Jean Reynolds's Blog, page 10

Is It Spit or Spat?

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Instant Quiz

Can you improve the sentence below? Scroll to the bottom of today’s post for the answer. 

She suggested calling Mayor Peterson, who’s a personal friend of hers.

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Twice recently the New York Times has made mistakes with the word “spit.” Or maybe they haven’t made mistakes with “spit.”

A few weeks ago I wrote a post about this headline from the March 23 Times: “Spit on, Yelled at, Attacked: Chinese in U.S. Fear for Safety.” Here’s how I would have written it:

“Spat on, Yelled at, Attacked: Chinese in U.S. Fear for Safety.”

Last week’s Times included a sad story about five retired nuns who died of COV-19. In a paragraph about COV-19 tests performed at the convent, I found this sentence:

“Other methods, using a sample of saliva that is spit into a vial, are being introduced in a small number of states but are not widely available yet.”

I would have changed it to this:

“using a sample of saliva that is spat into a vial….”

I checked a couple of dictionaries. One gave the preferred past tense and past participle as…spitted. Really? I’ve never heard anyone say “spitted.”

The other two said that both spit or spat could be used in the past tense.

A grammar website agreed with me that spat is the correct choice for the past tense. It didn’t even mention spitted or spit for the past tense.

What’s a writer to do?

My policy is to stick with whatever sounds right to me. Of course that’s a very subjective approach – but sometimes it’s the only choice we have.

English is always changing, and words are always sliding in and out of our language. Often you have to make your best guess.

I’m sticking with spat.

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Instant Quiz ANSWER

All friendships are personal. If you aren’t close to Mayor Peterson, better choices would be “acquaintance” “co-worker,” or “colleague.”

If you want to emphasize your relationship with Mayor Peterson, try close friend or longtime friend.

She suggested calling Mayor Peterson, who’s a close friend of hers.  BETTER

What Your English Teacher Didn’t Tell You is available in paperback and Kindle formats from Amazon.com and other online booksellers.[image error]

“A useful resource for both students and professionals” – Jena L. Hawk, Ph.D., Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College

“Personable and readable…Jean knows her subject forwards and backwards.” – Adair Lara, author of Hold Me Close, Let Me Go

What’s Your Role? Part II

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Instant Quiz

Can you correct the error in the sentence below? Scroll to the bottom of today’s post for the answer. 

Bistro Pizza is notorious for its fresh and authentic Italian dishes.

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In my last post, I pointed out that some writing problems have underlying business issues. Here’s an example. (I’ve altered some of the details.)

I was working with a client who wanted to update the writing practices in his business. He was right: the memos and letters I looked at were wordy and old-fashioned.

But I thought there was a deeper problem. One example was a memo from an employee whose department had a problem with a piece of equipment. The service technician said it was time for a replacement.

He recommended a different machine that he thought made a lot of sense for the business. She’d known him for years, trusted him, and agreed.

The memo was…whew. It explained what the machine did and why the company needed it. It rambled through the whole history of the service and repairs on the malfunctioning machine.

The employee attached an estimate of the repair costs and a brochure about the new machine. At the bottom she wrote, “For your attention and use.”

* * * * *

Cleaning up clumsy sentences and pompous wording is always useful. But this company needs to address some personnel problems. I suspect there’s a lack of trust between the boss and the woman who wrote the memo.

As you move up the organizational ladder of a business, your responsibilities tend to spread out. Instead of knowing one area extremely well, you have a little bit of knowledge about many areas.

You have to trust your employees. They usually know their area better than you do.

The woman – let’s call her Diane – dealing with that malfunctioning machine knew what she was talking about. She wouldn’t be there otherwise. Writing a long history of the machine and what it does shouldn’t be necessary. (If Diane isn’t competent, that needs to be addressed before you start tackling her writing issues.)

Most of the time you should put your main point first. (The exception is when you’re giving bad news. In that case, soften it a bit.)

