Chapter 10: Dazed and Confused: Common Usage Dilemmas 133 Split Infinitives: To Boldly Go Where Everyone Else Goes As their motto proves, the crew of the USS Enterprise split their infinitives along with their atoms. The motto should read: "To Go Boldly " They're not alone. You were introduced to split infinitives in Chapter 2. Remember that a split infinitive occurs when an adverb or adverbial phrase is placed between to and the verb. People who feel strongly about their split infinitives really feel strongly about their split infinitives. A famous New Yorker cartoon shows Captain Bligh sailing away from the Bounty in a rowboat and shouting, "So Mr. Christian! You propose to unceremoniously cast me adrift?" The caption beneath the cartoon reads: "The crew can no longer tolerate Captain Bligh's ruthless splitting of infinitives." Even though some people get their pencils bent out of shape over this matter, there is no authoritative grammar and usage text that expressly forbids it. Famous writers have been splitting their infinitives with abandon for centuries. George Bernard Shaw, the brilliant Irish playwright, once sent this letter to the Times of London: "There is a busybody on your staff who devotes a lot of time to chasing split infinitives: I call for the immediate dismissal of this pedant. It is of no consequence whether he decides to go quickly or to quickly go or quickly to go. The important thing is that he should go You Could Look It Up A split infinitive occurs when an adverb or adverbial phrase is placed between to and the verb. at once. What should you do? While I do not advo- cate that you go around town splitting in- finitives with abandon, there's no point in mangling a sentence just to avoid a split infinitive. Good writers occasionally split infinitives to create emphasis, achieve a natural word order, and avoid confusion. If splitting an infinitive makes it possible for you to achieve the precise shade of meaning you desire, you have my blessing to split away. Take My Word for It The twentieth-century writer and cartoonist James Thurber had this to say to the editor who rearranged his infinitive: "When I split an infinitive, it is going to damn well stay split!" |}1| Part 2: Under the Grammar Hammer The Good, the Bad, the Ugly Fortunately for me as the grammar maven, English grammar and usage has many confusing issues. And fortunately for you, only a handful of them come up with any frequency. Let's take a look at these hot issues in the grammar news: how to use hope- fully, whether to use like or as, and ending sentences with a preposition. Hopefully Since the eighteenth century, hopefully has been used to mean "in a hopeful manner," as in Robert Louis Stevenson's saying, "To travel hopefully is better than to arrive." But during the past generation, the adverb has come to mean "it is to be hoped." Today, it is also applied to situations as well as to people, as in "His fried eel will hopefully turn out well." In addition, rather than modifying (describing) a specific verb, as in Stevenson's example, hopefully is now used to modify an entire sentence. Except for a few lone holdouts (and if you're one of them, please don't contact me), most people and dictionaries now accept hopefully as meaning "it is to be hoped." So don't sweat this one. Like/As The like/as debate is another potential minefield. About 50 years ago, a cigarette com- pany started a new ad campaign whose centerpiece was this jingle: "Winston tastes good like a cigarette should." When English teachers, grammarians, and various pun- dits reacted with horror at the misuse of "like" for "as," the company came back with this rejoinder: "What do you want—good grammar or good taste?" Thanks to all the free publicity Winston received, the marketing executives no doubt laughed all the way to the bank. Here's the generally accepted like/as rule: 1. Use like or as as a preposition to join a noun, as in these examples: • Cleans like a blizzard • Blind as a bat 2. Do not use like as a conjunction to introduce an adverb clause, as in this example: Incorrect: Nobody can do it like McDonald's can. Correct: Nobody can do it as McDonald's can. _ Chapter 10: Dazed and Confused: Common Osage Dilemmas 135 Here's my advice: Write sentences that sound good like a sentence should. Don't cre- ate awkward-sounding sentences to conform to this (or any) rule. Ending with a Preposition Some prissy scholars have tried (with a great deal of success) to foist a bunch of phony Latin grammar rules into English grammar, especially concerning the issue of not ending a sentence with a preposition. To be correct, you could say, "This off me ticks." To sound smooth, you could end with the preposition and say, "This ticks me off." My advice? Try to avoid ending a sentence with a preposition when possible, but never twist a sentence like something out of the Kama Sutra to avoid it. Make your sentences sound natural and graceful. If a few sentences end with a preposition, you'll be just fine. I give you permission to write "This ticks me off' rather than "This off me ticks." The Least You Need to Know • A dangling modifier is a word or phrase that describes something that has been left out of the sentence. Fix it by adding what's missing. • A misplaced modifier is placed too far from the word or words it modifies. Put all modifiers as close as possible to the words they describe. • Don't string together clichés and you won't get writing that's as dull as dishwater. • The jury's out on split infinitives and ending a sentence with a preposition. Part Usage and Abusage Then there's the story about the man who appeared at the Pearly Gates. St. Peter asked him, "Who goes there?" "It is I," answered the man. "Oh, no," moaned St. Peter. "Not another English teacher." In this part, you get the lowdown on the building blocks of writing: phrases, clauses, and sentences. If you ever meet St. Peter, you'll know what to say—and how to say it! Chapter Phrases: Prime-Time Players In This Chapter • Probe prepositional phrases • Admire appositives • Visit verbals In this chapter, we start the construction of your writing with the phrase, one of the key building blocks of the sentence. There are several different kinds of phrases, including prepositional phrases (with the subcategories adjectival phrases and adverbial phrases), appositives, and verbals. In this chapter, you learn them all. First, I teach you the individual parts of each different phrase and then ease you into the phrases themselves. Phrases of the Moon A phrase is a group of words that functions in a sentence as a single part of speech. A phrase does not have a subject or a verb. As you write, you use phrases to • Add detail by describing. • Make your meaning more precise. • Fold in additional information. 