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For nearly four decades, my colleagues and I watched students make the adjustment from high school to college, both at big universities and at small liberal arts colleges. Year after year, some students thrived and excelled while others crashed and burned.

What makes the difference? Some success or failure is, of course, a consequence of personality or life circumstances, but a lot of it has to do with attitudes and choices. 

We have seen the powerful transformation that education can have on a young person, so to help students get the most out of their college experience, we offer the following advice: (1) set the stage for academic success, (2) ask for help, (3) manage time well, and (3) consider life outside the classroom. The section at the end is for parents, guardians, and other adults who care about college-bound students:

Set the Stage for Academic Success

• Read your college bulletin. Every college has different requirements for graduation (the number of hours needed, specific courses to be taken, other requirements to be met, etc.). Be sure to talk with your academic advisor specifically about all registration decisions. But unfortunately, not all advisors are as familiar as they should be with requirements, and ultimately the responsibility for fulfilling them on time is yours. You need to be very familiar with your college bulletin, too.  Most financial aid runs out after four years, so it is critically important for you to finish on time. The bulletin is likely published digitally on your institution’s website.

• The course catalog might be part of the bulletin or a separate document.  Remember that the smaller the college, the less likely it is that every course will be offered every semester. Even at larger institutions, some courses may be offered only once or twice during your four years at the institution. If there is a course you are excited to take, talk with the department chair for that discipline and ask how often it is offered. If you are REALLY interested in a course, ask who usually teaches it and go talk to that person.  Professors love to teach courses that students are interested in, and if you can identify a small group of interested students, the professor might be able to get it on the schedule (more likely at smaller colleges than larger ones, but not exclusively).

• In your first semester, you will likely take only (or at least mostly) general education (sometimes called “core”) courses. If you are earning a bachelor’s degree, these are the courses that set your degree apart from a technical or associate degree. The idea is that to be an educated human being, you should know a little bit about a lot of topics and not just a lot about your major.  These are important courses—especially if you’re undecided about a major. However, don’t let anyone talk you into taking certain courses to “get them out of the way” your first semester.  Instead, at a time when you are adjusting to being on your own, being away from home, and being responsible for every aspect of your life, make sure your course load is very manageable. Here are two tips for at least your first semester:

• • Consider taking the minimum number of courses you have to take to be considered full time (and eligible for the dean’s/president’s list—check the bulletin!). Note: If you brought in some AP, IB, or dual-enrollment credits, you’ll likely be fine taking the minimum. If you didn’t, check to see how many credit hours you will need to graduate, divide that number by 8, and make sure you earn at least that many hours every semester. (If you’re willing to take some in the summer, you’ll have even more cushion, but make sure financial aid will cover them!) Also, if you’re unsure about any of the courses, sign up for one extra and decide after the first class meetings which one to drop. Also, remember that if you take the minimum number of hours to be a full-time student, you won’t be able to drop one if it gives you trouble. Remaining a full-time student is critically important and tied to financial aid, residence hall access, and on-time degree completion. Again, talk to your academic advisor.

• • At least for your first semester, choose courses you like and/or are good at. Doing so will go a long way toward ensuring that you have a positive first semester. A good GPA is confidence building and provides a solid foundation. A poor GPA is hard to bring up and can even mean a semester of being on academic probation. Get off on the right foot.

• Colleges/universities have a “drop/add” period that typically lasts at least several days and maybe up to a week. During this period, you may drop classes without having your record reflect that you dropped them. Remember that you need to keep enough credit hours to be full time, and you should ALWAYS talk to your advisor before dropping any classes to be sure you don’t create any problems for yourself with graduating on time and/or with financial aid. (I know I’ve said that twice already, but it is THAT important!) This is also a good time to check on classes you wanted to take but which were full when you registered; someone else may have dropped, and a seat may have become available.

• If there is a class you REALLY want to take but it’s full, go talk to the professor. Professors love to have students in their classes who want to be there.  Sometimes they will allow you to add the class even when it’s full. If you aren’t in another class at the same time (one you would have to drop should a seat in the preferred class become available), then show up for the class and speak with the professor either right before or right after to express your interest in adding it.

• GO TO CLASS. A lot of students blow off classes for almost any reason. But it’s a lot harder to find out what you missed than simply to go to class yourself.  Plus, if you are asking others what you missed, you’re trusting that they understood what was important.  Big mistake.

• Pay attention in class. You’re there, so why not take advantage of the time to listen and to try to figure out what you will need to know on tests and what is going to be expected on projects.  You are (or someone is) paying a lot of money for this education; get everything you can out of it. Plus, professors know when you have checked out–when you’re looking at a cell phone in your lap, have your head down on the desk, or are doing homework for another class. Such behaviors are not only disrespectful but foolish; your professors will be be faced with deciding whether to round up your exam grade (or even your final grade) to the next highest letter grade if your score is close. They are the people who will write your letters of recommendation for grad school, jobs, and internships.  Make a good impression. Make it easy for them to give you the benefit of the doubt and to recognize that you are responsible, intellectually curious, and mature. One way to reveal those traits is to . . .

• Be engaged in class.

• • Sit near the front (less easily distracted).
  • Ask questions and answer questions your professor asks. Class is much more fun when you’re engaged; plus, you’re showing the professor that you care.  Win-win.
  • Occasionally seats are assigned. If you end up with an assigned seat that’s not where you can function well, talk to the professor privately after class about moving.
  • Sometimes you’ll have friends taking the same classes. Naturally, you’ll want to sit near them, but be careful not to let that friendship be a distraction. Make the tough decision to sit elsewhere or to study on your own if it becomes clear that your friendship is interfering with your success.
  • Take notes. If you struggle to take helpful notes, ask your professor for permission to record the classes so you can listen to them again later and take better notes (or fill in gaps). Even if you never read your notes later, just the fact that you TOOK notes will put you ahead.  Plus, taking notes helps keep you focused. (Recent research indicates that writing notes by hand makes them more memorable than using a keyboard.)

• Most colleges/universities will allow students to take one or two courses “pass-fail.” That means that you don’t earn a grade in the course, and as long as you pass it, it won’t affect your GPA. A lot of students worry so much about their GPA that they never dare to take courses that might challenge them. They will overlook a course that sounds interesting because they are worried it might “blow their GPA.” Ask the registrar’s office about the availability of pass-fail courses. After you graduate, it will be a lot harder to find the time and money to take interesting courses like the myriad ones available to you in college.

• You don’t have to know your major right away or even for the first year (or possibly two). The most common question people ask soon-to-be college students is their major. Instead, we should be asking young people “How do you hope college will change you?” You are going to college to learn about yourself, to question your beliefs and values and to make them your own. You may discover in a general education course that you love a particular discipline and decide to pursue it as a major.  But you don’t have to know right away.  “Undeclared” is perfectly fine for a while.

