Coherence IN

GRAMMAR
CM 102
What is coherence in
grammar ?
Coherence means
linking, connecting or
unifying sentences.
How do we make our writing
coherent ?
Transition signals or Connectives are words that keep
the thought of the discourse flowing smoothly from
sentence to sentence. They may be adjectives, adverbs,
or simply group of words that signal a shift,
continuation, addition, contrast of ideas or sequence of
time or steps.
1. Meanwhile in Japan, their capital city, Tokyo, was once named
Edo.
2. Jose, however, was a bit nervous, and as he would always do when
a bit nervous, he began to sing.
3. Before the gossip could create more fear, Francis bravely walked
to the plaza and began to preach about Gods commandment
concerning love for all creatures of God.
Addition
again, also, and, and then, besides, equally important, finally, first, further,
furthermore, in addition, in the first place, last, moreover, next, second, still, too
Comparison also, in the same way, likewise, similarly
Concession granted, naturally, of course
Contrast
although, and yet, at the same time, but at the same time, despite that, even so,
even though, for all that, however, nevertheless, notwithstanding, on the contrary,
on the other hand, otherwise, regardless, still, though, yet
Emphasis certainly, indeed, in fact, of course
example or
illustration
After for instance, in conclusion, indeed, in fact, in other words, in short, it is
true, of course, namely, specifically, that is, to illustrate, thus, truly
Summary
all in all, altogether, as has been said, finally, in brief, in conclusion, in other
words, in particular, in short, on the whole, that is, therefore, to put it differently,
to summarize
time sequence
after a while, afterward, again, also, and then, as long as, at last, at length, at that
time, before, besides, earlier, eventually, finally, formerly, further, furthermore, in
addition,
What are modifiers ?
Modifiers are words that specify, qualify, describe or
determine the meaning of another word in the
sentence. These are also words that tell about time,
place, manner and frequency.
SINGLE WORD MODIFIERS
Adjectives
Adverbs
Prepositions
Very/Too/Enough
Adjectives
Adjectives are words that modify nouns or pronouns.
Adjectives can be formed by adding an adjective-
forming suffix to a noun.
Adjectives can also be formed from verbs added with
certain adjective forming suffixes.
Noun Suffix Adjective
Harm -ful Harmful
Grain -y Grainy
Danger -ous Dangerou
s
Persia -(an) n Persian
Person -al Personal
Verb Suffix Adjective
Protect -ive Protective
Reside -ent Resident
Attain -ment Attainment
Consider these sentences:
Rich oil deposits are found in Persian Gulf.
Baron Geisler is known as the young star who committed
lascivious acts multiple times.
Persuasive way of writing is one of the classic themes
of journalism.
Adverbs
Adverbs are words that modify verbs, adjectives or
other adverbs. They answer the questions when, where,
how, how often, in what manner etc. These words
usually end with the suffix -ly.
Adjectives are transformed to adverbs the way they are
transformed from noun/verb to adjective. Adding an
adverb forming suffix transforms an adjective to an
adverb.
Adjective Suffix Adverb
Active -ly Actively
Gainful Gainfully
Rare Rarely
Bad Badly
Stead -ily Steadily
Historic -ally Historically
Occasion Occasionally
Timely Homely
Friendly Lovely
Ugly Mainly
Lonely
Adverbs also modify time, place, how
often and the in what manner a verb is
done.
Somewhere, Anywhere, Everywhere
Always, Usually, Frequently
Anyway, Someway, No way
Consider these sentences:
People frequently search for something unique to
others.
The lovely maiden walked towards the corridor.
At present times, people rarely go to church.
Long time ago, there is plenty of oxygen everywhere.
Prepositions
Prepositions are words that show relationship between
its object and another word in the sentence. These
words do not have any individual meaning. Thus, only
the context of the sentence where it belongs defines it.
Place or Position At, to, from, by, near, against, over, under,
beneath, on top of, in front of, behind, up,
down, across, around, between, in, on,
inside, below, among
Direction Into, out of, toward, by way of
Time At, by, in , on, during, until, before, for,
after, since, at the beginning of, at the end
of
Manner By, on, in, with, like, by way of
Agent or instrument By, with
Accompaniment With
Purpose By reason of, for
Measure Of, like, by
Pacquiao have beaten many well-known boxers by way of knock-out.
Lucy leaves her dorm with keys on her left hand and a whip on the other.
She treats him as an enemy long before she fell for him.
Very / Too / Enough - these are modifiers
that adds emphasis or stress to the word /
phrase they modify.
Very - adds a large amount or a high degree of a quality or
quantity. It intensifies the word it precedes that may be an
adjective or adverb.
Too - More specific than very, it indicates that some action cannot
or will not take place as a result of the condition described by the
word after too. It is not necessary to express what is impossible,
but the use of too implies impossibility.
