CORRECTIONS & EXPLANATIONS - April 6, 2008

Here are the corrections for last week's postings.

Monday

ALUMNUS/ALUMNI/ALUMNA/ALUMNAE

“Alumnus” refers to a singular male graduate.
“Alumni” is the plural form of "alumni".
“Alumna” refers to a single female graduate.
“Alunmae” is the plural form of "alumna".

“Alumni”is used when referring to a group or body of graduates, either male or female.


Tuesday

SUMMERY/SUMMARY

“Summery” refers to the weather, as in warm and balmy.
“Summary” is a short version of a story.


Wednesday

Correct the errors in the following examples.

"There are a variety of colours to choose from."
“Variety” is a singular collective noun and requires a singular verb.
"There is a variety of colours to choose from."


"An alarming number of them are dropping out [of high school]."
“Number” is a singular collective noun and needs a singular verb.
"An alarming number of them is dropping out [of high school]."


Thursday

Fix the errors in the following sentence.

"Groups or rows or trees could be planted further back from that clear zone, depending of the location of roadside ditches, said county engineer Tom Bateman."
“Further” means in addition to; “farther” should be used.
Spellcheck does not catch using “or” for “of” nor “of” for “or”. Actual proofreading is required.
"Groups or rows of trees could be planted farther back from that clear zone, depending on the location of roadside ditches, said county engineer Tom Bateman."


Friday

INFAMOUS/NOTORIOUS/FAMOUS

“Infamous” means famous in a bad way.

“Notorious” means widely but unfavourably known or publicly or generally known in a negative fashion.

“Famous” means well-known, famed or renowned.


THIS WEEK’S WORDS

“Pugnacious” (adj.) means tough, combative or hard-boiled.

“Incorrigible” (adj.) means disobedient, unruly or impervious to punishment.

“Epitome”(n.) means a summary or standard or typical example. It does not mean “the best of” someone or something. There are four syllables in the word and the emphasis is on the second syllable.

“Acquiesce” (v.) means to assent, comply with, accede to or be in accordance with.

“Acquisitive” (adj.) means eager to possess things or ideas or to acquire and retain ideas or information.


TOMORROW IS IMPORTANT

Drop in to learn why.