Arlene Miller's Blog, page 58

The Best Grammar Workbook Ever! Is Here

Available Now!   

Go to the head of the class! Whether you are a student, parent, soon-to-be graduate, job seeker, writer, professional, nonnative English speaker, or anyone who ever has to write anything in your job, The Best Grammar Workbook Ever! will help you.

Starting with grammar basics and continuing on to more complex issues and grammar problems,the book will  answer every question you have. It is filled with over 100 tests and practices exercises,to get you to the head of the writing class, regardless of your age!

Here is just some of what is included:

Pretest and post test so you can see your progress
Practices and a chapter test in every chapter
Appendixes including a complete answer guide, a glossary, commonly misspelled and mispronounced words, and Greek and Latin roots
Clear explanations and examples of all types of grammar issues: sentence variety to make your writing interesting and give it flow; subject/verb and pronoun/antecedent agreement; irregular verb forms, avoiding misplaced modifiers; possessives; punctuation; capitalization; using phrases and clauses; avoiding fragments and run ons; pronoun problems such as who and whom and I and me; comparison; writing with parallel structure; clarity in writing; using slang and abbreviations; using numbers; and much, much more.

If you received a complimentary PDF, please take a look through the book and post a review on Amazon. If you purchase the book, a review on Amazon would be greatly appreciated. Although the book is not an e-book yet, it will be! Buy it now on Amazon, other online retailers, or check bigwords101 for other buying options.

And if you are local, don’t miss The Best Grammar Workbook Ever! book launch at Petaluma Copperfield’s bookstore on Friday evening, May 15 at 7.

Please share this e-mail with your friends!

Thank you!

Arlene Miller, The Grammar Diva

 

The Toughest Job There Is. . .

Teaching and Teachers

I was planning to begin the series on The Seven Deadly Sins of Grammar today, but in a week that included Good Friday, Easter, and Passover —  well, it just didn’t seem appropriate somehow. So, I will wait to start that one next week!

As you may or may not know, I have been a public school teacher (7th grade English) for the past eleven years. It was by no means a first career for me, having previously been a newspaper reporter, technical writer, technical editor, freelance editor, editing supervisor, newspaper UPI editor, tap dance instructor, medical transcriber, aerobics instructor, and stay-at-home mom, not necessarily in that order! I am retiring from public school teaching this June to devote more time to my grammar business. Teaching is the hardest job I have ever done. Combine that with the low pay, long hours, meetings, new standards, new technology, parents, administrators: I think teachers are truly heroes. 

Here, for your amusement, consideration, and deep thought are some quotes on teachers and teaching:

I never teach my pupils. I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn. – Albert Einstein

The true teacher defends his pupils against his own personal influence. – Amos Bronson Alcott

For every person who wants to teach, there are approximately thirty people who don’t want to learn — much. -W.C. Sellar and R. J. Yeatman

A good teacher, like a good entertainer, first must hold his audience’s attention, then he can teach his lesson. – John Henrik Clarke

A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops. – Henry Adams

Teaching is the only major occupation for which we have not yet developed tools that make an average person capable of competence and performance. In teaching we rely on the ‘naturals,’ the ones who somehow know how to teach. – Peter Drucker

Teachers open the door. You ether by yourself. – Chinese Proverb

Teaching is not a lost art, but regard for teaching is a lost tradition. – Jacques Barzun

A professor is someone who talks in someone else’s sleep. – W. H. Auden

A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination, and instill a love for learning. -Brad Henry

Good teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths theater. – Gail Godwin

I have learned silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet, strange, I am ungrateful to those teachers. – Khalil Gibran

None of us got where we are solely by pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. We got here because somebody — a parent, a teacher, an Ivy League crony or a few nuns — bent down and helped us pick up our boots. – Thurgood Marshall

Experience is a good teacher, but she sends in terrific bills. – Minna Antrim

I have come to believe that a great teacher is a great artist and that there are as few as there are any other great artists. Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. – John Steinbeck

I am walking with two other men, each of them will serve as my teacher. I will pick out the good points of the one and imitate them, and the bad points of the other and correct them in myself.  – Confucius

I think the teaching profession contributes more to the future of our society than any other single profession. – John Wooden

* Any incorrect grammar, punctuation,  and sexist writing in these quotes is not my own. I didn’t fix them because I wanted to use the quotes as I found them. Thank you to the quotations page.com and quote garden.com for the quotes!

