Stating things positively draws the reader's attention. Watch for the word not and try to restate the idea more effectively.
Negative: She often did not eat on time.
Positive: She often ate late.
Try to replace a word or phrase plus not with its antonym. See the following examples:
Negative: was not present
Positive: absent
Negative: did not remember
Positive: forgot
Reserve the negative form for those cases where it produces the desired effect:
"Of all noises, I think music is the least disagreeable." - Samuel Johnson
Showing posts with label English Grammar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label English Grammar. Show all posts
June 1, 2007
March 20, 2007
Avoid Double Negatives
What are Double Negatives? When two negative words are present in a sentence, they tend to cancel each other and create a positive meaning, which may not mean the same thing as what you are thinking.
Wrong: The discussion is not going nowhere.
Right: The discussion is going nowhere or The discussion is not going anywhere.
Be careful when words other than no or not express negation.
Wrong: The absence of concentration was noticeably lacking.
Right: The lack of concentration was evident.
Avoid complicated negative constructions.
Poor: I couldn't see how it was not a torture.
Better: I could see that it was a torture.
Note: Neither/ nor does not constitute a double negative. It is more in the spirit of a list of two negative elements.
Neither this nor that...
Wrong: The discussion is not going nowhere.
Right: The discussion is going nowhere or The discussion is not going anywhere.
Be careful when words other than no or not express negation.
Wrong: The absence of concentration was noticeably lacking.
Right: The lack of concentration was evident.
Avoid complicated negative constructions.
Poor: I couldn't see how it was not a torture.
Better: I could see that it was a torture.
Note: Neither/ nor does not constitute a double negative. It is more in the spirit of a list of two negative elements.
Neither this nor that...
February 20, 2007
More About Pronouns
A word that takes the place of a noun is called a Pronoun. Examples are it, you, they, who and she. There are five kinds of pronouns: Personal, Relative, Indefinite, Demonstrative, and Interrogative. Let us discuss them one by one.
Personal Pronouns replace nouns. Examples are as follows:
Singular: I, you, he, she
Plural: We, us, you, they
Possessive: my, mine, her, hers, his, ours, your, yours, their, theirs.
Relative Pronouns connect words. The commonly used relative pronouns are who, whom, which, that, whose, what, whoever and whomever.
Indefinite Pronouns are vague. Examples are any, few, several, some, each, every, no one, everyone, somebody, something, nobody, nothing.
Demonstrative Pronouns point to people or things without actually naming them. Examples are this, that, these and those.
Note: When this, that, these and those precede a noun, they no longer remain pronouns. They become adjectives. Example: that book, those chairs.
Interrogative Pronouns ask questions: who, whom, which, what and whose.
Personal Pronouns replace nouns. Examples are as follows:
Singular: I, you, he, she
Plural: We, us, you, they
Possessive: my, mine, her, hers, his, ours, your, yours, their, theirs.
Relative Pronouns connect words. The commonly used relative pronouns are who, whom, which, that, whose, what, whoever and whomever.
Indefinite Pronouns are vague. Examples are any, few, several, some, each, every, no one, everyone, somebody, something, nobody, nothing.
Demonstrative Pronouns point to people or things without actually naming them. Examples are this, that, these and those.
Note: When this, that, these and those precede a noun, they no longer remain pronouns. They become adjectives. Example: that book, those chairs.
Interrogative Pronouns ask questions: who, whom, which, what and whose.
February 6, 2007
Difference Between Adjective and Adverb
Adjective
A word or group of words that modifies a noun or pronoun. Adjectives are called modifiers because they limit the words they are modifying.
Example: I'm wearing a blue shirt.
Adverb
A word or group of words that modifies a verb, adjective, or other adverb. Both Adjectives and Adverbs are modifiers, but they modify different kinds of words.
Example: She is an extremely intelligent person.
A word or group of words that modifies a noun or pronoun. Adjectives are called modifiers because they limit the words they are modifying.
Example: I'm wearing a blue shirt.
Adverb
A word or group of words that modifies a verb, adjective, or other adverb. Both Adjectives and Adverbs are modifiers, but they modify different kinds of words.
Example: She is an extremely intelligent person.
May 12, 2005
Top 5 Rules of English Grammar
Communication is effective when we follow certain rules. These rules make the written words understood. A writer should make the reader's job easier by communicating what he or she wants to communicate. If you also want to write, pay respect to your readers. Don't take them for granted. Learning and understanding the basic rules of English Grammar, you will surely be able to avoid ill-formed, confusing sentences.
Read the whole article on the following URL:
http://www.perfectediting.com/rules-of-english-grammar.htm
Read the whole article on the following URL:
http://www.perfectediting.com/rules-of-english-grammar.htm
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