Download Communication Skills - Chapter 05

Chapter 5
Improving your writing:
grammar and
self-editing
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Learning objectives
On completion of this chapter students will
know how to:
• identify ways to improve writing
independently
• develop a strategic approach to editing
written work
• understand the basic features of specific
grammatical constructions.
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Grammatical constructions
addressed in this chapter
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Subject/verb agreement
Parallel construction
Verb tense
Article use
The apostrophe
Word form
Passive tenses
Gerunds and infinitives
So, neither and nor
Still and yet
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Be proactive about learning
how to write well
• Students who adopt an independent and
proactive approach to their language
development are likely to make better
progress than those who simply hope the
problem of language will disappear.
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How can you improve your
English language skills?
• Investigate any language support services your
university offers, whether as workshops or
online. In some universities you can make
appointments with trained staff to discuss your
written work.
• Invest some money in a self-study grammar
book with answers. Ask university staff for
advice on useful texts.
• Approach your university librarian for
suggestions on how they can help you to
improve your language and the resources and
services they offer.
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Activity 1
• Write down the resources available in your
university that can help you to improve your
English language.
• Discuss the options you have tried and
recommend some to other students.
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Common grammatical
errors
• Errors are easy to overlook, particularly
when working within tight deadlines.
• Not all errors are detected by computer
grammar checkers so edit your work after
you have used the software.
Remember: Poor grammar may change
your meaning or make your ideas difficult to
understand.
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Sentence structure
• There are two kinds of common error in
writing sentences:
– incomplete sentences
– ‘run-on’ (or run-together) sentences.
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Complete sentences
A complete sentence must contain a subject and a
predicate. (The rest of the sentence must contain a
verb.)
Example
Our business partners will arrive tomorrow
Subject
Predicate
The verb
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Complete sentences (cont.)
• In formal writing you must use complete
sentences.
• A group of words without a subject or
predicate is NOT a sentence. For example:
– And arrived later.
No subject
– He feeling very happy. Incomplete verb
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Activity 2
• Complete Activity 2 on p. 96 of your
textbook.
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Complete sentences (cont.)
• A complete sentence is also called an
independent clause.
• A clause may be independent (able to stand
alone—a sentence) or dependent (cannot
stand alone—is not a complete sentence).
• A clause is a group of words with a subject
and a verb.
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Run-on sentences
• If two independent clauses are written
together with
– no punctuation
– merely a comma
– no joining word
they are called a run-on sentence.
Examples
– He is a good manager all the staff like him
– He is a good manager, all the staff like him
(Both are run-on sentences and therefore
incorrect.)
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Using conjunctions to fix
run-on sentences
1. Using coordinating conjunctions:
– with a comma and one of the following words:
for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.
Example
– He is a good manager, and all the staff like him.
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Using conjunctions to fix
run-on sentences (cont.)
2. Using correlative conjunctions:
– use: both…and, not only…but also, either…or
Example
– Not only is he a good manager but also all the
staff like him.
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Using conjunctions to fix
run-on sentences (cont.)
3. Using a semicolon (;) and a conjunctive
adverb plus a comma (,):
– common conjunctive adverbs: finally, then,
consequently
Example
– He is a good manager; consequently, all the
staff like him.
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Using conjunctions to fix
run-on sentences (cont.)
4. Using a subordinating conjunction:
– one sentence is less important than the other
Example
– All the staff like her because she is a good
manager.
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Using conjunctions to fix
run-on sentences (cont.)
5. Join the sentences with a relative
pronoun such as who, which or that:
– He is a good manager he initiated new
business practices. (Run-on sentence)
– He is a good manager who initiated new
business practices. (Correct sentence)
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Activity 3
• Complete activity 3 on pp. 97–98 of your
textbook.
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Subject/verb agreement
• A singular subject must have a singular
verb.
• Plural subjects must have a plural verb.
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Subject/verb agreement
(cont.)
Example
Susan and Anna are excellent colleagues.
