Arlene Miller's Blog, page 30

British Versus American English, Part 2

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

Last week, in Part 1 of this two-part series, we talked about how British and American English sometime use different words to mean the same thing. There are other differences between British and American English, although they are not major: grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

Grammar

Collective nouns refer to a group even though they can be singular: audience, band, team, class, family, etc.

As I researched this post, I read that in American English, collective nouns are singular. For example, band refers to a group of musicians, team refers to a group of athletes. Americans would say, “The band is good,” thus using a singular verb.

But in British English, collective nouns can be singular or plural. You might hear someone from Britain say, “The band are playing tonight” or “The band is playing tonight.”

I have always been taught the British way, although most people do not make the distinction. In my mind (and in my books) collective nouns can be either singular or plural depending on what you mean. If you are talking about the group as a unit, you use a singular verb. If you are talking about the individuals in the group, you use a plural verb: The band is having a party after the concert. The band are tuning their instruments.

Auxiliary verbs, also known as helping verbs, are verbs that generally change the tense of a verb. Brits often use shall to express the future. Americans rarely use it in conversation because it seems too formal. Americans usually say “I will go home now.” However, shall does have a distinct meaning in American legal language. Also, I always learned that shall is used for first person, and will for second and third person. But if you want to emphasize the verb, you use will for first person, and shall for second and third, switching them up: I will go! You shall go!

Past tense verb forms also sometimes differ between British and American English. British English, for some verbs, uses a -t rather than –ed.  The past tense of of learn in American English is learned. British English uses either learned or learnt. The same is true of dreamed and dreamt, burned and burnt, leaned and learnt.

Americans generally use the present perfect tense (have/has) less frequently than the British. 

I am tired; I didn’t get enough sleep (American)
I am tired. I haven’t gotten enough sleep. (British)

Prepositions, or lack thereof, can also differ between American and British English. The British prefer at the weekend; Americans say on the weekend. Americans say in the hospital, but the British say in hospital.

Punctuation

There is one major difference between British and American punctuation. In British English, the period and comma are placed outside quotation marks unless the period or comma is part of the quote itself.  In American English, periods and commas are always placed inside quotation marks.

British: She said,”I am going to the mall”.

American: She said, “I am going to the mall.”

Spelling

Americans end words in -or that British end in -our:  colour/color, humour/ humor, flavour/flavor, neighbour/neighbor

Verbs in British English that end with either -ize or -ise  end with ize in American English: recognise/recognize, organise/organize

Verbs that end in –yse in  British English end in  –yze in American English: analyse/analyze, paralyse/paralyze

Verbs that end in a vowel followed by l double the l in British English, but not in American English: travelled/traveled, cancelling/canceling

British English words spelled with the double vowels ae or oe are spelled with just an e in American English: manoeuver/maneuver, paediatric/pediatric

Some nouns that end with ence in British English are spelled ense in American English: licence/license, defence/defense

Some nouns that end with ogue in British English sometimes are ended with just og in American English: catalogue/catalog, dialogue/dialog

British Versus American English, Part 1

Image by ErikaWittlieb from Pixabay

It’s all the same language, but it’s different – American versus British English. And the British did have it first. The differences between American and British English are pretty minor, though. An American can understand someone speaking British English – except maybe for the accent!

The differences between American English and British English show up in three ways: 1. Some words are spelled differently. 2. There are a few punctuation and grammar rules that differ. 3. Some words are different between American English and British English, but they mean the same thing. Most words, however, are spelled the same in both British and American English. And most grammar and punctuation rules are the same. And most of the words are the same.

Next week we will concentrate on the minor spelling, grammar, and punctuation differences. But today we will talk about the vocabulary. When a British person talks about putting on trainers, we would put on sneakers. Here are just a few of the words that differ between British and American vocabulary:

British – American           

agony aunt  –    advice columnist

anticlockwise  –  counterclockwise

aubergine –   eggplant (not sure if this is just the color or the vegetable)

biscuit  – cookie

bonnet –  hood (of a car)

boot  –  trunk (of a car)

braces –  suspenders

candy floss  – cotton candy (don’t floss your teeth with it!)

chips –  french fries

court card –  face card

crisps –   potato chips

drawing room – living room

film –  movie

flat  – apartment

football –   soccer

fortnight  –  two weeks

hairslide  – barrette

handbag  –  purse or pocketbook

hen night  – bachelorette party

holiday –    vacation

hoover –  vacuum cleaner

ice lolly – Popsicle

jacket potato  – baked potato

jumper – pullover sweater

lift – elevator

loo   –  restroom, bathroom

lorry –  truck

maths  –   math (I have no idea why)

mobile phone  –   cell phone

nappy –    diaper

peckish – hungry

post  –   mail

pram – baby carriage

pushchair  –  baby stroller

queue  –   line

rubber – eraser (please don’t use this one incorrectly!)

underground – subway

zed – zee

 

 

Your Life in Books

Image by Jess Watters from Pixabay

 

Thank you to everyone who wrote me to tell me about their favorite books and the first books they remember reading. Many of the books were new ones for me. I didn’t know if you wanted your names printed, so the entries are anonymous….
 
