Is it it’s its or who’s whose?

If you ever get the it’s/its or whose/who’s rule confused, don’t worry, you’re not alone. Some of the smartest people I know get this one mixed-up, and it’s all the fault of that pesky little apostrophe. The apostrophe is one of those omnipresent signs that we only really pay attention to when we need them - like stop signs or the Starbucks logo. But the apostrophe is actually quite a handy little gadget. It has two main uses that we're going to address today, and you’d better pay attention, because not only will it cure you of your its/it’s/whose/who’s confusion, it may clarify some other issues as well.

The first thing you need to know is the difference between a possessive and a contraction. A possessive shows ownership; nouns use an apostrophe to show possession:

This week’s blog
Elizabeth’s cookie
The dog’s bone

A contraction is a combination of two words that uses an apostrophe to mark the missing letters:

Don’t = do not
I’ve = I have
Let’s = let us
You’ll = you will

The second thing you need to know is that it and who are pronouns, and pronouns don’t take an apostrophe when they are possessive; they morph into new words (like whose and its). You already knew that, though, because you would never say, “That cookie is not she’s; it is me’s!” Instead, you replace those pronouns with their possessive counterparts, hers and mine.

So in the case of it’s and who’s, those little apostrophes are making contractions, not possessives. The apostrophe is there to let you know something is missing. It’s is really saying it is (or it has) and who’s is really saying who is (or who has). So instead of, “Whose been eating all the cookies?” You would ask, “Who’s (who has) been eating all the cookies?” And instead of, “Its been too long since I’ve had a cookie,” you would say, “It’s (it has) been too long since I've had a cookie.”

To check yourself as you are writing, try replacing the contraction with the omitted word, like this:

It’s time for me to have a cookie. Becomes, It is time for me to have a cookie.

If the sentence still makes sense, you have it right. And if you have any questions about pronouns, contractions, apostrophes or any other grammar grapples, you know where to find me.

Write on!

Run-on and on and on!

My friend (and fellow word geek) Lori suggested I dedicate this week’s entry to run-on sentences. I agreed, but as I sat down to write, I began to regret my decision.

You see, to address the issue of run-on sentences, one must also cover dependent and independent clauses, fragments, comma splices, coordinating conjunctions and – well, you get the idea. Frankly, this can of worms is better left to a class than a blog post, but since I’m committed (or should be); I will give you a basic overview of how to get control over your run-on sentences.

The first thing you need to know is that the length of a sentence has little to do with whether it is a run-on, as long as it is properly punctuated. There are different kinds of sentences that grammarians would call called run-ons, but for the sake of clarity, let’s just lump them all together.

Basically, a run-on is a sentence with two (or more) complete thoughts that are not joined correctly:

Lori made cookies she wouldn’t let me have one.

A little hard to read, isn’t it? That’s because there’s nothing to let you know when the first complete thought ends and the second one begins. So how can we fix it? Well, we can make the two clauses into two sentences by adding a period:

Lori made cookies. She wouldn’t let me have one.

But that sounds a little choppy, doesn’t it? Let’s try using a semi-colon to separate the clauses:

Lori made cookies; she wouldn’t let me have one.

Or, for a less formal tone, try using a coordinating conjunction:

Lori made cookies, but she wouldn’t let me have one. (Note the comma before the conjunction but.)

That’s better. It gives us a clear indication of separation between the clauses.

Giving your readers visual clues in the form of punctuation, not only helps them know when they should pause or stop, it also helps to convey the tone of a piece. Short, simple sentences tend to sound formal and uptight, while longer ones that combine clauses by using punctuation or connecting words, usually sound softer and more casual. Keep in mind, too, that varying the length and complexity of your sentences can help with the rhythm and flow of your piece.

So, if your sentence has more than one complete thought, consider rewriting it as two sentences. Or, use punctuation or connecting words to separate the clauses. See how simple that is? (And if you have any questions about comma splices or dependent clauses, let me know.)

