by C. Hope Clark |
Critique groups are banes or blessings, depending upon your experiences. I’ve endured both, but in the long run I consider a critique group an asset in a writer’s toolbox. They come with their good points and bad, their strong writers and weak, the arrogant and the fearful. And invariably you’ll find the one who deems himself the grammar police.
He (or she) will don a green, red, or other colored pen and commence to circling passive voice, noting Oxford commas, crossing through the use of HAD and THAT, underscoring your split infinitives, and chastising you for beginning a sentence with AND or BUT. Heaven help you if you end a sentence with OF, TO or AT.
And invariably a writer will stand tall and profess that he writes from the soul, the heart, or some other part of their body, and that strict adherence to grammar rules handcuffs a creative spirit.
by Liz Bureman |
As the English language evolves (and we start to learn grammar from text messaging), more words that aren’t actually words worm their way into our lexicon. Sometimes we embrace the change (“okay,” believe it or not, was not always an acceptable word), and sometimes we send it back to the pits of hell (ask any grammar enthusiast about “irregardless”).
I’m spotlighting two examples of not-actually-words today: alright and alot.
by Liz Bureman |
We’ve covered when not to use commas (and when to use commas if you feel like it), but it’s just as important to know when to use commas. We can’t have run-on sentences taking over literature. So when do you use a comma?
We’ve already covered the Oxford comma and the need for commas in a series or list. There are three other primary times when you need to use a comma. Keep in mind that this is not an exhaustive list; just the times when comma use is most common.
by Liz Bureman |
I’m a big fan of grammar. Surprise, right? But in order to use grammar properly, we need to understand the parts of a sentence. A lot of grammar deals with objects of sentences. You know, subject, verb, object. Suzy slapped Bobby.
But not everything that comes after a verb is an object. Prepositional phrases can throw a wrench into the mix.
