Arlene Miller's Blog, page 41

Ten Commonly Mispronounced Words A – E

It isn’t until you start researching the topic that you find out just how many words are often (including that one) mispronounced. I gave a few examples in my blog post of a couple of weeks ago. 

I have decided to make this a series of a few posts, spread out so you won’t get bored! Here are some words beginning with the letters A through E that are often mispronounced. 

acrost–should be across (no t at the end)

affidavid – should be  affidavit (ends in a t; no David there)

Antartic or Anartic – should be Antarctic (two ts and a c)

barbituate – should be barbiturate (I don’t say this one often, but when I do, I say it incorrectly. There is an r beginning that final syllable.)

calvary – should be cavalry (the l doesn’t become before the v)

cannidate – should be candidate (two ds)

dialate – should be dilate (two syllables, not three)

excape – should be escape (no x)

excetera  –  should be  et cetera (like in escape, there is no x)

expresso – should be espresso (there is no x here either)

 

Grammar Diva News Update

This coming Saturday, February 25, I will be speaking at the monthly meeting of Marin Writers. 2 p.m., The Book Passage in Corte Madera, CA. It is open to anyone who would like to attend as a guest (or join!)

On Friday evening, March 16 at 7 p.m., I will be launching The Best Little Grammar Collection Ever! at Copperfield’s Books in Petaluma. There will be refreshments and a lively talk about language. Hope to see you there if you are in the area!

 

 

Talking Tips: Ten Things You Don’t Want to Say!

Many times we talk about grammar  in terms of writing. This blog post is about speaking. We don’t need to worry about punctuation when we speak, but we do have to worry about grammar—and pronunciation (which we don’t have to worry about when we write). 

Here are ten of the most common speaking gaffes:

Using a pronoun directly after the noun it refers to: My brother he is visiting from Boston. Please take out he. My brother is visiting from Boston.
I don’t is correct. But he don’t, she don’t, and it don’t are not!  It’s doesn’t.
 Please don’t get your past participles wrong. The English language is tricky, with so many irregular verbs, but please try to learn them. It isn’t have/has went. Ever!!! It is has/have gone. Likewise, it is have written (not wrote), have eaten (not ate), have spoken (not spoke), have fallen (not fell), have rung (not rang), have swum (not swam)….and there are others. 
Mischievous is spelled that way because that is the way it is pronounced. It is not spelled mischeevious, and it is not pronounced that way either. The accent is on the first syllable, and there is no i in the final syllable.
Width ends in a -th.  Height ends in a -t. It is not heighth. 
Oh, please don’t say ain’t. Yes, it is in the dictionary, but so is irregardless.
This is probably a dialect issue, but please don’t drop your -ing endings to be -in endings. I am going, not goin’. 
Many of the grocery stores have now gotten less and fewer correct, so you should too. Less is used for singular nouns and things that cannot be counted. Fewer is used for plurals and things that can be counted: Less money. Fewer pennies. Less salt. Fewer teaspoons of salt. Less stuff. Fewer than 12 items. The same is true of number and amount.  Number is used with plurals. Amount is used for singulars and things that can’t be counted. Number of pennies. Amount of money. Number of doughnuts. Amount of pastry.
Avoid using double negatives. Most of us avoid things like I don’t have no money, but remember that barely, scarcely and hardly are also negatives. I don’t barely have enough money is a double negative.  I can’t hardly stand it is a double negative. You haven’t scarcely eaten a thing is a double negative.
Realtor and jewelry are often mispronounced. They are usually pronounced with three syllables, but they each have only two. It is not jew-la-ry. It is jewel-ry. It is not re-la-tor. It is real-tor.

And while we are on the subject, please put that first R in February!

Grammar Diva News
Launch Event for The Best Little Grammar Collection Ever! Copperfield’s Books in Petaluma, CA: Friday, March 16 at 7 p.m.

My two new books are available….

My Writing Life

A while ago, one of my readers asked me to write a post about my life as a self-publisher. However, before I became a self-publisher (or “indie” publisher, as we like to call it), I was a writer for a very long time. I think most people who write have been writing for most of their lives. So, I thought I would trace my writing life before my self-publishing experience. You can see whose posts you have been reading all this time! For those of you who would prefer me to stick with grammar (and I know you exist), I will be back to grammar next week. And the second, and final, installment of my writing and self-publishing life will be sometime at the end of February. 

