Grammar Moves

Preface Introduction Part 1. You, the Doer Ch. 1. Grammar for Being Assertive: The Colon A Few Basics Colons... and who you want to be Having Your Turn Try This Ch. 2. Grammar for Being Proactive: Active Voice A Few Basics Active Voice... and who you want to be Living Pro-actively Writing and Speaking Pro-actively ...Even in the Third Person Try This Ch. 3. Grammar for Being Practical: Prepositions A Few Basics Prepositions... and who you want to be Prepositions We Owe to Other People Those We Owe Ourselves Try This Ch. 4. Grammar for Being In Charge: The Imperative A Few Basics Imperatives...and who you want to be Emergencies Building Up to It Gentle Imperatives Try This Ch. 5. Grammar for Being Organized: Commas A Few Basics Commas... and who you want to be Beyond Doing It By Feeling Try This Ch. 6. Grammar for Being Optimistic: "But" A Few Basics But... and who you want to be End-Focus Alternatives to "But" Try This Part 2. You, the Friend Ch. 7. Grammar for Being Empathetic: Modifiers A Few Basics Modifiers... and who you want to be The Failure to Put Oneself in the Reader's Place Examples--Funny and Unfunny Try This Ch. 8. Grammar for Being Respectful: Apostrophes A Few Basics Apostrophes... and who you want to be What They're Good For, Really Try This Ch. 9. Grammar for Being Trusting: Cutting Down on Exclamation Points and Intensifiers A Few Basics Exclamation Points, Intensifiers... and who you want to be Earning a Listener's Trust Developing Trust in Yourself Try This Ch. 10. Grammar for Being "Real": Contractions, Parentheses, Etc. A Few Basics Contradictions, Parentheses, etc... and who you want to be Five Ways to Create Voice A Cautionary Note Try This Ch. 11. Grammar for Being Diplomatic: Semicolons A Few Basics Semicolons... and who you want to be What We and the Semicolon Have in Common A Punctuation Mark for This Age Doing Without Thanks Try This Ch. 12. Grammar for Being Generous: Cumulative Sentences A Few Basics Periodic and Cumulative Sentences... and who you want to be The Generous Writer Front-Loading and Back-Loading Try This Ch. 13. Grammar for Being Intimate: Ellipses A Few Basics Ellipses... and who you want to be Everyday Ellipses The Secret to the Bonding Power of a Joke Love Above All Try This Ch. 14. Grammar for Being Forgiving: Past Tense A Few Basics Past Tense... and who you want to be The Problem with the Present Tense The Past Tense Alternative Try This Ch. 15. Grammar for Being Expressive: Sentence Length, Etc. A Few Basics Sentence Length, Etc... and who you want to be The Musical Effect of Placement The Musical Effect of Repetition The Musical Effect of Sentence Length Try This Part 3. You, the Thinker Ch. 16. Grammar for Being Open-Minded: Cross-Outs A Few Basics Cross-Outs... and who you want to be Normal Everyday Inquiry Close-Minded vs. Open-Minded The Sound of Crossing Out Try This Ch. 17. Grammar for Being Adaptable: Adverbial Provisos A Few Basics Adverbial Provisos... and who you want to be "Will" as Straitjacket A Way Out Try This Ch. 18. Grammar for Being Capable of Dealing with Complexity: The Cues of Complication A Few Basics Cues of Complication... and who you want to be Tips for Avoiding Simple-Mindedness Try This Ch. 19. Grammar for Being Well-Mentored: A Special Use of the Present Tense A Few Basics A Special Use of the Present Tense... and who you want to be Grammatical Time Warp Try This Ch. 20. Grammar for Being Honorable: Quotation Marks A Few Basics Quotation Marks... and who you want to be What They Call It At School Try This Ch. 21. Grammar for Being Modest: "I" A Few Basics Saying "I"... and who you want to be "Me, Me, Me" Striking a Humble Balance The I in Storytelling A Final Word on I Try This Ch. 22. Grammar for Being Rebellious: Breaking the Rules A Few Basics Breaking Rules... and who you want to be Using Grammar to Climb Kohlberg's Hierarchy Caveat Try This A Grammarian's Wish Appendix A: Uses of the Passive Voice Appendix B: MLA Citation Style Common Types of MLA Citation on a Works Cited Page The Format of a Works Cited Page