TalonRider

This section is lengthy, so I'm breaking i up into smaller sections. Otherwise I might bore you to death. Sentence Construction Part 1 Create good sentence structure by using the acronym SVC (subject, verb, completer). Subjects: Subjects come first to tell you who or what you re talking about. Subjects are nouns or pronouns. Nouns name people, places, things, qualities, concepts, and ?active? things including gerunds (actions that are things). People: Bill, secretary, mother, child Places: office, Chicago, Georgia Things: car, television, memo, desk Qualities: truthfulness, honesty, attentiveness ?Active? things: singing, running, traveling Pronouns: A pronoun may ?pitch it? for a noun so that the same people, places and things are not repeated over and over. Without pronouns, this statement is awkward and redundant: The manager went into the manager?s office to prepare the manager?s report for the meeting at which the manager planned to present the manager?s new budget request. Pronouns allow a more concise and clear statement: The manager went into her office to prepare her report for the meeting at which point she planned to present her new budget request. Caution: A pronoun must agree with its ?antecedent? (the word for which it stands). Incorrect: Each of the boys liked their teacher. Correct: Each of the boys liked his teacher. Pronouns that act as subjects: I........................ we You.....................they He......................who She.....................it Pronouns that act as objects (objects of verbs or objects of prepositions): Me......................us You.....................them Him....................whom Her.....................it Pronouns that show ownership (possessives): My, mine........................our, ours Your, yours.....................their, theirs His.................................her, hers Caution: Who and whom should not be used interchangeably. To figure out whether to use who or whom, replace the word with he or him. If he sounds right, use who. If him sounds right, use whom. Reflexive pronouns: Her............................it Myself........................ourselves Yourself, yourselves....themselves Himself.......................itself Herself Reflexive pronouns are used in three main situations: When the subject and object are the same. As the object of a preposition, referring to the subject. When you want to emphasize the subject. Caution: Do not use a reflexive pronoun unless the sentence contains the noun to which it refers. For example, myself would only appear in a sentence containing I. Incorrect: Jim, Esperanza, and myself were planning a trip. Correct: Jim, Esperanza, and I were planning a trip. Exercise 2 ? Pronouns: Reflexive, Subject/Object Choose the correct word to finish each of the following sentences. 1. Kai, Chandra, and _____________(I, me, myself) are headed to the conference now. 2. Give the paperwork to _____________(she, her, herself) so that it can be submitted this pay period. 3. Edward stayed all weekend to finish that report all by _____________(he, him, himself). 4. Anders gave a copy of that memo to Jim, Tom, and _____________(I, me, myself). 5. To _____________(who, whom) should the packages be addressed? 6. The company?s analysts _____________( they, their, themselves) knew what _____________(they, them, their) predictions were based on, but no one else understood_____________(them, their, themselves). 7. Just between you and_____________(I, me), I think this is the best work we?ve ever done. 8. Jonquil wondered why _____________(she, her) employees complained about a lack of vacation since _____________(she, her) __________(hers, herself) never took a day off.

ROFLMAO

Here's the answers to Exercise 1. 1. There is a market for stylish mobile communication among the French, the Italians, Spanish, and Portuguese. There is a market for stylish mobile communication among the French, the Italians, the Spanish, and the Portuguese. 2. It was both a long meeting and very productive. The meeting was both long and productive. 3. Either you must file his request or act on it now. You must either file his request or act on it now. 4. The new accounts director has experience, dedication, and she has an extremely professional demeanor. The new accounts director has experience, dedication, and a professional demeanor. 5. The national office rewarded Region Three for its high sales and going beyond the call of duty. The national office rewarded Region Three for selling the highest volume and going beyond the call of duty. 6. Antonio?s motivation to succeed in this position seems to be greater than his predecessor. Antonio?s motivation to succeed in this position seems to be greater than his predecessor?s. 7. I have no doubt about your care and interest in the project. I have no doubt about your care for and interest in the project.

Ok, so yesterday, Wednesday, I started having logon issues again at work. No matter what I did, I couldn't stay logged in at all 3 sites. Today, I tried something different once I was able to login at The House. I went into the Admincp and disabled the Stronghold Cookie. This is something that I had not seen from Invision until this version was released. IPB can store a stronghold cookie in the user's browser which is used when automatically logging in to prevent successful cookie theft. To me, it seems like this stronghold cookie affects the computer here at work. I don't have the issue at home. When it comes to linking here, I don't keep a book mark on the computer at work. I link thru The House or DW to get here. Jan

Ok, in trying to keep this short, since there is a lot of material in this section of the book. I left out some of the examples. To keep you from dangling any longer heres their examples. "Who is going to lunch with you?" and "Who should receive copies of this report?" Note: Try to avoid placing a preposition at the end of a sentence.

Even though something like this is obvious with spelling errors, it is readable. We did cover proofreading in the beginning. Something we were told was to help with finding spelling errors, scan each line backwards.