• Pick up a minor or two or a second major. No matter what your major ends up being, you will benefit personally and on the job market if you can also do one of these things: (1) write well, (2) create computer code, (3) understand digital analytics, (4) design a website, (5) speak a foreign language, or (6) speak well. These are skills that nearly every workplace needs, and if you can do the work of that profession (your major) AND have one or more of these additional skills, your resume will stand out. Even if you are headed for a professional graduate school, you want to be well-rounded. In fact, the top medical schools are now looking for humanities majors, understanding that a physician needs to understand human nature.

• Even if you are planning to go to law school or med school and are worried about a good GPA, don’t neglect to join clubs, engage in activities, and/or pick up a second major unrelated to your first major. Be able to show those professional schools that you are well rounded academically and socially.

• Have academic integrity. Most colleges have an honor code that you will be asked to uphold. Make the decision to be an advocate for honesty in your work. Don’t cheat on tests or download papers from the Internet. Don’t plagiarize. When you walk across the stage and receive your diploma in four years, you want to know that you earned it honestly. It is easy to get caught up in a culture that thinks nothing of cheating, but make a pledge to yourself to be better than that. If you do cheat in any of these ways, even if you don’t get caught, you will have to live the rest of your life with the knowledge that you didn’t earn your degree honestly.  If you make a mistake (and we all make mistakes), learn from it and vow to do better.

Ask for Help! 

• The best professors went into the teaching profession for two reasons: (1) They love their subject matter and want you to be excited about it, too. (2) They love to teach and want to see you succeed. So if you’re struggling with ANYTHING in a class (can’t hear, don’t understand the material, don’t know how to study for a test, can’t do the homework), email the professor and ask if you can sit down one-on-one during office hours and talk. Don’t stay too long, but let the faculty member know that you want to do well and would like advice about how you can succeed. The very fact that you cared enough to reach out to a faculty member will go a long way toward building a good rapport.

• When you go to a professor, try to be specific about what you need help doing. Show that you’ve tried to do the work, and point out where you are getting stuck. In other words, do your part first.

• Most campuses have tutoring centers—a writing center, a math lab, etc.—where you can go for help from trained tutors, often other students who are good at that subject. Take advantage of that FREE help! Find out where they are and how to sign up for an appointment even before you need them.

• Some students find that the skills centers are great places to do difficult homework. They are usually quiet, and there are people available to help you if you get stuck while you’re doing your homework.

• Figure out who the academically successful people are in a class (hint: they may not always be the smartest but they have learned how to do well) and ask if you can study with them. It helps them, too, to have someone to study with, even if they are explaining content to you.

• Your institution offers an array of support services beyond academic skills centers. If you are feeling depressed, sad, lonely, angry, frustrated, homesick, or stressed in any way, take advantage of the FREE counseling services. If you’re having trouble with a roommate that you have been unsuccessful in resolving yourself, talk to your hall’s resident advisor (typically an upper-class student). If that person isn’t helpful, talk to the staff in the residence life office.

Manage Time Well

• Every college bookstore has a planner/agenda book with that institution’s logo on the front. Get one.  Even in this highly digital age, my students overwhelmingly preferred a printed agenda book they could carry to all their classes and meetings and into which they could write all their due dates, meeting times, etc.

• • Write in pencil (due dates will change).
  • As soon as you get your syllabi, write down all the project due dates and test dates (in pencil).
  • Besides writing down due dates, schedule time to prepare for those due dates—blocks of time to do research or write a draft for a paper or to study for tests.

• Make sure you can see your college emails on your phone. Up to now, your main means of communication has been texting, but in college, email rules; your institution’s staff and your professors will reach out to you via email, not text. It is professionally courteous to respond to all emails quickly, and most certainly within 24 hours.

• Don’t waste the time between classes. If you schedule classes with a break in between, you may think you don’t have time to get started on other work, but if you take that attitude, you’ll essentially fritter away many hours of your week.  Some students sign up for back-to-back classes for this reason, leaving them with big chunks of out-of-class time in which to do projects and homework and study for tests.  But some students can’t pay attention well for even two classes in a row, much less more than two.  It might be best for those students to spread out their classes, but they need to find something productive to do between classes so they don’t lose that time. That “free” hour is perfect for organizing notes from the previous class, for reading an assignment for another class, or for doing research for a paper.

Consider Life Beyond the Classroom

• Get involved in campus life outside the classroom. As with everything in life, your college experience is what you make of it. You can watch Netflix and play video games every night for the rest of your life, but college lasts only four short years. Rather than rushing back home every weekend, stay on campus and hear guest speakers. Go to concerts, dance performances, and plays. Go on trips over spring break and in the summer. Engage in as many internships as you can. Join a club team or service organization. Some of the most profound experiences you will have will happen outside the classroom.  Many of these experiences are FREE (or, more accurately, you have paid for them with your tuition).  Take advantage of as much as possible.  One day you will regret not attending more of the events that your college made available to you.

• Go abroad for a summer or a semester. Yes, these experiences can be very expensive, and all of them require at least some significant out-of-pocket expenses. They might seem impossible, but before you assume you can’t afford them, ask for help. Your advisor might know of travel scholarships available to students. Start planning during your first year, and ask friends and family to donate to a “study away” trip instead of giving you gifts for holidays and birthdays. Can’t afford to be away for an entire semester? Then go for a couple of weeks one summer or during a May or winter short term.  Can’t afford to go abroad? Do a study-away semester or summer in Washington, D.C., or another place closer to home (but new for you). Try as hard as you can to broaden your exposure to people who live differently from you and who see the world in ways unfamiliar to you. But if study-away is not an option for you, remember that you can broaden your experiences right there on campus by taking advantage of guest lectures, service opportunities, and so forth (see previous bullet point!).

• If you don’t have one already, start a digital file called “resume.” Don’t worry about formatting, but jot down notes about every experience you have that might end up on a resume one day. Put down the dates of that activity, your supervisor/coach/teacher/etc., and the particular skills it required. Include email addresses and phone numbers of people who might later serve as references for you.  You think you won’t forget, but you will. No experience is out of bounds.  You will need to rewrite your resume for every single opportunity you apply for anyway, and you never know which of your experiences might serve you well down the road.

• Take advantage of the Career Services office. If you have no idea what you want to major in or what career you might want to pursue, career counselors can help. When you are a student, you can take all kinds of personality and aptitude assessment tests that would cost you a small fortune if you weren’t a student.  TAKE THEM WHILE THEY ARE FREE! Start a file, and get to know your career counselors. If you wait until your senior year, you’ve missed a tremendous opportunity.

