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Brackets – how to use them

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Brackets – definition

brackets Brackets are used to show that a word or phrase has been inserted into a sentence.

redbtn The technical name for this device is a ‘parenthesis’.

Examples
  • Most of the suspects (seven in all) were questioned by the police.
  • Put your scrap paper (or cardboard) into the dustbin.
  • The next person to arrive (a very attractive woman) caused a sensation.
Use

redbtn The words inserted between brackets are usually an explanation, an illustration, or an aside.

redbtn They often carry the meaning ‘that is to say’.

redbtn NB! Brackets are always used in pairs. Once they are ‘open’, don’t forget to close them.

redbtn Round brackets are used to represent an aside or an extra piece of information which is closely related to the main subject of the sentence.

Goodwin argues that Thompson’s policies (which he clearly dislikes) would only increase the problem.

redbtn Square brackets are used to indicate that something
is being added by the author. This is usually for clarification or comment.

The reporter added that the woman [Mrs Wood] had suffered severe injuries.

A mother wrote that her son was ‘fritened [sic] to go to school’.

redbtn When brackets are used at the end of a sentence, the full stop falls outside the bracket (like this).

redbtn Statements inside brackets should be grammatically separate from the sentence. That is, the sentence should be complete, even if the contents of the brackets are removed.

The republican senator (who was visiting London for a minor operation) also attended the degree ceremony.

redbtn If a quotation contains a mistake in the original you can indicate that the error is not your own. This is indicated by the use of square brackets.

The senior government minister who was recently acquitted of kerb-crawling claimed that at long last his ‘trails [sic] and tribulations’ were at an end.

redbtn The expressions within brackets should be kept as brief as possible, so as not to interrupt the flow of the sentence.

redbtn The use of brackets should be kept to a minimum. If used too frequently, they create a choppy, unsettling effect.

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© Roy Johnson 2003

English Language 3.0 program
Books on language
More on grammar

Capital letters – how to use them

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Capital letters – definition

capital letters Capital letters are used to show the importance of particular words.

redbtn They are always used for proper nouns (people’s names) ; at the start of sentences ; and for places and events of a public nature.

Examples
  • He entered the room, accompanied by Christine Bowman.
  • John wrote a letter to the Bishop of Chester.
  • We will visit Sherwood Forest at Easter this year.
Use

redbtn Capital letters are always placed at the beginning of a sentence.

redbtn They are also used to indicate names and titles, as well as holidays and well-known public places.

redbtn NB! Avoid continuous capitals.

THEY LOOK VERY UNSIGHTLY AND ARE HARD TO READ

redbtn Capitals are used to denote the names of particular or special things.

days of the week Wednesday, Friday
places East Anglia
rivers the river Mersey
buildings the Tate Gallery
institutions the Catholic Church
firms British Aerospace
organisations the National Trust
months of the year April, September

redbtn However, when such terms are used as adjectives or in a general sense, no capital is required:

the King James Bible / a biblical reference

Oxford University / a university education

the present Government / governments since 1967

redbtn Capitals are used when describing intellectual movements or periods of history:

Freudian – Platonism – Cartesian – the Middle Ages
the Reformation – the Enlightenment

redbtn They are also used in the titles of books, plays, films, newspapers, magazines, songs, and works of art in general. The normal convention is to capitalise the first word and any nouns or important terms. Smaller words such as ‘and’, ‘of’, and ‘the’ are left uncapitalised:

A View from the Bridge
The Mayor of Casterbridge
North by Northwest
The Marriage of Figaro

redbtn Notice the difference between the same term used in a general and a particular sense:

The children’s Uncle Fred is seventy.
Their uncle is the oldest in the family.

Self-assessment quiz follows >>>

© Roy Johnson 2003

English Language 3.0 program
Books on language
More on grammar

Case agreement – how to understand it

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Case agreement – definition

case agreement There must be grammatical logic or case agreement in the links between parts of a sentence.

redbtn This coherence is called ‘case agreement’ or ‘concord’.

