Dear Readers,
Usually I quote from many sources, but this month I am going to break from tradition and take my findings from one source only. I recently finished reading Carl Hiaasen's novel Sick Puppy. It was so gloriously full of correct and incorrect examples that I decided to dedicate this posting to it alone.
WRONG PUNCTUATION
In this story, environmentalist hero Twilly Spree is trying to protect an island off the coast of Florida. He comes up against much opposition. Here's an exchange between the governor and his assistant: The governor says, "Don't tell me there's goddamn bald eagles on this island, because that means we got a federal scenario." His assistant replies, "They're doing the survey this week."
The governor adds, "Who." *A question was being asked here yet a period is used instead of a question mark. Bad.
When the governor of Florida asks a state trooper to find a person of interest and the trooper says that he can't really help, the governor comes back with, "Is that so." *Again, a question was being asked but there is no question mark. Bad.
Mr. Hiaasen is talking about the former governor of Florida when he writes, "Jesus, Clinton Tyree thought, who am I kidding here." *Another question without a question mark. What gives? Bad.
MISSING WORD
After spending the night with Desie Stoat, the wife of a Florida lobbyist, our hero Twilly Spree gets up to go for a walk. Desie asks, "Where you going?" *I know that sometimes authors write how normal people speak, but it irks me that the word are is missing. Bad. At least there was a question mark at the end of that question. Good.
A hired hit man weighs in with these thoughts: "The hell's that supposed to mean?" And, "The fuck are you staring at?" *Where is the what in both of those questions? OK, it's hit man speak, but I still consider it Bad. Did you notice the question marks? Good.
WRONG WORD
Engineer Karl Krimmler, clearing land on the above-mentioned endangered island, is told to take some time off because there's a small problem. Krimmler asks, "What kind a problem? What in the hell kind a problem could shut down the whole job?" *Shouldn't it be "kind of problem?" Of course it should. Bad.
Desie's large Labrador has sunk his teeth into her boyfriend's neck. "But the more strenuously Desie tried to prize open the dog's jaws, the more intractable his grip became." *I looked up the word "prize" in the dictionary. This is the description: prize verb: 1. Chiefly Brit. Dial. pry.
So why not say "pry" instead of "prize" since Hiaasen is from Florida, not England. Bad.
Florida lobbyist Palmer Stoat nodded conspiratorially to one of his clients. "They'll be some money floating around next week." *This one is really Bad. Of course it should be "There will be..."
Lobbyist Stoat is doing business with Robert Clapley, a builder who needs his help. When the payment is due, Clapley is hoping for a break on the hefty $50,000 fee, but Stoat wants it all.
"Palmer Stoat enjoyed watching the man write out the check. Clapley's discomfiture was manifest, and Stoat didn't mind prolonging it." *The dictionary defines "discomfiture" this way: noun: 1. defeat in battle; 2. frustration of hopes or plans. Perhaps Hiaasen was using definition #2, but I believe he really meant "discomfort," defined in the dictionary as, noun: 1. an absence of comfort or ease; uneasiness, hardship or mild pain. Bad. Note the next example.
When the governor of Florida asks a state trooper for help with a delicate situation, "the trooper's expression never changed, but the governor sensed an onset of discomfort, a newfound wariness in the man's gaze." *Here Hiaasen is using the correct noun. Wouldn't that be the same one he should have used in the above paragraph? Good.
UNUSUAL WORDS
The Florida governor's assistant has ambition to further her career in politics, possibly as a lobbyist, even though they are not the most ethical group of people. ". . . and they were (Lisa June was the first to admit) a mostly purulent lot." *purulent: adjective: 1. full of, containing, forming or discharging pus. **I suppose that is an apt description. Good.
The Florida lobbyist is watching two hookers cavorting in a hot tub. "Their sodden, matted hair looked like clumps of blond sargassum. . ." *sargassum: noun: any seaweed of the genus Sargassum, widely distributed in the warmer waters of the globe. **I had never heard that word before, but since Hiaasen lives in Florida, he would be aware of this type of seaweed. Good.
"Clinton Tyree laughed mordantly. . ." *mordantly: adverb: sarcastically, wittily, caustically.
"In the tumult Clinton Tyree had lost his shower cap and his refulgent bullet-headed baldness further enhanced the aura of menace." *refulgent: adjective: shining, radiant, glowing. Good use of vocabulary in both examples.
In conclusion, I offer my apologies to Mr. Hiaasen for pointing the finger so often. However, that did not preclude me from enjoying the story. He does write with a great sense of humor. Perhaps I have piqued your interest and you will now want to read the book.
.
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Friday, November 1, 2013
Poor Editing
Dear Readers,
As you know from following my blog, besides enjoying television and movies, I love to read.
There is nothing better than a well-written story or account to keep a reader engaged. However,
when the editing is done poorly, my antenna goes up and I must write about it. Continue reading to see some of the worst errors I have encountered.
Example: In Jennifer Weiner's novel The Guy Not Taken, Marlie, who is getting married, has lunch with a friend who asks incredulously, "You're having second thoughts about your china? Haven't you already gotten four place settings already?" *Is it as obvious to you as it is to me that the author wrote "already" twice in that last question?
Example: I found this error in Madeleine Wickham's novel The Wedding Girl: "You know, I'm sure Milly would want to you to come." *Did you spot the addition of the superfluous "to"?
Example: C.J. Box writes in his novel Savage Run, "The Old Man felt sick. He had waved away the offers of jerky and iced tea by saying he thought he thought he was coming down with the flu."
*This example, I believe, is quite obvious.
Example: In his first novel Open Season, C.J. Box introduces us to new Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett who almost didn't get the job. "In what Joe and Marybeth later called 'one his larger bonehead moves,' Joe had written the wrong date for the appointment with the director in his calendar and simply missed it." *Did you notice the absence of the word "of" in the phrase "one his larger..."?
Example: Here is another error I found in C.J. Box's Open Season. "Joe stood on the end of the bed to make sure he had seen everything on the shelf...But Joe didn't see what he looking for."
* Did you figure out that the word "was" is missing in that last sentence?
Example: One final mistake I found in Open Season is when Joe is trying to get information out of a possible suspect/witness. "There was a tiny reaction on the corner's of Clyde Lidgard's mouth..."
*If you read my previous blog about the apostrophe, you would note immediately, like I did, that the correct word above should be corners. I really think that C.J. Box needs to fire this editor.
Example: John Grisham wrote a very good novel, The Last Juror, but I still found some editing problems. "Given those conflicting sentiments, I was quite pleased not be invited to the meeting."
*How many of you noticed the missing "to"?
Example: Continuing with this book, "The box was twelve inches square, five inches deep, white in color with red and blue stars and stripes. It was gift package from the Bolan Pecan Farm..."
*What's missing here is the word "a", right?
Example: Lastly, in the Grisham novel, "The second death occurred later that night, and when I heard about it on Monday I went to my apartment and found my pistol." *I believe that the mistake here is not putting a comma after the word "Monday", where one would normally pause. This may be a minor oversight, but I still beseech Grisham with the same advice to C.J. Box: Get a new editor.
Example: In Going Clear by Lawrence Wright, there is a paragraph describing the current head of Scientology, David Miscavige, at age twelve. David was using asthma inhalers that contained steroids. Wright clarifies parenthetically, "(corticosteroids can stunt growth, however, and if Miscavige took them might have contributed to his short stature.)" *Very awkward sentence, don't you agree? It needs editing.
Example: OK Magazine published an article on Katie Holmes and her new leading man in the June 10, 2013 edition. "All this has Katie's pals convinced there's more going on than a strictly a professional relationship." *Did you spot the double use of "a"?
Example: Also in OK Magazine, the article on Blake Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds published in the August 5, 2013 issue, says that he would like to have a large family. An unidentified source is quoted as saying, "He essentially wants to re-create the childhood he had for his own children. He has three brother and his dad would take them all camping in the summer." *If you read my blog about plurals, you would know instantly that brothers is the correct word here.
By far, the worst offender in the poor editing category is the book Beyond Belief by Jenna Miscavige Hill. Coincidentally, this is also a recounting of the practices of Scientology, this one by the niece of the above-mentioned David Miscavige. That in and of itself is not the problem. The problem is poor editing. Keep reading for enlightenment.
Example: Jenna describes the Ranch where, as an 8-year old, she was sent to live apart from her parents. "Mr. Parker was the adult responsible for education and activities. After with her arrival [all adults were addressed as Mister, regardless of gender]..."
Example: Describing their room where she lives, she says, "There was an authorized phone in our apartment for her one of my roommates' use only."
Example: "Dianetics and Scientology were so new to the spiritual landscape that they was barely older than she was..."
Example: "I should have known it was all too good. More important, I should have listened to my friend's when he warned me that Martino and I should be careful..."
Example: Tom, one of Jenna's minders, says to her, "Jenna, if you calm down, I will talk to you upstairs to my berthing..."
The above highlighted editing errors are simply embarrassing. Jenna, if you write another book, please stay away from this editor.
So, Readers, it is with satisfaction that I end this post after having edited this page myself.
As you know from following my blog, besides enjoying television and movies, I love to read.
There is nothing better than a well-written story or account to keep a reader engaged. However,
when the editing is done poorly, my antenna goes up and I must write about it. Continue reading to see some of the worst errors I have encountered.
Example: In Jennifer Weiner's novel The Guy Not Taken, Marlie, who is getting married, has lunch with a friend who asks incredulously, "You're having second thoughts about your china? Haven't you already gotten four place settings already?" *Is it as obvious to you as it is to me that the author wrote "already" twice in that last question?
Example: I found this error in Madeleine Wickham's novel The Wedding Girl: "You know, I'm sure Milly would want to you to come." *Did you spot the addition of the superfluous "to"?
Example: C.J. Box writes in his novel Savage Run, "The Old Man felt sick. He had waved away the offers of jerky and iced tea by saying he thought he thought he was coming down with the flu."
*This example, I believe, is quite obvious.
Example: In his first novel Open Season, C.J. Box introduces us to new Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett who almost didn't get the job. "In what Joe and Marybeth later called 'one his larger bonehead moves,' Joe had written the wrong date for the appointment with the director in his calendar and simply missed it." *Did you notice the absence of the word "of" in the phrase "one his larger..."?
Example: Here is another error I found in C.J. Box's Open Season. "Joe stood on the end of the bed to make sure he had seen everything on the shelf...But Joe didn't see what he looking for."
* Did you figure out that the word "was" is missing in that last sentence?
Example: One final mistake I found in Open Season is when Joe is trying to get information out of a possible suspect/witness. "There was a tiny reaction on the corner's of Clyde Lidgard's mouth..."
*If you read my previous blog about the apostrophe, you would note immediately, like I did, that the correct word above should be corners. I really think that C.J. Box needs to fire this editor.
Example: John Grisham wrote a very good novel, The Last Juror, but I still found some editing problems. "Given those conflicting sentiments, I was quite pleased not be invited to the meeting."
*How many of you noticed the missing "to"?
Example: Continuing with this book, "The box was twelve inches square, five inches deep, white in color with red and blue stars and stripes. It was gift package from the Bolan Pecan Farm..."
*What's missing here is the word "a", right?
Example: Lastly, in the Grisham novel, "The second death occurred later that night, and when I heard about it on Monday I went to my apartment and found my pistol." *I believe that the mistake here is not putting a comma after the word "Monday", where one would normally pause. This may be a minor oversight, but I still beseech Grisham with the same advice to C.J. Box: Get a new editor.
Example: In Going Clear by Lawrence Wright, there is a paragraph describing the current head of Scientology, David Miscavige, at age twelve. David was using asthma inhalers that contained steroids. Wright clarifies parenthetically, "(corticosteroids can stunt growth, however, and if Miscavige took them might have contributed to his short stature.)" *Very awkward sentence, don't you agree? It needs editing.
Example: OK Magazine published an article on Katie Holmes and her new leading man in the June 10, 2013 edition. "All this has Katie's pals convinced there's more going on than a strictly a professional relationship." *Did you spot the double use of "a"?
Example: Also in OK Magazine, the article on Blake Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds published in the August 5, 2013 issue, says that he would like to have a large family. An unidentified source is quoted as saying, "He essentially wants to re-create the childhood he had for his own children. He has three brother and his dad would take them all camping in the summer." *If you read my blog about plurals, you would know instantly that brothers is the correct word here.
By far, the worst offender in the poor editing category is the book Beyond Belief by Jenna Miscavige Hill. Coincidentally, this is also a recounting of the practices of Scientology, this one by the niece of the above-mentioned David Miscavige. That in and of itself is not the problem. The problem is poor editing. Keep reading for enlightenment.
Example: Jenna describes the Ranch where, as an 8-year old, she was sent to live apart from her parents. "Mr. Parker was the adult responsible for education and activities. After with her arrival [all adults were addressed as Mister, regardless of gender]..."
