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Pam Nelson: The Grammar Guide

 

Archive for December 2008

Number of comments in parentheses

29: Grammar complaint goes nowhere

Professor Stanley Fish has an amusing tale of a grammar complaint on his New York Times blog. Fish is a former chairman of the English Department at Duke University. 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.

21: Holiday quiz from the grammar guide

The Triangle Grammar Guide has a gift for you: a quiz with a holiday theme. The five sentences cover several grammar and usage issues. The quiz contains more graphics and might take a bit longer to load up for you. 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.

20: Verbal habits we loathe

I wrote a provocative headline on this post. In fact, I am developing a tolerant attitude toward my fellow English speakers’ verbal habits. But a couple of e-mail messages this week remind me that some of us are irritated by others’ use of certain words and phrases. Here is the first one: Subject line: please discuss this in your column I am ABSOLUTELY sick of hearing the overuse and misuse (given the contexts) of the word "absolutely" people use it for everything, from a simple ‘yes’ to a "you’re welcome", etc. ad naseum I feel your pain, dear reader.[.....]

14: Word choice: Choose not to pick a fight

A reader sent this note recently to our editors: Where I grew up we picked cotton, peaches, beans and noses. But even in GA we CHOSE governors, senators, coaches and vinegary barbecue. You might not have noticed, but headline and article writers at the N&O have developed a greater liking for "pick/picked" over "choose/chose." One of your geeks could check it out, proving me wrong–but methinks not. If we pick less and choose more we’ll look and "sound" better. This article was originally posted by the Raleigh News & Observer, a subsidiary of The McClatchy Co.; is posted here[.....]

12: A matter of distance: farther and further

I am working on a project in a small, somewhat isolated office at the N&O. We’re helping to set up a new publishing system. The work is interesting to a geek like me, but one of the chief benefits is that I am in close proximity to three other experienced copy editors. So we have discussions like the one we had recently about farther and further. One colleague referred to the Associated Press Stylebook’s entry: Farther refers to physical distance. … Further refers to an extension of time or degree. So you walk farther down the street and look[.....]