Grammar Video-Maria, Angelina and Lilli

 

 

In this video, we discuss Oxford commas, semicolons, colons and parallel structure; which are all essential to creating effective lists, and adding variety to your sentence structure.

Parallel Structure/Parallelism

Parallel structure means that all grammatical structures in a phrase or sentence must be the same. Words and phrases in a sentence should not only match in grammatical structure, but also in tense. The best way to understand this grammar element, is to look at examples.

“When talking to the group, Squiggly spoke sincerely and with passion.”

The sentence above is called a faulty parallelism. This means that that two or more parts of a sentence don’t have the same parallel structure; therefore, they cannot be equal. To fix this mistake, you must change the grammatical structure or verb tense.

In the example above, sincerely is an adverb, and passion is a noun; therefore they are not equal to each other. To fix this mistake either change passion, which is a noun, to passionately, which is an adverb.  Correct parallel structure would look like this:

“When talking to the group, Squiggly spoke sincerely and passionately.”

Another way to fix this faulty parallelism is to change sincerely, which is an adverb, to sincerity, which is a noun. After changing the grammatical structure, the sentence would look like this:

“When talking to the group, Squiggly spoke with sincerity and passion.”

Semicolons (;)

A semicolon’s purpose is to connect related independent clauses separated by a period, that sound too choppy on their own, or to use instead of a conjunctive adverb. Some commonly used conductive adverbs include moreover, nevertheless, however, otherwise, therefore, then, finally, likewise, and consequently. It’s important to remember that that the main clauses you’re joining, MUST be related. For example; “It was below zero; Squiggly has a test tomorrow,” wouldn’t make sense because those two main clauses have nothing to do with each other, however, “Squiggly has a big test tomorrow; he can’t go out tonight,” would make sense, because the second clause relates strongly to the first one.

Both examples below are correct, however, joining the two main clauses together will create a more impactful statement:

I saw a magnificent albatross, and it was eating a mouse.

I saw a magnificent albatross; it was eating a mouse.

Colons (:)

A colon’s (:) purpose is to show that something is following, or introduce lists, definitions, statements, explanations, examples, or extended quotations.

For example, let’s introduce a definition:

“Penguin (noun): an aquatic, flightless bird found almost exclusively in the Antarctic.”

Or, let’s introduce a list or series:

“To make the perfect PB&J sandwich, you need three things: bread, peanut butter, and strawberry jam.”

The Oxford Comma

Finally, we’ll discuss the oxford comma, and whether or not it’s necessary when making lists. The oxford comma, also known as a serial comma, is used after the penultimate item in a list of three or more items, and right before ‘and’ or ‘or’.

An oxford comma is essentially the difference between, “Bring hot glue, an icepick and a hairnet,” and, “Bring hot glue, an icepick, and a hairnet.”

While the Oxford comma is grammatically correct; it is not always required. The Associated Press (AP) does not require it, while the Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago) does.