• If you need to work to earn money during college (and many people do), try to get an on-campus job. Check with your financial aid officer to see if you qualify for a workstudy or workship job on campus. You won’t waste time getting to and from work, and an on-campus employer will be more likely to understand when you need to change your schedule because you have a big test or exams.

• Call your mom and/or dad and/or other people who love you and are adjusting to your being gone. This transition is hard on them, too. Let them know you’re OK, and give them a glimpse of your campus life.  BUT resist the urge to go home for at least the first month—maybe even not until fall break or Thanksgiving.  Campus is your new home-away-from-home now, and you need to be there to meet people, to take advantage of activities, to learn about your surroundings. As with most things in life, you’ll get out of it what you put into it; if you remain more emotionally and physically tied to life “back home” than to life on campus, you will be cheating yourself.  Some parents have a harder time letting go than others; if your parents are texting you every day (or multiple times a day!), you may have to set (gently) some boundaries.

• Take care of yourself. Sleep. Eat. Exercise. Have fun, but be safe. When you make mistakes (and you will), forgive yourself, learn from the experience, and get back in the game.

 A note to the adults who care about college-bound young adults:

• Parents and guardians, unless your child’s life is in danger, it is almost never a good idea for you to come to campus or make a phone call to campus to solve a problem your student is having with a class, a professor, a grade, or a roommate. Your doing so suggests that you don’t think your student is capable of handling the problem. If your young adult calls you for help, suggest people/offices your student might approach about the problem.  Not getting satisfaction from a professor? Suggest that your student ask to see the department head. Having roommate trouble? Your student should approach the resident advisor and, if the situation is still unresolved, the director of resident life. These are growth opportunities for your young adult.

• When we were in college, the only way to talk to our loved ones was to sit on the floor beneath the one-and-only pay phone on our hall and wait for it to ring.  Cell phones make it possible to be in constant communication, but if our young adult children are going to make the most of their experience, they need to be focused on life at college, not on life at home. Resist the urge to text or call them all the time. If you aren’t hearing from them as often as you wish you were, that’s probably a good sign that they are engaging in college life and having a good time. You did a great job raising responsible young adults, and now your capable young adults are doing exactly what you prepared them to do! Give them space in which to do it.

If you are also someone with experience on a college campus and have points to add, please send them along. (Contact info is in the footer of each page on this site. Thanks!)

The post What We Wish Every First-Year College Student Knew appeared first on Get It Write.

Recently, in part one of our series on misplaced modifiers, we explored how word order can affect the clarity of a sentence. That post looked at familiar one-word modifiers such as only and almost, and it also examined squinting modifiers. This time we turn our attention to participles—both the single-word variety and participial phrases.

Repeat Offenders: Misplaced Participles and Participial Phrases

You’ve probably heard of “dangling participles” and were warned to avoid them at all costs. Fear not: we will address these grammatical errors later. But a participle doesn’t have to be dangling to cause trouble, and today’s post will explain why.

For those who were daydreaming in grammar school, we’ll first define a participle. Simply skip this section if you are already conversant with the concept.

What Is a Participle?

A participle is the –ing or –ed form of a regular verb that we use with a helping (also referred to as an auxiliary) verb to represent certain verb tenses.

Here is the regular verb to walk used with helping verbs to create different tenses:

• Today I am walking four miles.
• Yesterday I was walking when I saw a squirrel.
• Occasionally I have walked more than six miles in one day.

The complete verb in each of these cases is the helping verb plus the participle.

(Irregular verbs have . . .  well . . . irregular participles; the past participle of the verb to be, for example, is been, not beed.)

Participles Can Function as Modifiers (Usually Adjectives)

Here are two sentences in which walking is functioning as a modifier (in these cases adjectives) and not part of the verb in the main clause:

• Sam put on his walking shoes.  [What kind of shoes or which shoes? Walking shoes.]
• After a night out, he looked like the walking dead. [What kind of dead? The walking dead.]

Participles often launch what we call participial phrases, words or phrases that flesh out the idea expressed by the participle. In the next sentence, the participial phrase walking the dog starts with the participle walking and is followed by the object of that participle—the dog. Taken as a whole, the participial phrase modifies (i.e., describes) the noun woman:

• I spoke to the woman walking the dog.

 “Walking the dog” answers the question “which woman?” Walking is not a verb at all in this context but a modifier—in this case, an adjective describing the noun woman.

Participial phrases can begin with either the –ing or –ed form of the verb:

• The car blocking the driveway is mine.
• The fire alarm was triggered by the biscuits burning in the oven.
• Elections are often won by candidates backed by the most money.
• Tomorrow we will begin planting in the fields plowed last week.

In these sentences, the verbs are is, was triggered, are won, and will begin—whereas blocking, burning, backed, and plowed are adjectives answering the questions which car? which biscuits? what kind of candidates? which fields?

We know that blocking, burning, backed, and plowed are participles because we recognize that in different sentences, each of those modifiers could serve as verbs or parts of verb phrases.

Momentary deeper dive: Modifying participles, as we have seen, are adjectives derived from verbs. They are, in fact, one of three kinds of verbals—participles, gerunds, and infinitives (topics for another day). While verbals don’t function as verbs in a clause, they nonetheless retain all the properties of verbs; thus, as we saw above in the sentence about the woman walking the dog, a participle can have an object.

When Are Modifying Participles Problematic?

As is true for other modifiers, modifying participles cause problems when they are misplaced. Here is an example using the participial phrase “presented clearly and logically”:

• Unclear: Presented clearly and logically, the judge was convinced by the arguments.
• Clear: Presented clearly and logically, the arguments were convincing to the judge.

The first sentence is unclear because it suggests that the judge was presented clearly and logically rather than the arguments.

Here is another sentence containing the participial phrase “pacing back and forth in front of the jury.” To test the placement of the participial phrase, we ask ourselves, “Who was ‘pacing back and forth in front of the jury?’”

• Unclear: Pacing back and forth in front of the jury, the case was made with great conviction by the attorney. [This sentence illogically says that the case was “pacing back and forth in front of the jury.”]
• Clear: Pacing back and forth in front of the jury, the attorney made her case with great conviction. [This sentence clearly says that the attorney, not the case, was “pacing back and forth in front of the jury.”]

Sometimes we can correct an illogical sentence simply by moving the participial phrase so that it clearly modifies the appropriate noun. In doing so, however, we must be careful not to create a new problem:

• Unclear: Wanted for attempted murder in three states, the judge refused to let the defendant’s family post bail for his release. [The judge is not, as this sentence says, “wanted for attempted murder in three states.”]
• Clear but uses the passive voice: Wanted for attempted murder in three states, the defendant was denied bail by the judge. [This sentence says clearly that the defendant is the one “wanted for attempted murder in three states,” but now the sentence is written in the passive voice.]

