Posts by Renelle George

Uh-vv mice and men… but not quite :)

Jul09
2010 2 Comments Written by Renelle George

I’m sitting here minding my own business and I had a random (or not so random) thought re: off vs of that I thought I’d share with you wonderful folks… Off and of are pronounced reeeealllly differently – if you missed the differences in their meaning, I guarantee that you’ll find no trouble spotting the differences in the way the words are enunciated (btw, you can’t take me to court for that guarantee – it’s one of those non-legal ones :) ).

So… of is pronounced “uh-vv” while its counterpart off is closer to “aw-ff” – there’s that hard (?) ‘f’ sound you make when you say the word fight.  (I promise I’m not violent, I don’t bite, but that was the first – and only – word that came to my head… call it what you will, I’m happy in my own mental state!)

Merriam Webster did a fabulous job of recording this one – have a listen:

Hear it?  (Feel free to nod in agreement even if you don’t.  Better yet, play it non-stop all day… it’ll grow on you, promise – you got it, another one of those non-legal ones.)  And remember, the more you read, the less you’ll make some of these mistakes.  Stay tuned for a post on pronunciation, coming soon!

Posted in Common Grammar Errors - Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Off course? Of course!

Jul08
2010 2 Comments Written by Renelle George

Ok folks, first I need to apologize – I’ve been moving and the last few weeks have been super busy.  Normal is abnormal these days… it will soon settle, and I promise to have new posts loaded at least twice a week for your viewing pleasure :)

That said, let’s get to it!  Off vs. of, not as difficult as you think.  Let’s deal with off first.

Off has many meanings, one of which indicates removal or separation: to take off your shoes, be kicked off a team, let off steam, be off from work etc. (don’t worry, I got happy for a minute there too – you’re not alone!).  Off is also the opposite of on, so you put on your clothes in the morning (I hope) and then take them off later when you return home.

Of is comprised of two letters that create magic when used correctly.  A little bit of this… a little bit of that (see, you got me singing now!).  It’s a preposition and though I honestly can’t remember all the nitty gritty involved in that word, of has many little meanings (while making a big difference, as you can imagine… check out The Apostrophe Series for more little things that shouldn’t be underestimated ;) ).  A few of them:

  • To describe an individual or its origin (substitute “from”), e.g. Queen of England; of noble means
  • To indicate a reference point, e.g. east of place X
  • To describe components, e.g. part of a whole
  • As a synonym for “about”, e.g. the horrors of domestic abuse

Catch the drift?  Of is a nice little joiner.  Chances are, you need to use of more than off.  And oh, just in case you’re wondering – off course means maligned, not going in the right direction. The term is commonly used to describe situations in which ships and other sea vessels deviate from their intended path (we also borrow the term for pretty much anything – or anyone – not going according to plan).  Of course is the one you’re likely to use more frequently to mean “certainly” or “definitely”.  Of course The Write Foot is here to help steer you in the right direction if you happen to be going off course with respect to grammar and writing ;)

Posted in Common Grammar Errors - Tagged , , , , , , ,

Let’s converse about “conversate,” shall we?

Jun13
2010 14 Comments Written by Renelle George

It’s very simple.  We have a conversation; we converse.  We cannot conversate.  Absolutely not.  I know we live in a society where hybrids are the in thing, but you really cannot combine converse and conversation to create your own verb.  It just can’t happen.

I heard a song on the radio earlier today where the artist was “conversating” with someone else.  Uhm… you mean to tell me that nobody – not a single person – from composer to producer could tell him that conversate isn’t a word?  You have got to be kidding…

Contrary to what you may think, saying “conversate” doesn’t make you sound intelligent; you appear quite the opposite (cough cough).  Use talk, discuss, speak, dialogue - anything else.  Whatever you do, don’t try to help the word converse by adding “ate” to its rear end – it is not in the least bit necessary!  Converse is a bellyful all on its own; it doesn’t need to eat anything else, remember that :)

Posted in Common Grammar Errors, Commonly Misspelled Words - Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Get rid of the “of”, it’s would HAVE…

Jun09
2010 3 Comments Written by Renelle George

“Would of ” is incorrect.  I know you “would of” told me if I was wrong, so I’m doing the same.  It’s would have, my friend.

