Who Said What to Whom?

Roxy Writer here, coming to you from the Stone Writing Center @ Del Mar College.

I remember a grammarian, a woman with whom I worked closely at a time when I had to relearn grammar for job-related reasons. I was confused about the rules governing the use of “who” and “whom.” Mrs. B. was a woman who knew the rules and, therefore, the person to whom I went with my question.

The answer she gave me is that if I could substitute the word “he” in the sentence, then “who” would be the right word. If I could substitute the word “him,” then “whom” would be correct. Her succinct advice was easy to remember, too, since the endings were about the same: “he/who” and “him/whom,” a vowel ending for “he” and for “who” (e and o) and the same consonant (m) for “him” and “whom.”

I did have to review the grammatical terms, the subject of a clause (he) and the object of a clause (him); but mostly I played around with rearranging sentences in my mind, testing the sound of “who” and “whom,” verifying which word, either “he” or “him,” could be substituted. Once I figured out that I had to turn the words in my sentences around to make the substitutions, it became easy to pick the correct word when using “who” or “whom.” For example, if I said that “Dave is the man who won the race,” it wouldn’t sound at all right if I said “Dave is the man - him won the race” but is fine if I say “Dave is the man – he won the race.” At certain times, there can be some confusion when a clause is tricky or convoluted, but, generally, the simple substitution works.

I remember Mrs. B. for many other reasons and will always be grateful for her explanation. Her answer to my question has served me well over the years since then.

Roxy’s tip: If you can substitute “he,” then use “who,” not “whom.” If you can substitute “him,” then use “whom,” and not “who.”

See you next time the breeze is cool, the sun is up, and the waves roll into view! My next entry is coming soon. ‘Til then, hang ten!

Purposeful Editing

Roxy Writer here, coming to you from the Stone Writing Center @ Del Mar College.

Punctuation, believe it or not, has a purpose. Punctuation clarifies meaning in written works, and there is a set logic to punctuation. Two analogies come to mind.

The first is that punctuation is like street signs that indicate where to stop or start, whether there is a turn in the road or a dead end. The analogy doesn’t follow absolutely perfectly, but any driver in the middle of a traffic jam near the malls in December can tell when to stop at a red light and when he wishes the rest of the traffic would go as soon as the light turns green.

Punctuation can also be considered analogous to the language of math. A mathematician sets up equations using symbols that govern what the equation can and cannot do and what the equation proves or disproves ultimately. Punctuation marks are symbols that direct the meaning of a sentence in a like manner.

The best way to make writing enjoyable is to learn punctuation rules by listening carefully to explanations, searching the web for information, or by simple rote. Sometimes just reading and re-reading a rule makes the aha! moment come. When that happens, you own the rule.

What does this have to do with editing? If a comma is misplaced in a sentence, the meaning of the sentence can be changed. That writer winds up saying something other than what he intended. If Fred writes, “I want to eat dog,” the meaning is totally different from ‘I want to eat, Dog.” Two forms of punctuation are changed. A comma before “dog” leads the reader to know that a noun of address is coming, and the capital letter then confirms it. He doesn’t want to eat a canine. He is telling someone named Dog that he wants to eat. Since editing involves revision of meaning, what is said and how it is said, the tools ( ! ? : ; “ , ‘ , - !) of punctuation are of major importance in saying exactly what is planned in thought before writing.

There are, however, other elements to editing: grammar, spelling, word choice, etc. An additional analogy comes to mind, that of a house in which the nails and nuts and bolts are punctuation, holding the structure together. If the analogy is extended, diction (choice of words) becomes the furniture, wallpaper or paint; syntax (how words are used) becomes the placement, arrangement of the furniture, color of the walls, and such. Rhetoric (the overall tone and style of the paper) becomes how the house looks and feels when the building is complete, the total decor.

