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Sentences & Punctuation 
The final stage for analyzing 
grammar in context, at the 
highest level: 
1. Sentence Variety 
2. Punctuation 
3. Patterns of Error 
4. Style/Rhetorical Choice 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Overview
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
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Module 5 Goals 
An ability to identify and analyze in context:
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
An ability to identify and analyze in context: 
1. Sentence 
Variety 
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Module 5 Goals
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
An ability to identify and analyze in context: 
2. Punctuation 
Rules 
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Module 5 Goals 
1. Sentence 
Variety
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
An ability to identify and analyze in context: 
1. Sentence 
Variety 
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3. Patterns of 
Error 
Module 5 Goals 
2. Punctuation 
Rules
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
An ability to identify and analyze in context: 
1. Sentence 
Variety 
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4. Style and 
Rhetorical Choice 
Module 5 Goals 
3. Patterns of 
Error 
2. Punctuation 
Rules
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers 
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ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
1. Sentence Variety 
Module 5 Key Markers 
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1. Sentence Variety 
Simple sentence 
• A sentence with one independent clause and 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
http://www.fantom-xp.com/wp_23_~_Markers.html 
no dependent clauses 
Compound Sentence 
• A sentence with multiple independent clauses 
(usually joined through coordination) but no 
dependent clauses 
Complex Sentence 
• A sentence with one independent clause and 
at least one dependent clause 
Complex-Compound Sentence 
• A sentence with multiple independent clauses 
and at least one dependent clause 
Module 5 Key Markers
Analyze the following paragraph adapted from Stephen King’s 
11/22/63: 
I handed over one of Al’s vintage dollars, and while Frank made 
change, I looked over my shoulder and saw the former Yellow 
Card Man standing outside the liquor store - the greenfront - and 
swaying from side to side. He made me think of a Hindu fakir I’d 
seen in some old movie, tooting a horn to coax a cobra out of a 
wicker basket. And, coming up the sidewalk, right on schedule, 
was Anicetti the Younger. 
Identifying Sentence Variety 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
Analyze the following paragraph adapted from Stephen King’s 
11/22/63: 
I handed over one of Al’s vintage dollars, and while Frank made 
change, I looked over my shoulder and saw the former Yellow 
Card Man standing outside the liquor store - the greenfront - 
and swaying from side to side. He made me think of a Hindu 
fakir I’d seen in some old movie, tooting a horn to coax a cobra 
out of a wicker basket. And, coming up the sidewalk, right on 
schedule, was Anicetti the Younger. 
Identifying Sentence Variety 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
Analyze the following paragraph adapted from Stephen King’s 
11/22/63: 
I handed over one of Al’s vintage dollars, and while Frank made 
change, I looked over my shoulder and saw the former Yellow 
Card Man standing outside the liquor store - the greenfront - and 
swaying from side to side. He made me think of a Hindu fakir I’d 
seen in some old movie, tooting a horn to coax a cobra out of a 
wicker basket. And, coming up the sidewalk, right on schedule, 
was Anicetti the Younger. 
Identifying Sentence Variety 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
Analyze the following paragraph adapted from Stephen King’s 
11/22/63: 
I handed over one of Al’s vintage dollars, and while Frank made 
change, I looked over my shoulder and saw the former Yellow 
Card Man standing outside the liquor store - the greenfront - and 
swaying from side to side. He made me think of a Hindu fakir I’d 
seen in some old movie, tooting a horn to coax a cobra out of a 
wicker basket. And, coming up the sidewalk, right on schedule, 
was Anicetti the Younger. 
Identifying Sentence Variety 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
I handed over one of Al’s vintage dollars, and while Frank made 
change, I looked over my shoulder and saw the former Yellow 
Card Man standing outside the liquor store - the greenfront - and 
swaying from side to side. 
Identifying Sentence Variety 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
I handed over one of Al’s vintage dollars, and while Frank made 
change, I looked over my shoulder and saw the former Yellow 
Card Man standing outside the liquor store - the greenfront - and 
swaying from side to side. 
Clauses? 
Identifying Sentence Variety 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
I handed over one of Al’s vintage dollars, and while Frank made 
change, I looked over my shoulder and saw the former Yellow 
Card Man standing outside the liquor store - the greenfront - and 
swaying from side to side. 
Clauses: 
Independent Clause 
Identifying Sentence Variety 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
I handed over one of Al’s vintage dollars, and while Frank made 
change, I looked over my shoulder and saw the former Yellow 
Card Man standing outside the liquor store - the greenfront - and 
swaying from side to side. 
Clauses: 
Independent Clause 
Dependent Clause 
Identifying Sentence Variety 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
I handed over one of Al’s vintage dollars, and while Frank made 
change, I looked over my shoulder and saw the former Yellow 
Card Man standing outside the liquor store - the greenfront - and 
swaying from side to side. 
Clauses: 
Independent Clause 
Dependent Clause 
Independent Clause 
Identifying Sentence Variety 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
I handed over one of Al’s vintage dollars, and while Frank made 
change, I looked over my shoulder and saw the former Yellow 
Card Man standing outside the liquor store - the greenfront - 
and swaying from side to side. 
Clauses: 
Independent Clause 
Dependent Clause 
Independent Clause 
Independent Clause 
Identifying Sentence Variety 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
I handed over one of Al’s vintage dollars, and while Frank made 
change, I looked over my shoulder and saw the former Yellow 
Card Man standing outside the liquor store - the greenfront - and 
swaying from side to side. 
Clauses: 
Independent Clause 
Dependent Clause 
Independent Clause 
Independent Clause 
Compound-Complex Sentence 
Identifying Sentence Variety 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
He made me think of a Hindu fakir I’d seen in some old movie, 
tooting a horn to coax a cobra out of a wicker basket. 
Identifying Sentence Variety 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
He made me think of a Hindu fakir I’d seen in some old movie, 
tooting a horn to coax a cobra out of a wicker basket. 
Clauses? 
Identifying Sentence Variety 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
He made me think of a Hindu fakir I’d seen in some old movie, 
tooting a horn to coax a cobra out of a wicker basket. 
Clauses: 
Independent Clause 
Identifying Sentence Variety 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
He made me think of a Hindu fakir [that] I’d seen in some old 
movie, tooting a horn to coax a cobra out of a wicker basket. 
Clauses: 
Independent Clause 
Dependent Clause 
Identifying Sentence Variety 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
He made me think of a Hindu fakir I’d seen in some old movie, 
tooting a horn to coax a cobra out of a wicker basket. 
Clauses: 
Independent Clause 
Dependent Clause 
Complex Sentence 
Identifying Sentence Variety 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
And, coming up the sidewalk, right on schedule, was Anicetti the 
Younger. 
Clauses? 
Identifying Sentence Variety 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
And, coming up the sidewalk, right on schedule, was Anicetti 
the Younger. 
Clauses: 
Independent Clause 
Identifying Sentence Variety 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
And, coming up the sidewalk, right on schedule, was Anicetti the 
Younger. 
Clauses: 
Independent Clause 
Simple Sentence 
Identifying Sentence Variety 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
2. Punctuation Rules 
http://www.fantom-xp.com/wp_23_~_Markers.html 
Module 5 Key Markers
2. Punctuation Rules 
A period or a semicolon can indicate the end of a simple 
independent clause. 
Simple Examples: 
• The dog is indoors. The dog sleeps all day. 
• The telephone rang. He rushed to answer it. 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Punctuation Rule #1 
Independent clause. Independent clause. 
Simple Sentences 
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Module 5 Key Markers
2. Punctuation Rules 
Independent clauses can be separated by a semicolon, 
which can act like a soft period. A semicolon signals an 
extremely close relationship between the independent 
clauses. 
Simple Examples: 
• The dog barked; the letter carrier ran. 
• The snow fell; the roads became impassable. 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Punctuation Rule #2 
Independent clause; independent clause. 
Simple Sentences 
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Module 5 Key Markers
2. Punctuation Rules 
Punctuation Rule #3 
Independent clause; conjunctive adverb, independent clause. 
OR Independent clause; independent, conjunctive adverb, clause. 
Simple Sentences 
Conjunctive adverbs can follow a semicolon connecting two 
independent clauses. When a conjunctive adverb precedes the 
second independent clause, they are separated by a comma. A 
conjunctive adverb embedded in the second independent clause 
is set off by commas. 
Simple Examples: 
• The car sounded terrible; however, it never broke down. 
• Parking is scarce; many drivers, therefore, park illegally. 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
http://www.fantom-xp.com/wp_23_~_Markers.html 
Module 5 Key Markers
2. Punctuation Rules 
Punctuation Rule #4 
Independent clause, coordinating conjunction 
independent clause. 
Compound Sentence 
A coordinating conjunction can separate independent 
clauses. A comma always precedes the coordinating 
conjunction, followed by the second independent clause. 
Simple Examples: 
• Jenny hit the ball, and she was safe at first base. 
• Jenny ran to first base, but the shortstop threw her out. 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
http://www.fantom-xp.com/wp_23_~_Markers.html 
Module 5 Key Markers
2. Punctuation Rules 
When a dependent clause begins a sentence, an 
independent clause MUST follow, and a comma always 
separates them. 
Simple Examples: 
• After she hit the ball, Jenny ran to first. 
• When the clock struck twelve, the mouse ran down. 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Punctuation Rule #5 
Dependent clause, independent clause. 
Complex Sentence 
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Module 5 Key Markers
2. Punctuation Rules 
When an independent clause comes first, a dependent 
clause can follow without using a comma to separate 
them. 
Examples: 
• Jenny ran to first after she hit the ball. 
• The mouse ran down when the clock struck twelve. 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Punctuation Rule #6 
Independent clause dependent clause. 
Complex Sentence 
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Module 5 Key Markers
2. Punctuation Rules 
When a dependent clause interrupts an independent 
clause, a pair of commas sets off the dependent clause. 
Examples: 
• Subordinate clauses, because they are adverbial, can 
• Josh understood, once he realized his mistake, why 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Punctuation Rule #7 
Independent, dependent clause, clause. 
Complex Sentence 
move about in a sentence. 
Karen was mad. 
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Module 5 Key Markers
2. Punctuation Rules 
Punctuation Rule #8 
Independent restrictive clause/phrase clause. 
A clause or phrase embedded within an independent 
clause that is essential information to identify the referent 
is not set off with commas. 
Simple Examples 
• A man who is in his eighties is an octogenarian. 
• A clause that provides essential information is not set 
• The house on the corner is blue. 
• Eric’s cousin Gwendolyn has the voice of an eight-year-old. 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
off with commas. 
http://www.fantom-xp.com/wp_23_~_Markers.html 
Module 5 Key Markers
2. Punctuation Rules 
Punctuation Rule #9 
Independent, nonrestrictive clause/phrase, clause. 
OR –nonrestrictive clause/phrase– OR (nonrestrictive clause) 
A clause or phrase embedded within an independent clause that 
is not essential information to identify the referent is set off with 
punctuation. A pair of commas, a pair of double dashes, or a set 
of parentheses all function the same way. 
Simple Examples 
• Jane's father, who is in his eighties, is an octogenarian. 
• Jane's father (who is in his eighties) is an octogenarian. 
• That house, on the corner, is blue. 
• Gwendolyn—Eric’s cousin—has the voice of an eight-year-old. 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
http://www.fantom-xp.com/wp_23_~_Markers.html 
Module 5 Key Markers
2. Punctuation Rules 
Punctuation Rule #10 
Independent clause: (to introduce a list or a restatement of the previous 
clause) 
Rule 10a: Separate simple items in a list with commas; separate complex 
items in a list with semicolons. 
A colon introduces a restatement (most often a definition) of the 
independent clause or introduces a list. 
Simple Examples: 
• The girl finally understood "hypercorrection": an attempt to be overly 
"correct" in language use, often resulting in a misuse of the standard. 
• Writing is often defined as a recursive process: invention, planning, 
• The girl's life was extremely hectic: mornings were spent in school; 
afternoons were spent at work; evenings were spent taking care of 
her invalid grandmother; and nights were spent studying. 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
drafting, revising, and editing. 
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Module 5 Key Markers
2. Punctuation Rules 
Punctuation Rule #11 
Adverbial nonfinite verb phrase, independent clause. 
