Dear Readers,
Let me remind those of you who have forgotten what an adjective is. It's a word that modifies or describes a noun. That being said, read below to see them referenced in the following situations.
Example: Seattle weather girl Sylvia Miller, in the titular movie "Weather Girl," has an on-air breakdown. She starts ranting, "Day after day as I stood in front of this stupid map repeatedly trying to find new adjectives to describe the word rain, ..." *Bravo, Weather Girl. You know your grammar as well as you know the weather.
Example: "Castle" is a TV show where mystery writer Richard Castle teams with the NYPD to help solve murders. In one episode, a suspect is holding some hostages and asks to have the author help prove her innocence. When it is revealed that she has a juvenile record, she says to Castle, "What's the point of a sealed record when the cops can open it whenever they like? I'm sure they all had a laugh off all the adjectives describing me, right? 'Manic, bi-polar, violent, murderer!'" Castle says, "Not to be a stickler but 'murderer' isn't an adjective." *Well, the writer would know, wouldn't he?
And he's right. Murderer is a noun, not an adjective.
Example: On TV's "The Big Bang Theory," Dr. Leslie Winkle from Cal Tech is visiting Leonard's and Sheldon's apartment. Before leaving, she notices a mistake and fixes an equation on Sheldon's whiteboard. Being upset about it, he tells her, "I don't come into your house and touch your whiteboard." She retorts, "There are no incorrect equations on my board." Sheldon stammers," Oh, that is so..., so..." Leslie impatiently says, "I'm sorry. I've gotta run. If you come up with an adjective, text me." After she has gone, Sheldon blurts out, "Inconsiderate! That is the adjective, inconsiderate." *Yea, the writers got the correct part of speech and a correct adjective!
Example: I thought this one was cute. In the episode "Wheel of Pain" on the TV show "The Middle," the Heck children are in cahoots to withhold the truth about a broken window in their house. When the parents figure out that someone is lying, they come up with a possible punishment: Daughter Sue will not get to have her Sweet Sixteen birthday party. Being very upset at this prospect, Sue beseeches her brothers to confess by explaining, "I can't lose my party. It's my Sweet Sixteen, the only birthday that has its own adjective." *Sweet, indeed.
In the following examples, we will see where grammar has not been learned.
Example: Judge Howie Mandel, on "America's Got Talent," praises singer Cami Bradley by saying, I think you're beautiful. I think you're a star, I think you're an angel. I have more adjectives but I'm not going to use them." *Considering he only used one adjective but two nouns, I wonder why he was being stingy.
Example: During Season 9 of "The Bachelorette," Desiree and Brooks are on a date. He tells her, "People are, like, 'So we know you like Des, but ...'" and she chimes in with, "But do you love her?" He responds, "We need more adjectives." *WHAT?? There were absolutely no adjectives in either of their comments to begin with. But wait, we continue.
Later, Brooks brings up the adjectives he had mentioned and she says, "I have them." He says, "The adjectives between like and love are ..." and she fills in, "stepping, skipping, running, and then finish line!" *Aww, so adorable. I just wish that they both knew the difference between an adjective and a verb.
Well, I hope this month's topic has been enlightening, entertaining and educational (all adjectives, by the way).
Monday, December 1, 2014
Saturday, November 1, 2014
My New Best Friends
Dear Readers,
In this month's post, I am going to focus on grammar and then I am going to show you how grammar can solve murders. But first, an introduction to my two new best friends, Strunk and White, who wrote The Elements of Style, my English grammar bible. Here's a description from Wikipedia:
The Elements of Style is a prescriptive American English writing style guide in numerous editions. The original was composed by William Strunk, Jr., in 1918 and published by Harcourt in 1920, comprising eight "elementary rules of usage", ten "elementary principles of composition", "a few matters of form", a list of forty-nine "words and expressions commonly misused", and a list of fifty-seven "words often misspelled". It was much enlarged and revised by E.B. White for publication by Macmillan in 1959. That was the first edition of so-called Strunk & White, which Time magazine named in 2011 one of the 100 best and most influential books written in English since 1923.
I was surprised to find out how well known these two men were when I heard them referenced in the following TV shows.
Example: A clue in the category "Non-fiction" on the TV game show "Jeopardy!" gave this answer:
"Time [magazine] called this handbook by Strunk and White one of the 100 best and most influential books written in English since 1923."
Of course the correct question was, "What is The Elements of Style?" which you just read above.
Example: The TV show "Monday Mornings" was a show about the Monday morning ritual of M&M (morbidity and mortality) conferences at major hospitals to determine patient deaths. In the episode, "One Fine Day," Dr. Sung Park, a Korean surgeon at the fictitious Chelsea General Hospital, is called on to explain his actions during a surgery where his patient died. After his limited-English explanation, Chief of Surgery Dr. Hooten exclaims, "That was very well put, Dr. Park. Strunk and White could not have more eloquently made your case."
Example: In the episode "Fathers and Sons" on the TV show "Blue Bloods," NYPD detective Danny Reagan and his partner Kate Lansing are arguing over the pronunciation of the noun forte. In the squad room, they check the dictionary to see who is right. Their commanding officer comes out of his office and addresses them: "Hey, Strunk and White, you done?"
How important is grammar? Read on.
Example: The 2013 film "The Heat" has FBI agent Sarah Ashburn teaming with Boston detective Shannon Mullins to work on a drug case. Shannon enters the apartment of a suspected drug dealer and yells, "Hands up!" but is caught off guard by the roommate who holds a gun to her head and says, "I think it would be much more better if you put your hands up." Agent Ashburn comes up behind him, points her gun and says, "'Much more better?' Drop the gun and take a grammar course, you idiot." *My sentiments exactly.
Example: On the TV show "Motive," Detectives Flynn and Vega are questioning a suspect in a murder. Flynn asks him, "So you didn't say: 'If you don't make me happy, you and your family won't live to regret it'?" Her partner adds, "Which, aside from the lousy grammar, pretty much sounds like a death threat." *Yes, the double negative is not good grammar.
Example: John Travolta plays Army investigator Paul Brenner who works for the CID (Criminal Investigation Division) in the 1999 film "The General's Daughter." He's questioning Colonel Robert Moore who worked with, and may have been involved with, the daughter who was found murdered on the army base. During the interview, Moore asks Brenner, "Did you go to college?" Brenner asks, "What do you think?" The colonel answers, "I think not." Brenner asks, "Why? Did I make a mistake in grammar?" *I didn't hear any mistakes.
Now here's where knowing good grammar can actually solve murders.
Example: The TV show "Murder in the First" has SFPD Inspectors Terry English and Hildy Mulligan investigating several murders surrounding internet wunderkind Erich Blunt. An email written by one of Erich's loyal employees catches English's attention. He points out to Mulligan where the employee typed, "Not happy with this month's ad in Wired. You shouldn't've moved ahead on that campaign without my sign-off." Mulligan asks, "So?" Terry points out, "shouldn't've. Look at that - two apostrophes ... How common is that?" He then compares the email to what he believes is a bogus suicide note where the deceased wrote, "Then I broke her neck. Yes, I killed her. I shouldn't've but she deserved it." *The inspector believed that based on the unique spelling and contractions, the same person wrote both, therefore the employee is the culprit. He was right.
Example: Attorney Keegan Deane on the TV show "Rake" must defend an accused serial murderer, Jack Tarrant. The suspect claims that then-police officer and now Chief of Police, Bernie Michaels, wrote the confessions and made him copy and sign them. Having worked with Bernie and knowing how he writes his reports, Keegan is curious and rereads the confessions. He sees that Tarrant is telling the truth. He tells his client, "I can prove Bernie Michaels wrote your confessions for you. Look at this first one, circled in red. 'I must of blacked out ...' Must of instead of the grammatically correct must have or the contraction must've." He flips to another page and reads, "'I should of never gone there.' Should of, not should have. Bernie Michaels, he's chief of one of the biggest police departments in the world and his grammar is shameful." *I was glad to see that the attorney knew his grammar. The Police Chief was arrested.
So now we know how important grammar, good spelling and punctuation are. They could literally save your life.
In this month's post, I am going to focus on grammar and then I am going to show you how grammar can solve murders. But first, an introduction to my two new best friends, Strunk and White, who wrote The Elements of Style, my English grammar bible. Here's a description from Wikipedia:
The Elements of Style is a prescriptive American English writing style guide in numerous editions. The original was composed by William Strunk, Jr., in 1918 and published by Harcourt in 1920, comprising eight "elementary rules of usage", ten "elementary principles of composition", "a few matters of form", a list of forty-nine "words and expressions commonly misused", and a list of fifty-seven "words often misspelled". It was much enlarged and revised by E.B. White for publication by Macmillan in 1959. That was the first edition of so-called Strunk & White, which Time magazine named in 2011 one of the 100 best and most influential books written in English since 1923.
I was surprised to find out how well known these two men were when I heard them referenced in the following TV shows.
Example: A clue in the category "Non-fiction" on the TV game show "Jeopardy!" gave this answer:
"Time [magazine] called this handbook by Strunk and White one of the 100 best and most influential books written in English since 1923."
Of course the correct question was, "What is The Elements of Style?" which you just read above.
Example: The TV show "Monday Mornings" was a show about the Monday morning ritual of M&M (morbidity and mortality) conferences at major hospitals to determine patient deaths. In the episode, "One Fine Day," Dr. Sung Park, a Korean surgeon at the fictitious Chelsea General Hospital, is called on to explain his actions during a surgery where his patient died. After his limited-English explanation, Chief of Surgery Dr. Hooten exclaims, "That was very well put, Dr. Park. Strunk and White could not have more eloquently made your case."
Example: In the episode "Fathers and Sons" on the TV show "Blue Bloods," NYPD detective Danny Reagan and his partner Kate Lansing are arguing over the pronunciation of the noun forte. In the squad room, they check the dictionary to see who is right. Their commanding officer comes out of his office and addresses them: "Hey, Strunk and White, you done?"
How important is grammar? Read on.
Example: The 2013 film "The Heat" has FBI agent Sarah Ashburn teaming with Boston detective Shannon Mullins to work on a drug case. Shannon enters the apartment of a suspected drug dealer and yells, "Hands up!" but is caught off guard by the roommate who holds a gun to her head and says, "I think it would be much more better if you put your hands up." Agent Ashburn comes up behind him, points her gun and says, "'Much more better?' Drop the gun and take a grammar course, you idiot." *My sentiments exactly.
Example: On the TV show "Motive," Detectives Flynn and Vega are questioning a suspect in a murder. Flynn asks him, "So you didn't say: 'If you don't make me happy, you and your family won't live to regret it'?" Her partner adds, "Which, aside from the lousy grammar, pretty much sounds like a death threat." *Yes, the double negative is not good grammar.
Example: John Travolta plays Army investigator Paul Brenner who works for the CID (Criminal Investigation Division) in the 1999 film "The General's Daughter." He's questioning Colonel Robert Moore who worked with, and may have been involved with, the daughter who was found murdered on the army base. During the interview, Moore asks Brenner, "Did you go to college?" Brenner asks, "What do you think?" The colonel answers, "I think not." Brenner asks, "Why? Did I make a mistake in grammar?" *I didn't hear any mistakes.
Now here's where knowing good grammar can actually solve murders.
Example: The TV show "Murder in the First" has SFPD Inspectors Terry English and Hildy Mulligan investigating several murders surrounding internet wunderkind Erich Blunt. An email written by one of Erich's loyal employees catches English's attention. He points out to Mulligan where the employee typed, "Not happy with this month's ad in Wired. You shouldn't've moved ahead on that campaign without my sign-off." Mulligan asks, "So?" Terry points out, "shouldn't've. Look at that - two apostrophes ... How common is that?" He then compares the email to what he believes is a bogus suicide note where the deceased wrote, "Then I broke her neck. Yes, I killed her. I shouldn't've but she deserved it." *The inspector believed that based on the unique spelling and contractions, the same person wrote both, therefore the employee is the culprit. He was right.
Example: Attorney Keegan Deane on the TV show "Rake" must defend an accused serial murderer, Jack Tarrant. The suspect claims that then-police officer and now Chief of Police, Bernie Michaels, wrote the confessions and made him copy and sign them. Having worked with Bernie and knowing how he writes his reports, Keegan is curious and rereads the confessions. He sees that Tarrant is telling the truth. He tells his client, "I can prove Bernie Michaels wrote your confessions for you. Look at this first one, circled in red. 'I must of blacked out ...' Must of instead of the grammatically correct must have or the contraction must've." He flips to another page and reads, "'I should of never gone there.' Should of, not should have. Bernie Michaels, he's chief of one of the biggest police departments in the world and his grammar is shameful." *I was glad to see that the attorney knew his grammar. The Police Chief was arrested.
So now we know how important grammar, good spelling and punctuation are. They could literally save your life.
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
No Thank You
Dear Readers,
This posting should actually be entitled No "You're Welcome" because that is what I am going to write about this month. I fear that this two-word social convention is going by the wayside. In its place, I have seen or heard a variety of new social conventions entering my beloved English language. I will give you the examples to prove it.
Example: On the TV show "Murder in the First," San Francisco inspectors Mulligan and English (no pun intended) get valuable cell phone information from their communications technician. Mulligan says, "Thank you, Keefer." Keefer responds, "No sweat."
Example: Juan Pablo, notorious "Bachelor," is visited by Sharleen. She wants to tell him that she is not at a place in their relationship where she thinks she ought to be and feels she should leave the show. As they hug good-bye, she says, "Thank you." He says, "Okay."
Example: I heard this on NPR at the conclusion of an interview: "Thank you for doing this."
The interviewee answers, "My pleasure."
Example: Also heard at the end of an NPR interview: "Thanks so much for being with us."
"Good to be here."
Example: This one that I heard on KCRW really startled me. Kevin from Spectrum was interviewed. When the interviewer concluded, he said, "Kevin, thank you for being here." Kevin said, "Hello..."
The most-often heard retort, is "No problem." Continue reading for examples.
Example: On an episode of "The Big Bang Theory," Leonard, Sheldon, Howard and Raj have car trouble and call their neighbor Penny to come get them. As she drives them home, Sheldon says, "Thank you, Penny." She answers, "No problem."
Example: In Donna Tartt's book The Goldfinch, Theo Decker's Ukranian-born friend Boris has done him a favor. Theo does not acknowledge the fact, so Boris says, facetiously, "'Thank you, Boris.'
'Oh, no problem.'"
Example: Attorney Alicia Florrick, on TV's "The Good Wife," is at the home of a client when a suicide takes place. The police detective says to her, "Thank you for answering our questions, Mrs. Florrick." She responds, "No problem."
