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Category : Common Mistakes

The Ambiguous “This”

One very useful feature of the English language is that you can refer to extremely complex ideas with a simple four-letter word: “this.” In academic writing especially, “this” is a handy word because it allows you to create a shorthand version of what might otherwise take you five, ten, or twenty (or, heaven forbid, even more) words to say. However, the word “this” is also notorious for creating ambiguity, which is why this post explains “the ambiguous ‘this’” and how to avoid it.

Basically, the source of confusion is that readers sometimes cannot tell what the pronoun “this” is referring to. Consider the following sentence:

This is a delicious sandwich.

In this case, the pronoun “this” refers to the sandwich that the speaker is holding, eating, or pointing to; there is nothing else that “this” could refer to, and so the sentence makes perfect sense. But what if the pronoun’s referent was not so obvious?

This is delicious.

In this second sentence, the pronoun “this” is suddenly less clear. Unless we can see what the speaker is holding or pointing to, we cannot know if the speaker is referring to a sandwich, a glass of lemonade, or a bowl of pasta.

Now, in academic writing, the words and concepts that “this” stands in for tend to be much more complicated than an everyday sandwich. Consider the following example:

Children under the age of 7 tend to interpret comments made by others as being directed towards them, whereas older children are better able to differentiate between self-directed and others-directed communication. This can lead to frustration among educators.

In the above example, the pronoun “this” is ambiguous because it can refer to at least three things from the previous sentence: how children under the age of 7 interpret comments, how older children interpret comments, or the difference between how these groups of children interpret comments. To resolve this ambiguity, you can simply use the word “this” as a determiner rather than a pronoun. In other words, you are answering the question, “this what?” For instance:

This difference in communication styles can lead to frustration among educators.

In this revised version, “this” is simply a determiner which precedes the more specific phrase, “difference in communication styles.” By adding a specific referent to the previous sentence rather than leaving “this” to stand on its own, the new version avoids any ambiguity.

Remember, then, that if think you might be plaguing your reader with the dreaded ambiguous “this,” just answer the question, “this what?”

Tags : determiner, pronoun, this

Posted under : Common Mistakes,Writing Tips

It’s versus Its

by Jennifer | 44 Comments

The English language has many exceptions to seemingly hard and fast rules, and these exceptions often cause problems for the novice writer. One such issue is the possessive form of the pronoun “it.” First, let’s remind ourselves of what a possessive form is. The possessive form of a noun or pronoun is used to show ownership. When writing the possessive form of almost all other singular nouns, the writer is instructed to add an apostrophe followed by an “s” at the end of the word. Examples include “the duck’s quack,” “the girl’s doll,” and “the man’s son.” Simple, right?

Therefore, you might think that you should simply tack on the requisite apostrophe and “s” to “it” in order to create the possessive form. However, this makes the word “it’s,” which is seen in the English language as the contraction for “it is.” An example of the proper use of the word “it’s” is as follows: “It’s by the cat’s water bowl.” Therefore, we cannot treat the possessive form of “it” in the same way that we treat other singular nouns. For “it,” we simply forgo the apostrophe. In other words, the possessive form of “it” is “its.” An example of the proper use of the possessive form of “it” is “The cat stepped in its water bowl.”

Tags : Contractions, it's versus its, possessive nouns, Possessive pronouns

Posted under : Common Mistakes,Mechanics,Punctuation Rules

“A” versus “An”

by Jennifer | 47 Comments

“A” and “an” are indefinite articles used in the English language, whereas “the” is the only definite article used in the English language. To learn about proper overall article usage, see the blog post entitled Articles in English: “The,” “A,” and “An.”

As a brief recap of indefinite article use in English, you use “a” or “an” with a noun when referring to a member of a group or class. However, many people are slightly confused about when to use “a” and when to use “an.” An often repeated guideline is to use “a” when the word that follows starts with a consonant and to use “an” when word that follows starts with a vowel. Examples include “a book,” “an old book,” “an elephant,” and “a gray elephant.” Although this guideline will help you in most instances, it is not entirely true and will cause problems in some unique situations.

The actual rule governing the use of “a” versus “an” is related to the sound made by the first letter in the following word. More specifically, if the first letter of the following word makes a consonant sound, you should use “a;” in contrast, if the first letter of the following word is silent and/or makes a vowel sound, you should use “an.” This rule clearly still works for our previous examples, i.e., “a book” and “an elephant.” In addition, it also helps to clarify more difficult situations.

For example, let’s consider the word “hour.” It starts with an “h,” which is a consonant. However, the “h” in “hour” is silent; therefore, the first sound from this word is a vowel sound. Hence, a grammatically correct sentence would refer to “an hour,” not “a hour.” Yet, in other “h” words, the “h” or consonant sound is made, thereby requiring the use of “a.” Examples include “a history book” and “a hotdog.”

Also consider words starting with “u.” Some such words make a “y” or consonant sound (e.g., unicorn, unique, and ukulele); in such instances, you should use the article “a” (e.g., a unicorn, a unique store, and a ukulele). Others make a “u” vowel sound (e.g., umbrella, ugly, and uprising); in such instances, you should use the article “an” (e.g., an umbrella, an ugly dog, and an uprising).

Therefore, when you question whether you should use “a” or “an” in your writing endeavors, look at the word immediately following the article. Better yet, say the word aloud. If this word starts with a consonant sound, use “a.” If it starts with a vowel sound, use “an.”

Tags : a versus an, articles

Posted under : Common Mistakes,Mechanics