Jean Reynolds's Blog, page 16
November 4, 2019
Is Grammar Necessary?
Instant Quiz
Can you correct the error in the sentence below? Scroll to the bottom of today’s post for the answer.
Jerry was late because he helped a women from his office who couldn’t find her glasses.
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Is grammar necessary? My answer might surprise you: No, it isn’t – not if you mean identifying parts of speech and diagramming sentences.
People who adore formal grammar often say that correct grammar is essential if you want to get a precise message across. I say that’s rarely true. Suppose you heard someone say, “John don’t like that restaurant.” The grammar is wrong, but you would understand perfectly.
Here’s a joking message sent to me by my friend Margaret Wheaton. Numerals have been substituted for many of the letters – and yet most people can read the message easily:
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Standard English is a beautiful thing. It showcases your communication skills and professionalism. But don’t confuse good writing with grammar gobbledygook. They’re not the same thing.
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Instant Quiz ANSWER
Be careful not to confuse woman and women. (Thinking about man/men is helpful.) Today’s sentence requires woman:
Jerry was late because he helped a woman from his office who couldn’t find her glasses. 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
October 31, 2019
Happy Halloween!
[image error]Instant Quiz:
Can you find the mistake in the sentence below? Scroll to the bottom of today’s post for the answer.
After the children bobbed for apples, they spit apple seeds in the backyard.
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I’m celebrating Halloween today! More accurately, I’m celebrating Hallowe’en. I sometimes use the apostrophe even though it’s no longer standard. It stands for the missing “v” in All Hallows’ Even (“evening”) – one of the earlier names for our October 31 holiday.
In honor of Hallowe’en, I’m going to discuss two features of English that are scary – or just plain crazy.
Here’s a sentence that’s grammatically correct but so weird that I would never use it:
Either you or I am likely to win first prize. CORRECT (but yuk!)
Here’s the rule: in an either/or sentence, the “or” part (or I) determines the verb. I am likely to win first prize is correct. That gives us “Either you or I am likely to win first prize.”
Nope. Grammar be damned – it’s just too awkward for me. I would use this version:
Either you or I are likely to win first prize. INCORRECT (but I like it)
Let’s go on to something else that’s grammatically correct but – to me – unbearably clumsy: “that of.” Take a look at this sentence from “This Is the Moment Rachel Maddow Has Been Waiting For,” an article in the New York Times Magazine:
If today’s dominant political recreational metaphor is that of the three-dimensional chess game, Maddow is hunched over in the corner of the rec room, methodically putting together a jigsaw puzzle. CORRECT (but yuk!)
What – I ask you – would be lost if you deleted that of?
If today’s dominant political recreational metaphor is the three-dimensional chess game….
Have a wicked Hallowe’en!
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Instant Quiz ANSWER
The past tense of spit is spat.
After they bobbed for apples, the children spat apple seeds in the backyard. CORRECT
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Jean Reynolds’ book What Your English Teacher Didn’t Tell You can be purchased from Amazon.com and other online booksellers.
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“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
October 28, 2019
Writer’s Block
Instant Quiz
Can you correct the error in the sentence below? Scroll to the bottom of today’s post for the answer.
Last year Jeffrey lead the fundraising project, and he’s promised to do it again this year.
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Someone online posted a desperate plea for help with writer’s block. The question mentioned a “massive project” like a book proposal or dissertations.
Oh, my. I feel for you. I was so frozen with fear when I started my own dissertation that I didn’t write a single word for a month.
But there’s hope! I finished my dissertation, learned a lot along the way, and went on to become a pretty productive write. Here are some strategies to try:
Make up your mind to do it badly. That removes the intimidation factor. You can always make improvements later – and you will, once you have something substantial to work with.
Start with a leading task – something small related to your project. You could type a couple of quotations you’re planning to use, for example, or look something up. Tell yourself “I’m just going to….” Often that will get your engine going.
Know your favorite escapes and excuses. Mine is housework. I didn’t clean my stove for two years while I was writing my dissertation. It was too tempting to divert my energy into making my house sparkle.
Find a buddy. Plan to meet for writing sessions.
Change your location. I went to a coffeeshop every evening for an hour.
Don’t worry about inefficiency. Those coffeeshop trips involved a lot of wasted time – packing my stuff, driving there, unpacking when I got home, trying to concentrate in a noisy atmosphere. But over the long haul I got a lot done, and those nightly trips gave me something to look forward to.
Good luck, and hang in there!
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Instant Quiz ANSWER
The past tense of lead is led – and that’s the word you need today:
Last year Jeffrey led the fundraising project, and he’s promised to do it again this year.
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Jean Reynolds’ book Five Minutes a Day: Time Management for People Who Love to Put Things Off can be purchased from Amazon.com and other online booksellers for $6.25 (paperback) or $1.99 (Kindle). Other ebook formats are available from Smashwords.com for $1.99.