 

 

An Auto-Interview with “The Grammar Diva”

An auto-interview? What is that? I decided that I would interview myself (I talk to myself all the time, anyway) to let you know a little bit about The Grammar Diva, but most of all “why grammar?” and “why did I write more than one grammar book?”

Me: Why would anyone be interested in grammar? 

I: You know, actually there are quite a few people interested in grammar. I hear from them all the time.  You actually are  probably grammar lovers. We probably all have our own reasons (or we are all just Virgos, anal-retentive, or both): For example, I can easily learn and figure out music theory, but I cannot put my thoughts into my hands and express them on the piano. I excelled at rhythm tap dancing, but never could really master ballet. I was great  learning Latin (since it is grammar-based and not spoken), but I couldn’t speak a word of French after years of taking it in school. I think there is a pattern here that makes me good at grammar! Music theory, intricate tap rhythms, Latin grammar —  they are all puzzles. I didn’t start our loving grammar. I started out wanting to be a writer.

Me: What kind of a writer? How long have you been writing?

I: The first thing I remember writing was a musical called Babes in Toyland (original?) for my friends. I was about 6, and we performed it for our mothers. I remember throwing a small fit because someone wouldn’t do it my way! As a teenager I wrote poems and lots of song lyrics. I became very interested in pop music and wanted to become a songwriter. By the time I was applying to college, my goal was to become a writer and write for a music magazine, namely Billboard. That is really the reason I followed the writing path and majored in journalism. Eventually, I worked for a short time as a newspaper writer and UPI editor in Florida. I then worked several years as a technical writer and editor for a computer company in Massachusetts (Wang). After I had my kids, I worked as a freelance editor until I went back to school for a teaching credential.

Me: What was your first book, and why did you write it?

I: I am not quite sure which book was first. It’s between The Best Little Grammar Book Ever and Beyond Worksheets. Beyond Worksheets is an ebook of grammar lesson plans that is on Amazon, on my website, and on a teacher site. That came about because my one and only student teacher–a couple of years after I began teaching–liked my grammar lessons and thought I should put them together in a book. I did that, and I am not sure whether that was right before or after the first grammar book. I think it was afterwards. That ebook, despite its ratings and ranking on Amazon, has garnered many positive comments on the teachers’ site! However, it doesn’t contain any technology. It can be adapted to homeschoolers, though, and probably even adapted for technology.  As far as The Best Little Grammar Book Ever: Well, I noticed once I started teaching that people everywhere kept making the same grammar mistakes — when I was a writer and editor, and when I began as a teacher. I decided to write a book that concentrated on those errors. I outlined the book, and it sat there for a couple of years until I finally wrote it and published it in 2010. It has sold very well despite my lack of marketing time or talent!

Me: What about your other grammar books? How are they different?

I: I had never intended to write another grammar book after The Best Little Grammar Book Ever! But then, on Facebook one day, I had a message from a friend, also a writer, who said she had a dream that I wrote a book called Correct Me If I’m Wrong.  I liked the title so much I thought I might as well write the book, and I did. It has some of the same things as the other book — after all, grammar is grammar. However, there is quite a bit of difference in both the content and setup. The issues are all presented alphabetically in Correct Me If I’m Wrong. There are also more word usage and more comma rules, but no quizzes, as are included in the first book. The Great Grammar Cheat Sheet is a short ebook with the highlights of the other grammar books, for a quick reference. I have just released The Best Grammar Workbook Ever! What a lot of work that was! I also have a novel that I wrote during NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in 2011 and published on Amazon in print and as an ebook. I used a pseudonym since I was writing in such a different genre. 

Me: What is next?

I: Well, I am retiring from teaching in June, so I will have more time for my business — maybe!  I copyedit for other writers. I also am considering doing more corporate grammar/writing workshops, maybe online classes– and definitely more books! Fiction and nonfiction! Then, there is my blog, which I really enjoy doing.

Me: Is grammar your life?

I: Gosh. . .that sounds kind of sad, doesn’t it? It seems lately that grammar is my life, but really I have other interests! I would love to get back to music (composing, playing piano) at some point. I love to read, mostly chick lit. I love dogs. And then there are my kids, and they are my life! But I don’t see them that much at this point.

