CORRECTIONS & EXPLANATIONS - August 26, 2007

Monday

WHAT IS WRONG?

He sat inside of the snow cave.
The bear tore the bark off of the tree.
The word “of” following another prepositions such as “outside”, “inside”, “off” or “atop” is redundant and unacceptable.

Corrections

He sat inside the snow cave.
The bear tore the bark off the tree.

Tuesday

"Some report waiting lists of customers anxious to test drive the new vans, according to Dave Buckingham, vice-president of sales for Chrysler Canada."

The word “anxious” comes from the word “anxiety” which means “distress” or “uneasiness” and is not what the author intends in the sentence.
He should use “eager” meaning “keen” or “ardent” in desire.

Correction

"Some report waiting lists of customers eager to test drive the new vans, according to Dave Buckingham, vice-president of sales for Chrysler Canada."

Wednesday

You should have went to the movies with them.
“Gone” is the past participle of “to go”. As the verb, it must be preceded by an auxiliary verb such as “has”, “have”, “had”, “is” “am”, “are”, “was”, “were”, “be” or one of their contractions.

“Went” is the past tense of “to go”. It never takes an auxiliary verb.

Thursday

WHICH IS CORRECT?

“Her renown as a hated stage mother is legendary,” is correct.
‘Her reknown as a hated stage mother is legendary,” is incorrect because “reknown” is not a word.

Friday

AGGRAVATE/IRRITATE

“Aggravate” means to make worse. “Certain businesses aggravate the problem of global warming by refusing to lower their toxic emissions.”
“Irritate” means to inflame or exasperate. “Your constant whining irritates me.”

WORDS I LIKE

"Coruscate" (v.) means to emit vivid flashes of light, to sparkle or to gleam
The noun form is “coruscation”.
The sparklers coruscate brilliantly in the night air.

"Insipient" (adj.) means a lack of knowledge or folly.
The ham actor’s constant crying about his “need to be motivated” was insipient and frustrating.

"Ineffable" (adj.) means inexpressible, unspeakable or that which should not be uttered.
The ineffable horror of the flooding was in the minds of everyone.

"Disingenuous" (adj.) means lacking in frankness, candor or sincerity.
The politician’s comments about truly representing his constituents were disingenuous and laughable.

"Coercion" (n.) means forcible restraint or government by force.
The tyrant used coercion and brutality to maintain his regime.


PHRASES I HATE

"No problem."
"No problem." is often used in place of “you’re welcome”. It is often used to indicate that the speaker is “cool” and can handle a problem. It is trite, disingenuous and patronizing.

I think, with respect, that your opinions are short sighted and wrong."
“With respect” is often used by debaters and pundits who disagree with their opponents. The phrase is hollow, hypocritical and usually insincere. It is about as honest as Rush Limbaugh saying he respects the opinions of Jon Stewart.