Rules are made to be broken. Certain rules, of course. And these are those rules. Ya dig, diggy dog?
Fragments FTW.
Once you write a thing, you no longer have control over the reader's pace and rhythm...or do you? Why, yes! Yes, you do, my good friend! By using the magical grammar-breaking sorcery called fragments!Fragment: A sentence which does not contain both a subject and verb. (E.g. "The pineapples." A complete sentence would read, "The pineapples ran." ...Hey, no one said it had to make sense.)
Using fragments appropriately tells the reader:
- Slow down for these words. Each period represents a pause.
- You're trying to make a point. Short, grammatically incorrect sentences are used to accentuate something.
But how do I do that...HOW?!?
Well. Thank you for asking! Let me tell you a story. Once I was in line at the grocery store when a man in front of me was texting during the transaction. Inconsiderate much? Although the cashier asked him to pay for his items, he was too distracted to notice. It made the wait even longer. So. Rude.
If that little paragraph used complete sentences, it would look something like this:
Well, I'm glad you asked. Let me tell you a story. Once I was in line at the grocery store when a man in front of me was texting during the transaction. He was being inconsiderate. Although the cashier asked him to pay for his items, he was too distracted to notice. It made the wait even longer. I found that to be so rude.
Which paragraph sounded better?
You could probably hear the annoyance in my writing "tone of voice" in the first example, but not the second. Using full sentences in the second instance was boring and emotionless. Be careful, though! Unless you are INTENTIONALLY using a fragment, it's just plain 'ole bad grammar.
Do the Formatting Thing, Okay?
Like purposely using fragments to break up the reading pace, formatting can indicate a:- Change in the tone of voice (e.g. YIKES! Um, hello? WATCH IT! Not cool.)
- Side note/thought (Wait, what was that supposed to mean?)
- Sound (PLINK! Ow!)
- Phrase which is especially important. (Never under any circumstances let pineapples drive Mini Coopers.)
Some Words of Caution
Be aware that formatting elements are used for certain purposes, so make sure you're not confusing the reader. For instance, italics are used for magazine names, book titles, TV shows, etc. Also, make sure you're not going overboard with the bold, italics, and underlining (can't figure out how to underline in Markdown, grr). At a certain point, nothing seems important anymore (not to mention it's difficult to read.)Writeth Like You Speaketh
We don't live in Shakespearean times anymore. Ditch the overly proper format unless you're writing a letter to the government or perhaps creating an encyclopedia article. (No one reads those anyway.) The best advice I can give is to read errythang you write out loud. If you're tripping over your words, it probably means it's too stuffy.
Finally, Ruhh-spect for the Oxford Comma
Never trust anyone who doesn't use the Oxford comma. Seriously. Don't—under any circumstances— neglect the Oxford comma or we can't be friends. Sorry, not sorry.I mean, do you want THIS?
800-year-old dildo collector. Bahahahahah
Or THIS?
Nice tips. I will just say my bad grammar is intentional from now on.
😜
I type slower than I think and I often miss spell and leave out words use the wrong spelling, aye.... Even after triple checking i miss stuff. lol
Oh boy, don't say you got that from me! ;) Have you ever tried using Grammarly? It's a free grammar checker which also has a browser plugin. You can get the paid version if you want the advanced sentence structure corrections. Super worth it!
Sentence fragments can and should be used. Sparingly.
Hahahaha, bloody awesome; consider yourself followed and resteemed! Please add the etymology tag to this as well.
By the way, I am so bad at using the Oxford comma, in fact my sentences are often waaaayyyyy too long. Hmm, the longer I live the less I seem to care, you may also have noticed, or will notice, my completely frivolous use of the semi-colon.
Cg
Oh and by the way, I hate spamming your content with my link; but I'd really love to hear your voice on this: We Need English Critics - Diacritics!
Thanks
Cg
Thanks @cryptogee! I read your post and commented—very fascinating! I agree with you. (+followed!)
Added the #etymology tag, although I admit I had to look that one up! Slackin', I know. :P
Oh, the elusive semicolon. Even when I know how to use the semicolon, I don't know how to use the semicolon. Haha. You'd probably also love this graphic on semicolons by The Oatmeal. Super funny!
Nice one :-). I do love etymology and the theory of words and grammar in general, there are so many interesting studies on how they affect us in different ways.
Ha, I'm just a semicolon maverick, I like to just chuck 'em in, just like pow! There you go; have a semicolon!!
Oh the graphic link isn't working :-(
Cg
Hahahaha too funny.
Oh dangit, maybe try this search.
Haha, just seen the Oatmeal link; although they didn't put in my favourite time to use one. When sticking in a question halfway through a sentence, though I guess that kind of is the same as two uncommon causes you want to link...
Cg
Hahahah, this was too funny. The strippers, jfk and stalin, sounds like an inappropriate comedy duo. Hmm, might have to think about that idea actually lol
Most of the grammar posts that I see reveal a deep-seated rage and bitterness at having to be exposed to other's flaming bad errors. This one is hysterical. I'm still giggling over that last photo.
I never thought I'd actually enjoy reading a post about grammar. Well done, Ma Lady.
Takes a bow.
Thank you, thank you, thank you very much!
THIS.
Resteemed, really good post!
Thanks a lot!
Nice article. I really learnt something. Watch how the style of my articles is going to change :)
Learnt lol
Grammar is tough. No one really uses grammar correctly unless its for work or school.
*it's 😂