Proper grammar is more than just placing a comma in the right place or spelling words correctly: grammar ensures what you say is clear and can be easily understood. While punctuation gives us guidelines for sentence construction and spelling conventions allow us to pronounce words correctly, there is another discipline for sentence clarity: usage. Usage is, obviously, how words and punctuation are used. Bad usage often occurs if a sentence has a problem with its mechanics, but otherwise grammatically perfect sentences can suffer from poor usage. Consider this sentence:
The monster the boy the girl kissed fought killed the grandmother.
The sentence is grammatically correct: the independent clause is "The monster killed the grandmother;" monster is modified with the reduced restrictive clause "the boy fought" (telling us which monster), and boy is modified with the reduced restrictive clause "the girl kissed" (telling us which boy). Yet this sentence is anything but clear and has poor usage--specifically, unclear antecedents. The sentence would be better written as "The monster, who had fought the boy that the girl kissed, killed the grandmother." Nothing was technically wrong with the original sentence, but the second sentence expresses the point better.
Usage is an art that takes practice. So let's look at the most common mistakes.
The three most common usage mistakes in student writing are problems with indicating titles, problems with spelling out numbers, and problem with appropriate writing (both as it concerns decency and respectful, person-first language). Since these problems are so pervasive, they each have an article you can read by clicking the links below.
Inapproriate use of second person
Second person voice should never be used in formal writing (unless writing instructions, dialogue, and everyday speech) because it assumes that the reader shares in the stated belief.
If you want to be a success, you need to do well in school.
As Mr. Coon the reader, I have already finished school and do not feel that this sentence is actually directed toward me. I feel that it is intended for somebody other than me.
To fix this, we can replace it with first person voice…
If I want to be a success, I need to do well in school.
… or we can replace it with third person general voice…
If one wants to be a success, one needs to do well in school.
…or pick a generic name, and use third person specific voice…
Say Gwen wants to be a success--she needs to do well in school.
If you want to be a success, you need to do well in school.
As Mr. Coon the reader, I have already finished school and do not feel that this sentence is actually directed toward me. I feel that it is intended for somebody other than me.
To fix this, we can replace it with first person voice…
If I want to be a success, I need to do well in school.
… or we can replace it with third person general voice…
If one wants to be a success, one needs to do well in school.
…or pick a generic name, and use third person specific voice…
Say Gwen wants to be a success--she needs to do well in school.
Quote vs. quotation
I see this often in journals and short answer responses:
WRONG: This quote shows how much Doc’s friends mean to him, and reinforces the novel’s theme of breaking perceptions.
The word quote is used incorrectly. Quote is a verb, as in:
To quote Shakespeare, “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.”
Since quote is an action but not a thing, you cannot “have a quote” or take “a quote from the text.” Quotation is the noun form.
This quotation shows how much Doc’s friends mean to him, and reinforces the novel’s theme of breaking perceptions.
WRONG: This quote shows how much Doc’s friends mean to him, and reinforces the novel’s theme of breaking perceptions.
The word quote is used incorrectly. Quote is a verb, as in:
To quote Shakespeare, “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.”
Since quote is an action but not a thing, you cannot “have a quote” or take “a quote from the text.” Quotation is the noun form.
This quotation shows how much Doc’s friends mean to him, and reinforces the novel’s theme of breaking perceptions.
Commas in a list
If you have a list of items, a comma goes after every item but the last of that list, including the word before the coordinating conjunction.
Excellent acting, precise cinematography, and an unpredictable storyline make Casablanca a great film.
Often, students exclude the comma on the last word before the coordinating conjunction. This comma has a special name: the Oxford comma. Students mistakenly believe this comma is unnecessary because newspapers, magazines, and news websites do not use it. HOWEVER, the Oxford comma is required in MLA style because it avoids misunderstandings like this:
My heroes are my parents, Mother Teresa and Batman.
Instead of a list of three heroes, this implies your parents are Mother Teresa and Batman. Same with this sentence:
Rachael Ray discusses her favorite things to cook, her dog and her family.
Excellent acting, precise cinematography, and an unpredictable storyline make Casablanca a great film.
Often, students exclude the comma on the last word before the coordinating conjunction. This comma has a special name: the Oxford comma. Students mistakenly believe this comma is unnecessary because newspapers, magazines, and news websites do not use it. HOWEVER, the Oxford comma is required in MLA style because it avoids misunderstandings like this:
My heroes are my parents, Mother Teresa and Batman.
Instead of a list of three heroes, this implies your parents are Mother Teresa and Batman. Same with this sentence:
Rachael Ray discusses her favorite things to cook, her dog and her family.
Quotation marks and parenthesis + other punctuation
With quotation marks, punctuation goes on the inside:
Lauren Bacall calls Casablanca “a timeless classic.”
With parenthesis, punctuation goes on the outside:
Casablanca is “a timeless classic” (according to actress Lauren Bacall, the Internet Movie Database, and a host of others).
Lauren Bacall calls Casablanca “a timeless classic.”
