Dear Readers.
When I was writing my monthly blog, each post "piggy-backed" onto the last one. This means that the first one I wrote is at the very bottom of the scroll and the last one I wrote is at the top. There is no actual order to the entries except that the last one is a "test" of sorts to see how much you learned from reading all the previous ones. I suggest you read them in order. You can get to the first one, published June 2012, by using the Blog Archive to the right of this entry found underneath my photo and searching down to the first year published (2012). From there, click on that year and then click on the month you wish to read.
I hope you get to read all of them as each one focuses on a different part of the English language. When you are ready, you can take the test on the post "The Baker's Dozen."
I would love to know your comments, thoughts and your score on the final exam.
Good reading and good luck.
J. Baker
Tuesday, September 5, 2017
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
The Baker's Dozen
Dear Readers,
For the past forty-three months, I have been writing this blog in order to defend the English language.
I hope that you have enjoyed reading it and perhaps you have learned something from it. As a kind of culmination, I offer to you a simple "test." Below is a flyer I acquired and upon reading it, I found 13 errors (spelling, grammar and punctuation). I challenge you to find all thirteen. The answers are at the bottom of this page. Good luck!
ANSWERS
Column 1
1. Balboa Blvd does not have a period at the end of the abbreviation.
2. All Regular Price Shoes - it should be "priced."
Column 2
3. The quote marks around the first paragraph are not necessary.
4. On the very first line, each word of the name of the store should be capitalized: The Walking Shoe.
5. Continuing on the very first line, there should be a comma after the word Shoe.
6. In the second paragraph, there should be a comma after the word friendly.
7. Also in that paragraph, the word knowledgable is misspelled (correct: knowledgeable).
8. In the third paragraph, the word specialize needs to be "specializes."
9. And in this paragraph, there should be a hyphen between wide and width.
10. On the first line of the last paragraph, the word "If" should be lower case: "if"
11. The next word in this line, "your," needs to be "you're."
12. Again in this paragraph, instead of a period after the word feet, there should be a comma.
Column 3
13. Toward the bottom of the list of shoe brands, Dr Scholls needs to have a period after the abbreviation Dr.
SCORING
13/13 = 100%
12/13 = 92
11/13 = 85
10/13 = 77
9/13 = 69
8/13 = 61
7/13 = 54
6/13 = 46
5/13 = 38
4/13 = 31
3/13 = 23
2/13 = 15
1/13 = 8%
So, Readers, how did you do? A+, B-, C? If you received lower than an A, maybe you need to re-read all forty-three previous posts. I thank you for letting me offer my expertise.
Monday, November 2, 2015
What the F*#@?
Dear Readers,
This month I will focus on more "Just Plain Wrong" (see blog March 2014). Each time I see an egregious error, I am so shocked that I need to include it in this blog.
Example: This came from a newspaper article about a Montebello mayor. The headline read, "Mayor says she will remain in office" and is followed by "Cortez thanks supporters one week after husband's arrest on drug charges." Here are the egregious errors ...
The mayor is quoted, "I'd like to thank everyone for the tremendous support myself and my family has been receiving." ... "I will continue to do my job to the best of its ability." *What the f*#@?
Who elected this woman to such a high office when she can't speak properly?
Example: The book Room 1219, written by Greg Merritt, tells the true story of Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle who was accused of killing his paramour Virginia Rappe in 1921. There is eventually a trial and on one page the author refers to "opening arguments" and on another page he uses "closing statements." *I checked on the United States Courts website (why didn't he?). It is actually the opposite - opening statements and closing arguments. I hear this all the time on the TV law-and-order-type shows.
Example: Donna Tartt, in her novel "The Goldfinch," relates a short conversation between Goldie, a doorman, and Theo, a resident in a NYC apartment. Theo says, "Hey, thanks for looking out for me..." "No problemo," said Goldie. Later on, Goldie talks about his home: "I'm a tropical bird, you know? I can't wait to go home to Puerto Rico." *If he hails from Puerto Rico, where Spanish is the main language, why would he use "problemo" instead of the correct Spanish word "problema?"
Example: On TV's "CBS Sunday Morning," there was a segment about September's fall TV lineup.
Correspondent Tracy Smith was talking to TV critic Alan Sepinwall who said, "Sunday night is the best and the worst because on the one hand, you have the very best shows in all of television, many of whom the very best shows in the history of television all airing on Sunday." *What the f*#@? Besides his very long run-on sentence, he referred to TV shows, as "whom." The correct pronoun would be "which." Also, he says the best and worst yet never mentions the worst. Lastly, he says, "...on the one hand..." but never adds "on the other hand." This is a critic and he gets paid for his opinions??? I wouldn't pay him one cent.
