Professors' Writing Pet Peeves: Part II

Today's topic: Professors' Writing Pet Peeves, II

As you may recall, in the spring I devoted one of my "tips of the week" to this same topic: http://writingtipoftheweek.blogspot.com/  It's an enormous topic, though; if I got all the UK faculty together and had them list their pet writing peeves, I could probably put together a book the size of the Oxford English Dictionary.  For now, I offer you part deux in hopes of helping you polish your writing (and your grade point average).

Many thanks to the CON faculty for offering these.

1. Phrases like "this study found," "this study said," "this study stated," etc.  This was a popular one.  Remember, studies are inanimate.  They aren't alive, so they can't find or say or do anything.  The researchers and authors can, though, so say "The authors stated..." instead.

2. Using "many," "a few," "some," etc. instead of including actual data.  This one falls under the "show, don't tell" rule.  Specificity is crucial in scientific writing.  Don't tell us that many researchers found X.  Show us which ones.   

3. Confusing plural nouns with possessive nouns, a.k.a. misusing apostrophes.  Remember, apostrophes have only two uses: to create contractions (don't, can't, isn't, etc.) and to show ownership (as in Sarah's car, the cat's bowl, the university's policy).  It is incorrect to use apostrophes for simple plural nouns (as in "I love cupcakes" or "Journal editors can be harsh critics").  The only time an apostrophe is appropriate in a plural noun is when you need to indicate ownership by multiple parties.  For example, let's say Jeff just bought a new toy for his three dogs.  He might say "Check out the dogs' new toy."  Note that in this case the apostrophe goes after the s. 

It is also incorrect to use an apostrophe to indicate the plural of an acronym or abbreviation.  WRONG: APRN's.  RIGHT: APRNs.

Here is a full blog post on apostrophes:  http://writingtipoftheweek.blogspot.com/2013/05/apostrophes.html

4. Wordiness and redundancy.  Conciseness is important for both clarity and readability.  When you read your work, look for places where you can trim the language.  If the sentence would mean the same thing without a word or phrase, that word or phrase can go.  One quick tip: Avoid "ly" adverbs (extremely, totally, absolutely, actually, basically, completely, etc.) and words like "very."  These are filler words.  Use stronger verbs and adjectives instead.  For example, instead of "very important" say "crucial."  Instead of "completely finished" just say "finished."  Instead of "extremely useful" say "invaluable."

5. Inconsistent grammar in lists.  This one came up four times on the survey.  Lists can be tricky, especially when the sentence is long and complex.  It's important to make sure that each item in a series fits the grammar of the rest of the sentence.  For example, let's look at this sentence:

The patient must be educated about the disease, the risks and benefits of various treatment options, and actively involved in self-management.

Do you see the problem?  The sentence sets us up with the phrase "the patient must be educated about."  So we expect each item in the list that follows to be an example of something about which the patient needs education.  We're fine for the first two items--the disease and the risks/benefits of various treatment options--but then we get to the phrase "and actively involved in self-management," and now we're confused because that phrase does NOT seem to relate back to education. 

To avoid this problem, test the sentences that include lists. Pretend that each list item stands alone and follows directly after the first part of the sentence, and see if the wording fits.  Like this:

The patient must be educated about the disease.  Check.
The patient must be educated about risks and benefits of various treatment options.  Check.
The patient must be educated about actively involved in self-management.  Nope.

How could we fix this sentence?  One way is to rearrange the list items.  For example:

The patient must be actively involved in self-management and educated about the disease and the risks and benefits of various treatment options.

Another way is to turn the sentence into two sentences.  For example:

The patient must be educated about the disease and the risks and benefits of various treatment options.  He or she must also be actively involved in self-management. 

Another way is to just reword the whole thing (and in this case, we could also change the passive voice to active voice by specifying WHO is educating the patient):

The nurse must educate the patient about the disease and the risks and benefits of various treatment options.  He or she should also ensure that the patient is actively involved in self-management.

6. Incorrect punctuation--use and placement.  I can't cover something this huge in such a small space, so I encourage you to view the punctuation guides on the Purdue OWL if you are less than confident in your usage.  However, I can say that commas, semicolons, and colons seem to be the most frequently  mistreated punctuation marks.  You may want to just brush up on those.

