Arlene Miller's Blog, page 44

Who Wants to Be a Lexicographer?

Who wants to be a lexicographer? I do! 

What is a lexicographer? A lexicon is a workbook or dictionary; or the vocabulary of a language, person, specific field, or social class. Graph, of course, means writing. So, a lexicographer is someone who writes the dictionary.

We tend to take dictionaries for granted. When we need one, it is there, all up to date and correct — whether it is printed or online. But dictionaries were not handed down from Mount Sinai all completed. Someone — or some people, to be more precise — had to write them. Someone had to come up with the definitions of all the words, as well as the pronunciations and the etymology, or where the words come from.

I don’t do many book reviews on this blog, but if you are interested in words and language — and if you are reading this blog, I assume you are one of those word people — I think you will love the book I just finished and am going to talk about today.

There are lots of books about words and language. There are grammar books like the ones I write. There are textbooks. There are humorous books. You may have read some of these popular books on language:

The Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing
Eats Shoots and Leaves
Woe Is I
Confessions of a Comma Queen
Fifty Shades of Grammar and my other books!
And there are many, many more.

Recently, a reader of mine suggested a book to me: Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing by Melissa Mohr. It sounded fascinating, so I borrowed it from my local library and dug in. Yuck. How can you make a book with this title boring and tedious? I don’t know, but I couldn’t get through it, as much as I wanted to. I looked at the online reviews: most people liked it; a few felt the way I did — that she made an interesting topic boring. So I am not recommending that book, although you may like it.

But I am recommending Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries. The author is Kory Stamper, a British lexicographer for Merriam-Webster. What a great read!  The book seems to be mostly about written dictionaries. The amount of care, thought, and rigorous updating doesn’t seem to apply as much to the “click generation,” as it is called in the book. In fact, when she was completing the book, which has a 2017 copyright date, the author said that there was a big layoff at Merriam-Webster.

Here are just some of the things she talks about — in language that is inviting and easy to understand:

As one would assume, lexicographers are not known for their skill at small talk. The office is very quiet.
People often get annoyed when a definition contains the word that is being defined. We are not supposed to do that, are we? Well, read about why it is done, and how the word surfboard was handled.
Bitch was a real bitch to define with all its meanings — and trying to make the meanings accurate.
The English language is messy and illogical. You have probably discovered that by now. It is a democracy: use something enough in a certain way, and the dictionary will add it. If the language didn’t change, it would be a dead language. Think Latin.
There are new words appearing all the time. Which ones are added? How often is the printed dictionary updated? How long does an update take? You know, they update only certain letters each time. And they keep notes of new and expanded meanings that are kept in a file; there could be hundreds of update notes for a single word.
Oh, yes, there are arguments and complaints. One was about the word decimate. We take it to mean “completely destroy,” but what about the root dec, which means “ten”? The word originally meant “to kill off one tenth.”
French and Spanish have official language academies. Does English? Why not? Well, the academies don’t prevent the French and Spanish speakers from using whatever words they want; and the American Heritage Dictionary has created a usage panel for English.
Merriam-Webster decided to add dates-of-first-use to definitions. That was a separate job from defining. Imagine the research that took! And of course, people would write in with claims of earlier dates they had discovered. In fact, people have written in claiming that they themselves were the first to coin a particular word. The lexicographers and daters found that those claims were for the most part untrue.
You may make fun of LOL and LMAO, figuring they are not legitimate enough to include in a dictionary. However, initialisms have been around a long time. What about ASAP and RSVP?
The pronunciation (or pronunciations) or words is a whole other issue! Word by Word devotes several pages to the pronunciation of nuclear. And why nucular might be OK.
Who would have thought that a word like marriage would begin a huge controversy? You can see where I am going with this. The definition of marriage has changed. What about same sex marriage? How do you define marriage now? How do you define marriage when same sex marriage is legal in some places, but not in others? How do you prevent people from writing in and complaining that their dictionary is taking a political stand? That is a can of worms that is discussed in Word by Word. (And Supreme Court justices have the habit of using dictionaries to make a point.)
You can imagine that most of the mail lexicographers receive are to point out mistakes. Rarely will anyone write and tell the dictionary is has done a fine job on something.
The bottom line is still to make a profit. And, of course, technology has had an effect on the painstaking work that lexicographers have done in printed dictionaries that were manually updated and reprinted, rather than just uploaded.
What does a lexicographer do when laid off? To what are those skills transferable?