Here is what you said:
 
“Books by Elizabeth Enright were some of my favorites. Gone Away Lake and
Return to Gone Away  were books I read over and over. When I introduced
our daughter to them I saw them with fresh eyes and saw that they had a
much richer vocabulary and more nuanced writing than I see in much of
today’s fiction for children. I am glad they are still available!”
———————————-
 

“The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
Lois Lenski titles
Heidi
American biographies
Now my favorite book is always the last I’ve read or listened to. . .
    Queen Sugar by Natalie Baszile”

———————————-

 
“There are just so many. My mom used to read to us from the time we were
born. I could read when I was three. My first set of books was The
Bobbsey Twins, though I kept trying to steal my brother’s Hardy Boys
books. My mom collected a set of the Happy Hollisters. I passed these on
to a neighbor when I outgrew them. My favorite book as a child was The
Secret Garden. I read Romeo and Juliet when I was ten. It was hard to
get the library to let me take it out as it was in the adult library and
children weren’t allowed to take  books out of the adult library.  I
would sit there and read while I waited for my sister.  We had a
Bookmobile that came around each week, and sometimes I could smuggle an
adult book out if I mixed it in with my other five books and the
librarian wasn’t paying attention. Now I read a lot of John Kellerman,
Fay Kellerman,  have all of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plumb books. I do
love to read and I always have.  It’s so important to instill a love of
reading in your children.”
—————————————————-


“I have a Robert Louis Stevenson book from childhood; I adore it.  And an
Alice in Wonderland. “

————————————————

“As a child I loved Nancy Drew and I am still a mystery novel fan
Currently Jacqueline Winspear is a favorite, and I always love Sarah
Paretsky, Elizabeth George, and Faye Kellerman.  One of my favorite
non-mystery novels is Greg Sarris’s Watermelon Nights. And an
Indian/American novelist I read lately. Can’t think of her name. I read
her new mystery novel and then read one of her non-mystery novels.
Fascinating.”

———————————————

“Heidi, by Johannq Spyri, is the book I remember from my childhood. It
was published in 1881, according to Google.”
———————————————–


 
“I loved most all of the books you mentioned. (See previous post, My Life in Books)
 
I also really enjoyed horsey books like all those of Marguerite Henry
(Misty of Chincoteague, King of the Wind, Seastar) and Will James
(Smoky the Cowhorse). That was probably around the end of elementary
school that I read those. I also had a thing for Mark Twain (Huck Finn,
Tom Sawyer) but I reread some others recently that I found tedious.
 
I’ve just been rereading many, many old books in the bookcase, last read
50 to 60 years ago!  Amazing how thoroughly I’ve forgotten the stories!
(e.g., Great Expectations)
 
My grammar bible has always been Chicago Manual of Style, or better
yet, its updated version, A Manual for Writers of Research Paper,
Theses, and Dissertations (Chicago Style for Students and Researchers,
NInth Edition) by Kate L. Turabian.
 
I recently received as a gift Dryer’s English. Love it!”
—————————————————–


 
“As a child and early adolescent, I read far more books than I do now.  An English teacher in junior high wrote on one of my book reports, “Never lose your love of reading.”  Wonderful advice but, somehow and unfortunately, I did; I’m not sure why.  Now I read mostly articles in the paper and online.  However, “back in the day,” like you, I read most, if not all, of the Nancy Drew books.  I read many of the Dana Girls mysteries, also by Carolyn Keene.  And I remember a book (or series of books?) about Penrod and Sam that I enjoyed.  However, I can’t recall anything about it/them.  I was introduced to the books about David and Claudia from watching Robert Young and Dorothy McGuire portray them in movies shown on TV back in the 50s.  The movie Gentleman’s Agreement prompted me to read the book as an adolescent.  Because I had a rule about finishing every book I started, it took me a couple of summers after I saw the movie to start, then re-start and finish, Gone With the Wind.  I finally broke my self-made rule with Gail Sheehy’s Passages, and I don’t know why. “

————————————————-

“Somewhere around 1985, I think, a friend had a secondhand bookstore. He knew that I liked science fantasy and pointed out the Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey. I have read the entire series multiple times and have recommended it to hundreds of people… I even started my granddaughter on them when she was nine. I cried when McCaffrey passed away.”
—————————————————-

 
“On Persephone’s Island: This memoir of a New York woman marrying a Sicilian man is head and shoulders above all those ex-pat-aren’t-the-locals-adorable memoirs. I reread it every few years and have read passages on my radio show.”
————————————————- 

“Housekeeping: I read this novel every few years and much of it I read aloud, to myself. Marilynne Robinson’s use of language is exquisite.  

