Grammar Moves: Shaping Who You Are Book

Preface

Introduction

Part 1. You, the Doer

Ch. 1. Grammar for Being Assertive: The Colon

A Few Basics

Colons... and who you want to be

Having Your Turn

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Ch. 2. Grammar for Being Proactive: Active Voice

A Few Basics

Active Voice... and who you want to be

Living Pro-actively

Writing and Speaking Pro-actively

...Even in the Third Person

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Ch. 3. Grammar for Being Practical: Prepositions

A Few Basics

Prepositions... and who you want to be

Prepositions We Owe to Other People

Those We Owe Ourselves

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Ch. 4. Grammar for Being In Charge: The Imperative

A Few Basics

Imperatives...and who you want to be

Emergencies

Building Up to It

Gentle Imperatives

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Ch. 5. Grammar for Being Organized: Commas

A Few Basics

Commas... and who you want to be

Beyond Doing It By Feeling

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Ch. 6. Grammar for Being Optimistic: “But”

A Few Basics

But... and who you want to be

End-Focus

Alternatives to “But”

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Part 2. You, the Friend

Ch. 7. Grammar for Being Empathetic: Modifiers

A Few Basics

Modifiers... and who you want to be

The Failure to Put Oneself in the Reader’s Place

Examples–Funny and Unfunny

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Ch. 8. Grammar for Being Respectful: Apostrophes

A Few Basics

Apostrophes... and who you want to be

What They’re Good For, Really

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Ch. 9. Grammar for Being Trusting: Cutting Down on Exclamation Points and Intensifiers

A Few Basics

Exclamation Points, Intensifiers... and who you want to be

Earning a Listener’s Trust

Developing Trust in Yourself

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Ch. 10. Grammar for Being “Real”: Contractions, Parentheses, Etc.

A Few Basics

Contradictions, Parentheses, etc.... and who you want to be

Five Ways to Create Voice

A Cautionary Note

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Ch. 11. Grammar for Being Diplomatic: Semicolons

A Few Basics

Semicolons... and who you want to be

What We and the Semicolon Have in Common

A Punctuation Mark for This Age

Doing Without Thanks

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Ch. 12. Grammar for Being Generous: Cumulative Sentences

A Few Basics

Periodic and Cumulative Sentences... and who you want to be

The Generous Writer

Front-Loading and Back-Loading

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Ch. 13. Grammar for Being Intimate: Ellipses

A Few Basics

Ellipses... and who you want to be

Everyday Ellipses

The Secret to the Bonding Power of a Joke

Love Above All

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Ch. 14. Grammar for Being Forgiving: Past Tense

A Few Basics

Past Tense... and who you want to be

The Problem with the Present Tense

The Past Tense Alternative

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Ch. 15. Grammar for Being Expressive: Sentence Length, Etc.

A Few Basics

Sentence Length, Etc.... and who you want to be

The Musical Effect of Placement

The Musical Effect of Repetition

The Musical Effect of Sentence Length

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Part 3. You, the Thinker

Ch. 16. Grammar for Being Open-Minded: Cross-Outs

A Few Basics

Cross-Outs... and who you want to be

Normal Everyday Inquiry

Close-Minded vs. Open-Minded

The Sound of Crossing Out

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Ch. 17. Grammar for Being Adaptable: Adverbial Provisos

A Few Basics

Adverbial Provisos... and who you want to be

“Will” as Straitjacket

A Way Out

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Ch. 18. Grammar for Being Capable of Dealing with Complexity: The Cues of Complication

A Few Basics

Cues of Complication... and who you want to be

Tips for Avoiding Simple-Mindedness

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Ch. 19. Grammar for Being Well-Mentored: A Special Use of the Present Tense

A Few Basics

A Special Use of the Present Tense... and who you want to be

Grammatical Time Warp

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Ch. 20. Grammar for Being Honorable: Quotation Marks

A Few Basics

Quotation Marks... and who you want to be

What They Call It At School

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Ch. 21. Grammar for Being Modest: “I”

A Few Basics

Saying “I”... and who you want to be

“Me, Me, Me”

Striking a Humble Balance

The I in Storytelling

A Final Word on I

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Ch. 22. Grammar for Being Rebellious: Breaking the Rules

A Few Basics

Breaking Rules... and who you want to be

Using Grammar to Climb Kohlberg’s Hierarchy

Caveat

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A Grammarian’s Wish

Appendix A: Uses of the Passive Voice

Appendix B: MLA Citation Style

Common Types of MLA Citation on a Works Cited Page

The Format of a Works Cited Page