21st Century Grammar Handbook (30 page)

Still, the ways of scientific language are elaborate, mysterious, and sometimes baffling. Consult the many guides, handbooks, and rule books for instruction in this type of language.

Sec.
This is the
abbreviation
of the word “second,” the time measurement. Except in technical writing, where space is at a premium, and similar
styles,
the whole word should be used rather than the abbreviation. “Sec.” is also the abbreviation for several other technical terms.

Secondly.
There is no reason to add “ly” to this or other
ordinal numbers,
especially when they are used to
list
things.

See, saw, seen.
An
irregular verb
in its main,
past tense,
and past
participle
forms.

Seem.
A
linking verb
that takes a
predicate
nominative
(subject complement)
rather than a
direct object.
See
nominative.

Seen.
See
see.

-self.
This
suffix
is added to
pronouns
to make them
reflexive pronouns,
which refer back to themselves: “The committee berated itself in frustration.” “-Self” forms are
also used as
intensifiers:
“I myself will lead the parade.” But “-self” forms should never be used when simple
cases
of pronouns will suffice. WRONG: “Fran will accompany herself and myself on the trip.” RIGHT: “Fran will travel with her and me.” The use of “myself” in these situations is probably attributable to a desire to avoid figuring out the correct
objective case
form of “I”—easier to say “myself” than to guess whether it should be “I” or “me.”

Semicolon.
The
punctuation
mark called “semicolon” (;) indicates a stronger or more definite break in a
sentence
than a
comma.

When two or more independent
clauses
are put together to form a sentence, they can be joined by
conjunctions
(words like
“and”)
or simply stuck to one another without words of explanation. Such unexplained junctures require punctuation, which is usually the semicolon: “The writer likes sports; the programmer likes books.” These two clauses could have been linked by a comma and “and” or
“but.”
However, the choice of no conjunction and the semicolon makes the contrast between the writer’s preferences and the programmer’s a little more forceful or stark. Put another way, the semicolon here plays a
rhetorical
role in the sentence or its
style;
it adds
emphasis.

If a sentence is built from two or more clauses or
phrases
that include other punctuation, particularly commas, then a semicolon is the best choice to separate the sentence elements and to make clear what belongs where: “The programmer likes books like
Northanger Abbey, Anna Karenina,
and
Rabbit Redux;
the writer likes sports like swimming, baseball, and biking; but the kids like music,
and they play CDs morning, noon, and night.” Without the semicolons dividing the independent clauses in this rambling example, readers would be hard pressed to figure out where the
lists
that go with each person end and the next person’s preferences start. Phrases can present the same problem: “Starting with a cup of flour, add two teaspoons of salt; one cup of smoked, peeled, and grated chiles; and three tablespoons each of chopped onions, peppers, and garlic.” Again, the lists would jumble together without semicolons marking the segments that belong together.

Each of the example sentences in the previous paragraph could be revised into less
run-on
form. The writer and programmer might appear in one shorter sentence with their likes, whereas the kids could be given a sentence of their own, especially since the structure of the sentence changes somewhat to focus on timing of action rather than list of specifics. Similarly, the recipe could be broken up into a more readable form—each ingredient on a separate line, figures used instead of spelled out
numbers,
and so on. In short, use semicolons as a signal that sentences might be running on too long and be in need of rewriting or
revision.

When two or more independent clauses are part of a single sentence and one or more of them includes dependent clauses that require commas to set them off within the independent clause, then a semicolon is used to join the independent clauses even if a conjunction appears: “Having painted the ceiling, Michelangelo moved on to the walls; and all the while he made plans for decorating the floors.”

Even long and rambly sentences need not have semicolons if the elements are clearly distinguished and not listed or joined with commas. In fact, it is a common error to put
in semicolons before dependent clauses or to mark the beginning of lists. Like all punctuation, the semicolon should not be overused or misused in these ways. Semicolons usually appear outside
quotation marks:
“We don’t use words like ‘damn’ we are above such vulgarity.”

Send, sent, sent.
An
irregular verb
in its main,
past tense,
and past
participle
forms.

Sent.
See
send.