The verb ‘to be’ must
be plural too.
Susan and Anna are two people
so the subjects are plural.
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Subject/verb agreement
(cont.)
Example
The verb ‘to be’ must take
the singular form ‘is’.
The university is quite new compared to others
in the state.
The university is a
singular subject
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Singular words take
singular verbs
• ‘one’ words: anyone, someone, everyone,
one, no one
• ‘body’ words: anybody, everybody,
somebody
• ‘thing’ words: anything, everything,
something, nothing
• each, either, neither
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Singular words take
singular verbs (cont.)
• Examples
–
–
–
–
Someone needs to oversee the changes.
Everybody is happy with the changes.
Everything has been agreed.
Each manager has granted approval.
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Other singular subjects
Uncountable nouns
A single gerund or
gerund phrase
The rice is steamed.
Understanding the
problem is difficult for
him.
An amount of time,
money or weight; plural
forms are considered as
single concepts
Six months is not a long
time to write a proposal.
Five thousand dollars is
a lot of money.
More than five kilos
costs more.
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Group words
• The following ‘group’ words take a singular
verb if you are thinking of the group as a
whole, but they take a plural verb if you are
thinking of the individuals in the group:
– audience, band, class, family, kind, committee,
crowd, dozen, flock, group, heap, herd, jury, lot,
number, none, public, team, majority, minority,
orchestra, pair, staff
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Group words (cont.)
• Examples
– The jury are still arguing. (individuals in the
group)
– The team is on the field. (group)
– The team are suiting up. (individuals in the
group)
– My family is behind me. (group)
– The jury is ready. (group)
– My family are all scattered. (individuals in the
group)
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Group words (cont.)
• Subject/verb agreement may be confusing if
these words are separated by others.
Example
– The colour on the walls matches
the company logo.
• Identify the verb in the sentence (‘matches’)
and then ask what is being matched (‘The
colour of the walls’).
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Parallel construction
• When using one sentence to express two
ideas, both ideas should have the same
type of construction.
• You will also need to use the same
construction when there are two sentences
that are joined with conjunctions such as
‘and’ and ‘but’.
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Parallel construction (cont.)
•
Which one of these sentences is correct?
Why?
(a) Enrolling in a course that is assessed on
coursework is preferable to take one with a final
exam.
(b) Enrolling in a course that is assessed on
coursework is preferable to taking one with a
final exam.
•
The second example is correct. Both ideas
in the sentence have matching verb forms.
They both end in ‘ing’.
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Parallel construction in verb
phrases (dot points)
• Example
Management aims to:
– introduce new safety measures
– coordinate focus groups
– establish a social club
– investigate ideas from other companies.
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Parallel construction in verb
phrases (dot points) (cont.)
• Each dot point begins with the verb in the
same form.
• Note that the verb after the dot point is not
capitalised because it continues the stem
sentence. It does not begin a new one.
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Parallel construction in verb
phrases (dot points) (cont.)
• Rewrite using parallel construction:
With regard to safety, management aims to:
– to have the building officially inspected by a fire safety
officer
– that we should provide three more fire extinguishers on
each floor of the building
– instruct the students in fire drill evacuation procedures
– always insist that the ‘No Smoking’ rules are observed
– the lockers which cover the fire stair must be removed
– there should be clearly marked ‘Exit’ signs in the corridors.
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Verb tense
• Tense indicates the time that action occurs.
• There are six verb tenses.
• The verb tenses fall into two groups
– simple
– perfect
which occur in progressive/continuous (-ing
form) and non-progressive/continuous
forms.
• You can use the term ‘progressive’ or
‘continuous’. In this presentation ‘continuous’
will be used.
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Continuous tenses
Continuous tenses
Perfect continuous
tenses
present
continuous
I am
studying
present
perfect
continuous
past
continuous
I was
studying
past perfect I had been
continuous studying
future
continuous
I will be
studying
future
perfect
continuous
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I have been
studying
I will have
been
studying
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Non-continuous tenses
Simple tenses
present I study
past
I studied
future
I will study
Perfect tenses
present
I have
perfect
studied
past
I had studied
perfect
future
I will have
perfect
studied
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Non-continuous tenses
• The following tenses are not normally used
in the present continuous tense (Murphy
2004):
–
–
–
–
–
–
like
love
hate
want
need
prefer.
• Can you think of any others?
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Activity 4
• Complete Activity 5 on p. 102 of your
textbook.
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Present tense
• A present simple tense verb expresses
action that is habitual, permanent or a
general truth. It may also be used to express
a scheduled future action.
Example
– He works late every night.
– Water boils at 100 degrees centigrade.
– His plane leaves tonight at ten.
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Present tense (cont.)
• Present continuous tense verbs are used
to indicate temporary actions happening
now and actions in the present time or
future.
Example
– John is presenting his idea to the board.
(present or future)
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Present perfect tense
• The present perfect links past and present
time, and indicates repeated actions that
have happened very recently.
• It is constructed using the verb ‘to have’ with
the past participle.
Examples
– She has lost her keys (and is looking for them
now).
– She has written this twice.
– They have bought a new house (recently).
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Present perfect continuous
tense (cont.)
• The present perfect continuous tense is
used to emphasise that an action started in
the past is still happening or to indicate how
long something has been happening.
Examples
– We have been working all day (and we are still
working now).
– I have been studying English for five years.
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Past simple tense
• Past simple tense indicates action that
began and ended in the past.
• Add ‘-ed’ with regular verbs: learn/learned.
• Change the root word with irregular verbs:
teach/taught.
• It may also indicate habitual actions in the
past: ‘We watched cartoons when we were
young.’
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Past continuous tense
• This tense is used for actions in progress in
the past when another action occurred, or
for actions in progress at a specific time in
the past.
Examples
– We were writing the report when the manager
arrived.
– He was studying at 5 pm. (It is now 10 pm.)
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Past perfect tense
• The past perfect is used for actions that
happened in the past prior to another event
in the past.
Example
– We had just finished the work when the manager
arrived.
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Past perfect continuous
tense
• This tense is used to emphasise the
duration of an action in progress prior to
another past action or to indicate the length
of time of a prior past action.
Example
– The meeting had been going for an hour by the
time I arrived.
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Simple future tense
• This tense is used to give predictions that
are usual or to make another offer or
promise.
Examples
– The bus will come around seven o’clock.
– I will help you with your report.
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Future continuous tense
• This tense is used to express an activity that
will be happening at a specific future time.
Example
– She will be working on Saturday.
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Future perfect tense
• The future perfect is used to indicate an
event that will have happened before
another time in the future.
Example
The staff will have discussed this before you arrive
tomorrow.
X__________X__________________X___
Now
The staff discusses
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You arrive
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Future perfect continuous
tense
• This tense is used to emphasise the
duration of an activity at a specific future
time.
Example
By the end of the month Brian will have been
working here for thirty years.
X_______________X__________X______
1979
March 2009
Brian started working Now
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April 2009
Next month
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Activity 5
• Complete Activity 6 on p. 104 of your
textbook.
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Articles
• ‘The’, ‘An’ and ‘A’ are all articles.
• ‘The’ is known as a definite article.
• ‘An’ and ‘A’ are called ‘indefinite articles’.
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‘The’ is used when…
thinking of something
specific
She took the job she
was offered. (Referring to
a particular job.)
something is unique
whether individually or
as a group
referring to an abstract
concept
The moon circles the
earth.
The idea that Australian
culture is the result of
British traditions does not
take into account the
influence of Asia.
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‘The’ is used when… (cont.)
proper nouns are used the Amazon, the
United States of
America, the Sahara
pluralised names are
used
the Netherlands, the
Bahamas
public institutions are
mentioned
the Art Gallery
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‘The’ is used when… (cont.)
referring to newspapers the South China News,
the Australian
placed before a singular The Tasmanian devil is
noun representing a
facing extinction.
class of animals or
The washing machine
things
saved hours of work
and changed the lives of
those working at home.
nouns are followed by
The leader of the gang.
