21st Century Grammar Handbook (32 page)

Split infinitive.
When a word (usually an
adverb)
appears between “to” and the
verb
form that follows and makes up
the
infinitive,
the infinitive is said to be “split”: “To boldly go where no person has gone.”

The highest formal standard of English bans split infinitives. However, in our more
colloquial
and informal age, “unsplitting” some split infinitives can lead to awkward or pretentious sentences: “It’s important to quickly pick up your room” sounds better than “It’s important to pick up your room quickly.” That such a sentence in either form should not appear in a college composition or high-school lesson is not the point. Rather, the issue is deciding which
audience
will tolerate or be better served by a split infinitive and its informal directness or by an unsplit infinitive and its correctness. See
standard English.

More and more, writers, editors, and even grammarians recognize the efficacy of allowing split infinitives at times. If it is unclear when that can happen, revise or rewrite to eliminate the problem: “You should quickly pick up your room. It’s important.” And if a split infinitive does seem acceptable, make sure it is also comprehensible. Don’t allow the intruding adverb or adverbial phrase to so separate “to” and the verb that the link of comprehension is broken. WRONG: “To boldly, unequivocally, and as rationally as possible in the circumstances go where no person has gone.” RIGHT: “To go boldly, unequivocally, ….” See
clarity, editing,
and
revision.

Spoke.
See
speak.

Spoken.
See
speak.

Sprang.
See
spring.

Spread, spread, spread.
An
irregular verb
in its main,
past tense,
and past
participle
form.

Spring, sprang, sprung.
An
irregular verb
in its main,
past tense,
and past
participle
forms.

Sprung.
See
spring.

St.
The
abbreviation
“St.” is not normally used in
standard English
writing when it refers to a street (except in letter addresses). But when “St.” is used for a saint’s name, it is more commonly admissible: “What a beautiful painting of St. Jerome!”

Stand, stood, stood.
An
irregular verb
in its main,
past tense,
and past
participle
forms.

Standard English.
The generally accepted norms of
grammar
and
usage
are called “standard English.” Although it is true that standards change over time and from place to place, and although the standards of some people are not those of others at any time or place, there is still some solid core of practices and
rules
that must be observed if a statement is to be considered grammatically correct, acceptable, and understandable. That core equals standard English. It includes
agreement
between
subject
and
verb,
between
antecedent
and
modifier,
and between referent and
pronoun.
Only in the most unusual circumstances can these rules be broken or ignored and the result be considered allowable (usually in fiction, entertainment, journalism, and the like). Even in such circumstances, rule violations
are commonly still seen as violations, even if their purpose is condoned or appreciated.

Standard English extends beyond the core of inviolable rules to less-certain strictures that deal with language at a moment of change or dispute. Closest to the core and therefore least bendable are rules of
spelling, conjugation,
and
declension
—there are rather clear practices in these areas, and violations are more likely than not to attract unwanted attention. That said, it is clear that perfectly reputable, acceptable writers, publishers, teachers, and others differ on the tolerability of spellings like “centre,” “travelled,” “decision-making,” and many other quite common words. Most likely, attention to
audience,
locally accepted guidebooks or
style
manuals, and consultation with others can resolve these disputes quickly for the writer or speaker making immediate choices about the applicable standard. But standards are somewhat fragmented nonetheless.

The forms of verbs and
nouns
or pronouns in different
cases
are, like spellings, not very volatile. But, for example, there is a movement toward wide acceptance of
“who”
in all circumstances or more than would have been permissible until recently. Almost everyone says, “It’s me,” and many people now write it and are not corrected or seen to be in error. Similarly, contracted
negatives
and other verb forms are far more common in the most rigorously checked and examined prose than they used to be (see
contraction).
Other examples abound of
colloquial, dialect,
and
slang
conjugations and declensions entering the language so pervasively that they have become standard or close to it in many respects.

Once one moves beyond the fundamental patterns of shape changing in words, one enters the realm of
order of words, sentence
structure, style,
rhetoric,
and similar categories in which grammar provides far less direct or clear guidance. All these categories are, after all, matters of choice, areas for writers to select the means and devices best suited to what they want to say and how they want to say it. Grammar and usage can only point to common errors, weak or overused methods, and general strictures about
clarity, efficacy,
directness, and the like. It is up to the writer or speaker to match expression to idea and purpose, to audience and prevailing standards, and to the moment.

Yet for all the deviations from standards, the mission of making statements—to convey one’s message most effectively, clearly, and efficiently—remains and must be observed.

Stationary, stationery.
Do not confuse the
adjective
“stationary” meaning to stand still and the
noun
“stationery,” paper.

Steal, stole, stolen.
An
irregular verb
in its main,
past tense,
and past
participle
forms.

Stole.
See
steal.

Stolen.
See
steal.

Stood.
See
stand.

Stricken.
See
strike.

Strike, struck, struck (stricken).
An
irregular verb
in its main,
past tense,
and past
participle
forms.

Struck.
See
strike.

Style.
The choices writers and speakers make in selecting words, applying grammar
rules,
arranging words in a particular order, using or playing against devices or conventions, and so on—all these choices result in a way of writing or speaking that can be called “style.”