Example: Describing their room where she lives, she says, "There was an authorized phone in our apartment for her one of my roommates' use only."
Example: "Dianetics and Scientology were so new to the spiritual landscape that they was barely older than she was..."
Example: "I should have known it was all too good. More important, I should have listened to my friend's when he warned me that Martino and I should be careful..."
Example: Tom, one of Jenna's minders, says to her, "Jenna, if you calm down, I will talk to you upstairs to my berthing..."
The above highlighted editing errors are simply embarrassing. Jenna, if you write another book, please stay away from this editor.
So, Readers, it is with satisfaction that I end this post after having edited this page myself.
Saturday, October 5, 2013
A Singular (or Plural?) Sensation
Dear Readers,
This month I tackle the unusual plural of a few particular words. Just to be clear, plural means "more than one." For most common nouns, to make a word plural, we add an s. For example, cat becomes cats in the plural, girl becomes girls. Without thinking about it, we automatically make the correct plural of other words, such as dress becoming dresses or party becoming parties, or child becoming children, or foot becoming feet. You get the idea.
But lately, I have heard or read where the wrong plural was used or the plural form was used in place of the singular form. See the examples below.
CACTUS
Example: On the TV show "Vegas," casino owner Vincent Savino explains about the flowers in their suite that his wife admires. He says, "They're plucked from the cactuses in the desert."
Example: Mike, one of the titular characters in TV's "Mike and Molly," is upset that his mother will be selling his childhood home and moving to Arizona. When he takes his mom's dog Jim out so that the dog can relieve himself, Mike says, "Say goodbye to your favorite tree, Jim. When you move to Arizona, you're gonna be whizzin' on cactuses and that's a whole different skill set."
For the plural of words ending in us, such as cactus and radius, the rule is that the us changes to i.
See the examples below for the correct spelling and usage. Note: cacti and radii.
Example: In the book I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced, the author Nujood Ali, a young Yemeni girl, describes their landscape: "Cacti by the side of the road; arid mountain passes..."
Example: Jenna Miscavige Hill writes in Beyond Belief about her experience in Scientology and moving to the Ranch near Hemet, California. "B.J. and I hardly noticed the sweltering heat as we walked through the desert in search of different cacti."
[I learned this plural at an early age because in the backyard of my childhood home, my father had planted a garden of cacti.]
MILLENNIA
Millennia is actually the plural of the singular noun millennium. For singular words ending in um, like millennium and podium, the rule is that the um changes to a. See the examples below.
Example: On the TV show "Necessary Roughness," Rob Maroney is the sports agent to star receiver Terrence King of the fictional N.Y. Hawks football team. The agent tells his client, "...your hero player, he threw the block that won you a play-off game, took two bullets, survived. That is the feel-good story of the millennia." Of course he means, "of the millennium."
PODIUM
Example: While watching TV's "Royal Pains," I heard this clever exchange between Evan R. Lawson, CEO of Hankmed in the Hamptons who is running for City Council, and his colleague Divya Katdare, who is helping him set up for a mock debate. The scene opens with them on a lawn, each one in front of a podium. She asks him, "Are the podia really necessary?" He explains that the more like the actual debate setting, the more prepared he will be. "And it's actually 'podium'."
She counters with, "'Podia', from the Latin." He rebuts, "Podiums, from the Office Depot."
Who is right in this debate? Divya, of course.
By the way, do you realize that media is plural of medium. Radio is one medium of communication while newspapers are another. Together, they make the media.
CRITERIA
Criteria is actually the plural of criterion.
Example: I read an interview with Leonardo Di Caprio in OK Magazine. He is asked if he avoids pretty-boy roles. He answers, "No, not at all...The only criteria that I have for filming is, is there enough to do?" This fine actor meant to say, "criterion" since it is only one.
PHENOMENON
Yes, that is the singular noun. Its plural is phenomena. Keep reading...
Example: Dexter, in his titular TV show, comments while watching a baptism. His voice over says,
"Some people think that religion began as a way for primitive cultures to explain natural phenomenon...the fire, the wind, the rain..." Nope, Dex, you mean to say "phenomena" since you are mentioning more than one.
Example: On the television show "Modern Family," skeptic junior high brainiac Alex is dragged to a psychic by Gloria, her grandfather's wife. Gloria whispers to the psychic, "She doesn't believe in psychics." Alex retorts, "It's not just psychics. It's all unquantifiable phenomena." Hurray for the brainiac writers.
Example: Jenna Miscavige Hill, writing in Beyond Belief, uses this word correctly in the plural.
She describes a book that teaches Scientologists how they all came to this planet. "When we opened The Factors, we found pretty pictures of clouds and sunrises, leaves and mountains, lightning, and other natural phenomena." Good girl.
However, as good as her vocabulary is in her writing, I cannot say the same for the vocabulary of Scientology. Witness: In her book mentioned above, Jenna talks about a process that Scientologists needed to go through. "The deeper into the Clay Table process we got, the more we were supposed to have a realization called an 'end phenomena,' basically a win... Every auditing level in Scientology had a specific end phenomena." What the f*#% ? Since when is it acceptable to invent words by using a known word incorrectly? Here they use the plural of phenomenon but use it as a singular entity. This is just the tiniest tip of the Scientology iceberg where I believe all kinds of strange things were invented, courtesy of L. Ron Hubbard. [But that's another story which I don't care to discuss.]
Well, my deed for this month is done. If ever in doubt as to the correct plural of a noun, please check the dictionary.
This month I tackle the unusual plural of a few particular words. Just to be clear, plural means "more than one." For most common nouns, to make a word plural, we add an s. For example, cat becomes cats in the plural, girl becomes girls. Without thinking about it, we automatically make the correct plural of other words, such as dress becoming dresses or party becoming parties, or child becoming children, or foot becoming feet. You get the idea.
But lately, I have heard or read where the wrong plural was used or the plural form was used in place of the singular form. See the examples below.
CACTUS
Example: On the TV show "Vegas," casino owner Vincent Savino explains about the flowers in their suite that his wife admires. He says, "They're plucked from the cactuses in the desert."
Example: Mike, one of the titular characters in TV's "Mike and Molly," is upset that his mother will be selling his childhood home and moving to Arizona. When he takes his mom's dog Jim out so that the dog can relieve himself, Mike says, "Say goodbye to your favorite tree, Jim. When you move to Arizona, you're gonna be whizzin' on cactuses and that's a whole different skill set."
For the plural of words ending in us, such as cactus and radius, the rule is that the us changes to i.
See the examples below for the correct spelling and usage. Note: cacti and radii.
Example: In the book I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced, the author Nujood Ali, a young Yemeni girl, describes their landscape: "Cacti by the side of the road; arid mountain passes..."
Example: Jenna Miscavige Hill writes in Beyond Belief about her experience in Scientology and moving to the Ranch near Hemet, California. "B.J. and I hardly noticed the sweltering heat as we walked through the desert in search of different cacti."
[I learned this plural at an early age because in the backyard of my childhood home, my father had planted a garden of cacti.]
MILLENNIA
Millennia is actually the plural of the singular noun millennium. For singular words ending in um, like millennium and podium, the rule is that the um changes to a. See the examples below.
Example: On the TV show "Necessary Roughness," Rob Maroney is the sports agent to star receiver Terrence King of the fictional N.Y. Hawks football team. The agent tells his client, "...your hero player, he threw the block that won you a play-off game, took two bullets, survived. That is the feel-good story of the millennia." Of course he means, "of the millennium."
PODIUM
Example: While watching TV's "Royal Pains," I heard this clever exchange between Evan R. Lawson, CEO of Hankmed in the Hamptons who is running for City Council, and his colleague Divya Katdare, who is helping him set up for a mock debate. The scene opens with them on a lawn, each one in front of a podium. She asks him, "Are the podia really necessary?" He explains that the more like the actual debate setting, the more prepared he will be. "And it's actually 'podium'."
She counters with, "'Podia', from the Latin." He rebuts, "Podiums, from the Office Depot."
Who is right in this debate? Divya, of course.
By the way, do you realize that media is plural of medium. Radio is one medium of communication while newspapers are another. Together, they make the media.
CRITERIA
Criteria is actually the plural of criterion.
Example: I read an interview with Leonardo Di Caprio in OK Magazine. He is asked if he avoids pretty-boy roles. He answers, "No, not at all...The only criteria that I have for filming is, is there enough to do?" This fine actor meant to say, "criterion" since it is only one.
PHENOMENON
Yes, that is the singular noun. Its plural is phenomena. Keep reading...
Example: Dexter, in his titular TV show, comments while watching a baptism. His voice over says,
"Some people think that religion began as a way for primitive cultures to explain natural phenomenon...the fire, the wind, the rain..." Nope, Dex, you mean to say "phenomena" since you are mentioning more than one.
Example: On the television show "Modern Family," skeptic junior high brainiac Alex is dragged to a psychic by Gloria, her grandfather's wife. Gloria whispers to the psychic, "She doesn't believe in psychics." Alex retorts, "It's not just psychics. It's all unquantifiable phenomena." Hurray for the brainiac writers.
Example: Jenna Miscavige Hill, writing in Beyond Belief, uses this word correctly in the plural.
She describes a book that teaches Scientologists how they all came to this planet. "When we opened The Factors, we found pretty pictures of clouds and sunrises, leaves and mountains, lightning, and other natural phenomena." Good girl.
However, as good as her vocabulary is in her writing, I cannot say the same for the vocabulary of Scientology. Witness: In her book mentioned above, Jenna talks about a process that Scientologists needed to go through. "The deeper into the Clay Table process we got, the more we were supposed to have a realization called an 'end phenomena,' basically a win... Every auditing level in Scientology had a specific end phenomena." What the f*#% ? Since when is it acceptable to invent words by using a known word incorrectly? Here they use the plural of phenomenon but use it as a singular entity. This is just the tiniest tip of the Scientology iceberg where I believe all kinds of strange things were invented, courtesy of L. Ron Hubbard. [But that's another story which I don't care to discuss.]
Well, my deed for this month is done. If ever in doubt as to the correct plural of a noun, please check the dictionary.
Monday, September 2, 2013
The Possessive Adjective
Dear Readers,
What is a possessive adjective? It is a word that describes the noun that follows it. It tells us who owns (or possesses) that noun by relating the subject or owner to the noun. Follow the below chart:
SUBJECT/OWNER POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE + NOUN
I my cat
you your dog
he his house
she her car
it its roof
we our children
they their parents
I bring this up because lately I have come upon a few cases where either the wrong possessive adjective was used or an entirely wrong word was used in the adjective's place. Let me give you some examples.
Example: In the "Royal Pains" episode entitled "Imperfect Storm", Hank Lawson is a concierge doctor working in the Hamptons. He meets with a new patient and wants to leave his agreement with her but doesn't have one with him so he says, "I'll just have my business partner person get back to you with one." The new patient asks, "What's their name?" Since the reference is the business partner, and it is not clear whether the partner is male or female, the possessive adjective should be his or her, but it should never be their.
Example: On the TV show "King and Maxwell", the titular characters are former U.S. Secret Service agents turned private investigators. During the episode entitled "Loved Ones", one of the investigators explains to a colleague, "Every agent plays their part." Once again, the reference is agent without it being clear if that agent is male or female. The writers, wanting to be politically correct and not wanting to offend anyone, don't know what to say, so they have the character say their instead of his or her. It used to be perfectly ok to use the male reference when gender was unknown, but not any more. Now people think that it's better to use an awkward possessive adjective than to sound sexist. Personally, I would not be offended if writers were to use correct English.
Example: Queen Latifah's character, Vi Rose, in the 2012 film "Joyful Noise", defends her life choices to her sassy daughter's criticisms. She says, "I work hard to put food in you and your brother's stomachs..." In the first example, she did not even use a possessive adjective at all but rather the subject pronoun you. In the second example, the correct possessive adjective was used.
What would have been the correct phrase? "... in your and your brother's stomach." [Note that "stomach" should actually be singular because each of us has only one stomach.] But writers don't always take the best path, do they?
Read the following examples. I was aghast at how incorrect they were. I hope you feel the same way.
Example: On the February 8, 2013 airing of "Shark Tank", a potential entrepreneur of My Cold Snap explains to the sharks, "Carlos and I's goal is to move this thing forward." I am pretty sure he meant to say, "Carlos' and my goal..." Right? Perhaps even better would have been to say, "Our goal ..."
Example: The titular character on the TV show "Whitney" lives with her boyfriend Alex. In the episode entitled "Two Broke Hearts", Alex's ex-girlfriend is visiting. While there, she is texting Alex's mother. He begs her to stop because his mom is "confused enough about Whitney and I's relationship as it is." What would be better: "Whitney's and my relationship... " Come on, writers.
