tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18756905220400351462024-03-12T17:24:01.633-07:00THE ANARCHIST'S GUIDE TO GRAMMARWhat the hell is a Grammar Anarchist?
You can be one! Since we don’t have a U.S. language, feel FREE to set your own rules -- interpret grammar YOUR WAY. You’re not in England anymore. Join the anarchy of U.S. grammar! Make your choices and preserve them in YOUR STYLE MANUAL. —The Grammar AnarchistUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger234125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1875690522040035146.post-64224452289969773862016-03-11T11:50:00.000-08:002016-03-11T11:53:53.849-08:00American-English — The Official Guide<span style="color: #0b5394;">If my pages look different, it’s because somebody who hates grammar (or has nothing else to do) broke into my space and befuddled much of what I had written. Sorry souls!</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394;">So we continue on our merry way (new password and such).</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394;">If you can’t spell and don’t want to learn how to use our delicious American-English language, stay out of my blog! Start you own!</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394;">Or get a copy of my new book AMERICAN-ENGLISH — The Official Guide. Honestly, it doesn’t hurt to learn (unless you haven’t used your brain lately).</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">—The Grammar Anarchist! </span><br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1875690522040035146.post-4684173467473052662015-11-27T14:17:00.003-08:002016-03-11T11:39:54.615-08:00It's Black Friday for WritersOkay — so it’s been awhile since you’ve heard from me. Easy answer: I have finished my new grammar book and you’ll be able to look at it after the holidays. This one is titled <i>American-English — The Official Guide</i><br />
<br />
As you make your New Years resolution (to complete the book you started to write years ago, to write a new book, or to write YOUR book, period), let me tell you how easy it is to get it into print — and make money on it besides.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: blue;">1) Finish the manuscript.<br />2) Find a reputable, experienced editor (<span style="color: black;">like me</span>).<br />3) Locate someone to make your book pretty, i.e., format it (<span style="color: black;">like me</span>).<br />3) Envision your cover and select a cover designer (<span style="color: black;">not me</span>).<br />4) Check out possibilities on <a href="http://createspace.com/">CreateSpace</a>. (<span style="color: black;">Yes, they design book covers too</span>.)<br />5) Select someone to work as liaison with CS (<span style="color: black;">like me</span>).<br />6) Lay out a marketing program to sell your book.</span></blockquote>
“Oh,” you say, “I’ll find an agent to sell my book to a major publisher and they’ll do all of that for me.”<br />
<br />
Sorry, my writing friend, it doesn’t work like that anymore. Musicians now record their music independently; film makers produce their films independently; and writers publish their books independently. Takes much less time (a few months rather than years) and is much, much more profitable (you pocket the profits instead of a measly 10-15% royalty.) Besides, you retain full control of the end product — Your Book.<br />
<br />
Get back to your writing desk. You have work to do! Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1875690522040035146.post-36793272881362717432015-08-27T16:16:00.001-07:002015-08-27T16:18:27.862-07:00Comical, Literate Grammar — Oh My!Sometimes pure genius shows up in strange places. I look for — and find — it in the daily comic pages and my favorite grammar blogs. Every once in a while I trip over it on the Internet. As I warn my writer students, NEVER publish your work without your name and, if appropriate, a copyright symbol. Otherwise, your progeny becomes public domain, which means anyone can use it and you receive no credit. Tsk! Tsk! All that thinking and all that work and… no credit!<br />
<br />
One such brainchild has appeared with no credits. Titled “Literary Devices”, it includes eight panels of clever drawings that illustrate these mechanical (over-used) devices. They are:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Random Analogy Generator<br />
Foreshadow Puppet<br />
The Great Golden Hammer of Hyperbole<br />
Onomatopoeia Engine (puff! pop! clank! Whirrrr…)<br />
Advance-Alert Alliteration Alarm (ahem!)<br />
Personification Press<br />
Irony Board<br />
and my favorite: Metaphor Mixer and Simile Stretcher </blockquote>
<br />
You could almost make a song out of that last one! Somebody somewhere has a very fertile — and syntaxic, grammatic, linguistic, literatic — comic mind!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1875690522040035146.post-92007054487689207432015-07-23T12:12:00.001-07:002015-07-23T12:34:27.430-07:00Want People to Listen to You?I edit book manuscripts. When I discover an epidemic, like any good citizen, I must report it and warn against the dangers the disease can aggravate. Such diseases include (but are not limited to) over-use of a word, misuse of a word (<i>and, then, but, well</i>), abuse of commas, and a few hundred others. Today I wish to address the threat of the deadly… <i>er… uh… um</i>… , known as PFS (Pause Filler Syndrome). I put on my doctor’s white coat, place the stethoscope around my neck, and ask you to say “Ahhh” before placing your mask firmly over your fingers, leaving your eyes exposed so you can read on:<br />
<br />
<b>THE DISEASE:</b><br />
As speakers, when we talk off the cuff, spontaneously, without notes, we often insert the occasional <i>uh, um</i> or <i>er</i> to let our brains catch up to our tongues. If you ever attended a meeting of Toastmasters, you may have seen members fined for using these place-holders. The best speakers use a pause to take a breath while keeping their tongues quiet.<br />
<br />
As writers, we let characters do the speaking (it’s called <i>dialog</i>). If you’re giving your characters unique sounding voices, you may let one of them hesitate and use the viral <i>er, um</i> or <i>uh</i>. But please, do so sparingly. Nothing holds up a reader more than too many <i>ers, ums</i> and <i>uhs</i> in dialog. Once I found an average of 75 of these germs per page in a writer’s ms. (yes, I counted). In addition, the writer kept adding the words: <i>She paused.</i> and <i>He paused.</i> By the time I removed most of the diseased words, the manuscript was considerably shortened — and activated.<br />
Writers groan; readers cheer!<br />
<br />
<b>DIAGNOSIS: </b><br />
There is a difference between spoken and written words. Symptoms of oncoming PFS in writing include the deadly symptom of double verbing: <i>making an attempt to write</i>, rather than <i>attempting to write</i>. Or, <i>taking the time to call home,</i> rather than <i>calling home</i>. Or, <i>I think; in my opinion; I feel, I sorta kinda gotta do this…</i> and other place-holders. If you are writing an opinion piece, you don’t need any of those words (especially <i>sorta, kinda, gotta</i>). Your words — all of your words are your opinion, or you wouldn’t be writing them.<br />
<br />
Read over the last few pages you just wrote. How many place-holders can you find? Do you need them? Does your character need them? Or are you just stalling while your brain catches up? <br />
<br />
<b>THE CURE: </b><br />
While waiting for the next idea or word, take a deep breath, speak slowly, pace your words to stay with of your brain — and reap the wonders of fine writing!<br />
