Bad, badly. “Bad” is an adjective and can therefore only modify nouns; “badly” is an adverb that modifies only verbs: “This really is a bad manuscript, but I feel badly about its rejection.” See modifier.
Badly. See bad.
B.C., B.C.E. These abbreviations stand for “before Christ” and “before the common era,” and they refer to the time before the birth of Christ. They are added to dates to distinguish where the dates fall in the commonly accepted Western dating system. These abbreviations are usually not spelled out, follow the whole date, and appear in capital letters with periods. Using lower case or dropping the periods is acceptable in many styles and less formal writing, though A.D. (“anno Domini” or after Christ), B.C., and B.C.E. usually appear in more formal works, where the standard rule should be followed. See capitalization.
In many Western cultures, years are counted forward from the birth of Christ to the present (“A.D. 1989 was four years ago”), while years are counted in reverse order back from that date into so-called prehistory (“426 B.C. is a later date than 537 B.C. but comes before A.D. 426”). Of course, non-Western cultures don’t all see time this way, and even many Western cultures use alternate systems. Jews (or at least some Israelis) use the Hebrew calendar that sets the beginning of time at the Creation, which took place, in their view, about 5,500 years ago. Some people prefer not to date time from the birth of Christ but accept the commonest Western dating system by adding C.E. and B.C.E. (after the “common era” or before it) to dates.
B.C.E. See B.C.
Be. “Be” is the main form of the common linking verb and auxiliary. In its many forms it is probably the most used verb or verb form in English, often overused in bland writing or weak writing. Because its conjugation is irregular, “be” is also frequently misused. See agreement and irregular verbs.
The forms of “be” are
| SINGULAR | PLURAL | |
| Present tense | ||
| First person | I am | we are |
| Second person | you are | you are |
| Third person | he/she/it is | they are |
| Past tense | ||
| First person | I was | we were |
| Second person | you were | you were |
| Third person | he/she/it was | they were |
The future tense is regular (“I will be …”); the present participle and gerund are “being” and the past participle is “been.”
Errors in the use of forms of “be” are quite common. Some contend that many such “errors” are in fact dialectical usages that should not be seen as incorrect (see dialect). However, any statement in standard English or that is likely to be judged by your audience by the standards of formal English should not contain either errors or dialectical forms. Thus “I be here” might be admissible in some specific circumstances that accept dialect or nonstandard speech or writing, but such constructions should never appear in everyday business, school, or other common communications. Also see black English, grammar, rules, and style.
As a linking verb, “be” and its forms suggest some sort of general equality or equivalency between the subject of a sentence and its complement rather than some action the subject does to an object. “The dog is a puppy” rather than “The dog bites a cat.” The words “a puppy” in this example are a predicate noun in the nominative case. These grammatical definitions are important only when you are dealing with pronouns in the predicates of sentences with linking verbs like “be.” Pronouns change forms from nominative to objective case, and you should, according to the rules of grammar, follow a linking verb with a nominative: “It is I.” “The group that will do the project is we.” The problem with this rule is that usage has changed so much that strictly correct constructions like “It is I” have come to sound pretentious in many circumstances.
Depending on the audience you are addressing, you need to choose how closely you will follow the rule of putting nominative pronouns after linking verbs. In a college paper, follow the rule strictly. In other communications, you might well follow usage that is less stringent. Better, revise the sentence to avoid facing the problem and perhaps causing your audience to wonder about what you have said or written: “It is Jane.” “We are the group that will do the project.”
Beat, beat, beaten. An irregular verb in its main, past tense, and past participle forms.
Beaten. See beat.
Became. See become.
Because, because of. As a subordinating conjunction, “because” links dependent clauses to main or independent clauses and defines the relationship between the clauses as causal. Be sure that clauses you link with “because” actually have a cause-and-effect linkage, and be sure not to start too many sentences with “because” (because it gets boring after a while and because the conjunction “because” commands readers or listeners to accept your view of causality, which they may not agree with or may come to resent).
Note that “because of” is usually used to indicate causation in which a clause is seen as the effect: “The day loomed long because of the many tests we had to take.” When the effect is a noun directly followed by a linking verb like “be,” cause-and-effect relationships should be indicated by “due to”: “The long day will be due to many tests to be taken.”