As I stated previously, the Seminar was geared more towards business writing, but the information is still useful. We'll begin with Common Sentence Problems. I will include the key points for each type of problem and occasionally give an example. Sentence Fragments A dependent clause standing alone, trying to act as an independent idea, is not a complete sentence. The sentence does not contain a complete thought. Simply finishing the thought will correct the problem. Example: Because it was raining. Better: We left early because it was raining. Note: If you reverse the sentence order so that the dependent clause comes first, always place a comma after the dependent clause. Because it was raining, we left early. Run-on sentences This kind of sentence is longer than usual, contains several connected ideas, and lacks correct punctuation. Note: The average sentence today has approximately 16 to 18 words. You can write a sentence of up to 20 words with no loss of comprehension by you reader. If a sentence goes beyond 20 words, however, many readers may have difficulty understanding it. Modifier problems Dangling modifiers: If the noun or pronoun being described (or modified) is not specifically named, the result can be confusing or silly. Incorrect: Walking through the office, the computer was turned on. Correct: Walking through the office, Mary stopped to turn on the computer. Misplaced modifiers: If the modifier is not located near the noun or pronoun it is describing, the meaning may be ridiculous, vague, or confusing. Incorrect: When inflated with air, four people can be carried on this raft. Correct: When inflated with air, this raft can carry four people. Active vs. passive voice Verbs are at the heart of sentences and can express active, powerful thoughts. The passive voice weakens verbs. Voice means relationship. The two most powerful sentence elements, the subject and the verb, have a specific relationship. When the subject is the performer or "doer"of the verb, that active relationship is in the 'active voice." If the subject is not the performer or "doer" of the verb, but instead is acted on by some other "doer," that passive relationship is in the "passive voice." Active voice tends to be: clearer/simpler, more specific, shorter, easier to understand. Passive voice tends to be: vague, confusing, longer, dull, awkward. Sentence Parallelism: Sentences without good parallelism may be technically grammatically correct, but lack style, polish and clarity. Parallel sentences use the parts of speech consistently. Incorrect: The starlet demanded Golden Mountain spring water, eating freshly-picked fruit, and a Swedish massage every day. Correct: The starlet demanded chilled spring water, fresh fruit and her own masseuse. Dangling prepositions: It is common to ask, "Who are you going to lunch with?" or "Who should the report go to?" While this is acceptable in casual, informal, "slangy" conversation, writing requires a higher standard. In writing, place the noun or pronoun at the end of the sentence. Double negatives: Using two negatives--known as double negatives--is generally considered incorrect as it conveys a meaning opposite of what the writer intended. Double negatives are not always inappropriate. They may occasionally be deliberately employed to express a positive or to denote sarcasm or irony. I was not entirely unhappy to see him leave. Incorrect reflexives: Memo writers frequently use the reflexive pronoun -self incorrectly as a subject or a verb. A reflexive pronoun cannot not serve as a subject. It must "reflect" back to another pronoun that has already been used in the sentence. At this point, I am including Exercise 1 - Parallelism. Feel free to post your answers here, or you can PM them to me. I will post the answers in a few days. Rewrite these sentences that have faulty parallelism in a form that reflects consistent grammatical construction. Express parallel ideas in parallet form. 1. There is a market for stylish mobile communication among the French, the Italians, Spanish, and Portuguese. 2. It was both a long meeting and very productive. 3. Either you must file his request or act on it now. 4. The new accounts director has experience, dedication, and she has an extremely professional demeanor. 5. The national office rewarded Region Three for its high sales and going beyond the call of duty. 6. Antonio?s motivation to succeed in this position seems to be greater than his predecessor. 7. I have no doubt about your care and interest in the project.

Back in November '06, I received a flyer at work for a seminar entitled, "Mistake-Free Grammar and Proofreading". It was geared more towards business writing, but I figured, what the hell, why not take it. It might help me in what I do for some of you. A refresher course, if you will. It was an interesting day. The presenter made it fun. She covered things like Proof at least twice, Simple Sentences, Compound Sentences, Complex Sentences, Hyphens, and a 3-Step System of Possessives. I also picked up a copy of 'The Grammar Reference Guide', with a bonus CD. The guide covers a lot of different things. Writing Effective Sentences Sentence Construction Sentence Bridges Types of Sentences Common Sentence Problems Spelling Usage Punctuation Plurals and Possessives Titles and Capitalization Electronic Mail Exercises in Grammar - 20 of them, complete with answers. I'll probably be starting some discussions on some of these things. I've told a couple of my authors about going to this workshop and one of them is eager for me to share it with him. I've also used this information on some articles for an upcoming newsletter and a story chapter. Lets just say I wasn't as gentle as I normally am. Jan

It will be interesting to see what happens when I get back to work on Monday. I was having login issues with The Talon House and GA. Almost 2 weeks ago, just before the hard drive decided to take a dump on me, the issue was gone. During the time that I didn't have a computer in my office, I had to work elsewhere and had no problems logging in to those sites. They brought the computer back late Thursday afternoon and I was off Friday to attend a workshop on 'Mistake-Free Grammar and Proofreading' so I didn't get a chance to check things out. Jan

I actually use a short cut I placed in a tool bar to got to the home page.

