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.Copyright, Terry Gibson, BA, MEd

Be Grammar-Confident Leisurely Crash Course in Written English An oxymoron of course. . Welcome to Course A-4 Grefs Open GLOSSARY in Course C-1 . . . . . . .Punctuating both prose and poetry . . . . . . Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . Task . . . . . .A4 a Commas in long sentences, to clarify, . . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . .To use, or not to use... . . . . . . . . . . .. .That is the question Task . . . . A4a . . . . . .A4 b Punctuating Conversation, fragments, .. . .. . . .. . . . . . . . . Omissions "understood" . . . . . . A4b . . . . . .A4 c Poetry, . . . . . .. . . . . .The Process of Editing a Poem . A4c Self-test   Click to Move Within This Course   A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8  Active when red   Click to Find Other Courses   Course B Course C Course D Course E

Swan's Practical English Usage, published by Oxford is the 1995 text that serves as reference. It is recent but will be replaced within the next few years as we get more and more muddled. . . . . . .Both British and American Forms are updated. e.g. dialog, US .

Commas in long sentences-- . . . . . . . . . organise thought. We have already dealt with the use of commas in a list of nouns or of adjectives, but other uses exist too. . . .Glossary in http://www.mattaweb.ca/web2008/CourseC-1.htm if terminology is unfamiliar in what follows. If something is included to interrupt a sentence, it is set apart with commas front and back. Examples: quoted from Michael Swan, section 455 and 574 "My father, however, did not agree." "Jane had, surprisingly, paid for everything." but, where the inclusion identifies someone, no commas are used. "The woman in the green car avoided the accident." Compare with one that does not identify, for the name is given. "Joyce Wells, in the car behind her, was not so lucky." Separating co-ordinate clauses --related parts joined by and, or, but, are separated by a comma unless they are very short. "She was poor, but she would not even have thught of taking what was not hers." Subordinate clauses use them too. "If you are in town, be sure to come for coffee." We already know that commas are needed in direct speech: "Come here," she called. But did you know that indirect speech needs none? [It was an example of it, clue: the use of "that".] . . . . Consider the selections below.. The first has no commas. The second includes them. Today many feel their placement is more common-sense than rules, and fewer are possible, but the second example shows how .useful they can be. .

Without.commas . . . . . Others had heard the bang too and a curious neighbour had phoned in a gunshot report. The police had heard often from this woman multiple calls over the past couple of years things that turned out either easily explained by the activities of kids cutting loose or else of no consequence. Each new call from her was less credible than the one before so it was no wonder that this time the eyeballs rose to the ceiling and nothing was done. With.commas. . . . . . Others had heard the bang too, and a curious neighbour had phoned in a gunshot report. The police had heard often from this woman, multiple calls over the past couple of years, things that turned out either easily explained by the activities of kids cutting loose, or else of no consequence. Each new call from her was less credible than the one before, so it was no wonder that this time the eyeballs rose to the ceiling and nothing was done.

. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . ..Indented Conversation: Punctuating sentence fragments with omissions "understood" 'Examples: quoted from Michael Swan, section 455 and 574' is an example of such omissions. [ Here are some ] Examples... . . . . . "Come here!" . . . . . Silence. Not even a nod of acknowledgement. Twice already, she had called, and the truck would soon be there. Missed last week too, she thought. . . . . . "You deaf or something?" but still he sat there, paying no attention. Communing with his inner workings, perhaps. Impatiently, she bellowed, "Hey, I'm waiting! Get your butt over here!" . . . . . No answer. Like a lump. Big sigh. I guess I'll have to take the garbage out myself. If you listen it becomes obvious that speech leaves out everyting that can be understood without being said. Officially, commands always leave out the subject, 'YOU.' In fact, if we include all the understood words it is tedious to read, and worse, pedantic! . . . . . Did you know that indirect speech needs no punctuating other than an ending period or question mark? [ Omitted words in the situation above ] . . . . . [ You ]"Come here!" . . . . . [ She heard ]Silence. [ There was ]Not even a nod of acknowledgement. Twice already, she had called, and the truck would soon be there. [ We ] Missed last week too, she thought. . . . . . [ Are ]"You deaf or something?" but still he sat there, paying no attention. [ He must be ]Communing with his inner workings, perhaps. Impatiently, she bellowed, "Hey, I'm waiting! [ You ] Get your butt over here!" . . . . . [ She heard ] No answer. [ He's ] Like a lump. [ She heaved a ]Big sigh. I guess I'll have to take the garbage out myself. It is not wrong to have omissions in stories, because it is how we think and speak, and keeps the story moving more quickly. Paragraphing prevents confusion by grouping facts together. EXAMPLE We revisit the company we found when we started this course, a company in trouble, where workers vanish and suspicious events are happening. -----Newly retired Rolly Menard who had arrived at his dock, greeted his wife Jeanne as he pulled his canoe up on shore. "Got a beauty," he said, "but the season isn't open yet." -----"So you tossed it back." -----"Of course." -----She smiled. "Phantom fish are fast to fillet." She knew he would enjoy the alliteration. -----Rolly grinned, looking forward to the poem she had written in his absence. He knew he could count on her to raise his spirits. Too bad he was mistaken. .

REVIEW above: Study this selection. 458, 2--Swan (From Week 2) We need a new paragraph when there is: [1.] Change of speaker, point of view. [2.] Change of topic, time or place [3.] Review the punctuation in this dialogue (dialog in US) THINK: (no need to write.) What do you think the "beauty" is? Should it be told? (It is a big fish in spawning season, not allowed to be kept. Would it be pedantic to explain and lose the thread?) In sentences 3 and 4, do we need to be told who speaks? Sentence 5 is a way to avoid he said-she said repetition. It ends with a "hook" to foreshadow what may happen later. In sentence 2: Note commas and the space after each, and no capital when the spoken words start again. . . . Indented paragraphs (like in published novels) have no blank lines between paragraphs. My e-mail software can make it hard to indent, collapsing blank spaces. A dot will hold a blank line, and five dots will indent a paragraph. AGAIN, a new paragraph if: [1.] Change of speaker, point of view. [2.] Change of topic, time or place How to avoid repeating "he said," ....In this selection, we see a writers' device used by playwrights and novelists to move the action, called "business," small character-revealing acts, like Rolly's pipe: . .. He took out his pipe, checked if it still had enough in it, and ritualistically lit it before he said in a puff of smoke, "I don't miss... ". . ...."Business" makes it unnecessary to identify a speaker by name. The same selection ends with another example: ". . .Rolly drew on his pipe and opened the shed door, ready to take out the lawn mower. ....Business reduces "he said, she said" repetition. ....In published novels, we seldom see all the synonyms for said, exclaimed, muttered, declared, implored, reminded... In fact, if 'said' does its job and disappears, that's great! (Yet the Grade 5 curriculum had the kids finding every synonym of "said" known to man! ). ,.

