AND

CHAPTER 2 MECHANICS
IN
TECHNICAL
GRAMMAR
WRITING
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
In this chapter, you are expected to achieve the following:
1. determine the standard language to be used in technical
writing; 2. correct sentence and paragraph errors in terms of
grammar and mechanics; and
3. write statements observing the English language grammar,
correct spelling, and proper use of words in a sentence.

Grammar and Mechanics in Technical Writing

In any technical communication, grammar, and mechanics are
essential elements. When writing technical documents, it is vital to
consider correctness in the following: (1) spelling, (2) capitalization,
(3) punctuation, and (4) grammar usage.

Spelling
According to Nadell, Langan, and Comodromos (2009), “Spelling
need not be a mystery.” For reference, it is important to have
onhand an updated copy of a dictionary. If you use a word
processor, there is an automatic “spell check” program. Another
strategy to improve your ability of spelling words correctly is
through keeping a personal inventory of the words you misspell.
Lastly, it is also important to know about basic spelling rules to
minimize spelling errors.

When i and e are adjacent

i before e except after c when pronounced like a
as in neighbor and
weigh

achieve ceiling beige

piece conceited freight

 thief deceive reign

yield receive their

11
The rule does not apply if the i and e are in separate syllables:
science or society. It also does not apply to the following exceptions:

affeine inveigles seize

either leisure sleight

financier neither species

foreign protein weird

1. Doubling the final consonant

This rule applies to words that satisfy the following
conditions: • The word’s last three letters must be
consonant, vowel,
consonant and
• The word must be either one syllable (plan) or
accented on the final syllable (control).
In such cases, double the final consonant before adding
an ending that begins with a vowel (such as -ed, -er, -al, and
-ing):

plan/planned control/ controller

refer/ referral begin/ beginning

However, do not double the final consonant in the

following cases: • Words that end in a silent e
(pave/paved, mope/moping) • Words ending in two
vowels and a consonant
or in two consonants (appear/ appearance, talk/ talking)
• Words whose accent is not on the final syllable
(develop/developing)
• Words that no longer are accented on the final
syllable when the ending is added (refer/reference,
prefer/preferable).
An exception is the word questionnaire.

2. Dropping the final silent e

 For a word that ends in a silent e, drop the e before
adding an ending that begins with a vowel.
cope/coping receive/receivable
cute/cutest guide/guidance

But keep the e before an ending beginning with a

consonant: sincere/ sincerely base/ basement
definite/ definitely nine/ ninety

12
Exceptions include the following: truly, awful, argument;
dyeing and singeing (to avoid confusion with dying and
singing); changeable, courageous, manageable, noticeable,
and similar words where the final e is needed to keep the
sound of the g or c soft.

3. Adding to words that end in y

For most words ending in y, change the y to ie before
adding an s: city/ cities study/studies story/stories

Change the y to i before all other endings, except -ing:

copy/copies cry/cries study/studies

The y remains when the ending is -ing:

copying crying studying

The y also stays when it is preceded by a vowel:

delay/delays/delayed/delaying
4. Words ending in -f and -fe:
Words ending in -f and -fe normally change to -ves in
the plural. leaf/ leaves life/lives
knife/ knives wife/ wives
An exception is roof, whose plural simply adds an -s.
5. Common spelling errors: Homonyms
Words that sound alike but have different spellings and
meanings. Here are a few of the most troublesome:
accept/ except knew/new their/there/they’re
affect/effect lose/loose to/too/two
whose/who’s its/it’s your/you’re
complement/compliment principal/principle
 13
Capitalization
Capitals are used to (1) mark a beginning of a sentence and (2)
signal a proper noun or adjective. The following principles, lifted
from Business English & Correspondence by Aquino, Callang, Bas,
and Capili (2010), describe the most common uses of capital letters.
Rule 1: Abbreviations of government agencies, military
units, and corporate names are usually capitalized.
NBI PNP PAGCOR ABS-CBN

Rule 2: Abbreviations of academic degrees and professional

ratings may be all capitalized and lowercased, depending on the
word.
P.E. Ph.D. CPA MBA/DBA

Rule 3: The first word in a sentence, of a sentence fragment,

or of a complete sentence enclosed in parentheses is capitalized.
a. The community outreach was pushed through.
b. Yes, I can make it.
c. Will you meet me?
d. Total destruction. Nothing succeeds.
However, the first word of a parenthetical phrase or
sentence enclosed by parentheses and occurring within another
sentence is lowercased. a. The conference started. (The agenda
was not revealed.) b. She studied history under Dr. Amoroso
(she wrote the text, you know) at the university.

Rule 4: (a) The first word of a direct quotation is capitalized,

but (b) a split direct quotation tightly bound to the rest of a
sentence is lowercased at the beginning of its continued
segment or segments, and (c) the first word of a quotation
forming a complete sentence that is tightly bound to the main
sentence is usually lowercased.
a. He asked, “How can I serve you?”
b. “The President denied the story,” the paper reports, “and
feels the media have acted irresponsibly.”
c. The paper goes on to say that “the President feels the
media are irresponsible.”