Here's my blog post on "Mystery Punctuation," which may be of some help: http://writingtipoftheweek.blogspot.com/2013/03/mystery-punctuation.html

And my post on semicolons: http://writingtipoftheweek.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-dreaded-semicolon-pink-plastic.html

7. Saying something is common without citing any supporting evidence.  Remember, your reader can't just take your word for it.  Show support for your claims.  This one goes back to the "show, don't tell" rule from # 2.

8. Being general rather than specific.  For example, saying that something is "a major problem" without giving any specific statistics is a bad idea.

9. Saying that two  means are different when the p value is >0.05.  Okay, I confess I don't know enough about research methods or statistics to fully understand this one.  But I assume that most of you do, so avoid doing this.

10. Citing websites (especially non-authoritative ones) as references to support an argument.  I know the Internet is a convenient source of information, but here's the thing.  Many websites are unreliable and there is a ton of misinformation out there.  So when you cite a non-authoritative website to support your argument, your reader then has to go and look up that source to make sure it's reputable.  As you can imagine, that gets tiresome.

Here are some resources to help you determine the value and trustworthiness of a web source. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/553/04/ and http://www.library.georgetown.edu/tutorials/research-guides/evaluating-internet-content

I hope you've found this week's post helpful.  Happy scribbling!

Professors' Writing Pet Peeves

Sweating the Small Stuff: Professors' Writing Pet Peeves

I've been teaching writing for a living since 2000, and before that I tutored fellow students at my university's writing center.  That adds up to about 16 years of teaching so far, and in that time I've developed a long list of grammatical, stylistic, and rhetorical pet peeves--my own, and those of other editors, writers, and writing teachers.  The full list of peeves would fill a War and Peace-sized volume, so for now I'm just going to focus on ten of the most bemoaned errors.  Make these mistakes, and expect some red ink on your paper.

#1: "People who" vs. "people that."  Human beings aren't objects, so "people who" is always correct (as are "students who," "patients who," and "participants who"). 

Wrong:  People that don't return their grocery carts to the corral drive me crazy.

Right:  People who don't return their grocery carts to the corral drive me crazy.

#2: "Data is" vs. "data are."  The word "data" is plural, so it takes a plural verb.  

Wrong:  The data shows that...

Right:  The data show that...

#3: Misusing "I" and "me."  Many people erroneously think that "I" is always correct in a sentence where you're doing something with someone else.  If you're stuck, here's a trick to help you.  Take the other person out of the sentence, and determine whether "I" or "me" is appropriate.  For example, you wouldn't say "That photographer took a gorgeous portrait of I," so it's incorrect to say "That photographer took a gorgeous portrait of James and I."  The correct pronoun here is me:  "That photographer took a gorgeous portrait of James and me."  More examples:

Wrong:  Tia and me are going to dinner; would you like to come with us?

Right:  Tia and I are going to dinner; would you like to come with us?

(Here's our check on the example above:  "Me am going to dinner..." nope.  "I am going to dinner..." yep.)

Wrong:  I wish you and Annalise could come to the Bahamas with Sam and I.

Right:  I wish you and Annalise could come to the Bahamas with Sam and me.

(Here's our check:  "I wish you and Annalise could come to the Bahamas with I"?  Nope.  "I wish you and Annalise could come to the Bahamas with me"?  Yep.)

Pro tip:  When "me" is the correct pronoun," put the other person's name first.  "Asher and me" just sounds nicer than "me and Asher."

#4: Using "myself" in place of "I" or "me."  These words are not interchangeable.  

Wrong:  Would you like to go to the movies with Chris and myself?

Right:  Would you like to go to the movies with Chris and me?

#5: Using redundant or wordy phrases.  Here are some of the more common, more irritating examples.

The phrase "very unique."  This is redundant.  The word "unique" means "one of a kind," so something cannot be "very" unique.  Unique is as unique as it gets.  In general, be wary of words that end in "ly."  These are often just filler; they can make your writing redundant.  Choose stronger adjectives instead of shoring up boring ones with an "ly" adverb.  Examples:  Instead of "extremely important" say "crucial."  Instead of "absolutely necessary" say "essential."  Instead of "really interesting" say "fascinating."  Crack open that thesaurus, folks!