“Would of” is a colloquial expression only (that gets on my nerves even when I hear it in casual conversation).  Of is not a verb, people!

Mini exercise for you:

“Had I known it to be so, I would ____ told you.”

Answer?  Have.

Easy way to remember – remove “would” and see if the sentence makes sense.  Using the example above:

“… I would have told you”

“… I would of told you”

The answer is clear, I hope.  And by the way, the same applies for “should,” ”could,” “might,”  etc.  Shoulda, woulda, coulda are all contractions for “should have,” “would have,” and “could have,” hence the a at the end.  Another memory aid for ya ;)

Hopefully this helps.  I should have posted this a long time ago, but better late than never – right?

Posted in Common Grammar Errors

It’s very different from “different than…”

Jun03
2010 2 Comments Written by Renelle George

It’s quite simple, really.  Different is followed by from, not than.  One person or thing differs from another and is therefore different from its counterpart.  Do you say, “This shoe differs than that one?”   Well for the love of Pete, don’t say “than” when you add “-ent!”  And then, there are the dual violators who write “different then” (see my post on the use of than vs. then).  Heaven help us.

I would share one of my traditional mnemonic devices to help you remember that different should be followed by “from” instead of “than,” but the problem appears to have less to do with memory than the fact that people just don’t know they’re making a (big) boo-boo when they say “different than.”  Willing to be corrected if I’m wrong though…

Make my day by not making this mistake, will you?  I know it’s a toughie, but try, just for me :)

Posted in Common Grammar Errors - Tagged , , , , , , ,

Ummm, you might want to remove the ‘s at the end of that verb…

May25
2010 1 Comment Written by Renelle George
This entry is part 6 of 6 in the series The Apostrophe Series

I thought this was a given, but clearly I was wrong.  Verbs don’t need an ‘s tacked on to their rear end.  He knows, NOT know’s.  He doesn’t know’s a damn thing.  (And clearly you don’t either if you wrote it!).  I know, you know, he/she/it knows.  No magic, no math.  Just an ‘s’ people, just an ‘s’.  The apostrophe is not invited to this party.  And guess what?  He doesn’t want to be there either!

The apostrophe indicates ownership.  Jack’s car – the car Jack owns, or the car belonging to Jack.  Verbs can’t own things…

Apostrophes are also used for contractions (not the kind women have during childbirth, but if that helps you remember, go for it!).  Therefore, can’t is the contracted form of cannot.  See the lil apostrophe in there?  Expand the contraction.

Check  out the other posts in The Apostrophe Series – who knows, you might get to know a wee bit more about our friend, the apostrophe!

Posted in Common Grammar Errors - Tagged , , , , , ,

Oh dear, they’re mixing up “there” and “their…”

May23
2010 3 Comments Written by Renelle George

There isn’t much similarity between there and their beyond pronunciation – they sound the same, but that’s about it.  As you shall see, their meanings are vastly different…

There refers to a place/location.  Over there.  Where?  There.

There is also used to describe the existence of something.  Therefore, there is a really neat website about grammar that you should check out.  (It’s called The Write Foot, btw ;) )

On the contrary, their indicates ownership/possession.  They lost everything when their home was gutted by fire.

Easy enough, isn’t it?  Remember: their can NEVER be followed by a verb, so you should replace with there instead.  Their is always used before things that can be owned.  It follows the same rules as his/her, our, your, etc.

And so my friends, there you have it!

Posted in Common Grammar Errors - Tagged , , , , ,

It’d be great if you’d save ‘grate’ for cheese and coconuts…

May17
2010 2 Comments Written by Renelle George

Dear reader of The Write Foot,

Please accept my sincerest apologies for not publishing any posts yesterday.  As you know, I am allergic to bad grammar, and an excessive intake this weekend triggered a severe allergic reaction.  Per doctor’s orders, I remained in bed all day.  Today, however, I begin a round of therapy guaranteed to provide relief – a post starring one of the allergens!

Hear ye, hear ye…  Great is an expression to describe goodness… NOT grate.  You grate cheese, carrots, coconuts – food.  A sound grates your ear.  That’s pretty much it right there for grate.  Grate is a verb – an action – not something you say as a compliment.  Nobody ever looks grate… and if they do, that’s a bit insulting, isn’t it?

