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“Quit” as Predicate Adjective

Here is a very helpful article I just found on using quit as a predicate adjective.  Enjoy!
via Daily Writing Tips by Maeve Maddox on 9/29/10

Does anyone else cringe at the use of quit in the commercial that says:

44% of … users were quit during weeks 9 to 12 of treatment.

The context screams for quit as a verb, not as a predicate adjective:

44% of users … had quit after nine weeks.

The OED’s entry for quit “in predicative sense” offers these illustrations:

When the book was restored the borrower [was] declared quit. (1866)

This charter confers the right of having one man quit from tallage in every royal borough. 1928

Ralph is not quit of his wartime melancholy. (1945)

He is tired of Sophina. He wishes to be quit of her, but she cannot afford to leave him. (1997)

The example from 1866 sounds a bit like legal jargon. The one from 1928 uses “from” where we might say “of.” Those from 1945 and 1997, which include the particle “of,” sound perfectly idiomatic.

When starting to write this post, I’d expected to argue that nobody uses quit with a being verb without the “of,” but I’ve found many examples of the infinitive phrase to be quit, mostly in informal writing in comments and forums, and mostly in connection with beating the cigarette habit:

I am grateful to be quit. It is 5 months and 3 weeks.

But one thing I have not lost sight of:  How truly truly grateful I am to be desperate to be quit.

Smoking was a [habit] that had to be quit.

David Gelkin has it right – the idea quitting is always bad – is an idea that ought to be quit.

But after hearing Ms. Rice’s description of Christianity, I’m thinking it deserves to be quit.

Idiom is tricky. The statements with “to be quit” don’t offend my ear the way that drug commercial does.

Is it just me?

 

If you have any questions about predicate adjectives or any other grammar-related subject, feel free to visit http://www.grammarperfection.com or contact help@grammarperfection.com.

Quotation Punctuation

Quotation Punctuation      

The main use of the quotation punctuation mark is to signify a direct quote.  A direct quote is an exact representation of words that someone has spoken. 


For instance, Abraham Lincoln once said, “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”


Another use of quotation punctuation marks is to indicate sarcasm. 

I just “love” going to the dentist. 

The quotation marks around love indicate that the person is being sarcastic.  Who loves going to the dentist?


Single and double quotation punctuation:

It may become necessary to have a quote within a quote.  For the inside quote, it would only get a single quotation mark. 

The bull rider said, “I’ll always remember what my mom told me, ‘hang on’!”


That’s all there is to quotation punctuation.

If you have any questions about quotation punctuation marks or any other grammar-related subject, feel free to visit http://www.grammarperfection.com or contact help@grammarperfection.com.

Past Simple Verbs

EnglishPage.com does an excellent job of explaining Past Simple Verbs.  

According to their website:

Past Simple Verbs

[VERB+ed] or irregular verbs

Examples:

  • You called Debbie.
  • Did you call Debbie?
  • You did not call Debbie.
Complete List of Simple Past Forms

USE 1 Completed Action in the Past

Use the Simple Past to express the idea that an action started and finished at a specific time in the past. Sometimes, the speaker may not actually mention the specific time, but they do have one specific time in mind.

Examples:

  • I saw a movie yesterday.
  • I didn't see a play yesterday.
  • Last year, I traveled to Japan.
  • Last year, I didn't travel to Korea.
  • Did you have dinner last night?
  • She washed her car.
  • He didn't wash his car.

USE 2 A Series of Completed Actions

We use the Simple Past to list a series of completed actions in the past. These actions happen 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so on.

Examples:

  • I finished work, walked to the beach, and found a nice place to swim.
  • He arrived from the airport at 8:00, checked into the hotel at 9:00, and met the others at 10:00.
  • Did you add flour, pour in the milk, and then add the eggs?

USE 3 Duration in Past

The Simple Past can be used with a duration which starts and stops in the past. A duration is a longer action often indicated by expressions such as: for two years, for five minutes, all day, all year, etc.

Examples:

  • I lived in Brazil for two years.
  • Shauna studied Japanese for five years.
  • They sat at the beach all day.
  • They did not stay at the party the entire time.
  • We talked on the phone for thirty minutes.
  • A: How long did you wait for them?
    B: We waited for one hour.

USE 4 Habits in the Past

The Simple Past can also be used to describe a habit which stopped in the past. It can have the same meaning as "used to." To make it clear that we are talking about a habit, we often add expressions such as: always, often, usually, never, when I was a child, when I was younger, etc.