There are no real “rules” of style, just as no one can dictate choices of life, work, and other patterns freely accessible to writers and speakers. But there are some aspects of communicating to keep in mind when a style is chosen. First, some degree of consistency or
parallelism
in a broad sense will be appreciated by
audiences.
Shifts from one style to another can be disorienting, but if managed well, they can be useful ways to add
emphasis
and to make points.

Just as there are no style rules, so there are few, if any, useful definitions of style. What for one writer or speaker would be quite informal might strike another (or some audience) as quite the opposite. Everyone has experienced statements made with all good intentions of being ordinary and
colloquial
but that are in fact laden with jargon, stilted academic or bureaucratic constructions, or otherwise far less accessible or open than the speaker or writer had intended. Similarly, it is all too common to find
dialect,
for
instance, in statements that should adhere rigorously to the highest standard of formal English. Not that any single style is inherently wrong or inappropriate. The point is to be sure to find the right style for the right moment.

The safest, most certainly communicative style is usually formal
standard English,
especially when it is unclear who the audience for a statement will be. Standard English is more or less universally understood and accepted in this country, and therefore it is unlikely to seem very out of place under any ordinary circumstances. See
order of words
and
grammar.

Subject.
The word or words that designate the thing or person in a
sentence
that performs an action or is in a condition is the “subject” of the sentence: “Connie dances the polka.” “Connie” is the subject of the example sentence.

Subjects can be single or multiple
nouns, pronouns, phrases,
or
clauses.
More than one subject in a sentence is called a “compound” subject. All noun and pronoun subjects are in the
nominative
case, not marked or changed from the basic or main form of the word (uninflected). See
case.

Whatever structure or shape of subject is chosen for a sentence, it must agree with its
verbis)
and any pronouns that are linked to it in an
antecedent
relationship (see
agreement).
Consistency and
parallelism
of subjects should also be observed—more or less equivalent subjects should be joined in compounds.

In some sentences, particularly
imperative
mood commands
or requests, the subject is only suggested: “Shape up!” The subject of the example is the suggested or implied
“VOM
,” which does not normally appear in imperative constructions. See
mood.

NOUN SUBJECTS
. Any
common noun
or
proper noun
and its
modifiers
(of whatever length or complexity) can serve as a sentence subject. The underlined words in the following examples are all noun subjects (and their modifiers); note that not all fall at the beginning of the sentences. “
Herband Gladys, the couple from Buffalo
, spent the night at our house.” “
Our house, standing on the banks of the river
, holds guests comfortably.” “Throughout the winter, there stands
the house, guarding us from the weather, standing sentinel over the water, and giving us and our guests peace of mind.
” Take care that long, complex subjects like some of those in the examples have verbs to complete the sentence and not leave it-a
fragment.

PRONOUN SUBJECTS
. Here are some examples. The underlined words are the pronoun subjects. “
He
is mowing the lawn.” “
She
was supposed to mow the lawn, but
she
is too tired.” “
She
washed the cars last night when he was tired.” “
It
is a busy time for them, but
they
keep
themselves
calm.” “
We
help them out as much as
we
can.”

PHRASE SUBJECTS
. The underlined words are phrase subjects. “
To err
is human”
(infinitive
phrase). “
Standing calmly
is the best defense against charging rhinos”
(gerund
phrase). In these functions such phrases are said to be
“noun phrases.”

CLAUSE SUBJECTS
. The underlined words are a clause subject. “
What you are looking for
is fool’s gold.” The whole clause, including its own subject, verb, and object, is the subject of the verb
“is.”
Like noun phrases,
“noun clauses”
may contain many other words that do not function as nouns within the subject phrase or clause.

Subject complement.
Linking verbs (“be”
“appear,
“become,” “feel,” “grow,”
“look,”
“make,” “prove,”
“remain,”
“seem,”
“smell,” and “sound”) are sometimes followed by
nouns
or
adjectives
that are called “subject complements”: “The dog is big; it is a hunter.” The words after
“is”
in each
clause
of the example sentence are subject complements (also called
“predicate
nominatives”).

Subject complements can be as long or complex as necessary to make a point. As long as it remains clear what they refer or are linked to, they can fall virtually anywhere in a
sentence.
But whatever their length, complexity, or position, they are always in the same
case
as the subject—the
nominative:
“It is I.” “I” is the nominative or subject form or case of the
pronoun
that properly appears in the example sentence. Current
usage
permits (even encourages) violation of this grammatical
rule,
so that most people say (and some write), “It is me.” Despite the widespread use of
“me”
in such sentences, “I” is correct.

A singular subject can be followed by a
plural
subject
complement, and just the reverse: “We are a team; the team has ten members.” Both examples are correct. Make sure the subject agrees with the verb, not the subject complement (see
agreement).

Subjunctive.
The conditional or “subjunctive
mood”
is a
verb
form that indicates nonexistent, possible, potential, or desired circumstances: “Would that Chris were here!” Note that
“were”
(the past subjunctive of
“be”
in the third-person singular) is not in the same form as the simple
present tense
or
past tense
of the verb. Verbs form the present subjunctive from the main or uninflected root: “The boss asked that I be there, and I demanded that my department head request that in writing.” “Be” and “request” are present subjunctives that differ from the present indicative first-and
third-person
singular forms one might expect to see here: “am” and “requests.”