Example: During an off-camera interview, Arie (a suitor of Bachelorette Emily Maynard) says to the camera, "Today was a huge step in Emily and I's relationship."
Example: Bachelor Ben Flajnik was heard saying, "Courtney and I's relationship ..." I guess it's a Bachelor thing to speak improperly and ignorantly. Maybe this is why the relationships never last.
Since when is it ok to make the subject pronoun I into a possessive adjective by adding 's ?
That is just SO wrong it actually made me laugh.
Now for some examples of good writing and good use of the possessive adjectives.
Example: Jim Fergus wrote the novel One Thousand White Women. The fictional diary of May Dodd is introduced by one of her descendants. He writes, "This was the story that fueled my and my brother Jimmy's imaginations." Excellent writing.
Example: On the TV show "Nashville", Teddy Conrad is the newly elected mayor. Tandy, his sister-in-law and political advisor, has been meddling. He rants, "Let's just get something straight right now. None of this...not whom I appoint or who I talk to over the phone is your or your father's business. OK?" This is similar to Queen Latifah's rant, only ranted correctly.
Example: In the episode "The Surrogate" of TV's "Rules of Engagement", betrothed Adam is upset with his friend Russell's derision at Adam and Jen's wedding website. He storms into Russell's office and declares, "Now, that website was dedicated to the most important day of Jen's and my life and you are going to stop your tasteless jokes." Bravo to the writers of this sit-com.
Well, Readers, I leave it to your discretion as to whether or not you find the possessive adjectives as important as I do.
What is a possessive adjective? It is a word that describes the noun that follows it. It tells us who owns (or possesses) that noun by relating the subject or owner to the noun. Follow the below chart:
SUBJECT/OWNER POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE + NOUN
I my cat
you your dog
he his house
she her car
it its roof
we our children
they their parents
I bring this up because lately I have come upon a few cases where either the wrong possessive adjective was used or an entirely wrong word was used in the adjective's place. Let me give you some examples.
Example: In the "Royal Pains" episode entitled "Imperfect Storm", Hank Lawson is a concierge doctor working in the Hamptons. He meets with a new patient and wants to leave his agreement with her but doesn't have one with him so he says, "I'll just have my business partner person get back to you with one." The new patient asks, "What's their name?" Since the reference is the business partner, and it is not clear whether the partner is male or female, the possessive adjective should be his or her, but it should never be their.
Example: On the TV show "King and Maxwell", the titular characters are former U.S. Secret Service agents turned private investigators. During the episode entitled "Loved Ones", one of the investigators explains to a colleague, "Every agent plays their part." Once again, the reference is agent without it being clear if that agent is male or female. The writers, wanting to be politically correct and not wanting to offend anyone, don't know what to say, so they have the character say their instead of his or her. It used to be perfectly ok to use the male reference when gender was unknown, but not any more. Now people think that it's better to use an awkward possessive adjective than to sound sexist. Personally, I would not be offended if writers were to use correct English.
Example: Queen Latifah's character, Vi Rose, in the 2012 film "Joyful Noise", defends her life choices to her sassy daughter's criticisms. She says, "I work hard to put food in you and your brother's stomachs..." In the first example, she did not even use a possessive adjective at all but rather the subject pronoun you. In the second example, the correct possessive adjective was used.
What would have been the correct phrase? "... in your and your brother's stomach." [Note that "stomach" should actually be singular because each of us has only one stomach.] But writers don't always take the best path, do they?
Read the following examples. I was aghast at how incorrect they were. I hope you feel the same way.
Example: On the February 8, 2013 airing of "Shark Tank", a potential entrepreneur of My Cold Snap explains to the sharks, "Carlos and I's goal is to move this thing forward." I am pretty sure he meant to say, "Carlos' and my goal..." Right? Perhaps even better would have been to say, "Our goal ..."
Example: The titular character on the TV show "Whitney" lives with her boyfriend Alex. In the episode entitled "Two Broke Hearts", Alex's ex-girlfriend is visiting. While there, she is texting Alex's mother. He begs her to stop because his mom is "confused enough about Whitney and I's relationship as it is." What would be better: "Whitney's and my relationship... " Come on, writers.
Example: During an off-camera interview, Arie (a suitor of Bachelorette Emily Maynard) says to the camera, "Today was a huge step in Emily and I's relationship."
Example: Bachelor Ben Flajnik was heard saying, "Courtney and I's relationship ..." I guess it's a Bachelor thing to speak improperly and ignorantly. Maybe this is why the relationships never last.
Since when is it ok to make the subject pronoun I into a possessive adjective by adding 's ?
That is just SO wrong it actually made me laugh.
Now for some examples of good writing and good use of the possessive adjectives.
Example: Jim Fergus wrote the novel One Thousand White Women. The fictional diary of May Dodd is introduced by one of her descendants. He writes, "This was the story that fueled my and my brother Jimmy's imaginations." Excellent writing.
Example: On the TV show "Nashville", Teddy Conrad is the newly elected mayor. Tandy, his sister-in-law and political advisor, has been meddling. He rants, "Let's just get something straight right now. None of this...not whom I appoint or who I talk to over the phone is your or your father's business. OK?" This is similar to Queen Latifah's rant, only ranted correctly.
Example: In the episode "The Surrogate" of TV's "Rules of Engagement", betrothed Adam is upset with his friend Russell's derision at Adam and Jen's wedding website. He storms into Russell's office and declares, "Now, that website was dedicated to the most important day of Jen's and my life and you are going to stop your tasteless jokes." Bravo to the writers of this sit-com.
Well, Readers, I leave it to your discretion as to whether or not you find the possessive adjectives as important as I do.
Friday, August 2, 2013
The Misunderstood Apostrophe
Dear Readers,
It is now time to discuss the apostrophe. The Random House Dictionary of the English Language defines apostrophe as: "the sign (') used to indicate the omission of one or more letters in a word
[in other words, a contraction], as in o'er for over; to indicate the possessive case, as in man's; to indicate plurals of abbreviations and symbols, as in several M.D.'s or in 3's."
Let's break this down to two of the three definitions above. In Reference Manual for Stenographers and Typists under ABBREVIATIONS AND CONTRACTIONS, it says, "a contraction is a shortened form of a word or a phrase; however an apostrophe is inserted at the exact point where letters are omitted. (Examples: Nat'l for national; doesn't for does not.)" I think most of us English speakers know how to spell words like can't or I'm or she's, but there is much confusion when letters in the word "and" are omitted. For example, this was spotted on a store sign on Woodman Avenue:
Details N' Design.
If I assume that the middle word is AND, then there should be an apostrophe in front of the N as well as after it to indicate the omission of both A and D.
The correct spelling would be: Details 'N' Design.
Example: There is a restaurant on Hollywood Blvd. The name is Pig 'N Whistle.
Again, there should be another apostrophe after the N to show the missing D.
Example: I saw an advertisement on T.V. for Nice 'N Easy hair care products.
By now you know what is wrong here, don't you?
Here are two examples of the apostrophe used correctly in this context:
The old time television show was titled "Amos 'n' Andy".
In Sophie Kinsella's novel I've Got Your Number, heroine Poppy Wyatt describes her prospective in-laws by saying, "I can picture them now, eating honey-roasted peanuts and reading academic papers on his 'n' hers Kindles."
In the second definition above, an apostrophe is used to indicate possession. The Elements of Style by Strunk and White says, "Form the possessive singular of nouns by adding 's." I will give the examples of The boy's dog is missing. The boy owns the dog. The house's gate is open. The house owns the gate. John's children are well behaved. The children belong to John. Strunk and White remind us to "follow this rule whatever the final consonant. Thus write, Charles's friend; Burns's poem; the witch's malice." They also explain, "The pronominal [meaning a pronoun instead of a noun] possessives hers, its, theirs, yours and ours have no apostrophe. A common error is to write it's for its, or vice versa. The first is a contraction meaning it is. The second is a possessive."
It's a wise dog that scratches its own fleas.
Reference Manual For Stenographers and Typists further tells us, "To form the possessive of a regular plural noun, add only an apostrophe." [meaning there is no extra S after it.]
students' marks attorneys' offices ladies' day
Here are some examples where an apostrophe should be used to show possession but it is missing.
Why? I can't say.
Example: I passed a truck on the freeway that sported this sign: "The Chefs Warehouse".
Obviously it is the Chef who uses the Warehouse, so it should read: "The Chef's Warehouse", right?
Example: Signs at the bathrooms at the Starlight Bowl in Burbank read: MENS WOMENS
Again, to show that the restrooms belong to the men and to the women, we need an apostrophe
between the N and the S: MEN'S WOMEN'S
Example: Passing by the corner of Victory Blvd. and Tampa Ave., I spotted these signs:
Loehmann's Plaza (which is spelled correctly with an apostrophe) but the sign above the store reads:
Loehmanns. What gives? Why not put it apostrophe here as well? Does it cost that much more to add that punctuation mark? Well, it is a discount store after all.
Example: Further down the road on Vanowen St., this sign says: TAMS PET FOOD & SUPPLIES
Once again, they are lacking the apostrophe to show that it is owned by TAM.
Here are a few examples of the proper addition of the apostrophe.
Example: On Ventura Blvd. at Topeka Ave., I saw these two signs:
Peet's Coffee & Tea Norman's Rare Guitars
Yes! Someone checked the spelling before having the signs made.
Example: In Sophie Kinsella's book I've Got Your Number, heroine Poppy Wyatt explains how to get to where her future in-laws live. "There are twelve tube stops from Knightsbridge to Magnus's parents' house..." In this case, the author is correct to put the 's after her fiancé's name and she is equally correct in omitting the last s after the word "parents" but putting in the apostrophe to show possession. Got it?
Example: Jennifer Weiner writes in her book The Guy Not Taken, "I landed a job writing for an hour-long drama called The Girls' Room, which was about four best friends at a boarding school."
Now I will give examples of where an apostrophe is added when it should not (or shouldn't) be there.
Example: Seen on a service station sign at the corner of Balboa Blvd. and Saticoy St.:
We Service Honda's
There is no possession nor contraction here, so why the apostrophe?
Example: A sign on Ventura Blvd. for Shape It gym: Train with the Pro's
Again, there is no possession nor contraction.
Example: Here is a tweet by LeAnn Rimes in a Star Magazine article about Mindy McCready's untimely death:
"My heart goes out to Mindy McCready's family. I knew her well. It's a horribly tragedy.
May peace be with her son's."
We will ignore the horrible misspelling of the word "horrible" above but focus on the misspelling of "sons". This is simply a plural word (apparently Mindy had more than one son) so it does not require an apostrophe here.
Example: Someone wrote this in an email to me: "Lucia drug out photo's of us taken at that dinner..." Again, this is a plural of photo and does not need an apostrophe.
Lastly, how many of you confuse "your" with "you're" ???
YOUR is a possessive showing that you own something. How are your children?
YOU'RE is a contraction of YOU + ARE. You're going to have to tell me about the kids.
If you are (or you're) unsure which to use, ask yourself if you can say, "You are" in your sentence. If the answer if yes, then use an apostrophe to show the contraction. If you mean to say to possess or own, then use "your".
Well, my job's done for this month. You're on your own.
It is now time to discuss the apostrophe. The Random House Dictionary of the English Language defines apostrophe as: "the sign (') used to indicate the omission of one or more letters in a word
[in other words, a contraction], as in o'er for over; to indicate the possessive case, as in man's; to indicate plurals of abbreviations and symbols, as in several M.D.'s or in 3's."
Let's break this down to two of the three definitions above. In Reference Manual for Stenographers and Typists under ABBREVIATIONS AND CONTRACTIONS, it says, "a contraction is a shortened form of a word or a phrase; however an apostrophe is inserted at the exact point where letters are omitted. (Examples: Nat'l for national; doesn't for does not.)" I think most of us English speakers know how to spell words like can't or I'm or she's, but there is much confusion when letters in the word "and" are omitted. For example, this was spotted on a store sign on Woodman Avenue:
Details N' Design.
If I assume that the middle word is AND, then there should be an apostrophe in front of the N as well as after it to indicate the omission of both A and D.
The correct spelling would be: Details 'N' Design.
Example: There is a restaurant on Hollywood Blvd. The name is Pig 'N Whistle.
Again, there should be another apostrophe after the N to show the missing D.
Example: I saw an advertisement on T.V. for Nice 'N Easy hair care products.
By now you know what is wrong here, don't you?
Here are two examples of the apostrophe used correctly in this context:
The old time television show was titled "Amos 'n' Andy".
In Sophie Kinsella's novel I've Got Your Number, heroine Poppy Wyatt describes her prospective in-laws by saying, "I can picture them now, eating honey-roasted peanuts and reading academic papers on his 'n' hers Kindles."