Readers are confused by a memo that starts with a series of details: “Last week the [name of machine] started shutting down in the middle of a cycle. Since then it’s been displaying a 271 ERROR message.” Where is this going? It’s confusing and wastes time.

Here’s how the memo should begin: “Our [name of machine] is no longer functioning properly. Frank Donaldson from Acme Equipment says that it’s not worth repairing. He recommends replacing it with [name of machine].”

Diane can go on to say that Frank is trustworthy – his recommendations have saved your company a great deal of money over the years. She can attach his estimate for the repairs and a brochure about the new machine.

A friend who read a draft of this post suggested that trust may not be the issue – perhaps Diane just needs to be taught how to write more efficiently. That’s true!

But often it amounts to the same thing – only this time it might be Diane who doesn’t trust her boss. She’s afraid he’ll get angry if she doesn’t provide every tiny fact about the issue at hand – “We purchased the [name of machine] on July 17, 2011.”

Maybe that’s a relevant fact – maybe it’s not. My point is that in a well-run business, you don’t dump everything you know into a memo or letter. You do some critical thinking before you start typing. Efficiency should always be one of your top goals.

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Instant Quiz ANSWER

Notorious (and a similar word – notoriety) refers to the wrong kind of fame – a reputation for criminal behavior, for example. The word you need today is famous.

Bistro Pizza is famous for its fresh and authentic Italian dishes.  CORRECT

Incidentally, its is correct here (not it’s). Here’s a quick way to tell: substitute “his.” Neither word has an apostrophe, and both will work: “his fresh and authentic Italian foods” – “its fresh and authentic Italian foods.”

What Your English Teacher Didn’t Tell You is available in paperback and Kindle formats from Amazon.com and other online booksellers.[image error]

“A useful resource for both students and professionals” – Jena L. Hawk, Ph.D., Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College

“Personable and readable…Jean knows her subject forwards and backwards.” – Adair Lara, author of Hold Me Close, Let Me Go

What’s Your Role?

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Instant Quiz

Can you correct the error in the sentence below? Scroll to the bottom of today’s post for the answer.

Instead of rice, we threw rose pedals at the bride and groom.

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Yesterday I needed to cancel a routine appointment. I went to the appointments page on the medical office’s website and found a 404 ERROR notice – the same notice I’d seen a month ago when I made the appointment.

I used the phone number posted there and pressed 2 for appointments. A recorded voice gave me some directions and added, “Don’t use this voicemail to cancel an appointment.” Then there was a click.

Now what? (Please bear with me – we’ll get to writing in a moment. I promise there’s an important point coming.) I called the phone number again, pressed 3 to talk to the nurse, and canceled my appointment.

I stayed on the line and told her about the 404 notice and the less-than-helpful recorded message. She clucked sympathetically and said, “I’ll talk to Dr. Smith.”

Ye gods and little fishes. There isn’t anybody on the staff who’s charged with keeping up with the website and the phone settings?

Does someone have to “talk to Dr. Smith” if a @#%! light bulb burns out?

Here’s my point: you can have head full of grammar, and a wonderful vocabulary, and a knack for style. But writing encompasses much more than the black marks on a piece of paper or computer screen. Most of the time what you’re really writing about is…life.

If the systems at your workplace are badly organized, you can’t write an effective business letter, report, or email.

I’ve been thinking about this lately because of a consulting job I did last week. An executive asked me to evaluate some emails his employes had written. He wanted to update their writing practices. Bravo!

What I found was a lot of gobbledygook and old-fashioned business terminology. But what really needed fixing was the way things were done in his office. You could see it – or at least I could – right there on those typed pages.

In short, he was the real problem. He’s also a good guy, and he appreciated my recommendations. They will be the topic of my next post.

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Instant Quiz ANSWER

This confession might amuse you: I struggle with these words! The correct word today is petal (part of a flower). Peddle means “to sell.” A pedal is a device you press with your foot.

Instead of rice, we threw rose petals at the bride and groom.  CORRECT

(Sigh. I used in the wrong word the first time I typed today’s answer and had to go back and fix it.)