Example: The premise of the now defunct TV show "Forever" was that Dr. Henry Morgan, English doctor and sleuth, has a strange affliction that renders him immortal, never aging beyond 36 years old. He now lives in New York and helps detectives solve murders. His story reveals that in the 1940's, he and his wife adopted an orphaned baby from a German concentration camp. They named him Abraham. Today, Abe is 70 years old but his "father" Henry remains 36 and together they own an antique store (besides Henry's vocation as medical examiner with the NYPD). Here is the inconsistency that bothered me: Abe was raised in New York by English parents who were not of the Jewish faith, yet Abe espouses these Yiddish expressions: "Meh!" "Fekakteh..." "Mensch." *From what I know about language, a child learns to speak from his parents, and although the accent may be more localized, expressions from another culture would not generally be adopted and used with such ease as Abe used them. I assume that because the actor, Judd Hirsch, who plays Abe, is an older Jewish man, that the writers inadvertently wrote his lines to reflect this. In my opinion, not Kosher at all.
Last example: TV host Cat Deeley was interviewed in the TV Guide magazine. She talked about being called by "American Idol" to possibly replace host Ryan Seacrest because he was sick. She says, "At the very last minute, they're like, 'He's going on.' No problem, that's totally cool. And then they went, 'But we still want you to sit here behind the stage just in case he takes a turn for the worse.'" *Over the years, I have heard new words and expressions creep into our vernacular, and this shows clearly how such unlikely synonyms for the word "said" have entered the English language.
Well, dear Readers, I hope you are as aghast as I am at some of these wacky errors. They are actually fun to spot and write about. I hope you enjoyed reading the posting.
This month I will focus on more "Just Plain Wrong" (see blog March 2014). Each time I see an egregious error, I am so shocked that I need to include it in this blog.
Example: This came from a newspaper article about a Montebello mayor. The headline read, "Mayor says she will remain in office" and is followed by "Cortez thanks supporters one week after husband's arrest on drug charges." Here are the egregious errors ...
The mayor is quoted, "I'd like to thank everyone for the tremendous support myself and my family has been receiving." ... "I will continue to do my job to the best of its ability." *What the f*#@?
Who elected this woman to such a high office when she can't speak properly?
Example: The book Room 1219, written by Greg Merritt, tells the true story of Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle who was accused of killing his paramour Virginia Rappe in 1921. There is eventually a trial and on one page the author refers to "opening arguments" and on another page he uses "closing statements." *I checked on the United States Courts website (why didn't he?). It is actually the opposite - opening statements and closing arguments. I hear this all the time on the TV law-and-order-type shows.
Example: Donna Tartt, in her novel "The Goldfinch," relates a short conversation between Goldie, a doorman, and Theo, a resident in a NYC apartment. Theo says, "Hey, thanks for looking out for me..." "No problemo," said Goldie. Later on, Goldie talks about his home: "I'm a tropical bird, you know? I can't wait to go home to Puerto Rico." *If he hails from Puerto Rico, where Spanish is the main language, why would he use "problemo" instead of the correct Spanish word "problema?"
Example: On TV's "CBS Sunday Morning," there was a segment about September's fall TV lineup.
Correspondent Tracy Smith was talking to TV critic Alan Sepinwall who said, "Sunday night is the best and the worst because on the one hand, you have the very best shows in all of television, many of whom the very best shows in the history of television all airing on Sunday." *What the f*#@? Besides his very long run-on sentence, he referred to TV shows, as "whom." The correct pronoun would be "which." Also, he says the best and worst yet never mentions the worst. Lastly, he says, "...on the one hand..." but never adds "on the other hand." This is a critic and he gets paid for his opinions??? I wouldn't pay him one cent.
Example: The premise of the now defunct TV show "Forever" was that Dr. Henry Morgan, English doctor and sleuth, has a strange affliction that renders him immortal, never aging beyond 36 years old. He now lives in New York and helps detectives solve murders. His story reveals that in the 1940's, he and his wife adopted an orphaned baby from a German concentration camp. They named him Abraham. Today, Abe is 70 years old but his "father" Henry remains 36 and together they own an antique store (besides Henry's vocation as medical examiner with the NYPD). Here is the inconsistency that bothered me: Abe was raised in New York by English parents who were not of the Jewish faith, yet Abe espouses these Yiddish expressions: "Meh!" "Fekakteh..." "Mensch." *From what I know about language, a child learns to speak from his parents, and although the accent may be more localized, expressions from another culture would not generally be adopted and used with such ease as Abe used them. I assume that because the actor, Judd Hirsch, who plays Abe, is an older Jewish man, that the writers inadvertently wrote his lines to reflect this. In my opinion, not Kosher at all.