In the second definition above, an apostrophe is used to indicate possession. The Elements of Style by Strunk and White says, "Form the possessive singular of nouns by adding 's." I will give the examples of The boy's dog is missing. The boy owns the dog. The house's gate is open. The house owns the gate. John's children are well behaved. The children belong to John. Strunk and White remind us to "follow this rule whatever the final consonant. Thus write, Charles's friend; Burns's poem; the witch's malice." They also explain, "The pronominal [meaning a pronoun instead of a noun] possessives hers, its, theirs, yours and ours have no apostrophe. A common error is to write it's for its, or vice versa. The first is a contraction meaning it is. The second is a possessive."
It's a wise dog that scratches its own fleas.
Reference Manual For Stenographers and Typists further tells us, "To form the possessive of a regular plural noun, add only an apostrophe." [meaning there is no extra S after it.]
students' marks attorneys' offices ladies' day
Here are some examples where an apostrophe should be used to show possession but it is missing.
Why? I can't say.
Example: I passed a truck on the freeway that sported this sign: "The Chefs Warehouse".
Obviously it is the Chef who uses the Warehouse, so it should read: "The Chef's Warehouse", right?
Example: Signs at the bathrooms at the Starlight Bowl in Burbank read: MENS WOMENS
Again, to show that the restrooms belong to the men and to the women, we need an apostrophe
between the N and the S: MEN'S WOMEN'S
Example: Passing by the corner of Victory Blvd. and Tampa Ave., I spotted these signs:
Loehmann's Plaza (which is spelled correctly with an apostrophe) but the sign above the store reads:
Loehmanns. What gives? Why not put it apostrophe here as well? Does it cost that much more to add that punctuation mark? Well, it is a discount store after all.
Example: Further down the road on Vanowen St., this sign says: TAMS PET FOOD & SUPPLIES
Once again, they are lacking the apostrophe to show that it is owned by TAM.
Here are a few examples of the proper addition of the apostrophe.
Example: On Ventura Blvd. at Topeka Ave., I saw these two signs:
Peet's Coffee & Tea Norman's Rare Guitars
Yes! Someone checked the spelling before having the signs made.
Example: In Sophie Kinsella's book I've Got Your Number, heroine Poppy Wyatt explains how to get to where her future in-laws live. "There are twelve tube stops from Knightsbridge to Magnus's parents' house..." In this case, the author is correct to put the 's after her fiancé's name and she is equally correct in omitting the last s after the word "parents" but putting in the apostrophe to show possession. Got it?
Example: Jennifer Weiner writes in her book The Guy Not Taken, "I landed a job writing for an hour-long drama called The Girls' Room, which was about four best friends at a boarding school."
Now I will give examples of where an apostrophe is added when it should not (or shouldn't) be there.
Example: Seen on a service station sign at the corner of Balboa Blvd. and Saticoy St.:
We Service Honda's
There is no possession nor contraction here, so why the apostrophe?
Example: A sign on Ventura Blvd. for Shape It gym: Train with the Pro's
Again, there is no possession nor contraction.
Example: Here is a tweet by LeAnn Rimes in a Star Magazine article about Mindy McCready's untimely death:
"My heart goes out to Mindy McCready's family. I knew her well. It's a horribly tragedy.
May peace be with her son's."
We will ignore the horrible misspelling of the word "horrible" above but focus on the misspelling of "sons". This is simply a plural word (apparently Mindy had more than one son) so it does not require an apostrophe here.
Example: Someone wrote this in an email to me: "Lucia drug out photo's of us taken at that dinner..." Again, this is a plural of photo and does not need an apostrophe.
Lastly, how many of you confuse "your" with "you're" ???
YOUR is a possessive showing that you own something. How are your children?
YOU'RE is a contraction of YOU + ARE. You're going to have to tell me about the kids.
If you are (or you're) unsure which to use, ask yourself if you can say, "You are" in your sentence. If the answer if yes, then use an apostrophe to show the contraction. If you mean to say to possess or own, then use "your".
Well, my job's done for this month. You're on your own.
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Could you or could you NOT care less?
Dear Readers,
This month I tackle the ever-so-often misused expression "I could care less." Instead of my explanation, I will use one from the TV show "Fairly Legal". In the episode entitled "Borderline",
Ben Grogan, a lawyer at mediator Kate Reed's workplace, who is interested in Kate, learns that she has rekindled a relationship with her ex-husband. Ben says to Leo, Kate's assistant, "I could care less if she's sleeping with him." Leo responds, "Couldn't care less. Could care less indicates you care enough to care less. Of course, how much less you could care depends on how much you do care, which is ..." Ben jumps in with, "Zero! And you can't care less than zero." [Eureka!]
Still confused? Perhaps watching this video of John Cleese explaining the difference will help.
Example: In Janet Evanovich's novel High Five, narrator and heroine Stephanie Plum says about her sometimes boyfriend, "Well who cares about Morelli, anyway? Not me. I could care less." If she is truly disinterested, then she could not care any less about him since she cares so little now. But my guess is that she truly does.
Example: First year attorney Martina Garetti on the TV show "Made in Jersey" helped settle a case and offers the award to her client. When he thanks her, she says, "No need. We get some of that too." Her colleague adds, "Don't worry. She could care less about the money." She probably could since she doesn't work for free.
Example: On the premiere episode of season 3 of "Downton Abbey", mother of the groom Isobel Crawley whispers to her son Matthew about his future brother-in-law, who used to be the family chauffeur. She says, "No one could care less were Branson at the wedding or not." Speaking with an English accent makes this sound posh and correct, but it is not.
Sometimes, the phrase is said a bit differently, but the content is still the same. Witness...
Example: In the "Bad Seeds" episode of TV's "Vegas", Sheriff Lamb investigates several murders linked to the Chicago mob. He goes to see casino owner Vinnie Savino, who may be involved. Savino says to Lamb, "I doubt you've come here to express your concern for my safety." The sheriff replies, "I could give a damn about your safety." Same thought, different vocabulary.
Example: Sheriff Longmire [I know, another sheriff. I love cop shows.] on TV's "Longmire", speaks to a veterinarian about the accusation of a rodeo bronco rider using electric shocks on his horses. The vet says, "Most sponsors, they could give a damn if a rider tortures broncs as long as that rider brings home purses." I wish they would give a damn about those poor horses.
Now here are some examples of the proper usage of this expression.
Example: In Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins' second novel of the Hunger Games, heroine Katniss Everdeen says, "I get the distinct feeling that they're not comfortable with the camaraderie among the victors, who couldn't seem to care less." Bravo, Ms. Collins. Well spoken, Katniss.
Example: John Grisham's novel The Litigators has attorneys Wally Figg and David Zinc interviewing a prospective client for a class action suit. "'David went to Harvard Law, and he's just joined our firm, 'Wally said... She could not have cared less where David, Wally, or anyone else went to college or law school..." This is true, she just wants to be able to get some money out of the suit.
Example: On a "Downton Abbey" season 2 episode, youngest daughter Sybil plans to elope with the chauffeur. She repeats to her father, the lord of the manor, what he had said to her, "I won't be received in London. I won't be welcome at court. How do I make you understand? I couldn't care less." Now here, the British accent is well received in our living rooms and she does sound rather posh.
Example: In People Magazine, dated December 17, 2012, I read an article about former Bachelorette Ashley Hebert and her betrothed, J.P. Rosenbaum. When rain threatened their wedding, the article said, "By the time Hebert walked down the aisle, her groom couldn't have cared less about the weather." I congratulate the newlyweds, and the reporter.
In conclusion, I don't care (more or less) how much you care. But if you wish to show that you care
not at all, by all means use the correct phrase and say, "I could not care less..."
This month I tackle the ever-so-often misused expression "I could care less." Instead of my explanation, I will use one from the TV show "Fairly Legal". In the episode entitled "Borderline",
Ben Grogan, a lawyer at mediator Kate Reed's workplace, who is interested in Kate, learns that she has rekindled a relationship with her ex-husband. Ben says to Leo, Kate's assistant, "I could care less if she's sleeping with him." Leo responds, "Couldn't care less. Could care less indicates you care enough to care less. Of course, how much less you could care depends on how much you do care, which is ..." Ben jumps in with, "Zero! And you can't care less than zero." [Eureka!]
Still confused? Perhaps watching this video of John Cleese explaining the difference will help.
Could care less - YouTube
In the meantime, here are some examples of when people probably could not care any less than they do at that moment, but they say that they could. Read on...
Example: On the November 14, 2012 Steve Harvey daytime talk show, financial advisor
Jeff Motske talks to engaged couple Todd and Christine after they took a financial compatibility test.
To Christine he says, "I got a feeling you enjoy spread sheets and having everything exactly the way it is, love lists and love all the things that come with that..." To Todd he says, "...and you could care less." I'll bet he could not care any less about their finances. Good luck in their marriage.
In the meantime, here are some examples of when people probably could not care any less than they do at that moment, but they say that they could. Read on...
Example: On the November 14, 2012 Steve Harvey daytime talk show, financial advisor
Jeff Motske talks to engaged couple Todd and Christine after they took a financial compatibility test.
To Christine he says, "I got a feeling you enjoy spread sheets and having everything exactly the way it is, love lists and love all the things that come with that..." To Todd he says, "...and you could care less." I'll bet he could not care any less about their finances. Good luck in their marriage.
Example: In Janet Evanovich's novel High Five, narrator and heroine Stephanie Plum says about her sometimes boyfriend, "Well who cares about Morelli, anyway? Not me. I could care less." If she is truly disinterested, then she could not care any less about him since she cares so little now. But my guess is that she truly does.
Example: First year attorney Martina Garetti on the TV show "Made in Jersey" helped settle a case and offers the award to her client. When he thanks her, she says, "No need. We get some of that too." Her colleague adds, "Don't worry. She could care less about the money." She probably could since she doesn't work for free.
Example: On the premiere episode of season 3 of "Downton Abbey", mother of the groom Isobel Crawley whispers to her son Matthew about his future brother-in-law, who used to be the family chauffeur. She says, "No one could care less were Branson at the wedding or not." Speaking with an English accent makes this sound posh and correct, but it is not.
Sometimes, the phrase is said a bit differently, but the content is still the same. Witness...
Example: In the "Bad Seeds" episode of TV's "Vegas", Sheriff Lamb investigates several murders linked to the Chicago mob. He goes to see casino owner Vinnie Savino, who may be involved. Savino says to Lamb, "I doubt you've come here to express your concern for my safety." The sheriff replies, "I could give a damn about your safety." Same thought, different vocabulary.
Example: Sheriff Longmire [I know, another sheriff. I love cop shows.] on TV's "Longmire", speaks to a veterinarian about the accusation of a rodeo bronco rider using electric shocks on his horses. The vet says, "Most sponsors, they could give a damn if a rider tortures broncs as long as that rider brings home purses." I wish they would give a damn about those poor horses.
Now here are some examples of the proper usage of this expression.
Example: In Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins' second novel of the Hunger Games, heroine Katniss Everdeen says, "I get the distinct feeling that they're not comfortable with the camaraderie among the victors, who couldn't seem to care less." Bravo, Ms. Collins. Well spoken, Katniss.
Example: John Grisham's novel The Litigators has attorneys Wally Figg and David Zinc interviewing a prospective client for a class action suit. "'David went to Harvard Law, and he's just joined our firm, 'Wally said... She could not have cared less where David, Wally, or anyone else went to college or law school..." This is true, she just wants to be able to get some money out of the suit.
Example: On a "Downton Abbey" season 2 episode, youngest daughter Sybil plans to elope with the chauffeur. She repeats to her father, the lord of the manor, what he had said to her, "I won't be received in London. I won't be welcome at court. How do I make you understand? I couldn't care less." Now here, the British accent is well received in our living rooms and she does sound rather posh.
Example: In People Magazine, dated December 17, 2012, I read an article about former Bachelorette Ashley Hebert and her betrothed, J.P. Rosenbaum. When rain threatened their wedding, the article said, "By the time Hebert walked down the aisle, her groom couldn't have cared less about the weather." I congratulate the newlyweds, and the reporter.
In conclusion, I don't care (more or less) how much you care. But if you wish to show that you care
not at all, by all means use the correct phrase and say, "I could not care less..."
Saturday, June 1, 2013
No Ifs, [Ands, or Buts]
Dear Readers,
Do you remember the commercial ad that asked, "Where's the beef?" Well, this month I ask, "Where's the if?"
The Random House Dictionary of the English Language defines if as a conjunction that means
" in case that; granting or supposing that; on condition that." In other words, implying a condition on which something depends. It may be used to indicate suppositions or hypothetical conditions. Lately in my research, I have found that people tend to leave out that very small but very important word.