What Your English Teacher Didn’t Tell You is available in paperback and Kindle formats from Amazon.com and other online booksellers.[image error]

“A useful resource for both students and professionals” – Jena L. Hawk, Ph.D., Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College

“Personable and readable…Jean knows her subject forwards and backwards.” – Adair Lara, author of Hold Me Close, Let Me Go

Actually….

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Instant Quiz

Can you correct the error in the sentence below? Scroll to the bottom of today’s post for the answer.

Although we thought we had every detail covered, several peoples’ invitations didn’t arrive in time.

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Like all married couples, Charlie and I have our moments. I’ve published a couple of college English textbooks, so I feel entitled to claim that I’m always right when we’re talking about writing. (It’s something that happens a lot, because I type all of the columns he writes for our newspaper).

Alas, last week I was wrong.

I hate the word actually. I despise it. Do not say actually in my presence: I will go berserk. 

So there I was, typing away while Charlie dictated his latest column, and I heard this:

A chemical that actually repels mosquitoes….

I did not go berserk. I stayed calm. But I stopped typing, and I told him he needed to come up with something better. He’s supposed to know that the overuse of actually drives me nuts.

We spent a few minutes casting around for a better word. Nothing worked. And then I realized that the word we needed was…actually.

He was making the point that some botanical chemicals have an undeserved reputation for repelling insects. But there’s one that actually does the job: citronellal.

I apologized, and he had the grace not to smirk.

So I will admit that there’s a time and place to use actually, just as there’s a time and place to use respective (another word that sets me off).

Please, though, don’t throw those words around to make whatever you’re saying sound more important: “Joey actually turns four next month.” “I actually saved four dollars by switching laundry detergents.” “My grandmother is actually an avid gardener.”

Similarly, please don’t tell me that your guests went to their respective cars after the wedding ceremony. (Whose cars would they have gone to, for heaven’s sake?) And don’t mention that you and your cousin Abigail compared the mileage on your respective cars. (Isn’t it obvious which car you drive?)

I actually cherish my friends, and it’s silly to let an unwise word choice get in the way of our respective friendships. Thanks!

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Instant Quiz ANSWER

The apostrophe is misplaced. People’s is correct (before the “s”).

The apostrophe always goes after the last letter of the word or name. Joe‘s money. Louis‘ money. The people‘s money. (People ends in “e.”) 

Although we thought we had every detail covered, several people’s invitations didn’t arrive in time.  CORRECT

One more point: some people prefer Louis’s money. It’s your choice (unless the style sheet you’re using calls for Louis’ money).

What Your English Teacher Didn’t Tell You is available in paperback and Kindle formats from Amazon.com and other online booksellers.[image error]

“A useful resource for both students and professionals” – Jena L. Hawk, Ph.D., Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College

“Personable and readable…Jean knows her subject forwards and backwards.” – Adair Lara, author of Hold Me Close, Let Me Go

Two Problems in One Sentence

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Can you correct the error in the sentence below? Scroll to the bottom of today’s post for the answer. 

After you learn the principals of good writing, your writing will improve dramatically.

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Before I talk about today’s topic, I’m going to gripe for a moment. I just picked up this morning’s paper. The front page featured an excellent article about – sadly – the large number of coronavirus patients in local nursing homes.

What set me off, though, was the picture that was featured with the article. It showed the door of a nursing home with a paper notice:

Please be advised that we have a coronavirus case in this building.

BAD writing. “Please be advised” is old-fashioned and necessary. If you’re a professional who prides yourself on staying up-to-date in your field, your writing should be up-to-date as well.

Here’s my version:

We have a coronavirus patient.

Clear – efficient – professional.

And now we can turn to that problem sentence I was planning to talk about.

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A sentence in the April 1 New York Times has not one but two problems! One is a grammar mistake, and the other is…just bad writing:

After hearing President Trump say, without scientific evidence, that the antimalarial drug chloroquine could be a “game changer” in the fight against Covid-19, an Arizona man died and his wife was left in critical condition after they swallowed a form of the chemical used to clean fish tanks called chloroquine phosphate.

