Friday, October 26, 2007

MORE BAD PRO WRITING

ALAS! IT NEVER ENDS!

Example 1 (There are two errors in this one.)

"Her band of eight students were studying how to depict a group of trees."
Scott Webster photo caption, The Windsor Star, Friday, October 26, 2007.

Example 2 (There are two errors here also.)

"They call themselves North Preston's Finest (NPF) after the small Nova Scotia community northeast of Halifa were they hail from."
"Stay east, police tell N. S. girls", The Windsor Star, Friday, October 26, 2007.

MORE PARSING

Parse the following sentence using the rules set out in last week's parsing posts. There is one new concept in the example.

"The boy, Tom, in the back of the room constantly disrupted the the teacher with disgusting noises."

TODAY'S WORD

The word for today is "intrepid".

Define "intrepid" and use it in a sentence.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

LAY/LIE
A Necessary Repetition

What is the difference between "lay" and "lie" ?


WORD OF THE DAY

The word for today is "salacious".

Define "salacious" and use it in a sentence.


TOMORROW

Tomorrow I will post another grammar concept.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

LEST WE FORGET

PROSE BY THE PROS

I have not cited the professional writers lately and do not want them to feel I am neglecting them.
Identify and correct the errors in the following sentences.


Example 1

"County Road 25 north of County Road 46 is lined with dozens of mature trees on the road allowance. That's what Chevalier would like to see more of."
Gary Rennie, "Farmer takes on county after trees mowed down." The Windsor Star, Wednesday, October 24, 2007.

Example 2

"Most often, though, trees are located on the side of the ditch furthest from the road, with occasional exceptions made for mature trees that are left alone even though they are technically too close to the road by county standards."
Gary Rennie, "Farmer takes on county after trees mowed down." The Windsor Star, Wednesday, October 24, 2007.

WORD OF THE DAY

The word for today is "flippant".
Define "flippant" and use it in conversation.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

CHALLENGES

WHAT'S WRONG?

Explain the errors in the sentences below?

He wants out of the contract.

The cat wants in.


TODAY'S WORD

The word for today is "satiate".

Define "satiate" and use it in a sentence.

Monday, October 22, 2007

EASY START

HEIGHTH/HEIGHT

Correctly use each of the above words in sentences.


TODAY'S WORD

The word for today is "bemused".

Define "bemused" and use it in a sentence.

Be careful; the meaning might not be completely what you think.


PARSING

Later in the week, I will add something new to last week's parsing exercises.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

CORRECTIONS & EXPLANATIONS - October 21, 2007

Monday

SPECIAL/ESPECIAL

“Especial” is very formal and could be used when meaning “particular”. The more common uses of the words are as the adverbs “specially” and “especially”.

Tuesday

PRINCIPAL/PRINCIPLE

“Principal” (n. or adj.) means the highest of rank or importance.

“Principle” (n.) means a rule or standard and is used in terms of doctrine or law.


Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

LET US PARSE

Parsing a sentence is easy if you remember a few simple guidelines.

1. Identify the verb. (That's the word that expresses the action. We will expand on this later.)

2. Remember the following word: "What".

3. Ask "What" when looking at each word.

THE METHOD

1. What is the action? The verb.

1.a. What qualifies the action? Adverbs, that modify verbs. They answer the questions, "Where?" "When?", "Why?" and "How?"

2. What (who) does the action? The subject of the verb. (Usually a noun.)

2.a. What qualifies the subject? Adjectives, that modify nouns.

3. What receives the action? The object of the verb. (Usually a noun.)

3.a. What qualifies the object? Adjectives, that modify nouns.

CONCLUSION

To be able to parse you must remember one word, "WHAT?" and apply it logically.

Parse the following sentence.

"The little old lady planted some daisies in her garden."

FOLLOW THE METHOD

WHAT is the action? "Planted" (verb).

WHAT (who) does the action? "Lady" (noun, subject of the verb).

WHAT receives the action? "Daisies" (noun, object of the verb).

WHAT qualifies (modifies) the action? The phrase "in her garden" which answers "WHERE" the planting occurred. Therefore, "in her garden" is an adverb phrase modifying the verb "planted".

WHAT qualifies (modifies) the subject? The adjectives "little" and "old".

WHAT qualifies (modifies) the object? The adjective "some".

WHAT is "the"? A definite article designating the noun "lady".


THE PHRASE

What is a "phrase" and how does it function?

A phrase is a group of words beginning with a preposition and having a noun as its object; for example, “in her garden” is a phrase that begins with the preposition “in” and its object “garden”. “Garden” is the object of “in” because it answers the question “WHAT” after “in”.


THIS WEEK’S WORDS

“Prissy" (adj.) means prudish, puritanical, excessively fastidious or overly prim.

“Iconoclast" (n.) means an image destroyer or one who attacks cherished beliefs as superstition.

“Salient" (adj.) means outstanding, prominent or eye-catching.

“Fallacious" (adj.) Means unsound reasoning, deceptive or false argument. The root is the Latin “fallacia” or “fallacy”.

“Xenophobia" (n.) means a fear of foreigners or strangers.