In the examples below, I will put a _ where I believe the if should go, although I am positive that my readers are smart enough to figure it out.
Example: In the TV show "Vegas" episode entitled "Little Fish", Las Vegas deputy sheriff Dixon Lamb wants help from Tommy, the entertainment director of the Savoy casino, to get a girl he's seeing to drop the older man she's linked to. Tommy says to Dixon, "_ I do this for you, I'm gonna need something from you." Considering that Tommy and the Savoy crew hail from the mob in Chicago, perhaps this is vernacular speech.
Example: Janet Evanovich's novel, Three to Get Deadly, has a female bounty hunter as her heroine.
In this book, experienced bounty hunter Ranger comments to novice Stephanie Plum on her less-than-professional attire, "You're going to give bounty hunters a bad name _ you go around looking like that." I would expect a person of his means to speak this way.
Example: Also found in Evanovich's above-mentioned novel, a minor character of the shady variety says to our heroine the bounty hunter, "_ I diversify, I make a shitload of money, excuse my language..." I suppose a shady character would also speak this way.
Example: In the episode "Details" of the TV show "Elementary", NYPD Captain Gregson explains to one of his detectives, who is under suspicion of murdering a gang leader, that he'll be put on administrative duty until the suspicion is resolved. Gregson says, "Hey, _ I don't bench you, how's it gonna play?" Is being a New York city police captain on a par with a Chicago mobster and a New Jersey bounty hunter as far as common speech is concerned? I wonder.
Example: Richard Castle, titular crime novelist of the TV show "Castle", is upset with his paramour, NYPD Detective Kate Becket because she had an out of state job interview without telling him. He says to her, "What does that tell you about us? Not much, _ you ask me." Do best-selling novelists speak this way? Or just the scriptwriters?
Example: On "Army Wives", episode "Blood and Treasure", Army colonel Joan Burton is offered a position at the War College in Washington, D.C. Her husband, a civilian, is offered a teaching job in a Baltimore university. He says to her, " _You accept that invitation, this marriage is over." He's a psychiatrist. You would think he could remember to add a two-letter word.
Example: Alicia Florrick, a Chicago attorney and wife of a politician in the TV show "The Good Wife", warns her mother about confronting her husband. She says to mom, "_ You talk to Peter and I'll never let you see the kids again." And this lady is a lawyer.
Example: A medical examiner on the show "Scandal", episode "Beltway Unbuckled", gives his autopsy report of a dead female victim. He opines, "_ She ends up in a hospital instead of a ditch, she probably would've been ok." Didn't he go to university and then to medical school? Use the tiny word!
Example: In the episode titled "Beautiful Frame" on TV's "Law and Order: SVU", NYPD Detective Olivia Benson is frustrated at how long her witness/defendant will remain in jail. The District Attorney says to her, " _ You think you can do this faster, help yourself." I suppose the reason he skips that all-important word is that he is too busy being a D.A. in New York City to add it.
Now, would you like to see some examples of where laziness (in both writing and speaking) was not an issue?
Example: Stephen King's huge tome, Under the Dome, has local Chester's Hill resident and meth user saying, "If they had come out with product [meth], he would have pushed the button and blown the whole works sky high." And this comes from a drug pusher! Good job, Mr. King.
Example: In the movie "Meet Joe Black" from 1998, the main character is a father who expresses his desire to see his daughter fall passionately in love. He tells her, "But you have to try because if you haven't tried, you haven't lived." I like that he added the small word and I like his advice.
Example: On "Person of Interest" episode "God Mode", do-gooder and vigilante John Reese explains to his new partner Shaw, "If Finch had something to do with the virus, I'm sure he had his reasons."
I applaud the writers for not omitting if.
Example: Kalinda, an investigator for the Chicago law firm where Alicia Florrick [see above] works,
is considering leaving for a new firm. She asks her prospective new employer, "If I agree to exclusivity, what would you offer me?" So, the writers of "The Good Wife" do know how to add if.
Example: NYPD consulting detective Sherlock Holmes, on TV's "Elementary", is embroiled in a complicated matter. His partner, Dr. Joan Watson, says to their superior, Captain Gregson, "If I think he needs to stop, I'll tell you." After all, she is a doctor and the writers recognize that, hence her good elocution.
Example: On "The Big Bang Theory", episode "The Proton Resurgence", astrophysicist Raj has to spend the weekend at a telescope lab so he asks his best friend Howard to dog sit. Howard is less than thrilled to do it and says, "You know, if you had a stroke, she'd eat you, right?" Hurray! The engineer from Cal Tech (and his writers) speak good English.
Well, Readers, there are no ifs, ands or buts about it. If we speak good English, we appear brighter than the norm.
Do you remember the commercial ad that asked, "Where's the beef?" Well, this month I ask, "Where's the if?"
The Random House Dictionary of the English Language defines if as a conjunction that means
" in case that; granting or supposing that; on condition that." In other words, implying a condition on which something depends. It may be used to indicate suppositions or hypothetical conditions. Lately in my research, I have found that people tend to leave out that very small but very important word.
In the examples below, I will put a _ where I believe the if should go, although I am positive that my readers are smart enough to figure it out.
Example: In the TV show "Vegas" episode entitled "Little Fish", Las Vegas deputy sheriff Dixon Lamb wants help from Tommy, the entertainment director of the Savoy casino, to get a girl he's seeing to drop the older man she's linked to. Tommy says to Dixon, "_ I do this for you, I'm gonna need something from you." Considering that Tommy and the Savoy crew hail from the mob in Chicago, perhaps this is vernacular speech.
Example: Janet Evanovich's novel, Three to Get Deadly, has a female bounty hunter as her heroine.
In this book, experienced bounty hunter Ranger comments to novice Stephanie Plum on her less-than-professional attire, "You're going to give bounty hunters a bad name _ you go around looking like that." I would expect a person of his means to speak this way.
Example: Also found in Evanovich's above-mentioned novel, a minor character of the shady variety says to our heroine the bounty hunter, "_ I diversify, I make a shitload of money, excuse my language..." I suppose a shady character would also speak this way.
Example: In the episode "Details" of the TV show "Elementary", NYPD Captain Gregson explains to one of his detectives, who is under suspicion of murdering a gang leader, that he'll be put on administrative duty until the suspicion is resolved. Gregson says, "Hey, _ I don't bench you, how's it gonna play?" Is being a New York city police captain on a par with a Chicago mobster and a New Jersey bounty hunter as far as common speech is concerned? I wonder.
Example: Richard Castle, titular crime novelist of the TV show "Castle", is upset with his paramour, NYPD Detective Kate Becket because she had an out of state job interview without telling him. He says to her, "What does that tell you about us? Not much, _ you ask me." Do best-selling novelists speak this way? Or just the scriptwriters?
Example: On "Army Wives", episode "Blood and Treasure", Army colonel Joan Burton is offered a position at the War College in Washington, D.C. Her husband, a civilian, is offered a teaching job in a Baltimore university. He says to her, " _You accept that invitation, this marriage is over." He's a psychiatrist. You would think he could remember to add a two-letter word.
Example: Alicia Florrick, a Chicago attorney and wife of a politician in the TV show "The Good Wife", warns her mother about confronting her husband. She says to mom, "_ You talk to Peter and I'll never let you see the kids again." And this lady is a lawyer.
Example: A medical examiner on the show "Scandal", episode "Beltway Unbuckled", gives his autopsy report of a dead female victim. He opines, "_ She ends up in a hospital instead of a ditch, she probably would've been ok." Didn't he go to university and then to medical school? Use the tiny word!
Example: In the episode titled "Beautiful Frame" on TV's "Law and Order: SVU", NYPD Detective Olivia Benson is frustrated at how long her witness/defendant will remain in jail. The District Attorney says to her, " _ You think you can do this faster, help yourself." I suppose the reason he skips that all-important word is that he is too busy being a D.A. in New York City to add it.
Now, would you like to see some examples of where laziness (in both writing and speaking) was not an issue?
Example: Stephen King's huge tome, Under the Dome, has local Chester's Hill resident and meth user saying, "If they had come out with product [meth], he would have pushed the button and blown the whole works sky high." And this comes from a drug pusher! Good job, Mr. King.
Example: In the movie "Meet Joe Black" from 1998, the main character is a father who expresses his desire to see his daughter fall passionately in love. He tells her, "But you have to try because if you haven't tried, you haven't lived." I like that he added the small word and I like his advice.
Example: On "Person of Interest" episode "God Mode", do-gooder and vigilante John Reese explains to his new partner Shaw, "If Finch had something to do with the virus, I'm sure he had his reasons."
I applaud the writers for not omitting if.
Example: Kalinda, an investigator for the Chicago law firm where Alicia Florrick [see above] works,
is considering leaving for a new firm. She asks her prospective new employer, "If I agree to exclusivity, what would you offer me?" So, the writers of "The Good Wife" do know how to add if.
Example: NYPD consulting detective Sherlock Holmes, on TV's "Elementary", is embroiled in a complicated matter. His partner, Dr. Joan Watson, says to their superior, Captain Gregson, "If I think he needs to stop, I'll tell you." After all, she is a doctor and the writers recognize that, hence her good elocution.
Example: On "The Big Bang Theory", episode "The Proton Resurgence", astrophysicist Raj has to spend the weekend at a telescope lab so he asks his best friend Howard to dog sit. Howard is less than thrilled to do it and says, "You know, if you had a stroke, she'd eat you, right?" Hurray! The engineer from Cal Tech (and his writers) speak good English.
Well, Readers, there are no ifs, ands or buts about it. If we speak good English, we appear brighter than the norm.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Bad Vocabulary
Dear Readers,
The Random House Dictionary of the English Language defines "vocabulary" as: the stock of words used by a particular people. Since this blog's goal is to defend the English language, this month I will focus on when people have used the wrong word. I find it quite entertaining. I hope you do too.
First, I will give you some examples of the wrong word used in a common expression.
Example: When I visited the Maloof House, curator and board member John Scott gave praise to a gentleman who was invaluable to him in setting up the current exhibit. He said, "Give him a hand of applause." I believe the correct word is "round" of applause, or he could have just said, "a hand."
Example: On "America's Got Talent", episode 15, Emcee Nick Cannon said, "Well, we know that Howard Stern is in raw form tonight." Howard may be known for his "raw" comments on the radio, but I think Nick meant to say "rare" form.
Example: During the episode "The Fall Guy" on TV's "Necessary Roughness," therapist Dr. Dani Santino and her sister Ronnie discuss their dysfunctional upbringing. Ronnie says, "Look, I don't know what gene pool you came from but ma, dad and me, we were all, uh, three peas in a basket case." Since Dr. Dani is a therapist, perhaps Ronnie was mixing her metaphor for effect, but she did use the wrong expression. It should have been "in a pod."
Example: In Under the Dome by Stephen King, physician's assistant Rusty Everett and Romeo Burpee are on a quest to see what is creating the dome which appeared over their town. They think it may be radioactive. Rusty says to Romeo, "If worst comes to worst, get the rest of the lead roll, stick pieces in the windows of whatever you're driving, and scoop me up." The correct word should be
"worse", because the quality progresses from bad to worse, and worse to the worst.
Next, we see examples of some very creative vocabulary.
Example: Doug McIntyre, talk host on KABC talk radio asked a caller, "Where is Bedford in relationship to .....[another city]? The word he meant to use was "relation".
Example: Also heard on KABC talk radio, a caller to Sean Hannity's program said, "I'm in agreeance with you." Say what??? Maybe he meant "agreement."
Example: On "The Bachelorette", suitor Arie says to bachelorette Emily about her decision to send another suitor home, "Basically, I just wanted to say that I find it, um, so encouraging that you're such a good judgment of character." The right word is "judge," and I am glad she was. She didn't choose Arie as her fiancé.
Example: During an episode of "Shark Tank", two entrepreneurs offer to the Sharks a project for helping the environment. Shark Lori Greiner says to them, "I'm for anything that helps the ecology..." No, Lori, helps the "environment."
Example: On another episode of "Shark Tank", Shark Daymond John asked the owner of Corks Away, "You're going to also create an ancillatory business?" It's a good thing he's a business shark and not an English language shark because the word he wanted to use was "ancillary."
Example: Steve Harvey hosts a daytime talk show. In April 2013, guest Jessica Jones, the Coupon Queen, explained the best time to purchase big ticket items. She said, "In January they have a big electronical convention..." Oops! She wanted to say, "electronics."
Example: Also on Steve Harvey's show, a police officer from Texas explained how he got his nickname "Big Sexy". He said, "I had a class with this coach. He was pretty well physiqued."
We know what he meant, he just used a word that does not exist in our language.
Example: Another guest on Steve Harvey's show was zoologist Jarod Miller. He intended to bring out some exotic animals onto the stage and he knew that Steve was very uncomfortable with that.