<br />
<b>BENEFITS:</b><br />
You will be more easily believed. Your writing will become more active (and publishable). You may rewarded with improved book sales, lower editing costs, or a raise from your boss. Most importantly, you will sound more authoritative. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1875690522040035146.post-9510355460786506232015-05-23T13:39:00.001-07:002016-03-11T11:37:42.038-08:00QUESTION: What is the Official National Language of the USA? ANSWER: None!<br />
Most worldwide citizens can answer that quite easily. They
have only a couple of languages to choose from. Now — you in the great United
States of America — do you know your Official National Language? The answer:
NONE!<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Did your heart drop as mine did when learning that? This
powerful country, the only major country in the world to welcome all languages,
the only one to mix many languages with an English base, the only country that
does NOT recognize the uniqueness of its linguistics — the only one listed as
NONE. What a shameful omission!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In order to fulfill that missing piece, I am petitioning the
folks who administer the federal government to issue a proclamation (at the
very least) to recognize USA-English as the Official National Language. Here’s
how that petition reads:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: #0b5394;">Respectfully asking the United States
Congress to designate USA-English as the Official Language of the United
States, acknowledging the nation’s unique multi-cultural population with varied
ways to write and speak a language based on English. No other nation can make
this claim, and yet the USA is the only major nation without a designated
official language.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here’s the whole story:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #0b5394;">CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT to make USA-English, with its
inclusive languages from around the world, flexible to teach and learn, the
official free language of the United States of America. </span></div>
<span style="color: #0b5394;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #0b5394;">WHEREAS: The United States of America, a powerful
international leader, has no designated official language;</span></div>
<span style="color: #0b5394;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #0b5394;">WHEREAS: Widespread confusion exists over the “rules” of
grammar that should be taught to USA students;</span></div>
<span style="color: #0b5394;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #0b5394;">WHEREAS: The United States of America fought and won a war
to be free of control from England, resulting in changes made to the language
to suit the needs of a new nation, free and independent;</span></div>
<span style="color: #0b5394;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #0b5394;">WHEREAS: The USA is the only nation in the world composed of
immigrants from around the world, who bring with them their native culture:
foods, music, rituals, art, customs, and language;</span></div>
<span style="color: #0b5394;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #0b5394;">WHEREAS: USA is weary of having British English (The
King’s/Queen’s English) foisted on its people as “proper, correct, accurate,
and suitable”;</span></div>
<span style="color: #0b5394;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #0b5394;">WHEREAS: U.S. teachers are not being trained to teach
grammar — any kind at all — because of the contradictions in grammar texts;</span></div>
<span style="color: #0b5394;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #0b5394;">WHEREAS: The USA has developed its own style of English that
includes words and syntax of every other major language in the world (and a few
not-so-major);</span></div>
<span style="color: #0b5394;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #0b5394;">THEREFORE: The time has arrived to offer teachers and
students of the United States an official language that provides guidelines for
global usage, flexible word adaptation, freedom to make appropriate changes,
and the right to be free of complex, outdated “rules” based on the language of
England, from whom we claimed our independence.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> If you feel so moved, please join me in forwarding this blog to your Congressional representatives (House and Senate), to the President of the United States, and to any linguistics organization you know.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1875690522040035146.post-16746828709957873762015-04-30T13:11:00.001-07:002015-04-30T13:16:50.983-07:00Righting a Wrong!<span style="color: #cc0000;">The daily newspaper quiz today asked for the “official” languages of a number of countries: from Egypt and Iran to Iceland and Pakistan. I wasn’t stumped when it came to “United States” because — as any red-blooded American knows — we speak and write English. So I was amazed to read the answers: Egypt, Arabic; Iran, Persian (Farsi); Iceland, Icelandic (duh!); and Pakistan, Urdu. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #eeeeee;"><span style="background-color: blue;">And what is the official language of the United States? Answer: “None”! NONE! We have no official language in the U.S. What’s worse is that we are the ONLY country in the world without one! Alas and alack! Woe and misery! The most powerful nation in the world has no language (officially)!</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: #6fa8dc;"><br />
</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="background-color: #cccccc;">So let’s fix that. Right here! Right now! The Grammar Anarchist declares publicly and loudly that the Official Language of the United States is… (drum roll)… USA-English. Other “English-speaking” countries use the hyphen-English language as theirs, officially. Why not the USA? You’ve heard of Canadian-English (eh?) and Australian-English (g-day!) even Indian-English (what-ho!). Well, beginning today — NOW</span>:</span></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: red;">THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: red;">OF THE UNITED STATES IS </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: red;">HERE AND FOREVERMORE </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: red;">KNOWN AS USA-ENGLISH!</span></blockquote>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;">At last! Aaaahhhh!</span> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1875690522040035146.post-33338437645673700992015-03-05T14:48:00.002-08:002015-03-05T14:51:02.614-08:00Temp-er, Temp-er, Temp-er!<div class="MsoNormal">
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--></style> Okay, I realize I’ve offered spelling advice that says,
“Look to the root word when seeking better spelling.” But I have also suggested
that you can ignore some advice that was absorbed as “rule”. And <i>temp</i> is one of
them. This scruffy little root word has a variety of meanings. My dictionary
(<i>American Heritage</i>, 4th Edition) lists more than two dozen words beginning with
“t-e-m-p…” and a variety of meanings running from <i>temper</i> to <i>temporary</i>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The etymology of this root is fascinating, but I won’t bore
you with it. Know that t-e-m-p has been mished and mashed and put through a
