Essentials of English

by Hopper, Vincent F.

• ISBN13: 9780764113673
• ISBN10: 0764113674
• Edition: 5th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-09-01
• Publisher: Barrons Educational Series Inc

Summary

Updated and expanded, this popular writer's style manual covers the essentials of effective communication and includes rules of English grammar and sentence structure, punctuation, word usage in correct contexts, and advice on adapting writing style to different types of assignments, both for classroom and business use. This new edition makes a useful reference guide for students, as well as for adults who need to brush up on language style and usage.

Table of Contents

Preface	xvi
The Word
The Noun	1	(4)
Recognition of Nouns	1	(1)
Proper and Common Nouns	2	(1)
Singular and Plural Nouns	3	(1)
The Possessive Case of Nouns	3	(1)
The Apostrophe Possessive and the ``OF'' Possessive	4	(1)
Functions of Nouns	4	(1)
The Pronoun	5	(8)
Personal Pronouns	6	(1)
Relative Pronouns	7	(1)
Interrogative Pronouns	7	(1)
Demonstrative Pronouns	8	(1)
Indefinite Pronouns	8	(1)
Intensive and Reflexive Pronouns	8	(1)
Pronoun Case	9	(1)
The Nominative or Subjective Case	9	(1)
The Accusative or Objective Case	10	(1)
The Genitive or Possessive Case	11	(1)
Functions of Possessives	11	(1)
Functions of Independent Possessives	12	(1)
The Verb	13	(9)
Recognition of Finite Verbs	13	(1)
Forms of the Finite Verb	14	(2)
Mood	16	(1)
Transitive and Intransitive Verbs	17	(1)
The Passive Voice	18	(1)
Present and Past Tenses	19	(1)
Modal Auxiliaries	20	(1)
Future Time	20	(1)
Shall and Will	20	(1)
Perfect Tenses	21	(1)
Progressive Tenses	22	(1)
The Adjective and the Adverb	22	(5)
Recognition of Adjectives and Adverbs	22	(2)
The Article	24	(1)
Functions of Adjectives	24	(1)
Functions of Adverbs	25	(1)
Comparison of Adjectives and Adverbs	25	(1)
Confusion of Adjectives and Adverbs	26	(1)
The Verbal	27	(3)
The Infinitive	27	(1)
The Present Participle	28	(1)
The Past Participle	28	(1)
Functions of Verbals	29	(1)
Prepositions and Conjunctions	30	(3)
Recognition of Prepositions and Subordinating Conjunctions	30	(2)
Coordinating Conjunctions	32	(1)
Correlative Conjunctions	32	(1)
Sentence Connectors	33	(1)
The Interjection	33	(1)
The Sentence and Its Parts
The Subject and the Predicate	34	(19)
Forms of the Subject	36	(1)
Forms of the Predicate	37	(4)
Phrases and Clauses	41	(4)
Classification of Sentences by Clause Type	45	(1)
Modification	46	(7)
Sentence Errors
Sentence Fragments	53	(2)
Recognition of Sentence Fragments	53	(1)
The Correlation of Sentence Fragments	54	(1)
The Comma Fault	55	(1)
The Fused Sentence	56	(1)
Logic and Clarity
Agreement of Subject and Verb	57	(8)
Subject and Verb Agreement by Number	57	(1)
Selection of the Subject to Control the Number of the Verb Form	58	(1)
Selection of the Correct Number of the Noun Subject to Control the Verb Form	59	(2)
Selection of the Correct Number of the Compound Subject to Control the Verb Form	61	(1)
Selection of the Correct Number of the Pronoun Subject to Control the Verb Form	62	(2)
Selection of the Correct Form of the Verb to Agree with the Subject by Number	64	(1)
Subject-Verb Agreement by Person	65	(1)
Agreement of Pronoun and Antecedent	65	(4)
Selection of the Correct Pronoun Based on the Number of the Antecedent	65	(2)
Selection of the Correct Pronoun Based on the Person and Gender of the Antecedent	67	(1)
Selection of the Correct Pronoun Based on the Antecedent Being Human or Nonhuman	68	(1)
Faulty Pronoun Reference	69	(5)
Faulty Pronoun Reference Because of the Omission of the Antecedent	69	(1)
Fault Pronoun Reference Because of Reference to More Than One Possible Antecedent	70	(1)
Faulty Pronoun Reference Because of Undue Separation of Antecedent and Pronoun	71	(1)
