Tag Archive - grammar

More Confusion

September 14, 2012 in Say What? with 6 Comments

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Here are are few more sets of words that get confused by writers that you might want to put in your notebook:

Adverse and averse. I admit to being averse to these two words since they often muddle me up. To be adverse to something is to be in opposition to it (think: I’m opposed to). It’s a phrase that usually refers to things, not people. “I’m adverse to war, poverty, and cruelty.” However, “I’m averse to risk.” Averse usually describes a person’s attitude, something you have feelings against. It’s a subtle difference.

Effect and Affect. These two words get confused because there are instances when effect is a verb. But aside from saying, for example, “We can effect change” (used as a verb), the word effect is a noun. Affect is a verb and means these things:

  • to act on or influence: The noise affected his hearing.
  • to move emotionally: His illness affected her.
  • to imitate or pretend: He affected compassion but didn’t feel a thing.
I hope this blog post did not affect you adversely.

He Said, She Said

September 7, 2012 in Say What? with 4 Comments

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Here’s a worthy bit of advice–only use speaker tags when needed. Too many writers feel they have to put “he said” (or worse: “he quipped, interjected, exclaimed”) every time any character says something. However, most of the time the reader knows who is speaking. If you are writing a conversation with just two people, you only occasionally need to mention the speaker’s name just to keep the reader clear. But alternating with a narrative tag instead is a good idea. Don’t use both.

Wrong:

John shook his head. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he said.

Correct:

John shook his head. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

Be sure that when you do use an action (narrative tag) to identify who is speaking, you keep the action and speech together in the same paragraph to avoid confusion. Too often in the manuscripts I edit, I get confused as to who is speaking because the writer will put a line of speech on one line, and then that character’s action in the next paragraph along with a different character’s speech.

And it always sounds more natural to say “John said” rather than “said John.”

Keeping Up with the Joneses

August 31, 2012 in Say What? with 1 Comment

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Apostrophes seem to give people a hard time. I’m not sure why. I have to restrain myself when I see (which is often) an incorrect use of apostrophes on restaurant signs and in menus. Why they are so common there, I’m not sure, but it’s a good thing for all writers to memorize these rules—and they’re not hard.

What is wrong with the sentences below?

• He was selling chocolates to the participant’s.
• The Milky Way’s were a better choice.
• Vast majority of people have TV’s .
• They were a well-known group in the 1960’s.

Answer: The apostrophe is incorrectly used in place of a plural. It should be participants, Ways, TVs, and 1960s. Continue Reading…

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