wringer over the centuries in order to produce quite a variety of uses in
U.S.-English.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most of the <i>temp</i> words refer to a root meaning of “time” or
“mix” or “mingle”. Go figure! Here are a few of the differences:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A plain old <i>temp</i> can be that outsider who comes into your office
“temporarily” to work on the books in your department.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A <i>temper</i> is “the tantrum” you throw when you weren’t asked
to help.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That was when you were asked to <i>temper</i> your temper, “to
moderate” it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Temperament</i> or <i>temperamentally</i> is “the way you handle” that
temper.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Temperance</i> goes further and asks you to knock it off
completely, to “restrain” yourself.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When the office <i>temperature</i> rises, sometimes tempers also
“get hot”.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Not wanting a <i>tempest</i> of “violent behavior of tornado
proportions” to upset the office, your HR psychologist would likely suggest you
temper your temper and avoid a tempest in a teapot with a <i>well-tempered</i>
clavichord, with “tempered” music!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Remaining on an artsy level, <i>tempera</i> is a “mingling” of
colors.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The <i>temple</i> in the Temple of Doom, on the other hand, draws
meaning from sacred ground that was “divided” or “separated” (ironically
meaning un-mixed) from ordinary ground. And from that, surprisingly, comes the
meaning for the <i>temple</i> on either side of your eyes, originating from a Greek
word meaning “vital spot”, as indicated by the Greek Vale of Tempe located
between two important Greek mountains. (Classical Latin refers to that forehead
area as the “temporal bone” or “temporal muscle”, protecting the precious vital
eyes.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
No, I won’t miss some other t-e-m-p’s: as in Shirley Temple,
Tempe AZ, or tempeh, an Indonesian dish made from fermented soybeans. Wonder
where these t-e-m-p’s came from…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ain’t language fun!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1875690522040035146.post-13652098209927077882015-02-17T16:17:00.003-08:002015-02-17T16:17:57.891-08:00Well! Well! Well!<div style="text-align: center;">
So now you know the difference between “well” and “well”! Ain’t grammar fun!</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HXdg3GdSsU8/VOPYxw5mE9I/AAAAAAAAAFM/0RPQ698cxXo/s1600/Bizarro%2B%3A%2BWell%2BGrammar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HXdg3GdSsU8/VOPYxw5mE9I/AAAAAAAAAFM/0RPQ698cxXo/s1600/Bizarro%2B%3A%2BWell%2BGrammar.jpg" height="320" width="268" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Thanks to Dan Piraro, my artist doppelganger, and BIZARRO!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1875690522040035146.post-50778299581748132472015-02-14T15:05:00.002-08:002015-02-14T15:18:08.609-08:00Save the Earth—It's the Only Planet That Feeds Us<style> <!--
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n6DBt33Tu6w/VN_W-CNJkAI/AAAAAAAAAE8/BaYEr8KDxLw/s1600/E-A-R-T-H.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n6DBt33Tu6w/VN_W-CNJkAI/AAAAAAAAAE8/BaYEr8KDxLw/s1600/E-A-R-T-H.jpg" height="156" width="200" /></a><span style="color: #38761d;">An author friend inquired about whether or not to capitalize
the word “earth” when using it to refer to the planet, rather than to soil.
While the planet is made up of soil, it gave me pause to consider the
ramifications. As an editor and a citizen of Planet Earth and a concerned
inhabitant of Mother Earth, I decided to capitalize the word as often as
possible, using the lower case “e” only when referring to <i>sod, soil, dust</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, or </span><i>mud</i><span style="font-style: normal;">.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #38761d;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #38761d;">When I consulted my thesaurus, I found references under “earth” with a small
“e”, only to soil. Under “Earth” with a capital “E”, were
choices among: <i>humankind, planet</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, and </span><i>globe</i><span style="font-style: normal;">. Curious about the reference to “humankind”, I
looked it up and found: </span><i>human race, humanity, people, civilization</i><span style="font-style: normal;">. Now there’s</span> a great metaphor! Earth means People, Humans,
Us! We came from Earth (soil), or so it is said. We stay alive through Earth
(soil) that grows food for us. We return to Earth (soil) when we finish living
(“Earth to Earth, dust to dust”).
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #38761d;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #38761d;">So tell me, understanding how interwoven we are with Earth,
how dependent we are to the continued gifts from Earth, and as we watch <i>civilization</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> destroy the very ground we walk on — day by day…
tell me why we cannot come to grips with the notion that it may all turn to
dust and blow away soon, blowing us away with it at the same time? </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #38761d;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #38761d;">We have discovered that people cannot be forced to be
careful with Earth’s resources (water, air, soil), just as writers cannot be
forced to capitalize that precious word: Earth.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #38761d;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #38761d;">However, I <i>can</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> ask
writers to consider the importance of the deeper meaning of “Earth” every time
they write it. Perhaps that will keep us around a few millennia… centuries…
decades longer.</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1875690522040035146.post-29082743148045597842015-01-10T15:25:00.001-08:002015-01-10T15:34:22.866-08:00Mass Nouns and Uncountable Nouns, 0-boy!<div class="MsoNormal">
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--></style> Have you ever heard of Mass Nouns? </div>
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<br /></div>
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Don’t feel bad. Neither had I… until I came across the term in a comic strip the other day and
realized I’d never heard of this before — in more than 50 years of
tracking language. So I looked it up. (Where was Google when I was a kid?)</div>
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<br /></div>
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It seems that Mass Nouns refer to things that are <i>uncountable</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> or </span><i>non-count</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> words. No, not </span><i>unable to be counted</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, but </span><i>uncountable</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
(there’s a difference). Try to attach numbers to words such as: </span><i>advice,
fog, dust, </i><i><i>furniture, </i>knowledge, milk, water</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, or </span><i>wood</i><span style="font-style: normal;">.
