TAKE A BREAK!
This blog will resume on July 13, 2009.
JULY 1, 2009
HAPPY CANADA DAY!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
CORRECTIONS & EXPLANATIONS - June 28, 2009
Here are the corrections and explanations for last week’s entries.
Monday
APPOSE/DEPOSE/OPPOSE/REPOSE/SUPPOSE
“Appose” means to place side by side or inclose proximity.
“Depose” means to force from office or to declare an oath.
“Oppose” means to be against, to differ or to take issue with something.
“Repose” means to lie down or rest in a horizontal position.
“Suppose” means to conjecture, speculate or theorise.
All are verbs and all have the root “pose” as in position or taking a position.
Tuesday
PERSPECTIVE/PROSPECTIVE
“Perspective”, usually a noun, means a position, feeling, sight or view.
“His perspective of the situation was that the children were in trouble.”
“Prospective” is usually an adjective and generally refers to the future. It means forthcoming, imminent or impending.
“His prospective employment is predicated on his experience in the field.”
Wednesday
REBUT/REFUTE
“Rebut” (v.) means to argue against someone’s argument.
“Rebuttal” is the noun form.
“Refute” (v.) means to disprove someone’s argument or to prove it incorrect.
Thursday
RETROSPECTIVE/RETROACTIVE
“Retrospective” has to do with looking back as in, “His works are a retrospective of past artistic glories.”
“Retroactive” refers to actions, and is about making a current change applicable to the past, especially in law, as in, “The government made their policies retroactive to the first of the year.”
Friday
CRITERIA/CRITERION
“Criterion” is singular.
“Criteria” is plural.
The words are of Latin derivation wherein “on” at the end of the word was singular and “a” at the end was plural.
“Medium” and “media”, “datum” and “data”, “stadium” and “stadia” follow the same rule.
“He has one criterion of judgment.”
“Radio is one medium of communication.”
“The data in the report are very convincing.
A TRUTH
“The goal of life is living in agreement with nature.”
Zeno, a Greek philosopher (335 BC - 264 BC), said this.
LAST WEEK’S WORDS
“Devolve”` (v.) means to transfer or degenerate, pass on or fail as a duty or responsibility.
“Atavistic” (adj.) means regressive, declining, deteriorating, dying or reverting to an earlier type.
“Melancholy” (n.) refers to sorrow, sadness or depression.
“Cadre” (n.) refers to a small unit serving as the nucleus of a larger political group. It can be a small political unit.
“Antithetical” (adj.) means opposite, different in character or purpose.
VACATION REMINDER
This blog will be on vacation for two weeks from Monday, June 29 through Sunday, July 12, 2009.
If you really need a grammar fix, check the archives; there are hundreds of entries.
By the by, if you are superstitious, yesterday's posting was number 666. Have a ball!
Thanks,
Mike
Monday
APPOSE/DEPOSE/OPPOSE/REPOSE/SUPPOSE
“Appose” means to place side by side or inclose proximity.
“Depose” means to force from office or to declare an oath.
“Oppose” means to be against, to differ or to take issue with something.
“Repose” means to lie down or rest in a horizontal position.
“Suppose” means to conjecture, speculate or theorise.
All are verbs and all have the root “pose” as in position or taking a position.
Tuesday
PERSPECTIVE/PROSPECTIVE
“Perspective”, usually a noun, means a position, feeling, sight or view.
“His perspective of the situation was that the children were in trouble.”
“Prospective” is usually an adjective and generally refers to the future. It means forthcoming, imminent or impending.
“His prospective employment is predicated on his experience in the field.”
Wednesday
REBUT/REFUTE
“Rebut” (v.) means to argue against someone’s argument.
“Rebuttal” is the noun form.
“Refute” (v.) means to disprove someone’s argument or to prove it incorrect.
Thursday
RETROSPECTIVE/RETROACTIVE
“Retrospective” has to do with looking back as in, “His works are a retrospective of past artistic glories.”
“Retroactive” refers to actions, and is about making a current change applicable to the past, especially in law, as in, “The government made their policies retroactive to the first of the year.”
Friday
CRITERIA/CRITERION
“Criterion” is singular.
“Criteria” is plural.
The words are of Latin derivation wherein “on” at the end of the word was singular and “a” at the end was plural.
“Medium” and “media”, “datum” and “data”, “stadium” and “stadia” follow the same rule.
“He has one criterion of judgment.”
“Radio is one medium of communication.”
“The data in the report are very convincing.
A TRUTH
“The goal of life is living in agreement with nature.”
Zeno, a Greek philosopher (335 BC - 264 BC), said this.
LAST WEEK’S WORDS
“Devolve”` (v.) means to transfer or degenerate, pass on or fail as a duty or responsibility.
“Atavistic” (adj.) means regressive, declining, deteriorating, dying or reverting to an earlier type.
“Melancholy” (n.) refers to sorrow, sadness or depression.
“Cadre” (n.) refers to a small unit serving as the nucleus of a larger political group. It can be a small political unit.
“Antithetical” (adj.) means opposite, different in character or purpose.
VACATION REMINDER
This blog will be on vacation for two weeks from Monday, June 29 through Sunday, July 12, 2009.
If you really need a grammar fix, check the archives; there are hundreds of entries.
By the by, if you are superstitious, yesterday's posting was number 666. Have a ball!
Thanks,
Mike
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