1M) Part 3: Usage and Abusage You Could Look It Up A phrase is a group of words, without a subject or a verb, that functions in a sentence as a single part of speech. A phrase cannot stand alone as an independent unit. A phrase can function only as a part of speech. The following table shows the different types of phrases. Different Types of Phrases Type of Phrase Definition Example Prepositional Begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or pronoun Adjectival Prepositional phrase that functions as an adjective Adverbial Prepositional phrase that functions as an adverb. Appositive Noun or pronoun that renames another noun or pronoun. Verbal A verb form used as another part of speech. Participle Verbal phrase that functions as an adjective. Gerund Verbal phrase that functions as a noun Infinitive Verbal phrase that functions as a noun, adjective, or adverb. by the lake She has a fish with red gills. We cheered with loud voices. Lou, a Viking, enjoys plunder. (See the following three entries.) Eating slowly, the child was finally quiet. Partying hearty requires great endurance. To sleep late on Sunday is a real treat. Prepositional Phrases: The Big Daddy of Phrases A. prepositional phrase is a group of words that begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or a pronoun. This noun or pronoun is called the "object of the preposition." Here are some sample prepositional phrases: • By the ocean • Near the window Chapter II: Phrases: Prime-Time Players IM • Over the cabinet • With us • In your ear • Under your hat You can connect two or more prepositional phrases with a coordinating conjunction. The seven coordinating conjunctions are for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so. For example: • The resort is beside the mountain and by the lake. The coordinating conjunction is and. • You can usually find Macho Marvin in the steam room, on the exercise bike, or under the barbells. The coordinating conjunction is or. You Could Look It Up A prepositional phrase is a group of words that begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or a pronoun. $ r Quoth the Maven _ iVr To find out if a prepositional phrase is functioning as an ad- jectival phrase, see if it answers these questions: "Which one?" or "What kind?" Offspring 1: Adjectival Phrases When a prepositional phrase serves as an adjective, it's called an adjectival phrase. (That was a no-brainer, eh? Who says you don't get a break in this English biz?) An adjectival phrase, as with an adjective, describes a noun or a pronoun. Here are some examples: • The manager with the pink slips terrorized the employees. The adjectival phrase "with the pink slips" describes the noun "manager." • The price of the promotion was much too steep. The adjectival phrase "of the promotion" describes the noun "price." • Something in the corner of the desk was moving. The adjectival phrase "in the corner" describes the noun "something"; the adjectival phrase "of the desk" describes the noun "corner." You Could Look It Up TSSER^ An adverbial phrase is a prepositional phrase that modi- fies a verb, an adjective, or an adverb. 142 Part 3: Usage and Abusage Offspring 2: Adverbial Phrases Like Meryl Streep or Kevin Kline, the prepositional phrase is a versatile creature, able to slip into different roles. Depending on how it is used in a sentence, a prepositional phrase can function as an adverbial phrase by modifying a verb, an adjective, or an adverb. For example: • She lost her head at the retro love-in. The adverbial phrase "at the retro love-in" describes the verb "lost." • The salesperson skimmed over the product's real cost. The adverbial phrase "over the product's real cost" modifies the verb "skimmed." • The boss was thrilled at their attitude. ^ y Quoth the Maven To find out if a prepositional phrase is functioning as an adverbial phrase, see if it answers one of these questions: "Where?" "When?" "In what manner?" "To what extent?" The adverbial phrase "at their attitude" modi- fies the adjective "thrilled." • The rock climbers arrived late at night. The adverbial phrase "at night" modifies the adverb "late." Appositives: Something More for Your Money An appositive is a noun or a pronoun that renames another noun or pronoun. Appositives are placed directly after the noun or pronoun they identify. For example: • Bob's car, a wreck, died a grisly death by the side of the interstate. The appositive "a wreck" renames the noun, "car." • Spot, a cat, should understand my moods. The appositive "a cat" renames the noun, "Spot." • She, my sister, is always late. The appositive "my sister" renames the pronoun "she." You Could Look It Up _, An appositive is a noun or pronoun that renames another noun or pronoun. Some appositives are essential to the meaning of the sentence; others are not. Be sure to use commas care- fully to establish meaning with essential and nones- sential appositives. Otherwise your sentences will not make sense, as these examples show: . examples: • The manager with the pink slips terrorized the employees. The adjectival phrase "with the pink slips" describes the noun "manager." • The price of the promotion . dishwater. • The jury's out on split infinitives and ending a sentence with a preposition. Part Usage and Abusage Then there's the story about the man who appeared at the Pearly. this chapter, you learn them all. First, I teach you the individual parts of each different phrase and then ease you into the phrases themselves. Phrases of the Moon A phrase is a