The Gastronomical Me: This book shows MFK Fisher at the height of her narrative power. The chapter “The Flaw” is, to me, her quintessential work.  

My Father’s Dragon, The Dragons of Blueland, Elmer & the Dragon: My favorite books from childhood. How can I resist a blue-and-yellow- striped dragon with red paws? For most of my life, this dragon has strolled through my dreams.
 
Wuthering Heights: Best English novel about love ever ever ever. Essential reading. 
 
Unplugged Kitchen: The only cookbook, other than my own, that I keep close to my desk. It’s delicate, pristine, and inspiring.”

——————————————————————

“I am self-employed, providing proofreading and copyediting services for college textbooks. So after working all day on texts, such as geology, math, or psychiatry among so many other subjects, I like to read historical romance books, mostly Regency or Georgian. I have also read many of Philippa Gregory’s books.”

—————————————————————

“Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Beales. Read with my son when he was in high school.
About a black woman in an all-white school in Little Rock, Arkansas.
She came to Santa Rosa and lived with a Sonoma state psychology professor and went to Montgomery High. That professor I met as a patient.
It is a fabulous story about her courage! ”
—————————————————————–


 
“Not sure if it is a favorite, but certainly the most memorable is Last Exit to Brooklyn by Hubert Selby, Jr.  I read the book over 40 years ago and it still haunts me.  The subject matter, the unique voice and style is gritty, lifelike and memorable.
 
Also The Cunning Man and The Deptford Trilogy by Robertson Davies — elegant, learned, engaging.”

——————————————————————–

 
“I love Hemingway’s Movable Feast for both writing and subject matter. Absolutely wonderful companion is The Paris Wife, fictional other-side-of -the-story by Paula McLain. Then if you want a modern story in Paris, albeit unexpectedly odd, Paris Exit by Patrick DeWitt is a lot of fun. I recommended it to a German client of mine who likes dark and weird, and she loved it. It’s quite readable for high-intermediate/advanced level ESL learners.
 
I’m also reading Word by Word, The Secret Life of Dictionaries by Kory Stamper thanks to a post of yours some months ago! Thanks. I love this book. Very funny and fun.”

——————————————————————–

“I’m a simple woman. I see books, and I am sold

Hyphens and Dashes: The Long and Short of It

Image by David Zydd from Pixabay

This blog post, with some changes made, was originally published in September 2017

When I copyedit, I see all kinds of lines and spaces that are supposed to be dashes. And, as I am probably guilty of myself, the overuse of the mighty dash. But this post is not about appropriate use of dashes or how many you use…

This post is about the difference between  hyphens and dashes (both en dashes and em dashes) and how to make them on your keyboard. By the way, there is generally no space around hyphens or dashes.

Hyphen: This is the short one that you will find on your number pad or the top row of your keyboard. I have a Mac Air, and on my keyboard it is on the top row. Hyphens are used in some compound words and to divide a word at the end of a line. Only one keystroke is required to make a hyphen. Examples: Self-taught, ex-husband. 

En Dash: This is the medium-length line that requires a little more work to create. The en dash is used for minus signs and date ranges. However, many people use it as a long dash, which it isn’t. Many people type two hyphens in a row to create an en dash. Sometimes your computer will put them together to make something longer than a hyphen; sometimes it won’t. The most frequent place to find en dashes is in indexes (page ranges) and math books (minus signs).  The en dash is made on my Mac is by holding down the alt (or option) key and pressing the hyphen. Examples: 1950–1960, 20–10=10.

Em Dash: This is the long dash that is used in text. Technically, it is used to indicate a big break in thought in a sentence. It is longer than the en dash. The hyphen requires one keystroke, the en dash requires two keystrokes, and the em dash requires three keystrokes, at least on my keyboard. To make an em dash, hold down the shift key and the alt (option) key, and then press the hyphen.  Example: I finally found my glasses—they were underneath the sofa cushion—after getting along fine without them for three weeks. Hint: Make sure your em dashes are in the correct places in your sentence by reading the sentence without the text that is within the dashes. The sentence should make sense. And while ellipses (. . .) are used to indicate  trailing off at the end of a sentence, em dashes are used in dialog to indicate someone being interrupted by another speaker:

“I told you I wanted to—”

“I can’t listen to you now!”