With parenthesis, punctuation goes on the outside:
Casablanca is “a timeless classic” (according to actress Lauren Bacall, the Internet Movie Database, and a host of others).
Keeping tense consistent
When writing, all sentences in a single paragraph should stay in past, present, or future tense.
WRONG: Kellie visited the store and buys a dress.
RIGHT: Kellie visited the store and bought a dress.
Kellie visits the store and buys a dress.
WRONG: Kellie visited the store and buys a dress.
RIGHT: Kellie visited the store and bought a dress.
Kellie visits the store and buys a dress.
The tense of literature
All stories and films are in present tense.
WRONG: Adam’s Rib featured the great pairing of Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn as two married lawyers on the same case.
RIGHT: Adam’s Rib features the great pairing of Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn as two married lawyers on the same case.
WRONG: Adam’s Rib featured the great pairing of Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn as two married lawyers on the same case.
RIGHT: Adam’s Rib features the great pairing of Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn as two married lawyers on the same case.
Off of
Prepositions and their objects have a 1:1 relationship, meaning that one object cannot serve two prepositions.
WRONG: Get the blanket off of me!
Can a preposition be more than one word? Sure: next to, in spite of, and except for are all multiword prepositions. But “off of” is not; just use off.
WRONG: Get the blanket off of me!
Can a preposition be more than one word? Sure: next to, in spite of, and except for are all multiword prepositions. But “off of” is not; just use off.
Reflexive pronoun use
Reflexive pronouns can only be used as direct objects if the subject is a nominative pronoun.
WRONG: The best skiers are Justin and myself.
RIGHT: The best skiers are Justin and I.
Reflexive pronouns also cannot be used alone as adverbs, but must be part of an adverbial prepositional phrase.
WRONG: I can do it all myself.
RIGHT: I can do it all by myself.
WRONG: The best skiers are Justin and myself.
RIGHT: The best skiers are Justin and I.
Reflexive pronouns also cannot be used alone as adverbs, but must be part of an adverbial prepositional phrase.
WRONG: I can do it all myself.
RIGHT: I can do it all by myself.
Vague "this"
I see this often in explaining data or in short answer responses:
WRONG: Doc dances with Cora, reads a poem, and finally smiles at his friends. This reveals Doc’s true feelings.
What does “this” refer to? The dancing? The poetic reading? The smile? All of it? “This” is a demonstrative pronoun, but its antecedent isn’t clear. To fix this sentence, you could add a noun and use “this” as an adjective clarifying “which one?”...
This series of events reveals Doc’s true feelings.
...or, better yet, ditch the “this” and have a more active subject:
When Doc smiles, he finally reveals his true feelings.
WRONG: Doc dances with Cora, reads a poem, and finally smiles at his friends. This reveals Doc’s true feelings.
What does “this” refer to? The dancing? The poetic reading? The smile? All of it? “This” is a demonstrative pronoun, but its antecedent isn’t clear. To fix this sentence, you could add a noun and use “this” as an adjective clarifying “which one?”...
This series of events reveals Doc’s true feelings.
...or, better yet, ditch the “this” and have a more active subject:
When Doc smiles, he finally reveals his true feelings.
Narrator vs. author
A narrator is the character who describes the plot action of a narrative, while the author is the person who wrote the narrative. NEVER CONFUSE THE TWO! Unless the author specifically states that they are the narrator (like in a memoir), the narrator is to be treated like a fictional character. Never assume the author’s beliefs are the same as the narrator’s beliefs, and make points as “The narrator says in the book,” not “the author says...”
Pronouns with no antecedent
Pronouns all stand in for a previous noun called an antecedent. The antecedent is determined by locating the previous noun that is similar in gender, plurality, and person.
Sarah and Frank went to the movie. He paid for both their tickets.
We know that in the second sentence “he” refers to Frank because Frank is the only singular male noun in the first sentence. We also know “their” refers to both Sarah and Frank as it is a possessive plural.
It is a shame that racism exists in our society.
This sentence, if it begins an essay, has the pronoun “it” referring to no previous noun. Neither does the pronoun “our.” These pronouns make a close reading of the sentence incomplete and confusing. This sentence could be rewritten as:
A shameful aspect of American society is its racism.
This sentence not only gets rid of the “it,” but specifies the “ours” into a more specific term.
Sarah and Frank went to the movie. He paid for both their tickets.
We know that in the second sentence “he” refers to Frank because Frank is the only singular male noun in the first sentence. We also know “their” refers to both Sarah and Frank as it is a possessive plural.
It is a shame that racism exists in our society.
This sentence, if it begins an essay, has the pronoun “it” referring to no previous noun. Neither does the pronoun “our.” These pronouns make a close reading of the sentence incomplete and confusing. This sentence could be rewritten as:
A shameful aspect of American society is its racism.
This sentence not only gets rid of the “it,” but specifies the “ours” into a more specific term.
Pronouns with the wrong antecedent
This error is similar to the previous one. As the antecedent is determined by locating the previous noun that is similar in gender, plurality, and person, sometime pronouns refer to the wrong antecedent by mistake.
