CORRECTIONS & EXPLANATIONS - April 5, 2009

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

Monday

MULTI-FACETED CHALLENGE

Identify and correct the errors in the examples below.
One unit is correct and must be considered relative to another unit.
Bonus: receive a gold star if you can identify the irony in one unit.


“Proclaiming his show a vocal supporter of the military. Never acknowledging his responsibility.”

Both word units are incomplete thoughts.

“He proclaims himself on his show as a vocal supporter of the military. He never acknowledges his responsibility.”


“If you've seen the clip on YouTube, you know what I mean: the host and his cronies act like braying jackasses.”

This unit is correct. The word after the colon is not capitalized. The error is in the inconsistency between this example and the next one cited below.

“If you've seen the clip on YouTube, you know what I mean: the host and his cronies act like braying jackasses.”


“That's my biggest problem with this clusterjerk: The excuse the guy has been peddling is that it's a comedy show. Entertainment. Not to be confused with real news.”

The word after a colon is not capitalized unless it is a proper noun; “The” should be “the”. Relate this to the example noted above.
“Entertainment.” and “Not to be confused with real news.” are not a complete thoughts.

“That's my biggest problem with this clusterjerk: The excuse the guy has been peddling is that it's a comedy show; it is entertainment; it is not to be confused with real news.”


“I'm a journalist. I got a lot of questions about everything.”

“The word “got”, though probably not incorrect, should be replaced with “have” to elevate the tone of the piece. Personally, I think "got" should be stricken from the English language because it is so often misused.

“I'm a journalist. I have a lot of questions about everything.”

The irony with the whole piece is that a “journalist” has a command of correct English.


Tuesday

AUGER/AUGUR

“Auger” (n.) is a spiral tool for boring holes.

“Augur” is a verb meaning to bode, to portend, to predict or to foretell. As a noun, “augur” is one who foretells the future.


Wednesday

APRIL FOOLS' JOKE OR APRIL'S FOOLS?

Identify and correct the error in the headline below.
Bonus # 1: explain the contextual connotation of the apostrophies in my title above.

Headline: "1 IN 10 GOV'T WORKERS MAKE MORE THAN $100,000".

The subject of the sentence is “1”. It is singular. Therefore, the verb must also be singular. “10” is the object of the preposition “in” and has no bearing on the agreement between subject and verb.

Headline: "1 IN 10 GOV'T WORKERS MAKES MORE THAN $100,000".

“Fools’” is plural possessive. It possesses the word “joke”.
“April’s” is singular possessive. It possesses “fools”.


THAT/WHICH/WHO

“That”, “”which” and “who” are all relative pronouns.

“Which” refers only to things.
“That is the script which I lost yesterday.”

“Who” refers only to people.
“They are the ones who have been selected for the roles.”

“That” refers to things but may refer to a class or type of person. The distinction, when referring to people, is that it still is referring to a thing such as a class or type.
“They are the type of people that would sell their mothers to make a dollar.”


Thursday

ALTERNATE/ALTERNATIVE

“Alternate” (adj.) means rotate, swap or every other in a series. The adverb form is “alternately”.
Because of John’s injury, the alternate driver will run the race.

“Alternative” (adj.) refers to or implies a choice between two things. The adverb form is “alternatively”.
“The alternative solution is to try another route.”

“Alternative” can also be used as a noun.
"The alternate will perform the task."

“Alternate”, with the accent on the second syllable, can act as a verb.
“The Spitfires will alternate goalies for the entire series.”


Friday

EVERYONE/EVERY ONE

“Everyone” is a compound pronoun meaning all persons.
“Everyone is ready to begin."

“Every one” is a non-compound modified pronoun meaning "any single person or thing" or "every single person or thing”. The adverb “every” modifies the pronoun “one”.
“He picked up every one of the pennies that were on the floor.”


A GOOD LIFE THOUGHT

“The truth is that there is nothing noble in being superior to somebody else. The only real nobility is in being superior to your former self.”
Whitney Young, an American civil rights leader, stated this.


LAST WEEK’S WORDS

“Inanity” (n.) means stupidity, silliness, idiocy or senselessness.

“Ululate” (v.) means to howl as a dog or a wolf or to lament loudly.

“Sinister” (adj.) means menacing, ominous, threatening or evil. Originally, it was used in augury and it meant unlucky or unfavourable. It is the opposite of “dexter” which means right. Sinister refers to the left. Thus, left-handed people were considered sinister and right-handed people were dexterous.

“Jejune” (adj.) means deficient in nourishing or substantial qualities or unsatisfying to the mind.

“Osculate” “v.” means to kiss or to bring into close contact.