Why are they called en and em dashes? They are measurements in typography: An em is a unit equal to the currently specified point size. For example, one em in a 16-point typeface is 16 points. 

Next Week – Part 2 of My Life in Books
And now a few favors to ask:
Please send me an e-mail at bigwords101@yahoo.com with your favorite book or books for a future blog post.

If you are not already a subscriber to this blog, why not subscribe? It’s free and you get a free book download.

If you have any of my books, an Amazon review is greatly appreciated. Reviews sell books!

If you have any ideas for future blog posts, please let me know!

My Life in Books, Part 2

Image by Oldiefan from Pixabay

I don’t know about you, but one of my pet peeves is getting into a book and having it sound familiar: I think I have read this before.

Therefore, I am very grateful to have Goodreads, where I can keep a list of books I have read. I have been keeping this list for several years, and when I started it, I found the books I knew I had read previously in my life (although I know I must have missed many of them) and put them on the list. So if I am reading a book that isn’t new, I often check to make sure I haven’t read it before. I really don’t like rereading books — even those I have loved — because there are so many unread books yet to read. 

That said (that appears to be my new favorite trite phrase), I have compiled a list of my favorite books. Last week went to you and your favorites. This week it is my turn. Before I start, let me tell you that I rarely remember anything about books I have read, even the day after I finish them! I don’t know why I don’t. Occasionally, I like a book so much that I remember some snippet about it. Other times, I have to rely on my five-star rating to remember that I loved a book.

Here are some books (quite a few) that I have loved. I have put asterisks beside the ones that are so outstanding (to me) that I highly recommend them. Maybe you will find a new favorite here.

*The Library Book by Susan Orlean (nonfiction)

*The Ensemble by Aja Gabel

*Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

*Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

*Love Anthony by Lisa Genova

*The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger

*Animal Farm by George Orwell

*Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

Sons and Lovers by DH Lawrence

Portnoy’s Complaint by Philip Roth

*Girl with a Pearl Earring by tracy Chevalier

*The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

Fifty Shades of Grey (sorry, but I liked it a lot) by EL James

*Our Southern Home by my friend Waights Taylor, Jr. (nonfiction)

Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin

*The Red Tent by Anita Diamont

*The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (nonfiction)

*Freakonomics by Steven Levitt (nonfiction)

*Still Alice by Lisa Genova

*Every Note Played by Lisa Genova

*The Mourning Parade by my friend Dawn Reno Langley

***A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

*The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls (nonfiction)

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah (nonfiction)

Tuesday Nights in 1980 (a random find in which I discovered I had synesthesia) by Molly Prentiss

The Making of Donald trump by David Cay Johnston (nonfiction)

*The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo (nonfiction)

The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty

Goodnight June by Sarah Jio

*The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

*The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer

*The House of the Scorpian (YA) by Nancy Farmer

*11-22-63 by Stephen King

Mr. Poppins Penguins (children’s) by Richard Atwater

All Nancy Drew (middle grades) by Carolyn Keene

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (middle grades) by Betty Smith

The Good Earth by Pearl Buck

*A Separate Peace by John Knowles

*Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann

*Room by Emma Donoghue

*Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries by Kory Stamper

and I am sure I have missed some…

 

 

My Life in Books, Part 1

What is the first book you remember reading? Or having read to you? Or owning?

Last week I asked my readers and social media friends to submit their favorite books to me. I did get some responses (thank you), but I don’t have enough yet. I will be making those responses into a post in a couple of weeks, so please submit your favorite books or genres to me at bigwords101@yahoo.com.

Here is a question: Can you tell a person’s age by the books they remember reading?

A Blast from the Past: “Compose” Versus “Comprise”

Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay

This post was originally published here in 2017. But it still is a tricky issue . . .

—————————————————————————————-

“Hmmm….Should I use compose or comprise? What is the difference?”

Yes, these two words are confusing indeed. They mean the same thing, but are used differently. Much of the time it is easier to just give up and use a substitute word or phrase.

Comprise means “is made up of.” So the whole comprises the parts. In other words, when using comprise, the whole will come before the parts:

The United State comprises fifty states. (The United States is made up of fifty states.)
The class comprises second, third, and fourth grade students.
The  family in the photo comprises seven members.

Compose means “to make up.” The parts compose the whole. So here, the parts will come before the whole:

Fifty states compose the United States.
Second, third, and fourth graders compose the music class.
Seven people compose the family seen in the above portrait.

