Kristy Taylor

Since the 14th century people have been getting confused when using lay and lie. Just what is the difference between these two words and why do we always get them mixed up?

To lay or to lie, that is the question (as Shakespeare might say, or ask). One of the main reasons we get these wrong is because we get them confused with their past tense versions.

The past tense of lay is laid, and the past tense of lie is lay—hence the confusion. (Note: never use layed, the correct spelling is laid.)

Remember that lay means ‘to put or place’ and lie means ‘to rest or recline’.

Present tense example:
You lay your book on the desk, and it will lie there until you pick it up again.

Past tense example:
Yesterday he laid his book on the desk, and it lay there until he picked it up.

A handy mnemonic:
Lay is tr(a)nsitive – a verb that takes an object. Ask yourself: lay what down?
Lie is (i)ntransitive – a verb that doesn’t need an object. Tell yourself: it’s already down.

If you’re still having trouble remembering which one to use, try replacing lay/lie with the word ‘place’. If the sentence sounds right with the word ‘place’ then you need to use lay, if not, use lie.

© Kristy Taylor 2008

When it comes to writing quotes and speech many writers get confused about the use of quotation marks and the placement of closing punctuation.

What makes things even more confusing is that these same elements are used differently in different countries.

Quotation marks are mostly used to show direct speech and to quote the work of other writers. They are also used for song titles, journal article titles, unpublished document titles, chapter titles of published works, essays, lectures, and to draw attention to certain words (sometimes called scare quotes).

According to the Style manual for authors, editors and printers (6^th edn) single quotation marks are used in Australian government publications, with a push towards this minimalistic use of punctuation to be accepted across the board. Whereas in America, double quotation marks are preferred.

When closing quotations, the decision of where to place the closing punctuation can be a tricky one. If the punctuation mark is part of the quote, keep it inside the quotation mark. If it is not, place it outside the quotation mark.

Though interestingly this is in direct contrast to what is followed in America, with most closing punctuation being place inside the quotation mark.

Example:

‘I do love you’, she replied. (Australian)

“I do love you,” she replied. (American)

Notice the difference in the closing quotation marks, one being before the punctuation and the other being after.

It is not necessary to use quotation marks with indirect speech, to enclose familiar expressions, or when following the expression so called.

Quotations that are more than thirty words long should be indented from the margin and set in a smaller type, and do not require any quotation marks (but remember to cite your source). 

If at all possible it is best to follow the required style of the intended publication, as the editor will most likely change all of the punctuation to their house style anyway. But if all else fails and the writer is still confused, just sticking to the style they know best should get them through.

New writers often make the mistake of assuming the best pieces of writing are filled with long, complex, jumbled sentences. Not true. If you want to keep your readers’ attention, try varying your sentence lengths. Otherwise you could bore or even intimidate your readers. 

Effective writers understand the importance of varying between shorter and longer sentences. Like a musician, or well-versed public speaker, you must understand how to use words and sounds to add emphasis where needed.

The short sentence adds stress or speed. It gets to the point. It punches the reader in the lip, so to speak. For example:

I love you. I feel things with you. I haven’t felt that before.

With this passage readers know exactly what the writer or character is saying. Every word matters in the short sentence. Take another example:

I love you because I feel things with you, and I haven’t felt that before in my life.

It doesn’t resonate as deeply as the first passage, does it? The chopped up sentences are more effective. The length makes the difference.

The complex, compound sentence has its rightful place as well. It conveys a stream of consciousness or intense emotion in fiction. For example:

That dog has found my last nerve, and do you know what that means? It means that from here on out, you’ll be walking that mutt, and you’ll be fetching its water and nasty canned food and cleaning up the pee stains all over the house while I nap or watch Kath & Kim while sipping on some plonk with my sister. That’s what it means!

The anger and authenticity of this passage is highlighted by the free-flowing length. Readers feel the words pouring from the character’s mouth. (Notice the last sentence, which is considerably shorter than the rest of the passage, is where the emphasis falls.)

After taking into account sentence length and purpose, remember: the key is balance. Too many short sentences make the writer seem childish or immature. The reader gets bored. Overuse of lengthy sentences creates the same results. Essentially, you don’t want monotony in your writing.

If you’re wondering which sentence type you lean toward, there’s a simple formula many English professors teach their students. Find an essay you’ve recently written, and highlight 25 random lines. Count the number of words in each sentence. Add those together. Next, divide the number by 25. This is your average number of words per sentence. If you’re below 14, consider using longer sentences in your writing. Anything over 22 indicates you’re using too many compound or complex sentences. Chop them up. If you’re between 14 and 22, take an overall look at your sentences. Are you presenting a variety of lengths and structures? Read the paper out loud. Does it flow? If you believe something sounds out of place, then it probably is.  

