Grammar Guide

Rachael · Rachael on Fri Jun 27, 2008 4:36 pm

A lot of people don't pay attention in English/Language Arts class. So I'm here to help you pick up the slack, underachiever. 83
Being experienced in roleplaying, I've seen quite a few common mistakes happen over and over. If I see these happen in mah forum, I'll edit the post and point you to this guide. Hopefully you'll learn a couple of things. I could care less how you type in ooc -- I myself tend to abandon capitals, among other things -- but try to avoid making these mistakes while roleplaying.

Common Mistakes

"F.A.N.B.O.Y.S."
The FANBOYS are coordinating conjunctions. Each letter stands for a different conjunction:
For
And
Nor
But
Or
Yet
So
They connect compound sentences ("I threw a kunai, but he dodged it"). You can tell where they are because in a compound sentence, you could break them apart to get separate ones that make sense. For example: the above sentence could be broken to say, "I threw a kunai. He dodged it." But a sentence like "I threw a kunai and jumped back," -- which you'll notice does not have a comma before the 'and' -- couldn't be broken into, "I threw a kunai. Jumped back." It makes no sense. The basic thing to remember is that a compound sentence is two sentences put together by one of the FANBOYS, separated by ONE comma before the conjunction.

Here's what I see people doing all the time: "He jumped back in alarm, and, his partner looked around out of confusion."
Here's the correct way to write it: "He jumped back in alarm, and his partner looked around out of confusion."

Just remember: never, under any circumstances, will the FANBOYS be followed by a comma. When in doubt, leave it out.
If you're having trouble deciding whether there should be a comma before the conjunction, then break apart the two things you're going to connect. If they're both sentences by themselves that make sense, add the comma. If one is just a fragment, you've got either a compound predicate or subject -- leave the comma out.

Incorrect: "I sighed, and looked around."
Correct: "I sighed and looked around."

Incorrect: "I couldn't remember what he said but she recalled it clearly."
Incorrect: "I couldn't remember what he said, but, she recalled it clearly."
Correct: "I couldn't remember what he said, but she recalled it clearly."
Spelling Errors
USE SPELL CHECK!
...
Okay, some of you don't have spell check. Then just use a dictionary.
Just remember these two words: "definitely" is just the word definite with an ly on the end. Same for "immediately" -- spell out immediate first.
Dialogue
It seems that no one knows how to properly punctuate dialogue these days. For the basics: dialogue is when a characters speaks. It's separated by double quotes (") and usually gets its own paragraph (unless the dialogue directly relates to what's going on in the current paragraph). Normally, you'll end it with the proper punctuation of the sentence's tone -- an exclamation mark (!), question mark (?), or period (.). However, there are some special cases. Sometimes dialogue will be followed by a "he said," "sighed the shinobi," "I declared," etc. etc. In these cases, the only acceptable punctuation is (!), (?), or (,). The period is replaced with the comma. I'll use some examples to clarify:

Incorrect: "Oi, my feet are killing me." he complained.
Correct: "Oi, my feet are killing me," he complained.

Incorrect: "Wow, this is really complex." she observed.
Incorrect: "Wow, this is really complex," She observed.
Correct: "Wow, this is really complex," she observed.
Note: The sentences "Wow, this is really complex." She observed. is only correct in the sense that she spoke, then proceeded to observe something -- "she observed" is not describing how she spoke.

The same method applies if the "he said" comes before the dialogue:

Incorrect: He explained "It'll take a good half day on foot."
Incorrect: He explained, "It'll take a good half day on foot,"
Correct: He explained, "It'll take a good half day on foot."

If the dialogue is interrupted by an action, it'll still work the same. The continuation of the sentence is not capitalized, seeing as it's still the same sentence.

Incorrect: "Well, I suppose it'll work," she drawled, "But we'll need reinforcements."
Incorrect: "Well, I suppose it'll work." she drawled, "but we'll need reinforcements."
Correct: "Well, I suppose it'll work," she drawled, "but we'll need reinforcements."

When dealing with questions or exclamations, the comma rule can be disregarded if the "he said" is after the sentence; however, if it's before the sentence, use the comma. That will never change.

