Sydney Writers' Centre blog

Tip: What is a non-sequitur?

What does non sequitur mean? There are a lot of terms used in English that are taken straight from the original Latin words. One is "non sequitur". This means "it does not follow".

So here is an example where you might use it:

John: "I think we should explain to our shareholders that the revenue forecast is very positive of the company so we are changing the colours of our logo."

Bob: "That's a non sequitur."

Tip: Should you put a comma after 'however'?

The word ‘however’ has a number of different meanings depending on how you use it in a sentence. If you’re going to use ‘however’ at the start of a sentence, to mean ‘but’, you must always use a comma. This example is from Mark Tredinnick’s The Little Green Grammar Book:

The book was longer and later than expected. However, it was better.

If you don’t use the comma, it sounds like you’re using ‘however’ as an adverb. For example:
However you look at it, the book was better. 

Tip: Company names as plural or singular nouns

I see this mistake so often, that I suspect this grammar error may have dropped completely off people's writing radar because we see both versiond all the time. Do you know which of these two sentences is correct?

Coles believes they are the best supermarket.
Coles believes it is the best supermarket.

Should the company name Coles be treated as plural or singular? There are a lot of people who work at Coles, and a lot of stores, so is the plural version correct?

The second sentence is correct. The business name is a singular noun, even if it looks plural, and therefore you must use a singular verb. People often make this mistake, but just remember that a company is a single entity.

Tip: How to use multiple punctuation marks in quotes

Always watch where you place your punctuation when using quotes. According to the Australian Style Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers:

"…when two different punctuation marks appear together, one applying to the quotation and the other to the sentence, both should be printed."

Here is an example:
Did he hear the Speaker call ‘Order!’?
He said, ‘Do you think I am mad?’.

Do you overuse quote marks?

People often make the mistake of over-using quote marks.

Check out this passage:

"I went to the grocery store," says Melanie. "I bought milk, sugar and marmalade. But they had run out of butter so I had to go to the shopping centre.

"On my way to there, I stopped at the post office in order to mail a package to my auntie in Queensland."

Notice that there are no closed quote marks after shopping centre.

Some people say that a closed quote mark should be inserted after shopping centre because it's the end of a paragraph. This is WRONG. Because Melanie hasn't finished talking, you DO NOT close the quote mark.

However, as her quote continues on the next paragraph, you DO open the new paragraph with an opening quote mark.

 

Tip: Presume vs Assume

This is a tricky one from the world of seemingly interchangeable words - when should you use 'presume' and when 'assume'? The two words are very similar in meaning, but there is a clear difference between them that can help you to use the right word.

To presume is to 'suppose that something is probably the case', but with some probability that you are correct.

For example: We presume Steve Jobs has qualifications in computer science.

If you assume something is so, then you accept it 'as true without proof'.

For example: We assume the Apple store will sell pink iPhone covers.

Tip: When should you use an ampersand? And what the hell is it?

We're often asked when it's ok to use an ampersand. If you're not sure what this is, it's the symbol for and: "&". Yes the "squiggle for the word and" as we've heard it referred to.

The short answer is: almost never. It's acceptable to use it when it's part of a name like:
* sass & bide (clothing label)
* Johnson & Johnson (health company)

While you may see the ampersand used in SMS or Twitter messages and on signs (in order to save space), it should generally not be used to replace the word "and" in everyday letters, websites, books and so on.

Tip: That is a real problem

We all have quirky writing habits that need attention. Mine involves the word "that". When I write, I know I overuse the term. So when I'm finished, I always go over my work and delete any extraneous "thats". It's a useful exercise for all writers so I encourage you to do it too. Read through your work: if the sentence still makes sense when you delete the word "that", do it.

For example:
Rambo the dog knew that he was going to get dinner soon.

Delete the word "that" and it still makes sense:
Rambo the dog knew he was going to get dinner soon.

Tip: Fulsome or full

I see and hear this mistake so often that it’s rapidly becoming a pet peeve. Many people believe that fulsome is closely related to full or fullest, and it is, but definitely not as a synonym.

Fulsome means excessive, off-putting or cloying to the point of disgust. Apparently full and fulsome do have similar etymological roots, but the two words must not be confused because such an error would completely change the meaning of your sentence.

For example, these two sentences explain a very different situation:

Maria was uncomfortable with Claire’s fulsome praise of her latest story.

Claire was full of praise for Maria’s latest story.

Or
James made fulsome apologies for his late arrival.

James apologised, and took full responsibility for his late arrival.

Did you know: Is your new character “ingenious” or “ingenuous”?

The confusion curse of Microsoft Word spell check has struck, correcting my rushed typing out of the word ingenious with ingenuous. In my defense, the key vowels are all in a line on my keyboard, but I was intrigued by how close the spelling is of the two words, and researched their origins.

Ingenuous means to be honest, open and sincere and it comes from the Latin word igenuus that is very similar to our modern word and almost means freeborn and generous. Interestingly, the Latin root word for ingenuous can also imply ingenious, but the modern word ingenuous does not. Ingenuous can also mean innocent, unworldly and naïve, and you’re probably familiar with the character archetype of the ingénue, often a girl or young woman who is endearingly innocent and usually has the best intentions.
 
This is clearly different from ingenious, which means to be brilliant and creative, and is usually used in association with inventing something, or a new idea or insight. The term ingenious comes from the Latin word ingenium that means inherent talent and the ability to cleverly devise new ideas and solutions.  This root word has no link to ingenuous.