Last example: TV host Cat Deeley was interviewed in the TV Guide magazine. She talked about being called by "American Idol" to possibly replace host Ryan Seacrest because he was sick. She says, "At the very last minute, they're like, 'He's going on.' No problem, that's totally cool. And then they went, 'But we still want you to sit here behind the stage just in case he takes a turn for the worse.'" *Over the years, I have heard new words and expressions creep into our vernacular, and this shows clearly how such unlikely synonyms for the word "said" have entered the English language.
Well, dear Readers, I hope you are as aghast as I am at some of these wacky errors. They are actually fun to spot and write about. I hope you enjoyed reading the posting.
Saturday, October 3, 2015
The Missing Link
Dear Readers,
In my blog posted May 2015, I wrote about sentences with missing verbs. This month I am going to focus on other examples of missing words, including verbs. Got time? Read on...
Example: In an episode of the now defunct TV show "Touch," a woman says to a gentleman guest arriving at her house for dinner, "Hey, didn't know you had a car." *Where's the "I" in that statement?
Example: Harvard educated street cop Jamie Reagan, on the TV show "Blue Bloods," was not happy with his partner's less than "by the book" tactics. He tells his partner, "I come from a family of cops. Good cops, great cops. Proud of that." He continues, "Now on, you make a move, you check with me first." *He left out two words that I can see. "I'm proud of that" and "From now on." OK, he's a street cop, but he has a college education from Harvard. He should speak better than that.
Example: I saw this on a billboard asking, "IRS after you?" *Again, two words are missing. It should read, "Is the IRS after you?"
Example: While watching "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," I came across two different instances where people left out words. (1) Head investigator D.B. Russell comes into the office of lab rat Hodges and asks, "You text me?" *Where's the "did" in that question? (2) CSI Nick Stokes is questioning a man who has been living in an underground bunker. Nick tells him he doesn't like the way the man treats trespassers. Trying to find out if there is a link between this guy and a murdered camper, Nick asks, "Is that what happened with Carl Abrams? He trespass?" *Here again, the missing word is "did." As a language investigator, I am curious to find these missing words.
I am quite aware that in spoken language, we often take shortcuts to save time. I just thought I'd point out these obvious ones. Okay with you?
In my blog posted May 2015, I wrote about sentences with missing verbs. This month I am going to focus on other examples of missing words, including verbs. Got time? Read on...
Example: In an episode of the now defunct TV show "Touch," a woman says to a gentleman guest arriving at her house for dinner, "Hey, didn't know you had a car." *Where's the "I" in that statement?
Example: Harvard educated street cop Jamie Reagan, on the TV show "Blue Bloods," was not happy with his partner's less than "by the book" tactics. He tells his partner, "I come from a family of cops. Good cops, great cops. Proud of that." He continues, "Now on, you make a move, you check with me first." *He left out two words that I can see. "I'm proud of that" and "From now on." OK, he's a street cop, but he has a college education from Harvard. He should speak better than that.
Example: I saw this on a billboard asking, "IRS after you?" *Again, two words are missing. It should read, "Is the IRS after you?"
Example: While watching "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," I came across two different instances where people left out words. (1) Head investigator D.B. Russell comes into the office of lab rat Hodges and asks, "You text me?" *Where's the "did" in that question? (2) CSI Nick Stokes is questioning a man who has been living in an underground bunker. Nick tells him he doesn't like the way the man treats trespassers. Trying to find out if there is a link between this guy and a murdered camper, Nick asks, "Is that what happened with Carl Abrams? He trespass?" *Here again, the missing word is "did." As a language investigator, I am curious to find these missing words.
I am quite aware that in spoken language, we often take shortcuts to save time. I just thought I'd point out these obvious ones. Okay with you?
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Take the Direct (Object) Approach
Dear Readers,
If we look back, my April 2013 post, entitled "Me, Myself and I," focused on the incorrect usage of direct object pronouns as subject pronouns. In this month's blog, I will focus on the incorrect usage of the subject pronoun as direct objects. A direct object receives the action from the verb.
Example: John loves Mary. (John is the subject and Mary is the object.)