Now, we can try to”flip” the words around into a sort of a passive-sounding usage is composed of, which can be used in place of comprise. Here, the whole is composed of the parts:

The United States is composed of fifty states. (comprises fifty states)
The music class is composed of second, third, and fourth graders. (comprises second, third, and fourth graders)
The  family is composed of mother, father, and five children. (comprises a mother, a father, and five children)

Don’t worry about flipping comprise around because you can’t. “Is comprised of” is not a thing, so don’t bother with it.  Here are the three correct ways to say it:

The department comprises a manager, an assistant manager, and four salespeople.
The department is composed of a manager, an assistant manager, and four salespeople.
A manager, an assistant manager, and four salespeople compose the department.
Of course you can avoid it: The department is made up of a manager, an assistant  manager, and four salespeople.

So get “is comprised of” out of your lexicon. It isn’t correct.

Tips to remember which is which:

Comprise contains eight letters; compose contains seven letters. Comprise is longer. 

When comprise is used, the whole (larger) comes before the parts.

Compose is shorter; when it is used the parts ( smaller) come before the whole.

The above tips are when the verb is used in the active voice. 

The more passive-sounding phrase “is composed of” is used instead of comprises and means” is made up of.”

The other passive-sounding phrase, “is comprised of” is not used.

A REQUEST: I am going to do a post on favorite books  – possibly as soon as next week. And I don’t just want to write about MY favorite books, so I would love some feedback. Please e-mail me (please do not comment on this post with your favorite books) with your favorite book or books, or your least favorite(s), or your favorite genres — or those you don’t like and why. Or which books you loved as a kid. Any or all of those topics would be greatly appreciated. E-mail me at bigwords101@yahoo.com (easier to read than my website e-mail) Thank you!

 

Sci Fi: Do You Read It?

Image by Stefan Keller from Pixabay

Do you read science fiction? What is science fiction, anyway? And why am I writing a post about science fiction?

Well, our friends at Global English Editing have developed an infographic about the best 16 science fiction books of all time in honor of National Science Day, which was on January 2. Well, we missed National Science Day, but it is still January. I will provide the link to their infographic later in this post.

I was surprised to see that I had read at least 5 of their top 16 science fiction books. When I think of science fiction, I think of Isaac Asmov”s books, which I do remember reading as a kid — and of course Dune, which is the most popular sci fi book of all time. And I read that one. 

There is a little fuzziness around what constitutes science fiction. First, there is hard science fiction versus soft science fiction. Hard science fiction deals with real science and scientific facts. Not being a science person, those books are difficult for me to read. I know this only because I recently tried to read one, written by a friend of mine, and I got totally lost. Soft science fiction books deal more with social and philosophical issues. Some of those books, I wouldn’t really consider sci fi, but some people do.

Science fiction is NOT fantasy, which is a really popular genre right now, especially for young adult books. Sci fi deals more with real life and society as it is, although it does talk about time travel, the future, and aliens. Fantasy more often takes place  in an entirely different world.

I would think that dystopian novels belong to a different genre than science fiction, but some of them are included in various science fiction lists. For example, Orwell’s 1984 is included on most science fiction lists. I would not have thought of 1984 if you asked me to think about science fiction, although I love the book. I even saw The Handmaid’s Tale on one sci fi list.

I don’t remember any of Vonnegut’s books, although I loved them all and read them when everyone was reading Vonnegut. But I wouldn’t put those in the sci fi category either, although some of them are included in sci fi lists. 

But I have read and enjoyed (if you can call it enjoyed) 1984, Fahrenheit 451, A Clockwork Orange, Hunger Games, and Vonnegut. Would I call them sci fi? If you asked me about reading sci fi, I would say, “Yes, I read sci fi when I was a kid: Dune, Asimov books, and of course L. Ron Hubbard’s Dianetics, which I guess is not considered one of his science fiction books.

More recently, I read The Martian and  A Wrinkle in Time (because I had never read it).

I wouldn’t think to put apocalyptic books in the science fiction category either, but it makes sense that they are. I guess when I think of science fiction, I think of aliens!

Here is the link for more information about science fiction books, and one of the  lists of Best Science Fiction Books.

So, now I will ask you again. Do you read science fiction? I have read more than I thought. Here are the books that appear on most of the lists of bet science fiction books:

1984 – Orwell *
World War Z – Brooks
Brave New World – Huxley *
A Canticle for Leibowitz – Miller
The Martin – Weir *
Dune – Herbert *
Foundation – Asimov
Frankenstein – Shelley
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Adams
Jurassic Park – Crichton
The Martian Chronicles – Bradbury
Watchers – Koontz
Slaughterhouse-Five – Vonnegut *
The Stand – King
Ender’s Game – Card
Stranger in a Strange Land – Heinlein *
The War of the Worlds – Wells
2001: A Space Odyssey – Clarke
A Wrinkle in Time – L’Engle *
The Hunger Games – Collins *
Journey to the Center of the Earth – Verne
The Time Machine – Wells
I, Robot – Asimov
Ringworld – Niven

I put an asterisk next to the ones I KNOW I have read, but it is hard to believe I haven’t read Frankenstein or something by Verne or Wells. And I saw the movies 2001 and Jurassic Park, but I don’t remember if I read the books. 

