Handbook of Composition: A Compendium of Rules Regarding Good English, Grammar, Sentence Structure, Paragraphing, Manuscript Arrangement, Punctuation, Spelling, Essay Writing, and Letter Writing |
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Common terms and phrases
Abbreviations Absolute phrases adjective adverb appositive Avoid Awkward bad English beginning called capitalized comma complimentary close composition compound sentence conjunction coördinate Crude dependent clause digraph discourse elliptical clause example under Rule Exercise expression following sentences foregoing rule Fostoria gerund gerund phrase Glossary grammatical humor Illogical Incorrect Inelegant infinitive inflectional inflectional form italicized Lake Wingra letter literary logically Means ment Misuse modifier names never NOTE noun object omitted paragraph parallel parentheses participle passive voice past tense perfect tense person or thing Pleonasm plural Position preceding predicate substantive preposition present principal clause pronouns proper punctuation quotation marks relative clause repetition Right semicolon sentence-elements singular speech spelled Split infinitives Spruce Creek statement Study Rule subordinate syllable taken tences tense forms text of Rules thou thought tion tive unity usage verb e.g. Violations vulgarism Weak reference words Write the following written Wrong
Popular passages
Page 86 - nes exactly as the original is grouped. Bad: Once to every man and nation Comes the moment to decide In the strife of truth with falsehood for the Good or evil side. Right: Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide In the strife of truth with falsehood for the good or evil side.
Page 103 - I repeated those lines of Tennyson, " Thou shalt hear the ' Never, never,' whispered by the phantom years, And a song from out the distance in the ringing of thine ears," until I knew them by heart. Wrong: "Then," continued Brightman, "the captain shouted, "Cast off!" Right: "Then," continued Brightman, "the captain
Page 86 - Right: Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide In the strife of truth with falsehood for the good or evil side.
Page 36 - of style is of little consequence. "The Congress shall have power to dispose of, and make all needful rules and regulations respecting, the territory . . . belonging to the United States.
Page 80 - looked at the sled itself, the concrete fact, with the regular team of ten dogs curled up in the snow before it, the more impossible the task appeared. Mathewson waxed jubilant. " Three to one," he proclaimed. " I'll lay you another thousand at that figure, Thornton. What d'ye say
Page 102 - Wrong : I repeated those lines of Tennyson, " Thou shalt hear the " Never, never," whispered by the phantom years, And a song from out the distance in the ringing of thine ears,
Page 39 - I shall always remember the town because of the good times I had and the many friends I made there. Wrong: He acquired a knowledge and keen interest in chess. Right: He acquired a knowledge of chess and a keen interest in it. (/) Two incomplete members of a sentence, the
Page 86 - Wrong: Lombard and Venetian merchants with deep-laden argosies; Ministers from twenty nations; more than royal pomp and ease. Grouping 210. A quotation of poetry should be grouped into
Page 101 - in a quotation, are understood to belong to the quotation ; words enclosed in brackets, [ ], are understood to be interpolated by the writer quoting. Right: " I would gladly," writes Landor," see our language enriched ... At present [in the eighteenth century] we recur to the Latin and reject the Saxon !