Enough - means a sufficient amount. It indicates that the action
expressed by the word after enough is made possible by the
word before enough and its sufficiency.
COMPOUND MODIFIERS
Words made up of a present participle and its object or
complement.
Examples: everlasting, hardworking, ongoing,
heartbreaking
Words made up of a past participle and its object or
complement.
Examples: Left-handed, locally produced, Singapore-based,
middle-aged
Different kinds of Modification Errors
Squinting Modifiers
Misplaced Modifiers
Dangling Modifiers
In writing, one can avoid awkwardness
and ambiguity by placing the modifier as
close to the word modified as possible.
Modifiers are highly sensitive to various
positions they have in the sentence, and
thus, a different place might likely change
the sentences meaning. For example:
I am the only male child in the family who play guitar.
I am the male child in the family who only play guitar.
I am the male child in the only family who play guitar.
I am the male child only in the family who play guitar.
Squinting Modifiers
Sometimes a modifier is placed between two words,
both of which it seems to modify. This modifier is called
a squinter because it looks in opposite directions at the
same time-at the phrase that precedes it and the
phrase that follows.
Examples:
People who watch television rarely read much.
(People who rarely watch television read much.)
Those who saw her fall suddenly called for help.
Misplaced Modifiers
A. Misplaced prepositional phrases
Prepositional phrases usually precede or follow the
words they modify. Phrases that modify verbs can be
moved to other parts of the sentence for special
emphasis. The best resolve is to put the modifier before
the word it modifies.
For example:
He described his mistake to the man with a grin.
Correction: With a grin, he described his mistake to the
man.
Verbal Phrases
The same considerations of clarity and clearness govern
verbal phrases.
For instance,
We saw a bear driving down the highway.
Correction: Driving down the highway, we saw a bear.
Adjective Clauses - Adjective clauses as modifiers must stand as close
as possible to the word it modifies, although sometimes they can stand
at a distance given there is no other modifiers that would intervene
present.
Unclear - The box arrived with the mail that he had left on the bus.
Correct - The box, which he had left on the bus, arrived with the mail.
Adverb Clauses - Compared to adjective clauses, adverb clauses are less
restrictive and can freely stand at a sentence. But, like adjective clauses,
adverb clauses should stand as close as possible to the word it modifies
since other intervening modifiers might create awkwardness and
confusion.
Unclear - Because he combines humor with pathos, I like Dickens, who
wrote David Copperfield.
Correct - I like Dickens, the author of David Copperfield, because he
combines humor with pathos.
Dangling Modifiers
Dangling Modifiers are modifiers that are misplaced in
the sentence, and thus connected to another word
instead of the word it intends to modify.
a. Participial Phrases
b. Gerund Phrases
c. Infinitive Phrases
d. Reduced Clauses
Participial Phrases
Participial Phrases - Sentences may be unclear if
participial or adjective phrases dangle or hang
awkwardly in the sentence, unconnected to a specific
word.
Unclear - Driving down the highway, a grizzly was seen.
Correct - Driving down the highway, we saw a grizzly.
Gerund Phrases
Gerunds are verbs ending in -ing and can take objects
and adverbial modifiers.
Unclear - Drooping leaves is a result of tropism between
plant substances.
Correct - The drooping of leaves is a result of tropism
between plant substances.
Infinitive Phrases
Infinitive Phrases - requires specific reference in the
sentence. In short, being more specific makes the
sentence clearer.
Unclear - To pass the course, more work is needed.
Correct - To pass the course, you need to do more work.
Reduced Clauses
Reduced Clauses - shortened clauses may also lead to
unclearness and dangle:
Unclear - When presented with the facts, the request to
resign was withdrawn.
Correct - When the manager was presented with the
facts, he withdrew the request that the employee
resign.
SPLIT CONSTRUCTIONS
Splitting Subject and Verb
Splitting Verb Phrases
Split infinitives
Splitting Subject and Verb - splitting a
pronoun subject from its verb creates
awkwardness.
Awkward - We, wondering what had caused the explosion and fire,
whispered about the accident anxiously.
Correct - Wondering what had caused the explosion and fire, we
whispered about the accident anxiously.
Splitting Verb Phrases - Verb phrases
are occasionally split with single words
and absolute phrases. But splitting the
phrase with a long adjective modifier
usually makes the sentence sound
awkward.
Awkward - I have, not wanting to make a decision this time, not
yet considered the matter.
Correct - Not wanting to make a decision at this time, I have not
yet considered the matter.
Split Infinitives - Writers
occasionally split the infinitive to
achieve emphasis or to avoid
ambiguity.
Awkward - We asked them to, knowing there would not be enough
room, ride in separate cars.
Correct - Knowing there would not be enough room, we asked
them to ride in separate cars.
Thank you
and Good Day
!