Perhaps the best solution in this case is to convert the participial phrase into a dependent clause, a group of words that has a subject and a verb but which cannot stand alone as a sentence. The dependent clause is in square brackets, with its subject in bold and its verb in italics:

• Clear and uses the active voice: [Because the defendant was wanted for attempted murder in three states], the judge denied him bail.

Note: This clause happens to be functioning as an adverb because it’s modifying the verb denied in the main clause.

Here is an unclear sentence that can be made clear either by revising the main clause or by changing the participial phrase, which is in bold, to a dependent clause:

• Unclear: Dismissing the case and sending it back to a lower court, the public outcry was substantial and largely opposed to the Supreme Court’s decision. [This sentence illogically says that “the public outcry” was “dismissing the case and sending it back to a lower court.”]
• Clear: Dismissing the case and sending it back to a lower court, the Supreme Court faced substantial public outcry. [Here we kept the participial phrase but made sure it logically modifies “the Supreme Court” and not “the public outcry.”]
• Clear: [After the Supreme Court dismissed the case and sent it back to a lower court], the public outcry was substantial and largely opposed to the decision. [This time we kept the main clause as it was in the original sentence but converted the participial phrase into a clause (in brackets).]

 Writers intent on being clear and logical in their communication must be adept at recognizing and correcting misplaced participles and participial phrases—because they will encounter an awful lot of them!

If you haven’t already read our post on one-word misplaced modifiers, check it out now. Forthcoming posts will address other misplaced elements as well as the dreaded dangling participle.

Test Yourself

Identify the misplaced participles and participial phrases in the following sentences and replace them with clear and logical revisions:

1. Frolicking through our front yard and eating all our potted plants, our neighbors saw a family of deer.
2. Carefully designed by a committee of judicial educators, the seminar participants will find that the agenda addresses their training needs.
3. After searching the backyard for hours, the little boy’s mother found his blanket walking back toward the house.
4. Writing four papers and taking three exams, the last semester of law school challenged Emily.
5. We stared for hours every day at the television watching the March Madness games.

Answers

1. Our neighbors saw a family of deer frolicking through our front yard and eating all our potted plants. [In the original sentence, the neighbors were “frolicking” and “eating all our potted plants.”]
2. The seminar participants will find that the agenda, carefully designed by a committee of judicial educators, addresses their training needs. [In the original sentence, the participants were “carefully designed” by the committee.]
3. Walking back toward the house, the little boy’s mother found his blanket after searching the backyard for hours. [The original sentence suggests that the blanket was walking back toward the house. It is, of course, possible that the writer intended to say that the blanket was in the arms of the child, who was walking back toward the house, but the syntax of this sentence leaves room for misinterpretation either way.]
4. Writing four papers and taking three exams, Emily found the last semester of law school challenging. [The original sentence suggests that the semester wrote papers and took exams.]
5. We stared for hours every day at the television as we watched the March Madness games. [The original sentence suggests that the television was watching the games. Here we converted the participial phrase to a dependent clause. Another option is to move the participial phrase to the beginning of the sentence, that construction reverses the order of actions: Watching the March Madness games, we stared at the television for hours.]

The post Misplaced Participles appeared first on Get It Write.

What Is a Correlative?

Here are the most common correlative conjunctions (for a complete list, go here):

• either x or y
• neither x nor y
• both x and y
• not x but y
• not only x but also y (or not only x but y)

How Can Correlatives Be Misused?

Sentences that use correlatives without parallel structure are awkward:

These unprecedented times affect not only those of us here in the United States but also are clearly having a global impact.

This writer has illogically correlated a group of people (“those of us here in the United States”) with an action (“are clearly having a global impact”). What the writer likely intended to compare were two groups of people:

These unprecedented times affect not only those of us here in the United States but also people around the world.

Or the writer may have meant to compare two actions:

These unprecedented times not only affect those of us here in the United States but also wreak havoc around the world.

The Bottom Line

The rule is simple: the same grammatical and logical construction should follow both parts of a correlative conjunction. In our examples, the pronoun those pairs with the noun people, and the verb affect pairs with the verb wreak. Here’s another example, this one attempting to use the correlative conjunction either x or y:

Our failure to respond to the climate crisis means that many coastal cities must either face increasingly destructive flooding or they must relocate to higher ground.

What follows either is a verb phrase: face increasingly destructive flooding. But what follows or is an entire independent clause: they must relocate to higher ground. The sentence is, thus, not parallel. To make it parallel, we must determine which two things (two actions, two nouns, two adjectives, two adverbs, etc.) we are comparing. Here, the answer is two actions: face or relocate. The parallel version of this sentence using one of the correlatives, then, should look like this:

Our failure to respond to the climate crisis means that many coastal cities must either face increasingly destructive flooding or relocate to higher ground.

Why Bother Using Parallel Structure with Correlatives?

• First, writing reflects thinking; readers might assume we are sloppy thinkers if our writing isn’t logical.
• Second, when text is grammatically parallel, it is more memorable. Just as it is easier to remember passages that rhyme or have consistent rhythm, it is easier for our brains to recall information expressed in parallel form.
• Finally, parallel structure enhances both the sophistication and the professionalism of our writing.

Test Yourself

Identify and correct problems with parallel structure in the following sentences using correlatives:

1. During the holidays, the company not only gave employees a bonus but also time off.
2. Early next year, the corporate office will either move to Tokyo or to Paris.
3. Neither the dismal weather forecast nor paying for expensive airfare dampened Harold’s excitement about his trip abroad.
4. The Martins not only gave their house a fresh coat of paint but also new windows and landscaping.
5. The manager reprimanded Fred for both being late and for failing to complete the report on time.

Answers

1. During the holidays, the company gave employees not only a bonus but also time off.

In the corrected version, both parts of the correlative conjunction are followed by a noun phrase. In the original, not only was followed by a verb and but also was followed by a noun phrase—an illogical construction because we aren’t comparing two actions but two things: bonus and time.

2. Early next year, the corporate office will move either to Tokyo or to Paris.

Here both parts of the correlative conjunction are followed by a prepositional phrase.

OR: Early next year, the corporate office will move to either Tokyo or Paris.

In this version, the preposition is part of the introduction, and a noun—specifically, the name of a city—follows each part of the correlative conjunction.

3. Neither the dismal weather forecast nor the expensive airfare dampened Harold’s excitement about his trip abroad.

In the original, the correlative conjunction connected the noun phrase the dismal weather forecast to a gerund phrase, paying for the expensive airfare. Although gerunds do function as nominals—that is, they can fill any slot a noun can fill—regular noun phrases differ significantly in form from gerund phrases, which always begin with an -ing form of a verb. 

4. The Martins gave their house not only a fresh coat of paint but also new windows and landscaping.

In the original, not only came before a verb, gave, and but also came before two noun phrases, new windows and landscaping.