Example: Another attorney at Alicia's law firm has just met with a new lawyer who has merged his company with theirs. At the conclusion of their business lunch, he says to her, "Thank you for meeting with me." She answers, "No problem."
Example: In the film "Once," released in 2006, a Dublin street musician befriends a young Czech woman who shares his love of music. After spending the day together, she says, "Thank you . . . for the food and songs." He replies, "No problem."
Example: This one came from a March 2003 episode of "The King of Queens." Doug and Carrie Heffernan are trying to be more honest in their marriage. When Doug divulges something, Carrie says, "Well, thank you for telling me." Doug answers, "Thank you for not getting upset." She responds, "No problem."
This is my favorite example from The Liar, the Bitch and the Wardrobe by Allie Kingsley.
Wannabe fashion photographer Lucy Butler meets famous-for-being-famous Presley Dalton. When Presley thanks her for her assistance during a photo shoot, Lucy responds, "You're welcome, thank you," and then asks herself, "Why had I thanked Presley Dalton for thanking me? What was that?"
*That is my question to the following examples.
Example: On TV's "Blue Bloods," NYPD Commissioner Frank Reagan asks to see a young officer to inform him that he won't be receiving a promotion. When the meeting concludes, the Commissioner says, "Thanks for coming by, Officer." The young man replies, "Thank you, sir." *Why is the officer thanking the Commissioner for NOT promoting him?
Example: KCRW/NPR has an inordinate amount of interviewees who, after being thanked for their interview, respond with "Thank you" or "Thank you for having me" or "Thank you for inviting me" or "Thank you very much" or "Many thanks" or "Thank you, Scott." *I suppose they are thankful for being on the air, but very few people answer with "You're welcome." I often wonder if they are coached on the phone beforehand to end by thanking the interviewer. It sure seems like it.
Does anyone ever say "You're welcome" any more? YES. Here are the examples to prove it.
Example: The titular character in the film "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason," is a journalist on assignment in Thailand. When she is arrested and sent to jail for unknowingly smuggling drugs out of the country, her boyfriend, who is an attorney, shows up to get her out. She says, "Thank you." He answers, "You're welcome." *Oh those British, so well-mannered.
Example: On a different episode of "The Big Bang Theory," Sheldon, Howard and Raj capture a cricket that they found in Sheldon's apartment. Raj admits he's freaked out by insects and Sheldon makes a joke. He then says, "I made it to lessen your discomfort." When Raj pauses and says nothing, Sheldon infers a tacit "Thank you" and says, "You're welcome."
Example: As I was exiting the gym one morning, a young woman held the door open for me. I said, "Thank you." She said, "You're welcome."
Example: A different day at the YMCA, the Hispanic cleaning lady held the door open for me. I said to her, "Gracias" and she responded with, "You're welcome." *Oh those bi-lingual Angelinos.
Example: On the TV show "Mom," Christy's friend Regina, whom she befriended in AA, is entering prison for her crime of embezzlement. She says her good-byes and to Christy she states, "You gave me a second chance and I will never stop thanking you for it." They hug and Christy says, "You're welcome." *Thank you, TV writers.
Example: In the episode "Ram" on TV's "Person of Interest," Mr. Finch recalls speaking to Mr. Reese's predecessor who liked to take the pretty women he saved to bed. He had said to the man, "The next time an attractive woman wants to thank you for saving her life, a simple 'You're welcome' should suffice." *Succinctly put, Mr. Finch. I thank you!
And to all my faithful readers, upon concluding this month's post, I say, "Thank you for reading my blog." How you respond to that, I would very much like to know.
This posting should actually be entitled No "You're Welcome" because that is what I am going to write about this month. I fear that this two-word social convention is going by the wayside. In its place, I have seen or heard a variety of new social conventions entering my beloved English language. I will give you the examples to prove it.
Example: On the TV show "Murder in the First," San Francisco inspectors Mulligan and English (no pun intended) get valuable cell phone information from their communications technician. Mulligan says, "Thank you, Keefer." Keefer responds, "No sweat."
Example: Juan Pablo, notorious "Bachelor," is visited by Sharleen. She wants to tell him that she is not at a place in their relationship where she thinks she ought to be and feels she should leave the show. As they hug good-bye, she says, "Thank you." He says, "Okay."
Example: I heard this on NPR at the conclusion of an interview: "Thank you for doing this."
The interviewee answers, "My pleasure."
Example: Also heard at the end of an NPR interview: "Thanks so much for being with us."
"Good to be here."
Example: This one that I heard on KCRW really startled me. Kevin from Spectrum was interviewed. When the interviewer concluded, he said, "Kevin, thank you for being here." Kevin said, "Hello..."
The most-often heard retort, is "No problem." Continue reading for examples.
Example: On an episode of "The Big Bang Theory," Leonard, Sheldon, Howard and Raj have car trouble and call their neighbor Penny to come get them. As she drives them home, Sheldon says, "Thank you, Penny." She answers, "No problem."
Example: In Donna Tartt's book The Goldfinch, Theo Decker's Ukranian-born friend Boris has done him a favor. Theo does not acknowledge the fact, so Boris says, facetiously, "'Thank you, Boris.'
'Oh, no problem.'"
Example: Attorney Alicia Florrick, on TV's "The Good Wife," is at the home of a client when a suicide takes place. The police detective says to her, "Thank you for answering our questions, Mrs. Florrick." She responds, "No problem."
Example: Another attorney at Alicia's law firm has just met with a new lawyer who has merged his company with theirs. At the conclusion of their business lunch, he says to her, "Thank you for meeting with me." She answers, "No problem."
Example: In the film "Once," released in 2006, a Dublin street musician befriends a young Czech woman who shares his love of music. After spending the day together, she says, "Thank you . . . for the food and songs." He replies, "No problem."
Example: This one came from a March 2003 episode of "The King of Queens." Doug and Carrie Heffernan are trying to be more honest in their marriage. When Doug divulges something, Carrie says, "Well, thank you for telling me." Doug answers, "Thank you for not getting upset." She responds, "No problem."
This is my favorite example from The Liar, the Bitch and the Wardrobe by Allie Kingsley.
Wannabe fashion photographer Lucy Butler meets famous-for-being-famous Presley Dalton. When Presley thanks her for her assistance during a photo shoot, Lucy responds, "You're welcome, thank you," and then asks herself, "Why had I thanked Presley Dalton for thanking me? What was that?"
*That is my question to the following examples.
Example: On TV's "Blue Bloods," NYPD Commissioner Frank Reagan asks to see a young officer to inform him that he won't be receiving a promotion. When the meeting concludes, the Commissioner says, "Thanks for coming by, Officer." The young man replies, "Thank you, sir." *Why is the officer thanking the Commissioner for NOT promoting him?
Example: KCRW/NPR has an inordinate amount of interviewees who, after being thanked for their interview, respond with "Thank you" or "Thank you for having me" or "Thank you for inviting me" or "Thank you very much" or "Many thanks" or "Thank you, Scott." *I suppose they are thankful for being on the air, but very few people answer with "You're welcome." I often wonder if they are coached on the phone beforehand to end by thanking the interviewer. It sure seems like it.
Does anyone ever say "You're welcome" any more? YES. Here are the examples to prove it.
Example: The titular character in the film "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason," is a journalist on assignment in Thailand. When she is arrested and sent to jail for unknowingly smuggling drugs out of the country, her boyfriend, who is an attorney, shows up to get her out. She says, "Thank you." He answers, "You're welcome." *Oh those British, so well-mannered.
Example: On a different episode of "The Big Bang Theory," Sheldon, Howard and Raj capture a cricket that they found in Sheldon's apartment. Raj admits he's freaked out by insects and Sheldon makes a joke. He then says, "I made it to lessen your discomfort." When Raj pauses and says nothing, Sheldon infers a tacit "Thank you" and says, "You're welcome."
Example: As I was exiting the gym one morning, a young woman held the door open for me. I said, "Thank you." She said, "You're welcome."
Example: A different day at the YMCA, the Hispanic cleaning lady held the door open for me. I said to her, "Gracias" and she responded with, "You're welcome." *Oh those bi-lingual Angelinos.
Example: On the TV show "Mom," Christy's friend Regina, whom she befriended in AA, is entering prison for her crime of embezzlement. She says her good-byes and to Christy she states, "You gave me a second chance and I will never stop thanking you for it." They hug and Christy says, "You're welcome." *Thank you, TV writers.
Example: In the episode "Ram" on TV's "Person of Interest," Mr. Finch recalls speaking to Mr. Reese's predecessor who liked to take the pretty women he saved to bed. He had said to the man, "The next time an attractive woman wants to thank you for saving her life, a simple 'You're welcome' should suffice." *Succinctly put, Mr. Finch. I thank you!
And to all my faithful readers, upon concluding this month's post, I say, "Thank you for reading my blog." How you respond to that, I would very much like to know.
Monday, September 1, 2014
The All-Important Hyphen
Dear Readers,
As you know, I do a lot of reading. I can't tell you how many times I have seen a word spelled without a hyphen when it is needed. How do we know when it's needed? According to Gavin and Sabin's Reference Manual for Stenographers and Typists, Fourth Edition, these are the rules:
A. When expressing time in hours and minutes without a.m., p.m., or o'clock. . .
a hyphen is used between hours and minutes (seven-thirty) but not if the minutes
must be hyphenated (seven thirty-five).
B. Also, hyphenate spelled-out numbers between 21 and 99 whether they stand alone
(twenty-five) or as part of a number over 100 (three hundred ninety-seven).
So I thought I would offer my examples in both cases, starting with A.
Example: In John Grisham's book The Litigators, he writes that attorney David Zinc has run out on his firm, choosing to spend the day in a local bar. His secretary calls him and asks, "David, where are you? It's already eight thirty." *No hyphen for the time.
Example: The Liar, the Bitch and the Wardrobe by Allie Kingsley has protagonist Lucy Butler saying, "I picked up my cell phone and, glancing at the time, was surprised to see it was
eight thirty." *Wow, same time, same lack of hyphen. Are they in cahoots?
Example: Catherine Clark writes in her novel Maine Squeeze, "When we pulled up in front of the house it was getting close to seven thirty and dusk was falling."
Example: While reading The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, I was surprised to see that twice she wrote the time correctly with a hyphen and once she didn't. "Checked Gyuri's watch:
six-twenty ..." Then, "At about three thirty in the afternoon ..." And finally, "Four-fifteen p.m."
*I don't understand the deviation.
On the plus side, many authors do spell the time correctly. Keep reading.
Example: In The Wedding Girl by Madeleine Wickham, titular character Milly Havill is about to marry Simon Pinnacle. She, her parents and Simon have planned to dine with Simon's father, a wealthy businessman. "It was nine-thirty before Harry Pinnacle strode into the room."
Later, Milly has plans to meet with the wedding photographer. "At ten-thirty, Alexander appeared at the door of the drawing room." *A double bravo for Ms. Wickham.
Example: Sophie Kinsella wrote in her novel I've Got Your Number, "By the time I'm leaving for work at eight-forty ..." *An insider note: Sophie Kinsella and Madeleine Wickham are one and the same person. No wonder they both write the time out correctly.
Example: Once Upon a Secret is Mimi Alford's true story of her affair with President Kennedy.
She writes that Dave Powers, "first friend" of the president, called "asking if I would like to meet everybody after work at five-thirty ..."
Example: I love this paragraph in Janet Evanovich's book Naughty Neighbor where she describes upstairs neighbor Pete saying to downstairs neighbor Louisa, "Lady, I could set my clock by you. At five-thirty your alarm goes off ... At six-thirty there's more door slamming ... You leave precisely at seven-thirty every weekday morning." And later on she writes, "She glumly looked at the clock on the wall. Three-fifteen." *A quadruple bravo for Ms. Evanovich.
Example: Danielle Steele writes in her novel The Sins of the Mother, "It was three-thirty in the morning, and the party was still going strong when they left the nightclub."
Final example for time: In The Last Juror by John Grisham, he writes, "Nobody sleeps till nine-thirty in Clanton." *This is noteworthy because he did not use a hyphen in his novel I mentioned above. Perhaps he used a different editor.
Now on to topic B.
Example: Watching the TV show "The Killing," we see the continuing investigation of the murder of Rosie Larsen. Each episode starts with the number of the days the investigation has been going on. DAY TWENTY ONE *No hyphen to write out a number??
Example: I spotted this storefront sign in Sherman Oaks: Twenty four *They sell watches. You'd think they would know how to spell out numbers.
Example: On an episode of "CSI: NY," crime scene investigator Adam is reading the text message of a suspect in a high school student's murder. The message is an algebra word problem. "Fred goes to the video store on Broadway. He buys three videos for twenty five dollars." *I guess since it's a math problem and not an English one, spelling isn't important.
I did find several examples where the hyphen was used correctly with numbers. Here they are:
Example: Lois Wyse wrote Women Make the Best Friends. In the chapter describing Polly who hates celebrating her birthday, she wrote, "She managed to avoid a party for her sixtieth and another for her sixty-fifth ... But seventy-five was a diamond jubilee." *Good work using the hyphen for both an ordinal and a cardinal number!
Example: Catherine Clark writes in her novel Maine Squeeze, "My uncle once went on a ten-minute tirade about how the side salad was too small to cost a dollar ninety-nine."
Example: In Under the Dome by Stephen King, he writes, "And Dougie Twitchell happened to be her baby brother, who even at the age of thirty-nine must be protected from the evil facts of life."
And later on, "The missile's speed dropped from thirty-five hundred miles an hour to eighteen hundred and fifty as it descended." *Thank you, Mr. King.
I'm sure that most people know how to spell a number with a hyphen so it is shocking to me to read otherwise. However, I can still enjoy the book I am reading and I hope you enjoy reading my blog.
A special "Thank You" to D.C. for her help.
As you know, I do a lot of reading. I can't tell you how many times I have seen a word spelled without a hyphen when it is needed. How do we know when it's needed? According to Gavin and Sabin's Reference Manual for Stenographers and Typists, Fourth Edition, these are the rules:
A. When expressing time in hours and minutes without a.m., p.m., or o'clock. . .
a hyphen is used between hours and minutes (seven-thirty) but not if the minutes
must be hyphenated (seven thirty-five).
B. Also, hyphenate spelled-out numbers between 21 and 99 whether they stand alone
(twenty-five) or as part of a number over 100 (three hundred ninety-seven).
So I thought I would offer my examples in both cases, starting with A.
Example: In John Grisham's book The Litigators, he writes that attorney David Zinc has run out on his firm, choosing to spend the day in a local bar. His secretary calls him and asks, "David, where are you? It's already eight thirty." *No hyphen for the time.
