Arlene Miller's Blog, page 24

The Final Exam!

We have been through the entire alphabet A through Y of confused words, so you are ready for the final exam! Here we go…

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from PixabayThe (principal, principle) idea of this game is to get all the red tiles to your side.Albany is the (capital, capitol) of New York.I think I am taller (than, then) my sister.The Senate (censored, censured) Senator Brock for his racist language. When I found him, he was lying (prostate, prostrate) on the floor, fast asleep.(Any one, Anyone) of you can probably take my place at the benefit.We were not (appraised, apprised) about the meeting tomorrow morning.The (venal, venial) judge could be persuaded by offers of money.The United States is (composed, comprised) of fifty states.I hope you own the (copyright, copy write) for this information you wrote.This is the (last, latest) in her series of books; I can’t wait to read the next one, due out next month.The humid weather has quite an (affect, effect) on my hair!The (amount, number) of people at the concert was surprisingly large.This pizza is (all together, altogether) too spicy for my taste.Why don’t you (lay, lie) down and rest for a while.Do you have (some time, sometime) to help me with this math problem? I was so proud to see my son as he (lead, led) the parade.The reason I am late is (because, that) there was a huge traffic accident on the highway.I was happy to find out that our raise is retroactive (from, to) the beginning of the year.I am not sure (who’s, whose) coming to the party.At Christmas we always hang our stockings on the (mantel, mantle).It is (meet, mete) that she is introduced first, since she is the club president. Did you suffer from any (adverse, averse) symptoms after your vaccine?The water you sometimes see up ahead on the road is just an (allusion, elusion, illusion). That magazine is (bimonthly, semimonthly) and comes out on the first and third Thursdays of each month.You know what to do….scroll down for the answers…. Keep on scrolling… A little more… One more time… 

 

AnswersThe (principal, principle) idea of this game is to get all the red tiles to your side. (the main one)Albany is the (capital, capitol) of New York. (only the actual buildings have the “o”)I think I am taller (than, then) my sister. (comparison)The Senate (censored, censured) Senator Brock for his racist language. (reprimanded; people don’t generally get censored)When I found him, he was lying (prostate, prostrate) on the floor, fast asleep. (prostate is the gland)(Any one, Anyone) of you can probably take my place at the benefit. (you could put a word between any and one, and it would make sense)We were not (appraised, apprised) about the meeting tomorrow morning. (notified)The (venal, venial) judge could be persuaded by offers of money. (can be bought off)The United States is (composed, comprised) of fifty states. (or comprises fifty states)I hope you own the (copyright, copy write) for this information you wrote. (copy write is to write copy)This is the (last, latest) in her series of books; I can’t wait to read the next one, due out next month. (there are more to come)The humid weather has quite an (affect, effect) on my hair! (the noun)The (amount, number) of people at the concert was surprisingly large. (use with things you can count or plurals)This pizza is (all together, altogether) too spicy for my taste. (we are all together today)Why don’t you (lay, lie) down and rest for a while. (you must lay something down. Lay my book on the table)Do you have (some time, sometime) to help me with this math problem? (come see me sometime.) I was so proud to see my son as he (lead, led) the parade. (lead pronounced the same way is in your pencil)The reason I am late is (because, that) there was a huge traffic accident on the highway. (don’t use “is because”)I was happy to find out that our raise is retroactive (from, to) the beginning of the year. (don’t use retroactive from)I am not sure (who’s, whose) coming to the party. (who is)At Christmas we always hang our stockings on the (mantel, mantle).( that is the fireplace one)It is (meet, mete) that she is introduced first, since she is the club president.  (appropriate)Did you suffer from any (adverse, averse) symptoms after your vaccine? (averse means being against something)The water you sometimes see up ahead on the road is just an (allusion, elusion, illusion). (elusion isn’t a word. allusion is a reference to something)That magazine is (bimonthly, semimonthly) and comes out on the first and third Thursdays of each month. (twice a month)I will probably take the month of May off from the blog. However there will be a couple of posts from the wonderful  Jags Arthurson, and then a couple of Best Of posts. Then I will see you again!If you are interested in the other side of The Grammar Diva, When Life Hands You Frogs is now available for pre-order on Kindle. It is to be released June 1 as an e-book, a paperback, and available on Kindle Unlimited.

 

 

Mete? Meet? Meet? Those Pesky Homonyms!