The phrase "in order to."  This one is wordy.  Off the top of my head, I can't think of an instance where you couldn't shorten "in order to" to "to" without losing meaning.

The phrase "due to the fact that."  Again, wordy.  Shorten this to "because."

The phrase "for the purpose of."  Wordy.  Shorten to "to."

The phrase "a total of."  "A total of 42 students participated in the survey" is redundant.  "Forty-two students participated in the survey" is concise.

For more on redundancy and wordiness (and how to avoid them), see my "Writing Resources" Blackboard page.

#6: Misusing semicolons.  There is a whole post devoted to these little darlings elsewhere on my "Whitney's Writing Tips" blog, so I'm just going to give a thumbnail sketch here.  There are two main points to remember about semicolons.

*First, you can think of them as interchangeable with periods.  Just as periods separate complete sentences, so do semicolons.  Use a period when you want a firm break between two complete thoughts, and use a semicolon when the two complete thoughts are closely related.  Example:

"It was so hot yesterday.  I spent most of the afternoon shopping."  These are two separate thoughts.  They aren't closely related, so I've separated them with a slightly stronger barrier, a period.

"It was so hot yesterday; I wish we had room for a pool in the back yard."  These two thoughts are closely related.  The speaker wants a pool because it's been so hot lately. Because the second thought logically follows the first, I used a slightly more transparent barrier, a semicolon.  Note that it would not be wrong to use a period here; you can always use a period to separate two complete thoughts.  Whether to use a semicolon is a style choice, and where appropriate it can help you vary your sentence length to make a paragraph flow more pleasingly.

Remember, a semicolon separates two complete sentences.  What comes before the semicolon must be able to stand alone as a full sentence, and what comes after the semicolon must be able to stand alone as a full sentence.

*Second, you can use semicolons to separate items in a series, IF one or more of the items has its own comma.  Examples:

"We bought azaleas, Peter's favorite; hydrangeas, which will look gorgeous in the front yard; and two new drift roses."  Note that items one and two have their own internal commas.  In cases like this, we use semicolons to avoid "commapalooza" and help clarify where each list item begins and ends.

"They invited Jacob; Gemma, Cam's sister; and Ari."  This sentence illustrates another reason why it can be useful to use semicolons in this way.  Without the semicolons around item 2 ("Gemma, Cam's sister"), it would be unclear to the reader whether Gemma IS Cam's sister, or whether the author was referring to two different people (Gemma AND Cam's sister).  Look at the difference:  "They invited Jacob, Gemma, Cam's sister, and Ari."  Confusing, right?

#7:  Sentence fragments, a.k.a. incomplete sentences.  A complete sentence must have a subject and a predicate, meaning it must tell us what is being done and who/what is doing it.  It must also express a complete thought that makes sense by itself.  

Wrong:  I always read my work aloud. And use the spell check.  (The second sentence is incomplete, because it is a predicate with no subject--it doesn't tell us who is using the spell check.)

Right:  I always read my work aloud, and use the spell check.

Also right:  I always read my work aloud.  I also make sure to use the spell check.

If it's been a while since grammar class and words like "predicate" make your brain bleed, no worries--this is yet another of the many good reasons to read your work aloud. If you do this, you'll catch those sentence fragments because they won't sound right.

#8: Misused words.  Here is a list of misused words I've covered in previous posts (see my "Whitney's Writing Tips" blog for the lowdown on these):

Its/it's

Their/they're/there

To/too

Who/whom

Your/you're

Every day/everyday

Affect/effect

That/which

And here are a few new ones:

Then vs. than: "Then" refers to time, while "than" is a comparison word.  Examples:  "We went out to dinner at Bernardi's, and then we went to see Wicked."  "I wish I'd known then what I know now."  "I think Seinfeld is a funnier show than How I Met Your Mother."  "Strawberries are a little cheaper this year than they were last year." 

