12.1 Overview of Grammatical Effectiveness

Grammatical Effectiveness is just what it sounds like, the understanding of and ability to use the conventions of the language. You know, all the stuff the grammar police harp on: avoiding sentence fragments, comma splices, noun/verb disagreements, run-on sentences – those sorts of things. Most linguists agree that native speakers know the grammar of their language intrinsically, and know very early in their lives what goes where. Consider, for instance, the following two sentences and see how quickly you can spot the grammatically correct sentence.

1. Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.

2. Furiously sleep ideas green colorless.

So there is a conventional order to the language that we all have a pretty good grasp of, and when that order is disturbed, we notice it even if it is nonsense.

Grammatical conventions exist to enable clear communication, so there is a reason for the grammar police and their rants about proper usage. Mistakes like sentence fragments, comma splices, run-on sentences, adverb abuse, dangling modifiers, among others, create an impression for you reader of how carefully you have approached your writing (or not). When constructing arguments and trying to bring people around to consider your point of view, using grammatical conventions properly lends credibility to what you have to say and allows you to say it as clearly as possible. Conversely, if you present your argument without demonstrating grammatical competence, your reader will find you confusing and untrustworthy, so the effectiveness of your writing will be diminished.

12.2 Common Competency Errors to Avoid

12.2.1 Run-on Sentences

Run-on sentences are sentences without a clear sentence boundary.

•             Nelson stole Bart’s lunch money therefore Bart tricked Milhouse out of his sandwich.
•             Correction: Nelson stole Bart’s lunch money; therefore, Bart tricked Milhouse out of his sandwich.

12.2.2 Fragments

Sentence fragments are phrases or clauses that are missing one of the three necessary elements that create a sentence: a subject, a verb, and the expression of a complete thought.

• Because Principal Skinner was feeling grouchy.
• Correction: Because Principal Skinner was feeling grouchy, he ate three doughnuts from the box in the teachers’ lounge.

12.2.3 Comma splices

A comma splice occurs when a comma is used as a sentence boundary when a period, semi-colon, or colon are needed.

• Lisa aced her test, consequently, she was dismissed from class early.
• Correction: Lisa aced her test; consequently, she was dismissed from class early

12.2.4 Adverb and Adjective Abuse

Use of too many of these detracts from your writing and will actually weaken it.

•  Grounds Keeper Willie is cranky, disagreeable, and stubborn and does his displeasing work carelessly and with a ridiculously obnoxious nasty and irksome attitude.
• Correction: Grounds Keeper Willis is disagreeable and does his work carelessly with an irksome attitude.

12.2.5 Confusing Homonyms and then Using the Incorrect Word

12.2.5.1 they’re/there

Consider the differences between they’re (contraction for they are), their (possessive pronoun), and there (reference to place).

*See Appendix G for over 80 examples of commonly confused words.

• Bart hopes there car can get to they’re hotel, so their abel to go from their.
• Correction: Bart hopes their car can get to their hotel so they’re able to go from there.

12.2.5.2 your/you’re

Confusing your (the possessive pronoun) with you’re (the contraction of you and are)

• Marge suggested a time-saving measure to Edna when she said, “Your going to get you’re groceries on the way home.
• Correction: You’re going to get your groceries on the way home.

12.2.5.3 it/it’s

Confusing its (the possessive pronoun) with it’s (the contraction for it is)

•  Apu couldn’t open the Quickie Mart door since it’s lock was broken and its beyond repair.
•  Correction: Apu couldn’t open the Quickie Mart door since its lock was broken and it’s beyond repair.

12.2.6 Shifts in point of view (first person, second person, third person)

Failing to maintain a consistent point of view can confuse the reader.

• Although Homer said he believed in losing weight, you can’t imagine how hard it is when I have to ignore the doughnuts’ call.
• Correction: Although Homer said he believed in losing weight, he couldn’t imagine how hard it is was when he had to ignore the doughnuts’ call.

12.2.7 Could of/Could Have

Using could of instead of could have.

• Barney could of called before he staggered to the bar, only to find it closed.
• Correction: Barney could have called before he staggered to the bar, only to find it closed.

12.2.8 Incomplete Comparisons

Presenting only one thing to be compared so that the assertion can’t be refuted. Advertisers are famous for this.

• Dr. Hibbert is the greatest physician in Springfield. (Compared to?)
• Correction: Dr. Hibbert, as opposed to Dr. Choppner Hack, is the greatest physician in Springfield.