So he said, "We can gauge your comfortability level..." The correct word is "comfort."
Example: Jay Leno had Sally Field as a guest on the November 8, 2012 airing of "The Tonight Show." She was promoting the film "Lincoln". Sally was commenting on the depth of her character, Mary Lincoln. She said, "When you're doing something this depthful ..." I suppose Mary had more depth than Sally who didn't know that the correct word was "deep".
Example: On the TV show "Parenthood", brothers and business partners Adam and Crosby discuss their salaries. Crosby: "When we started this, I took a pretty big cut in pay." Adam: "So did I."
Crosby: "It wasn't as brutal as mine." Adam: "No, it was the same, the same amount of brutalness." The noun he was trying to use was "brutality".
Example: In the episode "Je ne sais what?" on TV's "The Good Wife," a Chicago assistant D.A. makes a plea in front of the judge. She said, "If we're sinking to this level of ludicrousity..." The judge interrupts and asks, "Ludicrousity?" but she keeps on talking. Hurray! The judge realized how ludicrous it was to use this word. [The correct word is "ludicrousness", I swear, your honor.]
*As I was writing these last seven examples, Spell Check underlined those incorrect words. See, even the computer knows.
Here is an example of simply the wrong word used:
Chief of Staff Dr. Hooten at fictitious Chelsea General Hospital on the television show "Monday Mornings" conducts his Mortality and Morbidity meeting. It is held in a large amphitheater where he sits on the floor level and the doctors are in the graduated seating above. He called on three surgeons and said, "Please ascend, take the stage." Since they would need to come down to the stage level, he should have said, "Please descend." Maybe the writers are dyslexic.
The following are examples of just wrong, wrong, wrong.
Example: On "Criminal Minds," tech wizard Penelope Garcia is going through phone records to track information for the BAU team. Agent Derek Morgan tells her, "The answer's in there somewhere. You just gotta find it." She responds, "All right, if you say so. I will re-get this party started." Did she forget about the word "again", as in "I will get this party started again."?
Example: Patti Stanger, the Millionaire Matchmaker, is trying to find a match for ex-NFL kicker Mitch Berger. She brings in former NBA player John Salley, who is now happily married, to give some advice to Mitch. She said, "Who's better than Mr. Salley to tell you how to non-be a Peter Pan anymore?" What???
Lastly, I spotted this on a truck advertising D and J Hauling: No Job to Small
Can you spot the wrong word? I hope it doesn't take too long.
To summarize, No, you cannot invent words just because you don't know the real ones. That's what dictionaries are for and why we study VOCABULARY.
The Random House Dictionary of the English Language defines "vocabulary" as: the stock of words used by a particular people. Since this blog's goal is to defend the English language, this month I will focus on when people have used the wrong word. I find it quite entertaining. I hope you do too.
First, I will give you some examples of the wrong word used in a common expression.
Example: When I visited the Maloof House, curator and board member John Scott gave praise to a gentleman who was invaluable to him in setting up the current exhibit. He said, "Give him a hand of applause." I believe the correct word is "round" of applause, or he could have just said, "a hand."
Example: On "America's Got Talent", episode 15, Emcee Nick Cannon said, "Well, we know that Howard Stern is in raw form tonight." Howard may be known for his "raw" comments on the radio, but I think Nick meant to say "rare" form.
Example: During the episode "The Fall Guy" on TV's "Necessary Roughness," therapist Dr. Dani Santino and her sister Ronnie discuss their dysfunctional upbringing. Ronnie says, "Look, I don't know what gene pool you came from but ma, dad and me, we were all, uh, three peas in a basket case." Since Dr. Dani is a therapist, perhaps Ronnie was mixing her metaphor for effect, but she did use the wrong expression. It should have been "in a pod."
Example: In Under the Dome by Stephen King, physician's assistant Rusty Everett and Romeo Burpee are on a quest to see what is creating the dome which appeared over their town. They think it may be radioactive. Rusty says to Romeo, "If worst comes to worst, get the rest of the lead roll, stick pieces in the windows of whatever you're driving, and scoop me up." The correct word should be
"worse", because the quality progresses from bad to worse, and worse to the worst.
Next, we see examples of some very creative vocabulary.
Example: Doug McIntyre, talk host on KABC talk radio asked a caller, "Where is Bedford in relationship to .....[another city]? The word he meant to use was "relation".
Example: Also heard on KABC talk radio, a caller to Sean Hannity's program said, "I'm in agreeance with you." Say what??? Maybe he meant "agreement."
Example: On "The Bachelorette", suitor Arie says to bachelorette Emily about her decision to send another suitor home, "Basically, I just wanted to say that I find it, um, so encouraging that you're such a good judgment of character." The right word is "judge," and I am glad she was. She didn't choose Arie as her fiancé.
Example: During an episode of "Shark Tank", two entrepreneurs offer to the Sharks a project for helping the environment. Shark Lori Greiner says to them, "I'm for anything that helps the ecology..." No, Lori, helps the "environment."
Example: On another episode of "Shark Tank", Shark Daymond John asked the owner of Corks Away, "You're going to also create an ancillatory business?" It's a good thing he's a business shark and not an English language shark because the word he wanted to use was "ancillary."
Example: Steve Harvey hosts a daytime talk show. In April 2013, guest Jessica Jones, the Coupon Queen, explained the best time to purchase big ticket items. She said, "In January they have a big electronical convention..." Oops! She wanted to say, "electronics."
Example: Also on Steve Harvey's show, a police officer from Texas explained how he got his nickname "Big Sexy". He said, "I had a class with this coach. He was pretty well physiqued."
We know what he meant, he just used a word that does not exist in our language.
Example: Another guest on Steve Harvey's show was zoologist Jarod Miller. He intended to bring out some exotic animals onto the stage and he knew that Steve was very uncomfortable with that.
So he said, "We can gauge your comfortability level..." The correct word is "comfort."
Example: Jay Leno had Sally Field as a guest on the November 8, 2012 airing of "The Tonight Show." She was promoting the film "Lincoln". Sally was commenting on the depth of her character, Mary Lincoln. She said, "When you're doing something this depthful ..." I suppose Mary had more depth than Sally who didn't know that the correct word was "deep".
Example: On the TV show "Parenthood", brothers and business partners Adam and Crosby discuss their salaries. Crosby: "When we started this, I took a pretty big cut in pay." Adam: "So did I."
Crosby: "It wasn't as brutal as mine." Adam: "No, it was the same, the same amount of brutalness." The noun he was trying to use was "brutality".
Example: In the episode "Je ne sais what?" on TV's "The Good Wife," a Chicago assistant D.A. makes a plea in front of the judge. She said, "If we're sinking to this level of ludicrousity..." The judge interrupts and asks, "Ludicrousity?" but she keeps on talking. Hurray! The judge realized how ludicrous it was to use this word. [The correct word is "ludicrousness", I swear, your honor.]
*As I was writing these last seven examples, Spell Check underlined those incorrect words. See, even the computer knows.
Here is an example of simply the wrong word used:
Chief of Staff Dr. Hooten at fictitious Chelsea General Hospital on the television show "Monday Mornings" conducts his Mortality and Morbidity meeting. It is held in a large amphitheater where he sits on the floor level and the doctors are in the graduated seating above. He called on three surgeons and said, "Please ascend, take the stage." Since they would need to come down to the stage level, he should have said, "Please descend." Maybe the writers are dyslexic.
The following are examples of just wrong, wrong, wrong.
Example: On "Criminal Minds," tech wizard Penelope Garcia is going through phone records to track information for the BAU team. Agent Derek Morgan tells her, "The answer's in there somewhere. You just gotta find it." She responds, "All right, if you say so. I will re-get this party started." Did she forget about the word "again", as in "I will get this party started again."?
Example: Patti Stanger, the Millionaire Matchmaker, is trying to find a match for ex-NFL kicker Mitch Berger. She brings in former NBA player John Salley, who is now happily married, to give some advice to Mitch. She said, "Who's better than Mr. Salley to tell you how to non-be a Peter Pan anymore?" What???
Lastly, I spotted this on a truck advertising D and J Hauling: No Job to Small
Can you spot the wrong word? I hope it doesn't take too long.
To summarize, No, you cannot invent words just because you don't know the real ones. That's what dictionaries are for and why we study VOCABULARY.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Me, Myself and I
Dear Readers,
This month I discuss the proper use of Subject Pronouns. In my November post, the focus was on the object of the preposition and I explained the difference between subject pronouns and object pronouns. Let me remind you of the subject pronouns and their function.
The subject of the sentence can be a person or a thing. The subject is doing or did the action.
Example: The teacher gave a test. (Teacher is the subject - doing the action of giving a test - and teacher is a person.) To be more specific, Mr. Johnson gave a test. Mrs. Smith gave a test.
Example: The airplane arrived on time. (Airplane is the subject - doing the action of arriving - and airplane is a thing.)
Both of these subjects can be replaced by a pronoun. In the first example, we can use He or She, depending on the gender of the teacher: He/She gave a test. In the second example, we use It because we are replacing a thing. It arrived on time.
To clarify which are the subject pronouns, here is a list for reference:
SINGULAR SUBJECT (one person or thing) PLURAL SUBJECT (more than one)
I We (anyone + I)
You You (anyone + you)
He, She, or It They
OBJECT PRONOUN (singular) OBJECT PRONOUN (plural)
me us
you you
him, her, or it them
Lately, I have noticed a trend where object pronouns are being substituted for subject pronouns when the subject is plural. What does that mean? See my examples below:
Example: The musical "Oklahoma!" was written in the 1950's about rural life. Curly, the main cowpoke of the story, misses out on taking the lovely Laurey to the Box Social. So he tells her aunt,
"Don't forget, Aunt Eller. You and me still got a date together." If we look above, we see that the plural subject should be "You and I". Seeing as how Curly is most likely not educated, this would probably reflect the way country folk spoke in those parts back then. Curly is forgiven.
Example: In the Meryl Streep/Alec Baldwin movie "It's Complicated," Meryl's character and her children are in New York for her son's college graduation. She had made dinner reservations for the whole family but Luke says, "Me and my friends are having this huge thing at our apartment..."
Hmmm, didn't he just graduate from college? Did he not learn the proper use of a subject pronoun?
Obviously not. He should have said, "My friends and I are having ..."
Example: This was heard on tv's "The Big Bang Theory," episode "The Shiny Trinket Maneuver."
Knowing that his fiancee Bernadette doesn't like children, engineer Howard Wolowitz rethinks his decision to marry her. "Maybe me and Bernadette aren't right for each other," he muses.
Again, this is an educated man with a Master's Degree and he is using the wrong subject pronoun. Of course the right way is, "Maybe Bernadette and I aren't right for each other." Where did the writers of this show go to school?
Example: On the Steve Harvey daytime talk show of January 17, 2013, a mom discussed the use of humiliation punishment with Steve. She had engaged the help of a police officer in dealing with her son. She told Steve, "Him and I were discussing" the situation. Him is not a subject pronoun, but He is and the correct way would be, "He and I were discussing ..."
Example: In the episode "From This Day Forward" on the tv show "Vegas," Las Vegas deputies Jack and Dixon are investigating a murder. They talk to the owner of a ranch where the female victim had been staying. The owner tells them, "Her and Marjorie and some of the girls went down to Fremont Street last night." Nope, it should be, "She and Marjorie and some girls went ..."
Example: The December 10, 2012 issue of People Magazine had an interview with gymnast Gabby Douglas. When asked how her life had changed since winning her gold medal, she answered, "Me, McKayla and Aly went out last night and got mobbed." Wrong. But later in the interview she talked about meeting President Obama and says, "My teammates and I were all walking in so straight ..."
What I can't figure out is why in one sentence the usage is correct but in another it is not.
For those who get confused and don't know which to choose, here is an easy way to know:
For those multiple subjects like "Me, McKayla and Aly..." or "Her and Marjorie..." simply remove the other subjects (above that would be McKayla and Aly or Marjorie) and listen to what is left.
We would never say "Me went out last night" nor "Her went down to Fremont Street". If it sounds wrong, IT IS. That's when you know to insert the subject pronouns listed above.
Now here are a few examples of correct usage of the subject pronouns:
Example: NYC Police Commissioner Frank Reagan on tv's "Blue Bloods" episode "Fathers and Sons," disagrees with the mayor over protocol. Hizzoner says, "Frank, you and I have danced around this in the past." Well put, Mr. Mayor.
Example: In "Scandal," episode "Boom Goes the Dynamite," political fixer Olivia Pope is working with Will Caldwell, the son of political family who is running for governor and who is still in love with his brother's wife. Will explains, "Pete loves her, she's his wife. And she and I, well, we have what we have." Bravo, Will.