Just to refresh the memory, here are the correct pronouns:
SUBJECT OF THE SENTENCE DIRECT OBJECT OF THE VERB
I me
You you
He, She him, her
We us
You (all) you
They them
Below you will see examples of how people are now using the subject pronoun for the direct object.
Example: Steve Harvey had guest Judge Alex Ferrer on his show. The Judge was talking about his background. "My parents came from Cuba and brought my brothers and I." *This is an educated man, a judge, speaking, and he used the wrong pronoun. Of course it should be "my brothers and me." I hope his judgments are better than his grammar.
Example: In an episode of the TV show "Parenthood," Crosby tells his brother, "Jabbar asked Jasmine and I when we were getting married." *This should be "Jabbar asked Jasmine and me..."
Jabbar is the subject but me is the object.
Example: On the TV show "Vegas," Mr. Savino (owner of the Savoy Casino in Las Vegas) tells an employee, "The Mormon banker actually invited my wife and I to the country club." *Again, it should be, "my wife and me" since they are the object of the verb invited.
Example: I heard this on the sit-com "Anger Management." Charlie, his ex-wife Jen and their daughter Sam are about to leave for Sam's softball game when Charlie says to Jen, "Can you give Sam and I a minute?" *Not only is he using the subject pronoun in the object position, this is actually an indirect object rather than a direct object, but the pronouns for both are the same. [In perfect English, one would say "give a minute to me and Sam."] I am now guessing that TV writers are not taking grammar in school. Such a shame.
This last example is my favorite because it shows how literate the author, Stephen King, is.
In his novel Under the Dome, an orphan, Alice, asks her caretaker Carolyn to bring her to the Town Hall meeting. She asks, "Caro? Will you take Aiden and I ... Aiden and me ... to the big meeting?"
*Thank you, Mr. King. Reading your work is a pleasure.
Well, dear Readers, I hope you gain some insight as well as pleasure from reading my blog.
If we look back, my April 2013 post, entitled "Me, Myself and I," focused on the incorrect usage of direct object pronouns as subject pronouns. In this month's blog, I will focus on the incorrect usage of the subject pronoun as direct objects. A direct object receives the action from the verb.
Example: John loves Mary. (John is the subject and Mary is the object.)
Just to refresh the memory, here are the correct pronouns:
SUBJECT OF THE SENTENCE DIRECT OBJECT OF THE VERB
I me
You you
He, She him, her
We us
You (all) you
They them
Below you will see examples of how people are now using the subject pronoun for the direct object.
Example: Steve Harvey had guest Judge Alex Ferrer on his show. The Judge was talking about his background. "My parents came from Cuba and brought my brothers and I." *This is an educated man, a judge, speaking, and he used the wrong pronoun. Of course it should be "my brothers and me." I hope his judgments are better than his grammar.
Example: In an episode of the TV show "Parenthood," Crosby tells his brother, "Jabbar asked Jasmine and I when we were getting married." *This should be "Jabbar asked Jasmine and me..."
Jabbar is the subject but me is the object.
Example: On the TV show "Vegas," Mr. Savino (owner of the Savoy Casino in Las Vegas) tells an employee, "The Mormon banker actually invited my wife and I to the country club." *Again, it should be, "my wife and me" since they are the object of the verb invited.
Example: I heard this on the sit-com "Anger Management." Charlie, his ex-wife Jen and their daughter Sam are about to leave for Sam's softball game when Charlie says to Jen, "Can you give Sam and I a minute?" *Not only is he using the subject pronoun in the object position, this is actually an indirect object rather than a direct object, but the pronouns for both are the same. [In perfect English, one would say "give a minute to me and Sam."] I am now guessing that TV writers are not taking grammar in school. Such a shame.
This last example is my favorite because it shows how literate the author, Stephen King, is.
In his novel Under the Dome, an orphan, Alice, asks her caretaker Carolyn to bring her to the Town Hall meeting. She asks, "Caro? Will you take Aiden and I ... Aiden and me ... to the big meeting?"
*Thank you, Mr. King. Reading your work is a pleasure.
Well, dear Readers, I hope you gain some insight as well as pleasure from reading my blog.
Saturday, August 1, 2015
To Have and Have Not
Dear Readers,
Have you ever noticed that sometimes in speech or in print, the helping verb "have" has been either omitted or misspelled? What do I mean by "helping verb?" Let me give you examples: When speaking in the past tense, we can either say, "They went to the movies," or "They have gone to the movies." In the second example, have is the helping verb while gone is a past participle. Together they form a past tense. See below for the correct helping verbs, depending on the subject.