Incorrect: "You murderous, despicable scum," he screamed.
Correct: "You murderous, despicable scum!" he screamed.

Incorrect: Furiously she yelled "I can't believe you did that!"
Correct: Furiously she yelled, "I can't believe you did that!"

Incorrect: "Well," he offered, "Do you think I could?"
Correct: "Well," he offered, "do you think I could?"
Run-on Sentences
Sometimes compound-complex sentences are mistaken for run-ons due to their clever usage of clauses and compound structures. Each case differs, but there are some ground rules for run-on sentences.

1. No more than two sentences can be connected by one of the FANBOYS.

2. A semicolon can combine two compound sentences.

3. Clauses do not count toward run-ons.

Incorrect: "She jumped up and he glanced around, but it was too late."
Correct: "She jumped up; he glanced around, but it was too late."
Correct: "She jumped up, and he glanced around; however, it was too late."

Semicolons will never be followed by one of the FANBOYS. Notice how in the last example, I changed "but" to "however." Treat that part after the semicolon as a sentence itself -- you'd never start a sentence with a conjunction.
Also remember not to capitalize the sentence after the semicolon.

Another way to phrase the sentence above would be: "She jumped up, causing him to glance around, but it was too late."
See how I took out "he glanced around" and changed it into a participle phrase? That way there are only two sentences, making it compound and not run-on.
Also: "She jumped up, which caused him to glance around, but it was too late."
In that case it's a relative clause, which would make this a compound-complex sentence.

You can also combine two compound sentences with a semicolon, as stated in rule #2.

"He tried to hide, but the opponent noticed him too quickly; in a moment the enemy had struck, and the Konoha shinobi fell."
If you like, you can make that a compound predicate: "He tried to hide, but the opponent noticed him too quickly and in a moment had struck; the Konoha shinobi fell." Be careful to still separate the last sentence with a semicolon or period.
Homophones
A homophone is a word that sounds the same as another, but is spelled differently and often has a completely different meaning. These can really get on your nerves.

Effect and Affect

An effect is a result or consequence of something. It is a noun and a noun only.
–"The illness caused some nasty effects on her health."

To affect is to act on. It is only a verb.
–"The illness badly affected her health."

Your and You're

The pronoun your is possessive. It means something belongs to you.
–"You left your backpack in my room yesterday."

The contraction you're is made of two words: "you are." It's both a subject and a predicate in most sentences.
–"You're going to have to pick up the backpack you left in my room."

There, They're, and Their

The adverb there describes where something is.
–"He was hiding there, last time I checked."

The contraction they're is made up of two words: "they are." It's a subject and verb in most sentences.
–"They're going to have to come out sooner or later."

The pronoun their is possessive. It says that something belongs to them.
–"Look -- their footprints are leading to the village!"

Accept and Except

The verb accept means to allow.
–"You have been accepted into our team."

The preposition except means not including.
–"Everyone's here except Sensei." (Three guesses who the sensei in question is!)

Whose and Who's

The pronoun whose is possessive. It says that something belongs to 'who.' It usually begins a question, but not always.
–"Whose purse is this?"/"He's someone whose reputation as a feared shinobi is indisputable."

The contraction who's is made up of two words: "who is." It's the predicate and verb of most sentences.
–"Who's going to take on the mission?"/"He's the guy I mentioned who's Sasuke's replacement."

These two are a bit special, since they mostly begin clauses. You'll see them either at the beginning of one or as the first word of a question.

It's and Its

The contraction it's is made up of two words: "it is." It's usually the subject and predicate of the sentence -- like how I just used it.
–"It's a B-rank mission; are you sure we take it?"

The pronoun its is possessive. It says that something belongs to 'it.'
–"It really is quite cruel to its victims, isn't it?"

Just remember when telling these two apart to look for the apostrophe (') -- if it's not there, you've got a possessive; if it is, you've got a contraction.

Some of these things you're just going to have to commit to memory. But always remember -- if it's got an apostrophe ('), you can break it up into two words to see the meaning.

If anybody's got any questions, head over to that forum and ask away. I'll be sure to add anything I see here. If I notice anything happen on the boards, I'll update, so check the Updates and Announcements forum often.