An adverbial nonfinite verb phrase preceding an 
independent clause is set off by a comma. 
Simple Examples 
• Considered by everyone the best candidate for the job, 
• While running for the bus, he broke his foot. 
• To do well in school, you must study hard. 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Eleanor felt confident. 
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Module 5 Key Markers
Punctuate the following sentences (from Hemispheric American 
Studies), then explain your punctuation choices: 
1. This simple “fact” as it was understood then was very important 
to those who were concerned about the future of other 
slaveholding societies. 
2. Portraits of lawlessness and bloodthirstiness outside of the 
South were also a justification in themselves for a tightening or 
quickening of the siege mentality of the South. 
3. Stanley’s climactic meeting with Livingstone was dubbed the 
scoop of the century by Bennett’s paper and it indeed 
represented an American usurpation of the most popular form 
of British imperial travel writing in the 1860s and ’70s the 
interior Africa exploration narrative. 
Choosing Punctuation 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
One possible set of punctuation marks: 
1. This simple “fact,” as it was understood then, was very important 
to those who were concerned about the future of other 
slaveholding societies. 
2. Portraits of lawlessness and bloodthirstiness outside of the 
South were also a justification in themselves for a tightening or 
quickening of the siege mentality of the South. 
3. Stanley’s climactic meeting with Livingstone was dubbed the 
scoop of the century by Bennett’s paper, and it indeed 
represented an American usurpation of the most popular form 
of British imperial travel writing in the 1860s and ‘70s: the 
interior Africa exploration narrative. 
Choosing Punctuation 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
Punctuate the following sentences (from Hemispheric American 
Studies), then explain your punctuation choices: 
1. Eventually she embraces it as part of her own repertoire and 
sings it herself. 
2. This study concludes in the same post-World War II moment by 
briefly examining a powerful short story by Paul Bowles a U.S. 
expatriate in Morocco which dramatizes how African Islamic 
difference frustrates the capacity of American intercultural 
understanding. 
3. In giving this particular version of Louisiana pride of place in the 
book version of The Great South King almost certainly was 
influenced by Cable’s early stories which he was reading and 
helping to place in Scribner’s as he wrote his own dispatches. 
Choosing Punctuation 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
One possible set of punctuation marks: 
1. Eventually, she embraces it as part of her own repertoire and 
sings it herself. 
2. This study concludes in the same post-World War II moment by 
briefly examining a powerful short story by Paul Bowles, a U.S. 
expatriate in Morocco, which dramatizes how African Islamic 
difference frustrates the capacity of American intercultural 
understanding. 
3. In giving this particular version of Louisiana pride of place in the 
book version of The Great South, King almost certainly was 
infuenced by Cable’s early stories, which he was reading and 
helping to place in Scribner’s as he wrote his own dispatches. 
Choosing Punctuation 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 2 Sample Analysis 
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ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
3. Patterns of Error 
http://www.fantom-xp.com/wp_23_~_Markers.html 
Module 5 Key Markers
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
3. Patterns of Error 
http://www.fantom-xp.com/wp_23_~_Markers.html 
Module 5 Key Markers 
When commas are always incorrect: 
A single comma should never occur between any required 
sentence constituents. 
Markers: Constituents of the five basic sentence types 
NP + MVint 
NP + MVbe + ADVP tm/pl 
NP + Mvlink + AJDP 
NP1 + Mvlink + NP1 
NP1 + MVtr + NP2 
Simple Examples 
• In speech, your tacit knowledge, of sentence patterns is 
obvious in your intuitive use of pauses. 
• The researchers discovered, that this new set of cells had 
some amazing properties.
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
3. Patterns of Error 
http://www.fantom-xp.com/wp_23_~_Markers.html 
Module 5 Key Markers 
Misuse of Pronouns 
• Sexist Use of Pronouns 
• Pronoun Number-Agreement 
Pronoun Markers 
• Personal Pronouns = I, me, we, us, you, he, him, she, 
her, it, they, them 
• Reflexive Pronouns = myself, ourselves, yourself, 
yourselves, himself, herself, itself, themselves 
• Indefinite Pronouns = one, someone, somebody, 
anyone, anybody, no one, nobody, everyone, 
everybody, etc.
Analyze the following sentences adapted from 
Constance Hale’s Sin and Syntax: 
1. Give someone a bottle of Irish Mist, and you give 
him hills that roll forever, lakes that radiate 
light. 
2. Our society has gotten to the point where each 
person does what’s right in their own eyes. 
Identifying Misuse of Pronouns 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
1. Give someone a bottle of Irish Mist, and you give 
him hills that roll forever, lakes that radiate 
light. 
Identifying Misuse of Pronouns 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
1. Give someone a bottle of Irish Mist, and you 
give him hills that roll forever, lakes that radiate 
light. 
Identifying Misuse of Pronouns 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
1. Give someone a bottle of Irish Mist, and you 
give him hills that roll forever, lakes that radiate 
light. 
Identifying Misuse of Pronouns 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
1. Give someone a bottle of Irish Mist, and you give 
him hills that roll forever, lakes that radiate 
light. 
someone 
Identifying Misuse of Pronouns 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
1. Give someone a bottle of Irish Mist, and you give 
him hills that roll forever, lakes that radiate 
light. 
someone 
neutral 
Identifying Misuse of Pronouns 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
1. Give someone a bottle of Irish Mist, and you give 
him hills that roll forever, lakes that radiate 
light. 
someone 
neutral 
singular 
Identifying Misuse of Pronouns 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
1. Give someone a bottle of Irish Mist, and you give 
him hills that roll forever, lakes that radiate 
light. 
someone him 
neutral 
singular 
Identifying Misuse of Pronouns 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
1. Give someone a bottle of Irish Mist, and you give 
him hills that roll forever, lakes that radiate 
light. 
someone him 
neutral masculine 
singular 
Identifying Misuse of Pronouns 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
1. Give someone a bottle of Irish Mist, and you give 
him hills that roll forever, lakes that radiate 
light. 
someone him 
neutral masculine 
singular singular 
Identifying Misuse of Pronouns 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
1. Give someone a bottle of Irish Mist, and you give 
him hills that roll forever, lakes that radiate 
light. 
someone him 
neutral masculine 
singular singular 
Sexist use of pronouns: Without a masculine 
antecedent (or context), we cannot make the 
assumption that the bottle recipient is male. 
Identifying Misuse of Pronouns 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
1. Give someone a bottle of Irish Mist, and you give 
him hills that roll forever, lakes that radiate 
light. 
Revision 
Identifying Misuse of Pronouns 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
1.Give someone a bottle of Irish Mist, and you give 
him hills that roll forever, lakes that radiate light. 
Revision: One Option 
Change both antecedent and pronoun to plural and 
neutral gender 
Identifying Misuse of Pronouns 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
1. Give someone a bottle of Irish Mist, and you give 
him hills that roll forever, lakes that radiate light. 
Revision: One Option 
Change both antecedent and pronoun to plural, so 
both are neutral gender 
Give your friends a bottle of Irish Mist, and you 
give them hills that roll forever, lakes that 
radiate light. 
Identifying Misuse of Pronouns 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
2. Our society has gotten to the point where each 
person does what’s right in their own eyes. 
Identifying Misuse of Pronouns 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
2. Our society has gotten to the point where each 
person does what’s right in their own eyes. 
Identifying Misuse of Pronouns 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
2. Our society has gotten to the point where each 
person does what’s right in their own eyes. 
Identifying Misuse of Pronouns 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
2. Our society has gotten to the point where each 
person does what’s right in their own eyes. 
each person 
Identifying Misuse of Pronouns 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
2. Our society has gotten to the point where each 
person does what’s right in their own eyes. 
each person 
neutral 
Identifying Misuse of Pronouns 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
2. Our society has gotten to the point where each 
person does what’s right in their own eyes. 
each person 
neutral 
singular 
Identifying Misuse of Pronouns 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
2. Our society has gotten to the point where each 
person does what’s right in their own eyes. 
each person their 
neutral 
singular 
Identifying Misuse of Pronouns 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
2. Our society has gotten to the point where each 
person does what’s right in their own eyes. 
each person their 
neutral neutral 
singular 
Identifying Misuse of Pronouns 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
2. Our society has gotten to the point where each 
person does what’s right in their own eyes. 
each person their 
neutral neutral 
singular plural 
Pronoun number-agreement error: A plural 
possessive pronoun determiner cannot refer back 
to a singular pronoun antecedent. 
Identifying Misuse of Pronouns 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
2. Our society has gotten to the point where each 
person does what’s right in their own eyes. 
Revision 
Identifying Misuse of Pronouns 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
2. Our society has gotten to the point where each 
person does what’s right in their own eyes. 
Revision: One Option 
Change antecedent to plural to match possessive 
determiner 
Identifying Misuse of Pronouns 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
2. Our society has gotten to the point where each 
person does what’s right in their own eyes. 
Revision: One Option 
Change antecedent to plural to match possessive 
determiner; change MVP inflection to plural 
Our society has gotten to the point where all 
people do what’s right in their own eyes. 
Identifying Misuse of Pronouns 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
Identify misuse of pronouns in the following sentences. Revise the 
sentences (adapted from Sin and Syntax) to eliminate sexist 
pronouns and number-agreement errors: 
1. A motorcyclist has the right to decide if she wants 
to wear a helmet. 
2. Do your child a favor; teach them grammar. 
3. If the government thinks it has a role in health 
reform, we’ve got a message for them. 
4. British Airways is encouraging any passenger 
who can say that their business class isn’t the 
most comfortable in the air to write and tell them 
why. 
Identifying Misuse of Pronouns 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
One possible set of revisions: 
1. Motorcyclists have the right to decide if they want to wear 
helmets. [sexist: make all pronouns plural] 
2. Do your child a favor by teaching good grammar. [number-agreement; 
potentially sexist: remove 2nd pronoun] 
3. If the government officials think they have a role in health 
reform, we’ve got a message for them. [number-agreement: 
change antecedent to plural] 
4. British Airways is encouraging any passenger who can say 
that its business class isn’t the most comfortable in the air 
to write and tell its customer service representatives why. 
[number-agreement: change 1st pronoun to singular; 
replace 2nd pronoun with singular pronoun determiner and 
plural NP] 
Identifying Misuse of Pronouns 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
3. Patterns of Error 
http://www.fantom-xp.com/wp_23_~_Markers.html 
Module 5 Key Markers 
Dangling and Misplaced Modifiers 
Modifier Markers 
• Non-finite Verb Phrases: Present Participle Phrases, 
Past Participle Phrases, Infinitive Phrases 
• Underlying subject of Non-finite Verb Phrase is not the 
subject of the sentence it modifies 
• Prepositional phrases: Preposition + Object (NP)
Analyze the following passage adapted from Constance 
Hale’s Sin and Syntax: 
1. Thinly sliced and heaped on rye, corned beef 
lovers won’t be disappointed. 
2. Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg address 
while traveling from Washington to Gettysburg 
on the back of an envelope. 
Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
1. Thinly sliced and heaped on rye, corned beef 
lovers won’t be disappointed. 
Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
1. Thinly sliced and heaped on rye, corned beef 
lovers won’t be disappointed. 
Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
1. Thinly sliced and heaped on rye, corned beef 
lovers won’t be disappointed. 
Thinly sliced and heaped on rye 
Past-participle verb phrase 
Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
1. Thinly sliced and heaped on rye, corned beef 
lovers won’t be disappointed. 
Thinly sliced and heaped on rye 
Past-participle verb phrase 
No subject specified in verb phrase 
Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
1. Thinly sliced and heaped on rye, corned beef 
lovers won’t be disappointed. 
Thinly sliced and heaped on rye 
Past-participle verb phrase 
No subject specified in verb phrase 
Underlying Subject 
Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
1. Thinly sliced and heaped on rye, corned beef 
lovers won’t be disappointed. 
Thinly sliced and heaped on rye 
Past-participle verb phrase 
No subject specified in verb phrase 
Underlying Subject 
corned beef sandwich 
Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
1. Thinly sliced and heaped on rye, corned beef 
lovers won’t be disappointed. 