Then, there is coffee and Starbucks  and listening to music. I am also interested in metaphysics and all things bizarre. I am also a CNN junkie….and I watch all the reality talent shows. How’s that?

Me: Thank you for your time.

I: I’m welcome!

Some announcements: 

1. Thank you to those of you who offered a review of my new book. It’s not up quite yet.

2. Come see me and other writers:

This coming Saturday, March 28 – Local Writers Symposium

Sunday, April 12 –  Solano County Bookfest

Friday, May 15 – Book Launch Event for The Best Grammar Workbook Ever!

And next week: A new series begins right here: The Seven (Deadly?) Sins of Grammar

 

Fifty Shades of Grammar: Finale (for now)

New Book!!!!!

Thanks to your nifty comments (nifty? Does anyone use that word anymore?), I have one more installment of Fifty Shades of Grammar for you before we begin a new series of blog posts. And I have a special offer for you at the end of this post!

So, here we go (I hope I am not repeating myself with any of these!) . . .

1. Compose vs. Comprise – I don’t even want to go here, but someone mentioned it as a peeve. Is there anyone who uses these correctly? OK. Here is the story as I know it: Compose means “to make up or form something.” Often we use it as “is composed of.” The United States is composed of fifty states.” Then, we take it a step further and attempt to use comprise, and we say “The United States is comprised of fifty states.” This actually is not incorrect and is a third or fourth definition of comprise. However, if you want to use comprise in the sentence, this is really the preferred usage: “The United States comprises fifty states.” Therefore, is composed of is synonymous with comprises.

2. Criteria and Data – These words are both plural, criterion and datum being the singular forms. So when you say “The criteria is . . .” that is incorrect. It is either “The criterion is” or “The criteria are.” However, data is different. We don’t generally use datum . . .what is one piece of datum? So data is commonly used as a singular no matter what: “The data shows that . . .”(singular)

3. Continually vs. Continuously – These two words are actually different, although most people don’t make the distinction. Continuously means “without stopping.” Continually means “happening over and over again for a long time,” but not actually without stopping. Here is an example: “It has been snowing continuously since yesterday morning.” It hasn’t stopped snowing at all. “This winter we have had continual snowstorms.” It has snowed repeatedly, but it has stopped in between.

4. Punctuation outside the quotes – This bothers many people. However, in British English, the rules are the exact opposite of ours. Here are the American English standards for using other punctuation with quotations marks:

Periods and commas always go inside quotation marks. Always.
Colons and semicolons always go outside quotation marks. Always.
Question marks and exclamation marks can go either inside or outside depending on the sentence. If the question mark or exclamation mark belongs to just the quoted portion of the sentence, it goes inside. If the entire sentence is a question or exclamation, the mark goes outside the quotes. If both the question and the entire sentence are questions or exclamations, use one mark only and put it inside.

5. Say vs. Tell – I don’t know where in the country these are used “incorrectly,” but there is definitely a distinction between these two words even though they both involve talking! Telling usually involves another person. So, there is often an indirect object in the sentence: Tell me that secret. Tell her a story. You wouldn’t “say her a story.” “Said” is often used in dialog: She said, “. . . .” or if not, it generally has a direct object, but no indirect. It’s kind of a weird distinction that must be very difficult for anyone trying to learn English! “I told her a secret.” But “I said that to her.” But then, you could also say, “I told that to her . . .” Go figure.

6. Try and – The correct phrase is try to, not try and: “I will try to make it to your party.”

7. Inflated verbiage – This was a common peeve. Using big words when small ones will do (and often using them incorrectly or making them up entirely); using ten words when three would be better. You get the point. Some examples of inflated verbiage:

Using words like enormity and orientate
Using phrases like “What I did is . . . ” or “What this means is . . . ” or “The reason is because . . .”
Or phrases like “The fact that . . .” or “That being said . . .”

8. Whether vs. weather – And while we are talking about the weather: climactic vs. climatic. The one that means “sunny” or “cloudy” is weather. And global warming is a climatic topic. Climactic with the additional C is related to the word climax: “The climactic moment of the movie is . . . ”

9. With regards to – There is only one regard: “With regard to” is correct.

10. I should of went – Double whammy here: It is should have, not should of. And it is gone, not went: I should have gone.

11. Nouns used as verbs – Many of us don’t like this trend:

Since I don’t need this for myself, I will gift it. (Last time I looked, gift was a noun)
Let’s common core this lesson plan. (Let’s not.)

