Sunday, January 17, 2010

CORRECTIONS & EXPLANATIONS - January 17, 2010

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

Monday

IGNORANT/STUPID

Ignorant” means being unaware of facts, ideas or knowledge.
“The young driver made a mistake at the intersection because he was ignorant of the correct place to stop.”

Stupid” means incapable of learning because of a basic mental deficiency.
“The young man was unable to learn complicated algebraic calculations and was labelled stupid in his academic assessment.”


Tuesday

PARTAKE/PARTICIPATE

Partake” means to consume, especially in relation to food.
“We are going to the wine festival next week and will partake of the generous variety of choice local wines and food.”

Participate” means to take part in an activity.
“We love to play hockey and participate in any pick-up game we can.”


Wednesday

I suggest there are two errors in the following piece: one should be obvious; one is potentially debatable. Find and correct what you consider incorrect. Give reasons for your choices.

“Francis said other factors looked at include the 48 new daycare centres that have become established locally in the past five years, as well as the poor economy that has seen less parents needing daycare services because more are out of work.”

Fewer” refers to things that can be counted.
Less” refers to things measured in bulk.
Therefore, there should be “fewer” parents, not less “parents”.
The comma after “years” must be eliminated.


“Francis said other factors looked at include the 48 new daycare centres that have become established locally in the past five years as well as the poor economy that has seen fewer parents needing daycare services because more are out of work.”


Thursday

CROSS/ACROSS/ACROSSED

Cross” is a verb or a noun.
“I always cross the street at the light.”
“A cross is the well-known symbol of Christianity.”
Across” is a preposition which is a word that starts a phrase. Occasionally it can be used as an adverb or an adjective.
“He threw the ball across the field.”
“He ran across to greet his girlfriend.”
“They often worked at cross purposes.’

Crossed” is the past participle or past tense of the verb “to cross”.
“He crossed the teacher and paid dearly for it.”

Acrossed” is not a word: neither is “acrost”.


Friday

Find, explain and correct the errors.

“Daniel Carcillo could care less if Maple Leafs and their supporters don't like him.”

This begs the question: “How much less could he care?” It makes no sense. The correct term is “could not care less”.

“Daniel Carcillo could not care less if Maple Leafs and their supporters don't like him.”


“So jeer him if you want. He couldn't care.”

This, by implication because it is from the same article,  is the same error as in the previous example. The correct meaning dictates choice of words.

“So jeer him if you want. He couldn't care less.”



THIS SAYS IT ALL!

“Where is there dignity unless there is honesty?”
Cicero, a Roman orator who lived from106 BC to 43 BC, penned this adage.



LAST WEEK’S WORDS

Aliterate” (n.) refers to a person who can read but is disinclined to take information from literary sources. It refers to an ignoramus or an uneducated person.

Illiterate” is similar but refers to a person who is unable to read.

Literate” refers to a person who can read and write.

Expurgate” (v.) means to cut short, to shorten or to take away.

Impeccable” (adj.) means faultless, perfect or clean.

Ignominious” (adj.) means disgraceful, shameful degrading or dishonourable.

Deprecate” (v.) means to express strong disapproval of, to find fault with, to cheapen or to degrade.
Deprecative”, “deprecatory” and “deprecator” are other forms of the word.

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