Examples:

  • I studied French when I was a child.
  • He played the violin.
  • He didn't play the piano.
  • Did you play a musical instrument when you were a kid?
  • She worked at the movie theater after school.
  • They never went to school, they always skipped class.

USE 5 Past Facts or Generalizations

The Simple Past can also be used to describe past facts or generalizations which are no longer true. As in USE 4 above, this use of the Simple Past is quite similar to the expression "used to."

Examples:

  • She was shy as a child, but now she is very outgoing.
  • He didn't like tomatoes before.
  • Did you live in Texas when you were a kid?
  • People paid much more to make cell phone calls in the past.

IMPORTANT When-Clauses Happen First

Clauses are groups of words which have meaning but are often not complete sentences. Some clauses begin with the word "when" such as "when I dropped my pen..." or "when class began..." These clauses are called when-clauses, and they are very important. The examples below contain when-clauses.

Examples:

  • When I paid her one dollar, she answered my question.
  • She answered my question when I paid her one dollar.

When-clauses are important because they always happen first when both clauses are in the Simple Past. Both of the examples above mean the same thing: first, I paid her one dollar, and then, she answered my question. It is not important whether "when I paid her one dollar" is at the beginning of the sentence or at the end of the sentence. However, the example below has a different meaning. First, she answered my question, and then, I paid her one dollar.

Example:

  • I paid her one dollar when she answered my question.

ADVERB PLACEMENT

The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.

Examples:

  • You just called Debbie.
  • Did you just call Debbie?

ACTIVE / PASSIVE

Examples:

  • Tom repaired the car. Active
  • The car was repaired by Tom. Passive
 

If you have any questions past simple verbs or any other grammar-related subject, feel free to visit http://www.grammarperfection.com or contact help@grammarperfection.com.

Different Forms of a Predicate

Englishgrammar.org does a great job of explaining the different forms of a predicate.

If you have any questions on this or any other grammar-related subject feel free to visit http://www.grammarperfection.com or contact help@grammarperfection.com.

According to their website:

Different forms of the predicate

The predicate may consist of one word or several words. When the verb in the predicate is an intransitive verb, it alone can form the predicate.

  • Dogs bark.
  • Birds sing.
  • The clouds are gathering.
  • They have been playing.

The verb in the predicate may consist of one word or several  words. When the sentence is in the simple present or simple past, the verb consists of just one word.

When the verb is an intransitive verb of incomplete predication, the predicate may consist of the verb and its complement.

  • She seems happy.
  • The sky grew dark.
  • The house is to let.

When the verb is a transitive verb, the predicate may consist of the verb and its object.

  • Birds build nests.
  • I know him.
  • The cat killed the rat.
  • He shot the panther.

When the verb is a transitive verb having two objects, the predicate may consist of the verb and its two objects – indirect and direct.

  • I promised him a present.
  • He teaches us English.
  • Father bought me a doll.

When the verb is a transitive verb of incomplete predication, the predicate may consist of the verb, its object and a complement.

  • The jury found him guilty.
  • The parents named him Christopher.
  • He kept us waiting.

When to Use Between vs Among

I thought this was a good article on between vs among. 

If you have any questions on this or any other grammar-related subject feel free to visit http://www.grammarperfection.com or contact help@grammarperfection.com.

via Good Grammar Rules! by GGR on 9/12/09

Between and among are another pair of words that are commonly confused. For most cases you can go by one simple rule: Use “between” when talking about two people or things, and use “among” when talking about more than two.

I think this should be just between you and me.

Let’s divide the money among you, Bob and Kathy.

GGR Helpful Hint - “Between” and “two” both have tw in their spellings. Keep that in mind to remember to use “between” when you’re talking about two things!

Which vs That

Which vs That

By Sean Woods

Many people are confused about which vs that.  The problem is that they both “sound right” in a sentence.  It takes a bit of thinking, but the easiest way to remember whether to use which vs that is that the word that should always precede a restrictive clause and which should precede a non-restrictive clause. 

But what are restrictive and non-restrictive clauses?

Restrictive Clause: Any part of the sentence, that when removed, changes the meaning of the sentence.

Non-restrictive Clause: Any part of the sentence, that when removed, does not change the meaning of the sentence. 

Example of when to use that: Cars, that are red, attract more attention from the police. 

If you remove, “that are red” from the sentence, it changes the meaning of it.  It is an integral part of the sentence.

Example of when to use which: Giraffes, which happen to have long necks, are at the zoo. 

