tech companies are making a lot of money with digital education products. Critics worry about problems (privacy issues, dependence on devices).

Scenario 3: A Primer for Beginners You have several hobbies and interests that involve speaking, collaborating, and interacting with others. You know what would help new folks who are learning about your fav subject? A primer—or guidebook—for the special language or lingo that you use in this specific community. Task: Design a primer that helps people understand the language used in your interest area. The primer should include a dictionary-type list of specialized words and phrases that discusses the following: • • • •

the meaning of the word; its typical use in speech and writing in this context (i.e., as a noun, verb, adjective, exclamation, etc.); typical examples of the term being used; common mistakes that newbies make in adopting the lingo.

Some Specialized Language for the Basketball Court a.

“bad”: noun used to self-identify blame for a specifically poor play My bad. (no other use)

b. “big”: (noun) a large player Our team has several bigs, but we lack speed. c.

“hops”: (noun) jumping ability; sometimes referred to as “ups” He’s got no hops left—it’s part of getting old. cont.

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d. “travel”: can function as a noun or verb to indicate a specific basketball violation This ain’t the NBA—you can’t travel here. (verb) Come on, that was not a travel. (noun) e.

“charge”: can function as a noun or verb to indicate a specific basketball violation The guard charged on that last play. (verb) Maxwell was called for a charge and fouled out. (noun)

f.

“brick”: (noun) a poor shot that rebounds off the rim, often awkwardly; also used as a verb. I tossed up nothing but bricks today. (noun) Jonathan bricked two free throws in overtime. (verb)

g.

“airball”: noun, a poor shot that misses the rim and backboard; also used as a verb. See also brick, above. His last shot was an airball. (noun) Airballing free throws will definitely get you mocked. (verb)

CONCEPT: ACTION VERBS OVERVIEW In looking at action verbs, we’ll consider two main areas: •

•

how a verb’s “fit” can help writers and speakers achieve something specific (capturing subtlety, intent, or mood in a situation and so influencing how others see the world); how various words can take on the function of a verb in certain situations.

FORM AND FUNCTION Most of us learned that a verb is an “action word,” which can be a helpful definition most of the time. Most verbs have a “doing” aspect to them and act as the engines of sentences. •

Hassan absolutely crushed that first pitch. cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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• •

The audience roared with laughter during the second scene. The St. Louis Gateway Arch dominates the skyline.

Rhetorically, a verb is any word that can be used to denote past and present tense (e.g., any word that takes the verb position in a sentence and can have an “-s,” “-ing,” or “-ed” ending). This flexibility allows for a lot of creative language use. • •

Nora Snapchatted during the movie. Rocco clowned his friends at the party.

Of course, there are a lot of common words that shift their function according to context. Is play a noun, a verb, an adjective, or something else? It depends on how you’re using it. The same goes for words such as cook, fish, fly, park, work, walk, and many others.

Typical Form Exercises 1. Circle the verbs in the following sentences. How do you know they are verbs? • • • •

April peeled the orange. During Alaska winters, the sun rarely rises high in the sky. Our gaming club lost several members over the summer, but we also picked up a couple of rookies this fall. Dmitri enjoys running and cycling.

2. For each of the verbs below, write a complete sentence. Change the tense of the verb as needed. help, play, think, study, laugh, decide, argue, analyze, discuss, question

FOCUSING ON USE: HOW ACTION VERBS ARE USEFUL IN ACTUAL COMMUNICATION Well-chosen verbs can energize your writing. In the discussions below, we focus on some conventional benefits of your action verb choices (e.g., precision and connotation) along with exploring the rich flexibility of “non-standard” verbs. 1. Verbs for Precision and Connotation Most of us use a basic set of verbs every day: eat, drink, walk, say, look, do, read, write, talk, laugh, cry, and so on. And most of us are aware of synonyms for these words. Synonyms are words with similar meanings, and the difference between a synonym and the word it replaces is vital. Consider the examples below. cont. 156

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Table 4.4 Experimenting with Action Verbs: Eat Synonym

Connotation

nibble

small, careful bites

snack on

small amounts between meals

gobble

swallowing whole or in big chunks; eating fast

devour

eating that is fast and especially graphic, violent, or animal-like

consume

a neutral, official, or scientific way to describe the action

pig out

a casual term for overeating, often with others

chow down

a casual term for eating enthusiastically

dine

a formal and elegant synonym

nosh

eating small portions of this and that, often with other people

What other synonyms for “eat” do you know? What are their connotations? Connotation makes all the difference. By choosing a more precise word for the general word “eat,” we can paint a more accurate, interesting picture. With the situations below, what might be an appropriate synonym for “eat” and what might a sentence using this word look like? Table 4.5 Experimenting with Action Verbs: Appropriate Synonyms Eating Situation

Example Sentence

a football team at a pizzeria

We totally devoured ten large pizzas! or After the game, the team pigged out at Cosmic Pizza.

a toddler with crackers a scientist studying bats the mayor and his guests at a banquet the Big Bad Wolf the marine recruits in the mess hall a Great White Shark Adam, who’s on a diet the creative team during cocktail hour

The examples below ask you to think about the connotation of synonyms for the verb “say.” In thinking about connotation, consider the contexts in which you usually hear the word. cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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Table 4.6 Experimenting with Action Verbs: Synonyms and Connotation Synonym

Connotation

Example sentence

state

carries a neutral, objective, or official tone

The judge asked me to state my name.

pronounce mumble declare report mutter assert remark allege

2. Atypical Verbs and Their Possibilities Many words that typically reside in other lexical categories can function as verbs when used in different contexts. The words in bold below are acting as verbs. • • • • • •

She ketchups everything, from sandwiches to salads. I prettied up my office before the photographer arrived. The running back knifed through the defense. I totally heart your profile pic! At the marketing meeting, we networked, brainstormed, and calendared. We’ll need to science our way out of this mess to survive.

What other similar examples of words serving as unusual verbs do you know? 3. Proper Nouns Used as Verbs Language is flexible. Proper nouns that are especially evocative, descriptive, or culturally meaningful are often recruited to act as verbs. • • •

I googled Mammoth Cave, and then I mapquested the directions. Keonee skyped with Jared while he was in California. Callahan’s political opponents will try to swiftboat his campaign.

Sometimes celebrity notoriety results in a name becoming a verb, a gerund, or a verb phrase: cont. 158

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•

• •

For a short time after the 2012 Republican convention, “Eastwooding”— engaging in a dialogue with an inanimate object—was a popular topic on Twitter. My buddy Tebowed after scoring the game-winning touchdown. Professional golfer Jason Dufner’s awkward photograph during a classroom visit spawned a social media fad known as “Dufnering.”

Think about your own language use, and the way that language is used in media and pop culture. What other examples of proper nouns functioning as verbs (or taking on verb forms) can you find?

EXPERIMENTING WITH ACTION VERBS Scenario 1: Communicating the Intangibles You’re a reporter for an alternative news site that tries to tell the “story behind the story” about important events. You do this through specific word choice. For instance, you would never write the following: •

President Obama walked into the room.

That’s way too boring, and it doesn’t tell the real story. Instead, you’d write something like the following: • • • •

President President President President

Obama Obama Obama Obama

sauntered into the room. slid into the room. stumbled into the room. strutted into the room.

Which one would you choose? That depends. You want to accurately describe his actions, but you also want to convey a sense of tone and attitude about the person. Did Obama appear at ease? Then “sauntered” might have the right sense. Did he appear arrogant? Maybe “strutted.” Unsure, embarrassed, or guilty? Then maybe “slid” (like a snake?) is the right word. Task: Now you’re waiting for the governor to appear for a surprise press conference. You’ll want to report on what he talked about, sure, but you really want to create a precise description of his actions and movements. It’s those specific details that tell the real story. Sometimes what people say doesn’t match their body language. Here he comes. Take notes on what the governor says and how his movements either reinforce or contradict his statements. Then draft a paragraph or two using verbs to describe the scene. cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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Scenario 2: Degrees of Exaggeration and Understatement The words we choose to describe a situation or event can shape how others perceive reality. For example, if your debate team was successful in a competition, there are several ways you could characterize the victory: 1. Our debate team prevailed against the opposition. 2. Our debate team beat the opposition. 3. Our debate team obliterated the opposition. Option 1 implies that the teams were closely matched—the verb “prevailed” gives a sense of struggling but still winning. Option 2 is neutral; “beat” is a common verb to describe the outcome of a competition without implying a sense of degree. The use of “obliterated” in Option 3 is obviously a figurative exaggeration, but it serves a purpose: communicating the extent of a dominant performance. Task: Your friends know you have a smooth way with words, and they often seek out your help for how to deal with situations good and bad. The key is simple: never lie, just finesse the truth with words. In fact, you’re even putting together a little cheat sheet on how to amp up or dial down your verb use depending on the context. Show your friends how specific verbs can either exaggerate or understate actions with the situations below. Table 4.7 Experimenting with Action Verbs: Situations and Goals Situation

Verb Goal

Statement

Driving your friend’s car, you hit a lamppost.

understatement

“I bumped a lamppost when I pulled out of the parking lot.”

Describing your sister’s gymnastics performance

positive exaggeration

How you did on the biology exam

negative exaggeration

What the stylist/barber did to your hair

exaggeration

How your parents spoke to you after seeing your grades

understatement

How swimmer Michael Phelps broke a world record

exaggeration

Now your buddy Ethan needs help: his girlfriend heard he was dancing with someone else last Friday night, and now he needs to explain to her what happened. Help Ethan through some options in describing what happened with some wellchosen action verbs. Remember, lying isn’t an option but recharacterizing the event is.

cont. 160

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Scenario 3: Meme Hunting You work for a social media company that’s always on the lookout for the next hot trend. Your job is to scan news and entertainment headlines for events that are weird, funny, or outrageous, and then depict these events in a way that makes people want to share them on networking sites. When teen idol Jason Jeeber wore a purple cowboy hat to a funeral, you were the one to coin the hashtag #jeebering to describe the combination of a fashion crime and bad manners. When sports anchor and former NFL player Dirk Knothead yelled at a female guest during a live broadcast, your “Don’t Dirk” campaign likewise swept across social networking sites. Task: Now you’re on the lookout again for famous people doing dumb things, not just for pageviews but to draw critical attention to antisocial behavior. Scan the media, news, and entertainment headlines and brainstorm several propernoun-as-verb memes for tomorrow’s brainstorming session. Scenario 4: Energetic Film Titles As a film buff and marketing expert, you know a thing or two about generating interesting titles for movies. For instance, you know that audiences tend to respond more positively to titles that include present participle verb phrasing instead of nominalizations. Consider the following examples:

Table 4.8 Film Titles and Action Verbs: Participles Versus Nominalization Sounds Interesting (Present Participle)

Sounds Kind of Static and Boring (Nominalization)

Saving Private Ryan

The Rescue of Private Ryan

Finding Nemo

The Search for Nemo

Sleeping with the Enemy

My Husband is an Abusive Jerk

Breaking Away

Friends, Bikes, and Life

Leaving Las Vegas

The Downward Spiral of an Alcoholic

Task: Now you’re part of a project that is rebranding films by creating new titles to make them more attractive to younger audiences. Research the plots of the films below and create a new title for each using progressive verb phrasing. Add a few more films that need new titles.

cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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Table 4.9 Film Titles and Action Verbs: Progressive Action Verbs Current Title

New Progressive Verb Subtitle

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

Skipping School Awesomely

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968) Star Wars (1977) Schindler’s List (1993) Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) Jaws (1975) Gladiator (2000) The Matrix (1999) Avatar (2009)

CONCEPT: OTHER VERBS OVERVIEW Transitive, intransitive, participles, infinitives, future perfect, past progressive, modals, linking, action . . . anyone else’s head spinning yet? Michelle remembers a photocopied grammar worksheet from 9th grade that asked her to identify the sentence that used present perfect progressive (which, evidently, is called present perfect continuous nowadays). Even as we write this section, we wonder why her teacher thought it important that she know such specialized and—let’s be honest—pointless information. In this section, we’ve decided not to get too far into the weeds with verbs (and, believe us, it’s easy to do). Rather, we’re going to go over a few major verb concepts. Some will make your students better writers—such as understanding modals and their use—and others are just FYI as current or future English teachers. If you want to learn how to identify present perfect progressive (continuous?), we recommend consulting a very large and thorough usage book.

FORM Grammar guides and textbooks disagree on how to name the various forms of verbs. For simplicity’s sake, we’ve decided on three categories: action verbs, linking verbs, and helping verbs. •

19.

Action verbs include transitive and intransitive verbs, which we discuss below.19

Also see the section on Action Verbs, which deal with their effective use.

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• •

Linking verbs include to be verbs, along with words that may look like action verbs but aren’t. Helping verbs include to be verbs and modals.

As we move through this section, remember that just like other lexical categories, verbs follow form and function. For example, to be verbs (is, am, was, were, etc.) always take a to be form; however, they function differently according to how they are working in the sentence. Action Verbs: Transitive and Intransitive Transitive Verbs and Direct Objects In Dependent Clauses, we discuss direct objects and subject complements, which includes a discussion of transitive and linking verbs. As a reminder here, direct objects follow transitive verbs (which, in turn, are one type of action verb). Typically, when we have a transitive verb, we can ask who or what of the verb to identify the direct object. •

The teacher asked the class to settle down. –

•

The teacher asked who or what? The teacher asked the class. The class is the direct object.

The buffalo charged the man who was taking a picture. –

The buffalo charged who or what? The buffalo charged the man. The man is the direct object.

Transitive Verbs and Indirect Objects Transitive verbs may also (but don’t have to) have indirect objects. You can typically find the indirect object by asking to whom or for whom of the direct object. •

Jameis bought Denise a new car. – –

What did Jameis buy? A new car. (Direct object) For whom did he buy the car? Denise. (Indirect object)

Intransitive Verbs Intransitive verbs don’t have direct or indirect objects; however, there will often be more information after the intransitive verb (in the form of adverbs, prepositional phrases, or dependent clauses). •

Charnice sits beside Taban on the plane. –

Charnice sits who or what? Hmm. We can’t really answer that question. Also, we can see that two prepositional phrases follow the verb. We know, then, that it is an intransitive verb. cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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•

Her plane arrived on time. –

Plane arrived who or what? Hmm. Can’t answer it again. So it can’t be a transitive verb. Must be intransitive.

It is important to note that some verbs can be both transitive and intransitive. We can tell the difference by asking who or what of the verb. •

He ate every day after he returned from practice. –

•

Can we answer who or what he ate here? Nope. Must be intransitive.

He ate a cheeseburger every day after he returned from practice. –

Can we answer who or what here? Yes. He ate a cheeseburger. Same verb, but here it is transitive.

Can’t remember the difference between transitive and intransitive? Think of other words with the root trans, such as transport, transfer, transmit, and transaction. All of these words deal with carrying or conveying something across to something else, which is what trans means. Likewise, you might think of a transitive verb as carrying the focus from the subject of a sentence to the direct object. Linking Verbs For linking verbs we encourage you to return again to Dependent Clauses. There we do a thorough job of discussing subject complements, which indicate the use of a linking verb. A quick refresher here: it’s easy to identify linking verbs because they can be replaced with an equal sign. •

Siobhan seems excited. –

•

Siobhan = excited

The pizza is delicious. –

Pizza = delicious

Remember that linking verbs include both to be verbs and seems-like-they-mightbe-action verbs (become, smell, appears, etc.). Modals (one type of Helping Verb) If English is your first language, you probably use modals purposefully multiple times each day. Modals allow us to tell others what is possible (e.g., I could go), what we have to do (e.g, I must go), and what we’d like permission to do (e.g., May I go?). Modals also have gradations of strength. Think of the difference between telling your mom that you will go to that party on Friday night versus telling her that you might go to that party on Friday night. Big difference. cont. 164

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Table 4.10 Modal Strength

STRONGEST

Must Will/Would

↑ ↓

Should

WEAKEST

Can/Could/Might

May

Interestingly, Southern English uses double modals to soften requests or advice. For example, the sentence she might should go to the doctor doesn’t sound as strong a directive as she should go to the doctor.

FUNCTION We think part of the reason that verb categories can be so overwhelming is that verbs typically aren’t taught according to form and function. It’s not uncommon for sixth graders to be taught the following labels. •

She – – –

was eating a piece of cake. Was is a helping verb; eating is a main verb. Was is an auxiliary verb; eating is a participle. Was is a to be verb; eating is an action verb.