</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Sure, you can </div>
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take a modicum of <i>advice</i>,</div>
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see a layer of <i>fog</i> or <i>dust</i>, </div>
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own a houseful of <i>furniture</i>,</div>
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acquire a font of <i>knowledge</i>, </div>
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drink a glass of <i>milk</i> or <i>water</i>.</div>
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stoke the fire with two pieces of <i>wood </i></div>
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But can you take two <i>advices</i>; see <i>three</i> <i>fogs, six dusts,</i><i> </i>or<i> own two furnitures;
acquire ten knowledges; drink three milks</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> or </span><i>waters; </i>or <i>burn two woods</i><span style="font-style: normal;">?</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Note that many Mass Nouns are abstracts — names of things
that are unable to be sensed, in the broadest understanding of <i>sense</i>. And there
is no “rule” to cover the usage of such curiosities. Which makes for a Grammar
Anarchist’s delight — the exception: most Mass Nouns are generally used as
singulars.</div>
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<br /></div>
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All of that said, I wouldn’t be a Grammar Anarchist if I
didn’t add that some nouns are neither or both <i>countable</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> as well as </span><i>uncountable</i><span style="font-style: normal;">. Whoa! Slow down here. Consider the following
examples of these feisty, uncooperative, loner-type nouns: </span></div>
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<i>Work</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> is required to earn a living; the work I do is important; give me the
works in my salad; have you read all thirty works of Toni Morrison?</span></div>
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<i>Paper</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> is made of wood pulp; an alien does not carry papers; some people read
three papers a day; can you write a paper about China?</span></div>
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<i>Air</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> is necessary to breathe; don’t put on airs with me; can you name three
airs about love?</span></div>
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<i>Coffee</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> peps me up; some drink five coffees a day; different
blends of coffees taste better.</span></div>
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Don’t you love US-English!?</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1875690522040035146.post-84424989461549116362014-12-15T15:08:00.002-08:002014-12-16T11:10:56.571-08:00To Hiss or Not To Hiss…If you want to appreciate your language, read the comics pages; I wouldn’t miss them! Most of the time I admire the way the writers use language — they love to play with words, which I particularly enjoy, especially the puns. As an editor, I am obsessed with editing printed text — and in doing so with the comic section recently, I came across the “hissing” problem. What caught my eye was the phrase “an historic event”.<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AMZPOAgE2WE/VJCChtPQfPI/AAAAAAAAAEs/-0YvHNVqnIk/s1600/Pizzaro%2B12%3A16%3A14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AMZPOAgE2WE/VJCChtPQfPI/AAAAAAAAAEs/-0YvHNVqnIk/s1600/Pizzaro%2B12%3A16%3A14.jpg" height="200" width="168" /></a></div>
What is the <i>hissing problem</i>? you may ask. This involves the decision to use the hissing sound when a word begins with the letter H, which results in deciding whether to use the article “a” or “an” to precede it. Some words starting with H make a sound; some don’t. Let me show you what I mean.<br />
<br />
Repeat after me:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #351c75;">1) <i>honestly, hour, heiress, hors d’oeuvre</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;">2) <i>history, hammer, humble, hymn, hundred </i></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;">3) <i>herb*</i></span></blockquote>
With the first row, you did not hiss; these are words with a silent H and use the article “an”.<br />
<br />
In the second row, you hissed all over the place; each word begins with a pronounced H and is preceded with the article “a”.<br />
<br />
When you reached the third row, you may have hesitated. “Herb” is one of those words that can be pronounced either way, depending on how erudite you wish to sound (or whose name you’re struggling with). Oh yes, many mispronounce the H-words, pretending to sound more learned. Others simply imply the sound by using “an” instead of “a”. Who would not say “an historic occasion”, sliding across the H? The reason is that it’s easier to pronounce. However, the written phrase appears correctly as “a historic occasion”. This conundrum dates back to the British days when the Cockney accent omitted all of the Hs that started words.<br />
<br />
There is another letter that offers a similar problem: how to pronounce the U at the beginning of a word.<br />
<br />
Listen as you pronounce these words:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #351c75;">1) <i>united, utensil, unanimous, universal, usual</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;">2) <i>untie, umpire, ulterior, ugly, umbrella, utter</i></span></blockquote>
In the first row, you pronounced the words as if they begin with Y (the yoo or the eew-sound).<br />
<br />
The words in the second row begin with an UH sound and utilize the article “an”.<br />
<br />
Take care, not only with the way you pronounce words in spoken language, but the way you write words that have multiple pronunciations. And read the comics pages every day! Not only will it help with word usage, but you’ll stay young with laughter.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #351c75;">*Thanks to artist Dan Piraro, who draws the clever (and grammatical) Pizarro comic strip, for permission to use this comic that fell out of his talented pen the day after I originally posted this piece.</span><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1875690522040035146.post-56454240646980843242014-10-31T12:14:00.000-07:002014-10-31T12:24:24.364-07:00Have You Lost a Spelling Bee Lately?So you have trouble spelling words correctly in U.S.-English! Don’t be surprised. The reason is simple. U.S.-English is comprised of every other language in the world. Yup! But you knew that. So why sweat it? F’rinstance: how do you spell that red sauce you spread on burgers? c<i>atsup, catchup, cetsup, ketsup, ketchup, katchup</i>? Or the holy Muslim scripture? <i>Quran, Koran, Curan, Coran, Quran, Quoran, Qu’ran</i>? Answer below.<br />
<br />
Here are four ways to simplify the problem: (NOTE: I didn’t say “solve”!)<br />
<ol>
<li><b>Dig out the roots</b>. Find parts of a word that are like other words with similar meanings. You’ll never misspell “medicinal” again, as long as you remember how to spell “medicine”. Or “decadent” if you remember how to spell “decade”. </li>
<li><b>The Prefix-Suffix Method</b>. This system removes the plight of double letters. If the prefix ends in the same letter that the root word begins, add them together (1+1) and get double letters (<i>un-necessary, ac-commodate, im-mediate, mis-spell</i>). Doubling in not needed if those connecting letters are different (<i>disappear, renovation, ineligible, recommend</i>). The same formula works with the suffix (<i>common-ness, logical-ly, final-ly, grand-ness, grand-ly, like-ly</i>).</li>