Thinly sliced and heaped on rye 
Past-participle verb phrase 
No subject specified in verb phrase 
Underlying Subject Subject of Following Clause 
corned beef sandwich 
Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
1. Thinly sliced and heaped on rye, corned beef 
lovers won’t be disappointed. 
Thinly sliced and heaped on rye 
Past-participle verb phrase 
No subject specified in verb phrase 
Underlying Subject Subject of Following Clause 
corned beef sandwich corned beef lovers 
Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
1. Thinly sliced and heaped on rye, corned beef 
lovers won’t be disappointed. 
Thinly sliced and heaped on rye 
Past-participle verb phrase 
No subject specified in verb phrase 
Underlying Subject Subject of Following Clause 
corned beef sandwich ≠ corned beef lovers 
Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
1. Thinly sliced and heaped on rye, corned beef 
lovers won’t be disappointed. 
Thinly sliced and heaped on rye 
Past-participle verb phrase 
No subject specified in verb phrase 
Underlying Subject Subject of Following Clause 
corned beef sandwich corned beef lovers 
Dangling Modifier 
≠ 
Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
1. Thinly sliced and heaped on rye, corned beef 
lovers won’t be disappointed. 
Revision 
Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
1. Thinly sliced and heaped on rye, corned beef 
lovers won’t be disappointed. 
Revision: One Option 
Change subject of following clause 
Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
1. Thinly sliced and heaped on rye, corned beef 
lovers won’t be disappointed. 
Revision: One Option 
Change subject of following clause 
Thinly sliced and heaped on rye, this sandwich won’t 
disappoint corned beef lovers. 
Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
2. Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg address 
while traveling from Washington to Gettysburg 
on the back of an envelope. 
Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
2. Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg address 
while traveling from Washington to Gettysburg 
on the back of an envelope. 
Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
2. Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg address 
while traveling from Washington to Gettysburg 
on the back of an envelope. 
on the back of an envelope 
prepositional phrase 
Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
2. Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg address 
while traveling from Washington to Gettysburg 
on the back of an envelope. 
on the back of an envelope 
prepositional phrase 
Modifies 
Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
2. Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg address 
while traveling from Washington to Gettysburg 
on the back of an envelope. 
on the back of an envelope 
prepositional phrase 
Modifies 
while traveling from 
Washington to Gettysburg 
Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
2. Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg address 
while traveling from Washington to Gettysburg 
on the back of an envelope. 
on the back of an envelope 
prepositional phrase 
Modifies Should Modify 
while traveling from 
Washington to Gettysburg 
Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
2. Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg address 
while traveling from Washington to Gettysburg 
on the back of an envelope. 
on the back of an envelope 
prepositional phrase 
Modifies Should Modify 
while traveling wrote the Gettysburg 
from Washington address 
to Gettysburg 
Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
2. Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg address 
while traveling from Washington to Gettysburg 
on the back of an envelope. 
on the back of an envelope 
prepositional phrase 
Modifies Should Modify 
while traveling ≠ 
wrote the Gettysburg 
from Washington address 
to Gettysburg 
Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
2. Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg address 
while traveling from Washington to Gettysburg 
on the back of an envelope. 
on the back of an envelope 
prepositional phrase 
Modifies Should Modify 
while traveling wrote the Gettysburg 
from Washington address 
to Gettysburg 
Misplaced Modifier 
Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
≠ 
Module 5 Key Markers
2. Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg address 
while traveling from Washington to Gettysburg 
on the back of an envelope. 
Revision 
Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
2. Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg address 
while traveling from Washington to Gettysburg 
on the back of an envelope. 
Revision: One Option 
Move the prepositional phrase closer to what it 
should modify 
Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
2. Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg address 
while traveling from Washington to Gettysburg 
on the back of an envelope. 
Revision: One Option 
Move the prepositional phrase closer to what it 
should modify 
Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg address 
on the back of an envelope while traveling 
from Washington to Gettysburg. 
Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
Identify dangling and misplaced modifiers in the following 
sentences. Revise the sentences (adapted from Sin and Syntax) to 
eliminate dangling and misplaced modifiers: 
1. FOR SALE: Mahogany table by a lady with Chippendale legs. 
2. For over a half-century Rumpelmayer’s has been one of New 
York’s most popular ice-cream parlors. Decorated with cuddly 
stuffed animals and trimmed with large pink velvet bows, you 
feel like you’re sitting inside a present. 
3. I once shot an elephant in my pajamas. 
4. I saw a car crash driving to the store. 
Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
One possible set of revisions: 
1. FOR SALE: By a lady; mahogany table with Chippendale legs. 
[misplaced modifier: move prepositional phrases] 
2. For over a half-century Rumpelmayer’s has been one of New 
York’s most popular ice-cream parlors. Because it is 
decorated with cuddly stuffed animals and trimmed with 
large pink velvet bows, you feel like you’re sitting inside a 
present. [dangling modifier: add in underlying subject] 
3. I once shot an elephant while I was in my pajamas. [misplaced 
modifier: add SUBJ and MVP to create a clause] 
4. Driving to the store, I saw a car crash. [misplaced modifier: 
move present-participle phrase to beginning of sentence] 
Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
3. Patterns of Error 
http://www.fantom-xp.com/wp_23_~_Markers.html 
Module 5 Key Markers 
Sentence Fragments 
Sentence Fragment Markers 
• No subject + MVP construction 
• Dependent Clause beginning with a Subordinating 
Conjunction, Interrogative, Wh- Word, or “That” set 
off by a capital letter and a period
Analyze the following passage adapted from Tristan Egolf’s Lord of 
the Barnyard: 
Then, at four thirty she heard a noise. He was moving around again. 
She could hear papers rustling, floorboards moaning. Footsteps 
started coming down from the attic. A minute later a thud directly 
overhead. More footsteps. Down the staircase. Around the bend. He 
stepped through the doorway with a knife in one hand. She stared at 
him. Because he looked as though he’d been hit by a truck. He didn’t 
look at her. He turned and started prying a wire loose from a row of 
staple clamps lining the door frame. Several termites fell from the 
ceiling around him. They tapped on the floor and scuttled away. He 
continued working the wire loose. He cut it. He discarded the knife, 
then disappeared again. She heard him walk down the hall toward 
the kitchen. 
Identifying Sentence Fragments 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
Analyze the following passage adapted from Tristan Egolf’s Lord of 
the Barnyard: 
Then, at four thirty she heard a noise. He was moving around again. 
She could hear papers rustling, floorboards moaning. Footsteps 
started coming down from the attic. A minute later a thud directly 
overhead. More footsteps. Down the staircase. Around the bend. He 
stepped through the doorway with a knife in one hand. She stared at 
him. Because he looked as though he’d been hit by a truck. He didn’t 
look at her. He turned and started prying a wire loose from a row of 
staple clamps lining the door frame. Several termites fell from the 
ceiling around him. They tapped on the floor and scuttled away. He 
continued working the wire loose. He cut it. He discarded the knife, 
then disappeared again. She heard him walk down the hall toward 
the kitchen. 
Identifying Sentence Fragments 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
Analyze the following passage adapted from Tristan Egolf’s Lord of 
the Barnyard: 
Then, at four thirty she heard a noise. He was moving around again. 
She could hear papers rustling, floorboards moaning. Footsteps 
started coming down from the attic. A minute later a thud directly 
overhead. More footsteps. Down the staircase. Around the bend. He 
stepped through the doorway with a knife in one hand. She stared at 
him. Because he looked as though he’d been hit by a truck. He didn’t 
look at her. He turned and started prying a wire loose from a row of 
staple clamps lining the door frame. Several termites fell from the 
ceiling around him. They tapped on the floor and scuttled away. He 
continued working the wire loose. He cut it. He discarded the knife, 
then disappeared again. She heard him walk down the hall toward 
the kitchen. 
Identifying Sentence Fragments 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar
Analyze the following passage adapted from Tristan Egolf’s Lord of 
the Barnyard: 
Then, at four thirty she heard a noise. He was moving around again. 
She could hear papers rustling, floorboards moaning. Footsteps 
started coming down from the attic. A minute later a thud directly 
overhead. More footsteps. Down the staircase. Around the bend. He 
stepped through the doorway with a knife in one hand. She stared at 
him. Because he looked as though he’d been hit by a truck. He didn’t 
look at her. He turned and started prying a wire loose from a row of 
staple clamps lining the door frame. Several termites fell from the 
ceiling around him. They tapped on the floor and scuttled away. He 
continued working the wire loose. He cut it. He discarded the knife, 
then disappeared again. She heard him walk down the hall toward 
the kitchen. 
Identifying Sentence Fragments 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
Analyze the following passage adapted from Tristan Egolf’s Lord of 
the Barnyard: 
Then, at four thirty she heard a noise. He was moving around again. 
She could hear papers rustling, floorboards moaning. Footsteps 
started coming down from the attic. A minute later a thud directly 
overhead. More footsteps. Down the staircase. Around the bend. 
He stepped through the doorway with a knife in one hand. She stared 
at him. Because he looked as though he’d been hit by a truck. He 
didn’t look at her. He turned and started prying a wire loose from a 
row of staple clamps lining the door frame. Several termites fell from 
the ceiling around him. They tapped on the floor and scuttled away. 
He continued working the wire loose. He cut it. He discarded the 
knife, then disappeared again. She heard him walk down the hall 
toward the kitchen. 
Identifying Sentence Fragments 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
Analyze the following passage adapted from Tristan Egolf’s Lord of 
the Barnyard: 
Then, at four thirty she heard a noise. He was moving around again. 
She could hear papers rustling, floorboards moaning. Footsteps 
started coming down from the attic. A minute later a thud directly 
overhead. More footsteps. Down the staircase. Around the bend. 
He stepped through the doorway with a knife in one hand. She stared 
at him. Because he looked as though he’d been hit by a truck. He 
didn’t look at her. He turned and started prying a wire loose from a 
row of staple clamps lining the door frame. Several termites fell from 
the ceiling around him. They tapped on the floor and scuttled away. 
He continued working the wire loose. He cut it. He discarded the 
knife, then disappeared again. She heard him walk down the hall 
toward the kitchen. 
Identifying Sentence Fragments 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
Evaluate the rhetorical effectiveness of the sentence fragments: 
Then, at four thirty she heard a noise. He was moving around again. 
She could hear papers rustling, floorboards moaning. Footsteps 
started coming down from the attic. A minute later a thud directly 
overhead. More footsteps. Down the staircase. Around the bend. 
Identifying Sentence Fragments 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
Evaluate the rhetorical effectiveness of the sentence fragments: 
Introduces one character listening to another: 
Then, at four thirty she heard a noise. He was moving around again. 
She could hear papers rustling, floorboards moaning. Footsteps 
started coming down from the attic. 
A minute later a thud directly overhead. More footsteps. Down the 
staircase. Around the bend. 
Identifying Sentence Fragments 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
Evaluate the rhetorical effectiveness of the sentence fragments: 
Introduces one character listening to another: 
Then, at four thirty she heard a noise. He was moving around again. 
She could hear papers rustling, floorboards moaning. Footsteps 
started coming down from the attic. 
Continues the list of what she hears: 
A minute later a thud directly overhead. More footsteps. Down the 
staircase. Around the bend. 
Identifying Sentence Fragments 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
One possible evaluation: 
These sentence fragments are rhetorically effective. The passage 
describes what one character hears when she listens to another. The 
list of phrases continue that description by referring to specific noises 
and their locations. The short phrases mimic the brevity of the 
sounds she hears. 
Identifying Sentence Fragments 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
Evaluate the rhetorical effectiveness of the sentence fragments: 
He stepped through the doorway with a knife in one hand. She stared 
at him. Because he looked as though he’d been hit by a truck. He 
didn’t look at her. 
Identifying Sentence Fragments 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
Evaluate the rhetorical effectiveness of the sentence fragments: 
Describes characters’ actions: 
He stepped through the doorway with a knife in one hand. She stared 
at him. 
Because he looked as though he’d been hit by a truck. He didn’t 
look at her. 
Identifying Sentence Fragments 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
Evaluate the rhetorical effectiveness of the sentence fragments: 
Describes characters’ actions: 
He stepped through the doorway with a knife in one hand. She stared 
at him. 
Describes how a character looks: 
Because he looked as though he’d been hit by a truck. 
He didn’t look at her. 