The earliest recollection I have of writing goes back to when I was about six or seven. I wrote a holiday musical called Babes in Toyland (original, huh?) for my friends and me to perform for our moms. I remember it ending badly after I had some type of artistic ownership snit.

I then started writing poetry, probably some time during elementary school. I still have a “book” (actually, a notebook) of my poems complete with illustrations I did. I am thinking of publishing the poems I wrote as a young girl and teenager. I will have to give them another look!

Like most preteen girls, I became very interested in pop music. Pop music in the 60s was very different from pop music of today. There were some popular music radio stations that played top 40, there were vinyl 33s and 45s, and that was about it. No Pandora, iTunes, Spotify, no zillions of sub genres of pop music. Everyone listened to pretty much the same radio stations and music. I became a fan of some groups at the time and started writing song lyrics. I am sure by the time I was at the end of high school, I had written well over a hundred songs. I generally had to have a melody in my head when I wrote the lyrics, and I knew enough music from my piano lessons and limited guitar playing to write the music down — as long as it was in an easy key! I wanted to be a famous songwriter like the teams of Leiber and Stoller, or Bacharach and David, or Weil and Mann (you have to be a certain age to remember these people). I became interested enough in the music business to read Billboard Magazine (and Variety, although it had more showbiz and less music) every week. I would walk from my house downtown two or three miles to Cal’s, the only place around that sold Billboard. And I would walk there every day after school until the Billboard for that week came in. 

My life’s ambition, as stated in my high school yearbook, was to become a songwriter. However, I was interested in other things as I finished high school. I wanted to be an actress. My parents said No to acting school. I never really pushed the issue since I never even acted in a high school play. I did have the lead in the 4th grade play — only because I was so shy my teacher wanted to prove to me that I could do it. And I did it. And I will never forget that dear woman, Miss Louise. 

When it was time to apply to college, I figured it might be too difficult to make it in the world of songwriting, so I set my sights on writing for Billboard Magazine. Thus, I wanted to go to school in New York City. I got in, got a scholarship (to Barnard), and finally decided to decline it and go to school in Boston, closer to home. My parents were not happy about my going to college in New York City (too dangerous); I probably shouldn’t have listened. Even though I like the way my life turned out as far as my children, I wonder what I would have become if I had gone to Barnard and majored in English. Would I have become a novelist?

I went to school in Boston and majored in print media. I graduated and then couldn’t find a relavant job. I was looking for something in corporate marketing writing. I dabbled in clerical jobs for a while and then moved to Florida with my then-boyfriend. I ended up getting a job as a newspaper reporter in a small town. I didn’t really like it. I had to look for things to write about, and the things I was assigned to were boring — town meetings, school committee. Today, I would have run away from that town in a flash because of its politics, but, hey, I was just a kid. 

After a few months as a reporter, I found a job at the other newspaper in town as a UPI (United Press International) editor, which meant I assembled the two or three pages of state, national, and international news that came of the “wire.” The rest of the paper was local news. I was completely in charge of those pages and could choose whatever news I wanted the readers to see. I wrote the headlines and supervised the pasteup (yes, pasteup). This is before computers. I loved that job because I felt very powerful and in charge.

However, five months later, I needed to return home to Boston, so I left that job, which was probably my favorite job ever besides raising my kids and writing books. 

Again, I dabbled in clerical stuff and resumed the dancing I had started as a child. I took jazz classes three or four days a week and worked early in the morning as a medical transcriber. 

Enter the computer age! I knew people who were working at computer companies, and I got a job at one of the big companies. I was basically a secretary, and when they were looking to add an editor to the department, I asked for that job. My boss told me he was looking for “a male nerd who just wanted to sit alone in a room and edit.” After I threatened to sue him, I packed up and took a job at another computer company as a technical writer. Finally, a real job! I was a technical writer for a couple of years. Then I switched to editing because I wasn’t interested in the technical information as much as I was interested in the language. Then, I because the supervisor of the editing group. After about seven years I left to raise a family. I stayed home for ten years, although I did some freelance editing, both at home and onsite at a computer company. 

After ten years I took a contract job as an editor in the technical writing department of a local telecommunications company where my husband worked. I worked around my kids’ school schedules. By this time, the family had moved from the East Coast to the West. 

