grammar
Posted By: Jade on 2007-03-09
In Reply to: Question regarding grammar - typingforpennies
The use of commas depends on whether the clause is restrictive or nonrestrictive. If it is nonrestrictive - that is, it may be informative but not necessary to the meaning of the sentence, then it is set off by commas. On the other hand, if the clause is restrictive - that is, its use is imperative to the meaning of the sentence, then no commas are used.
Example: That is the dog which ran off with my sandwich. Restrictive because "which ran off with my sandwich" is necessary to the meaning of the sentence.
On the other hand: That dog, which is wearing a yellow collar, ran off with my sandwich. "Which is wearing a yellow collar" is not necessary to the meaning of the sentence; thus it is nonrestrictive and requires commas.
This subject can confuse a lot of people, because all they remember is setting the clauses off by commas and forget the restrictive and nonrestrictive rules.
English is a growing, changing language, and sometimes what were rules 50 years ago are no longer the rules for today. We may argue against that - that grammar is grammar and should remain - but if that were the case we would all still be writing like Shakespeare or the early constitutionalists. Look at their writings and decide if you would like to still have to write like that.
Fewer commas is the trend for today, and I guess we will have to embrace the fact that time doesn't stand still for any of us, nor does the English language.
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Boy do I know what you mean about grammar.....sm
Some of the stuff I saw from subcontractors during testing made my jaw drop to the level of my fanny in utter disbelief! We are talking about the use of grammar equivalent to what a sixth grader knows. It is unbelievable - that and things they don't even take the time to research.
My personal favorites?
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To Grammar Cop - K-I-A
Be careful all you posters out there. The GrammarCop is on the bench and you will all perish if you do not use proper grammar on this board. She (he, it) expects perfection. I know there is a saying that fits her, but it escapes me right now but it only contains a few letters. Should be easy for her (him, it) to figure it out. Ta, ta
and grammar (nm)
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It seems I heard one newscaster say "went missing" a few years ago, and it caught my interest. All of a sudden I am hearing it every day! Did this rule get changed when we weren't looking?
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I just got a correction back from the company I work for telling me the following sentence is incorrect: "He stated he would contact me should he wish to pursue more aggressive treatment, specifically, steroid injection or surgical treatment." They are telling me it should be "more aggressively treatment." Would someone please help me out here? Thanks!!
grammar
Has anyone used Grammar Slammer?
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How about accuracy and grammar? Medicatios, etc. Sometimes the dictator will not even dictate if the report remains the same from last visit - What happens in this case??
Thanks
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I'm pretty lenient. If it is something the client wouldn't notice (or even know about) themselves, I normally let it go.
Things like commas separating independent clauses, which most people don't have any concept of, I let go.
But, things like this:
X-rays of the right knee 2 views demonstrate a meniscal tear complex with chondral changes.
He has degenerative arthritis left knee with increasing inability to cope.
Almost every Transcriptionist I have QA'd drops the commas from those kinds of sentences. Are they teaching this in some school? It's driving me batty!
Grammar
What about "I seen the patient last week." "There is lots of problems." etc., etc., etc. Not as bad as a 2-month-old baby with teeth in good repair, and a 3-year-old who does not smoke or drink. lol We need to be mindful to catch our own mistakes and theirs.
Grammar
It depends on the company and/or the client. If your company is 'picky' about commas, I'd suggest investing in the newest Book of Style and following those 'rules'.
Not so much the grammar
but the obvious spelling errors. They showed that the person has no grasp of language.
duh - grammAr LOL n/m
n/m
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Thanks for the thought. This is just one of those things that niggle at me. Don't even know what to call it when going on grammar sites. Plural agreement? Nope. Funny how so much of our grammar is instinctive and based on "it just sounds right." But please don't ask me to diagram a sentence!
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Is it "it's location" or "its location"? Also, is it "handwritten and typewritten" or "hand-written and type-written"? Help appreciated. Thanks.
sorry stickler for grammar
looks like you and I posted at the exact same time!!
LOL go figger!
some one should teach them grammar
nm
When we do make grammar --
changes the QA sometimes takes off for it. I leave it as it is dictated.