5. The manager reprimanded us both for being late and for failing to complete the report on time.

OR: The manager reprimanded Fred for both being late and failing to complete the report on time.

In the original, both came before a gerund (being), and and came before a prepositional phrase whose object is a gerund (for failing . . .). We can correct it by making the correlative conjunction join either two prepositional phrases (as in the first corrected sentence) or two gerunds (as in the second).

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Coordinating Conjunctions

Coordinating conjunctions—for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so (see more about the FANBOYS in this article)—signal the need for parallel structure. That is, two or more items (words, phrases, or clauses) connected by those conjunctions should have the same logical and grammatical construction.

Here’s a sentence using and to coordinate two thoughts:

When he saw the results of her work, he wanted to know which cases she had read and which sources she had consulted.

Note that the two coordinated parts are parallel: they are both answer the question “to know what?” (Grammatically, they are noun clauses functioning as objects of the infinitive “to know.”)

Had the sentence contained an error in parallelism, it might have looked like this:

When he saw the results of her work, he wanted to know which cases she had read and her sources.

Now the noun clause “which cases she had read” is being inappropriately coordinated with the noun phrase “her sources,” and the sentence is neither as easy to understand nor as memorable as it would be if each item in the pair were parallel with the other.

Helpful Strategy

To make the items in a list parallel, it is helpful to consider exactly where the list begins.

Once we separate the introduction to the list from the list itself, we can more easily notice whether the items are parallel by testing each item in the list as if it were the only item following the introduction—that is, as if there were not a list but a single item.

Let’s examine, for example, this sentence:

We bought a house in town to ensure a shorter daily commute, access to better schools, and to be close to restaurants.

If the introduction to the list is “We bought a house in town to ensure. . . ,” then what follows the introduction–the list itself–looks like this:

• • • a shorter daily commute
    • access to better schools
    • to be close to restaurants

The first two items logically follow “We bought a house in town to ensure . . . ,” but the last one does not. The first two logically answer the question, “To ensure what?” They are noun phrases serving as objects of the infinitive “to ensure.”  

But the third item is an infinitive phrase, and what we end up with is this awkward attempt at a sentence:

We bought a house in town to ensure to be close to restaurants.

To make our list parallel, we could make all three items noun phrases logically following the infinitive “to ensure”:

• • • a shorter daily commute
    • access to better schools
    • proximity to restaurants

We could decide instead, though, that the introduction stops before the infinitive “to ensure”: if our introduction is “We bought a house in town . . . ,” now our list looks like this:

• • • to ensure a shorter daily commute
    • access to better schools
    • to be close to restaurants

Now the item that doesn’t make sense behind the introduction is the second one because when we add it to the introduction, we end up with this ungrammatical construction:

We bought a house in town access to better schools.

To make our list parallel, we can either make all three items noun phrases (that is, put the infinitive in the introduction, as we did in our initial revision above) or make all three infinitive phrases (by adding “to have” to the second item). 

Why Bother with Parallel Structure?

First, our writing reflects our thinking; readers may assume we are sloppy thinkers if our writing is not logical.

Second, when text is grammatically parallel, it is more memorable. Just as it is easier to remember passages that rhyme or have consistent rhythm, it is easier for our brains to recall information that is expressed in parallel form.

Finally, parallel structure enhances both the sophistication and the professionalism of our writing.

Parallel structure is important not only in embedded lists with coordinating conjunctions but also with bulleted lists and correlative conjunctions. The latter will be the subject of the next new article on this site. This type of conjunction sometimes trips up even the most seasoned writers. If you aren’t already a newsletter subscriber, sign up now so you’ll be the first to know when that article is posted.

Test Yourself

Identify and correct problems with parallel structure in the following sentences containing embedded lists with coordinating conjunctions:

1. 1. The chief executive officer manages acquisitions, mergers, and reports to the board of directors quarterly.
   2. Time spent on artistic endeavors can be energizing, relaxing, or it can be both.
   3. Walking daily is a helpful strategy for physical fitness, mental health, and for appetite control.
   4. If we look beyond our own narrow self-interest during the COVID-19 pandemic, we (1) will be vaccinated, (2) wear masks any time we are inside, and (3) will keep our distance from one another, yet the failure of many people to do so has led to the senseless deaths of hundreds of thousands of people.
   5. The judges examined each artwork for its compositional integrity, use of color, and its treatment of light.

Answers

1. The chief executive officer manages acquisitions and mergers and reports to the board of directors quarterly.

Here we have two different pairs: the first pair is a pair of nouns, acquisitions and mergers, and the second is a pair of verbs, manages and reports. A common mistake is for writers to confuse two separate pairs and attempt to treat them as a single list of three or more items.

2. Time spent on artistic endeavors can be energizing, relaxing, or both.

The original list of three items joined by or included two adjectives, “energizing” and “relaxing,” and one clause “it can be both.”

OR:  Time spent on artistic endeavors can be energizing, it can be relaxing, or it can be both.

This list a list of three clauses. Again, the repetition can be a stylistic strategy.

3. Walking daily is a helpful strategy for physical fitness, mental health, and appetite control.

The original repeated the preposition “for” in the third item but not in the second. It would have been fine to repeat it all three times (for emphasis), but in this correction we took it out, considering the initial “for” to be part of the introduction to the list and, thus, applicable to all three items.

4. If we look beyond our own narrow self-interest during the COVID-19 pandemic, we will (1) be vaccinated, (2) wear masks any time we are inside, and (3) keep our distance from one another, yet the failure of many people to do so has led to the senseless deaths of hundreds of thousands of people.

This list consists of three verb phrases: be vaccinated, wear masks, and keep our distance.

OR:  . . . we will ensure that we are (1) vaccinated, (2) masked any time we are inside, and (3) distant from one another 

This list consists of three participles (adjectives): vaccinated, masked, and distant.

OR:  (1) we will be vaccinated, (2) we will wear masks any time we are inside, and (3) we will keep our distance from one another 

This list consists of three clauses. Some would consider this construction wordy, but sometimes repeating phrases achieves greater emphasis.

Note, too, the use of numbers with this embedded list. Numbers and letters (though not bullet points) are perfectly fine to use in embedded lists and in fact can enhance readability in long lists. Keep in mind, however, that despite what word processing software programs say, parentheses always come in pairs, so use a parenthesis both before and after the number or letter.

5. The judges examined each artwork for its compositional integrity, its use of color, and its treatment of light.

Here the list comprises three noun phrases, each starting with a possessive pronoun. While this list is now parallel, some would find it wordy and may choose instead to make the possessive pronoun “its” part of the introduction, thus:

The judges examined each artwork for its compositional integrity, use of color, and treatment of light.