Identifying Sentence Fragments 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
Evaluate the rhetorical effectiveness of the sentence fragments: 
Describes characters’ actions: 
He stepped through the doorway with a knife in one hand. She stared 
at him. 
Describes how a character looks: 
Because he looked as though he’d been hit by a truck. 
Describes characters’ actions: 
He didn’t look at her. 
Identifying Sentence Fragments 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
One possible evaluation: 
The sentence fragment is not rhetorically effective, because it stands 
out as very different from the sentences around it. It describes a 
character rather than a character’s actions, which means it does not 
continue the thought from the previous sentences. It is also the only 
sentence in its immediate context that does not begin with a 
pronoun or short NP. Its style does not fit the passage. 
Identifying Sentence Fragments 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
Identify sentence fragments in the following passage (adapted from 
Junot Diaz’ The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao). Evaluate their 
rhetorical effectiveness: 
It truly was a Golden age for Oscar, one that reached its apotheosis in 
the fall of his seventh year, when he had two little girlfriends at the 
same time, his first and only ménage á trois. With Maritza Chacón 
and Olga Polanco. 
Maritza was Lola’s friend. Long-haired and prissy and so pretty she 
could have played young Deja Thoris. Olga on the other hand, was no 
friend of the family. She lived in the house at the end of the block 
that his mother complained about. Because it was filled with 
puertoricans who were always hanging out on their porch drinking 
beer. Olga had like ninety cousins, all who seemed to be named 
Hector or Luis or Wanda. 
Identifying Sentence Fragments 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
Identify sentence fragments: 
It truly was a Golden age for Oscar, one that reached its apotheosis in 
the fall of his seventh year, when he had two little girlfriends at the 
same time, his first and only ménage á trois. (1) With Maritza 
Chacón and Olga Polanco. 
Maritza was Lola’s friend. (2) Long-haired and prissy and so pretty 
she could have played young Deja Thoris. Olga on the other hand, 
was no friend of the family. She lived in the house at the end of the 
block that his mother complained about. (3) Because it was filled 
with puertoricans who were always hanging out on their porch 
drinking beer. Olga had like ninety cousins, all who seemed to be 
named Hector or Luis or Wanda. 
Identifying Sentence Fragments 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
One possible evaluation: 
(1) The sentence fragment consists of a prepositional phrase which adjectivally 
modifies the NP “his first and only ménage á trois.” The adjectival function is clear. 
Separating the prepositional phrase from the NP is rhetorically effective, as it 
clarifies that the ménage á trois is truly his first and only, not just his first and only 
with these two particular girls. Moreover, making the prepositional phrase a 
sentence fragment highlights the importance of these girls’ identities. A clause, such 
as “It was with Maritza and Olga.” would emphasize the ménage á trois and the 
identities equally. 
(2) The sentence fragment clearly refers back to and modifies Maritza. By isolating 
these modifiers, Diaz puts extra emphasis on them. This is rhetorically effective, as it 
emphasizes Maritza’s beauty, which explains Oscar’s attraction to her. 
(3) This sentence fragment is not rhetorically effective, because it misleads the 
reader into expecting a related independent clause to follow. However, the sentence 
that follows the fragment bears no clear relation to it. The subordinating 
conjunction because which begins the sentence could signal a connection with the 
previous sentence, as the fragment could provide a reason for the mother’s dislike 
of Olga’s house. Shifting because into a new sentence, however, confuses this 
relationship between the sentence fragment and the preceding sentence. 
Identifying Sentence Fragments 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
4. Style and Rhetorical Choice 
http://www.fantom-xp.com/wp_23_~_Markers.html 
Module 5 Key Markers
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
4. Style and Rhetorical Choice 
http://www.fantom-xp.com/wp_23_~_Markers.html 
Module 5 Key Markers 
Rhetorical Use of the Passive 
Passive Marker 
• BE + [-en]
Analyze the following passage adapted from Jasper Fforde’s The Big 
Over Easy: 
The Nursery Crime Division was formed in 1958 by DCI Horner, who 
was concerned that the regular force was too ill-equipped to deal 
with the often unique problems thrown up by a standard NCD 
inquiry. After a particularly bizarre investigation that involved a 
tinderbox, a soldier and a series of talking cats, his confused 
superiors were convinced by him that he should oversee all inquiries 
involving “any nursery characters or plots from poems and/or 
stories.” He was given a budget, a small office and two officers that 
no one else wanted and ran the NCD until he retired in 1980. 
--Excerpt from A Short History of the NCD 
Identifying Rhetorical Use of the Passive 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
Analyze the following passage adapted from Jasper Fforde’s The Big 
Over Easy: 
The Nursery Crime Division was formed in 1958 by DCI Horner, who 
was concerned that the regular force was too ill-equipped to deal 
with the often unique problems thrown up by a standard NCD 
inquiry. After a particularly bizarre investigation that involved a 
tinderbox, a soldier and a series of talking cats, his confused 
superiors were convinced by him that he should oversee all inquiries 
involving “any nursery characters or plots from poems and/or 
stories.” He was given a budget, a small office and two officers that 
no one else wanted and ran the NCD until he retired in 1980. 
--Excerpt from A Short History of the NCD 
Identifying Rhetorical Use of the Passive 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
Analyze the following passage adapted from Jasper Fforde’s The Big 
Over Easy: 
The Nursery Crime Division was formed in 1958 by DCI Horner, who 
was concerned that the regular force was too ill-equipped to deal 
with the often unique problems thrown up by a standard NCD 
inquiry. After a particularly bizarre investigation that involved a 
tinderbox, a soldier and a series of talking cats, his confused 
superiors were convinced by him that he should oversee all inquiries 
involving “any nursery characters or plots from poems and/or 
stories.” He was given a budget, a small office and two officers that 
no one else wanted and ran the NCD until he retired in 1980. 
--Excerpt from A Short History of the NCD 
Identifying Rhetorical Use of the Passive 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
Analyze the following passage adapted from Jasper Fforde’s The Big 
Over Easy: 
The Nursery Crime Division was formed in 1958 by DCI Horner, who 
was concerned that the regular force was too ill-equipped to deal 
with the often unique problems thrown up by a standard NCD 
inquiry. After a particularly bizarre investigation that involved a 
tinderbox, a soldier and a series of talking cats, his confused 
superiors were convinced by him that he should oversee all inquiries 
involving “any nursery characters or plots from poems and/or 
stories.” He was given a budget, a small office and two officers that 
no one else wanted and ran the NCD until he retired in 1980. 
--Excerpt from A Short History of the NCD 
Identifying Rhetorical Use of the Passive 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
Analyze the following passage adapted from Jasper Fforde’s The Big 
Over Easy: 
The Nursery Crime Division was formed in 1958 by DCI Horner, who 
was concerned that the regular force was too ill-equipped to deal 
with the often unique problems thrown up by a standard NCD 
inquiry. After a particularly bizarre investigation that involved a 
tinderbox, a soldier and a series of talking cats, his confused 
superiors were convinced by him that he should oversee all inquiries 
involving “any nursery characters or plots from poems and/or 
stories.” He was given a budget, a small office and two officers that 
no one else wanted and ran the NCD until he retired in 1980. 
--Excerpt from A Short History of the NCD 
Identifying Rhetorical Use of the Passive 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
Analyze the following passage adapted from Jasper Fforde’s The Big 
Over Easy: 
The Nursery Crime Division was formed in 1958 by DCI Horner, who 
was concerned that the regular force was too ill-equipped to deal 
with the often unique problems thrown up by a standard NCD 
inquiry. After a particularly bizarre investigation that involved a 
tinderbox, a soldier and a series of talking cats, his confused 
superiors were convinced by him that he should oversee all inquiries 
involving “any nursery characters or plots from poems and/or 
stories.” He was given a budget, a small office and two officers that 
no one else wanted and ran the NCD until he retired in 1980. 
--Excerpt from A Short History of the NCD 
Identifying Rhetorical Use of the Passive 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
Potential passive constructions: 
1. was formed 
2. was concerned 
3. was too ill-equipped 
4. were convinced 
5. was given 
Identifying Rhetorical Use of the Passive 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
1. was formed 
The Nursery Crime Division was formed in 1958 by DCI Horner, who 
was concerned that the regular force was too ill-equipped to deal 
with the often unique problems thrown up by a standard NCD 
inquiry. 
--Excerpt from A Short History of the NCD 
Passive Transformation 
Rhetorically effective because it emphasizes the subject of the 
excerpted book, the Nursery Crime Division, by making it the subject 
of the sentence. 
Identifying Rhetorical Use of the Passive 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
2. was concerned 
The Nursery Crime Division was formed in 1958 by DCI Horner, who 
was concerned that the regular force was too ill-equipped to deal 
with the often unique problems thrown up by a standard NCD 
inquiry. 
--Excerpt from A Short History of the NCD 
MVP + ADJP 
Not a passive transformation, as concerned passes functional ADJ 
tests. 
Identifying Rhetorical Use of the Passive 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
3. was ill-equipped 
The Nursery Crime Division was formed in 1958 by DCI Horner, who 
was concerned that the regular force was too ill-equipped to deal 
with the often unique problems thrown up by a standard NCD 
inquiry. 
--Excerpt from A Short History of the NCD 
MVP + ADJP 
Not a passive transformation, as ill-equipped passes functional ADJ 
tests. It is also preceded here by a qualifier, which can only modify 
ADJPs and ADVPs. 
Identifying Rhetorical Use of the Passive 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
4. were convinced 
After a particularly bizarre investigation that involved a tinderbox, a 
soldier and a series of talking cats, his confused superiors were 
convinced by him that he should oversee all inquiries involving “any 
nursery characters or plots from poems and/or stories.” 
--Excerpt from A Short History of the NCD 
Passive Transformation 
Not rhetorically effective because it emphasizes the superiors rather 
than him (“DCI Horner”). The rest of the passage focuses largely on 
DCI Horner. In active voice, the sentence would be shorter and its 
emphasis more appropriate to the context. 
Identifying Rhetorical Use of the Passive 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
5. was given 
He was given a budget, a small office and two officers that no one 
else wanted and ran the NCD until he retired in 1980. 
--Excerpt from A Short History of the NCD 
Passive Transformation 
Rhetorically effective because it emphasizes one of the passage’s two 
main subjects—DCI Horner—by making it the subject of the 
sentence. (The other subject is the Nursery Crime Division itself). A 
reader interested in these two subjects is likely not concerned with 
who specifically gave DCI Horner to tools to open the NCD. 
Identifying Rhetorical Use of the Passive 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
Identify passive constructions in the following passage (adapted from 
Ronald F. Bunn’s German Politics and the Spiegel Affair). Evaluate 
their rhetorical effectiveness: 
It is because of these consequences of the Spiegel Affair that we 
propose here to examine it, with emphasis on the causes of the 
controversy and the responses of the political system to it. The 
meaning of the term “political affair” is largely conditioned by 
popular and journalistic usage, and no precise definition of the term 
can be derived from the various connotations commonly attached to 
it. Quite generally, however, references to political affairs as they 
have occurred over the past years in Western political communities 
suggest situations which are characterized by behavior, conduct, or 
action on the part of one or more persons endowed with political 
authority and which are of such a nature as to arouse a significant 
level of unfavorable reaction among the various strata of the political 
community, or at least among the more politically active and 
articulate groups within the community. 
Identifying Rhetorical Use of the Passive 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
Identify passive constructions: 
It is because of these consequences of the Spiegel Affair that we 
propose here to examine it, with emphasis on the causes of the 
controversy and the responses of the political system to it. The 
meaning of the term “political affair” is largely conditioned by 
popular and journalistic usage, and no precise definition of the term 
can be derived from the various connotations commonly attached to 
it. Quite generally, however, references to political affairs as they 
have occurred over the past years in Western political communities 
suggest situations characterized by behavior, conduct, or action on 
the part of one or more persons endowed with political authority 
and which are of such a nature as to arouse a significant level of 
unfavorable reaction among the various strata of the political 
community, or at least among the more politically active and 
articulate groups within the community. 
Identifying Rhetorical Use of the Passive 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
One possible evaluation: 
(1) The use of the passive is effective, because it allows the subject 
of the sentence to connect directly back to the previous sentence. 