<li><b>Pronounce words correctly.</b> But BEWARE the Homonyms (words that sound alike but are spelled differently). These include <i>there/they're/their </i>and<i> pair/pare/pear</i> and <i>fair/fare</i> and <i>bear/bare</i>. In some parts of the country, another evil lurks. These words may sound alike: <i>tar/</i><i><i>tear/</i></i><i>tire</i> or <i>fare/</i><i><i>fear/</i>for/fair/far</i>. We had a President who pronounced “government” in two syllables, as “gub-ment”; and another who insisted on saying “nuc-u-lar” instead of “nu-clear”. And scores of people sell their homes through “real-a-tors” rather than “real-tors”.</li>
<li><b>Lose a spelling bee! </b>(You’ll never forget your last word.) Or paste this quote from Thomas Edison: “<i>It’s a damn poor mind that can spell a word only one way</i>.” Because many words are translated from other languages, spelling becomes curious. Do you spell <i>dialog, monolog, catalog</i> with the added “ue” (<i>dialogue, monologue, catalogue</i>) or not? Here’s the antidote: make a list your problem words, look them up in a <i>current</i> dictionary, and record the preferred spelling (yes, many of those words have alternate spellings).</li>
</ol>
ANSWER to questions in first paragraph: the choice is yours. Just be consistent in using it.<br />
<br />
NOTE TO WRITERS who depend on spell-check systems: DON’T! Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1875690522040035146.post-44592407334852060992014-09-29T18:09:00.001-07:002014-09-29T18:13:47.978-07:00Sexism is Alive Let me rant a bit about the words we use to describe people. In particular, female people and male people. Notice how often you’ll find the following identification of a man:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
John Smith, a handsome father of three and grandfather of two, looked appealing, his thinning gray hair and opulent mustache showing off his sparkling blue eyes. He wore a slate gray wool suit with solid blue tie, a matching handkerchief in the pocket, and appeared slightly nervous as he addressed his adoring audience.</blockquote>
Or the following identification of a woman:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Joanna Smith, a skilled cardiac surgeon (lawyer, stockbroker, economist, author, actor, drummer), strode confidently onto the stage and spoke directly to the crowd of 300 amassed to hear her speech. Dr. Smith’s discovery of less invasive heart surgery techniques will save many lives in the future.</blockquote>
While these depictions are slightly stretched, the reality is that a man is described by his status and accomplishments while a woman is described by her appearance, in detail, with notations of offspring.<br />
<br />
If you don’t believe that sexist discrimination is still alive, do an Internet search for the “leading women sportscasters”. You’ll find a group of photogenic young women, mostly blonds, exposing decolletage that reaches halfway to their toes. Now do a search for male sportscasters (or even just sportscasters) and you find lists of men with depictions of their journalism backgrounds and/or sports connections — and no photographs.<br />
<br />
Oh, didn't I mention it? Almost all of those photogenic blonds listed their sports experience as “cheerleader”.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1875690522040035146.post-32205936673215273872014-08-14T16:34:00.004-07:002014-08-14T16:39:59.868-07:00What Attracts You to People?That’s the question posed in a recent survey among people of all ages, genders, sizes, races, and places in life:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>What is it about someone that makes you want to know them better, do business with them, date them…</i></span></blockquote>
The first three answers are interesting. But it’s the third one that fascinates me the most — and should interest you too.<br />
<br />
First answer: a SMILE.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“When someone has a sincere smile, I’m attracted.”<br />
“I consider a sweet smile worth a pile of gold.”<br />
“A beautiful smile reflects a beautiful soul, a positive thinker, someone like me.” </blockquote>
Second answer: a TWINKLE in the eyes.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“I love to see twinkling eyes; that says a person is alive and well inside.”<br />
“The eyes give you away. A twinkle can’t be phoney.”<br />
“If I see a twinkle in his eye, I know this guy is excited about life and maybe me.”</blockquote>
Ah, my friends, now comes the third answer. (Pause to take deep breath!)<br />
<br />
Number 3: good GRAMMAR! You betcha!<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“When somebody uses a double negative, I flinch. Doesn’t she care about the way she sounds?”<br />
“Oh, I have so many peeves about bad grammar, but the worst is <i>between you and I </i>— like hearing fingernails on a chalkboard.”<br />
“Bad grammar screams uneducated, sloppy, messy, dumb!”</blockquote>
Whether you come across bad grammar in speaking or in writing, how do you feel about the person behind the words?<br />
<br />
Want to know my unfavorite <i>faux pas</i> that exposes a careless word user? I see it often in emails, which I usually disregard because the writer is moving fast. But still, wouldn’t they think enough of themselves to capitalize their own pronoun — “I”? <br />
<br />
Okay, so English is the only language that capitalizes the word; but not capitalizing it sends a message — to many like me — that you don’t care enough about yourself to capitalize “I”. Chew on that tidbit for a moment.<br />
<br />
Grammar reflects your personality, your brain traits, and your self respect. Be careful how you use it!<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1875690522040035146.post-53722765612752657912014-06-23T15:38:00.003-07:002014-06-23T15:43:13.751-07:00I Don’t Need No Editor!<span style="color: #134f5c;">How many times have I heard that? I’ve even said it myself. But oh my, how quickly I learned better. Like surgeons, editors don’t <i>operate</i> on their own work. </span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #134f5c;">Need some convincing?</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #134f5c;">When you “edit” your own work:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #cc0000;">Do you look for missing punctuation? Periods at the end of sentences? Question marks at the end of questions? </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000;">Do you look for missing commas? Do you know where to insert commas?</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000;">Do you understand “smart apostrophes”? And how to fix backward apostrophes?</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000;">Are you sure you don’t spell “envelope” the same way you spell “develop”? Is “backyard” one word… or two? And how do you spell that red sauce you put on hamburgers? <i>ketchup, catsup, cetchup, katsup</i>?</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000;">Are you spelling a character’s name the same way in Chapter 14 as you did in Chapter 3?</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000;">Which numbers do you spell out and which do you use as numerals?</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #cc0000;"> Do you recognize how many times you’ve used your favorite word (<i>really, so, only, but</i>…)?</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #cc0000;">Do you know if you’ve been consistent with verb tenses?</span></blockquote>
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #134f5c;">Just some things to think about when you want your manuscript to be as error-free as possible. Professional editors consider these and many other grammar/punctuation concerns when they edit. Oh yes, they also keep track of the time element in your story, the action locations, costuming, even the <i>music</i> of your words and the <i>rhythm</i> of your writing. </span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #134f5c;">How do I know these things? I am a professional editor.</span><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1875690522040035146.post-26911165677976983632014-05-21T15:35:00.002-07:002014-05-21T15:37:27.616-07:00They Like the New GIYP!Love my books; love me! Apparently something is working because my new series, <i>Grammar In Your Pocket</i>, is doing well. Seems people like the instant access to their grammar and punctuation problems. If you haven’t downloaded any copy yet, go to <a href="http://www.kindle.com/">www.kindle.com</a> and search either by topic (<i>nouns, adjectives, commas, apostrophes</i>, etc.) or by Series: <i>Grammar In Your Pocket</i>.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RxIauBWdfbY/U30pSG4CnwI/AAAAAAAAAEU/7D1BR_4ifD4/s1600/Pocket+Cover-%231+INTRO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RxIauBWdfbY/U30pSG4CnwI/AAAAAAAAAEU/7D1BR_4ifD4/s1600/Pocket+Cover-%231+INTRO.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
