CORRECTIONS & EXPLANATIONS - January 13, 2008

Here are the corrections and explanations for last week's postings.

Monday

Correct the errors?

"One in five bishops face axe in shrinking parishes."
The subject is singular; the verb has to agree."
One in five bishops faces axe in shrinking parishes."

"Where do you get your instructors from for the show?"
“From” is redundant and should be eliminated.
"Where do you get your instructors for the show?"

"Not only have the majority of the firm's partners been on board for more than 20 years, Bartlet and Richardes can also boast of having four former partners named to the bench - John Aylesworth, George Urquhart, Arthur Jessop and Richard Gates."
“Majority” is the subject and is a collective singular noun; the verb must agree."Not only has the majority of the firm's partners been on board for more than 20 years, Bartlet and Richardes can also boast of having four former partners named to the bench - John Aylesworth, George Urquhart, Arthur Jessop and Richard Gates."

"In other words, once a deal is in the can, so there can be no backsliding."
This is an incomplete thought which doesn’t make sense; eliminating “so” is necessary.
"In other words, once a deal is in the can, there can be no backsliding."


ANYONE/ANY ONE

“Anyone” is a compound pronoun meaning “any person”.
"Any one” is non-compound and refers to any singular person; it is usually followed by a prepositional phrase.


Wednesday

"Because police seized the machine loaded with customer information, none of the customers at the bank were victimized by the scammers, but the machines are usually reused and it is being reviewed to see what other information it contains."
“None” is the subject of the principal clause’; the verb must agree with it.
“It” is a relative pronoun and seems to refer to “machines”, the noun immediately preceding; this creates confusion. Some rewording is necessary to make proper sense.
"Because police seized the machine loaded with customer information, none of the customers at the bank was victimized by the scammers, but scamming machines are usually reused, so the seized machine is being reviewed to see what other information it contains."


Thursday

SINGLE/SINGULAR

“Single” means one or individual. It also refers to one who is unmarried.
“Singular” means unique, distinctive or odd.


Friday

Are there any errors in the following entry?

"For example, despite a ground breaking ceremony in September for the rebuilding of Benson elementary school, the project that was supposed to start in October is on hold until a financial dispute with the province can be resolved."
“For example” cannot start a sentence; it must attach to that to which it refers, usually through a semi-colon.
I suggest that “Benson Elementary School” is the full title and all words should be capitalized. This is a personal preference and can be debated. I am making a suggestion only.
"Public school board construction worth about $40 million to build new schools and renovate dilapidated one have come to a halt; for example, despite a ground breaking ceremony in September for the rebuilding of Benson Elementary School, the project that was supposed to start in October is on hold until a financial dispute with the province can be resolved."


THE WORDS

“Sophomoric” (adj.) refers to second year students and suggests intellectual pretentiousness and self-assurance.

‘Acuity” (n.) means mental sharpness or keenness.

Asperity (n.) means roughness, brusqueness or cutting sharpness.

Miasma (n.) means a harmful or poisonous emanation or an unhealthy atmosphere.

Ratiocination (n.) refers to the process of thinking or arguing logically.