Month: October 2008

“… did not have anyway to contact current members.”

Adverbs

I saw this in a corporate presentation.

Problem:
The single word “anyway” is incorrect in this sentence.

Explanation:
The sentence appeared in a presentation about a company’s customer-care systems.

The single word “anyway” is an adverb that means regardless or in any case.

An example of the proper use of the adverb “anyway” is “Although he hates the car, she is keeping it anyway.”

If we replace the adverb “anyway” in the presentation that I saw with the adverb’s definition, then we get “… did not have regardless to contact current members.”, which is nonsensical and clearly proves that the adverb “anyway” does not belong in the sentence.

The writer of the sentence actually was stating that there was not a method or way to contact current members.

This gives us the solution.

Solution:
“… did not have any way to contact current members.”

Beginning a sentence with “And” or “But”

Commas, Common English Blunders, Conjunctions, Hypercorrection

I learned yesterday that I have incorrectly begun sentences for years with “And” or “But” — but not in the way that some readers might expect.

Question:
Should a comma follow a coordinating conjunction that begins a sentence?

Explanation:
The coordinating conjunctions in English are “for”, “and”, “nor”, “but”, “or”, “yet”, and “so”, a mnemonic for which is FANBOYS.

Some teachers instruct their students that a coordinating conjunction should never begin a sentence, but this is incorrect instruction.

In contrast, I was (incorrectly) taught relatively early that a comma should immediately follow one of these coordinating conjunctions when the conjunction begins a sentence.

For example, I was taught that the comma belongs after “And” in “And, he was happy with the results.”

Similarly, I was taught that the comma belongs after “So” in “So, you should see a doctor immediately.”

As a result, for years I have put commas immediately after the coordinating conjunctions that began my sentences.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I read on several websites yesterday that a comma should not be put immediately after a sentence-opening coordinating conjunction unless that conjunction is followed by an interrupter in a sentence such as “But, given the circumstances, you should not travel tomorrow.”

Here are some of those websites:

I do not know why I was taught to put a comma after a coordinating conjunction that begins any sentence.

But my guess is that it could be due to hypercorrection on the part of my teacher(s), as if to say “We should not begin a sentence with a coordinating conjunction. However, if we do, then we should follow the coordinating conjunction with a comma, just as we put a comma after a conjunctive adverb — such as “However” — at the beginning of a sentence.”

Having learned this lesson, which I should have learned a long time ago, I searched all of my old blog posts for the error of putting a comma immediately after a coordinating conjunction at the start of an interrupter-less sentence.

“So” was the coordinating conjunction with which I made this error the most often. (Learning truly never ends!)

I believe that I corrected most of my errors, but it certainly is possible that some remain. If you find one, then please contact me.

Answer:
If an interrupter immediately follows the coordinating conjunction at the beginning of a sentence, then put a comma after the conjunction. Otherwise, do not put a comma after the (FANBOYS) conjunction.

Linguistic Connections

Adjectives, Foreign Languages, Outsider's Perspective, Verbs

In my opinion, one of the best ways to learn a new language is to connect it to the language(s) that you already know.

I refer to this as “making a linguistic connection”.

For example, yesterday I was discussing someone with my wife, and I realized that the best way to describe that person was to use the adjective “pensive” because one of the definitions of this adjective is expressing thoughtfulness.

Almost immediately, I recognized that the word “thought” in the definition and the letters P-E-N-S in the adjective were connected to verbs in two other languages:

  • “pensar”, which in Spanish means to think;
  • “pensare”, which in Italian means to think.

I could list many other linguistic connections that I have made over the past few years, but that is unnecessary here.

You can also make linguistic connections within your native language (such as English), too. You do not have to be learning another language to make them.

What linguistic connections have you made, either within English or between English and another language? Contact me!