Faulty Pronoun Reference Because of Anticipatory Reference	72	(1)
Faulty Pronoun Reference Because of Errors of Agreement	72	(2)
Case	74	(5)
Put the Subject of a Verb in the Nominative Case	75	(1)
Put the Predicate Noun or Pronoun in the Nominative Case	75	(1)
Put the Appositive of a Subject in the Nominative Case	75	(1)
Put the Object of a Verb in the Objective Case	76	(1)
Put the Object or Complement of a Verbal in the Objective Case	76	(1)
Put the Subject of an Infinitive in the Objective Case	76	(1)
Put Coordinate Nouns and Pronouns in the Same Case	76	(1)
In All Elliptical Clauses Introduced by Than and As Put Nouns and Pronouns in the Case That the Expanded Clause Would Demand	77	(1)
Put the Object of a Preposition in the Objective Case	77	(1)
Put the Relative Pronoun Who or Whom in the Case Demanded by Its Use in the Clause to Which It Belongs	77	(1)
Put Nouns and Pronouns in the Possessive Case When They Are Used to Show the Following	78	(1)
Put a Noun or Pronoun in the Possessive Case When It Immediately Precedes a Gerund	78	(1)
Dangling Modifiers	79	(4)
Dangling Modifiers Involving Verbals	79	(2)
Dangling Modifiers Involving Prepositional Phrases and Verbals	81	(1)
Dangling Modifiers Involving Elliptical Clauses	81	(1)
Generalized Participle Phrases	82	(1)
Misplaced Modifiers	83	(4)
Misplaced Verb Modifiers	83	(1)
Misplaced Noun Modifiers	84	(1)
Double Reference Modifiers	84	(1)
Misplaced Common Adverbs	85	(1)
Faulty Phrase Compounding	86	(1)
Split Constructions	87	(6)
Pointless Separation of Words Within a Structure	87	(2)
Pointless Separation of Closely Related Structures	89	(1)
Mixed Constructions	90	(3)
Faulty Comparison	93	(2)
Faulty Omission of Elements from the Second Part of the Comparison	93	(1)
Omission of the Basis of Comparison	93	(1)
Omission of As in Double Comparisons	94	(1)
Confusion of the Normal Meanings of the Comparative and Superlative Forms	94	(1)
Confusion of the Meanings of Comparative and Superlative Forms by Misuse of the Word Other	95	(1)
Omission of Necessary Words	95	(4)
Omission of Necessary Determiners in Coordinate Forms	96	(1)
Omission of Necessary Prepositions	97	(1)
Omission of Repeated Verb Forms in Coordinate but Not Parallel Verb Phrases	97	(1)
Omission of Relationship Words and Other Small Words	98	(1)
Emphasis, Consistency, and Appropriateness
Emphasis	99	(8)
Emphasis by Arrangement	99	(3)
Emphasis by Repetition	102	(1)
Emphasis by Use of Voice	103	(1)
Emphasis by Subordination	103	(1)
Coordination and Balance	104	(1)
Parallelism and Balance	105	(2)
Consistency	107	(3)
Consistency in Tense	107	(1)
Consistency in Number	108	(1)
Consistency in Person	108	(1)
Consistency and Appropriateness in Tone	109	(1)
Variety	110	(2)
Punctuation
Terminal Punctuation	112	(1)
The Period	112	(1)
The Question Mark	113	(1)
The Exclamation Point	113	(1)
The Comma	113	(7)
To Separate Parts of a Series	114	(1)
To Separate the Clauses of a Compound Sentence Joined by a Coordinating Conjunction	115	(1)
To Separate Interjections and Similar Nonintegrated Sentence Elements	115	(1)
To Set off a Long Phrase or Clause Preceding the Subject	116	(1)
To Indicate Interruptions of Normal Word Order	117	(1)
To Set off Nonrestrictive Elements	117	(1)
To Separate Contrasted Sentence Elements	118	(1)
To Prevent Misreading	119	(1)
Conventional Uses of the Comma	119	(1)
Misuse of the Comma	120	(1)
Do Not Interrupt the Normal Flow of Thought by a Comma	120	(1)
Do Not Separate Words or Phrases Joined by And or Or	121	(1)
Do Not Place a Comma Between a Conjunction and the Word or Words It Introduces	121	(1)
The Semicolon	121	(1)
To Separate Independent Clauses	121	(1)
To Separate Major Word Groupings from Lesser Ones	122	(1)
