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“Whose” and “Of Which”

When a possessive form is called for by the sentence, the word that has to bow out and rely on which to borrow a preposition to show possession. An example will show what I mean: Congress passed the statute, the purpose of which was to lower taxes. T...

Who, Whom, Whose

Who or Whom?Amber, Igor, and Miss Hamrick dreamed up that and which when they wanted to refer to inanimate objects and abstractions. But they also dreamed up a set of relative pronouns (who, whoever, whom, whomever, whose) to refer to people. These w...

“That” Can Refer to People

We use who-whom-whose to refer to humans and that-which to refer to inanimate objects and abstractions. Thus: The woman who became CEO was admired by all. The idea that she suggested ultimately succeeded. The report that she wrote sealed the deal. ...

That vs. Which

Which Is It? That? Or Which?Now we open the proverbial can of worms.Some people on earth know the differences between that and which. I’m one of them. So is your boss. Maybe.Enough discerning readers out there do know the differences. So it’ll pa...

6. Interrogative Pronouns

Amber, Igor, and Miss Hamrick had lots of questions they wanted to ask, so they convened the Grammar Committee and devised ways to interrogate members of the tribe. First, they decided to form questions by including an auxiliary verb and then putting...

7. Reciprocal Pronouns

Each Other and One AnotherWe have only two of these pronouns, they come in pairs, and they typically appear as objects: each other and one another. We use them to show some sort of a relationship between two or more people or larger groups. Like this...

Fear of Using Pronouns

Pronominal PhobiaAs we conclude our discussion of the seven kinds of pronouns, I should pause to point out a problem with the writing styles of many people, particularly professionals. For some unknown reason, professional people like to repeat profe...

A Summary of Pronouns

We have seven types of pronouns: (1) personal, (2) reflexive and intensive, (3) indefinite, (4) demonstrative, (5) relative, (6) interrogative, and (7) reciprocal.You must commit to memory some of the basic rules governing the correct use of p...

Conjunctions - Definition, Overview, and Lists of Examples

WelcomeBelow you’ll find links to our discussion on conjunctions. We recommend that you start with the first topic,Conjunctions - Words That Join. At the bottom of each topic, you’ll find links to “Next” and to “Previous.” So start with t...

Conjunctions - Words That Join

In this section, we’ll learn all about conjunctions. Great writers wisely and frequently use conjunctions to create parallel structures in their prose. And all great writers start sentences with conjunctions. After you read this section, you will t...

1. Coordinating Conjunctions

BOYFANSWe have seven coordinating conjunctions, and you can remember them by referring to the acronym BOYFANS. B O Y F A N S But Or Yet For And Nor So These conjunctions join words, phrases, or clauses. As we’ll discuss more fully be...

Parallelism

Rule of Parallel StructureNote: We devote an entire section to parallel structure in the eBook Developing a Powerful Writing Style. We urge you to read it. We also deal with parallel structure in more detail below.Notice in the examples above that ea...

Serial-Comma Rule - Red, White, and Blue

When you use a coordinating conjunction to join two elements of a series, no comma comes before the conjunction. But when you join three or more elements, the preferred rule requires a comma before the coordinating conjunction.This is called the seri...

Conjunctive Adverbs - “However,” etc.

Watch OutAnother word that can join two independent clauses is the conjunctive adverb. You probably use these words in your writing style: however, therefore, furthermore, nevertheless, and others.If you use a conjunctive adverb to join two independe...

2. Correlative Conjunctions

Power WordsThe second kind of conjunction is the correlative conjunction, which comes in pairs of words. Here are the most commonly used:Correlative Conjunctionseither . . . or neither . . . nor not . . . but not only . . . but (also) both . . . andP...

3. Subordinating Conjunctions

Starting Dependent ClausesThe third and final type of conjunction introduces subordinate clauses. We have a rather long list of these words, called subordinating conjunctions. Notice our friend, the word that. As a subordinating conjunction, it intro...

As Far As

As Far As Success …Many smart people flub the use of the subordinating conjunction as far as. Keep in mind that the expression serves as a subordinating conjunction. That is, it joins a clause. What must be in the clause to make it a clause?Right.A...

Rule of Parallel Structure

Though we’ll study parallel construction in the eBook Developing a Powerful Writing Style, I must introduce the concept here, for producing a parallel series requires the use of two of the conjunctions we just discussed: coordinating conjunctions a...

Start a Sentence with a Conjunction

And you may start a sentence with And.You probably learned in grade school: Never start a sentence with but, and, or any other conjunction. Poppycock!Not only can you start sentences with a conjunction, but you must—if you want to become a good wri...

"However" as a Sentence-Starter

However, this is bad form.Look at the sentences above, the ones starting with But. Imagine how awful they would sound if the writer had started them with However followed by a comma. No applause for Justice Black if he had written: The Framers knew, ...

A Word About "Nor"

Nor After NegativesThe conjunction nor can serve either as a coordinating conjunction or as part of the correlative conjunction neither . . . nor. As a coordinating conjunction, it can join a complete independent clause. When used in this way, it con...

Subject-Verb Agreement - Plural Subjects

Watch OutBefore winding up our discussion of conjunctions, we need to visit the notion of subject-verb agreement in number. When you write a plural subject, you must use a plural verb. When you write a singular subject, you must use a singular verb.A...

A Summary of Conjunctions

We have three kinds of conjunctions:1. coordinating 2. correlative 3. subordinatingWe have seen that coordinating and correlative conjunctions join two or three or four or more clauses, phrases, or words. The structures joined must be grammatically...

Prepositions - Definition, Overview, and Lists of Examples

WelcomeBelow you’ll find links to our discussion on prepositions. We recommend that you start with the first topic,Prepositions - Words That Glue. At the bottom of each topic, you’ll find links to “Next” and to “Previous.” So start with t...

Prepositions - Words That Glue

Now let’s explore a very important part of speech, the preposition. This little word helps us hook nouns onto sentences. When we do, we form prepositional phrases. When you complete this section, you might decide that a preposition is a good word t...