Breath vs. breathe:  "Breath" is a noun, meaning the air that comes out of your nose and mouth. "Breathe" is a verb, meaning to take in and expel air.  Examples:  "I'm sorry I'm so out of breath.  I just ran up four flights of stairs."  "Take a puff of this inhaler and try to breathe normally, sir."

Altogether vs. all together:  "Altogether" means "entirely" or "as a whole," while "all together" means gathered together.  Examples:  "Altogether, I thought your paper was clear and logically organized."  "It was so nice to have the family all together at Jane's bridal shower."

Definitely vs. defiantly:  "Definitely" means "certainly."  "Defiantly" means "rebelliously" or "boldly."  Examples:  "I am definitely going to get an A in this class."  "She said she would definitely be there on Friday."  "He shook his head defiantly, refusing to budge from the doorway."  "Eighteenth century writer Mary Wollstonecraft defiantly challenged the rigid gender biases of her time."

#9:  The phrase "based off of."  The correct phrase is "based on" or "based upon."  

#10:  Carelessness.  I've saved the best (or worst!) for last.  I suspect many professors (and journal editors) would list carelessness as their biggest pet peeve.  What do I mean by carelessness?

• Not proofreading carefully
• Not using the spell check
• Making the same errors in every paper, despite instructor's feedback
• Not citing sources
• Not supporting your assertions
• Errors in the references list
• Lots of APA/AMA/etc. errors
• No purpose statement (or inaccurate purpose statement)
• A phoned-in, sloppy abstract
• A phoned-in, afterthought conclusion

I hope you've found today's post helpful.

When to Capitalize

Today's topic: When to Capitalize

When should you capitalize a job title?  The name of a theory or model?  The name of an academic program, department, or degree?   These questions can drive us crazy, and believe me, I see a LOT of capitalization confusion.  Allow me to help by tackling a few of the most common questions.

 

Job titles/names of jobs:

• Capitalize a job title if it immediately precedes a person's name.  Example: We asked Dean Rodriguez to attend the meeting. 

• Capitalize a job title if it immediately follows a person's name when the word "the" does NOT precede the job title. Example: Janet Gunderson, Director of Ad Sales, will lead tomorrow employee training workshop.

• When the word "the" precedes the job title, do not capitalize.  Example: Ms. Bishop, the faculty support associate, has worked here for 20 years.

• Capitalize job titles in signature lines (see my signature line at the end of this email).

• Do not capitalize a job title if you are using it descriptively.  Examples:
  

• Michael Catalano,  a nurse practitioner, will give a presentation on diabetes self management.
• Tianjiao Ling, an editor at Knopf, will be at the party on Friday.
• I think registered nurses are heroes.
  

One caveat:  The ego of an employer or colleague may sometimes require you to flout these grammatical rules.  If someone (particularly your boss or supervisor) wants you to capitalize his or her job title, go ahead and do it.  MANY people do not know these rules, and you will frequently see them broken.

Academic departments and courses:

• Capitalize the name of an academic department if it refers to a specific department at a specific college or university (same goes for names of courses--capitalize if you are referring to a specific course). Examples:
  

• University of Kentucky College of Nursing
• Nursing 234: Concepts and Theories
•  Women's Studies 204: Portrayal of Women in the Media
•  A college of nursing in Delaware offers courses in acupressure and Reiki.
  
  • Note that "college of nursing" is lowercase here, because the phrase is being used descriptively ("a" college of nursing, not the name of one specific college of nursing).
• Sarah wanted to take two psychology courses and one sociology course. 
  
• Jack chose an anthropology course, a German course, and a statistics course.
  
  • Note that "German" is capitalized because it is based on a proper noun, Germany--the same would be true for English, Spanish, French, etc.

Academic degrees: 

I should note that the rules for this differ a bit from style guide to style guide.  The following rules are based on the AP (Associated Press) style guide, which is the standard for journalistic writing (newspapers and magazines, as well as a great deal of online content).

• Capitalize the names of an academic degree when it follows a name.  Example: Tonight's keynote speaker will be Mark Janowicz, Master of Fine Arts.  Note that some style guides say to capitalize the degree if it comes before the person's name as well.  Since style guides differ, the key is to choose a method and be consistent.