Blue, you might want to report this to Invision as well. The default skin is set up the same way so I think they missed something. Jan

Recently I had been experiencing some fatal error shutdown's on my desktop computer. I sent the usual error messages in. At one point, I got a reply back that MS was aware of the issue and that nothing was planned to correct this problem. It is however being addressed in Vista. So that's there way of getting around the problem. I must say tho, that since January's round of updates, I've not had anymore problems. Jan

I know this will sound strange. Back when Myr did the upgrade at GA and I did it to The Talon House, I started having login issues with both sites from work. I tried all of the suggestions and still had problems. I figured that maybe my employer had some things in place that was causing the problem for me. Last Monday afternoon, the computer I use at work decide to take a dump on me. I'm still waiting on IT to rebuild it. I'm using one of the other computers in my department and don't have the login issues. Update: I just my computer back at work and don't seem to have any login issues at this time. Edited 1/25/07 at 2:52pm by Talonrider

It would appear to me that not all functions are working quite right yet. One place you should be able to change things is your members profile. You can set your gender there, but the drop down menu isn't working.

I for one know what you mean about having problems with upgrades. The last two upgrades to The House I had to have Invision take care of. I've had to take measures against spammers also. Guests are now allowed to post in only one forum and only then after approval will the post appear. I'm glad to see AD back once again. Jan

This same issue has been discussed at GA and I have the same problem from work. Since the upgrade to V2.2.0 software, I have problems staying logged in at both GA and The talon House. It doesn't matter if I use IE or Firefox. One thing I've noticed is the two browsers use different IP's. I have tried deleting cookies, but that doesn't seem to help so I'm assuming there is some kind of filter at work. Something else I found strange. While visiting family over the Christmas holiday, I went to the local Christian Uni to use their wi-fi network. I could get to the AD home page but not into the forums. For obvious reasons, I couldn't get to GA or any of it's affiliates. Jan

I have my phone numbers on the Do Not Call list. For those that do call, after checking the caller ID, there's the answering machine waiting on them. Jan

HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE!!!!

I had to wait until 2 days AFTER Christmas to open this one. And it was worth the wait. J

You can't read this and stay in a bad mood 1. How Do You Catch a Unique Rabbit? Unique Up On It. 2. How Do You Catch a Tame Rabbit? Tame Way, Unique Up On It. 3. How Do Crazy People Go Through The Forest? They Take The Psycho Path 4. How Do You Get Holy Water? You Boil The Hell Out Of It. 5. What Do Fish Say When They Hit a Concrete Wall? Dam! 6. What Do Eskimos Get From Sitting On The Ice too Long? Polaroid's 7. What Do You Call a Boomerang That Doesn't work? A Stick 8.. What Do You Call Cheese That Isn't Yours? Nacho Cheese. 9.. What Do You Call Santa's Helpers? Subordinate Clauses. 10. What Do You Call Four Bullfighters In Quicksand? Quattro Sinko.. ! 11. What Do You Get From a Pampered Cow? Spoiled Milk. 12. What Do You Get When You Cross a Snowman With a Vampire? Frostbite. 13. What Lies At The Bottom Of The Ocean And Twitches? A Nervous Wreck. 14. What's The Difference Between Roast Beef And Pea Soup? Anyone Can Roast Beef. Can you pea soup? 15. Where Do You Find a Dog With No Legs? Right Where You Left Him. 16. Why Do Gorillas Have Big Nostrils? Because They Have Big Fingers. 17. Why Don't Blind People Like To Sky Dive? Because It Scares The Dog. 18. What Kind Of Coffee Was Served On The Titanic? Instant Sanka. 19. What Is The Difference Between a Harley And a Hoover? The Location Of The Dirt Bag. 20. Why Did Pilgrims' Pants Always Fall Down? Because They Wore Their Belt Buckle On Their Hat. 21. What's The Difference Between a Bad Golfer And a B ad Skydiver? A Bad Golfer Goes, Whack, Dang! A Bad Skydiver Goes Dang! Whack. 22. How Are a Texas Tornado And a Tennessee Divorce The Same? Somebody's Gonna Lose A Trailer Now, admit it. At least one of these made you smile

I've got to admit, I love it.

Hey Sharon. Welcome to AD. Jan

After some PM's with Dude and Nevius about the Grand Map of the Icarian World, I have found that if you go to the map link and then click on the map twice, you can see the excellent work Nevius put into it. Looks like a solutions be found.

Nevius did a great job on the map. When another version becomes available, you'll see just how good a job he did. Thanks Nevius. I like the idea of the archive. If you've never taken the time to check out the website Jamie originally started TSOI, you can check out the Orbs posted at The Talon House, with Permission from Jamie. Jan

Even those of us who have been editing for awhile miss things. I will sometimes send something I'm working on for an author to a friend who goes over it and points out things I've missed. This person also happens to be a Beta Reader for that author. I'm also involved in a new program elsewhere for Editors/Beta Readers. If you'd like to know more about it, contact me and I'll tell you what I can. We have some interesting things planned. Jan