Grammar Smart 3rd Edition - Princeton Review 2014
Part 5. Commonly-Asked Questions And Answers
Q: Is it okay to being a sentence with because?
A: Sure, why not? For some reason “Don’t start a sentence with because” is the one rule people remember from grammar classes, but there is no such rule. What you can’t do is offer up a subordinate clause that begins with because and try to pass it off as a complete sentence. Because it was raining is not a complete sentence; it’s a subordinate clause that needs to be attached to an independent clause. Because it was raining, I took my umbrella is fine. For more on sentence fragments, see Part 2.
Q: What about beginning a sentence with and?
A: Technically, you’ll be writing a fragment. But if you want to do it on purpose, for emphasis, go right ahead. Sentences beginning with and are the stock in trade of copywriters, so we’re all used to seeing them; the important thing is not to use them without good reason. And that’s that.
Q: Is it okay to end a sentence with a preposition?
A: This is another one of those rules that people get overexcited about. (See?) Strict adherence to this rule can make for some mighty awkward and pompous-sounding sentences. So yes, if you are writing formally, recast the sentence so that a preposition does not fall at the end—but don’t bother if doing so makes your sentence sound unnaturally stiff. (Winston Churchill: “This is the sort of English up with which I will not put.”)
Q: Is it okay to say “OK”?
A: In formal writing, no. In informal speech or writing, sure, it’s OK—and you can spell it OK, O.K., or okay.
Q: Is there a difference between toward and towards?
A: Towards is British; toward is American. Choose accordingly.
Q: I’m totally confused by like and as. Rescue me. Which do I use when?
A: Fasten your seat belt. Even accomplished writers get lost on like and as, partly because the use of like in speech has gone completely out of control. Like is a preposition, not a conjunction. Use like to make a comparison: He looks like me. She acts like the president. Like Bob, Pinky wears red socks. In all three sentences we are making comparisons: he to me, she to president, Bob to Pinky. Like should be followed only by a noun or a noun phrase.
It would be false, and pompous, to say: He looks as I (do). As does Bob, Pinky wears
red socks. (Don’t be afraid to use like.) She acts as a president could be correct, if you mean that she is acting in the capacity of a president, that she is actually doing whatever presidents do. But if you only mean to compare her to a president, stay with like. Like never functions as a conjunction, so if your comparison involves action, use as or as if: Winston tastes good, as a cigarette should. Ralph ran as if his life depended on it. In both cases, the as or as if is a conjunction that joins two clauses.
We’re not done yet. Another trouble spot is the confusion between like and such as. Remember that like is for comparisons. Such as means for example: For breakfast he cooked local specialties such as grits and red-eye gravy. To say like grits and red-eye gravy would be to say that he didn’t actually cook grits and red-eye gravy but some other food that was similar to grits and red-eye gravy. See the difference?
Q: What is a split infinitive?
A: Remember that an infinitive is the form of the verb that begins with to. To play, to speak, to flee. If you insert a word between the to and the rest of the infinitive, you are guilty of splitting the infinitive to happily play, to harshly speak, to quickly flee. This is not a good idea, although it has become rampant even in good writing. If it doesn’t lead to awkwardness and confusion, place your adverb on either side of the infinitive to play happily; to speak harshly; to flee quickly.
Q: When should say good, and when should I say well?
A: Good question. Strictly speaking, good is an adjective and well is an adverb, although well can also be used as an adjective in certain circumstances, such as in describing health, satisfaction, or appearance (with the verbs appear, be, become, remain, seem, feel, smell, look, sound, taste).
I did well on my test. (adverb)
I did well. (adjective, describing health)
The doughnuts were good. (good is always an adjective)
Q: What about bad and badly?
A: Bad is an adjective, and badly is an adverb. Say I felt bad when I woke up. Not: I felt badly when I woke up. Follow the rules for good and well.
Q: Do you say none is or none are?
A: It depends. None is an indefinite pronoun, usually treated as plural, unless you want to emphasize the individual parts, as in not one single thing or no one single person. When in doubt, go with the plural.
Q: Please explain that ugly who/whom thing.
A: Easy question. Who is the subject of a verb. Whom is never the subject of a verb. If you are confused, try to see whether you would use she or her. If she fits, use who. If her fits, use whom. Who is a subject pronoun; whom is an object pronoun.
The girl asked who had called. (she had called or her had called? She had called, so use who. Who is the subject of had called.)
The girl asked whom she should call. (should call she or should call her? Should call her, so use whom. Whom is the object of should call.)
In speech you can get away with using who for questions: Whom did you call? is correct, but no one is going to murder you for asking Who did you call? In writing, however, use whom when it’s appropriate.
Q: Is there a rule about shall and will?
A: You bet. Use shall when there is implied intention: I shall return! Not: It shall be warm at the beach. You can also use shall for asking questions in the first person (I or we): Shall we dance? Shall I call you? Using shall in the second or third person implies a command or threat: You shall stay here until I say otherwise.
Q: Is there a rule about using due to?
A: Don’t use it as a substitute for because of, or as a prepositional phrase. An effect is due to a cause.
Correct: His tardiness was due to traffic.
Not: Due to traffic, he was tardy.
In the first sentence, due to traffic functions as an adjective; in the second sentence, due to traffic is a prepositional phrase. Is this giving you a headache? Follow this rule: Don’t begin a sentence with due to, and you will probably be safe.
Q: What about hopefully?
A: Hopefully is an adverb, meaning in a hopeful manner. We waited hopefully for the lottery numbers to be announced. It’s incorrect to use hopefully when it doesn’t modify a verb: Hopefully, the nuclear threat is over. Instead: It is hoped that the nuclear threat is over. Sound stilted? You could say We hope the nuclear threat is over, or some other variation. (For a while hopefully was on the GMAT all the time, but never in the correct answer.)
Q: Is percent singular or plural?
A: It depends. The percentage is always singular: The percentage of young voters has risen. A percentage is singular if the object of the preposition is singular: A percentage of the work is finished. But a percentage is a plural if the object of the preposition is plural: A percentage of the reports are finished. The same rules apply when using percent: Sixty percent of the men are wearing hats. Sixty percent of the work force is absent.
Q: Can we go over affect and effect again?
A: Of course! Don’t use affect as a noun unless you mean it in the psychological sense of mood. Affect as a verb means to influence; effect as a verb means to bring about, to cause. So effect and affect have two distinct meanings—which is partly what is confusing, because you could use either one correctly in the same sentence, although the sentence would then have two different meanings.
He effected changes in the corporate structure.
Her shoes affected her ability to run.
The weather affected my mood.
The weather effected tremendous damage along the shore.
His teaching had a poor effect on me.
The new drug effected his recovery. (brought about his recovery)
The new drug affected his recovery. (influenced his recovery—not clear whether the drug helped or hurt his recovery)
Q: When a two-part subject is connected by or, is it singular or plural?
A: It depends. Generally treat the subject as singular, but if you have a singular and a plural subject linked by or, make the verb agree with whichever is closer: The boys or Ralph is eating snails. And: Ralph or the boys are eating snails. The second version sounds better, though both are correct.