5 Lessons for National Grammar Day…And Every Day

https://blog.cengage.com/six-best-grammar-websites-for-your-college-students/

In less than a week, it will be March 4^th, National Grammar Day, the only day of the year that is a complete sentence. In its honor, I offer you five grammar and word usage lessons you can use every day.

1. Don’t substitute “utilize” for “use.” It doesn’t make you sound smart.
“Use” and “utilize” are not interchangeable and using the longer word in place of the shorter one doesn’t make you sound smart. “Use is the correct word when employing an object for it’s an intended purpose: Sally used a hairpin to keep hair out of her eyes during the exam. When describing an object used for other than its intended purpose, “utilize” is the correct word: After the exam, when Sally found herself locked out of her car, she utilized a hairpin to jimmy the lock.

2. Don’t confuse “capital” and “capitol.”
Trenton, Albany, Sacramento, Tallahassee, Concord, Montpelier, and Austin are state capitals. The gold-domed buildings in those cities, where the state legislatures meet to conduct business, are capitols. Got it?

3. Which is it: it’s, its, or its’?
“It’s” is a contraction of “It is.” It’s cold outside today. “ “Its” is the possessive form of an inanimate object or an animal or child of unknown gender. The Coca-Cola Company issued its annual report last week. “Its’” is not a word. Please don’t use it—especially on National Grammar Day.

4. Is it “lesser” or “few”?
I’m always annoyed by the signs for the supermarket express line that say: “10 or Less Items.” Here’s why they should say “10 or Fewer Items.” When talking or writing about discreet objects that can be counted individually, use “fewer.” When talking about nouns that cannot be counted individually, use “less.” Pamela had fewer coins than Rob, but her coins were quarters and his were pennies, so Rob had less money than Pamela. Here’s another one: Josephine had less flour than she thought, so she baked fewer cookies.

5. Why you should not say or write “Marci left the decision to Joe and I.
”In this sentence, “Joe and I” are the objects of the sentence—the ones to whom Marci gave the decision-making power. But “I” should be used only as a sentence’s subject, not its object. The correct way to say or write this sentence is “Marci left the decision to Joe and me.” To easily decide whether to use “I” or “me,” take Joe out of the picture entirely. Would you ever say, “Marci left the decision to I”? I hope not! I also hope that it sounds so wrong that you know at once that the correct choice is “me.”

Happy National Grammar Day, my friends!

#BlogExodus: Grow the Business?

I’m somewhat of a purist and as such, I don’t appreciate the use of “grow” when its direct object is other than something in the natural world – flowers, fur, or corn, for example.  “Grow the business” sounds like nails on a chalkboard to me.

Luckily, I’m not alone in my dislike.

The Desktop Does Not Move

This afternoon on my way home from work, I ran an errand at Staples, where I couldn't help but snap this photo:

I also posted it to my Twitter feed with this caption:  Really, @Staples?!? You can do better. 

Almost immediately, @Staples tweeted back at me:  @JanetheWriter Oh no! What was the issue? A small selection?

To which I responded, somewhat exasperated:  @Staples It's S-T-A-T-I-O-N-E-R-Y. You know, with an ENVELOPE.

The conversation ended with this: @JanetheWriter Thanks for letting us know! #GoodLookingOut 

I'll be curious to see if (and when) the store corrects the sign...and you know I'll be checking on it.

Stay tuned....

My English Teacher Soul

This morning on the way to minyan, I sent this text message to Ian:

Hope you are keeping warm. xoxo.

When I checked on the way home, he'd responded with this:

Thanks hope u do to

Unable to help myself, I sent this reply:

Thanks.  It's "too" when it means also. :)  I'm a stickler for spelling, even in text messages!

Had I not been on a bus, where the bumps make texting a challenge, I would have added this:

It's "you" when referring to a person and not a letter of the alphabet.

As the bus pulled up to my stop, I realized that even though I don't believe in reincarnation, I do believe I must have been an English teacher in a previous life!

Your Grammar Would Be Proud

Grammar Girl

This past Wednesday night, tired of reading poorly written personal ads (and unaware that the next day was National Grammar Day), I posted this message as my Facebook status:

If you're so interested in taking advantage of all that life has to offer, you should--in between romantic walks on the beach, quiet nights at home and outings to concerts and museums--take a basic grammar course so you'll know the difference between "your" and "you're,” be able to distinguish among "there," "their" and "they're," and use each one correctly in a sentence.

Almost immediately, Carol commented: “Very timely suggestion, as tomorrow is National Grammar Day! :)”

Before I fill you in on the rest of the conversation as it unfolded, I’ll share the corny old joke that came to mind when I heard that:

A traveling salesman knocks on the door and little Joey answers.
Salesman: “Is your Ma home?”
Joey: “No, she ain’t here.”
Salesman: “Where’s your grammar?”
Joey: “She ain’t here either.”

Now, back to the conversation, which actually evolved into a list by grammarians of their biggest pet peeves about our language and how people use—and misuse—it.

Pet Peeve #1 is from Peggy: “How about s or 's. That drives me crazy.” Strunk and White would agree. It’s the very first rule in their classic volume.

Her sister, Marianne, chimed in with Pet Peeve #2: “than vs. then!!” According to S&W, "than" is used to express comparison. A concise explanation of the difference between the two—and when to use each—can be found here.

Next came Bonny (please, not Bonnie), with Pet Peeve #3: “When I was hiring an editor for a book proposal, so many of the applicants spelled my name wrong!” Indeed, correct spelling and careful attention to detail are as essential as proper grammar and usage.

Pet Peeve #4 came from David, who had this to say: “How about ‘it's’ and ‘its’ while you're at it? They are misused far too often.” Yes, they are, but at least they’re real words, unlike its’, which I see everywhere!

Back to Marianne for Pet Peeve #5: “Here's one that bugs me...my Facebook notification reads 'So-and-so commented on their status.’" LOL! Here’s what The Writing Center at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay has to say about this matter.

Pet Peeves #6, #7 and #8 come from my buddy Larry, who said, “Between you and I, my pet peeve is the total breakdown in differentiating among who and whom, of which the New York Times and The New Yorker is frequently guilty. P.S. I count three on-purpose errors in my previous sentence -- but maybe I missed something.” Grammar Girl (that's her up there in the top left hand corner of the page) can fill you in on proper use of the pronouns “I” and “me” and the prepositions "among" and "between." Click here to read about the nuances of “who” and “whom,” and here to brush up on subject-verb agreement.

Carol, the person who launched this whole conversation in the first place, piped in with Pet Peeve #9: “One of my pet peeves is that no one (in the media, ironically) seems to realize that the word ‘media’ is plural. They always say, ‘the media IS...’ Grrr. (Same for data and bacteria!)” Click here to see the singular forms of these and other words with irregular plurals.

And finally this: Although not exactly Pet Peeve #10, it deserves special mention if only because it crossed my desk yesterday, National Grammar Day: “I officiated at his wedding this past July and him and his wife are both now members.”