Here are the corrections and explanations for last week's entries.
Monday
PRECEDE/PROCEED
“Precede” (v.) means to occur earlier in time, to go ahead of, before or in advance of something.
“The cheerleaders will precede the team when going into the stadium.”
“Proceed” (v.) means to go on, to continue, to carry on.
“We will move into the stadium and then proceed to the benches at the north end.”
Tuesday
DISSEMBLE/DISASSEMBLE
“Dissemble” (v.) means to be dishonest, to conceal the real nature of, to give a false appearance of or to try to hide what is being done.
“The bullies did nothing but dissemble about the brawl and then police were completely frustrated.”
“Disassemble” (v.) means to take apart, to break apart or to tear down.
“They will disassemble the old house and try to salvage as much as they can in order to save money.”
Wednesday
INTERMENT/INTERNMENT
“Interment” (n.) refers to the burial or the ritual placing of a corpse into a grave.
“We will conduct the interment this morning at 11:00 and will have a rollicking good wake immediately after.”
“Internment” (n.) refers to confinement or imprisonment.
“His internment was for a period of ten years in solitary confinement.”
Thursday
MANIFEST/MANIFESTO/MANIFESTATION
“Manifest” (adj.) means readily seen or understood, apparent, evident or clear.
“Manifest” can also be a verb or a noun.
“The manifest devastation to the town clearly showed the cruelty of the conquering army.”
“Manifesto” (n.) is a public declaration as of a sovereign or a government. It also can refer to a list of cargo on a ship.
“The conquering forces posted their manifesto on the door of the government building so everyone could read it.”
“Manifestation” (n.) refers to an indication or a public demonstration for political effect or an expression of emotion without words.
“Her tears were a powerful manifestation of the pain she had suffered when her husband was killed.”
Friday
GARRULOUS/QUERULOUS
“Garrulous”, an adjective, means chatty, gabby, given to much talk, especially about trifles.
“Querulous”, also an adjective, means fretful, whiney, grumbling or faultfinding, petty, complaining or tending to make moral judgments based on personal opinions.
CYNICAL BUT PROFOUND
Explain how the quote reflects the title.
“He wears his faith but as the fashion of his hat.”
William Shakespeare wrote this in “Much Ado About Nothing”.
The cynicism is that hats are often changed and more often taken off and put on just to suit the weather. Shakespeare’s profundity ridicules those who are so fickle as to have such shallow faith. I am sure there are other interpretations, but this one is very evident.
PET PEEVE OF THE WEEK
Find and correct the peeve in the following sentence. Posit why it qualifies as a "pet peeve".
“I was driving behind a woman that refused to drive up to the speed limit.”
People are not things. A person should not, and cannot, be a “that”! It ticks me off that people are so inconsiderate as to refer to others as things and that is why it qualifies as a pet peeve. I will not address the problem of the person who will not go the speed limit; that is another peeve that will get some attention in a different forum.
"I was driving behind a woman who refused to drive up to the speed limit."
LAST WEEK’S WORDS
“Pyre” (n.) refers to wood piled or heaped for burning, particularly as a funeral rite.
“Pyromaniac”, referring to one obsessed with fires, is a word derived from “pyre”.
“Retributive” (adj.) means avenging, paying back, seeking revenge or vindicatory.
“Retribution” (n.) and “retributory” (adj.) are other forms of the word.
“Harangue” (n.) refers to a bombastic declamation, a rant or a lecture.
“Harangue” (v.) means to address forcefully, to berate, to rebuke or lambast.
“Extemporize” (v.) means to perform without preparation, to ad-lib or to improvise.
“Extemporaneous” is the adjective form.
“Extempore” is the adverb form.
“Postulate” (v.) means to claim, to hold, to claim, to hold as a fundamental truth or to assume the existence of truth without reasoning.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
SOME MORE INTERESTING WORDS
GARRULOUS/QUERULOUS
Explain the difference in meaning between the words "garrulous" and "querulous".
What part of speech is each word?
Use "garrulous" and "querulous" in sentences that display their respective meanings.
PET PEEVE OF THE WEEK
Find and correct the peeve in the following sentence. Posit why it qualifies as a "pet peeve".
"I was driving behind a woman that refused to drive up to the speed limit."
TODAY'S WORD
The word for today is "postulate".
What part of speech is "postulate"?
Define "postulate" and use it in a sentence.
CORRECTIONS & EXPLANATIONS
Corrections and explanations for this week's entries will be posted Sunday.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
INTERESTING WORDS
MANIFEST/MANIFESTO/MANIFESTATION
The root word is the same but "manifest", "manifesto" and "manifestation" have somewhat different meanings.
What part of speech is each word?
Explain the differences in meaning among the three words, "manifest", "manifesto" and "manifestation".
Create clear sentences that display the meanings of "manifest", "manifesto" and "manifestation".