The grammar mistake is a misplaced modifier (in ordinary English, a description in the wrong place). See if you can figure out what’s wrong:

…a form of the chemical used to clean fish tanks called chloroquine phosphate.

The sentence seems to be saying that the fish tanks are called chloroquine phosphate. Nope! Here’s better wording:

…chloroquine phosphate, a form of the chemical used to clean fish tanks.  BETTER

How did a writer for the New York Times – for heaven’s sake – make such a clumsy mistake? I don’t have a definitive answer, of course. But I suspect that this writer has a habit of writing long sentences, and that opens the door to mistakes.

This sentence is 51 words – far too long, and that’s problem #2.

The sentence is telling a story. Let it unfold, step-by-step. There’s no reason to cram the whole story into one sentence. Here’s my version:

An Arizona couple heard President Trump recommend chloroquine phosphate, an antimalarial drug, for Covid-19 – even though it hasn’t been tested. Chloroquine phosphate is a form of a chemical used to clean fish tanks. The couple dosed themselves with the fish tank version. The results were devastating: the man died, and his wife is seriously ill.

You can read the entire article by clicking the link: Covid-19 Has Closed Stores, but Snake Oil Is Still for Sale https://nyti.ms/39zKfrk

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Instant Quiz ANSWER

Principal is the wrong word for today’s sentence.

Principle – the word you need to day – means rule. (Note that both words end in -le – a handy memory trick.)

After you learn the principles of good writing, your writing will improve dramatically.  CORRECT

What Your English Teacher Didn’t Tell You is available in paperback and Kindle formats from Amazon.com and other online booksellers.[image error]

“A useful resource for both students and professionals” – Jena L. Hawk, Ph.D., Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College

“Personable and readable…Jean knows her subject forwards and backwards.” – Adair Lara, author of Hold Me Close, Let Me Go

Writing Advice from C.S. Lewis

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Instant Quiz

Can you correct the error in the sentence below? Scroll to the bottom of today’s post for the answer.

I’m still packing my suitcase, but Joe is already for our trip to Niagara Falls.

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I spent my college years thinking about Hamlet, thinking about Richard Burton, listening to the Beatles, and standing in line for tickets to the Royal Ballet.

There were hours and days spent hanging out with my friends – wonderful women (the college wasn’t co-ed back then) who patiently put up with my manias (and loved the Royal Ballet and the Beatles as much as I did).

Somehow I earned a degree, so I must have squeezed in some college work along the way. But my mind and heart were elsewhere. 

Obsessing about Hamlet meant that I eventually stumbled across a magnificent essay by C.S. Lewis, the British novelist, theologian, and literary critic: The Prince or the Poem? I remember reading it – my head reeling – and feeling the book slip out of my fingers and drop to the floor.

(A side note: Lewis belonged to the Church of England, and my college was Roman Catholic. Lewis’s very orthodox theological writings were listed on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum (The Index of Prohibited Books). To their credit, the college library owned all of them, but they had to be kept in a locked bookcase. I found them in my hometown library and read them anyway.)

I’ve read just about everything Lewis ever wrote.

C.S. Lewis and James Hillman (I discovered him twenty years later) are the two men who – more than anyone else – shaped my thinking. (I’ve read just about everything Hillman ever wrote too.)

There are probably long neural highways in my brain with signposts on them like LEWIS I-42 North and HILLMAN K-16 East. For better or worse, I wouldn’t be the person I am without them – and, of course, Burton.

But today’s topic is writing. I just came across a wonderful little online article about Lewis: “Five Powerful Writing Tips from C. S. Lewis” by Nicole J. Bianchi. Click here: https://link.medium.com/FtpgAappw5

Here’s my favorite tip:

5. Don’t use words too big for the subject. Don’t say “infinitely” when you mean “very”; otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.

I only wish I could write as well as Lewis did.