You also have to know correct grammar
That's grammar, not grammer..nm
xx
isn't that grammar, not grammer?
x
Grammar Slammer
Yes, I have used it when helping my kids with their school papers.
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I would mark it as a grammar/punctuation error, however they both hold the same weight score-wise, so it really doesn't matter if you call it g/p or spelling. If it were a case of having 2 different point values, I would go with the lesser of the 2 - I always try to give the MTs the break.
and you don't know how to spell grammAr.
/
Poor grammar
I once had a doctor describing a patient on pain medications. She was wondering if it was safe to stay on them because she planned on becoming pregnant. Well, my doctor said "because she wants to have a kid." I typed because she wants to have a child. Kid? Okay did you really attend med school?
Question regarding grammar
Please tell me because I am going mad here. I have a degree in novel writing -- actually sold a few short stories years ago. Anyway -- I was taught to set off independent clauses in a sentence with comas. If memory holds -- I believe this is also expressed in the Book of Style -- 1st one? I do not have the newest edition. Some QA leave my comas as I put them setting off the clauses while others say I am wrong. I believe that proper grammar dictates these comas -- at least according to my grammar books. Are the rules different in the MT world?
Question regarding grammar
First of all, a coma is a medical condition. A comma is a punctuation mark.
Yes, you are correct about independent clauses being set off by commas. However, the tendency in medical dictation/transcription has been toward simplifying the language and grammar, to the point where many doctors don't even dictate complete sentences any more. Punctuation of all types is avoided unless absolutely necessary.
We old school grammarians can have kind of a hard time letting go of the rules we learned when studying grammar and the English language. It is a whole new world out there, and it seems the motto is "adapt or step out of the way". 
Not the grammar police BUT
If you want to be taken seriously, you need to make sure that ALL your written communications, including HERE, are grammatically correct.
If you don't know grammar, you have no business
If you do know grammar, it isn't a part-time thing, it is part of your daily life and the way you express yourself. I'm not talking about colloquialisms or "natural speech", I'm talking about things like - and I quote - "how little we (the transcriptionist) is getting paid" and "make us or brake us". To name just two instances.
I have NEVER posted a "grammar police" message before, but since the OP specifically said that these letters must be well written and well edited, I felt it was pertinent to bring up the subject.
If you are going to ask others to use correct grammar, you should do so yourself. It's as simple as that.
Grammar & Other Things
Perhaps you haven't and that is a shame because I can assure you there are girls and guys outside of America, in the rest of the world, who can and do produce grammatically correct sentences and are excellent MTs.
I am no grammar saint...
I make mistakes in posts from time to time. I am just disappointed and frustrated by the "holier than thou" attitudes of working MTs and then they don't even use proper grammar in their posts. I don't want this to turn into a negative thread. What companies hire experienced MTs and actually care about grammar?
poor grammar
ARGHHHHHH!!! How can these kids spend thousands of dollars on college and med school and not be able to pronounce what the heck they are talking about? Left ventricular hypertrophy just became "verticlar". I can't even spell out how arthropathy came out. These aren't ESLs - these are good old American kids. Even seasoned docs often can't speak. How about isheemia? It isn't a speech impediment, either. They can't pronounce drugs, let alone spell them. The more I am around these folks, the more I believe in witch doctors, at least they can dance and chant at the same time. I still love this job but the quality (and I believe IQ) of some of the people going into medicine is sinking like the Titanic. I'm going to Starbucks. I need something besides Maxwell House this morning.
poor grammar
All of the accounts that I work on (major hospitals - no clinic notes) are verbatim accounts but complain if we don't correct the grammar. My company says, verbatim is verbatim. Talk to your inept and lazy dictators. And how about the females who dictate like they are practicing for phone sex? Spare me the breathiness toots. It may work on your colleagues but doesn't cut ________ with me. I've been doing this for 25 years and I can absolutely tell you the quality has gone down, down, down over the years and you can't blame no child left behind. Blame lazy students. Put the blame where it belongs. The first time a doctor tells me "I be fine" I'm outta there!!!