HINT: The most popular so far is Book #24 <i>Grammar Glitches</i>. Here you’ll find all the common grammar problems of the U.S.-English language — everything from affect/effect to who/whom!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1875690522040035146.post-43611735001032984852014-05-08T13:19:00.000-07:002014-05-08T13:21:50.101-07:00Grammar In Your Pocket — just for you!Heave a sigh of relief. Grammar help is on the way! Now you can find instant answers to your grammar questions by downloading any one of the 24 parts to the new series: <i>Grammar In Your Pocket</i>. Then pack away the information on your pocket electronics to keep it handy.<br />
<br />
The series is available on <a href="http://www.kindle.com/">www.kindle.com</a> where you can search by subject. Order on <a href="http://amazon.com/">amazon.com</a>. There are 24 of them and each costs only 99¢. What? You say you don't own a Kindle? You can order a physical reader (so you can read in bed or on a bus), or you can download a Kindle reader FREE to your computer. Check it out! These are the subjects you can choose:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #45818e;"><b>Parts of Speech:</b> </span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">Introduction • Nouns • Pronouns • Verbs • Adjectives • Adverbs • Phrases & Clauses • Conjunctions • Prepositions • Articles & Interjections</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: #45818e;"><b>Punctuation:</b></span> </span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">Commas • Colons, Semicolons, & Periods • Parentheses, Brackets, Quotation Marks • Question Marks & Exclamation Points • More Dots & Dashes</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #45818e;"><b>Help For Writers: </b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">Putting It Together • Words • Sentences • Paragraphs • Spelling • Numbers • Unbiased Language • Writing Style • Grammar Glitches</span></blockquote>
<br />
You’ll never have to worry again about whether to say “between you and I” or “between you and me”. Plus, your spelling will improve enough for you to win any spelling bee!<br />
<br />
Pick up one or more titles at a time until you have the entire series. And you’ll never need another grammar book to keep your writing and grammar usage impressive. Your friends, family, bosses, and business associates will swoon to hear you referring confidently to <i>nouns, adjectives, semicolons, writing style</i>, and even <i>participles</i> with confidence. And always keeping things <i>between you and me</i>!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1875690522040035146.post-25576190647092467442014-04-29T13:51:00.000-07:002014-05-01T17:28:12.420-07:00Look What You Can Tuck Into Your Pocket!<span style="color: #0b5394;">My dream to place help to the grammatically challenged, right into your pocket, is coming alive. The first sixteen parts of my new series — GRAMMAR IN YOUR POCKET — have been gently downloaded onto Kindle. These are the parts of speech and punctuation that give so much trouble to those who want “rules”:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #741b47;">1—Introduction (FREE)</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47;">2—Nouns</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47;">3—Pronouns</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47;">4—Verbs</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47;">5—Adjectives</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47;">6—Adverbs</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47;">7—Clauses and Phrases</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47;">8—Conjunctions</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47;">9—Prepositions</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #741b47;">10—Articles & Interjections</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47;">11—Commas</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47;">12—Colons, Semicolons, Periods</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47;">13—Question Marks & Exclamation Pointns</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47;">14—Parentheses, Brackets, & Quotation Marks</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47;">15—More Dots and Dashes</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47;">16—Putting it All Together (FREE)</span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">#1—The Introduction and #16—Putting It All Together — available FREE — to get you started. Here you’ll understand the problems Americans have learning nefarious grammar “rules”. That's because those infamous, purported, mystical “rules” mostly apply to the linguists who dream them up. (But don’t get me started. See for yourself.)</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394;">You can download to your Kindle each or any other section at only 99¢ apiece; such a deal! </span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">So you want to refresh your understanding of Adjectives? Download<i> Number 5—Adjectives</i>. </span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">If you’re unsure about what nouns to capitalize, download <i>Number 2—Nouns</i>. </span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">Simple, easy, and instructive: just look in your pocket! </span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">Your grammar skills will impress your boss, your clients, your friends, and your family.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394;">Upcoming will be a section on Tips for Writers. I’m promising that before I leave for my trip to the beach this summer, you will have all you need to know about GRAMMAR IN YOUR POCKET!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1875690522040035146.post-64907746205016749322014-04-11T11:30:00.001-07:002014-04-11T11:32:43.371-07:00Bizzy, Bizzy, BizzyDo you agree? Too much to do in so little time! I’ve learned that you can do only so much; then you have to take a breather; go for a walk; go to a movie, pick up groceries; plant a garden; take pictures of your grandkids…<br />
<br />
So I took a breather. And what did I do? Worked on a new project! (Of course I don't listen to my inner critic. Who does!)<br />
<br />
A primary project has been put on hold… again. I’m putting together a series of short grammar articles for eBooks, called <i>Grammar In Your Pocket</i>. Each article focuses on a part of speech or punctuation or writing problem. Each is short. Each tells you all you need to know — or want to — about that subject. Plans are to put out one article a week. If you download the complete set, you’ll have everything you need to know about grammar, right in your pocket, easy to carry around with you and access as you need it.<br />
<br />
Let’s say you’re wondering about a word to capitalize. Open the series marked “Nouns” and go to the “Capitalize” section and… there you have it.<br />
<br />
My problem? I’m learning to fine-tune work for easy reading on electronic readers. Fun and confusing. With a good wind and a lot of luck, you can look for the Introductory article next week (before Easter) and every week thereafter.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1875690522040035146.post-16205414992762765522014-03-24T16:17:00.000-07:002014-03-24T16:23:18.856-07:00 Guest Grammar Geek (her words)<h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name">
For All You Mullygrubbers!