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October 25, 2019
Let’s Stop Talking about Possessives
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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.
After we cleared a space for the new chair, Joe and Ken drug it into the living room.
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Every American should know the words to The Star-Spangled Banner, our national anthem:
Oh, say, can you see
By the Dawn’s early light
What so proudly we hailed
At the twilight’s last gleaming?
But wait a minute! Because dawn isn’t a person, it can’t own the “early light.” For the same reason, twilight can’t own the “last gleaming.”
Did Francis Scott Key screw up our national anthem?
Of course not. You might have been told you can’t use an apostrophe +s construction unless the owner is human. You can’t say “the dog’s collar” or “the tree’s leaves” or “the song’s lyrics.”
But that’s a bogus rule made up by people who should know better.
How did this mistake get started? Here’s what probably happened. Grammarians often talk about possessives (“Joe’s shoes”). It wasn’t long before some self-appointed grammarians decided that only people can have possessions.
Teachers and editors latched on to that made-up rule, and that opened the door to all kinds of clumsiness: “the collar of the dog” instead of “the dog’s collar” – and so on.
When you stop to think about it, many possessive constructions don’t involve ownership at all. A teacher’s desk is one example. Every classroom I used in my 40-year teaching career had a desk for the teacher (me). I didn’t own it, of course. I couldn’t take it home. But it was still the teacher’s desk.
I want to make two points today.
1. We need to stop talking about “possessives.” When I was teaching, the term I used was “of expressions.”
2. Some apostrophes are disappearing. The Associated Press has dropped the apostrophe from Veterans Day (which used to be Veterans’ Day – the day of the veterans). I often see signs like “Doctors Lounge” and “Judges Entrance.”
James Harbeck has some interesting observations about “of” constructions at this link: https://theweek.com/articles/564165/stop-calling-possessives-possessive
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Instant Quiz ANSWER
Drug is too colloquial (“folksy”) for professional writing. The past tense of drag is dragged.
After we cleared a space for the new chair, Joe and Ken dragged it into the living room. 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
October 23, 2019
Get Rid of Empty Words
Instant Quiz
Can you correct the error in the sentence below? Scroll to the bottom of today’s post for the answer.
My grandmother used to think that wearing a copper bracelet would relieve her arthritis pain, but that’s just a misnomer.
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My husband and I recently leased a new car. We selected the car we wanted from a list of closeout vehicles on the dealership’s website. The sales associate asked if we knew the VIN. I was impressed!
Many people would have said VIN number. That’s not quite correct. A VIN is a vehicle identification number. You don’t need to put number at the end: vehicle identification number number.
Similarly, you don’t need to say ATM machine: it’s an Automatic Teller Machine. Nor is it necessary to say Jewish rabbi, actual fact, or free gift.
Whenever someone says “Can I ask a question?” my response is “You just did!”
There’s no difference between “What’s the current time” and “What’s the time?”
Unnecessary words can clutter your writing. Develop the habit of looking for these redundancies – and getting rid of them. Your writing will be better for it!
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Instant Quiz ANSWER
A misnomer is an incorrect name – saying that a whale is a fish, for example.
My grandmother thought that wearing a copper bracelet would relieve her arthritis pain, but that’s not true. 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
October 21, 2019
The Whistleblower
Instant Quiz
Can you correct both errors in the sentence below? Scroll to the bottom of today’s post for the answer.
After we payed off our credit cards we started saving for our vacation trip to California.
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My friend Karen White just sent me a link to a wonderful New York Times article: “The Whistleblower Knows How to Write.” Click here to read it: you’ll get a good refresher on some important points about writing.
The author, Jane Rosenzweig, directs the Harvard Writing Center. She analyzed the “whistleblower complaint” – a letter from a CIA officer claiming that President Trump put pressure on the Ukrainian government to interfere in next year’s Presidential election.
Somewhere there’s an English teacher who should be feeling very proud! Too bad that unsung person will never know that all those late-night grading sessions really paid off.
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Instant Quiz ANSWER
The past tense of pay is paid. And this sentence begins with an extra idea that needs a comma: “After we paid off our credit cards.”
After we paid off our credit cards, we started saving for our vacation trip to California.
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
October 4, 2019
Let’s Edit a Sentence
Instant Quiz
Can you correct the error in the sentence below? Scroll to the bottom of today’s post for the answer.
Grace has been pouring over that book ever since the librarian found it for her.
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I love to think – and talk – about sentences. Writers quite naturally want to talk about big concepts: unity, coherence, emphasis, and the like. I prefer to get up-close-and-personal with a sentence. I think that’s where great writing happens.
Let’s edit a sentence today:
Protein, as well as vitamins A and C, abounds.
It’s correct. But I don’t like it. I think readers are going to stumble when they come to abounds. Shouldn’t it be abound?