Rule 5: The first word of a direct question within a sentence

or of a series of questions within a sentence may be capitalized.
The question is this: Exactly what strategies should
accountants make? How much reengineering should the
company undertake? How much would it cost?
14
Rule 6: (a) The first word following a colon may be
lowercased or capitalized if it introduces a complete sentence;
while the former is the more usual styling, (b) the latter is
common especially when the sentence introduced by the colon is
fairly lengthy and distinctly separate from the preceding clause.
a. The advantage of globalization is clear: it allows free
trade. b. The banking situation is critical: This bank cannot
regain the loss es if they do not encourage mergers and buy-
ins, specially foreign buy-ins.
Rule 7: (a) The first words of run-in or blocked enumerations
that form complete sentences are capitalized, as are the first
words of phrasal lists and enumerations, blocked beneath
running texts. However, (b) phrasal enumerations that run in
with the introductory text are lowercased.
a. Do the following tasks:
• Go to the library.
• Borrow two management books.
• Research on the “Theories of Organizing”.
• Encode it.
These are the agenda:
• Call to order
• Roll call
• Minutes of the previous meeting
• President’s report
b. On the agenda will be:
• call to order;
• roll call;
• minutes of the previous meeting; and
• president’s report.
Rule 8: First letter of the first word in an outline heading is
capitalized. I. Manager’s tasks
II. Production responsibilities
a. Loan generation
b. Look to automation support
Rule 9: The first letter of the first word in a salutation and a
complimentary close is capitalized, as is the first letter of each
main word following “Subject” and “To” headings as in
memoranda. a. Dear Luz:
b. My dear Dr. Lim
c. TO: All Department Managers
d. Sincerely yours,
e. Very truly yours,
 f. SUBJECT: Vacation Leave

15
Subject-Verb Agreement
A verb should always match its subject in number. If the subject
is singular, the verb should also have a singular form. If the subject
is plural, the verb should also have a plural form.

How to Correct Mistakes in Subject-Verb Agreement

Examples presented below are common situations which often
lead to problems with subject-verb agreement. To easily resolve the
problem, the verb’s subject must be determined first and make sure
that its verb agrees with it. These examples are taken from
Naadell, Langan, and Comodromos (2009).
1. When there are two or more subjects: When the word and
joins two or more subjects in a sentence, use a plural verb.
• A strong quake and an unexpected storm hit the city.
However, when the word or joins the subjects, use a
singular verb. • A strong quake or an unexpected storm
hits the city.
2. When the subject and verb are separated by a prepositional
phrase: Be sure to match the verb to its subject, not to a
word in a prepositional phrase that comes between the
subject and the verb.
• One of the students was there during the celebration.
• To pass the subject, the student representative from all
sections needs to submit his report.
3. When the words either…or or neither…nor connect subjects:
When either…or or neither…nor link two subjects, use the
verb form (singular or plural) that agrees with the subject
closer to the verb.
• Neither the students nor the professor attends the
meeting. • Neither the professor nor the students
attend the meeting.
4. When the subject is an indefinite pronoun: Some indefinite
pronouns (such as anyone, anything, each, either, every,
everyone, everybody, everything, neither, and nobody) take
a singular verb- whether they act as a pronoun subject (as
in the first sentence that follows) or as an adjective in front
of a noun subject (as in the second sentence).
• Neither of the libraries was open.
• Neither library was open.
Other indefinite pronouns (such as all, any, most,
none, and some) take a singular or a plural verb,
 depending on whether they refer to one thing or to a
number of things. In the following sentences, some
refers to a single session, so the verb is singular.
• The student reported that only some of her tutoring
session was helpful.
In the next sentence, however, some refers to
multiple sessions, so the verb is plural.
• The student reported that only some of her tutoring
sessions were helpful.

16
5. When there is a group subject: When the subject of a sentence
refers to a group acting in unison, or as a unit, use a
singular verb. • The debate club is on a winning streak.
However, when the subject is a group whose
members are acting individually, rather than as a unit,
use a plural verb.
• The debate club argue among themselves constantly.
If in this case, the plural verb sounds awkward, reword the
sen tence so that the group’s individual members are
referred to directly: • The debate club members argue
among themselves constantly.
6. When the verb comes before the subject: Words such as here,
there, how, what, when, where, which, who, and why, as
well as prepositional phrases, are apt to invert normal
sentence order, causing the verb to precede the subject. In
such cases, look ahead for the subject and make sure it and
the verb agree in number.
• There is always a long line of students at the library.
• What are the reasons for the consumers’ complaints?
• Near the guardhouse, looking for us everywhere, were our parents.

CHAPTER VOCABULARY
• Grammar is the study of the classes of words, their inflection,
and their functions and relations in the sentence (Merriam-
Webster Dictionary)
• Mechanics include the rules on the correct usage of
punctuation marks, correct spelling of words, and
appropriate capitalization of certain words.
• Subject-Verb Agreement refers to the agreement of the subject
and the verb of a sentence in terms of number.
 17
18