The previous sentence introduces the reader to the idea of the 
Spiegel Affair as political. Using the passive transforms the object 
“political affairs” into a subject and shifts the subject “popular and 
journalistic usage” in a prepositional phrase. Without that 
transformation, the connection between the passive sentence and 
the preceding sentence would initially be unclear. 
(2) The use of the passive is effective, because it is unimportant 
who is doing the deriving. In this context, the key information is 
simply whether or not there exists a possibility of deriving a 
“precise definition of the term. 
Identifying Rhetorical Use of the Passive 
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Key Markers
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
Module 5 Schedule 
Module Five – Sentences 
12 M Nov 10 Module 5 Overview; Analyzing 
in Context/Markers and Keys 
for Module 5 
READ Section 7 
COMPLETE Quiz 9; Quiz 
10 by Nov 14 
COMPLETE OLE 7; OLE 8 
by Nov 14 
COMPLETE Discussion 
Posts by Nov 14 
Online Work Proficiencies Available Nov 12 
Send Samples to Dr. 
Nagelhout by Nov 14 
13 M Nov 17 In-Class Presentations; In- 
Class Practice 
Online Work Complete Proficiencies 
Thanksgiving Holiday 
Module Six – Final Materials 
14 M Nov 24 Module 6 Overview - Final 
Reflection and Final Exam 
COMPLETE Proficiency 
1; Proficiency 2; 
Proficiency 3; 
Proficiency 4 by Nov 24
ENG 411B 
Principles of Modern Grammar 
If you have any 
questions that have 
not been answered 
today, please 
contact me through 
WebCampus mail. 
Questions/Comments

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Eng411 bunlv day11m5overview

  • 1. Sentences & Punctuation The final stage for analyzing grammar in context, at the highest level: 1. Sentence Variety 2. Punctuation 3. Patterns of Error 4. Style/Rhetorical Choice ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Overview
  • 2. ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar http://acompletewasteofmakeup.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/goals.jpg Module 5 Goals An ability to identify and analyze in context:
  • 3. ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar An ability to identify and analyze in context: 1. Sentence Variety http://acompletewasteofmakeup.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/goals.jpg Module 5 Goals
  • 4. ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar An ability to identify and analyze in context: 2. Punctuation Rules http://acompletewasteofmakeup.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/goals.jpg Module 5 Goals 1. Sentence Variety
  • 5. ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar An ability to identify and analyze in context: 1. Sentence Variety http://acompletewasteofmakeup.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/goals.jpg 3. Patterns of Error Module 5 Goals 2. Punctuation Rules
  • 6. ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar An ability to identify and analyze in context: 1. Sentence Variety http://acompletewasteofmakeup.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/goals.jpg 4. Style and Rhetorical Choice Module 5 Goals 3. Patterns of Error 2. Punctuation Rules
  • 7. ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers http://www.fantom-xp.com/wp_23_~_Markers.html
  • 8. ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar 1. Sentence Variety Module 5 Key Markers http://www.fantom-xp.com/wp_23_~_Markers.html
  • 9. 1. Sentence Variety Simple sentence • A sentence with one independent clause and ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar http://www.fantom-xp.com/wp_23_~_Markers.html no dependent clauses Compound Sentence • A sentence with multiple independent clauses (usually joined through coordination) but no dependent clauses Complex Sentence • A sentence with one independent clause and at least one dependent clause Complex-Compound Sentence • A sentence with multiple independent clauses and at least one dependent clause Module 5 Key Markers
  • 10. Analyze the following paragraph adapted from Stephen King’s 11/22/63: I handed over one of Al’s vintage dollars, and while Frank made change, I looked over my shoulder and saw the former Yellow Card Man standing outside the liquor store - the greenfront - and swaying from side to side. He made me think of a Hindu fakir I’d seen in some old movie, tooting a horn to coax a cobra out of a wicker basket. And, coming up the sidewalk, right on schedule, was Anicetti the Younger. Identifying Sentence Variety ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 11. Analyze the following paragraph adapted from Stephen King’s 11/22/63: I handed over one of Al’s vintage dollars, and while Frank made change, I looked over my shoulder and saw the former Yellow Card Man standing outside the liquor store - the greenfront - and swaying from side to side. He made me think of a Hindu fakir I’d seen in some old movie, tooting a horn to coax a cobra out of a wicker basket. And, coming up the sidewalk, right on schedule, was Anicetti the Younger. Identifying Sentence Variety ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 12. Analyze the following paragraph adapted from Stephen King’s 11/22/63: I handed over one of Al’s vintage dollars, and while Frank made change, I looked over my shoulder and saw the former Yellow Card Man standing outside the liquor store - the greenfront - and swaying from side to side. He made me think of a Hindu fakir I’d seen in some old movie, tooting a horn to coax a cobra out of a wicker basket. And, coming up the sidewalk, right on schedule, was Anicetti the Younger. Identifying Sentence Variety ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 13. Analyze the following paragraph adapted from Stephen King’s 11/22/63: I handed over one of Al’s vintage dollars, and while Frank made change, I looked over my shoulder and saw the former Yellow Card Man standing outside the liquor store - the greenfront - and swaying from side to side. He made me think of a Hindu fakir I’d seen in some old movie, tooting a horn to coax a cobra out of a wicker basket. And, coming up the sidewalk, right on schedule, was Anicetti the Younger. Identifying Sentence Variety ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 14. I handed over one of Al’s vintage dollars, and while Frank made change, I looked over my shoulder and saw the former Yellow Card Man standing outside the liquor store - the greenfront - and swaying from side to side. Identifying Sentence Variety ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 15. I handed over one of Al’s vintage dollars, and while Frank made change, I looked over my shoulder and saw the former Yellow Card Man standing outside the liquor store - the greenfront - and swaying from side to side. Clauses? Identifying Sentence Variety ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 16. I handed over one of Al’s vintage dollars, and while Frank made change, I looked over my shoulder and saw the former Yellow Card Man standing outside the liquor store - the greenfront - and swaying from side to side. Clauses: Independent Clause Identifying Sentence Variety ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 17. I handed over one of Al’s vintage dollars, and while Frank made change, I looked over my shoulder and saw the former Yellow Card Man standing outside the liquor store - the greenfront - and swaying from side to side. Clauses: Independent Clause Dependent Clause Identifying Sentence Variety ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 18. I handed over one of Al’s vintage dollars, and while Frank made change, I looked over my shoulder and saw the former Yellow Card Man standing outside the liquor store - the greenfront - and swaying from side to side. Clauses: Independent Clause Dependent Clause Independent Clause Identifying Sentence Variety ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 19. I handed over one of Al’s vintage dollars, and while Frank made change, I looked over my shoulder and saw the former Yellow Card Man standing outside the liquor store - the greenfront - and swaying from side to side. Clauses: Independent Clause Dependent Clause Independent Clause Independent Clause Identifying Sentence Variety ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 20. I handed over one of Al’s vintage dollars, and while Frank made change, I looked over my shoulder and saw the former Yellow Card Man standing outside the liquor store - the greenfront - and swaying from side to side. Clauses: Independent Clause Dependent Clause Independent Clause Independent Clause Compound-Complex Sentence Identifying Sentence Variety ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 21. He made me think of a Hindu fakir I’d seen in some old movie, tooting a horn to coax a cobra out of a wicker basket. Identifying Sentence Variety ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 22. He made me think of a Hindu fakir I’d seen in some old movie, tooting a horn to coax a cobra out of a wicker basket. Clauses? Identifying Sentence Variety ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 23. He made me think of a Hindu fakir I’d seen in some old movie, tooting a horn to coax a cobra out of a wicker basket. Clauses: Independent Clause Identifying Sentence Variety ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 24. He made me think of a Hindu fakir [that] I’d seen in some old movie, tooting a horn to coax a cobra out of a wicker basket. Clauses: Independent Clause Dependent Clause Identifying Sentence Variety ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 25. He made me think of a Hindu fakir I’d seen in some old movie, tooting a horn to coax a cobra out of a wicker basket. Clauses: Independent Clause Dependent Clause Complex Sentence Identifying Sentence Variety ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 26. And, coming up the sidewalk, right on schedule, was Anicetti the Younger. Clauses? Identifying Sentence Variety ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 27. And, coming up the sidewalk, right on schedule, was Anicetti the Younger. Clauses: Independent Clause Identifying Sentence Variety ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 28. And, coming up the sidewalk, right on schedule, was Anicetti the Younger. Clauses: Independent Clause Simple Sentence Identifying Sentence Variety ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 29. ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar 2. Punctuation Rules http://www.fantom-xp.com/wp_23_~_Markers.html Module 5 Key Markers
  • 30. 2. Punctuation Rules A period or a semicolon can indicate the end of a simple independent clause. Simple Examples: • The dog is indoors. The dog sleeps all day. • The telephone rang. He rushed to answer it. ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Punctuation Rule #1 Independent clause. Independent clause. Simple Sentences http://www.fantom-xp.com/wp_23_~_Markers.html Module 5 Key Markers
  • 31. 2. Punctuation Rules Independent clauses can be separated by a semicolon, which can act like a soft period. A semicolon signals an extremely close relationship between the independent clauses. Simple Examples: • The dog barked; the letter carrier ran. • The snow fell; the roads became impassable. ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Punctuation Rule #2 Independent clause; independent clause. Simple Sentences http://www.fantom-xp.com/wp_23_~_Markers.html Module 5 Key Markers
  • 32. 2. Punctuation Rules Punctuation Rule #3 Independent clause; conjunctive adverb, independent clause. OR Independent clause; independent, conjunctive adverb, clause. Simple Sentences Conjunctive adverbs can follow a semicolon connecting two independent clauses. When a conjunctive adverb precedes the second independent clause, they are separated by a comma. A conjunctive adverb embedded in the second independent clause is set off by commas. Simple Examples: • The car sounded terrible; however, it never broke down. • Parking is scarce; many drivers, therefore, park illegally. ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar http://www.fantom-xp.com/wp_23_~_Markers.html Module 5 Key Markers
  • 33. 2. Punctuation Rules Punctuation Rule #4 Independent clause, coordinating conjunction independent clause. Compound Sentence A coordinating conjunction can separate independent clauses. A comma always precedes the coordinating conjunction, followed by the second independent clause. Simple Examples: • Jenny hit the ball, and she was safe at first base. • Jenny ran to first base, but the shortstop threw her out. ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar http://www.fantom-xp.com/wp_23_~_Markers.html Module 5 Key Markers
  • 34. 2. Punctuation Rules When a dependent clause begins a sentence, an independent clause MUST follow, and a comma always separates them. Simple Examples: • After she hit the ball, Jenny ran to first. • When the clock struck twelve, the mouse ran down. ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Punctuation Rule #5 Dependent clause, independent clause. Complex Sentence http://www.fantom-xp.com/wp_23_~_Markers.html Module 5 Key Markers
  • 35. 2. Punctuation Rules When an independent clause comes first, a dependent clause can follow without using a comma to separate them. Examples: • Jenny ran to first after she hit the ball. • The mouse ran down when the clock struck twelve. ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Punctuation Rule #6 Independent clause dependent clause. Complex Sentence http://www.fantom-xp.com/wp_23_~_Markers.html Module 5 Key Markers
  • 36. 2. Punctuation Rules When a dependent clause interrupts an independent clause, a pair of commas sets off the dependent clause. Examples: • Subordinate clauses, because they are adverbial, can • Josh understood, once he realized his mistake, why ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Punctuation Rule #7 Independent, dependent clause, clause. Complex Sentence move about in a sentence. Karen was mad. http://www.fantom-xp.com/wp_23_~_Markers.html Module 5 Key Markers
  • 37. 2. Punctuation Rules Punctuation Rule #8 Independent restrictive clause/phrase clause. A clause or phrase embedded within an independent clause that is essential information to identify the referent is not set off with commas. Simple Examples • A man who is in his eighties is an octogenarian. • A clause that provides essential information is not set • The house on the corner is blue. • Eric’s cousin Gwendolyn has the voice of an eight-year-old. ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar off with commas. http://www.fantom-xp.com/wp_23_~_Markers.html Module 5 Key Markers
  • 38. 2. Punctuation Rules Punctuation Rule #9 Independent, nonrestrictive clause/phrase, clause. OR –nonrestrictive clause/phrase– OR (nonrestrictive clause) A clause or phrase embedded within an independent clause that is not essential information to identify the referent is set off with punctuation. A pair of commas, a pair of double dashes, or a set of parentheses all function the same way. Simple Examples • Jane's father, who is in his eighties, is an octogenarian. • Jane's father (who is in his eighties) is an octogenarian. • That house, on the corner, is blue. • Gwendolyn—Eric’s cousin—has the voice of an eight-year-old. ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar http://www.fantom-xp.com/wp_23_~_Markers.html Module 5 Key Markers
