Fortran

Verb tense conveys an action’s time zone: past, present, future, and so on. Rules that govern tense help ensure that whenever someone relates a series of events, they do so in a way that’s consistent with the actual chronology of the events. Just imagine how confusing a passage would be if verb tenses were used […]

A misplaced phrase or clause may result in ambiguity, as in the following example: The couple returned from their Caribbean cruise which they had thoroughly enjoyed in a limousine. Again, you can probably figure out the intended meaning, but at first reading, it sounds as though the couple had their Caribbean cruise in a limousine. […]

In English, syntax is very flexible, but people generally expect sentences to follow certain patterns: they expect sentences to begin with a subject followed by a verb. When you stray from conventional syntax, you run counter to the listener’s or reader’s expectations, placing an added burden on your audience to decipher your intended meaning. Following […]

People sometimes argue that grammar, usage, and mechanics don’t matter as long as you’re able to communicate clearly. The flaw in that argument is that clear communication requires adherence to conventions. Grammar, usage, and mechanics guidelines serve as the rules of the road. As long as everyone follows them, communication proceeds smoothly. Break the rules, […]

Given the fact that most writing these days is typed, you don’t need to dot your i’s and cross your t’s, but you still need to pay attention to mechanics, including the following items: Spelling: A good spellchecker catches most typos, but it may not catch the use of wrong words, such as their instead of there and its (possessive of it) instead of it’s (short for it […]

Usage is the conventional use of a language in any given context. You probably change usage levels without ever realizing it; for example, you may talk one way to your parents and another way to your friends. You probably write in an entirely different way when writing an article or essay. All types of writing vary […]

Syntax applies to the way words are arranged to form phrases, clauses, and sentences. For example, most sentences in English start with a subject (noun or pronoun) followed by a verb with something at the end to complete the thought: Molly ran down the hill. subject verb prepositional phrase as adverb describing ran Syntax also relates to […]

How many morphemes are in each of the following words? Answers: DANGER ZONE Make sure you don’t identify morphemes that aren’t there. For example, spider may look like it contains the suffix –er, but it does not; spider is a morpheme with a complete meaning of its own.

Morphology is the study of morphemes—the smallest recognizable units in a language. For example, the word cats is comprised of two morphemes—the root word cat and the –s that makes it plural. The word inconceivable contains three morphemes: the root word conceive, the prefix in– and the suffix –able. The word earring is a compound word (a word made up of two or more words) consisting of two morphemes—ear and ring. Knowing something about morphology can […]

Grammar has two branches: morphology, which applies to the formation of words, and syntax, which applies to the arrangement of words to form phrases, clauses, and sentences. The following sections dig deeper into these two branches of grammar to give you a general understanding of what it’s all about. PRACTICAL POINT Grammar is both descriptive and prescriptive. Linguists approach grammar as descriptive; they […]