The telecom industry that was booming when we moved to the West Coast in 1993 was fading by about 2000. I lasted longer than a lot of the direct employees. I guess, as a contractor, they couldn’t find me. I was finally let go in 2001. Also recently divorced, I needed to find something to do. I thought my technical writing skills were probably too old, and I really didn’t want to do that anyway. A couple of friends suggested I become an English teacher. Kicking and screaming all the way . . .

I received a teaching credential at a ripe old age — in 2003 — and got a job teaching 7th grade English. It really wasn’t for me. The teaching was fine, but I did lack classroom management skills! And it was such hard work! 

I began to notice that my students made the same grammar, punctuation, and writing mistakes that the writers made when I was an editor. I had always wanted to write a book and had started one, a diet book! I also always wanted to write a book about only children, which I am and which I never did.  Yet.

I remember I was at my gym a few years after I began teaching. I was talking to the woman at the front desk, who was a novelist. I told her I was going to write a book with the most common grammar and punctuation mistakes—a small grammar book. (The Best Little Grammar Book Ever!)

And the rest is herstory. And you will hear about it in Part II —some time in February.

 

Grammar Diva News

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Ten Rules for Writing Numbers

Which numbers are spelled out and which are written as numerals? It depends on the type of writing you are doing.  Here are some basic rules for writing numbers: 

1.In scientific or technical writing, spell out numbers one through nine, and use numerals for numbers 10 and higher. However, in literary writing — or writing in the humanities — spell out numbers through ninety-nine. And remember that twenty-one through ninety-nine are hyphenated when they are two words.

2. In charts, figures, and tables, it if fine to use numerals for all your numbers. In fact, it is preferable and looks much better.

3. Never begin a sentence with a numeral. Write out the number or rewrite the sentence so the number doesn’t appear at the beginning.

One hundred members of the band marched down the street.
We watched as 100 members of the band marched down the street.

4. If you have a sentence with two numbers that refer to similar things, or the same thing, either write them both out or use numerals for both. It doesn’t matter what the numbers are.

We counted 9 boys and 112 girls at the girls’ softball game.
I made 6 dozen cookies and 150 cupcakes.

5. Spell out very large numbers instead of using a series of zeroes — even in a chart or table.

The population of my city is nearly 2 million now OR
The population of my city is nearly two million now. 

6. Dimensions, sizes and exact temperatures should be expressed in numerals.

The weather forecast calls for a high of 20 degrees tonight.
She wears a size 10 dress.

7. Always use numerals along with a.m. or p.m.

Let’s meet at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow.

8. With the word o’clock you can use either numerals or words.

The meeting is at two o’clock.
The meeting is at 2 o’clock.

9. Hyphenate fractions like two-thirds when spelling them out. Apply the same usage rules to fractions as other numbers.

10. Do not use firstly, secondly, and thirdly as transition words. Use first, second, and third.

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Yay! Now available on Amazon, Kindle, and other online stores.

 

Come to the book launch at Copperfield’s Books in Petaluma, CA: Friday, March 16 at  7 p.m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yay! Now available on Kindle and other e-readers.

The Grammar Quiz: Explanation Time

Last week I posted this 25-question grammar quiz. This week, as promised, I will give longer explanations for the answers that required them, so here goes. Incidentally, some readers already commented on some of these things, so thank you!

1. Is this book title capitalized correctly?  And We are Happy Again

No. Are needs to be capitalized as well. It may be small, but it is a verb. Is, Am, Be, and other short verbs also need to be capitalized in a title. The only words not capitalized in titles are conjunctions like and and but, articles (a, and, and the), and short prepositions of four letters or fewer (for, by, to, at, etc.)

 2. My mom gave snacks to my friend and (me, myself, I). 

Me. The easiest thing to do is, of course, take out “my friend.” The mom gave snacks to me. Grammatically speaking, me is an object verb, and I is a subject verb. Here you need an object. Myself is used for emphasis: I myself baked the wedding cake. OR I baked the wedding cake myself. Generally, when you use myself, the subject of the sentence should be I.

3. Is something wrong with this sentence? If so, what? I heard about the meeting at the zoo.

The sentence is unclear. Was the meeting at the zoo? It sounds like it because at the zoo is right next to meeting, and in the English language words are assumed to go with words they are near. You probably heard about the meeting while you were at the zoo. So, it is best to rewrite: At the zoo, I heard about the meeting. OR While I was at the zoo, I heard about the meeting.