•

She – – –

might Might Might Might

•

She eats a piece of cake. – Eats is an action verb. – Eats is a transitive verb.

•

She eats through the cake. – Eats is an action verb. – Eats is an intransitive verb.

eat a piece of cake. is a helping verb; eat is a main verb. is an auxiliary verb; eat is an infinitive. is a modal; eat is an action verb.

Good grief. Yes, each of the above statements is true. Unlike gerunds (which function only as nouns), or prepositions (which function only as adjectives or adverbs), we can call one verb form many things with many different functions and be right each time. And just think—we haven’t even spoken about tense yet (present perfect, past progressive, etc.)! For the sake of space and sanity, we end our discussion of verb functions with this: verbs function in many different ways depending on the context of the sentence. cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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For a thorough discussion of function and/or tense, grab yourself a comprehensive usage book. And while diving down the rabbit hole of esoteric verb lingo can be fascinating in an egg-heady way, check yourself before wrecking your curriculum with such requirements. Please, think of the children.

Typical Form Exercises 1. Label each verb below as either transitive or intransitive. a. b. c. d. e.

Sandra sang for her entire school. Annika wove six bags for her friends. The principal questioned the four students. Tiffani organized the entertainment for the prom. Pablo arrived at the airport early.

2. Underline the helping verb once and the action verb twice. a. b. c. d. e.

She was gone before he woke up. Helene may have been seen at the mall. He did not want to go find her. Did you question her sister? Brian should have asked where she was going.

FOCUSING ON USE: HOW VERBS ARE USEFUL IN ACTUAL COMMUNICATION Well, let’s be honest: verbs may be the most useful lexical category in English. Without them, we’d be limited to gestures and drawings to get anything done (action verbs), we wouldn’t be able to wax philosophical (to be verbs and modals), and our ability to compare, contrast, and describe would be greatly diminished (linking verbs).

EXPERIMENTING WITH OTHER VERBS Scenario 1: Remixing Slogans Your group is looking to attract membership with a catchy and possibly amusing slogan. You’ve noticed that the popular phrase “this is how we do it” (or just “how we do”) has been used as a template for other taglines. There’s “This is how we Sonic” from Sonic Drive-In, “This is how we Sandwich” from Lance cont. 166

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Crackers, and, of course, “this is how we roll,” uttered by just about anyone trying to sound cool. Other organizations could easily adopt a fun rhyming version of “this is how we do it” as well: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

This This This This This This This This This This This This This This This This

is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is

how how how how how how how how how how how how how how how how

we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we

boo it. (Horror Film Club) glue it. (Arts and Crafts Club) moo it. (Future Farmers of America) view it. (Film and Media class) stew it/chew it. (Culinary Club) brew it. (National Brewers Association) drew it. (School of Illustration) Drew it. (New Orleans Saints Fan Club) knew it. (Trivia Club) clue it. (Academy of Forensic Science) Mountain Dew it. (Gaming Club) Scooby-Doo it. (Cartoon Club) queue it. (unofficial slogan of the post office) skew it. (Propaganda Club) coo it. (National Dove Association) zoo it. (Biology class)

Task: Find another pop culture phrase that just about everybody’s heard or used— think lyrics, advertisements, slang, and social media. Then play around with remixing the phrase (through word substitution or rhyme) to create different slogans for various groups. Pay particular attention to how nouns can function as action verbs (as in Mountain Dew, Scooby-Doo, Drew, and zoo above). Scenario 2: Careful with Advice Because you have a reputation for discretion and privacy, your friends often come to you for advice about their relationships. It feels good to help the people you care about and to be trusted with secrets when people feel vulnerable. You learned a tough lesson last year, though. After listening to Inese’s complaints and concerns about her current partner, you recommended that she just straight-up end that relationship and start fresh. When Inese acted on your advice, however, you suddenly found yourself in the middle of some nasty and embarrassing public drama. Not your style. Now another friend, Hanika, wants to know what she should do about her boyfriend. She loves Colton, but he’s a constant flirt, and he’s been less-thanhonest at times. What should she do? Task: Offer support to Hanika, and use modal verbs to suggest some options with Colton. However, be careful about telling her what she should do; you don’t need another headache or scandal. cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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Scenario 3: Softening the Criticism Your friend Gareth is super-smart . . . but not always the best when it comes to social interactions. Just last week he announced that he was going to start being absolutely, completely honest with his comments to friends and fellow students. It sounded okay—honesty is the best policy, right? Wrong, it turns out. In one single morning, Gareth told • • • • •

Jacee that she’s the worst student in geometry class. Arvis that his guitar playing was atrocious. Kai that he can’t throw a football properly and won’t make the team. Mr. Robins that his tie was ugly. Jen that her recently deceased dog was annoying.

So far, Gareth’s policy of honesty has only succeeded in making a lot of people angry or upset. “I haven’t said anything that’s not the truth,” he says in response. You have to admit that, yes, all of his statements are probably true . . . but is it necessary to be so brutally honest, especially when it might cause pain and embarrassment for others? Task: Gareth needs some coaching about his remarks, especially in the area of verb choices and putting a positive spin on what he says. You know that linking verbs are pretty helpful for being more gentle with people. Why say “Your fashion sense is terrible” when you can say “You seem to be struggling with color combinations. Can I make a couple of suggestions?” Using the examples above and some other comments that you’ve heard from him (along with linking verbs such as seems, appears, sounds, feels, looks, etc.), give him some better options that help rather than hurt others.

CONCEPT: ADJECTIVES OVERVIEW By definition only, adjectives can seem simple: they’re words that modify the meaning of nouns. Conventional adjective instruction usually starts with adjectives that go directly before nouns (the tall woman, the silly clown) or adjectives that appear as subject complements (she is young). From there, students typically learn that adjectives can be transformed to indicate comparison (i.e., they are “gradable”) using -er, -est, more, and most. However, as with most grammatical concepts, these descriptions only skim the surface of what adjectives are and how they work in the English language.

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FORM Let’s start with the basics. Adjectives do indeed modify nouns, meaning that adjectives give us more information about the nouns that they describe: • • •

the red car the large peach the kind man

We can often identify adjectives with a simple test: if we can add a qualifier in front of the word (such as very), this lets us know that the word is not a noun20 or a verb, and is probably an adjective (though it might also be an adverb, so proceed very carefully): • • •

the very red car the very large peach the very kind man

Additionally, adjectives are stackable, meaning we can use a series of adjectives in a row to modify one noun: • •

The big and scary dragon soared through the sky. The kind, diligent, thoughtful student showed Gerta to her locker.

Students tend to pick up the concept of stackability easily, which can be both good and not-so-good. Stacked adjectives can sometimes create an elementary quality in one’s speech or writing. Students who are comfortable with adjective stacking can experiment with the more sophisticated options below: 1. Shift the stacked adjectives to the other side of the noun, and separate the adjective stack with punctuation. • •

The dragon, big and scary, soared through the sky. The student—kind, diligent, thoughtful—showed Gerta to her locker.

Notice that the options above shift the rhythm of the sentence, as the adjectives suddenly receive more emphasis. This kind of sentence manipulation stresses the rhetorical impact of language choices. It’s not right or wrong to stack adjectives in front of a noun—it’s more a question of the effect and intent of such a choice.

20.

Of course, you knew there’d be an exception—when very actually does modify a noun, as in “the painting displayed last night is the very one that was stolen this morning!” Notice that in this case, very essentially acts as a synonym for same. Also beware that this usage may make you sound like a nineteenth-century detective.

cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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2. Replace the stacked adjectives with a single strong adjective (or replace the adjectives and the noun with a single strong noun). •

The big and scary dragon soared through the sky. The creature soared through the sky.

•

The kind, diligent, thoughtful student showed Gerta to her locker. The conscientious student showed Gerta to her locker.

It’s important to help students understand that choice is vital here. Does “creature” adequately capture “big and scary dragon”? Maybe “monstrous dragon” would be better or something else. Does “conscientious” accurately represent the student’s demeanor, or would a word like “helpful” work better? These are ultimately matters to be determined by the student. The answers will be based on the wider scope of the writing—what’s come before, what’s coming after— along with the writer’s goals and audience. Comparative and Superlative Forms of Adjectives (Gradable Adjectives) When we use the comparative forms of adjectives we are (drum roll) comparing something. Comparative forms use -er or more/less along with than to show a comparison between two nouns or noun phrases. • • •

She is nicer than her sister. Jack’s chili is hotter than Bob’s chili. Kaine’s boat is less expensive than Shawn’s boat.

When we use the superlative forms of adjectives, we are stating which noun or noun phrase in a comparison holds an ultimate position: • • •

She is the nicest of all of her sisters. Jack’s chili is the hottest I’ve ever tasted. Kaine’s boat is the most expensive on the lake.

Funner, or More Fun? How do we know when to use the -er/-est form, or the more/less/most/least form? Here are some of the conventions (which is a better word than “rule,” since these guidelines aren’t always followed): • •

Adjectives with one syllable get an -er/-est (new, newer, newest) for comparative and superlative forms. Adjectives with three or more syllables use more/most (more magnificent, most magnificent).

What about a word like fun? That’s one syllable, but it’s an exception to the convention. Historically, fun was only used as a noun; only recently has it shifted cont. 170

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to be used as an adjective as well (Curzan and Adams, 2012). Because of this, fun typically uses more/most. Now, what to do with two-syllable adjectives? Check out the following nottoo-clear advice, all from from books published by the same company: •

Barry (2013) says that “adjectives of two syllables add the suffixes [-er, -est] if they end in -y (happier, happiest); otherwise they use more and most (more honest, most honest).” (p. 104)

•

Kolln and Funk (2012) tell us “when a word has two or more syllables, the comparative and superlative markers are generally more and most.” (p. 22)

•

Finally, a text from a linguistics perspective advises that “adjectives of two or more syllables can often do either (gentle, gentler, or more gentle, most gentle).” (Curzan and Adams, 2012, p. 134)

This ambiguity is a good example of how subjective the English language and its supposedly standardized rules can be. Since there’s no hard rule on what to do with adjectives with two syllables, here’s our advice: go with what sounds best. You are an expert on the language that you use. Trust that expertise. We should also note that Standard English rule books detail adjectives that are (supposedly) non-gradable—meaning that legitimate comparisons can’t be made. These include words such as pregnant, awake, and perfect. Some people view these words like an on/off switch: you can’t be a “little bit pregnant,” you’re either awake or you’re asleep, and you’re either perfect or you’re not. However, because acceptable language use is always in flux, we can use these adjectives in creative ways that still sound acceptable. • • •

At six months, Lily was much more pregnant than her sister, who was only ten weeks along. Since James got eight hours of sleep, he was more awake than Silas, who only got four. “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” (Orwell, Animal Farm, p. 134)

FUNCTION Adjectives have two functions: attributive and predicative. Adjectives that are part of a noun phrase are attributive, meaning they specify attributes—details, basically—that the noun possesses. • •

The green-eyed, angry monster peered through the window. She wandered through the dry and dusty desert.

Predicative adjectives, meanwhile, are found in the predicate of the sentence (although, as you can see in the second example above, attributive adjectives can cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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be found in the predicate as well). Unlike attributive adjectives, predicative adjectives aren’t part of a noun phrase. Predicative adjectives come in two easy-to-understand forms: subject complements and object complements. Subject Complements A subject complement is just what it sounds like—an adjective that “complements” (i.e., completes through description) the subject of a sentence. • •

Her mother is funny. The pizza smells delicious.

Subject complements appear with linking verbs. In fact, one way to identify a linking verb and a subject complement is to see if you can replace the verb with an equal sign. • •

Her mother = funny. The pizza = delicious.

If we can replace it, chances are we have a subject complement. For a full discussion of linking verbs and subject complements, see the “Nominal Clause” section in Dependent Clauses. Object Complements An object complement “complements” (completes through description) an object (a noun or noun phrase) in the predicate. Adjectives can do this work. • • •

I found the cake dry. He decided to paint his car orange. Samuel called his older sister Becky odd.

Although it describes the noun it is next to, the object complement is actually not part of the noun phrase itself. For more information about object complements, see Nouns.

Typical Form Exercises Transform the adjectives in the following sentences to a) the comparative form, and b) the superlative. Adjust the sentences as necessary. 1. The mountain is large. 2. Your car will be dirty after the trip. 3. The surprise sales event started on Friday. cont. 172

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Identify the adjectives in the following sentences as attributive or predicative: 1. The third track on the album is censored. 2. I am tired of him calling me dumb. 3. For her birthday, she wants to paint the town red.

FOCUSING ON USE: HOW ADJECTIVES ARE USEFUL IN ACTUAL COMMUNICATION The good news is that most children have a working grasp of basic adjectives from an early age, and so the work of teachers may best lie in helping students refine adjective use to a) be more precise, and b) expand their rhetorical options. Moving from Adjectives to Participles (Academic Language) Take a look at the following examples: • •

I was angry at my brother because he was late. So, I left without him. Lavonna is really happy about getting into Columbia University. She’s already started packing.

Most students have no problem using adjectives in these ways. Some interesting possibilities emerge when we consider the corresponding verb forms of the adjectives in bold above. Here’s angry: •

angry (adj.) → to anger (verb) → “angered” (participle)

You can help students transform adjectives that they already know and experiment with new options: •

Angered because my brother was late, I left without him.

This statement is more concise than the original; it also feels more formal and academic. The first version reports an immediate personal feeling. The second creates distance from the event that conveys (perhaps) more objectivity. See Participial Phrases for more discussion. Converting Adjectives to Action Verbs Student writing that is descriptive yet static is fairly common. Consider the following example: My town has some big buildings. The Walmart on Johnson Rd is very large. It takes up a whole block. Out near the highway is the Holiday Hotel, which is pretty big. The tallest building of all is the Ameribank cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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building downtown. It has fifteen stories. There are some medium-sized buildings around it. This passage has concrete detail but lacks energy. Can we challenge students to consider how the two primary adjectives at work here (tall and big) can be rethought in terms of verbs? To put it another way, we might think of what these buildings do within their environments. Students may need some prompting here; after all, buildings don’t literally move around much. We’re after something more subtle: the effect of a building in relation to the things around it. • • •

Does a building rise fifteen stories, or squat on a corner? Does it loom within a scene? Maybe it towers over other structures? Does it block out the sky or shine in the sun? Overshadow the town, sprawl over the landscape, or dominate the skyline? Can it inspire awe or attract the eye? What’s a building’s personality?

When you get flat description, consider helping students balance adjectives with verb-based action. Getting More Precise Sizes, temperatures, and other qualities that come in varying degrees are good areas to work on precision in description. Big/small, hot/cold, near/far, bad/good: since these binaries are all familiar to students, we can build on what they already know to refine descriptions. Janet Allen’s word array concept (1999) can help here, in which students consider the degrees of detail available between polar opposites. Bad—Poor—Unsatisfactory—Mediocre—Fair—Decent—Satisfactory— Excellent—Good Where certain terms fall on such an array—and their use in various contexts— can make for some rich conversation. Proper Nouns as Adjectives Many words that typically fall in other lexical categories can function as adjectives when used in different contexts. Likewise, adjectives can function as verbs or nouns. • • •

He wore a kilt to school? That’s so Jeremy. When you perform this country song, think about your style. Are doing it Rascal Flatts or George Strait? Let’s go out for Mexican after the game.

This kind of word versatility is part of the vibrancy of English, and it’s extremely common in everyday language. Just like everything else, your goal is to help students recognize this option as a possible language tool in particular situations.