• Do not capitalize the name of an academic degree if you are using it descriptively.  Examples: John got his master's degree in theology and his bachelor's in history. Amelia is studying for her doctorate in nursing. Caveat: If the degree includes a proper noun, capitalize the proper noun.  Examples:  Jana has a bachelor's degree in English with a minor in French.  Simon has a master's degree in biology and a bachelor's degree in Spanish.

• Do not capitalize the names of disciplines.  Examples: I have a passion for nursing.  My goal is to teach high school science some day.

Contrary to popular belief, do NOT capitalize:

• A theory or model (unless it contains a proper noun--in that case, capitalize only the proper noun, as in Doe's theory of blah).  This is true even if you plan to turn the name of the theory/model into an acronym.  Examples:
  

• The health belief model (HBM)... 
  
• I read a fascinating paper on social support theory last week.
• Sarai's paper is about Freud's theory of the superego.

• A therapy or technique. Example: We practice patient-centered therapy.

• A disease or disorder (unless it contains a proper name). Examples:
  

• The patient suffered from obsessive compulsive disorder. 
  
• My grandfather had Lou Gehrig's disease (note that only the proper name is capitalized, not the word "disease").

And more...

Check out this fantastic resource from the APA Style Blog.  It offers quick reference charts which cover APA guidelines on whether to capitalize a wide variety of words, including hypotheses, variables, statistical procedures and tests, and more. http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2012/02/do-i-capitalize-this-word.html

I hope you found today's post helpful.  As always, happy scribbling!

When to Omit "That"

Today's topic: When to omit "that"

This may seem like an obscure topic, but it's an issue that comes up almost daily in my one-on-one work with students:  When should we omit the word "that?"  Which of these is correct? 

1.) "Janis said it's time to go if we want to catch the movie."
2.) "Janis said that it's time to go if we want to catch the movie." 

In this example, both are grammatically correct, but most of us prefer to eliminate unnecessary words for the sake of conciseness and thus would probably choose option 1.  In this example, the word "that" (which we technically refer to as a subordinating conjunction) is optional.  However, it's not always optional, and I frequently see people eliminating "that" when they should be leaving it in.  Furthermore, even when "that" IS optional, it's often better to keep it in for the sake of smoothness and clarity.  Let's break this down. 

"That" after verbs: 

According to internet "Grammar Girl" Mignon Fogerty (one of my favorite grammar experts), "leaving 'that' out sounds best with the most common verbs of speech or thought, such as 'say,' 'think,' 'know,' 'claim,' 'hear,' or 'believe.' It saves a word, and it's how people talk, too."  These are called bridge verbs.  Examples: 

I think it's going to be a rough winter.
I know you're not feeling well; can I get you anything?
He claims he never met the defendant.
She says she needs more pain medication. 

You could follow each of these bridge verbs with "that," and you wouldn't be grammatically incorrect.  However, most of these sentences sound better without it.  For example: "I think that it's going to be a rough winter" or "She says that she needs more pain medication."    
On the other hand, non-bridge verbs are verbs that, in Fogerty's words, "carry extra meaning beyond simply the idea of saying or thinking something, and they don't sound as good when you omit the word 'that.'" Fogerty uses the non-bridge verb "whisper" as an example that "doesn't mean just to say something; it means to say it in a particular way. It sounds odd to say 'He whispered he wanted another root beer' instead of 'He whispered that he wanted another root beer.' Not crashingly bad, but just a little off." 

More examples of non-bridge verbs: confirm, acknowledge, determine, assert, suggest, demand, indicate, find, etc.  Note that we use many of these verbs in scientific writing (especially determine, assert, suggest, indicate, and find--often the past tense of these, as in "the researchers found that...").  Let's look at some sample sentences. 

District Attorney Jonas Bartowski confirmed that the judge would likely declare a mistrial.
Professor Jacobs acknowledges that his final exam is challenging.
The author determined that her paper needed significant revision.
The evidence suggests that further research in this area is essential. 