‘of’
The president of our
club.
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First and subsequent
references
• When referring to something in written text,
use an indefinite article (a, an).
Example
– A newspaper has an obligation to seek out and
tell the truth.
• In subsequent references, use the definite
article (the).
Example
– There are situations, however, when the
newspaper must determine whether the public’s
safety is jeopardised by knowing the truth.
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No article needed
• Several kinds of nouns never use articles:
–
–
–
–
–
–
languages (‘He speaks Chinese’)
sports (‘I play netball’)
seasons (‘It is cold in winter’)
meals (‘We had breakfast’)
diseases (‘She has cancer’)
abstract nouns (‘We all fear death’)
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Activity 6
• Complete Activity 7 on p. 106 of your
textbook.
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Correct use of the
apostrophe
• The apostrophe has only two functions:
1. To show when some letters have been left out.
• I’ll (I will), you’re (you are), shouldn’t (should not), it’s (it
is), I’d (I would).
Generally, abbreviations are not used in
academic writing, except when reporting direct
speech.
2. To indicate possession (ownership)
• The report’s findings
• The team’s hard work.
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Correct use of the
apostrophe (cont.)
•
Dates do not need an apostrophe.
•
•
1980s, NOT 1980’s.
Words ending in ‘ss’ put the apostrophe
outside the last ‘s’.
•
The boss’ desk.
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Word form
• Words can be used in a variety of forms so
they can look similar but their endings are
different. A word may be used in a verb
form, or as a noun, adjective or adverb.
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Verb forms
• See the section on tense in this chapter. The
verbs below are written in the ‘infinitive’; that
is, they are written like this before being
placed in a particular tense.
to explain
to introduce
to manage
to organise
to plan
to implement
to suggest
to direct
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Nouns
• Nouns are sometimes referred to as ‘things’
but this is really a little too general as an
explanation. There are in fact four kinds of
noun in English:
– Common nouns: employee, manager, desk
– Proper nouns: Australia, Auckland, Dr Bordia,
Mike
– Abstract nouns: happiness, kindness, respect,
love
– Collective nouns: herd, flock, pack
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Adjectives
• Adjectives are words used to describe
nouns. Thomson & Martinet (1990, p. 33)
identify six main kinds of adjectives:
–
–
–
–
Demonstrative: this, that, these, those
Distributive: each, every, either, neither
Quantitative: some, any, no, little, much
Qualitative: intelligent, exciting, engaging,
interesting
– Interrogative: which, what, why, whose
– Possessive: my, your, his, its, our
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Adverbs
• Adverbs are used to describe verbs. According
to Thomson & Martinet (1990, p. 47) there are
eight different kinds of adverb:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Manner: bravely, quickly, gladly
Place: up, close, near, there
Time: tomorrow, still, yet, later
Frequency: regularly, usually, never, only
Sentence: certainly, definitely, fortunately
Degree: extremely, quite, fairly, very
Interrogative: why? where? how?
Relative: when, where, why?
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Exercise
The dynamic accountant quickly
became the firm’s most successful
finance manager.
• Identify any verbs, nouns, adjectives or
adverbs in this sentence.
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Exercise (solution)
The dynamic accountant quickly
became the firm’s most successful
manager.
•
•
•
•
Verb – became
Adjective – dynamic, successful, most
Adverb – quickly
Noun – firm, accountant, manager
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Activity 7
• Complete activity 8 on p. 108 of your
textbook.
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Passive tenses
• The passive tense is used when the writer
wishes to emphasise what was done rather
than who carried out the action. In contrast
an active tense focuses on who or what
performed an action.
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Passive tenses (cont.)
• The passive tense is constructed by using
the appropriate form of the verb ‘to be’ (e.g.
is, are, was, were, has been, had been) and
adding a past participle (e.g. studied, raised,
criticised, rewritten).