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EXPERIMENTING WITH ADJECTIVES Scenario 1: Wild Water Every summer, the Apex Outdoor Adventure Club chooses a couple of exciting destinations for some rollicking good times. Rock climbing in Gibson Gorge, hiking in Gemstone Valley, ziplining in the Henderson National Forest—you’ve been a part of some awesome adventures over the years. Now it’s time to propose locations for this summer’s activities, and you and your buddy Ben are thinking that the Wild Water Recreation Area would be an excellent choice. The proposal requires a short (1–2 paragraph) description of the site and a rationale for why it’s a good choice for the Adventure Club. Ben has volunteered to draft the proposal, but he’s struggling. Wild Water has some unique natural features for outdoor exploration, but Ben seems stuck on describing it as “fun,” “really fun,” “awesome fun,” “funner than any place last summer,” and “a fun way to spend a weekend.” Task: Take a crack at punching up Ben’s proposal for choosing Wild Water as a destination. Keep in mind that well-chosen adjectives can reveal special details and (together with concrete nouns) create a vivid picture in a reader’s mind. Scenario 2: Family Style It’s the annual Family Jamboree down at the local community center, and along with some of the best food in town, that means it’s also time to Testify Live, when folks take the microphone to speak about what makes their families unique. This year’s theme is “Family Style,” and the idea is that your family’s surname gets turned into an adjective. For instance, when Alison Bristow spoke about her family, she described Bristow breakfasts, Bristow jokes, Bristow slang, and Bristow arguments. Another friend of yours talked about his Uncle Ike and all the amusing Ike-isms that make him special (“Ike tea” is like iced tea but with an egg in it, for example). These testimonials are usually quirky, funny, and real, as everyone gets to hear a little about the authentic oddities of their neighbors. Task: It’s your turn to grab the mic and tell folks a bit about the weird, quirky, and amusing traits of your family. In preparation, write down some of the things you plan to talk about, and (as appropriate) use actual family names as adjectives to own these unique traits. Scenario 3: Saucy Business Ever since he started a successful lawn-care service when he was ten years old, Aqil has had a talent for business. Now he’s moved on to his next big project: drawing on his family’s ethnic background and his own love of food to develop a signature line of hot sauces. He’s done a lot of research and planning, and he’s cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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almost ready to debut these items on his website. But he’s still working on the names and descriptions of each sauce . . . and he needs your help. The ten different sauces he’ll be selling have a range of flavors and spiciness. “Hot” is too generic of a term for any of them. Several are very mild; others are moderately spiced and feature different flavors; and still others really bring the heat in a major way. Aqil needs short, clear descriptions on the bottles so that customers understand the level of heat and get what they want. Task: Help Aqil develop names and short descriptors for his ten different sauces. Rather than using words like “very” (i.e., “very hot”), try to use more vivid terms that give people a realistic sense of what they’re in for when they tip a bottle.

CONCEPT: ADVERBS OVERVIEW When Michelle was a student in high school, she thought adverbs were pretty simple—they were words that modify verbs and end in “-ly.” Easy, right? It wasn’t until she started teaching high school that she realized the truth. That old definition oversimplified a complex lexical concept that exists everywhere in our language. For now, let’s just say that adverbs do a lot more than modify verbs: they actually modify adjectives, other adverbs, and even entire sentences.

FORM AND FUNCTION We begin by exploring what adverbs do. Without adverbs, we would probably be quite lost, literally and figuratively. Let’s look at a sentence with and without adverbs. 1. She left. 2. She left carefully. Sentence 1 doesn’t tell us much. It doesn’t tell us how she left, why she left, when she left, from where she left, or if this is her first time leaving. Sentence 2 gives us a little bit of insight on the “how” question, courtesy of that adverb. Turns out that adverbs are incredibly useful because they can answer all kinds of implied questions. Adverbs of Manner (i.e., “how”) Adverbs of manner (like “carefully” above) tell us how something happens. Adverbs of manner may be the most movable of adverb types (meaning that they can be shifted around to different places in a sentence). cont. 176

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• • •

She left carefully. Carefully, she left. She carefully left.

This quality gives a writer more control over emphasis and rhythm. And regarding that rule of thumb about identifying adverbs, while the suffix “-ly” does characterize many adverbs, know that not all of them end in “-ly” and not all words that end this way are adverbs. A couple of examples: • •

She left fast. (Here, fast is an adverb of manner telling us how she left.) She left her lovely neighborhood. (“Lovely” ends in “-ly” but here functions as an adjective modifying “neighborhood.” Other words that end in “-ly” that typically function as adjectives include lonely and friendly.)

The concept of adverbial phrases is worth mentioning here. An adverbial phrase refers to any group of words that act as an adverb, not just single words. For the sake of simplicity in the discussion below, we stick with the term “adverb” to describe both single words and adverbial phrases. Adverbs of Place (i.e., “where”) Adverbs of place tell us where something happens. In the examples below, we can see that all of the bolded words tell us where. • • • •

She She She She

left left left left

on a ship. there. through the window. home.

She left where? On a ship. There. Through a window. Home. We have to think of form and function when it comes to adverbs. On a ship and through the window are prepositional phrases in form, but in these examples, they function as adverbs. The same rule applies to there and home; these are nouns in form but here function as adverbs, telling us where she left. Adverbs of Frequency (i.e., “how often”) Adverbs of frequency tell us how often something happens. In the examples below, the bolded words tell us how often she left. • • • •

She She She She

often left. rarely left. left once. always left.

Other examples of adverbs of frequency include sometimes, never, and occasionally. cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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Adverbs of Time (i.e., “when”) Adverbs of time tell us when something happens. The bolded words below tell us when she left. As with other adverb types, adverbs of time can also take the form of prepositional phrases. • • •

She left yesterday. She left after the party. She left before graduation.

Adverbs of Purpose (i.e., “why”) Adverbs of purpose tell us why something happens. Like adverbs of place, adverbs of purpose may take other forms, but they still function as adverbs. Both infinitive phrases (to see her mother; to go to the park) and dependent clauses (because she had a headache; since she had seen everyone) can function as adverbs. • • • •

She She She She

left left left left

to see her mother. because she had a headache. since she had seen everyone. to go to the park.

Adverbs of Condition (i.e., “under what condition”) Adverbs of condition tell us under what condition something happens. They are typically dependent clauses in their form, but (no surprise) function as adverbs; they can begin with unless, whether, if, and provided that (to name a few). • • • •

She will leave unless she gets her way. If she saw the show, she would leave. On the condition that she won the tickets, she may leave. She will leave whether or not you ask her to stay.

Modifying More Than Verbs The types of adverbs discussed above typically modify verbs; however, as we mentioned earlier, adverbs also modify adjectives, other adverbs, and entire sentences. They do a lot of heavy lifting in our language. Adverbs that can modify adjectives or other adverbs are known as intensifiers, with which you’re no doubt familiar. •

She was very tired. – Here, very is an adverb intensifier modifying the adjective tired.

•

He walked rather slowly. – Here, rather is an adverb intensifier modifying the adverb slowly.

Other common intensifiers include really, extremely, and quite. Intensifiers can sometimes signal an opportunity to use a stronger verb or adjective. She was very cont. 178

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tired might instead become She was exhausted, which perhaps paints a clearer picture. Similarly, He walked rather slowly might benefit from a stronger verb that suggests more concrete detail: lumbered, shambled, shuffled, and so on. On the flip side, students who are familiar with basic intensifiers such as “very” might experiment with more subtle options such as “quite” or “rather.” These intensifiers can be useful in conveying a slightly elevated academic or professional tone and even an ironic sense of understatement (“After three days lost in the woods, I was rather relieved to be rescued”). Other adverbs can modify entire sentences. Common sentence-level adverbs include therefore, consequently, frankly, obviously, apparently, however, furthermore, nonetheless, and honestly. Sentence adverbs clarify the speaker’s or author’s attitude towards the information in the sentence. • • •

Frankly, I didn’t care whether or not she came to the theater with us. Nonetheless, she bought the video game with her own money. Obviously, the date didn’t go that well.

As with rather and quite, sentence adverbs can contribute to a more sophisticated style when used judiciously. Like adjectives, adverbs have comparative (-er, more) and superlative (-est, most) forms. • •

She worked more thoughtfully than her neighbor. She worked slower than her neighbor.

Adverbs use the same rules as adjectives when using -er/-est or more/most. See Adjectives for more discussion.

Typical Form Exercises Underline the adverb(s) and/or adverb phrase(s) in each sentence and identify its function. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

He rarely ate meat, but when he did, he ate it ferociously. She took the algebra class because it was the last one she needed to graduate. Yesterday, she set sail on the ship. He quickly removed the pot from the stove since it was about to boil over. Sometimes, she goes to the lake and swims alone.

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FOCUSING ON USE: HOW ADVERBS ARE USEFUL IN ACTUAL COMMUNICATION Stephen King (2000) writes that “The road to hell is paved with adverbs” (p. 118). When we’re talking about the elementary “-ly” adverbs (quickly, slowly, grumpily, happily, etc.), those that typically modify verbs, we tend to agree with him. Let’s take a closer look at “hellish” adverbs: • •

She walked quietly out of the room. He spoke loudly at the rally.

When King argues against the adverb, he is arguing against these tiresome versions that slow writing down, signaling that what’s really needed is a stronger verb. • •

She walked quietly out of the room. She slinked? slid? tiptoed? out of the room.

By using a stronger verb, we paint a more vivid picture. If she slinked, maybe she was embarrassed. If she slid, perhaps she was being indiscrete. If she tiptoed, she may have just put a fussy baby to bed. Each verb option is a different story. Perhaps the “-ly” adverb should be used with caution—or at least we should be aware of when we can replace a “weak verb + adverb” pair with a stronger verb. Remember, adverbs are much more than just the “-ly” variety that typically modify verbs. They are real workhorses in communication since we have a constant need to shape language for specific contexts. Since adverbs can tell us important information like time (e.g., yesterday, tomorrow, etc.) and purpose (e.g., to get a haircut, because the car was hit), we would truly be lost without the important context they provide. Just look several pages back at the simple sentence we used: “She left.” Adverbs weave the tale around why, when, where, and under what conditions. That’s a pretty powerful lexical category in our language.

EXPERIMENTING WITH ADVERBS Scenario 1: Science Lab with Chet Your friend Chet has a lot of fine traits: he’s a kindhearted person, a loyal friend, and (at 250 pounds of beef) a force on the football team’s defensive line. No one would ever call him “careful,” however. His bulk means that he’s always bumping into things, and he tends to act first and think things through later, which has resulted in a number of messes, accidents, and assorted “oops” events. Chet’s now your lab partner in chemistry class, and for your own safety as well as his, he needs some help. cont. 180

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Task: Pick a typical chemistry experiment and create a clear conduct guide for Chet that will keep everyone in the class safe. Don’t just list how to do the experiment; use adverbs that emphasise how Chet should act so that he doesn’t blow up the lab (consider terms such as carefully, gently, completely, eventually, and so on). Scenario 2: Refining Your Career Interests As part of Career Day, all sophomores in your school complete a career assessment questionnaire to help them identify interests and plan for the future. Part of the questionnaire asks for hobbies and interests. Go ahead and list 10 of these now. And there’s another section about special skills you have. Can you type? Code? Change a tire? Cook an entire meal? Debug a computer? Decorate? List 10 of these as well. Great. The next step is a personal interview with a career counselor who will look over your materials and help you with career and college degree options. First, however, you’ll need to provide some more detail about the interests and skills you’ve listed. Task: The counselor is interested in how frequently you pursue your interests and use the skills you’ve listed. Do you rock climb every week? Do you enjoy scrapbooking but only do it occasionally? Write a paragraph or two in which you give a sense of how often you do these things. Try to use adverbs of frequency in your description. Scenario 3: Kebe is So Mysterious Ever since you’ve known her, Kebe has cultivated a reputation as a mysterious oddball. She enjoys dressing in ways that challenge people’s assumptions, and she loves saying weird things that shock people. Her strategy is to “make the normal strange” by uttering sentences that initially leave off the all-important contextual details. For instance: • • •

“I stabbed somebody last night” (during theater rehearsals) “I’m breaking up with you” (if you ever disrespect me) “Everything I say is a lie” (except when it isn’t)

Task: Kebe likes the idea of creating an image-macro meme based on her personality, and she’s sent you a selfie with one of her typically strange expressions. You know how this genre works: the first statement goes on top of the pic, only to be clarified humorously by the follow-up beneath.21 Create five new memes

21.

A number of popular image memes take this format, including “First World Problems” and “Successful Black Man,” pivoting from gravity to superficiality (in the former) and from stereotype to sophistication (the latter). Given the sometimes sordid realities of Internet culture, we recommend that you tread quite carefully in this area when leveraging these genres.

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based on Kebe’s statements. Keep in mind that the second phrase is most often an adverb that stipulates how, where, when, how often, why, and under what condition, and remember that this genre of communication works by raising an expectation in the first statement that is amusingly subverted in the second. Scenario 4: It’s Over You’ve had it with a relationship that just doesn’t feel healthy. Chris is always saying the right things, and you want to trust those statements. But as the old saying goes, actions speak louder than words. There’s a real disconnect between what Chris says and the behavior that follows, and after the problems this past weekend, it’s time to make a change. Task: Write a note letting Chris know that you’ve had enough. As part of your explanation, focus on the difference between words and actions. Try to use adverbs such as evidently or apparently to highlight that contrast. Obviously might come in handy as well.

CONCEPT: PRONOUNS OVERVIEW Of the eight traditional lexical categories, pronouns may seem the easiest to grasp: a word that substitutes for a noun or a noun phrase, right? Well, if we’re just talking about personal pronouns, then, yes. It is that easy. There are, however, many other types of pronouns out there, some of them not so simple. For a succinct definition of pronouns, we like this one from Kolln and Gray (2013): “a pronoun takes the position of a nominal” and “carries little meaning outside of a specific context” (p. 268). That first part means that a pronoun can go anywhere a noun can go in a sentence (see Nouns for the six places that a noun can occupy). As for the second, consider a list of typical pronouns: him, it, she, someone, anyone, who, these, that, etc. Alone, these words don’t do much and could refer to just about anything. They need context to make useful sense.

FORM Michelle once visited a middle school where students were reviewing for a standardized test. One student brought up a question from the study materials in his sixth-grade language arts class: What are the three types of pronouns? This got cont. 182

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her curious. She knew that there were more than three types of pronouns —so which ones counted as correct here? And why would a sixth-grade student need to memorize types of pronouns anyway? When it comes to pronoun types, it is difficult to nail down a number because even people who write grammar guides can’t seem to agree. The grammar books we examined range from five types to nine, with every number in between. In this section, we’ll talk about seven: personal, demonstrative, reciprocal, interrogative, indefinite, reflexive, and relative. We think you’ll most likely encounter these seven as a teacher, so a basic working knowledge of them will probably be helpful. Personal Pronouns Of the seven (or nine, or five) types of pronouns, personal pronouns are probably most familiar. Many of us will remember something like the table below from elementary school. Table 4.11 Personal Pronouns Subject Position

Object Position

Possessive

Singular/Plural

Singular/Plural

Singular/Plural

First Person

I/we

me/us

mine/ours

Second Person

you/you

you/you

yours/yours

he/they

him/them

his/theirs

she/it

her/it

hers/its

Third Person

Time for some quirkiness. If you look at the chart, you’ll notice that English is missing something that could be pretty useful: a singular third-person genderneutral pronoun. To illustrate, what pronoun should we put between the brackets below? • •

A teacher should always know how many students [ ] has. A student should remember to bring [ ] homework to class.

Some languages don’t have such a problem. Finnish, for example, doesn’t have gender-based pronouns, while Swedish has solved the problem by creating a singular gender-neutral pronoun (hen). If you ever run into someone who thinks English is perfect or inherently better than other languages, this little oddity might prompt some rethinking. In the past, writers of English have used a masculine pronoun to identify a person of an unidentified gender: • •

A teacher should always know how many students he has. A student should remember to bring his homework to class. cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

183

In an effort to reduce gender bias, however, modern writers have used other tactics: • •

A teacher should always know how many students she or he has. A student should remember to bring his or her homework to class.

As you can see, this can quickly make writing more sluggish. The slash format below also feels awkward and distant. • •

A teacher should always know how many students she/he has. A student should remember to bring his/her homework to class.

Savvy communicators will often try to avoid the problem entirely by changing the form of the subject: • •

Teachers should always know how many students they have. Students should remember to bring their homework to class.

With the increasing attention to the rights and concerns of transgendered people in recent years, gender-based pronoun etiquette is increasingly important. Many alternative pronouns have been proposed as gender neutral options (including ze and hir) but have yet to find mainstream adoption: • •

A teacher should always know how many students ze has. A student should remember to bring hir homework to class.

Lately, the use of the traditionally plural they (and its forms them, their, themself, themselves) has become more acceptable as a singular gender-neutral pronoun substitute: • •

A teacher should always know how many students they have. A student should remember to bring their homework to class.

