In the first three parts, we discussed formatting, punctuation, capitalization, sentence structure, and verbs-active and passive. Now, we are going to talk about parts of speech.
It is important to use the correct words such as nouns or pronouns. I have seen writers choose the wrong pronouns when speaking about people.
Nouns and Pronouns
When you want to choose a pronoun instead of a noun, you need to make sure you are choosing the right words. The most common mistakes are choosing between the words "that," "who," or "whom." Let's look at some examples of each word.
Using Whom"
Whom is used as a direct object. It also refers to people and not things. Let's look at the following example.
Bill thought back about all of the women that he dated before he finally met the woman of his dreams.
Look at the word "that." This is a common mistake. Writers often misuse the words "that," "who," and "whom." In the sentence, you should use the word "whom" instead of "that."
That refers to things, and who or whom refers to people.
In the above example the word "that" refers to "women." Therefore, you should use who or whom. In this sentence, you need to use the word whom since he is the subject. Whom is used as a direct object.
Using Who
Now let's look at an example of when to use the word "who." The word "who" is used as a subject. It takes place of the noun.
Bill thought he heard something outside. He peeked through the window to see if he could tell who was there.
Who is the subject, and was is the verb.
Let's look at another example:
Penny and Abby wanted to go to a movie. It was Penny who chose which movie to go to. The word "who" is used because it is used as a subject. The verb is "chose."
Using the word "that."
Now let's look at an example of when to use the word "that."
The dogs that sat in the window were the noisy ones.
In this example the word "that" refers to the subject, "dogs." Therefore, you need to use the word "that."
Let's look at this example:
The house with the blue trim is the one we chose because that looks like the best one for us.
You use the word "that" because it refers to the word house.
Once you have your word usage correct, your manuscript will be ready to submit to a publisher. It is important to make sure that you use correct grammar, punctuation, capitalization, active verbs, and correct nouns and pronouns.
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