I think you might enjoy Word by Word by Kory Stamper.

You might also enjoy this book, which will be available in about a week on Amazon, maybe sooner (ebook will be available for Kindle presale very soon, and the print book will be available everywhere else soon too):

 

 

 

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

Which and That (and Who) Explained

Which, that and who. These are pronouns that are often confused.

We aren’t talking about sentences like these:

Which of these toys are yours?
That book is mine
Who is that girl?

We’re talking about sentences like these:

I am taking the flight that leaves at midnight.
My boss, who is a great athlete, plays tennis every day.
That green dress, which was on sale, matches my eyes.

In the second list of sentences, that, which, and who function as a special type of pronoun (relative pronoun). These pronouns begin clauses (groups of words with a subject and a verb) that generally describe a noun.

(I am taking the flight) that leaves at midnight – describes flight.
(My boss) who is a great athlete – describes boss.
(That green dress) which was on sale – describes dress.

Some of the “rules” pertaining to that, which, and who are pretty black and white; others are  grayer.

Black and white:

Which and that are used for things and animals.
Who is used for people and animals with names.
Which is used for nonessential, or nonrestrictive, clauses; that is used for essential, or restrictive, clauses.
Commas are used around nonessential clauses (which).

Gray:

Sometimes you can leave out that. When?
Sometimes you can use that with people. When?

Rule #1 Black and White: Use which for nonessential (nonrestrictive) clauses and that with essential  (restrictive) clauses.

A nonessential (nonrestrictive)  clause is added information that does not affect the meaning of the sentence. These clauses begin with which (or who) and are enclosed in commas. An essential, or restrictive, clause is necessary to the meaning of the sentence and begins with that without any commas.

My twin sister, who is good at math, helps me with homework all the time. You don’t really need the words inside the comma. We already know we are talking about your twin sister, of whom there is only one.
My sister who is good at math helps me with homework all the time. Here, the lack of commas implies that you might have more than one sister, and we are talking about the sister who is good in math. The clause is essential, or restrictive, here. You are defining which sister you are talking about.
The Hobbit, which I have read three times, is also a movie. Here, the fact that you have read it three times is extra information and not necessary to the meaning of the sentence.
The book that is on the front desk is mine. Here, you need the clause that is on the front desk to identify the book you are talking about. It restricts the book to the one on the front desk.

Rule #2 Black and White: Use that and which for things, and who for people and animals with names.

The girl who always sits in the back of the room is my best friend.
The cat that is sitting on the ledge belongs to my neighbor.
Moe, who is my bulldog, is four years old.
That dog, which is a chihuahua, has been at the shelter for months. (Actually this is kind of gray. No one will mind if you call this dog a who.)

Shades of Gray

Sometimes you can leave that out of your essential (restrictive) clause:

1.Usually after a form of the verb say: He said (that) he was going to Europe. 

But you can’t do that if there is a time difference between now and when it was said:

The teacher said on Wednesday we will have a test. You need that.

Does this mean 

The teacher said that on Wednesday we will have a test.
The teacher said on Wednesday that we will have a test.

When you put that in, whichever one you mean becomes clear. Without that, it is ambiguous.

2. That is usually good to use after certain verbs including (but not limited to) declare, estimate, contend, point out, propose, state:

I declare that there is a problem.
I estimate that the chair is four feet wide.
She contends that she was here early.
I would like to point out that you have chores to do.
She proposed that a new rule be adopted.
He stated that he did nothing wrong.

3. It is usually wise to use that before clauses that start with words like after, before, until, and while:

She said that after they are finished, they will meet us. 
I know that before dinner she had been out shopping.
She said that until she was in third grade she couldn’t read.
He thought that while the game was on, he could take a nap.

Remember that it is always correct to leave that in. So when in doubt, use it.

Another Shade of Gray

Usually we use who for people. If you are talking about a type of people or an organization, you generally use that (or which). However, if you are really referring to the people inside the organization, you can use who.

The tribes that are native to this area are listed here.
The  School Board that was just elected will meet tonight.
The School Board, who has helped us out with our fundraisers many times, is here tonight.

A Final Thought

That doesn’t have a possessive, so weird as it might sound, use whose with people and things:

The desk, whose drawers are missing, is being donated to the school.
The dog, whose litter mates have all been adopted, needs a good home.

