A Step in the Write Direction--April 7, 2014--Using Pronouns

A Step in the Write Direction

April 7, 2014

Update: There’s an old saying, “We get too soon old and too late smart.” In other words, we’re never too old to learn—or relearn—a lesson. This was brought home to me last week when a dear friend was tearfully sharing a problem she was facing. I immediately came back with a similar problem I had faced in the past. Later I emailed her and apologized, and she replied, “We all have stories to share since we've all been through so much but sometimes we don't want to hear; we just want to unburden our hearts.” I’m praying that God will help me to truly listen and concentrate on what a person is saying instead of just thinking about what my response will be!

Thought for the Day: One day a lady criticized D. L. Moody for his methods of evangelism in attempting to win people to the Lord. Moody's reply was "I agree with you. I don't like the way I do it either. Tell me, how do you do it?" The lady replied, "I don't do it." Moody retorted, "Then I like my way of doing it better than your way of not doing it." (James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited [Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.] p. 178.)

Song for the Day:

Come ye weary, heavy laden, lost and ruined by the fall;

If you tarry till you’re better, you will never come at all.

Let not conscience make you linger, nor of fitness fondly dream;

All the fitness He requireth is to feel your need of Him.

— Joseph Hart, 1759, “Come Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy”

Laugh for the Day:

How’s Business?

“My business is looking better,” said the optometrist.

“My business is down in the dumps,” said the garbage man.

“Mine is rolling in dough,” said the baker.

“My business has sunk to a new low,” said the deep-sea diver.

“My business is going up and down,” said the elevator operator.

“My business is sick,” said the doctor.

—Jokes—Hours and Hours of Great Laughs, Michael J. Pellowski, compiler (New York: Waldman Publishing Corp., 1980), 105.

Writer’s Tips—Using Pronouns

Weak:   “She and her brother were always been close. Before her brother married, they did

everything together, went places together. Then her brother moved out of state and she went to college, and everything changed.”

Better:  “She and her brother were always been close. Before he married, they did everything

together, went places together. Then he moved out of state and she went to college, and everything changed.”

Whenever you use a pronoun such as “they,” “he,” “it,” etc., make sure the reader knows who or what the pronoun is referring to.

• “Linda says that her mother always gives her children too many presents.” Whose children is the mother spoiling?

“It’s” only needs an apostrophe if used as a contraction, not in possessive:

The dog lost its bone.

I’ll be glad when it’s (it is) payday.

 I or me?

John, Eunice, and I were all sick.

Father sent for John, Eunice, and me. (To determine which one should be used, delete “John, Eunice, and” and see how it reads as “Father sent for I.”)

We or us?

We girls will be waiting for you. (Delete “girls” and it reads okay.)

He waited for us girls. (Delete “girls” and it reads okay.)

 Have a good week spreading the

gospel through the printed page.

Donna Clark Goodrich

dgood648@aol.com

www.thewritersfriend.net

http://donna-goodrich.blogspot.com

 

www.thewritersfriend.net
"A Step in the Write Direction--the Complete How-to Guide for Christian Writers"

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