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                         C.S. Lewis

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Instant Quiz ANSWER

Be careful not to confuse already (“by this time) and all ready (“all prepared”). Today’s sentence requires all ready:

I’m still packing my suitcase, but Joe is all ready for our trip to Niagara Falls.  CORRECT

What Your English Teacher Didn’t Tell You is available in paperback and Kindle formats from Amazon.com and other online booksellers.[image error]

“A useful resource for both students and professionals” – Jena L. Hawk, Ph.D., Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College

“Personable and readable…Jean knows her subject forwards and backwards.” – Adair Lara, author of Hold Me Close, Let Me Go

Hopefully This Is Correct

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Instant Quiz

Can you correct the error in the sentence below? Scroll to the bottom of today’s post for the answer.

He pretended not to see me when I past him in the hall.

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There’s a dubious rule in English that you’re not supposed to use an adverb (a word ending in –ly) to set up the attitude or meaning of a sentence. Here’s an example of what you shouldn’t do:

Hopefully, tomorrow’s weather will be perfect for our picnic.

Tomorrow’s weather can’t do anything hopefully, and that makes the sentence wrong. So say the grammarians.

But James Harbeck (a linguistics expert I like very much) convincingly argues against this nonsense in his Sesquiotica blog: https://sesquiotic.com/2014/09/09/seriously-whats-the-problem-with-sentence-adverbs/

His blog offers three examples of sentences that break the rule about adverbs – without a single peep of protest from the grammarians:

Seriously, it will be very amusing.

Frankly, you’re being evasive.

Clearly, someone has muddied the water.

This tempest-in-a-grammatical teapot reminds me of the people who say that you can’t end a sentence with a preposition. Five minutes later they’re happily talking about putting their shoes on, turning the TV off, inviting the neighbors over, and letting the dog out.

And then there are avid readers who think you can’t start a sentence with but, even though every book they’ve ever read has sentences starting with but on almost every page.

Years ago I heard an authority on English say that our language doesn’t have any grammar. I wondered then (and still do) what he meant and whether he was right. I still haven’t come up with satisfactory answers.

But (ha!) what I have decided is that grammar is always secondary. Experts study the language, watch what it does, and then extrapolate grammar rules. So far, so good.

But there are always a couple of experts who want to flip this sensible system around. They insist on making the rules first and then forcing the language to fit – even if it’s a tight squeeze.

Not every self-proclaimed expert knows what they’re talking about. Beware! Watch what the language does, not what someone thinks it should do.

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Instant Quiz ANSWER

Be careful not to confuse passed and past. And please don’t do what my students used to do – write pasted instead!

The word you need today is passed. You pass someone; yesterday you passed them.

He pretended not to see me when I passed him in the hall.  CORRECT

What Your English Teacher Didn’t Tell You is available in paperback and Kindle formats from Amazon.com and other online booksellers.[image error]

“A useful resource for both students and professionals” – Jena L. Hawk, Ph.D., Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College

“Personable and readable…Jean knows her subject forwards and backwards.” – Adair Lara, author of Hold Me Close, Let Me Go

Were They Spit On – or Spat On?

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Instant Quiz

Can you correct the error in the sentence below? Scroll to the bottom of today’s post for the answer.

She’s always had a flare for Latin dancing.

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Chinese visitors to the US are experiencing some ugly treatment as the result of COV-19. Here’s a recent headline from the New York Times: “Spit on, Yelled At, Attacked: Chinese in U.S. Fear for Safety.” You can read the entire story here:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/23/us/chinese-coronavirus-racist-attacks.html

Even the Times makes mistakes! The past tense of spit is spat. Here’s the correct headline: “Spat on, Yelled At, Attacked: Chinese in U.S. Fear for Safety.”

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Instant Quiz ANSWER

The word you need for today’s sentence is flair – a natural ability. (A flare is a sudden burst of light.)