In fact, the American Dialect Society chose they (as a singular gender-neutral pronoun) as their “Word of the Year” for 2015, and in the same year, the Washington Post accepted the singular they into its style guide. If you’re still not convinced on the shifting status of they as a singular pronoun, check out Kolln and Gray (2013) for six revision ideas to avoid this situation. Its and It’s, Me and I When discussing personal pronouns, there are two other areas that cause common issues for native speakers: its versus it’s, and me versus I. Michelle’s personal struggle with the difference between it’s and its is long, and she remembers how she finally got the two straightened out. It took her really cont. 184

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looking at the table above (or some variation) and realizing that all of the possessive pronouns—ours, yours, theirs—don’t have apostrophes. This is odd, since every other noun uses an apostrophe to indicate possession (e.g., Darren’s car, the dog’s paw). If no possessive pronouns have apostrophes, then it makes complete sense that its, without the apostrophe, would be the possessive pronoun. Further, all contractions—she’s (she is), he’s (he is) and so forth—use an apostrophe. This trick is also useful for clarifying the distinction between whose and who’s. Whose is possessive (no apostrophe), and who’s is a contraction for who is. As teachers, we often see students hypercorrecting: employing non-standard usage due to a misunderstanding of a perceived rule of Standard English. The when, where, and why of using me and I is a perfect example of a common hypercorrection, as seen in the examples below. • •

Devin went to the river with Terrence and I. Jackie promised him and I that we would go see the movie.

This hypercorrection is probably due to children being corrected when they use sentences like the following: • •

Devin and me went to the river. Jackie and me are going to the movies.

Because they so often hear that “I” is the correct pronoun when talking about another person and themselves, they apply that rule any time (and anywhere). Hence, hypercorrection. The use of I versus me is in the land of grammatical weeds—discussions of objective and subjective case, and on and on. But we can get to the meat of the rule here with two simple tricks:22 1. Always be polite and place yourself last. •

It isn’t “me and Devin” or “I and Devin.” Always put your friend first and then mention your involvement. That’s easy to remember.

2. When trying to decide between “me” or “I,” remove the first person’s name and see which sounds right. •

22.

Devin went to the river with Terrence and (me, I). – Devin went to the river with me. – Devin went to the river with I.

For you grammar pedants out there—bless your hearts—here’s the Standard English rule: use “I” for the subjective case (when the pronoun is in the subject slot) and “me” for the objective case (when the pronoun is in one of the object slots). For more details, grab the nearest traditional grammar guide.

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•

Devin and (me, I) went to the river. – Me went to the river. – I went to the river.

These two hacks clarify the confusion between me and I. Demonstrative Pronouns There are four demonstrative pronouns: this, that, these, those. Demonstrative pronouns do two things. Number one, they tell us the proximity of objects. Without even thinking about it, we know that this book and these books are closer to us than that book or those books. Second, demonstrative pronouns refer to something previously mentioned, meaning that they need antecedents (which literally means words that go before). Advice: when you use this, that, these, or those, make sure that the antecedent they reference is close by and clear. Having read thousands of papers during our time as teachers, we know that misuse of demonstrative pronouns contributes to vague writing. Michelle goes so far as to encourage her students not to use demonstrative pronouns in the first sentence of a new paragraph. Chances are the antecedent has been left behind in the previous paragraph. Reciprocal Pronouns There are only two reciprocal pronouns: each other and one another. Each other generally refers to two nouns: •

Ashanti and Svetlana like to joke with each other.

One another generally refers to three or more nouns: •

The children like to joke with one another.

However, this rule is shifting, with some grammar books now saying that the two pronouns can be used interchangeably (e.g., Barry, 2013). Interrogative Pronouns Interrogative pronouns are those that allow us to create questions (think “interrogation”): who/whom/whose, what, and which are the most common. •

“I heard you asking questions of each: Who killed the pork chops? What price bananas?” (Ginsberg, 1956, “A Supermarket in California”)

Indefinite Pronouns Indefinite pronouns are just what the name suggests: pronouns naming an indefinite object, person, measurement, or thing. Common indefinite pronouns include cont. 186

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the following: some(body, thing, one), any(body, thing, one), every(body, thing, one), no(body, thing, one), none, all, many, much, several, each, few, less, little, and enough. Reflexive Pronouns Reflexive pronouns are personal pronouns with -self or -selves added: myself, himself, herself, etc. They refer back to the noun already named. •

Herman showed himself the door. – Himself is Standard English here because it refers/reflects back to Herman.

•

I knew myself well enough to leave. – Myself refers/reflects back to I, so we’re good here too.

Reflexive pronouns are also prone to hypercorrection. Many people feel that a reflexive pronoun, particularly myself, sounds more formal than what Standard English calls for: • •

Tory and myself spoke with the principal. Did you see the picture of myself shaking hands with the president?

In these examples, there’s no referent for myself: it doesn’t reflect back on anything. We should adhere to Standard English usage in these sentences. • •

Tory and I spoke with the principal. Did you see the picture of me shaking hands with the president?

Relative Pronouns Relative pronouns, who/whom/whose, which, and that, are a part of relative clauses (adjectival clauses), discussed in detail in Dependent Clauses. We’ll just say here that these pronouns begin relative clauses, and that the nouns they modify are considered the pronoun’s antecedent. The Trouble with Whom Who and whom are two pronouns that can chill even the most passionate grammarian. In discussions of these pronouns, scholarly terms such as case, objective, subjective, direct object, object of the preposition and the like can rear their little heads. The old advice of “go with what sounds best” isn’t reliable here; even with Standard English usage, who and whom can both sound wrong. Very formal situations aside, the following usage might raise some eyebrows: 1. Whom should I invite to the hoedown? 2. The DJ whom I hired for our rave canceled. Yet these are Standard English uses of whom. cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

187

Part of the reason these two words are troublesome is that they are typically defined with a wall of grammatical academic vocabulary: “use who for the subjective and whom for the objective.” If you aren’t a grammar nerd, this definition probably sounds like gibberish. Even if the concepts of subject and object are understood, most adolescents would tell you that whom in the first example occupies the subject slot (since it’s at the beginning of the sentence). So rather than getting mired in academic vocabulary, students can remember these tricks: 1. Although you may have to reword the sentence, replace who with he and whom with him. If he sounds right, use who. If him sounds right, use whom. • •

Whom should I invite to the hoedown? Should I invite him to the hoedown?

• •

The DJ whom I hired for our rave canceled. I hired him for our rave, but he canceled.

• •

Who came to the party? He came to the party.

• •

We know who came to see her. We know he came to see her.

2. Who never follows a preposition. • • •

She was invited by whom? To whom did you mail the letter? You met her through whom?

3. When in doubt, use who. A very small percentage of the American population knows the rules for using who and whom. Rather than hypercorrecting or running the risk of sounding pretentious, just use who if you’re unsure.

FUNCTION Way back in our original definition, we learned that pronouns take the place of nominals, meaning that they function in the same way as nouns (subjects, direct objects, indirect objects, subject complements, object complements, and objects of prepositions). Examples of each of these functions appear below; for a full explanation of how nouns (and therefore, pronouns) function, see Nouns. cont. 188

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Subject •

He wanted to buy the car.

Direct Object •

Instead, his dad bought it.

Indirect Object •

His dad bought him the car.

Subject Complement •

That was he who bought the car.

Object Complement •

He painted the car what?

Object of the Preposition •

He should have painted his name on it.

One other note: Pronouns can also function as determiners. In this role, they don’t take the place of the nominal but are part of the noun phrase itself. Determiners determine specifics about the noun: whose, how many, and which. (Determiners also include the articles a, an, and the, although these words, clearly, are not pronouns.) • • •

Ronnie’s dad bought him that car. (Which car? That car.) His dad never asked him about it. (Whose dad? His dad.) Several people decided against attending the rally. (How many? Several.)

Typical Form Exercises 1. Identify the personal pronoun in the following sentences. Label each pronoun according to the following: (1) 1st, 2nd, or 3rd person, (2) subject, object, or possessive, (3) singular or plural. a. b. c. d. e.

Grace knew it was too good to be true. You should have called Fatima. Laurie visited her aunt every year. He smirked at Annabelle. Rusty thought the house was ours.

2. Write one sentence for each type of pronoun. Underline the pronoun and label the type.

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189

FOCUSING ON USE: HOW PRONOUNS ARE USEFUL IN ACTUAL COMMUNICATION Repetition, Tone, and Voice It’s hard to imagine life without pronouns. Pick any random paragraph from any random book, and you will quickly see their importance. Here’s a paragraph from “Good Country People” by Flannery O’Connor (1995, p. 170): When Mrs. Hopewell said to Mrs. Freeman that life was like that, Mrs. Freeman would say, “I always said so myself.” Nothing had been arrived at by anyone that had not first been arrived at by her. She was quicker than Mr. Freeman. When Mrs. Hopewell said to her after they had been on the place for a while, “You know, you’re the wheel behind the wheel,” and winked, Mrs. Freeman had said, “I know it. I’ve always been quick. It’s some that are quicker than others.” Let’s look at the same paragraph without pronouns. When Mrs. Hopewell said to Mrs. Freeman that life was like what she just described, Mrs. Freeman would say, “Mrs. Freeman always said so by Mrs. Freeman.” No idea had been arrived at by a person that had not first been arrived at by Mrs. Freeman. Mrs. Freeman was quicker than Mr. Freeman. When Mrs. Hopewell said to Mrs. Freeman after Mrs. Hopewell and Mrs. Freeman had been on the place for a while, “Mrs. Freeman know(s), Mrs. Freeman (is) the wheel behind the wheel,” and winked, Mrs. Freeman had said, “Mrs. Freeman know(s) it. Mrs. Freeman (has) always been quick. Some people are quicker than others.” Yikes. Clearly, the English language needs pronouns so that we don’t get bogged down in repetition. But if you look closely at the examples above, it isn’t just the repetition that is affected by pronouns but the tone and voice of the piece itself. Let’s look closer at one sentence in particular. •

Nothing had been arrived at by anyone that had not first been arrived at by her.

O’Connor was a Georgia born-and-bred author. When Michelle, who is also a native Georgian, reads the line above, it feels like something she would have heard from the older ladies in her small town. Tone and voice indeed. Now let’s look at the same sentence without the pronouns. •

No idea had been arrived at by a person that had not first been arrived at by Mrs. Freeman.

This version is far more formal; a sentence Michelle might, instead, come across in her current world of academia. Pronouns are for more than just making sure cont. 190

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we aren’t repeating nouns to the point of frustration; pronouns allow us to shape narrative, experimenting with the tone and voice of our characters and prose. Determiners Pronouns-as-determiners are also really important, telling us which, how many, and whose. Consider the sentences below. •

The reporter traveled far and wide to get _____ stories. – Her stories? – Those stories? – Several stories? – My stories?

•

When the semester ended, he sold ____ books. – His books? – My books? – These books? – Their books? – Some books?

A pronoun determiner can go a long way to shaping meaning within a narrative.

EXPERIMENTING WITH PRONOUNS Scenario 1: Bringing the People Together It’s no surprise that Jasmine has been named the school’s valedictorian. She’s been an academic rock star since elementary school, and she sets the bar high for community service, volunteerism, and helping others. You’ve been her close friend for years—and now it’s time for some frank advice. The trouble is her valedictorian’s speech, a draft of which you’ve just finished reading. It does all the things you’d expect—acknowledging the past, reflecting on the present, looking to the future—while using soaring imagery and uplifting rhetoric. But her pronoun usage feels problematic to you. Here are some examples: • • • • •

I’m proud to have the highest GPA in the senior class, but I’m even more proud of my service to the community. I believe in myself. I know that I can achieve anything if I put my mind to it. When I met Senator Grey last fall, he told me that I should strive to be the best, and not settle for anything less. I hope that my career here at Parkhurst High can be an example for other students. This is my day, but the future is mine as well. cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

191

I, me, mine, myself—there’s nothing wrong with some first-person pronouns here and there, but Jasmine’s speech is dominated by these words. You’re thinking that she might want to reconsider her focus just a bit. With a few minor adjustments, her speech could be a lot more inclusive. Task: Try to summarize your concerns for Jasmine, and then make some specific recommendations for adjusting her pronouns to include others. She doesn’t need to ban the words “I” or “me,” but some balance might be a good idea. Of course, be gentle with your advice. Scenario 2: Updating the Creed You really like your role as counselor at Camp Greenleaf. One of the major projects planned for this summer will be revising The Camper Creed, which was written in 1936 and is engraved on an oak placard that hangs from the lodge ceiling. Here’s how the creed currently reads: A Greenleaf Camper is unique in every way, He works and plays and does his best each day. On the trail with compass and knife, To God and his brothers he devotes his life. He’s polite to ladies and to girls he’s kind, He’s clean in body and soul and mind. The summer sun makes his skin so tan, As he learns to be a gentleman. He always helps out those in need, And promises to live by the Camper Creed. As Greenleaf campers are now racially, culturally, and gender-diverse, the need for change is clear. Task: Work on an updated version of the Camper Creed that presents a more inclusive vision, while still preserving the values, rhythm, and general message. Scenario 3: Shaping the Scene Teenagers are widely stereotyped as apathetic and lazy, but lately the opposite has been true at your school. The stimulus for social awareness has been the city’s decision to approve the sale of land for a brand-new Fancy Foods store. The only problem? There’s about 200 low-income families living in a trailer park on that land, and the city council’s decision means that those people will be kicked out of their rental homes in thirty days. About a dozen kids from that neighborhood attend your school. cont. 192

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This past weekend, about 75 students gathered at the trailer park to protest the decision with banners and signs. News crews covered the scene, and several students spoke quite eloquently about the issue and their purpose in speaking out. You were excited to watch the Channel 5 news that evening, only to hear this description: On Saturday afternoon, a few students from Lakeview High School gathered at Humble Abode Woods, site of the planned Fancy Foods megastore, to voice complaints about the new development. Several spoke of difficulties facing families currently in transition in the area. Addressing concerns, City Council member George Grubb noted that almost all have found new homes elsewhere and that the city was doing everything it could to help place those remaining few. “Some say our community shouldn’t grow,” Grubb mentioned, “but this new store means new jobs.” Construction on the new store is slated to begin on February 1. Footage from the scene showed only a few students, no banners, and a lot of empty woods. Task: Write to the Channel 5 producer to explain your dissatisfaction with their news reporting. Be detailed in how their editorial choices—in specific words and images—conveyed an inaccurate picture of the events at Humble Abode Woods. Point out the misleading indefinite pronouns used in the news report, and explain how the scene could have been characterized more accurately.

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193

UNIT 5

Punctuation

CONCEPT: COLONS OVERVIEW The colon may seem like a difficult punctuation mark to master, but it’s actually pretty straightforward. In general use, a colon follows an independent clause and provides a list, a definition, or more information in some other form. As with its cousin the semicolon, we can look to emoticons to give us some direction. No doubt you’re familiar with the colon used as eyes in a smiley face, as in :). Similarly, it may help to think colons as “eyes” in punctuation, telling a reader, “Hey, look at what I’m about to say!” Encountering a colon, a reader knows to look for something specific: a clarification, elaboration, or explanation of what came before the colon.

FORM AND FUNCTION A colon’s clarification or explanation comes in two forms. We’ll go over the most common use of the colon first (introducing a list) and then explain the more rhetorically-savvy rule: clarifying a statement made before the colon (like we just did in this sentence). Colon Function #1 To begin, a colon can introduce a list. •

Van dreamed of dancing with forest creatures: squirrels, badgers, and bald eagles.

Here, an independent clause comes before the colon (“Van dreamed of dancing with forest creatures”), followed by a list that provides specific detail about those animals. cont. 194

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Another example: •

If I lived in Colorado, I would definitely take up some winter sports: skiing, snowboarding, and ice skating.