  • 39. 2. Punctuation Rules Punctuation Rule #10 Independent clause: (to introduce a list or a restatement of the previous clause) Rule 10a: Separate simple items in a list with commas; separate complex items in a list with semicolons. A colon introduces a restatement (most often a definition) of the independent clause or introduces a list. Simple Examples: • The girl finally understood "hypercorrection": an attempt to be overly "correct" in language use, often resulting in a misuse of the standard. • Writing is often defined as a recursive process: invention, planning, • The girl's life was extremely hectic: mornings were spent in school; afternoons were spent at work; evenings were spent taking care of her invalid grandmother; and nights were spent studying. ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar drafting, revising, and editing. http://www.fantom-xp.com/wp_23_~_Markers.html Module 5 Key Markers
  • 40. 2. Punctuation Rules Punctuation Rule #11 Adverbial nonfinite verb phrase, independent clause. An adverbial nonfinite verb phrase preceding an independent clause is set off by a comma. Simple Examples • Considered by everyone the best candidate for the job, • While running for the bus, he broke his foot. • To do well in school, you must study hard. ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Eleanor felt confident. http://www.fantom-xp.com/wp_23_~_Markers.html Module 5 Key Markers
  • 41. Punctuate the following sentences (from Hemispheric American Studies), then explain your punctuation choices: 1. This simple “fact” as it was understood then was very important to those who were concerned about the future of other slaveholding societies. 2. Portraits of lawlessness and bloodthirstiness outside of the South were also a justification in themselves for a tightening or quickening of the siege mentality of the South. 3. Stanley’s climactic meeting with Livingstone was dubbed the scoop of the century by Bennett’s paper and it indeed represented an American usurpation of the most popular form of British imperial travel writing in the 1860s and ’70s the interior Africa exploration narrative. Choosing Punctuation ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 42. One possible set of punctuation marks: 1. This simple “fact,” as it was understood then, was very important to those who were concerned about the future of other slaveholding societies. 2. Portraits of lawlessness and bloodthirstiness outside of the South were also a justification in themselves for a tightening or quickening of the siege mentality of the South. 3. Stanley’s climactic meeting with Livingstone was dubbed the scoop of the century by Bennett’s paper, and it indeed represented an American usurpation of the most popular form of British imperial travel writing in the 1860s and ‘70s: the interior Africa exploration narrative. Choosing Punctuation ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 43. Punctuate the following sentences (from Hemispheric American Studies), then explain your punctuation choices: 1. Eventually she embraces it as part of her own repertoire and sings it herself. 2. This study concludes in the same post-World War II moment by briefly examining a powerful short story by Paul Bowles a U.S. expatriate in Morocco which dramatizes how African Islamic difference frustrates the capacity of American intercultural understanding. 3. In giving this particular version of Louisiana pride of place in the book version of The Great South King almost certainly was influenced by Cable’s early stories which he was reading and helping to place in Scribner’s as he wrote his own dispatches. Choosing Punctuation ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 44. One possible set of punctuation marks: 1. Eventually, she embraces it as part of her own repertoire and sings it herself. 2. This study concludes in the same post-World War II moment by briefly examining a powerful short story by Paul Bowles, a U.S. expatriate in Morocco, which dramatizes how African Islamic difference frustrates the capacity of American intercultural understanding. 3. In giving this particular version of Louisiana pride of place in the book version of The Great South, King almost certainly was infuenced by Cable’s early stories, which he was reading and helping to place in Scribner’s as he wrote his own dispatches. Choosing Punctuation ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 45. ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 2 Sample Analysis http://www.grammarics.com/wp-content/uploads/A-comic-a-day1.jpg
  • 46. ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar 3. Patterns of Error http://www.fantom-xp.com/wp_23_~_Markers.html Module 5 Key Markers
  • 47. ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar 3. Patterns of Error http://www.fantom-xp.com/wp_23_~_Markers.html Module 5 Key Markers When commas are always incorrect: A single comma should never occur between any required sentence constituents. Markers: Constituents of the five basic sentence types NP + MVint NP + MVbe + ADVP tm/pl NP + Mvlink + AJDP NP1 + Mvlink + NP1 NP1 + MVtr + NP2 Simple Examples • In speech, your tacit knowledge, of sentence patterns is obvious in your intuitive use of pauses. • The researchers discovered, that this new set of cells had some amazing properties.
  • 48. ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar 3. Patterns of Error http://www.fantom-xp.com/wp_23_~_Markers.html Module 5 Key Markers Misuse of Pronouns • Sexist Use of Pronouns • Pronoun Number-Agreement Pronoun Markers • Personal Pronouns = I, me, we, us, you, he, him, she, her, it, they, them • Reflexive Pronouns = myself, ourselves, yourself, yourselves, himself, herself, itself, themselves • Indefinite Pronouns = one, someone, somebody, anyone, anybody, no one, nobody, everyone, everybody, etc.
  • 49. Analyze the following sentences adapted from Constance Hale’s Sin and Syntax: 1. Give someone a bottle of Irish Mist, and you give him hills that roll forever, lakes that radiate light. 2. Our society has gotten to the point where each person does what’s right in their own eyes. Identifying Misuse of Pronouns ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 50. 1. Give someone a bottle of Irish Mist, and you give him hills that roll forever, lakes that radiate light. Identifying Misuse of Pronouns ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 51. 1. Give someone a bottle of Irish Mist, and you give him hills that roll forever, lakes that radiate light. Identifying Misuse of Pronouns ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 52. 1. Give someone a bottle of Irish Mist, and you give him hills that roll forever, lakes that radiate light. Identifying Misuse of Pronouns ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 53. 1. Give someone a bottle of Irish Mist, and you give him hills that roll forever, lakes that radiate light. someone Identifying Misuse of Pronouns ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 54. 1. Give someone a bottle of Irish Mist, and you give him hills that roll forever, lakes that radiate light. someone neutral Identifying Misuse of Pronouns ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 55. 1. Give someone a bottle of Irish Mist, and you give him hills that roll forever, lakes that radiate light. someone neutral singular Identifying Misuse of Pronouns ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 56. 1. Give someone a bottle of Irish Mist, and you give him hills that roll forever, lakes that radiate light. someone him neutral singular Identifying Misuse of Pronouns ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 57. 1. Give someone a bottle of Irish Mist, and you give him hills that roll forever, lakes that radiate light. someone him neutral masculine singular Identifying Misuse of Pronouns ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 58. 1. Give someone a bottle of Irish Mist, and you give him hills that roll forever, lakes that radiate light. someone him neutral masculine singular singular Identifying Misuse of Pronouns ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 59. 1. Give someone a bottle of Irish Mist, and you give him hills that roll forever, lakes that radiate light. someone him neutral masculine singular singular Sexist use of pronouns: Without a masculine antecedent (or context), we cannot make the assumption that the bottle recipient is male. Identifying Misuse of Pronouns ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 60. 1. Give someone a bottle of Irish Mist, and you give him hills that roll forever, lakes that radiate light. Revision Identifying Misuse of Pronouns ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 61. 1.Give someone a bottle of Irish Mist, and you give him hills that roll forever, lakes that radiate light. Revision: One Option Change both antecedent and pronoun to plural and neutral gender Identifying Misuse of Pronouns ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 62. 1. Give someone a bottle of Irish Mist, and you give him hills that roll forever, lakes that radiate light. Revision: One Option Change both antecedent and pronoun to plural, so both are neutral gender Give your friends a bottle of Irish Mist, and you give them hills that roll forever, lakes that radiate light. Identifying Misuse of Pronouns ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 63. 2. Our society has gotten to the point where each person does what’s right in their own eyes. Identifying Misuse of Pronouns ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 64. 2. Our society has gotten to the point where each person does what’s right in their own eyes. Identifying Misuse of Pronouns ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 65. 2. Our society has gotten to the point where each person does what’s right in their own eyes. Identifying Misuse of Pronouns ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 66. 2. Our society has gotten to the point where each person does what’s right in their own eyes. each person Identifying Misuse of Pronouns ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 67. 2. Our society has gotten to the point where each person does what’s right in their own eyes. each person neutral Identifying Misuse of Pronouns ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 68. 2. Our society has gotten to the point where each person does what’s right in their own eyes. each person neutral singular Identifying Misuse of Pronouns ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 69. 2. Our society has gotten to the point where each person does what’s right in their own eyes. each person their neutral singular Identifying Misuse of Pronouns ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 70. 2. Our society has gotten to the point where each person does what’s right in their own eyes. each person their neutral neutral singular Identifying Misuse of Pronouns ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 71. 2. Our society has gotten to the point where each person does what’s right in their own eyes. each person their neutral neutral singular plural Pronoun number-agreement error: A plural possessive pronoun determiner cannot refer back to a singular pronoun antecedent. Identifying Misuse of Pronouns ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 72. 2. Our society has gotten to the point where each person does what’s right in their own eyes. Revision Identifying Misuse of Pronouns ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 73. 2. Our society has gotten to the point where each person does what’s right in their own eyes. Revision: One Option Change antecedent to plural to match possessive determiner Identifying Misuse of Pronouns ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 74. 2. Our society has gotten to the point where each person does what’s right in their own eyes. Revision: One Option Change antecedent to plural to match possessive determiner; change MVP inflection to plural Our society has gotten to the point where all people do what’s right in their own eyes. Identifying Misuse of Pronouns ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 75. Identify misuse of pronouns in the following sentences. Revise the sentences (adapted from Sin and Syntax) to eliminate sexist pronouns and number-agreement errors: 1. A motorcyclist has the right to decide if she wants to wear a helmet. 2. Do your child a favor; teach them grammar. 3. If the government thinks it has a role in health reform, we’ve got a message for them. 4. British Airways is encouraging any passenger who can say that their business class isn’t the most comfortable in the air to write and tell them why. Identifying Misuse of Pronouns ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 76. One possible set of revisions: 1. Motorcyclists have the right to decide if they want to wear helmets. [sexist: make all pronouns plural] 2. Do your child a favor by teaching good grammar. [number-agreement; potentially sexist: remove 2nd pronoun] 3. If the government officials think they have a role in health reform, we’ve got a message for them. [number-agreement: change antecedent to plural] 4. British Airways is encouraging any passenger who can say that its business class isn’t the most comfortable in the air to write and tell its customer service representatives why. [number-agreement: change 1st pronoun to singular; replace 2nd pronoun with singular pronoun determiner and plural NP] Identifying Misuse of Pronouns ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 77. ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar 3. Patterns of Error http://www.fantom-xp.com/wp_23_~_Markers.html Module 5 Key Markers Dangling and Misplaced Modifiers Modifier Markers • Non-finite Verb Phrases: Present Participle Phrases, Past Participle Phrases, Infinitive Phrases • Underlying subject of Non-finite Verb Phrase is not the subject of the sentence it modifies • Prepositional phrases: Preposition + Object (NP)