4. Is something wrong with this sentence? If so, what? Topics covered during the seminar will include ordering new equipment, training employees on the new software, who will be the system administrator, and assigning tasks for maintaining the new lab.

The sentence is not parallel. Similar things in a sentence should have similar structure. Here is the series made parallel: ordering new equipment, training employees on the new software, deciding who will be system administrator, and assigning tasks for maintaining the new lab.

5. Is this sentence okay? And we will have all the new furniture in time for our open house!

The sentence is okay. We used to say we couldn’t begin a sentence with a conjunction like and, but or so. It is acceptable, mostly in conversational or informal writing. 

6. Is this sentence okay? The teacher told us we couldn’t leave our desks until the bell had rang.

Wrong. It should be had rung. Ring is an irregular verb whose forms are ring, rang, has or had or have rung.

7. (Who, whom) did you invite to the movies?

It is said that the differentiation between who and whom will soon be gone. However, if you want to be correct, the answer is whom. Who is the subject form, and whom is the object form. Turn the sentence around to make it a statement: You did invite whom to the movies. Similarly, you would say, You did invite him to the movies.

8. This is the closing of a letter: Sincerely (Yours, yours)

yours. Only the first word of a letter closing is initial capped.

9. Is this sentence okay? I don’t know whom I am going with.

Correct. Whom is the object of the preposition with. I don’t know with whom I am going. However, it is now okay to end a sentence with a preposition like with. But it is still not okay to say,“Where are you at?”

10. Can you identify the grammar issue in this sentence? He told me to carefully tear the coupons. 

Split infinitive. The infinitive is to tear (to and a verb). It is split by the adverb carefully. It is fine to split an infinitive. It used to be considered wrong. 

11. Is this sentence okay? Why or why not? Joe and his friend tried to climb Mt. Whitney, but he was too out of shape.

Unclear sentence. Who was out of shape? We can’t tell if it was Joe or his friend. Rewrite. Joe and his friend tried to climb Mt. Whitney, but Joe was too out of shape. Or his friend was. Or they both were!

12. What is the problem with this sentence? The meeting is at 8 a.m. in the morning.

Redundant. You don’t need both a.m. and in the morning. They mean the same thing. 

 13. How would you fix this sentence? The coat, that has a blue hood, is mine.

Remove the commas. The clause that has a blue hood is probably necessary to the sentence to identify which coat you are talking about. If, in the context of the writing, is is not necessary, leave the commas, but change that to which.

 14. Between you and (I, me), I think he gave the tickets to (he, him) and Joe.

Between you and me is always correct. Me is an object pronoun, and you and me are objects of the preposition between. He gave the tickets to him; you wouldn’t say He gave the tickets to he.

15.  Neither Carrie nor Katrina (are, is) playing in the concert.

The answer is is. When you use neither or either you use the singular verb. 

16. I feel really (bad, badly) about missing the meeting.

The answer is bad. Feel is an emotion here, not the action of touching something, so we use the adjective. I feel badly means that your fingertips are not working right.

17. Everyone who is going to the concert needs to bring (his or her, their) ticket.

Everyone is singular, and the verb is is singular. Therefore the pronoun should also be singular: he or she. People have decided that is awkward, and now you can use they as a singular pronoun. I don’t like it, and I won’t do it. You decide. 

18. My cat is (laying, lying) in the sun.

Lying. You need to lay something: it needs an object. My cat is laying the toy on the chair.

19. My sister, along with her friends, (are, is) coming with us.

The answer is is. Along with her friends doesn’t count. It is not part of the subject. The subject is my sister, which is singular. If you change it to My sister and her friends, then it is plural.

20. If I (was, were) taller, I could reach that bookshelf.

Were is the correct verb here. It is called subjunctive mood and is used for things that are not true and things that you wish.

21. Is this sentence correct? The class consists of nine boys and 16 girls.

The numbers should be expressed similarly, since they name pretty much the same thing.  You can spell out both nine and sixteen, or you can use 9 and 16, but make  them consistent. 

22, Is this sentence correct? Drive slow through the fog.

Slowly would be better. Slow is an adjective, and slowly is an adverb. The word is modifying drive (drive how?), so you should use an adverb. Sometimes we leave off the -ly; it is called a flat adverb. Flat adverbs used to be used more than they are now. I would stick with slowly.

23. She likes chocolate better than (I, me).

The answer could be either depending on your meaning. The answer is probably I. You need to supply the missing words to know: She likes chocolate better than I (do). Or She likes chocolate better than (she likes) me. 

