Chapter V: Standard English - Grammar, Punctuation, & Spelling

It's

A contraction that means IT IS It's time to hire new accountants It is time to hire new accountants

Nonrestrictive Clauses

A nonrestrictive modifying clause (or nonessential clause) is an adjective clause that adds extra or nonessential information to a sentence. The meaning of the sentence would not change if the clause were to be omitted. Nonrestrictive modifying clauses are usually set off by commas. Edgar Allan Poe, who wrote "The Raven," is a great American poet. Puerto Rico was a Spanish colony until 1898, when it was ceded to the United States.

Parenthetical Element

A parenthetical element is information that is nonessential to the meaning of a sentence, such as an example, a clarification, or an aside. This type of sentence component may include the following types of clauses and phrases, as long as the information is nonrestrictive: -Relative clauses, which commonly begin with which, who/whom/whose, where, or when -Appositives, or nouns or phrases that rename preceding nouns or phrases -Participial phrases, or verb-based phrases that describe preceding nouns -Prepositional phrases, or preposition-based phrases that often describe preceding nouns -Phrases beginning with such as, including, e.g., or i.e. The supplementary information provided by a parenthetical element is typically enclosed by two commas, parentheses, or dashes, separating the nonessential material from the rest of the text. Although these punctuation marks have a common purpose, the content of their associated text and their level of emphasis of this text may vary.

Agreement Problems with Pronouns

A pronoun must agree with its antecedent (the word it stands for) Singular antecedents take singular pronouns and plural antecedents take plural pronouns Ex. SUSAN took HER check to the bank EACH department is responsible for servicing ITS own equipment

Restrictive Clauses

A restrictive modifying clause (or essential clause) is an adjective clause that is essential to the meaning of a sentence because it limits the thing it refers to. The meaning of the sentence would change if the clause were deleted. Because restrictive clauses are essential, they are not set off by commas. All students who do their work should pass easily. The car that I want is out of my price range. The gas company will discontinue our service unless we pay our bills by Friday.

Subject-Verb Agreement Rules: Rule I

A subject will come before a phrase beginning with of. This is a key rule for understanding subjects. The word of is the culprit in many, perhaps most, subject-verb mistakes. Incorrect: A bouquet of yellow roses lend color and fragrance to the room. Correct: A bouquet of yellow roses lends . . . (bouquet lends, not roses lend)

Subject-Verb Agreement

A verb should agree with its subject in number. That is, singular subjects take singular verbs; plural subjects take plural verbs

Adverb

A word or phrase that modifies or qualifies an adjective, verb, or other adverb or a word group, expressing a relation of place, time, circumstance, manner, cause, degree, etc Gently, softly... etc.

Common Problems with Pronouns

Agreement and reference

What is an Adverbial Clause?

An adverb clause will meet three requirements: First, it will contain a subject and verb. You will also find a subordinate conjunction that keeps the clause from expressing a complete thought. Finally, you will notice that the clause answers one of these four adverb questions: How? When? Where? or Why?

Apostrophe Usage

Apostrophes are never used to form plurals. Apostrophes are used to show possession. Singular words: the form is 's Plural words: the form is s' Singular -> plural client's file -> clients' files statement's format -> users' needs business's budget -> businesses' budget

Subject-Verb Agreement Rules: Rule IV

As a general rule, use a plural verb with two or more subjects when they are connected by and. Example: A car and a bike are my means of transportation. But note these exceptions (these are compound nouns): Breaking and entering is against the law. The bed and breakfast was charming.

Coordinating Conjunctions

Coordinating conjunctions connect words, phrases, and clauses. And, but, for, nor, or, so, and yet—these are the seven coordinating conjunctions. To remember all seven, you might want to learn one of these acronyms: FANBOYS F: For A: And N: Nor B: But O: Or Y: Yet S: So

Dangling Modifier

Do not modify any word in the sentence When preparing financial statements, GAAP must be adhered to When preparing financial statements, we must adhere to GAAP (correct)

Do Not Use Commas When V

Do not use commas before the first item or after the last item of a series (including coordinate adjectives) Incorrect: Some asset accounts are noncurrent, such as, land, buildings, and equipment. The comma before land is incorrect. Correct: Some asset accounts are noncurrent, such as land, building, and equipment.

Do Not Use Commas When II

Do not use commas to separate compound verbs or objects. Incorrect: She wrote angry letters to her CPA, and to her attorney. Correct: She wrote angry letters to her CPA and to her attorney. But it is ok if it separates items in a series: Wrote angry letters to her CPA, attorney, and Chamber of commerce.