Some lists contain these other titles, which I have read: A Clockwork Orange, Contact (Sagan), Cat’s Cradle , and Ready Player One. One list even had these books, which I have read, and are either more fantastical or dystopic: Lord of the Rings, Animal Farm, The Handmaid’s Tale, and The Giver. 

I didn’t think I liked science fiction, but I guess maybe I do — but the soft kind. In fact, writing this post made me want to go read some of the ones I haven’t read, or maybe have just forgotten that I have read. But I already have a whole pile of books to read before they are due at the library!

 

 

Verb Tense-ion (pronounced ten-shun)

Image by Alexas_Fotos from Pixabay

Just add -ed to  a verb to make it past tense:

talk, talked, have talked

touch, touched, have touched

study, studied, have studied (okay, so change the y to an i rule)

bake, baked, have baked

work, worked, have worked

fly, flew, have flown — huh? what????

Irregular: that’s what.

And there are many, many irregular verbs like fly … and fall … and go … and teach.

Some verbs don’t ever change regardless of tense: set, cost, burst

And some are used incorrectly — frequently.

It isn’t have went. It is have gone.

It isn’t have ate . It is have eaten .
It isn’t have rang . It is have rung .
It isn’t have swam. It is have swum.
It isn’t have drank . It is have drunk .

And if it is a picture, you hung it — or have hung it.

Unless you put a noose around it — then you hanged it. 

There are some other particularly tricky ones too:

How about shrink? My blouse shrunk? No, it shrank.  But it has shrunk. And only heads are shrunken. 

The boat sunk? No. It sank. But it has sunk. 

What about sneak? Is the past tense sneaked or snuck? It used to be sneaked, but more recently, snuck is the more common past tense. And there is no snack (Sorry about that. The kitchen is closed.)

A drug is a pharmaceutical or something one is addicted to. And if you are drugged, you have had too much of it. Drug is NOT the past tense of drag.

Drag is a regular verb. Drag, dragged, have dragged. Not drug. 

No rhyme or reason here. You just have to memorize them. Or if you speak English as a native language, you just (maybe) know them because they “sound right.”

A very special thank you to Eileen O’Farrell for the suggestion of this topic!!!!

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

 

Ghosts of New Years Past

Image by Joan Cabras from Pixabay

I began writing this blog at the beginning of 2013 — every week . 

So I have done several New Year posts. I thought I would share with you a collage of a few New Year posts from years past…

What Are YOUR Resolutions?

I think it was last year that I asked my readers and my social media connections to give me their New Year’s resolutions, promising anonymity. Hmm…..I suppose I should be happy that I got very few responses: I must have a very happy, self-satisfied group of friends and readers!

But I did get a few:

Not to feel critical of the writer who makes an error or to think less of him or her, but just to be grateful I am still able to catch the error! (No, that is not my resolution!!)
Give up swearing. (No, that isn’t mine either!)
Resolving that next year I will make a resolution — and I always do! ( Not mine, I swear!)
 Not taking everything to heart and thinking everything is a slight. Life is too short (Okay, that’s mine!)
Not saying anything at all if I have nothing nice to say. (Mine too)

According to Statista, these were the most common resolutions for 2018:

Eat healthier.
Get more exercise.
Save more money.
Take care of oneself better, e.g., get more sleep.
Read more.
Make new friends.
Learn a new skill.
Get a new job.
Take up a new hobby.
I am not making any New Year’s resolutions. (32% of us)

45% of us usually make resolutions (almost half of us are unhappy??)

38% of us never do.

17% infrequently do.

So how is the success rate? Well, 75% of resolutions make it through the first week, 71% make it through two weeks, 64% make it past a month, and 46% make it through six months. That is higher than I would expect!

Here are some tips on how to make your resolutions more successful: (These ideas generally make anything you plan to do more successful.)

Be specific: Instead of saying “get in shape, ” say “exercise three times a week.”
Write the resolutions down.
Make a timetable. Establish small goals along the way. 
Don’t give up. If you eat the whole chocolate cake, don’t give up. Just don’t figure you might as well eat one every day now! (I tend to think like that.)
Get support from friends and family —  or whomever you trust has your best interest in mind.

If you are focusing on good health, here are some suggested resolutions  that are easy to accomplish. (from Good Housekeeping.)