24. Is this sentence correct? Sitting on a bed of rice, the chicken looked delicious.

Yes. It is the chicken that is sitting on the bed of rice, so the sentence is correct. This, however, is not: Sitting on a bed of rice, I thought the chicken looked delicious.

25. It is (they, them) knocking at the door.

Technically, the answer is they, but it does sound a little stuffy, so people might say them. After a verb of being like is, we use the subject form of the pronoun, which is they. And think about it. When you answer the phone and someone asks for you, you might say, This is she or This is he, rather than This is her or This is him.

Grammar Diva News!

Available now on Amazon! (and soon from other retailers)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Available now on Kindle

Available now on Nook

Available now on Kobo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coming Events!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday, February 25, 2 p.m., featured speaker at Marin Writers, Book Passage, Corte Madera (guests welcome)

Friday, March 16, Official Book Launch for The Best Little Grammar Collection Ever!, Copperfield’s Books, Petaluma (everyone welcome!)

Saturday, April 21, 8-5,  Grammar and Self-Publishing Coach, Pen to Published, Redwood Writers Conference, Finley Center, Santa Rosa (register for the conference at RedwoodWriters.org)

A Little Quiz to Begin 2018

Happy New Year, Grammar Lovers!

We all like taking quizzes, right? Especially when there is no one there to correct them for us. (sentence fragment)

Here is a grammar quiz to start the new year. After you finish, scroll way down to see the answers. For more detailed explanations of the answers, stay tuned for next week’s post. Here we go . . .

1. Is this book title capitalized correctly?  And We are Happy Again

 2. My mom gave snacks to my friend and (me, myself, I). 

3. Is something wrong with this sentence? If so, what? I heard about the meeting at the zoo.

4. Is something wrong with this sentence? If so, what? Topics covered during the seminar will include ordering new equipment, training employees on the new software, who will be the system administrator, and assigning tasks for maintaining the new lab.

5. Is this sentence okay? And we will have all the new furniture in time for our open house!

6. Is this sentence OK? The teacher told us we couldn’t leave our desks until the bell had rang.

7. (Who, whom) did you invite to the movies?

8. This is the closing of a letter: Sincerely (Yours, yours)

9. Is this sentence okay? I don’t know whom I am going with.

10. Can you identify the grammar issue in this sentence? He told me to carefully tear the coupons. 

11. Is this sentence okay? Why or why not? Joe and his friend tried to climb Mt. Whitney, but he was too out of shape.

12. What is the problem with this sentence? The meeting is at 8 a.m. in the morning.

 13. How would you fix this sentence? The coat, that has a blue hood, is mine.

 14. Between you and (I, me), I think he gave the tickets to (he, him) and Joe.

15.  Neither Carrie nor Katrina (are, is) playing in the concert.

16. I feel really (bad, badly) about missing the meeting.

17. Everyone who is going to the concert needs to bring (his or her, their) ticket.

18. My cat is (laying, lying) in the sun.

19. My sister, along with her friends, (are, is) coming with us.

20. If I (was, were) taller, I could reach that bookshelf.

21. Is this sentence correct? The class consists of nine boys and 16 girls.

22, Is this sentence correct? Drive slow through the fog.

23. She likes chocolate better than (I, me).

24. Is this sentence correct? Sitting on a bed of rice, the chicken looked delicious.

25. It is (they, them) knocking at the door.

Scroll down for the answers.

 

Keep Scrolling

 

 

Keep scrolling

 

 

Keep scrolling

 

 

One more time.

 

 

Answers:

No. Capitalize Are.
me
Confusing. Was the meeting at the zoo, or did you hear about it while you were at the zoo?
Not parallel. Add the word deciding before who, and it will be fixed!
Yes. It is okay to start a sentence with a conjunction in most cases. I don’t like it in formal writing, though.
had rung
whom
yours
Yes. It is okay to end a sentence with a preposition in most cases. (Where are you at? is still wrong.)
Split infinitive
No. Confusing. To whom does he refer?
Redundancy. if you write  a.m ., you don’t need to write morning .
Take out both commas.
me, him
is
bad
either one is now fine.
lying
is
were
No. Write either 9 boys and 16 girls or nine boys and sixteen girls.
Slowly is better than slow, but slow is acceptable.
I
yes
They is technically correct.