Example: The Liar, the Bitch and the Wardrobe by Allie Kingsley has protagonist Lucy Butler saying, "I picked up my cell phone and, glancing at the time, was surprised to see it was
eight thirty." *Wow, same time, same lack of hyphen. Are they in cahoots?
Example: Catherine Clark writes in her novel Maine Squeeze, "When we pulled up in front of the house it was getting close to seven thirty and dusk was falling."
Example: While reading The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, I was surprised to see that twice she wrote the time correctly with a hyphen and once she didn't. "Checked Gyuri's watch:
six-twenty ..." Then, "At about three thirty in the afternoon ..." And finally, "Four-fifteen p.m."
*I don't understand the deviation.
On the plus side, many authors do spell the time correctly. Keep reading.
Example: In The Wedding Girl by Madeleine Wickham, titular character Milly Havill is about to marry Simon Pinnacle. She, her parents and Simon have planned to dine with Simon's father, a wealthy businessman. "It was nine-thirty before Harry Pinnacle strode into the room."
Later, Milly has plans to meet with the wedding photographer. "At ten-thirty, Alexander appeared at the door of the drawing room." *A double bravo for Ms. Wickham.
Example: Sophie Kinsella wrote in her novel I've Got Your Number, "By the time I'm leaving for work at eight-forty ..." *An insider note: Sophie Kinsella and Madeleine Wickham are one and the same person. No wonder they both write the time out correctly.
Example: Once Upon a Secret is Mimi Alford's true story of her affair with President Kennedy.
She writes that Dave Powers, "first friend" of the president, called "asking if I would like to meet everybody after work at five-thirty ..."
Example: I love this paragraph in Janet Evanovich's book Naughty Neighbor where she describes upstairs neighbor Pete saying to downstairs neighbor Louisa, "Lady, I could set my clock by you. At five-thirty your alarm goes off ... At six-thirty there's more door slamming ... You leave precisely at seven-thirty every weekday morning." And later on she writes, "She glumly looked at the clock on the wall. Three-fifteen." *A quadruple bravo for Ms. Evanovich.
Example: Danielle Steele writes in her novel The Sins of the Mother, "It was three-thirty in the morning, and the party was still going strong when they left the nightclub."
Final example for time: In The Last Juror by John Grisham, he writes, "Nobody sleeps till nine-thirty in Clanton." *This is noteworthy because he did not use a hyphen in his novel I mentioned above. Perhaps he used a different editor.
Now on to topic B.
Example: Watching the TV show "The Killing," we see the continuing investigation of the murder of Rosie Larsen. Each episode starts with the number of the days the investigation has been going on. DAY TWENTY ONE *No hyphen to write out a number??
Example: I spotted this storefront sign in Sherman Oaks: Twenty four *They sell watches. You'd think they would know how to spell out numbers.
Example: On an episode of "CSI: NY," crime scene investigator Adam is reading the text message of a suspect in a high school student's murder. The message is an algebra word problem. "Fred goes to the video store on Broadway. He buys three videos for twenty five dollars." *I guess since it's a math problem and not an English one, spelling isn't important.
I did find several examples where the hyphen was used correctly with numbers. Here they are:
Example: Lois Wyse wrote Women Make the Best Friends. In the chapter describing Polly who hates celebrating her birthday, she wrote, "She managed to avoid a party for her sixtieth and another for her sixty-fifth ... But seventy-five was a diamond jubilee." *Good work using the hyphen for both an ordinal and a cardinal number!
Example: Catherine Clark writes in her novel Maine Squeeze, "My uncle once went on a ten-minute tirade about how the side salad was too small to cost a dollar ninety-nine."
Example: In Under the Dome by Stephen King, he writes, "And Dougie Twitchell happened to be her baby brother, who even at the age of thirty-nine must be protected from the evil facts of life."
And later on, "The missile's speed dropped from thirty-five hundred miles an hour to eighteen hundred and fifty as it descended." *Thank you, Mr. King.
I'm sure that most people know how to spell a number with a hyphen so it is shocking to me to read otherwise. However, I can still enjoy the book I am reading and I hope you enjoy reading my blog.
A special "Thank You" to D.C. for her help.
Friday, August 1, 2014
Is Everything All Right?
Dear Readers,
According to Strunk and White's The Elements of Style, the idiomatic expression "all right" is used in familiar speech as a detached phrase. It means "Agreed?" or "Go ahead," or "O.K."
It is properly written as two words. Lately I have heard this expression broken down to
"a' 'ight?" Have you?
Example: On the TV show "Army Wives," psychologist Dr. Roland Burton's adopted son's birth father needs to leave the area and return to Chicago. This man says to his son, "When I get back, we'll do things right. A' 'ight?"
Example: Dr. Burton himself says, "He'll be a' 'ight."
Example: New York Hawks football player T.K. on the show "Necessary Roughness" said,
"You'll be a' 'ight."
Example: In the episode "Old Wounds" of the TV show "Blue Bloods," Police Commissioner Frank Reagan is talking with Jordan, the young black man who won the Commissioner for a Day contest. Jordan is upset because his mother's murder case has never been closed. He wonders aloud how fast the case would be closed if it were the Commissioner's wife. Reagan tells him, "It got closed pretty quick. She died of cancer." Jordan responds, "A' 'ight. Sorry."
Example: Young singer/songwriter Avery Barkley on TV's "Nashville" meets with record producer Dominic Wells who wants to promote him. Wells suggests that Avery come to Atlanta to work together and Avery agrees. Wells says, "A' 'ight, that's my man."
Example: Every time that Steve Harvey's TV talk show is aired, one will undoubtedly hear him say, "A' 'ight." at least once.
My first thought was that this must be a black colloquial phrase until I noticed many different types of characters using it.
Example: In the 2000 film "Gone in 60 Seconds," Nicholas Cage plays car thief Memphis Raines.
Memphis and his brother Kip have ducked into an eatery where a police car is parked outside. Memphis calls out, "Look! Cop car. Un hunh. Long as I'm in here, you're just gonna sit out there, aren't ya? A' 'ight?"
Example: Vince Masuka, one of Miami Dade's forensics lab geeks on TV's "Dexter," says to one of the detectives, "If I'm getting shit-handed and you know something about it, just give me
a heads up, a' 'ight?"
Example: On "Law and Order: SVU," New York detectives Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson are eating Chinese food at the precinct one night while they do some research. As Elliot leaves, he tells her, "I'm taking the egg roll." She responds, "A' 'ight."
For the next three examples, it's Matthew McConaughey who says this expression as three different characters in three different movies. It made me wonder if it's just a Matthew McConaughey colloquialism or did all three writers include this for his characters.
Example: In "The Lincoln Lawyer," released in 2011, Matthew plays attorney Michael Haller.
As he is being chauffeured in his Lincoln Town car, they are surrounded by a gang of bikers. His chauffeur asks him what to do. Haller says, "A' 'ight, pull over up here."
Example: "Dallas Buyers Club" is a true story that takes place circa 1985. Matthew's character Ron Woodruff says several times throughout the movie, "A' 'ight."
Example: Matthew plays Willis Newton who, with his brothers, robs banks in the early 1920s in the film "The Newton Boys" (released 1998). They are about to rob two banks at once when Willis gives these orders: "Jess, you go with Glass, Dock, you come on with me, and Joe, you're soldiering the whole damn street. A' 'ight?" *What I found interesting is that after he asks them, "What do you say?" Dock says, "O.K." and Jess says, "All right." I think it really is a Matthew McConaughey thing.
In conclusion, I must ask, Is it a' 'ight to use this expression when you mean to say "all right?"
I think I will continue to use the latter term, if it's all right with you.
According to Strunk and White's The Elements of Style, the idiomatic expression "all right" is used in familiar speech as a detached phrase. It means "Agreed?" or "Go ahead," or "O.K."
It is properly written as two words. Lately I have heard this expression broken down to
"a' 'ight?" Have you?
Example: On the TV show "Army Wives," psychologist Dr. Roland Burton's adopted son's birth father needs to leave the area and return to Chicago. This man says to his son, "When I get back, we'll do things right. A' 'ight?"
Example: Dr. Burton himself says, "He'll be a' 'ight."
Example: New York Hawks football player T.K. on the show "Necessary Roughness" said,
"You'll be a' 'ight."
Example: In the episode "Old Wounds" of the TV show "Blue Bloods," Police Commissioner Frank Reagan is talking with Jordan, the young black man who won the Commissioner for a Day contest. Jordan is upset because his mother's murder case has never been closed. He wonders aloud how fast the case would be closed if it were the Commissioner's wife. Reagan tells him, "It got closed pretty quick. She died of cancer." Jordan responds, "A' 'ight. Sorry."
Example: Young singer/songwriter Avery Barkley on TV's "Nashville" meets with record producer Dominic Wells who wants to promote him. Wells suggests that Avery come to Atlanta to work together and Avery agrees. Wells says, "A' 'ight, that's my man."
Example: Every time that Steve Harvey's TV talk show is aired, one will undoubtedly hear him say, "A' 'ight." at least once.
My first thought was that this must be a black colloquial phrase until I noticed many different types of characters using it.
Example: In the 2000 film "Gone in 60 Seconds," Nicholas Cage plays car thief Memphis Raines.
Memphis and his brother Kip have ducked into an eatery where a police car is parked outside. Memphis calls out, "Look! Cop car. Un hunh. Long as I'm in here, you're just gonna sit out there, aren't ya? A' 'ight?"
Example: Vince Masuka, one of Miami Dade's forensics lab geeks on TV's "Dexter," says to one of the detectives, "If I'm getting shit-handed and you know something about it, just give me
a heads up, a' 'ight?"
Example: On "Law and Order: SVU," New York detectives Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson are eating Chinese food at the precinct one night while they do some research. As Elliot leaves, he tells her, "I'm taking the egg roll." She responds, "A' 'ight."
For the next three examples, it's Matthew McConaughey who says this expression as three different characters in three different movies. It made me wonder if it's just a Matthew McConaughey colloquialism or did all three writers include this for his characters.
Example: In "The Lincoln Lawyer," released in 2011, Matthew plays attorney Michael Haller.
As he is being chauffeured in his Lincoln Town car, they are surrounded by a gang of bikers. His chauffeur asks him what to do. Haller says, "A' 'ight, pull over up here."
Example: "Dallas Buyers Club" is a true story that takes place circa 1985. Matthew's character Ron Woodruff says several times throughout the movie, "A' 'ight."
Example: Matthew plays Willis Newton who, with his brothers, robs banks in the early 1920s in the film "The Newton Boys" (released 1998). They are about to rob two banks at once when Willis gives these orders: "Jess, you go with Glass, Dock, you come on with me, and Joe, you're soldiering the whole damn street. A' 'ight?" *What I found interesting is that after he asks them, "What do you say?" Dock says, "O.K." and Jess says, "All right." I think it really is a Matthew McConaughey thing.
In conclusion, I must ask, Is it a' 'ight to use this expression when you mean to say "all right?"
I think I will continue to use the latter term, if it's all right with you.
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
His Way
Dear Readers,
Back in December 2013, I broke from tradition and wrote my blog about one book only. This month I will do the same.
Not long ago I read Paul Anka's autobiography entitled My Way. I found his story interesting but more so, I found lots of errors. I shall categorize these mistakes into three headings: Poor Editing, Wrong Word, and Misspelling.
Mr. Anka co-wrote his book with the help of David Dalton. [Wikipedia reference: David Dalton is a New York Times author and a founding editor of Rolling Stone magazine. He has written several books, including co-writing Paul Anka's autobiography My Way.] I would have expected better editing with his help but I was wrong. Read on . . .
Poor Editing
Example: In comparing ambitious teens, he writes, They did a survey of kids in England about what they expected to do in life. They were asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up? Many just said, "I want to be famous." *Did you notice? There was no close quote mark after his citation.
Example: He writes about his experiences living and working in Las Vegas. Here, he says, "There were the spectacular show girl acts called production shows at the Stardust, the Lido, and the Copa Room. The showgirls would often open the show at the Copa sands." *No capital is used for the name of the casino. Shameful mistake.
Example: "So no sooner had the first casino began rolling the bones that another great American type showed up..." *Two errors here: the past participle should be "begun" and "that" should be "than."
Example: Anka wrote the song "My Way" specifically for Frank Sinatra. The day of recording, he writes, "Frank and and his daughter, Nancy, went into the studio on December 30." *This is obvious.
Example: Paul becomes part owner of his own club. Believing that some of their employees are stealing from them, "Marty puts down a twenty-dollar bill, the bartender takes it, gives us the change but doesn't ring it up the tab on the cash register." *Here, he has used a pronoun [it] but then mentions the noun as well. No one noticed this?
Example: Prince Faisal of Saudi Arabia is a frequent visitor to Anka's club Jubilation. He writes, "There was an empty table next to his with couple of seats ..." *He left out the "a."
Example: Referring to mobster Johnny Roselli, Paul writes, "Because of his looks he moved easily in the Hollywood scene in California, and because of his links with the mob they eventually moved him out to Vegas." *Personally, I believe that commas should be used here.
Example: On a visit to Lake Como with Steve Wynn, he writes, "When we got up there we started tooling around the lake on a friend of ours boat." *This is an awkward sentence to begin with but I think it should be "a friend of ours' boat." Without the boat, it sounds like they were riding on top of the friend.
All of the above-mentioned mistakes should have been caught by a good editor.
Wrong Word
Example: "I shared the triumphs from what was a rough journey for my buddy Steve and Skip right down to the ground-breaking in November 1998 ..." *I count two buddies, don't you?
Example: Anka tries to show what a good deed he did for a group of older ladies living in his Las Vegas neighborhood. He mentions that the homes "were owned by elderly widowers" and that some unscrupulous builders "start coming at us to buy our properties and they go after the women."
*Aren't widowers men and widows women?
Example: He describes what life was like working in Vegas: "There's a gorgeous woman perching at the bar in a low-cut dress sipping a martini." *I assume he meant to say that she was "perched" or maybe "parched." In Las Vegas, that would make sense.
Example: In describing a rogue agent working in Vegas who screws a hooker and then refuses to pay her, he says that she calls security and they go after the guy. "They stripped him down bare nude..."
*This is simply redundant, repetitive and he is repeating himself.
Example: This same rogue agent asked his boss for money to buy tires for his car. The boss said no so the agent "went to the gas station where he knew the owner very well and got four new sets of tires for his car..." *My guess is that he only needed one new set of four tires.
Misspelling
Example: In 2005, Anka's friend Steve Wynn is thinking of what to call his hotel-casino. "He originally wanted to call it 'La Reve,' which means 'the dream' in French." *He is correct about the translation, but he used the wrong article. It is actually Le Reve.