When you have constructed your paper, it is a wise decision to read it aloud, either to yourself or with a trusted friend or family member present to offer criticism. Altogether, the end of all these analogies would - finally - be like driving past the mall with a mathematician ( professor) to tour your new house (essay) in its polished, perfect condition (final draft).

Roxy’s tip: Edit your papers carefully, Dog!

See you next time the breeze is cool, the sun is up, and the waves roll into view! My next entry is coming soon. ‘Til then, hang ten!

Variety is the Spice of Writing

Roxy Writer here, coming to you from the Stone Writing Center @ Del Mar College.

Children’s poetry is often written in an unvaried sentence structure, each sentence repeating the cadence of the ones before. For instance, “Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are? / Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky” not only rhymes but also has a pattern of syllabication and sentence structure. While it is easy to remember lines such as these, it is not a great idea to write a college essay without variation in sentence structure. There are basically four different sentence structures: Simple, Compound, Complex, and Compound/Complex, and it’s a good idea to use all four types in compositions.

To keep a reader’s attention, variety is necessary. An essay composed of only simple sentences will soon have the reader nodding off, no matter what the content of the essay might be. An essay written solely in compound/complex sentences might result in brain overload for the reader. Good writers avoid endless repetitions of the same kind of sentence structure and use all four types so that their readers remain alert and focused.

One way to add interest to a paper that happens, for unknown reasons, to be a series of simple sentences is to combine sentences, thereby adding variation and liveliness to the writing.

I went to the beach. The sun was shining. The waves were great. I spent hours surfing.

A good day sounds somewhat dull when described in the four simple sentences above. If I combine the four simple sentences, perhaps the moment will seem more exciting.

I surfed for hours when I went to the beach because the sun was shining on great waves.

Even that doesn’t truly capture the moment, so I might consider adding adjectives and adverbs to make the day come alive for the reader.

I surfed in the zone for hours when I went to the nearly deserted beach where the sun shone brightly on amazingly great, sky-blue waves.

A clearer picture emerges with both sentence structure variety and words and phrases that modify.

Good writers generally use all the ways the language allows to inspire their readers to think and to imagine. Varying sentence structure and using modifiers are two ways to keep the readers’ attention from wandering away to peaceful daydreams of sunlit beaches with waves that reach as far as the clear blue sky.

Roxy’s tip: Add spice to your writing by using a variety of sentence structures and by adding adverbs and adjectives!

See you next time the breeze is cool, the sun is up, and the waves roll into view! My next entry is coming soon. ‘Til then, hang ten!

Three Little Words

Roxy Writer here, coming to you from the Stone Writing Center @ Del Mar College.

A, an, the…three little words that make a big difference!

I admit to going back to some grammar books for this topic, especially since what I remembered about articles was pretty much limited to using “an” before nouns beginning with soft sounds (“an essay”) and “a” before nouns beginning with hard sounds (“a laptop”). There is a little more to it than that!

Here are some basics on using articles correctly:

If the noun is definite (a specific person, place, or thing), the article “the” will come before it. If the noun is indefinite (a general noun), the articles “a” or “an” will come before it. “A” is used before a noun beginning with a hard sound (“a beach” or “a seagull”), while “an” is used before a noun beginning with a soft sound (“an essay” or “an assignment”).

Why is it important to know the difference between these three little words? Allow me to give you an illustration:

“Seven foot swells are in a gulf.” –vs- “Seven foot swells are in the Gulf.”

Now, you wouldn’t run and grab your board if someone told you that huge swells were in a gulf. The world is a big place and filled with many gulfs!

But, if you lived in Corpus Christi, like I do, and someone said “Seven foot swells are in the Gulf,” you would be headed to the beach faster than you can say “Roxy Writer rocks at the Stone Writing Center!”

Roxy’s tip: Pay attention to the “little” words in your writing. They make a “big” world of difference in meaning!

See you next time the breeze is cool, the sun is up, and the waves roll into view! My next entry is coming soon. ‘Til then, hang ten!