12. Overuse of trendy words – And we all do have our favorite words! Right now amazing seems to be overused by many people. I have known people who favored the overuse of basically and remarkable as well.

13. Weird road signs – A little punctuation might help. Here are a few:

Prepare to stop federal offices
Semi exceeding the speed limit prohibited
Slow deer crossing

14. “Well, here’s the thing” – What thing?

Special Offer!!!!  – I believe I promised you a special offer, so . . . 

My new book, The Best Grammar Workbook Ever!, is just about to be hot off the presses. I am offering a free PDF copy (all 207 pages) to the first 20 people who e-mail me at bigwords101@yahoo.com. This is the final copy, not a draft.

Of course, there is a catch! In return for the book, you have to promise to write a nice (5 stars?) review for the book on Amazon. It doesn’t have to be long. And since the book is a reference, you don’t even have to read it cover to cover.  Since the book is not yet on Amazon, I will let you know when to post the review. 

Deal?

Also: For you locals -

Saturday, March 28 from 10:30-3 at the main Sonoma County Library on E Street in Santa Rosa is the Local Authors Symposium. Many local writers will be there displaying (and selling) their books and talking to you. I am among them! I believe I speak at 1 p.m.

Friday, May 15 at 7 p.m. is the launch event for The Best Grammar Book Ever at the Petaluma Copperfield’s bookstore.

I might even be at the Solano County Book Festival in April….Will let you know next week!

 

 

 

Fifty Shades of Grammar: Part 3????

More Shades of Gray!

Well, the Fifty Shades of Grey book series had three, so why not three (or maybe four) installments here too? If it weren’t for the continuing great responses from you readers, I wouldn’t have so many shades of grammar to write about! Hopefully, these are all new shades:

1. etc. — Lots of problems with this one. First of all, it is different from both e.g. and i.e., which will be discussed later! Second, it isn’t ect. Third, it means “and so on,” so don’t say “and etc.” or “etc. and so on.” Those are redundant. Last, there is a period after etc. and a comma before it.

I love all kinds of berries, including blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, etc.

2. Amount and number — People on the news are still confusing amount and number, which is similar to less and fewer. Number is generally used with something countable. Amount is used with something uncountable or singular:

The number of accidents on Highway 50 has declined in the past year.  It is not the amount of accidents.

The amount of crime in the city has declined since last year. (But the “number of crimes”)

3. Double stuff — There are double negatives, double comparisons, and even double possessives, and we don’t like any of them!

There isn’t barely enough money left to pay the bills. (double negative: should be is barely)

I think he is more honester than his brother. (double comparison: should be more honest)

This is the book of Mike’s that I borrowed. (double possessive: Mike’s book; book of Mike)

4. e.g. and i.e. — They are different: e.g. means “for example.” i.e. means “that is” or “in other words.”

I love to read scary books, e.g., books in the Goosebumps series. (for example)

I love to see really scary movies, i.e., I love to be really scared! (in other words)

Both e.g. and i.e. have two periods and are preceded and followed by commas.

5. Elicit and illicit —  These words are really close in pronunciation, but they are sure different in meaning, so don’t confuse them! They are also different parts of speech.

Elicit is a verb (with the prefix e meaning out) which means ‘to draw out,” such as to elicit a response from someone.

Illicit is an adjective meaning “illegal, improper, or not allowed.”

6. Fith — Beethoven didn’t write a Fith. He wrote a Fifth!

7. Tumeric — As you saw with the spelling of cardamom, I am no cook. And I could have sworn it was tumeric. I always pronounced it (on the rare occasion I said it) toomeric. Come to find out its turmeric with an r in the first syllable. Who knew?

8. Crayon — So we were having a discussion at lunch the other week about the pronunciation of this word and whether different areas of the country pronounce it differently. My co-worker and I said it was crayon pronounced cra-un. Someone else thought we were crazy and it was pronounced cra-yawn. Which is it? Yeah, I could look it up, but what fun would that be?

9. Happy Birfday! —  Well, I wouldn’t be happy if you said that to me on my birthday, which is incidentally, on September fith.

10. Caramel — Not unlike #8, there is much ado about this pronunciation. Is it car-mel? or ca-ra-mel? Personally, I pronounce it carmel.

11.Supposably — Easier to say, but it’s supposedly.