The next new article on this site will address parallel structure with correlative conjunctions, including “not only . . . but also,” “either . . . or,” and so forth. Become a subscriber to be among the first to know when it’s published.

I address parallel structure in the second online course of the three-part series called Pro Tips for Professionals. “Logic, Clarity, and Precision” tackles parallel structure and a host of other constructions. Newsletter subscribers receive regular discounts on all online asynchronous courses.

©Get It Write 2021

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Parallel Meaning

Some writers think anything related to a given topic is fair game in a list, but they risk confusing their readers when not all items in their list are logically consistent.

Look at this illogical (and grammatically unparallel) list:

Widgets for the World developed a marketing campaign to reach sales objectives:

• To grow our share of the US widget market by 10% over the next year.
• We want to increase widget sales in the EU by 5%.
• To open widget markets in Canada.
• To launch the campaign on April 10.
• Emily Jones will oversee this campaign.

We tell readers we are going to list the objectives of a marketing campaign, but then we illogically include in that list the kick-off date and the point person.

Parallel Form

To be parallel, every item in a list also needs to share the same grammatical form. The Widgets list includes three infinitive phrases (starting with to grow, to open, and to launch) but also two sentences, so it’s not grammatically parallel.

A parallel list may consist of all single words of the same part of speech (all nouns, all adjectives, all verbs, etc.), all phrases of the same structure (all infinitive phrases, all gerunds, all prepositional phrases, etc.), all subordinate clauses, or all independent clauses (complete sentences). Here are some examples:

Single words (here, all nouns):

College students need funds for

• books,
• transportation, and
• entertainment.

Noun phrases:

Businesses are better able to retain employees who are given

• flexible schedules,
• comprehensive health care benefits, and
• substantial retirement benefits.

Other phrases of the same structure (here, gerund phrases)

Let your doctor know if your child is not performing any of the following tasks at the same rate as other children the same age:

• identifying shapes, colors, and familiar objects;
• speaking or putting together phrases and sentences; or
• following directions and remembering information.

Subordinate clauses (here, relative clauses):

The press noted that the jury consisted solely of people

• who had completed at least one year of education beyond high school,
• who had incomes in excess of $60,000, and
• who had lived in the Houston area for at least ten years.

Independent clauses (complete sentences):

Cybil’s speech contained three clichés:

• “A watched pot never boils.”
• “Look before you leap.”
• “The early bird gets the worm.”

Lists that display both logical and grammatical parallelism not only appear more polished but enhance reader comprehension.

In this article we have focused on parallel structure with vertical lists. Lists that appear within a sentence or paragraph must also be parallel–a topic we will address in a future article. For more information about (and many examples of) vertical lists, including punctuation and capitalization conventions, go to this article.

The post Parallel Structure with Vertical Lists (Bullets, Numbers, Letters) appeared first on Get It Write.

A Little History

Alumnus is the Latin word for one male graduate. According to Merriam-Webster, the literal translation is “foster son, pupil.” The plural, alumni, originally referred only to graduates who were male.

The Latin words for female graduates are alumna (singular) and alumnae (plural). Of course, for a very long time, women were neither encouraged nor, in many cases, even allowed to pursue an education. But when a single word was eventually needed to refer to both male and female graduates, English speakers and writers defaulted to the masculine: alumni.

Words Matter

We now realize that using masculine words to represent all people is ill advised. (If you aren’t convinced that gender-inclusive language matters, I encourage you to watch this short TED Talk on the subject.) We stopped saying, for example, mankind, mailman, chairman, fireman, and policeman and started using humankind, mail carrier, chairperson (or chair), firefighter, and police officer.

When a man is serving in a role traditionally held by women, we have learned not to add male to our description of that role: a person is not a male nurse but simply a nurse. Likewise, we avoid saying female doctor and say simply doctor. Regardless of a performer’s gender identity, we no longer distinguish between actors and actresses and refer to all of them as simply actors.

In short, we avoid suggesting that the default gender is always male and that those who do not identify as male are somehow an exception, an other, something outside the norm.

The Evolution of Alumni

Although alumni  is the masculine plural form, it has been widely used to refer to all graduates of a particular institution for as long as women have been receiving degrees. Would we have collectively accepted the use of alumnae, the feminine plural form, in reference to a mixed-gender group? I think not. Why, then, has it been OK for so long to use the masculine form?

(I likewise take issue with the use of the word guys to refer to a mixed group of people and especially groups of people who identify as women. When a server in a restaurant calls a group of women guys, I wonder: would that person call a table full of men gals? Hardly. But I digress.)

The Problem with All Four

Writer and civil rights activist Maya Angelou once said, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” We now recognize that many words fail to acknowledge those who are nonbinary and cannot see themselves represented in any of the four words

We can do better.

A Simple Solution

Luckily, there is no need to reinvent the wheel. Authoritative dictionaries and style guides have already sanctioned an alternative to reinforcing the gender binary or to privileging the masculine: we can use alum or alums to refer to graduate(s). These shortened forms are used quite frequently in casual contexts, and there is no reason why we can’t employ them in more formal situations as well.

The Chicago Manual of Style notes that writers should strive to eliminate gender bias in their language: “Biased language that is not central to the meaning of the work distracts many readers and makes the work less credible to them. Few texts warrant a deliberate display of linguistic biases” (section 5.251).

As the venerable Merriam-Webster points out, “If you are concerned about choosing the word that is least likely to arouse someone’s usage hackles, think of alumnus & alumni as male, alumna & alumnae as female, and alum & alums as gender neutral.”

For Further Discussion

Elsewhere on this site we discuss the evolution of the singular they.

Readers may also be interested in an earlier article on the verb to graduate and on the possessive nouns bachelor’s and master’s as modifiers of the word degree.

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Home In On

Synonyms for the infinitive to home in on are to zero in on or to target. Think about a guided missile or rocket that has been programmed to aim for a particular location. As it moves toward its target, it is homing in on that spot. Here are more examples:

1. Scientists have been working on the problem for decades but have recently started to home in on a solution.
2. The report homes in on systemic issues that underpin homelessness.
3. The child homed in on a bowl of candy sitting on a table across the room.

Hone

To hone is to sharpen, to smooth, or to fine-tune. Here are some logical uses of the word:

1. Once they have retired, people may hone talents that have languished for decades.
2. Serving on a mock trial team helped law students learn to hone their arguments.
3. Internships hone the skills apprentices need to succeed in their professional careers.

The Verbs Home and Hone 

Home almost always functions as a noun: We purchase a home. We live in our home. We can build a home, both literally and metaphorically.

But we also see the verb form to home, meaning “to find a home for something.” Animal rescue workers frequently talk about homing (or rehoming) dogs and cats.

We use the participial form of the verb to home—homing—as an adjective to describe nouns that focus on a known or predetermined target, such as homing pigeons or homing devices. Both are zeroing in on or targeting a location: they are homing in on a particular spot.

