| Isn’t it nice to have your very own
grammar guru? Of course it is, but I can’t
be a guru without a following. I need your input.
I can think of hundreds of topics – but
you need to tell me what you want to know –
so email me with your grammar questions or concerns.
I don’t plan to tell you how to parse a
sentence (unless you ask me to) but I do plan
to show you why grammar is important and how to
make sure you get it right.
First, let me tell you what I mean by grammar.
The strict definition of grammar is the scientific
study of a language. That study includes topics
like adjectives and adverbs, antecedents, conjunctions,
prepositions, objects and subjects. Grammar can
also include the purely technical aspects of writing:
spelling, punctuation, whether to underscore or
italicize, double space or indent. For me –
and for most people who talk or write about grammar
– it also includes those tougher questions
about passive versus active voice, word use, sentence
structure and fragments, all those things that
make writing interesting and personal.
Some of these questions are easily answered by
reference to a good grammar guide. I recommend
The Elements of Style. William Strunk wrote the
original book, E.B. White (yes, the author of
Charlotte’s Web), carried on, and the current
edition has a foreword by Roger Angell (stepson
of E.B. White and famed New Yorker contributor
and editor). Strunk and White, as it’s commonly
known, is short enough to carry with you or, if
you’d rather, can be found in its entirety
on the web at bartleby.com.
This column is going to deal with grammar and
the technical aspects of writing, but mostly with
style. Calling this column “Grammar Girl”
is an example of common rather than correct word
usage.
I know the question you want to ask. Yes, there
are rules for grammar and you need to know them.
But knowing those rules is like learning how to
conjugate French or Latin verbs; you need to know
how to do this, but it isn’t going to make
you a great writer.
But if you want to be a great writer, try and
start with correct grammar. Use proper punctuation.
Don’t invert your sentences. Make sure your
use of tense (past, past perfect, present) is
consistent throughout each scene. Write complete
sentences. Make sure pronouns agree with their
antecedents. Once you’ve done this, then
it’s time to do the important work. It’s
time to think about your audience.
You have to remember that style has an effect
– good or bad – on your reader. So
make sure that you follow the Grammar Girl’s
top three rules:
RULE #1: Grammar matters because if it’s
wrong or doesn’t make sense, your readers
(including editors and agents) will wonder, Why
did the writer do this?, and be bounced right
out of the story.
RULE #2: You have to know the rules (and your
reader has to know you know them) before you can
break them.
RULE #3: If it works, use it even if you know
it’s wrong. In fact, use it because you
know it’s wrong.
These rules are crucial. Why? Good grammar helps
hook your reader. But bad grammar takes the barb
out of the hook and sets your reader free to find
some other writer, one who realizes that sentence
fragments aren’t always wrong, who knows
when to use dialect, and who always picks the
right word.
See you next month.
Grammar Girl
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