Partitioned Writing

Partitioned Writing is what she called it. “I write memos and notes without thinking about g-r-a-m-m-a-r; I write to my friends as if I’m speaking to them; I write my newspaper column using the language of the paper’s style manual; I write my books with my own writing style — my own flair. I partition my writing to fit the occasion and the reader.”

That’s exactly what Writing is all about; that’s what Grammar is all about.

Think: Reader;
Think: Occasion.
Then W-R-I-T-E!

Take a Peak/Peek/Peke/Pique

If you’re afraid of heights and you and your pet find yourselves dropped atop Mount Blanc, taking a peek may pique your curiosity to look at the magnificent view from the peak with your peke. These italicized words are called homophones (they sound alike). They all are pronounced P-EE-K. Don’t ever misspell them again. You have been warned. Or are you afraid of The Grammar Anarchist too?

PUNK-CHEW-AYE-SHUN

Oh yeah! You may not be aware of the importance of punctuation. Try this sentence without commas and see what you get:

I’m sorry it’s not loaded Harriet.

Or this one:

He’s not sure she never knew about that Priscilla.

Remove punctuation from written words and chaos ensues — absobloodylute chaos! 

Who says you can’t make up words?

You know I love the comics and their freedom with words. Recently, “Get Fuzzy”, written and drawn by Darby Conley, threw in some original words. Bucky Katt came up with ruddite, meaning “a rude luddite”. Then added dimpid (dim and stupid), and ugloying (ugly and annoying), before Rob asked, “Are you smelliotic then?” Figure it out! Then go on and make up your own new words. That’s the US-language way!

Three Downers: If, Hope, But

If… hope… but…These words look innocuous enough, but they pack connotations that are extremely negative.

“If you agree, we can continue.”  (There’s a distinct chance you will not agree.)
“I hope you like what you see.” (Likewise, you probably won’t like it at all.)
“I like your style, really, but…” (Well, you know what comes next.) Yes, “really” falls into this category as well, when used excessively. Always question your date who insists, “I really do like you, but…”

Keep your writing on the up and up, positive, euphoric, hopeful even, and notice the positive responses you attract.

Alright already!

The people who have the most fun with words are writers of the comics. Today Stephan Pastis, writer/illustrator of “Pearls Before Swine” toyed with the one-l/two-ll syndrome. Someone criticized him for using “alright” in his strip. “Is the poor guy alright?” asked Mouse. “Hey, don't criticize him, alright?” replied Stephan. To which Pig asked, “Alright, alright. What’s going on here?”

Purists (ugh!) claim the phrase needs two l’s (all right). Yet, users keep on using just one l. Who’s right? What’s going on here?”

Multi-tasking Adjectives

Sometimes one adjective won’t do. Several words pop into mind and that’s when you call in the hyphens. Here are some examples:

Sometimes this feels like a dog-eat-dog world.
I’m always happy-as-a-lark to offer hope.
Or am I just a whistling-in-the-wind optimist?

Now you try it! Multi-hyphened-words form the entire adjective and are often more effective than a plain-old-one-word modifier.

Anyone for tennis?

Anyone, anybody, any one, and any body get confused sometimes.  
Anyone generally refers to any person, as in “Anyone in the mood for fun?”  
Any one singles out the subject, as in “Any one of you could stand a little humor.”
As for anybody and any body, same thing! “Does anybody want to play?” “Any body in this room could pull off a good joke.”
Both anybody and anyone are used as singular pronouns that take singular verbs.

Update on spelling OK

Webster’s dictionary has come to the conclusion that OK is okay as the preferred spelling. In an earlier blog entry, The Grammar Anarchist told the joke about OK standing for “all correct”. Research turns up the story that OK actually stands for “oll korreck” which was used by President Andrew Jackson to approve bills. Yeah! He wasn’t the best speller in the country. My choice remains with “okay”. I still cannot see letters as words. Now you must decide: OK, O.K., or okay?

Will you respond “short” or “shortly”?

The word “short”, while being relative (how short is short?) confuses when the more apt meaning may be “shortly”.

1. “The money in the till is short for the third day in a row,” yelled the manager.
2. The new clerk, a short guy called “Shorty”, would be asked some questions shortly.
3. “Don't be short with me,” the clerk begged. “My bank account was short of funds.”
4. The manager responded with a short remark, “You’re fired.”

#1 short money (adjective)
#2 short guy (adj.) asked shortly (adverb)
#3 be short (adv.); short funds (adj.)
#4 short remark (adj.) with double meaning: The remark was brief and indicated annoyance.

As an adjective, short means “less than, smaller than, not as long, not as much”. It also means “abrupt”.
As an adverb, shortly means “soon, in a small amount of time”, also “a manner of speaking abruptly”.
Shorty is just a nickname.


*For even more meanings, check out your dictionary.