Thankful = grateful… “greatful” is wrong!!!  It’s one of those things you just have to know.  The only endings which can be added to great are -er and -est, as in greater and greatest.  You can add an ‘r’ to grate to give you the object used to perform the grating/shredding action – our trusted friend, the grater.

Examples:

  • He is the greatest performer I have ever seen.
  • Greater than, less than, or equal to (remember those symbols?)
  • Did you use the grater yesterday?

Get it?  Answer the following questions to help you:

  • Are you shredding food, like cheese, coconuts, or carrots?  Then use grate.
  • Are you describing an irritating sound?  Grate again.
  • Are you trying to describe how good something is?  Then for heaven’s sake, it’s great!

There’s no greater medicine than pen to paper – I feel much better already :)

Posted in Common Grammar Errors, Commonly Misspelled Words - Tagged , , , , , , , ,

It’s not too much to add or remove the extra ‘o’, is it?

May14
2010 8 Comments Written by Renelle George

Although too and to sound the same, they are very different words with very different meanings.  And it’s kinda wrong to misuse them, you know?  It’s too easy to figure out which is correct – The Write Foot to the rescue!

Too has two major meanings:

  1. also / as well / in addition
  2. excess / very much (of something)

Examples:

  • You too. (as well/also)
  • He was late too. (as well/also)
  • It’s too hot in here. (excess)

The really neat thing about too (my humble opinion), is that its placement in a sentence can alter its meaning.  Restructuring examples 2 and 3 above:

  • He was too late. (excess)
  • It’s hot in here too. (as well/also)

Isn’t that cool?  I know you are finding it hard to contain your excitement right now – no worries, I’ll give you a moment.  Take a few deep breaths, the adrenalin rush will be over soon.  And if you really aren’t absolutely in awe and completely stoked by how cool the word too is, it’s ok – we can still be friends :)

Now to its counterpart to.  It’s easy because once you know when to use too, you just use to everywhere else!  No rocket science there.  But to avoid being too biased, I’ll discuss some of the main uses of to here as well.  The thing to remember is that to cannot stand on its own two feet – it needs help!  So it’s always to plan, to hope, to love, etc.  Always to do something.

Similarly, to is used with places: to work, to school, to that other place you shouldn’t have been visiting anyway *cough cough*

It shouldn’t be too much of a stretch to see that to is also used with people: to him, to you, to anybody else you’d like.  Get it?

I think people get a little bit confused when to appears after a verb.  No need to be thrown for a loop – you can definitely go to, aim to, plan to and anything else you feel to!  Verbs cannot be followed directly by too - so it’s always hope so too, feel that way too, etc.

Cardinal rule: If it doesn’t past the too test, don’t hesitate to use to instead!  You’re too smart to be consistently making this mistake – remember that!

Posted in Common Grammar Errors - Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Read to write

May12
2010 2 Comments Written by Renelle George

Thought I’d take a break from The Apostrophe Series to share this little tidbit.  It appears to be a paradox, but it’s true.  In order to become a better writer, you MUST read.  Read, read, read.  Fiction, non-fiction – anything you can put your hands on.  If you are vehemently opposed to rekindling the warm affections you previously held for your local library, there is also a plethora of resources online (newspapers, online texts, etc.) which will be invaluable in your pursuit to become a better writer.  Not only will you develop your vocabulary (a major asset), but you will learn grammar somewhat passively as well.  Yes, it will grow on you.  Soon you will be able to tell when something “doesn’t look right,” simply because you’ve spent a lot of time looking at the right stuff.

If you are not convinced, let me show you a non-linguistic example (yes, there is more to me than words!).  I happen to love, love, love photography – always have, always will.  Toss me a camera and I’d take a decent picture, might even be able to impress you some.  However, it was only when I started seriously looking at the work produced by professional photographers did I develop that “good eye.”  I’d spend hours looking at photography websites, poring over galleries and portfolios.  And while I am still a long way from professional photographer status, my skill level has definitely improved tremendously – I am more aware of lighting, composition, and other things that make a good photograph.  I now find opportunities to take amazing shots in places that may appear mundane to the untrained eye.  Moreover, I am constantly challenged to produce work whose quality mirrors that of my unofficial mentors.

So there you have it.  Now, go read a book :)

Posted in General Tips
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