by Catherine Browning
Writing novels didn’t start for me until after my teaching career came to a successful close. That’s when I purchased a Kindle and started reading everything I could find of interest. In judging the merit of novels, one of the major criteria is grammar. It was a shock to find that many modern day writers didn’t know the rules of English grammar or word usage. Here are some recent examples:
. . . or whomever he was.
He indicated she was to proceed him into the room.
What were you thinking of?
My brother came between Carlos and I.
You may be thinking, what is wrong with those quotes? Allow me to explain. The verb to be is a grammatical equal sign. Subject and object are the same, so the first example should read:
. . . or whoever he was.
The second example is confusing the two verbs proceed and precede. Proceed means to continue or move forward. Precede means to go before. So, that example should read:
He indicated she was to precede him into the room.
In the next example, the basic rule is to never end a sentence with a preposition. There are multiple ways to fix this example.
- What were you thinking?
- Of what were you thinking?
- What were you contemplating?
- What were you considering?
In the last example between is a preposition and requires the object form of the pronoun I.
The example should read:
My brother came between Carlos and me.
Numerous books on grammatical usage are available. Chicago Manual of Style is one that many editors use. Another that I have found helpful is Essentials of English by Hopper, Gale, Foote, and Griffith. Or go to your local Community College and take a basic class. No matter what your answer is, using good grammar can only enhance your writing.
Thanks for reading my thoughts . . . and may your next novel be a bestseller!
Montana Women Writers 