CORRECTIONS & EXPLANATIONS - October 4, 2009

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

Monday

EXTEND/EXTENT

“Extend” is a verb only and cannot be used as a noun. It means to expand on, to widen or to elaborate upon.
“He sarcastically told the lazy brat not to expend himself because he might get a headache.”

“Extent” is a noun and refers to the point or degree to which something extends. It also means a wide open space or area.

“I like him to the extent that he is leaving very soon.”


Tuesday

DOESN'T/DON'T

“Doesn't”, “does not” and“does” are used with the third person singular words such as “he”, “she” and “it”.
“It really doesn’t matter now.”

“Don’t”, “do not” and “do” are used for other subjects.
“His glasses are so old they don’t help him with reading anymore.

“She don’t see good,” is not correct and is not acceptable English, for two reasons.


Wednesday

WHENEVER/WHEN

“Whenever” refers to repeated events or can refer to events whose date and time are uncertain.
“Whenever I go out into the cold weather my nose begins to run.”

“When” is used when an event is unique or the date and time are known.
“When I wake up I will start functioning again.”

“Whenever!” as a jingoistic teeny-bopper expletive, is just that. It should be dropped from one's lexicon by the time one reaches the age of majority.


Thursday

BRING/BRANG/BRUNG/BROUGHT


“Brought” is the past tense and past participle of the verb “to bring”.
“Today, I bring to you a host of good wishes.”
“Yesterday, I brought to you a nest of golden daffodils.”
“He has brought wonderful things to me several times.”

“Brung” and “brang” are not acceptable forms of “to bring” and should never be used.


Friday

FEWER/LESS

Use “fewer” (adj.) with objects that can be counted one by one.
“There were fewer days above ninety degrees than there were last year.” (“Days” can be counted.)

Use “less” (n., adj., adv., depending on use) with qualities or quantities than cannot be individually counted.
“I drank less water today than I did yesterday.” (“Water” cannot be counted.)

Bonus
“There were less days without rain last month than the previous one,” is an incorrect use of the word.

When referring to time and money, “less” is normally used, even with numbers.
“I have less money than I need.”

Specific units of time or money use “fewer” only in cases where individual items are referred to.
“She worked fewer hours than I did.”


HAPPINESS

“Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.”
Helen Keller said this.


LAST WEEK’S WORDS

“Debauchery” (n.) refers to a wild gathering involving excessive drinking and promiscuity or to seduction from virtue or morality.
“Debauch” is the verb form.
“Debauchee” is the noun form for one addicted to excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures.

“Stricture” (n.) refers to severe criticism or remarks or guidelines.
A second definition refers to a morbid contraction of any passage or duct of the body.
“The severe stricture of his windpipe by the thug’s garrote cut off his air and he suffocated.”

The root of the word is “strictus” a Latin word meaning “strict” or “severe”.

“Redact” (v.) means to formulate, frame or cast in a particular style or language. It also means to make editorial changes to text.

“Devolution” (n.) means devolvement or the act of passing on from stage to stage.

“Approbation” (n.) refers to official approval, recognition or acceptance.