Grammar Diva News

It’s almost ready!!

My new book contains over 250 confusing word pairs, groups, and phrases, presented alphabetically with cross references — easy to use! It will be available on Amazon and all other online retailers in late July (?), and will be on Kindle as a presale soon.

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

Hacked

I am not sure which e-mail account of mine was hacked, but apparently one of them was. So if you received any strange e-mails, hopefully you didn’t click. If you received one, I apologize. 

Independence Day!

Tuesday, July 4, is of course Independence Day. I hope you have a good holiday weekend — and that it lasts for four days! Next week we will get back to grammar, but this week is the annual Independence Day post. Here are some quotes about topics we are reminded of on July 4. I hope some of these quotes will resonate with you, and that you can find comfort in some of them as well.

Independence

“Those who won our independence… valued liberty as an end and as a means. They believed liberty to be the secret of happiness and courage to be the secret of liberty.” Louis D. Brandeis

“In America we have a Declaration of Independence, but our history, our advancements, our global strength all point to an American declaration of interdependence.” Cory Booker

“The bedrock of our democracy is the rule of law and that means we have to have an independent judiciary, judges who can make decisions independent of the political winds that are blowing.” Caroline Kennedy

“Men say they love independence in a woman, but they don’t waste a second demolishing it brick by brick.” Candice Bergen

“There is no more independence in politics than there is in jail.” Will Rogers

“Without moral and intellectual independence, there is no anchor for national independence.” David Ben-Gurion

“Freedom of religion is a principle that is central to our Nation’s Declaration of Independence. Congress has taken this positive step to protect our freedom to express allegiance to America’s flag and the ideals it represents.” Ron Lewis

“The independence of the United States is not only more precious to ourselves but to the world than any single possession.” Henry Cabot Lodge

Patriotism

“And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.” John F. Kennedy

“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty. ” John F. Kennedy

“The history of liberty is the history of resistance. The history of liberty is a history of the limitation of governmental power, not the increase of it.”  Woodrow Wilson

“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.”  Mark Twain“Patriotism is love of country. But you can’t love your country without loving your countrymen and countrywomen. We don’t always have to agree, but we must empower each other, we must find the common ground; we must build bridges across our differences to pursue the common good.” Cory Booker

“Patriotism consists not in waving the flag, but in striving that our country shall be righteous as well as strong.” James Bryce

‘It is our conduct, our patriotism and belief in our American way of life, our courage that will win the final battle.” Prescott Bush

“True patriotism hates injustice in its own land more than anywhere else.”  Clarence Darrow

“Fighting corruption is not just good governance. It’s self-defense. It’s patriotism.”  Joe Biden

“Real patriotism is a willingness to challenge the government when it’s wrong.” Ron Paul

America

“America’s greatest strength, and its greatest weakness, is our belief in second chances, our belief that we can always start over, that things can be made better.” Anthony Walton

“There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America.” Bill Clinton

“America has never been united by blood or birth or soil. We are bound by ideals that move us beyond our backgrounds, lift us above our interests and teach us what it means to be citizens.” George W. Bush

“The business of America is not business. Neither is it war. The business of America is justice and securing the blessings of liberty.” George F. Will

“I’m not going to quit. Why should I quit? This country is worth fighting for.” Hillary Rodham Clinton

“I believe America’s best days are ahead of us because I believe that the future belongs to freedom, not to fear.”John Kerry

“Either the United States will destroy ignorance or ignorance will destroy the United States.” W.E.B. Du Bois

Freedom

“Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed — else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die .” Dwight D. Eisenhower

“Here is my advice as we begin the century that will lead to 2081. First, guard the freedom of ideas at all costs. Be alert that dictators have always played on the natural human tendency to blame others and to oversimplify. And don’t regard yourself as a guardian of freedom unless you respect and preserve the rights of people you disagree with to free, public, unhampered expression.” Gerard K. O’Neill

“Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.” Thomas Paine

“We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it.” William Faulkner

“The contest for ages has been to rescue liberty from the grasp of executive power.” Daniel Webster

Independence Day

“The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival…. with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forevermore. You will think me transported with enthusiasm, but I am not. I am well aware of the toil and blood and treasure that it will cost us to maintain this Declaration and support and defend these States. Yet, through all the gloom, I can see the rays of ravishing light and glory.” John Adams

The United States is the only country with a known birthday. All the rest began, they know not when, and grew into power, they know not how…. There is no “Republican,” no “Democrat,” on the Fourth of July — all are Americans.