12.2.9 Tautologies

Words that express the same thing twice with different words (added bonus, close proximity, large crowd)

*See Appendix G for over 80 examples.

• Carl admitted that the disappearance of the cookies was an unsolved mystery. (a mystery is just that because it hasn’t been unraveled).
• Correction: Carl admitted that the disappearance of the cookies was a mystery.

12.2.10 Wordiness

As with all clutter, keeping things simple and direct is best.

• While teaching the class about wordiness, Edna Krabapple stated, “When in the prolixity of your verbosity and redundancy, defer being hyperbolically grandiloquent and pretentiously bombastic as ostentatious and tautological as your fustian syntax may be. Avoid turgidity, garrulity, and loquacity; conversely, be terse and laconic without polysyllabic phraseology and platitudes. Moreover—and most consequential—eschew in you indited colloquies stupendous argot for greater felicity regarding your epistolary endeavors!”
• Lisa explained that to the class.  “TRANSLATION: Write clearly and simply—and do not use big words.”

Thanks to Dr. Ben Varner for this clear example of not being clear.

*See Appendix G for over 170 more examples.

12.2.11 Misplaced and dangling modifiers

• Misplaced modifiers are connected to the wrong thing because the modifier is placed too far from what it is modifying. Dangling modifiers are created when the subject for the modifier is missing altogether.
• Misplaced: Sitting on the bar, Bleeding Gums couldn’t find his saxophone.
• (Is Bleeding Gums on the bar?)
• Correction: Bleeding gums couldn’t find his saxophone sitting on the bar.
• Dangling: Having finished with the baking, the oven was still on.
• (Did the oven do the baking?)
• Marge, having finished baking the cookies, noticed the oven was still on.

12.2.12 Using Passive Voice without Intention

Passive voice creates wordier sentences. Passive voice is written with the subject being acted upon by the verb. Active voice has the subject performs the action. The sentence structure of passive voice is more complex, requires your reader to work harder to make sense of the intricacy, and can interfere with clearly communicating ideas.

• Passive: Cigars are adored by Krusty the Clown.
• Active: Krusty the Clown adores cigars.

12.2.13 Incorrect Pronoun Reference

A pronoun refers back to the noun that came before it (antecedent). When the pronoun doesn’t match up with the correct antecedent, it creates an unclear pronoun reference, resulting in a sentence that is vague, unclear, or confusing.

• The president was accompanied by two aides when they broke their legs. (Whose legs are broken?)
• Correction: The president was accompanied by two aides when she broke her legs.

If the preferred pronouns of the president are they, them, theirs, or if the gender of the president is unknown, context is necessary to determine whether it was the president or the two nurses who broke their legs.

12.2.14 Parallelism

Failing to use parallel structure with verb forms confuses readers and makes sentences choppy and often incomprehensible.

• Martin hoped he would be speaking, debating and to win an award.
• Correction: Martin hoped he would be speaking, debating, and winning an award.

12.2.15 Incorrect use of Apostrophes

Apostrophes have four uses which include showing possession for nouns, creating contractions by taking the place of missing letters, creating plurals where a plural doesn’t already exist (ISP’s – more than one of them), and punctuating a quote within a quote.

• Ed Flanders puppies’ were barking.
• Correction: Ed Flanders’ puppies were barking.

12.2.16 Having more than One Point or Idea Written into a Paragraph.

Having more than one idea vying for your reader’s attention makes them feel as if they are herding cats.

12.2.17 Failing to proofread, proofread, proofread!

An unfortunate error sent out in a college-wide memo:

“Pubic areas on campus will be thoroughly inspected for safety concerns.”

(Certainly not what the campus Safety Director meant).

Of course, there are many aspects to proper grammatical usage, especially when you consider the number of different writing styles used across the myriad of academic disciplines. Grammar handbooks and online writing labs (OWL’s) have been created with authoritative information for correct usage.  Remember, the conventions are in place to enable clear communication. Suffice to say that when in doubt, look it up. Your ethos will thank you.

12.3 Some Good References

• A Pocket Style Manual, Ninth Edition by Diana Hacker; Nancy Sommers. Published by MacMillan Learning. https://www.macmillanlearning.com › college › product.
• Rhetorical Grammar: Grammatical Choices, Rhetorical Effects, Eighth Edition by Martha Kolln. and Loretta Gray Published by Pearson.
• The Elements of Business Writing, Fourth Edition by Gary Blake and Robert W. Bly. Published by MacMillian Inc.
• The Purdue Writing Lab. https://owl.purdue.edu.