To hone, on the other hand, is typically a transitive verb; that is, it usually takes a direct object, as in the examples above, where talents, arguments, and skills are on the receiving end of the action to hone.

Merriam-Webster notes that we also have an intransitive use of to hone meaning “to yearn after” (largely dialectical) and that we occasionally use hone as a noun—as a synonym for whetstone, a device used to sharpen or smooth.  But the verb form to hone is the most common use of the word.

Phrasal Verbs 

Note that to home conveys a meaning different from to home in on. The latter is a phrasal verb, an idiom made by adding one or more adverbs and/or prepositions (sometimes called particles) to a verb and giving it a meaning different from the one conveyed by the verb alone.

Consider, for example, the difference between the verb to turn and the phrasal verbs to turn in, to turn up, or to turn on. To make means something quite different from to make up or to make out. To dress is distinct from to dress down (as in “to reprimand severely”).

Typically, with a phrasal verb we can identify a more formal one-word verb that has the same meaning. To turn on, for example, is the same as to illuminate or to arouse. To act up or to act out is the same as to misbehave.

To home in on, as we have noted, means to target. 

We have no one-word verb for to hone in on because that phrasal verb isn’t logical. Literally, it would mean “to sharpen (or smooth) in on,” a phrase that makes no sense.  The expression, therefore, is not considered standard usage . . . or at least not yet.

Change Is Inevitable

Merriam-Webster conjectures that confusion between home and hone may have arisen when hone began being used more figuratively, in reference to ideas, skills, and arguments, instead of literally, in reference to the sharpening or smoothing of stones, tools, and weapons. We may well be witnessing the start of another shift in this particular usage.

When an expression or a word is used fairly widely but is still considered incorrect, dictionaries label its usage nonstandard or substandard. But if enough people use an expression that was once treated as nonstandard, it may eventually be deemed standard. (Remember that dictionaries, unlike style manuals, are descriptive; that is, they tell us how people actually use language, not how they should use it. Read more here.)

Take, for example, the word nauseous, which was once used to describe anything that can cause nausea, such as rotten meat or too much beer. (So telling someone you are nauseous would have meant that you make others feel ill.) But the use of nauseous to mean nauseated (experiencing nausea) has become so widespread now that dictionaries (and even some style manuals) treat the two words as interchangeable. (Read more here.)

Such changes in the language take time—decades or longer. And even after a particular usage has been deemed standard by most lexicons, it takes even more time for the self-proclaimed grammar police <insert eye roll here> to accept the change and stop judging people for employing the newer usage. In high-stakes writing contexts, then, we would be wise to remember that some people regard such issues as pet peeves and may react negatively.

It may well be the case that one day the phrase to hone in on becomes interchangeable with to home in on, but we aren’t there yet.

©Get It Write 2021

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Consider this sentence:

• Last week, the hiring committee conducted an interview with the top three candidates.

“Conducted” is the verb in this sentence, but the meaningful and important action is interviewed.

Instead of drawing the reader’s attention to the act of interviewing, the writer has reduced the verb “to interview” to the noun phrase “an interview” (thus the term nominalization).

When we revise the sentence and make “interview” the verb, we not only put the focus on the more critical action, but we make our sentence less wordy:

• Last week, the hiring committee interviewed the top three candidates.

Here’s another illustration:

• An award-winning journalist wrote an analysis about adherence to mask-wearing policies in various parts of the country.

The verb is “wrote,” so the focus is on the act of writing instead of on the more important action of analyzing. Changing the verb to “analyzed” strengthens the sentence and makes it more succinct:

• An award-winning journalist analyzed adherence to mask-wearing policies in various parts of the country.

In a misguided attempt to sound more sophisticated, we often let nominalized verbs creep into our professional writing: for example, we may write “take into consideration” instead of “consider” or “engaged in discrimination” instead of “discriminated.”

Clarity and concision are important, so instead of “having an argument,” “making an agreement,” or “staging a protest,” see if it works just as well to say, simply, “argue,” “agree,” or “protest.”

Another helpful way to strengthen sentences and eliminate wordiness is to use more active verbs and fewer passive ones. And for more on the topic of improving sentences by focusing on verbs, read Mark Roberts’s terrific guest post on this site titled “Verbs First: Targeting the Crucial Action.”

©Get It Write 2021

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Myth Rules: Eight So-Called Rules about Writing That People Learn When Young and Continue to Believe for the Rest of Their Lives

MYTH 1: Never start a sentence with because.

Fact: A sentence that starts with because is perfectly fine. However, the conjunction because is a subordinator; that is, it creates a dependent, or subordinate, clause—a clause that is logically and grammatically dependent on a main clause to complete its meaning.

In other words, a because clause cannot stand alone in formal, professional writing, where sentence fragments are frowned upon. (In informal and/or creative writing, fragments are used frequently.)

• • Fragment: Because I left my assignment at home.
  • Perfectly fine sentence: Because I left my assignment at home, I earned an F.

I have always suspected that this “rule” originated with grade-school teachers whose students treat because clauses as if they were sentences in short-answer exercises:

• • Why did the chicken cross the road? Because he wanted to get to the other side.
  • Why is the sky blue? Because blue light travels on shorter and smaller waves.  

It’s a lot easier to say “never start a sentence with because” than it is to teach students how to distinguish independent clauses from dependent clauses.

MYTH 2: Never start a sentence with and or but. 

Fact: Professional writers do it all the time. Just be sure the introductory and or but is followed by a full clause—that is, a subject-and-verb combination—and not a phrase, or the result will be a sentence fragment. (See Myth 1 regarding the use of fragments in certain types of writing.) I address this topic in an article and in a video.

• • Fragment: But left my assignments at home.
  • Perfectly fine sentence: But we never know how our actions affect others.

MYTH 3: All essays must have five paragraphs.

Fact: Almost all essays need an introductory paragraph; most essays will need a concluding paragraph. But the number of body paragraphs depends entirely upon the number of points the writer wishes to make and the complexity of each of those points. I explore this topic in greater detail here, and if you’re a visual learner, head straight to the video version.

MYTH 4: All paragraphs must have [insert number you were taught here] sentences.

Fact: A good paragraph is unified around a controlling idea (whether overtly stated or implied). The paragraph provides enough details, examples, and support to be convincing to the reader. In an essay (as opposed to, say, a business letter), that goal can rarely be accomplished in only a few sentences, but the number of sentences in a paragraph has, per se, virtually nothing to do with adequate paragraph development. The writer who counts sentences rather than developing and/or supporting the controlling idea often ends up merely restating that idea over and over in different words, adding no depth or substance to the paragraph whatsoever.