TODAY'S WORD
The word for today is "extemporize".
What part of speech is "extemporize"?
Define "extemporize" and use it in a sentence.
What other forms of the word can be listed?
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
SOME CLEVER WORDS & IDEAS
INTERMENT/INTERNMENT
CYNICAL BUT PROFOUND
Identify the author of the following piece.
Explain how the quote reflects the title.
“He wears his faith but as the fashion of his hat.”
The word for today is "harangue".
What part of speech is "harangue"?
Define "harangue" and use it in a sentence.
Explain the difference between the words "interment" and "internment".
Create sentences for "interment" and "internment" that reflect the meanings of the words.
CYNICAL BUT PROFOUND
Identify the author of the following piece.
Explain how the quote reflects the title.
“He wears his faith but as the fashion of his hat.”
TODAY'S WORD
The word for today is "harangue".
What part of speech is "harangue"?
Define "harangue" and use it in a sentence.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
WORDS THAT SOUND GOOD
DISSEMBLE/DISASSEMBLE
Explain the difference in meaning between the words "dissemble" and "disassemble".
What part of speech is each word?
Create sentences that demonstrate the meanings od "dissemble" and "disassemble".
TODAY'S WORD
The word for today is "retributive".
What part of speech is "retributive"?
Define "retributive" and use it in a sentence.
What other parts of speech can be made from "retributive"?
Monday, March 22, 2010
"P" AS IN POPULAR
PRECEDE/PROCEED
Explain the difference in meaning between the words "precede" and "proceed".
What part of speech is each word?
Create sentences that display the meanings of the words "precede" and "proceed".
TODAY'S WORD
The word for today is "pyre".
Define "pyre" and use it in a sentence.
What part of speech is "pyre"?
What other words can you list that use "pyre" as a base?
Sunday, March 21, 2010
CORRECTIONS & EXPLANATIONS - March 21, 2010
Here are the corrections and explanations for last week's entries.
Monday
DEW/DO/DOO/DUE
“Dew” (n.) is the moisture on the grass in the morning and it should be pronounced as in “pew”.
“Do”, normally a verb meaning to perform or accomplish something, can be a noun referring to a party or a hair style.
“Doo” (n.) on the grass is what your dog left and you didn’t pick up.
“Due” is an adjective meaning owing or scheduled to arrive.
Tuesday
REPEL/REPULSE
“Repel”, a verb, means to force back, to reject or to fill with distaste or disgust.
“Repulse”, also a verb, means to fight off, to drive away or to ward off.
The subtle difference between the two is that one is repelled by another person, not repulsed, ever though that person might be repulsive.
HOW MANY?
How many errors can you detect in the following piece? Give the specifics of each and fix each.
“Laying in bed at Royal Inland Hospital Ben Basaraba, 24, from Creston, B.C., talks about the Big Iron Shootout at Revelstoke, where two were killed and 30 injured in a snowmobile-triggered avalanche on Boulder Mountain Saturday.”
“To lay” means to put down something as in “laying a floor.”
“Laying in bed” conjures interesting images but it is wrong; “lying”is required, and don’t make a pun of that.
An inconsistency is evident in “...two were killed and 30 injured...” in that numbers under one hundred should be written; at least, the writer could be consistent.
To keep the verbs consistent, “were” should be inserted before “injured”.
“Lying in bed at Royal Inland Hospital Ben Basaraba, 24, from Creston, B.C., talks about the Big Iron Shootout at Revelstoke, where two were killed and thirty were injured in a snowmobile-triggered avalanche on Boulder Mountain Saturday.”
Wednesday
Identify and correct the error in the following entry.
“Almost as tickled as CBS, which can expect off-the-charts ratings if Woods is still alive on the weekend, after ESPN carries the first two rounds.”
This is an incomplete thought. Who, or what, is almost as tickled?
“The PGA will be almost as tickled as CBS, which can expect off-the-charts ratings if Woods is still alive on the weekend, after ESPN carries the first two rounds.”
Thursday
NOTATE/NOTE
“Notate” means to write comments about a text or to make notations about text. Thios os often done by students in the margins of their textbooks.
“Note” means to pay attention, to observe or to notice. There are many other meanings but this is the operational one for this context.
ONE TO PONDER
“Prejudice is opinion without judgment.”
Voltaire, a French author, humanist and satirist who lived from 1694 to 1778, wrote this.
Friday
Identify and correct the errors in the following selections.
“Too much to handle.”
This is an incomplete thought; there is no verb.
“The Spitfires were too much to handle.”
“To doubt whether this Spitfire squad has what it takes to complete the mission.”
This also is an incomplete thought.
“This win should stop to any doubt whether this Spitfire squad has what it takes to complete the mission.”