In this instance, the colon tells the reader, “Hey! Look! I’m going to tell you which winter sports.” When using a colon to introduce a list, remember one important point: what comes before the colon must make sense and should usually be able to stand on its own as a sentence. Consider the following: 1. My favorite foods are: pizza, cheeseburgers, and burritos. 2. My favorite foods include the following: pizza, cheeseburgers, and burritos. In example 1, does “My favorite foods are” make sense on its own? Obviously not. (Try saying it aloud to someone—that’s often a good test.)23 In example 2, meanwhile, “My favorite foods include the following” can stand on its own; it explicitly signals that a list is coming. Students often struggle with this aspect of colon use. But if they can remember the simple rule that a colon requires a complete idea or sentence in front of it, they’re on their way to success. Sometimes simply adding “the following” to a problematic clause can solve colon issues. Colon Function #2 Along with signaling a forthcoming list, colons are also used to define, explain, or clarify the statement that comes before the colon. In our initial explanation above, we provided two examples of colons used this way. Let’s look at them again. •

•

We’ll go over the most common use of the colon first (introducing a list) and then explain the more rhetorically-savvy rule: clarifying a statement made before the colon (like we just did in this sentence). When using a colon to introduce a list, remember one important point: what comes before the colon must make sense and should usually be able to stand on its own as a sentence.

In the examples above, the bolded statement shows what needs to be clarified. Next comes the colon, followed by clarification in italics. Here’s another way of thinking about it: • • •

23.

This needs to be clarified (COLON:) here’s my clarification. This needs to be elaborated (COLON:) here’s my elaboration. This needs to be defined (COLON:) here’s my definition.

See The Sentence for more on the stare test.

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195

As you can see, what follows the colon can be a phrase or a complete sentence. This quality separates colons from semicolons, which connect related independent clauses. Replacing a semicolon with “and” is one way to verify correctness, but that trick doesn’t work with colons. Try adding “and” in place of the colon in any of the sentences above, and you’ll see that they don’t make sense. Does the colon have its own little replacement trick? Yes! If you can successfully replace the colon with the word “namely” and the sentence still makes sense, chances are you have used the colon correctly to clarify or explain what came before the colon. (Note: this hack doesn’t quite work with sentences using the phrase “the following.”)

Typical Form Exercises 1. Write three sentences using a colon to introduce a list. 2. Write three sentences using a colon to clarify, define, or elaborate upon what comes before.

FOCUSING ON USE: HOW COLONS ARE USEFUL IN ACTUAL COMMUNICATION Colons can make your writing more concise. Here’s a passage that could use some tightening: Using a colon takes some confidence and thought as a writer. To use a colon according to Standard English rules, you must be consciously aware that a point needs further clarification. If we look closely, we see some unnecessary repetition: both the first and second sentence begin with the same idea (although there’s a gerund in the first sentence and an infinitive in the second sentence, they say the same thing). A colon can fix this wordiness: Using a colon takes some confidence and thought as a writer: you must be consciously aware that a point needs further clarification. A colon points us directly toward an elaboration of a statement, cutting through excess verbiage. Keep in mind that colons are considered a “mature” punctuation mark; English teachers typically don’t expect elementary students to master colons and are pleased when secondary students do. Using a colon well is a small but telling sign of advanced control in writing.

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EXPERIMENTING WITH COLONS Scenario 1: The Power of Lists You have multiple goals for Carlton’s Block Party scheduled for next weekend. The first is to assure—and then reassure—your parents that this event is safe, appropriate, and completely legal. Boring and G-rated, even. Your next job is just about the complete opposite: rousting your old friends in Jackson County to make the trip over for this blowout gathering. To do that, you have to explain how absolutely unforgettable, exciting, and can’t-miss this party will be (it’s a long trip for them, after all). Another challenge? You can’t tell lies about the party to either group, because you’ll get found out. You have to describe the event accurately, but somehow focus on the particular aspects that your audiences want to hear. Not an easy task to please two separate groups, but you’re pretty sure you can do it. Task: You need to write two notes, one to your parents and one to your friends. Both of these audiences need a very different kind of list that will get them thinking in ways you want them to think. As part of each note, create a list of details so that your audience can visualize what you want them to see. Use a colon to lead into this list. Scenario 2: Defining a Term People love coming up with new words to describe each other and themselves. Hipsters, scenesters, emo kids, crustpunks, cybergoths, preps, gangstas, jocks, hip hop nerds, straightedges—all of these and more supposedly define a specific kind of person, lifestyle, and set of interests. But do they really? The trouble lies in placing complex individuals in small categories. Most people are more multidimensional than a single term can capture. When slang is used to describe people, things can go sideways quickly. Now’s your chance to set folks straight on a slang term with which you’re familiar. A feature reporter from the city’s largest newspaper is visiting your school, and you’ve got the opportunity to educate a lot of people on the real information. Task: Choose a slang term with which you have some familiarity, and in a paragraph, explain what folks typically believe along with the actual truth as you see it. Offer your true definition with the use of a colon. Scenario 3: The Final Reason Some people have a difficult time taking “no” for an answer. You’ve known Skooch for a long time, but you’re not exactly close friends these days, which is why his repeated requests for you to drive him into the city on what he’s calling a “special errand” is so odd. He runs with a different crowd now, and frankly cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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you don’t want to get involved. But today he buttonholed you after school again, and he’s laying it on thick, telling you how a real friend would help him out. You’re able to brush him off again, but this has to stop. Task: Draft an email to Skooch in order to put an end to his inquiries. Explain your thinking for saying “no.” As part of your draft, lay out your ultimate reason for not helping him out with the line below: The final reason I don’t want to drive you is this: Be honest but not cruel. You don’t need to burn the guy down completely. Just let him know where you stand once and for all.

CONCEPT: SEMICOLONS OVERVIEW In our experience, most students avoid the semicolon in their writing. That’s a shame, as it’s a pretty easy piece of punctuation to master. Semicolons are rarely required (and some purists may argue that they are never really necessary), but they are a sophisticated option that, when used well, demonstrate control of rhetorical effects and can suggest a mature prose style. In the language of emoticons, a semicolon represents a wink. We might similarly think of the semicolon as a kind of “expressive resource” (Petit, 2003, p. 67).

FORM AND FUNCTION There are only a few established ways to use a semicolon. Let’s take a look at them. Semicolon Function #1 The most common function of the semicolon is to connect two related independent clauses. In essence, the semicolon gives us a way to link two sentences into one. Seems simple enough. However, when using the semicolon, we must think of how the two sentences relate to one another. Ideally, a semicolon alerts the reader to a subtle distinction: that this longer flow of writing unbroken by a period somehow reinforces a kindred meaning between the sentences. One way to get a sense of the nuance that semicolons provide is through thinking carefully about sentence options. cont. 198

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1. My brother did a six-month Army Reserve tour in Iraq. The experience affected him noticeably. 2. My brother did a six-month Army Reserve tour in Iraq; the experience affected him noticeably. 3. Mr. Moncrief is obsessive about his lawn. He’s out there almost every day mowing, trimming, and puttering around. 4. Mr. Moncrief is obsessive about his lawn; he’s out there almost every day mowing, trimming, and puttering around. How would you express the difference between these sentence variations? Legitimately, students might push back a bit here. After all, the difference between these constructions is so slight that perhaps it’s not worth worrying about—we could just go with two sentences and put the semicolon back on its dusty shelf. But as students gain control and precision with their writing, punctuation options become more important as a vehicle for expressing complex and subtle ideas. Consider the options below. 1. My brother did a six-month Army Reserve tour in Iraq. The experience affected him noticeably. 2. My brother did a six-month Army Reserve tour in Iraq, and the experience affected him noticeably. 3. My brother did a six-month Army Reserve tour in Iraq; the experience affected him noticeably. 4. My brother did a six-month Army Reserve tour in Iraq—the experience affected him noticeably. 5. My brother did a six-month Army Reserve tour in Iraq: the experience affected him noticeably. 6. My brother did a six-month Army Reserve tour in Iraq . . . and the experience affected him noticeably. All of these options—and more—are legitimate in particular contexts, depending on what the writer wants to accomplish. And rhetorical options mean that we have more control, power, impact, and consequence with language. Finally, there’s the “meta” language quality of the semicolon (and other notso-common punctuation) to consider. The ability to use a semicolon correctly is one of those small but noticeable indicators of fluency, comfort, and confidence with the written word. We aren’t advocating for gratuitous language choices for the purpose of showing off; semicolons should be used judiciously. But the student writer who can command this punctuation option helps establish her prose at a level above the typical. Semicolon Function #2 The second common function of the semicolon is to separate units of a series when the units themselves contain commas. cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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• •

Last year I traveled to Ravenna, Italy; St. Petersburg, Russia; and Manchester, England. I read many books last year, including Language, Culture, and Communication; Evolution, Diversity, and Conflict in the English Language; and Culture, Literacy, and Learning.

Here, the semicolon corrals comma-embedded list elements. Try replacing them with commas in the examples above and the result is pretty chaotic. Semicolon Function #3 The final common function of the semicolon is really a variation of Use #1. Recall that semicolons connect two independent clauses. When one of these sentences contains a transitional element called a conjunctive adverb (e.g., however, meanwhile, nevertheless, accordingly, consequently, etc.), we place a semicolon before the conjunctive adverb and a comma after it. • •

My plan was to see my grandmother this weekend; however, she decided to take a trip to New Orleans instead. He studied hard for his test; consequently, he earned an A.

The conjunctive adverb helps clarify the relationship between the two independent clauses and is quite useful in expository, professional, and academic writing.

Typical Form Exercises 1. Describe in writing (1) a place that is important to you, or (2) a hobby. Use a semicolon as part of your description. 2. After you have written at least five sentences, trade your descriptions with a partner. Assess the effectiveness of your partner’s semicolon use. Is it correct? Does it make sense? 3. Explain how a different punctuation choice would change meaning.

FOCUSING ON USE: HOW SEMICOLONS ARE USEFUL IN ACTUAL COMMUNICATION Since Semicolon Use #2 (separating comma-embedded list elements) deals more with literal clarity than with rhetorical effect, we’ll focus here on Uses #1 and #3. First, though, let’s point out something that may seem a little obvious. Because the semicolon joins two independent clauses, it creates a single long sentence. The question of how or why semicolons are useful is thus part of a larger question: what’s the use of a longer sentence? What’s it good at doing? cont. 200

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As we mention in other sections (see Complex Sentences and CompoundComplex Sentences), syntactic complexity often partners with complex thinking. When you are doing complex things with words—explaining, elaborating, justifying, arguing, deliberating, evaluating—longer sentences help. Generally, we might expect to see longer sentences toward the middle of paragraphs, since that’s where a topic, point, or idea tends to be explored in detail. Semicolons can give your writing a flow that other punctuation can’t. Many Victorian novels, for instance, use the semicolon liberally when describing brooding landscapes and ancestral manors, giving the reader a sense of “sweeping” over the setting rather than looking at this thing , looking at that thing , and now looking over here . What’s the connection to meaning? Arguably, such flowing descriptions might be characteristic of a Romantic temperament, capturing the upwellings of spirit as it’s manifested in nature and language. Using a series of semicolons can be a bold move, but we should focus on the effect: a sweeping breathlessness of ideas. When you have ideas that are so intimately connected that to break them apart would be to destroy meaning or feeling or flow, the semicolon serves as that vital bridge.

EXPERIMENTING WITH SEMICOLONS Scenario 1: Deep Dive into Detail You heard some sad news the other day. You know that place where you spent so much time as a little kid? The place that now sits in a soft glow inside your memories? Well, evidently it’s being torn down in order to build a landfill. It’s heartbreaking. But then comes an update that the county council will hold a public hearing before making a final decision on the matter. They want to hear from people about this place. Do people even care if it disappears? Is it special? If so, why? Task: Prepare your remarks for the council. Your goal? Persuade the council members to stop the destruction. But to do this, you need to paint a picture with words that makes them feel the worth and importance of this place. Make them see what you see and feel what you feel. As you work on your depiction, try stringing sentences together with semicolons to produce this effect. The boards curved from decades of rain, splintering around the knotholes. The barn sat high on the hill; the roof was the best place in the whole county to watch the sun set over the towering pines. Chickens clucked noisily; cows lowed softly in the far-off fields. My first memories were of that old barn and a setting summer sun. cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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Scenario 2: Defending Your Honor Everyone thinks you did it. You have an alibi—a couple of other students saw you studying in the library before basketball practice—but it doesn’t seem to matter. Ms. Prince’s bag is missing from her car and with it, an expensive phone and about $200 in cash. You don’t have a clue what happened to her stuff, but over the last couple of days people are shooting you the cut-eye and whispering when you walk past. A couple of your teachers have even given you some unwanted advice (“you know, telling the truth is always the best policy”) and the insinuations are starting to get under your skin. Now Mr. Aristos, the principal, has asked for a meeting with you on Monday morning, and he wants a statement about what you know about this incident. Task: Since you don’t know anything about what happened, there isn’t much you can say at all about the “incident.” But you can say something about the not-sosubtle accusations concerning your presumed guilt. You want to make Mr. Aristos understand what you’ve been dealing with, but you also want to maintain a cordial and respectful tone in your statement. Defend your honor, and experiment with semicolons in making your points. Scenario 3: Elaborating on an Idea Damia McManus, the student body president, is a tireless advocate for her peers. She’s worked with the school administration to create the policy that allows students to eat outside during lunch; she helped move the prom to a much cooler location; and she helped loosen up the personal-phone-use policy. But Damia’s latest project isn’t so popular. She wants to start a program that would require each college-track senior to mentor a freshman student, with mandatory meetings and expectations for tutoring and homework help. The school administration likes the concept, but quite a few students and their parents seem less than thrilled. A public forum event has been arranged at which the pros and cons of the idea can be discussed. Task: Damia has sought your assistance in crafting the rationale for her seniorfreshmen mentoring plan. She has several claims she wants to make, including the following: • • •

Mentoring would increase academic performance for new students. The program would positively impact school morale. Seniors would gain valuable service skills.

What she needs help with is fleshing out the support for each idea. Help her write a paragraph for each claim that connects the dots and makes the benefits clear. Use some well-chosen semicolons to help. cont. 202

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Scenario 4: Analyzing Political Posturing With an election season upon us again, some of your friends have gotten into heated political discussions about the candidates. It’s sometimes hard to know if they’ve actually read about or researched the candidates’ positions on issues or if they’re just repeating what other people have told them. But one thing’s for sure—there are some strongly held views that sound a little strange to you. For example, your friend Roscoe is a big supporter of Frank Ubermann, often quoting that candidate on social media and sending around links to various stories. You’ve checked some of these out and noticed that Ubermann has a peculiar way of writing about certain issues. Here are some examples: •

• •

“We should never forget that the United States is the greatest country on earth; a top priority of my presidency will be loosening the restrictions on enhanced interrogation techniques so that we can defeat terrorist enemies.” “Businesses in this country are burdened by unnecessary environmental regulations, a problem I will fix; we need to make America great again!” “Part of my promise to the American people is to restore hope in our future; during my first month in office, I will repeal the recent healthcare reform law.”

Task: Your English teacher is always talking about how persuasive language works in the world, and one of your projects in that class asks you to analyze a particular example of real language use that you find interesting. You’re curious about how Ubermann uses language, and especially how he uses semicolons to connect two seemingly unrelated ideas in his statements. You have to propose your project idea to your teacher, so try to summarize what you plan to talk about and what you’re noticing in Ubermann’s sentences.

CONCEPT: DASHES OVERVIEW The dash (occasionally known as the em dash) is a powerful punctuation mark. A dash interrupts the flow of a sentence to provide the reader with important— or even vital—information.

FORM A dash is formed by typing or writing two hyphens (- -). There should be no spaces within or around the dash. (Often, a word-processing program will convert this dash into a single long line, which is fine.) cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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• •

Meet my sister—the homecoming queen! Lim’s favorite board games—Risk and Axis & Allies—deal with military strategy.

As you can see, a dash can operate independently or in tandem with another dash.

FUNCTION The dash—a strong piece of punctuation that should be used wisely—is handy in the following situations: 1. When you want to emphasize a phrase, clause, or list in the middle of a sentence, you can use dashes to do this work. Dashes say “look at this—pay attention—it’s important!” Although in some cases commas can also perform this function, dashes communicate more urgency. •

Darnell, Janice, and Dashad—the three people I didn’t expect to show up—were the first to arrive!

2. Dashes can be helpful when you need to stress important information at the end of a sentence. •

I suspected she might be unhappy—but that letter was still a shock.

