As I was preparing to visit Hawaiʻi early this month, I did some research on the geography, history and language of the islands. My youngest son and his wife moved there recently, and I was eager to see them and their new surroundings.
With my interest in grammar, I was especially fascinated by the Hawiian language. A glimpse of the state’s history provides a background for understanding Hawaiian. Continue
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A Ruthless Editor blog follower noted that babysitting, which first appeared in the U.S. lexicon in 1937, is generally expressed as one word.
Yet she finds pet sitting and house sitting often expressed as two words, and in some cases they are hyphenated. Which are correct: pet sit / pet-sit / petsit or house sit / house-sit / housesit?
As I did the research, it occurred to me that some might consider this issue trivial in terms of grammar. On the other hand, these words could readily arise in news writing, fiction or blogging.
Here are some reliable sources and how they present all three: baby sit, pet sit and house sit: Continue
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A blog follower sent me an email questioning all right versus alright and when each should be used. The query arose at her weekly writers group gathering.
No one felt confident about the answer, so they reverted to what apparently is a common refrain when they hit a grammar roadblock: “Ask Kathy!”
Let’s begin by considering the meanings of all right. Continue
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You’ve been out of the classroom for how long?
Your English teacher’s name was … ?
Why am I asking? I’m starting to think about New Year’s resolutions. (I know, I know, it’s still early December.)
If self-improvement is on your 2019 radar, and if fine-tuning your writing and speaking skills is among your targets, make brushing up on basic grammar your first step.
My definition of grammar: the words we choose, how we string them together, and how we punctuate them to make sense. Continue
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As the United States has struggled with catastrophic hurricanes, wildfires and mass shootings, I’ve heard people stumble over the use and pronunciation of incident and incidents, and of incidence (a valid word) and incidences (not a valid word in plural form).
The following definitions and examples will help you tell the difference.
incident: a noun meaning an event or occurrence; synonyms are episode, happening, escapade, occasion, adventure, proceeding, circumstance, development
If you send holiday greetings, or if you ever sign a gift card on behalf of your whole family, here’s a tip about writing a family name.
No apostrophes, please!
An apostrophe in a name indicates possession. A signature does not imply possession. When you send a card on behalf of your family unit, use care with how you express your last name — your surname — in plural form.
Here are samples of an assortment of last names and how to make them plural. Continue
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If you haven’t heard my definition of grammar, here it is:
Grammar encompasses the words we choose, how we string them together, and how we punctuate them to give them meaning.
The stringing-words-together part is called syntax: the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences.
Why should you pay attention to syntax? Because the order of your words can be critical to making your message clear.
Consider these examples from a variety of online sources. You’ll find the original sentence, what’s wrong with it in terms of syntax, and a rewrite. Continue
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I have a thing about redundancies.
They are a grammar pet peeve I’ve blogged about before, but the world apparently hasn’t gotten my message.
I’m not giving up, darn it!
A redundant word is one that could be omitted without loss of meaning; it repeats something already written or said.
We are in communication mode day in, day out. The least we can do in our word-dense world is to avoid extra words that add neither meaning nor clarity to our messages.
My guideline for spotting a redundancy:
Consider what using its opposite would do to the sentence.
Here are my latest real-world examples. The second sentence of each will help you spot the redundancy in the first that should be omitted. Continue
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“We’re judged by the way we write and speak,” I often say.
Jeff Rubin, who founded National Punctuation Day in 2004, agrees:
“People judge us by the way we present ourselves — how we act, how we look, how we speak and how we write. When we are professional in all of these areas, we get our feet in the door for our choice of college, scholarship, job, promotion or business deal. If you’re unprofessional in any of these areas, it can cost you.”
As National Punctuation Day approaches — Monday, Sept. 24 — I’m sharing what I’ve found online about which punctuation mark is misused most often. Continue
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Are there still Valley Girls in Southern California?
If so, and if they happen to read this blog, I apologize for any feelings I might hurt.
My message is about the still-pervasive, irritating, distracting use of like long beyond the time and far beyond the geography from which it originated. Continue
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