when is now.
In a letter to the local library board, you might find a sentence like this:
Since the new branch is so popular and the main library is underused, it is
here
we should spend our resources.
What does the writer mean? Should the bucks go to the new library, or the old one? In other words, where is
here?
The writer might mean this:
Since the new branch is so popular, it is
here
we should spend our resources, not on the underused main library.
Or this:
Since the main library is underused, it is
here
we should spend our resources, not on the popular new branch.
Those sentences may not be graceful, but their meaning is obvious. When
here
or
there
could refer to more than one place, rearrange the sentence to make clear which place you mean. Otherwise the reader will be nowhere.
We can run into the same sort of trouble with
now
and
then.
Here's part of an e-mail that an insurance agent might receive after a fender bender:
The roads were slippery even before the rain turned to sleet, and it was
now
the car began to skid
. When is
now?
Did the car start to skid before or after the rain turned to sleet?
Here's one interpretation:
The roads were slippery and it was
now
the car began to skid, even before the rain turned to sleet.
Here's another:
The rain turned to sleet on the slippery roads, and it was
now
the car began to skid.
Two more words,
this
and
that,
can also be used to indicate time and place. And like the others, they can be misread:
The Hotel Pierre is in the East Sixties, and this is where she'd like to stay.
Where is
this
? In the hotel, or in the neighborhood?
We can clear things up by dropping
this
:
The Hotel Pierre is in the East Sixties, where she'd like to stay.
Or:
She'd like to stay at the Hotel Pierre, which is in the East Sixties.
Incidentally, these words (
here
and
there, now
and
then, this
and
that
)can trip you up in other ways, as well. For more on them, and on other kinds of illogical writing, see chapter 17.
As is often the case, what's good for a single sentence is good for the whole enchilada. Get used to thinking about time and place with each sentence you write. Then you'll be less likely to muddle the larger picture. You'll keep the wheres and the whens straight from paragraph to paragraph, section to section, chapter to chapter.
Now, where was I?
10. The It Parade
PRONOUN PILEUPS
How about it? And while we're at it, let's talk about
us
âalso
he, she, him, her, they,
and a slew of similar words, the small conveniences that refer to things or people we'd rather not mention by name.
These words are called pronouns because they're substitutes for nouns (
pro
means "for" or "in place of"). Most of the time we can decipher the shorthand and figure out what
it
is and who
they
are. When the words in a sentence are in the right order, there's no doubt about
it
. Even when the word order is iffy, logic and context usually help us fill in the blanksâbut don't count on it.
This sentence leaves no doubt:
The La-Z-Boy is moth-eaten, so Homer's replacing
it . Here,
it
can only mean the La-Z-Boy.
Add another noun, though, and the shorthand is blurry:
The upholstery on the La-Z-Boy is moth-eaten, so Homer's replacing
it .
Is it
the La-Z-Boy or the upholstery? Will the mystery noun please stand up? You might mean this:
The upholstery is moth-eaten, so Homer's replacing the La-Z-Boy.
Or this:
The La-Z-Boy is moth-eaten, so Homer's replacing the upholstery.
It
is one of those creepy-crawly words that sneak up on writers. Every time you write it, imagine a reader asking, "What is it?" If
it
isn't obvious, either ditch it or rearrange the words.
Be careful with sentences like this, with two or more nouns in front of an it:
Philippe kept his opinion of the painting to himself until
it
became popular.
Until what became popular, the painting or his opinion? Make sure the reader knows what
it
is. Try this:
Until the painting became popular, Philippe kept his opinion of
it
to
In a letter to the local library board, you might find a sentence like this:
Since the new branch is so popular and the main library is underused, it is
here
we should spend our resources.
What does the writer mean? Should the bucks go to the new library, or the old one? In other words, where is
here?
The writer might mean this:
Since the new branch is so popular, it is
here
we should spend our resources, not on the underused main library.
Or this:
Since the main library is underused, it is
here
we should spend our resources, not on the popular new branch.
Those sentences may not be graceful, but their meaning is obvious. When
here
or
there
could refer to more than one place, rearrange the sentence to make clear which place you mean. Otherwise the reader will be nowhere.
We can run into the same sort of trouble with
now
and
then.
Here's part of an e-mail that an insurance agent might receive after a fender bender:
The roads were slippery even before the rain turned to sleet, and it was
now
the car began to skid
. When is
now?
Did the car start to skid before or after the rain turned to sleet?
Here's one interpretation:
The roads were slippery and it was
now
the car began to skid, even before the rain turned to sleet.
Here's another:
The rain turned to sleet on the slippery roads, and it was
now
the car began to skid.
Two more words,
this
and
that,
can also be used to indicate time and place. And like the others, they can be misread:
The Hotel Pierre is in the East Sixties, and this is where she'd like to stay.
Where is
this
? In the hotel, or in the neighborhood?
We can clear things up by dropping
this
:
The Hotel Pierre is in the East Sixties, where she'd like to stay.
Or:
She'd like to stay at the Hotel Pierre, which is in the East Sixties.
Incidentally, these words (
here
and
there, now
and
then, this
and
that
)can trip you up in other ways, as well. For more on them, and on other kinds of illogical writing, see chapter 17.
As is often the case, what's good for a single sentence is good for the whole enchilada. Get used to thinking about time and place with each sentence you write. Then you'll be less likely to muddle the larger picture. You'll keep the wheres and the whens straight from paragraph to paragraph, section to section, chapter to chapter.
Now, where was I?
10. The It Parade
PRONOUN PILEUPS
How about it? And while we're at it, let's talk about
us
âalso
he, she, him, her, they,
and a slew of similar words, the small conveniences that refer to things or people we'd rather not mention by name.
These words are called pronouns because they're substitutes for nouns (
pro
means "for" or "in place of"). Most of the time we can decipher the shorthand and figure out what
it
is and who
they
are. When the words in a sentence are in the right order, there's no doubt about
it
. Even when the word order is iffy, logic and context usually help us fill in the blanksâbut don't count on it.
This sentence leaves no doubt:
The La-Z-Boy is moth-eaten, so Homer's replacing
it . Here,
it
can only mean the La-Z-Boy.
Add another noun, though, and the shorthand is blurry:
The upholstery on the La-Z-Boy is moth-eaten, so Homer's replacing
it .
Is it
the La-Z-Boy or the upholstery? Will the mystery noun please stand up? You might mean this:
The upholstery is moth-eaten, so Homer's replacing the La-Z-Boy.
Or this:
The La-Z-Boy is moth-eaten, so Homer's replacing the upholstery.
It
is one of those creepy-crawly words that sneak up on writers. Every time you write it, imagine a reader asking, "What is it?" If
it
isn't obvious, either ditch it or rearrange the words.
Be careful with sentences like this, with two or more nouns in front of an it:
Philippe kept his opinion of the painting to himself until
it
became popular.
Until what became popular, the painting or his opinion? Make sure the reader knows what
it
is. Try this:
Until the painting became popular, Philippe kept his opinion of
it
to
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