Read the above examples aloud, and then read them again without "that."  They sound a bit awkward the second time around, don't they?  There's definitely a difference between bridge and non-bridge verbs in this regard.  It's not all about how our sentences sound, though.  Sometimes omitting "that" can make a sentence confusing.  For example: 

Senator Barnes acknowledges being a convicted felon severely limits a person's employment opportunities. 

How many of you got halfway into that sentence and thought that the fictional Senator Barnes was acknowledging BEING a convicted felon?  But nope, the senator was simply letting us know that he's aware of the employment difficulties faced by convicted felons.  Now let's look at this sentence with the word "that" strategically placed for clarity: 

Senator Barnes acknowledges that being a convicted felon severely limits a person's employment opportunities. 

Much clearer, right?

"That" after nouns: 

As with verbs, there are some nouns that don't require a "that" and some that will sound awkward or confusing without one.  In general, it's a good idea to trust your ears (yet another good reason to read your writing out loud).  Beyond that, here are a couple of nouns that don't always need to be followed by "that:" 

Feeling:  I got the feeling I wasn't alone in the house.
Possibility:  There's a possibility we may have to leave early tonight. 

To clarify, these are instances where the use of "that" would be optional.  I'm not saying it would be wrong to use it.  "There's a possibility that we may have to leave early tonight" is perfectly grammatical. 

Here are a few examples of sentences that would sound awkward without "that."  The nouns are in boldface. Read these aloud as-is, and then read them again, omitting the "that" to see the difference: 

Somehow, he got the idea that I was gossiping about him behind his back.
The fact that I graduated high school a year early doesn't mean that I'm a child prodigy.
Despite rumors that she misused city funds during her four-year term as mayor, Jane Doe seems determined to stay active in local politics.
Following allegations that they tampered with evidence in several high-profile homicide cases, the Everytown County forensics lab is facing investigation by the state attorney general.

"That" after adjectives: 

Again, there are adjectives that need "that" and adjectives that don't.  A big part of determining which is which is simply reading the sentence aloud and trusting your ears.  A good rule of thumb, though, is that common adjectives with broad meanings ("happy," "sad," "glad," etc.) can usually take "that" or leave it--"that" in these cases is optional, as in the sentences "I'm so happy I met you" or "I'm so sad you can't make it Friday night."

 Adjectives with more finely tuned, specific meanings ("ecstatic," "incredulous," "furious," etc.) usually sound better when followed by "that," as in the sentences "I'm ecstatic that I got that job" and "He was furious that you refused to come to his nephew's bris." 

When in doubt... 

Generally, if you're in doubt about whether to use the word "that," put it in.  It's usually safer to include it than to omit it, and as I pointed out earlier, there are very few instances where it would be WRONG to use it.    

I hope you've found this week's post helpful.  Happy scribbling! 

A Frequently Asked Comma Question

Today's topic: The Oxford (or "serial") comma 

Quick quiz.  Which is correct? 

A. I bought apples, oranges and bananas. 

OR 

B. I bought apples, oranges, and bananas. 

Note that in both examples, we have a list of three items.  The difference is whether the author used the Oxford (a.k.a. "serial," a.k.a. "Harvard") comma, a comma that in a series of three or more items comes between the second-to-last item and the "and."  In the example above, the Oxford comma is highlighted in yellow.  So let's have the results of our quiz... 

If you said A, you're right.  

If you said, B, you're right. 

Everybody wins, huh?  Not so much.  The irritating fact is that there is no true consensus on whether to use the Oxford comma.  Some style manuals say to always use it, some say to never use it, and some say to use it only in certain circumstances.  Ugh, ambiguity. 

Both the Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) and the 6th edition APA handbook say to use the Oxford comma.  However, the AP manual (used by journalists) says not to use it.  Also, amusingly, Oxford University no longer recommends using the comma that bears its name.

So how should we determine whether to use the Oxford comma?  Since there isn't a consensus, I think the rule of thumb should be to use it when it is necessary to avoid confusion.  For example, take this sentence: 

I'd like to thank my parents, former Secretary of State Madeline Albright and Colin Powell.  

The way that's punctuated, it looks like the author's parents are Madeline Albright and Colin Powell.  On the other hand, if you use the Oxford comma... 

I'd like to thank my parents, former Secretary of State Madeline Albright, and Colin Powell. 

