Comments on: Your Copy Sucks: subject/verb/pronoun agreement, or how to count http://prbreakfastclub.com/2010/03/05/ycs-sv-agreement/ .....a chance to start the day off right. Wed, 23 May 2012 03:30:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2 By: bethvonbehren http://prbreakfastclub.com/2010/03/05/ycs-sv-agreement/comment-page-1/#comment-2798 bethvonbehren Fri, 05 Mar 2010 21:04:08 +0000 http://prbreakfastclub.com/?p=2797#comment-2798 Nice post. I have a couple of things to add. First, Cog's problem, it seems to me, was one of comprehension rather than grammar. He forgot to whom he was speaking. People do that all the time. I think it's because we are thinking three to four sentences ahead but writing in the present. Sometimes it happens when we edit ourselves but don't go back and proofread a third time.<br><br>Second, some people believe that you should never, NEVER, start a sentence with an introductory clause such as "With 300 horsepower and four-wheel drive," because it's just bad writing. If you don't start a sentence this way, you don't have to worry about agreement.<br><br>A rule of thumb, if you really want to improve your writing, is to NEVER use the "to be" verb. Getting around "is" and "are" will train you to be a much better, more descriptive, writer because you have to restructure your sentence, which requires that you restructure your thinking. <br><br>When I was in college, back in the Stone Age, I had to write all of my papers on a manual typewriter (a 1917 Underwood Standard, to be exact). Some journalism teachers still require that students write their first draft on a manual typewriter. If you have to ask why, you're not thinking. Nice post. I have a couple of things to add. First, Cog's problem, it seems to me, was one of comprehension rather than grammar. He forgot to whom he was speaking. People do that all the time. I think it's because we are thinking three to four sentences ahead but writing in the present. Sometimes it happens when we edit ourselves but don't go back and proofread a third time.

Second, some people believe that you should never, NEVER, start a sentence with an introductory clause such as “With 300 horsepower and four-wheel drive,” because it's just bad writing. If you don't start a sentence this way, you don't have to worry about agreement.

A rule of thumb, if you really want to improve your writing, is to NEVER use the “to be” verb. Getting around “is” and “are” will train you to be a much better, more descriptive, writer because you have to restructure your sentence, which requires that you restructure your thinking.

When I was in college, back in the Stone Age, I had to write all of my papers on a manual typewriter (a 1917 Underwood Standard, to be exact). Some journalism teachers still require that students write their first draft on a manual typewriter. If you have to ask why, you're not thinking.

]]> By: Aveda Hair Color's Karma Austrian Spa Getaway Sweepstakes … | Austria Traveling http://prbreakfastclub.com/2010/03/05/ycs-sv-agreement/comment-page-1/#comment-2795 Aveda Hair Color's Karma Austrian Spa Getaway Sweepstakes … | Austria Traveling Fri, 05 Mar 2010 07:04:29 +0000 http://prbreakfastclub.com/?p=2797#comment-2795 [...] Your Copy Sucks: subject/verb/pronoun agreement, or how to count … [...] [...] Your Copy Sucks: subject/verb/pronoun agreement, or how to count … [...]

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