Learning the ‘rhythm of writing’ isn’t something you’ll learn overnight, but with practice you’ll catch areas in your writing that lack variety and you’ll learn how to transform your sentences into memorable prose.

© Kristy Taylor 2008

Why do these three little words cause so much confusion for writers? Most likely because they sound the same, and so writers think that these words are interchangeable. Unfortunately that is not the case as these words have their own distinct meanings.

When words sound the same but have different meanings they are called homophones. These three words all sound the same but look different. So let’s have a look at these differences between two, too and to:

Two – the number 2. Other words that signify the number 2 generally start with or include the letters tw, e.g. twenty, twins, twice, between.

Too – also, as well, in excess, excessively. Too is an adverb (modifies a verb).

To – everything else that the first two don’t apply to. To usually begins a prepositional phrase or an infinitive (because it’s a preposition).
To make it a little easier to see and hear the differences, let’s look at the examples below:

• He held two cards in his hand.
• He drank too much alcohol that night.
• He went to the bathroom many times that night.

With the first sentence ask yourself ‘how many cards,’ and see if a number is needed. With the second sentence ask yourself ‘how much alcohol,’ and if you can replace it with ‘excess alcohol,’ you most likely need the word too. And with the last sentence ask yourself if either a number or a reference to ‘also/excess’ is needed—if not, you need to.

© Kristy Taylor 2008

Confused about when to use commas? Here are 5 tips that you may find helpful when trying to control your commas.

1. Use commas between the clauses in compound sentences. This is where you join two sentences together with a conjunction – a word like and, but, so.

Example: The cat leapt, but the mouse escaped.

The two clauses could form two separate, simple sentences.

2. Put commas around words that you can leave out and still have a sentence that makes sense. The words inside the commas will be clauses or phrases that give additional meaning.

Example: As the cat leapt from the garden wall, the mouse, which had been snuffling around the flower bed, scuttled back into its hole.

This simple advice is particularly helpful because you don’t have to recognise a phrase, or know the difference between an adjectival or an adverbial clause, or a dependent or independent clause, and you can still get it right.

The clause about the mouse in example 2 above is adjectival. It is also a dependent clause, because if we read it on its own, we don’t know what it refers to. But none of that really matters when you’re writing, because you know it gives extra meaning and you have to put commas around it.

3. About the exception for clauses or phrases after conjunctions.

In the middle sentence of the paragraph above, there is a comma before the word because, but not after it to separate the clause, if we read it on its own. That is an exception to the rule we’ve just been discussing. If it follows a conjunction like and, so, but, or because, there is no need for a comma before the clause. This is an important one to note, because, if, as I am deliberately doing here, you include these commas, your work reads in a stilted, difficult way, and you could be accused of overuse of commas.

4. Adverbial clauses are clauses which tell more of the why, where or when of the activity of the sentence – the verb. Sometimes they are crucial to the meaning of the sentence. If that is the case, there is another rule exception; they don’t have to follow a comma.

Example: The cat leapt from the garden wall when it saw the mouse snuffling around the flower bed.

However, if you make that last clause an introductory one, you must include the comma.

Example: When it saw the mouse snuffling around the flower bed, the cat leapt from the garden wall.

5. With clarity of meaning the comma changes the meaning in the examples below.

Example: Alice thought the mouse had been snuffling around the flower bed.

Example: Alice, thought the mouse, had been snuffling around the flower bed.

These are not the only uses for commas, but they are often the ones writers get wrong. With a little extra knowledge about sentence structure that includes phrases and clauses, they are less likely to make mistakes with commas.

© Kristy Taylor 2008

The usage of that or which can confuse the best of writers, and often leaves the grammarians scratching their heads. Below we will look at both words and try to find a solution.

That can be used as a demonstrative pronoun, an adjective, a conjunction and sometimes as an adverb. But the most confused use of that occurs when the writer is not sure if they should use that or which.

That is often omitted when it is used to introduce a noun clause or after a verb that expresses a process.

Example:
The book that he read was Oliver Twist.
The book he read was Oliver Twist.

The second example reads fine without the that. This is quite common in modern writing and is in line with Strunk’s ‘omit needless words’ mantra.

That is also used after a restrictive clause; meaning that it restricts the clause that it follows so no confusion is made.

Example:
He picked up the books that were on the bedroom floor.