Example: He talks about the melody of a French song that became the tune for his song "My Way." He says, "It had been written in February of that year [1967] by Gilles Thibautt and Jacque Revaux."
*Thibault is the correct way to spell this man's last name and Jacques is the correct way to spell the other man's first name. It appears that someone has a problem with French spelling.
Example: Paul talks about Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana who is very powerful in Las Vegas circa 1960. "Sam was seen all over town with one of the MaGuire sisters, Phyllis ..." *The sisters' last name is McGuire. Unlike Paul and his editors, I did the research for all three of these examples.
My friend who had read the book and lent it to me had this comment: It's like he spoke into a tape recorder letting his thoughts flow, and someone [David Dalton?] just wrote down what he said
without checking for spelling, punctuation or continuity. I agree.
And I know that if I were having a book published, I would want to make sure it was edited properly.
Back in December 2013, I broke from tradition and wrote my blog about one book only. This month I will do the same.
Not long ago I read Paul Anka's autobiography entitled My Way. I found his story interesting but more so, I found lots of errors. I shall categorize these mistakes into three headings: Poor Editing, Wrong Word, and Misspelling.
Mr. Anka co-wrote his book with the help of David Dalton. [Wikipedia reference: David Dalton is a New York Times author and a founding editor of Rolling Stone magazine. He has written several books, including co-writing Paul Anka's autobiography My Way.] I would have expected better editing with his help but I was wrong. Read on . . .
Poor Editing
Example: In comparing ambitious teens, he writes, They did a survey of kids in England about what they expected to do in life. They were asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up? Many just said, "I want to be famous." *Did you notice? There was no close quote mark after his citation.
Example: He writes about his experiences living and working in Las Vegas. Here, he says, "There were the spectacular show girl acts called production shows at the Stardust, the Lido, and the Copa Room. The showgirls would often open the show at the Copa sands." *No capital is used for the name of the casino. Shameful mistake.
Example: "So no sooner had the first casino began rolling the bones that another great American type showed up..." *Two errors here: the past participle should be "begun" and "that" should be "than."
Example: Anka wrote the song "My Way" specifically for Frank Sinatra. The day of recording, he writes, "Frank and and his daughter, Nancy, went into the studio on December 30." *This is obvious.
Example: Paul becomes part owner of his own club. Believing that some of their employees are stealing from them, "Marty puts down a twenty-dollar bill, the bartender takes it, gives us the change but doesn't ring it up the tab on the cash register." *Here, he has used a pronoun [it] but then mentions the noun as well. No one noticed this?
Example: Prince Faisal of Saudi Arabia is a frequent visitor to Anka's club Jubilation. He writes, "There was an empty table next to his with couple of seats ..." *He left out the "a."
Example: Referring to mobster Johnny Roselli, Paul writes, "Because of his looks he moved easily in the Hollywood scene in California, and because of his links with the mob they eventually moved him out to Vegas." *Personally, I believe that commas should be used here.
Example: On a visit to Lake Como with Steve Wynn, he writes, "When we got up there we started tooling around the lake on a friend of ours boat." *This is an awkward sentence to begin with but I think it should be "a friend of ours' boat." Without the boat, it sounds like they were riding on top of the friend.
All of the above-mentioned mistakes should have been caught by a good editor.
Wrong Word
Example: "I shared the triumphs from what was a rough journey for my buddy Steve and Skip right down to the ground-breaking in November 1998 ..." *I count two buddies, don't you?
Example: Anka tries to show what a good deed he did for a group of older ladies living in his Las Vegas neighborhood. He mentions that the homes "were owned by elderly widowers" and that some unscrupulous builders "start coming at us to buy our properties and they go after the women."
*Aren't widowers men and widows women?
Example: He describes what life was like working in Vegas: "There's a gorgeous woman perching at the bar in a low-cut dress sipping a martini." *I assume he meant to say that she was "perched" or maybe "parched." In Las Vegas, that would make sense.
Example: In describing a rogue agent working in Vegas who screws a hooker and then refuses to pay her, he says that she calls security and they go after the guy. "They stripped him down bare nude..."
*This is simply redundant, repetitive and he is repeating himself.
Example: This same rogue agent asked his boss for money to buy tires for his car. The boss said no so the agent "went to the gas station where he knew the owner very well and got four new sets of tires for his car..." *My guess is that he only needed one new set of four tires.
Misspelling
Example: In 2005, Anka's friend Steve Wynn is thinking of what to call his hotel-casino. "He originally wanted to call it 'La Reve,' which means 'the dream' in French." *He is correct about the translation, but he used the wrong article. It is actually Le Reve.
Example: He talks about the melody of a French song that became the tune for his song "My Way." He says, "It had been written in February of that year [1967] by Gilles Thibautt and Jacque Revaux."
*Thibault is the correct way to spell this man's last name and Jacques is the correct way to spell the other man's first name. It appears that someone has a problem with French spelling.
Example: Paul talks about Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana who is very powerful in Las Vegas circa 1960. "Sam was seen all over town with one of the MaGuire sisters, Phyllis ..." *The sisters' last name is McGuire. Unlike Paul and his editors, I did the research for all three of these examples.
My friend who had read the book and lent it to me had this comment: It's like he spoke into a tape recorder letting his thoughts flow, and someone [David Dalton?] just wrote down what he said
without checking for spelling, punctuation or continuity. I agree.
And I know that if I were having a book published, I would want to make sure it was edited properly.
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Bad Vocabulary - Part Deux
Dear Readers,
It was so much fun writing about bad vocabulary in the May 2013 post that I thought I'd write again this month. I hope you will be as amazed as I am at which words people use.
I have divided these words into two categories: vocabulary and grammatical. Let's begin with VOCABULARY. Read on . . .
Example: In the episode "No Son on the Horizon" of the TV show "Scandal," Chief of Staff Cyrus Beene asks the head of a clandestine organization to do a nefarious act. He cautions, "I expect you to wisen up." *The Chief of Staff should know to say, "wise up" instead.
Example: On the reality show "Property Virgins," real estate expert Egypt Sherrod is showing a newly constructed house to prospective buyer Tania. As they are viewing the model home, Egypt tells Tania, "You can decide how many upgrades you want or how many you don't want. Budgetarily, that may make the difference." *She may be an expert in home purchasing, but she needs a little help in the vocabulary department.
Example: A few men who are pursuing bachelorette Desiree on season 9 of "The Bachelorette" call out one of the guys who seems to be there to further his career and not for love. Bachelor Kasey says to the camera about this guy, "All he's trying to do is spin in his head how he can deny, counteraccusate and get out of this situation." *Say what??
Example: On the June 18, 2013 episode of "America's Got Talent," singing contestant Diana has a job rescuing dogs. She says, "I work with the organization called START and we go out and save dogs from euthanization." *Her organization should tell her that the correct word is "euthanasia."
Example: A caller to Larry Elder's talk show on KABC radio used the word mediocrisy. *He obviously meant to say "mediocrity."
Example: I also heard on Talk radio 790 a caller to John Phillips say, "I'm in disagreeance with you." *I disagree with you if you think this is correct.
Example: In a TV Guide interview with Lucy Liu, who plays Dr. Joan Watson to Jonny Lee Miller's Sherlock Holmes on the TV show "Elementary," she is asked what made her want to play the role. She says, "I was initially very trepidatious as well, because of the history Watson and Holmes have in entertainment." *The adjective she meant to use was "fearful". Trepidation is a noun meaning fear.
Example: The online dating service Our Time likes to say, "He favorited you." *Favorite is an adjective, not a verb.
Example: Celebrity manicurist Gina Epolito was on Steve Harvey's TV talk show to talk about how trendy fingernail art has become. She tells him, "I feel like social media has broughten up nail popularity." *All of the above highlighted words were underlined by Spell Check because they do not exist. I even checked in the dictionary. Not there.
In the next few examples, these words do exist but not in the context of the sentences below. See what I mean.
Example: Someone at an Al-Anon meeting said, "My father was a periodical drinker." * The word periodical refers to regularly issued reading material. I believe the correct expression would be "periodic drinker" but maybe she meant that he only drinks while reading a magazine. Hmmm.
Example: On "America's Got Talent," judge Howard Stern tells country singer Marty Brown, "The way you quieted this room down, you couldn't hear a pin drop." *If the room was that quiet, wouldn't you be able to hear the pin drop?
Example: Author Stuart Woods wrote Unintended Consequences pretty well except for this blunder. His protagonist Stone Barrington, a lawyer, may be doing business with a man he just met. He says to his friend, "Tell me the worst thing you've ever heard about him." She replies, "The worst? I haven't heard anything worst." *Either Mr. Woods didn't check his words or he is creating a sidekick who is not all that reliable. Wouldn't you agree?
Example: There is a segment on Steve Harvey's TV talk show entitled "Is it a deal-breaker?" During this episode, he says to one woman who is asking for his advice, "If I were delving out this advice . . ."
*I'm sure he meant to use the expression "doling out advice." Or am I delving into an unknown area?
Example: On another episode of "The Steve Harvey Show," Steve is talking to guest Sergeant Briggs of the San Francisco Highway Patrol who has saved over 200 people from jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. Sgt. Briggs explains that he tries to instill hope in these people. Steve says, "I would imagine that's a big part of it, hope, because it's when you lose hopelessness that you're faced with a moment like that." *It's not hopelessness that you lose, it's "hope." This is just hopeless.
Example: This was also heard on Steve Harvey's talk show. Guest Dr. Travis Stork was talking about how to stay healthy during winter but cautions against too much anti-bacterial sanitizers. He says, "You got to be careful. You don't want to be overly cleanly so that your body is never exposed to anything . . ." *OMG. Not only did Dr. Stork use the adverb instead of the adjective (clean) but he pronounced it like the shorter version of the word cleanliness. He's a doctor! He should know better.
Example: Also on "The Bachelorette: Season 9," bachelorette Desiree explains to host Chris Harrison why Bryden decided to leave the show. "He just doesn't feel that the connection is going to be strong enough to withhold what he needs in a relationship." *Did you figure out that the word she meant to say was "uphold?"
Example: This time, realtor Egypt Sherrod from "Property Virgins" is working with a young couple who plan to buy a house in Georgia. When their low-ball offer is rejected, they want to counter offer. Egypt says, "If you come back with something that's more palpable, he [the owner] might be willing to play ball." *Palpable means readily or plainly seen or heard, obvious or evident. I believe the word she meant to use was "palatable," which means pleasing to the mind or feelings.
Example: Mom Frankie Heck on the TV show "The Middle" is arrested for failure to return library materials. At the police station, she asks the officer, "Are you kidding? You're seriously arresting me for overdue library books?" He answers, "That's what happens when you ignore three letters and two summons." Frankie says, "Look, we must not have realized it was an official summons."
*The singular of that word is summons and the plural is summonses. How odd that the writers have the police officer using the wrong form of the word but Frankie uses the correct one.
By far, this is my favorite example: In a profile of a widower on OK Cupid, he writes that his late wife described him as her "knight and shinny armor." *Shinny is a verb, as in " to shinny up a tree." I doubt that's what his wife meant.
In this next section, I'm going to mention words that although are correct in their usage, another word would have been better in its place.
Example: During KCRW 89.9 radio station's membership drive, the female on-air personality offers a free gift to the next "donators." She even asked aloud, "Donators?" as if she weren't sure that was the right word. It actually is correct, but the better, more common word would be "donors."
Example: On an episode of "Dog Whisperer," the owner of a Chihuahua says, "I didn't realize I was sort of passing on my anxiousness on to her." *Yes, that's a word, but why not use "anxiety?"
And the fact that she uses the preposition "on" twice in that sentence makes me anxious.
Example: A scene from the TV show "Scandal" takes place at a funeral in Arlington Cemetery. In the background, song lyrics play and I heard, " Give me more than one caress, satisfy my hungriness."
*Yes, that is an actual word and yes, song lyrics are supposed to rhyme, but the better word would be "hunger." Ever heard of The Hungriness Games?
Example: Patti Stanger, the Millionaire Matchmaker, has set up millionaire Joe with a beautiful law student named Natalie. On their date, Joe explains that he actually comes from humble beginnings. Natalie remarks, "I really like that you want to stay true to yourself and you like to keep your humbleness." *I guess law students like to use big words, but she would sound just as smart if she had said "humility."
Example: Steve Harvey had guest therapist Dr. John Duffy on the show talking about parenting through the years. Steve asks him, "How should parents handle kids when they start to rebel?" Duffy responds, "My advice about rebelliousness is to handle it before the first big act of rebelliousness."
*Twice in one sentence! He could have saved time by using "rebellion" instead.
Example: In John Grisham's novel The Last Juror, the narrator Will Traynor, new owner and publisher of the local Ford County newspaper describes a defense attorney's ranting. "He had lost his attempt to get bail, so he had to impress them with his zealousness." *As a writer, I understand his zeal in presenting the best word to describe his characters.
Example: A caller to Geraldo Rivera on KABC Talk radio said, "You're a bit of a racialist." *The common term is "racist."
In the next two examples, the longer word is used when the shorter word would be just as good.
1. On a "60 Minutes" segment about Dick Cheney's heart, the former Vice President says, "You wake up every morning with a smile on your face because you've got a new day you never expected to have, and there's a sense of wonderment, nothing short of magical."
2. Lori Greiner, shark on "Shark Tank" questions why the entrepreneurs are spending so much money to make their product. She says, "So to make the decision and spend that much money when you're a brand new business is a wonderment to me." *I wonder if they know the short form.
In this last example, it's actually the wrong country being used. On a very old (1993) episode of "Mad About You," wife Jamie is in between jobs and doesn't know what to do with her free time. She's driving her husband Paul so crazy that one night he tells her he has to work late so that he can avoid her. She laments, "It's Mexican night. I was going to make gazpacho." *Gazpacho, per Wikipedia, is a tomato-based vegetable soup served cold . . . originating in the southern Spanish region of Andalucía. The writers should have done their research but Wikipedia did not exist back then. Encyclopedia, anyone?
Now I will focus on a few examples from the GRAMMATICAL category.
Example: I read an article in "People" magazine, dated April 21, 2014 on the two Duggar family daughters who are in love. "In an age of hookups and sexting, these couples take it slow." *I wish the writer had known to use the adverb "slowly" here.
Example: The 2009 movie "Weather Girl" has the titular character Sylvia moving in with her brother Walt after losing her job. She has begun a secret physical relationship with his best friend Byron. When Walt comes home one night and catches them in the act, the three of them have a sit-down where Walt complains, "That was my bed you were fornicating on and that was my friend with which you were fornicating." *I guess he was so upset about all the fornicating that he didn't realize that it was a person with whom she was fornicating.
