CORRECTIONS & EXPLANATIONS - July 19, 2009

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

Monday

WHAT IS A SENTENCE?
A sentence is a group of words having a subject and a predicate constituting a complete thought.

Read the following entries and explain why each is, or is not, a sentence.

Not one of the groups below is a complete thought because each lacks a verb or predicate.
Note the completeness of thought in the corrected versions.
Also note that if the writer were to say that the reader gets the gist of the idea, it would be a cop-out and an example of poor professional writing standards.

“Every gesture captured in close-up by coordinated stage cameras, the images sent to jumbo screens for mass viewing.”
“Every gesture was captured in close-up by coordinated stage cameras and the images were sent to jumbo screens for mass viewing.”

“No irony involved.”
“No irony was involved.”

“A souvenir of Windsor.”
“There was even a souvenir of Windsor.”


Tuesday

BEMUSE/AMUSE

“Bemuse” means to cause to be confused, to throw off, particularly emotionally or to bewilder.

“Amuse” means to hold the attention of someone pleasantly or to make someone laugh.


Wednesday

DREDGE/DRUDGE/TRUDGE

“Dredge” is a verb meaning to dig up something such as debris or sludge from underwater.
“Dredge” can also be a noun meaning the machinery to do the digging.

“Drudge” is a verb meaning to do hard or annoying work.
A “drudge”, as a noun, refers to a person who does the hard work.

“Trudge” is a verb meaning to slog or to walk labouriously.


Thursday

Identify and correct the error in the following.

Since this is a headline, a period is not needed, but the subject and verb must agree.

"Cash for clunkers make sense"
"Cash for clunkers makes sense"


THINK ABOUT THIS ONE

“A point of view can be a dangerous luxury when substituted for insight and understanding.”
Marshall McLuhan penned this comment.


Friday

ATTRIBUTE/CONTRIBUTE

"Attribute", a verb, means to give credit to someone as in attributing his success to hard work and perseverance. The emphasis is on the second syllable.

“Attribute”, a noun, refers to a detail or an abstraction belonging to a character or entity. The emphasis is on the first syllable.

“Contribute”, a verb, means to give or donate to or to chip in. The emphasis is on the second syllable.
“Contribution” or “contributor” are the noun forms of the word.



LAST WEEK’S WORDS

“Eviscerate” (v.) means to remove the entrails of something. It means to disembowel.

“Disreputable” (adj.) means lacking respectability or honour in character or behaviour or appearance.

“Torpor” (n.) refers to listlessness, inaction or passivity.

“Consummate” (adj.) means supremely skilled, complete or perfect in every respect. The emphasis is on the first syllable.

“Consummate” (v.) means to fulfill or complete an act such as the sex act. The emphasis is on the third syllable.

“Exponentially” (adv.) means expanding or increasing more and more rapidly. It is a mathematical term of representation. Please, do not ever ask me to explain the mathematics.