I have spoken We have helped
You have eaten You all have seen
He (she, or it) has been They have arrived
Often, we contract the subject and helping verb like this: I've spoken, You've eaten, It's been ...
The helping verb "have" is also used with expressions like: I should have listened, He would have seen, You could have called, They must have eaten.
When a contraction of these expressions is used, they look like this:
I should've listened to you. He would've seen us if he'd been on time. You could've called me. They must've eaten earlier.
Sometimes these types of expressions are completely misspelled. See below:
Example: I saw this in a book by William Forstchen entitled "One Second After."
"...it must of cost a fortune." *I assume he meant to say "it must have cost a fortune" or "it must've cost a fortune." What he wrote is just wrong.
Example: In Janet Evanovich's novel "Two for the Dough," bounty hunter and heroine Stephanie Plum is talking to her friend Lula as they snoop around. Lula has broken the apartment window of someone that Stephanie is checking out. Stephanie says, "I told you we weren't doing anything illegal. People can't just go around breaking windows." Lula replies, "Cagney would of done that."
Stephanie: "Cagney would never have done that." Lula: Would of." Stephanie: "Would not!"
*Interesting that the author writes correctly what Stephanie says but not what Lula says. I wonder why that is.
Sometimes, the verb is just plain missing.
Example: On an episode of TV's "Army Wives," Denise Sherwood, one of the wives, says to her future daugher-in-law, "How long you been seeing Dr. Hanson?" *Specifically, "How long have you been seeing Dr. Hanson?"
Other times, simply the wrong word is used.
Example: Carl Hiassen wrote this bit in his novel "Sick Puppy."
"The Governor of Florida is in his office when his phone rings and rings. Apparently his secretary is not answering it. He asks, "Is Dorothy gone home already?" *Perhaps the fact that the Governor used to be a car salesman explains why he has such poor grammar. Or maybe not. Who knows?
I do know, dear Readers, that when we say aloud expressions like "should've," "must've", "could've,"or "would've," it does sound like "should of," "must of," "could of," or "would of." But of course, that doesn't make them right. This posting should've explained it for you.
Have you ever noticed that sometimes in speech or in print, the helping verb "have" has been either omitted or misspelled? What do I mean by "helping verb?" Let me give you examples: When speaking in the past tense, we can either say, "They went to the movies," or "They have gone to the movies." In the second example, have is the helping verb while gone is a past participle. Together they form a past tense. See below for the correct helping verbs, depending on the subject.
I have spoken We have helped
You have eaten You all have seen
He (she, or it) has been They have arrived
Often, we contract the subject and helping verb like this: I've spoken, You've eaten, It's been ...
The helping verb "have" is also used with expressions like: I should have listened, He would have seen, You could have called, They must have eaten.
When a contraction of these expressions is used, they look like this:
I should've listened to you. He would've seen us if he'd been on time. You could've called me. They must've eaten earlier.
Sometimes these types of expressions are completely misspelled. See below:
Example: I saw this in a book by William Forstchen entitled "One Second After."
"...it must of cost a fortune." *I assume he meant to say "it must have cost a fortune" or "it must've cost a fortune." What he wrote is just wrong.
Example: In Janet Evanovich's novel "Two for the Dough," bounty hunter and heroine Stephanie Plum is talking to her friend Lula as they snoop around. Lula has broken the apartment window of someone that Stephanie is checking out. Stephanie says, "I told you we weren't doing anything illegal. People can't just go around breaking windows." Lula replies, "Cagney would of done that."
Stephanie: "Cagney would never have done that." Lula: Would of." Stephanie: "Would not!"
*Interesting that the author writes correctly what Stephanie says but not what Lula says. I wonder why that is.
Sometimes, the verb is just plain missing.
Example: On an episode of TV's "Army Wives," Denise Sherwood, one of the wives, says to her future daugher-in-law, "How long you been seeing Dr. Hanson?" *Specifically, "How long have you been seeing Dr. Hanson?"
Other times, simply the wrong word is used.
Example: Carl Hiassen wrote this bit in his novel "Sick Puppy."
"The Governor of Florida is in his office when his phone rings and rings. Apparently his secretary is not answering it. He asks, "Is Dorothy gone home already?" *Perhaps the fact that the Governor used to be a car salesman explains why he has such poor grammar. Or maybe not. Who knows?