  • 78. Analyze the following passage adapted from Constance Hale’s Sin and Syntax: 1. Thinly sliced and heaped on rye, corned beef lovers won’t be disappointed. 2. Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg address while traveling from Washington to Gettysburg on the back of an envelope. Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 79. 1. Thinly sliced and heaped on rye, corned beef lovers won’t be disappointed. Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 80. 1. Thinly sliced and heaped on rye, corned beef lovers won’t be disappointed. Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 81. 1. Thinly sliced and heaped on rye, corned beef lovers won’t be disappointed. Thinly sliced and heaped on rye Past-participle verb phrase Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 82. 1. Thinly sliced and heaped on rye, corned beef lovers won’t be disappointed. Thinly sliced and heaped on rye Past-participle verb phrase No subject specified in verb phrase Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 83. 1. Thinly sliced and heaped on rye, corned beef lovers won’t be disappointed. Thinly sliced and heaped on rye Past-participle verb phrase No subject specified in verb phrase Underlying Subject Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 84. 1. Thinly sliced and heaped on rye, corned beef lovers won’t be disappointed. Thinly sliced and heaped on rye Past-participle verb phrase No subject specified in verb phrase Underlying Subject corned beef sandwich Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 85. 1. Thinly sliced and heaped on rye, corned beef lovers won’t be disappointed. Thinly sliced and heaped on rye Past-participle verb phrase No subject specified in verb phrase Underlying Subject Subject of Following Clause corned beef sandwich Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 86. 1. Thinly sliced and heaped on rye, corned beef lovers won’t be disappointed. Thinly sliced and heaped on rye Past-participle verb phrase No subject specified in verb phrase Underlying Subject Subject of Following Clause corned beef sandwich corned beef lovers Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 87. 1. Thinly sliced and heaped on rye, corned beef lovers won’t be disappointed. Thinly sliced and heaped on rye Past-participle verb phrase No subject specified in verb phrase Underlying Subject Subject of Following Clause corned beef sandwich ≠ corned beef lovers Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 88. 1. Thinly sliced and heaped on rye, corned beef lovers won’t be disappointed. Thinly sliced and heaped on rye Past-participle verb phrase No subject specified in verb phrase Underlying Subject Subject of Following Clause corned beef sandwich corned beef lovers Dangling Modifier ≠ Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 89. 1. Thinly sliced and heaped on rye, corned beef lovers won’t be disappointed. Revision Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 90. 1. Thinly sliced and heaped on rye, corned beef lovers won’t be disappointed. Revision: One Option Change subject of following clause Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 91. 1. Thinly sliced and heaped on rye, corned beef lovers won’t be disappointed. Revision: One Option Change subject of following clause Thinly sliced and heaped on rye, this sandwich won’t disappoint corned beef lovers. Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 92. 2. Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg address while traveling from Washington to Gettysburg on the back of an envelope. Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 93. 2. Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg address while traveling from Washington to Gettysburg on the back of an envelope. Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 94. 2. Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg address while traveling from Washington to Gettysburg on the back of an envelope. on the back of an envelope prepositional phrase Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 95. 2. Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg address while traveling from Washington to Gettysburg on the back of an envelope. on the back of an envelope prepositional phrase Modifies Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 96. 2. Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg address while traveling from Washington to Gettysburg on the back of an envelope. on the back of an envelope prepositional phrase Modifies while traveling from Washington to Gettysburg Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 97. 2. Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg address while traveling from Washington to Gettysburg on the back of an envelope. on the back of an envelope prepositional phrase Modifies Should Modify while traveling from Washington to Gettysburg Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 98. 2. Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg address while traveling from Washington to Gettysburg on the back of an envelope. on the back of an envelope prepositional phrase Modifies Should Modify while traveling wrote the Gettysburg from Washington address to Gettysburg Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 99. 2. Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg address while traveling from Washington to Gettysburg on the back of an envelope. on the back of an envelope prepositional phrase Modifies Should Modify while traveling ≠ wrote the Gettysburg from Washington address to Gettysburg Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 100. 2. Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg address while traveling from Washington to Gettysburg on the back of an envelope. on the back of an envelope prepositional phrase Modifies Should Modify while traveling wrote the Gettysburg from Washington address to Gettysburg Misplaced Modifier Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar ≠ Module 5 Key Markers
  • 101. 2. Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg address while traveling from Washington to Gettysburg on the back of an envelope. Revision Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 102. 2. Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg address while traveling from Washington to Gettysburg on the back of an envelope. Revision: One Option Move the prepositional phrase closer to what it should modify Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 103. 2. Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg address while traveling from Washington to Gettysburg on the back of an envelope. Revision: One Option Move the prepositional phrase closer to what it should modify Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg address on the back of an envelope while traveling from Washington to Gettysburg. Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 104. Identify dangling and misplaced modifiers in the following sentences. Revise the sentences (adapted from Sin and Syntax) to eliminate dangling and misplaced modifiers: 1. FOR SALE: Mahogany table by a lady with Chippendale legs. 2. For over a half-century Rumpelmayer’s has been one of New York’s most popular ice-cream parlors. Decorated with cuddly stuffed animals and trimmed with large pink velvet bows, you feel like you’re sitting inside a present. 3. I once shot an elephant in my pajamas. 4. I saw a car crash driving to the store. Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 105. One possible set of revisions: 1. FOR SALE: By a lady; mahogany table with Chippendale legs. [misplaced modifier: move prepositional phrases] 2. For over a half-century Rumpelmayer’s has been one of New York’s most popular ice-cream parlors. Because it is decorated with cuddly stuffed animals and trimmed with large pink velvet bows, you feel like you’re sitting inside a present. [dangling modifier: add in underlying subject] 3. I once shot an elephant while I was in my pajamas. [misplaced modifier: add SUBJ and MVP to create a clause] 4. Driving to the store, I saw a car crash. [misplaced modifier: move present-participle phrase to beginning of sentence] Identifying Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 106. ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar 3. Patterns of Error http://www.fantom-xp.com/wp_23_~_Markers.html Module 5 Key Markers Sentence Fragments Sentence Fragment Markers • No subject + MVP construction • Dependent Clause beginning with a Subordinating Conjunction, Interrogative, Wh- Word, or “That” set off by a capital letter and a period
  • 107. Analyze the following passage adapted from Tristan Egolf’s Lord of the Barnyard: Then, at four thirty she heard a noise. He was moving around again. She could hear papers rustling, floorboards moaning. Footsteps started coming down from the attic. A minute later a thud directly overhead. More footsteps. Down the staircase. Around the bend. He stepped through the doorway with a knife in one hand. She stared at him. Because he looked as though he’d been hit by a truck. He didn’t look at her. He turned and started prying a wire loose from a row of staple clamps lining the door frame. Several termites fell from the ceiling around him. They tapped on the floor and scuttled away. He continued working the wire loose. He cut it. He discarded the knife, then disappeared again. She heard him walk down the hall toward the kitchen. Identifying Sentence Fragments ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 108. Analyze the following passage adapted from Tristan Egolf’s Lord of the Barnyard: Then, at four thirty she heard a noise. He was moving around again. She could hear papers rustling, floorboards moaning. Footsteps started coming down from the attic. A minute later a thud directly overhead. More footsteps. Down the staircase. Around the bend. He stepped through the doorway with a knife in one hand. She stared at him. Because he looked as though he’d been hit by a truck. He didn’t look at her. He turned and started prying a wire loose from a row of staple clamps lining the door frame. Several termites fell from the ceiling around him. They tapped on the floor and scuttled away. He continued working the wire loose. He cut it. He discarded the knife, then disappeared again. She heard him walk down the hall toward the kitchen. Identifying Sentence Fragments ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 109. Analyze the following passage adapted from Tristan Egolf’s Lord of the Barnyard: Then, at four thirty she heard a noise. He was moving around again. She could hear papers rustling, floorboards moaning. Footsteps started coming down from the attic. A minute later a thud directly overhead. More footsteps. Down the staircase. Around the bend. He stepped through the doorway with a knife in one hand. She stared at him. Because he looked as though he’d been hit by a truck. He didn’t look at her. He turned and started prying a wire loose from a row of staple clamps lining the door frame. Several termites fell from the ceiling around him. They tapped on the floor and scuttled away. He continued working the wire loose. He cut it. He discarded the knife, then disappeared again. She heard him walk down the hall toward the kitchen. Identifying Sentence Fragments ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar
  • 110. Analyze the following passage adapted from Tristan Egolf’s Lord of the Barnyard: Then, at four thirty she heard a noise. He was moving around again. She could hear papers rustling, floorboards moaning. Footsteps started coming down from the attic. A minute later a thud directly overhead. More footsteps. Down the staircase. Around the bend. He stepped through the doorway with a knife in one hand. She stared at him. Because he looked as though he’d been hit by a truck. He didn’t look at her. He turned and started prying a wire loose from a row of staple clamps lining the door frame. Several termites fell from the ceiling around him. They tapped on the floor and scuttled away. He continued working the wire loose. He cut it. He discarded the knife, then disappeared again. She heard him walk down the hall toward the kitchen. Identifying Sentence Fragments ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 111. Analyze the following passage adapted from Tristan Egolf’s Lord of the Barnyard: Then, at four thirty she heard a noise. He was moving around again. She could hear papers rustling, floorboards moaning. Footsteps started coming down from the attic. A minute later a thud directly overhead. More footsteps. Down the staircase. Around the bend. He stepped through the doorway with a knife in one hand. She stared at him. Because he looked as though he’d been hit by a truck. He didn’t look at her. He turned and started prying a wire loose from a row of staple clamps lining the door frame. Several termites fell from the ceiling around him. They tapped on the floor and scuttled away. He continued working the wire loose. He cut it. He discarded the knife, then disappeared again. She heard him walk down the hall toward the kitchen. Identifying Sentence Fragments ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 112. Analyze the following passage adapted from Tristan Egolf’s Lord of the Barnyard: Then, at four thirty she heard a noise. He was moving around again. She could hear papers rustling, floorboards moaning. Footsteps started coming down from the attic. A minute later a thud directly overhead. More footsteps. Down the staircase. Around the bend. He stepped through the doorway with a knife in one hand. She stared at him. Because he looked as though he’d been hit by a truck. He didn’t look at her. He turned and started prying a wire loose from a row of staple clamps lining the door frame. Several termites fell from the ceiling around him. They tapped on the floor and scuttled away. He continued working the wire loose. He cut it. He discarded the knife, then disappeared again. She heard him walk down the hall toward the kitchen. Identifying Sentence Fragments ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 113. Evaluate the rhetorical effectiveness of the sentence fragments: Then, at four thirty she heard a noise. He was moving around again. She could hear papers rustling, floorboards moaning. Footsteps started coming down from the attic. A minute later a thud directly overhead. More footsteps. Down the staircase. Around the bend. Identifying Sentence Fragments ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 114. Evaluate the rhetorical effectiveness of the sentence fragments: Introduces one character listening to another: Then, at four thirty she heard a noise. He was moving around again. She could hear papers rustling, floorboards moaning. Footsteps started coming down from the attic. A minute later a thud directly overhead. More footsteps. Down the staircase. Around the bend. Identifying Sentence Fragments ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 115. Evaluate the rhetorical effectiveness of the sentence fragments: Introduces one character listening to another: Then, at four thirty she heard a noise. He was moving around again. She could hear papers rustling, floorboards moaning. Footsteps started coming down from the attic. Continues the list of what she hears: A minute later a thud directly overhead. More footsteps. Down the staircase. Around the bend. Identifying Sentence Fragments ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 116. One possible evaluation: These sentence fragments are rhetorically effective. The passage describes what one character hears when she listens to another. The list of phrases continue that description by referring to specific noises and their locations. The short phrases mimic the brevity of the sounds she hears. Identifying Sentence Fragments ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 117. Evaluate the rhetorical effectiveness of the sentence fragments: He stepped through the doorway with a knife in one hand. She stared at him. Because he looked as though he’d been hit by a truck. He didn’t look at her. Identifying Sentence Fragments ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 118. Evaluate the rhetorical effectiveness of the sentence fragments: Describes characters’ actions: He stepped through the doorway with a knife in one hand. She stared at him. Because he looked as though he’d been hit by a truck. He didn’t look at her. Identifying Sentence Fragments ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 119. Evaluate the rhetorical effectiveness of the sentence fragments: Describes characters’ actions: He stepped through the doorway with a knife in one hand. She stared at him. Describes how a character looks: Because he looked as though he’d been hit by a truck. He didn’t look at her. Identifying Sentence Fragments ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 120. Evaluate the rhetorical effectiveness of the sentence fragments: Describes characters’ actions: He stepped through the doorway with a knife in one hand. She stared at him. Describes how a character looks: Because he looked as though he’d been hit by a truck. Describes characters’ actions: He didn’t look at her. Identifying Sentence Fragments ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 121. One possible evaluation: The sentence fragment is not rhetorically effective, because it stands out as very different from the sentences around it. It