A Guest Post by Cate ParkeEtymology lovers will enjoy this guest post by Cate Parke.Those Pesky Homonyms

I want to tell you about a word I found that I’d been using incorrectly for I have no idea how many–(ahem) decades. It involves homophones. The word is meet. When I read the correct word usage in a novel I was reading, I’d been certain the word had been used incorrectly. I’m lucky to have an unabridged English dictionary so, of course, I looked it up. With the aid of my Advanced English Dictionary app, I also was able to get all the correct etymologies to the three homophones. The words are mete, meet, and meat. Mete had the shortest two meanings: Its noun form (which I hadn’t known) means “a line indicating a boundary, border, or a delimitation.” The verb form means to measure or allot, especially as in punishment or reward. Cool word! Right?

 Meat is a pretty well-used word in the English language, and as most of us do, I knew that one. So along comes the word meet. It has rather a lot more meanings, including verb, noun, and adjective forms. It was the adjective form—the very last one I read—that threw me. The sentence was, “It is only meet that she should be seated first.” I was sure that it had been used incorrectly. However, it seems that I was the one who’d been incorrect. Here’s what I wrote for my critique partners’ edification (and which I thought you might enjoy, too).

Homophones are pronounced the same, but are spelled differently and mean something quite different (such as reek and wreak—or bare and bear—or plain and plane.) Try cents, scents, and sense for another instance.  Don’t you just love the English language?

Homographs, on the other hand, are words that are spelled alike and sound alike, but have different meanings, such as plane, plane, and plane (one refers to a means of transport, the next is a woodworking tool, and the next refers to a term in geometry (as in plane geometry). There are quite a few of these. Try bank (as in a river bank) and bank (as in the place you stash your money) and bank (as in an aircraft maneuver—to bank a plane).

Heterophones, conversely, are spelled alike but are pronounced differently and mean different things: bow (to bend at your neck or waist respectfully) and bow (something like ribbons that you can tie into your hair).

It’s enough to give you a headache. Some people lump the whole mess into the general category of Homonym. I’ve always loved these darned things. 

In case you were wondering . . .

Mete: [Etymology: from ME (meten); from OE (meten): (“to measure, give out, mark off, compare, estimate, pass over, traverse”); from Proto-Germanic metaną (“to measure”); from Proto-Indo-European med- (“to measure, consider”); Cognate w/ Scots mete (“to measure”), West Frisian mjitte (“to measure”); Dutch metan (“to measure”); Swedish mäta (“to measure”); Latin modus (“limit, measure, target”); Ancient Greek μéδείμνοç (I think this alphabetic spelling is correct)—but which, in the English alphabet, is medímnos: (“measure, bushel”); or also in Ancient Greek, but using more or less an English alphabet—médesthai: (“care for”); Old Armenian (for which I don’t even have alphabetic symbols), but their word, in the English alphabet, is mit, (“mind”)]a. Noun: a line indicating a boundary, a border, or a delimitation
b. Verb: to measure or allot (especially as in punishment or reward) Meet: [Etymology 1. from ME meten, from OE mētan (“to meet, find, find out, fall in with, encounter, obtain”); from Proto-Germanic mōtijaną (“to meet”); Proto-Indo-European: mōd-, mad-(“to come, meet”); Cognate w/ Scots met, mete, meit (“to meet”), North Frisian mete (“to meet”); West Frisian moetsje (“to meet”) Dutch ontmoeten (“to meet”), Low German moten, möten (“to meet”), Danish møde (“to meet”); Swedish möta (“to meet”);Icelandic mæta (“to meet”). Related to moot.
[Etymology 2. From ME mete, imete, from OE ġemǽte (“suitable, having the same measurements”), from the Proto-Germanic gamētijaz (cognate with Dutch meten (“measure”), German gemäß (“suitable) etc.), itself from collective prefix ge- + Proto-Indo-European med- (to measure).]a. Verb
i. Come together (as in run into; encounter; run across; see)
ii. Get together socially or for a specific purpose
iii. Be adjacent to or come together (converge)
iv. Fill, satisfy, or meet a want or need or condition (as in fit, conform to, satisfy, fill, fulfill)
v. Collect in one place (gather, assemble, foregather)
vi. Get to know; get acquainted with
vii. Meet by design; be present at the arrival of
viii. Contend against an opponent in a sport, game, or battle
ix. Experience as a reaction (as with meeting with opposition to a proposal)
x. Undergo or suffer (as in meet a violent death; suffer a terrible fate)
xi. Be in direct physical contact with; make contact
b. Noun: a meeting at which a number of athletic contests are held
c. Adjective: being precisely fitting and right (“It is only meet that she should be seated first.”) ***I “met with” this definition this past week and that’s the sole reason I’m sharing this for your edification Meat: [Etymology: from ME mete, from OE mete (“meat, food”), from Proto-Germanic matiz (“food”, from Proto-Indo-European mad- (to drip, ooze; grease, fat”). Cognate with Frisian mete, Old Saxon meti, Old High German maz (“food”), Old Icelandic matr, Gothic (not even gonna try taking a whack at this alphabet) but the word in the English alphabet is mats, from Proto-Germanic matiz. A ja- derivation from the same base is found in Middle Dutch and Middle Low German met (“lean pork”), whence Modern Low German Mett (“minced meat”), (whence 16th c. German Mettwurst (a kind of sausage”). Probably cognate with Old Irish mess (“animal feed”), Welsh mes (“acorns”) or Albanian mish (“meat, flesh”). The further etymology is uncertain. Some suggest derivation from an Indo-European verb base cognate with Latin madere (“to be wet”), Greek (not attempting this alphabet again!) but in the English alphabet, the word is mastos, (“wet breast”)]a. Noun:
i. The flesh of animals (including fishes, birds, and snails) used as food.
ii. The inner and usually edible part of a seed or grain or nut or fruit stone (kernel)
iii. The choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience (such as: kernel; substance; core; center; essence; gist; heart; heart and soul; inwardness; marrow; nub; pith; sum; nitty-gritty.

By the way, the word Cognate means: (adjective): related in nature; 2. Having the same ancestral language; or 3. Related by blood. And (Noun): 1. One who is related by blood or origin; esp. on sharing an ancestor with another; or 2. A word is cognate with another if both derive from the same word in an ancestral language.

You can look these words and etymologies up yourself if you download the Advanced English Dictionary onto your computer from the Microsoft stores. I presume it is also available to download onto Apple computers. The best news is—it’s free! I’ve also added it my Kindle and cell phone. You just never know when you’ll want to look up a word!

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Born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Cate spent her childhood and youth in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Albuquerque was also where Cate met and fell in love with a

Cate Parke

young naval officer who swept her off her feet. After twenty-six years and eighteen major moves, she and her Prince Charming built a home in the foothills of the beautiful Appalachian Mountains.

Cate is the author of three historical novels and one contemporary romance, Alex Campbell. However, before becoming an author she was a pediatric nurse. But a long-time interest in history remained a lure. What might have happened if only became an intriguing question. It is the premise for her two upcoming novels:  Once Upon a Duke, The Lost Prince set during 1306 and 1307; and A King’s Promise set in 1830 England.

When she’s not writing—or reading—or sewing (it’s true), Cate can be found at her website, blog, Amazon Author Central, Goodreads, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Bookbub.

She loves to hear from readers, so she hopes you’ll visit.

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Speaking of homonyms . . . remember those confusing word posts and the quizzes? Well, next week’s post will be a quiz on all of them from A to Z (well, I think it was actually Y)…with maybe a few thrown in that weren’t in any of the posts….NOW ON PRESALE ON KINDLE:

Grammar Pet Peeves: Mine!

I have been having mega issues with the blog posts getting mailing and arriving. I think things I straightened out now, but in case you were not able to read last week’s guest post, you really should. It’s great!

Mind Your Language: Verbs and Verbosity

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A few weeks ago, I asked you for your pet peeves. I didn’t receive much of a response, so I decided I would tell you some of mine:

1. Woke. Woke used to be the past tense of wake. I woke up at nine this morning.  Now it is an adjective, which means “socially aware.” I loved woke when I first saw it. I remember posting something on social media about being woke. But now, I am tired of it. 

Image by Markus Winkler from Pixabay

Example: You people who don’t care about climate change need to get woke!

2. Cancel Culture: This is the worst. I never liked it. You don’t cancel people. You cancel television shows. You cancel plans. Now cancel is used to indicate someone has been banished from something because of something they did or said. People have been canceled from Twitter. Mr. Potato Head has been canceled. Dr. Seuss books have been canceled. Argh!!!!! While I agree that some people should be canceled and we not  hear or believe anything they might say, I don’t like the term. (You can read whatever you like into that last sentence.) 

Possibly the first reference to canceling someone comes with the 1991 film New Jack City, in which Wesley Snipes plays a gangster named Nino Brown. After his girlfriend breaks down because of all the violence he’s causing, he dumps her by saying, “Cancel that bitch. I’ll buy another one.”

3. The wrong pronunciation of mischievous. Mischievous has three syllables, and the first syllable is the one that is stressed. There is no i in the last syllable, and it is not mis chee vee us.

4. Less and Fewer. Most grocery stores have gotten the hint that people in the express line have fewer than twelve items. But many people on the news haven’t. Fewer is for plurals and things that can be counted. Less is for singulars and things that you cannot count: 

Examples:There is less traffic this morning than yesterday morning. There are fewer cars on the road this morning.

5. Incorrect past tense. You just have to memorize those irregular verbs. 

It isn’t I have ate, I have went, I have swam, I have drank, I have rang.

It is I have eaten, I have gone, I have swum, I have drunk, I have rung.

6. Me and I. The subject of the sentence is I. The object is me. 

It isn’t Me and him are leaving now. OR He gave the toy to he and I. 

It is He and I are leaving now. He gave the toy to him and me. (He gave the toy to I?????)

7. Don’t used for third person singular.

It is I don’t and you don’t and we don’t and they don’t. 

It is he doesn’t and she doesn’t and it doesn’t.

It isn’t he don’t and she don’t and it don’t. 

8. Any spelling, punctuation, or capitalization mistake in a headline or slide presentation.

9. On accident. This one has become so prevalent that I am now saying it. 

It is by accident, but on purpose. 

10. I seen. I haven’t really heard this one in a while, but I sure heard it frequently when I was growing up. And while I am at it, another pet peeve of verbs is using the present tense instead of past.

Example: So I goes up to him and I says hello. And then he punches me. 

Here’s hoping my e-mail is all straightened out and you receive this one!Coming June 1. On presale soon.  A change of pace!Release date: June 1, 2021

 

 

 

 

Mind Your Language: Verbs and Verbosity

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

You loved his previous guest post, and you will love this one!

Jags Arthurson is the pen name of a Brighton, UK writer. Jags has been a research chemist and company director. He has lived and worked in over 40 countries. His novel, the crime thriller Pagan Justice, is available on Amazon with all proceeds going to charity.

 

They—the ubiquitous “they,” who always know better than the rest of us—claim that, despite English being the most widely spoken language in the world ever, it is hard to learn.  I was recently assailed on the subject by a Thai friend who complained that we had a fruit we called “pineapple” that was neither an apple nor came from a pine tree. This from a speaker of a language which is “tonal,” so the meaning of a word can pretty much change  depending on the direction of the wind.  I wonder which Thai genius first picked up a prawn and thought, “I’ll use the same word for this strange creature that I use for you but, if I say it slightly differently, then every time an unsuspecting foreigner tries to order prawns he’ll actually be saying “you,” and every time he addresses his companions he will be calling them ‘”prawn.”

These clever people, who condemn our language as difficult always roll out the old shibboleth surrounding the pronunciation of the syllable ough—pontificating on how hard it is for foreigners to remember the differences.  “Although I have a cough, I’m tough so I ought to plough through.”  But years ago I knew a Swiss woman who pronounced every occurrence of ough as “ow,” as in “out.”

“Althow I have a cow, I’m tou so I out to plow throu.”  She would also say things like, “I vish ve could go to the willage in the wan.”  But, after one “got one’s ear in,” she was perfectly comprehensible.

And that’s the thing about English—it’s ultimately flexible.  Take a simple sentence such as, “Tomorrow I will go to the cinema.”  There isn’t a standard way of saying this, so “I will go to the cinema tomorrow,” is equally valid.  But actually, providing one keeps the article with its noun, almost any combination of the words works.  “I, tomorrow, to the cinema will go”, “The cinema will I, tomorrow, go.”  Sometimes even the wrong verb works: “I was to the cinema yesterday,” is quite clear.  Contrast that with German where a verb, slipping forward of its assigned location dangling somewhere off the back bumper of a sentence, will attract rolled eyes, a sigh, and an uncomprehending shrug that would earn the envy of the most Gallic Frenchman.

And while we’re on that subject …

Verbs!  The engines of language. Without control of verbs, the tyro linguist is reduced to the position of a two year old, meandering through the world, pointing at random objects exclaiming, “gate,” “bird,” “red,” and so on.  But it is the verb that differentiates English from the other European languages.

First, the student of English has to learn the seven personal pronouns: I, you, he, she, it, we and they … or eight if you want to speak “American” and need you-all.  Now, say, you want to learn Spanish—the language claimed to be the easiest for English speakers—and you find almost twice as many: yo, tu, el, ella, usted, nosotros, nosotras, vosotros, vosotras, ellos, ellas and ustedes (South American Spanish even adds vos.)  Why do they need so many?  I, you (singular, informal), he, she, you (singular, formal), we (all male or mixed gender), we (all female), you (plural, all male or mixed gender, informal), you (all female, informal), they (all male or mixed gender), they (all female), you (plural, formal).  Note there is no it form because, like most European languages, every item has a gender that has to be learned by rote because each is assigned without any logic … breast (seno) is male, prostate (próstata) is female.  And if you think you can fudge the gender, forget it because all possessives, articles, and adjectives are dependent on it, so whereas students of English have just the definite and indefinite articles to learn, in Spanish there are four of each article: un, una, unos, unas, el, la, los and las!  Adjectives, immutable, concrete blocks in the flow of an English sentence, morph and change to fit the Spanish noun.  Many hours are wasted in every class learning, “nuestro sombrero rojo” but “nuestros sombreros rojos,” “nuestra manzana roja,” and “nuestras manzanas rojas.”  And there are even words that take the male articles but feminine adjectives, or that are masculine in the singular but feminine when plural! It all makes learning the difference between though and through feel like a walk in the park.

And the relative effort between learning English and learning Spanish diverges even more.  Apart from the occasional irregular verb, conjugation in English is ridiculously easy.  To conjugate, say, to eat one needs just two words: eat and eats.  I, you, we ,and they all eat.  He, she, and it eats.  That’s it.  Returning to Spanish we find that the same verb, comer, generates como, comes, come, comemos, coméis and comen.  In fact, because each form is different, it is conventional in Spanish not to use the pronoun at all.  This means the beginner can frequently be confused by whom is actually eating—especially when the third person forms also serve for the second person formal.

Then we move to the simple past tense, and again English wins because we need just one more word—ate.  That’s it.  Not so in Spanish where there is another complete conjugation: comí, comiste, comió, comimos, comisteis and comieron.  And as one progresses, the complications increase because in English we build our verbs.  To create the future tense we need will.  Everybody will eat, end of.  Spanish?  You’ve guessed it, another conjugation. Imperfect, (I was eating) another.  Conditional, (I would eat) …  In fact most European languages have, including the imperative form, fifteen separate tenses and moods, although maybe that should be sixteen because many of the imperatives have different negative forms.  And every single one has to be learned.

But you’ve finally cracked it, haven’t you?  Haven’t you?  Well, no, because we now come across the reflexive verbs. In most sentences, a subject does the transitive verb to the object, (I eat the food).  But in reflexive sentences the subject does the verb to itself (I wash myself).  And in English that’s how we do it … by making the object myself, yourself and so on.  In Spanish … you knew this was coming, didn’t you? … another verb form.  And there are lots and lots of reflexive verbs in Spanish.  In English we are called, but in Spanish even inanimate objects call themselves (llamarse).  And whereas we leave, they themselves leave.  We stand, they raise themselves.  On and on and on.  Nearly every intransitive verb has a reflexive form which is denoted by having the suffix se added to the infinitive.  But … did you see this coming? … this se is, itself (see what I did there?) conjugated (me, te, se, nos, os, se) thus doubling the number of verb forms to thirty—for EVERY VERB!

Surely that must be it, right?  Well, er, no because there’s one more class of verbs … the “gustar” verbs.  Gustar is generally translated as “to like” and is an example of a special construct that turns the normal subject-verb-object structure on its head to object-verb-subject.  In English “I like the food,” but in Spanish it is the food that is active and being likable, where I am passive to the process.  “Me gusta la comida” literally translates to “To myself is likable the food.”

But there is just a little relief because we can only talk about some thing or some things being likable to me so there are, instead of the full six-person conjugation, only two forms: gusta and gustan.

The gustar verb form is drilled in at every stage of the learning process.  Never, ever anything but the third person singular or the third person plural.  Me gusta el libro, me gustan los libros …  Great.

Or, at least, you would have thought so.

Because then I heard the song!

There I was, innocent as a baby, listening to Spanish radio and it leapt out at me like an angry tiger. It was by an Algerian-born Spaniard, Manu Chau.  I listened and could hardly believe my ears.  Did he really sing what I thought he did?

Me gustan los aviones, me gustas tú

Me gusta viajar, me gustas tú

Me gusta la mañana, me gustas tú

Me gusta el viento, me gustas tú

Me gusta soñar, me gustas tú

Me gusta la mar, me gustas tú

At the end, the presenter, just to rub salt into the wound, announced the title … Me Gustas Tú.  But how can that be?  Had I misunderstood all my lessons?  Had all my studies been in vain?  What to do?  I had no choice.  I sought the advice of María.

María Hernandez had taught (nurtured? nursed?) me thoughout my Spanish learning.  She responded to my email within an hour.  Spanish, she explained, is so structured that there are many things it is simply not possible to say, and one of them in particular revolves around gustar.  Young people, being naturally rebellious, do not like these constraints, so in recent years they have started to change the language of their forebears and begun to conjugate gustar as a normal, transitive verb.  She wrote all this in Spanish except, of course, the bit that it was not possible to say in Spanish—the phrase that had actually impelled the exchange.  Thus, the sentence my non-Spanish-speaking wife read, as she looked over my shoulder, was

Entonces, para los jovenes, me gustas tú significa en inglés: “I fancy you.”  Un abrazo, María.