LAST WEEK'S PET PEEVE - PRONUNCIATION OF "A"
This peeve involves everyone from the President of the United States down through a multitude of reporters and tons of people in between. It wouldn't be quite so bad if there were any consistency but there is none.
The indefinite article "a" is pronounced "a" as in "hat". It is NOT PRONOUNCED as "a" as in "hay".
LAST WEEK’S WORDS
“Harbinger” (n.) refers to a forerunner, a herald or a precursor, as in the robin being the harbinger of the coming of spring.
“Rancorous” (adj.) means showing deep-seated resentment, animosity or bitterness.
“Rancor” is the US noun form and “rancour” is the British and Canadian form.
“Comportment” (n.) refers to a dignified manner of conduct, a bearing or presence as in the queen having regal comportment.
“Barbarous” (adj.) means brutal, cruel, vicious, beastly or savage.
“Apocalyptic” (adj.) means foreshadowing, prophetic or revelatory.
“Apocalypse” is the noun form. The term is used in the bible regarding revelations of the ultimate divine purpose.
Monday
DEW/DO/DOO/DUE
“Dew” (n.) is the moisture on the grass in the morning and it should be pronounced as in “pew”.
“Do”, normally a verb meaning to perform or accomplish something, can be a noun referring to a party or a hair style.
“Doo” (n.) on the grass is what your dog left and you didn’t pick up.
“Due” is an adjective meaning owing or scheduled to arrive.
Tuesday
REPEL/REPULSE
“Repel”, a verb, means to force back, to reject or to fill with distaste or disgust.
“Repulse”, also a verb, means to fight off, to drive away or to ward off.
The subtle difference between the two is that one is repelled by another person, not repulsed, ever though that person might be repulsive.
HOW MANY?
How many errors can you detect in the following piece? Give the specifics of each and fix each.
“Laying in bed at Royal Inland Hospital Ben Basaraba, 24, from Creston, B.C., talks about the Big Iron Shootout at Revelstoke, where two were killed and 30 injured in a snowmobile-triggered avalanche on Boulder Mountain Saturday.”
“To lay” means to put down something as in “laying a floor.”
“Laying in bed” conjures interesting images but it is wrong; “lying”is required, and don’t make a pun of that.
An inconsistency is evident in “...two were killed and 30 injured...” in that numbers under one hundred should be written; at least, the writer could be consistent.
To keep the verbs consistent, “were” should be inserted before “injured”.
“Lying in bed at Royal Inland Hospital Ben Basaraba, 24, from Creston, B.C., talks about the Big Iron Shootout at Revelstoke, where two were killed and thirty were injured in a snowmobile-triggered avalanche on Boulder Mountain Saturday.”
Wednesday
Identify and correct the error in the following entry.
“Almost as tickled as CBS, which can expect off-the-charts ratings if Woods is still alive on the weekend, after ESPN carries the first two rounds.”
This is an incomplete thought. Who, or what, is almost as tickled?
“The PGA will be almost as tickled as CBS, which can expect off-the-charts ratings if Woods is still alive on the weekend, after ESPN carries the first two rounds.”
Thursday
NOTATE/NOTE
“Notate” means to write comments about a text or to make notations about text. Thios os often done by students in the margins of their textbooks.
“Note” means to pay attention, to observe or to notice. There are many other meanings but this is the operational one for this context.
ONE TO PONDER
“Prejudice is opinion without judgment.”
Voltaire, a French author, humanist and satirist who lived from 1694 to 1778, wrote this.
Friday
Identify and correct the errors in the following selections.
“Too much to handle.”
This is an incomplete thought; there is no verb.
“The Spitfires were too much to handle.”
“To doubt whether this Spitfire squad has what it takes to complete the mission.”
This also is an incomplete thought.
“This win should stop to any doubt whether this Spitfire squad has what it takes to complete the mission.”
LAST WEEK'S PET PEEVE - PRONUNCIATION OF "A"
This peeve involves everyone from the President of the United States down through a multitude of reporters and tons of people in between. It wouldn't be quite so bad if there were any consistency but there is none.
The indefinite article "a" is pronounced "a" as in "hat". It is NOT PRONOUNCED as "a" as in "hay".
LAST WEEK’S WORDS
“Harbinger” (n.) refers to a forerunner, a herald or a precursor, as in the robin being the harbinger of the coming of spring.
“Rancorous” (adj.) means showing deep-seated resentment, animosity or bitterness.
“Rancor” is the US noun form and “rancour” is the British and Canadian form.
“Comportment” (n.) refers to a dignified manner of conduct, a bearing or presence as in the queen having regal comportment.
“Barbarous” (adj.) means brutal, cruel, vicious, beastly or savage.
“Apocalyptic” (adj.) means foreshadowing, prophetic or revelatory.
“Apocalypse” is the noun form. The term is used in the bible regarding revelations of the ultimate divine purpose.
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