James Gillespie Blaine

 

Thank you to these three websites for the quotes! Great websites to check out for a quote.

The Quote Garden

Brainy Quote

The Quotations Page

 

 

Are You Composed? Compose vs. Comprise

“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 penguin family in the photo comprises four 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.
Four penguins 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 penguin family is composed of mother, father, and two children. (comprises a mother, a father, and two 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.

 

Grammar Diva News

The Grammar Diva presents …Does Your Flamingo Flamenco? The Best Little Dictionary of Confusing Words and Malapropisms is nearly done. It will be going to the designers very soon.  More updates later. 

 

 

More Things People Say . . .

Welcome to the last installment (for a while) of your pet peeves and other “unusual” things people say . . . 

I am not sure if this was a pet peeve or just something someone noticed: Does everyone who is from The Bronx say “Da Bronx”?
The use of continue on instead of just plain continue was noted as a peeve. And it is redundant. Continue is enough, yes? We will continue (on) until we finish the project. On doesn’t really add anything.
What’s with the use of gifted me instead of simply gave me? In gifted me, gift is being used as a verb, rather than a noun. And it is fine; gift can be a verb. But it is more commonly a noun, so why not just use the more common verb give?
Someone mentioned the new use of the word curate. Curate has generally been used in the context of finding and putting together exhibits for art museums. It is now commonly used in the social media context of finding content to post and blog about.
Cliché is usually used as a noun: I have heard that cliché so many times! However, it can also be used as an adjective: Oh, that phrase has become so cliché!
A reader mentioned that there seems to be a regional distinction between using beat versus beat up. Beat is Midwestern and beat up is New York. I don’t know anything about this. To me, they seem different: Our team beat the other team in basketball. He beat up his best friend.
In Minnesota, they say borrow when they mean loan (I don’t know, as I am not from Minnesota.) I am going to borrow this to you rather than I am going to loan this to you? I don’t know about that, but let’s talk about the difference between loan and lend — a difference that is going by the wayside like so many other language standards. Borrow would actually be confused with lend: borrow is a verb; lend is also a verb. Although many people use loan as a verb, it is actually the noun: I am going to lend this book to you. Consider this book a loan from me. I can let you borrow it for a month.
Here is an expression that is beginning to become more common, although I have heard it mostly in reference to dogs and other cute things: I am going to love on you. Since when did a prepositional phrase starting with on follow love when it is used as a verb?

Grammar Diva News

I was a guest on John Vonhof’s blog, Writers and Authors on Fire, this past week. Here is the link if you would like to listen.

I will be selling my books, talking, and who-know-what else at the Sonoma County Fair in Santa Rosa as part of the Redwood Writers. Tentatively, I will be there on Saturday, August 5; Friday, August 11; and Saturday, August 12 from 10:45 to 6:15. Lots of local writers will be there every day of the fair, so come on down!  We will be in the EC Kraft Building.

I had fun this past week talking with a group of future entrepreneurs (high school and college students) at the Sonoma County Office of Education. Thanks to my business coach, John Degaetano, for inviting me!

So, No Wuccas!

So, I’m not quite done with your pet peeves and other oddities you’ve noticed about word-related things . . .

