Become Your Own Best Editor

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Become Your Own Best Editor
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Three Levels of Analysis

• Grammar putting words together with punctuation
  as the glue
• Syntax structure of larger units of
  discoursephrase, sentence, paragraph, section,
  essay
• Semantics meaningfrom the level of the
  individual word to the discourse as a whole

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Meaning determines grammar,
punctuation, and syntax on every level.
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Article Use A/AN versus Theversus No Article

• An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
• Mountains are beautiful.
• The mountains in the western part of the state
  are beautiful.
• What are the semantic differences between
• the subjects of these sentences?

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Article Use

• The semantics of article use
  revolves
• around the basic distinction between
  the
• general/abstract and the
  specific/concrete
• An apple any one apple can be counted
• concrete but not specific
• Mountains all existing mountains in general
• cannot be counted abstract
  but
• not specific
• The mountains a group of mountains existing
• in one location
  can be counted
• concrete and
  specific
• 
  

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Article Use

• Article choice makes a big semantic
• difference!
• Lymphochip is the name given to a
• microarray developed by Lou Staudt and
  colleagues.
• Lymphochip is the name given to the
• microarray developed by Lou Staudt and
• colleagues.
• What does a imply in sentence 1?
• The in sentence 2?

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Article Use

• Article use makes a big
  semantic
• difference!
• The library has room for readers. room space
• The library has a room for readers. room a
• specific,
  circumscribed location,
• usually inside a
  building
• Like room, many nouns have several distinct
• meanings. Articles help signal which meaning is
• appropriate in a given context.

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Article Use

• Some special categories of nouns do
  not
• require the indefinite
  article
• Abstractions democracy, education, equality
• Emotions anger, love, confidence, respect,
  hostility
• Natural substances/events air, blood, oxygen,
  rain
• Categorical nouns, which refer to many objects
  under
• one designation clothing, furniture,
  equipment, garbage
• Fields of study architecture, biology,
  literature, chemistry
• Some abstractions can be used concretely
  Democracy
• is one political system The U.S. is a
  democracy

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Subject-Verb Agreement

• Identify the sentences in which the
  subject
• and verb disagree in number
  (singular
• versus plural)
• Either the twins or Jim is waiting near the gate.
• Neither Jim nor the twins is waiting near the
  gate.
• There are no contingencies we have not
  considered.
• The primary support mechanism for most graduate
  students are fellowships.
• Fellowships are most graduate students primary
• support mechanism.

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Subject-Verb Agreement

• The tight semantic relationship between the
• grammatical subject and the grammatical verb
• constitutes the core meaning of the sentence.
• A singular subject requires a singular
  verb.
• Plural subjects require plural
  verbs.
• Lack of agreement between subject and verb
• results in semantic disjunctionthe sentence
• falls apart on the most fundamental level of
• meaning.

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Subject-Verb Agreement

• The Key Strategy
  
• Identify the noun or pronoun that acts as the
• grammatical subject of the sentence
• Determine whether that subject is singular
• or plural

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Subject-Verb Agreement

• Unusual or complex syntactic
  constructions
• can make identifying the
  grammatical
• subject tricky!
• Inverted word order
• What is our main priority?
• What are our priorities?
• Among the investigators presenting papers was Dr.
• Shosh Segal.
• The grammatical subject is followed by a
  subordinate
• noun or pronoun that differs in number
• A very large number of people passes through the
  Clinical
• Center every day, even every hour.
• Constantly running in circles keeps me busy.

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Subject-Verb Agreement

• Unusual or Complex Syntactic
• Constructions
• Conflicts in number between subject and predicate
  nouns
• A prime requirement in any experimental scenario
  is carefully
• controlled conditions.
• Carefully controlled conditions are a prime
  requirement in
• any experimental scenario.
• Multiple subject nouns linked by and, either/or,
  neither/nor
• One man and three women are walking by.
• Three women and one man are walking by.
• Either three women or one man is walking by.
• Either one man or three women are walking
  by.
• Neither three women nor one man is walking by.
• Neither one man nor three women are walking
  by.

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Subject-Verb Agreement

• Determining the number of indefinite
• pronouns can be tricky too!
• Group 1always singular
• anybody, somebody, nobody, everybody
• anyone, someone, everyone
• anything, something, everything, nothing
• one, no one
• each, either, neither
• much
• none This one is the real killer!
• None of these options is bad. Of these options,
  none is bad.
• No one knows the trouble Ive seen.
• Each of these alternatives is bad.
• Much is expected, but little is realized.