Examples

The boy is swimming.
[singular subject, singular verb form]

The boys are swimming.
[plural subject, plural verb form]

Use

redbtn Agreement may be required in tense, number, or case.

redbtn Problems are more likely to occur in writing than in speech.

redbtn NB! To avoid such problems in writing, keep your sentences short.

redbtn If the subject of a sentence is singular, then the verb form must be singular as well:

The shop [singular] opens at nine o’clock.
On Thursdays the shops [plural] open late.

redbtn Sometimes confusion occurs because a statement begins in the singular but then drifts into the plural:

wrong
It can be argued that a person has the right to know when they are dying.

redbtn The easiest solution to this problem is to make the subject plural and its verb plural as well:

correct
It can be argued that people have the right to know when they are dying.

redbtn Sometimes a singular noun is used to denote a plural or a collective thing – such as ‘government’ or ‘parliament’.

redbtn Either the singular or the plural verb form may be used – but the important thing is to be consistent.

wrong
The government prefers to let matters rest, but events may make them change their minds.

correct
The government prefers to let matters rest, but events may make it change its mind.

correct
The government prefer to let matters rest, but events may make them change their minds.

redbtn Agreement is necessary in English because the language is ‘uninflected’.

redbtn That is, most words are not given separate endings to indicate which part of the statement they represent.

redbtn English relies very heavily on grammatical rules and syntax [word order] to make sense.

redbtn [In some languages — classical Latin, for instance — word order is not important.]

Self-assessment quiz follows >>>

© Roy Johnson 2003

English Language 3.0 program
Books on language
More on grammar

Clauses – how to understand them

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Clauses – definition

clauses Clauses are parts of a sentence which make sense independently because they contain a finite verb.

redbtn There are main clauses and subordinate clauses.

Examples

redbtn There are two clauses in this sentence:

Come in, put your coat on that chair, and sit down.

redbtn The main clause is ‘Come in … and sit down.’

redbtn The subordinate clause is ‘put your coat on that chair’.

Use

redbtn It is natural for language to structure itself into manageable parts which make complete sense in themselves.

redbtn As speakers we create comprehensible clauses spontaneously and automatically.

redbtn Written language can have a greater complexity of clauses than speech within sentences.

redbtn This is because writing can be reconsidered by the reader at any time and at any speed.

redbtn Speech on the other hand must be taken in immediately by the listener.

redbtn NB! The difference between a clause and a phrase is that a phrase does not contain a finite verb.

redbtn The term ‘clause’ belongs to the discipline of descriptive grammar. This approach is very traditional and has been taught in grammar schools for the past few hundred years. It is still considered useful as a term by which to identify the components of a sentence.

redbtn Descriptive grammar sets out with a preconceived blueprint of sentence structure and attempts to force all utterances into it.

redbtn Recently, the term was introduced into the National Curriculum for the teaching of English in schools. This states:

‘pupils should be given opportunities to develop their understanding of the grammar of complex sentences, including clauses and phrases’

redbtn This development illustrates a return to old conventions which has been brought about by conservative values. It is also based on the belief that standards of literacy have been falling due to the lack of basic grammar teaching.

redbtn ‘Transformational Grammar’, pioneered by the American linguist Noam Chomsky, is an alternative and more functional approach to understanding grammar. This discipline focuses on the relationship and function of parts in an utterance and seeks to accommodate an infinite variety of expression and usage.

redbtn For instance, the sentence John is easy to please is identical in structure to the sentence John is eager to please. In terms of meaning however, the two utterances are quite different. This example demonstrates that there is more to understanding grammar than being able to spot clauses.

Self-assessment quiz follows >>>

© Roy Johnson 2003

English Language 3.0 program
Books on language
More on grammar

Cliches – how to recognise them

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Cliches – definition

cliches Cliches are hackneyed phrases or expressions.

redbtn The phrases might once have been fresh or striking, but they have become tired through over-use.

Examples

“He was over the moon about that goal.”
“Yes please. I don’t mind if I do.”
“Far be it from me…”
“I would be the last person to cast aspersions.”
We will leave leave no stone unturned in our search.