Example: On tv's "CSI:NY," NYPD Detective Mac Taylor interrogates a man who took Mac's girlfriend as a hostage. He says, "You took Christine as collateral for the $100,000 he and his brother owed you." You are a smart man, Mac Taylor, and so are your writers.
Example: [This is one of my favorites] TV's sitcom "The Neighbors" has son Max running in to tell his parents, "I have the biggest news ever. Me and Dick..." and mom Debbie Weaver interrupts and corrects him, "Dick and I..." Max responds, "Really? You're stopping me for grammar???"
Good work, Debbie Weaver.
I'll end this month's post with an example that is so confounding that it defies explanation. I was listening to a musical selection on KCRW radio on March 25, 2013. The duo that sang the song was called She and Him. I suppose that in the music world, anything goes.
This month I discuss the proper use of Subject Pronouns. In my November post, the focus was on the object of the preposition and I explained the difference between subject pronouns and object pronouns. Let me remind you of the subject pronouns and their function.
The subject of the sentence can be a person or a thing. The subject is doing or did the action.
Example: The teacher gave a test. (Teacher is the subject - doing the action of giving a test - and teacher is a person.) To be more specific, Mr. Johnson gave a test. Mrs. Smith gave a test.
Example: The airplane arrived on time. (Airplane is the subject - doing the action of arriving - and airplane is a thing.)
Both of these subjects can be replaced by a pronoun. In the first example, we can use He or She, depending on the gender of the teacher: He/She gave a test. In the second example, we use It because we are replacing a thing. It arrived on time.
To clarify which are the subject pronouns, here is a list for reference:
SINGULAR SUBJECT (one person or thing) PLURAL SUBJECT (more than one)
I We (anyone + I)
You You (anyone + you)
He, She, or It They
OBJECT PRONOUN (singular) OBJECT PRONOUN (plural)
me us
you you
him, her, or it them
Lately, I have noticed a trend where object pronouns are being substituted for subject pronouns when the subject is plural. What does that mean? See my examples below:
Example: The musical "Oklahoma!" was written in the 1950's about rural life. Curly, the main cowpoke of the story, misses out on taking the lovely Laurey to the Box Social. So he tells her aunt,
"Don't forget, Aunt Eller. You and me still got a date together." If we look above, we see that the plural subject should be "You and I". Seeing as how Curly is most likely not educated, this would probably reflect the way country folk spoke in those parts back then. Curly is forgiven.
Example: In the Meryl Streep/Alec Baldwin movie "It's Complicated," Meryl's character and her children are in New York for her son's college graduation. She had made dinner reservations for the whole family but Luke says, "Me and my friends are having this huge thing at our apartment..."
Hmmm, didn't he just graduate from college? Did he not learn the proper use of a subject pronoun?
Obviously not. He should have said, "My friends and I are having ..."
Example: This was heard on tv's "The Big Bang Theory," episode "The Shiny Trinket Maneuver."
Knowing that his fiancee Bernadette doesn't like children, engineer Howard Wolowitz rethinks his decision to marry her. "Maybe me and Bernadette aren't right for each other," he muses.
Again, this is an educated man with a Master's Degree and he is using the wrong subject pronoun. Of course the right way is, "Maybe Bernadette and I aren't right for each other." Where did the writers of this show go to school?
Example: On the Steve Harvey daytime talk show of January 17, 2013, a mom discussed the use of humiliation punishment with Steve. She had engaged the help of a police officer in dealing with her son. She told Steve, "Him and I were discussing" the situation. Him is not a subject pronoun, but He is and the correct way would be, "He and I were discussing ..."
Example: In the episode "From This Day Forward" on the tv show "Vegas," Las Vegas deputies Jack and Dixon are investigating a murder. They talk to the owner of a ranch where the female victim had been staying. The owner tells them, "Her and Marjorie and some of the girls went down to Fremont Street last night." Nope, it should be, "She and Marjorie and some girls went ..."
Example: The December 10, 2012 issue of People Magazine had an interview with gymnast Gabby Douglas. When asked how her life had changed since winning her gold medal, she answered, "Me, McKayla and Aly went out last night and got mobbed." Wrong. But later in the interview she talked about meeting President Obama and says, "My teammates and I were all walking in so straight ..."
What I can't figure out is why in one sentence the usage is correct but in another it is not.
For those who get confused and don't know which to choose, here is an easy way to know:
For those multiple subjects like "Me, McKayla and Aly..." or "Her and Marjorie..." simply remove the other subjects (above that would be McKayla and Aly or Marjorie) and listen to what is left.
We would never say "Me went out last night" nor "Her went down to Fremont Street". If it sounds wrong, IT IS. That's when you know to insert the subject pronouns listed above.
Now here are a few examples of correct usage of the subject pronouns:
Example: NYC Police Commissioner Frank Reagan on tv's "Blue Bloods" episode "Fathers and Sons," disagrees with the mayor over protocol. Hizzoner says, "Frank, you and I have danced around this in the past." Well put, Mr. Mayor.
Example: In "Scandal," episode "Boom Goes the Dynamite," political fixer Olivia Pope is working with Will Caldwell, the son of political family who is running for governor and who is still in love with his brother's wife. Will explains, "Pete loves her, she's his wife. And she and I, well, we have what we have." Bravo, Will.
Example: On tv's "CSI:NY," NYPD Detective Mac Taylor interrogates a man who took Mac's girlfriend as a hostage. He says, "You took Christine as collateral for the $100,000 he and his brother owed you." You are a smart man, Mac Taylor, and so are your writers.
Example: [This is one of my favorites] TV's sitcom "The Neighbors" has son Max running in to tell his parents, "I have the biggest news ever. Me and Dick..." and mom Debbie Weaver interrupts and corrects him, "Dick and I..." Max responds, "Really? You're stopping me for grammar???"
Good work, Debbie Weaver.
I'll end this month's post with an example that is so confounding that it defies explanation. I was listening to a musical selection on KCRW radio on March 25, 2013. The duo that sang the song was called She and Him. I suppose that in the music world, anything goes.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Define "nother"
Dear Readers,
I'm going to piggy-back on last month's posting that had to do with the part of speech known as the article (a, an, the). For this posting, we will focus on the articles "a" and "an" used in a very specific phrase.
Let's start with the word another. According to the Random House Dictionary, this adjective means 1. a second; a further; an additional: another piece of cake. 2. a different; a distinct; of a different kind: at another time; another man. You know the word. It was once actually two words: an + other, and somehow got combined.
What bothers me is when speaking, people break this word in two and add an additional (dare I say "another") adjective in between. Here's what I mean:
Example: On KABC Talkradio 790, a caller in July of 2012 was talking about the election and said, "A whole nother block of votes."
Example: The episode of "Shark Tank" airing on October 5, 2012 had an update on Villy Custom bicycles. The owner, Fleetwood Hicks, said, "Being on 'Shark Tank' has really allowed us to take Villy Customs to a whole nother level."
Example: Talk show host Steve Harvey said on January 14, 2013, "Making a new year's resolution is easy. Now keeping it, that's a whole nother story."
Example: Also heard on Steve Harvey's talk show, a woman who asked for help in de-cluttering her house says to the expert Monica, after showing her several cluttered spaces: "We have a whole nother room to look at." Yet later in that episode, Monica's team is cleaning when one of her employees says, "Monica, we've got another space to do." And at the end of the segment, Steve addresses the husband's pack-rat mentality by saying, "You were a borderline hoarder. A couple more months, we would have had you on another show."
Do you see what I mean? If you break apart the word "another", you are left with a + nother
and there is no such word in the dictionary. It still does not exist if you put an adjective in between. But if you notice the last two highlighted words in the last example, you will see that people actually do know the word another and how to use it.
Now here are some examples of how to use this expression correctly.
Example: In the novel All Over But the Shouting by Rick Bragg, the author talks about being a journalist covering football games, an escape from his tough Southern life. He says, "For me, that escape took on a whole other meaning."
Example: Narrator Alec Baldwin on Frozen Planet's "The Ends of the Earth" says, "The Antarctic takes things to a whole other level."
Example: Geraldo Rivera, host on KABC Talkradio said, "That's a whole other story."
Example: On tv's The Middle, episode "The Second Act", sophomore daughter Sue Heck describes her freshman mentee Jenna to her parents: "She's doing really well in school, but Homecoming Court is a whole other thing." Congrats to the young lady (by way of her writers) who got it right.
My point here is this: If you wish to break up the expression another and add whole in between,
the article "an" (in front of other) is no longer in front of a vowel (see February 2013's post). It is now in front of whole. Therefore, other remains intact. Hurray to the last four examples!
Besides the above correct examples, there is another whole way to express it. That's right, use another in front of whole and then the word(s). This works too.
This is not a new tendancy. The word "apron" came from the Middle English "napron". Its origin is also from the French "nappe," meaning "tablecloth". When it was spoken as a napron, you guessed it - eventually it became an apron. So much for keeping our language pure, am I right?
I'm going to piggy-back on last month's posting that had to do with the part of speech known as the article (a, an, the). For this posting, we will focus on the articles "a" and "an" used in a very specific phrase.
Let's start with the word another. According to the Random House Dictionary, this adjective means 1. a second; a further; an additional: another piece of cake. 2. a different; a distinct; of a different kind: at another time; another man. You know the word. It was once actually two words: an + other, and somehow got combined.
What bothers me is when speaking, people break this word in two and add an additional (dare I say "another") adjective in between. Here's what I mean:
Example: On KABC Talkradio 790, a caller in July of 2012 was talking about the election and said, "A whole nother block of votes."
Example: The episode of "Shark Tank" airing on October 5, 2012 had an update on Villy Custom bicycles. The owner, Fleetwood Hicks, said, "Being on 'Shark Tank' has really allowed us to take Villy Customs to a whole nother level."
Example: Talk show host Steve Harvey said on January 14, 2013, "Making a new year's resolution is easy. Now keeping it, that's a whole nother story."
Example: Also heard on Steve Harvey's talk show, a woman who asked for help in de-cluttering her house says to the expert Monica, after showing her several cluttered spaces: "We have a whole nother room to look at." Yet later in that episode, Monica's team is cleaning when one of her employees says, "Monica, we've got another space to do." And at the end of the segment, Steve addresses the husband's pack-rat mentality by saying, "You were a borderline hoarder. A couple more months, we would have had you on another show."
Do you see what I mean? If you break apart the word "another", you are left with a + nother
and there is no such word in the dictionary. It still does not exist if you put an adjective in between. But if you notice the last two highlighted words in the last example, you will see that people actually do know the word another and how to use it.
Now here are some examples of how to use this expression correctly.
Example: In the novel All Over But the Shouting by Rick Bragg, the author talks about being a journalist covering football games, an escape from his tough Southern life. He says, "For me, that escape took on a whole other meaning."
Example: Narrator Alec Baldwin on Frozen Planet's "The Ends of the Earth" says, "The Antarctic takes things to a whole other level."
Example: Geraldo Rivera, host on KABC Talkradio said, "That's a whole other story."
Example: On tv's The Middle, episode "The Second Act", sophomore daughter Sue Heck describes her freshman mentee Jenna to her parents: "She's doing really well in school, but Homecoming Court is a whole other thing." Congrats to the young lady (by way of her writers) who got it right.
My point here is this: If you wish to break up the expression another and add whole in between,
the article "an" (in front of other) is no longer in front of a vowel (see February 2013's post). It is now in front of whole. Therefore, other remains intact. Hurray to the last four examples!
Besides the above correct examples, there is another whole way to express it. That's right, use another in front of whole and then the word(s). This works too.
This is not a new tendancy. The word "apron" came from the Middle English "napron". Its origin is also from the French "nappe," meaning "tablecloth". When it was spoken as a napron, you guessed it - eventually it became an apron. So much for keeping our language pure, am I right?
Saturday, February 2, 2013
The Genuine Article
Dear Readers,
In the English language, there is a part of speech known as the article. There are three of them: a, an, the. The is known as the definite article and it announces a noun that is specific or defined.
For example, "The grapes you bought at Gelson's are delicious." A is known as the indefinite article because it announces a noun that is not specific or defined. For example, "I would like a banana with my cereal." Which banana I eat is not clear nor defined. What about the third article, an? This little word is also an indefinite article and is used in place of a in front of a vowel. Why? Because it is easier to pronounce. For example, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." Which apple you eat is not defined.
Thus explained, I have been noticing a trend where people are using a in place of an, which changes the way our language is spoken. Here are examples of this trend:
Example: On the "Shark Tank" episode which aired October 19, 2012, business "shark" Robert Herjavec says to entrepreneur Tania Patruno, "Tania, you've done a amazing job..."
Example: Steve Harvey's guest on his November 7, 2012 daytime show was Judge Alex Ferrer.