So, you don’t like beginning a sentence with so? So is a conjunction like and, but, and several other words (for, nor, or, and yet). The old rule is, “Don’t start a sentence with a conjunction.” But times have changed–or have they? There is never a real need to begin a sentence with and or but or so, but you might want to do it for a certain effect. It is fine in marketing writing, and I do it frequently in my grammar books. In a formal letter? I wouldn’t. 
Someone brought up that the words sell and sale sound the same spoken by someone with a Southern accent. (Note that alliteration with s!) But then, sell is a verb and sale is a noun, so you can probably figure it out from the context.
A common problem: using the object of a prepositional phrase (rather than the sentence subject) to determine the verb (singular or plural). For example: A bowl of apples are on the table. The writer of that sentence used a plural verb (are) versus the singular verb (is) to make it agree in number with apples. But apples is the object of the preposition of; the subject of the sentence that the verb should agree with in number is bowl. Singular. A bowl of apples is on the table.
Uncomfortable is a word. Uncomfortability is not a word.If it were, what would it mean? “Not able to be comfortable?” There is a noun meaning the state of being uncomfortable: uncomfortableness.
Here is a geographical faux pas for Californians: apparently some people say they are going “to the peninsula” when they go to Santa Clara or San Mateo. But San Francisco is the peninsula. So they are actually going “down the Peninsula.” Beats me. Geography was never my favorite subject.
Someone wrote that they didn’t care for training now being used by itself (as a noun), as opposed to with another word (as an adjective): for example, training program, training room, training department. Now we just say, I’m going to training. However, training is also a noun (a gerund, in fact), so it is fine to use by itself.
Ten-year anniversary. Well anniversary implies years (from the Latin annus meaning “year”), so the phrase is redundant. How about tenth anniversary instead?
Although some say that the distinction between less and fewer is disappearing (welcome to the dumbing down of the English language, probably mostly by Americans), some of us are happy that Whole Foods now has it right, and the sign above the express lane says, “Ten items of fewer.” In fact, I think most stores have finally learned the lesson and have replaced “Ten items or less” with “Ten items or fewer.”  Once again, fewer is used with plurals and things that can be counted, like groceries. Less is used with singulars and things that cannot be counted (salt, sugar, etc).
I think we have talked about no problem and no problemo in a previous post. Lots of people don’t like it– when a simple “You’re welcome” (not “Your welcome,” though) will do. I hear that the Australians say, “No wuccas.” It is short for “No wuckin’ forries” (spoonerism alert).

Oh, Canada! Eh?

A couple of weeks ago, I returned from a ten-day trip to Canada. It was my first trip to Western Canada — Victoria, British Columbia, and Alberta — although I had visited Montreal many years ago.

Yes, it was a little cold and overcast — for May — but I noticed two things in addition to the weather:

Everyone was so nice. Restaurant wait staff were particularly nice. I assume it may have something to do with the fact that the Canadians don’t have a big black cloud hanging over the country right now. However people tell me that Canadians have always been that way.
The Canadian infrastructure surpasses ours. I would think it is a result of spending their tax dollars on it, rather than on corruption; the military; and long, drawn-out political campaigns.

But this is a language-oriented blog, so let’s now proceed to more relevant topics.

Did you know that Canada has a Commissioner of Official Languages?  The need comes about because Canada has two official languages: English and French. The office of the commissioner  oversees how well federal departments and their employees are able to carry out their duties in both official languages.

Madeleine Meilleur, a politician with close ties to Trudeau,  has directly asked for this job from Trudeau’s people. She is being opposed by many because she is not proficient in English. They feel that the top language cop should be proficient in both languages, since she will be judging the language skills of others.

In front of a legislative committee, Melilleur had to use French several times when she could not come up with words in English. She has practiced law in Ontario — English speaking — and served for 13 years in the cabinet of Ontario’s Liberal government.

Words that she could not come up with in English included heritage minister, prime minister, and privy council office. In addition, she did not know the difference between singular and plural, saying she wanted to serve Canadian, rather than Canadians.

Here is a quote from her appearance before the committee: “There was 10 person, I think most of them were civil servant and there was a representative from the minister of patrimoine, heritage minister, and one from the premiere ministere.”

The Canadian New Democratic Party opposes her confirmation, mostly because of her close relationship with the government and her donation record, which they feel takes away from her objectivity.

I thought you might like to hear that other countries have issues with government appointees as well. And it was all about language, after all. Here is more about language and Canada:

Of course, Canada has two official languages, French and English. Quebec is the French-speaking province. Some people, known as Allophones, speak neither of those two languages as their first language. Those would mostly be immigrants and their children, and they total about 6.6 million people, or 14 percent of the Canadian population.

About 21 percent of the population speak French as their first language. About 17 percent of Canadians are bilingual in English and French. 

Canadians who write in English generally use British spelling. And one thing you notice right away about a Canadian is that the ou sound in house or about sounds more like oo  — hoose or aboot. 

Here are some Canadian words and what they mean. I did hear many of these when I was there recently:

Double double – My son-in-law ordered one of these at Tim Horton’s, one of their ubiquitous coffee (and food) places. It is coffee with two sugars and two creams. 

Washroom – The Canadian restroom.

Zed – Instead of the letter zee. Some Americans also say this. 

Poutine – A favorite dish. French fries with gravy and cheese curds (very yummy!).

Rink rat – I have heard this in the United States because my daughter ice skates. Kind of like a gym rat, but in an ice rink. 