Use

redbtn Clichés are often used unconsciously in casual speech.

redbtn They usually suggest mental laziness or the lack of original thought.

redbtn They should be avoided in writing.

redbtn NB! Beware. Cliché may sometimes be used consciously for ironic effect.

redbtn Clichés circulate in the spoken language very readily, because they save people having to think.

redbtn When written down, they appear even more tired and vacuous than when spoken.

redbtn Traditional examples are expressions such as it takes the biscuit, back to square one and a taste of his own medicine.

redbtn Current favourites (in the UK) include the bottom line is …, a whole different ball game, living in the real world, a level playing field, and moving the goalposts.

redbtn Clichés present a temptation, because they often seem to be just what is required to make an effect. They do the trick. They hit the nail on the head. They are just what the doctor ordered. [See what I mean?]

redbtn Here is a stunning compilation, taken from a provincial newspaper. The example is genuine, but the names have been changed to protect the innocent. [That’s a deliberate example!]

By their very nature cabarets tend to be a bit of a hit and miss affair. And Manchester’s own ‘Downtown Cabaret’ is ample proof of that. When it was good it was very good, and when it was bad it was awful. Holding this curate’s egg together was John Beswick acting as compere and keeping the hotchpotch of sketches and songs running along smoothly. And his professionalism shone through as he kept his hand on the tiller and steered the shown through a difficult audience with his own brand of witticism. Local playwright Alan Chivers had previously worked like a Trojan and managed to marshal the talents of a bevy of Manchester’s rising stars.

redbtn It isn’t always easy to see where an idiomatic expression ends and a cliché begins.

redbtn The essential difference between them is that an idiom is not being offered as original thought. We say ‘fish and chips’ because people do not normally say ‘chips and fish’ (because it’s more difficult to say). But anybody who says he’s ‘over the moon’ about something has chosen the expression, no doubt thinking that it’s impressive.

redbtn A vogue word is very close to the cliché. This is an item of vocabulary whose meaning is becoming blurred, distorted, or inflated [that is, emptied] through over-use.

redbtn The term ‘vogue’ implies that the word is currently fashionable.

  • That’s a fantastic dress! [very nice]
  • We’re in a war situation. [at war]
  • It’s a brilliant novel. [interesting]
  • She’ll get paranoid about it. [become worried]
  • What a fabulous car! [remarkable]

redbtn The use of these terms is very common in everyday speech. They should be avoided in formal writing.

Self-assessment quiz follows >>>

© Roy Johnson 2003

English Language 3.0 program
Books on language
More on grammar

Colons – how to use them

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Colons – definition

colons Colons are used to introduce strong pauses within sentences.

redbtn The colon is the longest pause short of a full stop.

Examples

redbtn Colons are used to introduce lists:

The car has a number of optional extras: sun roof, tinted windows, rear seat belts, and electrically operated wing mirrors.

redbtn The colon separates two clauses which could stand alone as separate sentences, but which are linked by some relationship in meaning:

My brother likes oranges: my sister hates them.

redbtn The colon is also used before a long quotation or a speech:

Speaking at Caesar’s funeral, Anthony addresses the crowd: “Friends, Romans, countrymen …”

redbtn It is also used before a clause which explains the previous statement:

The school is highly regarded: academic standards are high, the staff are pleasant, and the students enjoy going there.

Use

redbtn The colon can be used to provide emphasis, or to create dramatic effect:

There can be only one reason for this problem: his total incompetence.

redbtn It is also used at the end of a statement which is followed by an illustration:

The vase contains beautiful flowers: roses, tulips, and daffodils.

redbtn NB! The colon followed by a dash (: —) is never necessary. The colon alone is sufficient, even before a list.

redbtn Notice that the items which follow a list are punctuated with commas if they are a succession of individual words.

You will need four ingredients: flour, butter, milk, and sugar.

redbtn If the items in the list contain clauses or phrases these may be punctuated with semicolons:

You will need the following materials: some scrap paper; a pen, preferably blue or black; some envelopes; and some good, white, unlined writing paper.

redbtn The colon requires careful handling. If you are in any doubt, use separate sentences.

redbtn The colon is also used between the title and the sub-title of a book:

Magical Realism: Latin-American fiction today.

Self-assessment quiz follows >>>

© Roy Johnson 2003

English Language 3.0 program
Books on language
More on grammar

Commas – how to use them

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Commas – definition

commas Commas are used to show slight pauses in a sentence.

redbtn Commas are the lightest marks of punctuation.

