book

Grammar Essentials For Dummies

by Geraldine Woods

May 2019

Beginner

192 pages

3h 44m

English

For Dummies

Read now

Unlock full access

About This BookConventions Used in This BookFoolish AssumptionsIcons Used in This BookWhere to Go from Here
Grammar: What It Is!The Big Ideas of GrammarPutting Grammar to Work in the Real World
Getting Reacquainted with VerbsIdentifying SubjectsGive Peace a Chance: Making Subjects and Verbs AgreeComing to an Agreement with Difficult Subjects
Playing Matchmaker with Pronouns and NounsSelecting Singular or Plural PronounsGetting Possessive with Your PronounsKeeping Your Pronouns and Antecedents ClosePairing Pronouns with Pronoun AntecedentsAvoiding Sexist Pronouns
Creating Complete Sentences from Complete ThoughtsBanning Fragments from Formal WritingEnough Is Enough: Avoiding Run-onsAttaching Sentences LegallyConnecting Unequal IdeasCombining Sentences with PronounsDon’t Keep Your Audience Hanging: Removing Danglers
Seeking BalanceStriving for ConsistencyUsing Conjunction Pairs CorrectlyConstructing Proper Comparisons
Spotting AdjectivesHunting for AdverbsSorting through Some Sticky ChoicesGetting Picky about Word PlacementCreating Comparisons
More Rules Than the IRS: Using ApostrophesQuoting CorrectlyMaking Comma SenseMastering DashesWielding Hyphens with EaseCreating a Stopping Point: Colons
Covering the Basic RulesCapitalizing (Or Not) References to PeopleGetting a Geography Lesson: Places, Directions, and MoreLooking at Seasons and Times of DayGetting Schooled in Education TermsWrestling with Capitals in TitlesWriting about Events and ErasCapitalizing Abbreviations

One Word or Two?Separating Possessive Pronouns from ContractionsUsing Words That Seem Interchangeable but Aren’tA Word and a Phrase to Avoid
Creating Noun PluralsPerfecting PrepositionsDeleting Double Negatives
Identifying Your AudienceCutting Ties with Your Computer Grammar CheckerGiving Your Writing Punch with Great VerbsDeleting All That’s ExtraSpicing Up Boring SentencesWriting for Electronic Media
Pick Up a Good BookRead the NewspaperSample Some MagazinesDelve into Strunk and WhiteSurf the WebReview Style ManualsWatch High-Quality TV ShowsPeruse the NewsDownload PodcastsListen to Authorities

Content preview from Grammar Essentials For Dummies

Chapter 4

Constructing a Complete Sentence

IN THIS CHAPTER

Identifying the elements of a complete sentence

Eliminating sentence fragments and run-ons

Uniting two or more complete sentences properly

Joining ideas of unequal importance

Gluing sentences together with pronouns

Avoiding the danglers

Everyone knows the most important rule of English grammar: All sentences must be complete. But everyone breaks the rule. I just did! But everyone breaks the rule is not a complete sentence; it’s a sentence fragment. At times, fragments are acceptable, and in this chapter I explain when you can get away with writing one. The other extreme — more than one complete sentence improperly glued together — is a run-on sentence. Run-on sentences and their variation, comma splices, are never okay. In fact, they’re grammatical felonies.

Never fear: In this chapter I explain all the ins and outs of joining ...