Add more citrus to your grocery cart.
Eat lots of veggies.
Book all your doctor visits for the year. What are you due for?
Confide your resolutions to one friend only.
Become a plant owner. Plants are calming. 
Forget multitasking. Do one thing at a time. (Yeah, sure.)
Scent your environment. Peppermint gives you energy. Lavender reduces stress.
Climb the stairs.
Decorate with memorabilia, for example, old family pictures.
Sanitize your phone weekly. (good one!)
Plan a vacation. At least two a year is healthiest.
Practice yoga.
Listen to novels while you work out.
Volunteer.
Delegate more chores.
Keep clutter out of the kitchen.
Wear workout gear that makes you feel good.
Explore new hobbies.
Listen to upbeat music.
Be sure to take a lunch break.
Donate old clothes. Don’t keep those size 4 jeans until you can get into them again!
Switch up your exercise routine.
Give yourself more compliments.
Spend less time glued to your phone.
Learn a new skill.
Keep up-to-date with current events. (Well, maybe not.)
Meditate every day.
Go to bed on time.
Get some new workout shoes.
Write to yourself. And be kind when you do.

 

Where Did New Year’s Resolutions Come From?

Although New Year’s resolutions are most common in the Western Hemisphere, they are found all over the word. 

The ancient Babylonians were apparently the first people to make New Year’s resolutions, about 4,000 years ago. However, for them the year began not in January, but in mid-March when the crops were planted. During a 12-day religious festival known as Akitu, the Babylonians crowned a new king or reaffirmed their loyalty to the reigning king.  They made promises to the gods to pay their debts and return any farm equipment they had borrowed.

The Romans began each year by making promises to the god Janus, for whom the month of January is named. The early Roman calendar consisted of 10 months and 304 days, with each new year beginning at the vernal equinox. It was created by Romulus, the founder of Rome, in the eighth century B.C. Over the centuries, the calendar fell out of sync with the sun, and in 46 B.C. the emperor Julius Caesar consulted with the most prominent astronomers and mathematicians of his time. He introduced the Julian calendar, which closely resembles the calendar that most countries around the world use today.

Caesar instituted January 1 as the first day of the year, partly to honor  Janus, the Roman god of beginnings, whose two faces allowed him to look both back into the past and forward into the future. Romans celebrated the new year by offering sacrifices to Janus, exchanging gifts with one another, decorating their homes with laurel branches, and attending raucous parties.

In the Medieval era, the knights took the “peacock vow” at the end of the Christmas season each year to re-affirm their commitment to chivalry.

This tradition has other religious parallels. In Judaism. on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement),  the culmination of the Jewish New Year, Jews reflect upon their wrongdoings over the past year and seek forgiveness. And the practice of New Year’s resolutions came, in part, from the Lenten sacrifices of Christians. The concept, regardless of creed, is the annual reflection upon self-improvement.

Despite the tradition’s religious roots, New Year’s resolutions today are a secular practice. Instead of making promises to the gods, most people make resolutions  to themselves and focus purely on self-improvement. 

So Who Makes Resolutions? And Who Keeps Them?

At the end of the Great Depression, about 25% of American adults made New Year’s resolutions. At the beginning of the 21st century, about 40% did. And those who make common resolutions such as weight loss, increased exercising, or quitting smoking are at least ten times more likely to succeed compared with those who do not make resolutions.

Here are the most common reasons for people failing at their New Year’s Resolutions:

Unrealistic goals (35%)
Not keeping track of progress (33% )
Forgetting all about it (23%)
 Making too many resolutions (10%)

A 2007 study by Richard Wiseman from the University of Bristol involving 3,000 people showed that 88% of those who set New Year resolutions fail despite the fact that over half of the study’s participants were confident of success at the beginning.

Men achieved their goals more often when they engaged in specific goal setting.
Women succeeded  more when they made their goals public and got support from their friends.

How Have Resolutions Changed?

Americans’ Resolutions for 1947 – Gallup Poll

1. Improve my disposition, be more understanding, control my temper

2. Improve my character, live a better life

3. Stop smoking, smoke less

4. Save more money

5. Stop drinking, drink less

6. Be more religious, go to church oftener

7. Be more efficient, do a better job

8. Take better care of my health

9. Take greater part in home life

10. Lose (or gain) weight

Americans’ Resolutions for 2014 – University of Scranton

1. Lose weight

2. Getting organized

3. Spend less, save more

4. Enjoy life to the fullest

5. Stay fit and healthy

6. Learn something exciting

7. Quit smoking

8. Help others in their dreams

9. Fall in love

10. Spend more time with family

P.S. Weight loss has obviously become important to us. As a nation, we’re the heaviest we’ve ever been. And along with the extra pounds come physical conditions like diabetes and cardiovascular disease, as well as social stigmas like bullying and weight discrimination. But Abigail Saguy, a sociology and gender studies professor at University of California, Los Angeles, points out that bodies — especially women’s bodies — have always been imbued with some kind of social meaning, and she suspects that people are more interested in enjoying the elevated status of a socially acceptable body than improved health outcomes