. . . . ... . . . . . . . ... . . . assiA4a .Assignment A4a . Please COPY / PASTE, punctuate and add capitals. To save your time, the paragraphs are provided. Note, if it doesn't fit, it may be spoken. "Use quotation marks," she said. This continues the story of Rolly and his wife Jeanne. . . .together they climbed the hill to the house grass is getting long . . .ill cut it ya know I worked a lot of long years for the privilege of cutting my grass before noon on a workday . . .and you don't miss working even a little bit . . .he took out his pipe checked it still had enough in it and ritualistically lit it before he said in a puff of smoke I don't miss the shipping department but kind of wonder about the new guy who replaced me . . .why is that . . .another thoughtful puff of smoke I don't know why but I have a funny feeling about him . . .you weren't the one who hired him . . .no . . .do you have a reason to say that . . .rolly drew on his pipe and opened the shed door ready to take out the lawn mower his look told it all End of A4a .Assignment A4b Proofreading and Use . 1. Commas in long sentences: In the paragraph '. . .he took out his pipe--' how many commas were needed before the end of the sentence? . 2. Punctuating sentence fragments: (A sentence fragment lacks either a subject or verb, or both. Hint, you'll find one in Example A4 ) In this selection above, find, copy two, and punctuate. . 3. INDENTED conversation, with omissions "understood" Hint, "understood" you'll find one in Example A4: "Got a beauty," he said, "but the season isn't open yet." ( When we know it was a fish it would be boring to tell the obvious. ) OR CHANGE THIS indirect speech INTO PROPERLY PARAGRAPHED AND PUNCTUATED CONVERSATION BETWEEN THE TWO POLICE OFFICERS. . . . . "Why did you look amused? Who called?" Others had heard the bang too, and a curious neighbour had phoned in a gunshot report. The police had heard often from this woman, multiple calls over the past couple of years, things that turned out either easily explained by the activities of kids cutting loose, or else of no consequence. Each new call from her was less credible than the one before, so it was no wonder that this time the eyeballs rose to the ceiling, and nothing was done. End of A4b . .

. . . Our First lntermediate Level Session: Can we assume previous courses have existed? lf not, please tell so more help can be given. . . . . . .AND FOR OUR POETS   The Process of Editing a Poem "The Process of Editing" sounds like a lot of work, and no one is going to argue. lt is probably the main reason so many have chosen to write free verse, because much of the work has been bypassed there. Experienced poets will automatically set it up while they write, to gain meaning through placement of spaces, grouping things that belong together into the same line, starting the next line with the next thought... So many already do that --and do it well-- that it really needs less attention here. Can we assume...? There are similarities in the writing of metric poetry too. Parts of the metric writing may have come naturally, or as a result of the "ta DA ta DA ta DA" method of the previous lesson. lt is fun when words fit into the beat and great fun when they make sense! Given such a poem, one where the iambic beat carries the meaning triumphantly, editing is still worth considering, if only to clarify, intensify, and otherwise polish it. Substitute a more exact word for a general one, perhaps intensifying an emotion or one of the senses... To achieve that while not losing the meter is where the task can become difficult. A thesaurus to provide a list of possible synonyms, and a dictionary that helps with meaning to choose the right words that also shows inner stressed syllables within longer words is needed especially when English is not the mother tongue--and sometimes even when it is! Grammar, spelling, and punctuation are of course not even noticed when they are correct; but errors certainly are! . . . .. . . .

. . . . ... . . . . . . . ... . . . Assignment A4c . ... . . . . . . . .Dictionary Exercises using your own recent poems: We know: "To achieve that while not losing the meter is where . . . . . . . . . . . the task can become difficult." lt is a valuable skill. 1a Paste your earlier metric poem as it was written in Course . . . . . .A2b or A3c so we can see where you started, and "clarify, intensify, and otherwise polish it." [Check a local public library if you can sign out a thesaurus.] . . . .Substitute a more exact word for a general one, perhaps . . . .. . . .. intensifying an emotion or one of the senses... AS you do, find words that maintain the metric patterns. A thesaurus to provide a list of possible synonyms, and a dictionary that helps with meaning to choose the right words that also shows inner stressed syllables within longer words. NOTE: If neither of your poems really suit this exercise, please feel free to write another iambic poem for this purpose and then edit it.

. Updated April 28 2008 Please submit graded answers to AP Class box if not placed by Teacher, advancing to a higher level. We have had trouble in the submit-box in AP toward the trophy when ungraded work has been submitted. By submitting graded works into the box, they cannot be lost! Your five best assignments are now the minimum for a trophy. That means the pressure is off as you do the advanced #6, #7 and #8 worth a percentage of 60 bonus points dependent on your results. For students achieving at least 90% and expecting to continue to complete all 8, after the first and last four, there are two trophies. An evaluation form will be sent to get five submissions demanded by the software. For full feedback, please send your E-mail address. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Back to Top or onward to Part A5 . . . . . . . .. . Copyright: Tiled wallpaper drawn by Terry Gibson 1996