Sentence.
A sentence is one or more words that express action, condition, or thought, among many other things. Sentences normally include a
subject
—a thing or person at the focus of the sentence—and a
verb
—an expression of the action or condition of the subject. Often sentences have a third element as well that receives the action of the verb or characterizes the condition—an
object
or
subject complement.

The three basic elements of the sentence can be stated in many words or just one: “Unite!” the single-word example is a complete sentence because the
imperative
mood allows unstated or implied subjects. Restated, the example could read: “You people should unite,” which makes the subject more visible. However, not all single words followed by an
exclamation point
are sentences: “Termites!” This lone
noun
is a sentence
fragment.
While it has its use for
emphasis,
it does not have the verb or other components necessary to make it a sentence. And therefore it is not subject to the same
rules,
patterns, and possibilities as a complete sentence. See also
mood.

Distinguishing sentences from fragments is important, especially beyond the limits of single-word constructs, because fragments are usually deficient, unclear statements that need to become full sentences to be understood. And once you do add whatever elements are missing from the sentence, be sure that such statements follow the rules of
agreement
and are revised in light of all stylistic potentials to make them effective communications. See
revision
and
style.

Beyond the simplest sentence structure of subject, verb, object lies the territory of more complex statements.
Phrases, clauses,
and word combinations of all sorts can be added to any part of a sentence to emphasize or clarify its meaning. Similarly, any part of a sentence can move to vary the
order of words
for whatever
rhetorical,
stylistic, or other purpose.

Series.
Another name for a
list
is a “series”—more than one somewhat equivalent thing or person presented together: “I saw Chris, Kim, and Jan.” Things or people in series are joined and delimited by
punctuation
and
conjunctions.
In the example, the punctuation is
commas
and the conjunction is
“and.”
In more elaborate lists or series that include commas in the listed items,
semicolons
set off the serial elements: “I saw Chris, who was watching television; Kim, who was reading a book; and Jan, who was listening to a record.” More elaborate series can be introduced by a
colon,
especially if
phrases
like “the following” are used to lead into them: “The package contains the following items: one carburetor, …”

Set, set, set.
An
irregular verb
in its main,
past tense,
and past
participle
forms. Do not confuse ‘“set” (meaning to place or position) with
“sit”
(to take a seat). “Set” usually has an object, while “sit” is
intransitive
and never has an object.

Several.
A plural
indefinite
pronoun. “Several” means more than a couple but not many. See
pronoun
and
plural.

Sexist language.
Some features of common
usage
and
grammar
mirror and reinforce discrimination against both sexes. These aspects tend to minimize or exclude women through inaccurate grammatical constructions and restricted word choice and assign stereotypical traits to both women and men that unfairly circumscribe the objectives and attributes of both sexes. The language of our multicultural world is changing to reject the inappropriate limitations of a patriarchal society.

By using
“he”
generically, for example, language subsumes women’s identities into men’s and makes imprecise and outdated assumptions about today’s world: “The mechanic entered the garage, and then he opened the hood of the car.” Not all mechanics are men, and the
pronoun
connected to this or any other profession or position should always allow for both sexes to be represented.

Words that end in “ess,” “ette,” “ine,” or “trix” should be avoided. These
suffixes
have traditionally placed women in restricted roles or positions. This usage is easily revised
to a gender-neutral construction or another term: “waitress” to “table attendant” or “server” “suffragette” to “suffragist” “heroine” to “protagonist” or “champion” “executrix” to “executor” or “administrator.”

The change from gender-marked words should be applied to words formed with “man” as a suffix: “fireman.” Word pairs like “fireman, fire woman” should be eliminated whenever possible, and gender-neutral words like “fire fighter” should be substituted for both women and men:’ ‘policeman’ becomes “police officer.” Along the same lines, words that include “man” to represent humanity collectively (“mankind,” “manpower”), words that imply males only when females are also included (“founding fathers,” “freshmen”), and gender-specific words that convey myths and attitudes that are often construed to be pejorative or outdated (“Lady Luck,” “old wives’ tales”), should be avoided.

Choose words and
order of words
and construct words so that they will not contribute to the perpetuation of prejudice. Since it is impossible to know whether the “vice president” or “lieutenant” or “senator” is a woman or a man, make sure the form of address includes both possibilities and doesn’t alienate one or the other to the detriment of what is stated. Alternatives to sexist, outdated terms include the following: