Arlene Miller's Blog, page 27

Metonyms and Other Nyms

Image by Ri Butov from Pixabay

A few weeks ago, we talked about contronyms.   Contronyms are words that mean two opposite things, for example, sanction, which can mean to allow or to boycott. We all know about antonyms (opposites), synonyms (same meaning), and homonyms (sound the same), but there are many other words that end in -nym. We will talk about a few of them today.

Metonym –A word, phrase, place, or expression used as a substitute for something. For example, when we say Washington, we often mean the United States government:

There is a lot going on in Washington these days.
I quit that job because there was too much going on around the water cooler. (Water cooler implies some place where there is gossip.)
That looks like a Beverly Hills house to me. (fancy house such as you would see in Beverly Hills).
Is the Pentagon planning something? (refers generally to the Department of Defense).

Metonyms do resemble metaphors. Metaphors are more based on similarity; metonyms are based on association.

Toponym – A toponym is simply the name of a place: Boston, Foggy River. However, there are different types of toponyms. Here are some of them. 

Descriptive – The Rocky Mountains,  Grass Valley
Associative – Mall Road (there is a mall on the street)
Incident –  Battle River
Commemorative – St. Louis
Manufactured – Ytic (city spelled backwards)
Mistaken – West Indies (historic errors)
Shifted – Athens, Texas ; New England; Rome, New York (names taken from elsewhere)

Eponym – An eponym is a person (real or fictional) for which something or someplace is named. Here are some examples.

Walt Disney – Disneyland
Achilles – Achilles heel
Adonis – a handsome male
Jonas Salk – Salk vaccine
Charles Boycott – boycott
Robert Bunsen – Bunsen burner
Christian Doppler – the Doppler effect
J. William Fulbright  – Fulbright scholarship
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – Jekyll and Hyde personality (or split personality

Those last ones are fun and there are “zillions” of them!

Note: Someone recently told me that they comment on my posts frequently, but they never receive a reply. I am led to believe that you don’t get any kind of e-mail notification that I have responded. However, I want to let you know that I respond to every single comment I get; I guess you have to return to the blog posts to see the replies. Perhaps there is some type of setting, but I don’t know what it is. I will look into it.
Next Week – Back to confusing words….

 

 

 

Gee Quiz!

Image by Shahid Abdullah from Pixabay

Last week we talked about the often confused words that begin with G and H. Time to take the quiz!

1 I feel quite (good, well) after having Covid for the past two months.

2. I believe him because his story (gibes, jibes) with his wife’s. 

3. During the pandemic, you should stay away from (hoards, hordes) of people!

4. I watched the hummingbirds as they (homed, honed) in on their favorite bushes.

5. Smoothies generally make a (healthful, healthy) breakfast.

6. Punctuated correctly? I passed my driver’s test, however, I nearly failed it!

7. Many, many years ago, her aunt was (hanged, hung) on suspicion of being a witch.

8. They used (guerrilla, gorilla) tactics to win the battle.

9. The teenager who worked at the deli replied, “We don’t  (got, have)  any pastrami today,” when I ordered a sandwich.

10. They marched (foreward, forward, forwards) in two parallel lines.

11. I like to (hoard, horde) candy in my desk drawer and then eat it every Friday.

12. That mean girl (gibes, jibes, jives) me about my choice of clothes at every meeting!

13. Did you do ( good, well) at your job interview?

14. Punctuated correctly? I don’t have a new job yet; however, I quit my old job.

15. I am (homing, honing) my skills as a cook.

16. Punctuated correctly? I will be in class, therefore, you don’t have to take notes for me. 

17. Punctuated correctly? I am taking an Uber, however, so you don’t have to give me a ride.

18. Legumes, olive oil, and nuts are all (healthful, healthy) foods.

Scroll down for the answers.

 

More . . .

 

 

More . . .

 

 

More . . . 

Answers:

1 I feel quite (good, well) after having Covid for the past two months. Either one is correct. Generally, we would use good after a linking/sense verb like feel, but well is correctly used as a state of health.

2. I believe him because his story (gibes, jibes) with his wife’s. 

3. During the pandemic, you should stay away from (hoards, hordes) of people!

4. I watched the hummingbirds as they (homed, honed) in on their favorite bushes.

5. Smoothies generally make a (healthful, healthy) breakfast.

6. Punctuated correctly? I passed my driver’s test, however, I nearly failed it! No. Need a semicolon or period after test.

7. Many, many years ago, her aunt was (hanged, hung) on suspicion of being a witch.

8. They used (guerrilla, gorilla) tactics to win the battle.

9. The teenager who worked at the deli replied, “We don’t  (got, have)  any pastrami today,” when I ordered a sandwich. Well, trick question. Although have is correct, this is a quote, and the teenager may have said got! (nothing against teenagers – cold have been anyone!)

10. They marched (foreward, forward, forwards) in two parallel lines.

11. I like to (hoard, horde) candy in my desk drawer and then eat it every Friday.

12. That mean girl (gibes, jibes, jives) me about my choice of clothes at every meeting! Either spelling is okay.

13. Did you do ( good, well) at your job interview?

14. Punctuated correctly? I don’t have a new job yet; however, I quit my old job. Yes.

15. I am (homing, honing) my skills as a cook.

16. Punctuated correctly? I will be in class, therefore, you don’t have to take notes for me. No. You need a period or semicolon after class.

17. Punctuated correctly? I am taking an Uber, however, so you don’t have to give me a ride. Yes. If you take out however, you still have a correct sentence, so commas are fine. 

18. Legumes, olive oil, and nuts are all (healthful, healthy) foods. But they might make you healthy!

Next week: A little break from confusing words with more –nyms!

 

 

 

Gee Whiz (and H Too)!

Image by Robert Maciołek from Pixabay

Is it gibe? Or jibe? Is that even a word? Or jive? Isn’t that a dance?? Find out below in this installment of confusing word pairs and groups — G and H words.

Gibe/Jibe/Jive –  Gibe is a verb or noun meaning to taunt (or a taunt or sarcastic remark). However, it can also be spelled jibe. Jibe, however, does have another meaning, its most common one: to agree with or be in harmony with. And yes, jive is a type of early jazz music, or a ballroom dance.

The bully would gibe me every day on my way home from school.
Her story jibes with his, so I believe it to be true.
Jive was popular when my mom was a kid, and she still loves it. 

Good/Well – This again? Good is an adjective. Well, is an adverb. So, good is used to describe nouns, generally, and well is used modify verbs: She is a good baby. I did well on the test. There are a couple of exceptions: After verbs of sense or being, we use adjectives – It tastes good. And well can be used to define a state of health – I feel well.

You did a good job on the project.
You did well on that project.
That project looks good.

Gorilla/Guerilla – Gorillas are at the zoo.  Guerilla is a type of warfare usually featuring fast-moving, small-scale actions.

My son’s favorite part of the zoo was always the gorilla exhibit.
The small terrorist group used guerilla tactics.

Got/Have – Got is the past tense of get, to receive something. It isn’t used instead of have, which means to own or possess something. We don’t got any is incorrect. The correct sentence is We don’t have any.  

Every year I get a new doll for my birthday. Last year I got a doll from Argentina.
I don’t have any money. Do you have any?

Hanged/Hung – These words are both past tenses of the verb hang, but are not interchangeable. Hanged is used only when there is a noose involved. 

He had tried committing suicide with pills, but then he finally hanged himself.
I hung my new painting in the living room. 

Healthful/Healthy – Who uses healthful, anyway? Most of the time we (or at least I) just use healthy for everything, but there is a distinction. Healthful refers to something that provides you with good health, such as kale. Healthy refers to possessing good health.

I drink a healthful smoothie every morning for breakfast.
I exercise and eat right to stay healthy.

Hoard/Horde – Both words deal with quantity, but in different ways. To hoard is to save things, sometimes secretly.  Hoard as a noun is a collection of things.  A horde is a large group of people.

She hoards chocolate and hides it under her bed.
Hordes of people stood in line to vote.

Home/Hone – Home is where you live — or to return to where you live or to familiar surroundings, as a verb. Hone is to improve or sharpen a skill.

The hot air balloon eventually homed in to the general location from where it took off.
Over time she honed her baking skills until she could make any cake you asked for.

However – Obviously, we don’t have any trouble using however in the correct place. However, do you ever need a semicolon before it rather than just a comma? Yup. How do you know? Well, if it appears at the beginning of your sentence, you follow it with a comma. If it appears in the middle of your sentence, it could require a semicolon before it rather than just a comma. How do you know? Take out your however. Do you now have a complete sentence? Or, do you have two sentences? If you have a complete sentence on each side of the however, you need a semicolon (or even a period).

You can call me; however, I usually don’t answer the phone. 
You can call me. However, I usually don’t answer the phone.
I will, however, answer the phone if I know it is you calling. 

Next week, we will do the quiz on these words (with a few more thrown in for good measure). 

Remember the post about contronyms? Well, in two weeks, I will have more types of -nyms for you. Homonyms, synonyms, antonyms? They are old hat!

 

The “F” Quiz

Image by Tumisu from Pixabay

Last week we talked about confusing word pairs that begin with F.  Here is the little quiz:

1 (Fewer, Less) people attended the parade than attended last year.

2. Everyone says she has a real (flair, flare) for fashion.

3. When I heard that joke, I (figuratively, literally) fell over laughing!

4. I hear they have great (fair, fare) at the county (fair, fare).

5. After she married Lawrence Vance Gill, she was (formally, formerly) known as Mrs. Lawrence V. Gill.

6. I grew up in Louisiana and then moved to Tennessee. I preferred the (former, latter).

7. My legs hurt so much that I cannot ride this bicycle any (farther, further).

8. All the (forth, fourth) graders go back and (forth, fourth) among three classrooms.

9. My uncle (found, founded) a private school in 1950. 

10. I hope you bought (flammable, inflammable, nonflammable) face masks for the children.

11. We can discuss this (farther, further) after dinner.

12. First, add the dry ingredients together. (Second, Secondly), add the eggs.

13.  I love that zoo because they have (flamencos, flamingos).

14.  I am trying to get a famous scientist to write the (foreward, foreword, forword, forward) for my book.

15. With the new stop sign at the corner, I think there will be (fewer, less) accidents.

16. I (figuratively, literally) hit the ceiling when I saw that the dog had peed all over the rug.

17. I don’t like the candles anywhere near those curtains because they are (flammable, inflammable, nonflammable). 

18. Please dress (formally, formerly) for her wedding.

19. I love Indian (fair, fare) when I dine out.

20.  I think a big storm is (eminent, imminent) when I see that dark sky.

Scroll down for the answers:…

Keep scrolling

Keep scrolling

And scrolling

Keep going

And doing

Almost there

Almost

One more time…

 

1 (Fewer, Less) people attended the parade than attended last year.

2. Everyone says she has a real (flair, flare) for fashion.

3. When I heard that joke, I (figuratively, literally) fell over laughing! (if you really fell over, which is possible)

4. I hear they have great (fair, fare) at the county (fair, fare).

5. After she married Lawrence Vance Gill, she was (formally, formerly) known as Mrs. Lawrence V. Gill.

6. I grew up in Louisiana and then moved to Tennessee. I preferred the (former, latter). Who knows? You cannot tell from the sentence!

7. My legs hurt so much that I cannot ride this bicycle any (farther, further).

8. All the (forth, fourth) graders go back and (forth, fourth) among three classrooms.

9. My uncle (found, founded) a private school in 1950. 

10. I hope you bought (flammable, inflammable, nonflammable) face masks for the children.

11. We can discuss this (farther, further) after dinner.

12. First, add the dry ingredients together. (Second, Secondly), add the eggs.

13.  I love that zoo because they have (flamencos, flamingos).

14, I am trying to get a famous scientist to write the (foreward, foreword, forword, forward) for my book.

15. With the new stop sign at the corner, I think there will be (fewer, less) accidents.

16. I (figuratively, literally) hit the ceiling when I saw that the dog had peed all over the rug. (unless you really did hit the ceiling!)

17. I don’t light candles anywhere near those curtains because they are (flammable, inflammable, nonflammable). (either one; they are synonymous)

18. Please dress (formally, formerly) for her wedding.

19. I love Indian (fair, fare) when I dine out.

20.  I think a big storm is (eminent, imminent) when I see that dark sky.

GRAMMAR DIVA NEWS


I will have an article in this coming Monday’s blog on Joel Friedlander’s site https://www.thebookdesigner.com/    The article is called “Grammar and Our Changing Society.” Please check it out on Monday!


 I will be talking about grammar next Friday, September 18, on the National Association of Memoir Writers teleseminar with Linda Joy Meyers. Please tune in!

The “F” Words

Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay

Oh, sorry, not those “F” words….

This post continues the series about confusing words. Here are some confusing word pairs/groups that begin with the letter “F”:

Farther/Further –  This pair is not easy. I find that sometimes the context is very gray and either word could fit. However, farther applies to physical distance. Further means anymore or any longer.

I rode my bike farther today than I ever have before. 
I cannot discuss this any further with you today.

Fewer/Less – This pair is still constantly misused. I hear it on cable news all the time. Less is generally used when fewer should be used. Fewer is used for plurals and things that can be counted (people, books, etc.). Less is used for things that cannot be counted (salt, intelligence).

There are fewer people at the beach because of the pandemic. (Less people is often said — incorrectly.)
I think less sugar would make this recipe healthier.

Figuratively/Literally –  I have heard that these two opposites are now synonymous! Figuratively means not real, involving a figure of speech. Literally means real or actual. Examples are helpful here.

I  fell through the floor when she told that big lie, figuratively speaking.  (You didn’t really fall through the floor!)
When I told her I literally threw my phone out the window after I spoke to my ex, she thought I was joking!

Firstly (Secondly, Thirdly, Lastly) – These are transition words, used to connect your sentences or paragraphs in speaking or writing. They are best left at first, second, third, and last. Avoid using the -ly.

Flair/Flare – Flair is style or natural ability for something. Flare is a verb meaning to burn or burst forth — or a noun, referring to those lit thingies on the road when you have an emergency with your car.

She really has a flair for style, so I always ask her opinion before I buy clothes. 
The fire was almost out, but then it flared up again causing us to evacuate. 

Flamenco/Flamingo – Flamenco is a type of dance. Flamingo is a pink bird that stands on one foot, and thus would find it difficult to flamenco. It is not flamingo dancing.

I just starting taking flamenco lessons.
I have a few lawn flamingos in my yard.

Flammable/Inflammable/Nonflammable – Here is a confusing mess. Flammable and inflammable are the same: able to catch fire. Nonflammable is the opposite, and is the one that means does not catch on fire. Usually  the -in prefix means not, but not in this case.

I don’t want to buy those curtains because I think the fabric is flammable.
Don’t buy any pajamas that are inflammable.
All children’s pajamas are nonflammable.

Foreword/Forward – Another tricky one. Notice that not only does one have the e, but one ends in word and the other in ward. A foreword is an introduction to a book, so it is easy to remember that it ends in word. Forward is directional and the opposite of backward.

The foreword of her book is written by a famous scientist.
Please step forward when I call your name.

Formally/Formerly –  Formally means in a formal manner, e..g., dressed in a tux. Formerly means in the past,

We need to dress formally for this wedding.
She was formerly known as Ms. Blake before she married Dr. Scott and became Ms. Scott.

Found/Founded – Found is the past tense of find. Founded is the past tense of found, meaning to establish something (and usually used in the past tense).

I found a buried treasure in my yard.
I founded a charity that supports artists.

I will be the guest on a teleseminar sponsored by the National Association of Memoir Writers, talking about grammar, on September 18. Please check it out here!
Happy to announce that August 2020 was my best selling month ever for my books….must be the schooling at home.

 

 

 

A New “Nym” for You!

Image by Christian Dorn from Pixabay

Synonym. Antonym. Homonym. We have all heard of these. And maybe you have heard of this one, but frankly I hadn’t: contronym.

But wait! When I started to research this post, I discovered that there are boatloads of words that end in –nym, which looks like, sounds like, and means name. Ah, there’s one! Pseudonym (false name or pen name).

Anyhow, I guess if you are a champion Scrabble player, you might know many words that end in –nym, but I guess I never really thought about it. When I taught seventh grade English,  one of the most fun things we did was study Greek and Latin roots. Most of them were actually prefixes. I would put a few on the board (this is back before tech took over), and the students listed all the words they cold think of with that prefix or root (and we did a few suffixes).  But -nym, for some reason, wasn’t on my list. We studied pseudo (pseudonym), anti (antonym), homo (homonym — and yes, the kids did twitter about that one, since they were twelve ), syn (synonym),  and contr (contronym), but not –nym.

And now, since I discovered that there are boatloads of strange words that end in –nym, I will have to talk about them in future posts. But for today:

Synonym –  Why you need a Thesaurus. Syn means same or together. We all know what synonyms are, and writers need them! Mad, angry, irate, furious are all synonyms.

Antonym -The opposite of synonym. Anti means against, so these words are opposites. Old and young, hot and cold, dark and light, etc.

Homonym – Words that sound the same and are spelled the same, but have different meanings. Wait! Then what is a homophone? Words that sound the same, but are spelled differently and have different meanings. Many times, the distinction is not made, and they are all called homonyms. But technically —

Homophones: bare/bear, board/bored, clothes/close, bizarre/bazaar
Homonyms: train (to teach)/train (a locomotive), play (something acted on a stage)/play (to have fun)

We already mentioned the common word pseudonym. Another common one is acronym. An acronym consists of initials of something that then is pronounced as its own word: NASA and NATO are examples.

Contr/contra means opposite (contrary, controversy). So a contronym is a word that has two opposing meanings. Here are some examples:

Bolt: To secure–or to flee

Bound: Heading somewhere–or restrained from movement

Cleave: To adhere to -or to separate from

Dollop: A large amount (British English)–or a small amount

Fast: Quick–or stuck 

Finished: Completed–or destroyed

First degree: Most severe (murder charge)–or least severe (a burn)

Fix: To repair–or to castrate

Hold up: To support–or to get in the way of

Left: Remained–or departed

Out: Visible (stars)–or invisible (lights)

Overlook: To supervise–or to neglect

Rent: To purchase use of something–or to sell use

Rock: An immobile mass of stone –or a shaking  movement 

Sanction: To approve–or to boycott

Seed: To sow seeds–or to remove them

Skinned: Covered with skin–or with the skin removed

Strike: To hit–or to miss in an attempt to hit

Throw out: To dispose of–or to present for consideration

Trim: To decorate–or to remove excess from

Trip: A journey–or a stumble

Wear: To endure– or to deteriorate

Wind up: To end–or to start up

A little more obscure than synonyms and antonyms, huh?

And a little like oxymorons.

 

Stay safe. Wear a mask. 

 

 

 

 

An “E” Z Quiz for You!

Image by Jose R. Cabello from Pixabay

Last week’s post talked about some confusing words/word pairs/abbreviations beginning with the letter e.  And here is the (fun) quiz:

 

1.) My grandparents (emigrated/immigrated) from Italy to the United States in 1915.

2.) (Everyone/Every one) is coming to my party tomorrow night.

3.)  The (earth/Earth) revolves around the sun.

4.) I love science fiction writers, (e.g.,/i.e.,) Isaac Asimov, Arthur Clarke, and Frank Herbert.

5.) Do you exercise (everyday/every day)?

6.) His entire family is (exceedingly/excessively) tall.

7.) Many children are quite (anxious/eager) to return to school after being home for so long and will be delighted to see their friends again.

8.) Whenever I go out into the sunshine, my mood is (affected/effected) positively.

9.) The students were all very kind to (each other/eachother/one another) in the kindergarten class.

8.) My favorite class was the one where we got to cook and sew, (e.g./i.e.), home economics.

9.) Her cousin is serving a long jail sentence for (elicit/illicit) activities during his 20s. 

10.) Carbs like rice, potatoes, pasta (, etc., / , etc./ etc.,) are my favorite things to eat.

11.)  She tries to impress me by (alluding/eluding) to famous people she has met.

12.) The dark sky indicates to me that a storm is (eminent/imminent).

13.) (Both of them are/Each of them is) taking a separate flight from one another.

14.) I will see how things go, but I might (emigrate, immigrate) to Canada soon.

15.) I love (everyone/every one) of you.

16.) I am wearing (everyday/ every day) clothes to the luncheon.

17.)  The (eminent/imminent) scientist is working on a Covid vaccine.

18.)  This salsa is (exceedingly/excessively) spicy.

19.) Saturn, Jupiter, Mercury, (earth/Earth), the sun, and the moon are all heavenly bodies.

20.) The criminal has (alluded/eluded/ illuded) the police for many months.

Scroll down for the answers!

 

 

More

 

 

Keep scrolling

 

 

 

Almost There

 

 

1.) My grandparents (emigrated/immigrated) from Italy to the United States in 1915.

2.) (Everyone/Every one) is coming to my party tomorrow night.

3.)  The (earth/Earth) revolves around the sun. (But it isn’t terrible if you uppercase it)

4.) I love science fiction writers, (e.g.,/i.e.,) Isaac Asimov, Arthur Clarke, and Frank Herbert. (for example)

5.) Do you exercise (everyday/every day)?

6.) His entire family is (exceedingly/excessively) tall.

7.) Many children are quite (anxious/eager) to return to school after being home for so long and will be delighted to see their friends again.

8.) Whenever I go out into the sunshine, my mood is (affected/effected) positively.

9.) The students were all very kind to (each other/eachother/one another) in the kindergarten class. (Either is OK; you might want to use one another because it generally refers to more than two.)

8.) My favorite class was the one where we got to cook and sew, (e.g./i.e.), home economics. (that is: cooking and sewing= home economics class.)

9.) Her cousin is serving a long jail sentence for (elicit/illicit) activities during his 20s. 

10.) Carbs like rice, potatoes, pasta (, etc., / , etc./  etc.,) are my favorite things to eat. (Set off with two commas)

11.)  She tries to impress me by (alluding/eluding) to famous people she has met.

12.) The dark sky indicates to me that a storm is (eminent/imminent).

13.) (Both of them are/Each of them is) taking a separate flight from one another. (Both would mean together.)

14.) I will see how things go, but I might (emigrate, immigrate) to Canada soon.

15.) I love (everyone/every one) of you.

16.) I am wearing (everyday/ every day) clothes to the luncheon.

17.)  The (eminent/imminent) scientist is working on a Covid vaccine.

18.)  This salsa is (exceedingly/excessively) spicy. (Either one, but meaning different things: very spicy or spicier than it has to be.)

19.) Saturn, Jupiter, Mercury, (earth/Earth), the sun, and the moon are all heavenly bodies.

20.) The criminal has (alluded/eluded/ illuded) the police for many months.

 

News: I am scheduled to do a teleseminar for the National Association of Memoir Writers — talking about grammar — on Friday, September 18, at 11 a.m. Pacific time. I don’t have a link yet, but you can look up their website.

It’s “E”asy: More Confusing Words

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

Now that we are all straightened out with lay and lie (last week’s blog post), let’s continue with confusing words/word pairs that begin with the letter E:

1). e.g/i.e – These abbreviations come from Latin, and you are always free to use the actual words rather than these abbreviations. If you do use the abbreviations, remember to put a period after each letter, and use commas before and after them. 

e.g. – Exempli gratia, meaning “for example.”  I did very well in the sciences in college, e.g., astronomy, chemistry, and physics.

i.e. – Id est, meaning “that is.” The shortest month of the year, i.e., February, usually has only 28 days.

2.) etc. – Etcetera is entirely different from both i.e. and e.g. and means “and the others.” It generally follows a list and can be avoided (and often should be) by just writing out all the items in the list. If you use etc., make sure you follow it with a period and put a comma before it. 

I have traveled to  many European countries, including France, Spain, Greece, Italy, Germany, Poland, etc.

3.) each other/one another – First, note that each other is two separate words. These two phrases are interchangeable. Some people say that each other should be used for two people, and one another should be used when referring to more than two people. However, this distinction is unnecessary and rarely used. In these examples, the distinction is made.

They really loved each other.

In this classroom, we are all kind to one another.

4.) Earth/earth – Should earth be capitalized or not?  The answer is sometimes. When Earth is used along with other planets (which are capitalized) and heavenly bodies that are capitalized, it, too, is capitalized. Otherwise, it is not (sun and moon are not capitalized). 

The two planets closer to the sun than Earth are Mercury and Venus. 

We need to make sure that climate change does not destroy our earth.

5.) elicit/illicit – These two words have very different meanings. Also, one has a double L and the other doesn’t. 

elicit (prefix e/ex meaning out) – To draw out or bring forth – She was so shy, it was difficult to elicit an answer to my question.

illicit (prefix in/il meaning not) – Not moral or lawful – The senator was sentenced to prison for his illicit business dealings.

6.) emigrate/immigrate – These words are opposite and once again, the prefix doubles the m in immigrate (and once again, we see the e prefix, meaning out).

emigrate – to leave a country: They emigrated from Ukraine to the United States.

immigrate – to go to a country – They immigrated to the United States from Ukraine.

7.) eminent/imminent – These two words have nothing to do with one another that is obvious, although they are probably opposites.

eminent – well-known or outstanding in one’s field (the e prefix meaning out, perhaps standing out) – She is an eminent virologist.

imminent – about to happen – I knew a big storm was imminent when I looked at the dark sky.

8.) every day/everyday – Every day is a noun/adjective pair. Everyday is an adjective.

every day – each day or daily – I walk two miles every day.

everyday – describes something that happens every day or regularly – Walking is an everyday activity for me. 

9.) every one/everyone  – Every one is an adjective/pronoun pair (usually followed by “of”); everyone is a pronoun.

every one – each of them – Every one of the children knows how to swim.

everyone – everybody – Everyone was gathered around the campfire.

10.) exceedingly/excessively – These words are  both adverbs, but with different meanings.

exceedingly – very, extremely – He juggled exceedingly well for a young child.

excessively – too much, more than necessary – The students chatted excessively during silent reading time.

 

Stay safe. Stay well. 

 

Lay? Lie? I Give Up!

Don’t give up.

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

I received a request to review this tricky verb pair, so we will straighten it all out here.

Lay and lie are present tense verbs. In grammatical terms one is transitive and one is intransitive. Lay is transitive. Lie is intransitive.  What does that mean?

Lay is transitive and therefore takes a direct object. What is a direct object? A noun or pronoun that receives the action of the verb. 

Lie is intransitive and therefore does not take a direct object. There is no noun or pronoun right after it, although there may be some other kind of word or phrase.

In other words, you must lay something. But you don’t lie something:

Lay your head on the pillow. (Lie what? head, a noun)  Lie on the sofa. (Lie what? There is no what. There is no object. There is a prepositional phrase telling where.)

More examples:

The rocks are lying on the road.

I am going to lay the rocks in a circle.

I am lying in the sun.

Please lay your purse on the table.

 

Okay. Now let’s move t0 the past tense, which is the problem tense. The past tense of lie is lay. The past tense of lay is laid.

The rocks were lying on the road.

I laid the rocks in a circle.

Yesterday I lay in the sun. (Or yesterday, I was lying in the sun.)

She laid her purse on the table and forgot it there.

 

Last, let’s go to the past participle (or present perfect tense). That is the one using “has” or “have.” The past participle of lie is lain (have lain). The past participle of lay is laid.

The rocks have lain in the same place for weeks.

I have laid the rocks in a circle around the flowers.

I have lain in the sun every afternoon and have quite a good tan.

She has always laid her purse in the same place at home, so she won’t lose it. 

 

To sum up:

I lie in the sun.  I am lying in the sun. 

Yesterday I lay in the sun.  Yesterday I was lying in the sun (not laying).

Every day, I have lain in the sun. 

Lay your book on the table. I am laying your book on the table. I was laying your book on the table.

Yesterday I laid this book here, but it is now gone. 

I have always laid this book in the same place.

 

LIE, LAY, HAVE LAIN
LAY, LAID, LAID

Proud to have received the bronze medal for To Comma or Not to Comma in the President’s Book Awards, Florida Authors and Publishers Association

Another Quiz? Yes, Just for You!

Image by Garaz from Pixabay

Continuing in our series about confusing word pairs (we will take a break next week), here is a little quiz on last week’s words – with maybe a few others thrown in.

1. We took a vacation to the (dessert, desert) in Arizona.

2. Sue quit piano lessons because she was really (disinterested, uninterested) in learning how to read music.

3. I recognized him immediately because he has a very (distinct, distinctive) face.

4. The outside light is on because it has a motion (censor, sensor).

5. I was shocked when he (dived, dove) into the lake from that high cliff.

6. Please (come, go) to my party next Saturday night.

7. Her story about the ghost seemed (credible, creditable). 

8. This blue suit is quite (different from, different than) mine.

9. I plan to (cite, site, sight) some famous poets in my speech.

10. The (criteria, criterion) for getting this job is having a business degree.

11. My brother’ s new car has (dual, duel) exhaust.

12. She just got a new job as a (copyrighter, copy writer, copywriter), creating social media posts.

13. Please be very (discrete, discreet) when you talk to her because she tends to gossip.

14. Refer to the (currant, current) edition of the newsletter.

15, Was she (conscience, conscious) after the accident?

16. We (collaborated, corroborated) on the project.

17. We are going to visit the United States (Capital, Capitol) building.

18. I felt really (bad, badly) about the end of our friendship.

19. Since she finished first in regional competition, she received a (buy, by, bye) into the national competition.

20. I have three (consecutive, successive) Zoom meetings on Friday morning.

 

Easy Quiz, Huh???? Scroll down for the answers . . .

 

Scroll . . .

 

 

A little farther . . .

 

Almost there . . .

 

1. We took a vacation to the (dessert, desert) in Arizona.

2. Sue quit piano lessons because she was really (disinterested, uninterested) in learning how to read music.

3. I recognized him immediately because he has a very (distinct, distinctive) face.

4. The outside light is on because it has a motion (censor, sensor).

5. I was shocked when he (dived, dove) into the lake from that high cliff. Either one. They are interchangeable.

6. Please (come, go) to my party next Saturday night.

7. Her story about the ghost seemed (credible, creditable). 

8. This blue suit is quite (different from, different than) mine.

9. I plan to (cite, site, sight) some famous poets in my speech.

10. The (criteria, criterion) for getting this job is having a business degree.

11. My brother’ s new car has (dual, duel) exhaust.

12. She just got a new job as a (copyrighter, copy writer, copywriter), creating social media posts.

13. Please be very (discrete, discreet) when you talk to her because she tends to gossip.

14. Refer to the (currant, current) edition of the newsletter.

15, Was she (conscience, conscious) after the accident?

16. We (collaborated, corroborated) on the project.

17. We are going to visit the United States (Capital, Capitol) building.

18. I felt really (bad, badly) about the end of our friendship.

19. Since she finished first in regional competition, she received a (buy, by, bye) into the national competition.

20. I have three (consecutive, successive) Zoom meetings on Friday morning. Either one. They are interchangeable.

Tomorrow there is a virtual Awards Ceremony, so I can see where I placed in the Florida Authors and Publishers Association  (FAPA) book awards. I am a finalist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let me know (by e-mail) if you have any ideas for topics on The Grammar Diva blog.
And if you should want to write a guest post on a topic my readers would be interested it, contact me by e-mail.
Stay safe. Stay well.