Do Not Use Commas When I

Do not use commas to separate the subject from the verb from its complement: Incorrect: Some international mutual funds, have shown high returns. Correct: Some international mutual funds have shown high return.

Do Not Use Commas When IV

Do not use commas to set off restrictive clauses, phrases, or appositives. Incorrect: An advantage, of computerized tax programs, is the accuracy of the returns. Correct: An advantage of computerized tax programs, is the accuracy of the returns.

Do Not Use Commas When III

Do not use commas to set off words and short phrases that are not parenthetical Incorrect: Financial transactions are recorded, in journals, in chronological order. Correct: Financial transactions are recorded in journals in chronological order.

Pronouns & Gender

English has no singular personal pronouns that refer to an antecedent that could be either masculine or feminine. Masculine pronouns such as he, him, and his were understood to stand for either gender until about a generation ago. The best approach now is to use plural nouns and pronouns so that the language will be inclusive. Go as gender neutral as you can

Major Sentence Errors

Fragments, comma splices, and fused (or run-on sentences)

Fused Sentences

Fused sentences are also known as run-on sentences. They occur when two independent clauses are joined without any punctuation at all.

Independent Clause

Group of words with a subject and a verb; it can stand alone as a sentence

Subject-Verb Agreement Rules: Rule VI

In sentences beginning with here or there, the true subject follows the verb. There are four hurdles to jump. There is a high hurdle to jump. Here are the keys.

How to Combine Two Independent Clauses: Combine the clauses with a coordinating conjunction

Increases in assets are recorded as debits on the left side of a T-account, and decreases are recorded as credits on the right side. Note: the comma goes right before the coordinating conjunction

Two Independent Clauses Ex.

Increases in assets are recorded as debits on the left side of a T-account. Decreases are recorded as credits on the right side.

How to Combine Two Independent Clauses: Put a Semicolon between the Clauses

Increases in assets are recorded as debits on the left side of a T-account; decreases are recorded as credits on the right side.

How to Combine Two Independent Clauses: Combine the clauses with a semicolon, a conjunctive adverb and a comma

Increases in assets are recorded as debits on the left side of a T-account; however, decreases are recorded as credits on the right side. Note: semicolon followed by conjunctive adverb followed by a comma (; adverb,)

Formation of Plurals

Most plurals are formed by adding either S or ES to the end of a word

Misplaced Modifiers

Occur when the modifier is not placed next to the word it describes We only found one problem with the audit (Only is misplaced. It should be next to the word or phrase it modifies) We found only one problem with the audit (correct)

Comma Splices

Occurs when independent clauses are linked by a comma alone

Parallel Structure

Parallel sentence elements are those that are grammatically equal (such as verb phrases, noun phrases, dependent clauses, and sentences) When such items appear in a list, they should be balance, or parallel

Fragment

Part of a sentence. One of the essential parts of a sentence is missing. It may be recognized by its failure to express a complete thought

Quotation Punctuation I

Periods and commas should be placed inside quotation marks. Allison said, "Our audit is complete." Comma goes outside if before the quotation. Note the period is inside. "Our audit is complete," Allison said. Comma goes inside if closing the quotation

Quotation Punctuation III

Placement of a question mark will vary, depending on whether the question mark is part of the original quotation: Allison said, "How much additional work is there?" Part of original quotation Did Allison say, "I'm sick and tired of this audit"? Not part of original quotation.

Present Participles & Fragments

Present participles cannot be substituted for a complete verb such as is or was

Problems with Verbs: Tense & Mood

Problems most often occur with the subjunctive mood Most common use of the subjunctive follows verbs such as recommend, suggest, and require I recommend that we hire Jill Edmonds The most common problem is an unnecessary shift in mood or tense: The president approached the podium and then announces the good news (both approached and announces should be in past tense - must match)

How to Combine Two Independent Clauses

Put a semicolon between the clauses Combine the clauses with a coordinating conjunction (and, but, for, or nor, yet, so) and a comma Combine the clauses with a semicolon, a conjunctive adverb and a comma (conjunctive adverbs are however, therefore, thus, consequently, that is, for example, nevertheless, also, furthermore, indeed, instead, still).

Verb Tense

Reflects the time of the action described by the verb The company increased its investment (Past Tense) The company is increasing its investment (Present Tense) The company will increase its investment (Future Tense)

Quotation Punctuation II

Semicolons should be placed outside the quotation marks Allison said, "Our audit is complete"; a further examination of the files, however, revealed that additional work was necessary.

Short Direction Quotations

Short quotations (less than five typed lines) are usually run in with the text and enclosed with quotation marks. According to a recent publication of the FASB, "Accounting Standards Codification is the source of authoritative GAAP".