 

 

Where Did New Year’s Resolutions Come From? And Where Did the Holidays Go?

The Best of The Grammar Diva
Originally published DECEMBER 29, 2016 

In 2017 I promise to

Lose weight
Go to the gym three times a week
Be more patient with my children (my spouse, my friends, myself, my whatever . . . )
Eat healthier
Find love
Find a new job

Sound familiar?

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. We all know what they are: a promise to ourselves to do some type of self-improvement.

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? 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 Years’ 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.

Things to Do on New Year’s Eve

 In Spain and several other Spanish-speaking countries, people bolt down a dozen grapes right before midnight, symbolizing their hopes for the months ahead. In many parts of the world, traditional New Year’s dishes feature legumes, which are thought to resemble coins and herald future financial success. Because pigs represent progress and prosperity in some cultures, pork appears on the New Year’s Eve table in Cuba, Austria, Hungary, and Portugal. Ring-shaped cakes and pastries, a sign that the year has come full circle, are part of the feast in the Netherlands, Mexico, and Greece.  In Sweden and Norway, rice pudding with an almond hidden inside is served on New Year’s Eve: whoever finds the nut can expect 12 months of good fortune.

Other customs that are common worldwide include watching fireworks and singing songs, including  “Auld Lang Syne” in many English-speaking countries. 

In the United States, the most iconic New Year’s tradition is the dropping of the giant ball in New York City’s Times Square at midnight, an event that began in 1907. The ball has gone from a 700-pound iron-and-wood orb to a brightly patterned sphere 12 feet in diameter, weighing nearly 12,000 pounds. Some towns and cities across America have developed their own versions of the Times Square ritual including public drops of  pickles (Dillsburg, Pennsylvania) and possums (Tallapoosa, Georgia)

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.

Where Did the Holidays Go?

It all started when we began to see Thanksgiving decorations several months ago. Well, actually perhaps it began around Labor Day when pumpkins started showing up in stores. And now, several months later, it is just about over. Most people are breathing a sigh of relief. A few love the season and hate to see it go.

I would think most of the people who love it and hate to see it go are those with kids — small kids — and intact marriages, and families who get along — for the most part, anyway. The holiday season is a whole lot easier for those people. And add to it a love of decorating, a love of baking, a love of entertaining, and just a love of being busy and spending time with people you love — and you can see why there are those who really love the holidays.

People who are glad the holiday season is over, I would think, fall into two groups:

Those who consider it too much.
Those who have too little.

Those who consider it too much: Even if you love to shop and wrap and bake and entertain and decorate and look at pretty lights, it gets tiring, and many people love it, and love when it is over as well. Maybe there are family issues, or too many people to visit, people who are now alienated from parts of families, people who are far away — or too far away to see at all. Then, there is the money spent, the stress of it all.  Ah! January 1!

Those who have too little: I am not talking about having too little money, although that could certainly put a damper on the holidays. I am talking about those with no family, or estranged family. There are more people in those circumstances than I had thought, I somewhat being among them. Perhaps they have no siblings, no living parents, no children, children who are estranged or occupied with spouses’ families, newly divorced or widowed, and the list goes on. It is a very difficult time of year for lots of people. That is where good friends come in. They become our family. But for many, it is a relief when January 1 comes, and we don’t have to worry about the holidays for another 9 or 10 months. 

Regardless of the kind of holidays you had this year, I hope 2017 is a happy and successful year for you all!

Happy New Year from The Grammar Diva!

Thank you all for reading and commenting on my blog posts

and for your support during the past year!

Next week I will be back with brand new blog posts. Vacation is over! In the meantime:
I Wrote a Book: Now What?  Available on Kindle January 3 and for preorder NOW. Available soon on all other e-readers.
The Best Little Grammar Collection Ever! available on Amazon and all other online retailers by mid-January.

Where Does the Word “Yule” Come from, Anyway?

The Best of The Grammar Diva
Originally Published December 6, 2013 

In the spirit of the holiday season, I thought you might like to know where some of the common holiday words come from.  Here are the etymologies (origins) of some common holiday words:

Christmas (noun or adjective) – From the late Old English Cristes maesse, Christ and mass. Christmas was written as one word beginning in the mid 1300s.  Christmas cards were first designed in 1843 and became popular by the 1860s. 
 
Hanukkah (noun) – also spelled Chanukah and Hanukah (and other less common ways), it is from the Hebrew meaning to dedicate or consecrate.
 