For all my linguistic skills, it took a lot of fast talking to get me out of that one.

 

Le Quiz! W and Y

Image by mjimages from Pixabay

We have reached the end of the alphabet for confusing word pairs and groups. And yes, I am still using the mail program that is giving me headaches because I have not gotten around to facing the technology of switching! Maybe next week! So I hope you receive this quiz.

 

“You got a B on the algebra test, but you still have a (way, ways) to go before I move you into the advanced class,” said Ms. Brock.Someone mixed their potato chips with the broccoli! (Whoever, Who ever) does that?He told me he (wont,won’t) go unless you go too.If you sign this paper, you are (waiving, waving) the right to change your mind about this.This story will (wet, whet) your appetite for reading the whole book!“(Your, You’re) welcome,” he said after I said thank you.I need to call Amazon because I didn’t receive a (warrantee, warranty) with the food processor I bought.The toddler was very (wary, weary) of anyone who wasn’t his mother.I don’t know (who’s, whose) coming to the party.I hope you are all feeling (good, well) today!The recipe calls for three egg (yokes, yolks).My parents think playing computer games is a (waist, waste) of time.Scroll down for the answers:

 

 

 

Keep scrolling

 

 

 

One more time

 

 

 

ANSWERS

“You got a B on the algebra test, but you still have a ( way , ways) to go before I move you into the advanced class,” said Ms. Brock.Someone mixed their potato chips with the broccoli! (Whoever, Who ever) does that?He told me he (wont, won’t ) go unless you go too.If you sign this paper, you are ( waiving , waving) the right to change your mind about this.This story will (wet, whet ) your appetite for reading the whole book!“(Your, You’re ) welcome,” he said after I said thank you.I need to call Amazon because I didn’t receive a (warrantee, warranty ) with the food processor I bought.The toddler was very ( wary, weary) of anyone who wasn’t his mother.I don’t know ( who’s, whose) coming to the party.I hope you are all feeling (good, well) today! Either one is fine. Good is technically the answer because we use adjectives with feeling verbs (verbs of the senses). However, well is fine to use as a state of health in this situation. The recipe calls for three egg (yokes, yolks ).My parents think playing computer games is a (waist, waste ) of time.My next book is in a different genre entirely! More about that later.

Confused Words: W and Y and It’s a Wrap!

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Finally, we reach the end of the alphabet on the series about confusing word pairs and groups. Last week I received a lot of returns on the emails I sent out. If you didn’t receive last week’s quiz post, I apologize — and you can always find the blog posts on my website under the BLOG tab. (www.bigwords101.com OR www.TheGrammarDiva.com.) I am moving to a new e-mail sending service, but first I have to figure out the technical details….and that generally stops me in my tracks: technophobia! So bear with me….

Confusing words that begin with W and Y:

Waive/Wave –  To waive is to refrain from insisting on something or to forego. Wave is the movement of the tides or a hand gesture. Because she had such good grades, the school waived the requirement that students running for office be at the school for at least a year.  He waved at us before he rode the big wave on his surfboard.

Warrantee/Warranty – I used to have a tough time with this one. A warrantee is the person who receives  a warranty. A warranty is an agreement you get with a purchase that guarantees your product will work for a specific length of time, or the product will be repaired or replaced free of charge. The contract claimed that the warrantee had to register the product with the company in order to use the warranty. 

Wary/Weary – Wary means watchful or on guard. Weary means tired.  The dog was wary of strangers. After that covid vaccine, I was very weary for a couple of days.

Way/Ways – Ways is the plural of way. Don’t use it as a singular. Which way is your house? (Yes) There are many ways to bake brownies. (Yes) We still have a ways to go. (No. That last sentence is not correct.)

Wet/Whet – Wet is the opposite of dry. To whet, a verb, is to make eager for something or to stimulate. My nail polish is still wet. These fancy appetizers will whet your appetite for the main course. 

Whoever/Who ever – Whoever is some person. Occasionally who and ever are two separate words. If you can put a word or phrase between them, they are two separate words.  Whoever is first at the party will win a prize. Who ever says those things? (You could say Who on earth ever says those things? OR Who, might I ask, ever eats that?)