And to learn more about Lori and see her fabulous Web site, visit
www.wardrobewisdom.com.

Write on!

My Book List

Within an arm’s length of any good writer’s keyboard, you will inevitably find a number of tattered reference books. There will be a dictionary for spelling and definitions, a thesaurus for synonyms, and several stylebooks for – well, style. And why do writers have these? Because the English language has an infinite number of rules, exceptions to rules, evolving rules and obsolete rules and it is the writer’s job to strike a balance between what is acceptable and what isn’t.

Over the years, I’ve spoken with countless writers, editors and successful business people about what books they read and I’ve stumbled across many of my own resources that I simply could not live without. And today, I’m going to share a few of them with you - no charge! This is certainly not the last word in reference book lists and I’m not saying you need to run out and buy every book on it, but if you are serious about your writing, the top five are a great place to start to build your library.

1. Any large dictionary (no, not the “pocket” kind). Mine’s a Webster and yes, I use it almost every day.
2. Roget’s Thesaurus (and/or www.thesaurus.com)
3. Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications. Don’t let the name fool you. If you have ever agonized over things like clipart or clip art; email or e-mail or disk or disc, this is the reference for you. Honestly, every business owner should have this book.
4. Strunk & White’s Elements of Style – Because it’s a classic, and chock-full of fundamental writing principals.
5. The Chicago Manual of Style – The granddaddy of all stylebooks. If you are even considering publishing anything ever, you will need this book.
6. AP Stylebook or www.apstylebook.com – another definitive resource (especially if you ever write newspaper articles or press releases).

If all you want to do is brush up on some of the basics, here are a few of my favorite fun, helpful books (but you still need that dictionary):

Woe is I – by Patricia T. O’Conner
Eats, Shoots and Leaves – by Lynne Truss
Grammar Snobs are Great Big Meanies: A Guide to Language for Fun and Spite – by June Casagrande

Have a favorite? Share it with me!
Until next week,

Write (and read) on!

The Power of Proofreading

Greetings and Happy June!

Today's post is very important, so read it, study it and talk about it with your friends. And as always, I welcome your comments and suggestions.

There is a critical part of the writing process that separates the good communicators from the not-so-good ones. It’s proofreading. I can always tell when someone has taken the time to edit their writing because they have fewer errors, clearer ideas and a more readable style than those who send their work off thinking it’s “good enough.”
Because it’s so hard to switch your brain over from writer to reader, I believe the best way to edit yourself is not to edit yourself. The longer you have worked on a piece, the more emotionally attached you are and the more you need a fresh set of eyes to look at it. So my very first tip is: whenever possible, have someone else do your proofreading for you. I can almost guarantee they will see things that you have missed. Chalk it up to human nature, but we are much more inclined to see errors in other people than in ourselves.
However, if you happen to be short a minion, spouse or business partner, keep these tips in mind as you are editing yourself:

Put some time between you and your document before proofing. Overnight is best.

Use spell-check first because it may catch things that you might have missed, like extra spaces between words. (But don’t rely on it for your final proof.)

Print out your document. I know, that’s not very “green” of me to suggest, but reading on a monitor is very different from reading on paper. Use scratch paper and set your printer to the “draft” setting to save ink.

Proof for each element separately. Go through the whole thing once for spelling, again for consistency, etc.

Turn the paper upside-down and read from bottom to top, right to left. This may sound silly, but it forces you to focus on each word so you are less likely to get lost in the message and miss critical mistakes.

As you edit, don’t stop to fix errors or rewrite. Read through the entire document, flagging each item as you go. Then go back and make corrections.

Once you have done this a few times, you may begin to see patterns in your writing that indicate areas you need to work on. For me, it’s overusing the passive voice. For you, it might be verb tense or run-on sentences. Whatever the problem, the best way to begin fixing it is to have someone you trust look at your work, then edit yourself with a critical eye.

And if you have any questions, be sure to drop me a note. I’d be happy to help.

Write on!