CORRECTIONS & EXPLANATIONS - March 16, 2008

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


Monday

Correct the errors in the following piece.

"He's been gambling "heavy" for the last three years. Carey loaned a friend some money without the permission of his family. When the person that owed him money died before repaying him, Carey needed a way to get the cash back without his family finding out."

I do not like “he’s” in the context of “he has”, but usage seems to allow it. I would prefer no contractions.
“Loaned” is incorrect. The verb form of “loan” is “lend”. The past tense of “lend” is “lent”.
I will accept “heavy” as colloquial usage, but it should be “heavily”.
“That” should not be used to refer to people; the word should be “who”.

"He's been gambling "heavy" for the last three years. Carey lent a friend some money without the permission of his family. When the person who owed him money died before repaying him, Carey needed a way to get the cash back without his family finding out."


Tuesday

REGRETFULLY/REGRETTABLY

“Regretfully” may be used, only within the body of a sentence, to describe the manner in which someone does something, as in “He, regretfully, chickened out and ran home.”

“Regrettably” is an adverb used to introduce an expression of regret, as in “Regrettably, it rained on our parade.”


Wednesday

A TEST
There are ten (10) errors in the sentences below. Can you find and fix them?

There is a lot of differences between you and I. (2)
Correction
There are a lot of differences between you and me.

She said she could care less weather or not people liked her. (2)
Correction
She said she could not care less whether or not people liked her.

Lent is a religious season that lasts fourty days. (1)
Correction
Lent is a religious season that lasts forty days.

Mary did not have enough money to pay her rent so I loaned her some. (2)
Correction
Mary did not have enough money to pay her rent so I lent her some.

City Council and myself are in agreement about this new bylaw the mayor said.
Correction
City Council and I are in agreement about this new bylaw the mayor said. (1)

My feet were so cold I couldn't hardly feel them and I couldn't walk any further. (2)
Correction
My feet were so cold I could hardly feel them and I couldn't walk any farther.


Thursday

ANYONE/ANY ONE

“Anyone” is a compound pronoun and refers to “any person”.

“Any One” is a modified pronoun designating or emphasizing the “one” and is usually followed by a prepositional phrase starting with the word “of”, such as in the sentence, “Any one of the suspects could have done the crime.”


Friday

What are the errors in the following sentences? Correct them.

"As he does his retirement, really a year before it was necessary."
Even within the context, this is an incomplete thought; it should be reworded.“He retired a year before it was really necessary.”

"It was a bit of a weird move but it worked out really, really well," she said, although she said they still miss Tim Hortons, Kraft Dinner and Triscuits. Not to mention their families.

The last group of words is an incomplete thought and should be connected with the main thought with the correct punctuation, a comma; it also should be reworded to be included as part of the quote.

"It was a bit of a weird move but it worked out really, really well, although they still miss Tim Hortons, Kraft Dinner and Triscuits, not to mention their families,” she said.


A GOOD THOUGHT

Education: that which reveals to the wise, and conceals from the stupid, the vast limits of their knowledge.
Mark Twain authored this quote.


THIS WEEK’S WORDS

“Apostasy" (n.) means a rejection or renunciation of one’s religious beliefs.

“Succubus" (n.) means an evil spirit or demon. It is taken from the Latin “succuba” which was a female demon that had sex with sleeping men.

“Oblivious" (adj.) means blind to, unaware or ignorant of something.

“Destitution" (n.) means to be without friends, prospects or money.

“Veracity" (n.) means truthfulness, legitimacy or genuineness.