The judge responded to a legal question from an audience member by saying, "In Illinois, they have the uh, a act, the Rights of Married Persons Act..." A judge said that?
Example: "The Locator", Troy Dunn, asks the estranged son of his client, "Is there a answer to the
why question?"
Example: The "Criminal Minds" episode entitled "The Fallen" had the character of a former Marine Sergeant, now a homeless man in Santa Monica, helping the BAU team identify a murdered victim.
He tells the FBI agent, "He was a artist."
Example: On "CSI: New York", episode "Reignited," a suspected arsonist being interrogated by Detective Mac Taylor claims he did not set a recent building fire and wants to clear his name. He tells Mac, "I'm offering my services as a...arson investigator."
And in this same episode, another suspected arsonist who is being interrogated admits to igniting an abandonned car. He explains, "It was just supposed to be a easy, simple thing."
The fact that on this show two different characters misused the same indefinite article points to the writers as the culprits (forget the arsonist).
Now note these examples:
Example: In the tv show "Hawaii Five-0" episode "Kapu", Steve McGarrett and Chin Ho are talking to a botanist about his friend, a murdered chemist from the university. The botanist, Dr. Stephens, says, "Joel was a ... an amazing chemist."
Example: From the show "Scandal", one of the employees of Washington, D.C. "fixer" Olivia Pope
attends a 12-step program meeting and introduces himself by saying, "My name is Huck and I'm
a ... an alcoholic."
What I love about these two examples is that you hear the person actually correct himself when realizing that the noun he is about to use begins with a vowel. For all the others, how lazy can you get?
Well, I hope this has been an enlightening and a worthwhile posting for you.
In the English language, there is a part of speech known as the article. There are three of them: a, an, the. The is known as the definite article and it announces a noun that is specific or defined.
For example, "The grapes you bought at Gelson's are delicious." A is known as the indefinite article because it announces a noun that is not specific or defined. For example, "I would like a banana with my cereal." Which banana I eat is not clear nor defined. What about the third article, an? This little word is also an indefinite article and is used in place of a in front of a vowel. Why? Because it is easier to pronounce. For example, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." Which apple you eat is not defined.
Thus explained, I have been noticing a trend where people are using a in place of an, which changes the way our language is spoken. Here are examples of this trend:
Example: On the "Shark Tank" episode which aired October 19, 2012, business "shark" Robert Herjavec says to entrepreneur Tania Patruno, "Tania, you've done a amazing job..."
Example: Steve Harvey's guest on his November 7, 2012 daytime show was Judge Alex Ferrer.
The judge responded to a legal question from an audience member by saying, "In Illinois, they have the uh, a act, the Rights of Married Persons Act..." A judge said that?
Example: "The Locator", Troy Dunn, asks the estranged son of his client, "Is there a answer to the
why question?"
Example: The "Criminal Minds" episode entitled "The Fallen" had the character of a former Marine Sergeant, now a homeless man in Santa Monica, helping the BAU team identify a murdered victim.
He tells the FBI agent, "He was a artist."
Example: On "CSI: New York", episode "Reignited," a suspected arsonist being interrogated by Detective Mac Taylor claims he did not set a recent building fire and wants to clear his name. He tells Mac, "I'm offering my services as a...arson investigator."
And in this same episode, another suspected arsonist who is being interrogated admits to igniting an abandonned car. He explains, "It was just supposed to be a easy, simple thing."
The fact that on this show two different characters misused the same indefinite article points to the writers as the culprits (forget the arsonist).
Now note these examples:
Example: In the tv show "Hawaii Five-0" episode "Kapu", Steve McGarrett and Chin Ho are talking to a botanist about his friend, a murdered chemist from the university. The botanist, Dr. Stephens, says, "Joel was a ... an amazing chemist."
Example: From the show "Scandal", one of the employees of Washington, D.C. "fixer" Olivia Pope
attends a 12-step program meeting and introduces himself by saying, "My name is Huck and I'm
a ... an alcoholic."
What I love about these two examples is that you hear the person actually correct himself when realizing that the noun he is about to use begins with a vowel. For all the others, how lazy can you get?
Well, I hope this has been an enlightening and a worthwhile posting for you.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
It's All Relative.
Hello Readers,
This month I explain how to use a relative pronoun correctly. What is a relative pronoun?
A relative pronoun connects, or "relates", one clause to another instead of using two separate sentences.
Example 1:
Bobby Fischer is the great chess player. He beat Boris Spassky in 1972. [Two sentences]
Bobby Fisher is the great chess player who beat Boris Spassky in 1972. [One sentence with a relative pronoun linking the two.]
Example 2:
Chess is a game. This game is very challenging. [Two sentences]
Chess is a game that is very challenging. [One sentence with a relative pronoun.]
Did you notice that there are two possible relative pronouns? How do we decide which one to use? Simple. The relative pronoun who references a person. If you reread Example 1, you will see that the word replaced by who was "He", referring to Bobby Fischer.
The relative pronoun that references a thing. In Example 2, you will see that the words replaced by that were "the game", which is a thing. Therefore, the rule is:
Use the relative pronoun who when referring to or replacing a reference to people and
use the relative pronoun that when referring to or replacing a thing.
Here are some examples of how the wrong relative pronoun is used.
In the 2006 film "Basic Instinct 2", psychiatrist Dr. David Glass defends himself. "I was treating a patient that ended up killing his pregnant girl friend." WRONG. Since the reference is "a patient", the pronoun should be who. CORRECT: I was treating a patient who ended up killing his pregnant girl friend.
On "America's Got Talent" Episode 14 from 2012, Sharon Osbourne says about young dance contestant Lil Star, "We are talking about a girl that is 6 years old." WRONG. Again, the reference is a person and the relative pronoun should be who. CORRECT: We're talking about a girl who is 6 years old.
In the episode "A Load of Bull" on tv's "Necessary Roughness", therapist Dr. Dani Santino explains to a patient: "You have this incredible wife that wants to take the journey with you." WRONG. In most cases, a wife is a person. CORRECT: You have this incredible wife who wants to take the journey with you.
Fictional crime writer Richard Castle, of the titular tv show "Castle", is bantering with his now love interest NYPD Detective Kate Beckett: "It was you that was trying to sleep with me!" WRONG. We all know that he is referring to a person, and he is a writer! CORRECT: It was you who was trying to sleep with me.
Heard on the news in June, 2012: "Next up, Derek Luke, the man that played Antwone Fisher."
WRONG. By now, we know that it should be "... the man who played Antwone Fisher."
Heard on a commercial for Scan Health Plan: "...one of the big differentiators of Scan is the level of trust and competence you have with a company who is started by seniors..." WRONG. The reference is a company which is a thing. The CORRECT pronoun should be that. "... a company that is started by seniors."
Stephen King's novel From a Buick 8 is about a mysterious car that shows up at Pennsylvania State Troop D's headquarters. [Note my use of the relative pronoun that.] The troopers' canine mascot
"started barking. Not his deep-throated bark, the one he usually saved for the deer who scouted out the back field or the raccoons that dared come sniffing around..." The first relative pronoun is WRONG because deer are not people. It should say, "... the deer that scouted..." The second relative pronoun is CORRECT because, like deer, raccoons are not people.
Now some examples of the correct usage of these pronouns.
On the tv show "Vegas", episode "Exposure", Sheriff Lamb interviews a man about a murder on the nearby Air Force Base. The man explains, "I'm a civilian who works on the base." YES! He is indeed a person.
The 2012 tv movie "Blue Lagoon: The Awakening" tells the story of Dean and Emma who are stranded on an island. [Note my use of the relative pronoun who.] He reassures her by saying, "You've got people out there who love you...people looking for you." Hurray! The very reference was people, so the relative pronoun was correct.
In the episode "Jane's Getting Married" of tv's "Drop Dead Diva", attorney Jane Bingum's colleague wants her off a case he is working on. He says, "Mark needs lawyers who believe in him."
Contrary to popular belief, lawyers are also people, and here the relative pronoun is correct.
Seen on an office building sign in Van Nuys, "We're looking for a few good tenants who appreciate..." Way to go! Tenants are people too.
Lastly, Dr. Dani Santino, therapist in the above-mentioned tv show "Necessary Roughness", tells a patient's mother, "Our best hope is to convince Orson to check himself into a treatment facility that can help with his addiction." Your turn. This relative pronoun is correct because ....
... treatment facility is a thing. You got it!
I hope that this was a posting that helped you understand the difference between these two relative pronouns and that you are people who will use them correctly.
This month I explain how to use a relative pronoun correctly. What is a relative pronoun?
A relative pronoun connects, or "relates", one clause to another instead of using two separate sentences.
Example 1:
Bobby Fischer is the great chess player. He beat Boris Spassky in 1972. [Two sentences]
Bobby Fisher is the great chess player who beat Boris Spassky in 1972. [One sentence with a relative pronoun linking the two.]
Example 2:
Chess is a game. This game is very challenging. [Two sentences]
Chess is a game that is very challenging. [One sentence with a relative pronoun.]
Did you notice that there are two possible relative pronouns? How do we decide which one to use? Simple. The relative pronoun who references a person. If you reread Example 1, you will see that the word replaced by who was "He", referring to Bobby Fischer.
The relative pronoun that references a thing. In Example 2, you will see that the words replaced by that were "the game", which is a thing. Therefore, the rule is:
Use the relative pronoun who when referring to or replacing a reference to people and
use the relative pronoun that when referring to or replacing a thing.
Here are some examples of how the wrong relative pronoun is used.
In the 2006 film "Basic Instinct 2", psychiatrist Dr. David Glass defends himself. "I was treating a patient that ended up killing his pregnant girl friend." WRONG. Since the reference is "a patient", the pronoun should be who. CORRECT: I was treating a patient who ended up killing his pregnant girl friend.
On "America's Got Talent" Episode 14 from 2012, Sharon Osbourne says about young dance contestant Lil Star, "We are talking about a girl that is 6 years old." WRONG. Again, the reference is a person and the relative pronoun should be who. CORRECT: We're talking about a girl who is 6 years old.
In the episode "A Load of Bull" on tv's "Necessary Roughness", therapist Dr. Dani Santino explains to a patient: "You have this incredible wife that wants to take the journey with you." WRONG. In most cases, a wife is a person. CORRECT: You have this incredible wife who wants to take the journey with you.
Fictional crime writer Richard Castle, of the titular tv show "Castle", is bantering with his now love interest NYPD Detective Kate Beckett: "It was you that was trying to sleep with me!" WRONG. We all know that he is referring to a person, and he is a writer! CORRECT: It was you who was trying to sleep with me.
Heard on the news in June, 2012: "Next up, Derek Luke, the man that played Antwone Fisher."
WRONG. By now, we know that it should be "... the man who played Antwone Fisher."
Heard on a commercial for Scan Health Plan: "...one of the big differentiators of Scan is the level of trust and competence you have with a company who is started by seniors..." WRONG. The reference is a company which is a thing. The CORRECT pronoun should be that. "... a company that is started by seniors."
Stephen King's novel From a Buick 8 is about a mysterious car that shows up at Pennsylvania State Troop D's headquarters. [Note my use of the relative pronoun that.] The troopers' canine mascot
"started barking. Not his deep-throated bark, the one he usually saved for the deer who scouted out the back field or the raccoons that dared come sniffing around..." The first relative pronoun is WRONG because deer are not people. It should say, "... the deer that scouted..." The second relative pronoun is CORRECT because, like deer, raccoons are not people.
Now some examples of the correct usage of these pronouns.
On the tv show "Vegas", episode "Exposure", Sheriff Lamb interviews a man about a murder on the nearby Air Force Base. The man explains, "I'm a civilian who works on the base." YES! He is indeed a person.
The 2012 tv movie "Blue Lagoon: The Awakening" tells the story of Dean and Emma who are stranded on an island. [Note my use of the relative pronoun who.] He reassures her by saying, "You've got people out there who love you...people looking for you." Hurray! The very reference was people, so the relative pronoun was correct.
In the episode "Jane's Getting Married" of tv's "Drop Dead Diva", attorney Jane Bingum's colleague wants her off a case he is working on. He says, "Mark needs lawyers who believe in him."
Contrary to popular belief, lawyers are also people, and here the relative pronoun is correct.
Seen on an office building sign in Van Nuys, "We're looking for a few good tenants who appreciate..." Way to go! Tenants are people too.
Lastly, Dr. Dani Santino, therapist in the above-mentioned tv show "Necessary Roughness", tells a patient's mother, "Our best hope is to convince Orson to check himself into a treatment facility that can help with his addiction." Your turn. This relative pronoun is correct because ....
... treatment facility is a thing. You got it!
I hope that this was a posting that helped you understand the difference between these two relative pronouns and that you are people who will use them correctly.
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