The Colon	122	(1)
The Dash	123	(1)
The Hyphen	123	(1)
The Apostrophe	124	(1)
Parentheses and Brackets	124	(1)
Quotations and Quotation Marks	125	(4)
Quotation Marks to Indicate Titles	125	(1)
Direct Quotations	125	(2)
Quotations Within Quotations	127	(1)
Quotation Marks Used with Other Punctuation	127	(1)
Punctuation of Dialogue	128	(1)
Italics	129	(2)
Italics to Indicate Titles of Full-Length Works	129	(1)
Italics to Indicate Words or Letters Used as Such	130	(1)
Italics for Emphasis	130	(1)
The Paragraph
The Paragraph Defined	131	(23)
Indent the First Line of Every Paragraph an Inch in Handwritten Manuscript and Five Spaces in Typescript	132	(1)
Develop the Paragraph with Material Suitable to the Topic	133	(7)
Suit the Length of the Paragraph to Its Purpose	140	(3)
Make Your Paragraphs Unified	143	(1)
Use a Topic Sentence to State the Unifying Thought of the Paragraph	144	(1)
Make the Paragraph Coherent	145	(6)
Provide Transition Between Paragraphs	151	(3)
The Writer's Approach to the Subject
Select and Adapt a Subject with Care	154	(4)
Choose a Subject That Interests You	154	(1)
Choose a Subject That You Know About or Are Willing to Learn About	155	(1)
Choose a Subject That You Can Write About with Honesty of Purpose	156	(1)
Limit the Subject in Scope	156	(2)
Adapt the Subject to Your Own Sphere of Interest and Knowledge	158	(1)
Determine Your Fundamental Purpose in Writing	158	(1)
Gather and Record Your Material	159	(2)
Make a Plan of Your Writing	161	(7)
Write the Essay from the Plan	168	(4)
Check the First Draft of the Essay Carefully	171	(1)
Write the Final Version from the Revised Draft	171	(1)
Begin and End the Paper Properly	172	(5)
Write an Opening That Is Suitable to the Article and the Anticipated Audience	172	(4)
As a Rule, Do Not End a Paper with a Formal Conclusion	176	(1)
Do Not Begin a Narrative Long Before the Incident Being Narrated	176	(1)
Adopt an Appropriate Mood, Tone, and Manner	177	(2)
Be Simple and Direct	178	(1)
Strive to Be Accurate, Clear, and Emphatic	178	(1)
Be Modest, Unassuming, and Temperate	178	(1)
Do Not Strive to Be Funny	179	(1)
Avoid Wordiness	179	(3)
Cut Out Useless Introductory Phrases	180	(1)
Cut Out Deadwood Within the Body of a Sentence	180	(1)
Avoid the Constructions It is...and There are...	181	(1)
In Descriptive Writing Use a Principle of Organization	182	(2)
Use a Fundamental Image to Help Make Description Graphic	182	(1)
Use a Fundamental Impression to Help Make Description Unified and Coherent	182	(1)
Use a Focal Point as a Means of Organizing Descriptive Detail	183	(1)
In Persuasive Writing Use Logical Arguments and Avoid Fallacies	184	(7)
Use the Two Patterns of Reasoning: Inductive and Deductive	185	(1)
Avoid the Special Problems of Inductive Reasoning	185	(2)
Avoid the Special Problems of Deductive Reasoning	187	(1)
Avoid the Common Fallacies That Impair Logical Arguments	188	(3)
Writing About Literature	191	(3)
Choosing a Subject	191	(1)
Writing About Characters	191	(1)
Writing Interpretative Essays	192	(1)
Writing About the Setting	192	(1)
Analyzing the Techniques of Writing	193	(1)
Practical Advice for Writing About Literature	193	(1)
Writing a Resume	194	(3)
Practical Advice for Writing a Resume	195	(1)
A Sample Resume	196	(1)
Preparing a Manuscript	197	(14)
Physical Appearance	197	(1)
Use and Position of Footnotes	198	(1)
Form of Footnotes--Primary Reference	199	(2)
Form of Footnotes--Secondary Reference	201	(1)
The MLA Style of Footnotes and Bibliography	202	(2)
Abbreviations	204	(2)
Bibliography	206	(1)
A Sample Research Paper	207	(4)
Glossary of Words and Phrases Frequently Misused	211	(11)
Which Prepositions Go with Which Verbs?	222	(3)
Conjugations and Principal Parts	225	(8)
Index	233