Examples

He will never do it, whatever he says.
She bought some butter, a pint of milk, and some jam.
Cars should turn left here, whilst vans should turn right.

Use

redbtn The comma is used to separate words, clauses, or phrases in a sentence.

redbtn It is used to help clarify the sense of statements and to prevent ambiguity.
redbtn It is also used to separate the items in lists.

redbtn NB! Use commas to clarify meaning. Don’t scatter them around like confetti.

redbtn The comma is used to separate two clauses when the first is not closely associated with the second:

She is a famous singer, whilst her husband remains unknown.

redbtn It is used to introduce a pause where the eye might otherwise continue and mistake the sense of what is written:

In the valley below, the villages looked small.

redbtn It is used to separate a sequence of adjectives which qualify a noun:

He was an arrogant, pompous fellow.

redbtn However, when the adjectives are of a different order or type, no comma is necessary:

He was a distinguished foreign visitor.

redbtn The comma is used to mark the start and finish of a parenthetical phrase within a sentence:

I am quite sure, despite my reservations, that he’s the best man for the job.

redbtn A very common use for the comma is to separate the items in a list:

The box contained a book, some pencils, and a knife.

redbtn Opinions differ on the need for the final comma in such examples. If the items are all of the same kind, it can usually be omitted. If they are not, it is usually safer to retain the comma.

Self-assessment quiz follows >>>

© Roy Johnson 2003

English Language 3.0 program
Books on language
More on grammar

Conjunctions – how to understand them

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Conjunctions – definition

conjunctions There are two main types of conjunctions:

  • Co-ordinating conjunctions join together parts of a sentence which are of equal status.
  • Subordinating conjunctions join together parts of a sentence which have a complex relationship.
Examples

redbtn There are five co-ordinating conjunctions in English:

and   or   nor   but   for

redbtn There are many more subordinating conjunctions:

whereas, where, if, because, while, as, when, since

Use

redbtn Co-ordinating conjunctions are used in the following statements:

Jim and Sally are going to the concert.
Give me that gun or I’ll call the police.
Neither a lender nor a borrower be.
We have no lemons but we do have some limes.

redbtn NB! It is possible for a word to be a conjunction in one sentence and a different part of speech in another.

redbtn The words and, or, nor, but, for are all co-ordinating conjunctions.

redbtn They are conjunctions because they usually join together parts of a sentence.

redbtn They are co-ordinating because the parts they join are of equal rank. For example:

We have no limes but we do have some lemons.

redbtn Conjunctions should not be confused with adverbs such as:

moreover, besides, so, consequently, however, also

redbtn Take the following statement:

The weather was bad last Tuesday so we stayed at home.

redbtn Here the word so links the two parts, but it creates a sequence and a sense of cause and effect — rather than the joining of two equal statements.

redbtn The conjunction may not always be placed between the words being linked. It can appear elsewhere:

Because I was tired, I went to bed early.

Self-assessment quiz follows >>>

© Roy Johnson 2003

English Language 3.0 program
Books on language
More on grammar

Consonants – how to understand them

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Consonants – definition

consonants The terms vowels and consonants refer to the sounds which make up the spoken language.

redbtn Vowels are open sounds and consonants are relatively closed.

redbtn The idea that English has five vowels – a, e, i, o, and u – is slightly misleading. This statement refers to those letters of the alphabet which can be used to represent some of the many open sounds of the language.

Examples

redbtn Here are some examples of words which end with a vowel:

agenda, bar, go, queue, tea, empty

redbtn Here are some examples of words which end with a consonant:

brick, hat, grab, tap, plum, fuss, does, which, belong

Use

redbtn The terms vowel and consonant are fairly loose terms for the vast variety of sounds which make up any language.

redbtn Most people are comfortable with words which are spoken as

vowel-consonant-vowel-consonant

redbtn This sequence of sounds is easy to articulate – as in potato.

redbtn Consumer products are given such terms because they are easily repeated and memorised:

redbtn There are approximately forty-two vowel sounds and fifty consonant sounds in English.