The Grammarian’s New Year’s Resolutions – 2016

Well, it has been two years since the last New Year ‘s Resolution Post. And we are probably still trying to lose weight, get to the gym more often, be a better parent or friend or spouse, stop smoking, write that book, start that new business, and on and on.  Well, here are some grammar resolutions for 2016 — and no, they aren’t the same ones as two years ago!

1. I resolve never to correct anyone’s grammar—except in a published book or on TV or radio where the speaker is getting paid money to talk! Don’t correct your friends — even on Facebook — unless they specifically ask.

2. I resolve to form an opinion about the Oxford comma and to feel no guilt whether I want to use it or not. But please, be consistent in your use within the same piece of writing. Either use it or don’t — unless something would be unclear without it — or with it.

3. I resolve to not even think about separating two sentences with a comma unless there is a conjunction (like and, but, or so) present. A comma alone cannot separate two complete sentences. Try a semicolon or a period.

4. I resolve to learn the forms of the darn verb “to lie”: to realize that it is so confusing because lay is the past tense of lie, in addition to being it own present tense verb — and that lain really is a word.

5. I resolve to never use its’,  because someone made it up. With all the confusion between its and it’s, the last thing we need is a third option! By the way, please also avoid on accident. It is by accident — but on purpose. And while we are at it, it’s not a whole nother story; it’s a whole other story. Or another whole story.

6. I resolve to pronounce the word mischievous correctly. The accent is on the first syllable (mis), and the last syllable is pronounced vus, not vius.

7. I resolve to learn how to spell out BBQ, and to realize that there is no Q in it at all (barbecue). And there is no ham in hamburger. . .

8. I resolve to eliminate or limit my use of a lot — and to always use it as two separate words.

9. I resolve not to put an s on toward (British use towards; American English uses toward, although no big deal). Also it is in regard to, not in regards to. And there is no such word as anyways — it is anyway.

10. I resolve to understand that good grammar improves my communication skills and the image I project to others. However, it isn’t everything. And if I can’t figure something out, there is always a good grammar book around –speaking of which . . .

The Grammarian’s New Year’s Resolutions – 2014

Happy New Year to all! Ready to start the diet? Or go to the gym more often? Ready to write that book? Be a more patient driver? Better mother? Harder worker? Got those resolutions forming in your mind? Or have you given up the idea of making the same resolutions every year? Well, I thought you might want to make some of the grammarians’ resolutions for 2014….

1. I resolve never to correct anyone’s grammar—even on Facebook—unless I am asked.  If they want to embarrass themselves, well, that is their business. 

2. I resolve to proofread all my e-mails and texts, and especially to watch out for autocorrect. Last week I texted a G, and it turned into God bless you.

3. I resolve to let no sentence be ended before its time—with either a period, semicolon, or colon—and therefore become a fragment; and to let no sentence continue past its natural life, thus becoming a run on.

4. I resolve to give up my fear of the semicolon. The semicolon is quite harmless and has only a couple of uses. I will not be afraid to use one between two related sentences. However, I will also not confuse the semicolon with its distant cousin, the colon.

5. I resolve to have tolerance for both grammar hawks and grammar doves—hawks insisting on every grammar rule, outdated or not, and doves ready to disregard any  rule in favor of a life of literary chaos. 

6. I resolve never to utter any of the following words or phrases: have went; me and him went; between you and I; irregardless; could of, should of, or would of; haven’t hardly; I could care less; or he and myself.

7. I resolve that I will never put an apostrophe in a plain old plural unless not using the apostrophe would be confusing. This is very rare indeed.

8. I resolve not to misplace my modifiers, thus humiliating myself. While reading by the window, my dog did not jump into my lap because dogs usually don’t read. While walking under the shelves , the box did not fall on my head, because boxes don’t walk under shelves. While howling at the moon, a car did not stop to watch me because cars don’t howl at the moon, although I may.

9. I resolve not to make up words or abuse real words by pronouncing  them incorrectly. These words do not exist: mischevious, nucular, jewlery, and realator.

10. I resolve to understand that good grammar improves my communication skills and the image I project to others. However, it isn’t everything. And when I am thinking about my New Year resolutions,  I will remember that The Golden Rule overrules every grammar rule.