The cat mewed from the ledge and the dog playfully barked. It then jumped up, catching the air like a kite.
In the second sentence, who jumped, the cat or the dog? According to usage rules, it had to have been the dog, as “dog” is the most previous nonhuman single pronoun in the paragraph.
But if the next sentence happens to be…
It landed on all for paws, safe from the yapping canine.
…we know from context that the author meant for the cat to be the one jumping. Make sure all your pronouns refer to the correct antecedent; if not, replace the pronoun with a noun or noun clause.
The cat mewed from the ledge and the dog playfully barked. It then jumped up, catching the air like a kite.
In the second sentence, who jumped, the cat or the dog? According to usage rules, it had to have been the dog, as “dog” is the most previous nonhuman single pronoun in the paragraph.
But if the next sentence happens to be…
It landed on all for paws, safe from the yapping canine.
…we know from context that the author meant for the cat to be the one jumping. Make sure all your pronouns refer to the correct antecedent; if not, replace the pronoun with a noun or noun clause.
That vs. which
That is used for restrictive clauses, which are clauses that you can’t delete without affecting the sentence’s meaning. Which is used for nonrestrictive clauses, which are clauses that you can delete and not affect the sentence’s meaning.
RESTRICTIVE: Songs that are without lyrics are best for study music.
NONRESTRICTIVE: Instrumental songs, which have no lyrics, are best for study music.
RESTRICTIVE: Songs that are without lyrics are best for study music.
NONRESTRICTIVE: Instrumental songs, which have no lyrics, are best for study music.
I vs. me
“I” is a nominative pronoun, meaning that it is the subject in a sentence; “me” is an objective pronoun, meaning that it is the direct object, indirect object, or object of a preposition in a sentence.
WRONG: Yessinia and me went to the movies.
RIGHT: Yessinia and I went to the movies.
WRONG: Please hand Chris and I the toolbox.
RIGHT: Please hand Chris and me the toolbox.
WRONG: Yessinia and me went to the movies.
RIGHT: Yessinia and I went to the movies.
WRONG: Please hand Chris and I the toolbox.
RIGHT: Please hand Chris and me the toolbox.
Who vs. whom
Just like I vs. Me, “who” is a nominative pronoun, meaning that it is the subject in a sentence; “whom” is an objective pronoun, meaning that it is an object in a sentence.
WRONG: To who am I speaking?
RIGHT: To whom am I speaking
WRONG: To who am I speaking?
RIGHT: To whom am I speaking
Placement of a limiting modifier
A limiting modifier introduces a limitation or direction to a noun or verb. These include possessive pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, and the adjectives and adverbs almost, even, hardly, just, merely, nearly, never, not, only, and simply.
Limiting modifiers always go before what they modify. If there are multiple modifiers, the limiting modifier goes first (unless there is an article).
WRONG: Mr. Dawkins only refutes one religion successfully with his arguments: his childhood faith, Catholicism.
“Only” modifies “religion”, but is placed before the verb. It should be:
RIGHT: Mr. Dawkins refutes only one religion successfully with his arguments: his childhood faith, Catholicism.
Limiting modifiers always go before what they modify. If there are multiple modifiers, the limiting modifier goes first (unless there is an article).
WRONG: Mr. Dawkins only refutes one religion successfully with his arguments: his childhood faith, Catholicism.
“Only” modifies “religion”, but is placed before the verb. It should be:
RIGHT: Mr. Dawkins refutes only one religion successfully with his arguments: his childhood faith, Catholicism.
Unique and other absolutes
“Unique” means “one-of-a-kind;” it is NOT a synonym for “rare.” If something is unique, that means it is the only one. Here is an example of unique used incorrectly:
WRONG: Casablanca features unique costuming of lacy, elegant dresses for the women and sharp tuxedos for the men.
This is hardly “unique,” as the same attire can be found at any traditional wedding. Here is unique used correctly:
With cast members from thirty-seven different countries, the ensemble of Casablanca give the film a unique sound.
This demonstrates why Casablanca is like no other movie ever. Absolute terms, like unique, are words that cannot be modified, and include:
absolute eternal finite infinite overwhelmed
dead fatal identical mortal perfect
entirely final immortal opposite straight
Just as you cannot be “very dead,” something cannot be “very unique” or “somewhat unique.” It is unique, or it is not.
WRONG: Casablanca features unique costuming of lacy, elegant dresses for the women and sharp tuxedos for the men.
This is hardly “unique,” as the same attire can be found at any traditional wedding. Here is unique used correctly:
With cast members from thirty-seven different countries, the ensemble of Casablanca give the film a unique sound.
This demonstrates why Casablanca is like no other movie ever. Absolute terms, like unique, are words that cannot be modified, and include:
absolute eternal finite infinite overwhelmed
dead fatal identical mortal perfect
entirely final immortal opposite straight
Just as you cannot be “very dead,” something cannot be “very unique” or “somewhat unique.” It is unique, or it is not.