A FULL DAY'S WORK

THIS ONE STINKS

Identify and explain the error in the following.
Correct it.

"Neither the skunk nor the officer were injured."
Canwest News, "RCMP rescue skunk", The Windsor Star, Friday, August 21, 2009.


AFTERWARDS/AFTERWORDS

Explain the difference in meaning between "afterwards" and "afterwords".
Use "afterwards" and "afterwords" in sentences that show the words' meanings.

MANY

In response to a Comment request , here are some tips on using the word "many".

“Many”, as an adjective means constituting or forming a large number or numerous, as in “many people”. The comparative and superlative forms of “many” are “more” and “most”.

“Many”, as a noun means a large or considerable number of persons or things as in “A good many of the beggars were blind”.

“Many”, as a pronoun means various or numerous persons or things, as in “Many were unable to attend the funeral”.

"Many fish" is correct and is natural. The idea that it is unnatural might arise from the word "fish" which can be used singularly or plurally.

So, commenter, your use is completely correct and you need not be concerned about unnaturalness.


ASSURE/ENSURE/INSURE

In response to another Comment request, there is a discussion of "assure", "ensure" and "insure" in the archives in the entry of May 3, 2009, "Corrections & Explanations - May 3, 2009".


TODAY'S WORD

The word for today is "pluralism".
What part of speech is "pluralism".
Define "pluralism" and use it in a sentence.


CORRECTIONS & EXPLANATIONS

The corrections and explanations for this week's entries will be posted Sunday.