12. Goes — I didn’t agree with Jack. I told him the book was better than the movie. But Jack goes,”I hated that book! The movie was way better!” And then my sister goes, “I hated them both.” Says is not the same as goes, is it? It’s says (or said)

13. Let’s do 13, because it is lucky day, Friday the 13th! So where did this sentence come from?

I just got my hair did. (Done you really now?)

Did you get your nails did too? Or can you only get hair did?

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I would like to mention a few things:

1. I will be talking and showing (and selling) my books at the Sonoma County Library, main branch in Santa Rosa at the Local Author’s Symposium on Saturday, March 28.

2. I will be launching my Best Grammar Workbook Ever at Petaluma Copperfield’s on Friday, May 15 from 7 to 9 p.m. Come to this event if you are local!

3. It is just about “did,” and it’s a good thing!

4. Looking for ideas and guest writers for this blog. If you have something you would like me to write about, please let me know (info@bigwords101.com).

 

Three Things to Do Before You Hit “Send”

Whether you are sending an important e-mail, mailing off a book proposal (does anyone even send paper mail anymore?), or handing off your manuscript to a copyeditor, there are three things you should do first. If you are sending your work to a copyeditor, you will save some money by saving your editor some time. If you are sending something important to someone, you will just look better!

1. Hire an editor! Obviously, if you are sending your work to an editor, you already have. However,  no matter what you are sending where, you never want to send a mess. Always read something over first. So, the editor will be you or possibly a friend or coworker. It is often difficult to spot your own mistakes, so it is usually helpful to have someone else look over your writing. If you don’t have another pair of eyes, reading your writing out loud can often help. I know it is a pain to proof your own work. I don’t like doing it either, but it is embarrassing to send something with silly mistakes in it.

2. Run some type of spell check. No, it won’t catch your its and it’s, or of instead of on, but we still do make other spelling errors and typos. I have received some manuscripts to edit where the author has obviously not even run spell check. I always run it, but if there are relatively few errors already, it saves time for me and money for the author.

3. Make sure your writing is consistent. This is something everyone can do. If your writing isn’t consistent, you will look careless. If the manuscript you give me to edit isn’t consistent, it will take me a lot of time to make it so. What do I mean by consistent?

Either use the Oxford (series) comma or don’t, but be consistent throughout one piece of writing.
If you are using certain jargon, make sure you use the same words or group of words to mean the same thing, and capitalize it the same way each time you use it.
You might be using some compound adjectives that fit the particular piece of writing. For example, maybe you are using the term compound-complex sentence. Don’t suddenly switch to compound/complex sentence. Your work will look ragged. If an editor has your work, it will take her or him time to straighten it out (and you will keep getting e-mails asking you questions).
If you want to use bold to emphasize certain things, don’t suddenly switch to quotation marks or italics.

I guess there is one more thing if you are sending an email: Make sure it is not only ready to send, but that you actually want to send it. Make sure you won’t regret it once you press “send.”

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The Grammar Diva apologizes for the short post this week, but she is very busy trying to finish The Best Grammar Workbook Ever! The book is done and off to the designer for final changes. She is excited about the launch event at the Petaluma Copperfield’s on Friday, May 15 at 7 p.m., and she hopes to see all her local friends there! Yes, there will be cake, and it will be chocolate!

 

Happy Belated National Grammar Day (March 4)

 

 

Fifty Shades of Grammar: Part Two

You say potato, and I say potatoe!

Who needs handcuffs, rope, and cable ties when we have dangling modifiers, mispronunciations, and malapropisms! Here are the final 25 shades of grammar! If you missed last week’s Part One, click here.

1. You weren’t taken back by his comment (unless it was nostalgic): you were taken aback.

2. You are leaving the party. You say, “Thanks for having me.” Thanks for having me what????

3. This is a real peeve of mine. There are various iterations of it, and I know you have heard them:

 

The reason is because . . .
The reason why is . . . is that . . .
What I mean is that . . .

My favorite is the double is, and I hear it all the time. Sounds as if the speaker is buying time, but it doesn’t buy much!

4. Silence is golden. It should be appreciated in speech now and then. However, people are uncomfortable with it, so they add filler words such as so and uh. Sometimes people use these words to hold the floor while they think of something else to say.