Quotation Rules

Should be formally introduced; a colon may separate the introduction from the quoted material. A comma may also be used if there are no phrases such as "the following" or "this assessment" - these signify the need for a colon The FASB has issued the following statement about codification: Quote here without quotations bc it's a long one.

Singular Verbs

Singular verbs in the present tense normally end in "s" He checks the system every week They check the system every week

Common Subject-Verb Agreement Problem: Think of Singular Verbs as Plural

Some singular verbs are often thought of as plural. Ex. each, every, either, neither, one, everybody, and anyone all take singular verbs EACH of the divisions IS responsible for maintaining accounting records.

Subject-Verb Agreement Rules: Rule V

Sometimes the subject is separated from the verb by such words as along with, as well as, besides, not, etc. These words and phrases are not part of the subject. Ignore them and use a singular verb when the subject is singular. The politician, along with the newsmen, is expected shortly.

Common Apostrophe Mistake

Stockholder's equity (INCORRECT). When stockholders is plural (normally is), the apostrophe comes after the s: Stockholders' equity (CORRECT)

Essential Parts of a Sentence (2)

Subject + Verb (or predicate)

Common Subject-Verb Agreement Problem: Phrases coming between the subject and the verb make agreement tricky

The EFFECT on our financial statements for the past two years WAS negligible Singular subject -> singular verb (even though there's a lot in the middle/in between the subject and verb)

Tough Words with Pronoun Agreement

The following are all singular pronouns and should agree as such: Company, corporation, firm, management, board The COMPANY increased ITS profits by 50% (not COMPANY....THEIR) The BOARD of Directors discussed earnings projections in ITS quarterly meeting (not BOARD...THEIR)

Fragment Recognition

The fragments that most students have trouble with, however, are dependent clauses—they have a subject and a verb, so they look like complete sentences, but they don't express a complete thought. They're called "dependent" because they can't stand on their own

Problems with Modifiers

The main problems are misplaced modifiers and dangling modifiers The best guidance is to place them next to the word or phrase they modify/describe

Apostrophe Rule Exception

The plurals of letters or acronyms can be formed with 's CPAs or CPA's (both are correct) t's and i's or ts and is (both are correct)

How to Identify the Subject in a Sentence

The subject of a sentence is the person, place, thing, or idea that is doing or being something. You can find the subject of a sentence if you can find the verb. Ask the question, "Who or what 'verbs' or 'verbed'?" and the answer to that question is the subject. The computers in the Learning Center must be replaced," the verb is "must be replaced." What must be replaced? The computers. So the subject is "computers." A simple subject is the subject of a sentence stripped of modifiers. The simple subject of the following sentence is issue:

Subject-Verb Agreement Rules: Rule III

The verb in an or, either/or, or neither/nor sentence agrees with the noun or pronoun closest to it. Neither the plates nor the serving bowl goes on that shelf. Neither the serving bowl nor the plates go on that shelf.

Subject-Verb Agreement Rules: Rule X

The word were replaces was in sentences that express a wish or are contrary to fact: Example: If Joe were here, you'd be sorry. Shouldn't Joe be followed by was, not were, given that Joe is singular? But Joe isn't actually here, so we say were, not was. The sentence demonstrates the subjunctive mood, which is used to express things that are hypothetical, wishful, imaginary, or factually contradictory. The subjunctive mood pairs singular subjects with what we usually think of as plural verbs. Examples: I wish it were Friday. She requested that he raise his hand.

Verb Mood

Three moods are possible: Indicative: states a fact or asks a question Imperative: a command or request Subjunctive: a condition contrary to fact

Irregular Verbs

To be, to have, etc. Is: singular Are: plural Has: singular Have: plural

Adverbial Clauses Ex.

Tommy scrubbed the bathroom tile until his arms ached. How did Tommy scrub? Until his arms ached, an adverb clause. Josephine's three cats bolted from the driveway once they saw her car turn the corner. When did the cats bolt? Once they saw her car turn the corner, an adverb clause.

Possessive Plurals Ex.

Two companies' statements Five months' income three weeks' pay prior years' statements ten years' total

Subject-Verb Agreement Rules: Rule II

Two singular subjects connected by or, either/or, or neither/nor require a singular verb. My aunt or my uncle is arriving by train today. Neither Juan nor Carmen is available. Either Kiana or Casey is helping today with stage decorations.

When to Use Colons III

Use a colon to emphasize a summary or explanation Our study of Sebastian Enterprises has revealed one primary problem: Unless management hires new researchers, it will lose its market dominance. When the summary of explanation following the colon is a complete sentence, as in this example, it is correct to capitalize the first letter of the sentence, or to use a lowercase letter. That is, Unless could also be written as unless.