Example: On the "America's Got Talent" results show of September 2013, the all-girl gymnastics troupe called Innovative Force is not voted to continue. Host Nick Cannon asks the spokesperson,
"How was your time on the show?" She responds, "We're so blessed to have been able to been on it."
*I am blessed to be able to recognize that she used the wrong verb form.
As I come to the end of my post, I would like to leave my readers with a couple of examples of good vocabulary.
Example: One guest on Steve Harvey's talk show wants Steve's help in finding a smooth way to introduce her young children to the new man in her life. She explains, "This will be the first time my children have met someone outside of their dad so there's a little trepidation there." *Yes, she used the synonym for "fear" correctly.
Example: Raymond "Red" Reddington, who helps the FBI find criminals on TV's "The Black List," meets with agent Donald Ressler. Reddington explains to him, "I reached out to you, Donald. And it wasn't to revisit all the times I eluded your littler coterie of door-kickers who pursued me with such fervor and zeal." *These writers give Reddington such colorful language and they do it with such zeal.
Example: In the episode "The Friendship Algorithm" of "The Big Bang Theory," Dr. Sheldon Cooper needs to use a new computer owned by antagonistic colleague Barry Kripke. Sheldon's friend Leonard explains that Kripke only allows his friends to use it. Sheldon says, "Well then, the solution is simple. I shall befriend him." *In this age of Facebook and "friending" everyone on earth, it's a wonder to me that some writers still use good English. Hurray!
Well, Readers, I hope that my indulgence in sharing with you these confounding mistakes will enlighten you a little and perhaps brighten your day.
It was so much fun writing about bad vocabulary in the May 2013 post that I thought I'd write again this month. I hope you will be as amazed as I am at which words people use.
I have divided these words into two categories: vocabulary and grammatical. Let's begin with VOCABULARY. Read on . . .
Example: In the episode "No Son on the Horizon" of the TV show "Scandal," Chief of Staff Cyrus Beene asks the head of a clandestine organization to do a nefarious act. He cautions, "I expect you to wisen up." *The Chief of Staff should know to say, "wise up" instead.
Example: On the reality show "Property Virgins," real estate expert Egypt Sherrod is showing a newly constructed house to prospective buyer Tania. As they are viewing the model home, Egypt tells Tania, "You can decide how many upgrades you want or how many you don't want. Budgetarily, that may make the difference." *She may be an expert in home purchasing, but she needs a little help in the vocabulary department.
Example: A few men who are pursuing bachelorette Desiree on season 9 of "The Bachelorette" call out one of the guys who seems to be there to further his career and not for love. Bachelor Kasey says to the camera about this guy, "All he's trying to do is spin in his head how he can deny, counteraccusate and get out of this situation." *Say what??
Example: On the June 18, 2013 episode of "America's Got Talent," singing contestant Diana has a job rescuing dogs. She says, "I work with the organization called START and we go out and save dogs from euthanization." *Her organization should tell her that the correct word is "euthanasia."
Example: A caller to Larry Elder's talk show on KABC radio used the word mediocrisy. *He obviously meant to say "mediocrity."
Example: I also heard on Talk radio 790 a caller to John Phillips say, "I'm in disagreeance with you." *I disagree with you if you think this is correct.
Example: In a TV Guide interview with Lucy Liu, who plays Dr. Joan Watson to Jonny Lee Miller's Sherlock Holmes on the TV show "Elementary," she is asked what made her want to play the role. She says, "I was initially very trepidatious as well, because of the history Watson and Holmes have in entertainment." *The adjective she meant to use was "fearful". Trepidation is a noun meaning fear.
Example: The online dating service Our Time likes to say, "He favorited you." *Favorite is an adjective, not a verb.
Example: Celebrity manicurist Gina Epolito was on Steve Harvey's TV talk show to talk about how trendy fingernail art has become. She tells him, "I feel like social media has broughten up nail popularity." *All of the above highlighted words were underlined by Spell Check because they do not exist. I even checked in the dictionary. Not there.
In the next few examples, these words do exist but not in the context of the sentences below. See what I mean.
Example: Someone at an Al-Anon meeting said, "My father was a periodical drinker." * The word periodical refers to regularly issued reading material. I believe the correct expression would be "periodic drinker" but maybe she meant that he only drinks while reading a magazine. Hmmm.
Example: On "America's Got Talent," judge Howard Stern tells country singer Marty Brown, "The way you quieted this room down, you couldn't hear a pin drop." *If the room was that quiet, wouldn't you be able to hear the pin drop?
Example: Author Stuart Woods wrote Unintended Consequences pretty well except for this blunder. His protagonist Stone Barrington, a lawyer, may be doing business with a man he just met. He says to his friend, "Tell me the worst thing you've ever heard about him." She replies, "The worst? I haven't heard anything worst." *Either Mr. Woods didn't check his words or he is creating a sidekick who is not all that reliable. Wouldn't you agree?
Example: There is a segment on Steve Harvey's TV talk show entitled "Is it a deal-breaker?" During this episode, he says to one woman who is asking for his advice, "If I were delving out this advice . . ."
*I'm sure he meant to use the expression "doling out advice." Or am I delving into an unknown area?
Example: On another episode of "The Steve Harvey Show," Steve is talking to guest Sergeant Briggs of the San Francisco Highway Patrol who has saved over 200 people from jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. Sgt. Briggs explains that he tries to instill hope in these people. Steve says, "I would imagine that's a big part of it, hope, because it's when you lose hopelessness that you're faced with a moment like that." *It's not hopelessness that you lose, it's "hope." This is just hopeless.
Example: This was also heard on Steve Harvey's talk show. Guest Dr. Travis Stork was talking about how to stay healthy during winter but cautions against too much anti-bacterial sanitizers. He says, "You got to be careful. You don't want to be overly cleanly so that your body is never exposed to anything . . ." *OMG. Not only did Dr. Stork use the adverb instead of the adjective (clean) but he pronounced it like the shorter version of the word cleanliness. He's a doctor! He should know better.
Example: Also on "The Bachelorette: Season 9," bachelorette Desiree explains to host Chris Harrison why Bryden decided to leave the show. "He just doesn't feel that the connection is going to be strong enough to withhold what he needs in a relationship." *Did you figure out that the word she meant to say was "uphold?"
Example: This time, realtor Egypt Sherrod from "Property Virgins" is working with a young couple who plan to buy a house in Georgia. When their low-ball offer is rejected, they want to counter offer. Egypt says, "If you come back with something that's more palpable, he [the owner] might be willing to play ball." *Palpable means readily or plainly seen or heard, obvious or evident. I believe the word she meant to use was "palatable," which means pleasing to the mind or feelings.
Example: Mom Frankie Heck on the TV show "The Middle" is arrested for failure to return library materials. At the police station, she asks the officer, "Are you kidding? You're seriously arresting me for overdue library books?" He answers, "That's what happens when you ignore three letters and two summons." Frankie says, "Look, we must not have realized it was an official summons."
*The singular of that word is summons and the plural is summonses. How odd that the writers have the police officer using the wrong form of the word but Frankie uses the correct one.
By far, this is my favorite example: In a profile of a widower on OK Cupid, he writes that his late wife described him as her "knight and shinny armor." *Shinny is a verb, as in " to shinny up a tree." I doubt that's what his wife meant.
In this next section, I'm going to mention words that although are correct in their usage, another word would have been better in its place.
Example: During KCRW 89.9 radio station's membership drive, the female on-air personality offers a free gift to the next "donators." She even asked aloud, "Donators?" as if she weren't sure that was the right word. It actually is correct, but the better, more common word would be "donors."
Example: On an episode of "Dog Whisperer," the owner of a Chihuahua says, "I didn't realize I was sort of passing on my anxiousness on to her." *Yes, that's a word, but why not use "anxiety?"
And the fact that she uses the preposition "on" twice in that sentence makes me anxious.
Example: A scene from the TV show "Scandal" takes place at a funeral in Arlington Cemetery. In the background, song lyrics play and I heard, " Give me more than one caress, satisfy my hungriness."
*Yes, that is an actual word and yes, song lyrics are supposed to rhyme, but the better word would be "hunger." Ever heard of The Hungriness Games?
Example: Patti Stanger, the Millionaire Matchmaker, has set up millionaire Joe with a beautiful law student named Natalie. On their date, Joe explains that he actually comes from humble beginnings. Natalie remarks, "I really like that you want to stay true to yourself and you like to keep your humbleness." *I guess law students like to use big words, but she would sound just as smart if she had said "humility."
Example: Steve Harvey had guest therapist Dr. John Duffy on the show talking about parenting through the years. Steve asks him, "How should parents handle kids when they start to rebel?" Duffy responds, "My advice about rebelliousness is to handle it before the first big act of rebelliousness."
*Twice in one sentence! He could have saved time by using "rebellion" instead.
Example: In John Grisham's novel The Last Juror, the narrator Will Traynor, new owner and publisher of the local Ford County newspaper describes a defense attorney's ranting. "He had lost his attempt to get bail, so he had to impress them with his zealousness." *As a writer, I understand his zeal in presenting the best word to describe his characters.
Example: A caller to Geraldo Rivera on KABC Talk radio said, "You're a bit of a racialist." *The common term is "racist."
In the next two examples, the longer word is used when the shorter word would be just as good.
1. On a "60 Minutes" segment about Dick Cheney's heart, the former Vice President says, "You wake up every morning with a smile on your face because you've got a new day you never expected to have, and there's a sense of wonderment, nothing short of magical."
2. Lori Greiner, shark on "Shark Tank" questions why the entrepreneurs are spending so much money to make their product. She says, "So to make the decision and spend that much money when you're a brand new business is a wonderment to me." *I wonder if they know the short form.
In this last example, it's actually the wrong country being used. On a very old (1993) episode of "Mad About You," wife Jamie is in between jobs and doesn't know what to do with her free time. She's driving her husband Paul so crazy that one night he tells her he has to work late so that he can avoid her. She laments, "It's Mexican night. I was going to make gazpacho." *Gazpacho, per Wikipedia, is a tomato-based vegetable soup served cold . . . originating in the southern Spanish region of Andalucía. The writers should have done their research but Wikipedia did not exist back then. Encyclopedia, anyone?
Now I will focus on a few examples from the GRAMMATICAL category.
Example: I read an article in "People" magazine, dated April 21, 2014 on the two Duggar family daughters who are in love. "In an age of hookups and sexting, these couples take it slow." *I wish the writer had known to use the adverb "slowly" here.
Example: The 2009 movie "Weather Girl" has the titular character Sylvia moving in with her brother Walt after losing her job. She has begun a secret physical relationship with his best friend Byron. When Walt comes home one night and catches them in the act, the three of them have a sit-down where Walt complains, "That was my bed you were fornicating on and that was my friend with which you were fornicating." *I guess he was so upset about all the fornicating that he didn't realize that it was a person with whom she was fornicating.
Example: On the "America's Got Talent" results show of September 2013, the all-girl gymnastics troupe called Innovative Force is not voted to continue. Host Nick Cannon asks the spokesperson,
"How was your time on the show?" She responds, "We're so blessed to have been able to been on it."
*I am blessed to be able to recognize that she used the wrong verb form.
As I come to the end of my post, I would like to leave my readers with a couple of examples of good vocabulary.
Example: One guest on Steve Harvey's talk show wants Steve's help in finding a smooth way to introduce her young children to the new man in her life. She explains, "This will be the first time my children have met someone outside of their dad so there's a little trepidation there." *Yes, she used the synonym for "fear" correctly.
Example: Raymond "Red" Reddington, who helps the FBI find criminals on TV's "The Black List," meets with agent Donald Ressler. Reddington explains to him, "I reached out to you, Donald. And it wasn't to revisit all the times I eluded your littler coterie of door-kickers who pursued me with such fervor and zeal." *These writers give Reddington such colorful language and they do it with such zeal.
Example: In the episode "The Friendship Algorithm" of "The Big Bang Theory," Dr. Sheldon Cooper needs to use a new computer owned by antagonistic colleague Barry Kripke. Sheldon's friend Leonard explains that Kripke only allows his friends to use it. Sheldon says, "Well then, the solution is simple. I shall befriend him." *In this age of Facebook and "friending" everyone on earth, it's a wonder to me that some writers still use good English. Hurray!
Well, Readers, I hope that my indulgence in sharing with you these confounding mistakes will enlighten you a little and perhaps brighten your day.
Friday, May 2, 2014
Too Much of a Good Thing
Dear Readers,
Some people say that if one is good, two is better. However, this is not true in all cases.
In the text Reference Manual for Stenographers and Typists (published 1970) under the heading SUPERFLUOUS PREPOSITIONS, it is written: "Do not use prepositions that are not needed." I couldn't agree more. This month I will focus on the superfluous use of the preposition "of." Read on to see what I mean.
IN LITERARY WORKS
For example: In Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James, narrator Anastasia Steele says, "I stare momentarily out of the window." * Staring "out the window" would be sufficient.
Example: Cheryl Strayed, in Wild, a personal account of her trek across the Pacific Crest Trail, says,
"I hung up the phone overcome with grief, but the small reasonable core that still lived inside of me ..." *Here, "inside me" would be enough.
Example: Ms. Strayed describes the kitchen table of her youth. Her step-father Eddie "had cut off the short legs and bolted a barrel to the bottom and we'd eaten off of it all these years."
Example: She also writes, "I'd removed my hiking boots and the left one had fallen . . . It bounced off of a rocky outcropping several feet beneath me." *Again, no need for the extra "of" in either case.
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel is translated from the Spanish. Still, I found these superfluous uses of the preposition "of."
Example: "John Brown, the doctor, was watching Tita, charmed by her. He couldn't take his eyes off of her."
Example: "Tita, shaking the dirt off of her, looked around the patio."
Example: "For the first time in their lives, Tita and Pedro could make love freely. For years they had had to take precautions . . . so that she wouldn't cry out with pleasure when they were inside of each other." *In this last example, not only is the "of" superfluous, I just can't figure out the anatomy here.
Author C.J. Box has written a series of books about game warden Joe Pickett. In Savage Run, he writes, "A cow elk stood off of the trail . . ."
Another example: "Joe ripped the curtains and rod off of the only window . . ."
And: "Joe's wife Marybeth, at home with no word from her husband, was worried. But the only thing she didn't want to do was to worry [daughter] Sheridan, because the two of them would feed off of each other." *Too many prepositions? I think so.