5. Yaddamean? = Do you know what I mean?

6. Youse guys is not a favorite—especially when the youse aren’t even guys.

7. I am waiting on someone to arrive. This one must be related to I was standing on line.

8. Ah redundancy! How can something be very unique? And you don’t need both also and as well together; or etc. and so on.

9. Menu items: Good food at it’s best. And martini’s. Fresh bean’s, potatoe’s, tomatoe’s, carrot’s, banana’s. You name it! We got it!

10. If you don’t really mean literally, don’t use it! I literally hit the ceiling every time someone uses it incorrectly!

11. Cringeworthy:  I’ve know him since I’m little. Tense Alert!

12. Anyone who is trying to better themselves . . .(should know that anyone is singular, is is singular, and themselves is plural. And we don’t care that they can now be used as a singular. We don’t like it!)

13. Alot is two words—if you must use it at all.

14. Based off? It is based on. (But it is pissed off.)

15. I fell off the chair, not I fell off of the chair.

16. Someone wrote in:  My “favorite” newscaster this morning said, ” The police are trying to open as much lanes as possible, ” right after her counterpart said,”There is an astonishing amount of accidents this morning.”  Perhaps there are also two job openings?

17. He did it different. She ran slow. Who took all the ly‘s? We want them back. We don’t like flat adverbs.

18. Oftentimes. Apparently some dictionaries say it is okay. It is a variant of the old ofttimes. Since often means ‘many times, ” ofttimes, means “many times times.”

19. Where are you? Where are you at (yuck)? In Newfoundland they say Where are you to?

20. She screamed bloody murder. Have you ever heard “She screamed blue murder?” Some of you have.

21.Don’t you think that schools could make sure that their electronic billboards didn’t have typos?

22. The spice is cardamon. Not cardamom. There is no Mom in cardamon.

23. I’m really up the crick now! (It’s creek!! Long e!)

24. It’s not impordant to say congradulations!

25. You don’t graduate high school—or college, for that matter. You graduate from high school (or college)(maybe)

26. I know I said 25, but I can’t stop! Just a couple more! It’s not nipped in the butt! (ouch! Shades of Gray!)

27. If you are disorientated,  you’re disoriented.

28. A favorite peeve of mine (and people I love dearly say it) seems to be product of the younger generation, and especially girls. Instead of ending their sentences with a question-like inflection, like some women are accused of doing (and do), girls now often end their sentences (boys too) with so-ha. (accent on the ya)

I hope you have enjoyed the 50 Shades of Gray Grammar! And I can finally announce that The Best Grammar Workbook Ever! will be out in a month or two. Definitely! So, ya.

 

 

 

WHAT Did You Say? Fifty Shades of Grammar: Part One

50 Shades of Grammar

You may think it is a cheap shot, riding on the coattails of a bestselling book and movie . . . but how could I resist? And I am certainly not the first! Anyhow, we will cover 25 shades today and the other 25 in Part 2, next week.

I have been collecting comments on your pet peeves, unusual things you hear, etc.; the Fifty Shades of Grammar posts will be an entertaining (I hope) hodgepodge of some of those comments you have provided to me.  So let’s get going, shall we?

Shade 1. One peeve I received was “people who have grammar peeves, and prescriptivists.” We prescriptivists are those grammar conservatives who believe there are rules to be followed (control freaks), as opposed to the descriptivists, who believe language is formed and changes according to how people talk; there are standard conventions, maybe, but not rules.

Shade 2. Some people are bothered by those who say “a myriad of” instead of just “myriad.” There are probably myriad reasons why.

Shade 3. This one is mine, although I have heard others mention it. It is so weird. You have heard it a zillion times, and you have probably used it: a whole nother. Since when is nother a word? I think it means “another whole” or “a whole other.” But that’s a whole nother story.

Shade 4. I always thought the saying was “all of the sudden.” Then, I edited some things that said “all of a sudden.” Which one is it? Most people say it is “all of a sudden.” I stand corrected. How about just suddenly?

Shade 5. Do you know how to spell out BBQ? I don’t think I did, and it was someone’s pet peeve. Barbecue. There is no q at all.

Shade 6. People using anxious when they really mean eager was a peeve. Anxious involves some fear or discomfort. Eager is ready to go!

Shade 7. Confusing chastity with celibacy was mentioned. Apparently priests have a vow of chastity, not celibacy.

Shade 8. There is a word converse. There is a word conversation. There is no word in between: conversate.

