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What are Restrictive and Non-Restrictive Clauses?

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A clause is a group of words that usually contain a verb and other components. Clauses can form sentences on their own or with other clauses in a compound sentence. What's a Restrictive Clause? A restrictive clause provides essential information about a preceding noun within its sentence structure. Without the presence of the restrictive or defining relative clause. A restrictive clause is usually connect to the other clause/s by the following conjunctions: that, which, whose, who and whom. A comma should not be used in front of a restrictive clause. The mermaid who accidentally gave pirates the wrong directions, felt silly. In the above sentence, the mermaid is the restrictive clause. What's a Non-Restrictive Clause? A non-restrictive clause  is a clause that provides extra information which is not crucial to the sentence. Again with restrictive clauses, a non-restrictive clause is connected to the other clause/s with the following conjunctions: that, which, wh

What's a Clause in a Sentence?

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In its most basic form, a clause is a group of words which contain a verb, and other components. Clauses can form a complete sentence on their own, or just form part of a sentence. The Goblin spat at the butterfly. The above clause forms a complete sentence, and is the main clause but in the sentence below the same clause forms part of a sentence. The Goblin spat at the butterfly, as it had been harassing him for some time. This is an example of a compound sentence that contains two or more clauses linked a conjunction. What's a Subordinate Clause? A subordinate clause relies on the main clause for its meaning. The Goblin spat at the butterfly, as it had been harassing him for some time. As it had been harassing him for some time is the subordinate clause in the sentence. Without the main clause it makes no sense on its own. What's a Conditional Clause? A conditional clause describes something that is possible and usually begins with if or unless. The

What's a Parenthetical Expression?

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Parenthetical expressions sound terribly complicated but are really easy to understand and are very commonly used. So what is a parenthetical expression? These are expressions, or phrases often found in the middle of a sentence, that disrupts the flow of thought. They do not deal directly with the topic in hand. They are usually offset by commas, parentheses and dashes. The clauses that precede and follow a parenthetical expression can independently form a complete sentence without the parenthetical expression. A parenthetical expression is not essential to a sentence. Let's have a look at some examples: The cat woke up early that morning, he had mice to catch. He had mice to catch, the cat woke up early that morning. A parenthetical phrase can appear at the end or beginning of a sentence.  

What's an Indefinite Pronoun?

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Understanding what an indefinite pronoun is easy-peasy. An indefinite pronoun is a pronoun that does not refer to any person, or thing in particular. Examples of indefinite pronouns include: anything, something, anyone, everyone. This is how an indefinite pronoun can be used. There was something in the way In this sentence the indefinite pronoun is something. It is referring to an unknown entity. If you need to recap on what exactly is a pronoun, here's a quick reminder. A pronoun is simply a word used instead of a noun. Here are some examples of pronouns ; I, me, you, he, she, it, that, they, each, who, somebody.   There are three types of pronouns . These are subject pronouns, object pronouns and possessive pronouns. For more info on pronouns click here

What's a Pronominal Posessive?

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This sounds incredibly complicated but fortunately it's not. Let's break it down to find out what it means. . Pronominal - means playing the part of or relating, to a pronoun. Pronoun - A pronoun is simply a word used instead of a noun. Here are some examples of pronouns ; I, me, you, he, she, it, that, they, each, who, somebody.   Pronominal possessives - These include my, your, our, their, his, her and it's. They differ from other pronouns as they refer to a noun and show possession. They help to modify that noun and are technically adjectives. His muffins are burnt but hers are perfect. The pronominal possessives in this sentence are His and Hers they are used to refer to muffins.

Sanitarium Magazine - Issue 31

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I'm a big fan of Sanitarium Magazine, I had my short story, The Little Orphan Girl, published in issue 28. My first published short story,ever! Ever since I've been buying this magazine as the stories featured are really great, all killers, no fillers. The magazine features established authors, this issue features Ken Goldman whose stories have appeared in over 700, (yes 700!) independent publications worldwide. Also featured are some great up and coming writers like Brooke Warra who has appeared in Sanitarium before, alongside yours truly, in issue 28  with Spineless As stated on the back cover it is the perfect length for your in between reading. It's great to dip into on a boring commute into work. There's also some great articles on witches, zombies and the horror genre. There's an interview with author Josh Malerman and dark verse from Ian Sputnik, Austin Muratori and Layla Cummins. Here's why you should be reading Sanitarium Magazine   The Peculi

Sanitarium Magazine - Issue 30

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Sanitarium Magazine is published by Eye Trauma Press and if you like dark and macabre tales you'll love this monthly magazine which is available to buy in print and e-format. I've been incredibly fortunate in having one of my short stories published in issue 28 of Sanitarium and have since become hooked. This magazine also features great poetry from Terry Miller, James Michael Shoberg and Andrew Fortunato. There's some great articles on everything horror related such as zombies, splatterpunk  and interviews with Wayne Simmons and Dark Pond Creations. This magazine is out on the 20th of each month, you can buy your copy from Amazon. It's available in print and epub. Some Notes on the Reproductive Cycles of Arachnids by Nick Kimbro This amazing story starts off like any other story, a multi millionaire, Lucas Franklin Westhaven has gone missing and Skip Thompson, a insurance claims investigator has picked up his case. Shortly after this the story descends into

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

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The Name of the Star is the first book in a trilogy of books called Shades of London and is written by Maureen Johnson who so far has written ten highly successful novels. This is a book intended for young adults but it has a much wider appeal. The story centres around Aurora Deveaux, call me Rory, a US teen coming to study in London whilst her parents, two law professors from Benouville , Louisiana, have come over to lecture at Bristol University. I think the reason why I like this book so much is that I just love Rory. She's not a delicate girl who's insecure about how she looks, or how many friends she's making and whether she's just met the boy of her dreams. This girl is very refreshing, she's smart, down to earth, sure of herself and she's really funny. She's the sort of character any girl can relate to. When you start to read this book which is told by Rory in first person, you feel like you have been accepted by her as a close friend and t