Again, a comma (or another punctuation option) could work here as well. But the dash delivers an extra punch that drives home the impact of what comes afterward. Dashes and Parentheses Technically, any statement written in parentheses can be written using dashes instead (and vice versa). The primary difference lies in emphasis, relevance, and importance. Dashes say, “this is essential.” They shout (or at least speak loudly). Parentheses, meanwhile, offer extra information on the side, much like a footnote. Parentheses say, “here’s a little bit of extra information on the subject.” They whisper, or murmur, or mention quietly on the side. Consider the examples below. How does changing from parentheses to dashes shift the meaning and emphasis of the following? 1. My cousin (the one whose mother left her as a child) is coming to live with us. 2. My cousin—the one whose mother left her as a child—is coming to live with us. 1. My cousin (the one who played in the state championship) just got an offer from LSU. 2. My cousin—the one who played in the state championship—just got an offer from LSU. cont. 204

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Importantly, the change in emphasis has an impact beyond a single sentence. Readers can expect that something worth setting off with dashes is likely to reappear as an important factor in subsequent sentences. Dashes and Dialogue Just as dashes are useful for interrupting sentences with important information, they are also good for representing real interruption in actual dialogue. AMY: SAL: AMY: SAL: AMY: SAL:

I’m really mad at your for being late! I was— We were supposed to meet at five! I know, but I— Where were you? Looking for my phone . . .

Notice how the dash works to emphasize Amy’s frustration and impatience. Real conversations often contain interruptions, and the dash can be useful for conveying excitement, anger, and the conflict between characters. Dashes vs Hyphens Students often confuse the dash (—) with the hyphen (-). The confusion is understandable; as we mentioned, word-processing programs will often change a dash into a single line (though one longer than a hyphen). How, then, to know the difference? The answer lies in what these two things do. In contrast to the dash, the hyphen is a “word level” tool. It connects words (or parts of words) to create a compound adjective: • • • • •

a 50s-style hairdo slow-cooked pork a pre-owned car that twelve-year-old kid the Monday-morning-didn’t-do-my-homework blues

Notice how each of the hyphenated words and phrases above indicates a single particular kind of thing (a particular kind of hairdo, a particular kind of pork, and so on). We form compound adjectives in creative ways all the time when we talk, but students may need help in seeing how these phrasings appear in writing: • • • •

I don’t want to go anywhere in Tim’s too-busted-for-the-highway clunker. Just got a text from Pierre, my soon-to-be-former boyfriend. Wow, that was really an out-of-the-blue question, Deondra. These are my Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes! cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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The hyphen (or en dash as it’s sometimes known) is also used to show a span between numbers, dates, or times. As with the dash, there should be no spaces between the hyphen and the material surrounding it. • • •

My shift at Taco Land runs from 5:00–8:00pm. She read Chapters 3–5 of The Scarlet Letter over the weekend. Trent attended Desert Mirage High School from 2012–2014.

Remember that compared with hyphens, dashes operate as a “sentence level” tool (see more in Hyphens). Dashes connect parts of sentences; hyphens connect words.

Typical Form Exercises Write three sentences using dashes, and then partner with another student. Determine whether or not the dashes are correct in your partner’s sentences. Use the definitions above to help you explain why.

FOCUSING ON USE: HOW DASHES ARE USEFUL IN ACTUAL COMMUNICATION The dash is sometimes seen as the “bumpkin at the genteel dinner table of good English” (Zinsser, 2001, p. 73), perhaps because it interrupts the flow of a sentence. Too many interruptions can be chaotic, so it should be used with care in formal writing. In narrative writing, meanwhile, the dash can create a flow of details in ways that other punctuation marks can’t. Anderson (2005) in Mechanically Inclined uses the opening of Cirque Du Freak #6: The Vampire Prince (Shan, 2004, p. 5) to show the effect of well-used dashes in literature: DARKNESS—COLD—CHURNING WATER—roaring, like a thousand lions—spinning around and around—bashing into rocks—arms wrapped around my face to protect it—tucking up my legs to make myself smaller, less on target. Washing up against a clump of roots—grab hold—the wet roots feel like dead fingers clutching at me—a space between the water and the roof of the tunnel—I draw quick gasps of breath—current takes hold again— trying to fight it—roots break off in my hands—swept away. cont. 206

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In this literary example, the dash is put to work to show movement and action, piecing together flashes of details. The violence, panic, and immediacy of the event becomes more real for a reader through the author’s punctuation. (This is also a great passage to teach Absolute Phrases and Participial Phrases.) The interrupting dash, common in expository and informative writing, also appears in narrative work as well: Toward noon, as the floods of light fell more nearly to the perpendicular, the stark colors of the morning were smoothed in pearl and opal-essence; the heat—as though the impending sun’s height gave in momentum— became a blow that they ducked, running to the shade and lying there, perhaps even sleeping. (Golding, Lord of the Flies, p. 62) This rag of scarlet cloth—for time, and wear, and a sacrilegious moth, had reduced it to little other than a rag—on a careful examination, assumed the shape of a letter. (Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter, p. 28) Here we see dashes interrupting a sentence to add a clarifying detail. Instead of the chaos captured by multiple dashes in an action scene, these examples show a dash being used in a more fluid and languid interruption. When you use a dash, think about what experience you want to create for a reader. Using dashes to separate a series of short phrases (as in the first example) creates a sense of disruption and disturbance, which can be good if that’s what you intend. Dashes interrupting a thought can be more versatile, depending on the context.

EXPERIMENTING WITH DASHES Scenario 1: Recreating the Moment That old what-I-did-over-summer-break assignment is usually a total snore, except this year something absolutely crazy did happen to you. Somehow you’ve managed to keep it a secret, but with other kids talking about their trip to grandma’s house or working as a counselor at Camp Mooselips, you know it’s time to really blow some minds with a story that’s really shocking. Task: Draft the story of that amazing event that happened to you. This tale will make jaws drop, so the punctuation has to emphasize the thrills and surprises. Drop in some dashes to make sure this happens. cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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Scenario 2: It’s All in the Details The Fall Talent Show is a huge event at your school, all about recognizing how amazing your classmates are and celebrating their unique skills and abilities. It’s also about poking some good-hearted fun at people—including popular students, teachers, some of the acts, and oneself too. The audience expects a fun experience with clever jokes and wisecracks from the emcees. Well, turns out you’re going to be one of the emcees, so it’s time to hone your humorous lines. Task: You’ll be introducing several acts during the show, so you’ll have a few minutes on the microphone to make the audience laugh. But here’s the bottom line: you can’t be mean. Seriously. Any jokes you make have to be of the “laughing with you” rather than the “laughing at you” variety. You can reference amusing escapades, quirky traits, and school lore, but you absolutely can’t be cruel, especially to people without power. Sometimes that’s a fine line, but hey, no one ever said comedy was easy. Draft some laugh lines for your moment on the mic. Use dashes to add some emphasis. Consider the starters below. • • • •

“Wow, how about that last act? A juggling ventriloquist! You don’t see that every day—just like you don’t see . . .” “Hey, Mr. Crumbwhisker is in the audience tonight. Anyone taken his physics class? If you have, you know that . . .” “Our next act is the rock three-piece Cataclysm, with lead singer Damon ‘Danger’ Dillinger— . . .” “I also want to thank my co-presenter Emily for standing next to me. That’s not easy to do— . . .”

Scenario 3: Defending Donnie Your friend Donnie has always walked the line between good behavior and bad. You know him as a great guy who wouldn’t hurt a fly, but sometimes, he just makes bad decisions. Now he’s made another one—and this time it’s serious. His attempt to get some laughs in the chemistry lab backfired, and before Mr. Quark found the fire extinguisher, alarm bells were ringing and a bulletin board got pretty scorched. Now he’s getting a district disciplinary hearing and that might mean expulsion. Donnie is allowed to include character testimony on his behalf, and you’ve agreed to write a letter in support. Your goal is to acknowledge that Donnie has done some dumb things, but that his good deeds and overall potential should count in his favor. Here’s a list of things you know about him: Good Has a solid B average. cont. 208

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Takes care of his disabled grandmother. Always willing to help peers with their homework. Volunteers as a guide for Kids-to-Nature organization. Really generous with his money. Not-so-good Always acting the fool in class. Has been suspended for skipping school. Could be a top student if he really tried. Has a reputation for elaborate pranks. Task: Compose a letter to the disciplinary board supporting leniency for Donnie. Use dashes (when appropriate) to emphasize that despite his actions, there’s hope for him.

CONCEPT: HYPHENS OVERVIEW The hyphen connects two or more words (or word parts) that need to be brought together for various reasons, including the following: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

modifying nouns connecting numbers describing age joining words to create a new concept adding certain prefixes and suffixes

Hyphens are word-level connectors, joining words or word parts together to form a whole concept. Students often confuse the hyphen with the dash, which is understandable. Dashes have a similar appearance (—) to hyphens (-) but connect parts of sentences.24

FORM Hyphens (-) are half the size of a dash (—). Don’t use any spaces around hyphens.

24.

Though not very common, the hyphen is sometimes known as the en dash, while the dash itself also goes by the name em dash.

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FUNCTION Let’s look at the five purposes for which a hyphen comes in handy. Modifying Nouns Do you have two words modifying a noun? If either of the following conditions are met, you need a hyphen connecting them: 1. The two modifiers can’t be switched in order, or 2. Removing one of the modifiers fundamentally changes the meaning. Here’s an example: •

Her mom only bought off-brand shoes.

Both off and brand modify shoes. How do we know they need a hyphen? Let’s try the two tests above. 1. Can we switch around the two modifiers? Her mom only bought brand-off shoes. Well, that doesn’t make any sense. 2. Let’s remove one of the modifiers: Her mom only bought her brand shoes. That completely changes the meaning. Because we can’t switch the modifiers and neither word can be removed, you need a hyphen. Contrast that example with the following: •

Her mom only bought old, faded jeans.

We can switch the modifiers around in this sentence (faded, old jeans) and leave one of them out without a drastic change in meaning. That means no hyphen is required. Connecting Numbers When writing out numbers, hyphens are typically required for numbers between twenty-one and ninety-nine. Also, place hyphens between written-out fractions. • • •

She ran twenty-six miles! He owns forty-five pairs of shoes. Her opponent received two-thirds of the votes.

Describing Age When writing someone’s age, hyphens link the various elements. •

Meet Ibrahim, my three-year-old cousin! cont.

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Notice that we could substitute another adjective for “three-year-old” (such as “young”), which tells us that we have a compound modifier on our hands. It’s also common to drop the modified noun entirely in everyday communication: • • •

Meet Ibrahim, my three-year-old! For a sixteen-year-old, Ryan is an extremely careful driver. My grandpa is very active for an eighty-year-old.

Joining Words to Create a New Concept One of the great things about English is its inventiveness. If we don’t have a name for a concept, we’ll borrow a word, invent a new one, or just join words together to get the idea across. When you combine words to create a new concept, use a hyphen (or hyphens). Be careful with these “creative compounds” in formal writing as they can sometimes challenge formal expectations. • • •

I wanted to meet his kinda-girlfriend. Her don’t-ask-me-to-do-anything attitude was very frustrating. The part-history-part-literature class I was taking confused me.

Adding Affixes “Affixes” is an umbrella term for prefixes, suffixes, and infixes.25 Some prefixes take a hyphen more-or-less automatically when connected to another word: • • •

ex- (meaning former), as in ex-boyfriend and ex-president; self-, as in self-centered and self-image; all-, as in all-knowing and all-of-the-above.

A hyphen also belongs between a prefix and a capitalized word: • • •

pre-Industrial Revolution mid-April anti-American

And, some creative suffix usage also may call for a hyphen: • •

I’ll be there around eleven-ish. A weekend Key Club meeting might be do-able.

Over time, some hyphenated phrases end up merging into a single word. At some point, “bumble-bee” became “bumblebee,” for instance. When there’s no hardand-fast rule for whether or not you need a hyphen, a good rule of thumb is to

25.

Here’s an example of an infix: “freaking” in “abso-freaking-lutely.” Unless you’re taking a linguistics class, don’t worry too much about this rare term.

cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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ask yourself could this be confusing to a reader? In those cases, go with the option that reduces confusion. Hyphen Caveats A couple of notes about when not to use a hyphen. 1. When the compound modifiers follow the noun they describe: • • • •

Unni is a well-spoken student. Unni is well spoken. Meet Ibrahim, my three-year-old cousin! Meet Ibrahim, who is three years old.

2. With the word “very”: •

Unni is a very eloquent student. (not very-eloquent)

3. With an “-ly” adverb: •

Unni has an unusually large vocabulary. (not unusually-large)

Typical Form Exercises Each of the following sentences has at least one place that needs a hyphen. Rewrite the sentence with the hyphen(s), and then explain why a hyphen is needed. 1. Jericho couldn’t decide which song to buy, so he just decided to buy all thirty six. 2. Sasha traveled to Peru in mid December. 3. I wanted to see her so called luxury car one more time. 4. He struck me as an I’m not up for a commitment type of guy. 5. Faisal thinks he is all knowing because he’s pre law at all mighty Harvard.

FOCUSING ON USE: HOW HYPHENS ARE USEFUL IN ACTUAL COMMUNICATION Hyphens help us clarify meaning. As you might suspect, that means that the lack of a hyphen can sometimes cause confusion. • •

He re-aimed the rifle at the eight-point buck. He reaimed the rifle at the eight-point buck. – Without the hyphen, “reaimed” certainly looks like a misspelled word. cont.

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• •

Beware of the man-eating fish. Beware of the man eating fish. – In the first example, we’re on the lookout for sharks. In the second, we should be wary of someone dining on seafood.

• •

Since we lost the original document, you’ll need to re-sign. Since we lost the original document, you’ll need to resign. – There’s a big difference between “re-signing” and “resigning.” We can probably figure out the intended word based on context, but why risk confusion? Don’t forget the hyphen!

EXPERIMENTING WITH HYPHENS Scenario 1: Harry Hates Hyphens Your good buddy Harry is a colorful character and a pretty good writer. He maintains a blog about his different hobbies and the quirky people he meets, and sometimes he even gets articles published in the local paper. Harry is a little idiosyncratic, however, about the punctuation he uses. He never uses hyphens. “Too trivial,” he says. “Who cares about those little tiny lines connecting words. What difference does it make, anyway?” The problem is that without hyphens, some of Harry’s writing gets a little confusing. One time he described his girlfriend as having “dirty blonde hair,” and she totally took it the wrong way. He meant to describe her light-brown hair color (as “dirty-blonde”) but she took it as an insult about her bathing habits. Oops. Another time he mentioned that “thirty odd people showed up for the birdwatching event,” which seemed like he was describing thirty weirdos with binoculars. He meant that there were between thirty and forty people in attendance (“thirty-odd people”), but by the time he’d corrected the error they’d already cancelled their newspaper subscriptions. Task: Harry’s asked you to take a look at his latest article, and you’ve noticed some possible problems. Help him understand how each of the phrases below from his article might be misconstrued. Be sure to write out your explanations about what these phrases actually mean, both with and without hyphens. Do so in a clear and organized note to him, so that he has something to refer to later on. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

three year old children a little used car an early bird dinner a last minute decision an old fashioned dress cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

a Spanish speaking guide a fast track career a forty story building a sweet talking man a man eating fish an extra large pizza old time music

Scenario 2: Destroying Some Stereotypes Stereotypes are everywhere, and it’s usually not much fun when you (or someone you care about) gets identified by some inaccurate or simplistic label. If there’s one thing you’ve learned in life, it’s that people are pretty unique once you get to know them. Your friends are no exception. From a distance, people judge them and try to put them in a box—“nerd,” “thug,” “flirt,” “dudebro”—but the reality is more complex. Task: Talk back to the stereotypes by reintroducing your friends to the world. Try to get at all their diverse talents and interesting qualities into your description. To do this, use hyphens to create interesting compound adjectives, like the examples below: • •

Meet Ravi, my mad-rhyme-spitting, trumpet-playing, philosophy-quoting, dryhumored best friend. He can turn a boring scene into a party fast. Over here we have Alexis. Most people think “jock” when they see her, but she’s more like a calculus-acing, Minecraft-modding, horror-film-triviadominating social butterfly.