Shade 9: Women have been noted to do this more than men do.  Maybe not so much anymore. Women tend to end their statements as if they were questions?

Shade 10: Here is a rather unusual way of saying something. Here again, let me make it clear that we are not making fun of anyone, and that many of these pronunciations and ways to say things are regional, cultural, or whatever you would like to call it: Explain me instead of explain it to me. I think I have heard this one.

Shade 11. When someone says “Good for you?” are they really saying “I couldn’t care less what you are doing”?

Shade 12. Some people had a negative thing about grammar checkers. I personally have a negative thing about autocorrect.

Shade 13. Goed. Apparently more common among students. And I would think, young ones at that.

Shade 14. Lots of us loathe this one: Have went coming from educated people (it’s have gone.)

Shade 15. If someone does a complete turnaround, he or she did a 180, not a 360 (a 360 would mean they are at the same place as they were, doesn’t it?)

Shade 16. Misplaced prepositional phrases like “He was shot in the car.” Is that near the arm or the leg? And of course, misplaced participles. Here is a restaurant review someone saw: “Sitting on a bed of mashed potato, served with vegetables, I would have been impressed with that alone.”  The commenter said he indeed would have been impressed seeing the reviewer sitting on a bed of mashed potatoes!

Shade 17. “I might could go.” Sounds like people from somewhere say this, but I don’t know where. Does anyone know?

Shade 18. This one is weird to me. I don’t know where it is said, but not in the United States: “I was sat in the chair” instead of “I was sitting in the chair,” and “I was stood in the corner” instead of “I was standing in the corner.”

Shade 19. “It begs the question” used instead of “It raises the question” irked someone.

Shade 20. Leaving out the article, which I know is British(??). “We visited him at hospital” instead of “at the hospital.” Does anyone know any rules about this one?

Shade 21: Meteorologists seemed to receive a lot of criticism about their speech. Here is one: “Let’s get a check on the weather” or “Let’s get a check of the weather”  instead of just “Let’s check the weather.”

Shade 22: Starting a sentence with More important, rather than More importantly. More importantly can be a transition word, but more important is a comparison.

Shade 23. Revert back used by “professionals who should know better.” Can you revert forward?

Shade 24. You can “Save up to 50 percent and more.” 49? 50? more than 50? 49 and more than 50?

Shade 25. Schools using the word release instead of dismiss. I know this one to be true. We have early release days. Release, however, apparently applies to incarceration (and murder if you have read or seen The Giver, who coincidentally lives in a society that is only shades of gray.)

There you have it. Twenty-five shades of gray grammar this week, and twenty-five more shades of gray grammar next week. Have a colorful week!

Happy “Valentimes” Day!

Happy Valentines Day!

No, that isn’t a typo in the title! Last week I did a blog post on mispronounced words, and once again, the floodgates opened with your comments . (Thank you!)

I wasn’t going to do another post on mispronounced words for a while, but . . . since someone mentioned Valentines Day being called “Valentimes” Day (and I have heard it said that way many times!), and it is time for a Valentine post, I figured I would add the other mispronounced words you wrote about to this “Valentimes” Day post!

Let me begin by making sure you all know that we are not making fun of anyone here! Some people pronounce words the way their parents or friends said them. Sometimes it is a matter of a regional accent or a cultural way of saying something. Other times, words are just plain mispronounced!

Here are some of the mispronounced words you added to my list this week. I am sure you have heard many of them before; some might be new! Enjoy — and Happy Valentines Day for real!

asterik, asterix, asterikses (plural) and any number of ways to say asterisk!

ek-cetera and ex-cetera for et cetera

expresso for espresso, although someone said that in Italy, expresso is correct (I think)

excape for escape

versatile with a long i at the end instead of versatil for versatile

forte apparently has only one syllable unless you are talking about music (grammar is my forte, not fortay)

preezentation for presentation (we’ve all heard that one)

rowter instead of rooter for router

perogative for prerogative (hear that, Bobby Brown? Didn’t he sing that song?)