I do know, dear Readers, that when we say aloud expressions like "should've," "must've", "could've,"or "would've," it does sound like "should of," "must of," "could of," or "would of." But of course, that doesn't make them right. This posting should've explained it for you.
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
What or Which?
Dear Readers,
In the French language, one cannot use interchangeably the interrogatives "What...?" and "Which...?"
What? asks for either a definition or for an answer that is a direct object. For example: "What is a barracuda? A fish or a mammal?" and "What are you eating? I'm eating an apple."
Which is asked when there is a choice of answers. For example: "Which pair of shoes do you prefer?" and "Which is the correct answer, A or B?"
I find it interesting that in the English language people often do use these terms interchangeably.
See the examples below and try to imagine the word Which being used instead of What.
Example: In an old "Seinfeld" episode, George is working on a project for the Mets that he is clueless about. He is told to go down to the payroll office where he tells the clerk, "I'm working on the project." The clerk asks, "What project?"
Example: During an episode of "Hawaii 5-0," Commander Steve McGarrett has an investigator tailing his mother who walks into a grocery store. She confronts the P.I. and asks, "Were you gonna ask my help in deciding what cantaloupes are ripe?"
Example: Detective Danny Reagan on TV's "Blue Bloods," wants to protect a young woman that he has arrested and asks that she be transferred to protective custody. He's told that she's in the hospital. He inquires, "What hospital?"
Example: On the TV show "The Following," two followers of the serial killer Joe Carroll are discussing Emma, a third follower. One guy says to the other, "I don't get the Emma you get." Emma walks in on their conversations and asks, "What Emma is that?"
Example: Songwriting duo Gunnar and Scarlette, on the TV show "Nashville," are told by their manager that they have officially received an offer to put one of their songs on hold. Gunnar asks, "What song?"
Example: In the novel Curse of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz, Private Investigator Isabel Spellman is asked by her teen-aged sister Rae, "So is it all right if I go over to my friend's house?" Isabel asks,
"What friend?"
Now read one example of the better word being used:
On an episode of BBC America's show "Copper," former Union army major and current New York businessman Robert Morehouse is at a meeting with some cronies. He says, "Shall we take a recess from business? The neighborhood is afire with whispers of last month's scandal." One of the men asks, "Christ, which scandal?" *Ah, leave it to the British to speak good English.
So, dear Readers, which blog will you refer to when faced with the What/Which dilemma?
I hope it's mine.
In the French language, one cannot use interchangeably the interrogatives "What...?" and "Which...?"
What? asks for either a definition or for an answer that is a direct object. For example: "What is a barracuda? A fish or a mammal?" and "What are you eating? I'm eating an apple."
Which is asked when there is a choice of answers. For example: "Which pair of shoes do you prefer?" and "Which is the correct answer, A or B?"
I find it interesting that in the English language people often do use these terms interchangeably.
See the examples below and try to imagine the word Which being used instead of What.
Example: In an old "Seinfeld" episode, George is working on a project for the Mets that he is clueless about. He is told to go down to the payroll office where he tells the clerk, "I'm working on the project." The clerk asks, "What project?"
Example: During an episode of "Hawaii 5-0," Commander Steve McGarrett has an investigator tailing his mother who walks into a grocery store. She confronts the P.I. and asks, "Were you gonna ask my help in deciding what cantaloupes are ripe?"
Example: Detective Danny Reagan on TV's "Blue Bloods," wants to protect a young woman that he has arrested and asks that she be transferred to protective custody. He's told that she's in the hospital. He inquires, "What hospital?"
Example: On the TV show "The Following," two followers of the serial killer Joe Carroll are discussing Emma, a third follower. One guy says to the other, "I don't get the Emma you get." Emma walks in on their conversations and asks, "What Emma is that?"
Example: Songwriting duo Gunnar and Scarlette, on the TV show "Nashville," are told by their manager that they have officially received an offer to put one of their songs on hold. Gunnar asks, "What song?"
Example: In the novel Curse of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz, Private Investigator Isabel Spellman is asked by her teen-aged sister Rae, "So is it all right if I go over to my friend's house?" Isabel asks,
"What friend?"
Now read one example of the better word being used:
On an episode of BBC America's show "Copper," former Union army major and current New York businessman Robert Morehouse is at a meeting with some cronies. He says, "Shall we take a recess from business? The neighborhood is afire with whispers of last month's scandal." One of the men asks, "Christ, which scandal?" *Ah, leave it to the British to speak good English.
So, dear Readers, which blog will you refer to when faced with the What/Which dilemma?
I hope it's mine.
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