Whose/Who’s – We probably have had this one drummed into us enough times to know it by now. Whose is possessive. Who’s is a contraction for who is. These words follow the rule that all contractions have an apostrophe, but  no possessive pronouns do (his, hers, ours, yours, theirs, whose). Whose old shoe is this? Who’s coming with me. 

Wont/Won’t – Wont isn’t used very often, but it means accustomed. And of course won’t is the contraction for will not. He is wont to take a hike every weekend. He won’t be able to visit because he is hiking. 

Yoke/Yolk – A yoke is something that binds things together, particularly two draft animals.  And yolks belong in eggs (the yellow part). Please tighten the yoke on those two donkeys. The yoke broke while I was frying the egg.

Your/You’re – I know, I know. But it still is a very common mistake, and probably much of the time, just a typo. Your is possessive. You’re is a contraction. Just like whose and who’s. They follow the rules.  Please don’t forget to take your coat. You’re going to freeze without it. 

Stay tuned for the quiz next week.

Next to the Last Quiz (Yay!)

Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

Here is the quiz on confusing T, U, and V words….

1. I heard (that, where) you got a promotion yesterday.

2. One of the ( tenants, tenets ) that has remained throughout my life is that I am always honest.

3. I (use to, used to) be afraid of spiders, but I guess I outgrew it!

4. When I saw her, she was headed (toward, towards)  the mall.

5.  When I saw them, they were in the (throes, throws) of a big argument.

6. I will (try and, try to) move the piano myself, but I think I will need some help.

7. That dog is really (vicious, viscous), so watch out.

8. (This, These) kind of apples are my favorite.

9. I think my dog is larger (than, then) your dog.

10. He broke a (venial, venal) traffic law, so he didn’t have a very large fine. 

 

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ANSWERS

1. I heard (that, where) you got a promotion yesterday.

2. One of the ( tenants, tenets ) that has remained throughout my life is that I am always honest.

3. I (use to, used to) be afraid of spiders, but I guess I outgrew it!

4. When I saw her, she was headed (toward, towards)  the mall. (Either one, but toward is more common in American English.)

5.  When I saw them, they were in the (throes. throws) of a big argument.

6. I will (try and, try to) move the piano myself, but I think I will need some help.

7. That dog is really (vicious, viscous), so watch out.

8. (This, These) kind of apples are my favorite.

9. I think my dog is larger (than, then) your dog.

10. He broke a (venial, venal) traffic law, so he didn’t have a very large fine. 

 

TUV of Confused Words

There, Their, They’re….Today we look at confused word pairs that begin with T, U, and V, not including that trio.  I know you know those.

Tenant/Tenet – A tenant is someone renting an apartment from you. A tenet is a principle, doctrine, or opinion believed by a group. My tenant has not paid her rent yet this month.  One of the tenets of our group is that we always are kind to each other. Than/Then – This is an easy one to just type incorrectly. Than is used in comparisons. Then refers to time. I am taller than you are. We ate dinner, and then we went for a walk.That/Where – Don’t use where in place of that. Where refers to a place. That introduces a clause (part of a sentence with a subject and verb). I don’t know where I am going. I hear that you are being promoted. (Not I hear where you are being promoted.)These/Those – These two words are both plurals and should be used to describe plural nouns. These kinds of things bring me joy. Those types of books are my favorites. (Not Those kind of things bring me joy.)Throes/Throws – Throes refers to a sharp attack of emotion. Throws is the verb meaning tosses: The child was in the throes of a huge tantrum.  He throws that football with such speed!Toward/Towards – Same word and both are correct. Generally, Americans drop the s. The British keep the s.Try and/Try to –  The correct phrase is try to, although you hear many people, even on television, say try and.  Please try to be on time for the party. Use to/Used to –  The correct phrase is used to. I used to be shy, but now I am quite extroverted.Venal/Venial – I know that I have never used either of these words. Venal means able to be purchased, for example, by a bribe. Venial means able to be forgiven; not seriously wrong. We see that there are many venal politicians. He had to pay only a small fine for the venial offense of jaywalking.Vicious/Viscous – This confusion could be a spelling issue! Vicious means dangerous or malicious. Viscous describes a thick, sticky consistency. Some breeds of dogs have the reputation of being vicious. Don’t get that viscous glue all over your clothes.

And of course I did  not need to include to, too, and two either!

Hope you are all getting your vaccines!

National Grammar Day Loves and Fears

Image by Manuel do Moucheiro from Pixabay

March 4 was National Grammar Day…really!!! But of course we can celebrate for the whole week, so let’s.

What do we call a person who loves grammar? Well, we can stretch the language a little and call that person a grammarphile,  the suffix -phile meaning a lover of something.  Related loves include linguaphile, someone who loves language and words, or logophile, a lover of words. 

