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Pam Nelson: The Grammar Guide

 

Archive for May 2008

Number of comments in parentheses

29: First annual?

The Under the Dome blog refers to grammar types who are irked by the phrase “first annual.” I think it’s the journalist types (subset copy editors) who are most irked by the phrase. We are taught that an event should not be referred to as the “first annual” because it hasn’t become “annual” until it has occurred in several consecutive years. The people who use “first annual” are optimistic organizers who expect the event they plan to occur again, year after year. We journalists are compelled to hold them to account. We can’t buy into their rosy outlook. We[.....]

24: Two new grammar geek favorites

Minnesota Public Radio has a podcast called Grammar Grater. Writer and producer Luke Taylor and his crew, being radio folks, do a good job of presenting grammar and usage issues in an audio format. I liked the radio drama in Episode 44 about using further and farther. Grammar Grater also has a Gather site where listeners can weigh in. Listeners can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. From Grammar Grater Episode 42, I learned about the Typo Eradication Advancement League, made up of Jeff Deck and other fun-loving folks who go around documenting and sometimes correcting bad public signs.[.....]

10: Test your pronoun skills

Today’s Triangle Grammar Guide quiz contains five sentences. In each one, you will choose the proper form of who/whom or whoever/whomever. I hope you enjoy it and either learn something or reinforce your skill at choosing the right case. Send a comment or leave one below. Click here or on the question mark icon to begin. This article was originally posted by the Raleigh News & Observer, a subsidiary of The McClatchy Co.; is posted here to provide continuity; and is copyright © 2011 The News & Observer Publishing Company, which reserves the right to remove this post.

7: A pesky personal pronoun

This lead on newsobserver.com confused me this morning: A person was killed just before 11:30 p.m. Wednesday when they were hit by a train in Four Oaks, Johnston County dispatch officials said late Wednesday. Who is “they”? Was more than one person on the tracks? As I read the rest of this short report, I realized that the writer had used “they” to refer to a single person because the sex of the victim was not known. So what is the alternative? Some would recommend writing “he or she,” but others would find that silly and unwieldy. The writer[.....]

5: Closed captions spelling humor

I was watching MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” this morning with the closed captions on. As host Joe Scarborough talked to David Axelrod of the Obama campaign, Axlerod said the Latin phrase “ad nauseam,” which means something that continues to the point of nausea. Here is how this phrase was rendered in the captions: Add gnaws eum Go to dictionary.com to hear a pronunciation of “ad nauseam.” Go here for a interesting article about closed captioning from the Atlantic. Here is an article from the National Captioning Institute about how real time captioning is created. By the way, I am a[.....]

3: Try the new Triangle Grammar Guide quiz!

Finally, I have a new Triangle Grammar Guide quiz for you to try. I have upgraded to a full-featured version of the freeware I had been using. I will be able to make quizzes with different kinds of questions. But for today the quiz is five simple multiple choice questions. You might notice that the background and the buttons are slightly different. I hope the quiz works well for you. If not, please send me a note. You will see a print button on the results page, so if you are a student who is getting extra credit for[.....]