When to Use Colons IV

Use a colon to follow the salutation in a business letter. Dear ms. Wade: When a colon introduces a series, an explanation, or a summary, the clause that precedes the colon should be a complete statement: We have sent engagement letters to the following: A, B and C. NOT We have sent engagement letters to:

When to Use Colons II

Use a colon to introduce a direct quotation, especially a long quotation that is set off from the main body of the text. The senior partner issued the following instruction: "All audit workpapers should include....." Professor David has this to say about technical accounting research: ... it is a process and technical accounting is worth it.

When to Use Colons I

Use a colon to introduce a series Three people spoke at the meeting: Elaine Brodie, CEO of Halifax Industries; John Mitchel, President of Oxford Inc.; and Billie Martin, CEO of Gigantic Corporation.

Subject-Verb Agreement Rules: Rule VII

Use a singular verb with distances, periods of time, sums of money, etc., when considered as a unit. Three miles is too far to walk. Five years is the maximum sentence for that offense. Ten dollars is a high price to pay. BUT Ten dollars (i.e., dollar bills) were scattered on the floor.

Comma Rule I

Use commas before and, but, or, not, for, so, and yet when these words come between independent clauses Use commas before FANBOYS when they separate independent clauses We sent Mr. Alvarado an invoice for our services, and he mailed a check the next day.

Comma Rule II

Use commas following an introductory adverbial clause If we purchase this program, we will be able to generate our reports more quickly. Although we worked all night, we didn't finish the report.

Comma Rule III

Use commas following transitional expressions and long introductory phrases: In a letter addressed to its corporate clients, the firm explained the changes in the services it would offer. To improve the service to our Atlanta customers, we are adding three new sales representatives. However, we still need four more representatives.

Comma Rule IV

Use commas to separate items in a series (including coordinate adjectives): Accounting students must be intelligent, dedicated, and conscientious. Jenny Tran, Sam Clark, and Raul Ramirez announced they would retire next year.

Comma Rule VI

Use commas to set off contrasted elements: Treasury stock is a contra-capital account, not an asset. We want to lower our prices, not raise them.

Comma Rule V

Use commas to set off nonrestrictive clauses and phrases The SEC, which is an agency of the federal government, is concerned with the independence of auditors. The annual report, located in Boston, employs 350 people.

Comma Rule VII

Use commas to set off parenthetical elements Changes in accounting methods, however, must be disclosed in financial statements. "Our goal," he said, "is to dominate the market."

Use of Semicolons

Use them to separate independent clauses OR to separate items in a series if the items themselves have internal commas Promotions were announced for Ann Moore, regional vice president; Larry Yeo, sales manager; and John Green, internal control manager.

Reference Problems with Pronouns

Vague, ambiguous or broad references are problems The pronouns that give the most trouble regarding this are: this, that, which, and it

Conjunctive Adverb

When the job of an adverb is to connect ideas, we call it a conjunctive adverb Main Clause + ; + Conjunctive Adverb + , + Main Clause. accordingly also besides consequently conversely finally furthermore hence however indeed instead likewise meanwhile moreover nevertheless next nonetheless otherwise similarly still subsequently then therefore thus

Common Subject-Verb Agreement Problem: And vs. Or

When two or more subjects are joined by AND, a plural verb is needed Ellen and John are partners When two or more subjects are joined by OR, the verb agrees with the subject closest to it Either Ellen OR John is the partner in charger Either the controller or the managers have called this meeting Either the managers or the controller has called this meeting

Subject-Verb Agreement Rules: Rule IX

With collective nouns such as group, jury, family, audience, population, the verb might be singular or plural, depending on the writer's intent. All of my family has arrived OR have arrived. Most of the jury is here OR are here. A third of the population was not in favor OR were not in favor of the bill.

Subject-Verb Agreement Rules: Rule VIII

With words that indicate portions—e.g., a lot, a majority, some, all—Rule 1 given earlier in this section is reversed, and we are guided by the noun after of. If the noun after of is singular, use a singular verb. If it is plural, use a plural verb. A lot of the pie has disappeared. A lot of the pies have disappeared.

How to Check Fused Sentences

You can fix a comma splice the same way you fix a run-on—either change the punctuation or add a conjunction. The good news is that writers tend to be either comma splicers or run-on artists, but almost never both. Turn your sentences into yes/no questions. If you turn it into a question and can answer it with yes/no, then it's not a run-on My favorite Mediterranean spread is hummus it is very garlicky. The yes/no question can only be made with each separate thought, not the sentence as a whole: (so it's a run-on) Is my favorite Mediterranean spread hummus? Is it very garlicky?

Its

a possessive pronoun The firm was proud of its new hire