Eye-ran and Eye-talian for Iran and Italian

perscription for prescription, and perfessional for professional

hunderd or hunnert for hundred

pitcher for picture

chiminey for chimney (someone even added chimley!)

probly for probably

expecially for especially

Chiner and Afriker for China anad Africa

worsh for wash (apparently a regional or hereditary thing!)

amboolence for ambulence

comf-table for comfortable (I have heard only one person say this correctly, and it isn’t I!)

infa-structure for infrastructure

supposably (argh!!!!!!) for supposedly

calvary for cavalry

periphial for peripheral

Walmarts and K-Marts (isn’t one enough???) (I’m going to Walmarts? Walmart’s?)

empisode for episode, Tie-enol for Tylenol, oral for oil (what??!)

terrist for terrorist and partically for particularly (on New Zealand radio)

twunny for twenty (pretty common) (guilty as charged)

Innernet for Internet

pleece for police

melk for milk (heard it all the time when I was a kid)

Is it ay-men or ah-men???

nothink and somethink for nothing and something

processez for processes

dubya for W (we all know where that one comes from)

ax and axt for ask and asked

reconize for recognize (there is a g)

rool for rural

Is it poinsettia? poinsetta? poinsietta? I think the first two are acceptable.

pa-leaze for please

workt and finisht for worked and finished

secretry for secretary

reprize instead of repreeze for reprise (but reprisal is reprizal)

nucular for nuclear (and we know where that one came from)

with and breath for width and breadth (which do have ds)

somethink and somefink for something

markee for marquise (the diamond shape) which does not, apparently have a silent s

Then there are the mispronounced foods!

quin-o-a instead of keen-wa for quinoa

ciabatta is pronounced chee-a-bata

gyro – is it euro? yee-ro, jy-ro, geero? hero? I don’t know. The dictionary I looked in had five correct was to say it.

salad nicoise  apparently doesn’t have a silent s (in either nicoise or salad!)

acai – I don’t have a clue

And here are some of my favorites:

haitch for the letter h (this is, I believe, not in this country)

Specific Ocean (yes, someone did say it that way) for Pacific

flamingo dancers (I used to say it that way!) for flamenco dancers

Silicone Valley for Silicon Valley

and apparently said by weather readers on TV:

the Golf of Mexico (maybe it was really a sports report?)

Then there are the place names. I am from Massachusetts, where there are some cities that are always mispronounced because of the way they are spelled:

Worcester is correctly pronounced Wister.

Leominster is correctly pronounced Leminster.

Leicester is correctly pronounced Lester.

Quincy is usually pronounced Quinzee.

Peabody is generally pronounced Peep-udy.

Haverhill is correctly pronounced Havril.

And people who live in Chelmsford pronounce it without the l or the r: Chemsfid

I hope you have enjoyed reading this post as much as I have enjoyed collecting these words and writing it . .

and Happy ValentiNe’s Day!♥♥♥

Our Top Pronunciation Peeves!

Mispronounced Words

When I asked readers for their top grammar peeves, some of these peeves had to do with pronunciation, so this blog post will be about those. We all know about Febuary and liberry . . . so check these out:

Wait! Is your top pronunciation peeve, people who pronounce pronunciation as pronounciation (and spell it that way too)????

My top pronunciation peeve is this one that 99 percent of my students say: mischeevious, with the accent on the second syllable (instead of the first)  and the last syllable pronounced as -eeus rather than just -us. And many adults say it that way too! Drives me nuts. But enough about me. Here are some of your pronunciation peeves:

1. acrost — instead of across. I have heard this one more than once!

2. CONtribute with the accent on the first syllable rather than the second. I must say I had never noticed this one until I heard it on the radio just today.

3. idear — instead of idea. But isn’t that just an accent problem? (Hello, Bostonians!)

4. perspective — instead of prospective in a newspaper, so obviously this one is just a confusion between two words. OK, not really pronunciation.

5. phertographer – instead of photographer. Hey, look at that pherto!

6. heighth — instead of height. Width ends in -th, but height doesn’t!

7. ta — instead of to. Send it ta me, will ya?

8. realator — instead of realtor. Two syllables, not three.

9. reprize — instead of reprise (repreeze).  It is reprisal (reprizal) but not reprize.

10. tempature — instead of temperature . . . especially if said by a meteorologist.

11. dropped gs at the end of words. Well, that is a pretty common one! I don’t know if I’m comin’ or goin’.

12. often pronounced with the t. I like the t silent! That is one of mine!

Then, there is jew-lery instead of jewel-ry (new branch of Judaism?) (I am Jewish; I can make a joke!)

If you have some other ones, I would love to hear about them. Stay tuned for more peeves next blog. I got some pretty interesting ones from y’all!