We may not have it all together, but together we have it all.
As we start into this series on grammar, a couple of overall comments. Grammar is a subject I was taught in school all the way from first grade to eleventh grade. Eleven years of the same subject, either all year long or at least for one semester.
If it takes eleven years for professional teachers with textbooks at their disposal, it’s probably not a subject I’m going to deal with successfully in a blog or two. With that in mind, we’re going to go through grammar on a slow and easy course here. No rush. Instead of trying to cover everything I can think of in a few weekly sessions, I intend to cover one item each week. Some weeks the point I’m covering may take 1200 words. Other weeks, I may say everything that needs to be said in 100 words. Once I’ve said it, I see no reason to try to drag it out. By the way, if I misspell “grammar” somewhere along the way, it’s because I’ve got cousins named “Grammer.” So don’t let that confuse you.
Rather than try to outline the entire series like a teacher would for a course in school, I’ll be commenting each week on grammatical errors I’ve recently noticed and how to avoid them. I’m way too disorganized to outline a course. One other little caveat. I will defer to correction from Microsoft Word’s spelling and grammar check functions unless I know them to be clearly in error.
Today, we’re going to discuss a common misuse of the preposition “of.” Pretty small and limited subject, huh? Yeah, but one on which writers so frequently err, it’s worthy of a session by itself.
How often have you read a statement like, “It wasn’t that good of an example?” What does that mean?
“Of” is a preposition, meaning that when it is properly used it must have an object. If you remember diagramming sentences (Do they even teach that anymore?), this sentence would have to be diagrammed with the subject (It) and the verb (was) and the predicate adjective (good) on the main line. “Of an example” would have to be a prepositional phrase modifying “good.”
Is that really what anyone means with a statement such as this? Of course not. We didn’t intend for “example” to modify “good.” We wanted “good” to modify “example.”
We were trying to say that the example wasn’t really all that good. In order to accomplish that, we have to delete the “of.” That’s all that necessary to make a coherent statement out of this.
The sentence, correctly stated, would be: “It wasn’t that good an example.” Now “good,” an adjective, modifies “example,” a noun, just as we intended for it to do.
Does this seem like a pretty small thing to you? Well, I guess it is in a way. After all, we’re talking about a single two-letter word here. But it’s a lot more important than just the two little letters it takes to write the word. The misuse of it in situations like this leaves us with a completely incoherent statement.
Whether it’s “that good of an example” or “that pretty of a picture” or “that tasty of a dessert” or whatever, let’s remember to ask ourselves what the object of the preposition “of” is before using it. If the answer to that question leaves an incoherent statement, let’s just omit the “of.”
——————————————
David N. Walker is a Christian father and grandfather, a grounded pilot and a near-scratch golfer who had to give up the game because of shoulder problems. A graduate of Duke University, he spent 42 years as a health insurance agent. Most of that career was spent in Texas, but for a few years he traveled many other states. He started writing about 20 years ago, and has six unpublished novels to use as primers on how NOT to write fiction. He has just e-pubbed his devotional, Heaven Sent: 67 Stories of Godly Thoughts and Inspiration (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008CRL82M). His new fiction work—a series of novellas set during the period from 1860 to 1880 is underway. The first one is in the editing process, and he’s currently writing the second one.
Contact me at davwalktx@yahoo.com or tweet me at @davidnwalkertx
David N Walker 
Thanks, Amberr. I hope I keep it interesting and helpful.
LikeLike
Oh, I LOVE this series already, David! Poor grammar is one of my pet peeves. Your example is one that bothers me every time I experience it. Thank you for being our grammar teacher!
LikeLike
Could you swing by a few high schools and remind them how to speak like intelligent people? I know they could, if they tried…or cared.
LikeLike
I’d love to.
LikeLike
Thanks for tuning in, Marcia.
LikeLike
Thank you for doing my job. I can’t do it in the summer. Please explain to people why they shouldn’t say: “That was so fun.” See how that goes over. 😉
LikeLike
Now I know why I like you so much, Renee. I’m not the only weirdo who cares about grammer.
LikeLike
While I was fast drafting I’d find myself wondering if something was grammatically correct or not, especially in dialogue whether it’d be a new paragraph. It’s going to be awful when I edit it, but Candace Havens says it’s easier to correct a page with words on it than a blank one.
LikeLike
Jess, that reminds me of a statement my late partner used to make: “God can’t steer a parked car.” In other words, get off your rear and do something, then let Him lead you down the path He wants for you.
LikeLike
Excellent first lesson, David. Thanks!
LikeLike
Thank you, Pat. Many more to come.
LikeLike
Uh-oh – now I’m going to add another layer of anxiety to my grammar usage! I’m already paranoid about commas! Oh, and remembering how to spell “grammar”, and I don’t have anyone named Grammer in my family! 🙂
LikeLike
Okay, Lara, in that case I won’t mention where the comma belongs after “grammar” in your comment.
LikeLike
David, this was a great example. I am definitely dropping in to take my grammar lessons with you. So very excited. I know I have lots to learn. Diagramming a sentence? Never heard of such a thing. Wait… I think I should have said, “Never heard such a thing.”
Thank you!
LikeLike
Thanks, Karlene. People my age don’t have much excuse for poor grammar. It was drummed into our heads year after year, but I think educators began de-emphasizing it not long after my generation passed through school.
LikeLike
Yikes, I think I do that. I’ll have to watch my ‘of’s’. This is going to be a great series, I’m looking forward to more!
LikeLike
Thanks, Tameri. I think I’m probably walking a fine line here between helping people and stepping on toes. No toe-squashing intended.
LikeLike
Step away, my friend. If my toes need squashing, I am more than thankful that you’ll do it! Think of it this way ~ you are only working to make us stronger writers. Who can get cranky with that? No one! You’re helping people. Period.
And for that, I thank you.
LikeLike
I, too, am really looking forward to this series! I am fairly proficient with grammar, but I know you are better! I can’t wait to fix the little things I consistently do wrong. For example, I’ve never mastered the difference between lay and lie! I’ve been taught it a hundred times, but it leaks out of my brain! Ha!
LikeLike
Thanks, Lynn. You just gave me another subject.
LikeLike
I am looking forward to the series David!
LikeLike
Thanks, Christy. I hope you find it helpful.
LikeLike