Scenario 3: Gaming Lingo Jamilla is a coding expert who’s been working on Duskfall, a new post-apocalyptic first-person-shooter video game. The setting is several hundred years in the future, in a world littered with the remnants of a failed alien invasion and partially reclaimed by nature. Players must struggle through assorted rough terrain and the ruins of civilization in order to reach Beacon City, using whatever leftover technology is available for protection against marauding animals, mutants, and gangs. Task: Like most video games, Duskfall needs a manual of some kind to explain creatures, weapons, equipment, player moves, and other aspects of the game. Jamilla needs some assistance in developing names and descriptions. Pick a category (weapons, enemies, moves, etc.) and brainstorm on names and descriptions with her using the lists below, elaborating with specific details as necessary. Feel free to do a little research to make sure you’re using accurate terms for the items you’re describing. cont. 214

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Prefixes re-, pro-, anti-, quasi-, para-, ex-, ultra-, mega-, micro-, mini-, neo-, pseudo-, crypto-, retro-, semi-, tri-, quad-, self-, all-, hyper-, titan-, protoSuffixes -able, -proof, -esque, -free, -style, -based, -ish, -like, -itis, -ism, -wise, -athon, -oid, -tron, -ize

CONCEPT: COMMAS OVERVIEW Ask teachers what grammatical concept students struggle with the most, and odds are that “correct comma usage” or something similar will be one of the top responses. In some ways, commas are like referees or umpires during a sporting event: you only notice them when they’re a problem. Misplaced or missing commas tend to stick out and, fairly or not, convey the impression of “basic” or “unsophisticated” writing. What’s up with commas? Why are they such an issue for student writers? 1. Commonality + Misuse = Trouble Commas are by far the most common in-sentence punctuation mark but also one of the most misused. Lunsford and Connors’ research (1986) found that of the top 20 most common errors in student writing, six were explicitly commarelated. A follow-up study two decades later found similar rates of errors related to commas (Lunsford & Lunsford, 2008). To make matters worse, some errors involving comma usage come with particularly negative “status-marking” consequences (Hairston, 1981); six issues ranging in severity from “moderately serious” to “very serious” involved commas. 2. A Multipurpose Tool Part of the problem is related to all the things that commas can do: they have at least 15 distinct functions, more than any other sentence marker. A good deal of comma use is also stylistic (as in the perennial debate over the “Oxford comma”). This means that commas can be necessary and appropriate—or optional and superfluous—all in the same sentence. Easy stand-alone rules or a shortlist of guidelines are hard to come by. 3. Alas, Familiarity Does Not Equal Fluency Because commas do so many different tasks in writing, students see them everywhere. Commas have an everyday quality that’s far less intimidating than more exotic punctuation (we’re looking at you, dash and semicolon). That means cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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students are more likely to add commas (when in doubt) rather than avoid them altogether. In an effort to simplify the different purposes and rules for comma use, teachers sometimes rely on general advice. We’ve all heard those chestnuts: “use a comma when you pause” or “use a comma where you would take a breath.” The problem here is probably obvious: people pause and take breaths in all sorts of different places. You may find it odd that our discussion of comma use comes so late in this book. There’s a reason for this arrangement. Without assigning too much blame to harried English teachers who are trying to teach a difficult subject, we think that the way that commas are approached in the classroom misses the forest for an emphasis on trees. That is, we’re probably devoting more attention to the mysteries of the comma itself (usually through ineffective rule repetition) than on the broader grammatical structures we use to get things done, of which commas are a pivotal but utilitarian part. Translation? If we want students to learn how to use commas, we need to teach the grammatical constructions within which they play a role. And you’ve just read through a whole series of them in this chapter. Perhaps a few metaphors here might also help. Comma Metaphor #1 Imagine you’re designing and furnishing a room, the contents of which feature a variety of moving or movable elements: different sorts of windows, various kinds of doors (sliding, saloon, conventional), cupboards and drawers, retractable shelves, movable track lighting, and so on. When you select each of these elements at your nearby Swedish superstore, you’re focused on what function they serve in the room and how they add to the overall effect you’re trying to achieve. You’re generally not focused on the exact mechanism that allows each piece to move (the hinges on the doors, the rails on the drawers, the crank on the window, the pivot for the lighting) even though the effect of this movement is important. In this analogy, the hinges, rails, pivots, and cranks are the commas; the movable elements are different kinds of sentences and sentence parts; and the room itself is the overall written passage. Hinges and pivots allow room elements to do things, to move or be adjusted in certain ways that are useful and that produce effects that are stylish, unique, or welcoming (or conventional, spartan, mysterious, or something else). Think about how a dual-armed floor lamp can be adjusted to create mood depending on how the lights are angled and positioned, or how Dutch doors can be opened or closed to control movement, or how a Japanese panel screen can be adjusted or shifted to affect ambiance. We can do the same with sentences, and it’s commas (and similar in-sentence punctuation) that allow this movement to happen. Commas make sentence forms do things, often by serving in a hinge-like, pivoting, bracketing, or movementinducing way. cont. 216

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If you look back at some of the previous sections (Absolute and Participial Phrases, Appositives, Complex Sentences, Adverbs, etc.), you’ll see commas doing this kind of hinging, pivoting, and bracketing work, allowing sentences to shift in order to elaborate, emphasize, and provide detail. Comma Metaphor #2 Beach, Webb, and Thein (2014) make use of an interesting metaphor (in describing skills-based school curricula) that we’ll borrow here for commas: ball-handling skills. If someone’s good at handling a ball, do we know what this means? Well, kind of. We might imagine some impressive basketball dribbling or soccer footwork. But the more we consider it, the more numerous the possibilities become. Are we instead talking about football? Or baseball? Rugby? Tennis? The difference is pretty important because skill with a tennis ball or bowling ball doesn’t translate to skill with a golf ball. How about a pingpong ball? A beach ball? We can even leave the realm of sports and entertainment entirely. Professional bakers are excellent at creating dough balls; sushi chefs craft rice balls; your grandma probably makes fantastic meatballs. You get the point. We don’t teach kids generic “ball-handling” skills. No one does that. Instead, we help them catch a baseball or spike a volleyball or put backspin on the cue ball or pack a snowball or flick a marble or throw a spiral. The specific situation makes practice meaningful, and that’s how real learning happens. The same goes for commas (or anything else). There really isn’t any such thing as generic “comma skills.” Instead, commas help us make a list or introduce a phrase or add more detail or specify when and how.

FORM AND FUNCTION Before considering a few specific comma functions, it might be helpful to first think of commas as a kind of “sub-sentence” punctuation. Commas do all sorts of work within sentences—connecting clauses to phrases and words to one another in various ways—but they aren’t strong enough to connect two independent clauses (i.e., sentences) without help. Doing so results in the infamous comma splice: •

Shahid enjoys outdoor activities, his favorite sport is cricket.

Here we have a comma trying to do too much. Among the options available (separate into two sentences, use a semicolon or a dash instead), simply adding a conjunction solves the problem: •

Shahid enjoys outdoor activities, and his favorite sport is cricket. cont. GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS

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Specific Comma Functions As we mentioned, we decided to put commas last in this chapter because they’re probably best learned and explained in the context of other grammatical concepts and constructions. The chart below points you back to specific concepts for each use of a comma. Comma Function

Concept

Joining independent clauses with coordinating conjunctions

Compound Sentences and Conjunctions

Connecting introductory elements to independent clauses

Adverbs, Absolute Phrases, Dependent Clauses, Participial Phrases, Appositives

Joining a phrase or dependent clause to an independent clause

Adverbs, Absolute Phrases, Complex Sentences, Dependent Clauses, Participial Phrases

Setting off restrictive and adjectival clauses; separating adjectives in a list

Adjectives, Dependent Clauses

Table 4.12 Comma Functions and Concepts

Rather than exercises and scenarios dedicated exclusively to commas-in-use, we encourage you to revisit the discussion for the concepts listed above. Each section contains specific examples of commas at work in particular situations. Above all, we need to focus on context with students: what they’re trying to do, and how commas might play a role in getting something done.

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REFERENCES Allen, J. (1999). Words, words, words. Portland, ME: Stenhouse. Anderson, J. (2005). Mechanically inclined: Building grammar, usage, and style into writer’s workshop. Portland, ME: Stenhouse. Barry, A.K. (2013). English grammar: Language as human behavior (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. Beach, R., Webb, A., & Thein, A.H. (2014). Teaching to exceed the English Language Arts Common Core Standards: A literacy practices approach for 6–12 classrooms (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge. Cisneros, S. (1991). The house on Mango Street. New York: Vintage. Curzan, A., & Adams, M. (2012). How English works: A linguistic introduction. Boston, MA: Pearson. Faulkner, W. (1990) As I lay dying. New York: Vintage. Ginsberg, A. (1956). A supermarket in California. Academy of American Poets. Retrieved from: www.poets.org/poets org/poem/supermarket-california Golding, W. (1997). Lord of the flies. New York: Riverhead Books. Hairston, M. (1981). Not all errors are created equal: Nonacademic readers in the professions respond to lapses in usage. College English, 43, 794–806. Hansberry, L. (1988). A raisin in the sun. New York: Vintage. Hawthorne, N. (2003). The scarlet letter. New York: Barnes & Noble Classics. King, S. (2000). On writing: A memoir of the craft. New York: Pocket. Kolln, M., & Funk, R. (2012). Understanding English grammar (9th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. Kolln, M., & Gray, L. (2013). Rhetorical grammar: Grammatical choices, rhetorical effects (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. Lahiri, J. (2004). The namesake. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. Lee, H. (2010). To kill a mockingbird. New York: Grand Central. Lunsford, A.A., & R.J. Connors. (1986). Frequency of formal errors in current college writing, or Ma and Pa Kettle do research. College Composition and Communication, 39(4), 395–409. Lunsford, A.A., & K.J. Lunsford. (2008). “Mistakes are a fact of life”: A national comparative study. College Composition and Communication, 59(4), 781–806. Noden, H. (2011). Image grammar: Teaching grammar as part of the writing process (2nd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Noguchi, R. (1991). Grammar and the teaching of writing. Urbana, IL: NCTE. O’Connor, F. (1995). Good country people. In A good man is hard to find and other short stories (pp. 167–195). San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace. Orwell, G. (1996). Animal farm. New York: Signet Classics. Paulsen, G. (2006). Hatchet. New York: Simon Pulse. Petit, A. (2003). The stylish semicolon: Teaching punctuation as rhetorical choice. The English Journal, 92(3), 66–72. Schuster, E. (2003). Breaking the rules: Liberating writers through innovative grammar instruction. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Shan, D. (2004). Cirque du freak #6: The vampire prince. New York: Little Brown. Strasser, T. (1981). The wave. New York: Laurel-Leaf. Zinsser, W. (2001). On writing well: The classic guide to writing nonfiction. New York: HarperCollins.

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APPENDIX

WHAT’S IN THIS APPENDIX? The answer to that question is simple: everything we couldn’t fit in the previous chapters. In what follows, we offer more ideas for supporting language instruction in your own classroom. Remember our Chapter 4 disclaimer that the scenarios are not intended to be picked up “as is” for use with your students? Well, we offer the same caution here. As with any lesson plan or activity, these ideas should be transformed according to the needs of your students, curriculum, and context. Onward. Remember that teaching grammar can be much more than tearing language down; ideally, it can be about exploring how language is built in real situations. When we teach grammar in the classroom and the students are the creators of the texts we analyze, some interesting (and sometimes nerve-wracking!) things happen. First of all, we learn to appreciate process. Becoming a better writer and thinker doesn’t happen overnight. Understanding how our language works can be a slow and sometimes tedious process; it can take months. However, with time and consistency, we can see students’ writing mature and improve. Second, we don’t always know the answers to students’ questions. Although these moments have decreased over the years, in the beginning those unknown questions happened to us regularly. If you’re really teaching, “not knowing” is bound to happen. It’s normal, not some shameful teacher secret. Go and find an answer, share it, and teach the concept better the next time. Finally, we think you’ll find that with this approach, your students will become better thinkers. Rather than focusing on grammar minutiae, we advocate for an examination of uses-in-practice, larger trends, and overarching concepts. We find this “meta” approach to language instruction works well with preservice English teachers as they think about their emerging professional roles. It can help your students too, as they ask questions about and negotiate their larger worlds. With all of this said, go forth and teach grammar—the messy, unstable, endlessly rich thing that it actually is. We hope the ideas below give you more places to begin, and that with time, you and your students find your own paths of language creation and exploration.

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INNATE UNDERSTANDINGS Michelle finds that the best place to begin any grammar instruction is to show students that they are already experts. As we have mentioned throughout this book, we all have a deep understanding of the structure of our first language. Next is an activity that can help students leverage their innate expertise. Suffixes We’ve done this activity with hundreds of people in middle and high school classrooms, and in college and professional development workshops. It always works, often to the amazement of participants. 1. Write a list of suffixes on the board: -ance, -ary,- sion, -ful, -hood, -ic, -dom, -ical, -ment, -ish, -tion, -like, -ness, -ly, -ous, -y. 2. Ask participants to come up with a noun, any noun. (Some fun ones Michelle has used in the past—provided to her by participants—include cheese, monster, mouse, and phone.) 3. Once you have heard a noun that you think will work for this activity, tell the participants that they are going to make up new words with the noun and the suffixes on the board. (FYI: Michelle has found over the years that adolescents are thrilled to make new words; adults typically need some encouragement to break the rules.) 4. Participants will create words like cheeseish, cheesedom, cheeseical, cheesement, cheesiful, etc. Write these words on the board. 5. Once you have ten to twelve new words, ask the participants to create sentences that include these words. Write the sentences on the board (or ask participants to do so). You’ll end up with sentences like the following: a. b. c. d. e.

She has a very cheeseish sense of humor. He conquered and ruled the cheesedom for all eternity. The play was simply cheesical. You should invest in the cheesement today! This pizza is so cheesiful!

6. Once you have six to eight sentences on the board, ask the participants to label the new words as either nouns or adjectives. Because these are two common lexical categories, we’ve never had a group of participants, whether they were twelve years old or eighty years old, who couldn’t do this. 7. After participants label the words, show them which suffixes are adjectival and which ones are nominal. (Note: There are more adjectival and nominal suffixes than found in Table A.1. These are just the few that we typically use.) The participants will quickly realize that they have used their new words in the correct lexical slot.

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Table A.1 Noun and Adjective Suffixes

Noun Suffixes

Adjective Suffixes

-ance

-ary

-tion

-ful

-sion

-ic

-hood

-ical

-dom

-ish

-ment

-like

-ness

-ly

-ance

-ous -y

After this reveal, point out how amazing it is that they know intuitively how to use these words. Michelle really plays up this part, mentioning that we have loads of grammatical knowledge already in our heads. Much of what happens in her courses will be a process of building on and extending from this knowledge. The activities that follow ask students to explore what they already know and give names to the concepts they commonly use. GRAMMAR RANTS If you recall from Chapter 2, we also advocate that you begin any exploration of grammar with critical conversations of power, culture, society, and identity. Analyzing grammar rants (Lindblom & Dunn, 2006) is an excellent way to situate these discussion. Below, we take some of their critical questions and reword/organize them according to what critical stance(s) they are exploring—power, society, or identity. For an original and complete list of the grammar rant prompts, see Dunn and Lindblom’s article in English Journal. Language and Power •

•

How does the author’s rant connect to socioeconomic class, education, or intelligence? Does the author acknowledge the connection(s)? How does the author’s connection perpetuate common stereotypes? Does the author connect language use to ethical or moral characteristics of its users? How is this connection problematic? How does the connection limit the characteristics of language users? (This question also lends itself to Language and Identity.)

Language and Society/Language and Identity • •

How does the author’s rant relate to either (1) the cultural or geographical region or (2) the race or ethnicity of the language users? How does the rant perpetuate common stereotypes? What is the danger in perpetuating these stereotypes?