Because of. See because.
Become, became, become. An irregular verb in its main, past tense, and past participle forms. See linking verbs.
Before. Preposition governing the objective case: “The teacher stood before us and lectured.” Adverb of time: “The guide got there before him.”
Began. See begin.
Begin, began, begun. An irregular verb in its main, past tense, and past participle forms.
Begun. See begin.
Behind. Preposition governing the objective case: “In the photograph the statue stood behind her.”
Below. Preposition governing the objective case: “The shark prowled below him.”
Beneath. Preposition governing the objective case: “The earth shook beneath him during the quake.”
Beside, besides. Although usage no longer makes so clear a distinction between “beside” (next to, alongside of) and “besides” (in addition to, moreover), standard English prefers that the words not be confused: “I sat beside the door. Two other people besides me sat beside the door.” While “beside” is sometimes acceptable in the sense of “in addition to,” “besides” is a clearly incorrect spelling in the sense of “next to.”
Best. The superlative degree of good is “best”: “That is the best of the three examples.” “The rose smells best of all the flowers.” Don’t confuse “best” with “better”—“best” is used when more than two things are being compared, while “better” compares only two things to each other.
Better. The comparative degree of “good” is “better”: “That is a better example than the other one.” “The rose smells better than the lily does.” When comparisons are between an individual and a group of several others seen as a unit or collective, use “better” rather than “best” or “best of”: “The fiddler plays better than all the other musicians.” “The fiddler is better than the rest.” Don’t confuse “better” with “best.”
Between. See among.
Beyond. Preposition governing the objective case: “The process was beyond him.”
Bit. See bite.
Bite, bit, bitten. An irregular verb in its main, past tense, and past participle forms.
Bitten. See bite.
Black English. African-Americans sometimes speak and write in one or more dialects that are lumped together under the term “black English.” Like any dialect, black English is acceptable only in nonstandard statements. But also like any dialect, black English is not clearly distinct from standard English, nor is it always clear under what circumstances dialect or standard English should be used. As with all grammar and usage rules, apply those of standard English whenever you have any doubt that the standards of dialect might be taken as defective or deficient.
Bland writing. Although weak or bland writing is not strictly a grammatical or usage problem, it does violate one of the key principles of this book: serving the audience for your statements with clarity, brevity, and efficiency. Bland writing is often clear, concise, and economical in its presentation of ideas or information. But it also lulls readers or listeners into inattention, so that they sometimes lose track of what you are trying to convey. Thus clarity can be obscured, brevity can be lost to repetition, and efficiency vanishes.
There are no simple rules for avoiding bland writing, and the purpose of this book does not provide for a long exploration of the symptoms, causes, and cures for dull writing. But keep in mind that overuse of “be” and other vague linking verbs, repetition of the same constructions or patterns of writing, and heavy reliance on either very simple or very complex sentences can produce bland writing. Consult guides for writers, style manuals, and similar sources for more help in enlivening your writing; and remember that you have a duty to keep your audience interested as well to meet their need for correct, clear, brief, and effective communication.
Block quotations. In most nonacademic writing quotations can be set off simply by enclosing the quoted words in quotation marks and proper punctuation. However, at times your audience will not be easily able to grasp where a long quotation starts or ends, or whether what they are reading is in fact still part of a long quotation that started sometime ago but may or may not have ended.
A simple strategy in writing to ensure that longer passages are clearly marked is to indent them, making a “block quotation.” Such blocks can be introduced by simple phrases like ‘Smith said’ followed by a comma or colon, some space to set off the block, and then the indented passage. Or some small part of the quotation can appear in unindented text along with transitional words that introduce the block: “The speech was brilliant. ‘Ask not,’ Kennedy said,
what your country can do for you. …”
Block quotes are not surrounded by quotation marks. If the block includes quotations of words from someone other than the original speaker, those passages are set off by quotes:
Professor Brown liked the speech. The academic repeated one of the most memorable statements in it, “Kennedy said, ‘Ask not what your country can do for you,’ and then he moved on to other topics. I liked that.” The professor then talked about the meaning of political speeches.
If your audience will be interested in the source of your block quotation, the simplest way to present it is in parentheses directly after the passage:
… but what you can do for your country (Kennedy, Collected Speeches, p. 79).
