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June 19, 2001
Transitions
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Use transitional words and expressions to connect clauses, sentences, and paragraphs in a number of ways. Here are examples of transitions for varied purposes.
Showing similarity or adding a thought: also, furthermore, moreover, similarly
EXAMPLE: Flora likes to garden; FURTHERMORE, Sarah does, too.
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Showing contrast: although, but, however, in contrast
EXAMPLE: ALTHOUGH Flora likes to garden, Sarah prefers to read.
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Showing options: alternatively, although, instead
EXAMPLE: Flora likes gardening INSTEAD of reading.
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Showing order or sequence: first, second, third / initially, then, later, finally
EXAMPLE: Flora FIRST tills the ground, THEN plants the seed, LATER waters the earth, and FINALLY washes her tools.
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Showing consequences or results: consequently, finally, therefore, thus
EXAMPLE: Flora likes to garden; CONSEQUENTLY, she raises beautiful flowers.
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Showing examples or support: for example, that is
EXAMPLE: Flora likes to garden; FOR EXAMPLE, she spent eight hours outside today.
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CHECK OUT OUR "SEARCHABLE" INDEX
Subscribers to GrammarCheck can now search past issues of GrammarCheck for topics of interest at the following web site address:
http://www.grammarcheck.com/archives
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SPELLING OR WRITING TIP
Do not confuse words that are spelled similarly:
conscious vs. conscience
loan vs. lone
passed vs. past
precede vs. proceed
quite vs. quiet
When in doubt, look up the questionable word in a dictionary to use it correctly.
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NEW WORD OF THE WEEK:
PANG (pang) noun: 1. A sudden spasm of physical pain. 2. A sudden, sharp feeling of emotional distress.
Katie felt a pang of regret as the child retreated in horror.
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YOUR GRAMMAR AND WRITING QUESTIONS
QUESTION: Can you use an apostrophe to create a conjunction to mean "is"?
Example: Ann's coming to dinner.
I know you can use it in "It's a nice day" but can you use apostrophes with any noun?
GRAMMARCHECK: It's common to use apostrophes to shorten a variety of nouns in everyday speech, but such usage is nonstandard and should not be used in writing.
Spoken example: Grandma's the best cook!
Written example: Grandma is the best cook!
The exception is when you are writing realistic dialog that reflects nonstandard usage.
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QUESTION: I note with great regret that even such an erudite site such as this uses the awful "GOT" word. This really is such an ugly word. It falls harshly upon the ear and fits poorly into good grammar. I should like to see it banned. Clearly that is not going to happen. Please, at least make an effort to avoid it!
GRAMMARCHECK: While "got" is permissible (and frequently used) in certain vernacular patterns, we will keep an eye out for this despised construction and try to avoid it--just for you. :-)
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QUESTION: When beginning a sentence with an adverb such as "recently" or "ultimately," should a comma follow?
GRAMMARCHECK: When an adverb is used as an introductory term, the comma is optional. Some grammar texts suggest that most introductory elements should be followed by commas. Others recommend using a comma when the introductory element extends to four or more words.
EXAMPLES:
Recently there has been a flurry of crime in this area. (no comma)
-or-
Recently, there has been a flurry of crime in this area. (optional comma)
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Quickly and with trepidation, Jill muzzled the ferocious hound.
(comma should be used)
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QUESTION: In the following example from your newsletter, shouldn't the period be outside the final parenthesis?
EXAMPLE: Over the past few years, I've noticed that many writings have two errors (relative to my education.)"
And with respect to spacing between sentences, isn't it a fact that the double spacing started falling away as soon as mono spaced type began being replaced by more sophisticated computer fonts? My point is that it's not a new phenomenon, and there's a logical reason for it.
I'm going to try to keep an open mind, but, frankly, as an editor, I'm worrying that this grammar newsletter of yours may do more harm than good.
GRAMMARCHECK: Thanks for writing--better than stewing in silence and letting us stew in our typo!
Your first observation is, alas and to our chagrin, correct. That sneaky little period somehow climbed back into the parenthetical expression without our permission!
We'll be sure it receives a comeuppance.
As for the single spacing between sentences, the timeline is rather arbitrary, don't you think? What is "new" anyway? We are in general agreement with you that this phenomenon has been around a few years. But some writers in business, academe, and industry have not yet adopted this usage. It's out there and it's spreading, but some of our colleagues insist it's not universal yet!
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QUESTION: Hi. I am a high school English teacher in Peru, South America. I would appreciate it a lot if you can give me some ideas on how to help my students improve their speaking skill. My students have a very rich background in grammar, but as English is not spoken out of the classroom, it is harder for my students to keep up with spoken English. Do you have some tips for me, please?
GRAMMARCHECK: Have your students practice English conversation in the classroom. Give them a topic, such as last night's ball game, and ask them to construct a dialog describing the game.
You can also ask them to check with local businesses for fluent English speakers whom the students might "shadow" for a day or two in order to observe that person's speech patterns. Some schools have language partner programs which connect native speakers to non-native speakers for socialization and to build conversational skills. You might check with area schools to see if they have English natives who would be willing to meet with your students.
Also encourage your students to find Internet pen pals (from acceptable sources, of course) with whom to correspond. Granted, e-mail is not quite like speaking English, but writing English expressions and improving vocabulary will heighten your students' confidence and encourage them to use more English in oral speech.
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QUESTION: I just read your latest questions and answers and must correct you on the matter of hyphens and en dashes. They are NOT the same thing. An en dash is actually slightly longer than a hyphen and is the correct mark to use in a range of numbers.
Also, it's now common to use only one space following the punctuation at the end of a sentence because many (if not all) desktop publishing programs get "confused" by the presence of multiple spaces. These two points really are printing concerns, though, rather than grammar problems.
GRAMMARCHECK: Technically an en dash is NOT the same as a hyphen since an en dash is slightly longer, and we agree that an en dash should be used in a range of numbers, but it all depends on the writing technology one uses.
For example, when writing this e-zine, the hyphen is the same as the en dash and the double hyphen is the same as an em dash because plain text editors don't have an en dash or em dash. The same can be said for manual and electric typewriters (which people still use).
Computer word processing programs, however, do include en dash and em dash options, as do html editors. Many writers continue to use single hyphens and double hyphens in place of the en dash and em dash, respectively, especially since some word processing programs automatically convert them to an en dash and em dash). But as you state, it's really a printing concern rather than a grammar problem.
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