She’s always had a flair for Latin dancing.  CORRECT

What Your English Teacher Didn’t Tell You is available in paperback and Kindle formats from Amazon.com and other online booksellers.[image error]

“A useful resource for both students and professionals” – Jena L. Hawk, Ph.D., Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College

“Personable and readable…Jean knows her subject forwards and backwards.” – Adair Lara, author of Hold Me Close, Let Me Go

Sheltering in Place

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Instant Quiz

Can you improve the sentence below? Scroll to the bottom of today’s post for the answer.

I’m currently writing a book about Bernard Shaw.

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I used to dance five days a week. They’re down to zero. The Shaw conference in Spain has been postponed. The dance cruise to Norway was cancelled. I didn’t get to see my Shaw friends at a drama conference in Orlando last week – it too was cancelled.

No walking to Egg Haven for breakfast with Charlie. And – worst of all – no hanging out with our friends at the donut shop every afternoon.

But there’s a silver lining. I am working on a book about Shaw. No distractions! Gobs of free time! I’m thinking about dedicating the book to the coronavirus.

The book – alas – is a mess. Last year I had a lot of fun writing the first chapter. I was really happy with it – but I haven’t been able to write the second chapter. I have a computer folder full of chapters that broke down on page three or four.

When the COV-19 advice to stay home came along, I made a vow. I’m going to write my book! I sat down every day to write – and couldn’t get past page two of the second chapter. Page two! Am I losing my touch?

Last Tuesday night, as I was falling asleep, I finally came up with the answer. I hate to admit it, but it’s something I’ve known for at least 20 years: Figure out what your keyword is, and use it to write a thesis statement.

The next morning I ran to my computer, typed my thesis statement, and started developing it. I wrote three pages,  and they have held up! Since then I’ve been chugging along, and the chapter is almost finished.

Writing is…weird. This book has been fighting me tooth and nail, and the sensible thing would be to quit. But – damn it – it’s so much fun! There’s a whole merry-go-round of ideas swirling around in my head, if I could only get them to stop spinning and line up nicely.

Will there be a Chapter Three? Will I remember to look for a keyword and use it to write a thesis statement? Will I ever get this @#$%! book finished? Stay tuned!

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Instant Quiz ANSWER

You don’t need “currently.” (Now is another word you can often omit.) Good writers make every word count!

I’m writing a book about Bernard Shaw.  BETTER

What Your English Teacher Didn’t Tell You is available in paperback and Kindle formats from Amazon.com and other online booksellers.[image error]

“A useful resource for both students and professionals” – Jena L. Hawk, Ph.D., Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College

“Personable and readable…Jean knows her subject forwards and backwards.” – Adair Lara, author of Hold Me Close, Let Me Go

Will English Survive?

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Instant Quiz

Can you correct the error in the sentence below? Scroll to the bottom of today’s post for the answer.

Her explanation sounds differently than what Mr. Callahan told us.

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Is the English language in trouble? A recent article in Harper’s Magazine (“Semantic Drift,” August 4, 2019) answers that question with a strong yes.

Author Lionel Shriver is a successful novelist who cares passionately about English. She lists a number of alarming trends, including grammar problems, punctuation mistakes, and careless word choices. English is on life support, and she wants us to fight back.

I’m confident about the future of our language, and I think Shriver is wrong. I recently published my response to her article in an online magazine – The Writer’s Guild. Click the link to read it.

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Instant Quiz ANSWER

Sounds is a linking verb (some grammarians call it a copulative verb). That’s grammar-speak for a simple principle: Think “is.”

Her explanation is different than what Mr. Callahan told us.  CORRECT (no –ly on different)

So you would write the sentence this way:

Her explanation sounds different than what Mr. Callahan told us.  CORRECT (no –ly on different)

If you really want to sound professional, change than to from:

Her explanation sounds different from what Mr. Callahan told us.  CORRECT

What Your English Teacher Didn’t Tell You is available in paperback and Kindle formats from Amazon.com and other online booksellers.[image error]

“A useful resource for both students and professionals” – Jena L. Hawk, Ph.D., Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College

“Personable and readable…Jean knows her subject forwards and backwards.” – Adair Lara, author of Hold Me Close, Let Me Go