In that example, it's clear that the author is thanking four people.  She's thanking her parents, and she's also thanking Madeline Albright and Colin Powell.   

So.  In sentences where omitting the Oxford comma might cause confusion, I say put it in.  However,  you should definitely make sure to check the author guidelines of the journals to which you submit, as well as any style manual required by a professor or journal editor.  

For information on which style guides and organizations say to use the Oxford comma and which say to omit it, check out this entertaining chart:  http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/oxford-comma-pictures?page=all 

I hope you found this week's post helpful.  Happy scribbling!

Subject Verb (Dis)Agreement

Today's topic: Subject-verb (dis)agreement

Problems with subject-verb agreement definitely make the "grammar greatest hits" list.  As my granddad used to say, "if I had a nickel" for every subject-verb clash I see, I'd be able to retire pretty soon.  If you don't do anything else to improve your writing this week, take the time to read this post.  It may save you from an editor's wrath some day.

What does "subject-verb agreement" mean?  As you know, a complete sentence must have a subject (which tells us who or what is performing the action) and a verb (which tells us what that action is).  If the subject is plural, the verb must also be plural.  If the subject is singular, the verb must also be singular.  Here are some simple examples to show proper S-V agreement:

The cat loves her new bowl.  "Cat" is singular, and "loves" is singular.
           S     V

The cats love their new bowl.  "Cats" is plural, and "love" is plural.
           S     V

Each patient in the ICU has a private room.
        S                                       V

Everyone in our culture has his or her own beliefs about this difficult issue. 
         S                                          V

Most people wouldn't make mistakes with those simple, straightforward sentences, because it is very clear where the subjects and verbs are.  Some people might raise an eyebrow at the last example, because many people erroneously believe that the words "everybody" and "everyone" are plural (in fact they are singular, referring to every individual body and every individual one).  But most of us would have gotten those four right.  However, it isn't always this easy.  The more words there are between a subject and its verb, the harder it can be to ensure subject-verb agreement. 

Let's get more complicated.  Which of the following is correct?

A. Evaluation of the new innovation, with a special focus on patient safety and quality improvement, is essential.

B. Evaluation of the new innovation, with a special focus on patient safety and quality improvement, are essential. 

If you guessed A, pat yourself on the back (or have a cupcake).  You're correct! 

This is a tough one, because there are so many words between the subject ("evaluation") and the verb phrase that connects to it ("is essential"). 

It could also be confusing because at first glance you might think this sentence has more than one subject--that more than one thing is being identified as essential in this sentence.  You might think the author is saying that both evaluation of the new innovation AND a special focus on patient safety and quality improvement are essential.  But look closer, and you'll see that the focus on patient safety and quality improvement is presented as PART OF evaluation of the new innovation.  The word "with" is what clues us in to that.  You wouldn't say "Pizza with pepperoni and green peppers are my favorite dish," right?  You'd say "Pizza with pepperoni and green peppers is my favorite dish."  Same situation.
Let's do another one.  Which of these is correct?

A.  A need for improvements in patient education and follow-up care were the main topics of discussion at last week's meeting.

B.  A need for improvements in patient education and follow-up care was the main topic of discussion at last week's meeting.

If you guessed B, you are correct!  This example is tricky in a similar way to the previous example.  At first glance, it could look as though the author is simply listing two topics that have come up at recent meetings--improving patient education, and follow-up care.  However, look closer and you will see that the subject of the sentence is actually the NEED for these two things, and it is the NEED for both improved patient education and better follow-up care that was discussed at these meetings. 

Note that based on the order of the two list items we can tell that they are closely connected--they talked about a need to improve both patient education and follow-up care.  If we flipped the order of the two list items, it might be a different story.  This would actually be okay, but the meaning would be different:  The need for follow-up care and improvements in patient education were the main topics of discussion at last week's meeting.  This wording presents two separate topics, so the subject and verb are both plural  However, the original wording breaks down like this:

The need for improvements in patient education and follow-up care has been 
 S-singular                                                                                                                  V-singular
a topic of discussion at several recent meetings.   