describes a character rather than a character’s actions, which means it does not continue the thought from the previous sentences. It is also the only sentence in its immediate context that does not begin with a pronoun or short NP. Its style does not fit the passage. Identifying Sentence Fragments ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 122. Identify sentence fragments in the following passage (adapted from Junot Diaz’ The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao). Evaluate their rhetorical effectiveness: It truly was a Golden age for Oscar, one that reached its apotheosis in the fall of his seventh year, when he had two little girlfriends at the same time, his first and only ménage á trois. With Maritza Chacón and Olga Polanco. Maritza was Lola’s friend. Long-haired and prissy and so pretty she could have played young Deja Thoris. Olga on the other hand, was no friend of the family. She lived in the house at the end of the block that his mother complained about. Because it was filled with puertoricans who were always hanging out on their porch drinking beer. Olga had like ninety cousins, all who seemed to be named Hector or Luis or Wanda. Identifying Sentence Fragments ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 123. Identify sentence fragments: It truly was a Golden age for Oscar, one that reached its apotheosis in the fall of his seventh year, when he had two little girlfriends at the same time, his first and only ménage á trois. (1) With Maritza Chacón and Olga Polanco. Maritza was Lola’s friend. (2) Long-haired and prissy and so pretty she could have played young Deja Thoris. Olga on the other hand, was no friend of the family. She lived in the house at the end of the block that his mother complained about. (3) Because it was filled with puertoricans who were always hanging out on their porch drinking beer. Olga had like ninety cousins, all who seemed to be named Hector or Luis or Wanda. Identifying Sentence Fragments ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 124. One possible evaluation: (1) The sentence fragment consists of a prepositional phrase which adjectivally modifies the NP “his first and only ménage á trois.” The adjectival function is clear. Separating the prepositional phrase from the NP is rhetorically effective, as it clarifies that the ménage á trois is truly his first and only, not just his first and only with these two particular girls. Moreover, making the prepositional phrase a sentence fragment highlights the importance of these girls’ identities. A clause, such as “It was with Maritza and Olga.” would emphasize the ménage á trois and the identities equally. (2) The sentence fragment clearly refers back to and modifies Maritza. By isolating these modifiers, Diaz puts extra emphasis on them. This is rhetorically effective, as it emphasizes Maritza’s beauty, which explains Oscar’s attraction to her. (3) This sentence fragment is not rhetorically effective, because it misleads the reader into expecting a related independent clause to follow. However, the sentence that follows the fragment bears no clear relation to it. The subordinating conjunction because which begins the sentence could signal a connection with the previous sentence, as the fragment could provide a reason for the mother’s dislike of Olga’s house. Shifting because into a new sentence, however, confuses this relationship between the sentence fragment and the preceding sentence. Identifying Sentence Fragments ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 125. ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar 4. Style and Rhetorical Choice http://www.fantom-xp.com/wp_23_~_Markers.html Module 5 Key Markers
  • 126. ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar 4. Style and Rhetorical Choice http://www.fantom-xp.com/wp_23_~_Markers.html Module 5 Key Markers Rhetorical Use of the Passive Passive Marker • BE + [-en]
  • 127. Analyze the following passage adapted from Jasper Fforde’s The Big Over Easy: The Nursery Crime Division was formed in 1958 by DCI Horner, who was concerned that the regular force was too ill-equipped to deal with the often unique problems thrown up by a standard NCD inquiry. After a particularly bizarre investigation that involved a tinderbox, a soldier and a series of talking cats, his confused superiors were convinced by him that he should oversee all inquiries involving “any nursery characters or plots from poems and/or stories.” He was given a budget, a small office and two officers that no one else wanted and ran the NCD until he retired in 1980. --Excerpt from A Short History of the NCD Identifying Rhetorical Use of the Passive ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 128. Analyze the following passage adapted from Jasper Fforde’s The Big Over Easy: The Nursery Crime Division was formed in 1958 by DCI Horner, who was concerned that the regular force was too ill-equipped to deal with the often unique problems thrown up by a standard NCD inquiry. After a particularly bizarre investigation that involved a tinderbox, a soldier and a series of talking cats, his confused superiors were convinced by him that he should oversee all inquiries involving “any nursery characters or plots from poems and/or stories.” He was given a budget, a small office and two officers that no one else wanted and ran the NCD until he retired in 1980. --Excerpt from A Short History of the NCD Identifying Rhetorical Use of the Passive ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 129. Analyze the following passage adapted from Jasper Fforde’s The Big Over Easy: The Nursery Crime Division was formed in 1958 by DCI Horner, who was concerned that the regular force was too ill-equipped to deal with the often unique problems thrown up by a standard NCD inquiry. After a particularly bizarre investigation that involved a tinderbox, a soldier and a series of talking cats, his confused superiors were convinced by him that he should oversee all inquiries involving “any nursery characters or plots from poems and/or stories.” He was given a budget, a small office and two officers that no one else wanted and ran the NCD until he retired in 1980. --Excerpt from A Short History of the NCD Identifying Rhetorical Use of the Passive ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 130. Analyze the following passage adapted from Jasper Fforde’s The Big Over Easy: The Nursery Crime Division was formed in 1958 by DCI Horner, who was concerned that the regular force was too ill-equipped to deal with the often unique problems thrown up by a standard NCD inquiry. After a particularly bizarre investigation that involved a tinderbox, a soldier and a series of talking cats, his confused superiors were convinced by him that he should oversee all inquiries involving “any nursery characters or plots from poems and/or stories.” He was given a budget, a small office and two officers that no one else wanted and ran the NCD until he retired in 1980. --Excerpt from A Short History of the NCD Identifying Rhetorical Use of the Passive ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 131. Analyze the following passage adapted from Jasper Fforde’s The Big Over Easy: The Nursery Crime Division was formed in 1958 by DCI Horner, who was concerned that the regular force was too ill-equipped to deal with the often unique problems thrown up by a standard NCD inquiry. After a particularly bizarre investigation that involved a tinderbox, a soldier and a series of talking cats, his confused superiors were convinced by him that he should oversee all inquiries involving “any nursery characters or plots from poems and/or stories.” He was given a budget, a small office and two officers that no one else wanted and ran the NCD until he retired in 1980. --Excerpt from A Short History of the NCD Identifying Rhetorical Use of the Passive ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 132. Analyze the following passage adapted from Jasper Fforde’s The Big Over Easy: The Nursery Crime Division was formed in 1958 by DCI Horner, who was concerned that the regular force was too ill-equipped to deal with the often unique problems thrown up by a standard NCD inquiry. After a particularly bizarre investigation that involved a tinderbox, a soldier and a series of talking cats, his confused superiors were convinced by him that he should oversee all inquiries involving “any nursery characters or plots from poems and/or stories.” He was given a budget, a small office and two officers that no one else wanted and ran the NCD until he retired in 1980. --Excerpt from A Short History of the NCD Identifying Rhetorical Use of the Passive ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 133. Potential passive constructions: 1. was formed 2. was concerned 3. was too ill-equipped 4. were convinced 5. was given Identifying Rhetorical Use of the Passive ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 134. 1. was formed The Nursery Crime Division was formed in 1958 by DCI Horner, who was concerned that the regular force was too ill-equipped to deal with the often unique problems thrown up by a standard NCD inquiry. --Excerpt from A Short History of the NCD Passive Transformation Rhetorically effective because it emphasizes the subject of the excerpted book, the Nursery Crime Division, by making it the subject of the sentence. Identifying Rhetorical Use of the Passive ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 135. 2. was concerned The Nursery Crime Division was formed in 1958 by DCI Horner, who was concerned that the regular force was too ill-equipped to deal with the often unique problems thrown up by a standard NCD inquiry. --Excerpt from A Short History of the NCD MVP + ADJP Not a passive transformation, as concerned passes functional ADJ tests. Identifying Rhetorical Use of the Passive ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 136. 3. was ill-equipped The Nursery Crime Division was formed in 1958 by DCI Horner, who was concerned that the regular force was too ill-equipped to deal with the often unique problems thrown up by a standard NCD inquiry. --Excerpt from A Short History of the NCD MVP + ADJP Not a passive transformation, as ill-equipped passes functional ADJ tests. It is also preceded here by a qualifier, which can only modify ADJPs and ADVPs. Identifying Rhetorical Use of the Passive ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 137. 4. were convinced After a particularly bizarre investigation that involved a tinderbox, a soldier and a series of talking cats, his confused superiors were convinced by him that he should oversee all inquiries involving “any nursery characters or plots from poems and/or stories.” --Excerpt from A Short History of the NCD Passive Transformation Not rhetorically effective because it emphasizes the superiors rather than him (“DCI Horner”). The rest of the passage focuses largely on DCI Horner. In active voice, the sentence would be shorter and its emphasis more appropriate to the context. Identifying Rhetorical Use of the Passive ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 138. 5. was given He was given a budget, a small office and two officers that no one else wanted and ran the NCD until he retired in 1980. --Excerpt from A Short History of the NCD Passive Transformation Rhetorically effective because it emphasizes one of the passage’s two main subjects—DCI Horner—by making it the subject of the sentence. (The other subject is the Nursery Crime Division itself). A reader interested in these two subjects is likely not concerned with who specifically gave DCI Horner to tools to open the NCD. Identifying Rhetorical Use of the Passive ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 139. Identify passive constructions in the following passage (adapted from Ronald F. Bunn’s German Politics and the Spiegel Affair). Evaluate their rhetorical effectiveness: It is because of these consequences of the Spiegel Affair that we propose here to examine it, with emphasis on the causes of the controversy and the responses of the political system to it. The meaning of the term “political affair” is largely conditioned by popular and journalistic usage, and no precise definition of the term can be derived from the various connotations commonly attached to it. Quite generally, however, references to political affairs as they have occurred over the past years in Western political communities suggest situations which are characterized by behavior, conduct, or action on the part of one or more persons endowed with political authority and which are of such a nature as to arouse a significant level of unfavorable reaction among the various strata of the political community, or at least among the more politically active and articulate groups within the community. Identifying Rhetorical Use of the Passive ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 140. Identify passive constructions: It is because of these consequences of the Spiegel Affair that we propose here to examine it, with emphasis on the causes of the controversy and the responses of the political system to it. The meaning of the term “political affair” is largely conditioned by popular and journalistic usage, and no precise definition of the term can be derived from the various connotations commonly attached to it. Quite generally, however, references to political affairs as they have occurred over the past years in Western political communities suggest situations characterized by behavior, conduct, or action on the part of one or more persons endowed with political authority and which are of such a nature as to arouse a significant level of unfavorable reaction among the various strata of the political community, or at least among the more politically active and articulate groups within the community. Identifying Rhetorical Use of the Passive ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 141. One possible evaluation: (1) The use of the passive is effective, because it allows the subject of the sentence to connect directly back to the previous sentence. The previous sentence introduces the reader to the idea of the Spiegel Affair as political. Using the passive transforms the object “political affairs” into a subject and shifts the subject “popular and journalistic usage” in a prepositional phrase. Without that transformation, the connection between the passive sentence and the preceding sentence would initially be unclear. (2) The use of the passive is effective, because it is unimportant who is doing the deriving. In this context, the key information is simply whether or not there exists a possibility of deriving a “precise definition of the term. Identifying Rhetorical Use of the Passive ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Key Markers
  • 142. ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar Module 5 Schedule Module Five – Sentences 12 M Nov 10 Module 5 Overview; Analyzing in Context/Markers and Keys for Module 5 READ Section 7 COMPLETE Quiz 9; Quiz 10 by Nov 14 COMPLETE OLE 7; OLE 8 by Nov 14 COMPLETE Discussion Posts by Nov 14 Online Work Proficiencies Available Nov 12 Send Samples to Dr. Nagelhout by Nov 14 13 M Nov 17 In-Class Presentations; In- Class Practice Online Work Complete Proficiencies Thanksgiving Holiday Module Six – Final Materials 14 M Nov 24 Module 6 Overview - Final Reflection and Final Exam COMPLETE Proficiency 1; Proficiency 2; Proficiency 3; Proficiency 4 by Nov 24
  • 143. ENG 411B Principles of Modern Grammar If you have any questions that have not been answered today, please contact me through WebCampus mail. Questions/Comments