RULES FOR GRAMMAR

IT MIGHT SOUND RIGHT.  IT MIGHT EVEN LOOK RIGHT,  BUT…

Their is the possessive of the word ‘they’.
They’re is a contraction of ‘they are’.
There is a location.

The people who live Below with their families and friends know they’re lucky to live there.

You’re is a contraction of ‘you are’.
Your is the possessive of ‘you’.

“Catherine, you’re working late.  Is there a problem with your new case?”

It’s is a contraction of ‘it is’.
Its is a possessive pronoun, and like his, hers, and ours doesn’t require an apostrophe.

Father pointed at Arthur. “It’s time Mouse took that creature back to its home.”

Who’s is a contraction of ‘who is’.
Whose is the possessive form of ‘who’.

“Who’s serving on the Council? Whose turn is it?”

Breathe is a verb.
Breath is a noun.

“Breathe,” Vincent urged, his breath catching in his throat as Catherine coughed and opened her eyes.

Two is the number.
Too means also.
To is a preposition.

“Joe assigned me two new cases. I have to be in court tomorrow, too.”

Lose (with a ‘z’ sound for the ‘s’) is what happens when you don’t win.
Loose (with an ‘s’ sound) means ‘not tight’.

Catherine hadn’t tried to lose weight, but her new suit was much too loose on her.

Choose is present tense.  (Listen for the  “oooo” sound.)
Chose is past tense. (Listen for the “oh” sound.)

“Catherine, when I was asked to choose between pleasing you or pleasing Father, I chose to please you.”

The past is a time that happened before the present.
Passed means ‘moved by a location’ or ‘earned a grade indicating success’.

Catherine smiled and waved as she passed the sentry at the tunnel entrance.  The days of having to be guided Below were long past.

Advice is a noun with an “s” sound.  It can be given or taken.
Advise is a verb with a “z” sound. It’s what you’re doing when you’re offering someone a bit of advice.

Father felt he must advise Vincent to stay away from Catherine. He was convinced that if his son took his advice, he would be much happier.

Alot is never, ever correct as a single word.

A lot is the opposite of ‘a little’. 

Keep in mind you never see the word ‘alittle’.

It is the same for alright.
You will see that word used often, but that doesn’t make it correct. 

It should always be ‘all right’.
Think of its meaning, as in ‘all is right’.

In addition, you never see its opposite written ‘allwrong’.

 * * *

MASTERING THESE IS A BIT TRICKIER, BUT YOU CAN DO IT.  YOU HAVE THE STRENGTH…

You’re forgiven more easily for being confused about the following words, but people still will be very disappointed if you use them incorrectly.

Both less and fewer are opposites of ‘more’.  However, they are not interchangeable.

Less is used to describe things you cannot count.
Fewer is the only correct word that should be used to describe countable things.

Vincent has less experience than Catherine.
Father has fewer books than the New York City Public Library.

Lie means to recline or to be placed or situated.
Lay means to put or place.

“Lie down on the bed, Vincent. I’ll lay a quilt over you.”

That part is easy enough, but it all gets very confusing, because while Vincent can lie on the bed when he’s sick or tired, it’s also possible that he’ll roll off the bed and be unable to get up, in which case Catherine will have to lay him on the bed. (Get your mind out of the gutter! We’re trying to teach grammar here!)

Confusion is further compounded by the fact that there is crossover in the past tense and past participle forms of the verbs.

For lie:
Vincent lies down.
He is lying down.
Yesterday he lay down.
He has lain down in the past.

For lay:
Catherine lays the blanket over him.
She is laying the blanket over him.
Yesterday she laid the blanket over him.
She has laid the blanket over him in the past.

It’s enough to make you avoid the world altogether!

And there’s another one:
Altogether means entirely, completely.
All together means at the same time.

All together, the children raced out of the chandlery with baskets of Winterfest candles. Rebecca surveyed the empty shelves, altogether depleted of her finished work.

Both affect and effect can be used as a noun or a verb.

However, affect is usually the word for a verb meaning to have an impact or influence on something, and effect is usually the word for a noun meaning the result of something happening.

“How did this case affect you?” Vincent asked.  “Did it have an effect on your relationship with Joe Maxwell?”

Here’s where it gets tricky.

Affect can also be used as a noun to mean a display of emotion.
Effect can also be used as a verb that means to bring about, to cause, to make happen. 

Paracelsus effected his goal of terrifying Tamara by showing no affect as he described his plot to have her murder Lou.

Discreet means private, reserved, hidden.
Discrete means separate, two different entities.

Catherine is discreet about her relationship with Vincent. Her lives Above and Below need to be kept discrete in order to protect the tunnel community and the man she loves.

Accept is a verb meaning to take something from someone.

Except has two usages.

When used as a preposition or conjunction, except means not including something or someone.

When used as a verb, except meants to leave out or exclude. Again, this one can be tricky. 

Vincent learned to accept Father’s quirks, except his insistence that he was the better chess player.

Mary told the children they must not choose a game that would except some children from playing.

That and which are not interchangeable. Here’s a general rule that’s easy to follow: After a comma, which indicates a pause, use ‘which’.

The chamber, which appeared empty, actually housed a raccoon that bore a remarkable resemblance to Arthur.

