CORRECTIONS & EXPLANATIONS - July 20, 2008

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

Monday

DOLLARAMA

When DOLLARAMA creates a sign thanking us for our collaboration when we prepay, I think someone needs to do some word checking. See below.
Incidentally, the word “consumption” is also, probably, a misuse.

COLLABORATION/CORROBORATION/COOPERATION

“Collaboration” is working together by people or groups.

“Corroboration” means confirmation, verification or proof of a point or position.
“The corroboration between the two witnesses resulted in her conviction for perjury.”

“Cooperation” means assistance, help or teamwork.
The cooperation between the union and management resulted in the signing of an equitable contract.


Tuesday

BREACH/BREECH

“Breech” refers to rear ends, as in “breeches”.

A “breach” is something broken off or open, as in a breach in a military line or a breach in a dam.


Wednesday

BROKE/BROKEN

“Broke” is the simple past tense of “break.”
The bottle broke when I threw it against the wall.

“Broken” is a participial form of the word “broke” as in, “The window was broken when the bottle hit it”.

The two should not be interchanged.


Thursday

CONTINUAL/CONTINUOUS

“Continuous” refers to actions which are uninterrupted.
“His continuous music playing was very aggravating.”

“Continual” refers to actions which need not be uninterrupted, only repeated.
“Continual changes of light can interrupt sleep.


JUST FOR PRACTICE

Are there any errors in the following?

“U.S. church hosts camp”
"Two beat-up church vans carried 36 youth and eight adult supervisors from Hope, Ark., to Windsor in a bid to reach out to children in Olde Sandwich Towne."

The headline says a Hope, Arkansas church hosted a youth camp in Windsor. Weren’t those Hope children guests? If they were, the headline is incorrect.
Be consistent: numbers between zero and one hundred should be written; any number higher can be numerical. At least, be consistent.
Shouldn’t “youth” be plural? There were thirty six of them.
“U.S. church camp guests” (Is this less misleading?)

"Two beat-up church vans carried thirty six youths and eight adult supervisors from Hope, Ark., to Windsor in a bid to reach out to children in Olde Sandwich Towne."


Friday

Correct the errors in the following:

"The kitchen of the Columbia Court residence was clearly used to make crack cocaine, Cusinato found. Scales and a pot with cocaine residue in it was found there, and the 86.8 grams of crack cocaine was in plain view, he said."

There are two nouns that are the subject of the verb in the second clause, so a plural verb is required.
There is no comma required after the word “there”.
“Grams”, the subject of the second clause, is plural so the verb must also be plural.
Technically, the quotations marks are incorrect.

“ ‘The kitchen of the Columbia Court residence was clearly used to make crack cocaine, Cusinato found. Scales and a pot with cocaine residue in it were found there and the 86.8 grams of crack cocaine were in plain view‘, he said.”


A GOOD LIFE PHILOSOPHY

“Try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value.”
Albert Einstein


LAST WEEK’S WORDS

“Obsequious” (adj.) means flattering, toadying, fawning or submissive.

“Sanctimonious” (adj.) means smug, pious, holier-than-thou or self-righteous.

“Incorrigible” (adj.)means habitual, incurable, persistent or hopeless.

“Anachronistic” (adj.) means out-dated, old-fashioned, obsolete or out-of-time.

“Rancorous” (adj.) means spiteful, malicious, hurtful, bitter or cruel.