CORRECTIONS & EXPLANATIONS - March 8, 2009

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

Monday

Correct the errors in the following pieces.

“Each of these factors alone are demonstrated to negatively effect a student's scores but most students fall into more than one of those groups, Connelly said.”

“Each” is singular and needs a singular verb.
“Effect” is a noun. “Affect” is a verb. They are not interchangeable.

“Each of these factors alone is demonstrated to negatively affect a student's scores but most students fall into more than one of those groups, Connelly said.”


“As NHL boss John Shannon told me, anytime there's a chance to reach a market of a billion people, he's so there.”

“He’s so there,” is so lame and “teenagerish“!

“As NHL boss John Shannon told me, anytime there's a chance to reach a market of a billion people, he’ll be there.”


“The good thing is the warden and myself were installed today and we now have a plan to move forward.”

Check the explanations below for the use of “myself”.

“The good thing is the warden and I were installed today and we now have a plan to move forward.”


Tuesday

DISBURSE/DISPERSE

“Disburse”, a verb, means to distribute or dole out something such as money.
"The millionaire disbursed some of his wealth be contributing heavily to several charities."

“Disperse”, a verb, means to scatter, disband or break up.
"The members of the band dispersed after several years of bickering among themselves."


Wednesday

HYPOCRITICAL/HYPERCRITICAL

“Hypocritical” is an adjective meaning two-faced, duplicitous, deceitful or false.
"Two of Lear’s daughters were hypocritical in their protestations of love for their father."

“Hypercritical” is an adjective meaning overly fussy, too critical, carping or finicky.
"The rigid teacher was hypercritical of the student’s first essay."


Thursday

I/ME/MYSELF

“I” is a subjective personal pronoun. “I” can only be used as the subject of a sentence.

“Me” is an objective personal pronoun. “Me” can only be used as the object of a verb or preposition.

“Myself” is a reflexive personal pronoun. Use “myself” only when “I” has been used earlier in the same sentence. “Myself” cannot be used as a subject or object.

The most common misuse is putting “me” as a subject as in, “Me and Betsy are in love”. It should be, “Betsy and I are in love.”

Conversely, “I” is often misused as an object as in, “The agreement had to be signed by both Susan and I”.
It must be, “The agreement had to be signed by both Susan and me”.

“Myself” is often misused in place of either” “I” or “me”, as in, “A refund was sent to my wife and myself”.
It should read, “A refund was sent to my wife and me”.


Rule: the OTHER person should ALWAYS be mentioned FIRST.


Friday

ARBITER/ARBITRATOR

An “arbiter” (n.) is a settler of a dispute or a person who has influence over something. The root is the Latin “judge” or "supreme ruler".

An “arbitrator” (n.) is a person chosen to decide a dispute or settle differences, one formally empowered to examine the facts and decide the issue. The origin is the late middle English word “arbitratour”.

An arbitrator is appointed.
Arbitrators make a decision or judgment but arbiters/mediators do not.
An arbiter has no such authority but his opinion is valued.


A GOOD OBSERVATION

“Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all.”

Sam Ewing coined this observation.


LAST WEEK’S WORDS

“Paucity” (n.) means scarcity, rareness or dearth.

“Adduce” (v.) means to bring forward in argument or to cite as conclusive or conclusive.

“Quibbler” (n.) refers to a person who uses ambiguous or irrelevant language to evade a point of issue. Often politicians are quibblers.

“Ostentatious” (adj.) means pretentious, showy, pretentious or flamboyant.

“Disconsolate” (adj.) means unhappy, dejected, gloomy or sad.