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Because power, society, and identity are embedded in one another1 and thus difficult to discuss separately, you may find students conflating these ideas. Resist the urge to compartmentalize; instead, encourage explorations of the spaces between power, society, and identity. They are complex concepts and should lead to complex discussions. GRAMMAR(S) OF THEIR WORLDS As we discussed in Chapter 2, all English dialects follow rules for grammar just as Standard English does. Beyond the rule-bounded grammars of English dialects, there are also other grammars students use every day. Tchudi and Thomas (1996) encourage their students to think about grammar broadly, asking them to analyze grammar from an area of interest. For example, students can collect examples of how language is used in video games, fashion magazines, recipes, advertisements, or a music genre, just to name a few. They can then use these examples to analyze how particular grammar choices get things done. Students can also examine how grammar works in their everyday worlds by transcribing and analyzing “conversations around their dinner table, at their job, in different classes, at formal meetings, among groups of friends or groups of their parents’ friends” (Dunn & Lindblom, 2003, p. 47). These activities may help students realize that they participate in grammar creation and deconstruction every day, encouraging them to approach language choices in the classroom with less trepidation. OPEN AND CLOSED WORD CLASSES When Michelle first started teaching high school, she struggled to get her students to write even a few sentences. She would tell them to “Expand! Write more! More!” Unfortunately, this type of encouragement didn’t produce better work; it led, instead, to vacuous writing as her students struggled to meet the required expectation. Now that Michelle teaches college courses, she sees the result of high school students being told to “expand” and “write more” without further direction. This type of advice, though well-intentioned, leads to more words but not enough ideas.2 Now Michelle begins most classes with a small writing assignment, no more than a short paragraph. The first time through, her students will often produce writing that’s wordy and stilted. She then follows with an example of her own writing to show how using too many closed class words (to be explained shortly) can dilute the intended message. In the introductory lesson plan for language and society, you can discuss this concept with your students. When they explore the different societies in their school and the language variation that exists among them, you can ask whether the difference in language marks or causes dissonance or affiliation.

1. See Devereaux (2015) for a full discussion. 2. See Kirby and Crovitz’s Inside Out: Strategies for Teaching Writing (Heinemann, 2013) for more about ideageneration and writing processes.

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The bolded items in Michelle’s example above are closed class words—prepositions, pronouns, conjunctions, and articles. Closed class words change slowly, if at all, in our language, as we can see in this excerpt from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, written more than 600 years ago: Siþen the sege and the assaut watz sesed at Troye, The bor brittened and brent to brondez and askez, The tulk þat þe trammes of tresoun þer wrot Watz tried for his tricherie, þe trewest on erthe: The bolded words are closed class, and they are the closest to Modern English in the passage. Open class words—adjectives, adverbs, nouns, and verbs—evolve much more quickly and easily accept new words into their lexical categories. Too many closed class words can lead to clogged, vapid writing. Let’s look at Michelle’s revision to the wordy passage above. Original: In the introductory lesson plan for language and society, you can discuss this concept with your students. When they explore the different societies in their school and the language variation that exists among them, you can ask whether the difference in language marks or causes dissonance or affiliation. (22 closed class words) Revision: The introductory lesson plan for language and society offers students an opportunity to explore language marking or causing dissonance or affiliation. (7 closed class words) After Michelle shows students her examples, she asks them to identify several sentences in their own writing that have a high number of closed class words and revise accordingly. By using this language with her students throughout the semester (and it’s definitely a semester-long process), she finds that their writing becomes clearer and more concise. ANALYZING GRAMMAR IN CHUNKS Traditional grammar instruction asks students to analyze grammar in discrete bits, but our brains process grammar in grammatical chunks, phrases, and clauses (Rustick, 2007). Understanding these chunks and how they work can help students gain confidence in analyzing the writing of others and in creating their own. Deconstructing longer sentences can help students assess the effects that phrases, clauses, and individual words have on sentence meaning. We borrow this idea from Rustick (2007) and follow her steps in the classroom. To begin, you’ll need an elaborate sample sentence with plenty of phrases and short clauses. For example:

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The large red dog, yes, the dog was a bright, luminescent red, hunched over the pavement, seemingly focusing, clearly walking purposefully, towards the darkened, dilapidated house, which seemed eerie, creepy, and cold under the light of the full moon, a place where a large, red—bright and luminescent red— dog would go on such a night. Next, split students into teams, and then ask each team to remove either one, two, or three words per turn with the requirement that the remaining sentence still makes sense. Once they have removed all the words, phrases, and/or clauses that they can, begin a discussion about how meaning changed through the process. (With a digital document, you can grey-out words rather than removing them; students can then easily see what’s been taken out in considering the before-and-after effect.) Questions can include the following: • • •

How did sentence meaning become more or less clear? What were the benefits and drawbacks of using multiple descriptors? Was the original sentence an example of good writing? Why or why not?

This activity provides an opportunity for a variety of language discussions: the effect of repetition, the importance (or unimportance) of prepositional phrases, the utility of dependent clauses, the relative value of descriptive words and phrases, and how grammatical choices affect tone. You can also use this activity with the literature you teach in the classroom. Choose a long sentence from Faulkner or Dickens to create a similar discussion of description, repetition, prepositional phrases, dependent clauses, and the effects these grammatical constructions have on meaning, clarity, and tone. PUNCTUATION “Punctuation Saves Lives!” If you’ve been anywhere close to the Internet in the past few years, you’ve probably seen the following examples of punctuation’s super powers: • • • •

“Let’s eat grandma” transformed into “Let’s eat, grandma.” “I like cooking my family and my pets” is rescued with commas: “I like cooking, my family, and my pets.” The party-pooping of “Stop clubbing, baby seals” becomes an animal welfare cry: “Stop clubbing baby seals.” A horrifying echo of “The Most Dangerous Game”—“Hunters please use caution when hunting pedestrians using walk trails”—turns into a much more reasonable caution: “Hunters: Please use caution when hunting; pedestrians using walk trails.”

As we can clearly see in these examples, punctuation can be essential in making meaning. Can we discuss punctuation with students as a rhetorical tool for meaning-making rather than decontextualized marks with pre-decided rules? Authors use punctuation purposefully. In his World War I poem “Dulce et Decorum Est,” Wilfred Owen uses semicolons and dashes intentionally to pace the tempo of his

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poem. Similarly, Martin Luther King, Jr., uses semicolons with specific intent in “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” calling to mind Petit’s (2003, p. 71) incisive questions: The decision to use semicolons must spring from more than a vague sense that the clauses could be related. Why are they related? What rhetorical advantage does the author gain by linking the clauses in the reader’s mind? What rhetorical advantage does the writer lose by abandoning the short, abrupt stops that periods create? A good place to begin with your students is a blank slate. Rustick (2007, p. 55) uses the paragraph below to encourage students to experiment with punctuation to see how it can change meaning. This activity could also serve as a powerful pre-assessment, gauging how comfortable and knowledgeable your students are with punctuation and its uses. WHEN THE DOOR OPENED THE POLICE OFFICER STEPPED INSIDE WITHOUT ASKING THE BUTLER REACHED FOR THE CAN AND REMOVED A SMALL REVOLVER FROM THE GILDED HANDLE WHILE HE CAREFULLY FOLDED THE PIECE OF PAPER WITH THE SECRET MESSAGE HARRY WORDSMITH LISTENED TO THE TUMBLERS OF THE SAFE FALLING INTO PLACE KNOWING HE DIDN’T HAVE MUCH TIME THE POLICE OFFICER CHARGED INTO THE ROOM WAVING HIS REVOLVER. When we ask students to analyze punctuation as rhetorical choice in texts, we can then help them transfer this understanding to their own writing. MORE THEMATIC UNITS In Chapter 3 we introduced the idea of weaving grammar into thematic units, exploring how certain grammatical concepts can enhance the discussion of broad essential questions. Below we offer more possible thematic units and the grammar that would support them. Unit Focus: Argument and Persuasion • • •

Simple versus Complex Sentences Nominalization Conjunctions for Effect

Unit Focus: American Identities (ethnic, regional, generational, etc.) • • • •

“To be” verbs; linking verbs (seem, appear, become, etc.) Code-switching Adjectives as noun/Nouns as verbs Hyphens

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Unit Focus: Individuality versus Conformity • • •

Sentences versus non-sentences Transitional words and phrases Semicolons

Unit Focus: Overcoming Adversity • • •

Dependent and independent clauses Adverbials Participial phrases

Unit Focus: Language in the 21st Century • • •

Fragments and Sentences Adjectives as nouns/Nouns as verbs Code-switching

Unit Focus: Borders and Boundaries (Physical, gender, intellectual, etc.) • • •

Complex sentences Compound-complex sentences Register and word charge

Unit Focus: The Complexities of Fame, Celebrity, and Notoriety • • •

Gerunds Appositive phrases Passive and active voice

Unit Focus: Freedom or Protection? • • •

Compound-complex sentences Correlative conjunctions Appositive phrases

Unit Focus: Defining the Monstrous • • •

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APPENDIX

Nouns Adjectival phrases Subordination

REFERENCES Devereaux, M.D. (2015). Teaching about dialect variations and language in secondary English classrooms: Power, prestige, and prejudice. New York: Routledge. Dunn, P.A., & Lindblom, K. (2003). Why revitalize grammar? The English Journal, 92(3), 43–50. King, M.L., Jr. (1963). Letter from a Birmingham jail. The Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute, Stanford University. Retrieved from: https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/letter-birminghamjail Kirby, D. & Crovitz, D. (2012). Inside out: Strategies for teaching writing (4th ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Lindblom, K., & Dunn, P.A. (2006). Analyzing grammar rants: An alternative to traditional grammar instruction. The English Journal, 95(5), 71–77. Owen, W. (1921). Dulce et decorum est. Poetry Foundation. Retrieved from: www.poetryfoundation.org/poemsand-poets/poems/detail/46560 Petit, A. (2003). The stylish semicolon: Teaching punctuation as rhetorical choice. The English Journal, 92(3), 6672. Rustick, A. (2003). The stylish semicolon: Teaching punctuation as rhetorical choice. The English Journal, 92(3), 66–72. Rustick, M.T. (2007). Grammar games in the age of anti-remediation. Journal of Basic Writing, 26(1), 43–62. Sanborn, J. (1986). Grammar: Good wine before its time. The English Journal, 75(3), 72–80. Tchudi, S., & Thomas, L. (1996). Taking the g-r-r-r out of grammar. The English Journal, 85(7), 46–54.

APPENDIX

229

INDEX

absolute phrase: as adjective 120; as adverb 119–120; form, function, and use 117–124; in a thematic unit 34–35 action verb see verb active voice: form, function, and use 85–92 adjective: absolute functioning as 120; acting as noun 151; attributive 171; form, function, and use 168–176, 228; gradability 168, 170–171; hyphenated 210; infinitive functioning as 130–131; participle functioning as 110–111; predicate 171–172; prepositions functioning as 139; stackability 169; as subject complements 172; in thematic units 227–228 adverb: absolute functioning as 119–120; of condition 178; form, function, and use 176–182; of frequency 177; functioning as 139; intensifier 178–179; of manner 176–177; of place 177; preposition of purpose 178; in thematic units 228; of time 178 affix 211–212 appositive phrase: form, function, and use 104–109, 228; restrictive and non–restrictive 106–107 clauses: dependent see dependent clause; independent see independent clause closed class word 224–225 code-switching: in thematic units 227–228 colon 194–198 comma: in absolute phrase 118; in adjectival clause 96–97; in adverbial clause 95–96; in appositive phrase 106–107; overview 215–218; in participial phrase 110–111; splice 217 common issues: agreement 46; awkward

230

43–44; choppy 43, 121; comma splices 45; context unclear 44; disorganized 43–44; fragments see fragments; punctuation 46–47; redundant 44–45; run-ons 46; underdeveloped 44; vague 44; word choice 46; wordy 45 complex sentence: and compound sentences 71; form, function, and use 76–81; in thematic units 38–39, 228 compound sentence 71–76 compound-complex sentence: form, function, and use 81–85; in thematic units 228 conjunctive adverb: in compound-complex sentence 83; with semicolon 200 conjunctions: in thematic units 228; see also compound sentence connotation 156–158 coordinating conjunction 71–76 correlative conjunction: in thematic units 228; see also compound sentence dash: with appositive phrase 106; form, function, and use 203–209 dependent clause: adjectival (relative) 96–97; adverbial 94–96; in complex sentences 76–78; in compound-complex sentences 81–82; form, function, and use 13, 93–103; as fragment 61; nominal 97–98 descriptive grammar 8–9 dialect: grammar and 2; rules of 24; and Standard English 20 direct object: gerund and 125; infinitive and 131; nominal clause and 100; as a noun function 147; quick refresher 98–100; transitive verb and 163 essential questions: in thematic units 31–32, 35–36

fragment: form, function, and use 57–66; in thematic units 228 gerund: form, function, and use 124–129; in thematic units 228 grammar: in context 7; and correction 40–47; definitions of 2; descriptive 8–9; history of 4–7; and identity 24–25; integrated in units 30–40; issues see common issues; morality of 5–6, 17–22; patterns of 41–47; prescriptive 8–9; rants 17–18, 223–224; rhetorical 8–10; and power see power; and society see society; Standard English 18–26; traditional school 6 helping verb see verb hyphen: form, function, and use 203, 209–215; in thematic units 228; vs dash 205–206 identity 223–224 ideolect 24–25 independent clause: with colon 194–195; form, function, and use 67, 76, 81; with semicolon 198–199 indirect object: gerunds and 125; as a noun function 147–148; transitive verbs and 163; infinitive: as adjective 130; as adverb 130–131; dangling 129–130; form, function, and use 129–135; as noun 131; split 5 intransitive see verb Kolln and Gray 119, 148, 182, 184 language: formal and familiar 21–22; variations of 21–22, 24 lexical categories: parts of speech or 12–13, 144 Lowth, Robert 3, 6 mechanics 4 metalinguistics 14 modal see verb Noden, Harry 35, 120 nominalization see noun non-restrictive: adjectival clause 96–97; appositive phrase 106–107; participial phrase 110–111 noun: acting as adjective 175; acting as verb 158–159, 228; appositive functioning as noun 104–106; form, function, and use 144–155; functioning as 131; gerund

functioning as 124–126; infinitive and pronoun 182; in thematic units 227–228, 144–155; object complement: adjective as 172; gerund as 126; infinitive as 131; noun and 148 object of the preposition: gerund and 125; infinitive and 131; nominal clause and 98; prepositional phrase and see prepositions; pronoun open class word 224–225 parentheses: appositive and 106; dash and 204–205 participial phrase: adjective and 173; form, function, and use 13, 109–117; in thematic units 228 parts of speech 12–13 passive voice: form, function, and use 85–92; in thematic units 32–34, 228 phrases: absolute see absolute phrase; appositive see appositive phrase; participial see participial phrase; prepositional see prepositions power: grammar and 22–23; grammar rants and 223; passive voice and 88–89 prepositions: form, function, and use 136–143; gerund and 125; infinitive and 131; nominal clause and 98; object of the 147; pronoun and 189 prescriptive grammar 8–9 pronoun: demonstrative 186; as determiner 189; as direct object 189; form, function, and use 182–193; indefinite 186–187; as indirect object 189; interrogative 186; as object complement 189; as object of the preposition 189; personal 183–186; reciprocal 186; reflexive 187; relative 187–188; as subject 188; as subject complement 189; punctuation: colons see colons; commas see commas; dashes see dashes; hyphens see hyphens; parentheses see parentheses; semicolons see semicolons; teaching 226–227 restrictive: adjectival clause 96–97; appositive phrase 106–107; participial phrase 110–111 rhetorical grammar 9–10 semicolon: form, function, and use 83, 198–203; in literature 226–227; in thematic units 228

INDEX

231

sentence: complex see complex sentence; compound see compound sentence; compound-complex see compoundcomplex sentence; form, function, and use 52–66, 68; fragments 57–66; non– 57–66; run–on 57–66; simple see simple sentence; in thematic units 228 Shaughnessy, Mina 6–7, 41 simple sentence: form, function, and use 67–71, 105; in thematic units 228 Smagorinsky, Peter 29–30 society: grammar and 22–24; grammar rants and 223–224 split infinitive see infinitive subject: gerund and 125; infinitive and 131; nominal clause and 97–98; noun as 146–147 subject complement: adjective and 172; gerund and 126; infinitive and 131; nominal clause and 99; noun as 149; quick refresher 98–100

232

INDEX

subordination: dependent clause and 93–103; preposition or 139–140; in thematic units 228 suffix 222–223 thematic unit: discussion of 30–40; example of 227–228 “to be” verb see verb transitive see verb usage: definition of 2–3 verb: acting as noun 151–152; action 155–162; adjective acting as 173–174; helping 162, 164–165; linking 162, 164; modal 10, 165–166; in thematic units 228; “to be” 36–38; transitive and intransitive 162–164; transitive (refresher) 98–100 Williams, Joseph 20