Advent (noun) – Means important arrival, first used in 1742 to indicate an extended  “season before Christmas” (Old English), from the Latin advent (a coming, approach, arrival).
 
Carol (noun) – Used from  around 1300, carol means “a joyful song”and also to “dance in a ring” from the Old French carole. It is perhaps also related to the Latin choraula, meaning a dance to the flute. Before that, from the Greek Khoraules, the flute player who accompanies the choral dance. Khoraules is from khoros (chorus) and aulein (to play the flute).
 
Dreidel (noun)  – The four-sided top bearing the Hebrew letters nun, gimel, he,  and shin, one on each side, is from the Yiddish dreydl. In Middle High German, drey means “to rotate or turn.”
 
Grinch (noun) – Meaning “spoilsport,” all uses of this word trace to Dr. Seuss’s 1957 book How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
 
Latke (noun) – The pancakes, traditionally eaten on Chanukah and generally made from potatoes, have  their origins from the East Slavic latka, a dialectical from of aladka, which is a kind of pancake. It goes further back to the Old Russian oladiya, a derivative of the Greek word for oil. If you have ever eaten latkes, you will understand the reference to oil!
 
Mistletoe (noun)  – From the Old English mistiltan, from mistel  and tan (“twig)”  Also from the Old Norse mistilteinn, Norwegian misteltein, and Danish mistelten. Venerated by the Druids, the custom of hanging it at Christmas and kissing under it is mentioned by Washington Irving.
 
Noel (noun) – From the late 14th century nowel (feast of Christmas), from Old French noel (the Christmas season), a variant of nael, from Latin natalis (birth).  As a masculine proper name, from Old French, probably literally “of or born on Christmas.”
 
Scrooge (noun) – Generic for miser, 1940, from the character in Dicken’s 1843 story A Christmas Carol.  It does not appear to be a genuine English surname.
 
Wassail – Mid 12th century  Old Norse ves heill (be healthy) a salutation, from ves, (to be) and heill (healthy). Use as a drinking phrase appears to have arisen among Danes in England and spread to native inhabitants. A similar formation appears in Old English (wes þu hal), but this is not recorded as a drinking salutation. The meaning extended in the 13th century to “liquor in which healths were drunk,” especially spiced ale used in Christmas Eve celebrations. Used to mean “a carousal, reveling” first around the 16th century.Wassailing as the “custom of going caroling house to house at Christmas time” is recorded from 1742.
 
Yule (noun or adjective ) – From Old English geol, geola (Christmas Day, Christmastide) from Old Norse jul  (a heathen feast), later taken over by Christianity, of unknown origin. The Old English cognate giuli was the Anglo-Saxons’ name for a two-month midwinter season corresponding to Roman December and January, a time of important feasts but not itself a festival. After conversion to Christianity, it narrowed to mean “the 12-day feast of the Nativity” (which began Dec. 25), but was replaced by Christmas by the 11th century, except in the northeast (areas of Danish settlement), where it remained the usual word. It was revived in the 19th century by writers to mean “the Christmas of ‘Merrie England.’ The first direct reference to the Yule log is in the 17th century. Old Norse jol seems to have been borrowed from Old French asjolif, hence Modern French joli, meaning “pretty, nice,” and originally “festive.” 





So whether you go wassailing, carrying Yuletide carols to all the neighbors, or you have been called Scrooge or Grinch, enjoy your holiday season—-and eat lots of latkes!










 
Remember: Books make great gifts!
Happy Holidays from The Grammar Diva!

Lay and Lie Explained

The Best of the Grammar Diva
Originally posted June 15, 2013

Lay and lie are two of the most confusing verbs in the language. Hopefully, after reading this blog post, you will finally be confident of the difference.

Let’s start here:

I read the books.

I play Monopoly.

He buys a shirt.

Look at the bolded words in the above sentences. They all receive the action of the verb. What do I read? Books. What do I play? Monopoly. What does he buy? A shirt. These words are all nouns (things) and are called direct objects.

Now look at these sentences:

I read all the time.

I play in the park.

He buys with a credit card.

What do I read? What do I play? What does he buy? These sentences don’t give the answer. They may answer the question where? (in the park), when? (all the time), or how? (with a credit card), but there is no noun (or pronoun) that answers what ? (or whom). In other words, those sentences, although they use the exact same verbs, have no direct objects.