If you remove, “which happen to have long necks” from the sentence, the overall meaning does not change.  “Which happen to have long necks” is just added information.

A simple way to remember the rule is to use this mnemonic device.  “Early residents of Salem thought it was okay to remove Witches from their town.”  They key words are witches (sounds like which) and okay to remove.   This goes along with the fact that it is okay to remove a non-restrictive clause and which always precedes a non-restrictive clause.

If you can picture a witch being thrown out of Salem, you will have no trouble remembering which vs that. 

If you have more questions, feel free to visit http://www.grammarperfection.com or contact help@grammarperfection.com.


 

 

Cannot Versus Can Not

Cannot Versus Can Not

Grammar Girl has a great suggestion for remembering cannot versus can not.

According to Grammar Girl, "Both cannot and can not are acceptable spellings, but it's more common to see the one-word form: cannot. A Quick and Dirty Tip is to think of a magician using a carrot to taunt a rabbit while he says, "You cannot have the carrot." Extend the r's in carrot to the bottom of the line and, voila, carrot turns into cannot."
 

If you have more questions, feel free to visit http://www.grammarperfection.com or contact help@grammarperfection.com.


Semicolon Usage

Semicolon Usage

by Sean Woods

Correct semicolon usage is easy if you remember the following rules.

Rule 1 - A semicolon can link two independent clauses without using connecting words.  What is an independent clause?  It is words that can be a sentence all by themselves.

Example of proper semicolon usage – My birthday is tomorrow; I hope my friends will throw me a party.

The words, “My birthday is tomorrow,” and “I hope my friends throw me a party” could both be a sentence, so putting a semicolon between them is correct. 

Example of when not to use a semicolon – Although clowns are funny; they are also pretty scary.

The words, “Although clowns are funny,” do not form a complete sentence, so there should not be a semicolon here.
Rule 2 – Do not use a semicolon when the two independent clauses are joined by a conjunction.  A conjunction is a word like but, and, or, nor, for, so, and yet. If there is a conjunction, use a comma instead.

Incorrect – Monkeys are cute and cuddly; but they do not make the best pets. 

Even though the words, “Monkeys are cute and cuddly,” and “they do not make the best pets” could be sentences, there should not be a semicolon since they are joined by a conjunction.

Correct - Monkeys are cute and cuddly, but they do not make the best pets. 

Rule 3 – Use a semicolon like a super comma to separate lists of items that are each separated with a comma.  This can be confusing, so let’s use an example. 

Example - The train made several stops along its route, Chicago, Illinois; Nashville, Tennessee; and Orlando, Florida. 

If the sentence had all commas, it would be difficult to read. 

That’s all there is!  If you remember these few simple rules, you should have no trouble with correct semicolon usage. 

If you have more questions, feel free to go to http://www.grammarperfection.com or contact help@grammarperfection.com.

 

Colon Punctuation

Colon Punctuation

by Sean Woods

Remembering the following three rules will help to make you an expert at colon punctuation.

What is a colon?  It is a punctuation mark that lets the reader know that there is more to follow.  It is a signal to alert the reader to expect more details. 

Rule 1 – Whatever precedes the colon must be able to be a complete sentence.  It cannot be a sentence fragment.

Example – Jane went to the store and bought several items: milk, bread, ketchup, and cheese. 

The words, “Jane went to the store and bought several items,” can stand on their own and could technically be a sentence. 

Example of when not to use a colon – Her hair is: long, straight, and brown.

The words, “Her hair is,” is not a complete sentence, therefore you should not use a colon. 

Rule 2 – For an easy way to know if you are using the colon correctly, try replacing the colon with the word, “specifically.”  In our previous example, it would read, “Jane went to the store and bought several items, specifically, milk, bread, ketchup, and cheese.  If you can interchange the colon with the word, “specifically,” chances are it is correct.

Rule 3 - Do you need to capitalize the first word after the colon?

You do if it the words following the colon are one of the following:

·         the beginning of a quote

o   Example - She gave the plumber directions to her house: “Turn left at the gas station and we are at the end of the road.”

·         more than one sentence

o   Example – I have two favorite meals: French toast is good anytime.  Pizza is great after a long day at work. 

·         a proper name

o   Example –  I will travel through several states on my trip: Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. 

That’s all there is!  If you remember these few simple rules, you should have no trouble with colon punctuation. 

If you have more questions, feel free to visit http://www.grammarperfection.com/ or contact help@grammarperfection.com.