In this example that restricts the books being referred to and serves to avoid confusion as to which books are being picked up.

Which can be used to introduce direct or indirect questions, as well as in relative clauses.

Which is usually preferred after a non-restrictive clause; meaning the information after which does not have to refer directly to the clause it follows as it is only adding extra information.

Example:
He got the job, which lead to his improved finances.

In this example which is only adding some extra information, it is not restrictive in that it is not referring directly to him getting the job.

It’s no wonder we get confused with these two words, especially when it is possible to sometimes swap the two. Which can also be used in place of that in a relative clause, though this is usually as a style choice.

To try and keep their usage straight in your mind, remember the following:

That is used to clarify. Which is used to add extra information.

© Kristy Taylor 2008

Surprisingly these two words are very easy to distinguish between, yet many writers get them mixed up. So when should than be used and when should then be used? Let’s look at some examples below.

Than is used to make a comparison between things, usually after a comparative adjective or adverb, to introduce a second clause or element that is not equal.

Examples:

• John is shorter than Jenny.
• His singing was louder than hers.
• The kidney operation was more urgent than the facelift.

Then is used to differentiate time, usually to indicate when something occurs in a particular timeframe or sequence.

Examples:

• Finish your dinner and then brush your teeth.
• I’ll jog to the bench and then I’ll sprint to the fence.
• The invoice was for $100.00, but then there was tax added as well.

A good mnemonic to use could be:
Than = a for comparing an apple to an orange
Then = e for an event in time

Remember, than is only used to make a comparison. So if you are comparing something, use than, and if you are not comparing something, use then. I told you it was easy!

© Kristy Taylor 2007

These two words can confuse the best of writers. They look almost the same but they have different meanings. So what’s the difference between the two?

Affect is mostly used as a verb; it is used to show how something is being influenced.

Example:
Drinking alcohol affects my asthma. (My asthma is being influenced by the alcohol.)
How to remember: the a in affect could stand for active, as in, a doing word or verb.

Effect is mostly used as a noun; it is used to show a result.

Example:
Drinking alcohol has an effect on my asthma. (The effect is a result of the alcohol.)
How to remember: the e in effect could stand for existing, as in, a thing or noun.

There are some instances where affect and effect swap roles and are used in different ways to those shown above.

When used in a psychology context, affect can be used as a noun, meaning ‘the emotion a person attaches to a particular idea or set of ideas’.

When used in a formal context, effect can be used as a verb, meaning ‘bring about’.

So when in doubt, use the mnemonics as shown above earlier:
Affect = a for an active verb
Effect = e for an existing noun

Hopefully this will help keep your affects and effects straight, and have a good effect on your writing efforts, so your career is affected in a positive way.

© Kristy Taylor 2007

How do you write numbers? This is a common question asked by many writers. The answer depends on what field you’re working in or what style guide you need to follow. Arabic numerals are generally used in commercial, mathematics, statistics, science, or technical fields. Other works like literary or humanistic mostly use numbers written out in words.

Some types of numbers are always written as figures. This is to avoid confusion, and to assist the reader with comprehension. These include:

• Dates
• Percentages
• Decimal fractions
• Currency
• Measurements
• Weights
• Tables
• Times of day
• In related series of numbers provided for comparison.

If a number is used to start a sentence, it should always be written out:

• Seventy-five of the buttons were blue.
• One hundred pencils need to be sharpened.

But what about other writing like fiction or correspondence? The general convention is to write out numbers as words when writing from one through nine, and to use figures from 10 onwards. Below are some examples:

• We need four eggs for the omelette.
• The car yard had 14 yellow sedans.

Though, the Australian Style manual for authors, editors and printers says to write out numbers from one to one hundred if the document is primarily text. It also suggests the use of numerals in only some sections is acceptable if needed to emphasise precision, or to avoid clumsiness, in a document that is scattered with statistics or similar. For a document that is heavy with statistics, the style manual says to use numerals throughout.

With the various rules concerning whether to write out numbers or not being so different, it’s no wonder we sometimes get confused. Whatever style you decide to use, if you’re not following a style guide, make sure you stay consistent.

My biggest pet peeve would have to be -

No return address on envelopes (submissions, short story competition entries, enquiries, etc…). 

Why would you trust Australia Post to ‘always’ delivery your material? I don’t think I’ve ever sent something through the post without including a way for the item to be returned to me if it could not be delivered.

When an author/writer is incapable of adding their return address to an envelope - I tend to wonder about what else they may have failed to do - and that’s before I even open their envelope. Food for thought!