But what about someone who fears grammar? Is there a word for that? Of course. There is a word for most fears, even the most rare and weird. Some of these words you will find in the dictionary. Others are in more colloquial dictionaries or not in the dictionary at all.

Atelophobia – The fear of grammar. Maybe “fear” is going a little too far; grammar anxiety might be more fitting. 

Here are a few more related fears:

Ortographobia – The fear of misspelling words. (Ortography is the correct spelling of words.)

Dysgrammatophobia – The fear of producing bad grammar.

Virguphobia – Fear of commas. (I wouldn’t lie to you.)

Pistaphobia – Fear of periods. Sometimes used to represent the fear of all punctuation.

Erotimatikophobia – Nope. Nothing to do with erotica. It is the fear of question marks.

Image by Alexandra A life without animals is not worth living from Pixabay

Here are several more fears related to grammar and writing:

Allodoxaphobia- Fear of opinions.

Bibliophobia- Fear of books. (Bibliophile is a lover of books.)

Epistemophobia- Fear of knowledge.

Graphophobia- Fear of writing or handwriting.

Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia- Fear of long words. (I kid you not.)

Logophobia- Fear of words.

Metrophobia- Fear or hatred of poetry.

Onomatophobia- Fear of hearing a certain word or of names.

Scolionophobia- Fear of school.

Sophophobia- Fear of learning.

Symbolophobia- Fear of symbolism.

Verbophobia- Fear of words. (Ands not just verbs)

National Grammar Day,  March 4, was established in 2008 by Martha Brockenbrough,  She is the founder of the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar (SPOGG).  She established the day to excite her students about grammar. President Bush sent a letter comemmorating the day. And yes, there is a National Punctuation Day, which is celebrated on September 24.

Asking for Help: I would love to do another Grammar and Punctuation Pet Peeves post. Please send your pet peeve(s) to me in an e-mail to bigwords101@yahoo.com. PLEASE do not send them as a comment to this post. They will not be printed as a comment. Thank you!!

 

The SSS TESSSST

Image by M. Maggs from Pixabay

Okay: Here is the  quiz on the confusing S words (and yes, there will be a break from the confusing words series again next week!):

Just (set, sit) the baby on the floor.I just (shined, shone) my shoes yesterday, but they are already scuffed up. The (soles, souls) of my feet are dirty from walking barefoot in my house!Please be (sure and, sure to) lock the door on your way out.Although she is tiny in (statue, stature), she is very strong.(Sometime, Some time, Sometimes) maybe you can find time to come fix my dripping faucet.I just bought some beautiful floral (stationary, stationery), but I don’t write letters anymore.I thought you were (suppose to, supposed to) add the sugar before the eggs.I need to let the pie (set, sit) in the refrigerator for 12 hours.They (shall, will) go whether they like it or not.Do you have (some time, sometime) available this week to look at my leaky faucet?We decided not to print that newspaper article because we thought it might be (libel, slander).They say you reap what you (sew,  so,  sow).The cows were so (stationary, stationery) I thought they were fake!Scroll down for the answers:

 

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Here we go…Just ( set , sit) the baby on the floor. (I would be inclined to say sit because the object of set is a human. However, sit does not take an object, so I would assume set is correct. I was unable to find a definitive answer online, but if you would like to try . . .)I just ( shined, shone) my shoes yesterday, but they are already scuffed up. (Both acceptable past tenses of shine, but shined is generally used as a transitive with an object, whereas shone is used to mean “gave off light” without an object.)The ( soles , souls) of my feet are dirty from walking barefoot in my house!Please be (sure and, sure to ) lock the door on your way out.Although she is tiny in (statue, stature ), she is very strong. (Sometime, Some time, Sometimes) maybe you can find a free day to come fix my dripping faucet.I just bought some beautiful floral (stationary, stationery) , but I don’t write letters anymore.I thought you were (suppose to, supposed to ) add the sugar before the eggs.I need to let the pie ( set, sit) in the refrigerator for 12 hours. (Hmmm….well, it could be either, I guess, but set has a slightly different meaning in this sentence. Set is used to mean “harden.” However, it is sitting in the refrigerator to set!They (shall, will ) go whether they like it or not. (Yes, you could also use shall. Shall is used in the third person for emphasis.)Do you have (some time, sometime) available this week to look at my leaky faucet?We decided not to print that newspaper article because we thought it might be (libel, slander). (Oh, I just threw that one in. Libel refers to print; slander is spoken.)They say you reap what you (sew,  so,  sow ).The cows were so ( stationary , stationery) I thought they were fake!