Nope. The sentence is saying that protein…abounds.
“As well as vitamins A and C” is extra. You drop your voice. Those vitamins don’t really count. (Read the sentence aloud – you’ll hear that it’s really about protein.)
I have a rule (okay, I made it up) that if a sentence sounds odd, you should change it. So here’s my version:
Protein and vitamins A and C abound. CORRECT
Elegant and easy! (Isn’t that what we’re aiming for when we write?)
It’s always a good idea to take an extra minute or two to edit a sentence. Those small changes add up!
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Instant Quiz ANSWER
Be careful not to confuse pour and pore. Grace has been poring over her book:
She’s been poring over that book ever since the librarian found it for her. 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
October 2, 2019
An Interesting Sentence!
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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.
Jack Benny was infamous for his impeccable comedy timing.
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A friend just sent me a link to a wonderful article about self-publishing: “The Authors Who Love Amazon” by Alana Semuel in The Atlantic, July 20, 2018. (You can read it at this link: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/07/amazon-kindle-unlimited-self-publishing/565664/.)
I love self-publishing. It’s wonderful if you do it right! I always tell writers to use a free platform – Kindle Direct Publishing, Smashwords, or both. Do not pay anyone to publish your book! You can find lots of resources for self-publishing at this link.
But what I really wanted to talk about today was this sentence in the Atlantic article:
Omer is one of a growing number of authors who have found self-publishing on Amazon’s platform to be very lucrative. CORRECT
I’m reeling. Hardly anyone gets one of these sentences right – but there it is! Most people would have written it like this:
Omer is one of a growing number of authors who has found self-publishing on Amazon’s platform to be very lucrative.
I insist that it should be have found. How do I know I’m right? Compare these sentences:
Omer is an author who has found self-publishing on Amazon’s platform to be very lucrative. (one author)
Omer is one of a growing number of authors who have found self-publishing on Amazon’s platform to be very lucrative. (a group of authors)
The first sentence is about an author who has found Amazon to his liking.
The second sentence is about a group of authors who have found Amazon to their liking:
Omer is one of a growing number of authors who have found self-publishing on Amazon’s platform to be very lucrative. CORRECT
Three cheers for the Atlantic and its editorial team!
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Instant Quiz ANSWER
The word you need is famous. Don’t use infamous: it means “famous for evil deeds.”
Jack Benny was famous for his impeccable comedy timing. 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
September 30, 2019
Oops! Did I Really Write That?
Instant Quiz
Can you correct the error in the sentence below? Scroll to the bottom of today’s post for the answer.
It was a miniscule scratch, but Jerry thought his car was ruined.
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Every fall my husband arranges for a crew to remove inflorescences and dead leaves from the palm trees at our building. Here’s a notice I posted for residents this morning:
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About an hour later I realized that I’d made an embarrassing mistake. Did you spot it?
It is one of the trickiest words in the English language. The mistake I made is called an “indefinite pronoun reference.” In plain English, it was pointing to the wrong word. We were asking residents to move their parking spaces, not their cars.
Here’s the revised sentence:
If your parking space is near a palm tree, please move your car to visitor parking or Pope Avenue Tuesday morning. CORRECT
Much better!
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Instant Quiz ANSWER
Be careful how you spell minuscule. Look for the word “minus,” and you’ll get it right every time.
It was a minuscule scratch, but Jerry thought his car was ruined. 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
September 26, 2019
Yes, You Can Start a Sentence with “But”!
Instant Quiz
Can you improve the sentence below? Scroll to the bottom of today’s post for the answer.
At yesterday’s meeting, Alan “exploded” when Clare challenged his proposal.
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Last week Ann Levin reviewed a novel called Red Bone for the Associated Press. You can read her review here: https://apnews.com/9f6ff3dccd604349b30b58157dfde523.
I immediately sent a response to my local newspaper, which printed Levin’s review. She made a serious error in her first paragraph:
Jacqueline Woodson begins her dazzling new novel, “Red at the Bone,” with an afterthought, in the middle of things, and breaking all the rules of grammar by starting with a “but”: “But that afternoon there was an orchestra playing.”
Woodson didn’t break “all the rules of grammar.” She didn’t break even one rule of grammar. There’s no rule against starting a sentence with but – and never has been. AP articles frequently start sentences with but, and I’m astonished that Levin – an AP writer – doesn’t know this.
My letter appeared in yesterday’s newspaper. You can read it here: https://www.theledger.com/opinion/20190923/letter-but-you-can-start-sentences-with-but
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Instant Quiz ANSWER
Professional writers don’t use quotation marks to apologize for a word choice. They don’t belong in this sentence. Clare didn’t throw a bomb at Alan. He wasn’t blown to smithereens. But explode perfectly describes how he reacted to Clare’s challenge.
At yesterday’s meeting, Alan exploded when Clare challenged his proposal. 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
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