Thursday, January 27, 2005
Spelling Variations in the English-Speaking World
In a comment on another blog, someone wrote the word "faeces" and another person asked if the first person had meant "feces." (Naturally, I cannot find the blog or the comment to link to.) This query brings up an interesting dilemma among those who write internationally: how to handle the incredibly... Sign in to see full entry.
posted by editormum at 7:22 AM Comments (1) (link)
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Toward? Towards? Which Is Right?
The question has been asked: "I've written a poem, and one of the lines is...'she is floating toward him.' Is it toward or towards?" And the definitive answer is {drum roll, please} either one! That's really helpful, isn't it? Actually, the Grammar Guru was a bit surprised by this one, having always... Sign in to see full entry.
posted by editormum at 7:33 AM Comments (1) (link)
Friday, December 31, 2004
Towing Lines and Hoeing Roads ... What ARE We Coming to?
Two quick little corrections for some frequently misquoted idioms. One does not "tow the line;" one "toes the line." This idiom refers to runners at the beginning of a race. They line up on the start line with their toes on or slightly behind the line. It may also refer to sailors standing in... Sign in to see full entry.
posted by editormum at 3:02 PM Comments (0) (link)
Thursday, December 30, 2004
If Only... Only if....Hunh?
It is a strange fact that the position of certain words in a sentence can affect the meaning of the sentence drastically. The word only is one such word. Consider the following examples. Only I love her. I only love her. I love only her. I love her only. Do you see the differences in meaning that... Sign in to see full entry.
posted by editormum at 6:55 AM Comments (0) (link)
Friday, December 24, 2004
Clearing up Some Confusions....Passed/Past and Exasperate/Exacerbate
Emergency beacons in my Inbox --- a concerned blogger wants us to clear up the difference between "passed" and "past." Actually, this one's really easy, because the two words are completely different parts of speech. Past is either a noun or adjective. It means "previous times." noun: His past is a... Sign in to see full entry.
posted by editormum at 9:23 AM Comments (2) (link)
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
We'll be back...
after a brief message from our sponsor. No, seriously, the Grammar Guru is taking a short break to recover from the bronchitis that attacked her last weekend. Once she's through the antibiotics and can be certain that her drug-hazed head is not giving out erroneous advice, she'll be back. Thank you... Sign in to see full entry.
posted by editormum at 7:50 AM Comments (1) (link)
Friday, December 10, 2004
Spellus Confustibus
I want to remark briefly on a phenomenon that strikes unexpectedly and with sometimes disastrous results---but I don't know what to call it. "Spellus confustibus" comes to mind, as does "Frozen Brain Syndrome." If I didn't have a big bill coming up from the tax man, I would have a Name That Glitch... Sign in to see full entry.
posted by editormum at 6:43 AM Comments (2) (link)
Thursday, December 9, 2004
People, Please! Use Your Dictionary!
Or, if not your actual, hardback, unabridged, at least type things into dictionary.com before you post a spelling that makes you look like a sloppy, uneducated wanna-be writer. In scanning through some of the new posts this morning, I came across at least a dozen misspellings. Most of these might... Sign in to see full entry.
posted by editormum at 9:30 AM Comments (3) (link)
Wednesday, December 8, 2004
"That" or Not "That"...That Is the Question!
There is a movement afoot in publishing and academic circles to remove "unnecessary" instances of the word that from writing. The problem is that it is difficult to codify when that is unnecessary and when it isn't. For example, more than half of the "experts" would omit my use of that between... Sign in to see full entry.
posted by editormum at 8:36 AM Comments (5) (link)
Monday, December 6, 2004
Where Did That Preposition Get To?
I think it was Winston Churchill who said, in response to a misguided editor's rearranging his words so that a sentence would not end with a preposition, "This is the sort of English up with which I will not put." [Sometimes quoted as "arrant nonsense...," which I think is eminently better.] The... Sign in to see full entry.
posted by editormum at 9:11 AM Comments (0) (link)
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A professional editor, writer, and English tutor answers your questions about the finer points of grammar, word usage, and other technical aspects of the writer's craft. E-mail questions to editormum@usa.com, or use the Comments section of a previous post. Happy Writing!
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