Here's an example of good writing by Lawrence Wright, in his book Going Clear, about Scientology and founder L. Ron Hubbard. He writes, "According to Hubbard, he got into the [World War II] action right away. He said he was aboard the destroyer USS Edsall, which was sunk off the north coast of Java." *Great job, Mr. Wright. (I guess his name says it all.)
TELEVISION SHOWS
Example: On "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," the team investigates a dead body that was bludgeoned to death while inside a human-sized hamster ball. Head CSI Russell surmises, "Since Zack was killed inside of the ball, his playmate's a pretty good suspect, right?" * He should have said, "inside the ball."
Example: FBI consultant Patrick Jane, aka "The Mentalist," is working on a case with the Bureau. When his suggestion of an illegal maneuver is thwarted, he says, "I guess we need to think outside of the box." * "outside the box" works just as well.
Example: In the episode "The Fluffer" on TV's "Scandal," Washington, D.C. fixer Olivia Pope is awakened by a phone call from her paramour who tells her, "I'm standing outside of your door."
*I'd guess he was outside her door.
Example: Molly, from the sit-com "Mike and Molly," tells a therapist how she quit her teaching job. He asks if she walked out. She answers, "I jumped out of the window." *As a teacher, shouldn't she know to say, "out the window" instead?
On rare occasions, I actually hear the correct amount of prepositions used.
Example: The detectives of the NYPD on the television show "Castle" are investigating the murder of a woman. They ask her uncle for some information about her new lodgings. He tells them, "She and I shared a cab that day and it dropped her off at a building off the west side highway." *Yea, the writers speak good English.
Example: In the episode "Stormy Moon" of the comedy "The Middle," mom Frankie Heck is arrested for overdue library books. When no one from the family comes to bail her out and she returns home to find her husband and kids eating pizza, she is upset. She says, "If you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go wash the jail off me." *Again, kudos to the writers.
Example: On the above mentioned show "CSI," Sheriff Ecklie of the Las Vegas P.D. questions a security guard who saw and apprehended a wanted suspect. Ecklie says, "You saw him outside your building?" *Hurray! This time the writers got it right.
TALK SHOWS
Example: Body language expert Jan Hargraves was guest on Steve Harvey's talk show on February 6, 2014. She was decoding sleep positions of couples seen in photos. She says, "When a portion of your body is a little off of the bed, it means . . ." *Sorry, but you'll have to use On Demand to see this episode to find out what she said.
Example: I also heard this on Steve Harvey's daytime talk show. On January 8, 2014, Steve's guest was Ally who, after reading his book and applied his advice, got engaged. Before the commercial break, Steve announces, "we'll be meeting Mike, the man who swept Ally off of her feet." *As good a host as Steve is, he is not known for his excellent grammar.
JUST PLAIN TOO MANY
In this example, the writers simply did not notice the preposition said twice.
On the television show "Hostages," Agent Hoffman of the Secret Service is investigating a nurse's disappearance and consults with FBI agent Duncan Carlisle. He shows Duncan a photo and says,
"This is a screen grab from a surveillance camera less than a block from where Angela disappeared from." *I wonder why the actor didn't say to the writers, "Hey, I already said 'from.' You need to take the second one out." I guess actors say only what is written on the script without realizing what they are actually saying. Too bad.
In conclusion, whichever preposition one is going to use (inside, outside, off), there is no need to add "of" in the sentence. Now I am going to sign OFF this blog.
Some people say that if one is good, two is better. However, this is not true in all cases.
In the text Reference Manual for Stenographers and Typists (published 1970) under the heading SUPERFLUOUS PREPOSITIONS, it is written: "Do not use prepositions that are not needed." I couldn't agree more. This month I will focus on the superfluous use of the preposition "of." Read on to see what I mean.
IN LITERARY WORKS
For example: In Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James, narrator Anastasia Steele says, "I stare momentarily out of the window." * Staring "out the window" would be sufficient.
Example: Cheryl Strayed, in Wild, a personal account of her trek across the Pacific Crest Trail, says,
"I hung up the phone overcome with grief, but the small reasonable core that still lived inside of me ..." *Here, "inside me" would be enough.
Example: Ms. Strayed describes the kitchen table of her youth. Her step-father Eddie "had cut off the short legs and bolted a barrel to the bottom and we'd eaten off of it all these years."
Example: She also writes, "I'd removed my hiking boots and the left one had fallen . . . It bounced off of a rocky outcropping several feet beneath me." *Again, no need for the extra "of" in either case.
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel is translated from the Spanish. Still, I found these superfluous uses of the preposition "of."
Example: "John Brown, the doctor, was watching Tita, charmed by her. He couldn't take his eyes off of her."
Example: "Tita, shaking the dirt off of her, looked around the patio."
Example: "For the first time in their lives, Tita and Pedro could make love freely. For years they had had to take precautions . . . so that she wouldn't cry out with pleasure when they were inside of each other." *In this last example, not only is the "of" superfluous, I just can't figure out the anatomy here.
Author C.J. Box has written a series of books about game warden Joe Pickett. In Savage Run, he writes, "A cow elk stood off of the trail . . ."
Another example: "Joe ripped the curtains and rod off of the only window . . ."
And: "Joe's wife Marybeth, at home with no word from her husband, was worried. But the only thing she didn't want to do was to worry [daughter] Sheridan, because the two of them would feed off of each other." *Too many prepositions? I think so.
Here's an example of good writing by Lawrence Wright, in his book Going Clear, about Scientology and founder L. Ron Hubbard. He writes, "According to Hubbard, he got into the [World War II] action right away. He said he was aboard the destroyer USS Edsall, which was sunk off the north coast of Java." *Great job, Mr. Wright. (I guess his name says it all.)
TELEVISION SHOWS
Example: On "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," the team investigates a dead body that was bludgeoned to death while inside a human-sized hamster ball. Head CSI Russell surmises, "Since Zack was killed inside of the ball, his playmate's a pretty good suspect, right?" * He should have said, "inside the ball."
Example: FBI consultant Patrick Jane, aka "The Mentalist," is working on a case with the Bureau. When his suggestion of an illegal maneuver is thwarted, he says, "I guess we need to think outside of the box." * "outside the box" works just as well.
Example: In the episode "The Fluffer" on TV's "Scandal," Washington, D.C. fixer Olivia Pope is awakened by a phone call from her paramour who tells her, "I'm standing outside of your door."
*I'd guess he was outside her door.
Example: Molly, from the sit-com "Mike and Molly," tells a therapist how she quit her teaching job. He asks if she walked out. She answers, "I jumped out of the window." *As a teacher, shouldn't she know to say, "out the window" instead?
On rare occasions, I actually hear the correct amount of prepositions used.
Example: The detectives of the NYPD on the television show "Castle" are investigating the murder of a woman. They ask her uncle for some information about her new lodgings. He tells them, "She and I shared a cab that day and it dropped her off at a building off the west side highway." *Yea, the writers speak good English.
Example: In the episode "Stormy Moon" of the comedy "The Middle," mom Frankie Heck is arrested for overdue library books. When no one from the family comes to bail her out and she returns home to find her husband and kids eating pizza, she is upset. She says, "If you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go wash the jail off me." *Again, kudos to the writers.
Example: On the above mentioned show "CSI," Sheriff Ecklie of the Las Vegas P.D. questions a security guard who saw and apprehended a wanted suspect. Ecklie says, "You saw him outside your building?" *Hurray! This time the writers got it right.
TALK SHOWS
Example: Body language expert Jan Hargraves was guest on Steve Harvey's talk show on February 6, 2014. She was decoding sleep positions of couples seen in photos. She says, "When a portion of your body is a little off of the bed, it means . . ." *Sorry, but you'll have to use On Demand to see this episode to find out what she said.
Example: I also heard this on Steve Harvey's daytime talk show. On January 8, 2014, Steve's guest was Ally who, after reading his book and applied his advice, got engaged. Before the commercial break, Steve announces, "we'll be meeting Mike, the man who swept Ally off of her feet." *As good a host as Steve is, he is not known for his excellent grammar.
JUST PLAIN TOO MANY
In this example, the writers simply did not notice the preposition said twice.
On the television show "Hostages," Agent Hoffman of the Secret Service is investigating a nurse's disappearance and consults with FBI agent Duncan Carlisle. He shows Duncan a photo and says,
"This is a screen grab from a surveillance camera less than a block from where Angela disappeared from." *I wonder why the actor didn't say to the writers, "Hey, I already said 'from.' You need to take the second one out." I guess actors say only what is written on the script without realizing what they are actually saying. Too bad.
In conclusion, whichever preposition one is going to use (inside, outside, off), there is no need to add "of" in the sentence. Now I am going to sign OFF this blog.
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
The Past is (or is not) the Past
Dear Readers,
Having taught foreign languages (French and Spanish) for over 30 years, I know without a doubt what constitutes the past tense of verbs, including English verbs. These verbs come in two different forms: (1) the simple past, such as, "We spoke to the doctor last week." (2) a helping verb + a past participle, such as "We have spoken to that doctor twice before." This month I will focus on incorrect usage of the past tense in the English language.
Example: On Juan Pablo's season of "The Bachelor," Nikki is on a date with him. She's expressing her feelings about possibly being a step-mom to his young daughter. She says to him, "If I didn't think I was [mature enough], I wouldn't have came." *The correct past participle is come.
Example: Millionaire and Las Vegas entrepreneur Brian, on TV's "Millionaire Matchmaker," takes his date to an indoor rock climbing venue. He asks her, "Have you ever did this before?" *I will bet a million dollars that he did not make his money via his grammar or he would have done better.
Example: Entrepreneur Shawn Genenbacher on "Shark Tank" is searching for an investment in his Christmas lights company. When shark Kevin O'Leary asks him why he doesn't approach a local supplier, Shawn answers, "That opportunity hasn't arised yet." *Spell Check on my computer underlined this as a word that doesn't even exist. However, arisen is a word, and a past participle, that does exist.
Example: On "Live with Kelly and Michael" the morning after the Academy Awards, Denzel Washington was heard saying in gest, "Kelly didn't get nominated. She should've got nominated."
*At least Denzel has gotten nominated in the past.
Example: During an episode of "The King of Queens," wife Carrie wakes up her husband Doug who has fallen asleep at the bar where she has organized a work seminar. He tells her, "I must have fell asleep." *I'm surprised he hadn't fallen off his bar stool.
Example: Sheriff Walt Longmire, on the TV series that bears his name, is talking to a rodeo veterinarian about the practice of using "hot shots," or electric prods, on broncos during a rodeo event. The vet says, "Levi [a bronco rider and person of interest in a murder investigation] has a "hot shot" hid in his chaps." *Of course he means hidden. Actually, here it's an adjective but it derives from the past participle of the verb to hide. "I have hidden the Easter eggs for the children to find."
Example: On the TV show "Glee," Finn Hudson expresses to his mother a regret he has. "I could've spent more time writing that letter to the Army, or I could've wrote 50 letters to the Army." *If he had written those letters, would he have written them correctly?
Example: Arie, one of the men vying for "The Bachelorette" Emily's heart, says to the camera,
"I know that she was kind of shooken up about the whole Kalon thing [another suitor]. . ."
*Again, Spell Check to the rescue, but poor Arie didn't write this out first on his computer.
In the following four examples, the same incorrect past participle is used.
#1: Walter Sherman, aka "The Finder," finds in a tree an item that he was hired to locate. He says,
"I definitely would have went with the culvert." [as a better hiding place, I presume.]
#2: In the episode "Black and Blue" of TV's "Blue Bloods," Jamie Reagan is a NYPD officer who had previously graduated from Harvard. Yet he says, "Close call out there today, Sarge. Could've went either way but it went ours."
#3: On "Elementary," NYPD Detective Bell, after being off work due to an injury, pays a colleague to get his old desk back. The co-worker thinks Bell paid too much for the chore. Bell says, "I would've went twice as high."
#4: Detective Esposito on the show "Castle" is commenting on a woman's footwear. He declares, "I would have went open-toed."
*I hope I do not need to tell you readers that the correct past participle is gone. What is it with law enforcement, or more specifically, the writers of law enforcement characters? They must have such little faith in their characters' ability to speak well. Or is it that the writers themselves do not speak properly? Who knows?
Lastly, I must comment on the egregious spelling of the following helping verb found several times in Janet Evanovich's novel Three to Get Deadly. Lula, sidekick to the book's heroine and bounty hunter Stephanie Plum, says, "I should of shot him. I should of dropped a cap in that old coot."
*I realize that when we say "should've" [a contraction of should + have] it does sound like "should of," but that does not make it OK to write it and print it incorrectly. Shame on Ms. Evanovich.
So, dear Readers, I hope now we can leave the past behind and look forward to a more promising future of good English spoken here.
Having taught foreign languages (French and Spanish) for over 30 years, I know without a doubt what constitutes the past tense of verbs, including English verbs. These verbs come in two different forms: (1) the simple past, such as, "We spoke to the doctor last week." (2) a helping verb + a past participle, such as "We have spoken to that doctor twice before." This month I will focus on incorrect usage of the past tense in the English language.
Example: On Juan Pablo's season of "The Bachelor," Nikki is on a date with him. She's expressing her feelings about possibly being a step-mom to his young daughter. She says to him, "If I didn't think I was [mature enough], I wouldn't have came." *The correct past participle is come.
Example: Millionaire and Las Vegas entrepreneur Brian, on TV's "Millionaire Matchmaker," takes his date to an indoor rock climbing venue. He asks her, "Have you ever did this before?" *I will bet a million dollars that he did not make his money via his grammar or he would have done better.
Example: Entrepreneur Shawn Genenbacher on "Shark Tank" is searching for an investment in his Christmas lights company. When shark Kevin O'Leary asks him why he doesn't approach a local supplier, Shawn answers, "That opportunity hasn't arised yet." *Spell Check on my computer underlined this as a word that doesn't even exist. However, arisen is a word, and a past participle, that does exist.
Example: On "Live with Kelly and Michael" the morning after the Academy Awards, Denzel Washington was heard saying in gest, "Kelly didn't get nominated. She should've got nominated."
*At least Denzel has gotten nominated in the past.
Example: During an episode of "The King of Queens," wife Carrie wakes up her husband Doug who has fallen asleep at the bar where she has organized a work seminar. He tells her, "I must have fell asleep." *I'm surprised he hadn't fallen off his bar stool.
Example: Sheriff Walt Longmire, on the TV series that bears his name, is talking to a rodeo veterinarian about the practice of using "hot shots," or electric prods, on broncos during a rodeo event. The vet says, "Levi [a bronco rider and person of interest in a murder investigation] has a "hot shot" hid in his chaps." *Of course he means hidden. Actually, here it's an adjective but it derives from the past participle of the verb to hide. "I have hidden the Easter eggs for the children to find."