Remember that the longer and more complex a sentence, the more likely it is that you will accidentally end up with a mismatched subject and verb pair.  This is yet another excellent reason to read your work aloud when you proofread, and to read slowly and carefully.  Make sure you are clear about which word or phrase is the subject of your sentence, and then make sure it matches the verb.

I hope this post has helped clarify the tricky topic of subject-verb agreement.  Happy scribbling!

Who vs. Whom

Believe it or not, this week's post was inspired by an owl.   Or rather, a wonderfully quirky owl-shaped throw pillow my husband gave me.  We were talking about what to call him (he's got a lot of personality--he needed a name), and my husband suggested "Whom."  And lo, the topic for this week's tip was born.

So.  Who vs. whom.  Most of us struggle with this one from time to time.  Fortunately, it's not terribly difficult once you learn the rules, and there is an easy trick to help you remember those.

What are "who" and "whom?"  They are pronouns, just like him/her/his/hers/they/their/theirs/it/etc.  To decide whether to use "who" or "whom," you have to determine whether your pronoun will be the subject or the object of the sentence.  Bear with me for a second and all will become clear.

The subject of a sentence is the ACTOR--in other words, who or what is doing something.  The object of a sentence is the RECIPIENT OF THAT ACTION--who or what is having something done to them.  Let's look at some examples:

I fired Janet.  In this sentence, "I" is the subject and "Janet" is the object (poor Janet). 
I married Paul eleven years ago today.  In this sentence, "I" is the subject and "Paul" is the object (lucky Paul).
I treated that patient last week. In this sentence, "I" is the subject and "that patient" is the object.

Internet "Grammar Girl" Mignon Fogerty has a neat trick for remembering which is the subject and which is the object in a sentence.  She suggests thinking about the sentence "I love you," and remembering that "you" are the OBJECT of my affection (and the OBJECT of that sentence).

So...when do I use "who" and when do I use "whom?"  Use "who" when you are referring to the subject of a sentence, and use "whom" when you are referring to the object.  That's:

WHO = SUBJECT:  The one who's doing something
WHOM = OBJECT: The one who's having something done to him/her

Examples:

Whom: Referring to the object of the sentence:

Whom did you fire?  I fired Janet.
Whom did you marry?  I married Paul.
Whom did you treat last week?  I treated that patient.
With whom are you going snorkeling? I'm going snorkeling with Sarah.

In these examples, we're asking about the OBJECT, the recipient of action, the person having something done to him or her (Janet, Paul, that guy).

Who: Referring to the subject of the sentence:
 
Who fired Janet?  I did.
Who married Paul?  I did.
Who treated that guy last week?  I did.
Who's going snorkeling with Sarah?  I am.

In these examples, we're asking about the SUBJECT, the person who did something (fired Janet, married Paul, treated that guy, went snorkeling with Sarah).

A trick to help you remember:  Since high school, I've used this to help me remember when to use "whom."  As you probably noticed, "whom" ends in "m."  So does the pronoun "him."  If you can't decide whether to use "who" or "whom," just think--if I asked myself the question, would the answer be "he," or "him?"  Example:

If you ask, "who/m did I marry?" you'd answer "I married him."  You wouldn't say "I married he."  So the correct pronoun here is "whom:"  Whom did I marry?  Him=whom.

If you ask, "with who/m am I going to the party?" you'd answer "I'm going to the party with him." You wouldn't say, "I'm going to the party with he."  In this case, the correct pronoun is "whom."  Him=whom.

If you ask "who/m fired Janet?" you'd answer "He fired Janet." You wouldn't say "Him fired Janet" (unless you suddenly started talking like Tarzan).  So the correct pronoun here is "who:" Who fired Janet?  He=who.

If you ask "who/m invited Joe to the party?" you'd answer "He invited Joe to the party."  You wouldn't say "Him invited Joe to the party."  In this case, the correct pronoun is "who."  He=who.

Just remember the WHOM/HIM connection, and you should be fine. 

Also:  If you want a good laugh, check out this handy comic on how to use "whom," by hilarious genius "The Oatmeal" (warning--it's a little silly and irreverent): http://theoatmeal.com/comics/who_vs_whom

I hope you found this week's post helpful.