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Myr

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  11. Myr

    Grammar Guide 16 - Complements

    By Myr,


    Grammar Guide
    Complement - a word, phrase, or clause that is necessary to complete the meaning of a given expression.
    Complements help add meaning or a story to the subject and verb of a sentence, for example.

    There are five types of Complements:
    Direct Object - The direct object receives the action of the verb and is usually a noun or pronoun. Tip: Ask yourself "Who" or "What" to identify the direct object in a sentence. Billy drank lemonade. (Lemonade is the direct object) Object Complement - An object complement follows and modifies or refers to a direct object. It can be a noun, pronoun, adjective, or phrase. Billy painted his kitchen yellow. (Kitchen is the direct object. Yellow is the object complement) Indirect Object - An indirect object comes between the verb and the direct object and answers the question "to whom?" or "for whom?" Billy passed Joey the lemonade. (Lemonade is the direct object. Joey is the indirect object) Predicate Adjective - A predicate adjective is an adjective that comes after a linking verb to describe the subject, answering the question "what?"  Linking verbs are verbs like: to be, feel, remain, taste, stay, etc The juice tasted sweet. (Sweet is the predicate adjective. Tasted is the linking verb) Predicate Nominative - A predicate nominative is a noun or pronoun that also comes after the linking verb, but it renames the subject and answers the question "who?" or "what?" That short man is my cousin. (Cousin is the predicate nominative)
    References: Kern, Jara. (2020). The Infographic Guide to Grammar. Adams Media Venolia, Jan. (2001). Write Right! (4th ed.). Ten Speed Press
  17. Myr

    Grammar Guide 15 - Compound Subjects

    By Myr,


    Grammar Guide
    This week we discuss the rules of thumb for dealing with Compound Subjects, especially in how they relate to last week's topic on Subject-Verb Agreement.

    Compound Subjects - Two or more individual nouns or noun phrases connected by "and" , "or", or "nor" to form a single, longer noun phrase.  They can cause confusion with the subject-verb agreement.  Example:  spaghetti and meatballs is a compound subject, but it is also considered a singular unit, and thus gets a singular verb. 
    Some Rules of Thumb for Compound Subjects:
    Subjects joined by "And" use a plural verb. (except as noted above where the compound subject is considered a singular unit such as: spaghetti and meatballs, macaroni and cheese).  Example: Cats and dogs play together. Singular subjects joined by "or" or "nor" use a singular verb. Example: Neither the cat nor the dog likes spiders. Plural subjects joined by "or" or "nor" use a plural verb.  Example: Neither the cats nor the dogs like spiders. Verbs agree with the subject closest to them but only if you have one singular and one plural subject.  Example: The cat and dog plays with the boy.  The cats and dogs play with the boy.

    Cats and dogs live together.
    References: Kern, Jara. (2020). The Infographic Guide to Grammar. Adams Media Venolia, Jan. (2001). Write Right! (4th ed.). Ten Speed Press
  19. Myr

    Grammar Guide 7 - Point of View

    By Myr,


    Grammar Guide
    Welcome to Week 7 of our Grammar Guide. This week is all about Point of View.  We aren't talking about the arguing thing though (thankfully).  We are looking at this in how it relates to rules of grammar and how it gets applied in writing.  First up, let's talk about the Grammar Point of View:
    Grammar has three points of view:
    First person - The speaker of the sentence (I/We) Second Person - The person spoken to (you) Third Person - The person or thing spoken about (he, she, it, they)
    Point of View is also used to describe how a narrative (story) is told.  Fiction stories most commonly have Third Person Limited or First Person Points of View. So, lets dive in:
    Narrative Point of View - When we tell stories, the story has a voice.  The voice of the story is the Narrative Point of View.  There are generally considered 5 Narrative Points of View (that also overlap on the first 3 with Grammar Point of View):
    First Person - The story is told through the eyes of the character (I did...) and is limited to that character's thoughts and feelings.  This is the most common POV other than Third Person Limited. Second Person - The narrator is speaking to you, the reader.  This is not common in fiction.  It is common in non-fiction such as speeches and advertising. Third Person - Omniscient - Narrator is all seeing and all knowing.  They can (and do) flit all between characters' thoughts and motivations.  This was very common in older writing but has fallen out of favor in recent decades. Third Person - Limited (sometimes called limited omniscient)- Narrator relays outside events but can also see thoughts and motivations of the main character. Changing character point of view can occur, but there is usually a break or chapter change to indicate switching of characters. Third Person Limited is the most common point of view other than First Person. Third Person - Objective - Narrator relays events of only what can be seen.  You do not see any characters' thoughts or motivations in this view. This is most common in news articles.
    One of the things that can trip us up as writers is switching points of view midstream or "author voice" intruding.  An example is when you are in third person limited as a point of view and suddenly telling what another character thinks or feels.  Eh?  You can share how the narrating character might think another character feels or thinks, but unless you go full omniscient, this is a writing error.
    One oddity that is not common is the "Breaking of the fourth wall" as it is called in television.  This is where a character in the action turns and speaks to you the reader (or watcher).  Kevin Spacey in "House of Cards" did this.  Deadpool does this in all his iterations.  It's not all that common in fiction writing and can upend a reader if they aren't expecting it.
    Hope this helps! Let us know what you think below and see you next week!
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