There are other more elaborate procedures and rules in various systems for indicating the source of a quotation and showing it in a document. Consult a style manual or writing guide recommended by your school, business, or agency if you need to adopt a specific system of citing or presenting sources for block or other quotations.
Block quotation is a form of emphasis that can be applied to your own words in a written document. Indented passages stand out even if they are not quotations from others.
Blow, blew, blown. An irregular verb in its main, past tense, and past participle forms.
Blown. See blow.
Bold type. Darkened, thickened letters in print are called “bold” or “boldface.” Such letters often appear in titles, captions, and similar places where emphasis is desired to call attention to something. The alphabetical subjects in the entries throughout this book appear in bold type.
Both … and. The correlative conjunctions “both … and” are used to link two equal things or people: “Both Mary and John give excellent speeches.” No comma should stand before “and” in this construction, and the agreeing verb should be in the plural. See agreement.
Bracket. The squarish punctuation marks ([…]) used in some circumstances to set off added or supplementary material are called “brackets.” Their main function is to indicate a secondary level of enclosure of sentence elements within parentheses: “The value of gold ($350 [2,100 francs] on September 4) has a close relationship to inflation.” If it is possible to avoid such complex constructions, which are hard for readers to follow unless they are used to such a style (as scientists are), you should do so.
Brackets are also used (usually in more scholarly writing) to insert words into quotations that weren’t there in the first place but that the writer thinks are necessary to make the quotation comprehensible to the reader: “Kennedy said, ‘Ask not what your country can do for you but [ask] what you can do for your country.’ ” The purpose of such insertions is usually not to indicate opinions about the matter being quoted but to supply bridge words or other aids to the reader. Avoid using brackets to set off criticisms or other views of quotes. WRONG: “He said, ‘Ask not [well, why shouldn’t we ask?].…’ ” Move such commentary to separate sentences, allowing the source of the ideas you want to annotate the courtesy of having his or her say before your thoughts intrude on the statement.
Break, broke, broken. An irregular verb in its main, past tense, and past participle forms.
Bring, brought, brought. An irregular verb in its main, past tense, and past participle forms.
British English. Standard English in America differs from correct English in Great Britain (as well as in Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, and other parts of the world where English is the first, official, or common language). It is usually seen as an error, an affectation, or a substandard performance to apply the standards of one English where another is commonly accepted. But, as with the lines between dialect and standard speech, the boundaries between national or regional versions of English are often fuzzy and subject to the constraints of audience preferences and the speaker or writer’s skill at playing with conventions and expectations.
In general, the simplest rule to follow is: When in doubt, strictly observe the standards of your native language or version of English. Attempts to emulate British or other non-American versions of English can prove embarrassing to you or insulting to your audience. Of course, when you are in another country, you must adopt some of its usages and vocabulary in order to be understood. Insisting on American standard English when talking to an Australian waiter is just as pointless as trying to sound like a British lord or lady if you aren’t one.
Broke. See break.
Broken. See break.
Brought. See bring.
Build, built, built. An irregular verb in its main, past tense, and past participle forms.
Built. See build.
Burn, burned, burned. An irregular verb in its main, past tense, and past participle forms.
Burned. See burn.
Burst, burst, burst. An irregular verb in its main, past tense, and past participle forms.
But. The coordinating conjunction “but” links two more or less equivalent things, people, or parts of a sentence: “I watered the flowers but not the plant.” “The flowers bloomed, but the plant eventually died.” When two nouns, pronouns, or phrases are joined by “but,” no comma comes before the conjunction. When two independent clauses connect with “but,” as in the second sentence in the example, a comma comes at the end of the first clause. Series of more than two things or clauses joined by “but” should have a comma before “but”: “I came, I saw, but I didn’t conquer.”
Buy. See by.
By, bye, buy. Don’t confuse the preposition of agency or time “by” (“The work is being done by Chris; it will be finished by ten.”) with its homonyms “bye” (a short version of “good-bye,” or not having to take part in a round of competition: “The high-ranking tennis players get a bye in the preliminaries and don’t have to play.”) and “buy” (purchase). Note that “buy” has irregular forms in the past tense and past participle: “buy, bought, bought.” See irregular verbs.
Bye. See by.