Example
It was understood that Glen resigned because of
bullying at work.
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Examples
• Passive tense
– It is recognised that participating in the
knowledge economy is important (Crossman
2005, p. 22).
• Active tense
– Both governments and businesses recognise the
importance of participating in a knowledge
economy (Crossman 2005, p. 22).
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Activities 8–10
• Complete Activities 9–11 on pp 109–111 of
your textbook.
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Gerund (‘-ing’) or infinitive
• A gerund is a verb that takes an ‘-ing’ form
on the ending (e.g. processing, developing,
explaining).
• Compare it to the infinitive verb, which does
not refer to a tense, a person or a subject. It
is basically a verb that has had no changes
made to it and is sometimes preceded by
‘to’ (e.g. ‘to pay’).
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Gerund (‘-ing’) or infinitive
(cont.)
• Some verbs are followed by a second verb
in the infinitive and others are followed by a
second verb in the gerund form.
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Gerund (‘-ing’) or infinitive
(cont.)
• Some examples of verbs and expressions
followed by a second verb in the gerund
form are:
finish
delay
enjoy
mind
imagine
stop
regret
remember
admit
deny
avoid
practise
fancy
give up
go on
keen on
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Gerund (‘-ing’) or infinitive
(cont.)
• Some examples of verbs and expressions
followed by a second verb in the gerund
form are:
want
intend
refuse
arrange
plan
hope
fail
afford
tend
agree
offer
decide
tend
learn
need
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Gerund (‘ing’) or infinitive
(cont.)
• Some examples of sentences using a
gerund or an infinitive are:
– Gerund
• She avoided talking to her.
• Weng Fai wasn’t keen on going to management
meetings.
– Infinitive
• She intended to look for another job.
• He tended to overlook his own errors.
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Activities 11 and 12
• Complete Activities 12 and 13 on pp. 112–
113 of your textbook.
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So, neither and nor
• When expressing agreement, ‘so’ is used in
response to positive statements and ‘neither’ or
‘nor’ are used in response to negative
statements.
Positive statement
‘I believe that ethical behaviour is vital to the
company’s credibility.’
Response
‘So do I’.
(If you disagreed with the speaker you would
say ‘I don’t!’ meaning I don’t agree that ethical
behaviour is always vital to a company’s
credibility.)
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So, neither and nor (cont.)
Negative statement
‘I don’t think she should borrow so much
from the bank.’
Response
‘Nor do I.’
Negative statement
‘She doesn’t check all my references.’
Response
‘Neither does my lecturer.’
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So, neither and nor (cont.)
• Neither/nor are used when two negative
statements are connected.
Example
– She neither comes to class nor hands in her
assignments.
(She doesn’t come to class and she doesn’t
hand in her assignments.)
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Activity 13
• Complete Activity 14 on p. 113 of your
textbook.
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Still and yet
• ‘Still’ is used to indicate when an action or
situation is continuing.
• It usually goes in the middle of the sentence
after the verb ‘to be’.
• ‘Still’ is more often used with the affirmative
(positive statements) or questions.
Examples
– Is he still drinking heavily?
– They are still paying bribes even though it has
been forbidden by head office.
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Still and yet (cont.)
• ‘Yet’ is used when we ask if something has
or has not happened, usually in questions or
negative sentences.
• ‘Yet’ often goes at the end of the sentence,
after the verb.
• ‘Yet’ means that something continues to be
the case up until the time of speaking.
Examples
– Has the closing date for applications closed yet?
– Alexander hasn’t applied to any universities yet.
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References
• Crossman, J. 2005, ‘Strangers and
bedfellows; The relationship between the
commercialisation of Australian universities
and international education’, HERDSA
news, vol. 25 no. 3, pp 22–26.
• Thomson, A. & Martinet, A. 1990, A practical
English grammar, 4th edn, Oxford University
Press, Oxford.
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