</h3>
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<i>mullygrub</i> (verb)<br />
<i>mullygrubs</i> (moody noun)<br />
<i>mullygrubber</i> (person to avoid)<br />
<br />
The word <i>mullygrubs</i> came up on NPR recently and befuddled many
people — both reporters and listeners. This is one of the best one-word
descriptions alive (barely); it is attached to those moody,
lackadaisical, gloomy, annoying people who just <i>collywobble</i> around, bringing negative energy to everyone.<br />
<br />
If that isn’t enough to keep you away (or to keep you from becoming one), know that <i>collywobble </i>is a verb meaning to “belly-ache” (derived from “collic” and “stomach ache”). Got it?<br />
<br />
Where the term <i>mullygrub</i> comes from is equally interesting (to us word geeks). An Aussie reports that a <i>mullygrub</i>
is a cricket noun, referring to a bowled ball that “just rolls along
the ground, keeping the batsman from scoring more than one run”, and
therefore turning the defeated bowler into a <i>collywobbler</i> who
resorts to any method to win with no consideration of long-term results.
(Sounds as if it should be part of U.S. political grammar.)<br />
<br />
Wait! There’s more! The word <i>mully</i> is a variant of <i>muley</i>, which refers to cattle with no horns. And how do hornless cattle behave without a means of defense? They get the <i>mullygrubs</i>, which turns them into very blah animals — thus <i>mullygrubbers</i> — blue, sad, down in the dumps.<br />
<br />
Don’t be a mullygrubber! Forget the collywobbles and get out there and
throw a party, ride a roller coaster, ask an attractive person out to
dine, run naked through the stre... no, better skip that last one!<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #990000;">This is a post by a guest artist who apparently writes just like me. </span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;">She is Joanne Nakaya. Get a load of her writing blog! What fun!</span></blockquote>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1875690522040035146.post-13151402965779221182014-03-17T16:46:00.003-07:002014-03-17T16:46:30.328-07:00OK, is it okay to O.K. an okay sentence including o.k.?Next Sunday, March 23, 2014, has been named “OK Day”, celebrating the 175th anniversary of the appearance of this innovative word/sound/phrase. On March 23, 1839 <i>okay</i> appeared for the first time in a U.S. newspaper — <i>The Boston Morning Post.</i> It was a gimmick, folks — part of an abbreviation craze in this new country of ours. But, oh how it stuck!<br />
<br />
How many ways can you write it? OK?<br />
How often do you use the term <i>okay</i>?<br />
Do you realize that this innocuous little term — “okay” — not only has uses in several parts of speech, but it also has a history? Who knew?<br />
<br />
Answer to Question #1: You can write this term in all caps, a combination of cap and lower case, as a four-letter word or a two-word abbreviation (with or without periods). All are <i>OKAY, OK, O.K., okay, ok, o.k.</i><br />
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Answer to Question #2: You have probably used the term more than 175 times today if you are working or socializing among other people, and possibly 25 to 30 times if you’re working alone at your computer and phone.<br />
<br />
Answer to Question #3: Oh yes! You can use “okay” as a noun (<i>You have my okay</i>), a verb (<i>Please okay this agreement today</i>), an adjective (<i>You’re an okay kind of person</i>), and adverb (<i>Is your computer running okay?</i>), and an expletive/interjection (<i>Okay!</i>).<br />
<br />
As for history, don’t believe those who try to tell you it originated with President Martin VanBuren, who is reputed to have referred to his connections with Old Kinderhook! Didn’t happen! Or with President Wilson, who reputedly repeated a term he had heard. <i>Okay</i> may have come from the Greek <i>ola kala</i>, meaning “all good” or the Choctaw word, “okeh”, a sound-alike. After <i>okay</i> became used publicly in 1839, it is believed to have been immortalized in an unnamed slang dictionary in 1864. Probably not true.<br />
<br />
And no! There's no way it stands for Oklahoma, as fine a state as OK may be.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1875690522040035146.post-85416465269307952262014-03-04T13:08:00.001-08:002014-03-04T13:15:59.210-08:00Celebrate Our Day!<span style="color: #351c75;">Today, Tuesday, March 4, is National Grammar Day. How do you celebrate? Take a grammar to lunch? Buy your grammar a dozen roses? Or just watch your mouth. Not easy in this day of purple prose — f-words and s-words and xyz-words. Take a hint from our classy forebears whose words remain on our lips for decades — nay centuries — long after the speakers are gone. They chose words that cut, struck chords, made points, all without reverting to the profanity of the day (or was it the profanity of the day?).</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;">Notice where profane words originate? In the bathroom (considered childish obsession with the digestive system), in the bedroom (sexual activity has long bothered Americans), in humor (making fun of others), and in ways to diminish the character of another.</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;">Where our grandparents got by using such expletives as <i>gosh darn, drat, egad, yikes, gee</i>, and <i>golly</i>,
their grandchildren easily display potty mouths — most likely for shock
value to adults, but more for the easy of finding a pet cuss word and
using it as often as possible. The cure? Find a pet cuss word that only you define as “profanity”.</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;">U.S.-English is rich with wonderful words that would send an enemy or opponent scurrying off to find a dictionary. Consider: <i>scurrilous, blasphemous, file, coprophagous, cloacal, ribald, execrable, ominous, minacious, maledictory, damnatory, desiccative</i>.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #cc0000;">On this holiest of holy days, watch your language. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #cc0000;">1) Keep your dictionary tucked inside your iPod or your pocket.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;">2) Find a mobile copy of a thesaurus.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;">3) Delight in coming up with dissident, dissentient, dissipated, disassociated word that will blow away the need for bathroom or bedroom attempts at humor.</span></blockquote>
<span style="color: #351c75;">When you stare your opponent in the eye, smile, and describe that person in extraordinary words, you'll feel so much better.</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #351c75;">Be a proud grammar user.</span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1875690522040035146.post-72165485480082301262014-01-27T16:59:00.001-08:002014-01-27T17:05:07.126-08:00The President Filches From the Proverbs<div class="MsoNormal">
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--></style><span style="color: #990000;"> Did you hear it? President Obama has the “proverbial reset