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Subject-Verb Agreement

• Indefinite Pronouns
• Group 2always plural
• both
• few
• many
• several
• Many are called, but few are chosen.
• Several are planning to leave their e-mail
  addresses
• after the lecture ends.
• Both are agreeable to me. Contrast to Neither
  is
• agreeable to me.

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Subject-Verb Agreement

• Indefinite Pronouns
• Group 3singular or plural depending on context
• all
• any
• more
• most
• some
• All of the money is in the groups bank account.
• All of the funds are in the groups bank
  account.
• More of anything is always better than less.
• More postdocs have been unhappy working
  with that principal
• than have been happy.

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Subject-Verb Agreement

• Nouns that are plural in form but
• singular in meaning are
• the trickiest of all!
• This class of nouns requires a singular
  verb.
• semantics news
  economics
• politics statistics
  wages
• genomics proteomics
  metabolomics
• Economics is known as the dismal science
  statistics is its
• handmaiden.
• Special case Measurements and figures
  ending in
• s take a singular verb when the
  quantity to
• which they refer
  is a unit.
• Three years is a long time.
• Three-fourths of the library consists of
  journals.

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That versus Which

• Affymetrix, which manufactures gene chips, is
• located in California.
• A company that manufactures gene chips is sending
  representatives to the National Cancer Institute
  (NCI).
• What is the semantic difference
• between these two sentences?

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That versus Which

• That introduces a subordinate clause essential
• to the meaning of the sentence.
• Which, with commas, introduces a subordinate
• clause NOT essential to the meaning of the
• sentence.
• A Two-Step Test
• Identify the element.
• Remove the elementdoes the fundamental
• meaning of the sentence change or become
• less precise?

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That versus Which
THE TEST

• Analyze these sentence
  pairs
• Affymetrix, which manufactures gene chips, is
• located in California.
• Affymetrix is located in California.
• A company that manufactures gene chips is
• sending representatives to the National Cancer
• Institute.
• A company is sending representatives to the
• National Cancer Institute.

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That versus Which

• Choosing that instead of which radically
  changes the meaning of the same basic sentence.
• The schools that educate our children should
• be supported.
• The schools, which educate our children, should
• be supported.
• What is the semantic difference
  between
• these two sentences?

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That versus Which

• Punctuation Point Comma Use
• Commas indicate that a subordinate clause
  is
• NOT essential to the meaning of
  the
• sentence.
• Never use a comma with clauses introduced by
• that.
• Always use commas with clauses introduced by
• which.
• Using commas with phrases introduced by who
• varies, depending on meaning.

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That versus Which

• Punctuation Point Comma Use
• Analyze the meaning of these sentence pairs
• He who hesitates is lost.
• He, who hesitates, is lost.
• Janet Smith, who works in Dr. Barretts lab,
  lives
• next door.
• The Janet Smith who works in Dr. Barretts
  lab lives
• next door.
• Who is used only for persons that and
• which for objects, animals, emotions,
  concepts, eventsanything nonhuman

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Finale

• Almost all sentences involve several
• grammatical issues simultaneously!
• It is microbial components that stimulate
  dendritic cells to mature.
• Grammatically AND semantically defective
  versions
• It is are the microcrobial components, which
• stimulate the dendritic cells to mature.
• Microbial components is what stimulates the
  dendritic
• cells to mature.

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Grammar Resources

• Books
• Grammar handbooks
• The Little, Brown Handbook, 8th ed. New York
  Little, Brown,
• 2001
• ESL guides
• The Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, 6th ed.
  Oxford
• Oxford University Press, 2000.
• Style guides
• W. Follett, Modern American Usage A Guide. New
  York Hill
• Wang, 1984.
• W. Strunk, E.B. White. The Elements of Style,
  4th ed. New
• York Longman, 2000.

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Grammar Resources

• Courses
• The Foundation for Advanced Education in the
• Sciences (FAES) offers
• Engl 305Advanced English Structure I
• Engl 306Advanced English Structure II
• Each course examines the grammar, syntax, and
• semantics of extended discourse stresses
• vocabulary building and offers writing practice.

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• I would like to thank the members
• of the Fellows Editorial Board for
• their invaluable assistance in
• preparing this presentation.
• --Kay
  Fleming, Ph.D.