Here are the corrections and explanations for the last two weeks of entries.
Monday, March 29
Identify each error and correct it.
“The two of us were in on Windsor's casino explosion from Day 1: Myself as a reporter at city hall, where Windsor's public debate about casino gambling started in earnest in 1990. Andrews was part of a team of NDP public wonks sent down here by the Bob Rae government to open a ‘temporary’ casino.”
“Myself” is a reflexive pronoun and cannot be used in this example.
The colon suggests there is a list to follow, but the sentence ended with only one example. It should be rewritten.
“The two of us were in on Windsor's casino explosion from Day 1. I was a reporter at city hall where Windsor's public debate about casino gambling started in earnest in 1990. Andrews was part of a team of NDP public wonks sent down here by the Bob Rae government to open a ‘temporary’ casino.”
Below is an alternate that is acceptable and correct.
“The two of us were in on Windsor's casino explosion from Day 1: I, as a reporter at city hall where Windsor's public debate about casino gambling started in earnest in 1990; and Andrews, as part of a team of NDP public wonks sent down here by the Bob Rae government to open a ‘temporary’ casino.”
Tuesday, March 30
ADAPT/ADOPT
“
Adapt”, a verb, means to write in a different form, to accommodate or make fit or to accept.
“I will adapt to the new challenges and survive.”
“
Adopt”, a verb, means to take over, to borrow, to assume or take on titles.
“I will adopt those children because I love them.”
Wednesday, March 31
Carefully read the following passage and find two errors. One should make you either laugh or groan; the other should just make you groan. Explain the errors and correct them.
“During surgery, Elalem took tissue samples from Milosevski's stomach and himself walked them to the pathology department.”
Did Elalem take samples from Milosevski and from himself? It sure sounds like it. Read it closely.
The problem is the misuse of the word “himself”. It must be eliminated and then the sentence makes sense; mind you, I have never seen tissue samples walk so I would change “walked”.
“During surgery, Elalem took tissue samples from Milosevski's stomach and took them to the pathology department.”
Thursday, April 1
PRESCRIBE/PROSCRIBE
“P
rescribe”, a verb, means to lay down rules, to dictate or to order.
“
Proscribe” is a verb meaning to disallow, to forbid or to veto.
Monday, April 5
SURE/SURELY
“
Sure” is an adjective meaning certain.
“
Surely” is an adverb meaning undoubtedly.
Just for fun, “
surely” can modify “
sure”, but “
sure” cannot modify “
surely”. And don’t call me “
Shirley”.
(Do you know who said that in a famous movie? Do you know the movie?)
Tuesday, April 6
TIMES/MULTIPLY
“
Times” does not mean “
multiply” even though we use the term times-tables.
Simply, “
times” must not be used to mean multiply.
“
Multiply”, meaning to increase, is the correct term.
“I multiply 2 by 2 and I get 4. I do not times the numbers. Even I can understand that.”
Wednesday, April 7
Identify and correct the errors in the following pieces.
“And waded right in to the unbearable heaviness of being Tiger.”
There is no subject of this group of words pretending to be a sentence.
“In to” should be “into”.
“And he waded right into the unbearable heaviness of being Tiger.”
“Some of it self-imposed, some out of self-preservation.”
This is an incomplete thought because there is no verb.
“Some of it was self-imposed, some was out of self-preservation.”
Thursday, April 8
NOTHING
“
Nothing” is a singular noun; therefore, its verb must also be singular.
“Nothing but weeds grows in my yard.” (wrong)
“Nothing but weeds grow in my yard.”
“Nothing except sweet candies appeal to Tiffany.” (wrong)
“Nothing except sweet candies appeals to Tiffany.”
Friday, April 9
Fix the errors in the following pieces. Be sure to cite the rule for each error.
“First, to give the impression Earl Woods is in a galaxy far, far away, a virtual Obi-Wan Kenobi offering words of wisdom to a much younger Tiger; the one we knew and loved before all those sordid details about his mistresses and sex life hit the press.”
This is an incomplete thought; there is no main verb.
The semicolon should be a period.
“First, the commercial gives the impression Earl Woods is in a galaxy far, far away, a virtual Obi-Wan Kenobi offering words of wisdom to a much younger Tiger, the one we knew and loved before all those sordid details about his mistresses and sex life hit the press.”
“Or for those of us who refuse to buy it, cowardice and more cowardice.”
This is an incomplete thought; there is no main verb.
“The commercial shows those of us who refuse to buy it, cowardice and more cowardice.”
“He acts like a kid who's just been taken to the woodshed; a sombre, stoic, sheepish look on his face.”
The semi-colon and word structure are wrong and destroy the correct sense of what is being said.
“He acts like a kid who's just been taken to the woodshed with that sombre, stoic, sheepish look on his face.”
“And the par-five 13th when he went in the creek with his second shot, and survived.”
This is an incomplete sentence because there is no main verb.
“He went in the creek...” conjures up an interesting image, especially if he did it in front of millions of viewers. Actually and factually, his ball went into the creek.
The comma after “shot” is really unnecessary because the subject of both verbs is “he”, but I know what the writer is trying to do.
“He survived the par-five 13th when he drove his ball into the creek with his second shot.”
INTERESTING AND TRUE
“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.”
Voltaire, a French humanist and satirist who lived from 1694 to1778, wrote this.
QUESTION OF THE MONTH:
WHY DO WRITERS,
ESPECIALLY SPORTS WRITERS,
INSIST ON WRITING IN
HEADLINES INSTEAD OF IN SENTENCES?
ONE TRUE RULE
“One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: That word is love.”
Sophocles, a Greek tragic dramatist who lived from 496 BC to 406 BC, penned this statement.
TWO WEEKS OF WORDS
“
Temporize” (v.) means to draw out a discussion to gain time, to linger, to loaf or to mill around.
“
Maven” (n.) refers to someone who is highly skilled, adept, a wizard, a virtuoso or a star.
“
Lupine” (adj.) means resembling a wolf, a wild species, savage or ravenous”.
Bonus: “lupine”, as a noun, refers to any plant of the leguminous species with blue, pink or white flowers.
“
Tawdry” (adj.) means flashy, cheap, garish, gaudy or trashy.
“
Tawdrily” is the adverb form.
“
Tawdriness” is the noun form.
“
Enmity” (n.) refers to hostility, antagonism or a deep-seated ill-will.
“
Solicitous” (adj.) means showing concern and anxiety, afraid, concerned or careful of someone or something.
“
Solicit” is the verb form.
“
Solicitously” is the adverb form.
“
Solicitousness” is the noun form.
“
Solicitor” is another noun form.
“
Naught” “n.) refers to a quantity of no importance, nothing or a complete failure.
“
Naughty” is the most commonly used word that is derived from “naught”, suggesting sexual impropriety, raciness or auto erotic, so be careful when calling a child “naughty”.
“
Amorphous” (adj.) means having no definite form or distinct shape, lacking structure or artificial.
“
Ambiguity” (n.) refers to an expression whose meaning cannot be determined from its context,
other parts of speech, unclearness or uncertainty.
“
Ambiguous” is the adjective form.
“
Ambiguously” is the adverb form.
