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Pam Nelson: The Grammar Guide

 

Archive for March 2008

Number of comments in parentheses

30: Spot the problem

Can you tell what’s wrong with the sentences in the list below? I think many of you will see the problem in these sentences now that they have isolated. On the other hand, context can certainly help a editor figure out how to fix such problems. * Whether trying to conceive, pregnant or a new mom, trianglemom2mom.com will be the leading source of information for Moms in the Triangle. * Overgrown with weeds, Megan thought he was crazy for even considering the purchase. * Born in Clayton, not far from her present home, Little’s parents farmed cotton, corn and[.....]

29: Subjects don’t have to be nouns

Writers use a variety of sentence structures. The normal order of English declarative sentences is Subject-Verb. When we are first learning how to build sentences in English, the examples usually stick to the simplest form. Most subjects in the S-V structures are nouns or pronouns. (The dog ran. The boy skipped. The father laughed.) But, as we become more proficient at our language, we learn that a subject can be a phrase or a clause that functions as a noun. Three sentences from Sunday’s (March 30, 2008) News & Observer illustrate the use of phrases or clauses as subjects[.....]

25: You could win a bet with this book

Grammar-usage books make it to my desk often. I rarely write about them because they are irritating to read and use or just don’t have anything new to offer. A new book is out that I like. It’s “Mortal Syntax” by June Casagrande, who writes a newspaper column called “A Word, Please.” This is her second book; her first had the funny title “Grammar Snobs Are Great Big Meanies.” “Mortal Syntax” (Penguin Paperback Originals, $14) has the subtitle “101 Language Choices That Will Get You Clobbered by the Grammar Snobs – Even If You Are Right.” And that’s exactly[.....]

23: Take a Triangle Grammar Guide quiz

The quiz returns with five sentences I have encountered in print. Today’s quiz is all about word choices. Click on the question mark icon or here to begin. Have fun and leave a comment if you wish. By the way, we N&O bloggers get a report each month with our rankings by number of page views. Triangle Grammar Guide ranks near the middle — far behind the sports and politics blogs and Sue Stock’s useful Taking Stock blog, but with a respectable number of hits each month. Thank you for coming to this blog and for the notes and[.....]

22: If it’s a verb, it’s probably “affect”

Here is a screen caption from a recent MSNBC newscast: The caption writer needed “affect” here, of course. One way to remember this is that “affect” is almost always used as a verb and you can remember “affect” with “the a means action.” It would be better, though, to know the difference in meaning. “Affect” means to influence or to have an effect upon; “effect” as a verb means to create or to bring about or to accomplish, as in “We wish to effect [bring about] a change in consumers’ attitudes.” Take this link to the Online Writing Lab[.....]

8: This means “war”? No, it doesn’t

A thoughtful reader wrote to ask that we at The N&O avoid using the language of war to refer to political campaigns. He listed a few terms that show up in political reporting: battleground states, all-out attack ads, war chest, opposing camps. I was reminded of the reader’s words as I watched “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” one day last week. Rob Riggle was doing a report about the campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, emphasizing that mainstream TV reports were calling the primary votes Tuesday “do or die.” In the bit titled “Mortal Kombat ’08,” Riggle said[.....]

3: Pervasive spelling error hits CBS

This was on the screen Monday night (March 3) on “CBS Evening News with Katie Couric” during Bob Schieffer’s commentary about the Texas presidential primary. My husband spotted it and pointed it out to me. I checked the CBSnews.com site this morning for the video and, sure enough, the mistake was still there. If you don’t mind sitting through a commercial, you can see it here. Just to remind us all: The correct spelling here would be “its,” the possessive form. This article was originally posted by the Raleigh News & Observer, a subsidiary of The McClatchy Co.; is[.....]

2: A new quiz on the grammar blog

Try the quiz. Click on the icon or here to begin.Tuesday is National Grammar Day. Martha Brockenburgh, founder of the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar, suggests that we go forth and spread the word about the use of standard grammar. That sounds like a good idea. If you have any success in that regard, please drop me a line here. Go to the National Grammar Day site for a useful list of 10 top grammar tips. By the way, National Punctuation Day is in September. This article was originally posted by the Raleigh News & Observer, a[.....]