Like many of these “myth rules,” Myth 4 has arisen out of a beginning writer’s need for linguistic training wheels. Someone who is trying to encourage inexperienced writers to write longer paragraphs might insist that each paragraph contain eight (or ten or eleven or sixteen) sentences. Similarly, a teacher trying to explain how to organize one’s ideas might well use the five-paragraph essay as one model.

But at some point in their lives, writers must take off these training wheels. Good writing is not characterized by longer paragraphs but by stronger, better developed, and more convincing ones. And not all good writing can be poured into a five-paragraph mold; instead, one’s ideas must be organized into the number of paragraphs appropriate to the writer’s purpose.

Here’s a video I made to explain the problem with assuming a paragraph has to have a specified number of sentences.

MYTH 5: The topic sentence of a paragraph must come at the beginning.

Fact: Although inexperienced writers would do well to put the topic sentence at the beginning of a paragraph, no rule says it must go there. As writers mature, they develop the skill of creating paragraph unity with the topic sentence in a variety of places; experienced writers often simply imply the main idea of a paragraph.

MYTH 6: Singular nouns ending in s are made possessive by simply adding an apostrophe but not an additional s.

Fact: Only a very small number of style guides advocate this approach. One of the more prominent ones is the Associated Press Stylebook, which should be adhered to only in journalistic contexts (e.g., news outlets, magazines, press releases) because it advocates a number of usages considered taboo in other professional contexts—such as using a colon in the middle of a clause and omitting the serial comma.

The style guide for the Modern Language Association, the Chicago Manual of Style, the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, and a host of other prominent style books—including the ones that most students will have to use in college—say to add the additional s when a singular noun ends in an s but not when a plural noun does:

• • Ms. Harris’s car (singular possessive noun ending in “s”)
  • The Harrises’ car (plural possessive noun ending in “s”)

MYTH 7: Never end a sentence with a preposition.

Fact: A preposition at the end of a sentence is a problem only when it has no object in the same clause.

• • Inappropriate construction ending in a preposition that has no object: Where are you at?
  • Correction: Where are you?

•  Most of the time, though, these so-called prepositions at the ends of sentences are really particles, which are part of phrasal verbs—“to call off,” “to rely on,” “to show up,” for example.

Consider these sentences, which, at first glance, might appear to end with prepositions:

• • After the hike, we ate an early dinner and turned in.
  • Lack of empathy was a quality she would not put up with.

In the first example, in is not acting as a preposition but as a particle—as part of the phrasal verb. The verb turned in means “retired” or “went to bed.”

In the second example, with is not a preposition but is part of the phrasal verb put up with, which means tolerate.

One way to identify a particle is that it significantly changes the meaning of the verb from what it would be without the particle: the phrasal verb turned in has a very different meaning from that of the verb turned by itself, without the particle in.  And put up with is quite different from put, without the particles up and with. (Go here for a fuller explanation.)

MYTH 8: Never use first-person pronouns (I, me, us, we, our, ours, my, mine) in professional writing.

Fact: Whether to use first-person pronouns depends entirely upon the audience and purpose of the piece of writing. Business letter and report writers who think that they must avoid first-person pronouns often end up writing awkward, vague sentences that are no fun to read (and that often use vague passive-voice verbs):

• • Adequate sentence: Your request has been denied.
  • Better sentence: We have denied your request.

• • Adequate sentence: The tickets have been mailed to you.
  • Better sentence: We have mailed the tickets to you.

Certain kinds of writing—personal reflections, for example—are always written from the first-person point of view.

* * * *

So there they are: eight myth rules that at best get in the way and at worst cause more harm than good.  But there are more! I’ll address others in upcoming articles, but in the meantime I hope you feel—as Ed Schuster would say—liberated from these rule wannabes.

Copyright 2021 Get It Write.

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Contractions vs. Possessive Adjectives

The first word in each pair is a contraction, shorthand for the expressions it is, they are, you are, and who is. The apostrophe in contractions, as we all know, is placed where letters have been omitted.

The second word in each pair is a possessive adjective.

Simple, right? Wrong.

The Roles of Apostrophes

We know we need apostrophes in contractions, but we also know that apostrophes are often used to indicate possession.

“Why is it,” the frustrated writer may be justifiably tempted to ask, “that possessive adjectives and pronouns don’t need apostrophes?” After all, when we make names possessive, we use an apostrophe: “Maddie’s glove,” “José’s car,” “Sean’s house,” for example.

It helps to remember that possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns (mine, ours, theirs, etc.) don’t need apostrophes because they are already possessive.

In our examples, we needed apostrophes with Maddie, José, and Sean to show possession because those proper nouns can also be used in other contexts; that is, sometimes those nouns aren’t possessive. When they are possessive, we need a way to signal that shift to the reader.

Possessive adjectives, in contrast, have no function other than to indicate possession, so apostrophes aren’t necessary.

Not all words that indicate possession tempt us to insert an apostrophe. Consider my, mine, our, her, your, and his, for example—no temptation there.

The Troublemakers

But the possessive adjectives that sound exactly like commonly used contractions give us the most trouble because our mind plays tricks on us:

• First, we see the contractions often enough that the apostrophe looks normal.
• Second, we know we need to indicate possession.
• Third, we associate the possessive case with apostrophes.

And so we insert an apostrophe where none is needed.

Simple Test

When trying to decide whether to include an apostrophe in these situations, we need to ask if the two-word phrase that the contraction replaces—it is, they are, you are, or who is—would work instead. If so, then we are, in fact, dealing with a contraction (which includes an apostrophe). If not, then we need a possessive adjective (without an apostrophe).

We would never say, for example, “The shiny bauble has lost it is luster,” so we shouldn’t write “it’s luster.”

On the other hand, in the construction “You’re right,” we can logically replace you’re with “you are.”  The contraction is the right choice, and we should avoid writing “your right.”

Intellectually, most writers understand the difference between these common homophones, but when we are in a hurry, typing with our thumbs, or dashing off a quick comment on a social media post, it’s (it is—check!) easy to get confused.

Test Yourself

Are the words in bold type appropriate in the following sentences?

1. Your going to need expensive textbooks in law school.
2. The manager made an announcement over the intercom in an effort to find the person whose car is blocking the driveway.
3. Your going to be late if the manager cannot determine who’s car is blocking the driveway.
4. She used a secret spice to give the grilled fish it’s unique flavor.
5. It’s easy to be a Monday-morning quarterback.

Answers

1. You’re
2. correct
3. you’re and whose
4. its
5. correct

The appropriate use of apostrophes is one of the topics covered in the Get It Write online course on punctuation. Work at your own pace with instructional videos (by yours truly!) and engage in practice exercises to ensure retention. Learners consistently claim that Get It Write online courses are as good as or better than any other online course they have experienced. See for yourself!

©2021 Get It Write

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