redbtn The written code which attempts to represent all known sounds in all known languages is the International Phonetic Alphabet.

redbtn The symbols comprising the code are used in dictionaries to indicate the pronunciation of a word:

hat  =  /hæt/

redbtn The code can be useful to non-native students of any language as a guide to pronunciation — provided they understand the code.

redbtn If the code has been learned, a speaker can—in theory!— read out a paragraph in any language without understanding its meaning. [Accomplished actors have been known to use this technique.]

redbtn Phonology is a complex and detailed study of language sounds in which the smallest unit of sound is known as a phoneme – one single sound which cannot be split up into anything smaller as part of a particular language.

redbtn English spelling and English pronunciation have an extremely loose connection. This is a product of the history of the language, the wide-ranging mixture of speakers, and the important fact that speech and writing in any language are two separate systems.

redbtn Linguists regard speech as primary and writing as secondary.

redbtn We acquire speech naturally, just as we grow taller or get a second set of teeth. Writing on the other hand has to be learned – in the same way as we learn to drive a car.

Self-assessment quiz follows >>>

© Roy Johnson 2003

English Language 3.0 program
Books on language
More on grammar

Dialect – how to understand it

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Dialect – definition

dialect The term dialect refers to any variety of a language used by a group of speakers.

redbtn It refers to the content of the utterance rather than the pronunciation.

Examples

redbtn There are two main types of dialect in English:

  • Regional varieties of speech which relate to a particular geographical area.
  • Standard English which is used by speakers and writers in any area.
Use

redbtn The term dialect used to refer to deviations from Standard English which were used by groups of speakers.

redbtn Political awareness has now given us the current concept of dialect as any developed speech system.

redbtn Standard English itself is therefore now considered to be a dialect of English — equal in status with regional dialects such as Scottish or social dialects such as Black English.

redbtn The concept of dialect embraces all aspects of a language from grammar to vocabulary.

redbtn NB! Dialect is not the same thing as accent.

redbtn Linguists take a descriptive view of all language phenomena. They do not promote the notion of the superiority of Standard English.

redbtn This is not to say that Standard English and Received Pronunciation are considered equal to other forms by the majority of speakers, but certainly attitudes are becoming more liberal.

redbtn This may be as a result of the increase in mass media in Britain and the exposure this provides to varieties of English such as American English and Australian English.

redbtn The past participle ‘gotten’ as in ‘he had gotten into his car’ is Standard American English — whereas it would be an aberration if used by a native British speaker.

redbtn The concept of a dialect used to be applied to a deviant form of the standard which had no written version. This is no longer the case. The written form of Standard English is now considered as a dialect. Thus we may write in a variety of dialects — one of which is the Standard English which most of us employ.

redbtn Dialect poetry has become popular recently, along with the shift in perception which political correctness has demanded.

redbtn Writers have for centuries attempted to represent dialect utterances in their work. Shakespeare often gave his yokels such items. Snout the tinker in A Midsummer Night’s Dream says “By’r lakin, a parlous fear.”

redbtn The novelist D.H.Lawrence represented the Nottinghamshire dialect in many of his novels by interspersing Standard English with utterances such as “Come into th’ut” spoken by Mellors in Lady Chatterley’s Lover.

redbtn Perhaps the most interesting factor here is that the writer needs to use the English alphabet in the attempt to write dialect terms. This is not always possible, and so one of the skills a dialect writer needs is the ability to select those words which lend themselves to representation by means of the orthodox alphabet.

redbtn Some contemporary regional dialect forms are ones which have remained as such after being eliminated from what is now Standard English. An example of this is the Scottish ‘kirtle’ which was replaced in Standard English during the Old English period by ‘skirt’.

redbtn Some of the terms used to command the sheep dogs in Cumbria and Northumbria are unrecognizable in any dialect. They have remained intact since Old English or Middle English times.

redbtn This is an interesting phenomenon and explicable when one considers that the utterance is necessarily one-way, with the dog as the listener! For this same reason, we can’t accurately define this set of commands as a contemporary dialect.

Self-assessment quiz follows >>>

© Roy Johnson 2003

English Language 3.0 program
Books on language
More on grammar

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