button”. True! I heard it on NPR. You have to wonder where he got it and where he keeps it.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000;">When I checked the Proverbs, I’ll be darned; I couldn’t find a
single “reset button” listed.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000;">Be careful when choosing modifiers, such as <i>proverbial</i> and
<i>literal</i> and <i>absolute</i> and <i>first</i> and, especially, <i>unique</i>. These are sometimes called “ultimates”. Make sure the ultimate is precisely what you mean.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000;">I would expect <i>poverbial</i> to mean “from Proverbs” or at least
“in wide usage” — and old.<i> </i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>Literal</i> infers reality over metaphor. You may think you are “literally swimming in debt”, but you are metaphorically paddling among your IOUs. You literally swim in water!<i> </i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>Absolute</i> means there is nothing more to be added or done. “Absolute control of the situation” means that no other has any control at all.<i> </i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>First</i> is another ultimate. You may be the first to enter the building, or (more likely) among the first to enter the building. Remember, there is only one first (just ask an Olympic competitor).<i> </i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>Unique</i> is the ultimate most abused in today’s language. Like <i>first</i>, unique means “the only one”. Which means something cannot be “sorta unique” or “somewhat unique” or even “very unique”. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000;">Bottom line (literally); ultimates need no modifiers. That is absolutely what makes them unique — even in proverbial usage.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1875690522040035146.post-68035261306322097662014-01-21T14:58:00.003-08:002014-01-21T15:09:19.252-08:00That Pronoun Thing — Again!<span style="color: #7f6000;">Yes, it’s all true. That pronoun thing is getting worse. Not only do I find speakers and writers putting themselves first in multiple groups (me and her, me and him, me and them), but… oh the pain! Here’s what ruffles my poor aching eyes and ears:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>John and I’s house is for sale.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>Her’s and mine’s anniversary is tomorrow.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>It’s celebration will be simple.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>Don’t tell me that their’s and our’s spelling is wrong.</i></span></blockquote>
<span style="color: #7f6000;">Well, guess what? It is! Those sentences include apostrophes that have invaded the Pronoun Patch. What’s almost as bad, the pronouns have been mis-used, abused, rattled, scrambled, and out of whack. Here's what those sentences should look and sound like:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #7f6000;"><i>John’s and my house is for sale.</i> (<i>Our house is for sale</i> would do.)</span><br />
<span style="color: #7f6000;"><i>Her and my anniversary is tomorrow.</i> (Awkward, but better. <i>Our anniversary is tomorrow</i> / much better.)</span><br />
<span style="color: #7f6000;"><i>Its celebration will be simple. </i>(See? No apostrophe at all!)</span><br />
<span style="color: #7f6000;"><i>Don’t tell me that their and our spelling is wrong. </i>(Again, awkward, but better. <i>Don’t tell me that all our spelling is wrong</i> / much better.)</span></blockquote>
<span style="color: #7f6000;">Pay attention now:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<h4>
<span style="color: #990000;">There are no apostrophes in possessive pronouns: <i>yours, ours, theirs, mine, his, hers, its</i>. </span></h4>
</blockquote>
<span style="background-color: #7f6000;"><span style="background-color: white;"></span></span><span style="color: #7f6000;">Please write that in big 72-point font and paste it across your refrigerator, pen, pencil, computer keyboard, nose, and mirror. No apostrophes pu-leez!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1875690522040035146.post-4600660705701697552014-01-15T18:25:00.000-08:002014-01-15T18:29:22.585-08:00A Preposition is a Terrible Thing to Waste<div style="text-align: center;">
What is a Preposition? </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
What do Prepositions do? </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Why do writers use too many Prepositions? </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
How do you keep them useful without giving them a big head?</div>
<br />
Good questions. Here are some Grammar Anarchist answers.<br />
<br />
A Preposition is an introduction to a descriptive phrase. That phrase can modify either an adjective or an adverb (which is where the terms “adverbial phrase” and “adjective phrase” come from). The Preposition generally provides direction or relationship (<i>in, out, under, over, up, down, with, before, behind</i>, etc.) Therefore, if a phrase is to do a good job modifying, it needs something to modify. That’s where the noun or verb comes in. Here are a few examples of “adverbial phrase”:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
She walked regularly <b>in the park, near the creek, with her dog</b>. (Whew! Three in a row!)<br />
The dog toddled along <b>behind the walker, on a leash</b>. (Only two of them here.)<br />
Neither the dog nor the walker appeared <b>in a hurry</b>. (One dab’ll do you!)</blockquote>
Notice how the bold-face prepositional phrases describe the verbs (<i>walk, toddle, appear</i>) <br />
<br />
Here are some “adjective phrases”, which you will see modify the nouns:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The youth, <b>in his teens</b>, wearing only a light jacket <b>with pockets</b>, wanted hot coffee <b>with cream</b>.<br />
His man <b>next to him</b> asked for an iced tea <b>without sugar</b>.<br />
Both guys seemed anxious to get to the ballgame <b>about to start</b>.</blockquote>
Here the bold-face phrases describe the nouns (<i>youth, jacket, coffee, man, tea, ballgame</i>).<br />
<br />
Keep your prepositions useful by not overdoing. Some overloaded and overworked combinations include: <i>off of, on in, near to, behind of</i>, and <i>in to</i> (when what is meant is <i>into</i>).<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Awkward: Keep your hands <b>off of </b>me if you want to get <b>on in</b> my favor and <b>near to</b> my heart, rather than <b>behind of</b> my good graces.<br />
Neater: Keep your hands off me if you want to get in my favor and near my heart, rather than behind my good graces.</blockquote>
Now you know how to keep your Prepositions in tow. BTW, One walks <i>into</i> a room or situation, but once inside, one is <i>in</i> the room or the situation. <i>Into</i> moves; <i>in</i> says it’s too late to move; you’re stuck.<br />
<br />
Respect your Prepositions; love them; keep them to a minimum.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0