Toque – I heard it pronounced “tooque”: a knit beanie type of hat. I didn’t realize it was a Canadian word; I thought it was a word that younger people used and I was just out of touch.

Cowtown – Nickname for Calgary.

Darts – Cigarettes, apparently. Never heard it; I was with all nonsmokers.

Toonie – I thought this was a weird one. It is a coin that is worth two whole dollars!

Loonie – A coin that is worth one dollar. There is a picture a of loon on it. 

Yup! loonies and toonies.  Go figure.

 

 

Me? Myself? or I?

The uses of I instead of me, me instead of I, and myself instead of me are a few of the most common mistakes made in both written and spoken English. I have written about this issue before. However, I don’t like to look at my previous blog posts when I write new ones, so I can present a current and fresh perspective of the issues. So, once again let’s talk about I, me, and myself and straighten it out.

Here are some sentences in which I, me, and myself are used correctly:

My friend and I are going out to lunch.
Would you like to come with him and me?
Between you and me, I think she cheated on the test.
Please give the report to Hank and me.
I myself made these delicious brownies!
I fixed the gate myself because no one was here to help me.

Here are some sentences in which I, me, and myself are used incorrectly:

Me and my friend are going out to lunch.
Would you like to come with him and I?
Between you and I, I don’t think I can keep this secret.
Please give those cookies to my friend and I.
Give the report to both the director and myself.
He and myself are representing the company at the conference.

Let’s start at the beginning. The words I, me, and myself are all pronouns, words that take the place of nouns. And they are very convenient: Masie brought her guitar with her instead of  Masie brought Masie’s guitar with Masie.

I, me, and myself are called “first-person pronouns.”  (also my and mine)
We, us, our, ours, and ourselves are the plural first-person pronouns.
You and yourself  are called “second-person pronouns.” (also your and yours)
He, him, himself, she, her, herself, it, and itself are called “third-person pronouns.” (also hers, his, and its)
They, them, themselves, their, and theirs are  the plural third-person pronouns.

Okay. that is all well and good. But  how do you know whether to use I or me or myself?

If you don’t want to think about grammar, there are a couple of guidelines you can use:

I is generally used before the verb, or action word. Me generally comes after the verb unless the verb is the “to be” verb without another verb (is, are, was, etc.): It is I (most people say it is me, but it is I is correct).
I is generally used at the beginning of a sentence, and me would be used later in the sentence.

But these guidelines don’t work all the time, so let’s talk about the grammar. 

Cases

The difference between I and me is case. Pronouns have case. There are three cases (but in other languages there are five or seven or eight cases, and nouns have cases too.) Cases are important only in pronouns in the English language. The three cases are subjective (or nominative), objective, and possessive. We are dealing only with subjective and objective today. Subjective case is used for subjects. Objective case is used for objects.

Subjects

Subjects are often at the beginning of the sentence; they are the doers of the verb action.

I went to the party. 
Joe and I went to the party.
After the game, I am going to the movies.

If there is more than one subject, it doesn’t matter. It is still I. Therefore the following sentence is incorrect:

Me and Joe went to the party. First of all, me should be I. Second of all, out of politeness we always put the other person first.

Objects

There are three types of objects. Two of them  generally come after the verb. One type can be anywhere in the sentence. 

He kicked me. (Direct object. He kicked who?)
He threw me the ball. (Indirect object. Ball is direct object)
He threw the ball to me. (object of the preposition to.)

If there is more than one object, IT DOESN”T CHANGE ANYTHING! Me doesn’t suddenly change to I when another person is added:

He kicked him and me. (not him and I)
He threw him and me the ball. (not him and I)
He threw the ball to him and me.  (not him and I)

Myself

Myself has special uses and is not interchangeable with either I or me. Basically, the rule is that if you use myself, the subject of the sentence must be I.

I myself made that delicious chocolate cake. (called an intensive pronoun here  because it emphasizes I)
I made that cake myself. (called a reflexive pronoun here because it bounces back to I.)

Myself could be used as an object: I lay myself down to sleep.

The rule follows in second and third person as well: Don’t use yourself unless you is the subject. Don’t use himself unless he is the subject. And so on.

What About Second and Third Person Pronouns?

No difference. For subjects, use we, he, she, they. These are all subjective case pronouns.

For objects, use us, him, her, them. These are all objective case pronouns.

