Fragments

A fragment is a group of words posed as a sentence. However, these word groupings cannot stand alone and make sense.

"Tangled in the jewelry box."

When fragments appear next to other sentences in a specific context, they can be difficult to spot.

"That's when I saw the necklace. Tangled in the jewelry box."

The fragment is usually missing either a subject or a verb. In this case, the question would be what is lying in the middle of the floor? We can answer that if the fragment is in context. In this case the answer is the necklace. To fix the fragment, many times you can put the fragment with another sentence or transform it into a sentence.

"That's when I saw the necklace tangled in the jewelry box."

Or:

"That's when I saw the necklace. It was tangled in the jewelry box."

Some writers use fragments to emphasize other sentences or certain points. If you choose to do so, always make sure the fragment will be easily understood from the surrounding text so your reader will not be confused.

Writing (Communications): Avoid expletives.

If you're old enough to remember Richard Nixon, you may think "expletives" means naughty words. But, in the sentence- structure sense, an expletive is simply a sentence that begins with "There are" or "It is." It is acceptable to use this structure on occasion, but using it too often will signal a lack of strength and creativity on your part.

Writing (Communications): Avoid exclamation points.

Unless you are writing a children's book or cartoon strip, exclamation points should be avoided. They suggest effusiveness, not a prized quality in business writing. The period is the mark you need for almost all the writing you do--especially business writing. Remember, the exclamation point should be reserved for those rare occasions when you needs to express surprise or excitement.

When to Use "Me," I," and "Myself"

"Myself" should never be used as a substitute for "me" or "I."
"Myself" can be used reflexively and a reflexive pronoun can be used in three situations. 1)When the subject and object of the sentence are the same. Ex. "I love myself." 2)As the object of the preposition referring to the subject. Ex. "I bought dinner for myself." 3)Emphasizing subject. Ex. "I'll do it myself."

Now, on to when you should use "me" and when you should use "I."
Use "me" when you are referring to the object of the sentence (someone who has had something done to them. Ex. "Read a story to Timmy and me." It is incorrect to say, "Read a story to Timmy and I."
Use "I" when you are referring to the subject of the sentence (someone who has done something) Ex. "Jerry and I just bought a new house." It is incorrect to say, "Me and Jerry just bought a new house."

Here's a good guide to use in case you can't remember the rules: Take out one of the pronouns to see if the sentence sounds right. With the first example, if you took out Timmy, does "Read a story to I" sound right? No, but "Read a story to me" does. With the second example, take out Jerry. "Me bought a new house" doesn't sound right, but "I bought a house" does.

Independent Clause

A clause that expresses a complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence.

Compound Sentence

A sentence consisting of two or more independent clauses.

Our Denver office is closed, and our Kansas City office is being remodeled.

Preposition

A connective that shows the relation of a noun or pronoun to some other word in the sentence.

Example:
The members "of the committee" were in agreement.

Common Noun

The name of a class of persons, places, or things.

For example:
office
woman

Appositive

A noun or a noun phrase that identifies another noun or pronoun that immediately precedes it.

Mr. Johnson, our neighbor, is a nice man.

Noun Phrase

A phrase that acts as a noun (such as a gerund phrase, infinitive phrase, or prepositional phrase).

I like "running my own business." (Gerund phrase as object.)

"To provide the best service" is our goal. (Infinitive phrase as subject.)

"Before 8" is the best time to call me. (Prepositional phrase as subject.)

Indirect Object

The person or thing indirectly affected by the action of the verb. The indirect object can be made the object of the preposition "to" or "for."

My manager gave (to) me a bonus.

Prefix

A letter, syllable, or word added to the beginning of a word to change its meaning.

Examples:
a-float
re-apply
under-appreciated

(Hyphens added just to show the prefix. These words should not be hyphenated.)

Direct Object

The person or thing indirectly affected by the action of the verb.

Antecedent

A noun or a noun phrase to which a pronoun refers.

Interjection

A word that shows emotion, that usually doesn´t have any grammatical connection to the rest of the sentence.

Wow! What a beautiful sunset.

Oh, that´s nothing.

Object

The person or thing that recieves the action of the verb. An object may be a word, phrase, or clause.

Adjective

A word that answers the question "what kind," "how many," or "which one." An adjective may be a single word, a phrase, or a clause. An adjective modifies the meaning of a noun or a pronoun.

Coordinating Conjunction

Connects words, phrases, or clauses of equal rank.
(and, but, or, nor)

Direct Address

When the speaker or writer addresses another person directly. For example:

Thank you for coming, Bob.

Participle

A word that may stand alone as an adjective or combined with helping verbs to form different tenses.

Present Participle: Ends in "ing"; for example--jumping, reading, playing
Past Participle: Regularly ends in "ed" (looked, walked) but may be irregularly formed (lost, seen, written)
Perfect Participle: "having" plus the past participle (having found, having worked)