Example: On the TV show "Glee," Finn Hudson expresses to his mother a regret he has. "I could've spent more time writing that letter to the Army, or I could've wrote 50 letters to the Army." *If he had written those letters, would he have written them correctly?
Example: Arie, one of the men vying for "The Bachelorette" Emily's heart, says to the camera,
"I know that she was kind of shooken up about the whole Kalon thing [another suitor]. . ."
*Again, Spell Check to the rescue, but poor Arie didn't write this out first on his computer.
In the following four examples, the same incorrect past participle is used.
#1: Walter Sherman, aka "The Finder," finds in a tree an item that he was hired to locate. He says,
"I definitely would have went with the culvert." [as a better hiding place, I presume.]
#2: In the episode "Black and Blue" of TV's "Blue Bloods," Jamie Reagan is a NYPD officer who had previously graduated from Harvard. Yet he says, "Close call out there today, Sarge. Could've went either way but it went ours."
#3: On "Elementary," NYPD Detective Bell, after being off work due to an injury, pays a colleague to get his old desk back. The co-worker thinks Bell paid too much for the chore. Bell says, "I would've went twice as high."
#4: Detective Esposito on the show "Castle" is commenting on a woman's footwear. He declares, "I would have went open-toed."
*I hope I do not need to tell you readers that the correct past participle is gone. What is it with law enforcement, or more specifically, the writers of law enforcement characters? They must have such little faith in their characters' ability to speak well. Or is it that the writers themselves do not speak properly? Who knows?
Lastly, I must comment on the egregious spelling of the following helping verb found several times in Janet Evanovich's novel Three to Get Deadly. Lula, sidekick to the book's heroine and bounty hunter Stephanie Plum, says, "I should of shot him. I should of dropped a cap in that old coot."
*I realize that when we say "should've" [a contraction of should + have] it does sound like "should of," but that does not make it OK to write it and print it incorrectly. Shame on Ms. Evanovich.
So, dear Readers, I hope now we can leave the past behind and look forward to a more promising future of good English spoken here.
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Just Plain Wrong
Dear Readers,
Sometimes when I'm watching TV or reading I come across an error that can only be categorized as "Just Plain Wrong." I am astounded by such blunders and this month I will share some with you.
Example: During the Ice Dancing finals of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, Meryl Davis and Charlie White were dancing to the music of "Scheherazade." Tracy Wilson, one of the commentators, explains the story: Scheherazade spins such beguiling tales that the Persian king "spares her her life." *I believe that she simply meant to say that "he spared her life." One does not spare something to someone.
Example: On "The Finale Part I" of TV's "Seinfeld," Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer are offered the use of NBC's private jet to go wherever they want. Elaine suggests Switzerland. Kramer says,
"Ooh, Switzerland, the Von Trapp family." *Wrong. They were from Austria.
Example: In the episode "Out of the Past" on the TV show "Motive," Vancouver detectives Flynn and Vega arrive at a small convenience store which is the scene of a crime. Flynn asks, "Didn't this used to be a doughnut joint?" Vega answers, "No, they closed that place." *In that case he should have said, "Yes [it used to be a doughnut joint], but they closed that place." Just wrong.
Example: I have to wonder about the writers on "Elementary" because I found two blunders.
#1: In the episode "Ancient History," Sherlock Holmes and Joan Watson are questioning a person of interest in a case they are investigating. Holmes tells the guy, "Why don't you go and get a piece of pen and paper so you can make some notes . . ." *Seriously, no one caught this mistake?
#2: In the episode "You do it to Yourself," while consulting on a murder investigation that involves Chinese gambling in New York City, Sherlock sees a few mah jong tiles and says, "Those are different sizes, they're different colors. They're clearly from different sets. Now mah jong tiles come in pairs. Why would he hold onto one of each?" *Just wrong. Mah jong tiles do not come in pairs. There are four of each suit plus eight jokers and eight flowers. If writers are going to use esoteric information, they should really check their facts.
Example: Barbara Corcoran, one of the sharks on "Shark Tank," tries to get a handle on pitchman Aviv's offer. She says, "I just want to clear the deck a little bit here." *I think she meant to say,
"Clear the air." Wrong expression.
Example: I read on the May 20, 2014 TV Guide magazine cover, "60 Greatest Comedies of All Time! Who's #1?" *The "who" in the question referred to a person and the answer was Lucy. But Lucy was not a comedy, she was a comedienne and a person.
Example: Stephen King, in his novel Under the Dome, wrote this: "For the first time since he'd taken the keys to the green Chief's car . . ." *Is the Chief green or is the car green, Mr. King?
Example: In The Suspect by John Lescroart, Assistant D.A. Gerry Abrams and San Francisco detective Devin Juhle are discussing an upcoming trial of a man accused of killing his girlfriend's five-month old son. Abrams says, "Shook him, did he?" Juhle responds, "He didn't really shake him. He just picked the kid up, trying to quiet it down, and then he just stopped breathing."
*Even detectives know that a child is not an it, but maybe the author was unsure. Also, in that same sentence, who exactly stopped breathing? The guy or the baby? Hmmm. . .
Example: The narrator and heroine, Anastasia Steele of Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James, talks about greeting her wealthy roommate's parents after her graduation ceremony. "We exchange brief pleasantries, mostly about their up and coming vacation to Barbados . . ." *I believe she meant to say "upcoming."
Example: Surprisingly, I found three major mistakes in Rhonda Pollero's book Knock 'Em Dead.
#1: Her heroine, Finley Tanner, says, "Even employed I couldn't afford Payton original unless I saved and scraped. Two S adjectives I've managed to avoid for almost thirty years." *Nope, Ms. Pollero, those S words are verbs, not adjectives.
#2: Finley is talking about having had sex with her boyfriend. She says, "I faked it. Sleepless in Seattle deli scene faked it." *Nope. That scene was from the movie "When Harry met Sally."
#3: Again, Finley says, "Deciding between a simple gold chain, no accessories at all, or a chunky beaded choker ate up another ten minutes. Okay, so I knew I wasn't going to put on anything but thin hoop earrings about five seconds after opening my jewelry drawer. The rest of the nine minutes and fifty-nine seconds was just me stalling." *Math anyone? If it took five seconds to decide and she had a window of ten minutes that would leave nine minutes and fifty-five seconds, wouldn't it?
Here are two more examples of problematic math:
Example: In the film version of "Confessions of a Shopaholic," titular character Rebecca Bloomwood is very much in debt. Her roommate Suze is trying to support and help her. Suze asks, "How are you going to pay off sixteen thousand twelve hundred and sixty-two dollars and seventy cents?" *OK, let's put this into figures: $16, 1262.70. I wish I had that much money.
Example: Kristof of Kristef Brothers balancing act on "America's Got Talent," talks about the hardships of performing. He says, "Financially it's been tough. I have a four month-year-old son. I'm here today to give a better future for him." *Let's hope that the better future includes a good education.
Well, Readers, I hope that you have received a better education than Kristof and all of the above people who make this job of mine so much fun.
Sometimes when I'm watching TV or reading I come across an error that can only be categorized as "Just Plain Wrong." I am astounded by such blunders and this month I will share some with you.
Example: During the Ice Dancing finals of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, Meryl Davis and Charlie White were dancing to the music of "Scheherazade." Tracy Wilson, one of the commentators, explains the story: Scheherazade spins such beguiling tales that the Persian king "spares her her life." *I believe that she simply meant to say that "he spared her life." One does not spare something to someone.
Example: On "The Finale Part I" of TV's "Seinfeld," Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer are offered the use of NBC's private jet to go wherever they want. Elaine suggests Switzerland. Kramer says,
"Ooh, Switzerland, the Von Trapp family." *Wrong. They were from Austria.
Example: In the episode "Out of the Past" on the TV show "Motive," Vancouver detectives Flynn and Vega arrive at a small convenience store which is the scene of a crime. Flynn asks, "Didn't this used to be a doughnut joint?" Vega answers, "No, they closed that place." *In that case he should have said, "Yes [it used to be a doughnut joint], but they closed that place." Just wrong.
Example: I have to wonder about the writers on "Elementary" because I found two blunders.
#1: In the episode "Ancient History," Sherlock Holmes and Joan Watson are questioning a person of interest in a case they are investigating. Holmes tells the guy, "Why don't you go and get a piece of pen and paper so you can make some notes . . ." *Seriously, no one caught this mistake?
#2: In the episode "You do it to Yourself," while consulting on a murder investigation that involves Chinese gambling in New York City, Sherlock sees a few mah jong tiles and says, "Those are different sizes, they're different colors. They're clearly from different sets. Now mah jong tiles come in pairs. Why would he hold onto one of each?" *Just wrong. Mah jong tiles do not come in pairs. There are four of each suit plus eight jokers and eight flowers. If writers are going to use esoteric information, they should really check their facts.
Example: Barbara Corcoran, one of the sharks on "Shark Tank," tries to get a handle on pitchman Aviv's offer. She says, "I just want to clear the deck a little bit here." *I think she meant to say,
"Clear the air." Wrong expression.
Example: I read on the May 20, 2014 TV Guide magazine cover, "60 Greatest Comedies of All Time! Who's #1?" *The "who" in the question referred to a person and the answer was Lucy. But Lucy was not a comedy, she was a comedienne and a person.
Example: Stephen King, in his novel Under the Dome, wrote this: "For the first time since he'd taken the keys to the green Chief's car . . ." *Is the Chief green or is the car green, Mr. King?
Example: In The Suspect by John Lescroart, Assistant D.A. Gerry Abrams and San Francisco detective Devin Juhle are discussing an upcoming trial of a man accused of killing his girlfriend's five-month old son. Abrams says, "Shook him, did he?" Juhle responds, "He didn't really shake him. He just picked the kid up, trying to quiet it down, and then he just stopped breathing."
*Even detectives know that a child is not an it, but maybe the author was unsure. Also, in that same sentence, who exactly stopped breathing? The guy or the baby? Hmmm. . .
Example: The narrator and heroine, Anastasia Steele of Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James, talks about greeting her wealthy roommate's parents after her graduation ceremony. "We exchange brief pleasantries, mostly about their up and coming vacation to Barbados . . ." *I believe she meant to say "upcoming."
Example: Surprisingly, I found three major mistakes in Rhonda Pollero's book Knock 'Em Dead.
#1: Her heroine, Finley Tanner, says, "Even employed I couldn't afford Payton original unless I saved and scraped. Two S adjectives I've managed to avoid for almost thirty years." *Nope, Ms. Pollero, those S words are verbs, not adjectives.
#2: Finley is talking about having had sex with her boyfriend. She says, "I faked it. Sleepless in Seattle deli scene faked it." *Nope. That scene was from the movie "When Harry met Sally."
#3: Again, Finley says, "Deciding between a simple gold chain, no accessories at all, or a chunky beaded choker ate up another ten minutes. Okay, so I knew I wasn't going to put on anything but thin hoop earrings about five seconds after opening my jewelry drawer. The rest of the nine minutes and fifty-nine seconds was just me stalling." *Math anyone? If it took five seconds to decide and she had a window of ten minutes that would leave nine minutes and fifty-five seconds, wouldn't it?
Here are two more examples of problematic math:
Example: In the film version of "Confessions of a Shopaholic," titular character Rebecca Bloomwood is very much in debt. Her roommate Suze is trying to support and help her. Suze asks, "How are you going to pay off sixteen thousand twelve hundred and sixty-two dollars and seventy cents?" *OK, let's put this into figures: $16, 1262.70. I wish I had that much money.
Example: Kristof of Kristef Brothers balancing act on "America's Got Talent," talks about the hardships of performing. He says, "Financially it's been tough. I have a four month-year-old son. I'm here today to give a better future for him." *Let's hope that the better future includes a good education.
Well, Readers, I hope that you have received a better education than Kristof and all of the above people who make this job of mine so much fun.
Saturday, February 1, 2014
Who or Whom?
Hello Readers,
In an episode of the old TV sitcom "Mad About You," Paul Buchman tells his wife Jamie that their apartment building may be going co-op. He says he heard it around the building. She asks, "From whom?" He responds with, "What is it with you and the 'whom' thing?" She retorts, "You talk your way and I'll talk right."
Wouldn't it be nice if we all "talked right"? So, when do we use who and when do we use whom correctly? According to the Reference Manual for Stenographers and Typists, who is the nominative form, which means that it functions as the subject in both a question or as a relative pronoun.
Examples: Who just called? Grandma just called. [question]
I know who just called. Grandma just called. [relative pronoun]
Whom, on the other hand, is the objective form, which means it functions as the direct object of the subject and verb or it functions as the object of a preposition.
Examples: Whom did you call today? I called Grandma. [direct object]
To whom were you talking? I was talking to Grandma. [object of the preposition]
Both of these words refer to people.
Here are two examples of proper usage of both who and whom:
On an episode of "Boardwalk Empire," Margaret Schroeder, an Irish immigrant in Atlantic City and now Nucky Thompson's paramour, asks about the scratches on his chest. He tells her they are from a hunting accident. She inquires, "Who was hunting whom?" *The first bold word is the subject and the second bold word is the object. See? She talked "right."
Example: On "The Big Bang Theory," Sheldon overhears his friends Raj and Howard talking and he asks, "Who's going to tell whom about what?" *Sheldon not only used the subject who and the direct object whom correctly, he even threw in a question word used for a thing. Good speaking, Sheldon.
But check out the "wrong" way to talk:
Example: Oprah Winfrey is quoted on the hoopla surrounding James Frey's memoir.
She says, "So I had called him up and personally apologized to him. And he was receptive to the apology. He is somebody whom I would say now is a trusted friend." *Nope, Oprah, since he is now a trusted friend, who would have been the proper word used here. It is the subject.
Now check out the example from "Jesse Stone: Benefit of the Doubt." Chief of Police Jesse Stone asks the Captain of the state Homicide Department, "Whose case is this, yours or mine?" The Captain replies, "Both." Jesse says, "Who defers to who?" *The first bold word is correctly used as the subject, but the second one is the object of the preposition, and therefore it should be whom.
Below are several examples of these words used "right."
Example: Ada Calhoun's article in Glamour Magazine of November 2012 asks, "No matter whom you're dating . . ." *Here it is the direct object. You are dating someone. . .
Example: In the TV Guide September 2013 issue, an article about the new season of "Castle" tells about the titular character's daughter and her new beau. "Myko Oliver recurs as Pi, a 'hemp-wearing fruitarian' whom Castle's daughter Alexis met while working in Costa Rica." *Again, whom is the direct object. Alexis met him.