That and who are not interchangeable either. As a general rule, ‘who’ is used when referring to a person or people; ‘that’ is used when referring to an inanimate object, a place, or a group.

Pascal is a character who is under-used in fanfiction. The way he acquired his pipe expertise is a topic that could inspire a fascinating story.

Geoffrey, who just learned to sing, has become a valued member of the choir that performs at Winterfest.

Imply and infer are two often connected words with different meanings.

Imply means to indicate something indirectly, to convey one’s thoughts or opinions often in a somewhat subtle way.

Infer means to draw a conclusion from someone’s comment or other forms of information.

From his expression and tone of voice, Catherine inferred that Father was not telling the truth. When she asked him about it, he demanded to know what she was implying.

* * *

SOME OTHER WORDS THAT ARE OFTEN MISUSED:

(**They’re used correctly in the sample sentences below.**)

Catherine knew Father was a man of principle, but she wondered if the illness in the Tunnels was the principal reason he urged her to stay Above.

It didn’t faze Mouse when Arthur ran away with a female raccoon.  He knew it was just a phase his pet was going through.

Being without his cloak made Vincent feel bare, but for a chance to be with Catherine he would bear it.

Father hoped Mouse’s new invention had brakes so he wouldn’t break every bone in his body.

Father pictured Vincent being chased through the tunnels by Catherine and willingly allowing himself to be caught. He must remind his son to remain chaste.

* * *

PUNCTUATION IS NOT OPTIONAL!

Most sentences begin with a capital letter and stop with some form of end punctuation such as a period, question mark, or exclamation point. There are some acceptable exceptions, especially in writing dialogue, poetry, and for stylistic purposes. In general, however, this is a basic rule to be followed.  

The apostrophe is not used for making words plural. It’s used for showing ownership (Catherine’s crystal, Vincent’s journal) and for making contractions (It’s almost time for Winterfest. There’s going to be a concert in the park tomorrow night.)

The ellipsis consists of three dots in a row.  At the end of a sentence, a period may be added to the three dots to make four dots total; however, staying with just three is acceptable and almost always used.  

You really shouldn’t use exclamation marks too often! That habit is the punctuation equivalent of crying wolf!  You can’t be excited all the time! You’ll be exhausted! Your reader will become annoyed! They won’t believe you when you finally use one properly! They will stop reading your story!

In addition, don’t use more than one in any given sentence! Doing so is over-kill!! It looks way too over the top and silly!!! It also sounds like you’re shouting!!!! Stop doing that!!!!!

“Don’t forget,” Catherine said, “when you’re writing dialogue, you should follow very clear rules of punctuation.”

“Yes,” Vincent agreed.  “And don’t you also have to start a new paragraph every time you introduce a new speaker?”

“That’s right. Otherwise it gets too confusing for the reader.”

“Should the characters’ names be used frequently in dialogue?”

“Well, that depends. I would use them sparingly, only when absolutely necessary for clarity and continuity or perhaps for drawing the other person’s attention when the speaker is emphasizing a point.”

“I agree, Catherine, but I would imagine not using proper names might become confusing if more than two characters are having a conversation.”

“Quite right, my boy. However, if the characters have very recognizable speech patterns, the reader might be able to discern the speaker’s identity quite easily.”

“Okay good, okay fine!”

If you want to use parentheses (and who doesn’t?), punctuate the phrase inside the parentheses as if it stood alone – but leave off its end punctuation except for question marks and exclamation points. Punctuate the surrounding sentence as it would be punctuated without the parenthetical phrase.

If the entire sentence is to be enclosed in parentheses, punctuate it as usual and keep the punctuation marks within the parentheses, as if they are two sides of a picture frame.  However, if a sentence ends with a phrase in parentheses (when the beginning and the middle of the sentence stands alone), put the end punctuation mark outside the parenthesis.

Here are some examples to illustrate those tongue-twisting directions. Please note, though, that no single paragraph should have this many parentheses in it.

Catherine glared at Lisa (the slut!), and wondered what she should say to her.  She thought of Vincent’s concern for this woman (his tenderness, his compassion) and wished she could understand why he remained willing to help her. (She knew no one else understood it either.)  Lisa had never made a completely kind or caring gesture in her life (unless it was for her own benefit).

SPELLCHECK APPS AREN’T PROOFREADERS.

The following examples are from actual fanfic (but not BatB stories). Have fun and a few cringes as you find the errors that spellcheck would never notice.

The kiss, at first, is gentile, but suddenly we reach the point in which neither of us can hold back our emotions.

Lying on his couch in a cold sweat, he was in no shape to get the phone.  He let it ring until it stopped, and then threw up into a bowel beside his couch.

This is the very first vinaigrette I’ve ever written.

Moist, gooey chocolate cake is his favorite desert.

WHEN IN DOUBT, GOOGLE IS YOUR BEST FRIEND

We all have questions about spelling, grammar, and so many other elements when writing fanfic or basically doing any type of formal writing.

Nearly all your answers can be found with a quick trip to see Professor Google. Just be careful as the professor sometimes lists dubious sources. Make sure you’re using reliable, well-established references.

Your other bestie can be a qualified, talented fanfic editor, most of whom are happy to help you. Please feel free to contact us at batbcabb.com if you need help finding someone.