Verbs that have direct objects are called transitive  verbs. Verbs that have no direct object are called intransitive verbs. Obviously, from the examples, the same verbs can be either, depending upon how they are used in the sentence. Some verbs, however, are usually transitive, and others are usually intransitive.

What on earth does this have to do with lay and lie?

Here we go: Lay is a transitive verb. Lie is an intransitive verb. Simply put, you must lay something.

Here are some examples of lay used correctly:

I lay my blanket on the sand. (lay a blanket)
Please  l ay your books  on the table. (lay books)
I am  laying my pen  here, so I don’t forget it. (laying my pen)

Here are some examples of lie used correctly:

I  lie  on the sand to get a tan.
The books  are lying  on the table.
My pen  is lying  on the desk.

*Notice that lay and lie have nothing to do with whether you are talking about people or objects. Objects can lie as well as people!

But wait! We have talked about only the present tense. The past tense is where things get complicated.

First, let’s talk about the verb lay, which is pretty simple.

Today, I am  laying  my blanket on the sand. (Present tense –  lay or laying ).
Yesterday, I  laid  my blanket on the sand. (Past tense –  laid or was laying )
Every day this week, I  have laid  my blanket on the sand.  (Past participle form, used with  have  or  had  –  have laid or  have been laying )

Now, let’s talk about lie which is a little weirder:

Today, I am  lying  on the sand. (NOT laying – present tense –  lie or lying )
Yesterday, I lay on the sand. (Yup! The past tense of  lie  is  lay . They did it to confuse us!  Lay or was lying )
Every day this week, I  have lain  on the sand. (Past participle form, used with  have  or  had . Yes, lain is a word!  Have lain or have been lying)

Here is the verb LAY, completed conjugated, all six tenses:

Present:  lay  or  laying
Past: laid or was laying
Future:  will lay  or  will be laying 
Present Perfect:  have laid  or  have been laying
Past Perfect:  had laid  or  had been laying
Future Perfect:  will have laid  or  will have been laying

And here is the verb LIE, completely conjugated, all six tenses:

Present:  lie  or  lying
Past:  lay  or  was lying
Future:  will lie  or  will be lying
Present Perfect:  have lain  or  have been lying
Past Perfect:  had lain  or  had been lying
Future Perfect:  will have lain  or  will have been lying

There! I hope this post has cleared up some of your confusion about lie and lay. As always, I welcome any questions  or comments. Now, I think I need another cup of coffee! Happy weekend!

Happy Holidays from the Grammar Diva!
Two books coming out within the next few weeks!

 

Sometimes, Sometime, and Some Time

The Best Of The Grammar Diva
Originally Published July 5, 2013

 

Sometimes, sometime, and some time may look very similar, but each has a different meaning. You probably haven’t thought about it much (or at all), and you have likely used them correctly, but they can cause confusion. 

Sometimes indicates a certain frequency with which something happens. It really means some of the time. For example:

Sometimes we go to the movies on Saturdays. (Some of the time we go to the movies on Saturday, and other times we don’t.)

Sometime, without the s, is different. It means at some certain point in time. For example:

Please come visit me sometime after I move .

I will be moving out of state sometime in September.

Some time is obviously two separate words and different from the other two. You pause between the two words when you correctly use some time. Some time means exactly that — a certain amount of time. For example:

Do you have some time to help me with my move?

I will have some time next week to meet with you.

To sum up:

Sometimes indicates frequency.

Sometime indicates a certain point in time.

Some time indicates an amount of time.

Sometimes I think that I might have some time to have fun sometime in the future when I don’t have a blog post to write!

(But, of course, I love writing these blog posts, so that was just an example!)

Happy Chanukah to All Who Celebrate!
GRAMMAR DIVA NEWS

I will be releasing the following two books later this month or early next month:

A collection of three books that make up a complete grammar reference:

*The Best Little Grammar Book Ever! (second editiong) – the reference

* The Best Little Grammar Workbook Ever! – the accompanying workbook

*Does Your Flamingo Flamenco? – the dictionary of over 200 confusing word pairs, word groups, and idioms

Will make a great holiday gift – it should be out before Christmas! (print book only for now)

Price of three books separately – $37/  Price of the collection – $25

What a deal!

 

 

 

Thinking of self-publishing?

Available on Kindle as a preorder at $3.99

Release date January 3

 

 

Two Great Gift Books!