Example: Amanda Knox wrote Waiting to be Heard about her traumatic experience of being accused of a murder she didn't commit in Italy. Still a suspect, she is asked by the police
[in her English translation of the Italian], "Who do you think would do this? Whom do you know who disliked Meredith?" *We have subject / direct object / subject. All are correct.
Example: Patti Stanger, the "Millionaire Matchmaker," always asks the millionaires after their mixer,
"Whom do you want as your master date?" *Of course this is the direct object. Good speaking, Patti.
Now come the examples of objects of the preposition. Let's see which are correct and which are not.
Example: Mr. Reese, vigilante on "Person of Interest," says, "He's being set up. The question is by who?" *Since by is a preposition, the word after it should be whom.
Example: On the TV show "Criminal Minds," the Behavior Analysis Unit of the FBI is discussing the latest murders they are investigating. They notice the importance of watches left on the victims. Agent Jarreau wonders, "It's a message, but for whom?" *Good going, Agent Jarreau.
Example: Richard Castle, on the TV show that bears his name, is a writer who consults for the NYPD. At one scene, his partner, Det. Beckett, asks the C.O.O. of the night club where the murder took place, "Is there anyone else that you think might have wanted to harm Beau?" The C.O.O. answers, "Unfortunately he received death threats on a daily basis." Castle asks, "From whom?"
*Considering that his character is a writer, I'm glad to see that he speaks "right."
Example: Attorney and Maid of Honor Rachel, in the movie Something Borrowed, is having a heart to heart talk with the bride who admits that she cheated once on her fiancé.
Rachel asks, "With whom?" *Yea, the attorney talked "right."
Example: Lisa Lutz writes in The Curse of the Spellmans, "Our heroine, Isabel Spellman, is awakened by the phone. 'I had no idea whom I was speaking to' . . ." *OK, here the preposition is not exactly in close proximity to the object pronoun whom, but it is still the correct usage.
**In conclusion, I know that the use of the word whom has long been retired by the majority of the English-speaking population, but I appreciate it when English is written or spoken "right," and I will continue to speak or write to whom I please with good grammar.
In an episode of the old TV sitcom "Mad About You," Paul Buchman tells his wife Jamie that their apartment building may be going co-op. He says he heard it around the building. She asks, "From whom?" He responds with, "What is it with you and the 'whom' thing?" She retorts, "You talk your way and I'll talk right."
Wouldn't it be nice if we all "talked right"? So, when do we use who and when do we use whom correctly? According to the Reference Manual for Stenographers and Typists, who is the nominative form, which means that it functions as the subject in both a question or as a relative pronoun.
Examples: Who just called? Grandma just called. [question]
I know who just called. Grandma just called. [relative pronoun]
Whom, on the other hand, is the objective form, which means it functions as the direct object of the subject and verb or it functions as the object of a preposition.
Examples: Whom did you call today? I called Grandma. [direct object]
To whom were you talking? I was talking to Grandma. [object of the preposition]
Both of these words refer to people.
Here are two examples of proper usage of both who and whom:
On an episode of "Boardwalk Empire," Margaret Schroeder, an Irish immigrant in Atlantic City and now Nucky Thompson's paramour, asks about the scratches on his chest. He tells her they are from a hunting accident. She inquires, "Who was hunting whom?" *The first bold word is the subject and the second bold word is the object. See? She talked "right."
Example: On "The Big Bang Theory," Sheldon overhears his friends Raj and Howard talking and he asks, "Who's going to tell whom about what?" *Sheldon not only used the subject who and the direct object whom correctly, he even threw in a question word used for a thing. Good speaking, Sheldon.
But check out the "wrong" way to talk:
Example: Oprah Winfrey is quoted on the hoopla surrounding James Frey's memoir.
She says, "So I had called him up and personally apologized to him. And he was receptive to the apology. He is somebody whom I would say now is a trusted friend." *Nope, Oprah, since he is now a trusted friend, who would have been the proper word used here. It is the subject.
Now check out the example from "Jesse Stone: Benefit of the Doubt." Chief of Police Jesse Stone asks the Captain of the state Homicide Department, "Whose case is this, yours or mine?" The Captain replies, "Both." Jesse says, "Who defers to who?" *The first bold word is correctly used as the subject, but the second one is the object of the preposition, and therefore it should be whom.
Below are several examples of these words used "right."
Example: Ada Calhoun's article in Glamour Magazine of November 2012 asks, "No matter whom you're dating . . ." *Here it is the direct object. You are dating someone. . .
Example: In the TV Guide September 2013 issue, an article about the new season of "Castle" tells about the titular character's daughter and her new beau. "Myko Oliver recurs as Pi, a 'hemp-wearing fruitarian' whom Castle's daughter Alexis met while working in Costa Rica." *Again, whom is the direct object. Alexis met him.
Example: Amanda Knox wrote Waiting to be Heard about her traumatic experience of being accused of a murder she didn't commit in Italy. Still a suspect, she is asked by the police
[in her English translation of the Italian], "Who do you think would do this? Whom do you know who disliked Meredith?" *We have subject / direct object / subject. All are correct.
Example: Patti Stanger, the "Millionaire Matchmaker," always asks the millionaires after their mixer,
"Whom do you want as your master date?" *Of course this is the direct object. Good speaking, Patti.
Now come the examples of objects of the preposition. Let's see which are correct and which are not.
Example: Mr. Reese, vigilante on "Person of Interest," says, "He's being set up. The question is by who?" *Since by is a preposition, the word after it should be whom.
Example: On the TV show "Criminal Minds," the Behavior Analysis Unit of the FBI is discussing the latest murders they are investigating. They notice the importance of watches left on the victims. Agent Jarreau wonders, "It's a message, but for whom?" *Good going, Agent Jarreau.
Example: Richard Castle, on the TV show that bears his name, is a writer who consults for the NYPD. At one scene, his partner, Det. Beckett, asks the C.O.O. of the night club where the murder took place, "Is there anyone else that you think might have wanted to harm Beau?" The C.O.O. answers, "Unfortunately he received death threats on a daily basis." Castle asks, "From whom?"
*Considering that his character is a writer, I'm glad to see that he speaks "right."
Example: Attorney and Maid of Honor Rachel, in the movie Something Borrowed, is having a heart to heart talk with the bride who admits that she cheated once on her fiancé.
Rachel asks, "With whom?" *Yea, the attorney talked "right."
Example: Lisa Lutz writes in The Curse of the Spellmans, "Our heroine, Isabel Spellman, is awakened by the phone. 'I had no idea whom I was speaking to' . . ." *OK, here the preposition is not exactly in close proximity to the object pronoun whom, but it is still the correct usage.
**In conclusion, I know that the use of the word whom has long been retired by the majority of the English-speaking population, but I appreciate it when English is written or spoken "right," and I will continue to speak or write to whom I please with good grammar.
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Than I or Than me?
Dear Readers,
As the above title suggests, when do we use the comparison "than I" or "than me" in a sentence?
According to Strunk and White's Elements of Style, the definitive authority on grammar, "a pronoun in a comparison is nominative if it is the subject of a stated or understood verb." Here's an example of what this means: "Marlene speaks Spanish better than I." [better than I speak it / better than I do.] The explanation continues, "but in general, avoid understood verbs by supplying them." For example: Instead of "Glenn is taller than I," one should say, "Glenn is taller than I am."
The objective is used when the pronoun after the comparison "than" is an object of the sentence, not the subject. Here's what I mean: "Mommy loves Tommy more than me." [more than she loves me.] I believe that people use the objective pronouns (than me, than us, than him, etc.) because they don't realize that the nominative should be used if followed by a verb. For example: "Mommy likes coffee more than me." This should be, "Mommy loves coffee more than I like coffee," not that "Mommy likes coffee more than she likes me." Do you see the difference? Let's check out some more examples of correct and incorrect usage.
INCORRECT
Example: In The Wedding Girl by Madeleine Wickham, heroine Milly Havill is soon to be married. Her older, unmarried sister Isobel is considered an "independent spirit" by their father. He says, "Can you really see Isobel settling down with some dreary businessman? Anyway, she's far too young."
Milly pipes in with, "She's older than me." *According to the above rule, it should be "than I am."
Example: On TV's "Mad Men," one of the secretaries at the ad agency got caught punching the time card of a friend who left early. She tells this to another friend after work. "She got in more trouble than me." *Of course this secretary meant to say, "than I did."
Example: During Steve Harvey's Mother's Day Makeover segment of his TV show, participant Kim says she likes to dress up and play with her grandkids. She came out on stage wearing a full Cat in the Hat costume. Steve asked, "It's fun, hunh?" She answered, "I think I have as much fun as them."
*The better answer would have been, "as they do."
Example: Realtor/father Phil Dunphy, on TV's "Modern Family," is on the phone with a new client who happens to be a recently divorced woman. He says to her, "I'm mad for you, Diane. Roger's dating already? OMG. I wonder if she's younger than him." *I believe he meant to say, "than he is."
CORRECT
Example: NYPD consulting detective Sherlock Holmes, on TV's "Elementary," is pitted against his old nemesis Moriarty. He says to his partner, Dr. Joan Watson, "Moriarty is quite clearly smarter than I am." *Bravo, writers. Such an erudite character as Holmes would indeed speak correctly.
Example: On TV's "Person of Interest," John Reese's job is to save people from an untimely death. One of his candidates asks him, "Who would want me dead?" John responds with, "You would know better than I." [understood verb "would".] *Kudos to the writers.
Example: During an episode of "Shark Tank" on TV, entrepreneur Mary Beth Lugo says to the sharks, "Nobody knows this company more than I do." *Maybe with such good grammar, she'll get the money she needs from the investors.
Example: Jennifer Warner is the author of The Guy Not Taken. In her book, the narrator is describing her sister and brother. "She was almost seventeen, and had felt entitled to boss our little brother around since his arrival had displaced her from her crib, even though he was taller than she was." *Excellent, Ms. Warner.
BOTH CORRECT AND INCORRECT
Look at these examples from Beyond Belief by Jenna Miscavige Hill.
On page 116, Jenna describes a girl she'll be working with in Florida. The girl's position is Commanding Officer of Cadets. Jenna says, "With a post like that, my concern was that she was probably more ethical than I ." *Yes, a verb would likely follow.
On page 117, Jenna continues to describe a course she takes. "I was looking around for a seat when a girl a year or two older than me . . . walked up to me and introduced herself." *In this example, she should be using "than I" to indicate that the girl is older than she is.
On page 123, "Diane and I didn't always get along. She was older, smarter, and quicker than I was."
*Back to the correct usage. *Hello, Editors!
In conclusion, I realize that all of these examples were focused on the nominative, which requires a subject and an understood or stated verb, but you get my point, right? So now you are as enlightened as I am.
As the above title suggests, when do we use the comparison "than I" or "than me" in a sentence?
According to Strunk and White's Elements of Style, the definitive authority on grammar, "a pronoun in a comparison is nominative if it is the subject of a stated or understood verb." Here's an example of what this means: "Marlene speaks Spanish better than I." [better than I speak it / better than I do.] The explanation continues, "but in general, avoid understood verbs by supplying them." For example: Instead of "Glenn is taller than I," one should say, "Glenn is taller than I am."
The objective is used when the pronoun after the comparison "than" is an object of the sentence, not the subject. Here's what I mean: "Mommy loves Tommy more than me." [more than she loves me.] I believe that people use the objective pronouns (than me, than us, than him, etc.) because they don't realize that the nominative should be used if followed by a verb. For example: "Mommy likes coffee more than me." This should be, "Mommy loves coffee more than I like coffee," not that "Mommy likes coffee more than she likes me." Do you see the difference? Let's check out some more examples of correct and incorrect usage.
INCORRECT
Example: In The Wedding Girl by Madeleine Wickham, heroine Milly Havill is soon to be married. Her older, unmarried sister Isobel is considered an "independent spirit" by their father. He says, "Can you really see Isobel settling down with some dreary businessman? Anyway, she's far too young."
Milly pipes in with, "She's older than me." *According to the above rule, it should be "than I am."
Example: On TV's "Mad Men," one of the secretaries at the ad agency got caught punching the time card of a friend who left early. She tells this to another friend after work. "She got in more trouble than me." *Of course this secretary meant to say, "than I did."
Example: During Steve Harvey's Mother's Day Makeover segment of his TV show, participant Kim says she likes to dress up and play with her grandkids. She came out on stage wearing a full Cat in the Hat costume. Steve asked, "It's fun, hunh?" She answered, "I think I have as much fun as them."
*The better answer would have been, "as they do."
Example: Realtor/father Phil Dunphy, on TV's "Modern Family," is on the phone with a new client who happens to be a recently divorced woman. He says to her, "I'm mad for you, Diane. Roger's dating already? OMG. I wonder if she's younger than him." *I believe he meant to say, "than he is."
CORRECT
Example: NYPD consulting detective Sherlock Holmes, on TV's "Elementary," is pitted against his old nemesis Moriarty. He says to his partner, Dr. Joan Watson, "Moriarty is quite clearly smarter than I am." *Bravo, writers. Such an erudite character as Holmes would indeed speak correctly.
Example: On TV's "Person of Interest," John Reese's job is to save people from an untimely death. One of his candidates asks him, "Who would want me dead?" John responds with, "You would know better than I." [understood verb "would".] *Kudos to the writers.
Example: During an episode of "Shark Tank" on TV, entrepreneur Mary Beth Lugo says to the sharks, "Nobody knows this company more than I do." *Maybe with such good grammar, she'll get the money she needs from the investors.
Example: Jennifer Warner is the author of The Guy Not Taken. In her book, the narrator is describing her sister and brother. "She was almost seventeen, and had felt entitled to boss our little brother around since his arrival had displaced her from her crib, even though he was taller than she was." *Excellent, Ms. Warner.
BOTH CORRECT AND INCORRECT
Look at these examples from Beyond Belief by Jenna Miscavige Hill.
On page 116, Jenna describes a girl she'll be working with in Florida. The girl's position is Commanding Officer of Cadets. Jenna says, "With a post like that, my concern was that she was probably more ethical than I ." *Yes, a verb would likely follow.
On page 117, Jenna continues to describe a course she takes. "I was looking around for a seat when a girl a year or two older than me . . . walked up to me and introduced herself." *In this example, she should be using "than I" to indicate that the girl is older than she is.
On page 123, "Diane and I didn't always get along. She was older, smarter, and quicker than I was."
*Back to the correct usage. *Hello, Editors!
In conclusion, I realize that all of these examples were focused on the nominative, which requires a subject and an understood or stated verb, but you get my point, right? So now you are as enlightened as I am.
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