Quick grammar ? You should already have OR You should have already (nm)
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OK. Have searched grammar sites to no avail. Which is correct? Top of both arms or tops of both arms. Why?
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....After she has lain down for 30 to 60 minutes, or laid down for .......
take grammar classes
It is
'You are stupid' or you're stupid', not 'your stupid'.
And don't take things out of CONTEXT.
The Grammar Police have a
nm
Do you have the "check grammar" box
x
Come on! The grammar and spelling is not THAT bad!...nm
nm
Will write grammar 100 times
Was writing fast as she just E-mailed me that she felt it was unfair that I was able to make mistakes as last week to make her feel better I told her about one stupid mistake that I had just made but she could not. And that she would type his reports when she did during the 4 days but not send them to me until they are due and HOPEFULLY THEY WILL BE PERFECT. So I think we have come to a parting of ways. This is worse than fighting with your husband. Thanks for all the input. Like I said for probably 11 hours of work she made $325.
I like procedures/ops, because of not fooling with grammar much or Sm
drugs, new stuff. I am lazy and don't like to work very long in the day!
Get over yourself, Grammar Police - sheesh!
The self-righteousness of the Grammatically-Correct- Nazis out there is unbelievable. Most of us take a quick break from work, dash off a quick post on this forum, and then get back to work. Not only is there little time for proofreading on this board, but in this tiny little box it's nearly impossible. And well-written, effective communication doesn't necessarily have to be the King's English, either. (Read "Huckleberry Finn" someday.)
We all understand that and get the gist of what is meant when someone types a post with misspelled word or a grammatical error in it. Usually those who feel they are above reproach when it comes to errors of any kind are..........MANAGEMENT.
Please ignore the grammar police - I do! They take away from (sm)
the point here. And, perhaps that is the point. We don't know who these oh-so-correct posters are. Perhaps they're management or ceo's. Distracting us with this nonsense won't help our cause. What is important is to get a consensus and, perhaps, write a petition that all who are willing can sign. If we can do this on-line we can each send to whichever newspaper we choose and forward to our congressmen (and women) and senators. Does anyone here know how to set up a blog in which a petition can be drawn up. Let's use our talents (and our significant others' talents) to make this happen. And, yes, there were incidents a couple of years ago when a disgruntled employee overseas threatened to release patient information. There was nothing that could be done as HIPPA does not apply to off shore companies. I find that fact to be interesting and slightly suspect. It brings to mind lobbyists and makes me wonder "why" the HIPPA laws were written in such a manner. There is quite a lot of info here on that incident. Do a search on "release of patient information" or something like that and it will probably rise to the surface! If we all do what lawyers and pundits call "due diligence" (meaning extensive research) and have a forum on which to share this information we can put together a compelling letter and petition. Keep the conversation going and maybe we will find the right people on this website that can do a portion of what needs to be done, and so on.
Don't worry-I'm not the grammar police...(sm)
as you can see from my postings. I type and (talk) very fast and make grammatical errors and typos that I would never allow to be sent out in a document! Communication here is not about perfect punctuation; I believe it should be about open and free discussions about the issues of MT's. Not grammar or punctuation.
it is basic English grammar, without that, you can't do the job.
x
Correcting Dictator's Grammar
I transcribe for one professional that says statements such as: "She DID SEEM in agreement". "She DID START to cry" and "The mother DID COME BACK to the office" My supervisor told me she doesn't care for how this sounds either and that we just need to go ahead and type it as is. Of course I am going to abide by what my supervisor says. Is it just "cut and dry" when transcribing to type EXACTLY what is being said? - - - I also type for another professional with a PhD who will dictate and use certain words out of context, but I know what he means to say. Do we just TACTFULLY address individual issues like this when they arise with those who are dictating?
Medical grammar links?
Hello,
I'm not sure what exactly you're looking for, but there are a lot of links here:
http://www.angelfire.com/mt/medicalinks/
Also, I like:
http://www.medilexicon.com
MS Word grammar settings?
I would like to set up my MS Word to catch as many grammar errors as possible. Should I just check every box?
Thanks
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