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A thorough review of English structure includes understanding subjects and predicates in broader terms. While the concepts of subjects and predicates in their totality may not be as commonly taught as they once were, a brief study will both reinforce our facility as writers and grammarians and further acquaint us with grammatical terminology. Today, we’ll focus on the predicate, the engine of the …

A common error in using adjectives and adverbs arises from using the wrong form for comparison. Incorrect:  She is the poorest of the two women. Correct: She is poor. (positive form) She is the poorer of the two women. (comparative form/two items) She is the poorest of them all. (superlative form/more than two) Many one- …

Strong writing—writing that moves, directs, and connects people—conveys thoughts and ideas with clarity and efficiency. Badly placed words create vagueness and confusion; well-placed ones achieve logic and unity. Careful writers join elements that are related in thought and separate those that are not. Consider the following sentence: He noticed a glass on the table that …

Sentence structures are the beams of the building of composition. The stronger and better formed they are, the firmer our communication foundation will be. Part One of our discussion introduced us to simple and compound sentences. In Part Two, we explored complex and compound-complex sentences. Let's take a brief look at all four as a …

If you think you know your English, Ammon Shea’s Bad English: A History of Linguistic Aggravation might make you question your most cherished notions. The book has a lot to offer grammar sticklers with open minds, but it will challenge—and enrage—most traditionalists. People who care about language tend to deplore the slovenly habits of their …

Understanding sentence structures helps us shape the art of good writing. In Part One of our discussion, we identified the four foundational sentence constructions and reviewed the first two, simple and compound sentences. We'll next look at complex and compound-complex sentences. Complex Sentence A complex sentence has one independent main clause and at least one dependent clause, …

The art of writing resembles any trade that begins with the basics and evolves into skillful applications of them. A key component of precise and eloquent composition is understanding sentence structures. English comprises four foundational sentence constructions: simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex. In part one of our discussion, we'll review simple and compound sentences. Simple …

Sometimes in our writing or speaking we will drop a word or words that are needed for grammatical completeness, but they are still understood when they are left out. Examples Do you think [that] she is correct? His brother and [his] attorney, Chris, will represent him. I tend to watch football more than [I watch] …

We recently reviewed how negative constructions both serve English expression and muddy it more than positive constructions will. Another aspect of English negation that deserves a closer look is the double negative. To convey something is incorrect or untrue, English offers words such as no, not, nothing, barely, scarcely, and hardly, as well as terms with cancelling prefixes such as improbable and …

I heard from a correspondent who hates the phrase gone missing. His e-mail called it an "ear-abrading" and "vulgar" usage. "Sends me right round the bend, mate!" he said. I did a little digging and found that he's far from alone. "Gone missing," according to a word nerd at the Boston Globe, is "the least …