WRITING-sentence structure Flashcards
A semicolon…
Weaker than a period But stronger than a comma
Joins two closely related independent clauses
A colon
A Mark of expectation or addition
It’s primary function is to signal to the reader to watch for what’s coming
A dash
Serves as an interruption often in place of a comma in a sentence or comments have been overused
Or for emphasis
Can convey a surprise or other emotions
A hyphen
A mark of separation used only between parts of a word
Brings together two or more words into a compound word
Rules of a semicolon
Two separate independent clause is not joined by simple conjunction
Two separate independent clauses joined by a conjunctive adverb
To use between independent clauses which are lengthy or contain internal punctuation
Two separate phrases and clauses of considerable weight and to clarify series of words
Rules of a colon
To introduce a list
Used as a separating Mark and special situations (Bob: The true story) (10:55)
To introduce a word phrase or an emphasized clause (there’s only one to blame: Susan)
To clarify an idea (boredom: the only feeling)
To introduce a restatement of a preceding phrase (it was green: a pond scum shade of green)
To introduce a formal quotation
To spell out details of a generalization (they were liars: bob was… Casey was ….
Rules for a dash
To introduce a word or group of words you wish to emphasize (he only needs this to be happy-love)
To indicate a break or shift in thought (I think-no I know)
To indicate the omission of letters or to connect letters and figures (may-June)(90-91)
To set off strongly parenthetical material-can go in parentheses (my advice-if you want-is to…)
Rules of a hyphen
Between two words uses one adjective (Ocean-Blue)
Between words of a compound noun (mother-in-law)
Words that start with self, ex, half, or quarter (ex-president)
A singular capital letter join to another word (u-turn)
Between elements of an improvised compound word (know-it-all)
In compound numerals from 21 to 99 (twenty-one)
When you write out fractions as words (two-thirds)
What is a comma splice
When I have writer uses it, where they should’ve actually used colon, semicolon, or conjunction with a comma
Ex. The physician examined the patient carefully, she did not say a word.
What are fragments and run-ons?
A complete sentence must have both a subject and a verb and must not start with a connecting word
a run on sentence contains too much detail or needs to be re-punctuated
Ex. Winter being mild last year.
When suddenly Jack jumped out at me.
He turned out to be a terrible cook and by the end of the week we more or less decided to take turns at the job and give him something else to do.
What are missed placed and dangling modifiers
When a modifier is missed placed it makes it difficult to understand the sentence
When a modifiers dangling a subject or verb connected to the modifiers left out and need to be put in for clarity
MM: The boy who is currently delivering our paper needs a haircut.
DM: When nineteen years old, my grandfather died.
What is parallel and unparallel construction
Parallel structure means using the same pattern of words to show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance. This could happen at the word phrase or clause level.
Ex. Mary likes to hike, swimming, and playing with her dog in the park.
Mary likes to hike, swim, and to play.
Shifting verb tense and pronouns
Writer night switch back-and-forth between past and present tense without using techniques like flashback in FlashForward. This is confusing. A writer might also be inconsistent with pronoun use which further confuses the reader
Ex. I walked to my friends house and when I get there, I see she had a puppy!
John said to Bob that he should get a new car. He said to him that we should all chip in and buy one they all could use.
How to fix comma splices
Use a period in place of the comma
Use a semicolon in place of the comma
Insert a conjunction and retain the comma
How to fix fragments and run on’s
Add either a subject or verb depending on which one is missing
Take out or reposition the connecting word later in the sentence
Re-punctuate the run on
