WORD CHOICES

A COMMON SLIP

John, Will and Andrea were playing marbles and between them there were 73 marbles.
Is there an error here?

TODAY'S WORD

The word for today is concomitant. This is an uncommon word; I just like its sound.
Define concomitant and use it in a sentence.

Corrections and explanations for this past week's efforts will be posted some time tomorrow.

WE LEARN 'EM GOOD!

I love it when the professionals help to keep this blog running.

"Movies pirated in Canada made up 20 percent of the world's bootleg DVDs in 2005. That is nothing to be proud of."
"Pirates of the big screen" Lead Editorial Opinion, The Windsor Star, Friday, May 11, 2007.

TODAY'S WORD

The word for today is tenacity.
Define the word. What part of speech is it? Can it be another part of speech? What?
Use the word in as many different forms as you can.

N.B. Try to use the word in your speech today.

WRITERS! TRY PROOF-READING! DUH!

I am convinced that many "professional" writers do not know language or are too lazy to make the effort to proof-read their efforts. Look at the lines below; they are egregious examples that offend intelligence and they occur daily.

"Are you going to lay down?"
Motrin IV commercial

"Boscariol said he can't confirm that a lightning strike occurred until he's had a chance to investigate the building, which should happen today."
"Former tavern partly collapses", Windsor Star, Thursday, May 10, 2007.

TODAY'S WORD

The word for today is insidious.
Define the word and use it in a sentence.

Sentence Structure Is Important Too

THESE ARE SO COMMON

"She said she volunteered to do it to show other suicide survivors "That there's hope. That you should reach out and get that hope. Because there's life around you and beauty around you. And the time will come when you can see that beauty."
Dalson Chen, "Vigil offers help, hope", Windsor Star, Wednesday, May 9, 2007.(Hint: check the title of this unit.)

TODAY'S WORD
Today's word is pervasive.
Define the word. Use it, in sentences, as an adjective and as a verb.

AN INVITATION

Thanks go to all who have visited this blog. If there is anything you would like discussed, please let me know. If you do not want your comment published, please include that information.

Grammar Is Important

DEAR ANONYMOUS
Thank you for responding to yesterday's posers. Unfortunately, your corrections of examples 2 and 3 are wrong. Ha! Ha! Try again. (Hint: example 3 is not a run on sentence.) Those of you who want to know what this is about should access the Comment attached to yesterday's post.

TUESDAY'S CHALLENGE

What is the difference between "imply" and "infer"?
Create sentences that correctly uses each word.

TODAY'S WORD

The word for today is assiduous.
Define assiduous and use it in a sentence.

Thank You, Windsor Star Writers: Part 2

The weekend must be very trying for brain usage when writing; check the examples below and laugh, or weep. Are you able to spot and correct the errors?

Example 1
"None of the job applicants were bothered by Toyota being a non-union environment."
Monica Wolfson, "Jobs at Toyota", Windsor Star, Monday, May 7, 2007.

Example 2
"Windsor police are seeking the public's assistance in locating a man who went missing Monday."
Star Staff, "Police Seek Public's Help", Monday, May 7, 2007.

Example 3
"The report says that the strongest conclusion that can be drawn from empirical literature is that the vast majority of studies show that children living with two mothers and children living with a mother and a father have the same levels and qualities of social competence."
Jack Aubrey, "Withheld Study OKs Gay Parenting", Monday, May 7, 2007.

TODAY'S WORD
Today's word is competence.
Define the word and use it correctly in a sentence.

CORRECTIONS AND EXPLANATIONS - May 6

GRAMMAR & PUNCTUATION

"Rostropovich...was hospitalized in Paris in early February, and after he took a turn for the worst, his family arranged for him to be flown back to Russia, longtime manager Ron Wilford said."
"Rostropovich...was hospitalized in Paris in early February, and after he took a turn for the worse, his family arranged for him to be flown back to Russia, longtime manager Ron Wilford said."
“Worst” should be “worse”.

"Particularly, if you lose the opener in a playoff series as the Detroit Red Wings did against the San Jose Sharks."
This is an incomplete sentence.

He longingly stared acrost the room at her.
He longingly stared across the room at her.
“Acrost” is a non-standard word, sometimes used to show dialect.

The convicted assassins were (hung/hanged).
The convicted assassins were hanged.
He (hanged/hung) the sheets over the window because he had no curtains.
He hung the sheets over the window because he had no curtains.
Hanged means “executed by hanging”. “Hung” means “suspended”.

"It ends right here where it started from."
"It ends right here where it started."
Do not end a sentence with a preposition.

"...irregardless of where it starts from..."
"...regardless of where it starts..."
“Irregardless” is an unacceptable, non-standard word.
“From”: check the previous comment.

"You don't drive like him and you shouldn't pay the same for insurance as him."
"You don't drive like he does and you shouldn't pay the same for insurance as he (does)."
“Him” is the objective form of the pronoun and is incorrectly used.

Padraig Harrington...wasn't satisfied with hardly anything but his score."
Padraig Harrington...wasn't satisfied with anything but his score."
“Wasn’t hardly” is a double negative.

We got it for free.
We received it free.
“For free” is an unacceptable colloquial expression and I hate the word “got” because it is so often misused.

"Don't be alarmed, I only know where you are because I'm one of ******'s friends...Mel, I was her roommate in her last year at U of W."
"Don't be alarmed. I only know where you are because I'm one of ******'s friends, Mel. I was her roommate in her last year at U of W."
Note the punctuation changes; commas cannot substitute for periods.

WORDS

“Miscarriage” means failure to obtain the right or desired result.
Professional writers’ continuous use of incorrect English is a terrible miscarriage of the their craft.

“Enervate” means to destroy vigour or deprive of strength. (Enervation)
The cutting of his hair enervated Samson.

“Acrimonious” means caustic, stinging or bitter. (Acrimony)
The acrimonious divorce was filled with constant fighting and arguing.

“Incredulity” means a refusal of belief. (Incredulous)
The wife listened with incredulity to her mate’s demands and stormed from the room.

“Perfunctory” means careless, indifferent or superficial.
The copy writer made a perfunctory scan of his writing and missed several mistakes.

“Gratuitous” means being without reason, cause or justification; given freely. (Gratuity)
His criticism of the young ‘Canadian Idol’ contestant was gratuitous and cruel.