Comparison

There is another little confusion with I and me — in comparisons:

She likes chocolate more than me. 

Hmmm….does this mean that she likes chocolate more than I like chocolate? Or does it mean that she likes chocolate more than she likes me? We would assume she means the former. But from the way it is said, it actually means the latter! To know whether to use I or me in comparison, fill in the “missing” words. You don’t need to actually say or write them, but fill them in just in your head to know which pronoun to use:

She likes chocolate more than (she likes) me. 
She likes chocolate more than I (do). 

So the correct way to say it is probably She likes chocolate more than I.

Grammar Diva News

I was away, so my latest book is a little behind schedule. However, it should be out later this summer. I am still working on the title, although the book is nearly done. Working title right now is:

The Grammar Diva Presents – Does Your Flamingo Flamenco? The Best Little Dictionary of Confusing Words and Malapropisms

Quite a mouthful, huh? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Wait On” This!

You probably make a distinction between the phrases “wait on” and “wait for.” Usually, we think of “waiting on” as something to do with service: It took a while for the waiter to come over and wait on us. We waited for him for at least fifteen minutes. Yet sometimes this distinction is not made, and you might “wait on someone for fifteen minutes.” One might assume at first that the phrase “wait on” when most of us would say “wait for” is British English; that is what we generally do when something is not common for us. However, “wait on” instead of “wait for” is not actually British English at all and is reported to have started in the South. As such, it is not considered incorrect, and the distinction between the two may be disintegrating ( as are many other standards – much to my chagrin).

Here are some other peeves and oddities you have written to me about (not including ending a sentence with a preposition, as I just did):

Hopefully – People commonly use hopefully to mean I hope, which is not exactly right. Hopefully is an adverb.

Hopefully, it doesn’t rain tomorrow. What you really mean is I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow.
She looked hopefully at the blue sky and wished for another nice day tomorrow. Correct use as an adverb.

Try and – The phrase try and is often used instead of the correct phrase try to.

Please try to be on time tomorrow. (correct)
Please try and be on time tomorrow. (incorrect)

Axed – Often asked turns into axed. Seems to be regional or just the way some people say it. And it is a common peeve. Axed is also easier to say than asked.

Baby Mama – I tend to agree with the person who found this expression weird. Although it means the mother of someone’s child, it doesn’t really say that, does it? Do we used Baby Daddy? Yeah, I guess we do.

Since/Because – One reader wrote to me about the difference between since and because. Since is often used when some think because would be more appropriate. Since is a preposition indicating time. Because is a subordinating conjunction indicating effect. However, since is also a subordinating conjunction and can be, in that case, synonymous with  because.

I have been tired since last night. (preposition indicating time)
Because it is so late, I am not going out. (subordinating conjunction indicating cause/effect)
Since it is so late, I am not going out. (technically also correct, although you can use because, and many would prefer to keep that distinction between since and because.)

Supposably – Not a word. The correct word is supposedly, although supposably rolls off the tongue a little more easily.

Funnest – Oh, come on. Not a word. Yes, even television news people say it, but I am thinking they are “joking.”  Something is more fun (not funner) or the most fun (funnest). Funner and funnest are not words. There are certain words whose comparatives and superlatives are not made by adding -er and -est, but by adding more and most before then. Take beautiful. You are more beautiful, not beautifuler. You are more correct, not correcter. 

Trite Words – Some people are bothered by trite words — those words that are overused and thrown into sentences to take the place of the former fillers like um and uh. One of the most popular is so, which can be used at the beginning or end of a sentence —  for no reason.

So, I think I will be going now.
I am leaving now, so . . .

Other trite and overused words include awesome, totally, and of course — like.

Oftentimes – Often (with a silent t please) will do just fine. Often means “many times,” so oftentimes means “many times times.” Redundant.

They/Their – Half of us have always used the singular they. The other half of us deplore it. I am waiting for the powers that be to come up with a singular gender-neutral pronoun. We have it, but we cannot use than one for people. I continue to use they as a singular only, and if it becomes too cumbersome to do so, I rewrite.

Either John or Andy will bring his guitar.
Either Judy or Alice will bring her guitar.
Either John or Alice will bring their guitar. (singular they)
Either John or Alice will bring his or her guitar. (blech)
Either John or Alice will bring a guitar. (simple avoidance)

Stay tuned next week as we tackle I and me (and the other pronouns) once and for all. (?)